March 13th, 2026: Domínguez, Schlittler, Warren, Cole, Lagrange, Bullpen, Mailbag
It was a hoot watching the rest of the baseball world get the “broadcaster with no managerial experience hired to run a team with championship aspirations” experience with Mark DeRosa earlier this week. Usually we only get that locally. DeRosa seemingly thought USA had clinched a spot in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals when in fact they hadn’t, and then managed the Italy game like a Spring Training getaway day. Either he didn’t know they didn’t clinch, or he knew they didn’t clinch and managed with little urgency, neither of which is good. Italy bailed DeRosa out and beat Mexico, sending USA to the second round. You won’t get an active manager to manage in the WBC, but Bruce Bochy? Joe Girardi? Mike Scioscia? Buck Showalter? Surely one of them had nothing better to do this month. Anyway, let’s get to today’s post.
1. Grapefruit League observations. Thursday afternoon the Yankees faced Justin Verlander, who made his MLB debut on July 4th, 2005. Among those in the lineup: George Lombard Jr., who was born on June 2nd, 2005. It is an old and young man’s game. Here are a few thoughts on the last few games.
Holy crap, Jasson took a lefty deep!
An actual Major Leaguer too (Tanner Banks of the Phillies). Prior to Tuesday’s blast (video), Domínguez had one homer in 134 big league plate appearances against lefties (this one). It was 13 homers off lefties in 554 career plate appearances. That’s Majors, minors, Spring Training, whatever. Six of the 13 came in 2022, when he was in Single-A. So yeah, Tuesday’s right-on-left homer was a rarity.
“He still controls the zone from that side. It’s just continuing to get reps from that side,” Aaron Boone told Mark Sanchez. “… He’s still a better left-handed hitter, but there’s no reason to think that over time, the right side can’t come up because he’s got power on that side, he’s got plate discipline, it’s just a matter of continuing to gain experience.”
After Tuesday’s game, Domínguez mentioned he’s trying a new stride as a right-handed hitter rather than using a big leg kick. Here’s the obligatory GIF:
“Just trying to try something new,” Domínguez told Sanchez. “When you’re doing bad, you’re already at the bottom.”
I went back through the available video of Domínguez’s at-bats and he switched from the leg kick to the toe tap sometime between Feb. 26th and March 1st. He is 2-for-11 with four strikeouts against lefties this spring, and both hits and only one strikeout have come with the new stride. Maybe there’s something to it? I dunno. We’re talking about only a handful of at-bats. The homer was cool though.
All these leg kick/stride/toe tap adjustments are about timing. Put your foot down too early or too late, and your weight shift will be off, and you won’t hit properly. Some guys do well with a leg kick, others with a toe tap. There’s no one right answer. The leg kick works for Domínguez as a left-handed hitter. He’s still trying to find his way as a righty because, if he doesn’t, he’s a platoon bat with poor defense. That ain’t great.
Will this work? Beats me. I’ll say what I say whenever a player attempts one of these swing adjustments: I have no idea if it’ll work but it’s worth keeping an eye on, because every so often one of these things really does click and change the player’s career trajectory. If this new stride doesn’t work, it might be time to have the “should Domínguez give up switch-hitting?” conversation.
Schlittler at the knees
Other than being behind the other starters pitch count-wise at this point in Spring Training, it’s impossible to tell Cam Schlittler had a back issue a few weeks ago. He pitched well against the Blue Jays’ C-lineup Wednesday (3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K on 46 pitches (video)) and his velocity has been there, and he seems to be in a good place mechanically. Schlittler has looked great in his two spring starts.
I think Schlittler is working on pitching down in the zone more with his fastball this spring. We saw last year how well it plays up, but he peppered the bottom of the zone with four-seamers in his two Grapefruit League starts. It looks intentional too, not like he’s missing spots. The target is set low and Schlittler’s really driving the ball down with a purpose. Here’s an example …
… and here are his four-seam fastball location heat maps:
It’s a tiny sample (29 four-seamers thrown this spring), so let’s not get too carried away. Guys try things in Spring Training all the time, including seeing how their pitches play in different parts of the zone. It could just be Schlittler seeing how hitters handle the low heat, and whether this is an option to get ground balls and potentially avoid extended at-bats (he had trouble with long at-bats at times last year).
