during a game at Fenway Park on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. Fenway | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Tonight, the Guardians begin their final push for a playoff spot and an AL Central title.
They will face the Red Sox best three starters and the best two starters on the Royals. So, they’ll have to earn this. Good!
I found an interesting hypothetical… if I were a Red Sox fan, I think I would be rooting for my team to lose all six games so they could go to Houston or Texas instead of New York for round one. The bracket makes these kind of scenarios possible.
The Columbus Clippers roster will be hanging out in Columbus for a “stay hot” camp in case any of them are needed.
Around MLB
The Blue Jays lost to the Orioles which is good for the Guardians. Go Royals, Orioles, Mariners and Mets today
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 16: A detail shot of baseballs in a New York Mets equipment bag prior to the game between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, July 16, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
For the last time in 2026, the Mets hit the road as they face the Rangers and the Nationals to close out the season.
Tim Britton examined what went the “most wrong” for the Mets in a season where, seemingly, everything went wrong.
Will Sammon wrote about what it would mean for Steve Cohen to add ‘certain voices’ to the Mets’ front office.
Laura Albanese wondered whether the Mets can convince Andy Green to stay on as manager.
In case you are looking for reasons to be hopeful heading into 2027, Will Leitch selected the Mets as one of his six candidates that will make their postseason dreams come true next season.
The Mets are sharing a behind-the-scenes look at their scouting process on Thursday with Search for Tomorrow.
Ahead of his last game in the radio booth, Howie Rose’s daughter shared a heartwarming ‘full circle’ moment.
Jonah Tong was selected as the “player to watch” on the Mets for the final week of the regular season.
Mitch Voit was named Minor League Player of the Year for the Mets.
Jonathan Santucci was named to the Eastern League All-Star Team!
Around the National League East
The Nationals were blitzed 9-2 by the Tigers.
The Phillies have quite the bullpen puzzle in front of them, but they’re letting it ‘play out’ ahead of the playoffs.
Mark Bowman analyzed how the Braves could set up their postseason rotation during the final week of the season.
Around Major League Baseball
The final MLB Power Rankings of the 2026 regular season reveal some familiar teams at the top.
There are a lot of things up for grabs in the final week of the regular season. Here are nine things to watch out for in the season’s final stretch.
Andrew Simon explained how a three-team tie in the NL Wild Card race would play out.
The Yankees welcome the Rays to the Bronx this week and are determined to keep their division rivals from celebrating an AL East title on their home turf.
Alex Bregman suffered some facial fractures after getting hit with a line drive while standing on the on deck circle. Incredibly, a postseason return remains possible for Bregman.
Dylan Cease is uncertain for the rest of the season after an MRI showed that he has right shoulder inflammation.
Comerica Park, the Tigers’ home stadium, will be renamed Fifth Third Park starting next year.
Yuri Teramoto, a freshman who plays baseball at Shohei Ohtani’s old high school (Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, nailed her first pitch at Dodger Stadium.
Pete Alonso hit his 40th home run of the season to lead the Orioles past the Blue Jays 4-3.
The Giants topped the Twins 5-2.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Linus Lawrence provided a Monday Stat Party that focused on, among other things, Pete Alonso’s return, Carson Benge’s rookie record, and Howie Rose’s final week.
With his flow flyin’ Miguel Vargas pocketed his second career Player of the Week honors on Monday. | (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Miguel Vargas has had a career year this year for the Chicago White Sox, with 33 home runs, 88 RBIs, 31 doubles, a triple and 20 steals, all while scoring 101 runs and slashing .251/.362/.482 with a 5.3 WAR and 135 OPS+. He’s become to become just the third White Sox player in history with at least 30 homers and 20+ steals in a season, and is the only player in White Sox history to add at least 20 doubles and 100 runs to the mix.
Quite simply, Vargas is the most important reason why the South Siders go into the final week of the regular season on the verge of their first winning season in five years, and have a shot at not only making the playoffs for the first time since then but possibly winning their first AL Central crown since then as well.
And Vargas is not coasting to the finish, continuing to lead the White Sox offense over the past week, as he hit .348 with a double, three homers, nine RBIs and two steals to take his second career MLB Player of the Week honors. The 26-year-old, first-time All-Star helped the White Sox to wins in four of seven games during that stretch.
Vargas’ full capabilities were on display in a key 3-1 victory for the White Sox this past Saturday, as he hit his team-leading 33rd homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth, an absolute blast to left field bleachers that finished off the eventual final 3-1 score:
While Vargas has not been as much of a standout on the defensive end, he’s held his own and routinely tears off all-out on balls hit anywhere near him. He’s also proven to have some cat-like reflexes when stationed right at home at third base, as evidenced in the top of the fourth of that Saturday win:
Undoubtedly, Vargas has been a crucial contributor on both offense and defense throughout this season, and is a primary reason why the White Sox are in prime position to make their first playoff appearance and have their first winning season in five years.
In a fun little coincidence, Chicago White Sox CHSN reporter Brooke Fletcher’s husband, Jake Cronenworth, was also Vargas’ Player of the Week counterpart in the NL:
Nicolas Batum announced his retirement from the NBA after 18 seasons on Monday, Sept. 21.
In a nearly 10-minute-long video posted to his Instagram account, the 37-year-old wing walked into Gym Even in Pont-l'Évêque, France – the same one where he started playing basketball exactly 35 years ago to the day on Sept. 21, 1991, when he was two-and a half years old, by his account. This time, Batum brought his son, Ayden, with him.
"You don't want me to retire?" Batum asked Ayden as they sat on the wooden bleachers.
"No," Ayden replied.
"Should I keep playing basketball?"
"Yes."
"No," Batum said with a sense of finality. "It's over."
The Frenchman's stat sheet won't make anyone's eyes pop. He was never an All-Star, let alone a star. But Batum had an undeniable respect from his peers in every locker room he stepped foot in.
He spaced the floor well with his shooting ability and his tendency to get the ball to his teammates and on the defensive side of the ball, Batum's 6-7 frame and 7-1 wingspan gave him the versatility to defend multiple positions. He was a crucial role player in his early years with a Portland Trail Blazers squad that made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons. Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 2015, where he spent the next five years before signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in December 2020 on the minimum.
That's where Batum spent the remaining six years of his career – well, five and some change. He was briefly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers five games into the 2023-24 season as part of the James Harden trade and returned to L.A. the following summer on a two-year, $9.6 million deal.
In that time, Batum shot 40.3% from three, opening up the floor for star teammates such as Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden. He was also part of the Clippers' historic playoff run 2020-21 in which they reached the Western Conference Finals for the first and only time in franchise history.
His leadership was on display in its most public form in the Netflix documentary, "Court of Gold," chronicling the 2024 Paris Olympics basketball tournament. Batum, the captain for Les Bleus in his final Olympics, was featured prominently as he and the rest of team France attempted to dethrone the United States and win gold in their home country. He served as the heartbeat of the team, delivering fiery halftime speeches and advice to Victor Wembanyama.
As he explained in the video, Batum is ready for what's next. He's done sacrificing, he's done missing out on moments in Ayden's life. For the last 25 years, he chose the game. Now, he's choosing his life outside of that.
"When you've played as much basketball as I have, you have to know when to stop," Batum told his son. "... You spend 20, 25 years playing basketball, that's what you know yourself as. Right now, you practice all the time. That was my life, too. I practiced all the time. That's probably what I'll miss; the competition, the games. It's the life you've known for 25 years.
"I'll miss it, but that's not what I'm looking for anymore."
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 31: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates in front of Patrick Kane #88 of the Detroit Red Wings at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 31, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Some more notable starters are seeing preseason action tonight for the Penguins after Bryan Rust and Kris Letang took the ice in Monday night’s win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will both be playing Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings’ preseason squad, according to the Penguins.
They’ll be joined by some familiar names in Rickard Rakell, Egor Chinakhov, Tommy Novak, Ilya Solovyov, Sam Girard and Artūrs Šilovs. Ville Koivunen is back for his first game action since signing his eight-year extension last month.
Joining them will be a few names from Pensburgh’s top 25 under 25 list, including Markus and Liam Ruck, Mikhail Ilyin, Finn Harding, Bill Zonnon and Tomas Galvas.
Other players to keep an eye on include winger Nick Robertson, who is appearing in his first action for the Penguins, as well as Rutger McGroarty, who is beginning his next campaign for a permanent NHL roster spot.
The roster for tomorrow's preseason game vs. Detroit has been announced ⬇️
McGroarty’s path to the 23-man roster might have gotten tougher Monday night thanks to strong play from Filip Hallander and Tristan Broz to go along with a highlight-reel goal from Avery Hayes.
Which players will end up on the Penguins’ active roster at the start of the regular season isn’t the only decision head coach Dan Muse and the front office will need to make this week. The Pens are also working on testing out new special teams combinations.
One change from Monday included adding Elmer Söderblom to the penalty kill, although Muse said after the game he hadn’t yet decided if Söderblom will maintain that role in the regular season.
Other notable takeaways from the win over the Sabres included some early chemistry between Bryan Rust and offseason addition Andrei Kuzmenko as well as strong play from goaltender Sergei Murashov ahead of what could be his first full-time season in Pittsburgh.
The biggest story from Monday night was arguably the lower-body injury that ended Ben Kindel’s night in the second period against the Sabres. Muse said when speaking to reporters after the game Kindel was still being evaluated.
The Penguins will hope for a positive injury update regarding Kindel, who was one of the best forwards on Monday’s ice prior to his injury, before the second game of the shortened preseason kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
The Penguins will then have just two more preseason matchups (Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres) before kicking off the regular season a week from Wednesday at the Philadelphia Flyers.
SPRINGDALE, AR - MARCH 31: Brett Squires #7 of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals poses for a photo during the Northwest Arkansas Naturals photo day at Arvest Ballpark on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 in Springdale, Arkansas. (Photo by Lacey Whitmer/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Royals left-handed pitching prospect David Shields (the club’s No. 4 prospect per MLB.com) was named the Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year. Meanwhile, Josh Hammond (No. 2) won the Alex Gordon Heart and Hustle Award.
Brett Squires was named the George Brett Hitter of the Year. The club also recognized Squires as the Mike Sweeney Community Impact Award recipient. He is the first player to win multiple organization awards in the same season.
Other award winners include the LP Langevin (Dan Quisenberry Reliever of the Year), Carson Roccaforte (Frank White Defensive Player of the Year) and Asbel Gonzalez (Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year).
The city’s Special Committee for Legal Review on Monday advanced an ordinance that would place the question on the April 6 ballot during the 2027 spring municipal election. The proposal now goes to the full City Council for consideration.
The council’s pending approval appears to be a formality. City staff previously told The Star that if the petitioners filed a request to send their proposed ordinance to voters, the city’s charter would require the council to place the initiative on the ballot at the earliest eligible election, which would be April 6.
“Curt Nelson and I had wondered for years: How many games has Denny done? Denny has saved all of his scorecards, and years ago he turned them over to Curt. Curt asked for them, and so they’ve been in the Royals’ possession for years,” Lefebvre said on the broadcast. “And he and I have been saying one of these days we’ve got to find out how many games he’s done. Call it divine inspiration, instinct, whatever. But Curt and I finally said, ‘We’re either going to do this or we’re not going to do this.’ …
“But he and I got a group of about 10 to 15 Royals employees, and the Royals paid for lunch. And here come all the boxes of scorecards going back to 1969, and we actually counted all of them in about an hour. It didn’t take that long, and I’m glad we did. Sam Mellinger was in charge of tallying up the numbers, so someone would say, ‘OK, in 1972, we did 161 games,’ and we’re adding them up, and we’re tallying them up, tallying them up, and all of a sudden it hit us: ‘Oh my gosh, he’s going to do his 8,000th game this year.’”
