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Greene would be an interesting choice; he was invited to play for Puerto Rico in the tournament but decided to turn down the opportunity. Given that Team USA has Aaron Judge in right and Byron Buxton and Pete Crow-Armstong in center, replacing Carroll with a natural left fielder makes sense. Anthony might be the most fun option, but Kwan would make a lot of sense with his contact ability and plus defense.

Soto finished 2-for-4 with three RBI in the lopsided contest. While the United States and Japan enter the World Baseball Classic as the consensus favorites, overlooking the Dominican Republic would be a mistake. Their lineup isn’t just formidable — it’s the kind of relentless, star-laden construction that can tilt a short tournament in a matter of innings. In an event where momentum compounds quickly, they have more than enough firepower to be the last team standing when the hardware is handed out. Soto put the metaphorical exclamation point on a five-run fourth inning, which also included homers by Manny Machado and Junior Caminero, by taking lefty reliever Brant Hurter deep to right-center field for a gargantuan round-tripper. The Dominican Republic kicks off the international tournament on Friday in Miami with a pool play matchup against Nicaragua.

McGonigle took Dominican Republic starter Luis Severino deep with a no-doubter to right field in the opening frame before adding a two-run single his next time up. He also drew a walk, reaching base safely in all four of his plate appearances. The 21-year-old top prospect’s blend of bat-to-ball precision and repeatable hard contact represents the kind of combination that feels less like projection and more like inevitability. When a hitter controls the zone and squares baseballs with consistency, the transition tends to be smoother than expected. If that foundation holds, McGonigle won’t need a long runway to matter for fantasy purposes — he’ll just arrive and start producing. This is the type of performance that goes a long way to securing his spot on Detroit’s season-opening roster.

Caminero made a statement with an epic performance in Santo Domingo, recording four hits with stratospheric exit velocities over 107 mph. His fourth-inning homer to right field capped a five-run frame that also included big flies from Juan Soto and Manny Machado. The 22-year-old rising fantasy star is the type of power hitter that is immune to most park factors and shouldn’t face too much pullback with the transition back to Tropicana Field this season, which has historically graded out as one of the more pitcher-friendly environments in the game.

Severino predicably struggled in his Athletics debut last year while pitching in extremely hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, finishing with a bloated 4.54 ERA – 4.59 xERA – 1.30 WHIP and 124/50 K/BB ratio across 162 2/3 innings. He can be safely left on the waiver wire at the outset of the season in most fantasy leagues.

According to a league statement, Profar tested positive for exogenous testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance. The full-season suspension will cost him the entire 2026 campaign, including the postseason. It’s the second consecutive year that he’s received a PED-related suspension since his age-31 breakthrough campaign with the Padres back in 2024. His absence momentarily frees up the DH spot in Atlanta and the front office could use his $15 million salary to either fortify their starting rotation or beef up their lineup with a veteran slugger in free agency or trade acquisition.

Tellez is still on the market after hitting .228/.276/.443 in 312 plate appearances for the Mariners and Rangers last season, but a strong WBC could aid his cause. He had hard-hit balls all three times up today, with his one out being a 355-foot liner.

Gallen threw first-pitch strikes to just three of seven batters and had five hard-hit balls against him, including one from Jonathan Aranda that one would have been a homer in 16 MLB ballparks, but he got through the outing unscathed, throwing just 22 pitches in the process.

The hard-throwing Morillo is one of the candidates to close for Arizona this year, but he had some tough luck today, giving up five hits on one hard liner, two soft liners and two groundballs. Morillo had pitched two scoreless innings coming in, and this one won’t affect his spring ERA, thankfully.

The second hit was a bunt single, after which Lawlar stole second base. This won’t add to Lawlar’s spring stats, but he’s off to a superb start and is the clear favorite to be the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day center fielder at this point.

Arenado blooped a single to left field to put Puerto Rico on the board as they prepare to kick off the World Baseball Classic on Friday against Colombia in San Juan. The soon-to-be 35-year-old veteran is among the more prominent names on a roster that doesn’t include Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa due to insurance reasons.