SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees pitches against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at Petco Park on September 06, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s been an emotional couple of days for the Yankees, with the storybook return of Anthony Volpe on Thursday almost immediately balanced by the weight of yesterday’s 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. If nothing else, the Yankees won both those games, and stand a good Gerrit Cole start away from likely taking another game, and another series, this afternoon taking on the Mets.
Cole really has one job today — do not give up four home runs. One of the strangest starts you’ll ever see came last weekend in San Diego, where the veteran righty did just that against the Padres, and while they were all solo shots (with a back-to-back-to-back to begin the game), that fateful fourth allowed in the seventh made an ultimately-doomed comeback attempt impossible. Cole’s walk rate is Mars-class, and part of that tradeoff is often pitches in-zone that can be driven with authority, but he’s got to turn those fly balls into outs rather than free handouts to fans. If he does that today, I’m comfortable every time he takes the mound.
Zac Thornton counters for the Mets, a player I’m unfamilar with overall but having quite a solid rookie turn in MLB. A 3.53 ERA is undercut but a FIP almost a full run higher, largely driven by the 2023 fifth-rounder’s low strikeout rate and a high HR rate that xFIP at least believes will be cut down a bit. The Yankee offense is looking a little more professional in recent days, but we’ve also seen how seemingly unknown lefties can torment them in 2026.
Aaron Judge gets a half day off today, as he’ll DH facing the southpaw. This opens right field up for Heliot Ramos and his adventures on defense, while Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario man the corners of the infield. Austin Wells has the catching duties even after playing in last night’s game.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY
First pitch: 1:35 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, SNY
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App 92.3 HD2 (NYM)
Last month, the Tampa Bay Rayssecured funding approval from local city and county governments for their upcoming $2.36 billion stadium, set to arrive in 2029.
With an expected capacity of 31,000, the future ballpark works out to a cost of $76,100 per seat — among the priciest in all of professional sports.
USA TODAY compiled data on 24 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL venues opened since 2016 or scheduled to open in the future and estimated the cost per seat of each venue.
The Rays’ planned stadium fails to come near the $111,100 figure held by the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome, which now-suspended owner Steve Ballmer built for $2 billion total. However, it does sit near Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Those venues were built at a cost of $78,300 and $77,500 per seat, respectively, just ahead of the Rays’ future home, which Rays' owner Patrick Zalupski hopes to break ground on this month. SoFi is notably the most expensive stadium ever built, with a total price of around $5.5 billion.
It’s also costlier than a few future venues. The NBA’s Spurs are developing an arena in downtown San Antonio for $70,300 per seat, while the Thunder are constructing one in Oklahoma City for $57,600.
Most markedly, it beats out all the MLB ballparks in our dataset — the closest is the Athletics’ planned Las Vegas home at $53,000 per seat.
The Rays’ stadium’s ability to transcend sports in cost per seat is part of its compelling story.
Besides it and SoFi Stadium, the remaining five in the top seven most expensive venues per seat are indoor arenas developed for basketball or hockey. That fact is not so surprising — with fewer seats, basketball or hockey arenas can balloon in cost per seat much more easily than baseball or football.
The two most recently built MLB stadiums — the Rangers’ Globe Life Field and the Braves’ Truist Park — also came in under that $40,000 line.
However, both the Rays’ and the A’s new ballparks will offer two of the most intimate settings in baseball: when they are built, they will rank No. 1 and 2 for the smallest ballparks in MLB.
That smaller setting could help explain the rising costs compared to previous baseball venues, although inflation also plays a role.
Truist Park was built in 2017, while Globe Life Field was completed in 2020. The A’s are scheduled to move into their new Las Vegas home in 2028, while the Rays plan to move into their new stadium in 2029.
However, even accounting for inflation, the Rays’ costs are still exorbitant. Adjusted for inflation, the cost per seat of the Rays’ planned venue is more than three times as high as Truist Park and nearly twice as costly as Globe Life Field.
And going further back in time, the Rays’ costs still reign supreme.
In 2009, new Yankee Stadium was completed with a price tag of $2.3 billion. With an opening capacity of 50,287, that works out to roughly $45,700 per seat — nearly the same cost as the A’s planned ballpark.
However, even adjusting for inflation, it still falls short of the Rays’ venue: $45,700 in 2009 converts to around $72,000 in 2026 money, per the BLS’ CPI inflation calculator, or 5% shy of the Rays’ $76,100 per seat.
The Rays look set to hold the crown for a while longer, too.
The Kansas City Royalsannounced plans in April for a downtown stadium project with an estimated cost of $1.9 billion, but no details on capacity. Even if that stadium seats just 30,000 fans, it’ll come in at around $63,300 per seat, well below the Rays’ figure.
That’s the only other announced MLB stadium with a price tag at the time of writing.
So, the Rays’ stadium is certainly the priciest park in baseball for the time being, and it’ll likely be that way into the future.
Methodology: USA TODAY compiled cost and seating capacity data for MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL venues opened or planned since 2016, then divided each venue’s total reported cost by its opening or planned seating capacity. Where planned venues had a range of capacity estimations, the larger number was used. Little CaesarsArena is plotted twice in the “Squeeze play” chart for both its hockey and basketball configurations.
The Chicago Blackhawks prospects took the ice for day two of Prospect Camp on Saturday. There were tons of skill and skating drills that took place as they prepared for two matches against the St. Louis Blues.
Part of the practice revealed some potential lines for the games, as they did a drill that emulated game situations. The lines looked like this:
Roobroeck - Boisvert - Spellacy
Vanacker - Felcman - Misiak
Joughlin - Ludwinski - Aboflan
Henderson - DaFoe - Holmes
Young
Harding - Furlong
Henry - Hislop
Cumby - Getz
Batch
Gajan
Schaubel
The top line with Ryan Roobroeck, Sacha Boisvert, and AJ Spellacy has a little bit of everything when evaluating a skill line. They bring speed, toughness, and size, along with a tremendous amount of skill.
Roobroeck will be back in major junior this year, but Sacha Boisvert and AJ Spellacy on a line to start the year in the AHL could be a big boost for the Rockford IceHogs. We'll see if they stay together through the rest of camp, including the games.
At one point during practice, during a game-like simulation, Boisvert scored a goal in which he took a shot in the slot through a screen. If he exhibits that kind of shot with confidence in games that count, he will eventually find his way into the NHL for good.
Another player worth mentioning is Marek Vanacker. The former first-round pick has the tools to become an NHL player as well, but his nice hands stood out during this practice. Even when he's in tight quarters in front of the net, he can make a move to find the twine.
The Blackhawks did a shootout drill towards the end of practice, and Vanacker was one of the players who scored. He made a move on Schaubel to sneak it in between the pads and the goalpost. That wasn't the only goal he scored either, as he went 2/3 on his attempts.
The Blackhawks prospects will practice one more time, Sunday morning, before their two gamedays on Monday and Tuesday (which will also feature morning skates).
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 12: Zac Thornton #49 of the New York Mets pitches during the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on August 12, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mets lineup
Francisco Lindor – SS Juan Soto – DH Bo Bichette – 3B Carson Benge – RF Jared Young – 1B Marcus Semien – 2B A.J. Ewing – CF Luis Torrens – C Nick Morabito – LF
Zac Thornton – LHP
Yankees lineup
Paul Goldschmidt – 1B Aaron Judge – DH Cody Bellinger – LF Heliot Ramos – RF Amed Rosario – 3B Spencer Jones – CF George Lombard – SS Anthony Volpe – 2B Austin Wells – C
Gerrit Cole – RHP
Broadcast info
First pitch: 1:35 pm EDT TV: SNY Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App 92.3 HD2
Based on the chatter from NHL insiders last week, the Winnipeg Jets are hoping to get an offer for goalie Connor Hellebuyck to their liking before the beginning of the regular season. If not, they are prepared to start the regular season with the Vezina and Hart Trophy winner on the roster.
According to both Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Florida Panthers pursued the 33-year-old during the offseason, but traded assets that were offered in the proposed trade for winger Brady Tkachuk and goalie Jacob Markstrom. Both also indicate that three clubs; the Sabres, Utah Mammoth, and Carolina Hurricanes are in the mix for Hellebuyck, who has five years left on his contract at $8.5 million per season.
Both indicated in their reporting on Hellebuyck that Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is looking for a hockey trade instead of just future assets in the deal. In looking at the competition for the Olympic gold medal winner earlier this summer, the Mammoth may be in the best position to make a trade, with Karel Vejmelka under contract (who has a 10-team no-trade clause), 23-year-old Sebastian Cossa (obtained from Detroit in June) and young prospects (2024 first rounder Tij Iginla or 2025 top pick Caleb Desnoyers) that would tantalize Cheveldayoff in a deal.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
Carolina lost veteran Frederik Andersen in free agency to Edmonton, leaving the Hurricanes with Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov as their tandem. The Jets reportedly are looking for help up the middle, but the most enticing piece coming back could be big Russian blueliner Alexander Nikishin, who is currently an unsigned RFA. along with someone like highly regarded prospect Ivan Ryabkin, who played in the AHL and QMJHL as an 18-year-old.
To best either club’s offers, Buffalo may have to further subtract from their NHL roster, in the form of winger Jack Quinn or center Ryan McLeod, but might have to include one of their promising young forwards (Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich) and/or defensive prospects Daxon Rudolph or Radim Mrtka in the deal.
It will be interesting if Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen is willing to pay such a high price for Hellebuyck, or will be willing to go into next season with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis in goal.
BASEBALL IN SUNSHINE: Yesterday’s win evened the Cubs’ record in day games this year at 32-32, including 22-16 at home. They are 13-17 this year in the second of back-to-back day games. They finished last year 24-13. They are 12-10 in the second of back-to-back day games at home. A year ago, they were 22-12. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
SATURDAY IN THE PARK: On Saturdays this season, the Cubs are 13-11 overall and 7-5 at home. They wound up 20-7 and 9-5 a year ago. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
APPROACHING 800: With their 12 runs yesterday, the Cubs’ total for the season stands at 792. They have scored an 800th run in only 12 seasons since 1901, most recently 2023, with 819, their eighth most in a season. This century, they also scored 808 in 2016, 814 in 2019, 822 in 2017 and 855 in 2008. Those 855 are the Cubs’ third most ever, behind 998 in 1930 and 982 in 1929. At their current average of 5.35 per game, the Cubs will finish this season with 867. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs trailed the Dodgers 7-0 going to the fifth, then overcame that and led them 8-7 in the ninth before L.A. scored an unearned run in that inning to tie the game. Former Dodger Cesar Izturis singled in the winning run in the 11th and the Cubs won 9-8. It happened 20 years ago today, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006.
Clay Holmes was going along great in his first five starts for the Cubs, then had a stinker last Sunday against the Marlins.
So we’re going to try to ignore that one and focus on the rest of his 2026 season, which has been excellent.
Holmes, who began his career with the Pirates, has never faced them as a starting pitcher. The only Pirates player who’s seen him for more than a handful of at-bats is Brandon Lowe (2-for-8).
You have probably read about Paul Skenes’ somewhat down year — his ERA is well over 3, his velocity is down a few ticks, etc. (You can see that in the chart below.)
The last time he faced the Cubs was July 25 at PNC Park, and they hit him pretty well even though he struck out 10 Cubs hitters — six hits and five runs in 5.1 innings.
Since that game, Skenes has a 4.46 ERA and 1.456 WHIP in seven starts covering 34.1 innings. The Cubs have hit him well in the past — he has a 3.45 career ERA in nine starts against the Cubs, which is his highest against any team he’s faced more than four times.
Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout. If you do go there to interact with Pirates fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Mark Stone has already given the Vegas Golden Knights just about everything a franchise could ask of its captain.
He helped turn an expansion team into a Stanley Cup contender, became the first captain in franchise history and eventually lifted the Cup in Vegas. But the Golden Knights clearly aren't ready to find out what life without him looks like.
Vegas signed Stone to a two-year, $18 million contract Saturday, keeping its captain under contract through the 2027-28 season. The deal comes after another remarkable season from the 34-year-old, who scored a career-high 73 points in only 60 games despite missing time with injuries.
Stone's production was a major reason Vegas made another run at the Cup, reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in nine seasons. He finished the regular season with 28 goals and 45 assists before adding 12 points in 17 playoff games.
For all the questions that have followed Stone's health in recent years, there has never been much debate about what he means to the Golden Knights when he is healthy. His fingerprints are all over the most important moments in the franchise's history, and his 84 playoff points remain the most any Golden Knights player has recorded.
Now, Vegas has decided that history shall continue.
The extension also comes just two days after the Golden Knights gave Braeden Bowman a six-year, $20.4 million contract of his own. One deal keeps a veteran captain who helped build the franchise's identity in place; the other gives Vegas a long-term piece it hopes will help carry that identity forward.
For the Golden Knights, Saturday wasn't simply about keeping Stone around.
It was about making sure the player who has been at the center of so much of their success gets another chance to finish the job.
Apr 20, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Maicer Izturis (3) dives back to first base on a pick-off attempt in the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Today marks the 44th birthday of former Blue Jays infielder Maicer Izturis.
You might remember that Alex Anthopoulos signed Izturis as a free agent in November 2012. He agreed to a three-year contract (with a team option for a fourth year) worth $3 million annually, making it Alex’s most significant free-agent signing at the time.
Unfortunately, the signing did not go as hoped.
Alex described Izturis as the ‘leading candidate’ to play second base but still sought to upgrade the position. Around the same time, he traded Mike Aviles (and Yan Gomes) to Cleveland for Esmil Rogers—a move that also fell short of expectations. While Aviles might have been a healthier option at second, his offensive numbers were underwhelming. Notably, the Jays had just acquired Aviles from the Red Sox in exchange for John Farrell.
A few days later, Alex pulled off a major trade with the Marlins, which brought Emilio Bonifacio to Toronto. Bonifacio would share second base duties with Izturis during the 2013 season. Over the next few years, the team cycled through several other second basemen, including Munenori Kawasaki and Ryan Goins.
Over three seasons, Izturis appeared in just 118 games, spending more time on the disabled list than on the field. The Jays declined his option ahead of the 2016 season, instead issuing a $1,000,000 buyout.
He finished his Blue Jays tenure with a .240/.291/.310 slash line and 5 home runs.
In January 2016, the Jays signed Izturis to a minor-league contract, but he never played professionally again.
Izturis spent 11 seasons in the majors, compiling a .269/.331/.372 batting line with 39 home runs in 909 games. He played the majority of his career with the Angels, though he began with the Expos.
Happy Birthday, Maicer—I hope it’s a great one.
Today also marks the 43rd birthday of Clayton Richard.
Clayton Richard enjoyed an 11-year MLB career, finishing with the Blue Jays. His stint in Toronto was less memorable—he went 1-5 with a 5.96 ERA over 10 starts in 2019. The Jays acquired him in a trade with the Padres for Connor Panas, who never reached the majors but is currently playing in Mexico.
Standing 6’5” and weighing 240 pounds, Richard was an imposing left-handed pitcher, though not a hard thrower. The polite term: he was a ‘pitch-to-contact’ pitcher, rarely missing bats.
Over his 11-year career, Richard posted a 69-84 record with a 4.51 ERA across 275 games, including 210 starts.
Movistar rider refuses to crack in brutal mountain test
Would be first home winner since Contador 12 years ago
Enric Mas all but secured overall victory in the Vuelta a España when he survived a brutal penultimate stage on the sun-baked slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 31-year-old Movistar rider spent most of the 186km stage in a group alongside Primoz Roglic, Felix Gall and Richard Carapaz – the only men who could deny him the red jersey – and simply refused to crack.
Looking perfectly in control up the steep and winding final 9km climb to Collado del Alguacil, Mallorcan rider Mas comfortably protected the 1min 37 sec advantage he had held over the Slovenian Roglic after 19 stages and even stretched his lead at the climax.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 6: Starting pitcher Tanner Gordon #29 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field on September 6, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A stretch of rough streaks continues for the Colorado Rockies (55-92). The team had a tough time at home in August, losing 10 games straight at Coors Field before winning one against the Baltimore Orioles to start the month of September.
The woes are now traveling. After last night’s 6-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers (68-79), the Rockies have amassed an eight-game road losing streak. They’ll try to stop the away skid in game two of a three-game set out in Motor City.
