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With the 25^th anniversary of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Series title approaching, MLB Network Presents will debut Destined: The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, October 29^th at 5 p.m. Arizona time. Marking the 50^th film in the MLB Network Presents series since its launch in 2015, the 90-minute documentary recounts the remarkable rise of the Diamondbacks from expansion franchise to World Series Champions in four seasons, culminating in their unforgettable seven-game victory over the three-time defending champion New York Yankees in 2001.

Among those interviewed are World Series co-MVPs Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, former Diamondbacks general manager Joe Garagiola Jr., 2001 manager Bob Brenly, and championship players Jay Bell, Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace, Damian Miller, Reggie Sanders, Matt Williams and Tony Womack. Together, they provide firsthand perspectives on the organization’s beginnings, the construction of the championship roster and the experiences that defined the 2001 season.

“When you put the right people in the right room, there is no unachievable goal. …I think the 2001 season was the perfect baseball season for that team … everything about it was perfect,” said Schilling during the film. 

MLB Network Presents – Destined: The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks features past-and-present-day interviews, along with extensive archival footage from the Diamondbacks’ historic 2001 season. The film revisits the decisions, personalities and performances that shaped one of the fastest championship ascents in MLB history, from the organization’s creation to the arrival of Johnson and the credibility he brought to the franchise. 

Destined: The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks details Gonzalez’s leadership and career year as well as big-game pitcher Schilling joining forces with Johnson to form a historic combination atop Arizona’s starting rotation. Featured in the film, Schilling shares original notes he took with him to the dugout during his playing career, offering a look at the preparation and attention to detail behind his performance during Arizona’s championship run.

The film also explores how Brenly proved to be the right manager for a veteran roster largely united by a common goal: winning the first World Series championship in franchise history. Destined: The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks reflects on the 2001 World Series against the backdrop of the September 11^th attacks, including the emotional return of World Series baseball to New York, a series of dramatic late-inning finishes and Arizona’s comeback against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, capped by Gonzalez’s championship-winning hit. 

The film features new footage and exclusive access captured during the Diamondbacks’ 25^th anniversary ceremony for the 2001 championship team this past September, as former teammates reunited to commemorate their historic season.

Destined: The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks marks the 50^th film in the series and will re-air following its premiere at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on MLB Network.

The Anaheim Angels have announced that manager Kurt Suzuki will not return as the team’s manager in 2027.

In my much younger days, I regularly watched the HBO stand up comedy specials. One that I watched probably dozens of times was the 13th Annual Young Comedians Special, which came out in 1989. Dennis Miller hosted the special, and the young comedians were Jann Karam, Drake Sather, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Fred Stoller, and Warren Thomas. Stoller, now a character and voice-over actor, wrote a book about the experience, and how each of their lives and careers progressed afterwards, which is a really good read.

Sather had a particular line that stuck with me:

People get so weird when celebrities die. I was watching this documentary on Fred Astaire. They said “Friends and family were shocked at the death of the 88-year-old.” Yeah, I was shocked, too: I thought he died 10 years ago.

Similarly, my first reaction was, damn, I thought the Angels canned Suzuki well before now.

Actually, my first reaction to reading this was, “Wait, isn’t Ron Washington the Angels’ manager?” before remembering that he was fired in the middle of the 2025 season. But then after that it was, oh yeah, they hired Suzuki, and I thought he was cut loose already. That’s probably because general manager Perry Minasian — who, like Suzuki, was under contract only through the end of the 2026 season — was fired four months ago, and while I knew Suzuki was not fired at the same time as Minasian was, I think in my mind I had just already consigned Suzuki to the ranks of former managers.

Suzuki appeared to be brought in as a caretaker manager. He was hired as the manager exactly one year ago after the Angels failed to convince Albert Pujols to take the job. Suzuki had been in the front office as a special assistant to the general manager since 2023, after spending the previous two seasons as part of the Angels’ active roster. The announcement today indicated Suzuki had been offered the opportunity to return to his previous role.

