Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Phillies Don Mattingly, Cristopher Sanchez, Jhoan Duran finalists for top awards originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Baseball Writers Association of America will begin handing out its annual awards next week and the Phillies have several finalists.

Manager Don Mattingly, starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez and closer Jhoan Duran are all in the final three in their respective categories.

Mattingly is a finalist for the National League Manager of the Year award. He took over the Phillies as interim manager when the team was 9-19 on April 28. Under Mattingly, the Phillies had the fourth-best record (79-55) in the majors the rest of the season and earned the third NL wild-card playoff spot. Mattingly was awarded a two-year contract in October.

Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy, who won the award the last two years, and Atlanta’s Walt Weiss are the other finalists for the award. Murphy is considered the favorite after his small-market Brewers led the majors with 103 wins during the regular season and won the franchise’s first World Series title. Voting for all BBWAA awards is done before the postseason begins.

After missing the playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2025, the Braves won the NL East in 2026, Weiss’ first year at the helm.

Mattingly previously won the NL Manager of the Year Award with Miami in 2020. He finished second while leading the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013.

The Manager of the Year Award will be announced next Tuesday.

The NL Cy Young Award will be announced next Wednesday and Sanchez is a finalist for the second year in a row. Last year, he finished second in the voting to Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. This year, Sanchez is a finalist along with Milwaukee flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski and Atlanta lefty Chris Sale.

Misiorowski is considered the favorite. The right-hander led the majors with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 30 starts. Sale finished second in the NL with a 2.16 ERA.

Sanchez tied for the major-league lead with 18 wins. He was sixth in the NL with a 2.91 ERA and second with 207 innings pitched. His season was highlighted by a franchise-record 50 2/3 innings scoreless streak from April 30 to June 3. The streak was the fifth-longest in major-league history and longest ever by a left-hander.

The NL Reliever of the Year Award will also be announced on Wednesday. Duran is a finalist along with San Diego’s Mason Miller and Milwaukee’s Trevor Megill.

Miller led all NL relievers with a 1.67 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 70 innings. He tied for the league lead with 38 saves, blowing only three. Duran was second among qualifying NL relievers with a 1.82 ERA. He converted 33 of 35 saves chances. Megill converted 30 of 33 save chances and also had seven holds.

Award announcements start Monday with the Rookie of Year Awards and conclude next Thursday with the Most Valuable Player Awards.

New A’s President of Baseball Ops Taylor Smith has made his first major hire to his front office. The team announced on Wednesday morning the addition of Brewers executive Cam Castro to be the Athletics’ newest General Manager, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:

The Athletics are hiring Cam Castro away from the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers as their general manager under new president of baseball operations Taylor Smith, league sources tell The Athletic.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 4, 2026

The addition installs Castro as Smith’s #2 in the new-look A’s front office. Bringing in Smith last week to be the new president showed that the A’s are going to prioritize pitching development over the next few years, and Castro’s addition underscores that upcoming emphasis.

Castro joins the A’s after spending the past seven years within the Brewers’ organization. Originally joining as a minor league pitching coach, Castro rose to become their minor league coordinator, then director of pitching development, then finally vice president of player development. That’s quite the rise for Castro, who began his coaching career before finishing college.

If there’s a model to copy in the league right now, it’s the Brewers. Fresh off their first World Series in franchise history, the Brew Crew have been a consistent playoff contender over the past decade. It’s all the more impressive considering they’re a lower-budget team, but that should make Castro’s transition to the A’s much smoother.

One notable way the Brewers have operated and been able to maintain consistent success has been their openness to trading star players before they hit free agency. That’s a strategy that A’s fans have come to know quite well over the years. The Brewers’ model may end up becoming the one the A’s try to emulate the most: develop good pitching, and trade players when they’re a year or two away from free agency, regardless of their importance to winning today.

We’ll have to wait and see how it all unfolds but the A’s are adding another pitching guru to the staff, one that comes with more experience than Smith. These two are going to be joined at the hip and their main goal over the next few years is to finally fix the Athletics’ inability to develop pitching. Once we figure that out and add some arms to a strong position player core, we should be on our way to October baseball before we know it.

Welcome aboard Cam!

The 2026-27 MLB free agent class has hit the market, and so we have the various rankings of the free agents and predictions as to what they will get in the market.

This is a particularly weak free agent class. There’s one guy, Tarik Skubal, who is far and away the top guy in the class. After that, there’s not anyone in his tier, or really, in the tier below him, or even really a clear consensus as to the top player, or players, after him.

Fangraphs has their top 50 free agent list up, with Ben Clemens’ contract predictions, as well as the crowdsourced predictions. Seiya Suzuki, who appears to be the consensus top position player on the free agent market, is #2 on their list, followed by starting pitchers Trevor Rogers and Michael King and NPB third baseman Teruaki Sato. No one outside of the top five is projected to get more than $100M, and the non-Skubal guys barely hit that mark.

Baseball America also has a list of their top 50 free agents, which looks markedly different from Fangraphs’ list. Jazz Chisholm, Suzuki, Randy Arozarena and Freddy Peralta round out their top 5 by Skubal. They have their top 6 free agents — which includes Rogers at #6 — hitting the $100M mark.

Kiley McDaniel’s free agent predictions have Sato, Peralta, Arozarena and Suzuki behind Skubal in the top 5, with only Skubal and Sato reaching nine figures.

MLB Trade Rumors slots Rogers, Peralta, Suzuki and Arozarena behind Skubal, with only the top five reaching the $100M mark.

TJStats offers up rankings without contract predictions. Suzuki and Rogers are #2 and #3 behind Skubal, followed by Adrian Morejon and Chisholm at #4 and #5.

Keith Law also has rankings without definitive predictions, though he does reference in some instances the range where he thinks players should land, contract-wise. He is position-player heavy behind Skubal, with Sato, Brandon Lowe, Suzuki and Arraez going 2 through 5.

The variety in the lists is a reflection, I think, of the class not being strong — the free agents behind Skubal are more above-average than star caliber players, which results in there being more ordinal variation than normal. The lack of nine-figure projections is also an indicator of the weakness of the class — last year, nine players received nine figure contracts, with Kyle Tucker and Dylan Cease both cracking the $200 million mark. Framber Valdez received the ninth-largest contract, at $115 million — if the projections are accurate, no one other than Skubal might get that much this year.

And as a side note, I used the top Rangers’ free agent, Joc Pederson, in the header picture as a nod to Chuck, because I know he enjoys the Joc photos.

Alex Vesia was a fixture in the Dodgers bullpen for the last six seasons, after getting acquired from the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2021 season. So much so that his 367 games pitched are 13th-most in Dodgers history, and seventh-most among relievers in franchise history.

Now, Vesia is one of nine Dodgers free agents, out on the open market for the first time in his career, heading into his age-31 season.

Vesia during this three years eligible for salary arbitration made a totalof $6.9 million, including $3.65 million in 2026. He’s bound to top that three-year total annually with whatever new deal he signs in free agency. Here are some projections for Vesia from various outlets:

• Fox Sports (Rowan Kavner, Deesha Thosar): $14.3 million average annual value
• MLB Trade Rumors: 2 years, $26 million
• ESPN (Kiley McDaniel): 2 years, $25 million
• The Athletic (Keith Law): 2 years, $23 million
• NBC Sports (Matthew Pouliot): 3 years, $33 million
• FanGraphs (Ben Clemens): 2 years, $18 million
• FanGraphs (median crowdsource): 2 years, $16 million

Among all free agents, a pool of at least 183 players as of Monday, Vesia ranks as high as the 27th-best free agent on the market — at both ESPN and MLB Trade Rumors — and as low as 54th at USA Today, with an average ranking of 37th across 11 different outlets.

But Vesia is arguably the second-best left-handed relief pitcher on the market, behind only Adrián Morejón, who received a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres. There will definitely be a market for Vesia.

“Vesia peppers the top of the zone with his 90-94 mph fastball that has huge ride, created by his high arm slot, the most vertical arm slot in baseball,” Kiley McDaniel wrote at ESPN. “That unique combination of traits leads to odd angles and more whiffs than you’d expect, as well as pop-ups, but also a number of fly balls and walks. It all adds up to a setup-type reliever who should land a two- or even three-year deal.”

Over the last three seasons, among the 392 major league pitchers with at least 120 innings, Vesia ranks 14th in ERA (2.45), 16th in xERA (2.81), and 12th in strikeout rate (32.7 percent). He also has the 18th-highest walk rate among that group (11.8 percent), but has still made it work, all while pitching in the seventh-most games in the majors, 207 appearances over the last three years.

In 2026, Vesia led the Dodgers with 72 appearances and posted a 2.64 ERA, 2.68 xERA, and 31.2-percent strikeout rate, the fifth time his strikeout rate has exceeded 31 percent in six years with the Dodgers. His 13.5-percent walk rate was his highest since 2021.

“The concern here is that Vesia’s fastball velocity has dropped slightly each season, going from a peak of 94.4 mph in 2023 to 92.1 mph in 2026,” Matthew Pouliot wrote at NBC Sports. “It hasn’t been a problem yet, but it eventually will become one if it continues. Still, he’d be a nice fit everywhere.”

Today’s question is twofold: What contract (years and guaranteed money) will Alex Vesia sign this offseason, and with what team will he sign?

If you blinked, you may have missed Ian Hamilton pitching for the Atlanta Braves in 2026. To the extent anyone remembers him, it’s probably for his three seasons with the Yankees (one of which was very good), but he did have a few cups of coffee with the Braves this season.

How Acquired

In the 2025-2026 offseason, the Yankees non-tendered Hamilton, leading to the Braves scooping him up on a non-guaranteed MLB contract in mid-December.

What were the expectations?

Considering the Yankees non-tendered him, there had to be a reason why. That reason wasn’t very complicated: Hamilton was a replacement level relief arm in 2025, with a 104 ERA-, 103 FIP-, and 105 xFIP-.

Hamilton made just 15 MLB appearances from 2018-2022, but busted out with a 1.1 fWAR season in his first year with the Yankees in 2023. Unfortunately, he took a step back in 2024, and by 2025, wasn’t particularly helpful to a big league team’s cause. Stuff like his xERA also trended downward.

The Braves likely gambled on the idea that even if Hamilton couldn’t get back to 2023 form, even his 2024 form (95 ERA-, 72 FIP-, 90 xFIP-) would suit them quite well, perhaps as a lower-leverage bullpen piece.

2026 Results

Hamilton ended up functioning as a yo-yo piece as the Braves got through the 2026 season. He was cut part of the way through Spring Training and outrighted to the minors, recalled in mid-April, designated for assignment (and eventually outrighted again) six days later, then recalled-DFAed-outrighted again in a two-week stretch in late June and early July.

He threw just an inning in his first stint with the club, and stuck around for three appearances in his second stint. He didn’t really give the team much of a reason to keep him around: he was awful in his one-inning appearance in his first stint (1/2 K/BB ratio in a blowout) and then a mixed bag in his second stint (one great outing, one poor outing, one so-so outing).

All in all, Hamilton completed 4 2/3 big league innings in 2026, his lowest total since 2022. He put up a 184 ERA-, 80 FIP-, and 94 xFIP-, “earning” 0.0 fWAR in the process. He pitched okay, got charged with a bunch of runs, and spent most of his season toiling in Gwinnett.

What went right?

His second stint went pretty well, with a 58 ERA-, 55 FIP-, and 64 xFIP-. You’d think the Braves would have been interested in keeping him around a bit longer after some success against the Padres and Cardinals, but nope. Nor did they see much of a reason to call him back up down the stretch.

