Dramatic end to Trent Grisham’s year after such a pedestrian regular season, eh? He was elevated to the leadoff spot in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Rays as Aaron Boone tried to jolt a snoring October offense. It did not work, making Grisham a flashpoint in the post-sweep disappointment.
Grisham, who has numbers against Rays starter Nick Martinez and owns a discerning eye for the strike zone, was supposed to get on base in front of Ben Rice, who was most of the pinstriped thunder in the playoffs. Big damage would follow.
But Grisham went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, including a whiff for the final out of the final Yankee game of 2026. Rice was on deck, helpless as a one-run loss – and a season – ended.
Now Grisham heads into free agency coming off very different circumstances than last year, when the Yanks extended him the $22.05 million qualifying offer and he took it. What’s his fate now?
Should Grisham, who played 259 games in center field over the past two regular seasons for the Yanks, plus 12 more in the playoffs, stay or go?
WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP GRISHAM
It was easy to dream on Grisham after 2025, when he had 34 home runs, 74 RBI and an .811 OPS, all career bests. On the Yankees, only Aaron Judge hit more homers and walked more that year. Grisham’s short lefty stroke and ability to hit the ball hard seemed a snug fit for Yankee Stadium’s right-field porch.
Grisham has never been a high batting average guy, but his strike-zone control jacked up his on-base percentage that season to .348, a career-best for a full season that the Yanks could at least hope represented a late-20s breakout. He was a center fielder who had won Gold Gloves in 2020 and 2022 with San Diego.
But Grisham, who turns 30 on Nov. 1, could not repeat that success in 2026. In 121 games, he had 18 home runs and 59 RBI. His slash line sagged to .211/.308/.395. His OPS tumbled 108 points to .703, below the MLB average of .719.
Still, the Yankees could reason that it was just a down year and that there’s more in his tank. Grisham’s expected batting average was down only three points from 2025 and his expected slugging indicated he could’ve expected bigger results, based on the quality of contact he made.
Grisham was hampered by two stints on the injured list with hamstring issues. Could the Yanks re-sign Grisham theorizing that they can expect a reasonable amount of production from him while they see how much they’ll get from youngsters such as Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez? Can Jones or Cody Bellinger be the regular center fielder?
In the losing clubhouse after Game 3, Grisham said, "I love the people here. I love playing here." At the very least, Yankee fans seem to appreciate a certain level of want-to when it comes to playing in the Bronx. Is that meaningful here?
WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LET GRISHAM GO
Here are the Yankee outfielders for 2027, at least so far: Judge (duh), Bellinger, Heliot Ramos, Jones and Domínguez. Grisham just crowds it.
Aug 13, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) runs out a single against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
It’s only a sample of 86 regular-season games and five more in the playoffs, but Jones probably earned a regular role after notching a .742 OPS, 11 homers and 10 steals. He seems to know he’s got things to work on, too. He’s athletic and can run and throw and maybe the Yanks should see if he can handle center field. Perhaps he’s the left fielder if Bellinger slides over.
Domínguez has not been able to seize a job and had a .635 OPS in 57 games this year. He has not been a good defensive player. But he’s only 23 years old. Isn’t it time to find out for real whether he can be the big deal he’s always been purported to be?
For what Grisham was in 2026, it’s not worth rostering him and potentially blocking anyone else. Defensive metrics did not love Grisham’s work in center field this year. When he was a leadoff hitter this year, his rate stats were worse than his overall production.
He’s also a left-handed hitter. As an offense, the Yankees probably could use more right-handed balance.
VERDICT
Go.
This one seems pretty easy. It’s time to find out what’s on the roster already. And if the Yankees deem they need outfield help, there are intriguing free agents who could help the offense.
Randy Arozarena (.865 OPS) and Seiya Suzuki (26 homers) are right-handed corner options. Tyrone Taylor, who hit .351 after the Mets traded him to the Cubs, is another righty option who would fit as center-field insurance and do-it-all fourth outfielder.
Grisham came to the Yanks as part of the pre-2024 season trade that brought Juan Soto to the Yankees. They got a player who eventually took over center field and gave them one very good year, but now he’s likely bound for a new baseball home.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 15: David Hamilton #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning during Game Four of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Is everything in baseball actually about the Red Sox, even when it’s not about the Red Sox? Somehow I feel like the answer is yes.
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers last night to complete a four-game sweep of the NLCS and reach their first World Series since 1982. The first out of the game came on an outstanding play at shortstop by Mookie Betts. The first runs of the game were scored off Dustin May, who entered the game in the second inning, after Shane Drohan opened things up for the Brewers. And the Brewers comeback was powered by none other than David Hamilton, who knocked in childhood Sox fan Sal Frelick in the fifth inning, and then iced the game with a solo shot in the 9th. It’s Red Sox all the way down, just as it should be.
Use this space to talk about David Hamilton and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 22: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers stands on the mound during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Globe Life Field on September 22, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 21: J.T. Ginn #35 of the Athletics reacts after the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on August 21, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning A’s fans!
