Category: Baseball

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

No. 33, Sammy Peralta (0.0 rWAR)

Sammy Peralta has played for five different organizations, including two different stints with two teams, since being drafted in the 18th round of the 2019 draft by the Chicago White Sox.

The Rockies became a short stop on Peralta’s MLB journey in 2026 as the 28-year-old reliever made two appearances for Colorado, neither of which went especially well. He recorded a 10.13 ERA in 2.2 innings with two walks, two hit batters and four strikeouts. After 84 days as a Rockie, a tenure that included yo-yoing back and forth from the big leagues to Triple-A Albuquerque.

The Rockies picked up Peralta, who made his MLB debut in May of 2023, on April 4 after the Milwaukee Brewers designated him for assignment. He went straight to Albuquerque before being called up for three days in late April without seeing any action with the Rockies.

After another three weeks with the Isotopes, Peralta was called up again and made his purple debut as an opener against the Texas Rangers at Coors Field on May 19. It didn’t go as planned, however, as Peralta didn’t even make it out of the first inning. He walked the first batter, got a pop-up out and then hit the next batter. He then gave up a single, a double and a walk as the Rangers went up 2-0. He then got Alejandro Osuna looking for his first strikeout with the Rockies to end his first outing.

The Rockies went on to lose the game 10-0. Colorado sent Peralta back to Albuquerque two days later.

By June 7, he was back in Colorado, and made his second appearance on June 11 against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. This time, he entered the game in the eighth inning. The Rockies were already down 8-3 when Peralta gave up a solo homer to Carson Kelly. However, Peralta also registered three strikeouts, including Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ. He also got Pete Crow-Armstrong to ground out.

But that was the last appearance Peralta would make for the Rockies. He was optioned to Triple-A the next day and designated for assignment on June 21. He cleared waivers and opted for free agency, inking a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels on June 27.

Peralta then made two stints with the Angels to finish out the 2026 season, pitching 20.1 innings over 14 appearances with a 6.20 ERA. He finished 2026 with decent numbers for the Isotopes, posting a 5.06 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, going 7-1 in 21 appearances (two starts) with 24 strikeouts compared to seven walks. Peralta is now playing for the Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican League, where he’s played in the past as well.

Peralta has had similar seasons with the White Sox (2019-2024, break, 2024 again), Seattle Mariners (2024), Angels (2025, 2026) and Brewers (2025-2026). A lot of relievers come and go from the Colorado Rockies bullpen and Sammy Peralta became another name on that list in 2026.

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Before we begin looking ahead to 2027, OTM is looking back at 2026, diving into the highs and lows of the roster. Today, we look at a midseason addition to the bullpen.

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2026 In a Nutshell

Miller was acquired at the trade deadline in exchange for Marcelo Mayer. With that return, the expectations for Miller were high. The lefty reliever met them at first, dominating over his first 14 appearances. After the honeymoon period, he struggled down the stretch, allowing six earned runs over his final five regular-season appearances and retiring just two of the five hitters he faced in the Wild Card Series.

The Good

Miller’s end of season performance probably left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, but there’s a lot to like about the lefty going forward. His combination of velocity and horizontal movement from his arm slot is unique, creating a really difficult look for lefties. Those factors combined for a massive ground ball rate and miniscule hard hit rate against the pitch. He also features a wipeout slider that pairs well with it and returned a huge swining strike rate, fueling his 33% strikeout rate against lefties. Those two pitches will allow him to match up favorably against left-handed hitters going forward.

The Bad

Miller has control problems. At the time he was traded to the Red Sox, he had a 15% walk rate in 38 games with San Francisco. Upon his arrival in Boston, he simplified his approach by eliminating his four-seam and changeup from his arsenal. In his first 11 games, he walked just 3 of the 46 hitters he faced (6.5%). Unfortunately, it didn’t last. In the month of September, he walked 9 of 39 (23%). In the postseason, the walks didn’t show up, but he left a sinker over the heart of the plate to Ben Rice that ended up in the bleachers. While it was in the zone, which is often a problem for Miller, it was decidedly not where he wanted to throw it.

The next day, he surrendered a base hit to Cody Bellinger that extended the Yankees’ lead. Miller got crushed for giving it up on back to back days, but I’ll stick up for him and say that one was a perfectly fine pitch, and Bellinger put a good swing on it. That’s baseball.

The control issues are a problem, though, and I can’t defend those.

Weird Fact That I Stumbled Upon In The Writing Process That Doesn’t Really Fit In Any Of The Usual Buckets

Miller was called upon in the fifth inning of both games one and two of the Wild Card Series. In both games, he entered with two outs. In game two, he entered with runners on first and third. During his time with the Red Sox, the only time he entered a game in the middle of an inning was his first appearance, back on August. In every other appearance he made for the team (19 games), he was given a clean inning.

That’s not at all an excuse for the performance, but it is interesting to note that he spent all of August and September pitching in clean innings, and then was put in a new situation in the postseason. I don’t know if that matters, but it’s food for thought.

Best Game or Moment

Miller didn’t have any signature moments, but he was dominant for a time. He threw two scoreless innings in the 13 inning game against the White Sox, striking out three hitters in the process. In late August, he struck out the side on 13 pitches to send the game to extra innings.

The Big Question

Is his control problem fixable? The Red Sox have had success at getting historically wild pitchers such as Aroldis Chapman and Tyron Guerrero in the zone, but couldn’t do the same for Jordan Hicks. If they can get Miller throwing strikes consistently, he’ll be dominant.

Something stuck with me over the last two months that I never actually got around to looking into, until now. I’m a regular listener of the Effectively Wild podcast on FanGraphs, with Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley, and in August they did a stat blast that happened to involve the Dodgers.

A listener wondered what was the longest succession of the same first name batting consecutively in a starting lineup, and it turned out to be the 1988 Dodgers who topped the list. In two different games, the Dodgers had these four players batting in order, fifth through eighth:

• Mike Marshall, first base
• Mike Davis, right field
• Mike Deveraux, center field
• Mike Scioscia, catcher

Four straight players with the same first name is the record, so let’s look into the two games in question from 38 years ago.

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Rainouts are so rare at Dodger Stadium, that the preemptive rescheduling in August 2023 due to a tropical storm was the first schedule change due to rain in Los Angeles in 23 years, the longest such streak in major league history. The previous record without a rainout was also at Dodger Stadium, between rainouts in 1988 and 1999.

But in 1988, the Dodgers had three home rainouts in a row, from April 19-21 against the San Diego Padres. Then on Friday, April 22 the Dodgers’ opener in San Francisco was also rained out. Figuring out when to make up that Friday game was a sore spot for the Giants, due to a right provided players in the collective bargaining agreement. From Sam McManis at the Los Angeles Times:

It began even before the first pitch, when a vote of Dodger players overturned the Giants’ plans for making up Friday night’s rainout on Monday night–originally a day off for the teams. Since teams are not required to come to the ballpark for more than 20 consecutive days, the Dodgers could–and did–veto the plans of Giant General Manager Al Rosen. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader in July.

“It’s difficult for me to understand why a team that had four days off can invoke the 20-day rule,” an indignant Rosen said. “Seems to me they would want to go back to work.”

The Dodgers would make up the Friday rainout on July 26, and won both games of that doubleheader.

But for the Saturday, April 23 game, it was Mike Marshall who stood out. He walked and scored in the seventh inning, and singled in the eighth. In the ninth inning, the Dodgers were up 6-3 with two outs and runners on second and third base. Giants manager Roger Craig intentionally walked Pedro Guerrero to bring up Marshall.

One year earlier, also in San Francisco, Craig walked Guerrero in the 10th inning and Marshall responded with a game-winning three-run home run, then pointed into the Giants dugout as he rounded the bases.

But on April 23, 1988, Marshall was more muted when he crushed a grand slam, widening the Dodgers’ lead to 10-3. More from McManis in the LA Times:

“I don’t blame any manager for walking Pete,” Marshall said. “He’s one of the top five hitters in the National League. It’s important that I do the job, because batting in the fifth slot is important on this team. The most important thing is that, next time, maybe Pete will get to hit.”

Also in this game, Mike Scioscia singled three times and walked, and scored three runs, the latter matching his career high.

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Mike Davis did not get in on the hitting party in that April 23 game, going hitless in five at-bats, with three strikeouts. After hitting 65 home runs in the previous three seasons with the A’s, Davis signed with the Dodgers before 1988. This was a different time in baseball, such that free agency was barely more than a decade old, and the Dodgers for the most part avoided free agency entirely between the disastrous signings of pitchers Don Stanhouse and Dave Goltz after 1980, until 1988.

Davis hit just .216/.279/.315 with a 75 wRC+ in his two seasons with the Dodgers, and he never played in the majors again after his age-30 season in 1989. But he’s also etched in franchise lore for working a walk off the stingy Dennis Eckersley in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, keeping the game alive for Kirk Gibson to do his thing.

Devereaux was a fifth-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 1985 out of Arizona State, and he played in 49 games for Los Angeles in 1987-88 combined. He only started 16 times for the Dodgers, including just five starts among his 30 total games in 1988. Two starts were these games to complete the consecutive Mike quartet.

The Dodgers traded Devereaux in March 1989 for another Mike, pitcher Mike Morgan, the former No. 1-overall draft pick who debuted in the majors at 18 and pitched for a dozen teams during his 22-year career.

Devereaux was 0 for 4 on April 23 against the Giants, then was 0 for 2 on May 1 at home against the St. Louis Cardinals before Franklin Stubbs pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning. Stubbs, more known as a first baseman and occasional corner outfielder in his career, remained in the game for Devereaux in center field, one of 32 career games for Stubbs in center.

In fairness to Devereaux, no Dodgers did much of anything in that May 1 game.

The Cardinals jumped on Tim Leary for six runs in the first inning and he was done after only two outs.

Meanwhile, John Tudor didn’t allow a hit in his six innings. He did walk Alfredo Griffin, he of the low 4.6-percent career walk rate, in the first inning and Devereaux reached on an error in the second. But Tudor got everyone else out, including retiring 13 in a row to finish out his six innings, and exited up seven runs.

Tudor was in his second start coming off the injured list, so the Cardinals were cautious.

“I knew I wasn’t going nine before the game,” Tudor said, per McManis in the LA Times. “But I guess at that point, it was my choice. I could have gone another inning, but I didn’t see the point. I was starting to feel a little stiff.”

“He’s an All-Star, a quality pitcher,” said Steve Sax, per the UPI game recap. “He’s gonna have days like that. We’re just not hitting right now, but the worm will turn.”

Even with the April injury, Tudor will still effective on the mound, and was leading the National League with a 2.29 ERA on August 16, when the Dodgers acquired the 34-year-old left-hander for star hitter Pedro Guerrero. Tudor allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his nine regular-season starts with the Dodgers, then allowed four runs in five innings in his lone NLCS start, and walked off the mound in the second inning of Game 3 of the World Series with an elbow injury that would eventually require Tommy John surgery in the offseason.

Back in that May 1 game, Scott Terry followed Tudor with a scoreless outing of his own to earn a three-inning save. Any chance at a combined no-hitter ended when Kirk Gibson greeted Terry with a single to open the seventh inning. But that was it for the Dodgers other than a Danny Heep walk in the eighth in a 9-0 loss.

The Mike quartet combined to go 0 for 11, but the rest of the team was just 1 for 17.

That was the last time a major league team started four players in a row with the same first name.

On Monday, we kicked off my favorite annual tradition ‘round these parts: the Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, in which we, as a collective, will rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization.

The introductory post served not just to lay out the rules and regulations, but also to nominate the first group of names for us to vote on. I think we all know who is going to earn the coveted title of No. 1 prospect now that Bryce Eldridge has moved on to higher-paying pastures, but we still need to vote! It’s that time of year, after all, and we respect the democratic process around here.

Voting will take place in the comment section this year. I will leave a list of the players to vote on in the comments, and you can click the “rec” button on the name you wish to cast your vote for. And while you’re in the comment section, stump and debate!

No. 1 prospect nominees

JacobBresnahan — 21.4-year old LHP — 2.92 ERA/4.32 FIP in High-A (98.2 IP); 5.06 ERA/3.60 FIP in AA (16 IP)

BoDavidson — 24.3-year old OF — .861 OPS/122 wRC+ in AA (315 PA); .923 OPS/138 wRC+ in AAA (234 PA); .714 OPS/100 wRC+ in MLB (22 PA)

JacksonFlora — 21.5-year old RHP — 0.00 ERA/3.41 FIP in Low-A (1 IP); great numbers in a small sample in the playoffs (Low-A and AA)

JosuarGonzález — 19.0-year old SS — .966 OPS/139 wRC+ in the ACL (122 PA); 1.010 OPS/151 wRC+ in Low-A (153 PA)

LuisHernández — 17.10-year old SS — .917 OPS/117 wRC+ in the ACL (228 PA); .594 OPS/48 wRC+ in Low-A (98 PA)

JhonnyLevel — 19.6-year old SS — .968 OPS/134 wRC+ in Low-A (217 PA); .836 OPS/119 wRC+ in High-A (331 PA)

RamonMarquez — 21.1-year old RHP — 1.86 ERA/2.67 FIP in Low-A (29 IP); 2.48 ERA/2.45 FIP in High-A (40 IP)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page.All stats are from the 2026 season.

In the cinematic classic that is Pokemon: The First Movie, there is a scene where Mewtwo and his clone army face off against the heroes and their pokemon companions. The pokemon and their clone counterparts engage in an epic battle with neither side claiming a clear advantage. The battle rages on for an eternity until eventually both sides just collapse from exhaustion.

That is how I picture the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers right now after playing 12 incredibly strenuous innings last night in game four of the 2026 World Series.

Tampa Bay came out victorious, stalling out the Brewers World Series hopes for at least one more night.

Now, they’ll have to do it all over again.

Who will be on the mound for the Rays?

Nick Martinez was the scheduled starting pitcher but after entering last night’s game in relief, delivering two scoreless innings, he might not be available to start tonight’s game for more than 1-2 innings, and that’s assuming he’s good to go.

Following the game last night, Kevin Cash said it will be all hands on deck and we know that each Rays pitcher would be willing to throw. However, realistically, Cash’s options are a lot more limited.

The Brewers offense has been relentless in grinding down the Rays pitching staff, forcing the hurlers to inflated pitch counts. The two most well rested arms for Kevin Cash to turn to will be Cleavinger and Steven Matz; Matz has made two appearances in the World Series, last pitching on Monday when he threw 17 pitches.

#Rays Cash said staff would meet last night to discuss Game 5 pitching options:
5 didn't pitch Tuesday: Cleavinger, Matz, Sulser, Peralta (87 pitches Mon.), Rasmussen (89 Sat.).
Pitches for who did: Jax, 74; Kelly, 12; Martinez, 33; Baker, 21; Wells, 24; Booser, 9; Seymour 32

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) October 28, 2026

Tampa Bay may also call upon potential game 6 and 7 starters Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta to help cover some innings. Drew Rasmussen told reporters that “I’ll be smoking hot” and both starters will need a bullpen day before their scheduled starts. It might as well be tonight!

