Dodgers Territory - Glasnow Solid in Latest Tune Up, Espinal Becoming a Roster Lock?

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

Alanna Rizzo, Katie Woo, and Clint Pasillas recap the Wednesday, March 4th game between Team Mexico and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Analysis, insight, fan reactions and more! Tyler Glasnow was mostly in control until he ran out of gas in his third inning of work. Are we seeing enough out of Glasnow to expect another step forward as a potential ace? The hosts discuss. Non-roster invitee Santiago Espinal continued his fine spring with another couple of hits. At this point, he appears to be a roster lock, but can he win out the opening day nod at second base? Katie shares her insight. Plus, the World Baseball Classic is upon us and the gang makes their tourney predictions on this edition of Dodgers Territory. Start your 7-day free trial today at FOXOne.com Check out DT merch at dodgersterritoryshop.com Support Guidry's Guardian at guidrysguardian.org Find Clint on YouTube at youtube.com/@alldodgers Follow Katie's work at The Athletic www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/katie-woo/  Subscribe to Dodgers Territory on YouTubeRate and review our podcast on Apple and SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I don't really kind of taking to stock any kind of results because guys are throwing pitches and doing different scenarios that they probably wouldn't do if this was a real actual baseball game. Come to a brand new episode of Dodgers territory. In fact, it is our first post-game episode of the Cactus League season. We are glad that you are here alongside Katie Wu, who of course is the Dodgers Beat reporter for The Athletic and co-host of the show and Clint Paseas. I am Alana Rizzo.

Okay, so let's talk about it. The Dodgers, I believe, are now 10 and three guys in Cactus League play. Today it was a bit of an exhibition game. It wasn't a Cactus League play, if you will, as the WBC starts tonight. But let's talk about it. Mexico, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Katie, I know you watch the game. You're back in LA right now for a hot second, but what do you make of the start by Tyler Glasnow?

This is, I'm in the camp, one. It is really hard to evaluate starting pitchers in the, spring training. I like to see three regular season starts to really see where a starting pitcher is. But if we are going to over react over the Cactus League exhibition games, I think Tyler Glass now was right on track. He had three meetings today got a little fatigue towards the end. But I think it's important to remember as we talk about pitchers and evaluating them throughout spring, especially the veterans, guys are throwing just trying to throw their entire arsenal and get a feel for certain pitches. So you're going to see Tyler Glass now, among others, just kind of throw

pitches that he normally wouldn't in certain counts just to get a better feel. You're going to see him maybe, you know, wants to spot the fastball in a different location or work on the off speed, or maybe he just wants a better grip on one of his breaking balls and just try to get more reps. So especially this early on, I don't really kind of taking a stock any kind of results because guys are throwing pitches and doing different scenarios that they probably wouldn't do if this was a real actual baseball game. The big thing for Tyler Glass now is just coming out healthy. And he's looked pretty good so far and i think the daughters really need that to continue we've talked about the rotation and all the question marks tyler glass now needs to have a strong april so it's

less about what he's doing in the box for and more about how he feels in the weight room training room after that yeah i mean in my opinion he looked good he looked mostly in control early in this game guys just ran out of gas in that third inning you know hit the 50 pitch mark for the first time but four hits 4Ks, a walk on 51 pitches in his, what, third appearance of the spring. I take that. I think we are trending in the right direction. Like you mentioned, Katie, he was busting off a lot of curveballs in this game, especially in the early endings. But all signs point to being ready for opening day. I like that Tyler Glasnow is given an opportunity to have a pause, right? You don't, I mean, I think everybody wants these guys to break camp.

about 65 pitches being able to throw five, six innings. But we are very fortunate to have the depth and the starting rotation that the Los Angeles Dodgers have. Now it's a little bit of a setback, of course, with Gavin Stone. We know very well that Blake Snell is not going to start on the opening day in the rotation on opening day, but that's okay. I mean, we have enough depth. One thing I did like, though, is it gives opportunities as we continue to ramp up for other guys