Yesterday, the American League Championship Series resumed with Game 3 after both teams had Tuesday off. Playing in front of their passionate fan base, the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams recorded nine strikeouts over five innings of two-run ball, while center fielder Petey Halpin hit the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers en route to a second consecutive World Series title. This year, the Brewers got revenge, sweeping the Dodgers to return to the World Series for the first time since 1982. It seemed like there would be a Game 5 after Shohei Ohtani’s three-run home run put the Dodgers up 4-0. The relentless Brewersresponded with six unanswered runs before holding on for the pennant-clinching victory.
A small-market team will win the World Series this year for the first time since the Kansas City Royals did in 2015. That shows a well-coached, low-payroll team can perform just as well as a high-payroll team featuring multiple players with expensive contracts.
The Athletics, who popularized the “Moneyball approach”, have much to learn from these three clubs that have all better adapted to the new era. Off the field, the A’s need to invest more in their baseball operations and analytics department. Those staffers play a major role in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles’ annual success.
The Brewers are in MLB's smallest market and rank 19th in payroll, but have one of the sport's biggest baseball ops and data teams.
Additionally, the Green and Gold must improve their major league pitching staff and organizational pitching development, especially after they posted the worst ERA in the AL this season.
Homegrown aces Gavin Williams (Guardians), Drew Rasmussen (Rays) and Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers) have all led their teams’ rotations this October. Meanwhile, the A’s have not developed a homegrown ace since Sonny Gray. Can J.T. Ginn, Gage Jump or Jamie Arnold take that mantle next season, or will the team keep relying on a rotation full of middle-and back-end starters?
What is your favorite moment in Athletics history?
Dallas Braden lost his mom to melanoma when he was in high school, and his grandmother Peggy Lindsey helped raise him in Stockton. For a long time he wanted nothing to do with Mother's Day.
On Mother's Day 2010 he threw a perfect game against the Rays. Twenty seven up, twenty… pic.twitter.com/uyTOReccwW
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) October 14, 2026
Should the A’s acquire Andre Pallante from the St. Louis Cardinals to bolster their starting rotation?
This is the type of pitcher the A's should be targeting this winter. https://t.co/Ad03b7lvDK
The Athletics last made the ALCS 20 years ago. Will the drought end next year, or will it last until the franchise’s Las Vegas era begins?
Game 4 of the 2006 ALCS! The A’s were down 3-0 to Detroit…Yet started out hot, banging in 2 runs during the 1st, showing hope to keep the season alive! 🔥
After a thrilling game, Detroit took the sweep when Ordóñez hit a walkoff 3-run bomb in the 9th inning with two outs…💔…
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers jogs around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning friends and happy Friday!
Yesterday brought plenty of MLB postseason excitement. Let’s get to all of that and more.
MLB Postseason scores…
The extraordinary happened: The Dodgers were swept at the hands of the Brewers in a 6-4 comeback victory. The Brew Crew advances to their first World Series in 44 years where they hope to capture their first-ever pennant.
Rookie outfielder Petey Halpin was the hero for the Guardians in yesterday’s 3-2 win over the Rays, hitting the go-ahead homer with a bat flip to match. The Guards lead the series 2-1.
HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: Seth Lugo #67 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on Thursday, September 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Michaela Schumacher/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Last season, the Royals faced a crossroads with Seth Lugo. As they approached the trade deadline, there was healthy debate over whether the Royals should trade Lugo and try to acquire younger talent, or whether they should keep him to finish the year and bring him back for 2026. Just a few days before the trade deadline, the Royals and Lugo reached a deal on a two-year, $46 million extension with a vesting option for another year at $23 million per year. Lugo was going to remain a Royal.
Lugo’s performance dipped significantly after he signed the extension, but he also pitched with a back injury for a while before being shut down by the team. The hope coming into the season was that he was healthy and would be able to help lead the Royals back to the playoffs on the strength and depth of their starting pitching. His 2024 season was spectacular, but it was unrealistic to assume he would get back there production-wise. Still, an ERA around four while picking up the ball every fifth day would provide the value the Royals paid for in his contract.
The veteran started the season hot. Through April, Lugo sported a 2.63 ERA with a nearly 3:1 K:BB ratio. It looked like the back issue might have been all that held him back, and that bringing him back was the right decision. For the rest of the year, however, Lugo alternated between being a back-end starter or 2005 José Lima. Here are his remaining ERAs by month:
The right-hander did miss some time in June on the concussion – IL after getting struck in the forehead by a Brandon Nimmo fastball. Given the bump that appeared on his head, it’s a miracle that the injury wasn’t worse than it was. Besides that, Lugo was quite healthy this year, tossing 172.1 innings. Unfortunately, he had a 5.17 ERA over those innings.
Lugo has been an “out-pitching-his-peripherals” guy in previous seasons, but this year he actually had a 4.38 FIP, which was better than his 2025 FIP of 5.09. In some ways, he had the inverse of his 2025 season: an okay ERA and bad FIP last year, but a bad ERA with okay FIP this season. I don’t really know what to make of that, but I ask that we all be consistent in our arguments. If you are a “Lugo can out-pitch his peripherals consistently” kind of guy, please don’t turn around and argue, “But his FIP was better this season!”
