Ryan Lambert of the Syracuse Mets delivers a pitch during a Minor League Baseball game at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, United States, on June 28, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
In his rundown of what he is hearing at the GM meetings in The Athletic, Jim Bowden writes that the Mets will be players for Tarik Skubal and that the Blue Jays are involved as well, but Skubal may not just pick the highest offer. Freddy Peralta and Michael King are also expected to land big contracts, but likely will not sign until Skubal sets the market.
The Mets are interested in Ty France and Alec Bohm as potential options at first base.
Mets pitching prospect Ryan Lambert has been tinkering with a new pitch in the Arizona Fall League and hopes that it will help him land a spot on the big league roster in 2027. “It’s a feel pitch for me,” Lambert said of his new sweepier breaking ball. “It comes off my fastball pretty dang good.”
Around the National League East
After signing Evan Phillips to bolster their bullpen, the Braves are still interested in Rasiel Iglesias, who is also drawing interest from the Tigers.
Alex McFarlane had a strong rookie campaign for the Phillies in what was otherwise a pretty dismal year for their bullpen. He is looking to cement himself as a long-term option in 2027.
The Marlins have hired Trayce Thompson—brother of Miami Heat guard Klay Thompson—to their baseball operations department.
Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic covered the latest offseason storylines and rumors, including the Red Sox operating as a big market team should with the addition of Jake Bauers, the Brewers’ potential options at first base now that Bauers has departed, the Braves’ possible next moves, the case for Jazz Chisolm, and more.
Diamondbacks officials met with Ketel Marte’s agent during the GM meetings this week, but did not come away with a clearer picture regarding which teams for which Marte would waive his no-trade protection to approve a deal, according to reports.
The Arizona Fall League handed out its annual awards.
The 2026 MVP campaign in both leagues represents a cautionary tale when it comes to trading top prospects, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. But the executives he interviewed understand that big mistakes, like the Mets made when they traded NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong as a prospect, come with the territory.
John Hanson, the first President under the Articles of Confederation, died in 1783, Sherman’s “March to the Sea” began in 1864, Georgia O’Keeffe was born in 1887.
1995 – The Arizona Diamondbacks, who will not begin play until the 1998 season, sign Buck Showalter to a seven-year contract as manager. Showalter guided the New York Yankees to a wild card berth in 1995, but left the team after it lost its first-round playoff series.
Burying a sardine is a Spanish tradition.
You read that right: Holding a funeral for a sardine is a custom in Spain. The Burial of the Sardine symbolizes a fresh start through burying the past. The sardine burial is usually done during lent and the advent period.
R2-D2 was supposed to speak English.
Nothing says Star Wars like the distinct beeps of R2. It’s even an inside joke that he has a potty mouth. However, you’d be surprised to know that the droid was supposed to speak English like his buddy C-3PO. It makes one wonder how the films would’ve been rated if R2 did turn out to speak English.
The word “Checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat.”
Shah Mat means “the king is dead.”
The Circus Maximum in Rome is still the largest capacity sports arena ever built. It was used for the execution of prisoners, part of the Roman Triumph, and chariot racing. Historians believe the Circus Maximum could hold between 150,000 – 250,000 people at any given time.
Spartans were so rich that nobody had to work. Ancient Sparta was an immensely wealthy country. Mainly due to their conquest and domination of their neighbors, the Helots. When a Spartan boy reached adulthood and became a man, the Spartan state awarded him with an allotment of public farmland. They also rewarded him with a constituent of Helot slaves to work it.
Fans vote with their pocketbooks. Yet somehow after three years of missing the playoffs and having Major League talent across the roster, fans are happy to keep throwing those votes into the owner’s pockets instead of towards the product on the field. The St. Louis Cardinals won 77 games and have found the “next core” that we have been craving. 5-6 spots in the lineup and ~3 spots in the rotation are absolutely MLB talent.
Even with these players on the roster at extremely affordable rates with years of control, some fans are still advocating to “stick to the plan” (that doesn’t have an end date) and save money that will not be reallocated in future years. My favorite part of that? It isn’t even their money so why the heck do they need to save it?
To add the same disclaimer I’ve had to add every tweet/article/post that I put out: I, Scott Plaza, do not want Chaim Bloom to spend tens of millions of dollars on multi-year reliever contracts, high-cost starters, or superstar lineup options that don’t even exist this offseason. I, Scott Plaza, and asking Chaim Bloom to write three or four checks to fix the squeaky wheel, because if he doesn’t, we will be riding with an annoying and frustrating sound. Again.