to get some work more about that in a second. Before we get to that, guys, don't forget you can support the show. appreciate it. But rate us five stars, like and subscribe to Dodgers Territory, the podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your pods. You can also do it, of course, on YouTube as we try to make our way to 20,000 subscribers. All right. Let's talk about some of the talking points, not named Tyler Glasnow and Brennan Bernardino, guys, the starter, of course, for Team Mexico. Four or five and six hole is a order in the lineup, Clint, that they carried this team. I think for the first three innings four through six was six four six so you got to love what you're seeing from four through six say that ten ten yeah there's a lot of numbers right there and this is not a math show alana but um yeah Andy pa has hitting his first homer his first dinger the season follows it up as well with with a double in there and this is a kid that needs to have a big season it needs to have a complete season in my opinion um we saw a lot of good a lot of bad some in between we also saw a lot of

improvements on his defense. And the game continued to trend up until he just kind of fell off a cliff in the month of October. But he had a nice game. Dalton rushing coming out to Schneide a little bit as well. You mentioned a couple hits in there. An RBI triple, RBI double. And a big guy.

This is a guy I know a lot of people at camp are watching, Katie, Santiago, Espinall. Also two hits. A double, an RBI stolen base. We like Espinall. First, Alana, what are your thoughts on Santiago? But that's exactly what I was actually going to ask Katie, having been around the club as much as she has right now. I mean, this is a guy that Katie that was a non-roster invitee, obviously, it was with the Cincinnati Reds, I believe, last season. And he's really making a case.

He played third base today for the Los Angeles daughters, but he's really making a case perhaps to get some significant time at second base for the club. I think Clint and I talked about it on, I think it was Monday, that that's probably the only question mark is who's going to get the bowl. of time, the bulk of reps at second. Obviously, there's a lot of guys that can do it. What have been your impression so far of Espinall? And is he a legitimate candidate to make this roster? I think just based on how he's played, Dave Roberts has been so complimentary of Espinall.

And he does have the advantage of Haisson Kim going to the World Baseball Classic that opens up a lot more playing time for Espinall to continue doing what he's doing. And it's just playing his way around the diamond and playing at a high quality level of baseball. The Dodgers love their Swiss Army knife guys that they can kind of plug and play throughout the diamond. And while the opening and the starting lineup is kind of that platoon with Miguel Rojas at second base, Espinall is going to play his way right into that conversation if he hasn't already.

Again, talking to Dave Roberts, this is a guy that has stood out early. He has made a major league experience. Heisson cameras looks really good as well. But again, he's going to be away from the team for the next week or so at least playing for Korea and the WBC. So that opens the door. It makes the competition a little bit more exciting. There is virtually no other position battle that we could be talking about right now. So I think we're going to be even more focused on what the second base looks like.

But the only thing that gives me pause, Alana, and you mentioned it, is the fact that he's a non-roster guy. The Dodgers are obviously very so protective of their 40-man roster spot. So he would require a roster move to make this team. But if he keeps making the plays that he has, if he keeps hitting the way that he has and keeps him pressing throughout camp, He could force a difficult decision, especially with Kim opting. And obviously you respect a guy who wants to go play for his country. You never question that. But takes advantage of the time that Kim has kind of forfeited.

Maybe Espinall can go in there and make this a little bit more interesting of a position battle than we originally thought. You know, when we talk about spring training results, it does not matter for the guys that know that they have a job, right? But for guys that are non-roster invitees, that it does matter. And you'd much rather be producing as a non-roster invite, like, espinal is then the latter than not doing it if you don't have a job clint i will ask you this this next guy has a job we know that he's going to be there but lucy chen in our chat lucy chan 3 792 brings up a good point do the dodgers need to find more playing time for rushing if they're not going to trade him dalton rushing today two for two an rbi rbi triple as well as an rbi double um you know

we know that he will spell will smith here and there but will smith got a 10 year 300 a $300 million contract. You know what I mean? So they're going to play him until he gets older and move them to first base if that's what they decide to do with Big Willie style. Does Dalton rushing need to be playing more, Clint? If he's going to be playing more, Dalton needs to play his way into the lineup. And, you know, he's gotten off the Schneide, like I mentioned, I think Saturday he hit his

first homer of the spring and he's kind of been on a little bit of a slug tear since, couple of homers, double and a triple today, which sadly again, don't count towards. his Cactus League stats, but they count right here where it matters most in our heart and on my podcast logo. But yeah, the only way he's in get more playing time is by telling Dave Roberts, telling this front office, you see me doing it with the bat out there when I'm getting that opportunity. Let me do more.