The pitching plan is obvious for Milwaukee.

They’ll be sending the eventual National League Cy Young to the mound, Jacob Misiorowski.

However the Jacob Misiorowski of the postseason has not been the same dominant force of the Summer. His triple digit fastball isn’t generating as many whiffs and his command of his slider has been off leading to an inability to quickly put hitters away and driving up his pitch count.

Thus far in three postseason outings, Misiorowski is averaging under 5 innings a start with strikeout rate dropping to 25.5% compared to 37.9% during the regular season. During his start in game one of the World Series, Misiorowski allowed a run on 4 hits, while he walked one and struck out three over five innings pitched; the three strikeouts were the fewest he had in any start of 2026 and since striking out three Cubs in the postseason last year on October 11th, 2025.

Concluding thoughts

The Rays offense, despite walking it off last night, has been abysmal all postseason. They are currently averaging 3.5 runs a game and have a 68 wRC+, while the Brewers have a 110 wRC+. The World Series has seen the Rays unable to draw walks (4.2 BB%) or hit for power as they are collectively hitting .195/.236/.256 with only one homerun. For the Rays to have any chance of making a historic comeback, the offense needs to wake up.

There is also uncertainty regarding Junior Caminero who suffered a thus far undisclosed injury during the game last night. It looks like he might have gotten hurt during the play in the 4th inning, in which Caminero avoided a tag from David Hamilton. Later in the game, Caminero noticeably had difficulty making it up the line on a groundout. Then in the 12th, he also was seen in pain as he reached base on an error. He was still able to race to third base on Liam Hicks’ basehit but was then removed for Cedric Mullins.

Caminero told reporters that he would play in game five, but given his injury situation it may make things tricky for Kevin Cash in terms of a defensive lineup.

There are a lot of important decisions to be made between now and first pitch later tonight.

Since he was called up in 2023, Jake Irvin has been an ever-present in the Nats rotation. He has been a durable arm, tallying 595.1 innings since he got called up. In the first half of the 2024 season, Irvin flashed middle of the rotation potential. However, he has been on a downward slide since then.

Irvin has posted an ERA well over 5 in each of the past two seasons. As the Nats look to take the next step, Irvin may not be a fit in the rotation anymore. While Irvin is durable and seems like a great guy off the field, the results just have not been there. He has been plagued by home run problems and has been unable to capture that early 2024 magic.

From 2005-20, the Nationals had only 1 pitcher with 100 IP and an ERA over 5.50 (Ramon Ortiz in 2006).

Since 2021, they've had 9:
Patrick Corbin (2021-22, 2024)
Erick Fedde (2022)
Trevor Williams (2023)
Mitchell Parker (2025)
Miles Mikolas (2026)
Jake Irvin (2025-26)

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 26, 2026

Jake Irvin will be arbitration eligible this offseason entering his age 30 season. That means Paul Toboni will have to make a decision about whether to keep Irvin around. Honestly, there are cases for both sides, which I will break down.

According to the MLB Trade Rumors projections, bringing back Irvin will not exactly break the bank. He is expected to make around $3.4 million next season if the Nats tender him a contract. That is not nothing, but it is not some huge number either.

Nats arb number projections are out and topped by CJ Abrams at $10.2 million. Other notables are Jake Irvin and Jacob Young as first-timers. https://t.co/QbDQqVBUg3pic.twitter.com/jP5STvKBBa

— Nats.Talk (@TalkNats) October 2, 2026

While the last two years have not been pretty, I think there is a path for Irvin to be worth this much and maybe even a bit more. Irvin posted a 5.48 ERA this season, but he did generate more swing and miss. He struck out 110 batters in 106.2 innings, or 9.28 K/9. That is by far the best mark of his career. For context, he only struck out 6.20 per 9 in 2025.

Irvin had plenty of issues in 2026, but his curveball was extremely effective. Batters hit just .161 against the pitch with a 34% whiff rate. It is an unusual curveball that moves a lot like a sweeper. Irvin’s curve has always been solid, but it was better than ever in 2026.

Jake Irvin, Wicked 78mph Curveball. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/s4fTSbNtM1

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2026

His 4-seam fastball also generated pretty good results. Batters hit just .242 with a 23.6% whiff rate against that offering. That is not elite, but it is a rock solid mark, especially for a 93 MPH fastball. Those two pitches worked well for Irvin, the issue is that everything else was very bad.

Hitters absolutely teed off on Irvin sinker, with a .338 average and .676 slugging percentage. He also struggled to find another secondary pitch to complement the curveball. His cutter and sweeper were not very good, while his changeup flashed, but he only threw it 7.8% of the time. 

Another aspect of Irvin’s game that is problematic is his velocity fluctuations. He often started games throwing in the 94-96 MPH range pretty consistently. However, by the time the third inning rolled around, he would be sitting between 90-93. 

A lot of these characteristics lead me to believe Irvin would be better off in a bullpen role. It would allow him to throw harder and shrink his arsenal. I think Irvin could be a solid middle reliever who leans heavily on his 4-seamer and curveball.

However, is a guy who could be a decent middle reliever worth $3.4 million? I am not so sure about that. With how the past couple of years have gone, I am not very high on Irvin as a starter. He will post every 5th day, but on a team that has real aspirations, I don’t think he will be effective enough.

This will be an intriguing decision for the Nats early this offseason. I actually think Irvin has some talent, but it is unlikely to work as a starter. The Nats also have a plethora of multi-inning relief options. In my opinion, Irvin is surplus to requirements at this point, but it would not be unreasonable to tender him a contract.

There is no doubt that one of the biggest weaknesses for the Royals in 2026 was the bullpen. Royals relievers had a 5.07 ERA overall, second-worst in baseball, with 26 blown saves and a league-worst 6.65 ERA in the ninth inning. J.J. Picollo acknowledged it as a top priority in his end-of-the-year press conference, when he indicated that the “bullpen is going to be a focus for us” in the offseason.

It might be tempting to take a shortcut and splurge in the free agent market to upgrade the pen. But the Royals have tried that before. Before the 2024 season, Picollo signed free agent relievers Will Smith and Chris Stratton, paying them a combined $13 million. In 2024, they pitched in 102 games, combining for a 5.98 ERA.

Ah, but maybe the problem was that they were shopping in the bargain bin? Let’s look at all of last year’s top free agent relievers who signed for $7 million or more and how they fared.

The results are pretty mixed. Of the 14 pitchers, I think you can say Tyler Rogers, Luke Weaver, Raisel Iglesias, and Gregory Soto were unqualified successes, while the rest either had injury issues or were ineffective.

The two World Series participants, the Brewers and Rays, do not have a single member of their bullpen who was signed as a Major League free agent aside from Steven Matz, who was signed as a starter. Instead, the found quality relievers through a number of different avenues – the draft (Ian Seymour, Aaron Ashby), international signings (Abner Uribe), minor league trades (Garrett Cleavinger, Chad Patrick, Trevor Megill, Grant Anderson), major league trades (Bryan Baker, Tyler Wells, DL Hall, Antonio Senzatela), cash considerations (Cole Sulser), minor league deals (Cam Booser), and the Rule 5 draft (Kevin Kelly).