The veteran really struggled against lefties this season, surrendering an .874 OPS against opposite-handed batters. That OPS mark would have led all Royals batters this season. His curveball, four-seam fastball, and sweeper were all terrible against lefties this year, combining for -32 runs of value against southpaws alone. They also represented 46% of his usage against lefty batters. Compare that to two years ago, when Lugo’s fastball held its own against left-handed hitters while his curveball was worth +8 runs, and it’s clear that something has changed in his ability to fool hitters, particularly lefties, and keep them off balance. Whether Lugo can find that again or we are watching an aging player rage against the dying of the light remains to be seen.
It will be interesting to see how Lugo is deployed next season. If Lugo throws 162.2 innings next season, his 2028 option will vest at $20 million. If not, it becomes a $17 million club option. The Royals have a $3 million buyout if Lugo’s option doesn’t vest and they don’t want to pick up the club option.
If Lugo pitches as he did in 2026 next year, the Royals may want 2027 to be his last season. Of course, if he throws as many innings as he did in 2026, his 2028 salary is guaranteed. Kansas City doesn’t have a stable of starters lined up for 2027, so I expect Lugo will be one of the starting five and not shifted to the bullpen. There could be tension between the team and the player next year if it’s August and Lugo has a 5-run ERA and is closing in on his innings limit. For now, this is just something to monitor, but I don’t love seeing financial incentives that could put a team and a player at odds over his playing time.
As it stands right now, I think the Royals would have been better off trading Lugo last season versus bringing him back for this one, but I admittedly don’t know what was on offer. What I do know is that Lugo was able to pick up the ball every fifth day, but he was also part of the Royals’ pitching problems this year that led to the second-worst ERA in the American League. The starter comes across as a real craftsman, and I have no doubt that he will work on his issues against lefties in the offseason. I wonder if that will be enough, or if we all witnessed the beginning of the end of Lugo’s career as an effective starter.
Next month, I’ll begin my usual “Cubs free agent target” series, as well as writing a few articles about potential Cubs trade targets.
For now, I’d like to continue this series that’s been taking a look at 2026 Cubs who are going to be free agents.
Tyrone Taylor came over from the Mets as part of the deal that brought Clay Holmes to Chicago. While Holmes did okay, most of the time, Taylor performed the duties he was asked exactly as expected.
He was brought in to back up all three outfield positions and to hit against left-handed starters. He did both of those jobs quite well.
In 30 games for the Cubs, Taylor batted .351/.390/.500 (26-for-74) with eight doubles, a home run and three stolen bases in 82 PA. That’s a really good showing. Overall in 2026, Taylor batted .318/.348/.573 (35-for-110) against left-handed pitching with 10 doubles and six home runs. (I was unable to split out how many of the 82 PA for the Cubs were vs. RHP. It wasn’t many, to my recollection.)
These numbers were quite a bit better than Taylor’s career numbers vs. LHP. In several previous seasons, he played a lot more than he did in 2026, when he had 241 PA (341 in 2025, 345 in 2024, 405 in 2022).
This suggests that perhaps Taylor has found a role he’s good at. Not only did he hit well, but he played excellent defense.
The only drawback is that Taylor isn’t young. He’ll turn 33 in January. He still appears to have all those skills intact and I would think he could be useful for the Cubs for another year or two. Taylor also played for Craig Counsell for five years in Milwaukee, so the Cubs manager is quite familiar with him. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Counsell lobbied for Taylor to be acquired from the Mets.)
It’s really the first time in a while that the Cubs have had a fourth outfielder this good. Mike Tauchman did okay in that role for a while, but Taylor is better defensively. And as a right-handed hitter, he can give PCA a breather in center field every once in a while. PCA played in all 162 games and led MLB with 726 plate appearances. He seemed to be running out of gas at the end of the season.
Taylor made $3.8 million in 2026. He had a very good year as that fourth outfielder. Would you give him a two-year, $8 million deal? I would. Or would it cost a bit more? Still worth it, in my view.
Los Angeles, CA - October 15: Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws to the plate against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning of Game 4 of a NLCS playoff baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
When a team as talented as the Dodgers gets swept in a four-game series, there are so many things that have to go wrong for that to happen—even in Game 4 alone, you could probably point to several mistakes, letdowns, and a bit of bad luck as to why the result went the way it did. In the middle of that, one might focus on Tyler Glasnow as the latest of the noteworthy Dodgers to perform well below their normal standard, leading to this series exit.
All the pressure that was not there with Glasnow during the regular season, as this team has been able to routinely play it safe with his many injury problems, was stored for this one moment. The reigning back-to-back champs were vulnerable; they needed one dominant outing from a starter who has the stuff to shut down any lineup any time. Despite early glimpses of it, Glasnow came nowhere close to it.
Contrary to every other game in this series, the Dodgers were able to give their starter a significant lead early on. What was lacking when Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell pitched was given to Glasnow, as Los Angeles hoped to stave off elimination. That pressure to be absolutely perfect wasn’t necessary after just two innings, as the Dodgers put up a four-run lead in the second.