Let me play some more first base. And that's another whole conversation, of course, with Freddie Freeman. Dave has already said he's not going to play any outfield. But if he goes out there, he wants to shagg some fly balls on his own. obviously that's not his job but you know it's it's BP the boys are out there

shagging fly balls anyways have a little fun with it a little more difficult for him as a catcher trying to do his catcher duties and learn his staff and all of that kind of stuff might be a little bit more difficult for him to impress outside of just hitting but that's his way to

playing time is if you see see ball hit ball they're going to see you hit ball and maybe you get more of a playing more of a chance to get more playing time. Well, Dalton rushing is going to have to box Freddie Freeman. If you think for one second, that Freddie Freeman is going to take a day off until after the day after the Dodgers clinch a post season. You know how Freddie is, wants to play 162, at least 161. Emin Schian, this is a guy that a lot of people, Katie, in that Dodgers organization think very highly of. Had a decent

outing today. One in a third innings did give up the earn run. He left the bases loaded in the fifth Carlos Duran bailing him out. He dealt with the flu early on this spring training. So this was his 2026 Cactus League debut. Now with Blake Snell on the slow play, if you will, and Gavin Stone dealing with that shoulder setback, is this even more important for Emmett Sheehan to take another step? And is he almost a lock for the Dodgers starting rotation at this point? You know, Alana, I actually would have said that Emmett Sheehan was almost a lock for the Dodgers rotation even before we knew that Blake Snell would be slow playing to the point where he wouldn't be ready for opening day. And honestly, coming into spring, Emmett Sheehan was one of the

pictures I was most excited to see because I think that he is going to be one of the most undervalued pieces for this rotation to stay aflo, very similar to what he did in the second half of last year. We've talked to Dave Roberts about the kind of different roles that he sees from those guys, maybe on the outside of rotation, Emmett Shee and Justin Robleski, they are firmly being brought up as starters. And Dave Roberts has said they are starters until they are told otherwise. This organization knows the value of pitching depth. They have so much of it. But Emmett Sheet, to me, he represents someone that can be, you know, I think when we look at the Dodgers rotation, there's like a first half rotation and a second half rotation. You can mix and match the guys.

I think Emmett Sheehan is a guy that can be in the rotation all season long because he is effective. He looked really good in that second half last year. And the Dodger needed him to be. Because when you think about the workload that a lot of these guys are coming off, Roki Sasaki's coming off, you know, half of a season. Tyler Glassdown missed a lot of time. Blake Snell, well, they don't know when they're going to get him back. We talked a lot about what Otani is going to look like coming back from WBC. Outside of Glassdown, he has a healthy spring and Yamamoto coming back from the WBC,

there are not a lot of guys that are going to be built up ready to start. So I think the Dodgers are going to need Emmett Sheen to do exactly that. The good news is talking to him last week, He doesn't feel like even though he missed a couple of days with that sickness, that he's really all that far behind. Getting an up today, inning and a third shows that he's right on schedule. I think he's absolutely going to be critical to this Dodgers team in April. And I'd make the case that he stays in this rotation all season long.

Yeah, you're talking about a dude who was very important for this ball club last year, came back from the Tommy John surgery, was inserted in that start a rotation, didn't give up a spot until there was very clearly four dudes better than him. ahead of him for the postseason. But now with Snow on the sideline, Gavin Stone, you don't know what you're going to get for sure. This is his opportunity to continue to hold on to. And one guy he should be watching over his shoulder a little bit

as the season progresses, River Ryan, that's a kid that is impressing me a whole lot. He's impressing other people. He's just an impressive boy in general, putting on a little bit of mass in the offseason and all that kind of stuff. My kind of guy, if you're putting on mass, Sorry, I had to throw that in there. But, you know, once again, you know, Katie, we were talking just before the show.

It's a ho-hum and, Alana, we've talked about it as well. It's a whole-hum boring spring training in the best way possible because, you know, you cut off one head, two more take its place or three more take its place. It's really fun to be a Dodger fan, everybody. Sorry. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now, I guess, also is the car. host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids.

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Search for IHard TikTok Radio. Make it a preset and stay connected all day. Maybe has River Ryan impressed you? You know what? He has. and I think the beginning of spring, we kind of saw Gavin Stone and River Ryan at the same time, maybe kind of projected along the depth chart in the same area.