The Brewers and Rays illustrate a different way to build a bullpen. Rather than paying a premium for established relievers, they assembled their relief corps through a variety of avenues, giving them more chances to find undervalued talent. Not every acquisition works, of course, but spreading the risk across several pitchers makes it easier to absorb a miss without having an expensive contract clog up the bullpen.

Of the top 50 relievers with the lowest ERAs last year, only seven were originally acquired by their team as a major league free agent – Aroldis Chapman, Taylor Clarke, Raisel Iglesias, Yuki Matsui, Tyler Rogers, Tanner Scott, and Luke Weaver. Free agent relievers tend to be old, and older relievers tend to be less effective. In 2012, Bill Petti and Jeff Zimmerman at FanGraphs found relievers “age more dramatically than starters.” Their velocity drops, their strikeout rates decline, and their walk rates rise.

Relievers also tend to have volatile performances on a year-by-year basis. Petti also found reliever performance was much more erratic on a season-by-season basis than for starters. Craig Edwards at FanGraphs looked at the bust rate for relievers in 2017 and found that while elite relievers tend to meet projections, “merely ‘good’ relievers had more trouble.” Relievers have smaller samples of performance to evaluate, leaving open the possibility that a few bad outings or plain bad luck can turn a promising season into a disappointing one. That makes it risky to pay a premium for a reliever based on one strong season, particularly when projecting how he’ll perform over a multiyear contract.

Instead, smaller-market clubs should value flexibility. If a free-agent reliever on a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal endures a rough stretch, a team can find itself stuck with him, reluctant to eat the remaining salary or risk losing him for nothing. But if the bullpen is populated by lower-cost pitchers, the team has more options. A struggling reliever with minor-league options can be sent down to work things out, while another can be released without leaving a significant financial hole. The club can cycle through arms until it finds the right combination, giving opportunities to younger pitchers or taking a chance on someone else’s castoffs.

Of course, this approach isn’t without drawbacks. Cheap relievers are cheap for a reason, and a bullpen built entirely from unproven arms can become a revolving door of ineffectiveness. There is something to be said for coaching and pitcher development, areas in which the Rays and Brewers have excelled in for a long time. The Royals need to be on the cutting edge of development as well. They need to find enough quality among those lower-cost options to build a reliable group while reserving the biggest investments for pitchers who offer a meaningful advantage over the alternatives.

For the Royals, this may mean cultivating in-house options that show signs of success, like Steven Cruz and Nate Pearson, and supplementing them with pitchers acquired through other means. Picollo suggested the team will look at pitchers who provide a variety of “different looks” or “different stuff,” giving hitters a wide range of arm angles, pitch shapes, and velocity profiles to contend with.

That could mean trying more pitchers like Jose Cuas, who throws from different arm angles. It could mean trying more pitchers like Carlos Durán, who excels with a slider, but struggle with command. It could mean trying more pitchers like Nolan Hoffman, who throws from a lower arm angle.

But it is clear that the solution won’t come exclusively from spending lavishly on free agents. The Royals have already tried that approach, and it hasn’t consistently produced the results they need.

“We plan to be aggressive in acquisition,” J.J. Picollo said at his end-of-season press conference, before cautioning that he didn’t want that to be mistaken for being “aggressive in payroll.” He noted that the Royals ranked among the top five teams in bullpen spending over the previous three seasons, but the results have been mixed.

The lesson isn’t that the Royals should stop spending on relievers, but that spending more money doesn’t necessarily translate into a better bullpen. They need to be more effective at identifying which pitchers are worth investing in, while continuing to look for value, and maintaining flexibility. It shouldn’t take much to upgrade an awful bullpen. But the Royals need to get to the top of the league if they want to return to the postseason.

The second 2022 first-round pick to debut for the Braves this season, Owen Murphy got less of a chance than JR Ritchie to make an impression, not making his debut until July 6 and getting just five appearances spanning 12 innings.

How Acquired

Murphy was the 16th overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft with the Braves’ first first-round draft pick, 19 picks ahead of their selection of Ritchie in Competitive Balance Round A. The right-handed pitcher from Riverside, Illinois signed for $2.55 million, well below the $3.41 million slot value, electing to pass on his commitment to Notre Dame.

What were the expectations?

Murphy was somewhat of a slow riser through the minors. He debuted in rookie-ball in 2022 but didn’t reach Double-A until 2026, in part because of Tommy John surgery in June 2024 which kept him out for most of the 2025 campaign. He was excellent upon his return, posting a 1.19 ERA, 2.29 FIP and 2.94 xFIP over seven starts and 30 1/3 innings between the FCL Braves and Rome in 2025, with 34 strikeouts and just six walks.

He started the season as Battery Power’s fourth-ranked prospect in the organization, and was getting fringy rotation regular grades (e.g., a 45+ FV from FanGraphs). That said, he wasn’t really thought of as a guy that could immediately jump in and help in 2026, as the general timeline saw him as a 2027-ish debut.

2026 Results

But, he made his debut in 2026 anyway, and it was a promotion that was at least partially driven by necessity. Martin Pérez was placed on the IL when he was hit by a comebacker amidst a(nother) cursed run of starter injury luck, and Murphy was the next guy up. Given those circumstances, it wasn’t clear what exactly the Braves should have expected from Murphy. But, as noted, they didn’t have too many options.

Prior to being called up, Murphy wasn’t exactly thriving in the minors, with a 4.44 ERA and 4.67 FIP across 16 starts (11 of them at Triple-A). With that said, he was certainly improving as the season went along, with an ERA and FIP in the low 3.00s in the even outings before his callup.

With all that said, major league debuts don’t get much more intense than Murphy’s, when he was tasked with pitching the 10th inning of a game against the Mets on July 6. He was unable to do get the job done, retiring the first two batters before hitting a batter and giving up a two-run double. The Braves got one run back in the bottom of the inning, but lost by a score of 7-6.

He was much better in his second appearance, delivering three perfect innings with three strikeouts. But over his final three outings spanning one July start and two September relief appearances, he gave up 16 hits and eight runs (seven earned) over eight innings.

The right-hander finished with a -0.3 fWAR, a 7.49 xERA, 6.93 FIP and 5.37 xFIP over 12 innings.

Murphy was a Triple-A All-Star, with a 3.07 ERA (66 ERA-), a 4.23 FIP (90 FIP-) and a strikeout percentage of 24.2% in Gwinnett.

What went right?

While walks have been an occasional problem throughout Murphy’s time in the organization, they were not his issue at the major league level this season. He walked just three batters in 12 innings for a 5.4 percent walk rate. He also had a 34.7% chase percentage, which is borderline elite. Those two things probably went hand-in-hand: Murphy pounded the zone, so he got a lot of swings, even at non-strikes.

His pitches also all showed pretty good shape — which is probably a necessity given his lack of velocity.

Murphy’s lone unequivocally good outing came when he threw three innings while the Braves were down three runs. He breezed through the Cardinal lineup, basically getting a mix of easy flies and strikeouts. Unfortunately, the Braves weren’t able to mount a comeback.

What went wrong?

While Murphy did miss quite a few bats, the contact against him was loud when he wasn’t inducing whiffs.

His barrel percentage (11.6 percent), average exit velocity (92.4 mph) and hard-hit percentage (48.8 percent) were all well above the major league averages. This led to a situation where his four-seamer had a .333 xwOBA-against, but his other three offerings were in the no-go zone of at least a .400 xwOBA-against.

A lot of this can be tied to a total lack of command, as all of his secondaries were pretty much all over the place, and the fastball was “in the zone” without Murphy showing any real ability to keep it out of scary areas. Even the slider, which he at least had the idea of consistently locating on a corner, ended up over the plate — and the curve’s location was just a big mess.