Suzuki is now the second A.L. West manager who is a former major league catcher to be fired this month, with the Mariners’ having terminated Dan Wilson already. Another A.L. West team, the Astros, fired their manager, Joe Espada, though he was never a major league catcher. I don’t think the Rangers’ other divisional rival, the Sacramento A’s, have fired their manager this year, though honestly, I’m not really sure they have a manager. They may just pick a random fan from the stands every game to fill out the lineup card and make pitching changes.

There have been ample foibles foisted in the laps of Cincinnati Reds fans from the seemingly bulletproof front office over the last few decades of copious losing. We need not rehash them all here, of course, as this is simply put out to highlight that perhaps the lone reason why the powers that be are still the powers that be is due to their ability to draft rather well each and every year.

It’s looking more and more like the front office nailed the 2024 draft, for instance.

Chase Burns cracked the big leagues within his first full season as a professional and during the 2025 season established himself as a bona fide ace who was in NL Cy Young Award talk before the Reds chose to curtail the innings on his prized young arm. He also landed a nine-figure contract, and rightfully so.

Tyson Lewis was who the Reds selected with their next pick in 2024. He rocketed into Top 100 overall prospect lists on the backs of a 2025 season that featured incredible exit velocities, the SS/3B now firmly on the national radar.

Lewis isn’t even the top rated prospect drafted by the Reds in this class, though. That honor goes to Mike Sirota, who eschewed concerns about his college production coming up north from tiny Northeastern University to surge all the way into many Top 20 overall prospect lists by late 2026. The only problem there is, though, that the front office saw fit to deal him away for a single awful season of Gavin Lux, so Sirota is doing this within the system of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Leading a draft class with that trio would be impressive enough, but the Reds actually took someone else in between Lewis and Sirota in 2024. That honor belongs to former LSU righty Luke Holman, who we’ve seen for a grand total of 15.2 IP across two years after being drafted.

Holman, now 23, needed Tommy John surgery early in 2025 in his first year as a pro, and that paired with a groin problem in 2026 cost him almost two full seasons of rehab with only 6 games on the mound in any form. That was before this month’s Arizona Fall League, however, and like many of the recent players the Reds have sent to the AFL, Holman’s job there wasn’t simply to soak up the spotlight in a great environment for future experience, it was to use it as a bridge after injury-plagued seasons so that he can hit the ground running again in 2027.

So far, that’s precisely what he’s done. David Laurila of FanGraphs caught up with Holman after his most recent outing left him having fired 9.0 IP in AFL play and having allowed just a lone earned run – with a brilliant 15 strikeouts against just a lone walk in that time. Holman talks shop about his bevy of pitches and how his arm feels as good as ever at the moment, and it’s enough to give hope that the arm FanGraphs rates as the #17 prospect in the system (he ranks 23rd at MLB Pipeline) may well be back and 100% within a Reds farm system that’s seriously devoid of solid starting pitching prospects at the upper levels.

‘Upper levels’ may sound like a stretch when talking about a guy who’s thrown just 15.2 IP in two years across rookie ball and Low-A Daytona, but at 23 with a trio of years spent in the SEC with LSU it wouldn’t shock me at all to see him climb quickly this season if he can simply stay on the mound and prove he’s healthy.

And if he does, the Reds have some long-awaited depth in their pitching ranks again.

Kurt Suzuki never really had a chance as manager of the Los Angeles Angels. Signed to a one-year contract by a lame-duck owner with an industry lockout looming, Suzuki might have needed to win the World Series to save his job.

Suffice to say he didn’t do either.

The Angels announced Wednesday, Oct. 21 that they have fired Suzuki after one season as their manager, during which he presided over the first 100-loss season in franchise history.

Suzuki, 42, served as a special assistant in former general manager Perry Minasian’s front office. After Ron Washington’s managerial tenure ended after last season, Minasian appointed Suzuki to run the club, although the former catcher was granted just a one-year contract to do so. He had a club option for 2027 and the club announced he will be offered a position as a special assistant with the organization, which he held from 2023-2025.

Minasian was fired midway through the season and interim GM John Mozeliak traded away veterans more aggressively than his predecessor, signaling at least a shift toward rebuilding.

It may be a long shot, but two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff would love to have a spot on the Milwaukee Brewers' World Series roster.

