MLB News Outside The Confines: The World Baseball Classic is set

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Good morning. With the Super Bowl finished, you all know what that means. It’s baseball season!

• And the first games that will matter this year will be the World Baseball Classic which starts on March 4. Gabe Lacques ranks the top ten teams in the tournament.
• Mike Axisa has some takeaways from the rosters.
• Jake Mintz and Jordan Schusterman have their thoughts on the WBC rosters.
• Johnny Flores offers his thoughts on the Team USA roster. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Ben Lindberg writes that Team USA finally has a superteam.
• Jen Vestuto previews Team Brazil, who is returning to the WBC for the first time since 2013.
• Moving on to Spring Training, MLB dot com has the top storyline for each team heading into the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues.
• The MLB Pipeline crew list one top prospect for each team who is fighting for an Opening Day roster spot.
• David Schoenfield proposes some possible trades that would shake up Spring Training.
• MLB dot com lists the projected top players who switched teams this past winter.
• Brian Murphy has the top projected rookies for this upcoming season.
• Will Leitch has seven “hopeful” predictions for 2026.
• Three potential World Series matchups that may not be as crazy as they sound.
• Jake Mintz hands out Hot Stove grades to every NL East team.
• Andrew Simon explains what needs to go right for the Red Sox to win the AL East.
• Ken Rosenthal argues that the Tigers and MLB picked an unnecessary (and losing) fight with two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in arbitration. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is returning to the Yankees on a one-year deal.
• The Mets have signed outfielder MJ Melendez to a one-year, major-league deal.
• Andrew Simon asks when will Phillies shortstop Trea Turner become the active career stolen-base leader?
• Longtime Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez has announced his retirement.
• NBC made it official. Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo and Clayton Kershaw will serve as their pregame analysts for their broadcasts this year.
• Former MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig has been found guilty of obstruction of justice and lying to federal officials in connection to a gambling probe.
• Andy McCullough pays tribute to Terrance Gore, (The Athletic free reg. req.) who died way too young at 34 on Saturday.
• And finally, Brian Murphy checks in with Bill Greason, who, with the death of Ron “Schoolboy” Teasley last week, became the last living member of the Negro Leagues during their major league era. Greason is also the oldest living MLB player, as he pitched three games for the Cardinals in 1954.

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