Schlittler abandoned plans to develop a changeup or splitter over the winter and instead said he’s working on the orientation of his four-seamer, per Gary Phillips. A lot of this pitch data stuff is over my head, but different pitch shapes (i.e. spin, movement, etc.) play better in different parts of the zone. Schlittler and the Yankees may have tweaked his fastball in a way that helps it thrive low in the zone, not just up. (Maybe there is no tweak and it's a "you're 6-foot-6 and it looks like the ball is dropping out of the sky" thing.)
I don’t know if this is what’s happening. I just think it’s been noticeable that Schlittler is pitching down with his fastball. It’s not one or two pitches. He’s done it consistently in both starts. Usually it’s four-seamers up and sinkers down (two fastballs is all the rage these days) and Schlittler is pitching down with his sinker, but now he’s doing it with his four-seamer too. Not sure what to make of it. Compels me though.
Miscellany
Will Warren went 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR on 64 pitches against the Tigers on Thursday. His last two starts haven’t been televised, but there’s been a lot of chatter about how great he’s looked this spring. Velocity’s up, the changeup has more fade, and the sweeper is biting more. Warren shifted to the third base side of the rubber this spring and the early returns are very promising … Luis Gil velocity update: 95.6 mph average and 97.5 mph max Tuesday, which is in line with his previous start (it was down a tick, if anything). Also, 32 fastballs thrown and zero whiffs. Yeesh. If he gets outs, he gets outs, but I don’t feel great about Gil. We haven’t seen the electric Rookie of the Year winning fastball since 2024 … I did not realize this, but Max Schuemann is 6-for-17 (.353) with eight walks and three strikeouts this spring. He’s played every position except pitcher, catcher, and first base. Oswaldo Cabrera (ankle) is not expected to be ready for Opening Day. If the Yankees decide Ryan McMahon can’t hack it as the backup shortstop (he’s going to start another game at short soon), Schuemann’s performance is the kinda thing that can win him a bench spot.
Injury updates and roster notes
Gerrit Cole (elbow) threw 35 pitches in his latest live BP Thursday. He told Jack Curry there “will likely” be a conversation about pitching in a Grapefruit League game at some point. Tommy John surgery guys get up 60 days on a minor league rehab assignment, but Spring Training games don’t count. A spring game is a way to get Cole into a game without starting the rehab clock. If he does pitch this spring, I assure you it will be in a game YES is airing … As part of a series of roster moves, Tim Hill is joining USA for the World Baseball Classic and Ryan Yarbrough has been dropped from the roster. Yarbrough is already back with the Yankees and he told Curry the plan was always to pitch for USA in the first round, then be replaced on the roster. He threw 2.1 innings and 43 pitches in USA’s loss to Italy on Tuesday, and three innings and 31 pitches in one of USA’s exhibition games last week … Brendan Beck, Ben Hess, and George Lombard Jr. were sent to minor league camp this week. Beck threw four no-hit innings against Brazil in his WBC start for Great Britain the other day (video). I count 62 players still in big league camp, including the guys away at the WBC. That seems like a lot with Opening Day less than two weeks away … And finally, Brock Selvidge, my No. 17 prospect, had the internal brace procedure and will miss 2026, per Jonathan Mayo. Selvidge was up to 97 mph in his lone Grapefruit League appearance and sometimes big velocity spikes are followed by torn UCLs. So it goes. See you in 2027, Brock.
Up next
A full weekend of baseball. Four games in three days leading into Monday’s off-day. That’s the last off-day of Spring Training. The next off-day is the day after Opening Day. We’re getting close. Here’s what’s on the schedule this weekend (here’s the full broadcast schedule):
Friday: 1pm ET at Braves (Gray TV, MLBN, Gotham)
Saturday: 1pm ET vs. Phillies (NBC Sports Philly+, Gotham)
Sunday: 1pm ET vs. Tigers (split squad) (YES, Gotham)
Sunday: 6pm ET at Orioles (MASN)
Monday: off-day
Ryan Weathers starts today and Max Fried starts tomorrow. Gil lines up to start Sunday. Yarbrough lines up for Sunday and could start the other split squad game, or he could piggyback with Gil while a bunch of minor leaguers go on the road Sunday evening. The WBC has kept me occupied this last week, otherwise I’m ready for Spring Training to be over. Bring on the games that count.
2. Lagrange and the bullpen competition. Opening Day is less than two weeks away and I can’t say any of the many bullpen candidates have stood out and staked a claim to a roster spot. I see two open bullpen spots:
Closer: David Bednar
Setup: Fernando Cruz and Camilo Doval
Lefty: Tim Hill
Middle: ??? and ???
Long: Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough
Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest has flashed good stuff but hasn’t gotten results this spring, and he might need to get results to make the team. Jake Bird looked nasty early on but has gotten hit around the last few times out. For all his velocity and movement, Angel Chivilli just can’t seem to avoid the barrel. Brent Headrick has struck out nine of 19 batters and Aaron Boone raves about him, so maybe he gets a spot.
“I’m pretty high on him,” Boone told Greg Joyce. “I think he has the ability to match up against right and left. His stuff plays when he’s right, against righties as well. I think he’s really going to help us this year.”
Osvaldo Bido, Kervin Castro, and Yerry De Los Santos have all had good springs, though they strike me as longer shot Opening Day roster candidates. Right now, on March 12th, I would bet on Headrick and Winquest getting those last two bullpen spots, but I’m not super confident in that. Maybe the Yankees will bring in someone from outside the organization? Opt out dates are coming up pretty soon.
There’s also Carlos Lagrange, my No. 2 prospect. He was impressive yet again Wednesday, holding a bunch of Blue Jays’ minor leaguers to 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K on 42 pitches. He had to go to the bullpen afterward to reach his scheduled pitch count. Lagrange averaged – averaged! – 101.5 mph with his fastball. He topped out at 103.1 mph and his fastball bottomed out at 100.1 mph. Preposterous.
“He just continues to be really, really excellent,” Boone told Bryan Hoch. “This is all we’ve seen from his (live BPs), now carrying into games. Just getting to know him, we’re obviously excited about it.”
I’m sure the temptation to put Lagrange in the bullpen exists. He could almost certainly out-stuff Major League hitters right now, and when you’re trying to win the World Series, you should put your best and most talented players on the roster. I don’t know if Lagrange is one of the 13 best pitchers the Yankees have right now, but I think he’s one of the 13 most talented. It is a special, special arm.
There are pros and cons to putting Lagrange in the bullpen. The pros: You’re adding a 103 mph throwing behemoth (who can go multiple innings!) to the relief mix, and when is that ever a bad idea? The AL East race figures to be tight. Can the Yankees really afford to cycle through potentially lesser bullpen options in April and see what’s what, or should they put the very best team on the field on Day 1?
There’s also value in letting Lagrange figure things out in relief, presumably in a lower leverage role at first. Starters have broken into the big leagues as relievers for a century. Garrett Crochet, Max Fried, Freddy Peralta, Chris Sale, they all did it. The Yankees did it with Mike King and, in a roundabout way, with Luis Severino. Learn how to get outs as a reliever, then use that experience as a starter. It is tried-and-true player development.
And let’s be real, pitchers who throw as hard as Lagrange don’t have the best track record of staying on the field. If you believe he can help you win games in the big leagues right now, does it make sense to waste those bullets in the minors when you know the UCL monster is always one pitch away? There are two types of pitchers in this game: Pitchers who are injured and pitchers who aren’t injured yet.
The cons: You could stunt Lagrange’s development as a starter. I’m not sure the reliever to starter transition has ever been as successful as it is these days because teams have so many tools available to them. It’s not guaranteed to work though, and you’d hate to take away from Lagrange’s long-term value because you’re solving a problem that may not even exist. Who knows? The bullpen could be great!
“I think you want to find out and dream on his biggest upside: impactful starting pitcher,” Boone told Dan Martin. “There’s no denying he could be good out of the pen, but we’re certainly not gonna rush him to fill a need, especially early on. But as he logs some innings and it becomes a real need at some point, I think anything is possible.”
There are secondary concerns that nonetheless must be considered, such as tying up a 40-man roster spot before you have to. I don’t really care about that stuff, if you think a guy can help you win games, then put him on the roster and start his service time clock, but it is something the Yankees must consider. In the big picture, sending Lagrange down may be best for him and the Yankees in general.
I don’t feel strongly either way. If the Yankees put Lagrange in the bullpen on Opening Day, okay, cool, it’ll be fun and (probably) make them a better team. If the Yankees decide to stick with the plan and send him to the minors to continue working as a starter, I get that too. It is still Spring Training. We gotta be careful not to overreact and change a guy’s career path because of 9.2 Grapefruit League innings.
