"Right now, we're going to slow play him, just get his legs underneath him," said manager on Friday. Cash went on to emphasize the value of Simpson's speed and the importance of getting him back to 100% rather than risk further injury. Indeed, Simpson is one of the fastest players in the game. His 29.6 MPH sprint speed ranked in the 97th percentile according to Statcast.
Kyler Gordon's 2025 season never really got off the ground. Injuries limited him to just five appearances between the regular season and playoffs. It was a frustrating development for a player expected to anchor the secondary, especially with his three-year, $40 million extension set to kick in beginning in 2026. Kyler Gordon's 2025 Snapshot Instead of building on his trajectory, Gordon spent most of the year rehabbing, leaving questions about durability hanging over what was supposed to be a stabilizing season.
And yet, most defensive metrics don't think the Sox are that bad, and some think they are elite. By Statcast's Fielding Run Value as presented by Baseball Savant, the Red Sox had the fifth-best defense in baseball last year. By Statcast's Fielding Run Value as presented by FanGraphs (which is apparently a slightly different thing, though I couldn't tell you how) they were the seventh-best.
The 30-year-old was a first-round pick out of the University of Virginia in 2016 by the Angels. He debuted for them in 2019, batting .211/.293/.422 with an 86 wRC+ and a .211 ISO in 164 plate appearances that year. Thaiss has continued to post mid-80s wRC+ values throughout his career. After not getting much playing time from 2020-22, he got an extended look in 2023, making 307 PA in 95 games for the Halos.
Before the 2022 season, Heineman signed a minor league deal with the Jays. After a handful of games with the team, he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The following season, the Jays traded for Heineman, before he was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox at the end of the 2023 season. In September of 2024, Heineman was claimed off waivers by the Jays.
December ended with Brooklyn leading the NBA in opponent scoring, allowing just 104.6 points per game, nearly six points better than the next-lowest team in the Eastern Conference. It was a sharp reversal for a group that entered the month allowing 113.9 points per game and searching for traction. The question now is whether that version of the Nets can carry into January. So far, the early returns have been mixed, though it's still a small sample.
Vientos looked like a lineup building block at this time last year. The righty-hitting infielder was coming off a 27-homer season in which he'd hit .266/.322/.516 across 454 regular season plate appearances. He was even better in the playoffs, blasting five homers and a pair of doubles while hitting .327 across 13 games. Vientos was a huge reason the Mets made it to the 2024 NL Championship Series.
The Marlins haven't finished higher than third in the NL East over the past five seasons, but they come into next year with optimism in the starting lineup. Kyle Stowers broke out last year, while Jakob Marsee excelled in his first taste of big league action, solidifying the outfield group. Agustin Ramirez finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting and provided thump at catcher and DH.
Gold Glove winners for the nine standard positions are determined through voting by MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team. Managers and coaches cannot vote for their own players and are only permitted to submit ballots for those in their same league. Those votes amount to 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index accounting for the remaining 25%.
It took four games, but Collin Murray-Boyles is finally on the board after scoring his first career bucket in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. The ninth overall pick would not be done there, however, as in only six minutes, Murray-Boyles got up to 10 points to lead all Raptors scorers. His second career bucket also came as the roll-man, then he nailed an open triple from the left wing, grabbed an open dunk, then sank a free throw after drawing a foul.
The 2025 Fielding Bible Awards gave even more credit to the Cubs. Sports Info Solutions (SIS), the company that developed Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), honors the best defenders each year. It is the 20th season of the awards, although some recent changes have been made. Patrick Bailey of the San Francisco Giants won the third annual Defensive Player of the Year Award, while the Cubs were named the Defensive Team of the Year.
Cardinals shortstop is scheduled for his arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday, the club informed reporters (including John Denton of MLB.com and Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Winn had played through a meniscus tear in the second half before being shut down a couple weeks ago. The relatively minor procedure is not expected to impact his availability for Spring Training.
García hasn't played anywhere other than second base since the end of 2022. He got a few months of shortstop run that year but clearly wasn't cut out for that position. He's not a particularly good second baseman either. Defensive Runs Saved has graded him negatively in three straight years. Statcast's Outs Above Average gave him above-average marks in 2024 but has had him as a subpar defender in every other season of his career.
