Padres pitchers & catchers report to Spring Training
The Padres are running out of time to complete their roster, San Diego FC cruises to the next round of the Concacaf Champions Cup, Winter Olympics highlights, and more.
There was no newsletter yesterday. I typically collect the links below over the course of the previous evening and the morning-of, and then put them all together in the morning while I drink my coffee and before my day actually begins.
Yesterday, Substack was down during this period. And I didn’t feel particularly motivated to send out the newsletter later in the day. Announcements on that, and my sports media future, will be coming soon.
Now, onto the links!
San Diego Padres
Three burning Padres questions as spring training opens - The Athletic
Is Seidler now inclined to leave a decision on Preller’s future to the next owner? On the surface, at least, that might be a logical business move.
As for Preller, people familiar with his thinking have consistently said he does not lack confidence in his ability — or his value. Over the past two seasons, the general manager has done perhaps his finest work while operating under significant constraints. Some in the industry believe that if he were to become a free agent, he would have plenty of suitors.
Padres notebook: Bryan Hoeing back after ‘not a fun’ 2025; Craig Stammen stays high-cuffed - San Diego Union-Tribune
There was no doubt, but the first official day of workouts for pitchers and catchers provided confirmation.
Stammen will wear his baseball pants with the bottoms hiked up near his knees and his socks showing, just as he did when he was a player.
“I don’t know any other way,” Stammen said.
Padres Assistant Director of Player Development Mike Daly Sees Promise in a Depleted San Diego System - FanGraphs
The Padres farm system is currently ranked among the worst in the majors, but that isn’t the fault of their scouting or player development departments. Rather, it is because A.J. Preller keeps trading away quality prospects in an effort to boost the big league roster. Just last summer, San Diego’s president of baseball operations dealt Leo De Vries — the best prospect moved at the deadline in the opinion of Eric Longenhagen — as well as Braden Nett, Boston Bateman, Ryan Bergert, and several others. One year earlier, Jakob Marsee and Robby Snelling were among the youngsters moved.
That isn’t to say the cupboard has been left bare. While admittedly on the lighter side, the system does include a number of promising players. Mike Daly plays an important role in their development. Currently the club’s assistant director of player development, Daly has two-plus decades of experience in professional baseball, serving not only in player dev positions, but also as a scout and, for one season, a minor league manager.
Phillies reportedly tell Nick Castellanos, due $20 million in 2026, not to report to spring training - Yahoo Sports
There is one year and $20 million left on a $100 million deal that once helped to herald a new era of Phillies baseball, yet Philadelphia has made clear that it has no plans for Castellanos to spend that year on its active roster. It was reported in October that the club planned to either trade or release Castellanos before the 2026 season.
However, with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, the outfielder officially remains part of the Phillies organization. According to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, however, the team has already moved on.
San Diego FC
San Diego Advances to the Round of 16 - Chromatic FC
San Diego FC played a hard-fought match on Tuesday against Pumas UNAM in Mexico City. With the aggregate score starting at 4-1 in favor of San Diego FC, the club simply needed to survive the match and avoid losing by three goals. They achieved their goal despite losing the match 1-0, moving on with a final aggregate score of 4-2. This was an impressive result considering it was only their second match of the year and they had no real preseason matches to prepare.
San Diego FC advances in Concacaf Champions Cup thanks to goalkeeping, grit - San Diego Union-Tribune
We learned that Pablo Sisniega, its Mexico City-born goalkeeper who spent most of his career as a backup, is a worthy starter, making one spectacular save after another despite his team rapidly wilting in the rarefied air of 7,500 feet — “an absolute monster for us,” coach Mikey Varas said.
We learned that SDFC will face reigning Liga MX champion Toluca in the round of 16 next month, with Tuesday’s 1-0 loss against Pumas enough to advance based on a 4-2 aggregate following the 4-1 win at Snapdragon Stadium last week. The first leg will be in San Diego on March 11, the return leg a week later in Toluca.
SDSU Aztecs / USD Toreros
(I couldn’t find a way to embed it but you can find the actual game highlights here.)
Toreros Propelled Past Pilots with 3-Point Shooting - USD Toreros
USD men's hoops got back to winning ways with a 71-58 win over a red-hot Portland side Wednesday night inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Trailing the Pilots at the half, San Diego was able to overcome the deficit by way of a stark contrast in 3-point shooting. Portland went 2-19 (10.5%) from beyond the arc, while the Toreros were a strong 12-26 (46.2%), 7-13 (53.8%) in the second half. The guests had a stretch of twelve straight missed triples, while the hosts had one of seven consecutive made.
Aztecs get Pac-12 football schedule, which includes ‘flex’ option in final week of regular season - San Diego Union-Tribune
Each team will play nonconference games in Weeks 1-4 before embarking on an eight-game Pac-12 schedule during Weeks 5-13. The top two finishers will play for the Pac-12 championship in Week 14, with the game scheduled for Dec. 4.
The most intriguing aspect of the conference schedule is a “flex” option in Week 13 to play a second game against one conference opponent. That game will not count in the conference standings. SDSU hosts Fresno State — “The Team Up North,” as Aztecs players and coaches refer to the Bulldogs — on Oct. 17 and is tentatively scheduled to play the Bulldogs in Fresno on Nov. 28.
2026 Winter Olympics
Ilia Malinin Brings Figure Skating To The Crossroads - Defector
The Ilia Malinin Situation is this: The 21-year-old American has pushed the bounds of technical figure skating to their presumed maximum, and he is still going out there, threatening everyone who will listen with a future quintuple. He remains the only skater to land a quad Axel, formerly the figure skater’s white whale. He has landed seven quads, the maximum a skater can perform without performing a quad-quad combo, which would be the actual maximum a skater can perform without running into rules regulating repeated jumps. He has not lost an event since 2023, which is to say that he has not performed worse than a gold medal since 2023. None of his closest competition are consistently landing four quads in a free skate, though some have the upside. None are landing five at all. Even with the quad Axel being undervalued by figure skating’s current scoring system (a triple Axel is 2.10 points more than a triple Lutz, while a quad Axel is only 1.00 point more than a quad Lutz), so long as Malinin lands all his jumps, which he frequently does, another skater winning is a mathematical impossibility.
Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics over banned helmet honoring war dead - Associated Press
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, a likely medal contender at the Milan Cortina Games, was barred from racing Thursday after refusing a last-minute plea from the International Olympic Committee to not use a helmet that honors more than 20 athletes and coaches killed in his country’s war with Russia.
The decision came roughly 45 minutes before the start of the competition and ended a three-day saga where Heraskevych knew he was risking being pulled from the Games by wearing the helmet, one that the IOC says breaks rules against making statements on the field of play.
Odds & Ends
John Oliver Keeps Pushing the Rock Up the Hill - The Ringer
As ‘Last Week Tonight’ launches its 13th season into an atmosphere of division and anti-information, its host explains how the show has changed—and why they keep making it.
‘New one for you’: Inside Steve Tisch’s transactional friendship with Jeffrey Epstein - The Athletic
Since the Department of Justice released more than 3 million emails last month, powerful individuals have had their dealings with Epstein scrutinized. But the Tisch-Epstein dynamic — revealed in dozens of unguarded emails exchanged between them in 2013 — stands out for how singularly focused it was on Epstein’s ability to connect Tisch with young women. There was scant talk about philanthropy or business opportunities present in many other Epstein relationships. Rather, Epstein, a convicted sex offender who was charged with sex trafficking before his death in 2019, merely plucked women from his orbit and delivered them to Tisch.