The Yankees have less than two weeks to figure out those two ??? spots in the bullpen. Hopefully it stays two ??? spots too, and a third (or fourth) doesn’t open up for whatever reason. Lagrange has really stood out this spring. The kid has the goods and I would be surprised if we don’t see him at some point in 2026. If it’s Opening Day, cool. My hunch is the Yankees stick with the plan, and he goes to the minors soon.
Mailbag Questions of the Week
Max asks: Ben Rice's xwOBA in 2025 was 97th percentile, better than the top 10 hitters who got votes for AL MVP not named Judge or Springer (!). He was the 8th best hitter by xwOBA in all of MLB. His actual wOBA was 36 points lower, placing him 36th best by actual results (still great out of ~400 hitters!). That ratio indicates the 8th biggest gap between his expected output and actual. What are the underlying numbers that tell us he was unlucky, vs someone who just underperforms their expected stats?
Set the minimum to 400 plate appearances and Rice had the fourth biggest gap between his AVG and xAVG last year, the 15th biggest between his SLG and xSLG, and the sixth biggest between his wOBA and xwOBA. In English, that means Rice underperformed based on the quality of his contact. Statcast’s expected stats say he deserved even better than his actual .255/.337/.499 (133 wRC+) line.
A few things about this. One, Statcast’s expected stats are descriptive, not predictive. They tell you what happened (or what should have happened), not what will happen. I know I’m guilty of this, but “his xSLG was higher than his SLG last year, so he'll be better this year” isn’t the proper way to use these stats. They are a different way to measure contact quality than straight exit velocity, barrel rate, etc.
Two, Statcast’s expected stats do not factor in batted ball direction, which I don’t get. They’re based on exit velocity and launch angle (and in some cases sprint speed), but do not consider whether the ball was pulled, hit the other way, etc. We know batted ball direction matters. Rice has the profile of someone who overperforms his x-stats as a big time pulled fly ball guy. Among qualified hitters:
2025 Pulled Fly Ball Rate1. Isaac Paredes: 38.5%2. Cal Raleigh: 38.4%3. Spencer Torkelson: 31.8%…26. Ben Rice: 25.2%(MLB average: 16.7%)
Rice isn’t Paredes or Raleigh (or Max Muncy) when it comes to pulling the ball in the air, but he was much higher than average last year. Guys who pull the ball in the air this much tend to have better actual stats than expected stats, not the opposite. As long as he continues to hit the ball like he did in 2025, I don’t think Rice is the kinda guy who consistently underperforms his contact quality. (Fernando Tatis Jr. has been a chronic x-stats underperformer the last three years for whatever reason.)
I hesitate to use the term “unlucky” because I watched Gary Sánchez smash balls right at defenders for three years. Sometimes hitters are predictable and easy to defend, even if they hit the ball as hard as anyone in the game. I do think there’s reason to believe Rice can be even better than he was in 2025. And you know what? If he levels out at his 2025 performance, that’s okay too. Rice was awesome.
Dan asks: James Paxton?
Now 37, Paxton came out of retirement to pitch for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. He had a great relief appearance in their must-win game against Cuba on Wednesday: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K (video). Statcast had his fastball sitting 94.4 mph and topping out at 97.1 mph. Paxton did not throw a pitch above 96.1 mph in 2024, his last MLB season. He looked really good Wednesday. It was pretty cool.
Canada pulled Paxton at 49 pitches (in an 0-2 count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth lol) to keep him in play for the quarterfinals game against USA tonight. If he’d thrown pitch No. 50, he would have required four days of rest, per the WBC rules. It’s only one mandatory day of rest for 30-49 pitches, so Paxton will be eligible to pitch against USA. I’m not sure he’ll throw 49 pitches again, but maybe?
As for signing him, I’m not even sure Paxton is looking for work. He retired after the 2024 season and announced it ahead of time. He’s not an unsigned free agent auditioning himself. There’s also a really big difference between airing it out in short bursts against a thin Cuba lineup and holding up for 162 games. Paxton was last an effective big leaguer with the Yankees in 2019. His final few years were rough.
It’s a little late in Spring Training to sign guys to minor league deals and see whether they can be Opening Day roster options, but Paxton has been pitching competitively, so he’s ready to go. I wouldn’t give him a guaranteed roster spot. If the WBC rekindles the fire and Paxton wants to try a comeback, and is willing to take a minor league deal, sure, let’s do it. (Paxton gave up three runs in 1.2 innings in his first WBC outing.)