And I know Andrew Friedman on this show said the same thing. Guys, he was excited to see. And I honestly thought, based on bullpens alone, which, you know, you're not dealing with a lot of stats. They're just going on gut fuel. That Gavin Stone looked a little bit more ahead of River Ryan in terms of Velo command. I think that first week or so from River Ryan,

it was just more like, okay, he's healthy, but he's not all the way right. But he's looked much better in live action than I think I would have first expected. And you always have to be cognizant of coming back from elbow surgery. It's a much different recovery timeline than, say, Gavin Stone's shoulder surgery. So I think there might have been a little bit of pause from the organization as well. But if River Ryan can keep sustaining the below, can keep commanding the pitches, he's right in there, right under Sheehan for me and someone that can step up and be kind of that hybrid arm in the rotation.

We've talked about this where the daughters aren't sure if they're going to do a five man or a six man. They have some off days in April that allow them to be flexible with their schedule. But they're going to need some bulk guys because a lot of their starters probably aren't going to be ready to go. In a perfect world, Dave Roberts has five pitchers that are stretched out to five innings, 75 pitches or so. I don't know if he's going to get exactly five, but he certainly needs at least three. But you're going to need a bolt guy to kind of serve in that hybrid role. And I wonder if River Ryan can play his way into consideration. Given the strides that he's made from week one to week three, it looks a lot better than I think of you in the organization.

would have thought. Yeah, River Ryan has been impressive. Certainly Alex Vessia, I think everybody on the planet that knows Alex's situation is cheering for him, right, and wants him to do well. Clint, once again, Electric, he has pretty much dominated every single batter that he has faced this spring in what has now been his fourth outing and Cactus League play. Yeah, that is a man right now on a mission. Great Spring kind of continuing where he left off last season, had himself a really nice

year last year he was the anchor of that bullpen and obviously um as fans you know the team itself we we all witnessed the pain of not having him around in that world series thankfully they were able to just barely survive it win it by you know a quarter inch of a cleat uh to to advance and go ahead and win that world series but alex vessia is kind of i i think at this point in his career the de facto like leader the bullpen dog the lead definitely the leader of the bullpen dogs that are But when you're talking about him combining with the hopefully a bounceback season, Blake Trinan in there, you know, him also another scoreless appearance there, works around the lead off double, his third scoreless appearance of the spring. Jack Dreyer, one of the younger dogs in the mix there.

Ben Casperius gives up a run late in the game. But all of the guys that are important to this bullpen mix early in the season, they all pitched well. And they're continuing. There's, Katie, you'll be the expert here having. been at spring training much longer than we were, everybody seems to be on the right track on the bullpen side of things as well. Even Tanner Scott, I mean, yesterday, I think he threw a scoreless appearance. Yeah, we'll use expert loosely, Clint. But yeah, I think, you know, as we wrap up for spending, the bullpen looks good. And Dave Roberts has been candid about how the bullpen

just wasn't effective last year. And there are a lot of guys outside of Edmund Diaz, who has looked phenomenal, by the way, are left for Puerto Rico for the WBC, but that dude is was locked as it gets. And Dave Roberts has said, it really matters that these veteran guys can thrive in the set up man role. So he's absolutely expecting bounce back seasons from Tanner Scott, Blake Trine, and Alex Vessia has played his way into more leverage situation throughout his career. So that kind of threesome of veterans is going to be super important as they kind of align up the leverage innings, which allows Edwin Diaz to go and take the ninth. And the Dodgers have a bona fide closer for the first time in years because even once I mean Tanner Scott, they didn't, obviously.

automatically assign him the ninth in the ninth. You're Dave Roberts. You can work backwards in terms of lining up leverage. You have Tanner Scott that can maybe take on a lefty role where he's more inclined to find more success. You have Blake Trinan if he's pitching well and he's looked pretty good so far. Bessia, another option. That allows those guys to kind of take the bulk of the setup man role and allow someone

like a Jack Dreyer or Ben Casparius to kind of find their footing and breathe in the five or six innings. So already, if this goes, of course, starting a plan and bull pens don't always do that. But already, I think it's lining up for a much better, less stressful, more optimizable matchup situation for Dave Roberts to get to Diaz in the ninth. And guys, I'm so fired up to hear those trumpets.

Like, honestly, I loved it at City Field. Imagine it at Dodger Stadium because it's so loud there. So imagine how loud those trumpets are going to be when Diaz comes in for his first safe situation. Yeah, the first time at Dodger Stadium, that is going to be a trip. And I tell you what, I feel a lot more confident about this bullpen going into the 2026 season than I did.

