Winners in the Winter
Published on February 13, 2026 under Florida State League (FSL)
Clearwater Threshers News Release
Baseball is truly a sport that never stops. Every offseason, players from around the majors and minor leagues travel to several different countries during the fall and winter seasons to continue playing and get more reps in between minor league seasons. In shortened seasons, players who suffered injuries get a chance to get their rehab process jump-started in the offseason, while young breakout players get another chance to showcase their talents after a strong season. These leagues are supremely competitive and feature talented players in affiliated ball and even some former major leaguers on their road back to the show. The competitive spirit of these players shines brightly in the offseason, with championships on the line in shortened seasons everywhere. After a contingent of eight former Threshers helped the Surprise Saguaros to the Arizona Fall League Championship, two more winter league teams, also led by former Threshers, took home a championship in Australia and Puerto Rico, as the stars of Thresherville took home a lot of hardware over the offseason.
Phillies prospect Devin Saltiban celebrates in the dugout after a home run for the Clearwater Threshers.Tori Heck
Australian Baseball League Champion Adelaide Giants:
For the third time in the last four seasons, the partnership between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Adelaide Giants of the Australian Baseball League has resulted in a League Championship. Championship Series MVP Devin Saltiban, who spent the entirety of the 2024 minor league season in Clearwater, played a big role in the Giants' championship season, leading the ABL with 29 RBIs, 14 doubles, and nine stolen bases. In the 38 total games he played, including the playoffs, Saltiban recorded a hit in 32 of them. Despite playing most of his minor league career in the middle infield, Saltiban started all of those 38 games in centerfield without making a single error, and recorded three hits in the championship series, including a clutch home run in game one. Three more of Saltiban's minor league teammates joined him in Adelaide for the season's stretch run. Raylin Heredia was one of the three additional Phillies to join the Giants in late December, and he was a crucial part of the Giants' late-season title run. Despite playing only 15 games, Heredia finished fourth on the team with a .327 batting average and tied with team captain Jordan McArdle for six doubles, good for fourth on the team and in the top half of the ABL even though Heredia played fewer than 50 percent of the team's games. He also smacked two home runs, tied for second among Phillies prospects with Manolfi Jimenez and Alirio Ferrebus, also slugging two home runs for the Giants. Despite missing the first half of the ABL season, Raylin was on pace for better numbers in the 15 games he played than Marlins farmhand Eric Rataczak, who won the Helms Award as the league's most valuable player.
Left-handed pitching prospect Tristan Garnett fires in a pitch for the Threshers during their Independence Day celebration,Nathan Ray
Puerto Rican Winter League Champion Cagrejeros de Santurce:
Andrew Baker, Tristan Garnett, and Jose Peña Jr. all pitched multiple outings in a bullpen filled with current and former major leaguers for the Puerto Rican representative in the Caribbean Series coming this month. Los Cangrejeros de Santurce finished three games clear of Ponce to secure the best record in the regular season en route to their seventeenth league title. The Threshers' trio combined to throw 30.2 innings in a total of 30 outings, with Baker earning half of the innings (16.0) and appearances (15) among the three relievers. Neither of the three pitchers gave up a home run throughout the championship run for Santurce. Andrew Baker ('21) was one of the most reliable relievers for los Cangrejeros throughout the campaign, finishing with the fifth most appearances on the team. He was also one of three Cangrejeros with 20 or more strikeouts, finishing third on the squad with exactly 20 punchouts. Of the seven former big league pitchers on Santurce's roster, Baker finished with more K's than six of them, as well as a solid 3.38 ERA. Jose Peña Jr. ('24-25) showed off his strikeout stuff in his first taste of Winter Ball, striking out 17 batters over 12.1 innings for the league champs. After turning into a key late reliever in Clearwater and Jersey Shore last season, Peña pitched in the middle and back end of Santurce's bullpen with a 2-0 record and 4.38 ERA.
Jose Peña Jr. fires in a strike for the Threshers during their opening series against Daytona.Nathan Ray
The players mentioned above were just some of the nearly 20 former Threshers among the many Phillies farmhands playing winter ball in the offseason. Some of these players will return to Clearwater in the upcoming season, and others will use their offseasons as a jumping-off point en route to success elsewhere along the Phillies' minor league ladder. Former major leaguers are present on the field and in the dugout throughout most of these winter leagues, and these Phillies minor leaguers are sure to take some of the lessons they've learned from the players that came before as they progress through their professional careers. Most players who play for different teams in the offseason tend to have increased success the following spring, and we are certainly excited to see some of the many former Threshers who starred in winter leagues this past season continue to shine in the Phillies system.
Florida State League Stories from February 13, 2026
- Jupiter Hammerheads Announce Coaching Staff for 2026 Season - Jupiter Hammerheads
- Dunedin Blue Jays Announce 2026 Coaching Staff - Dunedin Blue Jays
- Winners in the Winter - Clearwater Threshers
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