‘There’s no hate,’ says bowler ahead of return to St George’s Park
Pair clashed in Gqeberha during heated series six years ago
Kagiso Rabada insists there is no lingering bad blood with Australia as the South Africa speedster prepares to return to the site of his controversial clash with Steve Smith.
Rabada has been declared fit to come back from his hamstring tear and face Australia in the second Test at St George’s Park, in his first match since May. The South African’s return comes at a crucial point in the series, with the hosts fighting to stay alive after their 214-run pumping in Durban last week.
CORAL GABLES, FL - MAR 12: Miami right-handed pitcher Alejandro Rosario (24) pitches in the first inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the NC State Wolfpack on March 12, 2023, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Last offseason, the Nats traded MacKenzie Gore in exchange for five prospects. Four of those prospects have already played, and have shown varying levels of promise. However, there was a 5th who had to miss all of last season with Tommy John Surgery. The story of Alejandro Rosario is mysterious, but he posted that he was back on the mound for the first time in over 600 days.
Remember RHP Alejandro Rosario? Top pitching prospect acquired in the Gore trade. He's back on the mound for the first time in over 600 days. Pitching here at the #Nats facility in West Palm Beach. pic.twitter.com/XgcciAJgED
Rosario was always the wild card of the Gore deal. He has had a strange and volatile baseball career so far. Coming out of high school, Rosario was a known commodity. However, he decided to forgo the draft in favor of pitching at the University of Miami. He struggled at Miami, posting an ERA over 7 in his sophomore and junior seasons.
Despite that, Rosario still got drafted in the 5th round by the Rangers in 2023 due to his pedigree and stuff. The gamble the Rangers made on Rosario immediately looked like a wise one. He shredded the lower minors in his first season of pro ball. Rosario posted a 2.24 ERA with 129 strikeouts to just 13 walks in 88.1 innings in 2024.
Alejandro Rosario | RHP | 24 yo
Before his elbow injury in 2024, Rosario posted absurd K/BB numbers that landed him on top 100 lists.
A+, AA (2024): 2.24 ERA | 0.93 ERA | .207 BAA 88.1 IP | 129 SO | 13 SO
Those numbers made him a top 100 prospect. There were not many holes in Rosario’s profile at the time. His fastball sat around 96-97 and could touch 100. The right paired that with a filthy splitter that took major strides forward in pro ball. That pitch sat around 90 MPH and was a wipeout offering. His last pitch is a nasty slider that flashed plus.
The raw stuff was impressive, but I would argue his command was even better. Rosario had some strike-throwing problems at Miami, but he pounded the zone in the pros. He walked less than 4% of hitters in 2024. That combination just overwhelmed minor league hitters.
5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 9 K for Alejandro Rosario in the @GoWoodDucks shutout win on Saturday.
— Rangers Player Development (@TEXPlayerDev) May 26, 2024
However, Rosario has not thrown a pitch since that season, which makes him a very boom or bust prospect. Before the 2025 season, Rosario suffered a torn UCL which required Tommy John Surgery. The issue is that Rosario did not actually undergo Tommy John Surgery in 2025.
It is unclear why that did not happen. I am not sure if we will ever know the full details, but it seems like there was some other issue that prevented the surgery. It might have been medical or something else, but the surgery did not happen.
Even after Rosario got traded to the Nats, there was mystery surrounding whether he got the surgery. It was reported he got the surgery in the winter, but it turned out that was not the case. Eventually, Rosario finally got the surgery though.
With the news that Rosario is throwing again, it seems like the recovery is going well. Heading into next season, this will be one of the more fascinating storylines to follow. Rosario is also Rule 5 eligible this offseason, so the Nats have a decision to make there as well.
Obviously, this is far from a guarantee, but if Rosario looks like he did in 2024, he will be the best player from the Gore package. Sure, he turns 25 in January, but the combination of stuff and command is rare. Of all the minor leaguers, he might be the one I am most intrigued by.
There are so many possibilities here. Maybe the best role for him could be in the bullpen, at least to start. After all, it will take him a while to build up from an innings perspective. However, there is a world where Rosario could have a Cade Cavalli like trajectory where he is a top of the rotation arm in a couple years.
It is nice to finally have news about Rosario. Hopefully, there are no ill effects from the surgery and he can thrive again. One of the reasons Toboni wanted a volume focused package for Gore was so he can take a gamble on Rosario. This is a mysterious situation, but there is monster upside in Alejandro Rosario.
TUSCON, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Demetrio Crisantes #1 of the Salt River Rafters throws to first base during the game between the Scorpions and the River Rafters at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday, October 10, 2026 in Tuscon, Arizona. (Photo by Jill Weisleder/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
The MLB playoffs are not the only professional baseball going on right now. Here in Arizona, the Arizona Fall League (AFL) is showcasing some of the game’s top prospects in a rather more… relaxed setting, shall we say. There are six teams in the AFL, each being a combination of prospects from five different MLB teams. They play against each other for a period of about a month, at venues around the Valley, along with an All-Star game and a Championship Game at the end of the year. Arizona’s prospects play at the team’s spring home of Salt River Fields, as part of the Salt River Rafters.
Nine games into the season, the Rafters are 6-3. That’s good enough for second-place, but only half a game separate the leaders, the Scottsdale Scorpions, from the Rafters and the Surprise Saguaros. It has been a very offensive-minded league, with teams averaging 6.11 runs per game. But that’s absolutely par for the course: last year’s figure was almost identical at 6.13. The Rafters are middle of the pack on both sides of the ball, currently ranked third by OPS (.754) and fourth by ERA (5.42). However, they do have the best fielding percentage at .981, having made only six errors – that’s one-third of the total made by the Saguaros (18 across their nine games).
Eight Diamondbacks prospects are present on the Rafters roster, three position players and five pitchers. Leading the way is Demetrio Crisantes, Arizona’s No. 1 prospect and their only representative in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, where he is No. 84 overall. He got off to a hot start, going 8-for-17 across his first four games, including a 4-for-5 night against the Mesa Solar Sox, where he had a double, 4 RBIs, 3 runs, and stole a base. However, things have become considerably tougher since, Crisantes adding just one more hit in 15 at-bats, with five strikeouts. His line is now down to .281/.324/.438, though the .762 OPS is still the best among the D-backs hitters.