His best outing by WPA was a scoreless frame while the Braves were down three runs to the Cardinals. His best outing in terms of pitching was a 14-pitch, strikeout-strikeout-groundout frame against the Padres, also with the Braves down three runs.

What went wrong?

Beyond the above, there isn’t too much to say. His command was terrible (tiny sample). His pitch shapes were bad (tiny sample). His xERA was awful (tiny sample), though that’s not necessarily reflective of pitching performance. His slider had spin deflection marks so insane that it almost feels like a small-sample data error, but those didn’t help him succeed in any fashion. He actually got a fair bit of chase and whiffs when batters chased, but he also struggled to hit the zone or miss bats within it.

And, his first outing of the season, where he came in with a two-run deficit and left with a five-run deficit, didn’t help anything and possibly soured the Braves on him before he could even manage to get going.

On top of that, he didn’t really distinguish himself while waiting for another callup at Gwinnett — the 3.25 FIP is nice-ish, but the above-4.00 xFIP for a 31-year-old in his seventh stint at the Triple-A level, not so much.

2027 Outlook

Hamilton finished out the year at Gwinnett and is now a free agent. Given that he’s been trending down since 2023, and now projects somewhere between straight-up replacement level and below average reliever (if one figures the ghost of 2024 can be evoked once more), he’s squarely in minor league deal territory at this point.

Twelve Royals farmhands became minor league free agents, including reliever Alex Lange, who had been outrighted off the 40-man roster last week. The other minor league free agents include Scott Alexander, Christian Chamberlain, Grant Gambrell, Isaiah Jackson, Connor Kaiser, Luke Little, Alejo López, Elih Marrero, Matt Moore, Abraham Toro, and Vince Velasquez. Players become eligible for minor league free agency after six seasons if they have not been added to a 40-man roster. A total of 504 players around baseball became minor league free agents this offseason, free to sign a minor league or Major League contract with any team.

Scott Alexander is a familiar name to Royals fans. The 37-year-old left-hander was originally drafted by the Royals in the sixth round in 2010 and made his MLB debut with Kansas City in 2015. He was traded to the Dodgers in 2018 and has pitched for the Dodgers, Giants, and Rockies since then. He has a career 3.36 ERA in 349 big-league appearances over 11 seasons. He returned to the Royals organization in July after pitching in the independent Atlantic League and had a 2.08 ERA in 14 games for Omaha.

Christian Chamberlain was a fourth-round pick by the Royals in 2020 out of Oregon State. The 27-year-old left-hander has spent his entire professional career in the organization, making 130 appearances with a 4.90 ERA. He was pitched in just seven games at Northwest Arkansas this year due to injury.

Grant Gambrell was a third-round pick by the Royals in 2019 out of Oregon State. He was traded to the Red Sox in the Andrew Benintendi trade, but was signed this year after pitching for the Kansas City Monarchs in the American Association. The 28-year-old had a 6.13 ERA in 39.2 innings at Double-A this season.

Isaiah Jackson is a 25-year-old right-hander who signed with the Royals in February 2025 after previously pitching in the Brewers organization. He has had difficulty staying healthy, spending much of the 2025 and 2026 seasons on the injured list. The former undrafted free agent has appeared in just 14 minor league games in his career, with a 7.53 ERA.

Connor Kaiser is a 29-year-old shortstop who signed with the Royals last November. The Blue Valley West grad has appeared in 22 MLB games with Colorado and Arizona in his career. He appeared in just 26 games for Omaha this season, hitting .118 before injuries ended his season.

Alex Lange appeared in 59 games for the Royals in 2026, posting a 6.75 ERA. He has pitched in six MLB seasons, and had 26 saves with the Tigers in 2023, before suffering injuries in 2024 and 2025. He has a career 4.45 ERA in 244.2 MLB innings, with 10.4 strikeouts-per-nine innings.

Luke Little is a 26-year-old left-hander who was drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round in 2020 out of San Jacinto College. He made his MLB debut in 2023 and has appeared in 40 big-league games, posting a 2.97 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 36.1 innings. He was claimed by the Royals organization this summer, and gave up 21 runs in 11.2 innings for Omaha.

Alejo López is a 30-year-old infielder who has appeared in 54 big-league games, hitting .265/.309/.329 with one home run. The Royals acquired him this summer after the Mariners released him, and he hit .307/.375/.404 in 38 games for Omaha.

Elih Marrero is a 29-year-old catcher originally drafted by the Red Sox, and the son of former Royals outfielder Eli Marrero. He was invited to spring training with the Royals, and hit .240/.275/.376 in 41 games for Omaha.

Matt Moore is a 37-year-old left-hander with 13 years of Major League experience with the Rays, Giants, Rangers, Tigers, Phillies, Rangers, Angels, Guardians, and Marlins. He was once the top prospect in baseball and made the American League All-Star team with the Rays in 2013. He has a career 4.39 ERA in 483 big-league appearances and signed a minor league deal with the Royals in June. He appeared in 16 game for Omaha with a 5.00 ERA.

Abraham Toro is a 29-year-old infielder who appeared in 449 big-league games with the Astros, Mariners, Brewers, and Athletics, hitting .223/.285/.356 with 41 home runs. After appearing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Canada, he hit .270/.351/.478 with 19 home runs in 123 games for Omaha.

Vince Velasquez is a 34-year-old right-hander who spent ten years in the big leagues with the Astros, Phillies, Padres, White Sox, and Pirates, making 144 starts and posting a 4.86 ERA in 193 career appearances. The Royals signed him after he was released by the Cubs, and he had a 6.36 ERA in 52.1 innings with Omaha.