I’m also struggling some with this particular edition because this is the first time since maybe 2022 where these games are just totally irrelevant. They were at least on the periphery of the race last year. They obviously made it to the dance two years ago. Even in 2023, we had Bobby Witt Jr.‘s ascent to stardom along with Cole Ragans, James McArthur (yes, his September was worthy of mention) and a bunch of other young guys trying like hell to make an impression. This year’s team is mostly guys we know are part of the future and have nothing to prove and guys we know aren’t part of the future and have nothing to prove.
Davy Andrews at FanGraphs went deep into the idea of an off-peak season for Bobby Witt Jr and his case for MVP.
This is Witt’s fifth major league season, and you could argue that it’s his fourth consecutive MVP-caliber campaign. Mind you, that argument would focus only on 2022, in which he put up 5.9 WAR, good for 10th in the majors. There’s no argument to be had about the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That said, along with Shohei Ohtani’s combined 9.2-WAR 2022 sesaon, they are the two most valuable seasons this decade for which a position player did not win an MVP. In 2024, Witt ran a 169 wRC+, stole 31 bases, and put up a Fielding Run Value of 11, fourth among all shortstops. That was good for 10.5 WAR, and it took the best season of Aaron Judge’s career – 58 home runs, a 19% walk rate, and a .322 batting average – to beat him. In 2025, Witt put up 8.0 WAR with a 130 wRC+, 38 steals, and 20 FRV, the best mark among all shortstops. Again, he was bested by a 10-win season from Judge and Cal Raleigh’s 60-homer campaign. Witt has never received a first place MVP vote.
Baseball America picked Kendry Chourio as the Royals minor league player of the year.
With the road slate of games completed this season, Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep took a look at the struggles the Royals faced away from home.
Brian Burrows at Kings of Kauffman analyzes the bullpen through the lens of FanGraphs’ “Meltdowns” stat.
Speaking of the Tigers, corporate goons are renaming their stadium after two fractions, or rankings, or a bank, or whatever, I don’t care. It’s dumb. At least have the temerity to name it “First” or something.
The New York Giants ran up their healthcare bill in last night’s Monday Night Football game, which saw a slew of injuries for Big Blue. I saw “nightmare game” from…a lot of people on the internet.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac bought a pub next to Wrexham’s stadium so they can apparently make a Welsh version of all those American entertainment districts that our billionaires want so badly.
Paramount reached a settlement in the antitrust lawsuit, which apparently clears the way for them to complete their giant acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot need to drum up some chaos to put a stop to this corporate ghoulish behavior.
It’s a bit outdated, but your song of the day is Yakko with the world country sing-along.
Duke Ellis of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders runs the bases during a Minor League Baseball game at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, United States, on May 23, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
That’s all, folks. We’ve reached the end of the road for the 2026 minor league season. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders officially concluded things on Saturday, which also served as a retirement for the RailRiders (shoutout Clint Frazier). Tampa was unfortunately not able to bring some gold back home, losing in Game 3 of the FSL Championship Series.
If you still have an MiLB itch to scratch, the Arizona Fall League begins in two weeks as six Yankees prospects take on the desert, headlined by top prospect Dax Kilby. I’ll be there to chronicle all that, but for now, here’s the end of the minor league slate:
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 41-31 (78-68), 2.5 GB in the International League East after a 3-2 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
Run differential: +55 (+58)
The RailRiders are no more. The final games that the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate will ever play as the RailRiders came and went this last week, as they were unable to make up a self-inflicted deficit in the division to prolong their season. Sunday’s game was cancelled, so an extra-innings thriller on Saturday night was how the season concluded. They won on a walk-off wild pitch in the 10th, and get this: the winning pitcher was emergency catcher Edinson Duran, who was used once Justin Topa reached a pitch count. What an awesome way for the name to go out on.
It was a strong final week for guys like Jasson Domínguez (7-for-19, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB) and J.C. Escarra (7-for-21, HR, 2 RBI, 2B), two guys who undoubtedly thought they’d spend more of this season with the big league club. Marco Luciano also capped off a really strong season that should earn him a 40-man spot and audition for 2027 next spring. A cool storyline from this week was 2025 10th-rounder Connor McGinnis getting another aggressive promotion to finish the season, to finish a strong debut season that’s been mostly spent in Double-A. He went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two walks in his cup of coffee in Scranton.
It was not a good final week of the season for a rotation. The recent progress made by Alexander Cornielle fizzled out with a mediocre final start, while the quartet of prospects didn’t end on a high note. Kyle Carr never got fully built up, but he was once again not able to finish three innings in his start. Both Brendan Beck and Elmer Rodríguez failed to finish the fifth to end their strong seasons at the level, while Xavier Rivas took a step back in a brief, three-inning start to end what was overall a big season for him.
The best part about the bullpen this week was a starter as a piggyback, as Adam Kloffenstein tossed six shutout innings in relief of Carr. Zach Messinger, Eric Reyzelman, and Bradley Hanner all pitched well in their two outings each this week.
A full-season review of the 2026 RailRiders will come next week, but I’ll end this with a tribute to Oswaldo Cabrera, who was DFA’d and claimed by the Reds. I’m happy he’ll be getting a fresh start in an organization that has less of a strict edict on winning. Players like him populate the benches of rosters around baseball, but organizations like the Yankees demand excellence from all 26 spots. Will be rooting for him.
Well, that stinks. Tampa’s incredible offense carried them all season long, but they face-planted at the wrong moment. In three games against Jupiter in the FSL Championship Series, they scored five total runs. Last time we talked, they had lost Game 1 last Sunday, but they had a chance to win the series early this week.