Also seeing time is outfielder Nathan Hall, who perhaps has the weirdest line of any hitter in the AFL to date. He hasn’t hit much, going 3-for-22 with five K’s. But he has amassed eleven walks in that time: so while his BA is an underwhelming .136, his OBP is a perfectly respectable .424. Not many players have an OBP more than twice their SLG (.182). We’ll see if it lasts. Finally, there’s third baseman Yassel Soler. While ranked as the system’s No. 30 prospect by MLB Pipeline, he has just a .377 OPS, having gone 3-for-20 with two walks and no extra-base hits. However, worth noting Soler is still just 20 years old, making him very young to be facing some of the game’s top pitching prospects.
On the pitching side, things are a little tougher to monitor, because we are looking at some extremely small sample sizes. Nobody has yet reached even three innings of work, basically meaningless for sabermetric analysis. Of the five pitchers sent by Arizona, only Patrick Forbes is a starter, and the team is being very cautious about his appearances, because a strained flexor limited him to less than 30 IP this year. Our 1st-round pick from 2025 (#29 overall) is this likely limited to five or six AFL outings. So far, he has started once, allowing a single run over 2.2 innings, but getting good reviews from Jack for his sweeper. Wes covered Forbes in more detail last month.
Among the relievers, most excitement is probably going to lefty Joe Ariola. A 7th-round pick in 2025, he went through four levels in 2026, finishing at Double-A Amarillo. It’s his crazy K-numbers which jump off the board: 64 strikeouts in only 34.2 innings and 140 batters faced. In the AFL, he has appeared three times, allowing one hit over 2.1 innings, with no walks and three strikeouts. Again, given the quality of the opposing hitters, that’s impressive. The other lefty is Luke Craig, another man looking to make up for lost time. Since signing in July 2024, he has just 31.1 IP due to Tommy John in early 2025. He has given up two runs in two innings here, but I’ll settle for “staying healthy”.
Connor Foley is another who had impressive K-numbers, with 46 across 26 IP between Rookie and A-ball. That may explain why the RHP got a bonus of $1 million from the D-backs, despite falling to Arizona as a fifth-round pick. But he didn’t start pitching until he was a senior in high school, so is a work in progress, with 1.1 scoreless innings in the AFL reaching 98 mph. Finally, there’s John West – at 6’8” and 265 lbs, he’s likely on his way to becoming Mark Grace’s favorite ballplayer. West is more likely to become an “innings eater”, but allowed two home runs while recording four outs over his only AFL appearance to date.
One other thing of interest in the AFL, is a rule change being tested out at Salt River Fields. It has previously been a Petri dish for things like pitch timers and ABS challenges, but this one seems to be less warmly received. Fangraphs reports, “Dark green hash marks have been painted on the outfield grass and at points along the arc where the infield dirt meets the outfield grass. Defenders have to stand within a certain distance of these hash marks when a pitch is thrown.” The aim is, as with the ban on shifts, to increase offense. But Keith Law was not impressed: “The solution still rests with the pitchers, not rearranging the deck chairs in the outfield.” What do you reckon?
May 3, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon (19) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
In truth, the decision for the Least Valuable Player of the 2026 Yankees only ever boiled down to two players. The two standout candidates for this ignominious award were Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham, and for very similar reasons. In addition to their black hole bats polluting the lineup, there was apprehension from the start that they could ever provide the amount of value commensurate with the amount of money they were earning. The pair combined to cost the Yankees a hair over $38 million in 2026 — 11.3-percent of their estimated $335.8 million luxury tax payroll — and yet combined to produce just 1.2 fWAR, or a measly 2.8-percent of the team’s 43.1 overall fWAR. McMahon narrowly edges Grisham for the distinction for the 20-point gap in their wRC+ (78 vs. 98) and regression in the one area where he was supposed to excel: defense.
When it became apparent that a key cog of Operation Run It Back concerned persisting with McMahon as the team’s starting third baseman, the mental gymnastics required to rationalize this decision began tying fans’ minds in knots. “If the Yankees can find a way to help his bat take advantage of the Yankee Stadium short porch and bring it closer to league average production, this along with his reliably stellar defense at the hot corner creates a player with plenty of value to the 2026 team,” was a common refrain.
The problem with this wishful thinking became immediately obvious when you realize that McMahon has never posted a league average or better season at the plate by wRC+ despite playing the first eight-and-a-half seasons of his career at Coors field, rendering the belief that you could suddenly transform a 31-year-old hitter into something he had never been a folly.
McMahon’s season began worse than even the most pessimistic fan could have predicted with just a 51 wRC+ and 33-percent strikeout rate through the end of April. The walk rate that had provided a nominal floor of offensive value was drying up and he was bleeding bat speed, leading to a tweak in the width of his batting stance that provided a modest improvement but still nothing close to the 91 wRC+ hitter he had been over the previous five seasons. McMahon missed 38 games after dealing with a late-June throat infection and a mid-August Grade 2 thumb sprain, but by that point was already ceding reps at third to a pair of ostensibly worse defenders in José Caballero and Amed Rosario.
The Gold Glove caliber defense which convinced the Yankees to acquire him from the Rockies at the 2025 trade deadline had deserted him. It got to the point where the Yankees were giving practice reps to Anthony Volpe at the hot corner — a position he had never played in his professional career — in the days leading up to the playoffs. It culminated in a play which really summarized his season in a nutshell, McMahon booting a routine grounder from Yandy Díaz, the first batter the Rays sent to the plate in Game 2 of the ALDS. That error started an avalanche of defensive miscues that ended with four errors in an ugly 5-2 loss.
For a player brought in for his defense, it begged the question “what do you even do here?” McMahon rode the bench in Game 3 as the Yankees got swept, bringing an end to possibly the worst season of his big league career when combining all the factors. He finished with a putrid .213/.279/.357 triple slash line, with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, a 78 wRC+, and 0.5 fWAR in 360 plate appearances across 124 games. His .279 OBP and 78 wRC+ placed him among the 20 worst hitters in MLB with at least 350 PAs in 2026. His 11 home runs, 78 wRC+, 7.8-percent walk rate, zero Statcast Outs Above Average, and 0.5 fWAR were all the lowest marks of his career since the COVID-shortened season of 2020 and easily the worst marks of any season in which he played at least 100 games.
He also cannot be separated from the broader context of the team. His presence on the roster emboldened the Yankees to re-up with Rosario over the winter to reprise his platoon partner role. That turned into an unmitigated disaster, Rosario immediately forgetting how to hit against lefties — the one thing he was supposed to be good at — while producing an almost impossibly bad -7 OAA in just 394 innings, his seven errors at third coming in moments that contributed to costing the Yankees a shot at the division.
