Coventry climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win that leaves Sunderland rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s first Premier League goal put Frank Lampard’s side ahead 17 minutes in, Taiwo Awoniyi’s first league goal for Coventry doubled the lead eight minutes before the break and Jack Rudoni sealed victory early in the second half.
Continue reading...Hull maintained their unbeaten home record but their winless run stretched to eight games after Julio Enciso earned Ipswich a 2-2 draw at the MKM Stadium.
Ipswich had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, cutting through Hull’s defence repeatedly and eventually leaving both Nobel Mendy and Konstantinos Tzolakis unable to prevent Florentino Luis’ 22nd-minute opener as he sliced through on the right unhindered.
Continue reading...Manchester City have lost two consecutive league games but no alarm should be sounded. Enzo Maresca’s fast-passing team were defeated on Saturday because Yasin Ayari took one of Brighton’s rare chances, the 11th-minute winner deriving from what appeared a wrongly awarded free-kick for Elliot Anderson’s “foul” on the same player.
Fabian Hürzeler’s side can be proud of victory here – and of being third. They are worth the lofty position and who would bet against Champions League qualification for them?
Continue reading...
Imagine you are a last place Major League Baseball club, one devoid of both recent success or generational success. You also find yourself without a ready-made farm system that’s poised to step up immediately and begin to pick up the pieces strewn across the floor.
You’ve got a bona fide ace, albeit one whose elbow gave out for the second time already since you lucked into him in the draft. He’s going to miss the entire season after you just finished in last place, again.
You have the worst hitter in the sport on your roster. You traded viable pieces to actively go get him just a year ago, and it has turned into one of the more egg/face deals in recent memory. You even bailed out your fellow divisional cellar-dwellar to facilitate it.
Your starting catcher walked into free agency. You’ve got a former 1st round pick at 2B in whom you continue to trust who is three full years removed from a shoulder surgery that rendered him a completely different player than he was before, yet you just can’t bring yourself to admit it.
You’ve got the worst hitting outfield in the sport.
It doesn’t take too much effort to look up and down what you possess to understand that it’s a walking, talking organizational failure. If a house has peeling paint, rotted sills, a leaky roof, toilets that run, squeaky floors, knob & tube wiring, and mice in the walls, it’s not the fault of the house itself – it’s the people tasked with taking care of the place who’ve simply let every single aspect of it fall by the wayside.
You have, though, perhaps the best shortstop in the game. A 30/30 player who oozes 40/70 upside, a guy who’s just 24 years old playing the premium position on the infield who has a full decade of sustainable promise ahead of him. How you lucked into getting him the baseball world may never figure out, but in him you have one of the most singular, most dynamic players in the sporting world right there on your roster.
Front offices often go entire careers without the chance to have such a player under their control. The nature of the baseball contract system means that star has even been cheap – cheap! – for three full years already, and will remain that way for another three relative to the prices of even the most average of free agents. Major League Baseball, both the sport itself and the salary system within it, has given you a literal gold mine of opportunity within this unicorn, a baked-in cheat code given that rosters fix at 26 players and funds, in your case, are finite elsewhere.
In theory, there should be no other player in the sport today around whom it is easier to build a competitive team than that. He plays the toughest position, hits in the most important part of the order day in, day out. He’s cheap. Still, you get to look at yourself sitting in last place in the standings from the most recently completed season while also seeing that the basement is right where you’re projected to be next year, too.
It’s the kind of environment that pushes free agents away. Who, in their right mind, would want to prioritize playing for such a club when given the option of playing for 29 other franchises? Not even a ‘hometown’ kid could be persuaded to ride in to the potential rescue. Your ballpark is so tiny no pitcher in their right mind would actively choose to pitch there in half their games, an unnecessary self-own you’ve handed yourself on top of all your other issues.
Yet there he is, your star shortstop – the one thing you somehow managed to get correct amid the rest of the shambles. He sticks out like a sore thumb within all this, so much so that it’s impossible for every other franchise in the sport not to notice. Not just notice, really – it’s impossible for the entire rest of the sport to do anything other than stare and gawk.
It had been the case for a series of years that it was impossible for them not to dream. At this juncture, though, it’s impossible for those other clubs to not stare reality in the face.
You have gone nowhere. You aren’t going anywhere. You’re not going to make it where you hoped before this one special player is eligible for free agency, and you’ve failed to sign him to a contract to further open than window. Your own organizational and tactical failures have now foisted themselves onto both of his shoulders, the weight of it all too much for even the most deserving and capable players out there.
You have failed to win with him. You have backed yourself into such a horrible corner that there’s zero chance you’ll win with him next year. It’s so obvious that every other team out there now realizes you’re cornered, the two lone moves being either thumb your nose and lose like an idiot out of spite or cave, the hope being in the latter scenario that someone gifts you the multiple pieces of coal out of which you can mold a few diamonds.
You are the Cincinnati Reds. You’ve gotten away with it to this juncture, but the gendarmes know right where you are. They’re circling, they’re barricading. They’re asking again for you to come out with your hands up, though their tone is getting a bit more focused.
Your gig, as they say, is up.
*************************************************************************
While concrete rumors surrounding Cincinnati Reds superstar shortstop aren’t there, that hasn’t stopped the immediate rumblings across the baseballverse. He’s entering arbitration and will command a salary of some $8 million in 2027, with two more seasons after that remaining before reaching free agency. He has reportedly turned down a contract offer from the Reds already, and the Reds – without Hunter Greene yet again – have a roster that scares few AAA clubs heading into 2027.
Trading a superstar for a blockbuster return must sound enticing to a Reds front office that has no other methods to build a team at this point. They have failed in so many other areas – the draft, in development, in free agency, internationally – that One Big Patch™ must be appealing to them at this point even if making that call would be just about the only other way in which they could disappoint those who’ve trusted in them all these years.
Those who’ve worked within the industry know it. Those who’ve never seen a baseball before know it, too, since why in the world is there a player this good still on a team that’s consistently this bad?
Leatherpants is getting a lot of credit for being the person breaking the concept that Elly could ‘absolutely’ be traded this winter, but let’s be real here – the consistent and thorough failings of the Reds front office and ownership group for the better part of two decades are what is ‘breaking’ this news as a reality. Absolutely nothing they have done whilst being in charge for 20 years has suggested they should, would, or could have any idea what to do with a player of his caliber, let alone one who is finally about to get paid what he deserves.