They won Game 2, 4-1. Wilberson De Pena and Diego Castellanos ripped RBI singles, while they scored the other two runs on an RBI walk and a wild pitch. Big day for Luis Puello, who went 3-for-5 with a double. Wyatt Parliament tossed five solid innings to conclude his debut season, while the bullpen behind him was sharp. Usual starter Tyler Boudreau tossed 1.2 innings, followed by Matthew Tippie, Pedro Rodriguez, and Greysen Carter for the save.
Game 3 was a pure pitcher’s duel. Neither team could score for eight innings. Tampa’s offense was completely flummoxed, striking out 16 times. The pitching was outstanding. JT Etheridge, who you’ll see in the Arizona Fall League, tossed six shutout innings to conclude a fantastic September. Jose Ledesma and Rafael Arias did their jobs to get it to the ninth, but Arias gave up a walk-off double to end the season in the bottom of the ninth. Heartbreaking for an incredible group.
Ellis is not a prospect anymore, but I’m giving him flowers in the season’s final week for reaching 60 stolen bases with a great final stretch. He steadily improved over the course of the season and has been a solid presence at the bottom of Scranton’s order. I would think the soon-to-be-29-year-old will sign with another organization next year, as even with his extremely niche skill set of being a designated pinch runner, the team just won’t have a roster spot for this Terrance Gore-type.
Oh, it was soooo close to becoming a day of celebration Sunday. But it became a day where the Cubs had to wait until Tuesday to see whether Chicago wins or Arizona loses to clinch a playoff spot, and to hear the official results on the condition of Alex Bregman. There wouldn’t have been much of the former with the latter hanging over the team’s head.
But let’s go to the on-field review of the Cubs’ weekend. Two wins gave the team the series win after a bad loss Friday night. The two games had hitting galore, extremely good starting pitching and impressive bullpen results.
On offense, three hitters led the way with very good performances over the two days. Michael Busch went 3-for-7 with a walk, two runs scored and a solo home run, his 20th. Seiya Suzuki went 3-for-8 with a walk, two runs scored and also a solo home run, Suzuki’s 25th. And Nico Hoerner also went 3-for-8, but surprisingly, no home runs. Hoerner had a run scored, a double and two RBI.
In Saturday’s game, in addition to the contributions from the above players, Dansby Swanson showed that his was ready to be back with the team, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and another solo home run, but it was only his 19th. And Matt Shaw had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
On Sunday, after going 0-for-5 Saturday, PCA bounced back by going 3-for-5 (ho-hum, a hit short of a cycle), with his 30th double, his 45th home run and his 38th stolen base as well as three runs scored (118) and two RBI (107).
Bregman, who went 0-for-4 with a walk Saturday, went 1-for-1 with a run scored and an RBI before leaving the game. Ian Happ, who walked while pinch-hitting and scored a run Saturday, went 2-for-5 Sunday with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Michael Conforto and Pedro Ramirez only played on Sunday. Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a RS and two RBI, while Conforto hit a solo HR, his 15th.
On the mound, Matthew Boyd looked like he was cruising for his first win in his last seven starts. He allowed only a walk over the first four innings. In the fifth, Boyd gave up two hits and a walk to turn his 2-0 lead to a 2-2 tie (one run was unearned). After Busch’s home run made it, 3-2, Boyd became the pitcher of record and improved his record to 9-5.
Daniel Palencia actually became the pitching star of Saturday, along with the rest of his bullpen mates. He took over for Boyd starting the sixth. Palencia pitched a perfect two innings with three strikeouts — by far his best outing since returning from the IL. Aaron Civale, Ryan Jeferzahn and Ryan Rolison combined to pitch a scoreless last two innings for the win.
Sunday, the starter, David Peterson, was marvelous, making his bid for the playoff rotation — he’s got the hot hand right now. With the Cubs up, 8-1, Peterson finished six innings on 83 pitches, 54 for strikes, allowed one run on three hits and a walk while having struck out seven to improve to 5-2 as a Cub. The run he allowed came on a CSPSHR*. After Peterson retired with the huge lead, Caleb Thielbar, Edward Cabrera, and Chris Rea each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the win and the series.
I appreciate your reading.
Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*
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Vanessa Serrao (Yardbarker): Pete Crow-Armstrong makes more Cubs history in win over Reds. “Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to be a massive threat on the basepaths, as he recorded his ninth game with a home run and a stolen base.”
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Justin Steele Won’t Be Able to Help 2026 Cubs, Except Through a Poignant Morale Boost. “The Cubs could really, really use the former version of erstwhile ace Justin Steele in October, even as a short reliever. Alas, that guy’s still unavailable. All the current version of Steele can offer is a nice moment this week at Wrigley Field.”
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Could David Peterson Be Chicago Cubs’ Playoff Ace? “Let’s be honest with one another: the Cubs’ starting rotation doesn’t have any sure things. If you want the hottest hand holding the baseball when the postseason begins, it might be the big left paw of David Peterson.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): The Various Hopes for the Alex Bregman Situation. “What a whipsaw the last few days have been for Alex Bregman. His continued second half dominance to his big racehorse win to taking a freak foul ball off the face and having to be rushed to the hospital.”
Jackson Stone (MLB.com): Who needs to step up if Cubs make a run in October? “With just six games remaining until playoff baseball, who will the Cubs need to step up in order to make a run at the World Series in a National League field filled with strong contenders?”
Thomas Domol (North Side Baseball): Cubs Week in Review: Reinforcements Put North Siders on Precipice of Postseason. “Injuries and slumps have forced fans of the 2026 Cubs to wonder what this team would look like at full strength. With Dansby Swanson returning and a few players returning to form, they got a glimpse of that—and then, alas, an eyeful.”