About our bullpins for a really long time, you ask any front office member, and it's the bullpen that keeps these guys up at night. Hopefully they don't have to deal with that this year. Much more to come on Dodgers Territory. First, we want to ask you to please consider supporting the show with some sweet DT swag. Visit the Dodgers Territory shop. Pick yourself up a t-shirt, a hoodie, a mug, a duffel bag, and get yourself looking fly for the new season while directly supporting us

and the entire foul territory. family go to dodgers territory shop.com or scan that QR code click the link in the description below support the show in style we appreciate it we thank you very much for your support all right guys all of our world baseball classic coverage is brought to you by our friends at fox one which is live stream all your fox favorites together in one place including all wbc games over the next few weeks and after that the best major league baseball action all season long and katy you have seen it in the clubhouses as guys have departed they grab their bag they grab their stuff and they're out the door heading to their respective sites for the wbc obviously shoi otani yoshinobu yamamoto for

team jimmyr for team jesus i which is right down the road these guys working out but it's fun because the world baseball classic begins tonight and i think it's a great turn of tournament. Shohei, so emotional. I'm sure you saw the, you know, the pan and the white from the Japanese flag into Shohei's face and he had, you know, the emotion overcoming his face. This is a great thing for the sport. What have you noticed just being around the guys and in those clubhouses, especially the ones that are playing in the WBC? I'm a huge proponent of the WBC. I'll actually be out there in Miami starting next week. So super excited. Quick pause from Dodgers coverage, but I promise I'm coming back.

And I think the WBC just allows baseball fans outside of the United States to see how differently baseball is played in other countries. And that's my favorite thing about the WBC and talking to some of these guys is learning like, okay, this means something different to those in Japan or this really means something different to Puerto Rico. You think about how passionate the Latin American countries are. You get to see all of that on one big stage. And I had a conversation with Kike Hernandez. as I actually saw him before I heard him, which is hard to do. Because even though he's not playing for Puerto Rico, he does have that patented bleached blonde hair.

And he walked in and I was like blinded because it was so bright. And just talking to Kike about how much the WBC means to him, he got chills talking about it. And I just think that goes to show just how special it is to go out and play meaningful baseball here in March. Edwin Diaz, we wrote about this in the athletic today. He could have had every understanding. standing based on what happened to him last or three years ago in this tournament.

We all remember the gruesome torn Pateller injury that after team Puerto Rico knocked out the DR at their rival in what was just an electric game. And he said it was an easy decision. He said he gets to go home and play in Puerto Rico in front of his family and friends in his home country for the first time in his professional career. And just to see the emotion, I just, I'm all in on the WBC. I haven't even gotten a team USA. It's the most staff they've looked since the tournament starts.

But it just goes and it shows just how much it means the players and their fans. And for baseball to have this all together again, I just, I couldn't speak more highly of it. All right. I really, I just found this out. Kike Hernandez just posted on Instagram about 26 minutes ago that he and his wife, Mariana, they had their, they had their baby. So welcome to the world, Santiago Jose Ednandez. And Penelope, of course, is a big sister.

It looks like Santiago was born on February 25th. Obviously, he is beautiful. Congratulations to the Hernandez family. That's very exciting news. So a big week and change for Kiki Hernandez. Yoshinovo Yamamoto Clint was asked the other day. Obviously, he's playing for Team Japan. And he was asked the other day, and only the Dodgers really recently

are of the authority to be able to answer this question. But would you rather have a gold medal as a member of your country, playing for a member of your country, or would you rather win a World Series championship? And I think he answered it so well because he said they're both wonderful, but they're different. You know what I mean? And I'm paraphrasing here. But they're both great, but they're equal.

You know, there are different types of wins, but the importance of each is equal. What do you make of it? I'm sorry. I can't on this one. I just saw a comment in the chat. Justin's saying Lance Lynn just gave up a Homer. Santiago Hernandez. That is insanely good.

Sorry, by the way, we're eventually going to get to the table. chat with everybody. So do sit tight. We appreciate you all hanging out with us. What are we talking about? Yoshinomi Yamamoto? Yeah, I love him. Yeah, he's the best. And apparently he's got a future in politics because that was a very, very diplomatic answer from Yama. I would imagine different but equally important. Has somebody who has won several softball games in his life and occasionally a championship or two, you know, they all have their own special meaning. Please, please nobody clipped us on the foul side. This is a very dumb, joking diatribe, as you would imagine.