But they’re precisely the kind of front office and ownership group who knows they need not one, not two, not three lottery tickets to even attempt to replicate such a gold-mine find. They need four, five, six, and the longer they hold on to Elly the lesser the chances of asking for that much become. They are running steadfast into the tipping point of not getting peak value for the most talented player they’ve ever come across, as well as the realization that going beyond that point would be the latest, greatest failure on top of all the others.
I don’t know how they’ll rectify that. I don’t know if the spite will be so embedded that they’ll simply shrug it off, keep Elly around for another year of 90+ losses, and show the baseball world they still have the upper hand they think they hold. I don’t know if the Los Angeles Dodgers, or the Boston Red Sox can woo them with a toolsy prospect package big enough to make them flinch this winter.
What I do know, though, is this – the Cincinnati Reds never had any clue how to manage what they had in Elly De La Cruz, and they aren’t going to going forward. And giving him away for anything – anything – is as much an admission that they should be giving control of this franchise to someone else who knows how.
Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco made his MLB debut back all-the-way-back in 2009 with the Cleveland Indians. Coming into 2026, he’d made 335 appearances – including 284 starts in 16 seasons – and he’d add to that with the Atlanta Braves last season.
The Braves signed Carrasco on July 28, 2025 to a minor league deal and he’d end up making three starts with Atlanta across several big league stints with poor results. Despite his lack of success with the Braves in 2025, Atlanta signed him to minor league deal in early February 2026 with a Spring Training invitation.
Carrasco, who turned 39 prior to the start of the regular season, was veteran organization pitching depth but when injuries set the organization’s starting pitching depth aflame, Carrasco’s value increased as Spencer Schwellenbach, Joey Wentz and Spencer Strider were lost as option to start the season before and during Spring Training.
Carrasco’s 2026 results with Atlanta were less about the numbers he produced as it was about what he was able to provide the team by protecting other pitchers. He pitched in eight games with Atlanta, absorbing 16.2 innings allowing 21 hits, including three home runs, while striking out only seven batters. But, he finished six of the appearances he made; with six of those games including more than one inning pitched.
When all was said and done, Carrasco was selected to the big league roster eight times between April 23 and July 9, 2026. He’d opt to sign in the KBO where he’d make 11 starts for the LG Twins in late July.
Until his final MLB game, Carrasco had been effective as a junk-baller with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings limiting damage in part by only giving up one walk. His only appearance in a Braves victory was his first, finishing the game in a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on April 23. He twice allowed two runs in four innings of blow-out losses, saving the team’s bullpen from additional innings.
Although his performance was likley more appreciated by the organization and his teammates than Braves fans, Carrasco’s last big league game in 2026 – a possibly the final one of his career – was his worst. In two innings, he allowed five runs on five hits and a home run and walked twice as many batters has he had coming into the game.
Maybe the worst part about that contest was that he entered the game against the New York Metropolitans in the eighth inning with the Braves trailing 5-3. After working a scoreless eight, Braves manager Walt Weiss left him in the game in the ninth where he proceeded to implode, allowing five runs.
Atlanta would then rally for six runs in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn’t complete a miraculous comeback, falling 10-9.
Despite that final sour experience, it is hard to consider Carrasco’s overall season anything but helpful, despite his 5.94 ERA that was inflated by his July 5th appearance.
Despite never having been an All-Star, Carrasco has notable 17-year career that include leading the American League in wins and finishing fourth in the AL Cy Young Award in 2017, being honored with the Roberto Clemente Award and AL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2019 after an in-season battle with cancer. He’s won 105 big league games and tossed 1,704 innings.
Was 2026 the last one for Carrasco?
Maybe, but if he wants to continue his professional career in the U.S., his effectiveness in Korea is likely to bode well for another minor league contract. Given how Atlanta’s organization prioritizes veterans who are good locker room, it shouldn’t be shocking if the Braves given him a minor league deal to at least be a mentor to the organization’s young pitchers in Triple-A.
With a young core of MLB ready players under team control for many seasons to come, a highly touted farm system, and a bottom of the league payroll, the Cleveland Guardians have many resources and means to improve a team that just went to game 6 of the ALCS against a legitimate contender. The Guardians have plenty of spending room (given payrolls we’ve seen the team run out in the not so distant past) to take on salaries of veteran players, and plenty of talented young players in the farm system to use as pieces to acquire controllable talent for the upcoming seasons.
Today we are going to look at a few players as trade targets that could be difference makers or reasonable improvements to turn the Guardians into a legitimate postseason threat for 2027 (if there’s a season) and beyond. For the purposes of today, we will just be going over some players and the advantages and disadvantages of bringing them on. Hashing out exact trade packages is not part of this exercise, as I firmly believe that the Guardians have the talent to acquire any of these players, and believe it’s best to leave hashing out the details of the transaction to the professionals.
Shortstops
Zach Neto
Neto is a RHH SS who’s posted a career 113 wRC+ and 12.0 fWAR in about 3.5 seasons with the Angels. He’s got 3 years of arbitration left on his contract, so he wouldn’t come cheap, but he would be a strong candidate for an every day player in the middle of the lineup. In 2026 he posted a well above league average 11.9 Barrel % and posted his 3rd consecutive 20/20 season, so he can steal some bases as well. His range at SS has been well below average, but the offensive production would almost certainly make up for it.
CJ Abrams
Abrams is coming off a career year offensively. He had his first career 30/30 season in 2026, and he was one homer in 2025 and 2 homers in 2023 short of having 4 straight 20/20 seasons (all of which he stole over 30 bases in). His wRC+ in 2026 of 124 was significantly higher than the 105 and 104 marks he put up in the previous 2 seasons, but even with some regression, he looks to be a reliable 20/20 guy that also could fit in the middle of the Guardians lineup nicely. Defensively he’s a weaker option than Neto, but if he can be more like the 2026 version of himself going forward, he could also make up for the weaker defense. Abrams also wouldn’t come cheap, as he has 2 years of arbitration left on his contract, but definitely is an option worth considering.
Jeremy Peña
Peña is in the final arbitration year of his rookie contract and is by far the most experienced SS on this list. In his last 2 seasons, he’s put up a 136 wRC+ and a 124 wRC+. The home run numbers don’t blow you away, but he’s missed almost 90 games in those 2 seasons combined, and having an .800 OPS both years is of course very good. He’s also below average defensively at SS, but like the others, if his bat can be as good as it’s been the last couple years, it should make up for the poorer defense. As long as he can stay on the field for this season, he could be another option to target in a trade.