The one-time staff ace hasn't pitched since going 3⅔ innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 4 due to right shoulder inflammation. However, he was at American Family Field on Tuesday, Oct. 20, throwing 23 pitches to several of the Brewers' best hitters − Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, William Contreras, Christian Yelich and Jake Bauers.

Once his shoulder flared up for a second time after spending nearly two months on the injured list in May and June, Woodruff was supposed to undergo season-ending surgery in August. However, he gradually started feeling better and opted for another attempt at building up his arm strength.

Well now, that’s a provocative headline.

Here’s the story. Wrigley View Rooftop was one of a handful of rooftop clubs that were not bought out by the Ricketts family over the last few years (those that were, you can tell by the WRIGLEYROOFTOPS.COM signs on the buildings). Instead, they continued to operate under a deal made back in 2004 that gave the Cubs 17 percent of their revenue. That deal expired in 2023, and on Sept. 30 the rooftop club was permanently enjoined from selling tickets to watch Cubs games. You can read about that in detail in this ESPN.com article by Ben Strauss.

The owner of that club, Aidan Dunican, has appealed the ruling in federal court.

Per Michael McCann at Sportico, here’s why that appeal is very important not only to the Cubs and to Wrigley View Rooftop, but perhaps to all of Major League Baseball:

The sides are arguing over whether U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman should unseal the trial court record and all the financial information, contracts and potential trade secrets it contains.

Oh.

Yeah, that would be pretty important. Here’s more from the court filing:

The Cubs, Wrigley View Rooftop insists, “pick and choose what information” to reveal in court filings “so as to unfairly frame” the Cubs’ image “while deriding” Wrigley View Rooftop. The company maintains it would be in the “public interest” for the record to be released.

In addition, Wrigley View Rooftop argues the Cubs have violated the terms of a confidentiality order issued by Coleman, who set parameters for the two sides to discuss which materials ought to be designated as confidential and sealed. Wrigley View Rooftop maintains that the Cubs haven’t explained the rationale for opposing the removal of confidentiality designations.

The “public interest” is noted there. Yes, I think I, as a member of the public, would be pretty interested. So would you, most likely.

Here’s what the Cubs said in the filing in response:

Through a brief authored by Martin Roth and other attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis, the Cubs argue that it is unconvincing for Wrigley View Rooftop to ask Coleman to unseal documents both parties agreed to keep sealed—including documents Wrigley View Rooftop wants sealed—on the basis that the sealing “has somehow rendered [Wrigley View Rooftop] unable to speak to the press.”

The Cubs, which say they’re open to unsealing some documents with appropriate redactions, object to unsealing the entire record, particularly given that both sides have “legitimate business needs for confidentiality” that include “privacy required to protect the Cubs’ trade secrets or their customers’ personally identifying information.”

What the Cubs say in that filing doesn’t appear to be completely unreasonable, either. The team added:

“That a baseball team would incur expenses related to ballpark operations, payroll, construction and equipment, and related topics is obvious and comports with the Court’s comment that it also relied on ‘common sense,” the Cubs write.

In addition, the Cubs note that sharing “detailed financial information,” including the Cubs’ contracts with other rooftop businesses, runs counter to the fact that the Cubs, Wrigley View Rooftop and other rooftop businesses are all, to some degree, competitors.

The Cubs’ contracts with other rooftop businesses could contain “highly sensitive competitive information such as audit rights, margins, and payment terms,” the disclosure of which, the Cubs insist, “could harm competition in a competitive market environment.”

You can read more at the Sportico link, though yes, I’ve quoted quite a bit of it, which I think is important to the point being made. Wrigley View Rooftop didn’t sell out to the Cubs as many of its competitors did. You can learn more about that in the ESPN.com article. I take no position here on whether the Cubs should or should not be required to open that financial information to the public, as I am not an attorney and don’t know all the details of this case.

But you can be sure that U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman’s ruling on this will be anxiously awaited not only by Aidan Dunican, but Cubs fans and owners of other MLB teams. And that’s because, per the Sportico article:

In professional sports labor disputes, players’ unions often argue that teams are more profitable than they claim. Unsealed financial records from the Cubs could attract attention well beyond this litigation, including from the MLBPA as it prepares for a potentially contentious labor fight.