Nearly as important as the early offensive breakthrough, Glasnow looked unhittable through three perfect innings—the Dodgers’ starter struck out two batters in each of the first three frames, bullying an offense that had been giving Los Angeles pitching all sorts of trouble.
A theme of these four games was that all that seemed excruciatingly difficult to achieve for the Dodgers came with relative ease for Milwaukee. While it felt like the Dodgers had to dig deep inside for those four runs in the second, Glasnow went from complete control to getting battered by a Milwaukee offense in the blink of an eye.
It began as it so often does with Glasnow on the mound: a walk, the first of the game to Brice Turang; then came two bullets for extra-base hits, and just like that the Dodgers’ lead was cut in half. And it still could’ve been fine had Glasnow settled in after finishing the inning, but he just generated an even bigger mess in the following frame, again starting with a walk. By the time his line was done, he was responsible for four runs, unable to hold on to an early lead.
For the whole series, you’ve seen me come here and focus on the offense’s struggles over anything else, from underwhelming pitching by a starter and/or relievers, but here things were different. Sure, stopping at four with nothing to show for it from the third inning onward is regrettable, but Glasnow had what no other Dodger starting pitcher had in this whole series, and he squandered it. Excruciatingly, he did so in the worst possible way, twice setting the table for a scoring inning with a free pass.
When the Mets sent prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to the Brewers ahead of the 2026 season, Freddy Peralta was undoubtedly the headliner of the package they got in return. With Peralta heading for free agency after the season, though, conventional wisdom at the time of the trade was that the Mets did well to get then-27-year-old Tobias Myers from Milwaukee alongside Peralta, as he’d been quite good in his time in the big leagues and was under team control for several years to come.
Peralta’s struggles with the Mets were far more noticeable given his prominent role in the rotation, but coming off two seasons in Milwaukee that saw him put together a 3.15 ERA and a 3.92 FIP across his time working as a starter and a reliever, Myers was quite disappointing this year, too.
In just 53.2 innings at the major league level with the Mets this season, Myers had a 5.53 ERA and a 4.65 FIP, both of which were the worst single-season marks of his relatively young major league career by wide margins. And the Mets’ handling of Myers, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in late May and spent the rest of the season bouncing between Syracuse and Queens, probably didn’t help him very much.
While the expectation that Peralta would be the team’s ace based on his 2025 ERA always seemed a bit foolish, it is concerning that both pitchers who fared well over the course of multiple seasons in Milwaukee took such significant steps in the wrong direction upon joining the Mets.
As for Myers, well, he’s still under team control through the end of the 2030 season, but the Mets used his final option year this year, which means he’d have to be designated for assignment to be removed from the 40-man roster in 2027, assuming there’s a season. Given that reality, Myers seems to be a lock for the team’s Opening Day roster, barring the acquisition of a slew of relievers that pushes him so far down the depth chart that the Mets would either look to trade him or risk losing him on waivers.
All of that seems pretty unlikely given the players who are in the organization at the moment. It would behoove the Mets to figure out what went wrong for Myers this year, though, and maybe he’ll just fare better without having to worry about getting sent to the minors at the first sign of trouble or whenever it’s convenient for the Mets’ never-ending desire to churn the last couple bullpen spots of their roster.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It is always a difficult decision once your team is knocked out of the playoffs. Do you root for the team that knocked your team out to go all the way or do you stop watching altogether.
This season was certainly an exception if you were a San Diego Padres fan who decided to continue watching the MLB playoffs as no fan of the Padres would want to see the Los Angeles Dodgers advance to yet another World Series. The moment San Diego was knocked out of the postseason by the Milwaukee Brewers and it was determined the National League Central champions would be taking on the Dodgers the Friar Faithful adopted the Brewers as their team, at least in the NL.
Milwaukee made San Diego and likely many fans around baseball happy when the Brewers took Game 4 from the Dodgers by a final of 6-4, completing a four-game sweep of baseball’s Goliath. For Padres fans, it was bittersweet. You have to love seeing the Dodgers eliminated, but you have to wonder what might have been. If just a few things in the NL Division Series had gone differently, San Diego could have been the team to “slay the dragon,” but that was not to be.
The Padres will have to wait for another opportunity to reach the precipice of the sport and they are hoping that comes in 2027 with new owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones saying they are all-in to bring a championship to the City of San Diego. What that means and what it will look like is unknown, but under a first-year manager and with a constricted operating budget to build a team in the 2025-26 offseason, the Padres built a team that came up just short. There is work to be done, but there is reason to believe San Diego is closer than ever to reaching its ultimate goal.
Padres pitcher Michael King will have the opportunity to test free agency should he choose to do so and Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball says the Padres should lock him up if he does.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 25: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees makes a fielding error in the ninth inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Over the last few years — ever since the 2024 World Series, to be honest — the Yankees have had a reputation for defensive sloppiness. In truth, that is a tad overstated: as mentioned earlier this week, when we previewed the Yankees’ defensive highlights from the 2026 season, the team has finished in the middle third of the pack, according to most defensive metrics, in each of the past three seasons. Nonetheless, even the most optimistic of us (and I certainly count myself among that group) cannot deny the fact that the Yankees have repeatedly stuck their foot in their mouth over and over. And so, in an exercise in catharsis, let’s look back at some of the worst of the worst errors, misplays, and miscues from the 2026 season. We won’t be ranking them, because they all frustrate me in all sorts of different ways, but don’t let that stop you: let us know what you think about our list in the comments section below!