First Base
Alec Burleson
Burleson has 2 years of arbitration and is coming off back to back 124 or better wRC+ seasons. He also played in 160 games in 2026, showing he’s able to play every day if needed. Burleson is a LHH who can’t hit LHP, but his thump vs. RHP cannot be denied. And with an offense that is consistently near the bottom of the league in all major categories, you’ll take every extra bit of power that you can. Burleson also was a well above average defensive first baseman in 2026.
Spencer Steer
Steer, like Burleson, also has 2 years of arbitration remaining on his contract. While I’ve listed him as a first baseman, he’s played all over the field for the Reds. He doesn’t have quite the defensive ability of a guy like Daniel Schneemann, but he does have that level of defensive versatility. Steer also mashes LHP. In 2026 he had a 188 wRC+ vs. lefties. His career splits are a little more modest at 128 wRC+ vs. LHP and 97 wRC+ vs. RHP, but both of those are very playable, and he could even be a serviceable bat vs. righties too.
Outfield
Brandon Marsh
Marsh is coming off a bit of a down year in 2026. After having wRC+ totals of 124, 106, and 115 the previous 3 seasons, he dropped to a 90 mark in 2026. He’s a bit in the Burleson class, as he’s a LHH who’s struggled vs. LHP in his career, but he’s on the final year of arbitration in his contract and could be a great addition if he can find his way back to his 2023-2025 form. He’s also been a solid defender (apart from in 2026), which he would also need to recapture to be a contributor to a contending team. But given multiple seasons of success in the past, it’s not unreasonable to think he can do that.
Wyatt Langford
Langford would likely be one of the most expensive pieces listed here, but it’s hard to deny he’s worth the price. With 3 years of arbitration still on his contract, he has a lot of team control. Despite dealing with off and on injuries this season, he almost had a second 20/20 season in a row, and ended with a 115 wRC+ in 2026 (right on pace with his career average). He has a career 126 wRC+ vs. LHP and 111 vs. RHP, so he’s very capable of being an everyday contributor. Langford is also a plus defender in the outfield.
Pitching
Reid Detmers
Detmers had a career season in 2026 and has 2 seasons of arbitration on his contract. He pitched 185 innings in 2026, with a 3.36 ERA, a 3.01 FIP, 211 strike outs, and just 48 BBs. The Angels have finally started to look like they’re willing to make more reasonable deals, and as far as SP options, there weren’t too many better than Detmers in 2026.
Logan Gilbert
Seattle is in a bit of an in between situation. They looked like they were poised to be a contender again with their SP, but after underperforming in 2026, a lot of their offensive pieces are headed to free agency, and Logan Gilbert is on the last year of his contract with them. Gilbert’s 2026 was a bit lower than average for him, but 186 innings with a 3.73 ERA and 205 Ks is hardly anything to scoff at. He would be a very nice compliment to an already solid looking Guardians rotation.
I’m not going to hold my breath on the Guardians’ front office going all out to acquire any of these guys, but if we’re talking hypotheticals, we might as well swing for the fences. If there was ever a time to unload the farm system and make a real run for the Guards, now is the time. The core is young, under control for an extended amount of time, and they all look Major League ready. It’s time to bring in some experienced players, round out the roster, and take a real shot at ending baseball’s longest active championship drought.
The Houston Astros announced yesterday the hiring of Randy Flores as their new general manager. Flores replaces Dana Brown, who was fired in late August.
The 51 year old Flores is a former major league pitcher who is also a former Texas Ranger. If you don’t remember him, well, that’s understandable. On August 31, 2001, the Rangers traded Randy Velarde — who they had acquired the previous offseason from the A’s in exchange for Aaron Harang and Ryan Cullen in what was a rather unfortunate move — to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. That player to be named later ended up being Randy Flores.
Flores pitched 20 games for the 2002 Texas Rangers — a bad team with a very bad pitching staff. Flores threw only 12 innings, and faced just 52 batters, in those 20 games, in which he posted a 4.50 ERA. He ended up being put on waivers and was claimed by the Colorado Rockies, for whom he put up a 9.53 ERA in eight appearances. He returned to the majors in 2004 with the Cardinals, and spent the next several years as a more or less replacement level reliever.
That 2002 pitching staff also included such luminaries as Hideki Irabu, John Rocker, Chris Michalak, C.J. Nitkowski, Dan Miceli, Rudy Seanez, and the immortal Rob Bell and his Loch Ness curve. On the position player side, there was, among others, Ruben Rivera, Carl Everett, and Kyler Murray’s uncle.
You will be interested to know, I’m sure, that Flores wasn’t the Astros’ top pick. Per Chandler Rome, Jim Crane had been courting Matt Kleine of the Milwaukee Brewers, and offered him the job right after the World Series. Rome indicated that there were rumors that Kleine wanted either a higher salary or a president of baseball operations title. Apparently, when a deal couldn’t be done with Kleine, Crane pivoted to Flores.
Flores had been with the St. Louis Cardinals for a decade-plus prior to joining the Astros. Ironically, he joined the Cardinals to replace Chris Correa, the guy in the Cardinals organization who went to jail for hacking the Astros’ front office database because 0f his belief that Jeff Luhnow, who had been hired by the Astros from the Cardinals, had taken information he shouldn’t have when he left St. Louis.
"Best game all around. He's been good, but that was his best game for sure."
That was how coach Nick Nurse described LeBron's performance Friday night, via Noah Levick at NBC Sports Philadelphia. LeBron finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading Philadelphia past New York — again! — on Friday night, but the numbers don't tell the story. He was the glue that made the entire 76ers project fit together, and when it mattered most he had the dagger putback.
LEBRON DAGGER ️ pic.twitter.com/QP9p5z3dXl
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) October 31, 2026
It's just six games, but LeBron said he couldn't be happier with his offseason decision to come to Philadelphia, via the Associated Press.
"I'm having a great time," James said. "I love what we're bringing to the table every night. I love our competitive spirit. Guys show up to work. Guys are ready to work hard. It's a fun group, too. I'm like a big-ass kid, to be completely honest. These guys are great to be around and I'm more than happy I made the decision to come here."
LeBron got plenty of help as his friend Tyrese Maxey dropped 27 points, and Anfernee Simons came off the bench and hit five 3-pointers on his way to 21 points. That covered for a rough night from Joel Embiid on the offensive end, where he shot 3-for-12, but he still had seven assists and seven rebounds.
