A quick note to start today’s TBNL: Much of my attention over the last week has been directed towards an offseason review/season preview series. Let’s just say, I got an idea in my head and ran with it, even when it wound up faaaaar bigger than I thought. The entire National League has been written (clocking in just shy of 11,000 words). The American League is next. I have a tentative publishing schedule for these, but I have to write the rest first. Stay tuned!

Yusniel Padron-Artiles spent four seasons pitching in the Red Sox minor league system after the club selected him in the 22nd round of the 2018 Draft out of a Miami-area junior college. The Cuban-born right-hander posted a 5.11 ERA over 317.1 IP in 81 appearances (including 49 starts), while striking out 353 hitters (10.0 K/9) and walking 85 (2.4 BB/9). A torn ACL in his left knee during winter ball in the 2022-23 offseason effectively ended his career.

Deputies from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Padron-Artiles’ Hialeah home on Feb. 19, according to a report from NBC6 South Florida’s Briana Trujillo. 48 bags of cocaine, two firearms, and other paraphernalia were found in the search. Padron-Artiles was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking, and the 28-year-old remains in custody in Miami.

Dan Serafini made 104 appearances over a seven-year career in the big leagues, posting a 6.04 ERA (76 ERA+) in 263.2 IP. The left-hander had originally been the 26th overall pick in the 1992 Draft by the Twins, but the results on the mound never matched that promise.

Serafini was arrested following a two-year investigation into the 2021 home invasion and death of Robert Spohr, his father-in-law. Serafini reportedly “snuck into” the family’s Lake Tahoe home, shooting Spohr in the head, and also shooting Wendy Wood, his mother-in-law. Wood survived the attack following extensive rehab, but would take her own life a year later.

Last July, a California court found Serafini guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder. This past week, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

It didn’t get a lot of attention at the time, but ESPN announced plans in late February to expand its partnership with the Savannah Bananas. The network aired 10 of the Bananas’ games last summer, averaging more than 500,000 viewers (peaking on July 5 at Fenway Park with more than 837,000 viewers).

That number is set to increase to 25 in 2026, according to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel. No details have been reported on how much ESPN is paying for this new expanded rights package.

Coming off a massively successful 2025 season, the “Bananaball” league is set to expand from four teams to six this season.

One of the country’s oldest ballparks — Birmingham, Alabama’s Rickwood Field — was once the home to one of the most successful franchises in the Negro American League. The Double-A Birmingham Barons played at least one game there each season from 1996 through 2016 (and again in 2018 and 2019).

Rickwood Field underwent major renovations in 2023 so that MLB could hold a game there in June 2024 between the Cardinals and Giants (St. Louis won 6-5). Giants legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays started his pro career at Rickwood Field with the Birmingham Black Barons, playing with the team from 1948 to 1950. One of baseball’s biggest stars died at age 93 the night before the Cards/Giants game was scheduled.

Minor league baseball will return to Rickwood Field this spring, with the Barons (White Sox) set to host the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins) on May 27.

Matt Manning’s venture overseas has ended abruptly. The 28-year-old right-hander experienced elbow discomfort following his first exhibition outing with the Samsung Lions. Per reports out of Korea, Manning was sent back to the US for further evaluation, where it was determined that he will need to undergo surgery. It’s not clear if he’ll need a full Tommy John surgery or an alternate procedure.

Eight members of Cuba’s World Baseball Classic delegation — mostly “support staff”, per reports, but the group includes Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, the president and secretary general of Cuba’s baseball federation, and Pedro Luis Lazo, a former star pitcher in the country who was set to serve as pitching coach in the WBC — will not be able to join the team in Puerto Rico for the tournament’s opening round after being denied visas. Despite reports that Cuba may consider withdrawing from the WBC entirely, the team will still compete.

The Texas Longhorns beat the Baylor Bears by a 5-2 score on Saturday, pushing the team to a 10-0 record to start the season. The win was the 1,000th of head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s career. One of college baseball’s winningest coaches (only six others have reached the 1,000-win mark), Schlossnagle is in just his second season at Texas. The Longhorns were 44-14 last season.