You know a defensive miscue is bad when the broadcaster in the opposing dugout says, “What on Earth is he doing?” Well, that’s exactly what happened to Jazz Chisholm Jr. back in April, as the second baseman took forever to throw the ball, allowing the speedy Otto Lopez to reach on an infield single to start the frame. While, ultimately, it didn’t end up costing the Yankees anything other than some damage to David Bednar’s ERA, as the team still wound up winning 9-7, this type of mistake is, in my opinion, among the most frustrating — this should have been an easy out, and yet, it wasn’t.
Following his strong start to his big league career, George Lombard Jr. did his very best to erase all goodwill toward him by making errors in six consecutive games — no easy feat. Of these, the final one, from August 27th, is the one that sticks with me the most. First of all, not only does Lombard boot the ball, but then José Caballero, who catches the ricochet, compounds the problem by airmailing first base instead of just eating it; the damage was already done, there was no need to make it worse.
I was at this game — in fact, I was out on the terrace when the play occurred, so I have a fairly unique vantage point. To some extent, it feels a tad unfair to put this on the list. While it’s hard to see on the video, the fly ball was hard to track, as it was knuckling in the wind (if you recall, this was the CC Sabathia game, which was moved from Saturday night to Friday afternoon due to inclement weather — and even then, hours before the storm hit, the wind was beginning to blow). Spencer Jones then slams into the outfield wall hard, with a very loud thud that made me actually a tad concerned about a potential injury. Then, it bounces in the worst possible direction, i.e., towards center field, and thus, away from the player responsible for backing up Jones. Last, and certainly not least… honestly, it was kind of cool. I had never seen an inside-the-park home run in person before, and now, the only things left on my baseball bucket list are to see a no-hitter, perfect game, and a cycle.
Still, an inside-the-park homer is an inside-the-park homer. No matter my own personal feelings, it belongs here.
When we reviewed the team’s best highlights, we took a look at José Caballero, who as the team’s Swiss Army Knife played literally every position on the diamond outside of pitcher, catcher, and first base. And while he was never quite a liability at any position…well, spending so much time bouncing around the diamond does result in a fair number of errors scattered around the diamond. We already saw one of his misplays at the hot corner above, so let’s check out some of his miscues elsewhere.
While playing the keystone on September 25th — the same game as the above inside-the-park homer, in fact — Cabby botched a ground ball, then simply couldn’t find it, thus allowing the run to score.
Back in May, he allowed the speedy Chandler Simpson to reach on this error that, uh, I’m not quite sure exactly how he managed to send the ball scurrying in that direction.
In August, he made two errors on the same play, bobbling the ball on the transfer trying to turn two, then throwing the ball low so that it skips away from Luis García Jr. (to be fair, García probably should’ve had that, but still).
Playing some center field on June 21st, he fields a grounder that went under the glove of Chisholm, then proceeded to throw the ball over everyone’s head when Spencer Steer tried to stretch it into a double, allowing the leadoff batter to reach third on what should have been a routine groundout up the middle.
Superstar Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers were swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy had just watched his club dismantle Los Angeles for a fourth straight National League Championship Series game. Standing with his team in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse, he was ready to celebrate. But before popping his champagne and setting off a stream of celebratory suds, Murphy had a message.
“They got a bunch of Hall of Famers. We got a bunch of gamers.”
Murphy had nailed the Dodgers to the wall, ending the season of a juggernaut who came into 2026 with eyes on becoming the first NL team to win three straight World Series titles.
The Dodgers are dead, and instead, it’s Milwaukee who made history, becoming the first team to avenge an NLCS sweep by returning the favor against that very same team, the very next season.
Making history, it seems, is a theme with these Brewers, who racked up a franchise-best 103 wins during the regular season, and have now dethroned a team who seemed a shoo-in to become baseball’s first true dynasty since the millennium.
Milwaukee transformed LA into a team of ghosts, and no more so than in Game 4. With the desperate Dodgers bidding to wake up the echoes with a 4-0 lead, the Brewers went to work. And again, it was Jake Bauers who broke LA’s back. In Game 2, Bauers tortured Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto with an epic 12-pitch walk that sparked a key rally. In Game 3, there was an epic 11-pitch at-bat, this time against two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, concluding with a franchise-defining home run. In the fourth inning of Game 4, Bauers struck a double against starter Tyler Glasnow, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in half. An inning later, Bauers – the journeyman infielder who paused his retirement and returned this season because he needed health insurance for his soon-to-be newborn – drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Garrett Mitchell’s sixth-inning solo home run gave Milwaukee a lead that would hold up. An old-school, three-inning save by Aaron Ashby was the chef’s kiss.
Now Milwaukee will head to their first World Series since 1982. There will be plenty of time to ply the Brew Crew with pixelated plaudits as they await their American League opponents, the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians. First, though, comes the funeral.