Other notable minor league free agents include CJ Alexander, Kolby Allard, Orlando Arcia, Tyler Austin, Cavan Biggio, Will Brennan,  Chandler Champlain, Daz Cameron, Tucker Davidson, Clay Dungan, Dane Dunning, Scott Effross, Alex Faedo, Stuart Fairchild, Dominic Fletcher, Carson Fulmer, Garrett Hampson, Robert Hassell, Jon Heasley, Tink Hence, Andy Ibáñez, Edouard Julien, Jarred Kelenic, Dallas Keuchel, Heston Kjerstad, Jackson Kowar, Anthony Misiewicz, Eli Morgan, James Outman, Zach Pop, Jakson Reetz, Sebastián Rivero, Jesús Sánchez, Yolmer Sánchez, Austin Slater, Pavin Smith, Collin Snider, Lou Trivino, Joey Wiemer, Bryse Wilson, Patrick Wisdom, Simeon Woods Richardson

The Mets continue to add to their major league coaching staff, adding another former player.

SNY's Chelsea Janes confirms that New York is hiring A.J. Ellis as the team's strategy coordinator. 

Ellis, who played 11 seasons as a catcher with the Dodgers, Phillies, Marlins and Padres, will join Andy Green's staff days after the team promoted Mariano Duncan, who was the bench coach for Double-A Binghamton. 

The 45-year-old former backstop previously worked as a special assistant for the Padres front office. He also played 66 games behind the plate for San Diego in 2018 when Green managed.

The Athletic's Will Sammon first reported the hiring and notes that Green and the Mets are looking to fill one more coaching position.

Heading into this offseason, there was some light speculation when it came to whether or not the Atlanta Braves would change up their coaching staff a bit. In his press conference following Atlanta’s elimination from the Postseason, it didn’t seem like Alex Anthopoulos had any plans of shaking things up with the coaching staff — though there was always the possibility of that being “GM speak.”

Sure enough, it ended up being for real. Jesús Cano of The Athletic is reporting that the Braves are indeed bringing back the entire coaching staff for the 2027 season.

The Atlanta Braves will retain their entire coaching staff for the upcoming season, sources tell me.

Read more — https://t.co/UqanVqhaVs

— Jesús Cano (@Jesus_Cano88) November 4, 2026

Here’s the relevant part about Tim Hyers, where it was actually confirmed that Hyers had signed a two-year deal to be the hitting coach for the Braves. It’s now confirmed that he’ll be back for a third season.

The most significant holdover is hitting coach Tim Hyers, who joined the Braves on a two-year contract before the 2025 season and shepherded a group that scored the eighth-most runs in MLB in 2026. Hyers, who was formerly on the Texas Rangers’ coaching staff that won the 2023 World Series, will continue working alongside assistant hitting coach Darnell Coles.

Overall, it’s clear that the Braves as an organization really do value continuity — they went with an internal managerial hire ahead of the 2026 season and now they’re keeping the same coaching staff together for the next season. It’s also clear that they think that this coaching staff still has a lot to offer moving forward.

I’d imagine that we’re going to hear zero complaints about Jeremy Hefner returning as pitching coach and it’ll also be interesting to see how first base coach Antoan Richardson and third base coach Tommy Watkins continue to go about figuring out ways to improve the running game alongside Walt Weiss. Tim Hyers will certainly be the one with the microscope focused on him, as the offense still has yet to even come close to returning to the lofty heights that they reached back when Kevin Seitzer was the hitting coach.

Either way, everybody’s got something to prove and hopefully it’ll lead to some improvements across the board. We’ll see what happens going forward.

The Phillies signed Brad Keller before the 2026 season with the vision of the breakout reliever being the set-up man for All-Star closer Jhoan Duran. The two-year, $22M deal the Phillies gave Keller was by far their biggest signing of an offseason that otherwise was met with something between tepid skepticism or outright hostility from the fanbase. It was the only move Dave Dombrowski made in the last year that was widely met with approval, as Keller was one of the top relievers on the market after turning in a career season with the Cubs. The then 29-year-old moved to the bullpen and became an elite reliever, featuring strong surface numbers and underlying indicators that not only was his performance real, but it should also be sustainable.

However, sometimes you just get unlucky. Now 30, Keller was very uneven in his first year in Philadelphia before suffering a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery, likely ending his Phillies tenure just as soon as it started in a way that was eerily reminiscent of David Robertson’s first tenure with the Phillies in 2019.

2026 stats: 32 games, 31.1 IP, 4.02 ERA, 113 ERA+, 4.15 FIP, 0.2 fWAR

What went right

It is admittedly quite difficult to find something that went right for Keller in 2026. He regressed in just about every category before suffering the injury that ended his season. With all of that said, one can squint and see that he was at least a serviceable reliever when he was on the field even if he wasn’t the lock down back of the bullpen option the Phillies thought they were getting. That is something the Phillies desperately could have used later in the season when their bullpen was falling apart. If you want a number to feel good about, Keller at least mostly held his increased velocity he found once being converted to the bullpen, as he averaged 96.9 MPH on his fastball in 2026 after averaging 97.1 in 2025.

What went right

Again, Keller regressed in practically every major category. His strikeout rate dropped from 27.2% to 23.7%, his walk rate increased to 9.6% from 8%, and his WHIP ballooned to 1.34 from 0.96. Keller’s whiff rate fell back to around his career norms (22.5%) of when he was a mediocre starting pitcher rather than when he was an elite reliever in 2025 (27%). As a result, Keller gave up more base hits, with his opponents’ batting average climbing to .242 from .181. He was likely victimized a bit by the Phillies poor defense, but Keller’s elevated FIP and expected numbers show that he did not pitch all that well regardless of the defense behind him. The most glaring evidence of this was his groundball rate plummeting to 44.3% from 56.6% while his flyball rate jumped to 35.2% from 29.8%.

