Aug 22, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles right fielder Dylan Beavers (12) hits a walk off RBI double during the tenth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters!
After an off-day yesterday, the Orioles will be back in action tonight. They kick off a nine-game, three-city road trip against three teams a playoff team should be able to beat: the St. Louis Cardinals, Sacramento Athletics, and Colorado Rockies. The Cardinals have a .500 record, while the A’s and Rockies are the two-worst teams in baseball. The problem is, the Orioles aren’t really a playoff team.
It’s kind of a joke around these parts that every series is declared pivotal. And really, they have been. When you’re a team on the fringes of a playoff spot, every series is pivotal. Theoretically, this could be a pivotal road trip. But in reality, I have to admit I just don’t see it.
On July 8th, the Orioles lost to the Cubs, falling to a season-worst eight games below .500. Since then, they have gone 21-17. Today, they are five games under .500. At this point in the season, they have established themselves as, at best, a .500-caliber team. It seems silly to imagine anything more than that.
The only saving grace is that there are five other teams whose fan bases are saying something similar about their favorite team. And the Orioles are setting off to play three teams who are a combined 59 games under .500. So I can see how people might say this is their big shot.
The problem? The Orioles are exactly .500 against teams with losing records this year. And that won’t cut it in the pathetic race for the third AL Wild Card.
Now, will I be rooting for the Orioles to win the battle for mediocrity? Of course I will. I root for them all the time, and I’ll be thrilled to cheer them on in the postseason if they manage to get there. Every single night when I sit down to watch the Orioles, I am hopeful they’ll win. But I also know that time is running out and they have already shown us who they are.
These 10 farm systems have the best outfield prospects – MLB.com MLB Pipeline ranks the Orioles as having the third-best outfield prospects in baseball, thanks to names like Eric Booth, Jr, Ike Irish, Nate George, Ty Head, Enddy Azocar, and Enrique Bradfield, Jr.
Albert Suárez Elects Free Agency – MLB Trade Rumors The Orioles have DFA’d Suárez three times this season. He has cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than going to Triple-A. If you like Big Al, I predict he’ll be back. He always comes back.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies, including Albert Belle (60). Belle was signed to a five-year contract in the winter of 1998, but only played two of those seasons. After 2000, Belle was diagnosed with degenerative hip disease and was forced to retire.
Other former Orioles born on this day in history are pitcher Chandler Shepherd (34), outfielder Gary Matthews (52), and catcher Darrell Johnson (b. 1928, d. 2004).
Today is also the birthday of both Max Muncys. Muncies? The older Muncy, who plays third base for the Dodgers, is 36. And the younger Muncy, who plays third base for the Athletics, is 24.
On this day in 1961, the Orioles defeated the Twins 5-2. Pinch hitter Dave Philley singled, giving him 23 pinch hits on the season, which set a Major League record.
In 1968, the Orioles and Red Sox played an 18-inning game, which the Orioles won. Starting pitcher Tom Phoebus pitched seven innings and winning pitcher Roger Nelson pitched seven innings. The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. In the bottom of the 18th, Boog Powell doubled, then scored, on a single from Brooks Robinson. The game lasted five hours, 27-minutes.
In 2014, the Orioles beat the Rays 9-1. in the third inning, Nick Markakis and Steve Pearce hit back-to-back home runs. In the fifth inning, Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy, and Chris Davis hit back-to-back-to-back home runs.
And on this day last year, the Orioles lost to the Red Sox 4-3. Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six innings and allowed all four runs. Colton Cowser had a three-hit game and knocked in all three runs.
MESA, AZ - MARCH 22: Eric Bitonti #48 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with Handelfry Encarnacion #94 at home plate after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Athletics at Hohokam Stadium on Sunday, March 22, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!
As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering everything you need to know about each of the Brewers’ minor league affiliates — every Tuesday morning right here on Brew Crew Ball. For consistency, all organizational prospect rankings will reference MLB Pipeline unless otherwise noted.
Triple-A Nashville Sounds
Current record: 68-55 Record this week: 3-2 This week’s opponent: @ Norfolk Tides Next week’s opponent: @ Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Standout performances:
Eric Brown Jr.: 6-for-11, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K Sal Frelick: 5-for-14, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K Brock Wilken: 6-for-18, 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K Tyler Black: 5-for-18, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K Coleman Crow: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Tate Kuehner: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Tyson Hardin: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Now that we’re just under a month from the end of the minor league regular season, the Sounds’ roster is a bit less stacked than it was going into the year, with four of the Brewers’ top seven prospects entering the season (Cooper Pratt, Brandon Sproat, Luis Lara, and Logan Henderson) earning call-ups to the big leagues and graduating from prospect status.
Even still, the Sounds’ lineup features a few guys who you might eventually see in Milwaukee.
Luke Adams doesn’t have the in-game or raw power that Andrew Fischer or Blake Burke possess, so he doesn’t generate as many headlines, but he’s shown a knack for getting on base, produced at every level, and currently has a .906 OPS in over 200 at-bats this year. Jett Williams has had a bit of a down year, but he’s still here and was ranked ahead of all four of the Sounds’ graduated prospects entering the season. So is Jeferson Quero, who made his major league debut at the beginning of the year.
I’d also be remiss not to mention the players who weren’t with the Sounds at the start of the season, including catcher Bo Naylor, acquired prior to the trade deadline, who has an .895 OPS in 40 at-bats with the Sounds and could see some time this September as rosters expand. It also includes Burke, who’s only hitting .190 in 42 at-bats with Nashville but had a .970 OPS with 30 home runs in a much larger sample at Double-A.
The Sounds’ pitching staff is still their strong suit, even after the graduations of Henderson, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser. Coleman Crow (who’s already thrown 18.2 innings in Milwaukee), Tyson Hardin, and Tate Kuehner all threw four-plus shutout innings this week, and all three are legitimate prospects. Kuehner, probably the least exciting prospect of the three, has only made eight starts this year due to injury but posted a 2.77 ERA over 110.1 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2025.
In other news:
— Sal Frelick continues to rehab in Nashville, going 5-for-14 with a pair of doubles and a home run.
— Sproat and Kuehner combined for a seven-inning no-hitter in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Tides.
(No) Hit City ⚾️🚫 Brandon Sproat and Tate Kuehner threw a combined no hitter in Norfolk yesterday, with Jeferson Quero behind the plate. pic.twitter.com/D6oV8QvFtU
Current record: 56-60 Record this week: 1-5 This week’s opponent: @ Rocket City Trash Pandas Next week’s opponent: vs. Knoxville Smokies
Standout performances:
Luis Peña: 7-for-24, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K Damon Keith: 4-for-15, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K Dylan O’Rae: 4-for-17, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K Josh Adamczewski: 3-for-15, 1 2B, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K Braylon Payne: 4-for-23, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K Jaron DeBerry: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K Manuel Rodriguez: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K Peyton Niksch: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K J.D. Thompson: 9.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 15 K Stiven Cruz: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
In what was otherwise a rough week for the Shuckers, Luis Peña keeps doing top-20-prospect-in-baseball things.
The Brewers have a few other extremely talented infield prospects, and Peña’s missed a lot of time this year, so he’s gotten a bit lost in the shuffle compared to last year. With his first week in Double-A now in the books, let’s take a look at Peña’s High-A stat line:
In Peña’s first week in Double-A, he went 7-for-24 with a home run. Considering the health scares and the time that he missed, this season could have turned out so much better for Peña. At the same time, if hitting .298 in 200-plus at-bats is a less-than-ideal season, that bodes very well for the 19-year-old Peña’s future.
Peña’s .292 batting average led the Shuckers by a wide margin this week. Only three other Shuckers had more than three hits — Braylon Payne (4-for-23), Dylan O’Rae (4-for-17), and Damon Keith (4-for-15). Jesús Made went 3-for-21. Mike Boeve went 3-for-21. Josh Adamczewski went 3-for-15. Andrew Fischer went 1-for-19; his one hit was a home run, of course.
Biloxi’s pitching staff didn’t fare much better, either. J.D. Thompson led the Shuckers in innings with nine over two starts, striking out a whopping 15 Trash Pandas but walking six, giving up eight hits, and ultimately allowing five earned runs. Jaron DeBerry (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) and Manuel Rodriguez (5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) had the two best starts of the week, with Rodriguez picking up the staff’s lone win.
J.D. Thompson set a new career-high with 8 strikeouts!
Current record: 60-52 Record this week: 2-4 This week’s opponent: Lake County Captains (home, 2026-08-18 to 2026-08-23) Next week’s opponent: South Bend Cubs (home, 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-30)
Standout performances:
Eric Bitonti: 8-for-23, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K Daniel Dickinson: 8-for-24, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K Tayden Hall: 5-for-20, 3 2B, 0 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K Sawyer Strosnider: 5-for-21, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 10 K Yannic Walther: 2-for-10, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K Wande Torres: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Josh Knoth: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K Jayden Dubanewicz: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K Jacob Morrison: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 11 K Ethan Dorchies: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
It’s incredible how much talent the Timber Rattlers have had this year, just a couple hours away from Miller Park. Here are some of the prospects who have had at least 150 at-bats with Wisconsin this year:
Andrew Fischer: 1.118 OPS in 191 ABs, 173 wRC+
Josh Adamczewski: 1.036 OPS in 166 ABs, 165 wRC+
Braylon Payne: .930 OPS in 310 ABs, 130 wRC+
Eric Bitonti: .896 OPS in 354 ABs, 126 wRC+
Marco Dinges: .855 OPS in 220 ABs, 121 wRC+
Daniel Dickinson: .846 OPS in 347 ABs, 123 wRC+
Luis Peña: .804 OPS in 188 ABs, 109 wRC+
This list consists solely of players who were considered a top-30 prospect at some point this season, so it also leaves out Luis Castillo (.807 OPS in 330 at-bats) and Tayden Hall (.876 OPS in 265 at-bats).
Fischer, Adamczewski, Payne, Dinges, and Peña have all since earned promotions, but the Timber Rattlers somehow still have plenty of talent left. Bitonti’s 23 home runs speak for themselves, but Dickinson has now posted an OPS over 1.000 and a batting average over .300 in each of the last two months, raising his season-long OPS to .851 in the process.
Joining Bitonti and Dickinson in High-A a couple weeks ago was Sawyer Strosnider, the Brewers’ 2026 second-round pick who was widely mocked as a first-rounder leading up to the draft. Strosnider has one of the best power-speed profiles in the entire class, although he fell to Milwaukee after slumping late in the season with TCU. In his first 43 at-bats with the Timber Rattlers, Strosnider is hitting .302 with an .877 OPS and a home run (caught by his dad, how cool is that?).
As for the pitching staff, Wande Torres, Josh Knoth, and Jayden Dubanewicz all put together solid outings. Torres threw four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, while Knoth allowed just one run across five innings. Dubanewicz went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. Jacob Morrison also deserves a mention after striking out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, while Ethan Dorchies allowed three runs on nine hits in four innings of work.
Single-A Wilson Warbirds
Current record: 63-53 Record this week: 3-3 This week’s opponent: @ Salem RidgeYaks Next week’s opponent: vs. Hickory Crawdads
Standout performances:
Brailyn Antunez: 10-for-22, 1 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K Handelfry Encarnacion: 8-for-21, 1 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K Carsten Sabathia III: 7-for-19, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K Kevin Garcia: 4-for-12, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Juan Ortuno: 7-for-22, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K Diustin Mayorquin: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Miqueas Mercedes: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Jarrette Bonet: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K Tyler Renz: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Handelfry Encarnacion (.777 OPS on the season) is still here and doing his thing, but otherwise the Warbirds’ roster looks a lot different than it did to start the season.
Brady Ebel’s in High-A, but his brother Trey, the Brewers’ first-rounder this year, is now in Wilson. The younger Ebel is already looking comfortable, starting his career 6-for-21 with a double and four RBIs.
Jadyn Fielder is now with the Astros, but the Warbirds have another son of a former Brewers fan favorite on the roster. 22-year-old Carsten Sabathia III — son of CC — was drafted in the 20th round of this year’s draft out of the University of Houston. He’s outperformed that draft slot so far, going 16-for-39 (.410) with a pair of home runs.
Another newcomer is Brailyn Antunez, one of the Brewers’ top international free agent signings from last year’s class. Antunez is 35-for-85 (.412) with a 1.256 OPS, seven home runs, five doubles, and a triple. A whopping 12.5% of his plate appearances have ended in an extra-base hit so far in his tenure as a Warbird. That won’t last, and he’s still raw, but he’s shown tantalizing promise — including surprising opposite-field power for his age — and his production thus far is an exciting hint of what he could eventually become.
Wilson’s pitching staff has struggled this year; of the team’s top 11 innings leaders, 10 have ERAs over 4. The 11th is 20-year-old Miqueas Mercedes, whose performance this week brought his ERA down to 3.11 through 66 2/3 innings. Mercedes has struck out 68 batters, but he’s also walked a borderline-unbelievable 45 (6.12 BB/9).
Player of the Week
Eric Bitonti, who went 8-for-23 with three home runs this week. Bitonti bounced back this year after a rough 2025 that saw him slide down prospect rankings. Even though he hasn’t exactly quelled strikeout concerns (34 K%) that have followed him throughout his career, he’s raised his OPS from .762 to .896 while moving up a level and already has a career-high 23 home runs with just under a month left in the season.
Brewers prospect Eric Bitonti is criminally underrated. The 6-ft-5 20-year-old has slashed .289/.378/.684 with 5 HR over his last 38 ABs.
As we’ve seen with Andrew Fischer, if a player produces well enough, it doesn’t matter how much he strikes out. Bitonti’s not quite there yet, but he’s showing clear signs of growth. If there’s anyone to be patient with, it’s a prospect who’s still only 20 years old and can hit home runs like this:
The Detroit Tigers made it six straight losses and ninth in the last 10 games with a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park on Monday night. Framber Valdez was just good enough to earn a quality start, but his offense failed to find any real momentum.
Taking the mound for the Tigers in Game 2 on Tuesday is right-hander Jackson Jobe, who will make his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old’s last outing was his longest so far, throwing 86 pitches over 5 1/3 innings, allowing a run on four hits and three walks while striking out three.
It looks like he is getting stretched out well as the final month of the regular season approaches after throwing 71 and 74 pitches, respectively, during his two previous appearances.
For the Rays, left-hander Ian Seymour will toe the rubber for his 12th start of the 2026 campaign after spending a good portion of the year in a relief role. The 27-year-old has been solid over his past four outings — all starts — logging a 3.52 ERA and 4.13 FIP over 23 innings, allowing 24 hits (six home runs) and four walks while striking out 33, earning three quality starts and a pair of wins against one loss.
Seymour saw the Tigers once before this season back on June 2, when he was tagged for three runs on two hits (one home run) and three walks plus an intentional free pass with just a strikeout over two frames in a game his team lost, 8-0, at Tropicana Field.
Take a look below at how the two starters match up for Tuesday night’s battle at Comerica Park as the good guys look to snap the schneid.
Detroit Tigers (61-70) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (78-53)
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:DRaysBay Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 132: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Ian Seymour (9-4, 4.17 ERA)
When you go to a concert, the less interesting part, but absolutely vital, element of the show is the building of the stage. The guys who put in the tireless, underappreciated hours of setting the scene for what’s to come later. Last week, the Cardinals appeared to be poised to make a run at the final Wild Card spot in the standings. This week, and the whole season really, we’re witnessing the buildup for what’s to come. The Cardinals making the playoffs in 2026 would’ve been like one of those undercover videos where the lead guitarist is dressed like one of the roadies and picks up the guitar on stage and starts shredding to everyone’s amazement, and the few scant fans early in attendance are blown away by the unexpected thrill of what they’re seeing in front of them, knowing show time isn’t here yet.
The same can be said about the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals. Unsuspecting, we came into this season with little to no expectations in terms of the standings for this season and have been pleasantly surprised by the positive steps forward overall. I believe there has been no greater improvement to a man than the steps forward in the St. Louis Bullpen. Yes, Jordan Walker has stepped into the stardom he was always promised. Yes, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Kyle Leahy look like bona fide major league starters who can help a playoff-caliber team. But when I look at names like Riley O’Brien, George Soriano, Luis Gastelum, Justin Bruihl, Gordon Graceffo, and even guys who have yet to emerge, like Cade Winquest or Sandro Santana. Perhaps even Matt Svanson is able to go into the offseason and try to reclaim what he had discovered last season. Of note, his arm angle dropped about 4 degrees this season from last year, which could lead to different movement and more erratic command when expecting a pitch to be in one location and it winds up somewhere completely different than expected.
Riley O’Brien:
The stuff has been electric from the jump, but the command will waver at times, which will lead to poor location and results. But 9 times out of 10, he gets the job done, and the Cardinals seem intent on carrying him as far as they can into their next competitive window as their 9th-inning option. As the current NL leader in Saves and 2nd overall in MLB behind Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays, he’s done enough to retain the job going into 2027.
George Soriano:
When the Cardinals traded for Soriano, a majority of fans didn’t understand the move. Why trade for a guy coming off a season with an 8 ERA and is out of options? Chaim Bloom had admitted the Cardinals had tried to acquire Soriano on a couple of different occasions, and they decided to pony up with a young reliever in exchange for his services. Lately, it’s been really rough, and my estimation is that the Cardinals rode him hard this season en route to winning as many games as possible. The result is already blowing past his career high in innings: 36.2 IP in 2025 -> 57 IP so far in 2026. The changeup is a real weapon out of the bullpen, and it pairs well with the fastball and slider. The chase and whiff rates are both well above average, in the 85th percentile according to Savant. Soriano is a weapon for 2027; we’re just watching a reliever who was worked hard this summer run up against a wall.
Luis Gastelum:
Much like Soriano, Gastelum’s Bugs Bunny changeup leads to some very silly off-platform swings that will cause opposite-handed opponents fits. The chase rates, whiff rates, and the quality of contact are all elements we’re seeing progress in a positive direction, especially of late. Manager Oli Marmol was on the Gashouse Gang show a couple of weeks ago and shed some light on some of Gastelum’s HR issues he suffered from early. Marmol explained that there were some pitch-tipping issues that they believe they’ve turned a corner on. What we can evaluate the rest of the season is probably closer to the real Gastelum we can expect for seasons to come, and it’s AWESOME.
Justin Bruihl:
There’s a reason why first impressions matter, because it will color opinion for a lot longer than is probably deserved. But in a season designed for opportunity, Bruihl has persevered and found a way to get a really valuable piece out of the Cardinals bullpen. In his first 16 IP through the end of April, Bruihl had a 5.63 ERA and 5.65 FIP. It wasn’t pretty, and a lot of fans, and at times myself included, were ready to call it a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained unrealized opportunity on a player and to begin churning other options. Credit to the Cardinals for sticking with him and giving him an extended leash. Since May 1st, Bruihl has a 2.59 ERA and 3.29 FIP over 48.2 IP. While he doesn’t strike batters out, he has been a soft-contact merchant. Bruihl is in the 90th percentile or better in average exit velocity, barrel%, and groundball%. While not a modern high-leverage reliever, as a 2nd lefty in a middle-innings chase reliever role, Bruihl profiles excellently for such a vital role.
Gordon Graceffo:
Every role in a bullpen doesn’t come with the prerequisite that they have to be capable of pitching high-leverage situations. Gordon Graceffo has proven this season that he can get important outs for a big-league bullpen and be an early bridge solution for Manager Oli Marmol as a guy who comes in to throw strikes and get quick outs. The swing-and-miss needs improvement and is probably the area that Graceffo will need to improve to continue to grow into potential leverage situations. I’d also be curious to see what Graceffo’s stats are in his first-inning performance as opposed to when he goes multiple innings and what the differences are; for some reason, I recall a lot more hard contact comes against him after his first inning of work. Overall, Graceffo has positive run values in pitching, fastball, and offspeed values. So, while some of the underlying data suggests that he’s due for regression, his performance has still been a very noticeable positive this season.
Cade Winquest:
I am all aboard the hype train when it comes to the Cade Winquest express. 56 K’s in 39.1 IP this season. Winquest has the swing-and-miss profile that thrives in a modern bullpen, and there is little for Winquest left to prove at the AAA level at this point. Obviously, this being the 2nd week in a row I’m talking about Winquest should really say how optimistic I am about the 26-year-old’s future with STL. Winquest has not allowed a run in 7 games pitched in August, including 3 multi-inning appearances, and 16 of his 56 K’s have come in that span alone.
https://prospectsavant.com/player/685464 Here you can look at Winquest’s profile on Prospect Savant, and there is a ton of red proving that the quality across the board is overwhelmingly in support of a promotion. Hopefully Winquest gets an audition in September; he’s earned it.
Sandro Santana:
Acquired in the Lars Nootbaar trade with Arizona, Santana is the next leverage left-handed reliever that will impact the Cardinals bullpen likely sometime in 2027. Since his promotion to AA on June 24th, he has 35 K’s in 22.1 IP and a 0.81 ERA. A 2 pitch pitcher who is very interesting to watch. His setup is reminiscent of JoJo Romero, where he will twist and set, and then his delivery is very whippy and over-the-top, reminding some Cardinals prospect evaluators of Genesis Cabrera. Santana features a mid-to-high 90s fastball and a sharp, sweeping slider that bites hard glove-side and is a whiff machine.
Other names who I expect to factor into the bullpen mix in 2027 will include Matthew Liberatore, Richard Fitts, Brycen Mautz, Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, Pete Hansen, and Hancel Rincon. The Cardinals’ depth should be much improved heading into next season and should have multiple options vying for big-league innings, so nothing will be a given; thus, the competition will force hard decisions for the Cardinals moving forward.
Could the Cardinals consolidate some of these options into a more proven high-leverage reliever? Perhaps. It could certainly be an area of need that would make sense to address from a monetary standpoint with a roster so free and devoid of financial commitment. Overall, the returning group we’ve seen this season should be an area where the 2027 team will take and learn from this season and grow into a secret weapon for a potential playoff hopeful squad heading into next season.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Carlos Rodón #55 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on August 23, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees have had one of the strongest performances from their pitching staff start to finish that they’ve gotten in recent memory, flaunting a wealth of depth for a rotation that has consistently had at least one member missing from the rotation the entire season. Whether it was Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, or now the latest missing member in Ryan Weathers, its felt like the team has been waiting on a missing piece to arrive at every moment to put them over the edge. Despite that, the arms that have been available have more than delivered, as each of those four have largely thrived when called upon and Cam Schlittler has been shoving since Opening Weekend. The results: New York is neck-and-neck for the best fWAR of any starting rotation in baseball, ranking third with 14.1 and sitting a mere .2 away from first-place Milwaukee.
However, potential cracks have begun to show. Not from their performance, which has remained elite even through a lengthy run of weak run support for the entire staff that kept them afloat for over a month. However, their health which has never been optimal has started to stress test them, taking Weathers and Fried out of commission within the same week to force the team to reach into their minor-league depth. Rodón has only recently come back from the IL himself and is still building back up to a normal pitch count, meaning they’re down two starters and limited on one of their four regulars remaining putting additional stress on a bullpen that has placed a significant workload on their premier relievers. Consider that Will Warren, who has mostly been fine for the role he plays as the fifth starter, is typically a five-and-dive type of pitcher and the pressure for the top end pitchers to be on their A-game every fifth day only intensifies.
The offense is finally looking up, as the infusion of George Lombard Jr. and a resurgent Spencer Jones combined with upswings from Austin Wells and Trent Grisham as well as the return of Cody Bellinger have given them a greater ceiling than three runs in a game. It comes as the staff desperately could use a shoulder to lean on, having carried the team to mediocrity through the start of summer when they couldn’t hit worth a lick but still managed to play to a roughly .500 record. Fried is expected to be back relatively soon, as his bone bruise was deemed to be a minor concern needing only the minimum 15-day stint on the IL, but Weathers will likely be missing until the final weeks of the season and may only be limited to relief duties when he does return. Any other hits at this point would severely strain an already taxed segment of the roster, and as previously mentioned a majority of the staff has dealt with at least some kind of injury concern during the year. So with all that in mind, can they make it through the stretch run in a fit-enough form to compete in October?
Thankfully, the emergence of Schlittler as the team ace has been a godsend for the Yankees. A homegrown Cy Young contender in his second year in the big leagues, Schlittler has taken the ball and ran with it from the first series of the season and stayed a consistent frontrunner for the award since then. His 158 innings pitched are a new career-high at any level, meaning he is pushing the boundaries a bit going forward, but there’s only a handful of regular season starts left to make to stress test his arm. The team shuffled their rotation order around a bit this week, likely skipping his starting spot on Wednesday to use one of their Triple-A callups or a bullpen game before starting him against the rival Red Sox this weekend instead, and little optimizations like that will aid their push to keep the rest of their arms fully healthy. On top of that, Gerrit Cole’s injury history mostly relates to last season as he underwent Tommy John surgery before rehabbing and returning midseason this year. Since shaking off the rust Cole has looked much more like the ace of old that headlined this staff, and with fresher legs under him he should be fine to push himself a bit down the line here soaking up an extra inning here and there.
Fried and Rodón are more of a question mark, as both have underwent multiple IL stints this year (and Rodón started the year shelved after offseason surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow). But if Fried’s injury can be trusted to be minor as the team has described, then the team should at minimum have three elite pitchers to run out in any postseason series they line up for. They’ll need all hands on deck to finish the year strong though, as they currently sit sandwiched between the Rays and Red Sox in a race for the best record in the American League and as they saw the last two years firsthand, getting to skip that Wild Card Round and await the winner of one of those two teams can set up a strong run to the Fall Classic. Another setback with a rotation member could easily be the difference between being able to close the gap and settling for one of those Wild Card slots, but despite the recent hits they’re still in a good position to compete. The tools are still there for them to push for the AL East crown, they just need the hits to stop coming at some point.
The Yankees have a new foe arriving into town with the Astros arriving, and Nick starts us off with a series preview going over the pitching matchups to expect. Sam then wishes Adam Warren a happy birthday and remembers his days as one of the most relied on arms in the early Baby Bomber bullpens. I’ll be back to cover the Rivalry Roundup as the East stayed winning with the Yankees inactive, Michael goes over the latest week down in the minors as the rookie ball leagues wrap up, and Peter dives into Ben Rice’s crucial at-bat in Sunday’s win over the Jays to break the game over.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 23: Left fielder Edmundo Sosa #33 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after hitting a three RBI double during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park on August 23, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The sky was falling on the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now the sky is the limit. At least that’s how it feels.
The Dodgers lost 10 of 13 games between July 26 and Aug. 9. Now they’ve won 10 of 13 games and have the second best record in baseball, one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers with five weeks until the playoffs start.
There’s no question the quality of opponents was superior during the Dodgers' losing skid. But there’s no denying there's reason for optimism on the field. (Owner Mark Walter and the investigation into potential business fraud, well, that’s another story.)
As the Dodgers head into a three-game road series against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday Aug. 25, here’s the best news: Pitcher Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to make his first start in 3 ½ months after being sidelined with back spasms.
“I’m excited to see Tyler back and I know he's been missing competing,’’ Roberts told reporters.
This comes two weeks after pitcher Blake Snell returned in spectacular fashion and, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports, the Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to resume pitching next month barring any setbacks.
Glasnow, the mop-haired righthander, was 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA in seven starts this season before he ended up on the injured list. He was sharp in two rehab starts with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. And the hope is Glasnow can recapture his form from the 2025 postseason, when he threw 21 1/3 innings with a 1.69 ERA.
He figures to be tested by the Braves, who have a 76-55 (.580) record and lead the NL East.
Said Roberts: “It's going to be a fun series here ... and it'll be good to get Tyler back in the mix."
Scintillating on the mound
Glasnow will rejoin the starting rotation rounding into top form.
“Starting pitching has been fantastic,’’ Roberts told reporters after Blake Snell threw six shutout innings in the Dodgers’ 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday Aug. 23.
Snell, in three starts since returning from elbow surgery, is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 innings.
Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA over the past six starts with 39 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Tarik Skubal, the prized pickup at the trade deadline, is coming off his finest performance in four starts with the Dodgers. In a 4-3 victory over the Pirates on Saturday Aug. 22, the lefthander struck out 11 batters in seven innings, gave up three earned runs and go the win.
Righthander Roki Sasaki has gone from occasional liability to asset. In his last six starts, he’s 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 35 innings.
The rotation could go from stacked to crowded if Ohtani regains his form and endurance. He hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 because of issues with his left knee. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA,
The Dodgers’ bullpen has show dependability too. Roberts said there was no option other than Edwin Diaz to close games even after Diaz’s disastrous outing Aug. 13 against the Milwaukee Brewers, but he appears to be wrong.
Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott has picked up three saves in the past four games.
Reality check?
When the Dodgers lost 10 of 13 games, eight defeats came against three teams: the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks. Through Monday, those teams had a combined record of 217-178 (.549).
By contrast, on their recent tear, the Dodgers won nine games against three teams: the Pirates, Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies. Through Sunday, those teams had a combined record of 172-223 (.435).
Boston was one of the finest players in the sport’s history
Scored almost 500 tries for club and country
Sir Billy Boston, the Wigan Warriors legend who last year became the first rugby league player to be awarded a knighthood, has died at the age of 92.
The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed the news of Boston’s death on Tuesday, writing: “Sir Billy Boston, one of the best loved and most iconic figures in the history of Welsh sport, has passed away peacefully at the age of 92.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on August 23, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Now in his third stint in the Major Leagues this season, Spencer Jones has begun to show some consistency at the plate, earning the praise of his teammates and coaches in the process. Cody Bellinger, who recently returned from the IL, called him “a freak athlete [and] a great defender” who has finally started “controlling his at-bats really well,” while manager Aaron Boone praised his ability to “to make adjustments to become a more well-rounded hitter.” That high praise — plus his strong performance of late — bodes well for the Yankees, who need to continue to rely on him while Aaron Judge remains on the injured list.
Yahoo! Sports | Bob Klapisch: The story of Jones as a prospect is well-known — a player with prodigious power potential and a prodigious ability to swing and miss — and indeed, his first two stints in The Show fit that description to such a degree that an anonymous scout called him “Joey Gallo 2.0” and believed that it would be wise for the Yankees to trade him before he lost any more value. Over the last few weeks, though, his ability to make adjustments has surprised even this anonymous scout, and while there is still a pretty big hole in his swing — high velocity up in the zone — there’s plenty of reason for optimism.
FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: As part of his annual series in which he checks in on players’ Hall of Fame chances, Jay Jaffe dove into the list of players who, through either injury or underperformance, saw their Cooperstown chances take a hit this season. A pair of Yankees outfielders made this list: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. While Judge’s injury likely doesn’t derail his candidacy too much — after all, ZiPS still gives him a 28 percent chance of reaching 600 home runs, apparently — Stanton’s series of injuries may unfortunately end his time in the Bronx, and, thus, his best shot at hitting 500 home runs.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: In case you missed it, the Yankees selected the contract of Justin Topa and recalled him from Triple-A Scranton yesterday, sending Brendan Beck back down. The veteran reliever has struggled this season, and really hasn’t been a truly reliable arm since 2023, but he can generate ground balls. With the Yankees in need of some bullpen depth, it’s worth knocking on every door, and by promoting him now, he will be eligible for the postseason roster.
British No 2 looks back on ‘Fery-tale’ after dealing with injury and shares his ranking goals before US Open debut
“I was around 300 in the world and still really struggling with my arm,” Arthur Fery says as he explains how life has changed from this time last year when, after his shock appearance in the Wimbledon semi-finals, he rose to No 36 in the rankings. His run of five victories, which produced a stunning turnaround in his career, was celebrated as a glorious “Fery-tale”.
But it does not take long in the company of the measured and thoughtful 24-year-old for the grit to emerge from the deeper shadows in his story. There has been more pain than glory in the long hard slog to this point but, amid the doubt caused by his injury, Fery’s self-belief has remained intact. As he says in Cincinnati, his success at Wimbledon provides a dizzying contrast to the testing times he has endured.
SEATTLE — Before this past one, the last two trade deadlines followed a familiar pattern for the Phillies.
They needed a right-handed outfield bat. They went out and got one.
Last year, it was Harrison Bader. Two years ago, it was Austin Hays. In 2026, that need existed again, maybe even more clearly.
The Phillies’ right-handed bats had struggled badly. Their bench needed more punch. Their outfield mix still looked like it could use another right-handed piece.
Then Dave Dombrowski went a different route.
The Phillies’ biggest deadline addition was not a corner outfielder. It was Luis Arraez, a three-time batting champion and left-handed hitter whose arrival forced one of the more unusual defensive shuffles of the season.
Bryce Harper moved from first base to right field. Alec Bohm moved from third to first. Bryson Stott moved from second to third. Arraez took over at second.
The move gave the Phillies elite contact and a different offensive identity, but it also meant they were going to have to trust what they already had from the right side in the outfield.
So far, that has meant Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz.
One came in a June trade with the White Sox. The other signed a minor-league deal last November. Neither move brought the kind of deadline attention that a Taylor Ward-type acquisition would have.
But both have helped explain why the Phillies felt they could add Arraez and make the rest of the roster work.
Hill, 30, arrived from Chicago in a trade that sent two minor leaguers to the White Sox. He had played for six big-league teams across six seasons, still chasing the complete player profile that made him a first-round pick by Dombrowski in 2014.
The one thing the Phillies knew they were getting was a right-handed bat with a history of doing damage against lefties. Hill entered the trade with a career .491 slugging percentage against southpaws.
That mattered for a Phillies team whose right-handed hitters had produced a .622 OPS against lefties, a mark that would have ranked near the bottom of any season since those splits began being tracked in 1974.
Hill has not only helped there.
He has posted a .767 OPS with the Phillies, bringing defense, speed and energy to a roster that needed all three. He might already be one of the best defensive outfielders the Phillies have had in years.
And he has fit quickly.
“Everybody’s pulling from the same side,” Hill said. “Everybody’s been talking to each other in here. There’s not a lot of people just sitting doing their own thing. It’s very nice to be a part of a clubhouse.”
That has shown up in the way Hill talks about hitting here. It is not one voice or one adjustment. It is a lot of them.
“There’s just so much information here,” Hill said. “It’s easy to pull from and grab from. You can choose whatever applies to your process.”
That includes the hitting coaches. It includes the stars around him. It includes Arraez, whose bat has quickly become a resource in that room.
“If Schwarber’s in there, I’m picking his brain before the game starts,” Hill said. “Turner, Harper, if they’re in there, I’m picking their brains. It’s just a bunch of guys pulling from the same side.”
Hill said that part of his work with the Phillies has been getting into his legs more. He has also credited the group around him for helping him settle into a role that can be difficult. He does not play every day, but he plays with a clear purpose when he is in the lineup.
De La Cruz has done the same.
The sample is smaller, but the production has been loud. Through his first 45 plate appearances with the Phillies, De La Cruz is batting .359, the best start by a Phillie over that PA span since Wilson Ramos in late 2018.
De La Cruz was familiar to the Phillies before he ever got here. He spent parts of four seasons with the Marlins and played under Don Mattingly in Miami.
Before a rough 2025 season, De La Cruz had already shown he could be a productive major leaguer. Across his 162-game averages, he was a .253 hitter with nearly 50 extra-base hits and 71 RBIs. There was swing-and-miss in his game, but there was impact, too.
The Phillies signed him to a minor-league deal last November. He went on to win Dominican Winter League MVP, played well for Triple-A Lehigh Valley and earned a call-up before he could trigger free agency.
Now, even without steady playing time, he has stayed ready.
“I like the fact that he fits in with the group,” Mattingly said. “He has a role. It’s one of the things I like about where we’re at right now. The pieces kind of fit together. These guys know when they’re going to play, they know when they pinch-hit, when we defend and things like that.”
That role is not easy.
De La Cruz might sit for two or three days, then get one at-bat in a high-leverage spot. That was the case last Sunday in Minnesota, when he came off the bench and poked a two-run single down the first-base line to give the Phillies a 7-5 lead in their comeback win over the Twins.
Mattingly understands what that asks of a hitter.
“It’s definitely easier playing every day, getting regular at-bats, seeing pitching every day,” Mattingly said. “Guys like (De La Cruz), they have to work harder than the other guys. Always trying to stay up to speed. It’s tougher in that role.”
To no surprise De La Cruz has looked more settled than the young player Mattingly remembers from Miami.
“He’s a lot more experienced,” Mattingly said. “Experience, as a player, gives you a lot more comfort. A lot more situations out on the field, on the bases, at the plate. So he’s definitely a lot more experienced and probably calmer.”
Together, Hill and De La Cruz have given the Phillies a useful version of the right-handed outfield bat they did not acquire at the deadline.
Viewed as a pair, they are slashing .291/.333/.496 with an .829 OPS, five doubles and seven home runs in 139 plate appearances. With runners in scoring position, those numbers rise to a .317 average and .894 OPS.
They have also delivered in the kind of spots that tend to stick.
Since joining the Phillies this season, Hill and De La Cruz have combined for seven go-ahead or game-tying hits in the fifth inning or later. De La Cruz has four. Hill has three.
Quietly, they have essentially matched the production Bader gave the Phillies after last year’s deadline, when he hit .305 with five homers and an .824 OPS.
That is not a small thing.
For more reference, the rest of the Phillies’ right-handed regulars — Trea Turner, Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and Adolis García — have combined for a .233/.292/.372 slash line and a .664 OPS in that same span. Some of them have surged lately, but none entered this stretch batting .250 on the season or carrying an OPS above .690.
That is why Hill and De La Cruz have become more than extra pieces.
A postseason roster needs stars, but it also needs the surrounding cast to hold up. The 2008 Phillies had Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Chris Coste giving them real production around the edges. Different players, different roles, different team, but the same general idea.
When the bench is useful, the roster feels deeper.
When the bench is timely, it can change games.
Hill has brought speed, energy (a toothpick), and a right-handed option who can be moved around. De La Cruz has brought an experienced bat that can sit for a few days and still be trusted in a spot.
The clubhouse piece is important, as well. Hill pointed to the way this group has stayed connected through a season that started poorly, heated up, cooled off after the All-Star break and has since found another gear.
“Things go up, things go down,” Hill said. “It’s just if you guys are going to stick together and keep that camaraderie rolling. I think that’s the most important part.”
Playing the Mariners put the deadline part of this into perspective, too.
With his on-base abilities, Ward was one of the most obvious right-handed outfield fits on the market. Seattle acquired him from Baltimore for big-league reliever Alex Hoppe and two minor-league prospects.
Since arriving with the Mariners, Ward has the lowest batting average and OPS in the American League.
That is hindsight, and deadline decisions should not be judged only through three weeks of results. But the Phillies chose a different path. They acquired Arraez, trusted Harper’s move to right field and kept rolling with “D-Hill” and “De La” as their right-handed outfield support.
So far, that plan has held up.
The Phillies did not add the obvious right-handed outfield bat at the deadline.
In this week’s Injury Report, Roman Anthony’s return could be imminent. The Dodgers lost Andy Pages to a fractured left hand, while Will Smith has been cleared for a rehab assignment. And the Yankees’ rotation took a hit with Ryan Weathers sidelined. All that and more as we highlight all of the most relevant injury news around baseball.
⚾️ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
Roman Anthony (finger)
Anthony could be nearing his return from the injured list. He started a rehab assignment last week with Double-A Portland and will be moving his assignment to Triple-A Worcester. He went 2-for-2 with a homer and two walks in his first rehab game and may only need a few more at-bats before returning to the Red Sox lineup, potentially later this week when the team travels to New York after their series in Miami. The 22-year-old outfielder has been out of action since May 4 with a partially torn tendon in his finger. Anthony’s return could be significant for both the Red Sox and fantasy managers down the stretch.
The Phillies are nipping on the Braves’ heels with their nine-game winning streak.
D.J. Short
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Andy Pages (hand)
Will Smith (neck)
Pages underwent X-rays on Saturday after he was hit on the hand by a pitch against the Pirates on Friday. The imaging revealed a fractured left hand, with manager Dave Roberts reporting Pages would miss about 4-5 weeks. The team placed him on the 10-day injured list as he underwent a minor surgical procedure on his fractured left hand. The goal is to have him back for the start of the postseason. In the meantime, the Dodgers recalled Alek Thomas to fill Pages’ spot on the active roster. Meanwhile, the team could be getting some help by way of Will Smith, as the 31-year-old backstop was cleared to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Smith has been out since the middle of June with a neck injury and would hopefully just need a handful of games before he’s back in the Dodgers lineup.
Bryce Miller (lat)
Bryan Woo (shoulder)
After giving up seven runs against the Cubs on Sunday, Miller admitted on Monday that he has been pitching through a lat issue for about a month, stating the problem crept up on him in Texas about a month ago. He’s given up at least four runs in all but one of his six starts since, for a 7.92 ERA in that span. He’s unstartable in fantasy right now, even if he avoids the injured list. Meanwhile, Woo threw a bullpen session on Sunday after experiencing some shoulder soreness following his last start. He came out of it optimistic, but whether he’ll make his next scheduled start has not been confirmed.
Ryan Weathers (elbow)
Luis Gil (shoulder)
Weathers left Saturday’s game with a trainer in the fourth inning with left forearm discomfort. The 26-year-old left-hander had remarkably been healthy to this point, making a career-high 25 starts before departing Saturday’s contest. The Yankees placed him on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm flexor strain, but manager Aaron Boone stated on Sunday that he expects Weathers to be available in some capacity before the end of the season. He’ll be shut down for at least a couple of weeks. Gil could be an option to fill some innings for the Yankees. He was activated from the injured list at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after recovering from shoulder inflammation. Gil was up to 30 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in his last start, so he’s still a ways away from providing real reinforcement as a starter, but could fill innings out of the bullpen.
Griffin Jax (elbow)
Jax could be back from the injured list much sooner than initially anticipated. Nine days after hitting the 15-day injured list, he already made a rehab start with Triple-A Durham, tossing three innings, giving up three runs on three hits on 42 pitches. The important thing was that his velocity seemed intact. Still, the Rays may want him to make another start in the minors to get him back to a higher pitch count before returning to the Tampa Bay rotation.
Willy Adames (elbow)
Adames departed Sunday’s game against the Red Sox after a slide into home plate in the fifth inning with an apparent elbow injury. He underwent an MRI on Monday and was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left elbow sprain. Adames had been hot at the plate after sitting out a few games with a back issue, going 7-for-19 with a pair of home runs in five games before the elbow issue. He’s set to miss at least a couple of weeks.
Jac Caglianone (ankle)
Caglianone’s status will be one to watch for on Tuesday before the team’s series opener against the Blue Jays. The 23-year-old slugger was removed from last Wednesday’s game against the Athletics and missed Thursday’s contest before returning on Friday. The lingering issue persisted on Sunday, as he was a late scratch from the lineup. An IL stint is possible if his renewed soreness doesn’t improve by Tuesday.
Ketel Marte (knee)
The Diamondbacks placed Marte on the restricted list last Monday after he failed to show up for the team’s opener against the Red Sox. It was reported that he was dealing with a personal issue before he eventually went back to Arizona to undergo an MRI on his knee. The 32-year-old second baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his hamstring and knee, but is expected to return next Tuesday against the Phillies as he rehabs at the team’s spring training facility in Arizona.
Brendan Donovan (head)
Donovan just cannot catch a break this season. He was scratched from Saturday’s lineup against the Cubs after he was hit in the head by a ball while in the batting cages prior to the game. On Sunday, the Mariners placed the 29-year-old infielder on the 7-day concussion injured list. Donovan has been solid in his 39 games, hitting .277/.371/.409 with three homers and 15 RBI across 159 plate appearances.
PHOENIX — The Chicago Cubs might not be the best team in their own division.
They might not even be the best team in their hometown.
But, oh, as they proved Monday night with a 7-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of largely their own fans at Chase Field, they sure are armed and dangerous.
The Cubs, 76-56 and running away with the NL wild-card race, are dreaming big.
Yes, World Series big.
“I think one of the big things is having a real honest belief that you can win the whole thing,’’ Cubs veteran outfielder Michael Conforto said, “and I think there’s no doubt that we believe that. I don’t think that’s super common around the league to fully believe that you can win the whole thing.’’
Conforto, cast off by the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter when they replaced him with Kyle Tucker, has been an integral part of the Cubs’ success in a part-time role. He signed a minor-league contract in February for just $2 million, and after going 3-for-3 with a double, homer and two RBI, now has 12 homers for the season.
That’s only one more homer in 270 fewer plate appearances than Tucker, and also $238 million cheaper.
Yes, Cubs manager Craig Counsell says, he definitely has exceeded expectations.
“I think when you can sign a player of his stature and they come in and accept a role that’s not something they’ve done before,’’ Counsell said, “I think it build things around the room. I think Mike’s been a real connector for this group. So that his production and his leadership from that perspective has been really important.’’
This is the first time Conforto, who has played for 11 years, has been a part-time player. He has made nearly $80 million in his career. But now, at this stage of his career, it’s all about winning.
“I felt more like I’ve come in here and just joined the party,’’ Conforto said. “The big thing is coming in here and being honest at this point in my career. I just want to win games. You can get to a place in your career where maybe it’s not so much about the money and the playing time, it’s about being part of something special.
“I was lucky enough to be somewhat a part of that last year, and I just want to do my part to help us get there. That’s really the biggest thing for me.’’
Veteran starter Kevin Gausman, who the Dodgers faced in the World Series a year ago with the Toronto Blue Jays, certainly pitched like a guy who plans a return trip to the big dance. He was acquired at the trade deadline, and showed just why he could be invaluable for the Cubs’ rotation, giving up just three hits in seven shutout innings.
Maybe it wasn’t his best start of the season, saying he still will take that seven-inning, one-hitter over the New York Yankees in June ("Hey, anytime you can beat the Yankees"), but he showed off why he could a force in their playoff rotation.
The Diamondbacks were looking for his split-fingered fastball all night, and he instead pounded them with four-seam fastballs, and cruised all evening, giving everyone a glimpse of what to expect in October.
When MVP candidate Pete Crow-Amstrong can go hitless in five at-bats, red-hot Alex Bregman can manage just one hit, and the bottom three hitters of Pedro Ramirez, Conforto and Carson Kelly can go 6-for-10 with a double, triple, two homers, four runs and four RBI, you’ve got a complete team.
“The sky’s the limit,’’ Gausman said. “This defense, this offense, the pitchers that we have here, it’s a really great team. Not many weaknesses. When you play good, clean baseball, you’re going to put your team in a good spot to win every night.
“I mean, they’re just relentless, from one through nine. There’s no gaps in this lineup.’’
The Cubs could have more reinforcements coming, too, with pitcher Ben Brown (neck stress reaction) expected to fly back to Chicago with the team and perhaps start a rehab assignment and Justin Steele, who has been out since April 2025, hoping he can return in relief in September.
“It’s been a long road and feels really good to get towards the end of that tunnel,” said Steele, who is scheduled to throw two bullpen sessions this week with hopes of beginning a rehab assignment in early September. “You see how the team’s playing. You just want to get back and help.’’
Still, as much as Counsell loves the enthusiasm, he tapped the brakes on a potential return for Steele. He didn’t completely rule it out, but reminded everyone that Steele hasn’t pitched in 16 months after undergoing elbow surgery, has yet to go on a rehab assignment, and has pitched to live batters only once.
For Steele to return and pitch effectively for a team fighting for the NL Central title with hopes of playing deep into October, it might be as realistic as the Cubs inviting the Green Bay Packers to sing the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley.
“We have a lot of steps to go before we get there,’’ Counsell said. “I mean, he hasn’t pitched in an affiliated game in almost two years, so let’s get him pitching in an affiliated game. I think we can understand that he’s going to have to pitch in multiple games before he’s ready.”
No matter, the Cubs, who will show off their other big trade addition Tuesday with starter Clay Holmes, believe they’re ready to make this a memorable October, perhaps even resurrecting memories of 2016.
This team, Conforto will tell you, exudes that same confidence the Dodgers had a year ago, believing there’s no reason they can’t be the last ones standing.
“There’s just people who really, really want to win,’’ Conforto said. “There’s one goal. And it’s just winning.’’
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 24: Digital marquee indicates that there will be no fireworks due to the celebrations for each of three home runs by Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) (not pictured) during the MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners on August 24, 2026 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
With the Mariners showing no consistent signs in the second half that they’d put their first-half struggles behind them, many fans have put to bed their hopes for the playoffs, especially as the team entered into this particularly grueling stretch of a long road trip combined with playing three very tough NL teams: the Brewers, Cubs, and now the Phillies. Both the Brewers and Cubs series featured brutal, humiliating losses, the Brewers a historic 22-0 drubbing and the Cubs – despite a series win thanks to scraping out wins in the first two games – a game that saw multiple position players have to take the mound in a 19-2 loss. But just as the Mariners bounced back to snatch a game from the Brewers after making team history (derogatory), they again bounced back tonight to surprise the Phillies with a dominant 9-2 win that also made history (complimentary).
It certainly didn’t look like things were going to go this way. The game got off to a rough start for Logan Gilbert, who walked Kyle Schwarber on five pitches to lead off the game. He struck out Trea Turner on a spicy 98 mph heater, but then surrendered back-to-back singles to Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez to load the bases with just one out. To Gilbert’s credit, though, he didn’t wilt under pressure, continuing to execute pitch after pitch. Alex Boehm hit into an RBI groundout on a slow roller that could have been an inning-ending double play, and then Gilbert bullied Bryson Stott on four pitches, striking him out on another spicy heater. In the end, the Phillies only got one run out of all that traffic, and the only real damage was done to Logan’s pitch count, at 29.
