In honor of legendary Cincinnati Reds third-string catcher Javier Valentin, pitchers and catchers have reported to the team’s Goodyear, Arizona spring training facility today, February 14th. It’s the first step towards the 2023 Major League Baseball season, however that may play out, and marks the return of baseball for us all.
There is no Luis Castillo in Goodyear today, nor Tyler Mahle. There’s also no Mike Minor, though, and the optimism surrounding the team’s talented young arsenal of arms is palpable, even if we’re all still wondering how they’re going to get through nine innings a hundred and sixty-two times without a few additional arms worth of reinforcement.