“But Scott! If we spend money then the whole long-term plan is out the window and we’ll be in another decade of mediocrity!”
Just blatantly false. Those that refuse to even entertain the reliever market for say, $20 million, are allowing Bloom and DeWitt to act in this cost-cutting way. My continued call has been to spend money on accomplished, higher tier than JoJo relievers because, shockingly, Peter Strezelecki, Matt Pushard, Chris Roycroft, and the others did not get it done. “BUT WE SAVED MONEY! And they weren’t supposed to win anyway!” WHY NOT?
MLBTR projects Abreu to sign for 2 years $22m and Soto for 2 years $15m, or an $18.5 million AAV combined. I do prefer a one-year deal
Stanek and JoJo combined for ~$10.5 million. Are we okay with DeWitt paying $8 million 🤯 extra or is that gonna hamper the plan?#STLCardshttps://t.co/01I70PbBvW
The lineup has major league talent. The rotation has major league talent. The rotation has prospect capital on the way but it is not yet complete. The bullpen has… some guys that can pitch in major league games. In most world’s of work, if there is a blatant problem with a clear solution, yet that problem is ignored, that person is no longer employed. I am not saying that Bloom has to drop $50 million on relievers and if he doesn’t he needs to be canned. I am saying if he continues to roll out the same team that won 77 games, which most saw as an overperformance, he is effectively punting on 2027.
“BUT THE PLAN”
As mentioned, we hear about the plan and how everything is moving as expected. However, both Oli and Bloom publicly say they don’t put timelines on things. I plan to be a millionaire. Currently, I am not. Nowhere near it, in fact. But I plan to be at some point. Without holding myself accountable to stop spending, invest better, etc. I can continue to push the million dollar plan down the road and still feel like I’m headed the right direction. We should expect… nay… demand more.
77 wins is my baseline. Is that fair when wins don’t tell the story? I really don’t care if its fair. When fans are saying they won’t pay to watch losing baseball, then they need to win. DeWitt says fans aren’t going to come to games to watch a losing team. He’s right. We’ve seen it. So why are we, the fans, okay with another losing team?
In the theoretical situation that Bloom actually does spend on the bullpen, I would think we can safely assume the 2027 bullpen would not blow 30 games or have 34 losses as a squad. Maybe it’s only five more wins. Oh no, a winning season, what a nightmare! No, 82 wins won’t get you into the Wild Card, but doesn’t September baseball sound so much more fun when the team has a semblance of a chance AND didn’t give up their farm system just to fall short?
Gabe put it well to summarize his Thursday article. Why would any free agent want to come to St. Louis if they weren’t trying to win? Why would I, who lives 5 hours away from STL, drive, stay in a hotel, and buy tickets to watch a team that isn’t trying to win? Will I? Yes because I’m a sicko with a baseball problem, but the more casual fans cannot be expected to drop hundreds of dollars to watch a game that is over in the fifth inning.
So that brings me back to the title of the article: For those that are against Bloom spending $20-30 million on the bullpen, why? We are not talking a Brett Cecil deal. Never again am I advocating for a 4+ year deal on a reliever. So I ask again, what is wrong with winning more games?
Sorry for the short article, but I didn’t want to repeat much of what I’ve been saying for a couple weeks here or on Twitter. I really just want to hear the argument for why Peter Strzelecki is better than Bryan Abreu.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 22: Adalberto Mondesi #27 of the Kansas City Royals at bat against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning at T-Mobile Park on April 22, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Halloween has always been kind of a big thing at our home. I’ve known people over the years who wouldn’t let their kids trick or treat since they considered it a “pagan” holiday. Come on man! Let the kids have some fun while they’re young and innocent! This old world will rough them up soon enough.
One thing about Halloween, in recent years we’ve noticed that a lot of kids started to mail it in on their costumes. That was disappointing. Not this year. This year was exceptional. Nearly all the trick or treaters who made it to our doorstep had put some serious time and thought into their outfits and we loved every minute of it. The best dressed award went to a young man who came as Michael Jackson’s Thriller. This kid had it down. The red leather jacket and pants, plus he had on a wig, and someone (probably mom) did an outstanding job on his makeup. A total team effort. When he rang the bell, I looked out and shouted, “we’ve got the Thriller!” The kid was impressed that we knew who he was supposed to be. He was proud of his outfit, as he should have been. Good job young man.
Which brings us to baseball. Now that the season is over and with free agency and the lockout looming, what will the Royals do? Will they mail it in, or will they go all out trying to assemble a winner? Time will tell.