Keller’s disappointing season started to go fully off the rails on June 16th when he was first placed on the injured list with right forearm tendinitis. He didn’t return to the Phillies until July 8th, but he didn’t stay with them long, as Keller was once again placed on the IL eight days later. This time however he would not return, as it was revealed that Keller had suffered a UCL tear in his right elbow and required Tommy John surgery, thus costing him the rest of 2026 and very likely all of 2027.

Final grade: F

Perhaps an F is too harsh of a grade considering that neither Keller nor the Phillies can be blamed for not foreseeing the injury that effectively ended his time in Philadelphia after just 32 appearances. However, it’s hard to argue that the signing and therefore Keller’s season wasn’t a total disaster considering the results. Keller underperformed and then was lost, leaving the Phillies with a hole in their bullpen that they were never able to fill despite a revolving door of relievers that were used in setup roles throughout the season.

That hole in the bullpen is still very much waiting to be filled, as the Phillies and Dave Dombrowski enter another offseason in search of a bridge to Jhoan Duran. Dombrowski went outside of his usual M.O. of offering only single year contracts to veteran relievers in order to get a coveted one in Keller and was burned for it. It will need to be determined if the Phillies president of baseball operations falls back into old habits or opts to take another riskier swing in order to replace Keller. Regardless, the Phillies once again need to rebuild much of their bullpen.

It’s that time of year again, with the 2026 season in the books. Free agent season!

Only this year, it’s different, because only a few weeks from now, MLB owners are likely going to lock out MLB players and all transactions, along with everything else in MLB, will stop. This could lead to a lot of signings over the next few weeks, as I noted in this article last month.

In this series I’m going to look at some players who the Cubs could target in free agency, guys who could be useful to the team in different areas. I’ve already done that for the Cubs’ own free agents in this series from last month. For this series I’m going to be working off of MLB Trade Rumors’ Top 50 free agent list, though I won’t write about absolutely everyone on the list.

So, Tarik Skubal. Clearly the top free-agent pitcher, clearly one of the best pitchers in baseball. He turns 30 in a couple of weeks and has had three outstanding seasons in a row, after missing some of the 2023 season with elbow issues. (He also had some of those this year, but came back from a “loose bodies” elbow procedure with no apparent ill effects.)

Various sources have projected him to get a contract between eight and 10 years with a total value of $350 million to $500 million. MLBTR says nine years, $425 million, or an AAV of $47.2 million.

Let’s stop right here. You know the Cubs aren’t going to do that. I know the Cubs aren’t going to do that.

I’m here to argue that the Cubs shouldn’t do that, even if they could.

Well, that’s provocative. Let me explain.

All five of the pitchers in the Cubs’ rotation at the end of the 2026 season — Shōta Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd — are free agents. Beyond that, the next-up group, Ben Brown, Cade Horton and Justin Steele, all had various forms of injuries in 2026 and what they can contribute in 2027 is uncertain.

So that leaves… Javier Assad and what army?

With Skubal expected to get an AAV of at least $40 million and perhaps $50 million, what would that leave for the Cubs to sign other pitchers? Skubal can’t pitch every game.

Should the Cubs spend that much on free-agent pitchers (or on those they acquire by trade)? Absolutely, positively yes. They need to invest in pitching infrastructure and stop trying to patch the sinking ship, as they did this year. And in my view, the best way to do that — if they’re going to invest $50 million in that infrastructure this winter — would be to use it on multiple pitchers. Guys who might not be Cy Young candidates, but maybe No. 2 guys. I’ll talk about some of those guys in upcoming installments in this series.

Maybe you don’t agree with me or believe me. Maybe you’ll believe ESPN’s Jeff Passan:

The Chicago Cubs badly want Skubal. They also are skeptical that they will be willing to compete at the sort of dollars Skubal is expected to get — well in excess of $300 million, potentially in the $400 million-plus range.

And that’s exactly my point. The Cubs don’t have to sign the guy who makes the most money to succeed. In fact, they did spend quite a bit of money last offseason on Alex Bregman, and after a slow start for the third baseman, that worked out just fine.

If the Cubs do want to compete, spread out that money over multiple pitchers. Don’t put it all on one guy.

I’m sure you’ll tell me why I’m wrong, so have at it. But my stance is: Pass on Skubal. Spend the money? Absolutely. Just do it elsewhere.

I genuinely mean this as no slight to today’s birthday honoree, but he’s not the most famous person we’ve looked back on this year. At least for me, when you Google the name “Ryan Thompson,” you do get a baseball player. However, it appears to be the reliever who spent this past season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Just in sports alone, there’s two baseball players, a basketball player, and a soccer player all named Ryan Thompson who are notable enough to have gotten their own Wikipedia page.

However, none of them were Yankees, so today, we look back on the nine-year MLB veteran who did don the pinstripes.

Ryan Orlando Thompson
Born: November 4, 1967 (Chestertown, MD)
Yankees Tenure: 2000

Thompson was born in 1967 in Chestertown, MD, which is in the Eastern Shore region of the state. He was raised in the area by his grandparents and attended Kent County High School. He was a standout on the baseball field there, later being inducted into both his high school’s and the Eastern Shore Baseball Foundation Hall of Fames.

Thompson’s career there led to him being selected in the 13th round of the 1987 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He went just 11 picks after fellow future Yankee Mike Stanton. Thompson signed with Toronto, working his was up to Triple-A by 1992. However, later that year he was sent to the Mets as a player to be named later in a trade from a couple weeks earlier. It was a notable trade though, as it sent David Cone to Toronto, who he then helped win the 1992 and ‘93 World Series championships.

The Mets quickly brought Thompson to the big leagues, giving him his MLB debut on September 1, 1992. Thompson would become a regular for the Mets over the next couple seasons, appearing in 283 games from 1992-95. He was solid, but never quite lit the world on fire in that stint, accumulating 3.4 rWAR over those four seasons. Ahead of the 1996 season, he was then traded to Cleveland.