All of this culminated in a very high fly ball rate, and four homers in his last three outings, as batters found it exceedingly easy to pull the ball in the air on pretty much all of his offerings. That’s what Luis Torrens did to hit that game-winning double in Murphy’s MLB debut, and it just continued further from there.

2027 Outlook

The more Murphy pitched for the Braves, it became more clear he wasn’t quite ready to stick at the major league level.

That makes this offseason, with that experience under his belt, a critical one for his future. Assuming there is baseball in 2027, the state of the Braves’ pitching staff health will likely provide Murphy another opportunity to pitch at the major league level.

He turned 23 in September, so time isn’t anywhere close to running out yet. But after four of his first five major league appearances came out of the bullpen, this could be an offseason to define his role.

If his command gets to “playable,” his offspeed stuff can start missing more bats, and his walks stay down, could he be a reliever even if his fastball velocity isn’t elite for a right-handed pitcher? You don’t want to bail on him as a starter yet, especially after he’s been good at that role in the minor leagues since returning from Tommy John, but early returns in the majors weren’t great. The Braves might want to wait until he really shows an ability to dominate the minors before giving him another shot… but their hand might be forced by injuries, as has happened repeatedly over the last few years. Hopefully, Murphy has made some improvements by then.

SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes opens the mailbag to answer Mets questions about Tarik Skubal, Bo Bichette, the bullpen, and more...

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Assuming Tarik Skubal will be the Mets’ biggest move this offseason (he said hopefully), what do you predict will be their second biggest move this offseason? It can be either a player type (a 1B, another SP, etc.) or a specific name if you have one. – Supremeinteligencia on Threads

First of all, I received a few versions of this question, so consider this my answer to all variations (@BelieveMetsBlog, this means you and your question about signing both Skubal and Holmes, too!)

I do not know exactly how Steve CohenandDavid Stearns view Skubal’s role in their offseason at this moment, but what I have gleaned from conversations is the following: Stearns and his like-minded colleagues in the front office will be reluctant to give Skubal a long-term deal, but they also anticipate that Cohen will push for it anyway. Skubal meets their biggest need. They have more long-term payroll flexibility than it seems -- and more flexibility after next year than other contenders who might jump in but be deterred by a potential salary cap. Skubal just makes sense here.

Still, I think Stearns and Co. have to – and will, unless Skubal signs immediately – conduct their offseason in a way that assumes they will not get him. To me, that means pursuing other impactful starting pitching additions in one form or another. So my guess for the biggest non-Skubal addition to the Mets roster is a solid starting pitcher, but I think that person could take many forms.

If Clay Holmes opts out (as expected) and Michael King opts out (not impossible with two years and $50 million left on his deal), I think the Mets will likely pursue both or either. People I’ve talked to on both sides believe Holmes is open to a reunion for the right deal, but for Holmes and King, the usual Stearns caveats apply: If they are looking for years upon years in their next deals, instead of high average annual value, he probably will not give them.

But if the Mets sign Skubal and still need to add, I could see them pursuing a similar deal to the one they made for Peralta this year, plucking a proven guy about to hit free agency away from a team that will not pay him. Joe Ryan from Minnesota, Nick Martinez (big mutual option in Tampa), Drew Rasmussen (also potentially big option in Tampa), George Kirby and others fit this profile. I do not know exactly how the Mets feel about any of those players in particular, other than Derek Falvey’s experience with Ryan in Minnesota should mean they can make an informed decision about his ability to survive New York. But I think even if Skubal signs, another biggish-name starter could still be on the way.

That said: Don’t rule out Teruaki Sato as a big addition. Stearns went to see him in Japan firsthand as soon as the Mets' season ended. You don’t make that trip if you aren’t seriously considering making a push for him.

What is your read on Bo Bichette's decision? If he opts in, will they still be willing to spend? And if he opts out, what’s their plan? - @UncIeSteveCohen

My read – and it is truly just my read, because no one has said anything to me definitively – is that Bichette will opt in. I say that for a few reasons, one of which is as simple as he did not look like a player saying his goodbyes when he left Washington on the last day of the season. Plus, that day, both Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor spoke like they expected to have him back more than simply hoped for it. But reading into things like that is risky and certainly is not enough to say anything for sure.

The other evidence I have is that people around the Mets – so people who spend time around the team daily but are not necessarily in decision-making capacities to know first-hand – also seem fairly convinced Bichette will stay. He has spoken glowingly of Andy Green. He seems to want to prove he can succeed in New York. And frankly, he isn’t going to get anywhere near the average annual value on another deal they gave him on this one. He seemed to settle into the clubhouse down the stretch, much like everyone did. So read into that what you will.

If he does opt in, I still believe the Mets will spend. They do have a lot of financial bloat on the books next year in Kodai Senga's contract, Sean Manaea's deal, Jorge Polanco's remaining $20 million, and Marcus Semien's remaining $46 million. But owners have said that even if the collective bargaining negotiations result in a salary cap, they do not expect it to be phased in for a few years, meaning the Mets have time to clear that bloat before they would have to adjust to any new rules.

Plus, a salary cap might not materialize. Even if it does, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton, and others will be low-cost pieces of an emerging core. This is Cohen. If he sees a chance to win, he will spend. History proves it.

So if Bichette opts out, I think the Mets make a big push for Sato or another corner bat.

If he opts in, I think they still explore Sato as a first base option, then try to decide where Bichette fits best in their infield next year. Top prospect Jefferson Rojas will almost certainly be in major league camp next season, whenever that is. Some people around the Mets believe he fits best at third base. In that situation, could the Mets consider moving Bichette to second? Potentially. But they could also try Rojas or whichever prospect emerges at second to push Semien. Green and Stearns already said Semien will need to hit better in 2027 to receive consistent playing time. So maybe if Bichette returns, the Mets go with an infield of Bichette, Lindor, Semien/Baty/eventually a prospect, and… Sato? Jared Young? Another outside first base option? If Bichette opts in, they have plenty of choices.

Are the Mets looking to add to the bullpen before the lockout? - @JahrellC

Well, as you know, since you are asking this, the Mets definitely have to add to their bullpen. I have not gotten a sense of how much Stearns believes they need in terms of number of guys or how many back-end types, but they have a need there.

The other thing I know for sure is that Stearns is a "do what the market allows" kind of guy. If free agency and the trade market are moving like crazy before the lockout, I think Stearns will make his push accordingly.

In other words, yes, I think they will add bullpen help before the lockout. But what I’m still trying to figure out is exactly how much and what kinds of help they’re envisioning.

Which prospect in Triple-A will help the 2027 Mets first? – indolentrascal on Threads

Great question. Given the way Benge and Ewing impacted the Mets early last year, I bet Stearns will not hesitate to give someone else an early chance, especially if Semien struggles to find himself offensively at second.

My current guess is Rojas. He hit like crazy after he was traded from the Cubs and has looked strong in the Dominican Winter League, which isn’t the big leagues, but is nevertheless a high-profile place to face people who have pitched in MLB.

My sense from talking to people around the Mets is that he is more polished, perhaps, than some of the other infielders. Mitch Voit climbed fast last year and impressed so much defensively that the Mets tried moving him around the infield. Émilien Pitre looks like a very Stearns-y contact and speed guy who could play second in a pinch. Any of them could be the choice to push Semien if he struggles, but I would bet Rojas gets the longest early chance.

Juan Guzman turns 60 today.