Dave asks: Hey Mike, quick question on ABS. What happens if a batter checks his swing during a pitch? Can he still challenge if the ump calls a strike on location but rules he didn't go around? How does he know whether or not the ump called a strike on the location or the swing in time to challenge or not? Hope this makes sense.
That’s a great question. The hitter will just have to wait until the umpire clarifies the call, right? You can't challenge if you don't know the call. Most of the time there is a verbal call along with the hand signal, so the hitter should hear the umpire say swing or strike. You know this will come up at some point. A hitter will try to challenge, the umpire will say it’s too late, the hitter will argue it wasn’t clear that he called it on the swing or in the zone, etc. It is inevitable.
Steve asks: During your post in CC’s number retirement you talked about not running out of numbers. And if they did, they’d go to triple digits. Is that allowed now? What’s the rule on numbers for jerseys? Can someone pick three digits? Can someone pick 0.5? Or pie, 3.14? Etc?
Players can, technically, wear any number, including triple digits and decimals and fractions. Eddie Gaedel famously wore No. 1/8 during his appearance on Aug. 19th, 1951.
Rule 3.03(a) is the only rule that covers uniform numbers and it says “All players on a team shall wear uniforms identical in color, trim and style, and all players’ uniforms shall include minimal six-inch numbers on their backs.” As long as the number is six inches in size (i.e. easy to read), you can wear whatever you want. Teams and players (in all sports) stick with 0-99 because it’s traditional, basically.
Every so often a winter ball highlight makes its way into my social media feeds and some of those guys wear triple digits. I don’t know if that’s because the team is short on numbers or because the player wants to wear triple digits, but they do it. I don’t think it’ll happen during our lifetimes, but eventually an MLB player will wear triple digits. When it happens, some people will call that player a clown, then the sun will come up in the morning and those people will move on to complaining about the next thing.
Paul asks: Judge will likely be the last Yankee to wear #99. I can't imagine them reissuing it after him and it will eventually be retired. Sadly, he's the 3rd player to wear the number (after Charlie Keller and Brian Bruney). Are there any players to have their number retired after being the ONLY person to wear it?
Oh yeah, No. 99 is 100% getting retired, even if Aaron Judge never wins a World Series. The Yankees have 23 retired numbers and one has been worn by only one player: No. 4. In 1929, the Yankees became the first team to permanently adopt uniform numbers. Lou Gehrig had been a lineup staple since 1925. The Yankees issued him No. 4* in 1929, and no one else has worn it.
* Back then numbers corresponded to lineup spot, hence No. 3 for Babe Ruth and No. 4 for Gehrig. The Yankees didn’t retire No. 3 until 1948. Seven players wore it after Ruth, which seems crazy.
I went through the rest of the league and found seven retired numbers that were worn by one person. Only three of the seven were worn on the field by players. The list:
Rays No. 12 (Wade Boggs): Retired because Boggs hit the first home run in franchise history, and also because the Rays were also trying to convince him to wear a Devil Rays cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.
Astros No. 32 (Jim Umbricht): Umbricht was an original Astro who played for the team in 1962 (their inaugural season) and 1963. He was diagnosed with cancer in Spring Training 1963 and died in April 1964. The team retired the number to honor him.
Pirates No. 33 (Honus Wagner): Wagner played before uniform numbers were a thing. No. 33 was his number as a coach. He wore it the first year the Pirates began issuing numbers.
Mets No. 37 (Casey Stengel): Stengel was the first manager in Mets history. Similar to Wagner with the Pirates, no one had a chance to wear the number before him.
Rays No. 66 (Don Zimmer): Retired to honor Zimmer’s 66 years in baseball. He joined the Rays as an advisor in 2004 and no one wore it prior to him.
White Sox No. 72 (Carlton Fisk): An uncommon number that no one in White Sox history wore until Fisk showed up in 1981. He wore No. 72 because 1972 was a special year for him (won Rookie of the Year and his son was born).
Cardinals No. 85 (Gussie Busch): Busch bought the Cardinals in 1953. They retired No. 85 to honor him on his 85th birthday in 1984. It’s an uncommon number that was never issued previously.
Several players came close to joining this list. Mel Ott (Giants No. 4), Carl Hubbell (Giants No. 11), Todd Helton (Rockies No. 17), Tony Gwynn (Padres No. 19), Luis Gonzalez (Diamondbacks No. 20), Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks No. 51), and Don Drysdale (Dodgers No. 53) all have their numbers retired and were the second player in franchise history to wear that number.