The tight, young, dynamic and fundamentally sound Brewers made Los Angeles’s best look old, flat and incapable. And while it all seems somewhat sudden, perhaps the writing was on the wall all along.
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The Dodgers, the team who have everything, lack for nothing and have more money than Davy Crockett, won 100 games this season, but were just 38-37 against teams above .500 and hit into an MLB-worst 128 double-plays. In ways, they looked more like another expensive but deeply flawed coastal superpower: the New York Yankees. The Bronx bombs also beat up on lesser opponents all season long while struggling against higher-end teams. It’s no coincidence that both teams are now out; baseball has a way of weeding out the suckers, even in what some believe is a “crap shoot” of a postseason.
Perhaps the most shocking spectacle was the undoing of the sport’s most prolific figure, Shohei Ohtani. The best two-way player in baseball, inside his category of one, showed signs of breaking down in the latter portion of the season. First injuries forced him to stop pitching. Then he went homerless from late August until Thursday. Ohtani said it was only his ability, not injuries, holding him back, but he was dropped to sixth in the batting order for Game 3, and that doesn’t happen to an elite player in his prime unless there are issues. In the seventh inning of Game 4, with Kiké Hernández 90ft away from tying the game at five, Ohtani waved at an Ashby slider that was closer to Fresno than the Dodger Stadium home plate. Ohtani, the four-time MVP, wasn’t alone. Former MVP Mookie Betts hit light; former MVP Freddy Freeman hit even lighter. The lineup, collectively, hit for a .590 OPS in the series, while the pitching was uneven at best.
After the game, manager Dave Roberts, who was out-skippered by Murphy all series, told Fox that “the great thing about what we do is, you can try as much as you want, want it as bad and there’s nothing you can do about it. There’s nothing guaranteed.”
And that, it seems, gets to the heart of where we are with the Dodgers and where we may be with baseball: nothing, at all, is guaranteed. Not even after signing Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz in the offseason for a combined $309m. Not even after trading for Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal at the deadline. And not after writing $340m worth of checks. The Dodgers’ payroll is more than the combined payroll of the Rays, the Guardians, and the Brewers, the club that sent home “the team that destroyed baseball”.
And so the Dodgers, always in the headlines, leave us with all sorts of questions. The most straightforward: how will they respond and retool? The bigger questions: can critics say they destroyed baseball when the Brewers and their 19th-ranked payroll just destroyed them? Is baseball, a game that involves both skill and luck and always keeps us guessing, really some kind of utopian paradise where paupers can actually compete for prizes against princes? Are high payrolls and all-star laden rosters the most important metrics when it comes to who can compete for a title? How much can a smart, deliberate team brass make up for small budgets? In other words: who can find the gamers, when they can’t afford the Hall of Famers?
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 11: Andrew Friedman, President of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, speaks to the media prior to game one of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on October 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers 2026 season has ended, so it’s now time to focus on what figures to be a tumultuous offseason with the Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement expiring on December 1. But before we get to the lockout, there are still roster decisions to be made, so let’s see how the Dodgers look at the start of their offseason.
The season ended with six Dodgers players on the 60-day injured list and thus 46 players on the 40-man roster. The morning after the World Series ends, that number will be reduced to 37, with nine players set for free agency.
Free agents (9)
Tarik Skubal
Miguel Rojas
Kiké Hernández
Kris Bubic
Eric Lauer
Alex Vesia
Evan Phillips
Blake Treinen
Brusdar Graterol
Because Tarik Skubal was traded midseason, he is ineligible to be tendered a qualifying offer, so the Dodgers won’t receive draft pick compensation should he sign elsewhere. Same for Kris Bubic and Eric Lauer, but they weren’t going to get a qualifying offer anyway. Miguel Rojas retired after 13 seasons as a player, and already has a spot waiting in the Dodgers front office, with a focus on player development.
The qualifying offer is a one-year offer, derived from the average of the top 125 salaries in the league that year. This offseason’s qualifying offer will be $23.15 million, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, up 5.11 percent from $22.025 million last year.
The Dodgers have no player or club options heading into the offseason, but let’s first look at the players under contract.
Per the collective bargaining agreement, the present value of the deferred salary for a season must be fully funded by the second July 1 following said season. So for the $68 million earned by Ohtani in 2026 that will be paid in 2036 must be funded by July 1, 2028. Payroll for competitive balance tax purposes accounts for all deferrals, converting them into net present value and averaged over the life of the contract. For Ohtani, his CBT payroll number is just over $46 million.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract prior to the 2024 season. He received all of his $50 million signing bonus in 2024, and lower salaries in the first three years of the deal, hence the $12 million salary in 2026. That bumps up to $26 million for each season from 2027-29. The right-hander can opt out of his contract after either the 2029 and 2031 seasons or 2031 and 2033, depending on whether or not he experiences certain injuries and misses a certain amount of time.