But for him to go out there and be like the undisputed ace of Team Japan, the undisputed ace, obviously, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and understand how like both band bases are very closely

watching what he's doing. I mean, most of Team Japan is also team Dodger fans these days as well. But I don't know. Diplomatic answer. That's something to wrap it. Obviously, I got distracted by Justin's insanely great comment, but I love it. I think it's a great answer. I do wonder about this.

Katie, you were at Camelback a little bit longer. I want to mix this in quickly. Is this new? He's doing kind of the shot put. If you guys are watching on the YouTube side and not listening on the podcast side, it looks like maybe a weighted ball and he's doing sort of a shot put stance. Did you see that at all, Camelback? I did not.

Is he like, look, I know the Olympics, the Summer Olympics are in L.A. in two years? Is he like prepping? I'm, WBC. Like, what's next? Olympic Games? Here I come. I don't know. I got to talk to Hero about this. I don't know what this means. Yeah, yeah. Well, we'll get to the bottom of that one because that started making its rounds a little bit on the social media. I don't even know if maybe it's an old clip. It could be if anybody else knows in the comments.

I think he really just wants to be in the Olympics. Javalin, shot foot, all the things. I mean, maybe he's going to start the high jump, long jump. We'll see. the man can do it all and he rescued a dog carlo out of the shelter system so i'm a massive yamamoto fan you know who else i'm a massive fan of and that would be clayton edward kersha who is doing the last hurrah if you will of his unbelievable career in an american eagle headband and a usa usa tank i love this man this is unbelievable he showed up on the pat macafee show dressed like this which is just absolute gold kids by the way he said he bought all of that on Amazon because he didn't have any team USA gear yet.

I don't believe what a guy. Yeah, it's probably a lie. I would think, Kirsch isn't the type to lie, but like someone's got to give, I could see that coming out of McAfee's closet, to be honest with you. I mean, so anyway, Kirchow's having a great time. And Katie, you are new to the club in terms of covering the club, but Kirshah is a very, very strict competitor and do not get in that man's way on the day that he starts. But it has been wonderful to see him have some personality, let loose, dad bought in full display. And he's having so much fun at what has been an unbelievable hall of fame career. This has got to be kind of the icing on the cake for Kirsch. What do you think?

Well, I won. I think I've seen that exact outfit on like every single male to ever enter Bass Pro shops. And I actually, I don't hate the headband. I really, I actually don't. It's good headband. You're going to commit. If you're going to commit to Team USA, need to go all the way. So that means bald eagle headband. But this is awesome. And I was having this conversation with a couple of players too on how the WBC kind of brings out a different element and more personality because it means so much to play for Team USA. And Clayton Kershaw has always wanted to do this. And, you know, I think he's given so much to the Dodgers, so much to baseball. He's a first ballot hall of famer. And now he gets to go out and have fun. And I think Mark

DeRosa said using Kershaw would be a break glass in case of emergency situation. I hope obviously that it's like, you know, USA is up 20 runs and Kirshall gets to go in and just do it. Because some guys earn that opportunity. Kirshah is absolutely one of them. My only thing is like headband needs to be on under the Team USA hat. At this point, that is a non-negotiable thing for me. That just screams America. Like it just doesn't get anybody.

I love this for Kirsch. And I think it's great for fans. I think it's great for baseball. It's great for Team USA. More personality out of our usually stoic competitors is a good thing. Yes, and Clint, he did pitch today. I don't remember the exact line, but he did pitch today. And oh, here it is.

All right. Thanks, Bob. It was good for a retired dude. Yeah, one way. Yeah, came out of retirement for this. Zero punchouts, 13 pitches, almost half of those, which were strikes. And Mark DeRosa, the manager of Team USA said, listen, he's going to be a behind the glass type of break the glass type of guy in an emergency situation. Kershaw understands the role and he's relishing it.

And I love this for him because he was not able to participate in the last WBC in 2020. So good for him. I love it. Good for you, Kersh. We're all digging it, of course. Will Smith, the Homer against Colorado. That's always nice. Split in time guys with Cal Raleigh, who I think should have been the American League most valuable player.