With Cleveland, Thompson hit well, albeit in just eight games in the 1996 season, spending most of the season in the minors. He couldn’t crack the big leagues in 1997 either, even getting traded back to Toronto. For 1998, he went overseas, playing for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks of NPB, where his manager was the legendary Sadaharu Oh.

Thompson returned back to the states for 1999, joining the Astros’ organization. He again spent most of the season in the minors, appearing in 12 games for Houston. For 2000, he signed with the Yankees. While he was briefly released in April, he ended up spending the year in New York or with their minor league affiliates.

Thompson had a couple different stints for the Yankees in 2000, going up and down between the minors. His most memorable moment in the big leagues that season probably came on July 14th, when he hit a three-run homer to break open a game against the Marlins.

In total, Thompson hit pretty well in his stint with the Yankees, putting up a .260/.339/.500 slash line in 33 games. He didn’t appear in any postseason round, but was awarded a championship ring after the Yankees beat the Mets in the 2000 World Series.

After that, Thompson journeyed around several more organizations. He played in the big leagues with the 2001 Marlins and the 2002 Brewers and kept on in the minors through the 2004 season. He left baseball after that.

Not every player who makes the big leagues is going to have a memorable career, never mind reach something like Hall of Fame status. Ryan Thompson appeared in parts of nine major league seasons, and that is something to be proud of.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

The offseason has arrived, but there’s no rule against watching a few White Sox highlights to get us through it. Each week, I’ll pick a player and revisit five plays worth another look. No homework, no deep dive. Just a little baseball to fill the void.

Another week without White Sox baseball, another excuse to watch some highlights. Last time, Chase Meidroth handled the glove work. This week, Munetaka Murakami gets to handle the property damage.

From his first big league homer to a pair against the Cubs, Mune gave us plenty of reasons to stop what we were doing and watch the baseball leave the yard.

Grab your morning cup of joe and settle in. The outfielders can watch these with us.

Here are five favorites listed in chronological order:

1. Hello, Major League Baseball
March 26 at Brewers

Opening Day came with a souvenir. Murakami introduced himself with his first big league home run, giving Sox fans a swing worth remembering from his debut. Welcome aboard, Mune. We’ll take more of those.

2. Make yourself at home
April 4 vs. Blue Jays

The home crowd deserved an introduction, too. Mune’s first homer at Rate Field traveled 431 feet to center at 111.1 mph off the bat — a two-run blast and a pretty convincing way to settle into the neighborhood.

3. The batter’s eye had a front-row seat
April 17 at Athletics

Bases loaded? Might as well clear them all. Murakami’s first big league grand slam sailed 431 feet over the batter’s eye in center, leaving his bat at 114.1 mph. Somewhere between contact and landing, checking the distance became mandatory.

4. One for each side of the family
May 16 vs. Cubs

One bomb against the Cubs is a treat. Two is being considerate of everyone who needs something to bring up at the next family gathering. Mune went deep twice in an 8-3 Sox win. Sorry, Cubby hubby. This one deserves another watch. It was also his first career mult-homer game.

5. Bring out the brooms
August 16 at Tigers

A tie game in the seventh needed a little Mune intervention. His two-run homer put the Sox ahead, 6-4, and Chicago finished off a 7-5 win to sweep Detroit. A go-ahead blast and a division rival sent home unhappy? That’ll do nicely.

Those are my five, but Mune gave us plenty of baseballs to track. Which homer was your favorite? Did another blast deserve a spot? Drop yours in the comments, and let me know who should get the replay treatment next.

It’s been about a week since the Brewers hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy at Tropicana Field, and some bettors are already sprinting to bet on the 2027 World Series winner as free agency gets started. Personally? I’m in no rush to let a sportsbook hold onto my money for a year, especially with free agency and trades set to reshape rosters and a potential lockout hanging over everything.. But lines are live, so let’s break down the top favorites on the board and see where things stand heading into the winter. 2027 World Series Lookahead

World Series Odds

World Series Favorites

Los Angeles Dodgers (+360)

2026 Record: 100-62

Notable Free Agents

Tarik Skubal, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips

Biggest Needs

Bullpen Nobody should be surprised to see the Dodgers at the top of the odds board once again. They won 100 games in 2026 despite their rotation racking up injuries. Shohei Ohtani battled through shoulder/arm and knee injuries as his three-year MVP run was snapped. LA’s lineup began showing its age. Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker were their only lineup regulars under the age of 30. It didn’t help that Tucker didn’t begin hitting until the postseason. Top prospect ​​Josue De Paula did make his debut. The 21-year-old should inject speed and pop, while looking at an everyday role in 2027. It’s safe to expect the Dodgers to spend in free agency or at least be a part of the Skubal suitors. Even without the two-time Cy Young award winner, the Dodgers will have the best rotation in baseball once again. With a fully healthy Ohtani, it’s tough to talk you out of betting LAD at any point, given this might be the best number we get. However, you’re not going to be profitable often betting the chalk a year in advance and having your money sit there in hopes of a little CLV.

Milwaukee Brewers (+650)

2026 Record: 103-59

Notable Free Agents

Jake Bauers, Dustin May, JoJo Romero

Biggest Needs

Replacing Jake Bauers The defending World Series champs should return with most of their roster intact. They won’t be big free agent spenders, as it’s unlikely they will join the bidding on their former first baseman Jake Bauers. 19-year-old Jesús Made is the top prospect in baseball and is likely to join the Show in 2027. 3B Andrew Fischer should also make his MLB debut, as he hit 48 home runs in AA for Milwaukee. The Brewers will continue down the path of developing their own talent. While their pitching staff should lead the way again, upgrading the backend of the rotation would give them a boost. Aaron Ashby anchored the pen, dominating for 107 innings including the postseason. I’m curious if they give him another shot at the rotation and maybe have DL Hall take over his fireman role. It will also be interesting to see if their offense can stay near the top of the BABIP leaderboard next season. I have a hard time betting on Milwaukee’s offense to lead the majors in runs per game again in 2027, making a repeat bet tough to justify at the current number.

