The Spring Signal, February 20th
First gameday of 2026!
Jordan Westburg
This one hits close to home. As an O’s fan, this is a hard pill to swallow. Westy came into camp with a bum oblique, as we reported in an earlier edition of the Spring Signal. Wednesday night, X was buzzing with rumors that he would need Tommy John and his elbow is cooked. Fast forward to Thursday, and new manager Craig Albernaz addressed the media, saying Westburg is “physically unable to participate right now” per @jcalvinmeyer. To make matters worse, Albernaz followed up with “Doing our due diligence and making sure Jordan has the best chance to play this year.” Injuries are always such a mystery with this front office. To solve the mystery, GM Mike Elias came out this morning and announced that Westburg has a partially torn UCL and received a PRP shot to attempt to heal the tear. Timeline for return is TBD, but could be as early as the end of April, as a DH-only. I wouldn’t count on a return that early.
In his absence, Coby Mayo will be gifted an opportunity to start at third to begin the season. Other options they have are Blaze Alexander (who will be at second base until Jackson Holliday is back) and Jeremiah Jackson (10 starts at third last season). It’s put up or shut up time for Coby. Last season, Mayo owned a 28% K%. Not ideal, but in September, with regular playing time, he put up the following numbers.
Not everything about this data is sexy, but there are some good signs. The 45% Pull% and FB% will play. This is year two of the Camden Yards re-adjustment to left field, and Coby has a chance to capitalize on pulling more homers down the line. Going much later in drafts now as well, ever since Pete Alonso was signed during the Winter Meetings. Barring injury, Mayo will be in the Opening Day lineup at third. It’s his job to lose.
Edwin Uceta
We reported the other day that Edwin was dealing with a cranky shoulder and would not pitch in the WBC because of it; otherwise, the team was not concerned. Well, consider the Rays concerned now. Uceta is now seeking further medical attention after “not feeling great” the longer he played catch.
Check out Kyle’s piece about the Tampa closer situation, which he wrote back in December, here. We are on the ball here at MLB DW.
One thing that seems possible is that Jax will receive save opportunities when teams are scheduled to send up RH hitters and Cleavinger when LH hitters are scheduled to come to bat in the 9th inning.
Griffin Jax and Cleavinger’s ADP took a steep drop about the time Kyle wrote that piece. Granted, they are separated by 200+ picks.
Carson Whisenhunt
According to @justdelosantos, Whisenhunt has increased his fastball velocity from 92.6 mph last year to 96-97 in today’s simulated game. It’s hard to say he can sustain that over an entire season. I’d bet not. He was a three-pitch mix guy in 2025, mostly relying upon his sinker/fastball and changeup. He also has a slider that he threw in 15% of the time. He was awful in the MLB last season.
Not much better at MiLB either, the walks are an issue, and increasing velo may not make that problem any easier. But this is something to monitor over the spring. Whisenhunt will begin the season in AAA unless he had some sort of reincarnation of Chris Sale over the offseason.
Andrew Painter
The Painter hype is going to heat up once eyeballs are on him. From John Clark, J.T. Realmuto caught Andrew’s bullpen today and said he was sitting consistently 98-99 MPH easy without much effort. Showing much better command than last year off Tommy John surgery.
The problem with Painter wasn’t the fastball or command; his secondary pitches weren’t very effective.
The 45% Ball% on the fastball is worrisome as well. I would personally fade Painter in redraft leagues. I need to see an effective changeup or offspeed pitch to keep hitters off balance.
Currently, he is going around guys like Tyler Mahle, Jose Soriano, and Chad Patrick. Maybe he is worth grabbing just as a pure lottery ticket, but I wouldn’t count on him having a Nolan McLean-like start.
Kutter Crawford
Coming off surgery that kept Kutter out all of last season, he was looking to rebound and rejoin the rotation in 2026. Today, it was reported that he will more than likely start the campaign on the IL, joining Tanner Houck and Patrick Sandoval. Crawford is still rehabbing from surgery and dealing with a bad case of the flu. Sounds like Boston will slow-play Kutter and see how he progresses.
Boston’s new offseason acquisition, Johan Oviedo, will occupy that final rotation spot coming into camp. What do the Red Sox do with Payton Tolle and Connelly Early? I would be shocked if at least one is not in the rotation to begin the season, but right now that’s how it looks. It would take an injury for one or the other to pitch every fifth day for the Sox.
Kerry Carpenter
This is an interesting development..
Kerry had a decent year last year. If that means he had more in the tank, he could blow his projections out of the water. MLB DW has him projected for
494 PA, .254/.308/.785, 23 HR, 64 RBI
Since Kerry seems to be falling later and later in drafts, it could be a spot where it’s worth a risk.
Another interesting thing to note with Kerry. He trains with “teacherman” the hitting coach famed for training Aaron Judge. Let’s see how 2026 treats Carpenter.
Chandler Simpson
Unfortunately, our stolen base merchant is dealing with a tight left hamstring. The Rays are keeping Simpson out of the first few games as a precaution. If Simpson cannot run effectively, he is useless in fantasy. There are some mid players on their bench that will fill in while he is recovering. Jonny DeLuca and Justyn-Henry Mallory for now, but newly acquired Jacob Melton could make a push to take over LF if Simpson’s injury progresses any worse.