I mean, that's a heck of a backstop tandem when you think about that Clint between Will Smith and the big dumper. Yeah, there's both America's catchers right there. Get them that same headband. You know, if Team Puerto Rico has the dyed white hair and all that, I think that could be the hairband for Team USA, ride that to, is that, would it be their first win? Or they win like the second? No, they won in 2017.

That's right. That was, yeah, 2017 over Puerto Rico. Oh, sure, yeah. Anyways, yeah, they're having, this is fun. I love this tournament. It keeps getting bigger and better. And, you know, I guess we could have our picks to win it all. I don't know if you guys, I don't know if you're allowed to do that,

but who's a team, not necessarily that you want to win, but do you think wins or both. No, this is an awesome exercise, and I know I'm allowed to do it because we just did it for the athletics. So I asked. Check out that article. Yeah, go read it. I don't know when it's coming out for you. I think as I was looking at the lineups between the DR and the United States, I was so, so torn, but I had to go USA because it's so deep. And I honestly think for a long time in this tournament, the United States, like we know they had a hard time getting pitchers for a very long time.

They kind of thought about this as maybe not like the most important thing for them. And I think that's changed. Bryce Harper's playing for the first time since he was a teenager. You have Paul Skeens, you have Scoobl, and I know he's only pitching one. I get it. It's fine. You have Logan Webb, who I think is obviously ace caliber pitcher as well. And it's so hard for me to find a hole in this lineup. And the DR is stacked.

And I've loved watching those exhibition games against Detroit, just seeing all the personality and the flare. But I would not be surprised. I know that Team Japan is the reigning champion, but I don't think they're quite as deep as they were in 2023. I think this is a DR versus USA matchup. I think it goes USA. So maybe that's my sponsorship for me to get one of those headbands.

If you're listening to this headband maker, I actually, the more I think about it, the more I want. I don't know who makes it Amazon. That's the one. Get it to her. We need to set up a PEO box. I love that Katie has the DR against US, that Japan didn't even make the final game. Clint, who are you taking? Yeah, that was one of the teams I really wanted to mention.

You know, we talked about it. They talked about it on Baseball America yesterday as well. Check out the Hot Sheet Show, everybody. Shameless plug for the network. But, all right. I think Team USA pulls it off. The big question is going to be, if they make it to a finale, it's going to be a rookie. It's going to be still rated prospect, Nolan McLean, starting that game.

And yeah, it'll be all hands on deck except for somebody like Paul Skeen. And you definitely won't see Terrick Scoobel in there. But that gives me some concern. But you look at that team, Dominican Republic roster, they are stacked. It's really going to be for them about, there's a lot of dudes that maybe want to step up and be the leader. That doesn't always work very well. And I will single out Manny Machado as somebody who wants to be the leader in San Diego. And when things aren't going right, he kind of turtles.

They need somebody to step up and pull up that whole ball. club by its bootstraps. And I could definitely see that being the finale because Team Japan, as good as they are, they've taken a few steps back. They don't have Roki Sasaki in there. You don't have Shohei Otani in that starting rotation this year. That is a big difference. They're still very good. But yeah, I think I'm with Katie on this one. I think we got the same prediction. I see you that you're worried about our pitching and I raise you. We just need to score one more run. And that USA lineup is unbelievably. stacked, not taking anything away from the DR, but I tell you, you cannot, in my opinion,

there has not been a more potent lineup assembled in the history of the game than what Team USA has right now. I mean, that is the sickest lineup I have ever seen. So I think they outslugged their way, regardless of having any sort of shortcomings on the pitching side, because we know Terrick Scoobble is only going to make one outing. Paul Skeens is probably going to be limited in terms of what they allow him to do, Ovi. But I think the Team USA position players are just so dang good. And I, you know, I don't know who the runner-up is going to be in terms of who plays them. I don't know enough about Team Japan this year to speak intelligently on it, but I know that Team USA is going to be in the final game. And I say that they are crowned champions.

So anyway, not that, who knows? That's why we're all experts until we're wrong, right? If they win, can we all go get this? Absolutely. You know what, speaking of that, I would wear that outfit on the show. I would wear it anywhere. But by the way, can Fanatics hook us up too? Have you guys seen like all of the people with the fanatic stuff? And it's called, you know, Fanatics is sending like all these sideline reporters and stuff. Hashtag gifted by Fanatics like all the WBC gear.