Friends and fans describe Granvil Poynter’s music as a blend of Texas blues with a 50’s rock and roll twist. Born and raised in a small town in Arkansas, Granvil fell in love with music at an early age. His reverence for the Blues musicians that came before him is evident in his music. His inspirations were early Blues Musicians Muddy Waters, Freddy King, Buddy Guy and later blues loving artists Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmy Vaughan.
However, it was his move to Texas that truly allowed him to flourish and establish himself as a standout voice in the blues genre. He has won best blues artist in the San Antonio music awards. Billy F. Gibbons has tapped him for shows with ZZ Top and for Mr. Gibbon’s solo tour. His captivating stage presence and heartfelt performances have earned him a devoted following and critical acclaim from both fellow musicians and dedicated blues enthusiasts.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 17: A general view of empty seats after a game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on September 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, Purple Row!
The Colorado Rockies were off on Monday, so everyone is rested and ready as the final week of the 2026 MLB season begins to unfold.
Tonight, the Rockies will welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to Coors Field in what promises to be a wild week for the D-backs and Padres as each contends for the final Wild Card spot. The Padres will play four games against the Dodgers before welcoming the Snakes to Petco Park for the final series of the season.
And the Rockies will be able to act as a spoiler in this race, as well, as the White Sox quest for their playoff spot.
It’s a lot!
Now to the news of the day.
Rockies news & links
The Rockies Have an Ezequiel Tovar Problem on Their Hands | Just Baseball — Eric Treuden considers the Rockies options in dealing with Tovar’s contract. As he writes, “As this season enters its final days, Tovar has just 11 home runs with 42 RBI, a 52 wRC+, and -0.6 fWAR. He has MLB’s lowest wRC+ (next lowest is Jarren Duran, who is 14 points higher than Tovar) and his fWAR is only higher than Salvador Perez, who’s at -1.3. To put it simply, things aren’t looking pretty.”
10 Sleeper NL Hitting Prospects To Watch In 2027 | Baseball America ($) — Geoff Pontes has placed Rockies IF Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP) to his list. He writes, “Dalis’ underlying data is impressive. He posted a 14.4% in-zone whiff rate and above-average power metrics for a 20-year-old while also logging a 104.6 mph 90th percentile exit velocity, 44.2% hard-hit rate and 23% barrel rate. He’s still learning to pull the ball in the air, but his hard-hit launch angle of 12.1 degrees is very workable.” He added the Dalis will need to work on plate discipline, but improvement in this area would move him up a prospect ranking lists.
Michelle: A tribute | Dave Barry’s Substack — Yes, it’s that Dave Barry, and here he’s writing about his wife, Michelle Kaufman, who got fired in the media bloodletting last week. Just read it.
Remembering some guys
Giants pitcher Anthony Molina might be exactly what the team needed | The Athletic ($ — gift link) — This falls squarely into “Remembering Some Guys” territory, but it’s great to see Molina hitting his stride, as Grant Brisbee suggests. He argues for successful development (ignoring his time with the Rockies) that Molina saw with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves in addition to a new arm angle. Whether Molina continues to be successful next season will be a story to watch.
This week on the internet
True story.
Kevin Henry and I were in the dugout when Rockies public relations staff filmed this video.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 18: Aron Estrada #79 of the Baltimore Orioles poses for a photo during Spring Training photo day at Ed Smith Stadium on February 18, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles have a number of interesting and exciting prospects who are now in their system. However, if you’ve been following my contributions to Camden Chat’s minor league coverage through this season, or if you read the title of this article, you already know that there’s only one prospect who is my guy: 21-year-old switch-hitting infielder Aron Estrada, who spent most of this season with Double-A Chesapeake. My guy Aron Estrada had a pretty good year there.
A prime qualification for a prospect ending up as “my guy” is that he starts out as a not-super-heralded prospect who just keeps performing at every level he plays. Estrada, a $175,000 signing from the 2022 international amateur class, has inhabited this role very well. He’s under six feet tall and his listed weight (probably from when he signed as a 16-year-old) is 142 pounds, so there are a lot of comments about his being “undersized” in scouting reports. Those kinds of players always get the “He’ll have to prove himself at every level” label.
Estrada is proving himself with how he’s hit for at least three years. That’s the fun thing. Starting two years ago in Delmarva, on through Aberdeen last year, and now in Chesapeake this year, he has done well, particularly for a player who is as young as he has been at each of those levels. The Double-A assignment this year saw Estrada facing competition that was, on average, two and a half years older than he is, and he responded to that by hitting .281/.325/.482 over 128 games, with a handful at Triple-A Norfolk over the last week of that season.
New to the results for Estrada this season was home run power. He hit nine homers in 2024 and ten in 2025. Estrada finished this season with 25 home runs. Although this power increase did come with a slight bump in his strikeout rate, we’re still talking just a 17.9% strikeout rate for the season for the Venezuelan infielder. The major league Orioles, as a team, have struck out 24.8% of the time with several once-promising prospects well above this.
My guy though he may be, this home run surge does come with a bit of a caveat. Minor league home run totals were up all across the board this season. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper noted that a year ago, all minor leagues had 18 players hit at least 25 homers, the same number Estrada hit this season. This year, there were 75 players to reach that plateau.
It’s good that Estrada was one of the 57 “extra” guys, but it does remain to be seen how much was durable improvement on his part and how much he may have benefited from some kind of fluke year of offense-friendly baseballs that won’t carry over to next year or to the majors. One way this is illustrated in the statistics is that over the previous two seasons, he had wRC+ numbers of 129 and 135. (That’s weighted runs created, a park- and league-adjusted stat where 100 is average and higher is better.) That’s good! In 2026, despite superficially better batting, Estrada “only” had a 100 – that is, exactly a league average bat for the level.
