The 2026 MLB season officially gets underway on Wednesday night, with the Yankees visiting the Giants. The rest of the league begins action on Thursday.
There is no better time to make some predictions for the upcoming season that are 100% sure to be spot-on accurate at season’s end.
AL Rookie of the Year: Kevin McGonigle, Detroit
NL Rookie of the Year: Sal Stewart, Cincinnati
AL Cy Young Award: Garret Crochet, Boston
NL Cy Young Award: Logan Webb, San Francisco
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto
NL MVP: Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona
…..
AL East: Toronto, New York, Boston, Baltimore, Tampa Bay
AL Central: Detroit, Kansas City, Cleveland, Minnesota, Chicago
AL West: Seattle, Texas, Athletics, Houston, Los Angeles
NL East: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals
NL Central: Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds, Cardinals
NL West: Dodgers, Giants, D-backs, Padres, Rockies
Best regular-season record: Milwaukee
Worst regular-season record: L.A. Angels
…
ALCS: Detroit vs. Seattle
NLCS: Milwaukee vs. Los Angeles
Frank Thomas is suing the White Sox
Frank Thomas spent 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, slashing .307/.427/.568 (161 OPS+) with 448 home runs. The two-time AL MVP was among the best sluggers in the club’s history, but Thomas’s relationship with the franchise has soured in recent years.
Thomas was openly critical of the club just last month after they failed to include him in graphics celebrating Black History Month that were shared on the team’s social media accounts in early February.
Now, it appears Thomas is suing the club and several retailers (including Fanatics and Dick’s Sporting Goods) over the alleged unauthorized use of his name and likeness. The suit claims that the club and retailers behind selling White Sox merchandise have repeatedly used his name, likeness, and uniform number in ads promoting the team’s new City Connect 2.0 jerseys. Thomas’s claim states that they are doing so without his permission and that he hasn’t received any compensation.
Former MLB players are typically still covered by the MLBPA in matters like this (unless a player has withdrawn completely from the union, as Barry Bonds did towards the end of his playing career — the reason why Bonds no longer appeared in MLB-licensed video games and other places). It’s unclear if Thomas opted out under similar circumstances.
Daniel Robert collapses for a second time in five months
Phillies right-hander Daniel Robert collapsed after throwing his final bullpen session of the 2025 season just before Halloween. The Phillies’ training staff acted quickly, performing CPR and using a defibrillator to save Robert’s life. He would have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator installed after. (Either this news wasn’t widely reported at the time, or I just totally missed it with the postseason going on.)
The 31-year-old Robert got back on a mound for the first time on Sunday, throwing a bullpen session in front of coaches and roughly 15 teammates. Robert collapsed after finishing his session, suffering a second cardiac event in the last five months. According to details from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes, Robert was unconscious for roughly five minutes while the Phillies medical staff attended to him. He then walked out of the complex to an ambulance on his own.
Robert was examined at a nearby hospital, which included testing of his ICD, and he was released. There have been no indications yet when Robert may get back on a mound.
WBC auctions close with some notable highs
Numerous items were made available via MLB Auctions during this year’s World Baseball Classic — everything from game-worn jerseys and helmets, locker room nameplates, and other items. Several sold for notable prices:
Shohei Ohtani’s jersey from Japan’s 13-0 win over Chinese Taipei (Ohtani was 3-for-4 with a 2B, grand slam, and 5 RBI) sold for a record-setting $1,500,010.
The previous high for a game-worn Ohtani jersey, per The Athletic: $249,999 for a 2024 Dodgers jersey that he signed with “24 NL MVP”.
A game-worn Ohtani jersey from the 2023 WBC sold for $126,110, per MLB.com.
Team Italy’s espresso machine had a bid as high as $5,030.00 on Monday (with the auction set to end in six hours). The final price jumped over those final few hours to $16,510.
Thanks to Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino posting on Twitter, there’s more to the story behind the espresso machine being auctioned off. Funds from the sale are being directed to the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center. Pasquantino called it “a group decision because this center has helped some people who are a part of our team”.
A few other notables:
A Munetaka Murakami game-worn jersey sold for more than $8,500.
A ball from an Ohtani RBI single sold for $8,000.
Bryce Harper’s jersey from Team USA’s 15-5 win over Brazil (Harper was 1-for-5 with an RBI and a walk) was selling for $5,510 as of Tuesday morning (with six hours to go).
The Dominican Republic’s home run celebration jacket from their semifinal game against Team USA has a bid of over $22,000 as of Tuesday (with 10 hours of bidding remaining).
A game-used lineup card from the US dugout in the same game is available for $2,510 (also ending Tuesday).
Seiya Suzuki’s game-worn hat from Japan’s semifinal vs. Venezuela (Suzuki walked, then left the game after injuring his knee trying to steal second) was selling for $1,860 (with six hours to go).
Paul Skenes’s locker room nameplate is selling for $1,210 (ending Tuesday).
Maikel Garcia’s nameplate (the WBC MVP) is selling for $470 (ending Tuesday).
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s is at $910 (ending Tuesday).
Around the sport ….
SSG Landers left-hander Kwang-hyun Kim will miss the 2026 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, according to reports out of Korea. The 37-year-old is in the final season of his deal with the Landers, but hopes to return to the mound next season. Kim is one of the KBO’s winningest pitchers, currently ranking third in league history with 180 wins. Kim also has a 3.43 ERA over 2321.2 IP across his 16-year career in Korea. He was 10-7 with a 2.97 ERA in 145.2 IP for the St. Louis Cardinals between the 2020 and 2021 seasons.