Jalen Brunson started making plays in the fourth quarter, as he so often does, and the Knicks walked down an 11-point 76ers lead in the fourth to make it a game late, and he finished with 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
However, when it mattered most, LeBron settled the 76ers down. That's what he brings most to the table, Maxey told NBC Sports Philadelphia.
"Leadership. Calming presence. He helped get a lot of rebounds. He'd help get the ball and calm it down. He was great. At the end of the day, it's LeBron James. At the end of the day, he can do stuff like he did tonight, getting a couple of big buckets."
His leadership has Philadelphia off to a 5-1 start — and LeBron is healthy and happy. That's all the 76ers can hope for this early in the season.
NEW YORK — Sandy Alcantara was blocked from becoming a free agent by the Miami Marlins, while Michael King went on the market Friday and Bo Bichette decided to keep his contract with the New York Mets.
Starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Nick Martinez also will become free agents after their teams declined mutual options.
Miami exercised its $21 million option on Alcantara rather than pay a $2 million buyout, a decision that guarantees the pitcher $75 million over six years as part of the deal he agreed to in November 2021.
A 31-year-old right-hander, Alcantara was 13-11 with a 3.87 ERA in 33 starts and three relief appearances this year, his second season following Tommy John surgery.
King, also a 31-year-old right-hander, is a free agent for the second straight offseason after declining a $28 million player option in favor of a $5 million buyout. He agreed in December to a deal guaranteeing $75 million over three seasons that allowed him to end it after one year and $22 million. He was 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA in 32 starts.
King was among 14 new free agents Friday, raising the total to 155 in the two days following the World Series. About 40 more players potentially could go free by Monday, the deadline for exercising options.
Bichette agreed in January to a $126 million, three-year contract with the Mets that included a $40 million signing bonus, a $2 million salary for 2026 and $42 million player options for both 2027 and 2028.
A two-time All-Star shortstop in Toronto, Bichette shifted primarily to third base in New York, where Francisco Lindor plays shortstop. The 28-year-old Bichette hit .260 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs for the disappointing Mets.
AL champion Tampa Bay declined mutual options on Martinez and outfielder Cedric Mullins.
Martinez, 36, had a $20 million mutual option with a $4 million buyout as part of a $13 million, one-year contract. He set a career high for wins, going 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts and became a first-time All-Star, then went 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA in four postseason appearances that included a start in Game 1 of the World Series.
Mullins, 32, hit .205 with 15 homers, 48 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He had a $7.5 million, one-year deal that included a $10 million mutual option with a $500,000 buyout.
Boston declined a $30 million option on Gray, who gets a $5 million buyout payable in five $1 million installments on each Jan. 15 from 2027-31. If the Red Sox had exercised the option, Gray could have opted out and received the $5 million as a buyout payable on the same dates.
Gray, a right-hander who turns 37 next week, agreed to a $75 million, three-year contract with St. Louis in November 2023 and was traded to Boston last November. He tied for the major league lead with 18 wins this year and posted a 2.72 ERA, his best in a full season.
Dustin May, who started Game 4 of the World Series for Milwaukee on Tuesday, went free when he declined a $20 million mutual option with the World Series champion Brewers in favor of a $500,000 buyout. May agreed to a $12.5 million contract with the Cardinals in December and was acquired by the Brewers at the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The 29-year-old right-hander went 7-9 with a 4.70 ERA in 31 starts.
Chicago Cubs left-hander Matt Boyd and catcher Carson Kelly declined mutual options.
A 35-year-old left-hander, Boyd agreed to a $29 million, two-year contract before the 2024 season that included a $15 million mutual option for 2027 with a $2 million buyout. He became a first-time All-Star in 2025, going 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA, and was 10-5 with a 3.91 ERA this season.
Kelly, 32, gets a $1.5 million buyout rather than a $7.5 million salary as part of the $11.5 million, two-year deal he reached in December 2024. He hit .258 with 10 homers and 58 RBIs in 120 games this year.
Baltimore declined a $25 million mutual option on pitcher Zach Eflin and owes a $2 million buyout as part of a one-year contract guaranteeing $10 million. The right-hander made one appearance, on March 31, and had Tommy John surgery on April 8, his 32nd birthday.
First baseman Josh Bell became a free agent after his $10 million mutual option was declined by the Minnesota Twins. He gets a $1.25 million buyout as part of a $7 million, one-year contract. The 34-year-old hit .255 with 21 homers and 96 RBIs.
Minnesota also declined a $13 million mutual option on right-hander Joe Ryan, who gets a $100,000 buyout as part of a $6.2 million, one-year contract. Ryan remains under club control and is eligible for salary arbitration.
The Athletics declined options on infielder Jeff McNeil and left-hander Jeffrey Springs.
McNeil had a $15.75 million club option with a $2 million buyout as part of a $50 million, four-year contract he signed with the Mets after leading the major leagues with a .326 batting average in 2022. The 34-year-old was acquired in a trade last December and batted .264 with nine homers and 59 RBIs.
Springs’ $15 million team option was declined in favor of a $750,000 buyout, completing a $15 million, four-year contract he signed with Tampa Bay. The 34-year-old left-hander, acquired by the A’s in a December 2024 trade, was 4-14 with a 6.18 ERA in 29 starts this year and allowed an AL-high 35 home runs.
Kansas City declined a $13 million option on reliever Carlos Estévez, who gets a $2 million buyout as part of a $22 million, two-year contract. The 33-year-old right-hander led the major leagues with 42 saves in 2024, then made just one appearance this year during an injury-decimated season, allowing a game-ending grand slam to Atlanta’s Dominic Smith on March 28.
Estévez was placed on the injured list April 1 because of a bruised left foot, strained the rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder during rehab and had shoulder surgery in September.
Kansas City exercised a $2.5 million club option on right-hander Tony Gonsolin, a 2022 All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers who signed in mid-August for a prorated portion of a $1 million salary. He had right elbow surgery in August 2025, made four minor league injury rehab appearances for the Royals last Aug. 26 to Sept. 17 and returned to the major leagues when he allowed five runs over 2 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 22.
Houston declined a $5 million team option on Ryan Weiss and owes a $500,000 buyout as part of a $2.6 million, one-year deal he signed after two years with Hanwha in South Korea. The 29-year-old right-hander was 0-3 with a 7.62 ERA in two starts and seven relief appearances, then was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on May 5 and spent the rest of the season at Triple-A.
