• 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins), one of the hottest hitters in baseball, homered for the fifth time in 6 games on April 13, a 3-run, pinch-hit shot to dead center field that helped Miami tame the Nationals 11-4. The 26-year-old is averaging one HR every 6.8 at-bats, the best rate of any Major Leaguer hitter with at least 5 home runs (4/14/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) was named A.L. Player of the Week after hitting .407 (11-for-27) with 2 HRs, 5 doubles, 10 RBIs, and a 1.263 OPS from March 31 to April 6. “Just trying to get it started early and fast,” Bregman told MLB Tonight. “Last few years started pretty slow” (4/14/2025)
  • RHP Aaron Davenport (Guardians/AA) was “flat out sensational” in his second start of the season, a 4-3 win over the Pirates affiliate on April 12. Davenport gave up just one hit and no walks over 5 scoreless innings, struck out 5 batters, and accomplished all of it in just 59 pitches (4/14/2025)
  • RF Zach Levenson and RHP Tanner Jacobson teamed up to help the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals/High-A) defeat the South Bend Cubs on April 13. Levenson reached based 5 times in the 11-9 win, going 3-for-4 with a double, 2 walks, and 2 RBIs. Jacobson sealed the victory with a perfect 9th inning, retiring the side on just 10 pitches to earn a save (4/14/2025)
  • Yeshiva University’s baseball team broke its 100-game losing streak with a 9-5 win in Game 2 of a doubleheader on April 8. The team’s victory came at the expense of Lehman College, whose Game 1 victory over the Maccabees had ended its own losing streak at 42 games (4/14/2025)
  • Newly-minted Bostonian Alex Bregman (Red Sox) made quite a splash in a Fenway Park doubleheader on April 6. The third baseman began the day by showing off his trademark plate discipline: after facing a 1-and-2 count against RHP Andre Pallante (Cardinals), he stretched the at-bat to 10 pitches and ended up drawing a walk. Boston ended up winning 5-4 in 10 innings, with Bregman going 0-for-4 at the plate. But he more than made up for that disappointment with a career day in Game 2, going 4-for-5 with a 3-run home run that traveled 411 feet over the center-field wall, 2 doubles, and 6 RBIs in an 18-7 thrashing of St. Louis. It marked the seventh 4-hit game of Bregman’s career and the second time he has driven in 6 runs (4/7/2025)
  • RHP Jake Bird (Rockies) was stellar in a 12-5 win over Oakland on April 6, striking out 5 of his batters he faced over 2 perfect innings to earn a hold, and needing just 25 pitches to do so. In 4 appearances this season, Bird has allowed just one hit and one walk over 5 scoreless innings while striking out 7 batters (4/7/2025)
  • Jordan Jaffe, a junior 1B/3B at the U. of Richmond, is blistering opposing pitchers this season. The California native is hitting .408 (53-for-130) with 8 HRs, 15 doubles, 42 RBIs, OBP of .470, and 1.193 OPS. Those stats ranking him in the Top 50 of all D-1 hitters in both batting average and RBIs per game, and tie him for #9 with 0.50 doubles per game (4/7/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins) broke out in a big way in a 4-0 shutout of the Braves on April 5, going 3-for-5 with 2 dingers and 3 RBIs. The homers, his first in a Miami uniform, made Mervis the 18th MLB hitter this season to record a multi-HR game. “I was never discouraged,” said Mervis, who entered the day 2-for-15 with 7 strikeouts, in an post-game interview. “The confidence is always there. I’ve been doing really good work with the hitting coaches, just really waiting for it to click. And then today, it finally did.” Mervis’s second HR traveled 421 feet (4/6/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) tossed 5.2 innings of one-run ball to earn his first win as a Yankee, a 9-4 triumph over the Pirates on April 4. Fried, who signed an 8-year, $218-million deal with New York during the offseason, gave up 6 hits and one walk while striking out 6 batters. He also picked off a runner at first base (4/6/2025)
  • CF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) hit a pinch single, stole second base, and scored what proved to be the winning run in a 6-4 victory over the Rays. Teammate Joc Pederson went 0-for-3 (4/5/2025)
  • C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies/AAA), who failed to make Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster for the first time since 2021, went 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs in a 10-1 win over the Cardinals affiliate on April 5 (4/6/2025)
  • RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AAA) tossed 2 scoreless innings of relief in a 7-4 loss to the Mets affiliate on April 5, giving up one hit and no walks while fanning three batters (4/6/2025)