New York Yankees (+800)

2026 Record: 93-68

Notable Free Agents

David Bednar, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham

Biggest Needs

Bullpen, Lineup Depth Do the Yankees deserve the third-shortest odds on the board? Maybe, but their starting rotation is doing all the heavy lifting. The current lineup looks nothing like a true contender. Outside of 27-year-old breakout Ben Rice pacing the offense, New York found few answers in a year where Aaron Judge was limited to just 66 games in his age-34 season. Their pitching will clearly remain their calling card, they have a number of bullpen arms to replace but that’s never been a challenge. New York can’t afford to enter next season with another top-heavy lineup. Unless Brian Cashman signs a big bat, they’ll be gambling on year-two leaps from Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr.

Boston Red Sox (+1600)

2026 Record: 87-75

Notable Free Agents

Sonny Gray

Biggest Needs

Bats I’m not entirely sold on this run of AL East teams sitting near the top of the board, especially one that hasn’t shown success in luring high-end free agents. Boston finished 23rd in runs per game at 4.21 and desperately needs offensive punch at several spots across the diamond. Promising 20-year-old shortstop Franklin Arias, who slashed .331/.388/.506 in AAA, should get the call at some point in 2027. Their rotation will clearly be their anchor with Payton Tolle and Garrett Crochet leading the way, but the bullpen shouldn’t be far behind. Boston’s relief corps led the majors in ERA and FIP while ranking top five in both SIERA and K-BB% in 2026. A dominant run that was boosted by Brayan Bello’s bulk-inning efforts out of the pen. We’ll see if the Red Sox end up regretting buying high as they extended Craig Breslow and Chad Tracy thanks in large part to a 30-5 run. I’m not sold on the duo.

Tampa Bay Rays (+2000)

2026 Record: 98-64

Notable Free Agents

Nick Martinez, Freddy Peralta

Biggest Needs

Bats, Bullpen Depth Tampa Bay’s 98-win campaign led a weak American League, standing as one of only two AL clubs to cross the 90-win mark. However, Kevin Cash’s lack of trust in his relievers was glaring in the postseason; expect them to patch up the bullpen via trades and bargain signings. Getting Ryan Pepiot back healthy should soften the blow when Nick Martinez, who led them in innings thrown, walks, but the offense still desperately needs real pop in the bottom half of the order. I don’t hate the Rays at 20/1, but you’re paying a premium tax on their 2026 pennant run. Tampa should bring back a similar roster but not many teams entered last season with longer World Series odds than the Rays, as they were around 50/1.

Atlanta Braves (+2000)

2026 Record: 94-68

Notable Free Agents

Mauricio Dubón, Raisel Iglesias, Tyler Mahle, Martín Pérez

Biggest Needs

Starting Pitching, High-Leverage Bullpen arm Atlanta is once again projected to field one of the most explosive lineups in baseball. I’d bite on 20/1 in a heartbeat if you guaranteed Ronald Acuña Jr. plays 130-plus games, but the 28-year-old superstar has been limited to just 251 games over the last three seasons. They had a deal in place at the deadline to acquire Jacob deGrom, but the righty used his no-trade clause to nix the deal. Which makes me think they could make a run at Tarik Skubal, but either way they desperately need arms to lead the rotation with Chris Sale. I’m not sure how many innings they can pencil Spencer Strider in for. They certainly can’t keep Grant Holmes in the rotation, who features a career FIP over six when facing a lineup for a second time. I could see Atlanta bringing back Mahle and maybe a back end of the rotation arm to eat some innings, like a Martín Pérez. It’s probably safe to expect Didier Fuentes to take the closer’s role and sure-up the back end of the bullpen But the Braves could try him in the rotation if they’re able to bring back Iglesias. Alex Anthopoulos’ top priority has to be adding a top-of-the-rotation arm. I assume teams that miss out on Tarik Skubal will shift their attention to Trevor Rogers; maybe Atlanta is where Rogers ends up?

2027 World Series Best Bet

I don’t bet many futures, however my editor threatened me into making a bet here. I’m not running to bet on flawed teams or an early long-shot with limited information we have. The Braves are probably the team that I would bet on if I had to. However, shop around if you’re going to fire. Bet the Braves if you’re itching to have a position in this market. I’m saving my click until free agency reshapes the board.

Alright, now I get to write the fun version of Monday’s article. Let’s reflect on some of the best games of a magical season.

#5: August 18, 2026 — Brewers 22, Mariners 0

The other four entries on this list are all playoff games, which is to be expected in a season that ended with the first World Series championship in franchise history. Still, this blowout earns its spot because it matched the modern-era MLB record (since 1901) for the largest margin of victory in a shutout. The only other 22-0 wins were by Pittsburgh (against the Cubs on Sept. 16, 1975) and Cleveland (against the Yankees on Aug. 31, 2004).

A three-run homer from Christian Yelich made it 6-0 in the fifth, but the Brewers were far from done. In the sixth, David Hamilton hit a three-run shot of his own to make it 9-0, and Jake Bauers followed with a homer to make it 11-0. Milwaukee added two runs in the seventh, then nine more in the eighth off Mariners’ infielder Leo Rivas, for a final score of 22-0. The highlight of the game was probably Luis Lara hitting the first home run of his career off Rivas, then looking mildly disappointed as he rounded the bases.

¡Primer jonrón en Grandes Ligas para Luis Lara!