Robert Stephenson’s $2.5 million option was declined by the Los Angeles Angels. A 33-year-old right-hander, Stephenson signed a $33 million, three-year contract before the 2024 season and pitched just 10 innings over 12 games during the deal. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2024, returned to make a pair of appearances for the Angels in late May 2025, then went on the injured list with right biceps inflammation. Stephenson made eight more appearances in late August and September, was bothered by thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms during the offseason and had ligament and flexor tendon surgery this April.
This photo is significant for a number of reasons.
First, it shows two members of the Houston Astros visiting Wrigley Field in the first year the team from Houston was called that. They’d renamed from “Colt .45s,” often shortened to just “Colts,” to mark the opening of the first MLB domed stadium, the Astrodome, in 1965.
The players are Joe Morgan and Nellie Fox.
And so, even though we can’t see the Wrigley Field scoreboard in this photo, we can absolutely narrow this down to one specific date.
Morgan was a rookie in 1965, though he had played briefly in September callups in 1963 and 1964. Fox played for Houston in 1964 and 1965. But we already know, based on the uniforms, that this is ‘65.
In those days, all teams played 18 games against each other, nine home, nine road. The Astros were at Wrigley Field for a four-game series from May 7-9, 1965. But the ivy is too full in the photo for it to be early May.
The Astros were also at Wrigley Field for a four-game series from Aug. 20-22, 1965, the Aug. 20 date a doubleheader from a June 29 rainout.
But Fox had been released by Houston on July 31, ending his career.
The June 29 date was part of what was supposed to be a two-game series. Thus, this photo had to have been taken on the other date, Monday, June 28, 1965.
The Cubs won that game 7-2. Morgan went 1-for-4, a home run off Cubs starter Larry Jackson. Fox batted for Houston starter Dave Giusti in the sixth inning and singled. Giusti would later become an ace reliever for the Pirates, starring for them in the 1971 World Series, and posting a 2.97 lifetime ERA with 15 saves in 73 games against the Cubs. He pitched briefly and ineffectively for the Cubs in 1977 before retiring.
Morgan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990. Fox, who died of cancer in 1975, way too young at 47, was elected to the Hall by a Veterans Committee vote in 1997.
Continuing the series, let’s move to the outfield.
How to improve the Phillies: catcher
How to improve the Phillies: infield
Ah, the Phillies outfield. Long a wasteland of offensive ineptitude, 2026 saw the unit begin with questions in all three spots and end with….questions in all three spots. Try as they might, they just can’t seem to get themselves to make a roster have three outfielders at the same time that one would feel comfortable with in any situation.
How dire did it get?
“Bryan de la Cruz was hitting fifth in a playoff game” dire.
With the offseason approaching, the team is left with more questions yet again and finding itself having few answers from outside the organization. Fixing this years long issue will require creativity and usage of resources that they may not feel comfortable with. Yet if they do not, there will likely be still more questions as the season goes on.
Who they have
A lot of the “who they have” section will probably be decided after the deadline passes on whether or not the team should offer arbitration to eligible players. Three outfielders that the team currently has under team control – Brandon Marsh, Bryan de la Cruz and Derek Hill – can be tendered a contract by the team, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be tendered a contract. It’s likely that Hill will be as his rather meager projection is more than palatable ($1.5 million) for someone who profiles well as a fourth outfielder. Giving an offer to de la Cruz doesn’t make much sense as it would unnecessarily lock up a roster spot on a guaranteed deal, but who knows.
The real question is what are they going to do with Brandon Marsh. Offering him a contract to be a platoon player would cost the team ~$9 million, but nontendering him means losing him for nothing. His crash and burn to a promising 2026 season muddies the water a bit on that question of whether or not to bring him back, but it has become a very real puzzle piece that they need to figure out.
Then there is Justin Crawford. Is he a center fielder? Is he better suited to left field a la Chandler Simpson? Is he trade bait? Figuring out where to actually play him will go a long way to determining what they will chase in free agency or the trade market.
Oh, wait, what’s on the farm you ask?
<tumble weed passes by>
Free agent options
Welcome to the land of opportunity!
“What opportunity?”, you ask. Why, the opportunity to either finally address a long festering issue with the Phillies’ roster by acquiring a real, honest to goodness solution to their outfield problem once and for all, the opportunity to patch over the issue once again with cheap, hope for the best band aids or the opportunity to once again do nothing at all and roll with what is currently on the roster.
Teruaki Sato – This list probably begins and ends with Sato. The Phillies have been looking to tap into the Japanese market for years, even offering Yoshinobu Yamamoto more money than what he eventually signed for with the Dodgers, only to come up short in each venture. This year, there is a feeling that they will not be denied. There have been multiple reports of Preston Mattingly personally going overseas to scout Sato, an indication of just how serious they are about bringing him aboard.
Seiya Suzuki – If the Phillies are truly interested in bringing in a consistent performer in an outfield corner, the Phillies could do worse than offering Suzuki a deal. He’s as metronomic as it gets at the plate, posting a wRC+ of 118 or higher in each season since he has come stateside. Twenty home runs hit in all but one season as well. He’s right handed and would be as perfect as it comes. The problem? He’s probably a DH and the team has one of those. Granted, he is coming off of his best season as a right fielder defensively, which is huge for him and his trying to create a market as an outfielder, but as someone that will play most of 2027 as a 32 year old, does anyone really believe he’s going to remain a solid option with the glove? Are the Phillies willing to shell out serious money to be on that?
Randy Arozarena – If Suzuki was consistent, what does that make Arozarena? He too has posted a wRC+ higher than 114 in each of the seasons he has played since his debut and is coming off a season in which he put up a 151. He hits for power, he has a decently patient approach and even steals some bases. He’ll play all of 2027 as a 32 year old and is a great option to give the Nick Castellanos to……as long as they don’t care about defense. Because boy oh boy is Arozarena a butcher with the glove. He makes Castellanos look positively average in the grass.
Ian Happ – If there was a “Big Three” as far as outfield free agents, Happ would definitely be the third. He provides a decent amount of skill at the plate – power, patience, on base ability – while not killing a team with his glove. His 107 wRC+ this year was his lowest in five years and brings up a question about his long term capability. One would have to assume he’ll be after a multi year deal, but as he’s the same age as Suzuki, the Phillies need to wonder if they’d want to attach themselves to that kind of player for a long time. Being a switch hitter makes him maybe slightly more appealing than Arozarena, but that would splitting hairs. He’s a good player, but for how much longer?