  • RF Hunter Bishop (Giants/AAA) hit his first home run of the season on April 4, a 416-foot bomb off an 84.5-mph changeup, but his team went on to lose 6-4 to the Athletics affiliate (4/6/2025)
  • 1B Lyle Miller-Green (White Sox/Single-A) went 2-for-5 with a double and a solo HR for a 3-1 lead in his 2025 debut, but his team ended up losing 7-4 to the Rangers affiliate on April 4 (4/6/2025)
  • RHP Daniel Federman (Orioles/High-A) tossed 2 innings of scoreless relief and earned a hold in a 12-inning, 4-3 loss to the Rangers affiliate on April 4, yielding one hit and no walks while striking out one batter in his 2025 debut (4/6/2025)
  • RHP Ben Simon (Mets/High-A) and RHP Tanner Jacobson (Cardinals/High-A) were perfect in their 2025 debuts on April 5. Simon struck out 3 batters over 1.1 innings in a 15-1 crushing of the Nationals affiliate, while Jacobson struck out one batter over 1.1 innings in an 8-6 defeat to the Royals affiliate (4/6/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman clubbed his first Red Sox home run, a 2-run, 1st-inning shot that gave Boston a 2-0 lead en route to an 8-4 victory in Baltimore on April 3. Bregman later doubled twice and drove in a third run; check out his post-game interview. Today at 2:00pm ET, Bregman will play his very first Fenway Park game in a Red Sox uniform (4/4/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins) smacked a 3-run HR in a 6-1 win over the White Sox on April 2, giving him 3 HRs and 8 RBIs in his first 19 ABs of the season. Bader is tied for #3 in the MLB in both home runs and RBIs (4/4/2025)
  • LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA), who came thisclose to making Houston’s starting rotation on Opening Day, followed up on a strong 2025 debut with an even better second start, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings on 2 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts in a 7-1 triumph over the Rays’ affiliate on April 3. Gordon is 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 0.68 WHIP over 10.1 innings (4/4/2025)
  • Former MLB southpaw Kenny Rosenberg, who signed a $700,000, one-year contract with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization during the offseason, was dominant in a 9-3 win over the SSG Landers on March 28. The only foreign pitcher on the team, Rosenberg — backed by a HR and 2 RBIs from teammate and former MLB RF Yasiel Puig — yielded 2 earned runs over 7 innings on 4 hits, 9 strikeouts, and one walk. Rosenberg’s second start of the season was a vast improvement over his first, when he was given the honor of being his team’s Opening Day starter but got badly rocked (4/4/2025)
  • RHP Robert Stock (Red Sox), a former MLB’er who spent 2024 in the Mexican Baseball League, tossed 4.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in a 2-0 victory over the Marlins affiliate on April 2. Stock gave up just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out six (4/4/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins), who entered the game as a defensive substitute in the 7th inning, hit a 3-run HR in his only at-bat on April 1, a 9th-inning shot that put the finishing touches on an 8-3 win over the White Sox. Bader is hitting .250 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs in just 12 ABs (4/2/2025)
  • Three Jewish relievers earned Triple-A wins on April 1. RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AAA), appearing for the second time since being promoted, tossed 1.2 no-hit innings in a 6-2 victory over the Mets’ affiliate, yielding one walk while striking out 3 batters. LHP Jared Shuster (White Sox/AAA) earned his second win in a 4-3 triumph over the Orioles’ affiliate, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings despite giving up 3 hits and a walk. Meanwhile, RHP Zack Weiss (Cardinals/AAA) was on the winning end of a 13-6 trouncing of the Blue Jays’ affiliate, giving up one earned run on 2 hits over 2.1 innings while striking out 3 batters (4/1/2025)
  • DH Joc Pederson (Rangers) reached base in 3 of 4 plate appearances in a 1–0 squeaker over the Reds on April 1, stroking a 1st-inning double and later drawing a walk and HBP (4/2/2025)
  • The Phillies might have demoted fan favorite Garrett Stubbs to Triple-A, but the catcher — known in the Philadelphia clubhouse as the Chief Vibes Officer and go=to D.J. — remains beloved everywhere. On March 28, he appeared on the cover of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ digital game program, Pork Illustrated. “Chief Bacon Officer: Stubbs arrives in Piggyland,” the headline read (4/2/2025)