The most disheartening aspect of the whole charade is that everybody could see it coming. It is therefore not so much an indictment on McMahon — a known quantity who happened to regress in the one area where he still provided some value — as it is on the Yankees front office for allowing third base to remain a perennial black hole. In the words of our fearless leader Andrew Mearns, it all started with “the original sin of giving DJ LeMahieu six years to save on taxable AAV.”
Since signing LeMahieu to that second contract prior to the start of the 2021 season, eleven players have taken at least 100 plate appearances while manning third base for the Yankees. Below is a breakdown of the amount of guaranteed money paid out to each of those players and the offensive production and value they provided:
It total, the Yankees have paid out $222.5 million to players who have soaked up the majority of playing time at the hot corner. The 89 wRC+ those players have returned ranks 21st in baseball while the 11.5 fWAR is only a touch better in 19th place. Plenty of teams have committed nine-figure sums to the position during that span — Manny Machado, Rafael Devers, Nolan Arenado, Anthony Rendon, Carlos Correa, Austin Riley, Alex Bregman, José Ramírez, Matt Chapman, and Kevin McGonigle have all signed deals in excess of $150 million — but outside of Rendon and Correa no team gets a consistently worse return on the amount of money they invest in third base than the Yankees.
McMahon is just the latest figurehead of this maddening trend. The Yankees owe him $16 million in 2027. After a disastrous 2026 campaign, the question for McMahon is not whether he can fulfill that outlay with value on the field. It’s whether the Yankees will follow a similar path as they did with LeMahieu in 2025, Aaron Hicks in 2023, and Jacoby Ellsbury in 2019 and cut bait this offseason, eating the dead money for the privilege of not having to subject fans to his poor play.
How many more strikeouts will Colson Montgomery suffer in Chicago? | (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Sure, White Sox fans are divided between the majority who consider 2026 and the possible hand from Pope Leo the greatest case of divine intervention since the parting of the Red Sea, and those who think a little more intervention in the way of actually getting hitters to put the bat on the ball in the playoffs would have been nice. But even those who are upset about the way the season ended instead of overjoyed how the first 166 games went have nothing on Dodger followers.
My son, who lives in L.A., says there is widespread — well, at least a little spread — belief that Dodgers owners got the players to throw the series to the Brewers so there won’t be a big outcry for a salary cap come negotiating time. Apparently, QAnon is alive and well.
OK, that’s absolutely ridiculous. There’s no reason to believe a shred of it. But was there ever a reason to believe the negotiating story of the owners?
COMPETITIVE BALANCE? REALLY?
No question, having three of the four final teams standing be from small markets, including the two smallest metro areas, doesn’t exactly help the argument that there has to be a salary cap to even out the old playing field. Pretty much just makes it look like organizational competence is what really counts. But what unsuccessful owner wants to admit that?
Sure, it’s worth a try on MLB’s part. It’s good P.R., and makes it look like you really care about the game and the fans, not just how many billion pieces of eight you can jam into your pockets.
“We’re out to screw over the players and if fans miss a season, tough,” just doesn’t have the ring of a great sales pitch.
If you want to believe the owners’ main concern is really competitive balance, by all means go for it. Goodness knows gobs of Americans have come to believe even stranger things.
But — small question — if the owners really want negotiations to be for the good of the game, why, oh why, is Jerry Reinsdorf on their negotiating committee, the player- and fan-hating White Sox chairman who has been the strongest voice of obstruction and stupidity on their side for decades? Sure, a 91-year old whose team just had a surprisingly good season would seem on the surface to be someone who would want to solve problems and move on, but Reinsdorf’s bitterness runs too deep for that — players take his money, fans (and taxpayers) don’t give him enough of it, so to hell with them. And why is the equally incompetent Dick Monfort of the Rockies the chairman?
The only big spender on that six-member committee is Hal Steinbrenner of the Yankees, presumably a counterweight to Mark Attanasio of the Brewers, who will really have trouble keeping a straight face when uttering “competitive balance.”
AS FOR THE PLAYOFFS
The Brewers and Guardians being alive as of this writing means that Christian Yelich and José Ramírez are both still playing, which is great for their teams and for the sport, which is a very, very fine thing, two superstars who do things right on and off the field. Yeah, I know — Sox fans are supposed to hate Ramírez for how badly he beats us (.811 career OPS), but if you don’t like watching how he plays the game, you just don’t like baseball.
AND AS FOR THE WHITE SOX
Speculation is already well underway as to how the team should proceed in order to keep doing a George Jefferson (movin’ on up), both within the world of Soxdom and from outside.
Naturally, there are things being said and written about the need for major free agent pitcher acquisitions. But after we all get a good laugh about that, since those speakers and writers seem to neglect there are 29 other teams who might like some good pitchers and would even pay for them, we can move on.
The more likely avenue would be trades, given the plethora of shortstops in the system — even with Caleb Bonemer in Arizona learning to play the outfield, presumably to initially platoon with one of the incumbents, none of whom hits lefties at all (a couple of key successes down the stretch notwithstanding).
(At least one speculator suggests trading Andrew Benintendi for a starting pitcher, apparently not realizing the other side would have to be brain dead to agree to such a thing.)
Of course, on the shortstop front, there’s the question of Colson Montgomery, who managed to have just a 90 OPS+ despite 31 homers, thanks to a .197 average and setting the all-time record for striking out, and whose D is just a C-. Some folks think the Sox can get a pitcher for him. Guess that’s worth a try.
Behind Bonemer and William Bergolla Jr. are Roch Cholowsky and the slick-fielding Billy Carlson — and if you don’t think having a slick-fielding shortstop matters, you haven’t been watching the playoffs — so it could become a question of what you can get for whom.
Also on the strikeout front, there’s speculation about Munetaka Murakami, who K’d 16 times in 31 trips to the plate in the playoffs, but he had a 130 OPS+ for the season and had a .347 OBP compared to Colson’s .282. Besides, he didn’t do those godawful lawyer commercials.
SO?
Hot Stove doesn’t begin until after the World Series. But there’s no reason not to keep the kindling handy, if and when the lockout ever ends.
Luis Díaz hat-trick helps Bayern thump RB Leipzig 6-1
Barcelona’s La Liga juggernaut rolled into Seville on Saturday and left with the scoreboard smoking, as the leaders beat Real Betis 5-2 to make it nine wins from nine and stretch their blistering league tally to 39 goals.