Indeed. So, as always, we await developments.

It is sort of amazing just how different the acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. looks in October than it did in January. Robert was brought in to play center field and be an offensive upgrade over Tyrone Taylor. Even though a lot of the underlying tools looked problematic, the possibility of 25+ HR power, elite center field defense, and above average speed was an enticing mix.

Unfortunately, like has been the case with Robert for much of his career, injuries got in the way. Robert was on the injured list with back issues from April 30 to July 20. And the team that he came back to was a very, very different one from the one he left.

Specifically, the team he returned to had A.J. Ewing manning center field and doing his best Luis Robert impression.

In 58 games for the Mets, Robert hit .223/.303/.399 with 10 home runs, while playing a good center field. Ewing played just about twice as many games as Robert did, and he hit .252/.324/.376 with 11 home runs. Ewing was not a perfect player for the Mets this year, and his age and inexperience showed. He has a lot of work to do on his game, but his natural abilities, especially his speed on both sides of the ball, presented a player that has looks like he may be able to grow into what Robert has been at his best, and do so for the league minimum salary.

When Robert returned from the IL, Ewing was already firmly ensconced as the everyday center fielder, and it looked like Robert wasn’t long for the team. While they couldn’t find a trade partner for him, he was claimed off of waivers by the Orioles in August. With a $20 million option on the table, the Mets just didn’t have a need for Robert as a fourth outfielder, and the team wasn’t going to put him on the depth chart ahead of Ewing.

It is a shame how his story with the Mets ended, because Robert looked like a fantastic fit for the club: some real power, decent speed on the basepaths, and bona fide elite center field defense. But you can’t blame the team for prioritizing developing a young player versus overpaying an older one, and that’s exactly what the Mets did.

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 38, Keegan Thompson (-0.2 rWAR)

Keegan Thompson’s first season with the Rockies may have been short, but it mirrored his career. It started off on a good note, but didn’t last.

Thompson made his debut on May 23 for the Rockies, who signed the 31-year-old RHP in January after he was waived by the Cincinnati Reds. The third-round pick from the 2017 MLB Draft threw 2.2 scoreless innings in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up three hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Thompson allowed one run on one hit and posted one strikeout against the Giants in the Rockies 8-6 win on May 29.

The next three outings went much worse.

He was hit hard in the following 8.1 innings, being tagged for 10 runs on 15 hits. Thompson struck out eight during the stretch and didn’t walk any; however, by the time his five appearances were done, he had an 8.25 ERA — the worst season in his five-year MLB career.

Thompson’s fifth start came on June 7. By June 9, he was designated for assignment and Cole Carrigg took his spot on the roster.

Thompson cleared waivers and spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Albuquerque where he made 25 appearances, including 15 starts. He posted a 5.28 ERA with two holds, one save, 56 strikeouts, 35 walks and a 2-5 record in 73.1 innings. He also missed two-and-a-half weeks on the IL from the end of August through early September.

Thompson, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs, made his MLB debut in May of 2021. For two years, he served as a starter and reliever and enjoyed a decent amount of success. In 2021 and 2022, Thompson posted a 3.64 ERA in 61 innings (23 starts) with a 13-8 record and 2.2 rWAR.

Paralleling the end of his 2026 season in Colorado, he spent the next two seasons splitting his time as a reliever for the Cubs and their Triple-A Iowa squad. He made 43 appearances out of the bullpen for the Cubs in 2023 and 2024 with a 3.66 ERA, but just a 0.6 rWAR. By the end of 2024, he declared free agency and was signed by the Reds. He never appeared in the big leagues in 2025, pitching in 33 MiLB games with a 4.50 ERA.

When Thompson signed with the Rockies, he inked a one-year, $1.3 million deal. Thompson’s arsenal includes a four-seamer, a cutter and a sinker, with an occasional sweeper, curve or changeup. His velocity maxes out at about 92 mph, but his known for his ability to pound the strike zone, which the Rockies value under 2026’s new front office and coaching staff. Unfortunately for Keegan, it often resulted in other teams teeing off on him.

In the end, the inconsistency that has plagued Thompson throughout his MLB career continued in 2026.

It makes his future anything but certain come 2027.

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