  • Jewish Baseball News reader Scott Sherman recently wrote on Substack about the Jewish obsession with baseball — and with Jewish baseball players. Key evidence, he argues, includes the proliferation of books on Jewish ballplayers. Jane Leavy, author of a well-respected Sandy Koufax biography, told Sherman that “baseball is the most writerly sport” (4/2/2025)
  • Six Jewish hitters took swings on March 27, MLB’s Opening Day. Remarkably, all six were playing their first game for a new franchise, having signed free-agent contracts during the offseason. LF Harrison Bader, batting 9th for the Twins, stood out by going 2-for-4 with a 394-foot solo HR and a double, although Minnesota ended up losing 5-3 to St. Louis, his former team. CF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) also made an impression in a game that featured a total of 3 Jews, including Texas teammate Joc Pederson, who lined out to center in a pinch-hit at-bat, and Red Sox 3B Alex Bregman, who went 0-for-4. Pillar drove in the first run of the game — and of the Rangers’ season — with an RBI single in the 2nd inning, and he singled again in the 4th inning, ending the day 2-for-3 with one RBI, but Boston ultimately prevailed 5-2. Pillar also made a crowd-pleasing catch in center (3/28/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried will make his Yankees debut March 29 in a 1:00pm ET game against the Brewers. He will face off against LHP Nestor Cortes, who was drafted by the Yankees back in 2013 (3/28/2025)
  • JBN reader Henry Schipper recently published The Ball Dreams of the Sky, a book of autobiographical poems that touch on his parents’ experience as Holocaust survivors. The collection’s back cover includes favorable reviews from three notable Jews: Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, an author of many books on athletes; MLB official historian John Thorn, who was born in a displaced-persons camp to Holocaust survivors; and retired MLB great Shawn Green (3/28/2025)
  • It’s Opening Day of the 2025 season, and yesterday two MLB teams made last-minute Jewish additions to their rosters. Both players were free agents who signed minor-league deals in February 2025. CF Kevin Pillar, who hit .273 (12-for-44) with a HR, 9 RBIs, and .706 OPS during Spring Training, will join the Rangers. 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners), who hit .298 (14-for-47) with 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, and a .894 OPS, will play for the Mariners (3/27/2025)
  • 2B Zack Gelof (Athletics) will miss the start of the 2025 regular season due to an injury suffered when he was hit by a pitch on March 19. Gelof, who hit .297 (11-for-37) this spring with 2 HRs, 8 RBIs and an .881 OPS, underwent surgery on his right wrist March 24 to repair a hamate fracture. He could be out several months (3/27/2025)
  • Until yesterday (March 26), the Red Sox had not revealed where 3B Alex Bregman — who won a Gold Glove last year with Houston — would play on the field. But Red Sox manager Alex Cora has now confirmed that Bregman will be the team’s everyday third baseman, while Rafael Devers, who had been fighting for the slot, will serve as designated hitter (3/27/2025)
  • We missed it: on March 10, two Jewish farmhands homered for the same MLB team in the same game. 1B Matt Mervis (AAA) put the Marlins ahead 1-0 in the 1st inning with a solo shot. Later, teammate Michael Snyder (Single-A), a 2024 draftee out of the U. of Oklahoma, played hero: the third baseman’s solo HR in the bottom of the 9th inning tied the Nationals at 9-9, which is how the game ended. Snyder’s dinger came on a 78.6-mph slider from RHP Chase Solesky. Click here to watch a December 2024 interview with Snyder (3/27/2025)
  • Team Israel announced on March 20 that retired MLB All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler will return as manager at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Kinsler — who was on the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame ballot — managed Israel at the 2023 WBC and played for the team in the 2021 Olympics (3/27/2025)
  • RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles) looked strong in 5.1 innings of relief on March 24. Coming on in the 3rd inning to clean up a 3-run mess left by starter Charlie Morton, Kremer yielded 2 earned runs on 4 hits and struck out 10 Braves batters while walking just one. The outing, which ended in a 5-5 tie, trimmed the veteran’s ERA this spring from 9.00 to 7.27 (3/24/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners) went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and a spectacular unassisted double play in a 10-6 win over the Brewers on March 23 (3/24/2025)