That’s also good! Keep in mind that Estrada’s primary position has been second base. If the Orioles had a league average bat at second base, the Orioles would be doing a lot better and we’d feel better about them for the future as well. Instead, you know, Jackson Holliday’s whole deal.
There is a long way from success in Chesapeake to success in Baltimore, as O’s fans have become accustomed to with prospects not turning into medium-term quality major leaguers. It’s no guarantee that Estrada can continue to perform at least acceptably at the plate at Triple-A, where he’ll almost certainly start next season. Or at least, once next season starts for him. Estrada becomes Rule 5 Draft eligible this offseason, which means the Orioles must (or at least should) add him to the 40-man roster in November, just in case there is a Rule 5 on the far side of the lockout. As such, he’ll be locked out along with all other 40-man players on all teams and unable to participate even if Triple-A baseball begins as scheduled.
In a belated “preseason” prospect list published in mid-May, FanGraphs rated Estrada as just the #25 Orioles prospect, writing that “the swing itself is scary,” with particular concerns that his lefty-batting swing will be challenged when facing average-or-better velocity high in or above the strike zone. That ranking noted Estrada’s early struggle in Double-A this season.
It is the case that Estrada struggled in April, posting just a .624 OPS for the month, however, he went on to post OPS numbers of .850 or better for each of the next four months. That looks like a guy who made a successful adjustment to the level as the year went on, to me, and perhaps that list engaged in some recency bias by overindexing the April struggles.
The switch hitter batted much better from the left side than he did the right this season. Batting as a lefty and facing righties, Estrada OPSed .873, hitting 22 of his 25 homers. When batting right-handed and facing southpaws, he had a .662 OPS and just three homers. For me, if your weak side is lefties, that’s preferable, because there aren’t as many of those, and a .662 OPS is playable against lefties, unlike how Samuel Basallo and Colton Cowser have performed at the majors this season. Who knows how the fanatical platoon “advantage” weirdos running the Orioles will look at it if it comes to that.
That FanGraphs report thinks Estrada will end up in left field rather than second base. Most other rankings seem to believe Estrada will be fine staying at second base, which is why he was much higher than 25th on our composite prospect ranking before the year – Estrada was 13th on the Camden Chat combined list.
Up until this season, the Orioles moved Estrada around the diamond a lot, but in 2026 he only played at second or as a designated hitter. That seems to suggest that the team believes that he can stay at that position and they shouldn’t pretend he has “versatility” that maybe he doesn’t actually have. Defense in the minors is one of those largely opaque things for even engaged fans. There aren’t any kind of public metrics. You just have to go off the scouting reports and hope for the best.
Role for 2027
Estrada is going to have to prove himself at Triple-A before he can really be considered on track for an MLB job. It shouldn’t be hard to get him playing time at second base at Norfolk next year, though for those who want to see Holliday demoted, that would make things a bit more complicated for my guy Estrada. If he can play well at the highest minor league level in his age 22 season, he should be in line for a big league role by Opening Day 2028, if not sooner. I’m excited to see what he has to offer next season.
Monday was a well deserved off day for the Braves. However, there are still few games to be played and a few story lines to sort out as the postseason comes into focus. For one, it is still a really close race to determine who the Braves will actually play. The Braves also want to be fully confident that Robert Suarez will be ready to contribute, as he could be activated over the next few days to pitch this week in the majors.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 13: Edwin Diaz #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts as he leaves the game after allowing two runs to score for a 4-4 tie against the Milwaukee Brewers, during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to work their way out of their usual late summer lull, by going 14-5 so far in the month of September. But they face a test starting Tuesday to see if they really are in postseason form.
This month, the Dodgers have beat up on below .500 teams in the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. But they have one last team with a winning record to face before the playoffs – the San Diego Padres.
The Padres come in to this series winners of 13 of their last 14 games, needing two wins to secure a wildcard playoff spot. They have never made the playoffs three seasons in a row in the history of their franchise.
“I feel like the whole team is in a good spot right now,” San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday. “We’re playing really good baseball. We’re checking in when we have to. The entire lineup is in a good spot right now. So when it’s going like that, it’s … a good time.”
For their part, the Dodgers have a magic number of three to secure the second bye in the playoffs, which is important in setting the rotation that the Dodgers want.
“I think it’s going to be a good kind of (playoff) primer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the upcoming series. “They’re a very talented team. They’re playing as good as anyone in all of baseball. I’m looking forward to playing those guys and just kind of ramping it up a little bit more for our guys.”
Andy Pages is expected to be activated off the IL on Tuesday, hopefully fully healed and ready to add to the Dodgers offensive firepower.
Doug Padilla of the OC Register covers more of the details of what the Dodgers are thinking in their last six games of the season here.
One of the things still up in the air as far as the postseason roster goes is the status of Edwin Diaz, and if he can make a positive impact in the playoffs.
Diaz returned from the IL on Friday, a has two scoreless outings. But is that enough to get back on Dave Roberts’ trust tree?
“It’s been really disappointing,” Díaz said of his season. “But now I’ve found growth to come back and perform the way everyone was expecting.”
Diaz was on the IL earlier this season after having surgery on bone chips in his elbow and he came back ready to return to the leverage part of the bullpen. Except he wasn’t actually ready.
Katie Woo of The Athletic covers all of the ins and outs of Diaz’s return and playoff roster hopes here:
“Everybody was telling me I have a new elbow, so just keep going, keep climbing the ladder,” Díaz said. “You will be fine. We trust you. They always stayed positive with me, and you know, I was positive too. I know when I’m right, I can do really good things. I just trusted the process with them. They stuck with me. They supported me. So I was OK.”
But he wasn’t ok. In his nine outings after returning from the IL, Diaz’s ERA swelled to 11.85. He landed back on the IL with neck inflammation. So far in this return, he seems to be doing better. But with only six games left, he only has three to four games to prove he’s playoff ready.