Taylor Ward – By now, you know the story with Ward: he’s right handed, can stand in left field and gets on base a lot. Except that once he was finally (mercifully?) traded this August, he kind of cratered. Like, cratered in a way (.125/.238/.148 in 101 plate appearances) that one has to at least wonder if there is anything wrong with him. He’ll still get a solid contract, but boy howdy did he hurt his market.
Jake Bauers – The post-World Series glow with Bauers is going to get him paid. He was really good this past season with Milwaukee and an even more good postseason. The thing with Bauers is: do you really think he’s even an outfielder? He played some left and right with the Brewers this year, but looked much better suited to being a first baseman. He might be able to shift around with the Phillies like he did with the Brewers, particularly with the stated plan of getting Schwarber more time at 1B and Harper some time in the outfield. This might be something to consider.
Ramon Laureano – We are entering the land of “one year deals” with these next few. Each one could have something good to say about them as well as something bad. For Laureano, he’s right handed! Woo! His biggest problem is health. He never seems to be able to stay on the field.
Cedric Mullins – If you’re going to sign Mullins, might as well just see if Justin Crawford can continue to develop.
Lane Thomas – Listen, if you want Lane Thomas, just sign Taylor Ward. It’s probably a better usage of that kind of money anyway. Granted, bringing Thomas aboard would be cheaper than Ward, but the latter, over the past three seasons, has been significantly better at the plate than the former. They both hit lefties well, though Ward has better power, which means Thomas would be a better choice if the desire is to have him strictly as a platoon bat.
Adolis Garcia – I mean….
Trade options
Is anyone going to trade an outfielder? The position just posted its second worst wRC+ in the last twenty years, so one would think that if any team had a player that was even remotely capable of playing good outfield defense and being competent at the plate, that team would hold onto him like grim death.
Predicted outcome
For the first time when considering what the Phillies plan to do with addressing a team need at a position, I really, truly don’t know what they are going to do.
Back in 2023, it was clear that the Phillies needed a shortstop, so seeing all the available options that year made it pretty clear they weren’t leaving free agency without someone. They ended up with Trea Turner. When they have needed a starter or a reliever, they have done so.
Now that they have a chance to do something about the outfield, I just don’t know which direction they are going to go. Will they go with only defense, offensive production be damned? Are they going to do the inverse, forgoing the leather in favor of helping an offense that could use an outside boost? It’s just so unclear what they plan on doing.
My crazy idea is to peddle Gage Wood for a similarly close to the majors outfield bat, preferably a right handed one. The natural inclination is to look west at the Dodgers, who seemingly have a plethora of outfield bats bottlenecking at the Triple-A level. While I wouldn’t exactly trust that the Phillies can develop a player at the major league level as a bat, that was before they decided to re-do their hitting instruction program. Now, I’m a little more optimistic. Of course, that would mean parting with someone is considered depth for their rotation, something they don’t have a lot of, which would make it a crazy idea in the first place.
My prediction would ultimately be that they keep Crawford and Hill in some capacity, trade Marsh and sign two other outfielders, one being a starter and the other being a quasi-starter. Who that starter is will remain TBD, but I’ll say it’s Sato.
Before we begin looking ahead to 2027, OTM is looking back at 2026, highlighting some of the biggest, strangest, and most memorable moments of a memorable season. Today, we look at a game that came to symbolize the team’s limp September.
We were still coming down from the high. 32-5 was a bit in the rearview on the first day of September, but Fenway was still rocking every night, as it had all summer. I was fortunate enough to be there for the first game at home after the Summer Solstice, when the Red Sox beat the Yankees to start that 37-game stretch. I was unfortunate enough to be there for the Jedixson Paez game, which was the unofficial end to my summer and, in many ways, the Red Sox 2026 season.
The Sox arrived at Fenway for a quick three-game home series, coming off losing 3-of-4 in the Bronx. Now four games behind the Yankees in the standings, with four weeks to go, the odds were not in their favor to flip the fourth and fifth seeds to get a home game at Fenway for the first time since 2021. That being said, this had not been an ordinary season, and if the team played with the same sense of urgency in September as they had with their season (and jobs) on the line all summer, it could be done. Hell, they had just made up 14 games in the standings in six weeks’ worth of games, cutting a 14.5-game deficit to the Yankees on June 25th down to a 1/2 game apart on August 7th. Four games should be child’s play.
In the first game against the Mariners, the Fenway Magic continued. Boston trailed 8-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, around the time that Tarps Off in the crowd usually peaked. Julio Rodriguez overran a fly ball; combined with three RBI from Trevor Story (including a walk-off in extra innings) and another improbable W was in the books.
And then the calendar turned to September.
“Wait ‘til you see this place. It’s complete madness, every night,” I told my friends who hadn’t been to a game with me at Fenway since the Spring. They were treated to a Jedixson Paez start. Sure, the Red Sox needed to build an extra rest day in for the starting pitchers who were approaching, or had already surpassed, career highs in innings. But they were still in a pennant race and had won plenty of games when they were underdogs on paper for months. The urgency will still be there, right?
The game started in the same way that it usually did – with a Mickey Gasper home run in the first inning. It tied the game at 1, his seventh home run in two weeks, sandwiched around a Bad Karma demotion. Then, in the top of the second inning against Paez, the Mariners went: Double, Single, Walk, Sac Fly, Single, 3-run Home Run.
6-1 Mariners. No one getting loose in the bullpen!
Top of the 3rd: Groundout, Single, Single, Single, Walk. No one getting loose in the bullpen! They’ve thrown in the towel!!
Paez gave up two doubles in the fourth inning before mercifully being replaced by Wyatt Olds in an 8-to-1 game. Final line: 3 2/3 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.
The ‘pen did what they did for most of the season. They allowed just one run over the remaining 5 1/3 innings and would have kept the team in the game for a comeback, as the Sox added runs in the late innings to force closer Andres Munoz into the game to close out a 9-6 win for the Mariners.
As September unfolded, the Paez start was a microcosm of a month where the team was never able to get their foot back on the gas pedal. Health was prioritized all month, while, somehow, they got more unhealthy. The team didn’t care about many of the games, so the crowd didn’t care about many of the games, and the energy rarely returned to the park, finishing 12-12 on the month. Their final win of the season was a Friday Night at Fenway where, of all people, Jedixson Paez was recalled to throw five shutout innings and was credited with the win in relief. It was a great moment of redemption for a pitcher who unfairly had his debut in Boston turn into a circus that he hadn’t asked for.
Grabbing the best ticket in town on September 1st treated you to the 2026 version of the Kyle Barraclough Game. Refunds were deserved for the 35,758 in attendance. For whatever reason, I haven’t gotten mine yet.