There’ll be a few free agents changing teams. Will the Royals spend the cash needed to land any of them. The Padres have a trio of pitchers hitting free agency that will draw interest from many teams: Michael King, Casey Mize and Adrian Morejon. Some Royal pundits have written that they’d like to see the Royals make a play for Morejon. Having seen the guy pitch, I just don’t see how the Padres will let him get away. He’ arguably the best reliver on the market and will draw a premium price, which might be out of the Royals comfort zone.
Which brings us to the Royals perpetual dilemma: Without enough cash or nerve to play at the big boy table, they usually end up throwing money at second or third tier free agents in hopes that they work out. Sometimes it does. Sometimes you get a Michael Wacha or a Seth Lugo. Most of the time you end up with the Hunter Renfroe’s of the world, guys who were perfectly capable and good players at one time, but that time was before the Royals signed them.
Every winter, the Royals Review staff gets together and makes their season predictions. Being somewhat anal retentive, I keep track of my picks and their success, or lack of. Mostly lack of. Baseball is nearly impossible to accurately predict. 162 games spread over most of seven months. Some players develop, some regress. Many get injured.
My picks for the 2026 season were mostly terrible.
I had Bobby Jr. as the best hitter for the Royals and that was a win, as he outpaced the roster in almost every offensive category. That was the easy selection.
I picked Cole Ragans as the best pitcher, and he may well have been, had his arm not fallen off. Michael Wacha was the best pitcher, and by a wide margin, so congrats to him.
For the Royals won/loss record, I was wildly optimistic and had them pegged at 90 and 72! Wow! They showed me. Their final tally came in at a painful 69-93 mark.
I had the American League division winners as: Toronto, Detroit and Seattle. That’s an oh for three.
I picked the Royals, Yankees and Red Sox as the Wildcard teams. Amazingly, I got two of the three right. No comment on my KC pick.
Over in the National League, I had the division winners being the New York Mets (!), Chicago Cubs and of course the Dodgers, which is almost a gimme. But the Mets! Good Lord, how stupid could I be? Turns out plenty stupid, and I do that so well. But the Mets?? They never win anything! I should know that by now.
For the wildcards, I went with San Diego, Atlanta and Philadelphia.
When you look at the whole, not bad. Five out of six playoff teams. That’ll play most years.
As for my World Series pick, I had Toronto over the Dodgers. Gulp. I’ll take my medicine there. If Kansas City can’t make it to the Series, I’ll gladly take their expansion brethren from Milwaukee.
For the American League MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year, I went full homer and selected Bobby, Cole Ragans and Carter Jensen respectively.
The actual was: Yordan Alvarez won the MVP with Bobby finishing third. It’d be a shame if Bobby can’t win an MVP in his career. He’s had a couple of close calls but came in second after a historic season by Aaron Judge and now, by his standards, a slightly down season to Alvarez. I think losing Vinnie and Maikel Garcia for so many games hurt Bobby last summer. It always helps to have strong bats around you in the lineup, which creates more scoring and RBI chances.
Cam Schlitter won the AL Cy Young while Cole Ragans rehabs.
Kevin McGonigle rightly took home the AL Rookie of the Year, while Carter Jensen came in 5th. I personally thought Carter should have been around 3rd, but what do I know.
In the senior circuit I went with Shohei, Christopher Sanchez and Nolan McLean.
Pete Crow-Armstrong ran away with the NL MVP award as he should have after an excellent season.
Blue Springs native Jacob Misiorowski took home the NL Cy Young hardware while Sal Stewart of Cincinnati won the Rookie of the Year, while my pick, Nolan McLean came in 4th.
Next year, if there is a next year, I might wait until after the season to make my picks.
Did you catch the news that former Royal Adalberto Mondesi is ready to make a comeback? Mondesi says he’s 100% physically healthy for the first time in years.
I’m not surprised by the news as Mondesi is just 31, very young in the real world, but starting to get up there in athlete years. Maybe he’s bored. Maybe he’s broke. Who knows? None of that matters. What does matter is that he hasn’t played since April 26th of 2022, when he was still with the Royals. Come spring training, that’ll make it four years since he’s played a game. That alone makes a successful comeback unlikely.
He has some physical talents. Over the final 22 games of the 2020 season, Mondesi went on a 32 for 85 heater (.377) with 12 extra base hits. He drove in 19 and stole another 16 bases in that span. His final 11 games were a tour de force as he hit .476. Aside from George Brett, I’ve never seen a Royal hitter that locked in.
