Happy Monday, everyone. It has been a very interesting week for an old friend, as Nick Castellanos was released by the Phillies—for some potentially interesting reasons—and will move on to the Padres and a brand new position on the field.
We’ve got other Phillies news, as well, with Bryce Harper being as candid as even when talking about Dave Dombrowski. Harper was also joined by Manny Machado in sharing his positive feelings about the Dodgers’ bold spending strategy. Go figure that players have no qualms about teams spending big bucks on massive contracts.
Plenty of other little tidbits as we get into the first week of Spring Training, so let’s just jump right into i.
- Michael Baumann looks at the top college teams to be aware of this year.
- Jared Greenspan looks at the 15 hitters to keep an eye during Spring Training.
- Todd Zolecki brings us Bryce Harper’s unfiltered response to Dave Dombrowski’s comments about him.
- AJ Cassavell reports that old friend Nick Castellanos will be trying out a new position this season: first base.
- Tim Capurso looks at how things managed to go south between the Phillies and Castellanos.
- It might have had something to do with a certain beer incident… Story by Ryan Phillips.
- Gosh, I love a vintage baseball story.
- Tarik Skubal isn’t satisfied just being one of the greatest pitchers of a generation. He wants to add “barista” to his skillset, too. Story by Jason Beck.
- Speaking of the Tigers, Riley Greene had an incredible 2025 season, but he’s hoping to make it even better this year, by cutting back on his strikeouts. Story by Jason Beck.
- Brent Maguire assesses some players who could help get their teams back into the postseason.
- Jesse Rogers reports that Manny Machado thinks the Dodgers’ spending is good for baseball.
- The 2026 Spring Training survey. Story by Jayson Stark. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- A look at some players trying out a new position the first time.
- Anthony Castrovince shares the most stacked positions in baseball currently.
- Bryan McTaggart reports that the Astros have signed the son of a team legend to a minor league deal.
- Anthony DiComo brings us peace between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor who are said to have put their clubhouse issues in the past.
- Reports indicate that Emmanuel Clase rigged a pitch in the postseason. Story by Mike Vorkunov and Zack Meisel. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- This is a pretty rad baseball tattoo.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.