  • C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies), who was sent to Triple-A on March 20, has lost his backup catching job to Rafael Marchan to start the season. Stubbs, who hit .286 (6-for-21) this Spring with 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, and an enviable .423 OBP, had held the job the past 3 seasons (3/24/2025)
  • RF Hunter Bishop (Giants/AAA), playing for the Sacramento River Cats (AAA), went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in a 4-3 loss to the Giants on March 23 (3/24/2025)
  • The Yankees deployed 3 Jewish pitchers over a 2-game stretch this week, and the trio excelled. In a March 17 game against Toronto, RHP Harrison Cohen (High-A) came on in the 7th inning with 2 outs, men on first and second, and the score tied 4-4. He struck out SS Josh Rivera on 4 pitches to end the threat. On March 18, starter Max Fried held Boston scoreless over 4.1 innings, yielding 2 hits and no walks while striking out three. Then, in the 9th inning, RHP Eric Reyzelman (AA) struck out all 3 batters he faced, including retiring LF Roman Anthony with a 98.5-mph four-seam fastball and CF Nate Eaton with a 78.9-mph sweeper (3/20/2025)
  • Things were looking good for 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA) on March 15, when he was sporting a .313 batting average with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs. Then came an unpleasantly historic two-game stretch. On March 16, the former Cub went 0-for-5 with 4 strikeouts against the Cardinals. A day later, he went 0-for-5 with 4 strikeouts against the Mets. How unusual a feat was it? We can’t speak to Spring Training. But since 1905, only 14 players in regular-season MLB history have had two consecutive hitless games in which they struck out 4 or more times in 5 or fewer plate appearances (3/20/2025)
  • The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is offering an intriguing two-fer: an opportunity to stream Israel Swings for Gold, a documentary about Team Israel’s run at the 2021 Olympics, and then participate in an April 10 Q&A via Zoom with MLB All-Star Shawn Green and Israel Baseball Americas CEO Nate Fish. Click here to buy a ticket, which costs $21 (3/20/2025)
  • MLB.com recently asked more than 100 Major League players to identify the game’s best pitcher. LHP Max Fried (Yankees) was one of 21 hurlers to get at least one vote (3/17/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners) celebrated his 30th birthday on March 16 by going 3-for-5 with a 406-foot solo HR in an 8-3 win over the Reds. In so doing, Tellez may have improved his shot at an Opening Day roster spot. “He’s got the threat of going deep every time…and continues to see the ball and swing the bat well,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the game. So far this Spring, Tellez — playing for his fourth franchise in eight MLB seasons — is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with 3 HRs, 4 RBIs, and a .951 OPS (3/17/2025)
  • Rowdy Tellez wasn’t the only Jewish Mariner to play March 16. RHP Charlie Beilenson, who pitched in just 4 minor-league games after Seattle drafted him out of Duke U. in 2024, had a rough time in his third Spring appearance, giving up home runs to the first 2 batters he faced in the 9th inning. Beilenson recovered well, though, striking out 2 of the next 3 batters and forcing a third to pop-out to shortstop (3/17/2025)
  • CF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) was hitting just .143 (2-for-14) with one RBI when Texas officially reassigned him from MLB Spring Training to Triple-A on March 5. Oddly, Pillar has remained with the team ever since, and it’s worked out for him as well as the Rangers. Since March 5, Pillar has hit .375 (6-for-16) with 5 RBIs and a .429 OBP (3/17/2025)
  • 1B Joc Pederson (Rangers) opened scoring with a 3-run, 1st-inning HR en route to a 4-3 win over the Reds on Wednesday, ending the day 1-for-2 with an HBP. Pederson, who is hitting .208 (5-for-24) this Spring, is tied for the team lead with 3 HRs and ranks #2 with 9 RBIs (3/12/2025)
  • Jewish Baseball News welcomes OF Harrison Feinberg (Northeastern U.) to its roster of D-1 players. The redshirt junior is hitting .311 (14-for-45) with 5 HRs, 8 RBIs, a .404 OBP, and 1.115 OPS. In 2021, Prep Baseball ranked Feinberg the #16 prospect among all high-school seniors in Connecticut, and the #6 outfielder (3/13/2025)
