I'm just about done with my first draft of the 2026 DTBL player pool. As is customary, I will kick things off with the list of players who will be switching positions for the upcoming season. Coincidentally, of the seven players switching positions who were keepers this year, more than half (four) are Cougars. Almost all of their retained infielders will be manning new positions in this league for '26. I will make these changes on the team rosters and free agent pool in the next couple days.
One player I would like to call out who will *not* be changing positions is free agent shortstop Jose Caballero. Had the Darkhorses retained him, they would have had the option to either keep him at SS or move him to OF because he played three more games in the outfield but recorded far more innings at shortstop. Typically in these situations with players who are not keepers, I go with the default choice of whichever position the player had the most games played. However, in this case, I made the opposite decision because the difference in innings was so dramatic and I was having a much harder time filling the infield slots anyway. Let me know if you have any issue with this decision.
Here are the players who will be changing positions for 2026:
Willson Contreras - From C to 1B
Jake Cronenworth - From 1B to 2B
Tyler Soderstrom - From 1B to OF (Cougars)
Xander Bogaerts - From 2B to SS
Colt Keith - From 2B to 3B
Otto Lopez - From 2B to SS (Cougars)
Rafael Devers - From 3B to 1B (Moonshiners)
Noelvi Marte - From 3B to OF
Joey Ortiz - From 3B to SS
Oneil Cruz - From SS to OF (Diamond Dogs)
Xavier Edwards - From SS to 2B (Cougars)
Jordan Lawlar - Form SS to 3B
Matt McLain - From SS to 2B (Cougars)
Jazz Chisholm - From OF to 2B (Mavericks)
Brendan Donovan - From OF to 2B
Tommy Edman - From OF to 2B
Spencer Steer - From OF to 1B
Clay Holmes - From RP to P
I should have the first draft of the player add/drop list posted by tomorrow at the latest and possibly even later tonight.