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Guzman was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1985. Pat Gillick later traded Mike Sharperson to Los Angeles for Guzman—an easy win for Gillick, who already had plenty of them in his career.

Initially, the Blue Jays believed they were acquiring Jose Offerman, but instead, they landed Juan Guzman. The Jays began using him as a reliever in the minors. Guzman attributed some of his early control issues to pitching only one or two innings at a time, making it difficult to refine his command—a point he may have been right about.

The Jays called up Guzman to the majors in early June 1991, when their rotation was struggling behind the top three of Stottlemyre, Key, and Wells. Dave Stieb was injured, and Denis Boucher didn’t pan out, eventually being traded to Cleveland (with Glenallen Hill and Mark Whiten) for Tom Candiotti and Turner Ward.

Guzman made his debut on June 7 and remained in the rotation for the rest of the season. He excelled, finishing 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA, 123 strikeouts in 138.2 innings, and 66 walks. He limited hitters to 98 hits and was equally effective against lefties (.201 BA) and righties (.193 BA). Guzman finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Chuck Knoblauch. The Jays lost the ALCS to the Twins in five games, with Guzman earning the team’s only win in game two.

Guzman remained in the starting rotation the following year, despite missing most of August with a strained back muscle. He delivered another strong season, posting a 16-5 record and a 2.64 ERA over 28 starts. He struck out 165 batters in 180.2 innings, allowed 72 walks, and held opponents to a .207 batting average. Guzman was selected to the All-Star team and pitched a scoreless inning.

Most notably, during the first of the Jays’ back-to-back World Series wins, Guzman won both of his ALCS starts against Oakland. In the World Series, he started game three, allowing just two runs over eight innings, though he did not factor into the decision as the Jays won in the bottom of the ninth.

In 1993, the Blue Jays repeated as World Series champions, with Guzman playing a significant role. He finished 14-3 in 33 starts, with a then-career-high 3.99 ERA. He struggled with control, issuing 110 walks in 221 innings, and allowed a .252 batting average—still solid, but not as dominant as his first two seasons. Left-handed hitters fared better against him (.282), compared to righties (.223). Guzman was third in the league in strikeouts and even received a Cy Young vote, trailing teammates Duane Ward and Pat Hentgen, while Jack McDowell took the award. Signs of overuse emerged, as Guzman threw 120 or more pitches in 12 games. Cito Gaston was not known for his caution with young pitchers.

He again won both of his ALCS starts, this time against the White Sox, though Dave Stewart earned Series MVP honors for his pair of victories. Stewart allowed three runs in 12.1 innings, while Guzman gave up three runs in 12 innings. Both yielded eight hits; Stewart walked eight and struck out eight, while Guzman walked nine and struck out nine. In the World Series, Guzman started two games, earning a no-decision in a game one win and taking the loss in game five.

Guzman struggled during the next two lockout/strike-shortened seasons, posting ERAs of 5.68 and 6.32 with a combined 16-25 record. He continued to walk more than one batter every other inning and allowed more than a hit per inning.

However, in 1996, Guzman regained his form, leading the league with a 2.93 ERA and finishing 11-8. He significantly reduced his walks to fewer than one per three innings and improved against left-handed hitters (.224 BA).

In 1997, injuries limited Guzman to 13 starts, during which he posted a 4.95 ERA and a 3-6 record. In 1998, he made 22 starts for the Jays before being traded to Baltimore on July 31 for Nerio Rodriguez and Shannon Carter. The trade yielded little return, and Guzman’s stint with the Orioles was brief before he moved to the Reds on July 31, 1999. He made 12 solid starts for Cincinnati, then signed with the Rays as a free agent in 2000. Unfortunately, after just one start with Tampa Bay, he suffered a career-ending shoulder injury.

Guzman’s 10-year career concluded with a 91-79 record and a 4.08 ERA, averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Known for his wildness, he walked too many batters and led the league in wild pitches in both 1993 (26) and 1994 (13). He was slow and deliberate on the mound, struggled to hold runners, and featured a sinking fastball, rising fastball, slider, and curve. Bill Mazeroski once remarked that Guzman had “incredible stuff, and he’s just wild enough for hitters to have that in their minds.”

He was also known for his fabulous Jheri curl.

Happy Birthday, Juan! Wishing you a great day.

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Today, Casey Lawrence turns 39

I have a lot of admiration for Casey. Although undrafted, the Jays signed him after the 2010 draft. He steadily worked his way up the minor league ladder. Since the team hadn’t invested much in him, they didn’t limit his innings, allowing him to gain plenty of experience—a good thing, as long as his arm held up.

Lawrence was someone I kept an eye on in the minors, sometimes ranking near the bottom of our top 40 prospect list or on my ‘just missed out’ list. He was never a top prospect, but he persisted.

Still, if you persevere, good things can happen.

Lawrence reached the majors with the Jays in 2017, though his initial stint was challenging. He was placed on waivers and picked up by the Mariners, pitching a few innings for them in 2017 and 2018. The Twins signed and then released him before the 2020 season, and he never made their major league roster.

The Jays brought Lawrence back before the 2021 season, and he pitched 18 innings for them in 2022. Released in July 2023, he was picked up by the Cardinals and threw 27.1 innings for them that year. In 2024, he pitched for the Mariners’ Triple-A team, making 29 starts with an 11-11 record and a 5.95 ERA.

He pitched an inning for the Jays in 2025 (and 15 innings for the Mariners). Last year he pitched in the minors for the Mariners and Phillies.

In total, Casey has pitched 141.2 major league innings with a 6.42 ERA. He’s also logged 1,872.2 minor league innings l.

Happy Birthday, Casey! Hope it’s a great one.

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Today, Josh Thole turns 40.

He spent four seasons with the Blue Jays, appearing in 170 games and compiling a .200/.275/.248 batting line.

He arrived from the Mets alongside R.A. Dickey (and Mike Nickeas) in exchange for Wilmer Becerra, John Buck, Travis d’Arnaud, and Noah Syndergaard—a trade unlikely to feature on Alex Anthopoulos’ Hall of Fame resume.

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Good morning, baseball fans!

The 2026 MLB Playoffs continue Wednesday night with Game 5 of the World Series between the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, who hold a 3-1 series lead, and the Tampa Bay Rays, who managed to not get swept and hope to stay alive for another game.

The game starts at 5:00 p.m. PT, airing on Fox/Fox One, with national radio coverage available on ESPN Radio.

As of the time this is being written, the Rays have not yet announced a starting pitcher for tonight’s game. Whoever it ends up being will face off against Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who finished the regular season with a 1.80 ERA, 2.17 FIP, with 252 strikeouts to 44 walks in 174.2 innings pitched. His last postseason start was in Game 1 of this series, in which he allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk in five innings.

Personally, I’m rooting for a full seven-game series, as unlikely as that might end up being. So I have to root for the Rays tonight. Because more baseball is better than less baseball.

Who are you rooting for?

In a career that almost never happened after a car accident in his youth nearly cost him his leg, Joe Page’s left arm eventually guided him to the Bronx and championship glory. The journey to get there started in Pennsylvania coal country and would eventually return to the area.

Joseph Francis Page
Born: October 28, 1917 (Cherry Valley, PA)
Died: April 21, 1980 (Latrobe, PA)
Yankees Tenure: 1944-1950

Page grew up in Springdale, outside of Pittsburgh. The eldest of seven siblings, he spent his youth working as a breaker boy sorting coal at the mine where his father worked. With his primary focus elsewhere, Page was not much of a prospect on the diamond during his school years. Then, in 1936, a car accident left him with a compound fracture in his leg and out of sports for a couple of years.