As the pre-season continues, one name to watch is Kirill Kudryavtsev. The 22-year-old defenceman has become a draft-day steal for the Vancouver Canucks after they selected him 208th overall in 2022. Four years later, Kudryavtsev has already won a Calder Cup and is now fighting for a spot on the opening-night roster.
Thanks to some impressive play in the AHL, Kirill Kudryavtsev has already suited up for Vancouver five times. Last season, he played in three games and picked up his first two career NHL assists. Entering his third pro campaign, Kudryavtsev's goal remains to become a full-time NHLer.
"That goal was for the last two years," said Kudryavtsev. "The main goal is just to make the team. It doesn't matter what time. It can be the opening night, or it can be February. Honestly, if I just get myself a spot on the team, that's the ultimate goal that I'm trying to achieve there."
As mentioned, Kudryavtsev picked up his first and second career assists last year. He recorded his first against the Anaheim Ducks on April 12, and his second two days later against the Los Angeles Kings. As Kudryavtsev explained in an interview with The Hockey News, getting on the scoresheet at the NHL level was a moment he won't soon forget.
"It's very exciting. Obviously, there is still a goal up ahead that I have to score, but to get the first point, it's just very nice. It lifts off lots of pressure. Don't have to think about, like, I play so many games now. I haven't had a point yet. All of that, just don't think about that. Now I can just play hockey and then help the team to win hockey games. Then if I score, I score. It's just a good bonus that I will have. But obviously it lifts a lot of unnecessary pressure that I could have in my head for not getting any points or anything."
While there were some special moments, last season was one of the hardest in Kudryavtsev's young career. He suffered a significant injury which sidelined him for two months. When asked about his injury, Kudryavtsev opened up about some of the challenges he faced while sidelined.
"I've never had an injury like that before. So it was the first time I was actually away from the team. Actually, just doing the rehab. Actually, it was hurting. It was kind of affecting my day-to-day life. So it was a new experience. The one experience I do not really want to go through again. It was dark times. It's really lonely. When the boys go on the road, you have to stay alone. Maybe you get like one or two other extra guys who are recovering with you. But it's really dark times. It gets in your head. You just have to sit there. You watch your teammates battle, play, have fun there, and you just keep watching that. Don't really want to go through that again. It was a tough experience. But it made me stronger. Maybe I appreciate the time when I'm on the team. Even though you have some bad days and you don't want to show up to the rink, you can start to think about how hard it was for those two months being away from hockey, and you kind of start to appreciate coming to the rink every day healthy."
Since joining the AHL, Kudryavtsev has had only one head coach: Manny Malhotra. The two have developed a strong relationship and could be reunited this year in the NHL. When asked about Vancouver's new head coach, Kudryavtsev spoke not just about how Malhotra helps on the ice, but off it as well.
"A great coach, amazing human being. He's very smart. It's a shame, honestly. He's so smart you can't hide anything from him. But no, he's just a great guy. He's always there for you if you need anything hockey-wise, off-ice stuff. He's there. He always helps you. You have any question about anything, about your life, about how to handle it. I have a girlfriend, for example, or my cat is sick, for example, you can come over to him. Or have a question about the defensive zone, or what am I doing in the offensive zone. He's always there to help. He's always there to help you in the game too. He's that kind of coach that he loves his style of the game, but if you like see something that you wanna adapt to the system to, he always listens to you. He might not adjust; he might adjust; you never know. I've never tried it, but he is a great coach. He helped me a lot. He made me a way stronger hockey player. He taught me lots of small things on the ice that I needed to grow in, and I still have lots of work to do on those small things. But he is helping me a lot, and really appreciate that."
If Kudryavtsev is going to become a full-time NHLer, he needs to keep developing his overall game. He has some intriguing tools, which is one reason he has been called up in each of the last two seasons. For Kudryavtsev, he was able to identify some areas of his game that need work and improve on them during the off-season.
"I'd say try to improve my shot a little bit more. Just so I can be more threatening from the blue line. I believe I'm a smart enough guy to get myself in those positions where I can have a good look at the net. But sometimes, my shot is not as threatening, so the guys can take it a little bit lightly. I feel like if I have a pretty good shot, people will have to respect me more. That will open up more seams in the passing lanes for me. That's where I can take advantage of the other teams because I know that I can find those passing lanes. So I've been trying to work on my shot, and then my all-around game, just my skill stuff. Obviously, the off-ice workouts, conditioning, all of that."
Ultimately, Kudryavtsev has put himself in a good position to start the year in the NHL. He has had a strong training camp and led the Canucks in ice time during their first pre-season game. If Kudryavtsev keeps developing his game, it won't be long before he becomes a permanent fixture on Vancouver's blue line.
Apr 14, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev (59) during a stop in play against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 19: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on from the dugout during sixth inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on September 19, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Boston Red Sox are going to face the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Series.
It’s still unclear whether or not they’ll face Aaron Judge…
Judge, who has been dealing with several different injuries this season, suffered a calf strain last week and was placed on the injured list (retroactive to Thursday) on Saturday. Judge is obviously going to be frustrated with situation, but perhaps even more so after he spent the majority of the regular season sidelined with a fractured rib and will likely finish the campaign slashing .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs in 66 games — not exactly what we all expected.
“I’d like to be back by the postseason,” Judge told MLB Media’s Bryan Hoch. “That’s definitely the plan. [It’s the] 10-day IL, so the 10th day is probably the last game of the season. We’ll see. I’ve got really no answers for you on any timeline or anything like that.”
I, too, would like him to be back.
It’s pretty difficult arguing that you want to face the reigning AL MVP and one of the two best hitters of the 2020s, but let’s all be serious about the reality of the situation. If he makes his way back into the lineup for the postseason, you’ll be pitching to someone who has been sidelined for the majority of the last four months. It’s not like he’s been the same guy since returning earlier this month, either, as he went just 4-for-23 (.174) with one home run across six games since being activated on Sept. 8.