Like what are we? Hello. Fanatics. No, I guess our show didn't make the cut because I said the same thing. I was like, oh, cool team USA pullover that I didn't get all my friends. Amazing. Hello. Come on Fanatics.

From the WBC through the World Series to the World Cup, stop Clint, to NASCAR and IndyCar with Fox 1. You get it all live. Start your seven-day free trial. Seven-day free trial two-day offers are subject to change. Download Fox 1 today and stream the World Baseball Classic Live March 6th through the 14th. Go to Fox1.com for complete terms and conditions. Fox 1 streaming now. I'm John Green.

You may know me as the author of The Fault in Our Stars. and now, I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game, and I fell in love.

On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan.

I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, we got to be better influencers, guys. That's what it is. Hashtag influencer, put that on your Instagram reel and smoke it. Hey, how about a little bit of chat?

All right. Kat's out of the bag. I'm not wearing a hat. The chat has been quite vocal about it. Shout out to my barber. Sal, I got a haircut today. Sal's barber and Whittier. Sal Barber.

Sal's Barbershop and Whittier right there off Norwalk and Beverly. He's the man. A very, very good barber, very, very. It makes me look halfway decent on occasion. But other than that, people are hanging out with us in the chat. Yong Yi said earlier, if you don't pick, or if they don't, Dodgers don't pick Espinall, you know the Padres are going to sign them because Padres will be signing up every sort of, I guess, I don't want to say dumpster dive dude, but they're signing everybody that doesn't

have a job right now, at least to a degree. Alex Verdugo got a job with them. Come on. What else do we have? Erica is suggesting that Freddie might take some days off because of the, a new kid in the family. You only, you only get like three days. Paternity leaves only like three days.

Like, that's not, it's not like they can do it like, you know, corporate America where, you know, dad takes six months or mom takes six months and dad takes three months. It doesn't work that way. They get three days. Just like the bereavement list. So that's not going to work. Could lead to a couple of days off where maybe. Okay.

Okay. One 60 instead of 162, that's really a half dollar rushing. I still don't think even, and I don't believe it's Chelsea. carrying the baby. I think they're doing it through surrogacy. But even if they have the baby, I don't see Freddie missing a game. But that's just my opinion. I don't know if it's the last one, but Justin also, he's just clattering around in the chat says, hey, guys, can you imagine testing positive for PEDs twice in the span of 10 months? I can know that guy is irrelevant. He's so irrelevant. Justin, you're kind of on one. But I think my favorite thing about

the statement was the Braves actually released basically the exact same statement as last time, except the first statement included the word, surprised. And the second one did not include that word. So still disappointed though, Katie. They're still disappointed. They're just not surprised. Yeah. That's like what my mom would say to me in high school. Like Ms. Curfew again, disappointed, but not surprised. You kidding, Miss Curfew again? My sister and I, Brianna, would have been, we wouldn't have seen the light a day had we missed. curfew, Miss curfew again. We were raised by a single Cuban mother.

No flipping chance. Yeah, as we continue our conversation about, you know, competition this week, we have giraffe neck mark joining us from MetStup and also the internet. We'll be live again tomorrow Thursday, 12 o'clock Pacific time. But, Riz, we were talking about this on Monday. I don't know. The Braves seem like even worse to be on this list now because they lost one. outfielder just just to throw the I mean we didn't think we didn't think that they were going to be

that much of a threat anyway as far as the national league competition is concerned and now even less than and now we know why jerks and profar has been as productive as he has been apparently so don't do drugs kids don't your drugs all right guys thank you so much for being here on our first post game show of the cactus league season we appreciate it very much don't forget to like and subscribe trying to get to 20,000 subscribers you guys can help us get there Part of the Fowel Territory Network, and we will be back tomorrow, talking all things Mets in terms of their realistic approach to how they would take down the Dodgers if they do.

For Katie Wu, Clint Pesias, and our entire Dodgers territory crew, I'm Alonarizzo. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End, with my old friend Daniel on our podcast, The Away End.

we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son?

And I'm like, who is this person? Welcome to the Boys and Girls podcast. Arranged Marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family? I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition, hoping to find love the right way.

And instead, I found chaos, comedy, and a lot of cringe. Listen to boys and girls on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Ceno Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural, Icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to bench, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more.

I'm an alcoholic. And without this probe, I'm going to die. Listen to the Cino show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.