For the first time in twenty-four years, the Colorado Avalanche are hosting a game on Halloween!
Tonight will be a rematch against the Calgary Flames, who have been heating up of late with five wins in their previous six games.
The Opponent: Calgary Flames (6-7-0)
Time: 8:00 P.M. MDT/10:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Area – US), SN, SN+ (Canadian National Broadcast)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
In their previous outing the Avalanche, looking more Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde, defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils by a 5-2 decision on Wednesday night, avenging their loss at the Prudential Center eight nights earlier. New Jersey, playing in the second game of a back-to-back series, started goaltender Jake Allen (newly-acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played the previous evening in Dallas, earning his first win with New Jersey), who gave up five goals on forty-five shots. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped twenty of twenty-two shots for his sixth win of the season.
Nicolas Roy, who had missed the previous six games with injury, returned to the lineup, registering an assist on Nazem Kadri’s go-ahead goal in the second period. Defenseman Josh Manson, however, did not finish the game. Head coach Jared Bednar announced yesterday that Manson would miss eight weeks with an ankle injury.
Manson’s absence paves the way for increased usage for defenseman Noah Juulsen. Juulsen, who has played eight games for Colorado this season, has made a surprising but positive impression with Bednar.
“I love his attitude,” Bednar said to reporters Friday. “He wants to do anything he can to help. He’s a real positive guy, and he’s played great for us, so, yeah, we’re going to need him, obviously, with [Manson] being out for eight weeks.
“It’s nice to have. We’ve had a lot of years here where we’ve just had six ‘D’ here, and our seventh is a recall guy, and it’s nice to have him here because he’s with our group every day, you know? There’s no bringing guys up to speed, he just jumps right in and continues to play well.”
It’s likely that Blackwood closes out the home stand and Wedgewood starts when the Avs go on the road next week. They kick off another back-to-back pair of road games on Monday in Chicago before heading to Columbus the following day.
MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (22) and assists (14). Artturi Lehkonen leads the team in goals (10).
A win tonight can pull the Avs within one point of second-place Utah (who won’t play until Sunday) in the Central Division standings. The Avs won the opening game of the season series against Calgary on October 08.
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nicolas Roy
Jaden Schwartz – Nazem Kadri – T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly – Fedor Svechkov – Logan O’Connor
Defense:
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Noah Juulsen – Brent Burns
Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Calgary’s start to the season was anything but hot: they lost six of their first seven games of the season, including a 7-3 loss on home ice to Colorado on October 08. During their most recent four game homestand, however, things started to heat up. Thanks to stellar play by goaltender Devin Cooley, Calgary swept all four games, which featured victories over Minnesota, Toronto, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Unfortunately, Cooley’s heater came to an abrupt end this past Wednesday after sustaining an injury from a collision with Edmonton’s Colton Dach. Calgary wound up losing by a 4-0 decision, but rebounded last night on home ice with a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Goaltender Dustin Wolf recorded his first win in over two weeks, saving twenty-five of twenty-seven shots against.
Calgary, who has been without left wing Jonathan Huberdeau after he underwent hip resurfacing surgery last season, is seeing the injuries continue to pile up. Left wing Samuel Honzek, who last played against Colorado, is listed as week-to-week. Brennan Othmann also was injured during the Edmonton game after a fight with Ty Emberson.
With Cooley also listed as week-to-week, goaltender Arsenii Sergeev has been called up from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to back up Wolf. Maxim Tsyplakov, who had been a healthy scratch for Calgary’s previous five games, returned to the lineup against Seattle.
With Wolf playing on Friday, signs point to Sergeev making his first start of the season tonight. Sergeev has only one prior NHL start in his career, a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on April 16 last season.
When asked last night how much confidence he might have in Sergeev’s abilities to step up while on the road, head coach Ryan Huska said, “He did a really good job last year when he came up and played a game for us. He made a lot of saves that he probably shouldn’t have made, so I have a lot of confidence in his ability.”
Joel Farabee and Matt Coronato lead all Calgary skaters in points (14). Rookie Matvei Gridin leads the team in goals (5), while Coronato leads the team in assists (11). Right wing Adam Klapka leads all Calgary skaters in penalty minutes (37), second only to Ottawa’s Nick Cousins (42) across the League.
Tonight’s game is the start of a three game road trip for Calgary, and marks their only visit to Denver. They return home to the Saddledome for a three game homestand on Thursday.
Forwards:
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Aydar Suniev – Morgan Frost – Yegor Sharangovich
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospíšil – Ryan Strome
Maxim Tsyplakov – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka
Defense:
Kevin Bahl – Šimon Nemec
Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud
Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh
Between the Pipes:
Arsenii Sergeev
Dustin Wolf
There is never any rest for the weary in the NBA. After a thrilling 98-93 win over New York, their second over the defending champions on this young season, the Sixers are back in action less than 24 hours later on the road against the Charlotte Hornets.
It’s reasonable to expect a much different looking Sixers team for this game. After missing last night’s Knicks win with patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, it’s hard to imagine Jaylen Brown will be available to play. Joel Embiid and LeBron James both played in the front end against the Knicks, so it feels likely neither of them will be available either.
Charlotte is still waiting on Kon Knueppel, Coby White and Grant Williams to make their season debuts. They could also have more guys out of the lineup having also played Friday. They lost to the Wizards in Washington, falling to 3-3 on the season.
The Sixers went 2-1 against the Hornets last season but with the Sixers adding Brown and James and the Hornets trading Lamelo Ball, these teams are way too different to take anything from that. In a very small sample size and without one of their best players, the Hornets are currently profiling as a drastically different team.
At the time of writing, they are 30th in points scored per 100 possessions, a number skewed by their 79-point performance in Washington. They’re 10th in points allowed, according to Cleaning the Glass. They’ve won all three of their games by seven points or less. Two of their three losses have been by 15 points or more.
Fresh off a contract extension, Brandon Miller is averaging 25.6 points per game this season but is just shooting 39% from the field. Even potentially without LeBron and Brown, the Sixers seem as equipped to handle talented scoring wings as ever. Dean Wade is coming off a phenomenal night guarding OG Anunoby.
Assuming Embiid doesn’t play, Adem Bona and whoever else fills the center minutes could have their hands full with Naz Reid. As the starting center on his new team, Reid has averaged 17 points per game shooting 43% from the field and a scalding 42% from three on seven attempts so far this season. Ryan Kalkbrenner, their backup, could also give them problems just by being a long seven-foot-one.
