MLB news: Mets star in hilarious new ad, Phillies and Cardinals look ahead

Let’s take a look at some of the latest MLB news and notes, including a hilarious new ad for the season ahead featuring the New York Mets, a St. Louis Cardinals pitcher already talking about his role in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies laying out a big goal for this season and beyond.

MLB news: New York Mets provide the laughs in new commercial

With bigger bases and fewer pickoff attempts as part of the new rules being implemented in 2023, it is widely expected that stolen bases will go up this season.

So, with everyone thinking about stealing a bag, why shouldn’t Mets designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach? That’s the premise of a new commercial produced by Major League Baseball that brought a smile ahead of Opening Day next week.

St. Louis Cardinals news: Adam Wainwright knows what he wants in 2026

Sure, the World Baseball Classic just ended and Wainwright pitched for Team USA before being knocked out of an Opening Day spot on the mound with a groin strain, but that doesn’t mean that Wainwright can’t already be looking ahead to what his role could be for the United States when baseball superpowers collide again in three years.

Andy Pettitte served as Team USA’s pitching coach during the 2023 WBC (and helped settle Wainwright down in his final outing against Cuba), but it’s clear that Wainwright would love a chance at the job in 2026.

Philadelphia Phillies: Just one World Series win would be “disappointing”

Phillies owner John Middleton made it clear at the start of spring training that he not only expected Philadelphia to return to the Fall Classic in 2022, but also start a streak of championships for the City of Brotherly Love.

At the 13:30 mark of the clip you can hear here from Philadelphia’s 94WIP Morning Show with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie, Middleton makes his thoughts about his team’s views of winning crystal clear.

“You have short-term goals, and you have long-term goals,” Middleton said. “I spoke to them in the locker room on the first day of full practice…I started out by saying, ‘I don’t want to win a World Series.’ And people kind of looked at me. And then I said, ‘The reason I don’t want to win a World Series is, if the people in this room only win one World Series, I’m going to be really disappointed.’”

The Phillies are among the favorites to win the World Series, with one sports betting site listing them with the eighth-best odds at +1500. Those odds could go up or down depending on the severity of the injury suffered by Rhys Hoskins on Thursday.