Alex asks: If team USA or team DR had access to the league average roster depth / AAA team what would their record be over a 162 game season? Conversely, what would the worst WBC team record be?
The worst team is easy: Czechia has sub-replacement level talent and is closer to a college team than an MLB team. In their four World Baseball Classic games this year, their pitchers hit 90 mph 25 times and their hitters produced a 95 mph exit velocity 16 times. Other than journeyman Terrin Vavra, it’s a team of regular guys with regular jobs outside baseball. They wouldn’t go 0-162, but 20-142? I could see it.
The Dominican Republic has the top end talent, no doubt, but their depth doesn’t match USA’s. USA has had to ration playing time to get Gunnar Henderson and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the starting lineup. The Dominican Republic has Erik Gonzalez and Junior Lake, two guys who haven’t played in MLB in years, on their bench. USA has a higher internal replacement level, if that makes sense.
I know USA embarrassed themselves against Italy, but that’s one game, and even the best teams will lose games now and then (and look bad doing it). Overall, I think USA has the best roster top to bottom. For this hypothetical, the question I have is do the Yankees lose Aaron Judge if he’s on USA? Or does USA get a Judge clone? Take these players off their MLB team, and it’ll inflate USA’s win total. Let’s assume it’s a team of clones.
Let’s use ZiPS projections to get an idea of the talent level. I’m going to make my life easy and prorate playing time since USA has a 30-man roster and 16-man pitching staff, which MLB teams do not have. Here’s what I get (here’s my spreadsheet):
Position players: +57.3 WAR in 8,138 PA
Pitchers: +33.3 WAR in 1,764.1 IP
The average team took 6,098 plate appearances last year. USA does not have an average offense. It will score a lot of runs and put a lot of guys on base, and thus get more plate appearances. For simplicity’s sake, let’s go with 6,098 plate appearances. Prorate that +57.3 WAR down and you get +42.9 WAR. Would you believe that wouldn’t be the highest in MLB this century? Or even second highest?
Top Position Player WAR in the 2000s1. 2001 Mariners: +44.4 WAR2. 2019 Astros: +43.2 WAR3. 2023 Braves: +41.3 WAR4. 2022 Dodgers: +37.3 WAR5. 2011 Yankees: +36.9 WAR
The average team threw 1,436 innings last year and innings are innings. A great pitching staff will face fewer batters because they’re getting lots of outs, but they still have to throw the same number of innings. Anyway, prorate that +33.3 WAR down and we get +27.1 WAR in 1,436 innings. That would be seventh best this century. The 2017 Guardians led the way at +30.4 WAR from their pitchers.
My method is extremely simplistic but we’re not splitting atoms here. It’s just a mailbag question. Add it up and you get +70.0 WAR from USA. By WAR, the best team this century is the 2019 Astros at +68.6 WAR. That team got a sign-stealing boost and won 107 games. I think USA would push 118 wins or so. There is an upper limit to these things. We saw it the other night against Italy. Winning 130 or 140 games just isn’t a thing the sport allows to happen as long as the talent levels are reasonably even.
Bill asks: Why doesn't the MLB adopt an nhl type 4 nations type tournament every 2-3 years instead of the normal all star game? Have Japan/USA/DR and like a world team for the 4th and play a few games over a full week. Pitchers would be more inclined to participate since they'd be in mid season form and not still ramping up like they are in the WBC. Reduce the MLB season that year to like 158 games to accommodate the extra time for it and I think it would be a great thing for the MLB to incorporate
We’re probably gonna get something exactly like this with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. There’s a ton of stuff to work through (logistics, insurance, etc.) but the players want to play in the Olympics and Rob Manfred wants it to happen too (when both sides want something, it tends to happen). Games are set for July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium and MLB would not play an All-Star Game and instead have a 10-14 day Olympic break, I assume. If it goes well, I’m sure there will be a push to make it a regular thing, including possibly moving the World Baseball Classic to midseason. There’s just no good time for the WBC. You either need a smaller WBC field or a much longer break to make it work midseason, neither of which is great. I’m on board with shortening the season in WBC years and moving it to late March so guys are built up closer to Opening Day form. We would get the best baseball with a midseason WBC. It’s just asking a lot of everyone not playing in the WBC to pause their season for 2-3 weeks in the middle of July.
(Send your questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for if/when it returns.)