Bulking up while working in the mines during this hiatus helped the lefty add a few extra ticks to his fastball and develop a desire to get away from the coal mines. Seeing his left arm as a ticket out, Page started playing amateur baseball in Pittsburgh. He played for several years before finally impressing Yankees scouts enough to sign with the organization in 1940.

Page then worked his way through the farm system. He started with the Butler Yankees in the Pennsylvania State Association. The following year, he was assigned to the Augusta Tigers in Georgia. In 1942, Page found himself on the doorstep of the big leagues with the Newark Bears, the Yankees’ top farm team. He remained in Newark for the 1943 season, posting a 14-5 record across 28 appearances.

The leg injury that almost cost him his career before it started might very well have been what saved it and got him his big break. Due to the injury, Page was classified as 4-F and was ineligible for the military draft during World War II. In April 1944, the Yankees called him up to the big leagues.

Making an immediate impact, Page won five of his first six decisions. The rookie was selected to the All-Star team, but he came back down to earth as the Yankees faded late in the season. Page ended the year back in Newark, finishing his major league debut with a 5-7 record and a 4.56 ERA across 16 starts and three relief appearances.

The Yankees were without Page to start the 1945 season as he dealt with a sore arm. Returning from the injury, the lefty was mainly utilized out of the bullpen before moving back into the rotation in September. In 20 games, Page went 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA. Manager Joe McCarthy continued to clash with Page over his lack of focus and partying, which had been concerns since his rookie season.

McCarthy and Page kept locking horns until the manager’s exit early in the 1946 season. Page continued to bounce between the rotation and the bullpen, starting 17 games and pitching in 14 more in relief. Across 136 innings, he posted a 3.57 ERA while finishing with a 9-8 record.

Page was moved to the bullpen ahead of the 1947 season. Manager Bucky Harris called on him 56 times, and Page responded with a 14-8 record and a 2.48 ERA. Retroactively, he would be credited with 17 saves while tossing 141.1 innings and setting a then-American League record with 14 wins in relief. Becoming a true relief ace, Page was dubbed the Fireman because he often came into games to put out the other team’s rally. Making his second All-Star team was a bonus, as was helping the Yankees reach the World Series. Page pitched 13 innings across four games on the biggest stage, including the final four innings of Game 7, helping the Yankees take down the Brooklyn Dodgers in that decisive seventh game.

The Fireman kept things rolling to start the 1948 season, leading the league with 55 appearances and making his third All-Star team. However, both Page and the Yankees struggled after the break, and the club missed out on a chance to repeat as World Series champions. Page finished the year with a 7-8 record and a 4.26 ERA.

New skipper Casey Stengel was able to right the ship in 1949. Page posted a 13-8 record and a 2.59 ERA to go along with 27 saves. That was 17 more saves than the next closest individual reliever in the American League and at least eight more than any other AL team. His outstanding season earned him third place in the MVP voting. For a reliever in that era, that kind of recognition was rare. The Yankees took down the Dodgers again in the World Series, this time in five games. Page earned the inaugural Babe Ruth Award as the World Series MVP after winning a game and recording another stellar appearance that would have been a save in the Fall Classic.

Page received the biggest salary ever given to a reliever ahead of the 1950 season, but this marked the beginning of the end. After hurting his hip in May, he struggled all season, posting a 5.04 ERA across 37 appearances. The club opted to leave the veteran off the roster as the Yankees faced the Phillies in the World Series. The guys were able to get it done without him, sweeping their way to another championship.

Before the 1951 season, Page injured his arm. He started the year in the minors trying to work his way back to the big leagues, but the Yankees released him on May 16th. Page kept grinding, and several years later, he briefly made it back to the majors with the Pirates in 1954.

After retiring from baseball, Page managed a couple of bars in Pennsylvania and became a regular at Old-Timers’ Day. Known for his cheerfulness, partying, and close friendship with Joe DiMaggio, Page remained a fan favorite. His final career line included a 57-49 record, 3.53 ERA, 790 innings pitched, 76 saves, and a 7.3 WAR.

Happy birthday, Joe!

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

Colin Rea is exactly the sort of pitcher every team needs.

Colin Rea is exactly the sort of pitcher every team doesn’t really want to use too much.

He’s a perfect guy to be a fifth starter — if you don’t overextend him. “Sixth starter” is probably a better description. Someone like this can go back and forth between bullpen and rotation and be effective in both places. These guys used to be called “swingmen” and they did both jobs throughout a season. Many of you might remember a lefty named Terry Mulholland, who did this very thing quite well for the Cubs in their 1998 Wild Card season.

As is the case with many guys like this, that sort of pitching goes up and down. Both last year and this year, Rea had some very good starts. He also had some outings that made us all cringe.

Overall, he is who he is — a guy who’s in the low 4’s in ERA, can eat up some innings, post a bit less than 1 WAR, and be a good teammate.

Rea was signed to a $4.25 million deal for 2025 with a $6 million option for 2026 (or a $750,000 buyout). Last offseason the option was restructured to a $6.5 million deal for 2026 with a $7.5 million team option or a $1 million buyout.

Rea turned 36 in July. He was barely used after Edward Cabrera left the rotation and David Peterson was returned to it; Rea appeared in just eight of the Cubs’ last 33 games, throwing only 12.1 innings over that span, odd for a guy supposedly available for long relief.

I think his time with the Cubs is done. They can probably find someone on the waiver wire or from non-tenders who can do this sort of thing for less money.

What say you?

It was a strange year for Alec Bohm. He went into his walk year with the full knowledge that the Phillies had tried to replace him with Bo Bichette over the winter and almost did until an eleventh hour offer from the Mets lured Bichette away. It was at least the second straight offseason where the Phillies’ desire to trade or otherwise replace Bohm was an open secret.

Things only got more unusual once the season actually started. Minutes before first pitch on Opening Day, it was reported that Bohm was suing his parents, alleging that the pair mismanaged his finances. The two parties eventually settled the case out of court in September, but that was after months of reports regarding the intimate details of the case.

On the field, Bohm struggled mightily in the first half of the season, resulting in his being dropped to eighth in the batting order on occasion. However, Bohm turned it around in the second half, emerging as one of the Phillies’ best hitters in the latter half of the season. But the second half surge still wasn’t enough to salvage his full season numbers from being one of the worst years of his career.

2026 stats: 155 games, .249/.315/.383, .698 OPS, 15 home runs, 88 RBIs, 87 OPS+, 90 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR

What went right

Again, Bohm’s second half is the only thing that prevented his season from being the definitive worst of his seven-year career. The 30-year-old hit .298 with a .794 OPS after the All-Star break and cut his strikeout rate from 15% to 12.5% while raising his walk rate from 6.7% to 9%. August was by far Bohm’s best month, as he hit .327 with an .830 OPS while being displaced defensively in the wake of the Luis Arraez trade that moved Bohm to first and Bryson Stott to third.

Bohm also continued to be one of the Phillies’ best hitters with runners in scoring position, even with his poor first half. His .958 OPS with RISP was the second best on the Phillies and 19th best among all qualified hitters across baseball while his .347 batting average was good for 13th best in MLB.

The highlight of Bohm’s year came in Game 2 of the Wild Card series against the Braves, as his opposite field solo home run in the tenth inning proved the difference in the Phillies lone win of the postseason.