Should the Royals take a flyer on him? Maybe sign him to a minor league prove it deal? Call me crazy, but I don’t hate the idea.
Like many Royal fans, I grew frustrated by Mondesi’s time in Kansas City. The Royals did him no favors by rushing him through the minor league system before he was ready. To top it off, they had him make his major league debut during the 2015 World Series! Against Thor Syndergaard no less.
What the hell were they thinking? I’m old enough to remember how the Texas Rangers mangled the career of former number one pick David Clyde. The Royals’ mismanagement of Mondesi, while not to the degree of the Rangers’ incompetence with Clyde, is at least in the same zip code.
I’d be in favor of them bringing Adalberto in and see if he can make the team. If he defies the odds and makes the team, use him as a utility player and try to get him through an entire season without a physical breakdown. The Royals have spent money in worse ways.
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 09: A flag bearer presents the flag of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool D game presented by Capital One between Team Dominican Republic and Team Israel at loanDepot park on Monday, March 9, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
While we wait for more news from the Detroit Tigers this offseason, let’s continue our little series highlighting some of the most interesting breakouts in the farm system this year. We started with first baseman Beau Ankeney. Now let’s take a look at one of the most exciting teenagers in the organization. 18-year-old shortstop Angel de los Santos broke out of the Complex League to make a very impressive debut at the Single-A level.
De los Santos was signed out of the Dominican Republic back in January 2025. He received a solid signing bonus of $387,500 to join the club, and showcased his deep toolkit in a successful campaign in the Dominican Summer League. That got him on the radar last offseason as a name to watch as he arrived stateside. He made good on early reports with an advanced approach, good contact skills, and a nice mix of power, speed, and defensive ability.
De Los Santos didn’t exactly maul Complex League pitching, but in 51 games he hit six homers and struck out just 17.6 percent of the time, slashing .302/.373/.475. Expected to spend the summer in the Complex League, that work, combined with his defensive improvements, convinced the Tigers to push him to A-ball to finish the yeaer. He struck out more after the jump to Single-A Lakeland in late July, but he still hit three homers in 24 games and slashed .234/.314/.362 for the Flying Tigers. All that work got him squarely on the prospect radar, and FanGraphs currently has a 40+ grade on him.
His strikeout rate jumped to 26.7 percent with the Flying Tigers, but he walked 10.5 percent of the time and just didn’t get in enough games to start adapting to a major jump in pitching quality. What I really like is a solid 26.9 percent chase rate, a zone contact rate of 84.2 percent, and a swinging strike rate of 12.9 percent. Those are really good marks for a college hitter debuting, let alone an 18-year-old shortstop.
He did have more trouble with breaking stuff, splitters, and changeups than with fastballs, but that’s par for the course at his age. On the plus side, De Los Santos posted a monstrous .443 wOBA on fastballs over 94 mph. He hits with a pretty level, balanced right-handed swing, utilizing a short kick and he shows the ability to keep the barrel through the zone and can adjust to pitches in flight and still drive the baseball. His recognition against secondary stuff will have to improve, but he shows the raw hitting traits to project that it will.
De Los Santos topped out at 106.7 mph off the bat, so he’s already closing in on average raw power. FanGraphs projects him to eventually reach an above average 55 FV grade in that department. He’s probably added some muscle already to his listed six-foot-one, 161 pound frame, and while he should remain on the slender side and still speedy, there’s plenty of room on his frame to add good muscle in the years ahead.
Between the two levels, De Los Santos stole 30 bases, 10 of them in those 24 Single-A games. He’s not a burner, but he’s quick and gets to above average speed rapidly out of the batters box or on jumps to steal a base.
Defensively, de los Santos has a pretty good glove, quick feet, and an above average throwing arm. His athleticism stands out, and while he makes some mistakes of aggression on balls in play, he’s overall a pretty well rounded shortstop already.
What is harder to convey that the basic details is that de los Santos just feels like a gamer. He’s regularly doing things in all phases of the game to help his team win, and already shows a knack for great at-bats in key situations, catching opponents napping and taking the extra base, and chipping in the occasional run saving web gem. His ceiling is really high. If he had Bryce Rainer’s raw power potential de los Santos would be a top 100 prospect. Even so he looks likely to be a 15-20 homer type of shortstop with an equal number of stolen bases and probably average or a little better defense.
Angel de los Santos is very young, and we’ll need patience, but this is an exciting young talent who will be popping up quite high on Tigers’ prospect lists this year. Cris Rodriguez will continue to draw the most attention among recent Tigers international free agents, but De Los Santos isn’t far behind and has a little stronger floor due to his present contact ability. After so long with no signficant success in the international market for young talent, the Tigers finally seem to be stacking up a lot of interesting talent in A-ball and the rookie ball levels.