Judge at 50% is still better than most at 100%, but it is important to remember that he has found it somewhat difficult to stay productive in past postseasons.
2-for-8 in terms of productive stretches. 58-for-246 in terms of at-bats. 0-for-forever in terms of making enough of an impact to actually be considered a winning baseball player.
The Yankees absolutely would prefer to have him in the lineup, but it’s not an obvious choice right now. If they have to force him in they’ll either lose Luis Garcia Jr. or Ben Rice as the designated hitter or put someone with a bum calf in the outfield at Yankee Stadium. If they choose to let him fully heal and miss that first series, they can play both Rice (.889 OPS) and Garcia (.843 OPS) while having the space to play guys like Spencer Jones (1.177 OPS vs. LHP), and Paul Goldschmidt (.997 OPS vs. LHP).
It may have been only a preseason tilt, but for Saint-Boniface and Trois-Rivières, it must have felt like much more. To see the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators play at the Colisée Vidéotron, the barn of the Habs’ ECHL affiliate, the Trois-Rivières Lions, must have felt surreal. The 4,500-seat arena was filled to the brim with hockey-crazed fans- or rather, Habs fans, I should say, as finding a Senators jersey was quite a challenge, but that was to be expected so deep in Canadiens’ territory. Holding the game in Saint-Boniface wouldn’t have made much sense with the arena so small, so they decided to play at Colisée Vidéotron, a 23-minute drive away. A bigger rink meant more fans could catch the action.
Still, the $250,000 Kraft Hockeyville prize money will go to the small arena; players’ dressing rooms and bathrooms will be improved, along with the boards, glass, and roof. According to Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc, who played there in his youth, that will be money well spent. Saint-Boniface is the 18th Kraft Hockeyville winner since the program began in 2006.
For a couple of Canadiens’ rookies, it was a big game for a different reason. After playing a great game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, David Reinbacher and Florian Xhekaj had earned the right to get another close look, this time with Martin St-Louis in the building, and neither of them disappointed.
On one of his first shifts, Reinbacher made a play that summed him up pretty well. With a Sens player skating at full speed toward him, the Austrian braced for impact and played the puck with poise, getting it to his forward safely for a zone exit. Safe and sound may not be the sexiest terms in hockey, but for a defensive defenseman, they are enviable traits.
After the game, Lane Hutson had nothing but praise for his partner on the night:
Yeah, he looked good; he’s easy to read off of; he killed a lot of plays; I thought he played great. It was fun to watch him.
As for the youngest Xhekaj, he didn’t get an assist on Jayden Struble’s goal, but it was his big hit deep in the zone that led to the defenseman getting the puck on his stick in space. Unsurprisingly, that wasn’t his only big hit either; he’s great on the forecheck and fears absolutely no one. Evaluating the forward, Martin St-Louis commented:
You know what he brings; he’s consistent in what you know he brings. He played a physical game again tonight; he skated, and he’s got a presence when he’s on the ice.
As for whether the sandpaper he brings might be something his team lacks, the coach agreed:
Of course, we always want to add sandpaper, and it’s not just one guy. Generally, I think we’re improving on that front; we’ll try to keep it up.
Asked if the youngster is able to walk the fine line between stepping up for his teammates and putting his team in trouble, the bench boss explained:
That’s part of playing a mature game, to not just be looking for that, but to be there, to be calculated. I think he does a good job of it, and Xhako (Arber Xhekaj) has improved a lot on that front. You’ve got to do the job, but without hurting the team.
As for the man himself, he had this to say about walking that line:
Obviously that’s something I’ve wanted to get better at, and I think I’ve been doing a really good job of that, so that’s good.
Old Habits Die Hard
It may only be the preseason, but in two games so far, the Canadiens have struggled in the middle frame. St-Louis today was talking about a lack of execution in the middle stanza, and he’s not wrong, but that’s something that plagued the Habs last season as well. Of course, consistency is one of the toughest things for a young team to achieve, but it has to come eventually.
In his post-game comments, Hutson also mentioned that he liked how the team played with the puck in the first and third frame. The players know about that issue, and sooner rather than later, they need to fix it.
Taking your foot off the pedal for the middle frame only makes it tougher to get the result ultimately. In the playoffs, unnecessarily depleting your energy can be costly. Last year, in the Eastern Conference final, the Habs looked flat and out of energy, and having to play two 7-game series beforehand certainly didn’t help.
The Curious Case Of Kirby Dach, Last Chance Edition?
Kirby Dach is skating on thin ice. This summer, he was submitted a qualifying offer, but it was for a two-way contract, a way for the team to get him under contract for less than the four million his qualifying offer provided for. Kent Hughes's decision to submit that kind of offer should have been a stern warning to the Albertan, but it doesn’t feel like it was.
He finished his evening with no points, one shot and a puzzling level of implication. Dach has the size and skills to be an impact player, but he plays like he's completely unaware of it. On the attack, when he gets closed up on the boards, he’s worryingly easy to dispossess, and he just doesn’t seem to have much fight. St-Louis has never been and will never be the kind of coach who will push one of his players under the proverbial bus, so it wasn’t a shock to hear him say that the Dach line gave him good hockey, that all three players were skating hard and that they had generally provided very good hockey.
However, at the start of training camp, St-Louis said he didn’t know what kind of role Dach would have on his team and that events would guide him. So far, looking at what has unfolded, it’s hard to see how the coach could believe a Dach who lacks engagement could be more useful to his team than, say, a Xhekaj (Florian) who plays with intensity for every second he spends on the ice.
The Canadiens now only have one game day left. On Saturday, they will take on the Senators again, but this time in a split-squad format, with one game in each city. It will be one last chance for players who still haven't secured a roster spot to convince the coach they belong.