Mookie Betts prior to the 2020 season signed a 12-year, $365 million extension that started in 2021 and runs through 2032. His contract fits the rubric of many Dodgers contracts to follow, with a large signing bonus ($65 million, 17.8 percent of the total) as well as a sizable amount of deferred salary ($115 million, 31.5 percent). For both 2026 and 2027, Betts has a $25 million salary, of which $10 million is deferred, plus he gets $5 million of his signing bonus, for a total paid of $20 million in each of these two seasons.
Kyle Tucker’s four-year, $240 million contract included a $64 million signing bonus, of which $10 million will be paid on February 1, 2027. His salary for 2027 is $54 million, minus $10 million deferred. He can opt out of the final two years of his contract after the 2027 season.
Blake Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract included a $52 million signing bonus that was all paid in 2025. The remaining $26 million per year includes $13.2 million deferred each season, leaving Snell with $12.8 million per year. Snell’s contract also includes a conditional 2030 club option with $10 million depending should he suffer a qualifying injury.
Tommy Edman signed a five-year, $74 million contract ahead of 2025 that included a $17 million signing bonus already paid. His salary in both 2026 and 2027 is $12.25 million, of which $6.25 million is deferred annually. The Dodgers hold a $13 million club option on Edman for 2030 that includes a $3 million buyout.
Edwin Díaz last December broke his own record for highest average annual salary by a relief pitcher with his three-year, $69 million contract. In 2027, Díaz has a $23 million salary, of which $4.5 million is deferred.
Tanner Scott’s four-year, $72 million contract runs through 2028. His $20 million signing bonus is split evenly over the four years of the contract. Scott in 2027 has a $15 million salary, of which $5.25 million is deferred, plus $5 million of his signing bonus.
Teoscar Hernández has a $14.5 million salary for 2027, of which $8 million is deferred, and the Dodgers have a $15 million club option for 2028 with a $6.5 million buyout. That’s $21 million in guaranteed money should the Dodgers try to trade Hernández and open up an outfield spot for Josue De Paula.
Max Muncy had a base salary of $10 million in 2026, then played in a career-high 149 games and batted 561 times. Incentives in his contract added $2.25 million to his base salary in 2026 ($15,000 for every plate appearance from 401 to 550), and also added $3.75 million to his 2027 base salary ($20,000 for every 2026 PA from 401 to 500, $35,000 for every 2026 PA from 501 to 550). Muncy’s contract originally called for a $7 million base salary in 2027 (now $10.75 million), and the Dodgers have a $10 million club option in 2028 with a $3 million buyout.
Hyeseong Kim is under contract for $3.75 million in 2027, and the Dodgers have a two-year club option for 2028-29 at $5 million in each season, with a $1.5 million buyout if declined.
All told, the 14 players under contract have a total competitive balance payroll of roughly $339.5 million for 2027. The caveat here is we don’t know if the competitive balance tax will remain in the current format with a new collective bargaining agreement, or if it will even exist at all. But that’s what the Dodgers have on the books for now.
Player
Pos
Age
Service
2026 salary
2027 proj.
Options (used)
Brock Stewart
RHP
35
5.093
$1,300,000
$1.8 million
0 (’16-‘19)
Jake Cousins
RHP
32
4.091
$950,000
$1 million
1 (’22,‘24)
Alex Call
OF
32
3.161
$1,600,000
$1.9 million
2 (2024)
Emmet Sheehan
SP
27
3.063
$810,000
$2.1 million
1 (’23,‘25)
Gavin Stone
SP
28
3.034
$810,000
$1.2 million
2 (2023)
Andy Pages
OF
26
2.155
$800,000
$4.9 million
1 (’23,‘24)
The salary projections above are from MLB Trade Rumors. We’ll dive deeper into each case in the offseason, just like we did last January. But for now, if those projections hold, that would add six players for a guaranteed $12.9 million. Added to the players already under contract, that’s 18 players for about $351.4 million for competitive balance tax purposes.
Andy Pages is eligible for arbitration as a Super Two player, a player among the top 22 percent in service time for players with at least two but not yet three years of service time. It takes 172 days to accrue a full year of service time. Alex Call was a Super Two player last offseason.
If this were a normal offseason, the date for players and teams to exchange salaries for arbitration would be Friday, January 8, 2027. But MLB will almost certainly be in a lockout by then. In the 2022 season, some salary arbitration hearings were held well after the regular season began.
Player
Pos
2027 age
Service
2026 salary
Options (used)
Bobby Miller
RHP
28
2.119
$800,000
1 (’24-’25)
Kyle Hurt
RHP
28
2.057
unknown
1 (’24,’26)
Ben Casparius
RHP
28
2.016
$800,000
2 (2024)
Jack Dreyer
LHP
28
2.000
$810,000
3 (none)
Roki Sasaki
SP
25
2.000
$800,000
3 (none)
Edgardo Henriquez
RHP
25
1.164
$790,000
2 (2025)
Justin Wrobleski
SP
26
1.150
$790,000
2 (2024)
Dalton Rushing
C
26
1.138
$790,000
3 (none)
Seth Halvorsen
RHP
27
1.137
unknown
2 (2026)
Hunter Feduccia
C
30
1.095
$782,000
1 (’24-’25)
Will Klein
RHP
27
1.081
$790,000
2 (2024)
Landon Knack
RHP
29
1.079
unknown
0 (’24-’26)
Alex Freeland
IF
25
1.004
$782,500
1 (’25-’26)
Paul Gervase
RHP
27
0.059
unknown
1 (’25-’26)
Eliezer Alfonzo
C
27
0.054
$780,000
2 (2026)
Josue De Paula
OF
22
0.017
$780,000
3 (none)
Ronan Kopp
LHP
24
0.000
unknown
2 (2026)
The major league minimum salary in 2026 was $780,000. The 2027 minimum salary hasn’t yet been determined, but will certainly be a part of the next collective bargaining agreement. The 22.7-percent raise from 2021 to 2022 (the first year of the current CBA) was the largest such negotiated increase in nearly two decades.