Lamine Yamal lit the fuse with a dazzling opener before Rodri, Gabriel Jesus, Eric García and substitute Dani Olmo joined the party, while Valentín Gómez and Ez Abde replied for Betis, who played much of the second half with 10 men after Facundo Bernal was sent off for headbutting Lamine Yamal.
The four Premier League clubs playing in the lesser continental competitions face each other on Sunday – but three are struggling domestically
The sun shone. The temperature was in the high 20s. There was a mood of great conviviality. If you were struggling with the official allocation, it turned out you could just email the president of Torreense and he’d sort you out. Were these “Nuno-tickets” real? It turned out they were. Not only that, but you could sit anywhere you wanted in a stadium too big for the game and, if you happened to have gravitated to the comfortable hospitality seating at the back of the lower tier, the beer was inexplicably free.
Locals in Leiria seemed bewildered but could hardly have been more accommodating. A beer pump had been installed outside a patisserie on the Praça Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, whose owner soon found fans happy to help stack empty barrels if that facilitated the free flow of Sagres. “There was a meeting at the town hall to explain these are not hooligans,” said the owner of a radical leftist flammkuchen restaurant between the square and the cathedral. “They told us the club comes from the labour movement and I found that very interesting.” And how had she found the fans? “Noisy, but with a quirky sense of humour.”
There is a reason why Aston Villa were so desperate to hijack Johan Manzambi’s proposed summer move from Freiburg to Newcastle. The tall, quick, tricky, clever and perfectly balanced 21-year-old Switzerland attacking midfielder looked worth every penny of the record £50m plus fee Villa ended up paying and duly delighted in showing Tynesiders what they missed.
For Newcastle and their disconsolate manager Matthias Jaissle there was a cruel irony that Manzambi ended up heading the winner on a day when the Premier League’s CEO, Richard Masters, was in the directors’ box to watch arguably the two teams most affected by the spending rules imposed during his tenure.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 03: Drew Rasmussen #57 of the Tampa Bay Rays reacts after pitching against the New York Yankees during the second inning in game one of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on October 03, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you’re choosing not to watch the rest of the MLB postseason, I don’t blame you at all. However, something interesting happened in Game 2 of the NLCS, something that prompted me to reflect on the Yankees’ performance (or lack of) against the Rays.
Down 1-0 against the Brewers, the Dodgers started Yoshinobu Yamamoto to try and even up the series. Yamamoto, if you recall, pitched a complete game against those same Brewers in Game 2 of last year’s NLCS, a first-pitch Jackson Chourio homer the sole blemish on his ledger. This year, however, the Brewers were ready. Taking full advantage of a slightly off Yamamoto, they worked counts and grinded at-bats, chasing him after 2.2 innings, 75 pitches, and 3 runs allowed. Milwaukee went on to win 7-4, completing their revenge.
Here was an example of a smart team beating an excellent pitcher who had confounded them in the past. Contrast this with how the Yankees utterly folded against Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 of the ALDS. Why couldn’t the Yankees do as the Brewers did?
Now, I realize that overcoming elite pitching is a tall ask. It’s possible that not even the Brewers could have solved Rasmussen based on how good he looked that night. However, what irks me isn’t the end result, but the process. The Yankees had seen Rasmussen quite recently; he’d beaten the Bombers to clinch the division for the Rays on September 22. The Tampa Bay ace used the same gameplan for ALDS Game 1. However, the Yankees appeared to have done no homework, looking completely unprepared to counter his approach.
Rasmussen’s style of pitching can be summed up as: throw strikes that are hard to punish. The first part is easy to quantify. This year, 49.7% of his pitches landed in the strike zone, while the league average was 41.5%. He likes to attack batters early, as he ran a 67.1% first-strike rate (league average was 61.4%). Consequently, Rasmussen is extremely stingy about issuing free passes: his 4.8% walk rate placed him in the 97th percentile among all pitchers this season. This is a guy that is comfortable challenging hitters in the zone.
It’s the second part that sets Rasmussen apart from mere strike-throwers. The Rays ace has both the stuff (110 Stuff+) and command (106 Location+) to avoid damage while challenging hitters. While he is generally average at getting whiffs and avoiding contact, he limits barrels and hard contact extremely well (79th and 83rd percentile, respectively), and generates grounders at a comfortably above average clip (65th percentile). This is not someone you go hacking against.
Rasmussen’s strengths were on full display in that September 22 start. Rasmussen pitched 6.2 innings of 1-run ball, striking out 11 in the process. Of the 114 pitches he threw that day, 45.6% were in the strike zone, down from his season average but still above league average. However, the Yankees flailed helplessly against his stuff, making contact only 35 times out of 53 swings for an abysmal 66% contact rate. Even when they did make contact, it was mostly harmless. The Yankees managed just two hard-hit balls in fair territory against Rasmussen, both by Heliot Ramos of all people: a 107.3 mph lineout in the fourth, and a 110.5 mph double in the seventh. I count only two positives from that outing for the Yankees: they managed to make Rasmussen throw 114 pitches, and they coaxed three walks out of him. Other than that, they got schooled.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the Yankees just needed to do X, Y, and Z to solve Rasmussen. There are no obvious answers to counter a guy this good. But at the same time, business as usual doesn’t cut it, either. If you’re trying to win against elite pitching in October, you need a team-wide, concerted approach.
For what it’s worth, if I was calling the shots, I would have instructed the Yankees to be extremely passive. I would have implored them to run deep counts, wait for mistakes, and to avoid expanding the zone at all costs. Groundbreaking, I know. But at least this puts pressure on Rasmussen to consistently execute, and while he’s a great pitcher, he’s not a robot. This strategy is also rooted in an honest appraisal of the Yankees’ strengths and weaknesses at the plate: they sucked at making contact (75.1% contact rate, 27th in MLB), but they were above average at avoiding chase (31.9 O-Swing%, 9th best). And if nothing else, this would have likely meant a higher pitch count for Rasmussen. Yes, he throws strikes, but more than half of his pitches still land outside the strike zone. Laying off those even once per at-bat would have resulted in a markedly higher pitch total for Rasmussen, forcing the Rays to go to their bullpen earlier.