Ángel De Los Santos smashes a 3-run homer to left to give Lakeland the lead. It’s his 3rd home run with the Flying Tigers, and his 9th overall this year. pic.twitter.com/2psKDXR4vq
PEORIA, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: Members of the Peoria Javelinas celebrate on the field after winning the 2026 Arizona Fall League Championship Game between the Saguaros and the Javelinas at Peoria Sports Complex on Saturday, November 14, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Hello, friends.
There are now 129 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game. Much sooner than that and highly relevant to whether Opening Day will occur as scheduled is that the owners will initiate a lockout of the players in 16 more days, after which a lot of things become uncertain.
One of the big questions coming for the rest of November is whether teams will try to rush through their offseason wish lists, anticipating that there will only be a chaotic sprint into spring training at some later time, rather than the usual months of hot stove season. The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka and Kyle Williams wrote that, while Mike Elias said “totally business as usual,” an unnamed AL executive said that the reporters should stick close to their phones at Thanksgiving dinner.
By Thanksgiving, it’s going to be less than a week until the lockout hits. That prediction makes sense to me because, holiday or not, if things are going to pop off, it’s going to happen that weekend. Maybe it will be signings, maybe it will be trades, maybe it will be both. I think that it will be a foolish team that decides to wait until after the lockout to address its roster situation.
I will tell you right now that I am not getting paid enough by the owners of this company to interrupt my Thanksgiving dinner if the Orioles do, or are reported to be on the verge of doing, something big. It’s a running joke in my house that Elias knows how to make moves when I’m busy. One side of the family’s Thanksgiving Day dinner and the other side’s happening two days later will provide two chances for Elias to get one over on me.
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The Arizona Fall League wrapped up its schedule last night with Orioles prospects on the triumphant team. The Peoria Javelinas, with O’s prospects along with players from five other teams, were victorious in the championship game; they’d won a one-game semifinal on Friday as well. The Javelinas beat the Surprise Saguaros, 8-3, in the finale.
Ike Irish was the only O’s prospect to play in the championship. He was 0-5, though he still scored two runs and drove in one run. Pitching prospect Patrick Reilly threw a few innings in the semifinal. Congratulations to these guys! Success in the AFL isn’t a guarantee of carrying over into next year, but sometimes it is. And hey, they got sent out there, so better to play well when they did, right?
Orioles stuff you might have missed
We are into the time of year where diligent daily Bird Droppings readers may experience repeats. Sorry! It’s not going to get any better in December.
Looking back on the Orioles visit to Las Vegas (Baltimore Baseball) Rich Dubroff summarizes some of the news and tidbits from the just-concluded GM Meetings. He also predicts a frenzied run-up to the lockout in the vein of a typical year’s trade deadline.
Orioles prospects and the coming Rule 5 Draft (Orioles On The Verge) The folks at the Verge are more interested than most in who does or doesn’t get protected from the Rule 5 Draft ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. My guy Aron Estrada makes the cut in this prediction.
Today in 1983, Cal Ripken Jr. was named the AL MVP for the first time in his career. His MVP followed up the previous season’s Rookie of the Year, the first time this had ever happened. He was the best player on the best team and he had the best season of anybody, and he won. It doesn’t always work out that way. Cal had 211 hits and scored 121 runs. Seems pretty good.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2012-19 pitcher Dylan Bundy, 2002 pitcher John Stephens, and 2004 pitcher Darwin Cubillán. Today is Cubillán’s 54th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887), Wu-Tang Clan co-founder Ol’ Dirty Bastard (1968), and Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger (1974).
On this day in history…
In 1688, Dutch Prince William of Orange landed an army in southwestern England as a challenge to the reigning King, James II – William’s father-in-law as well as his uncle. The Catholic James was unpopular in England and by month’s end the Glorious Revolution took place, in which James was deposed and William and James’s daughter Mary – Protestants – took the throne.
In 1777, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation to govern the newly independent United States of America. Within a decade, it was apparent that they did not work.
In 1864, General Sherman began his scorched earth March to the Sea campaign, leaving Atlanta en route to Savannah, Georgia, which aimed to crush the Confederacy’s ability to continue the Civil War.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on November 15. Have a safe Sunday.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 10: Jonathan Loáisiga #43 of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws a pitch during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 10, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2027 Dodgers will indeed look different compared to this year’s squad, as right-hander Evan Phillips returned to his old stomping grounds in Atlanta.