The Rockies will start right-handed pitcher Tanner Gordon (1-4 in nine starts and 21 total games, 5.40 ERA). Gordon has oscillated between starting and relieving throughout the season. He was roughed up in his last start, a 10-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in which Gordon gave up five runs on eight hits. Over the course of the year, Gordon has performed better on the road than he as at home. He has an 0-3 record and a 7.47 ERA at Coors Field, compared to a 1-1 record alongside a 2.68 ERA on the road. In fact, the Rockies last road win came on a Gordon start in a 13-1 win over the Washington Nationals. They’ll turn to his mojo away from home to get things back on track.
The Tigers will send out lefty Andrew Sears (0-1 in one start and three total games), who made his MLB debut on August 23rd. He began his big-league career with two appearances out of the bullpen. He got his first start last week, a non-decision as Detroit lost to the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 in extra innings. Sears looked sharp, going 5.2 innings and giving up just one run on four hits with four strikeouts. The Tigers sent Sears back down to Triple-A after his start to clear roster space for Jack Flaherty returning from injury. That decision made a U-turn with starter Keider Montero leaving Detroit to return to Venezuela for the birth of his child, putting Sears’ services back in demand.
With Colorado up against a left-handed starter for the second straight game in the series, the faces in the batting order remain mostly unchanged. TJ Rumfield slots in and Troy Johnston moves out amidst a shuffle in the Designated Hitter and infield positions. The other eight starters from yesterday’s game take the field today. The Rockies will hope to see more power out of their bats and to cash in on their scoring opportunities as they try to even the series.
SAN DIEGO, CA - AUGUST 25: Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates warms up prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ryan Levy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Pitching Matchup: Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83 ERA) vs. Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83 ERA)
Sorry we missed some game threads, y’all. We’ve had some moving parts in scheduling, so that falls on me.
But to the game, the Pirates are at .500, but with the season fast dwindling away, they are still 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. The MLB Playoffs are not likely, barring a miracle.
Still, it would be nice to see the Bucs finish strong, and especially for Paul Skenes to finish strong after a difficult season for the ace.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 08: Brent Headrick #47 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium on September 8, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Though the Yankees have endured their fair share of misfortune this year – injuries to several key players come to mind – they’ve also enjoyed some positive surprises. Spencer Jones might be a viable big leaguer! Paul Goldschmidt wasn’t completely toast! Paul Blackburn’s running a sub-2.00 ERA! However, there’s one important development that I feel has flown under the radar at least a little bit, and that is Brent Headrick’s emergence as an elite reliever.
Those of you following this team closely should need no reminder of how good Headrick has been, but his performance to date stands out even when compared to the rest of the league. Here’s how Brent’s key stats rank among all qualified MLB relievers.
No matter how you slice it, Headrick’s 2026 performance to date has been nothing short of elite. However, I want to call attention to one stat in particular: his innings count. With about three weeks still remaining in the season, Headrick has already thrown 73.1 innings, the most he’s ever thrown in the majors by far. In fact, even when accounting for his minor league stats, his 2026 workload still stands out.
Headrick did throw 108.1 innings across High-A and Double-A in 2022, followed by 100.2 innings across Triple-A and the majors in 2023. However, that was when he was primarily a swingman, with 35 out of his 58 appearances during that time being starts. Having since moved to a full-time relief role, Headrick accumulated just 69.1 innings ]over 2024 and 2025 across the minors and the majors. In other words, 2026 Headrick has already thrown more innings than his previous two years combined. If I were him, I’d be asking for a hefty raise in the offseason if I wasn’t pre-arb.
With any pitcher — and perhaps doubly so for relievers, who are as a group inherently fickle — a marked increase in workload comes with two red flags: heightened injury risk, and potential decline in performance. I can’t speak on the former, as I’m not a medical professional. However, I can provide some assurance regarding the latter, as despite being worked harder than ever before, Headrick isn’t showing many signs of slowing down.
Yes, it’s true that Headrick’s ERA has risen a bit recently. From the start of the season through July, he posted a 1.30 ERA in 55.1 innings. Since then? A 4.00 mark across 18 innings. However, a look at Headrick’s underlying numbers suggests that this has more to do with bad luck than his workload catching up to him.