However, the Yankees did none of that in Game 1 of the ALDS. Instead, they went up hacking. Their overall swing rate was 50.4%, up from their season average of 46.3%. They kept chasing pitches out of the strike zone; their O-Swing% for the night was 36.5%, much higher than their seasonal mark. They made contact on those pitches just 39.1% of the time, with their overall contact rate dipping to a truly pitiful 60.3%. All this chase and whiff prevented the Yankees from being able to run deep counts; of the 25 plate appearances against Rasmussen that night, 10 ended in three pitches or fewer. And that’s how they let Rasmussen dominate them for 8 innings and 101 pitches.
Again, I’m not saying that the Yankees would have easily solved Rasmussen if only they had been a bit more patient. They ran up his pitch count to 114 on September 22, and he still ended up limiting them to one run. What irritates me is the perceived lack of strategy. Surely, they had to have known about Rasmussen’s strengths. They should have known their own strengths and weaknesses as a team. Why, then, was their plan to just swing away?
I don’t have any insight on the inner workings of the Yankees’ organization. Maybe they were planning on being more patient against Rasmussen, but the plan was just executed poorly. Or maybe their increased aggressiveness was a conscious strategy based on internal data I don’t have access to. But watching Game 1, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Yankees’ batters were just going up there with no real plan other than “try to hit ball”. It makes you wonder how the Yankees approached advance scouting and preparation for that all-important game – or whether they did so at all.
The day after Ottawa's pro football team ended their long winless streak, Sens fans would rather not see another winless team end its drought on Saturday night.
After the Redblacks snapped their 0-16 start with a dramatic, last-second 40-39 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night, the Senators are in Philadelphia to face the winless Flyers.
The Flyers will hit the 10-game mark of their season on Saturday night, and they're still looking for their first victory. At 0-6-3, Philadelphia has endured a miserable start, one that's already set a franchise record for the longest winless streak to open a season.
And the pressure is mounting on head coach Rick Tocchet.
After guiding the Flyers to their first playoff appearance in six years last season, nobody would have expected the 2024 NHL Coach of the Year to be feeling the heat this early. But that's what happens when a team opens with nine straight losses.
The Flyers' biggest problem has been their offence. They've scored just 11 goals in nine games, making it awfully difficult to win regardless of how well the defence or goaltenders perform.
Despite their record, the Flyers will be a desperate team on Saturday, and earlier this month, they gave the Senators all they could handle. But the Sens eked out a 2-1 win at Canadian Tire Centre on October 8.
Carter Yakemchuk scored the winner on a third-period power play in that game, blasting home a one-timer to break a 1-1 tie. It was also the game in which William Eklund suffered his ankle injury. He'll be out 10-12 weeks after surgery this week.
The Flyers' latest disappointment came Thursday night in Detroit, where they fell 2-1 to the Red Wings.
The Senators enter the game with a 6-2-0 record after Thursday's 2-1 shootout victory over the New York Islanders at Canadian Tire Centre.
Long Island native Shane Pinto scored the only goal of the shootout, while Linus Ullmark continued his outstanding start to the season, improving to 6-0-0. The victory was a welcome response to Tuesday's ugly 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.
The Senators welcomed back defenceman Artem Zub, who made his season debut after missing the opening seven games with an injury. They'll now get another healthy body back on the blue line with Nikolas Matinpalo returning from an upper body injury.
But they remain without Jake Sanderson (lower body) and as long as they keep banking wins, they can afford to be conservative with his return to play. Sanderson has already reinjured himself twice this season, once in the preseason finale and again in the season opener.
The Flyers may be without some key players too. Forward Owen Tippett has an upper-body injury and did not take the morning skate. Tocchet says he's a game time decision. Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York were also absent so they're likely not ready to return.
Ottawa's Oliver Bonk, son of former Senator Radek Bonk, will play in his fifth career NHL game, paired with Canadian Olympian Travis Sanheim.
Here's how Philly lined things up at practice, as per Jordan Hall NBCS Philadelphia.:
The Redblacks finally shook off their drought at home on Friday. The Senators would like to prevent the Flyers from producing a similar story 24 hours later.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News Ottawa
This story first appeared at The Hockey News Ottawa. For more Senators coverage from THN Ottawa's Steve Warne, click one of the headlines below:
LOS ANGELES — After their earliest postseason exit in three years, the Los Angeles Dodgers head into the offseason facing uncertainty over next year.
Shohei Ohtani was dogged by injuries to his left knee and right biceps over the second half and into the playoffs that rendered him ineffective at the plate. The two-way superstar also didn’t pitch after the All-Star break.
Whether Ohtani needs offseason surgery remains to be seen, although he acknowledged it’s possible after Thursday’s loss to the Brewers that completed Milwaukee’s sweep of the NL Championship Series. If he does, would the recovery bleed into the start of next season?
A potential MLB lockout is looming with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1. Team owners have proposed a salary cap — something the sport has never had — and the players’ union has adamantly rejected the idea.
A work stoppage would give Ohtani extra time to heal, although during such time the Dodgers would be cut off from communicating with any player, leaving Ohtani to rehab either from possible surgery or from his injuries on his own.
Communication between Ohtani and the team on his health during the season was “awesome,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said last month, but he added: “The fully sharing exactly how he’s feeling, maybe not so awesome.”
Ohtani said he plans to resume pitching next year, when he’ll turn 33 in July. He’s already had two Tommy John surgeries.
“What he’s doing is unprecedented, and it takes a real toll,” Friedman said. “And as you get older, I think us just being very dialed is going to be really important.”
Roster turnover is likely, even without big changes in MLB spending rules
The Dodgers had baseball’s second-highest opening day payroll this year at $323.3 million, behind the New York Mets at $358.4 million. If a salary cap were to be imposed, the Dodgers’ spending would be constrained when play resumes.
Some of the roster could look different next year, too, with nine players set to become free agents after the World Series, led by two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, who is expected to command a huge deal.
The Dodgers acquired Skubal from Detroit just before the trade deadline in August. The left-hander was 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 10 regular-season games for his new team. In the postseason, he was 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 14 Ks. Skubal didn’t want to discuss his future Thursday, although he expressed enthusiasm for the organization, his teammates and the fans.
Other impending free agents are infielder Miguel Rojas, utility player Kiké Hernández, and relievers Kris Bubic, Brusdar Graterol, Eric Lauer, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia.
As expected, Rojas announced his retirement Thursday, saying, “This is it, guys. That was my last game played.” He’ll still be around, though, to work in a player development role.