Now with several voids in the bullpen, the Dodgers have begun inquiring on a pair of former Yankees relievers, those being right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga and left-hander Tim Hill. The Dodgers are one of five teams interested in Loaisiga and are one of three teams interested in Hill. Jesse Rogers of ESPN and Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted the team’s interest in Loaisiga and Hill respectively.
After spending parts of eight seasons with the Yankees, Loaisiga spent the 2026 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, posting a 2.42 ERA and a 2.88 FIP while striking out 48 and walking 13 across 67 innings. Hill is coming off his worst season in pinstripes, as he posted a 4.60 ERA and a career-worst 5.93 FIP, striking out just 25 and walking 13 across 58 2/3 innings.
Links
The biggest detriment for the Dodgers this past season was the injury bug, most notably the pair of injuries that plagued Shohei Ohtani both on the mound and at the plate. The Dodgers are the only team that has to worry about maintaining one of their key starting pitcher’s health while also ensuring that same pitcher continues to lead the team in home runs hit.
The top priority for both Ohtani and the team entering 2027, as noted by Sonja Chen of MLB.com, is fulfilling the tough demand of having the two-way superstar healthy as a pitcher and hitter for the entire season.
Having a healthier Ohtani may not have changed the Dodgers’ fate this past season, and they can’t let themselves get caught up in wondering what could have been. But finding a way to get Ohtani through a two-way season at full strength, or close, could be as valuable as any transaction the team may make this offseason.
Dylan Hernandez of the California Post reported that the Dodgers sent a three-man envoy to Yokohama High School to scout teenage right-hander Shoki Oda.
Former Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson will be reuniting with his older brother Klay in Miami, as the younger Thompson will join the Marlins’ baseball operations department, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.
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Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Indeed Have ‘Strong Interest’ in Japanese RHP Kaima Taira. “Taira would help to boost their bottom-barrel velocity figures, and his propensity for generating grounders helps to make up for what is a surprisingly low strikeout rate.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): The Cubs Have “Shown Early Interest” in Lefty Trevor Rogers. “There are some narrative-type-reasons we don’t hear as much about Rogers, but I have tended to think about him less for more pointed reasons.”
Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times): Ex-Cubs skipper Joe Maddon on why baseball stopped loving him back. ““Control beats experience, intuition and feel [now],” said Maddon, who spoke with the Sun-Times before his scheduled flight to Chicago for his annual “Thanksmas” event was canceled by the FAA ground stop.“
John Primer has undisputedly helped build the sound and style of Chicago blues as we know it today. The echoes of tradition bellowing from the birthplaces he played such as Maxwell Street, Theresa’s, Checkerboard and Rosa’s Lounges, pulse from every chord in his fingers today. John Primer is a 3 time Grammy® Nominated, Blues Hall of Fame, Living Legend.
Growing up on Mississippi sharecropper land in 1945, inspired by his family’s hard work and field songs daily, deep devotion to spirituals on Sundays, and blues on Saturdays. John dreamed of one day playing with the legendary Muddy Waters. Moving to Chicago in 1963, he quickly became noticed and was hired at the famous Theresa’s Lounge working for The Junior Wells Band (the house band), seven nights a week for seven years! He worked hard and impressed Willie Dixon enough to go on tour with him and his Chicago Blues All-Stars Band. At this point he was known, and John’s dream finally came true in late 1979 when he got to play with his idol, Muddy Waters! Muddy called for him to lead his band and changed his life forever.
After Muddy’s untimely death in 1983, he joined up with Magic Slim & The Teardrops for the next 13 years, traveling all over the world, bringing Chicago Blues to every corner of the planet. Coming from very humble beginnings, he has managed to work very hard to get where he is today. He takes pride in mentoring so many incredible musicians. He is keeping the blues alive and is a Legendary Blues Icon!
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 10: Atlanta Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos speaks to the media during the 2026 MLB Awards week at ARIA Resort and Casino on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The clock keeps ticking on the impending lockout, as we are starting to see a few notable moves (including Atlanta’s acquisition of Evan Phillips), with a free agent frenzy expected before the lockout.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks to a reporter before the Hall of Fame press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in New York. Hall Of Fame Presser | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: With the GM meetings coming to a close, Phillips highlights some of the lower-profile tidbits that came out of the meetings that may not have made the biggest headlines, but should still catch your eye. Among them, the fact that Jasson Dominguez will be playing winter ball in the Domininan Republic, with the 23-year-old’s future with the Yankees very uncertain at this point. Also noted is the Yankees’ interest in reuniting with Tim Hill, as well as Brian Cashman’s assertion that the Yankees still see prospect Carlos Lagrange as a starter going forward.