What went wrong

It’s hard to overstate just how bad Bohm was in April. He hit .151 with a .426 OPS in the season’s inaugural month, with his 16 wRC+ being the third worst of any qualified hitter. He rebounded a bit in May and June, but even then, Bohm was only hitting .215 with a .632 OPS by the time of the All-Star break in mid-July. His dreadful April set the tone for his season, as Bohm was often made the whipping boy for the fanbase’s frustrations with the Phillies offense.

Even when Bohm did finally turn a corner, he didn’t do anything to make one believe that he finally took a real, meaningful step forward as a hitter in his last season of team control. He still doesn’t hit for much power despite his big frame, as Bohm’s rate of balls pulled in the air of 9.1% was still well below league average despite being an uptick from 2025’s 7.7%. Since entering the league in 2020, Bohm’s .412 slugging percentage ranks 52nd out of 63 players who have appeared in at least 800 games over that span.

Final Grade: D–

Bohm’s second half is the only thing that prevented this grade from being an F. Despite that performance, he still finished as one of the worst everyday hitters in the majors. If you take a step back and look at the big picture, Bohm is now seven years into his career, meaning he is as close to a finished product as can be reasonably expected. The mountains of evidence compiled in his career to this point paint a pretty clear picture of Bohm as an average at best hitter with below average power who plays below average at best defense on the infield corners. That is a player that can help some teams, but it is not someone who you want consistently hitting in the upper half of your order.

What exactly is that type of player worth? That will be an interesting question to follow this winter as Bohm enters an offseason of uncertainty. It is widely assumed that the Phillies will not bring him back as Bohm enters free agency, but the back injury to top prospect Aidan Miller has made the transition appear much less seamless. Add in the fact that utility infielder and backup third baseman Edmundo Sosa is also a free agent, and the Phillies’ depth at the hot corner suddenly looks lacking. The safe bet is that Bohm is playing elsewhere in 2027, but until the Phillies either commit to Miller at the start of the season or find some other stopgap until he is deemed ready, a reunion with Bohm cannot be definitively ruled out despite the team’s apparent attitudes toward him in recent offseasons.

Back with the series literally no one has asked for, no one apparently wants, and yet I am compelled to do. If you missed the first installment, you can catch up with the method behind the madness here, as well as the first batch of coaching staff candidates from the AL Central.

Today we’ll cover the NL East, since teams from the AL East and NL Central are currently in the World Series, and I’m putting off the Western divisions (mostly because that will be one giant article since I’m skipping essentially the whole AL West).

Again, if you haven’t already read the first installment in this series and yet are the kind of Sicko to read this one, I really suggest reading that first. Commenter rumdoodle described this series as “here’s what you could have won!” and that is…not an incorrect assessment of this enterprise, but also a) it’s good context to understand the broader coaching landscape the Mariners are hiring out of, for a variety of roles; b) some of these people might become Main Characters in baseball somewhere down the road, and won’t you feel so clever already knowing who Nic Wilson is (that’s what we call A Tease in the biz).

Anthony Contreras (Phillies)

Current role: Third base coach (MLB) – technically

Age: 43

Bonus points: West coast ties (from Los Gatos; attended San Jose State)

Contreras has been managing for almost a decade, jumping from the Padres organization to the Phillies, who gave him an opportunity to manage at the Triple-A level in 2022, a job he held before being promoted to the big-league staff in 2026. Contreras, the winningest manager of the IronPigs of all time, is well-respected by the players he’s managed, but his current role is somewhat up in the air after the Phillies hired Carlos Mendoza, a name once linked to the Mariners coaching search, to be their third-base coach. Come to us, AC! West coast, best coast!

Relevant quote: “What he brings to the table, how of a person he is on and off the field, he’s one of the best. Of the coaches I’ve been with, he’s one of one.” – Orion Kerkering on Contreras

Tucker Frawley (Mets)

Current role: “Director of defense, baserunning, and gameplay” for the Mets

Age: 37

Bonus points: Chatterbox

Remember how I said at the outset of this whole thing that I heavily weighted being involved with ABCA and being actively involved in the art of coaching and professional development and sharing knowledge and whatnot? Crawley, a longtime Yale assistant coach, is all about that life. This man has IDEAS, specifically about infield defense, and he is not afraid to tell you about them.

Relevant quote: “From an infield standpoint, I want us to chase aesthetics less, and efficiency more, and I often equate things to hitting, where there are just some hitters who have a knack of consistently finding the barrel and hitting the ball hard, and when they’re able to do that, there’s usually some freedom that the hitting coaches give them.”

Matt Tuiasosopo (formerly of the Braves)

Current role: free agent; former minor league infield coordinator

Age: 40

Bonus points: Born in Bellevue; deep roots in PNW sports culture; drafted by Mariners and played at both minor and major-league levels

Okay I’m technically cheating on this one, but hear me out. The Tuiasosopo name is a well-known one in PNW sports, but for whatever reason, the Mariners didn’t bring him home as a coach after his playing career officially ended in 2018; instead, Tuiasosopo immediately transitioned to coaching in the Braves system, the last MLB organization he’d been with, in 2019. By 2024, he had worked his way up to third base coach, replacing the legendary Ron Washington, but was demoted from that position by June of 2025 and reassigned to minor-league infield coordinator; his LinkedIn indicates he’s now working for an energy tech company in Atlanta.

Relevant quote: “I think if you’re a coach, you’re a servant. It’s all about the players. You have a servant attitude. It’s not about us as coaches anymore, it’s about giving these players love and instruction. Sometimes you gotta be hard on ‘em, sometimes you gotta lift ‘em up and build ‘em up. I always believe that you build up and not tear down. And I think that if you serve these guys and love on ‘em and build that trust, build that relationship, you can do a lot of great things. It’s something that I believe in, just in life in general and not just here at the field – serving people around you and thinking about others and not yourself, and I just try to live that.”

Nelson Prada (Marlins)

Current role: Manager, Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Age: 50

Bonus points: bilingual

Prada has a long history of managing, both stateside (where he’s been a long-tenured manager in the Marlins system) and globally (he’s worked with the Cardenales de Lara, who are like the Venezuelan baseball equivalent of the Yankees, and has served as Team Spain’s WBC coach); he’s also coached in the AFL and is Driveline certified for hitting. He’s currently the reigning Southern League Manager of the Year after leading Pensacola to a league-best 79-58 record that was also the third-best winning percentage in franchise history. Prada, whose bright playing career was cut short by a freak eye injury that blocks his vision to this day, has a unique perspective on the adversities players can face and how to be their advocate.

Relevant quote: “If you care about players, you have a group that is going to fight for you. I want the players to know that I care about them, and I really do care. I’m not being two-faced. Everywhere I go, I want players to feel like everybody’s a part of the team.”

Shawn O’Malley (Nationals)

Current role: Assistant hitting coach

Age: 38

Bonus points: IT’S SHAWN O’MALLEY

In case the name Shawn O’Malley doesn’t spark the same joy for you as it does for Mariners fans of a certain age, or the lead image for this story didn’t trigger something for you, O’Malley was part of the cursed Dipoto-transition-era Mariners but became a fan favorite because of his local ties, gritty play, and role in big moments like this catch in the stands or his role in the biggest comeback in club history against the Padres in the 2016 season. O’Malley went on to coach in the Mariners organization for a while at the minor-league level before going to join Blake Butera in a revamped Nationals staff. Real talk, I don’t really think any of the newly-hired Nats coaching staff is going anywhere after outperforming expectations in 2026 and was going to leave them off entirely; I just wanted to give O’Malley some shine.

Relevant quote: “HE GOT IT!”