The 2026 World Baseball Classic is finally here!
Getting amped for the WBC, Spring Training hot streaks could be changing the Padres' plans, the SDSU men fail another test while the women keep flying high, and more!
The World Baseball Classic officially kicks off today and I’m treating it like the first day of March Madness. I am clearing my schedule, as much as I can, and planning to watch as much international baseball as I can take in over the next few days.
I was genuinely shocked yesterday when I was reminded that Fernando Tatis Jr. has never actually participated in the WBC, as it feels like the type of event that he could own if he gets hot and stays hot, and now my mind is racing with how spending this time with new teammates like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Julio Rodríguez and Oneil Cruz will change what he is looking for from his Padres teammates (I think Manny Machado is his only current Padres teammate on the DR roster).
I also couldn’t possibly be a bigger fan of the fans and atmosphere at WBC games in the past, and I’m sure that will carry over into the 2026 event. It makes me wish MLB games could have the same type of environment, at least for big games like playoff games, but that will probably have to stay a dream unless something dramatic happens in the future.
But while it’s here, enjoy WBC baseball action! These guys are playing for country instead of for money, they’re the best baseball players in the world, and their fans will be going absolutely crazy during every moment of every game. It’s like if the MLB season started with an All-Star tournament that everyone deeply cared about winning.
Now, onto the links…
World Baseball Classic
Team DR’s starry lineup relishes home-field advantage in historic matchup - MLB.com
The exhibition series between the Dominican Republic national team and the Tigers was special for many reasons. Many of these Major League stars have never played winter baseball, and some probably never will, as is the case with captain Machado.
The Dominican bats did not disappoint. In the fourth inning, Soto hit a one-out, two-run home run, and one out later, Machado and Caminero went back-to-back to take control of the game at 8-4.
The crowd vibrated with the powerful Dominican bats, and the Quisqueya became a party.
World Baseball Classic explainer: Everything you need to know about the 2026 tournament - The Athletic
The games begin on Wednesday, March 4, with Australia hosting Chinese Taipei in the Tokyo Dome. More games follow on March 5, with two more games at the Tokyo Dome: Czechia at Korea, and Australia at Czechia.
The full slate of first-round action begins the following day, with eight games scheduled between Tokyo, Houston, Miami, and San Juan.
Once the first round is decided, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals on March 13 and 14 and will be split between loanDepot Park in Miami and Daikin Park in Houston.
San Diego Padres
Here are the Padres’ 2026 Top 30 prospects - MLB.com
At the top is the club’s lone Top 100 talent in left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft. Last year’s 25th overall pick was a two-way player in high school, but standing at 6-foot-8, he has the most potential on the mound and could take off with a singular focus there. He already pumps his fastball into the upper 90s and shows a changeup that looks like a future plus pitch.
On name recognition alone, Ethan Salas might be most identifiable here as formerly one of the top catching prospects in the sport. A down 2024 season at High-A was followed by a 2025 campaign that was limited to only 10 Double-A games due to a stress reaction in his back. Still only 19, Salas remains a gifted defender behind the plate and is back healthy this spring while working to prove he has enough bat to get back into the Top 100 and become San Diego’s backstop of the near future.
Padres notebook: Griffin Canning gets on backfield mound; Logan Gillaspie a real possibility in pen - San Diego Union-Tribune
Canning, whose one-year deal guarantees him $2.5 million, is working back from Achilles surgery. He could be ready to pitch in a major league game in the latter part of April but more likely in May or even June.
Much like reliever Jason Adam, who is recovering from quad tendon surgery, Canning is full-go when pitching but is not ready to field his position.
He has begun doing change-of-direction and agility drills and expects to start fielding soon, though he is not as far along as Adam, who could be ready by opening day.
Padres’ depth spot plan is facing real heat from a versatile underdog in camp - Friars On Base
The Padres brought in Samad Taylor because every contender needs cheap, flexible oxygen at the bottom of the roster — the kind of guy who can take an at-bat on Tuesday, pinch-run on Wednesday, and play three different positions by Friday without the manager sweating it.
And now Taylor is making it very hard to treat him like just a depth option. Through the early Cactus League games, he’s been a problem in the best way: a scorching start that has him hitting .400 with a .977 OPS and two steals. That kind of production always comes with the usual spring training warning label, but it still matters — because it’s forcing the Padres to actually pick a lane with their last bench spot instead of defaulting to the safest, most familiar name.