Tablazo de tres carreras para poner el juego 16-0. Se lo conectó al también venezolano, Leo Rivas. #ThisIsMyCrew | #ElExtrabase⚾️🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/UweJCwyCeY

— El Extrabase ⚾️ (@ElExtrabase) August 19, 2026

#4: October 26, 2026 (WS Game 3) — Brewers 10, Rays 1

After two straight one-run victories, this game was expected to be a dogfight. Up 2-0, Milwaukee was in good shape, but the series was far from over.

Ultimately, the Brewers wouldn’t let Tampa Bay claw its way back into the series. With Milwaukee up 2-0 and two outs in the fifth, William Contreras grounded a ball to Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, who threw to second for the force out on Yelich. It initially looked like starter Freddy Peralta and the Rays had escaped the inning, but Brewers manager Pat Murphy successfully challenged the call, loading the bases and forcing Peralta out of the game.

Milwaukee then hung eight straight runs on relievers Cam Booser and Cole Sulser, all with two outs, and never looked back en route to a 10-1 win and a commanding 3-0 series lead.

#3: October 14, 2026 (NLCS Game 3) — Brewers 6, Dodgers 2

After being swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS the year before, the Brewers expected a tough series. In many ways, it was, but Milwaukee eked out come-from-behind wins in the first two games and took a 2-0 lead to Dodger Stadium.

Milwaukee once again fell behind early, entering the seventh inning down 2-1. Aside from a leadoff home run by Jackson Chourio, the offense couldn’t get much going against Dodgers starter Blake Snell, who came back out for the seventh. Andrew Vaughn started the inning with a walk, Yelich pinch-ran for him, then Bauers battled through an incredible 11-pitch at-bat that ended with a deep drive over the right-field fence for a go-ahead home run. The next batter, Garrett Mitchell, homered too, and Milwaukee was on its way to a 6-2 win and a 3-0 series lead.

Every pitch from Jake Bauers’ masterful 11 pitch at-bat vs. Blake Snell…

And it ended with a bang 💥 pic.twitter.com/ibGscZwK6R

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 15, 2026

#2: October 4, 2026 (NLDS Game 2) — Brewers 4, Padres 3

Milwaukee won the first game of the series, but San Diego carried a one-run lead into the ninth inning of Game 2. With flamethrowing closer Mason Miller in for a six-out save, things looked dire for Milwaukee, but with one out in the ninth, Miller lost the zone. Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick both walked to put runners on first and second. Murphy went to his bench for Andrew Vaughn, who flew out to center, then Gary Sánchez, who worked a third walk to load the bases for Jackson Chourio. Chourio capped an incredible at-bat with a two-run single up the middle for a walk-off win, sending the series to San Diego with the Brewers up 2-0.

FULL AT-BAT: Jackson Chourio vs. Mason Miller 🍿

The Brewers walk it off to take a 2-0 lead in the NLDS! pic.twitter.com/muBNJw1YKw

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2026

#1: October 28, 2026 (WS Game 5) — Brewers 4, Rays 1

I can’t pick any other game. On its own, this game wasn’t quite as exciting as a couple of the others on this list, but it ended with Milwaukee winning the first World Series championship in franchise history.

Despite not racking up the strikeouts like he usually does, ace Jacob Misiorowski put together his best outing of the playoffs, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings before calf cramps cut his night short. Meanwhile, the Brewers scored a run in the second (a Cooper Pratt RBI single), a run in the fifth (a David Hamilton RBI single), and two in the sixth on a William Contreras double and a Pratt sacrifice fly. That was all the run support Misiorowski and the bullpen would need.

Although the Rays managed a run in the ninth, Trevor Megill recorded the final out, setting off a celebration 57 years in the making, and Contreras was named World Series MVP.

THERE IT IS! The final out!

The @Brewers are your 2026 World Series Champions@MLBONFOXpic.twitter.com/9z890xay2o

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 29, 2026

Honorable Mentions:

September 11, 2026: Milwaukee clinched a postseason berth with a 20-0 rout of the Reds.

October 7, 2026 (NLDS Game 4): Garrett Mitchell robbed Manny Machado of a potential game-tying home run in the eighth as the Brewers moved on to face the Dodgers in the NLCS.

October 15, 2026 (NLCS Game 4): The Brewers came back from a 4-0 deficit to win 6-4, becoming the first team ever to sweep an opponent that had swept them the previous postseason, and the first to sweep a best-of-seven postseason series while trailing in every game. Jake Bauers was named NLCS MVP.

So, what do you think? Were there any games I missed? Let me know in the comments.

The most dangerous hitter for the Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, it is no surprise that Chase Harlan was right in the middle of the action, making the most of his one hit in a 10-5 win. As the Desert Dogs led 4-1 in the seventh inning, Harlan helped put the game out of reach with a three-run bomb, his fifth home run. Harlan leads the team in several key offensive categories, including but not limited to runs (15) and RBI (17).

Harlan’s getting warmed up for Saturday!

The @Dodgers No. 9 prospect climbs into a tie for the second most homers this Fall with his fifth. Harlan is now batting .281 with a 1.004 OPS. pic.twitter.com/PkaWpV9Xq9

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) November 4, 2026

Besides Harlan, the only other Dodger to feature in the Desert Dogs starting lineup was Eduardo Quintero, who managed to record an RBI despite going hitless in three at-bats. Struggling heavily with the bat in the AFL, Quintero at least still leads his team in stolen bases, successful in all six tries.

Lastly, Brooks Auger was the first reliever out of the bullpen as the Desert Dogs needed five innings to complete this one after starter Briggs McKenie tossed four scoreless. Auger allowed four baserunners in just two frames, but a key out with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth prevented the Solar Sox from doing major damage against the left-hander.

Tuesday score

Glendale 10, Mesa 5

Wednesday schedule

After putting up 10 runs to beat the Mesa Solar Sox, the Glendale Desert Dogs return to the field against the Surprise Saguaros at 5:30 p.m. (PT).