Dodgers add a bit of youth with De Paula
The Dodgers got a glimpse of the future when they promoted Josue De Paula directly from Double-A to the majors in September. His energy and at-bats at designated hitter during Ohtani’s stint on the injured list made an impression, and the 21-year-old was added to the postseason roster as a pinch-hitter.
The team will look to De Paula to further improve as an outfielder in 2027, although finding playing time for him will be challenging given the trio of veteran starters: Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker. De Paula is also blocked at DH by Ohtani.
“I think the experience he got being up here and watching what our guys do on a daily basis just helped connect some dots for him,” Friedman said. “And so, physically, he is capable of being a good corner outfielder, and we’re going to continue to tap into that.”
Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Ohtani, Tucker, Max Muncy and Will Smith will remain the Dodgers’ veteran core. But some supporting players could be offloaded, like Kiké Hernández. Playing on a one-year deal, the 35-year-old was limited to 41 games while recovering from injuries and he didn’t provide his usual postseason pop.
Manager Dave Roberts refused to blame an aging lineup for getting swept by the Brewers, whose 103 regular-season wins were three more than the Dodgers.
“We got beat,” he said. “There’s no because we’re too old or whatever. Every facet of the game, if you kind of unpack it, we were bested.”
There’s drama off the field, too.
Owner Mark Walter was noticeably absent from the team’s playoff games. He is facing multiple federal investigations into his business empire for possible financial improprieties involving insurance companies he controls. Walter has denied any wrongdoing. Since August, he sold his controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers and last month he unloaded his share in Chelsea of the Premier League.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after striking out during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game four of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
To be clear: The two-way star was the second-best player in the National League this year, hitting 30 home runs and posting a sub-2.00 ERA in 14 starts on the mound. Even in a relatively down year for him, he finished fifth in the majors in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement. He remains, undoubtedly, MLB’s foremost star player and the Dodgers’ most potent weapon.
What mattered most for the Dodgers this year was having Ohtani –– especially as a hitter –– at full strength come the postseason. By trying to play through right arm and left knee injuries, he wasn’t.
In his 17th MLB season, Freeman earned his 10th career All-Star selection, finished 13th in the majors in total hits, and continued his march towards Cooperstown. But, the 37-year-old also saw his total production (measured by WAR) decline for a fourth straight year.
Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a single during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Getty Images
What was shaping up to be a lost year for Betts instead finished with signs of renewed life. On Aug. 4, he was hitting .223 with a .670 OPS. In 46 games after that, he posted a .315/.399/.562 slash line while nearly doubling his home run total from 13 to 23.
It was the best he had looked since the first half of 2024 and a reminder that, even at 34 years old now, there is a superstar level he is still capable of reaching. The Dodgers will be hoping that’s what they get from him in 2027.
Max Muncy: B+
This was a resurgent season for Muncy, who returned to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2021 while hitting for his highest average (.252) since 2018. He stayed healthy, playing 149 games and hitting 29 home runs.
He also improved his defense, earning a nod as a Gold Glove finalist at third base. He’ll be back at third next season, in the final guaranteed year of his contract.
Andy Pages: A-
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages (44) celebrates after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Pages didn’t sustain his torrid pace from early in the year (he had a .303 average and .899 OPS on May 27, then a .254 average and .751 OPS thereafter) but still cemented himself as the youngest core piece of the roster, earning an All-Star nod with his improved approach and stellar center-field defense. His postseason was an improvement from 2025, too.
Teoscar Hernández: C
A late surge at the plate helped save some of Hernández’s season-long numbers (.267 average, .759 OPS) following a prolonged slump upon his return from a hamstring strain.
But after being bandied around in potential trade discussions last offseason, it’s possible his future with the club could be in question again this winter.
Kyle Tucker: D
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker (23) reacts after a double during the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game four of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The only thing saving this from being an F is the way Tucker finished his otherwise dismal debut season, highlighted by a team-best .333 batting average in the playoffs. Still, the 29-year-old played nowhere near expectations after his $240 offseason signing, setting career lows in average (.233), OPS (.715) and home runs (17).
The Dodgers will be desperate for him to return to form next year, when he will play an even more vital role in their still-aging lineup. If not, those $60 million player options in 2028 and 2029 will start to feel like poison pills.
Will Smith: C
This is a relatively incomplete grade, given Smith was limited to just 73 games by a three-month neck injury. But even when he did play, the veteran backstop took a step back. His .260 average and .781 OPS were the second-lowest marks of his career (ahead of only 2024). He went just 3-for-31 in the playoffs, salvaging only so much with his Game 3 double in the NLCS.
Tommy Edman: C
After missing the start of the year recovering from ankle surgery, Edman did little more than meet expectations in his utility role with the Dodgers. He was a streaky .247 hitter, finishing with a just-about-league-average .714 OPS. He played good defense and shifted around the diamond. But any more profound impact was limited.
Kiké Hernández: C
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Enrique Hernández (8) throws to first base to force out Milwaukee Brewers’ Brice Turang (2) during the sixth inning in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Getty Images
Injuries derailed Hernández’s year. And though he had another big October moment –– hitting a home run off Chris Sale in the NLDS –– there was little else to take from his 13th big-league campaign. Once again a free agent, he will represent one of the more intriguing questions of the Dodgers’ winter.
Each of the last three offseasons, they have re-signed him to a one-year deal. Whether they do so again could be a signal for how much, or little, of a shakeup they’re planning for next year.
Dalton Rushing: B
For Rushing, it was a year of promising highs (seven home runs in March/April, .288 batting average in July) and frustrating lows (emotional outbursts early in the year, his spat with Ohtani on the mound in June, and a late-season elbow injury that sidelined him for the playoffs) for the former top prospect. He has more to prove entering Year 3 in 2027.
Alex Freeland: C
Another ex-prospect, Freeland didn’t capitalize on increased opportunity this year, hitting just .234 with only 13 extra-base hits in 89 games. Though still only 25, he remains on the fringes of the team’s long-term plans.
Alex Call: C
The backup outfielder survived the trade deadline. But after hitting just .233 in his reserve role, he might not be a lock to return in his reserve role next year.
Josue De Paula: B+
Josue De Paula of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting a triple during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Getty Images
In his brief MLB debut, De Paula did everything right as a hitter, reaching base at a .500 clip in 11 regular-season games before drawing two key walks as a pinch-hitter in October. Offensively, he seems ready for everyday big-league duties. But the gigantic question mark about his outfield defense leaves his 2027 role unclear entering the winter.
