MLB Morning Lineup Podcast

Max Fried lost a no-hitter on a reversed call, but his performance was proof he's the ace the Yankees need. Elsewhere, Elly De La Cruz put on a show as his Reds routed the O's in a 24-run onslaught, while the Brewers ran wild on the bases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the hot starts by the Dodgers, Padres and Giants have garnered plenty of attention, the D-backs have won 5 straight to put themselves in the thick of a loaded NL West. Plus, the Yanks prevailed in their first road game at Steinbrenner Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Braves ace Spencer Strider returned a year after Tommy John surgery and looked like his old self. Elsewhere, a day after the Nats' Paul DeJong was hit in the face with a Pirates pitch, benches emptied. And Jackson Holliday one-upped Cal Ripken Jr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Padres couldn't go 81-0 at home, right? Right. But it took extra innings for them to fall to the Cubs, after starting 11-0 at Petco. Elsewhere, we're seeing power in unexpected places, notably an A's player putting up Reggie Jackson-like numbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With another win over a quality team, the Giants continue to prove that their hot start is no fluke. Elsewhere in the NL West, the Padres improved to 11-0 at home, tied for the fourth-longest season-opening home win streak of all-time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dealt from the White Sox to Boston over the winter, the left-hander made quite the return to Chicago's South Side, taking a no-hitter into the eighth before exiting to a standing ovation. "I feel like I could've thrown five more innings," he said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 8-4 Angels are one of the big surprises so far. They belted 6 HRs in Tampa - 2 each by Mike Trout, Taylor Ward & Jo Adell, who hit both of his in 1 inning. They have 3 of the 5 AL HR leaders. Also, Freddie Freeman is set to return to the Dodgers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Yastrzemski now accounts for three of the five walk-off homers that have landed in McCovey Cove, capping a comeback for the upstart Giants. Max Fried and Jack Flaherty combined for 20 strikeouts in an epic duel, the first time the former high school teammates have pitched against each other on an MLB stage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Windy weather and temperatures in the 40s did little to stop the Mets, who rode Francisco Lindor's first HR of the season and four RBIs from Pete Alonso to cruise to their sixth straight win. Also, homers derailed a battle of aces in Atlanta. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first showdown of 2025 between the Astros and Mariners had a little bit of everything, from Logan Gilbert taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning to a booming Jose Altuve home run to a dazzling J.P. Crawford play to help preserve a Seattle win. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dodgers and Padres went into the weekend undefeated. Not only did both lose games -- two, in fact -- but somehow the Giants have overtaken them at 8-1 after a sweep of Seattle. Plus we recap Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 14-year extension with Toronto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Any time you can get in the same sentence as Joe DiMaggio & Lou Gehrig, you're doing OK. Aaron Judge became the 3rd-fastest Yankee to 500 extra-base hits (yes, with a HR). Elsewhere, Alex Bregman went deep and Taijuan Walker made mom proud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shohei Ohtani's walk-off homer helped the Dodgers improve to 8-0, the best start ever by a defending World Series champion. Don't let that distract you from the fact that the Padres are also unbeaten and off to their fastest start in franchise history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eugenio Suárez and Aaron Judge were tied for the MLB lead with four HRs before Suárez delivered a go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the eighth to deliver a D-backs win vs. the Yankees, and the Dodgers and Padres each remained undefeated in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elly De La Cruz showcased all of his tools -- and a Torpedo bat -- as he homered twice and drove in a career-high 7 runs in the Reds' rout of the Rangers. In San Diego, Kyle Hart helped the Padres stay unbeaten in his long-awaited return to an MLB mound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a record-tying 15 homers through just three games, it's safe to say the Yankees are in an early power groove. Drawing most of the attention, though, are the new (and legal) shaped bats some of the Bombers are deploying with staggering success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's see ... Tyler O'Neill homered on Opening Day for the sixth consecutive season, Juan Soto certainly made his presence felt in his first game as a Met, and Paul Skenes did Paul Skenes things as the season got fully underway in epic fashion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of today's more compelling storylines involve the new-look Red Sox, the Mets showcasing their new superstar in Juan Soto, Paul Skenes ready for his encore and last year's AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal battling Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From injuries and ailments to star players and pitchers, to rookies like the Astros' Cam Smith landing on big league rosters, we put a bow tie on all the preparation and exhibitions and turn our focus to tomorrow's epic Opening Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dodgers' quest to repeat, Juan Soto changing New York teams, several stars returning from injury and an impressive group of young players taking center stage are among the reasons the new season should be one to remember. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who’s going to win the NL West? That one is easy. The other five division winners - and the six Wild Card teams while we’re at it - are a whole different story, though. Also, we recap the Rockies-Guardians weekend trade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The week leading into Opening Day is a time for hope, so we are looking at five teams that missed the postseason last year but have the pieces in place to be playing this October, including a very recent World Series champion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not only did the Tokyo Series provide plenty of fireworks on the field, MLB.com’s Mandy Bell looks back at the top highlights that happened outside the lines. Plus, does this Blue Jays prospect have the best nickname in baseball? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Topping 100 mph in the first inning of the Tokyo Series finale, the Dodgers' Roki Sasaki showed flashes of brilliance in his first MLB start. A homer from Shohei Ohtani also helped LA sweep the set. Also: These players are dominating in Spring Training. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2025 season is here. The Dodgers and Cubs started things off with a gripping pitchers' duel at the Tokyo Series, with Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Pikachu in the middle of it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the World Series champion Dodgers and the Cubs take the field at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday morning, it will offer the perfect moment to appreciate the connective tissue baseball has brought to the United States and Japan for more than 150 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The top three Red Sox prospects – Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer – all homered, and so did top Rays prospect Carson Williams, whose blast in the eighth put the punctuation mark on Game 1 of the second annual Spring Breakout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each spring, MLB.com reporters anonymously survey players on a handful of topics. In this episode, Major Leaguers weigh in on who the most underrated players are in today’s game. Of note, players cannot name their own teammates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All teams deal with injuries, some more than others. Today, Anthony Castrovince uses his very own Freak-Out Factor to determine how dire a team's situation is. The AL East has been hit especially hard this spring, with three teams reeling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National League is well-represented as we count down our picks for the top five lineups in baseball, and MLB.com's latest survey of more than a hundred players reveals their pick for this season's surprise team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has a potentially serious right elbow injury and Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez could miss 2 months with a broken hand. Will Leitch has all the details. Also, Leitch & Mike Petriello held their annual World Series team draft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rosters are out for MLB's second annual Spring Breakout, where top prospects from all 30 clubs will compete in a 4-day, 16-game event from March 13-16. MLB.com's Will Leitch highlights the biggest names to watch and how to tune in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He's the no-doubt No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, so it should surprise nobody that Roki Sasaki was electric in his first Cactus League start with the Dodgers. What makes the 23-year-old righty so special, though? Time for a deep dive to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who's the leading HR hitter this spring? Aaron Judge? Good guess. But no. You'll want to hear the story of Vinny Capra. Also, get this: In a World Baseball Classic qualifier, Manny Ramirez's son batted vs. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf's son. Really. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MLB Pipeline is unveiling its Top 30 prospect lists this week, so we're looking at some of the future stars turning heads in camp. Plus, the Yanks face an early rotation test as reigning AL ROY Luis Gil (lat strain) will be shut down for six weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shohei Ohtani was 2-for-2 pulling one over on Dave Roberts. But his manager struck back, filling the star's car with ball-pit balls. The, uh, ball is now in Ohtani's corner. Also, the Yanks are in wait mode as Luis Gil deals with shoulder discomfort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chances are, your ride-or-die team won't win the World Series this season. Sorry, but that's just the way it goes. The good news? We have a backup plan for you. Let's whittle down the field and find the stand-in club you can hitch your bandwagon to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a home run by the top pick in the 2024 Draft, to Elly De La Cruz doing Elly De La Cruz things, all topped by a smashing debut from the Mets’ newest slugger, Spring Training has given us many massive moments to take in this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the Twins' Royce Lewis signs an autograph for a kid, he then asks for THEIR autograph in return. The kids are stunned! Justin Verlander just turned 42 and the Giants pranked him with a wheelchair. Plus Bryce Harper got a Phanatic tattoo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Spring Training in full swing, MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince lists his favorite Cactus League and Grapefruit League stadiums, then breaks down the clubs that made the biggest positional upgrades in the offseason Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring Training got rolling in a big way, with Juan Soto and Alex Bregman homering in their first games with new clubs. But maybe the biggest news out of camps? The Yanks amending their longstanding facial hair policy to allow 'well-groomed beards.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring Training started FOR REAL yesterday as the Cubs and Dodgers – set to meet next month at the Tokyo Series – played the first Cactus League contest of ‘25. During the game, the new ABS system got its first tests as two challenges took place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cubs and Dodgers square off in the first Spring Training game in Arizona today as they prepare for the Tokyo Series. Keep an eye on the automated ball-strike challenge system, which is debuting in a trial run this spring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a podcast sure to agree with you, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays can't reach a contract extension, the Mets and Yanks have a difference of opinion and third base for the Red Sox really is a hot corner. Plus World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We go around the league to look at some players who have something to prove during Spring Training, and we check in on Mike Trout and Rafael Devers about the possibility they might try out different positions this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first full week of camp is underway, so it's time to focus on the big storylines. With Soto in the fold, just how good are the Mets? Is Ohtani on track to face live hitters soon? Will Vlad Jr. get an extension? And ... there's a game Thursday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Alex Bregman headed to the Red Sox, we turn our focus to the five teams that were left on the outside looking in. First and foremost, will the deal throw a wrench in the Cardinals' third base plans? We'll see. Also, we preview the 2025 Phillies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest remaining free agent is off the market as Alex Bregman appears headed to the Red Sox on a three-year, $120 million deal, sources tell MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. We also take an in-depth look at what should be an improved Nationals team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman reportedly has multiyear offers from three teams -- the Cubs, Red Sox and Tigers -- and "likely" will decide soon. We break it all down. Then, continuing to preview the NL East this week, we focus on the Mets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We look back at some of the most surprising transactions of the offseason, including the D-backs landing top free-agent starter Corbin Burnes and the Cubs trading for Kyle Tucker, and we continue our team-by-team preview series with the Marlins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices