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

The Royals’ High-A affiliate Quad Cities River Bandits had an awesome season. They went 70-57 in the regular season and won the Midwest League West Division in the second half of the season. They went a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs to win the 2026 Midwest League Championship.

There was plenty of good stuff that come from this season. Let’s dive into it.

The good from the position players:

Blake Mitchell had a very mixed bag type of season, with his final slash line being .234/.414/.459. In 381 at bats, he hit 23 home runs and 17 doubles, with 75 RBI, 27 steals. He also walked 113 times and struck out 174 times. So that is a lot of good, but the strike out number is alarming. Mitchell is now 22 years old, and this was his first full season in High-A. He was 25 of 83 throwing out runners or 30%.

Ramon Ramirez, the other River Bandits catcher, had a good season, despite missing two months due to injury. In 372 plate appearances, he hit .279/.362/.477 with 23 doubles, 13 homers, 10 steals, and 39 walks. He was 18 of 76 throwing out runners or 24%.

Jose Cerice, a 21-year-old corner infielder, slashed .272/.391/.371. He hit 12 doubles, 2 triples and 6 homers. He stole 19 bases and drove in 54 runs, while walking 39 times. Cerice is a lesser heralded guy. The Royals signed him when he was just 18 out of Cuba. This was his first time in Quad Cities, I think this might be a sleeper guy to watch.

Derlin Figueroa smashed 26 homers and drove in 89 runs, while stealing 18 bases. He slashed .252/.324/.515. He was acquired from the Dodgers for Ryan Yarbrough back in 2023. I like his game and think he is someone that has potential to monitor.

Asbel Gonzalez, a 20-year-old centerfielder from Venezuela, put up a special season. The Royals signed him right after his 17th birthday. He slashed .262/.358/.314. With just 14 extra base hits, but with 112 hits the whole season. Gonzalez stole 67 bases on 80 attempts. He also drew 52 walks.

I was encouraged by what Zion Rose did in just 71 at bats, slashing .268/.389/.338. He was also 14 of 15 stealing bases. I think he starts in Quad Cities next season but wouldn’t be surprised if he is quickly moved up.

BLAKE MITCHELL WITH THE SWING OF THE SEASON!! We’ve got the lead!! 🤩

T8 | QC 2 – DAY 1#RoadToRoyalty🦝 pic.twitter.com/b6SS32vjt7

— Quad Cities River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) September 16, 2026

The good from the pitching staff:

Dash Albus, a 24-year-old lefty from Abilene Christian, who the Royals took in the 19th round of the 2024 draft had a good season between Columbia and Quad Cities. He posted a 3.65 ERA over 56.2 innings and struck out 62. He had just a 1.08 WHIP. He walked just 13 guys all season.

Kendry Chourio, the 19-year-old right-handed prodigy was awesome. I do think at the end of the season, they were limiting his pitch count and innings, but it didn’t slow him down too much. On the season, between Columbia and Quad Cities, Chourio threw 90.2 innings, striking out 91 hitters, to the tune of a 2.48 ERA. His WHIP was 0.89. Opponents hit just .195 off him.

Kamden Edge was great out of the bullpen all season. The 22-year-old right hander posted a 4.02 ERA over 56 innings. He struck out 80 batters and had a WHIP of 0.88. He was 4 of 6 in save opportunities. Opponents hit just .147 off him. His stuff is really good.

L.P. Langevin, a 23-year-old righty, was just as good as Edge out of the pen. Langevin, posted a 3.42 ERA over 55.1 innings. He struck out an unreal 106 hitters. His WHIP was 1.19. He was 3 for 4 in save opportunities. He did walk 39 batters, so that is something to work on. Opponents hit just .142 off him.

David Shields was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Year. The 20-year-old lefty was exceptional. He threw 116.2 innings, striking out 139. His ERA was 4.01, and his WHIP was 1.08. Opponents batted just .231 off him. The former 2024 2nd round pick is progressing very nicely.

David Shields was DEALING tonight 😮‍💨:

5.2 IP
3 H
1 ER
0 BB
8 K

The @KCRoyalsPD No. 3 prospect generated 17 whiffs for the High-A @QCRiverBandits.

(🎥@KCRoyalsPD) pic.twitter.com/Ic7ZTkfWTZ

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 7, 2026

Jordan Woods, the 22-year-old lefty was good between Columbia and Quad Cities, going 75.1 innings, with a 3.94 ERA. He struck out 98 batters on the season and his WHIP was 1.23. Opponents hit .232 off Woods. Similar to Rose, I think he starts next season in Quad Cities but could quickly be moved to Northwest Arkansas.

Everyone, with the exception of Rose and Woods, I think will start at Northwest Arkansas next season. That was the Royals worst minor league team, and the roster was mostly atrocious. If the Bandits weren’t making a playoff push, I bet some of these guys would’ve been promoted this season.

Happy Tuesday! The Cleveland Guardians secured an important series lead last night with clutch, late-game hitting and the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen continued to dominate in their win.

ALCS Game 2 begins at 5 PM tonight while the NLCS will travel to Los Angeles.

MLB Postseason scores…

• Catcher Patrick Bailey’s game-tying home run powered the Cleveland Guardians to a comeback win and 1-0 ALCS lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.
• The Milwaukee Brewers head to Los Angeles with a 2-0 series lead after another exciting win over the Dodgers.

In Mariners news…

• Darragh McDonald at MLB Trade Rumors profiles the offseason outlook of the Mariners, including financial decisions, free agency updates, and more.
• Multiple Arizona Fall League coaches could be potential managerial fits for the Mariners as they continue their search to replace Dan Wilson.

Around the league…

• The Los Angeles Dodgers are considering benching star Shohei Ohtani for NLCS Game 3 as he continues to battle through injury.
• Our very own Kate Preusser talked to Chicago Cubs prospect Kade Snell during a break in the Arizona Fall League action.
• The Tampa Bay Rays turned Bryan Baker into an All-Star closer after acquiring him in a 2025 trade with the Baltimore Orioles.
• AJ Cassavell at MLB.com takes an off-season look at how the San Diego Padres could fill out their 2027 starting rotation.
• Athletics pitching prospect Kenya Huggins has built a strong relationship with MLB legend Dave Stewart after joining the team at the 2025 Trade Deadline.

Yesterday saw limited action in the Arizona Fall League, as only one of the three games on the schedule got played – and that game was shortened to seven innings. However we did get to watch a pair of Atlanta Braves prospects as Isaiah Drake got the start in left field for the Glendale Desert Dogs, with Owen Carey finishing off the game for him.

Scottsdale Scorpions 6, Glendale Desert Dogs 2

• Isaiah Drake, LF: 0-2
• Owen Carey, LF: 0-1

Boxscore

This game was actually closer and lower scoring than the final line would indicate. Glendale tied this game up at two in the top of the sixth, before a Scottsdale run in the bottom of the sixth gave them the lead. Scottsdale tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, which ended up being the final action in this game that was called after that point.

Isaiah Drake came up for the first time in the second inning and fouled off the first two pitches, a pair of 97 MPH fastballs, before taking a ball low on the third pitch and striking out swinging on an inside slider on the fourth pitch. He came up in the fourth with a runner on second and two outs, and on the fifth pitch of the at bat he hit a 97 MPH exit velocity ground ball to the third baseman to end the inning.

In the sixth inning Drake was pinch hit for by Owen Carey, who would stay in the game as the left fielder until it ended after seven innings. After taking the first pitch for a ball, Carey took a low sinker and hit a 97 MPH exit velocity ground ball to the first baseman

Now that the National League Championship Series is back at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the Dodgers will have Blake Snell starting on the mound in Game 3 on Wednesday night, followed by Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 on Thursday.

This order could have been inferred after Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were tabbed to start the first two games in Milwaukee, but manager Dave Roberts at the time didn’t feel the need to name his full rotation order at the time.

“It’s just one of those things that you need Snell to go out there and give us some length, give us a typical Blake Snell outing and let us deploy guys with a lead. I know Blake has a bad taste in his mouth from that last outing against the Braves. So you’re going to see a locked-in, focused Snell,” Roberts said Monday night in Milwaukee. “On the other side of things, we’ve got to support him offensively too.”

Both Snell and Glasnow fought wildness in their Division Series starts, each walking five batters — Snell in 3 2/3 innings in Game 2 against the Atlanta Braves, and Glasnow in 4 2/3 innings in Game 4. Despite all the traffic on base, both escaped with only one run allowed.

Snell in his postseason career had a 3.23 ERA with 107 strikeouts and 41 walks in 86 1/3 innings, and he’s allowed two or fewer runs in 12 of his 16 starts. With the Dodgers, Snell has a 3.11 postseason ERA in seven games, including six starts, with 46 strikeouts and 18 walks in 37 2/3 innings.

Glasnow in his seven postseason appearances — four starts, three relief appearances — with the Dodgers has a 1.73 ERA in 26 innings, with 30 strikeouts and 16 walks. The team has won all seven games.

Left-hander Robert Gasser starts Game 3 for the Milwaukee Brewers, after allowing one run in four innings in his start in San Diego in Game 4 of the Division Series. The Dodgers beat Gasser twice during the regular season, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings on May 23 in Milwaukee and giving up three runs in 6 1/3 innings on August 14 at Dodger Stadium. He allowed home runs in those games to Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, and Tommy Edman.

“They know me, and I know them. I enjoy having some familiarity with a lineup,” Gasser told reporters in Milwaukee on Monday. “Definitely looking back to the game in August and kind of watching those swings, obviously hitters adjust, but being a good guy in the dugout, watching them right now and seeing how they’ve changed to now and trying to build a plan for them.”

That leaves Game 4 perhaps at least in some fashion for former Dodgers pitcher Dustin May, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief in Game 2 on Monday. Then again, every Brewers relief appearance thus far in the NLCS has been scoreless.

“He could start Game 4, who knows?” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of May. “But he’s got a role on our team right now of pitching and getting outs, and we’ve told him that, hey, we need you to be ready every day to get outs.”

There is no replacement for watching your own team compete in the National League Championship Series. Fans of the San Diego Padres have had the privilege of watching their team compete for a pennant a few times, with their most recent trip pitting them against the Philadelphia Phillies. The team from the National League East knocked off the Padres and advanced to the World Series where the Phillies would fall to the Houston Astros.

This season was supposed to be another opportunity for San Diego to use the strength of the lineup with veterans like Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts and the young superstardom of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill to propel themselves to the game’s summit. That did not happen and the Milwaukee Brewers won the National League Division Series over the Padres with a record of 3-1. The reward for the Brewers was a matchup against the Nationals League West Division champions and two-time defending World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Friars Faithful could sit and wonder about what might have been had a ball not hit the roof, had Mason Miller been able to get one more out and had a ball hit deep to centerfield traveled another foot-and-a-half further in the final game of the NLDS. Once the what ifs have been tallied, the Faithful have to sit back and watch Milwaukee take on Los Angeles.

The NLCS started on Sunday and the Brewers took game one with their top arm Jacob Misiorowski beating one of the manny Dodgers aces Tarik Skubal. Game 2 was supposed to provide an opportunity for Los Angeles to even the series with World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, but William Contreras powered Milwaukee to the win, giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead with the series shifting to Los Angeles. Can Milwaukee get two more wins over the next five games, Padres fans and much of the baseball world is hoping so because no one is ready to hear Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talk about how his scrappy team, which everyone doubted came out of nowhere to win the World Series.

Padres News:

• With new owners and a myriad of pitchers with options the San Diego rotation could look much different in the 2027 season.

Baseball News:

• The Cleveland Guardians flexed their muscle in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and topped the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani may find himself on the bench in Game 3.

The Mets have 10 players eligible for salary arbitration this offseason.

Those players are Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Reed Garrett, Tylor Megill, Christopher Morel, Dedniel Núñez, Cristian Pache, Cionel Perez, Mark Vientos, and Austin Warren.

Once a player is offered arbitration, the team and that player's agent have until a set date -- usually at some point in February -- to come to terms on a new contract. If that doesn't happen, both sides submit salary proposals, and the player's salary is determined by independent arbitrators at a hearing (a timeframe that could be impacted this offseason by the expected lockout).

A team can also offer arbitration to a player and then trade him. So the Mets can tender contracts to players who might not be in their plans.

According to the MLB Trade Rumors algorithm that "looks at the player’s playing time, position, role, and performance statistics while accounting for inflation," here's what the Mets' arbitration-eligible players are projected to make in 2027...

Francisco Alvarez: $4.1 million
Brett Baty: $2.5 million
Tylor Megill: $2.5 million
Mark Vientos: $2.4 million
Christopher Morel: $2.1 million
Reed Garrett: $1.3 million
Cionel Perez: $1.2 million
Austin Warren: $1.2 million
Dedniel Núñez: $900,000
Cristian Pache: $800,000

If the Mets tender contracts to all of the above players and they receive salaries similar to the projections, it would add roughly $19 million to the payroll.

However, not every arbitration-eligible player is certain to remain with the team.

Alvarez, Baty, Megill, Garrett, Warren, and Núñez feel like close to locks to be offered arbitration. 

Garrett and Megill missed the 2026 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but both are expected to be valuable pitching depth in 2027 -- and Garrett is under team control through 2029. 

Meanwhile, Warren and Núñez (in his first year back from TJS) showed flashes in relief in 2026 and should be part of the calculus entering spring training. 

With the non-tender deadline set for Nov. 20, here are four Mets players who could be at risk...

INF/DH Mark Vientos

Vientos' offensive decline continued in 2026, as his OPS dipped to .652 (from .702 in 2025 and a career-best .837 in 2024). His batting average (.212) and OBP (.258) were both career worsts, and Vientos' defense remained subpar.

Getting most of his time at first base, Vientos was worth -9 OAA, via Baseball Savant. While Vientos has put in the time working on his defense behind the scenes, it just hasn't translated on the field. And his other main position on the diamond (third base) will likely be blocked by Bo Bichette, who is expected to opt in to his $42 million contract for 2027.

While Vientos could be part of the designated hitter situation for the Mets in 2027, potentially getting starts against left-handed pitching (he has a .772 OPS against lefties in his career), it kind of feels like the writing is on the wall when it comes to the end of his tenure in Queens.

Vientos still possesses serious power, but he just hasn't tapped into it enough over the last two seasons. Add to that his below-average defense, lack of positional versatility, and suboptimal speed, and it makes his inclusion on the 2027 roster a tough proposition. 

With Vientos set to earn just $2.4 million next season, it's possible a team in need of right-handed power has interest via trade. If a deal can't be reached before the non-tender deadline, though, expect the Mets to move on. 

INF/OF Christopher Morel

The Mets took a flier on Morel at the end of June after he was released by the Marlins.

Morel wound up playing in 13 games for New York over the summer, slashing just .200/.250/.333 (.583 OPS) in 32 plate appearances.

While Morel is versatile enough to play every position except catcher and pitcher, he is not a good defender at any spot. Meanwhile, his last above-average season with the bat came in 2023.

Projected to make roughly $2 million in 2027, Morel will almost certainly be a former Met by Nov. 20.

LHP Cionel Perez

During a nine-year career with the Orioles, Astros, Reds, Nationals, and Mets, Perez has shown enough to keep getting chances.

Perez had a terrific season for Baltimore in 2022 (1.40 ERA in 57.2 innings) and was also good for the O's in 2023 (3.54 ERA in 53.1 innings), but it's been tough sledding since then. Over the last three years, Perez has a 5.30 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 120.2 innings.

However, Perez was solid for the Mets in 24 appearances over 29.1 innings in 2026, with a 3.99 ERA (3.75 FIP) and 1.33 WHIP while walking just 2.5 per nine and striking out 10.7 per nine. 

Perez also has a fastball that can touch close to 99 mph, so perhaps the Mets roll the dice and see if they can unlock what made him a key cog for the Orioles a few years ago. 

OF Cristian Pache

Pache inked a minor league deal with the Mets last December.

He spent the majority of the 2026 season in the minors, getting just eight plate appearances for New York. 

Before 2026, Pache -- a career .181/.242/.273 hitter in parts of six big league seasons -- last played in the majors in 2024.

Pache will almost certainly be non-tendered ahead of the deadline or removed from the 40-man roster before then to create room for other players. 

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 back at a statistical anomaly that says a lot about the 2026 Red Sox offense.

---

With the Championship Series in full swing in both the AL and NL, the 2026 season is quickly winding down. But that doesn’t mean we’re quite done with it. There are some loose ends. Some questions unanswered. Some further insights to probe. In particular, one game was still tickling my brain. September 23rd.

This was a Wednesday night game against the Cleveland Guardians. Part of the penultimate series of the year, the one right before the Cubs came to town and things went crazy with the storm. The Red Sox would win the game 1-0 with 12 hits. And they were all singles. That seems weird right? This was noted at the time as somewhat uncommon. And, yes, as you slice stats and measurements you end up with small samples. That’s how so many online accounts can make “fun fact” claims about nearly every game. But I wondered just how uncommon this actually was.

In the 2026 season, this was the only game where a team had at least 12 hits and scored up to a single run. That includes if a team had 12 hits and was shut out. The Sox are unique here.

If we expand this to the Wild Card Era (1995 onward) it has occurred just 73 times. And just five of those teams won. The 2026 Red Sox, 2015 Pirates, 2014 Angels, 2000 Rangers, and 1997 Yankees all pulled off 12 or more hits and 1 run for a win. Only the Red Sox and Yankees did the trick without an extra base hit. Although even for the other teams, the most they hit was a double.

If we look at it in the other direction, there were 252 teams that had exactly 12 hits and scored more than 1 run in 2026 alone. This included the Sox on March 26th against the Reds. Opening Day. They were the first to do it. What a world that was, starting the season with 3 hits by Roman Anthony.

But back to the original question: 12 or more hits, 1 run or fewer. If we go all the way back to 1898 on Baseball-Reference, it’s only happened 368 times. And of that total, the team with 1 run on 12 or more hits only won 22 times. The Dodgers had 20 hits (18 singles) over 22 innings on August 23, 1989 against the Montreal Expos And the only run— by either team — was scored by LA in the 22nd inning. It was a Rick Dempsey home run off Dennis Martinez.

What if we forget the number of runs and just look for teams that had at least 12 singles? That happened 5 times in 2026. The Yankees pulled if off against the Sox in the August doubleheader we don’t really want to think much about. The Rays, Astros, and Marlins each did it as well. The Sox, Yankees, and Marlins won while the Rays and Astros lost. There are 157 occurrences of this during the Wild Card Era. The team hitting all singles won 89 times. Sometimes it really is just the hits that matters. One interesting tidbit looking at all these box scores is on June 18, 2023 that Marlins and Rays had 12 hits (all singles) and 4 runs, against the Nationals and Padres, respectively. The Marlins won 4-2 and the Rays list 5-4.

So the 12 hit, 1 run game against the Guardians was uncommon. Not the most uncommon. But not the type of thing that happens often. Just a couple games per season at most. But the fact that they won? That’s not something you’re likely to see. Another weird moment in a weird season.

Good morning.

Kennedi Landry writes that, if nothing else, MacKenzie Gore was available to pitch for the Texas Rangers in 2026.

Evan Grant writes that the infield was stricken with injuries all season but it was also the most productive unit for Texas in 2026.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Mark Polishuk checks out the offseason outlook for the Rangers where Chris Young and crew will be tasked with putting together a team to return to October.

And, in other news, Jon Daniels once traded with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire Nathaniel Lowe when he was still Nathan Lowe and Daniels was the decision maker for the Rangers. Now Jon Daniels is a senior advisor with Tampa Bay and Lowe collected the go-ahead and game-winning RBI hit against the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS. It’s a small world, I suppose.

Have a nice day!

Sticking with the rotation since there isn’t really much else to discuss…

Didier Fuentes may or may not be ticketed for the rotation in 2027, assuming there is a 2027 season. Chris Sale can’t fend off Father Time forever, but he’s done a good job of it so far. Grant Holmes exists. Bryce Elder exists. Everyone else is either injured-and-oft-injured, coming off a not-so-great MLB season, or a mix of both.

The Braves will probably add starters from outside the organization, and/or re-up with Tyler Mahle and perhaps even Martin Perez. But, unless it’s literally Mahle and Perez to go with Holmes, Elder, Fuentes, and Sale, they’ll have to make some more moves.

So, how many do you think they’ll make? No scoring, but for purposes of your guess, consider only a starter making about $8 million (or the equivalent of that if the CBA immediately curtails salaries), or a trade equivalent of such. They could add all sorts of Martin Perezes, but we wouldn’t really know whether that should count as an earnest effort or not until the proof ends up in the proverbial pudding.

As we get closer and closer to the end of the 2026 MLB season, the impending lockout and CBA negotiations will begin to take center stage in the baseball world. Even now as the final four teams get the league championship series underway, we still received some drops of information regarding the negotiations between the league and the MLB player’s association.

It’s imperative to take all of these leaks and reports with an appropriate grain of salt, as both sides will likely try to use the media to negotiate in public. The proposals this far out should receive even more skepticism, as neither side will be willing to concede this early. However, one of the latest reported proposals from the league has a somewhat interesting topic of discussion, and that’s the length of MLB’s regular season.

In the proposal, MLB broached the idea of shortening the regular season from the current 162 games back to the former 154 games. The latter was the standard until the American League moved to 162 games in 1961 with the National League following the year after. Seven less games obviously mean that the regular season would be one week shorter, allowing for each week to have a built-in off day for each team. That would theoretically help keep players, especially pitchers, healthy as they would be less wear and tear on their bodies. Part of the league’s reasoning for this idea was also the ability to then extend the length of the divisional round of the postseason from a best of five to a best of seven. In addition to that, MLB proposed that the higher seeds would be able to choose their opponents for those series.

There will be many more ideas exchanged back and forth from both sides over the coming winter, but this is one of the first ones that feels like it has at least some realistically possibility of happening in some form. So, should MLB shorten the length of the regular season? Or should it stay where it is? Or does it not even go far enough for your liking?

Meet the Mets

Anth0ny DiComo identified three Mets prospects who could find themselves making a big impact for the 2027 squad.

Tim Britton analyzed the effect that a salary cap would have on the Mets and explored the different types of teams that the organization could build with different budgets.

Pete Sblendorio looked at the team’s biggest questions ahead of the winter.

Danny Abriano ranked the top five priorities for the Mets heading into the offseason.

The Mets could be open to a change at second base next season, but it would cost them.

Joe Patorno wondered if the Mets may have missed out on the real architect of the Brewers in Matt Arnold.

Around the National League East

Mark Bowman wrote about the Braves’ five biggest offseason questions.

Cole Weintraub identified some of the key dates for the Phillies entering an uncertain offseason.

Dillon Lawson has been named the Marlins’ hitting coach.

Around Major League Baseball

The Brewers overcame three deficits to pick up a 7-4 win in Game 2 of the NLCS over the Dodgers and tighten their grip on the series, as they look to prevent Los Angeles from a three-peat.

The game turned on its head during a 12-pitch at-bat between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jake Bauers, which wore out Yamamoto and led to him being knocked out of the game in the third inning.

Paul Casella highlighted some key takeaways from Game 2 of the NLCS, including the continued struggles of the Dodgers’ superstars and William Contreras coming through for the Brew Crew.

Shohei Ohtani is one of those struggling bats, and the Dodgers will discuss benching their superstar for Game 3 of the series.

The Guardians rallied past the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS with two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth, resulting in a 7-3 victory.

José Ramírez caused havoc on the basepaths, which was a key to helping the Guardians picked up their fourth straight win.

Will Leitch wrote about some storylines to keep an eye on in both the NLCS and in the ALCS.

Ramírez is relishing the second chance to bring Cleveland to the World Series after failing to do so in 2024.

Anthony Berry talked about the 2021 trade that sent Junior Caminero from the Guardians to the Rays, and wondered how it happened in the first place considering how much of a steal if seems to be in retrospect.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Linus Lawrence ranked the Mets’ biggest LDS moments.

If you find yourself bored and missing baseball, or just want to connect with your fellow Mets fans in a fun way, join the Amazin’ Avenue offseason book club, beginning with The Worst Team Money Could Buy.

This Date in Mets History

Unfortunately, the Mets have not had a lot of luck on games played on October 13, having lost playoff games on this date in 2024, 2015, 2006, 1999, and 1973. The worst of which has to be Game 2 of the 2006 NLCS, which I’d still argue is the most heartbreaking loss and the biggest “what if?” game of that series.

Once again, the Braves are entering an offseason where many questions need to be answered. And unfortunately, many of those questions will be focused on how reliable talents already with the Braves will be moving forward. That of course spotlights all the injuries that some of the Braves most promising your arms have went through over the past few years, thus leading to the question of how many arms must the Braves acquire.

And then, there is the matter of the now years long issue of the Braves offense under performing. A major factor in that is the decline of Austin Riley, someone the Braves must get going again to truly get back toward contention. In an offseason where there already is so much uncertainty around the game itself, the Braves have their own questions to answer.

Braves News

While the Braves will go into Spring Training with Didier Fuentes as a starter, it will be interesting to see how they use him as the season progresses.

MLB News

In a bit of a surprise development, the Guardians defeated the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS.

The Brewers gained early control of the NLCS as they are now up 2-0 over the Dodgers.

The NLCS now shifts to the West Coast, after the Milwaukee Brewers took the first two games of the series at home, pushing the Los Angeles Dodgers into unfamiliar territory as they trail two games to none in the series.

But more unfamiliar territory could follow.

Benching superstar Shohei Ohtani.

The slugger continues to struggle at the plate, and Ohtani endured an 0-for-4 night with two strikeouts on Monday after going 1-for-3 with a single in Game 1. Ohtani entered the NLCS having gone just 2-for-13 against the Atlanta Braves, and now sits at 3-for-20 this postseason with a trio of singles, along with three walks.

That is good for a slash line of .150/.261/.411.

Speaking after the game, manager Dave Roberts had this to say about the team’s superstar, as quoted by The Athletic:

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good. He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.

“I’ll have (that conversation) with him tomorrow.”

Our own Eric Stephen, who “has practice in Robertsese” as he described it, declared early Tuesday morning “that means Ohtani won’t be starting in Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.”

How did we get here, with the Dodgers contemplating sitting none other than Shohei Ohtani in a must-win playoff game?

Ohtani has been dealing with several injuries this season, starting with a left knee issue which caused him to miss some starts on the bump in the summer, and to miss the All-Star Game together as he sought treatment for the knee ailment.

But a right bicep issue followed, and he was eventually put on the IL in September with that issue, and the team shut him down as a pitcher on September 7.

Yet, Ohtani’s performance at the plate had begun to dip well before September. he began the year hot at the dish, slashing .293/.403/.549 with 22 home runs ahead of the All-Star break.

Over the second half of the season, Ohtani slashed just .245/.325/.447 with eight home runs. And when you dive into those numbers a bit more, the dip in performance looks even steeper. After slashing .273/.330/.557 in July, with six home runs, he slashed .241/.322/.472 in August, with six more homers.

Over eight regular season games in September and October, he slashed just .200/.333/.233, without a home run. His last homer came back in the middle of August, a blast against the Colorado Rockies on August 18. In that three game series at Coors Field, Ohtani went 5-for-14 with three home runs and five RBI.

However, since that game Ohtani has gone 14-for-90 without a home run, and with just a single RBI. That is good for an average of .156, and an OPS under .490.

Digging into Ohtani’s numbers a little more, and watching his at-bats, you can see the struggles at the plate. His swing speed has dipped — according to data from FanGraphs his bat speed on line drives is 74.8 miles per hour, down from 76.0 last year and a high of 77.7 during the 2023 season — as has his exit velocity. After averaging an EV of 93.3 mph this season, his lone hit in the NLCS came off the bat at just 74 mph:

Shohei Ohtani comes through with a single in the 6th inning.

BRING THIS MAN HOME 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UyUUt75RLv

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 12, 2026

And his approach on this single helps tell another part of the story.

As noted by The Athletic, Ohtani has tried to shorten his swing, and take balls to the opposite field rather than trying to pull or drive balls to the right side. That is because he’s struggled to catch up to fastballs and pull them, as you can see on this strikeout from the first inning Monday night, when he swings through a 95-mph four-seam fastball up in the zone from Logan Henderson:

Henderson ends the top of the 1st with a strikeout of Ohtani

📺: FOX and FS1 pic.twitter.com/jIjGC7C4qE

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 12, 2026

That approach leads to moments like this from Monday night, when Ohtani tries to go the other way on a ball off the plate and looks … unlike the Ohtani we are used to seeing:

JoJo Romero strikes out Shohei Ohtani, who had a hard time holding onto the bat pic.twitter.com/oYILwD38cj

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 12, 2026

At the start of that at-bat? Ohtani actually showed bunt, something else we are not used to seeing from the slugger.

Speaking ahead of the NLDS Ohtani, through team interpreter Will Ireton, had this to say about his swing:

“It feels really good overall. I do feel like my swing is in a better place, feels smooth, and just a little tweaks here and there, and I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

And on the injuries:

“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this. I think that process is going to happen during the off-season when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”

However, he also talked about “transparency,” regarding how he is feeling physically:

“ I think the discussion became more about like what’s best for the team. Is it something that I can play through, and if that’s best for the team, sure. But I think we both came to an understanding where the decision to be on the IL came from the fact that it’s probably best for the team for me to recover and be able to focus on the postseason.”

And that might be the focus of the upcoming discussion with Roberts. As noted by Stephen early Tuesday morning, there’s “been an open question of how forthcoming Ohtani has been with his injuries as well.” But the player we have seen so far this postseason has been struggling at the plate, and with the Dodgers facing a two-game hole in the series, that could lead to a difficult decision for Roberts and the rest of the organization.

If Ohtani is indeed out of the lineup to start Game 3, Josue De Paula is likely the “top candidate” to replace him, according to The Athletic. De Paula, who was called up from Double-A Tulsa in mid-September, went 10-for-31 with a home run in limited action for the Dodgers, slashing .323/.500/.581. That was good enough for the team to add him to the postseason roster and he has a pair of walks in three plate appearances, including one on Sunday night in Game 1.

The Dodgers are set to meet the media later today during the off day before Wednesday’s pivotal Game 3.

Meaning we might learn more about Ohtani’s status in a few hours.

The Dodgers somehow scored four runs in Monday’s game against the Brewers but it wasn’t enough as the game devolved into a bullpen game and they lost 7-4, and now head home down 2-0 in the NLCS.

Bill Shakin of the L.A. Times ponders if the Dodgers should start playing baseball the way the Brewers are, especially since runs are at a premium. The Dodgers did score some of their runs as gifts from the Brewers, but the timely hitting still remains elusive.

“I don’t think guys are going up there trying to hit home runs,” Betts said. “Guys are going up there just trying to have good at-bats. Sometimes, you get ‘em. Sometimes you don’t. But we are playing against a really good team. We just have to put it behind us and just come out and play Dodger baseball.”

But, as Bill Plunkett of the OC Register points out, it didn’t work. He details the ways the Dodgers scored, and how they needed the Brewers’ help to do so.

Before the game, Plunkett also highlighted how Will Smith hasn’t had any production at the plate up until this afternoon.

“It’s been five games,” Smith said, dismissing the significance of his .053 batting average this October. “Obviously (I) want the results to be a little better. But at the end of the day, it’s five games at the plate. No panic from me. So I’ll be fine.”

Now, it’s been six games and Smith still only has one hit, and his postseason batting average is .043.

“I respect the Dodgers a great deal,” said Murphy. “That’s all there is to it. They’re arguably one of the best teams ever put together. They’re a great team.

“And I’m not going to think about anything but the next game. That’s it. Just one inning, one pitch at a time. Don’t look ahead. Don’t plan. Don’t complain, explain; just keep going.”

That’s what Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy told reporters after the game, as reported by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. And as Cassavell notes in his article, the Dodgers threw their two top starters and have nothing to show for it.

Paul Casella also of MLB.com points out some keys for Game 3 back in L.A., including how to contain William Contreras, asking where the Dodgers offense will come from, and which bullpen will outlast the other.

The vaunted Dodger bullpen got outdueled by the Brewers bullpen, who has been phenomenal so far this postseason. They threw five perfect innings to finish out the game and seal the win.

The Dodgers have a lot of work to do to get themselves back in this series. Game 3 is at 5pm PT back in Los Angeles.

While it still hurts that the Yankees aren’t out there playing, you better soak the rest of the playoffs in. We only have, at most, three more days with more than one game, and we’re only guaranteed one more. Before you know it, we have only the World Series and then the long, cold winter and offseason.

However, there’s still some baseball left to go, and it’s important baseball at that. Let’s check in on how the action played out on Monday night.

National League Championship Series Game 2

Milwaukee Brewers 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
(Brewers lead series 2-0)

William Contreras had three hits and drove in three runs, leading the Brewers to a win and a two-game lead over the reigning two-time champs.

Through much of the game, the teams kept trading runs and the lead back and forth. The Dodgers held 1-0 and 4-3 leads, while the Brewers took a 3-2 edge at one point. In the bottom of the fifth, Contreras struck with a game-tying home run and Milwaukee took control of the game after that.

An inning after his homer, Contreras hit a go-ahead single. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers got in on the action in the ninth, each recording RBI hits to help Milwaukee put the game away.

A large part of the reason they were able to do that is that the Brewers’ bullpen completely shutdown the Dodgers. After putting up four runs in four innings off starter Logan Henderson, LA not only didn’t score against Milwaukee’s bullpen, they didn’t manage a baserunner over the final five innings.

Another key for Milwaukee was that they knocked out Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto after just 2.2 innings. After dominating last postseason, Yamamoto had to leave this game early after laboring for 75 pitches in less than three frames. Bauers did some damage, drawing a walk after 12 pitches, immediately before a big hit by Christian Yelich.

American League Championship Series Game 1

Cleveland Guardians 7, Tampa Bay Rays 3
(Guardians lead series 1-0)

The Guardians proved that it is possible to record more than one hit off Drew Rasmussen, as they drew first blood in the ALCS with a win on the road in the Trop.

The Rays got out to a very quick start. Junior Caminero and Johnny DeLuca each recorded RBI singles in the first inning, as Tampa Bay started with a 2-0 lead. However, those would be their last runs for quite a while, as Cleveland worked their way back into the game.

Rasmussen continued his run of shutout innings from the ALDS, but the Guardians eventually broke through. In the sixth, Chase DeLauter got him for a homer to get Cleveland on the board. An inning later, Patrick Bailey led off the frame with another home run, also knocking Rasmussen out of the game.

After slugging out their first two runs, the Guardians eventually got the lead thanks to their customary “Guardsball.” After José Ramírez got the eighth inning started with a single, DeLauter came up with a big double to set things up. Nathaniel Lowe then popped in a single to score both runners and give Cleveland their first lead of the day.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cedric Mullins led off with a home run to get one of those runs back. However, the Guardians only added to their lead further in the ninth. Ramírez and Jo Adell each came up with RBI hits as Cleveland put up three runs to take a commanding lead. The bottom of the ninth then took just seven pitches as the Guardians closed out the win.