Hyeseong Kim: D
Time will tell if the Dodgers still see something in Kim. But the way he was buried in triple-A this year, after playing just 43 games in the majors in April and May, was not a good sign as he enters the final guaranteed year of his contract.
Hunter Feduccia: B
The former Dodgers farmhand returned to the club in a deadline day trade and was perfectly adequate as the backup catcher over the final couple months of the season. Whether there’s a role for him in the organization again next year remains to be seen.
Miguel Rojas: A
We’re grading on a curve here, in what was a fittingly effective send-off season for the now-retired veteran infielder. Rojas did his job by menacing left-handed pitching (.293 average against them), playing stout defense and serving as a vocal leader in the Dodgers’ star-studded clubhouse. After an accomplished 13-year MLB career –– highlighted by his season-saving home run in Game 7 of last year’s World Series –– his presence will be missed in the clubhouse.
Let's be honest with ourselves: Part of the concern basketball fans have with LeBron James' helicopter commute to Philadelphia games and practices is a shared PTSD from the tragic death of Kobe Bryant. Those emotional scars remain.
While fans in Philadelphia and beyond have made a big deal of LeBron commuting from a home in New York to Philadelphia via helicopter, his comments downplayed it, via Tony Jones at The Athletic.
"Yeah, I've done it before," James said. "Just another, just another way of transportation. That's all."
LeBron has been using a helicopter — provided by the sports apparel company Fanatics, according to Pablo Torre Finds Out — to commute from New York to the 76ers practice facility in Camden, N.J.
As the Dan LeBatard show pointed out, LeBron chose the 76ers, not Philadelphia. For Philly fans, that's not much of a distinction, but it is one. LeBron isn't the first person to do this commute, as noted by Jones former 76ers guard and current Lakers coach JJ Redick used to live in New York, although he hired a car service to do it. That drive is around two hours (more on bad traffic days), by helicopter, it's more like half an hour.
LeBron isn't changing his plans, and he is unconcerned about the discourse around his commute.
Check out LeBron's official debut as a 76er on Tuesday when he makes a shorter commute to Madison Square Garden with his teammates for the season opener, trying to spoil ring night for Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks, a game you can watch on NBC and Peacock. It's the anchor game of a triple-header — Celtics at Pistons at 3 p.m. Eastern, and Thunder at Spurs at 9:30 p.m. Eastern — with all the games shown on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has not committed to his starting five for the season opener on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors, particularly at power forward. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
After five preseason games, the Lakers open their regular season Wednesday at home against the Golden State Warriors. The preseason offered some promising moments, other confounding connections between new teammates and a strong foundation for the new-look team hoping to keep growing through an 82-game season.
“You’re always trying to get better,” coach JJ Redick said Friday after the Lakers lost their final preseason game to the Denver Nuggets. “And even later in the season, you tweak plays, you tweak the offense and you tweak coverages. It’s constantly evolving. There’s no, like, ‘oh, we’re done. Now we’re going to go play.’ But we’re ready to go.”
Here are five things we learned during the Lakers’ training camp and five preseason games:
Ziaire Williams makes his case
Lakers forward Ziaire Williams, left, tries to prevent Kings guard Emanuel Sharp from scoring in the lane during a preseason game earlier this month. (Sara Nevis / Associated Press)
Ziaire Williams played in only two of the five preseason games, but the 6-foot-9 forward emerged as one of the biggest winners of training camp. The Sierra Canyon High alumnus might go from veteran minimum contract to first-day starter. He was a perfect five-for-five shooting from three-point range during two preseason appearances — both starts — and averaged 13.5 points while taking on a prominent defensive role.
During his first two years as the Lakers coach, Redick admired Williams’ intent on the defensive end from afar and commended the forward’s willingness to defend other teams’ star players. And somehow, Williams, then playing for Brooklyn, always seemed to hit shots when he played against the Lakers.
Now seeing Williams every day, Redick has come away even more impressed by the 25-year-old’s character and leadership qualities.
“Everybody in our building that has been around him for the last, you know, six to eight weeks just recognizes what a special human being he is,” Redick said. “I really believe in him as a player, and I think he’s got a lot of room to grow still, which is exciting for all of us.”
While Williams might be the first choice to start at power forward, several contenders had strong preseasons at the position. Jake LaRavia is playing and shooting with confidence again. Sandro Mamukelashvili awed with his versatile offensive game. Adou Thiero showed significant growth from his injury-plagued rookie season. The position remains one of the team’s biggest unknowns, but the preseason could offer some confidence that the Lakers have options.
Mamu was breakout star of the preseason
Lakers forward Jake LaRavia, left, and Sandro Mamukelashvili try to stop the Kings' Jonathan Mogbo from scoring in a preseason game earlier this month. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
It won’t be long before chants of “Ma-muuuuuuuu” fill Crypto.com Arena. The Georgian forward will quickly become a fan favorite if he continues to provide the all-around offensive game he flashed during the preseason.
Mamukelashvili averaged 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 55.6% (25 for 45) from the field and 54.2% (13 for 24) from three-point range. Late during the third quarter against Denver, Mamukelashvili dazzled with a three-pointer, a cutting dunk and a defensive rebound that led to an assist to Quentin Grimes for a three-pointer — all in 99 seconds.
President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said before the season that he and Redick wanted to intentionally build a cast of role players who could pass, dribble and shoot. Mamukelashvili checks all the boxes.
“Anytime he gets a rebound, we’re encouraging him to push the pace,” guard Austin Reaves said. “He’s a good basketball player, so we’re very excited for what he brings to the team.”
How long will rebounding woes linger?
Lakers center Walker Kessler, left, powering his way to the basket against two Nuggets defenders, will be the anchor to the team's defense, which will look to improve their rebounding deficiencies. (Ben Liebenberg / Associated Press)
Williams scanned the box score in front of him after the Lakers’ preseason finale Friday. He was looking for reassurance about how the Lakers ended the 121-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
“We did get outrebounded a little bit,” he said, glancing at the Lakers’ 49-44 rebounding deficit. “But not as bad.”
The Lakers’ 39.4 rebounds per game ranked second-to-last during the preseason. Defensive rebounds could be a weak point this season for a team still trying to solidify its backup center behind Walker Kessler. Three preseason games without Kessler reinforced to Redick that the Lakers needed to keep two big wings — any combination of Williams, LaRavia, Thiero, Matisse Thybulle or even Doncic, who is a strong rebounder for a guard — on the court to keep pace on the glass.