If Headrick was truly gassed, we’d expect that to show in several areas of his FanGraphs page. For example, if his stuff was diminished, we’d expect his strikeout rate to decrease and his walk rate to increase. But looking at his splits pre- and post-August, the opposite has happened. Headrick’s actually fanning batters at a higher rate since August 1st (32.2%) than before (29.4%), while his walk rate since (7.4%) is also slightly lower than before (7.8%), even including last night’s two-walk outing. If there has been a decline in Headrick’s stuff, it sure isn’t showing up here.
Of course, it might be that Headrick is allowing harder contact as he runs on fumes. However, the data doesn’t really support this hypothesis either. His hard contact rate was 26.4 percent from March-July, and from the start of August onward that has risen all the way to … 26.5 percent. His batted-ball mix is basically the same, too—he’s generated grounders and fly balls at roughly the same rates. The only difference is that recently more of his fly balls allowed have been leaving the park. His HR/FB rate was a miniscule 3.4 percent prior to August, but since then that’s jumped up to 10.5 percent. However, HR/FB has proven to be a fickle statistic, and very few pitchers have shown the ability to consistently suppress it. Given the fact that a 10.5 percent HR/FB is still below league average, I’m comfortable saying that this shouldn’t be cause for alarm.
The most likely culprit for Headrick’s heightened ERA seems to be worse luck on batted balls. Here’s his 15-game rolling BABIP, through the beginning of play yesterday:
If we superimpose his 15-game rolling ERA- trends on this graph, we can see how closely the two trends coincide:
And if we compare that to his FIP- trends, we can see how Headrick’s core skills have remained consistent despite fluctuations in his surface stats:
So, in my humble opinion, the fact that Headrick’s ERA has risen a bit of late shouldn’t scare you.
At Headrick’s core, he’s still the shutdown reliever he was earlier in the year; he’s just run into a patch of bad luck. Of course, this doesn’t preclude the possibility to Headrick’s workload catching up to him eventually, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t note that his average fastball velocity in September (93.2 mph) is lower than any previous month (below May’s 93.9 mph). It’s not an enormous dip and it’s possible that the adrenaline of the postseason could boost it back up in certain outings.
Nonetheless, Aaron Boone and Matt Blake should of course be monitoring his health closely; going into the playoffs without a fully functioning Headrick would be less than ideal, to say the least. As of now however, Headrick seems to be just fine, and that’s good news for the Yankees as they enter the most crucial part of the season.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 30: Willson Contreras #40 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, August 30, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by CJ Lauretani/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The WooSox fell to the IronPigs (Phillies AAA) in more of a game of circumstance than anything. For every good thing that happened, there was a counter. The team only walked once, but they only struck out six times. John Holobetz struck out seven and pitched into the sixth, having only allowed a run via a home run, but Seth Martinez got taken yard three times. Of course, there was also the issue of going 1-2-3 six times in the game including when it mattered most in the ninth. In a winnable game, 5 hits, only one of those being an extra-base hit (by your 8-hole hitter, no less) usually doesn’t cut it.
In a real full-team win, the Sea Dogs had three home runs, all within the first five innings to put them up big, including Brooks Brannon capping a 7-run second. Henry Godbout continues his fantastic late summer at the plate taking Binghamton (Mets AA) for two hits. Despite the DH who you may or may not recognize. Willson Contreras is getting some at-bats in rehab to ensure that nagging hamstring isn’t going to be too much of an issue during the playoff run. It didn’t seem to bother him Friday as he went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Contreras will start at first for the Sea Dogs this afternoon and it’s at least plausible we see him in Boston to end this Royals series Sunday.
Contreras wasn’t the only one rehabbing, though; along with Yordanny Monegro coming back from that lengthy Tommy John back in 2025, Tanner Houck is also searching to maybe get some innings in in 2026 after all (let me be clear… as the end of his rehab would be after the playoffs begin, I’m all for the 2024 All-Star pacing himself as slow as possible and coming back in 2027.) The 30-year-old struck four out allowing just one hit in three innings (though, that hit did score a runner he walked) and getting this game to a place where Max Carlson and Cooper Adams could slam the door. Houck threw 48 pitches in relatively low leverage, which actually may seem like a little bit of a high pitch count in a second appearance after a major surgery, but he dug in deep and got that ninth out. It’s really nice to see Houck on the mound again, and his Friday night certainly went a lot better than his Tuesday night did.