San Diego State Aztecs
San Diego State’s NCAA Tournament hopes take major hit in 86-77 loss at Boise State - Sports Illustrated
Their only shot at reaching March Madness for the sixth straight season is to win the MW tournament and claim the automatic bid. But that means winning three games in three days, something the Aztecs don’t seem capable of doing right now. They have clinched a top-four seed and a bye into the quarterfinals.
Aztecs women wrap regular season with win at Air Force - San Diego Union-Tribune
Guards Natalia Martinez, Naomi Panganiban and Nala Williams combined for 50 points while going 10-for-16 from 3-point range on Tuesday afternoon and San Diego State completed its regular season with a 74-57 win at the Air Force Academy.
The Mountain West champion Aztecs finished the regular season with a 25-4 record and an eight-game winning streak. They set a league record by going 19-1 in conference play, winning the conference championship by four games.
Odds & Ends
SDFC Defeats St. Louis City, Remains Undefeated at Home - Chromatic FC
San Diego has gotten off to a great start to the 2026 season. In two regular-season matches, they have two clean sheets and have outscored their opponents 7-0. Across three home matches this year, they have outscored opponents 11-1. As the team prepares for its first away match against Sporting KC this Saturday, the Danish connection of Dreyer and Ingvartsen looks like it will be a major storyline for the season.
Braves’ Jurickson Profar hit with 162-game suspension after second positive PED test in last year - Yahoo Sports
The Atlanta Braves won’t have designated hitter Jurickson Profar for the 2026 season. The 33-year-old was suspended 162 games after testing positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites, the league announced Tuesday.
Last year, on March 31, Profar tested positive for a banned substance called human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone normally produced during pregnancy that, in males, can stimulate the production of testosterone. As a result, MLB suspended him for 80 games and ruled him ineligible for the postseason, which the Braves missed for the first time in eight years.
USL, players remain locked in CBA negotiations as strike threat lingers - The Athletic
The United Soccer League and the USL Players Association (USLPA) will continue negotiations on Wednesday as they seek a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the start of the 2026 USL Championship season on Friday.
With the sides still far apart on a new deal, the USLPA announced that 90 percent of members who voted last week authorized a strike. In interviews with The Athletic this week, however, both representatives from USL and the players union said they remain focused on reaching an agreement.
What happens if Iran do not play at the World Cup? - The Athletic
The bombing of several major Iranian cities, which is “intended” to last “four to five weeks” if necessary, U.S. President Donald Trump told the New York Times, has killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and also sparked retaliatory attacks.
In that context, the consequences for this summer’s men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico may seem trivial. Yet the events of the past 48 hours have raised questions about whether Iran will send a team to the tournament or if the U.S. government — which has already barred Iranian nationals from traveling to the States, though with an exemption for sports teams — would restrict Iran’s participation.
Anyone Want To See Kash Patel Fall On His Ass While Playing Hockey? - Defector
It was a busy week for FBI Director and special little guy Kash Patel. On Sunday, he was slamming Michelob Ultras in Team USA’s locker room. Midweek he was firing a dozen veteran agents in retaliation for their role investigating Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, agents who belong to a counter-espionage unit that focuses on Iran. Surely their expertise wouldn’t be relevant any time soon. This weekend, Patel was back where he seems happiest: on the ice.
Patel laced ‘em up for the annual FBI vs. Secret Service hockey game, held at the Capitals’ training facility in Arlington, Va., on Saturday. Patel played as a kid and still plays club hockey, but he was a little out of his league in this one, which featured real athletes and a handful of former college players. But like a Make-a-Wish kid, they found a way to include him: We’re told they stuck him back on defense where his skating would be less of an issue.
San Diego breweries squeezed as costs outpace prices - Axios
Local breweries say the price adjustments come alongside the higher costs to make that frothy pint. That includes increases in ingredient prices (water, malt, hops), rent, utility rates, labor and minimum wages, packaging, freight and tariffs on imports like aluminum cans.
“It’s death by a thousand paper cuts,” said Chad Heath, COO of the beer division at Karl Strauss Brewing.
The cost of goods to make a beer has gone up 40-45% since 2020 for Karl Strauss, but the price increase percentages their customers are seeing remain in the mid-teens, he said.