But Zack Wheeler had his own struggles in the bottom of the first, and would finish the inning with a similarly inflated pitch count (33) but significantly more damage on the scoreboard thanks to two Mariners home runs. MULTI-run home runs, even, which is delightful. Randy Arozarena led off the game with a walk, followed by a sharply-hit single from Dominic Canzone (110 EV), and then Julio Rodríguez – who scuffled in the Cubs series, going 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts – tattooed a splitter that caught too much plate for a home run into the visitor’s bullpen.
And then, and this is the part you’ll really like, the Mariners didn’t stop there. So often we’ve seen this team score a few early and then take their foot off the gas. Instead, they kept the pressure on Wheeler in the first, with Josh Naylor singling into right field (but then getting thrown out and also bonked on the head trying to stretch it into a double, no Josh!), and then Taylor Ward refusing to chase off the plate for a walk to extend Wheeler’s inning. That brought up Cal Raleigh, and Wheeler tried to dispense of him with a fastball up, a pitch Cal has been consistently missing this season. He did not miss this one:
Asked if that’s a pitch he would have missed a few weeks ago, Cal was brutally honest. “I mean, I’d like to say no, but I don’t know. I know when I wasn’t getting that pitch in the middle up a little, I was just missing it. Even though I was seeing it well, I wasn’t taking advantage of it. And today I was able to take advantage of it, so I feel good.”
So the question is which starter would absorb the punch in the mouth better, and which offense would continue to stress the starter’s workloads. It was Gilbert who blinked first, getting two strikes on J.T. Realmuto but then leaving a four-seamer right in his kitchen for him to pull over the left-field fence to make the game a closer 5-2. Wheeler then did his job to shut the Mariners down in the bottom of the inning, bookending a 1-2-3 inning with strikeouts of Brock Rodden and Canzone.
That sent Gilbert right back out facing the teeth of the Phillies lineup, but aside from a line-drive base hit to Harper, Gilbert emerged unscathed. The offense then had an opportunity to really open this game up, once again getting to Wheeler – Julio beat out an infield hit on a bobbled ball from Tuner at short, then Naylor hit the exact same single he did in the first inning but this time didn’t get thrown out, hooray. Ward worked his second walk of the game to load the bases and then with Cal up, Julio scored on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 6-2. Cal then walked to re-load the bases and it felt like the Mariners really had something cooking – except Cole Young grounded out on the first pitch he saw, followed by a Weston Wilson strikeout and a Brock Rodden groundout. So this time it was the Mariners who only got one run, but did drive up Wheeler’s pitch count to 77 through three innings.
After some more navigating around a leadoff base hit on the changeup in the fourth, Gilbert hung another zero. The Mariners looked like they might be back to pressing Wheeler again, with Randy working a leadoff walk – already Wheeler’s fifth of the game – but Canzone chose that time to hit into the game’s first double play, neatly trimming a few pitches off Wheeler’s pitch count. Julio kept the line moving by torturing Turner again, smacking a sweeper at him that he couldn’t handle, and Naylor kept things going after that with a sharp single up the middle that pushed Julio to third. Ward couldn’t come up with yet another walk, grounding out to end the inning, but with Wheeler at 94 pitches, it looked like the Mariners would be able to get into the Phillies bullpen early, always a plus in the first game of a series.
But plot twist! Don Mattingly – who is the Phillies manager, did you know that? – opted to send Wheeler back out in the bottom of the fifth, maybe hoping to scrape another inning out of his starter against the bottom of the Mariners lineup. Instead he was greeted very rudely, first by Cal, who in a full count got a cutter right in the middle of the plate and…did not miss it.
“I feel like I’ve been seeing the ball pretty well,” said Cal. “I’ve been trying to get my hands back sooner, and I feel like I’ve been doing a better job of that…Being in a good position as early as possible is something that Edgar always talks about and has always been a pillar of mine throughout my career, even down all the way to Little League. It’s a very simple thing, but it’s sometimes harder to go out there and execute that.”
Mattingly then left Wheeler in to pitch to Young, who admittedly has been frigid at the plate in August, his .197 average for the month a hundred points lower than his average in June. We miss you, Good Cole. Apparently, he misses him too:
That made the score a comfortable 8-2, and gave Seranthony Dominguez a nice cushion to work with over two innings against his former team. He went three up and three down each time, the second inning aided by a Cal Raleigh ABS challenge on a pitch that was so clearly strike three that Schwarber started walking towards the dugout before the ump had even announced that the pitch was being challenged. Fun fact: if you take out his blowout first appearance as a Mariner, Seranthony has a 3.86 ERA with an xERA of 1.81 and a 2.51 FIP, with a K/9 of over 10.
Because Cal is at his heart a competitive monster, he had to one-up Randy in his big game, knocking his third homer of the night against new reliever Chase Shugart. Behind in the count 3-1, Shugart tried to shneak a cutter past Cal, who wasn’t having any of that:
Gabe Speier, in need of some work after the Mariners got blown out baby diaper style yesterday, worked the eighth against the top of the Phillies lineup and hung a zero of his own, and then Carlos Vargas finished things off in style, posting his own 1-2-3 inning and topping it off with a pair of sharp defensive plays (even if the first one had me cringing). So that’s four shutout innings from the bullpen, allowing zero hits, walking none, and three strikeouts. Pretty nifty.
Something I’ve been complaining about with these Mariners all season is that they lack consistency. It turns out, lacking consistency isn’t always a bad thing when the day before is a blowout loss.
“Listen. A loss is a loss,” said Coach Cal postgame. “You hate to get blown out, obviously you don’t feel good at the time, and maybe it hurts a little more in the moment. But at the end of the day, we won the series [with Chicago]…regardless of how bad it was, it would have stung just as bad to lose 5-4. It is what it is. Move on. Baseball players are kind of wired that way anyway. You have to have a short memory. If you don’t, typically things tend to linger. But this team doesn’t have that problem.”
The 2026 Mariners: many problems, but not this particular problem. And maybe not the problem of last year’s MVP-adjacent franchise leader in home runs continuing to struggle at the plate. For the bad history the Mariners made recently, Cal made some good history tonight, becoming the first Mariner at home to have a three-home run game since Edgar Martinez did it in 1999 (May 18 vs. Minnesota). It’s also the first time a Mariner has had a three-homer game at T-Mobile Park. And Julio, after his struggles in the Chicago series, made some history of his own with his fifth-straight 20+ home run season, the first player in Mariners history to start his career with five-straight such seasons, and just the 20th player to do that all-time. Whatever happens going forward, at least the 2026 Mariners will have made some history (complimentary).
The quick-fire series in the Northern Territory did little to answer batting line-up questions and the top of the order remains an almighty jumble
Cricket Australia didn’t host a Bangladesh Test for 23 years for a simple reason: it would have cost money to stage and earned less money back. That wouldn’t have been a concern for whichever generation of players would have taken the field, but for the suits, the equation was lose-lose. Now that the mandate of the World Test Championship has forced administrators to end that long wait, the result for Australia’s current batting outfit was also been lose-lose, even if the series scoreline ended up lose-win.
Defeat in the Darwin Test will remain a punchline at Australia’s expense, especially if the upcoming cavalcade of cricket against South Africa, New Zealand, India and England goes poorly. The follow-up win in Mackay, no matter the ruthlessness of concluding it in five sessions, won’t provide corresponding solace, given the manner in which it was built.
D.J. Short