October28-November 1: At 6 a.m. PT the morning after the World Series ends, players with at least six years of service time and/or at the completion of their contracts become free agents.
November 2-6: Five days after the World Series ends is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to players. It’s also the end of the “quiet period” of free agency, during which players can only sign with their former team.
November 17: 1 p.m. PT deadline for players to accept qualifying offers
November 17: Reserve lists filed (prospects added to 40-man roster)
November 20: Tender deadline
Josue De Paula would have been added to the 40-man roster by that November 17 deadline to avoid getting plucked in the Rule 5 Draft, but he was already called up in September. Players drafted or signed at age 19 or older in 2023 or players drafted or signed at 18 or younger in 2022 are newly eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this December. Dodgers top pitching prospect Christian Zazueta, signed by the Cubs out of Mexico in 2022, will need to be added to the 40-man roster by November 17. Zazueta has won the Branch Rickey Award as the Dodgers minor league pitcher of the yearfor two years running, and he just turned 22 last week.
Another potential addition is Jackson Ferris, a former top Dodgers pitching prospect drafted by the Cubs in 2022 who struggled for most of 2026 before a sublime final five weeks.
The collective bargaining agreement expires at 8:59 p.m. PT on December 1, after which the owners will lock out the players. But there’s still about a month that could be quite busy on the hot stove before the sport gets shut down for the winter.
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 14: Troy Melton #52 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 14, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Friday, everyone! As we continue our way through the postseason and get closer to knowing which two teams will be headed to the World Series. In Tigers news, we look at a positive outlook for young pitcher Troy Melton, and in broader baseball news, we look at some players coming in clutch for their teams in the postseason.
Plenty to share to get your Friday underway, so let’s just get right into it.
Detroit Tigers News
Very positive news for the Tigers and for Melton.
Tigers RHP Troy Melton, whose season ended in mid-September with forearm tightness, went thru follow-up evaluation. No issues found, according to team. He’s beginning a normal offseason workout routine.
The league-wide batting average this postseason is .212. The average fastball is 96.2 mph. Hitting is hard. In the postseason, it's Sisyphean. To better understand why, we spoke with Joey Votto and Alex Bregman, two of the purest hitters of this generation, for their insight. pic.twitter.com/F47YD2dcU8
Sep 30, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (24) celebrates after a win against the Atlanta Braves after game two of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Yesterday, our topic of discussion was what is your own worst-case scenario for what the Phillies will do this offseason. Today, we’re going to try and envision a scenario where everything goes right, or at least as right as possible.
Like we mentioned yesterday, the Phillies have their work cut out for them. The free agent market is weak, but the Phillies should have plenty of money to use on it to find whatever upgrades are possible. They will be freeing up close to $40M in dead money with the contracts of Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker alone coming off the books. Add in the likely subtraction of José Alvarado’s $12M and Alec Bohm’s $10M salaries, and the Phillies will likely be around $50M under their 2026 payroll commitments after arbitration. Through all of their faults, the team has yet to waver on its commitment to operating with a payroll around the top five highest in MLB. Until they signal that is no longer the case, you should feel some confidence that they will spend somewhere around or at least equal to the $290M they featured at this season’s end.
The Phillies desperately need upgrades and some new life, but they also have a good core to work with. Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo are both ace level starters that are locked up long term. Zack Wheeler is still under contract for one final season. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, no matter what you may think of their peak abilities at this stage of their careers, were still top 15 hitters in MLB by OPS this season. The rest of the lineup needs major improvements, but those two are two very good starting points. The bullpen was a mess, but Jhoan Duran was one of the best closers in baseball, and he is still under contract through 2028. You can debate what that group’s ceiling is, but they have a very high floor, provided of course there are no devastating injuries which are admittedly a risk with some of the ages involved. A perfect offseason would involve finding the right additions to raise that floor.
Finally, perhaps the biggest reason for optimism heading into next season is the resurgence of Andrew Painter. the young right hander returned from a demotion to Triple-A in late July and looked like a new pitcher, capping off his season with a tremendous showing out of the bullpen in the postseason. Perhaps Painter isn’t capable of becoming the pitcher he was pre-Tommy John surgery, but he showed enough last season to have one hopeful that he can still be a good piece for the future.
So, what is your best-case scenario for the Phillies this offseason? What free agents would satisfy you? Any particular trades that you’re set on?
