Quote from Randy Manese on February 23, 2026, 11:29 am

I'll take Castellanos at half the price.  Both, however, have declined quickly over the past couple of years.

Quote from fenn68 on February 23, 2026, 11:55 am

Hoskins over the past couple of seasons has hit better than Castellanos BUT is often injured missing a lot of games.

I suspect a lot of teams don't get excited over an aging, oft injured, declining performance DH who may play passable 1B (or not). That role ... with that performance ... often presents other options. No longer can command a larger paycheck.

Castellanos does stay healthy ... but really has not shown he can field anywhere and has been an average to below average hitter over the past couple of years.

We have seen over the past few years that DH/1B only profile falling out of favor across the league unless that player can be a top flight hitter.

I guess I would go with Castellanos over Hoskins ... but not sold on either over a 162 games season even at minimal risk cost.

Quote from MrPadre19 on February 23, 2026, 11:57 am

Quote from Randy Manese on February 23, 2026, 11:29 am

I'll take Castellanos at half the price.  Both, however, have declined quickly over the past couple of years.

Hoskins is an actual firstbaseman though.

Was thinking instead of France....but AJ must have his reasons for not bringing him in.

But they're all a shot in the dark.

Who knows which still has something left?

Hopefully at least one of the guys we brought in does.

Miranda is a professional hitter, so I'm guessing he shows out the best offensively this spring.

 

Quote from fenn68 on February 23, 2026, 2:32 pm

Have a long ST to sort the options but would not limit the final call on that last spot to Castellanos, France, Miranda. IF (big IF) Andujar shows he can handle 1B (to platoon with Sheets) ...  he may be NOW be the best hitter of the bunch ... that may open up that last spot  for a non-1B/DH ... especially if they really want the DH to be heavily used as a rotation spot for regulars.

 

 

Quote from Randy Manese on February 24, 2026, 7:23 am

A month away from opening day and encouraged by the options for bench/DH/1b roles.   Looks like Andujar, Campusano and Song have 3 spots locked down but the competition appears strong for the other spots.   We have the rest of ST to see who continues to be hot and who lets the pressure get to them as they see an improvement in the quality of pitching against them.  Hope we can hang on to our minor league options if one or more don't make the 40 man.

On the other hand, SP still remains somewhat of a mystery.  Not seen any of the top 3 but hoping all are fully healthy and just ramping up without setback.  From what we have seen, Vasquez and Waldron looked decent but Sears and McKenzie not so much.  Small sample size but really would like a peek at Marquez, Canning and Buehler soon to see if any have something left.  Of the new arms, I like what I've seen of Boyle and Hawkins, the latter looks solid as depth to an already formidable bullpen.

Don't think Preller is done and we still don't know what's happening with Darvish's contract so hang onto your hats for the next 30 days - could be a wild ride!  Never know with Preller!

Quote from fenn68 on February 24, 2026, 8:05 am

It is still early hype season ... so hearing from Niebla that basically everyone in the mix for the last SP slot is looking exceptional. (no idea what constitutes exceptional at this point).

Canning - Marquez - Buehler - Gonzalez have been commented on in a positive light (would not expect otherwise).

I have Canning (if / when full healthy for Achilles) as the top candidate for #5. What is a bit of a surprise is the positive comments on Marquez who has been poor for two season (both in COLO and on the road). Both are on the 40 man so somewhat an inside track. Buehler (non-roster and will opt out of his minor league contract at the end of ST in not on the 26 man) ... that could be a factor if he looks good (maybe a long RP/spot starter?). Just question the positives on Gonzalez who has not pitched much for two years ... soft tossing control pitcher ...

To fit the 26 man roster and not lose arms early ... easy to see Sears optioned and the likes of Hoeing not activated to the 26 man ... but still overstock of arms that can't be optioned (and in most cases can't be traded as FA signings before June 15 ... without their approval). Hard to see Waldron and/or Marinaccio making the cut even if out of options.

Still in the next 4 weeks ... injuries and ineffectiveness will do a lot to cull the crop ... don't really see Preller dealing away a SP (at least the ones he can).

Quote from BoosterSD on February 24, 2026, 9:37 am

I think we have discussed earlier; however, you would think that McCoy is a lock to make the 26 man roster as he is the only legit SS back up, correct?

Bogaerts through no fault of his own, broken shoulder 2024 and broken foot 2025, has not made over 150 starts since his inaugural season with SD in 2023. Should he sustain another IL type injury, our only option is McCoy?

Or in case of a 30 or so game injury, would you slide Machado to SS and have some combo of Song, Andujar, Castellanos, or Miranda cover 3B? Would you bring Merrill or Tatis come into SS and have Johnson cover CF/RF?

Quote from sportwarrior on February 24, 2026, 10:35 am

Haven't seen this mentioned, but McKenzie, who was averaging like 91mph on his fastball the last few years, was back up to 96-98mph in his first ST appearance. Yeah, results weren't there, but he's obviously feeling better than he has in his down years in CLE. Worth noting since that velo was part of his success pre-injury.

Quote from Randy Manese on February 24, 2026, 10:50 am

No, McCoy will only be an emergency back-up if Bogaerts has a long-term injury otherwise expect to see Cronenworth as the fill-in for short periods both to rest Bogaerts and if Bogey is injured.  McCoy is a zero at the plate and I actually like Acuna better than McCoy.  In my opinion, if Acuna continues to show well, at toss-up between he and McCoy for a 30 game or so injury.  Acuna has had his own injury problems in the past, but when healthy, a spark plug at the plate and in the field who also can steal a base or two.

Song and Andujar have never played shortstop professionally.  Of those other non-roster types competing for a spot on the 40 man, Samad Taylor played 24 games at shortstop as recently as 2024 in the PCL while Miranda played a few, very few, in his career.  Another reason to look at Taylor as not only the replacement for Bryce Johnson in the OF but because he can play all around the infield; besides a much more accomplished base stealer than Johnson.

Don't think we'll see former shortstops Machado, Tatis or Merrill in a shortstop role - they are key to the positions they play and would adversely affect their regular position more than plugging in Acuna, McCoy or Taylor.