This should be a fast paced one, with the Sixers also wanting to fly up and down the floor with their guards running the show. VJ Edgecombe should be in line for his first real high usage game of the season. He’s been great as a glue guy but has only scored over 15 points once this season. The only thing he hasn’t done well so far is shoot the ball. He’s shooting just 29% from three this season, but hit a massive triple from the top of the key to help seal that win against the Knicks.
Even against a team like Charlotte, the Sixers will need big games from both members of VJ Maxx, or potentially another heater from Anfernee Simons to sweep this back-to-back. It will take a village to fill center minutes for the time being, assuming Embiid isn’t available.
When: Saturday, October 31, 6:00 pm ET
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
Watch: NBCSP/PCK-PHI
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow:@LibertyBallers
I usually wait at least a night to comment on huge news items like this. Immediate reactions bring rash statements one way or another. Ultimately, there are three competing narrativs when it comes to the hire of Randy Flores as general manager and all three narratives have kernels of truth in them. So, all of them are right and all of them are wrong perhaps in equal measure. Essentially, we have the glass half full approach, glass half empty approach, and the middle ground approach. We will look at each one by one.
If one looks at the failures of the Astros organization in recent seasons, one can look no further than the disintegration of the minor league system. Obviously, there are a number of factors that play into that. Every major league team lost much of the 2020 draft due to COVID. Then, the league took the Astros first and second round picks for two seasons because of the sign stealing scandal. Then, you have to account for losing prospects in trades to keep the championship window open.
So, saying the Astros’ farm system was terrible is not a complete indictment of Dana Brown or James Click before him. However, Flores comes over primarily with a player development background. Baseball America ranked the Cardinals as the number second overall farm system in MLB coming into 2026. In full disclosure, that ranking was higher than the Cardinals had been in recent seasons likely due to their sell off of veterans prior to the 2026 season. Baseball America had them ranked towards the middle of the pack for much of the previous decade where they ranked as low as 20th and as high as ninth. The Astros never ranked better than 24th in the same time.
Fangraphs had the Cardinals ranked fourth last season. So, multiple sources considered the Cardinals to be among the best farm systems in baseball in 2026. Flores began his work in 2015 officially, but was already gaining marks for innovation before he joined the Cardinals. That would seem to compliment the Driveline executives the Astros just brought in. It is impossible to know whether any move will be positive in the moment, but at least Flores was sought after by other clubs. He had interviewed in Baltimore and was listed as a prime candidate in Anaheim as well. This is as opposed to Dana Brown who was not a candidate anywhere other than Houston before he was hired.
I hate to make this comparison because it is unfair to Brown, but his hiring felt similar to the Houston Texans hiring David Culley. Again, this isn’t to say that Brown was as large a buffoon as Culley clearly was, but they came in with similar resumes. They were assistants that no one considered to be head coach or general manager material. Flores is at least a guy other people think should be considered for a head job. So, that would make him the Astros version of DeMeco Ryans.
This ends up being a public relations mess for Jim Crane and the Houston Astros. Most of the last week was spent focusing on assistant general manager Matt Kleine. Kleine was one of the key deputies in Milwaukee and was reportedly the Astros number one candidate throughout the last week or so. Of course, this is when solid reporting starts to feel a little like quicksand as people look at rumors, innuendo and then add two and two to get seventeen.
What we know for a fact is that Kleine recently signed a four year contract extension with the Brewers. Exactly when that extension was signed and the exact terms of the extension we do not know. We do know that getting him would have required a buyout. From here, we go back into speculation mode. There were reports that Kleine wanted more money. There were other reports that he wanted the title of President of Baseball Operations. There are further reports that he wanted more autonomy. All of these things could have been true and none of them could have been true. I suspect that there is some kernel of truth to all of it, but we don’t know the details. So, we don’t know exactly what kept an agreement from taking place.
We also don’t know how committed the Astros were that Kleine was their number one choice. This will be a key area for them to clean up during the introductory press conference on Monday at 10 AM. Crane will need to sell the media and fanbase on Flores being their choice. I suspect that sell job will fall short. I’m not sure there is any satisfactory way to explain to a fanbase that expects results that you were unable to get your guy. That means selling Flores and selling him hard.
As someone more plugged in than most, I am not sure the analytical chops that Flores brings to the job. It is easy for him to sell himself on the results the Cardinals farm system has experienced, but how does that translate to the rest of a baseball operation? Kleine seemed to be a little more involved in the other day to day operations in Milwaukee, but that could be a misplaced perception. Only time will tell of course.
This might be what we would call the marriage between the glass half empty and glass half full approach. I start by asking a couple of governing questions. Is the organization in better hands today than it was before the decision was made? In other words, is Randy Flores destined to be better than Dana Brown? Of course, I can’t say for sure, but the reasonable answer would be yes. A part of that calculation would have to be all of the recent hires the Astros have made around Flores to help with the player development and analytics side of things.
I think most people would agree that we would all feel more comfortable if the general manager made those decisions on staffings that work directly for him, but the Astros don’t operate that way for whatever reason. At the very least, Flores gets to be intimately involved in picking a manager. So, while it would be projection, we would have to say that the Flores/future manager combination will be superior to the Dana Brown/Joe Espada combination. That of course has to include all of the hires the organization has made in the last couple of weeks.
The second governing question is whether anything fundamentally changes in the way things run under Flores. I have no idea at this point and no one does. That is the reality. We don’t know if Crane will trust Flores more and give him more decision making power. Maybe Flores being a former player gives him an upperhand in terms of communicating a vision that Crane and Jeff Bagwell can buy into. Maybe Crane will never trust an executive again to have more autonomy. We just don’t know.
If I were to harbor a guess, I would guess he has more authority than Brown had in 2026. I think Crane knew he was moving on from Brown and just didn’t want to pull the trigger yet. In that scenario, you wouldn’t empower a lame duck much power to do anything really. Of course, that raises all kinds of questions as to why you are allowing someone you don’t believe in to continue doing the job, but we can set those questions aside for now. The point is that Flores has more immediate power than Brown did at the end of his tenure. How much more power? We are in no position to know.
This will be an important question as there are tons of decisions that could be made. Some of those decisions involve potentially dealing away valuable assets. Will Flores be empowered to do it? Will he have to clear each decision through Crane and Jeff Bagwell? Will Crane completely refuse to consider that option at the outset? We really don’t have answers to any of those questions yet. Until we know it is impossible to really give a full answer on this hire.