ESPN | Jeff Passan: In case you missed it, the Red Sox made the first free-agent splash of the offseason, inking Brewers playoff hero Jake Bauers to a four-year, $58 million deal. It’s a sizable commitment to a player who was essentially replacement level for his career prior to last year, but a 140 OPS+ from the 30-year-old convinced Boston to pony up. Bauers joins a roster that’s already pretty crowded at the 1B/DH spots, with Willson Contreras, Masataka Yoshida, and Tristian Casas on hand, though the latter certainly have lengthy injury histories.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankees met this week with Shoki Oda, the 18-year-old Japanese phenom who has forgone signing with the Yomiuri Giants to explore coming to the United States out of high school. New York’s pitch promoted their ability to develop pitchers and featured Sam Briend, the club’s senior director of pitching development. New York appears keen on signing the teenager, who can hit 97 mph on the radar gun, though they face competition from, of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ty France #25 of the San Diego Padres flies out off of the roof during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 3, 2026.
The Mets’ search for first base help extends all the way to France.
The Mets have touched base with Ty France’s camp, a source familiar with the situation said this weekend, as they hunt for perhaps the only lineup spot they plan to upgrade this offseason.
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With a position-player group that is largely filled apart from Pete Alonso’s old position, where the Mets have a lefty-hitting platoon option in Jared Young and a mystery in Jorge Polanco, they appear to be turning over plenty of rocks.
The Athletic reported last week that the Mets met with corner infielder Alec Bohm’s camp at the GM meetings. They are also among the many clubs that have engaged with the representative for France, an excellent defender and righty hitter coming off the best season of his career.
An eight-year journeyman who has played for the Padres, Mariners, Reds, Twins and Blue Jays, France had a disappointing 2025 offensively (.681 OPS) but excelled at first base, where he won a Gold Glove.
Last offseason he had to settle for a minor league deal and did not sign until February with the Padres, with whom he became a true bargain and even received a down-ballot NL MVP vote.
The Mets have touched base with the free-agent first baseman’s camp. Getty Images
A Gold Glove finalist who hit both righties and lefties, France batted .295 with 21 home runs en route to an .865 OPS this past season. Perhaps trading some contact for power — with his exit velocity (89.5 mph to 91.5 mph) and bat speed (71 mph to 72 mph) jumping while his strikeout percentage (16.9 percent to 21.6 percent) ticked up — France consistently hit the ball harder and in the air more.
Ahead of his age-32 season, France likely will receive a multiyear major league deal this time around.
With Jake Bauers off the board, France and Bohm are likely the best first basemen still on the free agent market (with the possible exception of Teruaki Sato, whose position is up for debate). It is possible that the Mets will need an answer from Tarik Skubal, with whom they are set to meet next week, before determining whether they will play at the top of the first base market.
The Mets, who have their outfield and left side of the infield set and will give Marcus Semien a chance to earn second base playing time in camp, only have first base and arguably DH as lineup spots in which they could bring in immediate outside help.
“I do expect us to supplement that [first base] position,” Stearns said at the GM Meetings, adding that they could add a righty bat to complement Young or seek a player who would command everyday playing time at the spot, in which case Young likely would become the usual designated hitter.
Ty France fields a ground ball against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 25, 2026. France won a Gold Glove at first base this past season. Getty Images
The unknown in this equation is Polanco, who was either injured or ineffective all of last season and underwent left ankle surgery in August.
“Polanco’s rehab so far is going very well,” Stearns said, adding that the team would have to see how he looks in spring training — whenever that is — before determining his role.
Apart from Bohm and France, the righty-hitting Paul Goldschmidt also could make sense for the Mets.
If not free agency, the Mets — who acquired many prospects at last season’s trade deadline and could deal from that depth — could target first basemen such as St. Louis’ Alec Burleson, Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson or Texas’ Jake Burger on the trade market.
Riley Eikhoff’s first pro season hit an injury detour, but there’s still plenty to like about the road ahead. | (MLB)
Riley Eikhoff Right-Handed Starting Pitcher 5´10´´ 185 pounds Age: 25 2026 South Side Sox Top 100 ranking 92 2026 High Level Winston-Salem (A+) Age relative to high level +0.8 years SSS rank among all right-handed starters in the system 13 Overall 2026 season stats (Low-A/High-A) 4-5 ⚾️ 16 games (14 starts) ⚾️ 83 2/3 IP ⚾️ 3.76 ERA ⚾️ 1.157 WHIP ⚾️ 81 K ⚾️ 17 BB ⚾️ 1.2 WAR
The White Sox selected righthander Riley Eikhoff out of Coastal Carolina in the ninth round of the 2025 MLB Draft. On paper, it looked like they’d landed a sleeper. And his first professional season, in 2026, gave that idea a little more life — even though an injury cut the introduction short.