  • University of Richmond’s baseball team is 14-2 so far this season, and two Jewish players deserve a chunk of the credit. OF Phil Bernstein (bio), a graduate student from Brooklyn, NY, who transferred from a D-3 school in 2024, ranks #16 among all Division 1 batters with a remarkable .594 OBP, is tied for #30 with a .462 batting average, and is the #11 (tied) hardest hitter to strike out, with 14 walks and only 2 strikeouts in 52 at-bats. 1B/3B Jordan Jaffe (bio), a junior from Thousand Oaks, CA, who was named Atlantic Rookie of the Year in 2023, is hitting .415 (27-for-65) with 5 HRs and ranks #28 (tied) among D-1 hitters with 24 RBIs through March 10. His 1.272 OPS is just a notch below Bernstein’s 1.286 OPS (3/11/2025)
  • Four Jewish prospects have been chosen by their respective MLB teams to participate in MLB Spring Breakout, a “four-day event showcasing baseball’s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball.” RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/A), OF Zach Levenson (Cardinals/High-A), RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AA), and OF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AA) will play in the March 13-16 exhibition. MLB.com ranks Levenson, Reyzelman and Schreck as Top 30 prospects within their franchises (3/11/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA) went a combined 3-for-8 on March 8 and 10, with a HR, 2 doubles, and 2 RBIs. According to the Miami Herald, Mervis is likely to be on Miami’s Opening Day roster and share first-base duties with Jonah Bride. “I love my time with the Cubs. They treated me great,” he said. “But some guys just need a fresh start and change of scenery: (3/11/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) is one of only six Major Leaguers to stroke at least 50 doubles in a single season since 2017. The former Astro hit 51 two-baggers in 2018 (3/11/2025)
  • College ace Ryan Prager (Texas A&M), chosen by the Angels in the third round of the 2024 MLB draft, took a huge risk when he refused to sign with the team after it rejected his $1.5-million bonus demand. In the prior 5 draft years, only 4 of 516 players selected in the first three rounds of the MLB draft matched Prager’s chutzpah, according to The Athletic. Could Prager repeat his 2024 magic in his final year of college? So far, he’s been even better. After earning a complete-game shutout of New Mexico State on Friday, Prager is 2-0, having given up just one earned run over a combined 23.1 innings, struck out 27, and maintained a microscopic 0.39 ERA (3/7/2025)
  • Newly-minted Bostonian Alex Bregman (Red Sox) continued his dominant Spring in a 20-5 thrashing of Miami on Friday, going 2-for-2 with 2-run HR and a walk before being lifted for a pinch-runner in the 5th inning. The two-time All Star third baseman ranks #1 in the Majors with a .471 batting average (8-for-17), OBP of .542, and 1.542 OPS (3/7/2025)
  • Baseball America recently published a list of the Top 200 Draft Prospects from the high-school Class of 2026, and three of the players are Jewish. California’s CJ Weinstein, listed at #14, has committed to play at LSU and is Prep Baseball Report‘s #1-ranked second baseman nationwide in his class. Ethan Bass, at #41, is a Wake Forest commit, Prep Baseball Report‘s #1-ranked Illinois prospect at any position, and the publication’s #7 shortstop nationwide. Spencer Krasner, at #157, is a South Carolina commit, Prep Baseball Report‘s #4-ranked LHP in Florida and #13 nationwide. Weinstein and Krasner both have participated in an Israel Baseball Academy showcase event (3/7/2025)
  • OF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) went 3-for-3 with a double and one RBI in an 8-2 win over the Padres on March 6, but that didn’t stop Texas from reassigning him from MLB Spring Training to Double-A (3/6/2025)
  • After pitching well for Dos Laredos Tecolotes of the Mexican League in 2024, former major-league RHP Robert Stock signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in January 2025 and invited him to MLB Spring Training. But he won’t make Boston’s Opening Day roster. Stock went 0-0 this Spring with a 12.00 ERA, 4 strikeouts, and 3 walks over a combined 3 innings of relief, leading the Red Sox to reassign him to Triple-A (3/6/2025)
  • According to Sports Illustrated, LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA) is competing for the final spot in Houston’s starting rotation. The 26-year-old made a strong case for himself in a 5-0 Spring Training loss to the Mets on February 27, striking out 3 batters over 2 scoreless innings while yielding no walks and a single hit. “He isn’t going to blow opponents away with high octane stuff, but keeps opponents off balance with a good mix of off-speed pitches and really solid control,” SI wrote. “His slider is truly devastating, which the New York Mets found out.” Click here for Gordon’s February 27 interview (3/4/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) had his franchise debut in a 12-3 win over the Pirates on Monday, but it wasn’t the dominant start he might have hoped for. Fried, who signed an 8-year, $218-million contract with New York in December, lasted just 2.1 innings, yielding 2 earned runs on 2 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts on 49 pitches (3/3/2025)