“We can’t just rely on Walker to get 30 rebounds a game,” Williams said of how the team has to approach rebounding. “It’s just not how the game works. So just every person just contributing to it and wanting it more than the other team.”
Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up. He had 15 rebounds in two games, including 11 defensive boards. The Lakers were outrebounded by one in the two games with Kessler compared with a minus-23 rebounding differential during the first three preseason games.
Even the offense needs time
Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, pulls up in the lane for a shot against the Nuggets in the final preseason game Friday. (Ben Liebenberg / Associated Press)
Doncic, Reaves and Kessler only played one half together, and Doncic and Reaves only played in the same game twice. During one Laker fastbreak in the first quarter against Denver, while Reaves was taking a steal coast-to-coast for an easy layup, Doncic kept Kessler back on defense and pointed out tactics while they stood in the paint.
“There’s going to be some growing pain, just lack of reps together so far,” Reaves said of the chemistry between the team’s new “big three.” “... More than likely going to pick up on it sooner than later. So we’ll continue to grow that over the next couple days and be ready for opening night.”
The Lakers averaged 23 turnovers per game during the preseason. Guard Collin Sexton’s absence because of a lower leg injury showed up in the Lakers’ turnover struggles. Even two of the premier guards in the league won’t be enough to handle all of the Lakers’ ball-handling, especially if Bronny James continues to struggle as he did during the preseason.
James, after working into the injury-laden postseason rotation last year, averaged just 16.4 minutes per preseason game with 2.2 points per game on one-for-eight shooting from three. He had 12 rebounds, 14 assists and 12 turnovers during the five games.
The roster isn’t done changing
The Lakers have to cut their roster to 15 by the opener. Pelinka mentioned the possibility of consolidation trades to reach the maximum number, but no transactions have materialized, especially with the Lakers trying to cling to their limited draft assets. They don’t control their own first-round pick until 2032 and don’t have a second-round selection until 2031.
If the Lakers can’t pull off a deal, forward Dalton Knecht could be at risk of being waived. Since getting traded as a rookie and returning when the transaction was rescinded, the 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft has never carved out a steady role with the Lakers. Early, he looked like he could be the steal of the draft when he averaged 18.9 points per game during a nine-game stretch in November 2024, including a two-game, 64-point heater in which he hit 14 of 24 three-pointers. He scored more points in his 19 NBA games (231) than he did all of last season (228).
“I think the biggest thing is the team changed,” Redick said before Friday’s game of Knecht’s career arc. “The team changed. The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years. I think each guy has, particularly last year, each guy got plenty of opportunities with the amount of injuries we had. So I just think coming into this year, we added a lot of wings and he’s in a tough spot right now.”
Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who has about $25 million left on his contract over the next two seasons, did not suit up for Friday’s preseason finale.
After joining the team through a trade from Washington this offseason, guard Jaden Hardy understood that roster moves would continue through training camp. On the fringe of the rotation, he said he didn’t let it bother him.
“I just came in [with a] clear head, clear mind, new situation, new opportunity,” said Hardy, who has a $6-million salary this season and a team option for next year. “I feel like it’s a blessing to be here and I’m just coming in here every day working, taking care of my business.”
He stated his case for a roster spot with 13 points in 14 minutes Friday.
UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 08: J.T. Etheridge #33 of the Salt River Rafters pitches during the game between the Solar Sox and the River Rafters at Salt River Fields on Thursday, October 8, 2026 in Scottsdale, AZ United States. (Photo by Jill Weisleder/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
We’re two weeks down in the annual pilgrimage to the desert, and it’s been an up-and-down experience for the Yankees’ contingent and the rest of the Salt River Rafters. A very strong opening week shifted to a more challenging second week, one that saw several prospects struggle. As a reminder, if you want a quick rundown on who’s in the desert this month, check here.
October 9 (Rafters 13, Desert Dogs 9): Salt River started a rough week with a high-scoring win over Glendale, one where they led 7-1 after two innings. Only one Yankee got into a game, as Core Jackson walked thrice, hit a 100 mph single, and stole a base. He hasn’t had a great time in the desert through two weeks, but he’s shown flashes.
October 10 (Rafters 2, Scorpions 10): The pitching didn’t have a good week across the Salt River roster, but the main difference on Saturday was the lack of offense. It wasn’t really the fault of any Yankee, as Kyle West was the only one to play, and he walked in all three at-bats. The issues we saw with the pitching, though, involved Antonio Gomez. He started the sixth with a strikeout, but would allow three hits and two walks before being pulled with two outs. In the end, all five runners he allowed would score. Mack Estrada got the last three outs of the blowout loss in a solid outing.
October 13 (Rafters 6, Desert Dogs 5): The Rafters were off on Sunday and saw their game rained out on Monday, an extreme rarity out in Arizona. When they returned on Tuesday, three Yankees got into the game. Dax Kilby made his first appearance of the week, but went 0-for-4, albeit with a pair of stolen bases. Jackson went 1-for-4 with a couple of hard-hit balls, a walk, and two stolen bases. Chris Veach made his first appearance of the series, allowing one run in two innings.
October 14 (Rafters 3, Solar Sox 7): On Wednesday, the Rafters put themselves in an early four-run hole and never bounced back. Kilby went 0-for-3 with a walk on a quiet night, albeit with a 108.7 mph groundout. West went 0-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, while Anthony Mena made his lone appearance of the week with a choppy 1.2 innings.
October 15 (Rafters 9, Solar Sox 14): It was a light-night barnburner on Thursday night, as the Rafters led 9-8 in the ninth before a game-tying two-out infield single against Gomez tied the game. A five spot in the 10th after a small army of walks doomed them. Jackson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, a stolen base, and a run scored. West entered as a late defensive replacement and hit a 103 mph groundout in the ninth. Estrada got two of the three batters he faced out, and while Gomez allowed two hits and had a blown save, he struck out a batter in a “scoreless” inning. He also tried out a new curveball.
October 16 (Rafters 0, Javelinas 10): What a crummy way to end the week. You can’t completely blame the Yankees for this one, though. Kilby went 2-for-4 with a 105 mph double, Jackson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and West went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. On the pitching side, we saw JT Etheridge strike out six in an up-and-down 3.1-inning start, while Veach struck out the side in order in the seventh.