  • Our tally of Jews assigned to MLB Spring Training is up to 31, thanks to the addition of 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA) and LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA). Through 3/3/2025, Mervis was hitting .286 (4-for-14) with a HR and 3 RBIs for his new franchise (3/4/2025)
  • Want to know how Jewish players are performing in MLB Spring Training? Click here for stats thru games played March 1 (3/3/2025)
  • RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles) tosses 3 scoreless innings in 5-4 loss to Phillies, yielding one hit and one walk while striking out 2 batters (3/2/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox), playing for new franchise, goes 2-for-3 in 6-4 win over Mets but gets tossed out trying to stretch RBI single into double (3/2/2025)
  • Free-agent 3B Alex Bregman finally signed a contract, reaching a 3-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on February 12 that will pay him a total of $120-million, including a $5-million signing bonus, $35-million in 2025, and $40-million both in 2026 and 2027. The deal, which came just 6 weeks before Opening Day, ended a months-loss process that led to at least 4 teams make contract offers and saw observers cast aspersions on Bregman agent Scott Boras for rejecting arguably good deals. Still just 30 years old, Bregman has played his entire 9-year career with the Houston Astros, the same team that made him the #2 overall pick in the 2015 draft. Reports speculate that Boston will move Gold Glove-winner Bregman, still just 30 years old, from third base to second base (2/12/2025)
  • LHP Richard Bleier announced his retirement from baseball on February 11. Selected by the Texas Rangers in the 6th round of the 2008 draft, the Florida native spent 8 years in the minors before making his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 2016. In each of his first 3 MLB seasons, one with the Yankees and two with the Baltimore Orioles, Bleier turned in a sub-2.00 ERA. In three postseason games with the Miami Marlins in 2020, he delivered a total of 2 perfect innings and earned a hold. Bleier ended up playing for a total of 4 franchises over a Major League career that lasted through 2023, when he pitched for the Boston Red Sox. According to MLB Trade Rumors, his “success was powered by outstanding control (3.9% career walk rate) and a knack for keeping the ball on the ground, as Bleier had a 60.9% grounder rate.  Among all pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched between the 2016-23 seasons, only T.J. McFarland and Framber Valdez had a better grounder rate.” Bleier represented Team Israel in the qualifying round for the 2013 World Baseball Classic and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Jewish Baseball News wishes Richard the best in post-pitching career (2/11/2025)
  • The Minnesota Twins signed free-agent CF Harrison Bader to a one-year, $6.25-million contract on February 6, with a mutual option to extend the contract to 2026. A Gold Glove winner, the 30-year-old New York native was a 3rd-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 and made it to the Majors just 2 years later. Playing for the New York Yankees in the 2022 postseason, Bader hit .333 (10-for-30) with 5 HRs, 6 RBIs, and 4 walks. He played for the New York Mets in 2024, and Minnesota will be his fifth MLB franchise. Although Bader has played centerfield exclusively since 2019, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he thinks “putting one of the best outfielders in the game in left field…makes some sense” (2/7/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez, who was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of the 2024 regular season, remained an unsigned free agent as of 2/17/2025.
  • OF Kevin Pillar, who spent his first six-plus MLB seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and has played for eight more franchises since then, was granted free agency by the Los Angeles Angels after the 2024 season and remained unsigned as of 2/17/2025. The website Spotrac.com estimates that if Pillar does get a contract, it’ll likely be a one-year deal worth around $1-million.
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