Eikhoff was a vital member of the Chanticleers rotation in his last year of eligibility, one that saw the program put together one of the most remarkable runs in recent Division I memory. Coastal Carolina won 26 straight games on its way to the College World Series finals, and Eikhoff took the ball twice in Omaha. He helped the Chanticleers beat Arizona and Louisville, putting them two wins away from a national championship. LSU swept the best-of-three final, but if the series had reached a decisive third game, Eikhoff would have been the scheduled starter. That’s an obvious testament to how much trust the Coastal staff placed in him.
What Eikhoff lacks in eye-popping raw stuff, he consistently makes up for in discipline and command. Under first-year Coastal pitching coach Matt Williams, Eikhoff reshaped his arsenal and took a significant step forward. Williams swapped Eikhoff’s four-seamer for a sinker that better matched his lower arm slot. The new sinker sat at 90-92 mph and touched 94. The change unlocked an improved version of the righthander, helping him produce a career-best 3.10 ERA and just 11 walks across 90 innings in 2025.
His slider, a low-80s sweeper with late horizontal action, seems to be his best pitch, and his mid-80s changeup allows him to keep both lefties and righties off-balance. The package doesn’t scream future frontline starter, but there’s something to be said for a pitcher who knows what he has and how to use it.
Eikhoff got his first chance to put that mix to work against professional hitters with Kannapolis in 2026. In 13 appearances (11 starts), he went 4-5 with a 3.84 ERA over 65 2/3 innings. It was enough to earn him a June 17 promotion to Winston-Salem, where he wasted no time making himself comfortable.
In his High-A debut, Eikhoff gave the Dash seven innings of two-run baseball, allowing five hits and striking out seven without issuing a walk. Of his 91 pitches, 68 went for strikes. That’s a pretty good way to introduce yourself to a new coaching staff.
Unfortunately, the Dash didn’t get to see much more. Eikhoff made just three total starts, pitching to a 3.50 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 18 innings before injury landed him on the 7-day IL on July 3 and being transferred to the 60-day IL on July 31, taking him out of action for the rest of the year. Just as he was getting a chance to show what he could do at the next level, his season came to a halt. We’re uncertain of the nature of Eikhoff’s injury, a stint on the 60-day IL is never a good thing.
Still, there was plenty to like about the work he did get in. Eikhoff entered pro ball with questions about whether his size and less-than-elite velocity would eventually push him to the bullpen. That could still be where he lands, but he gave the White Sox a reason to keep handing him the ball as a starter.
He’s a compact righthander with mound savvy, ground-ball potential and a clear aptitude for adjusting his game as the competition rises. Getting healthy and picking up where he left off will be the next order of business, with more advanced hitters providing the next test of how far his command can carry him.
For now, Eikhoff remains a veteran competitor with a sturdy statistical résumé and the kind of reliability that coaches love. It’s precisely the sort of under-the-radar arm that sometimes becomes more than expected. Providing his arm injury in July wasn’t devastating, Eikhoff will likely open 2027 back with the Dash, with a chance at Birmingham sooner rather than later.
On this day 14 years ago, Chris Sale finished sixth in Cy Young voting. | (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
1900 The aggressively-improving American League was rejected as an equal major league by the established National League. Although there were multiple major leagues more often than not in the course of organized baseball over the latter half of the 19th Century, at this juncture the NL felt it was the sole top circuit in the game, and it was especially irked that the AL was ignoring the National Agreement to compete head-to-head in NL cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
How did this affect the White Sox, a newly-formed AL team relocating from St. Paul? The 1900 pennant, the first awarded by the new league, was won by the White Sox, whose 82-53 record was 4 1⁄2 games better than the Milwaukee Brewers. But it, along with the records of the 1900 players, are not consider “major league”; Baseball-Reference, for example, begins its White Sox franchise history at 1901, the first year the AL was regarded as “major.”
However, the White Sox had just four of 28 players without prior major league experience, and half of the players cut from the National League (the circuit had shrunk from 12 to eight teams for 1900) ended up in the AL, legitimizing its major status. And before the season had even begun, the Chicago Tribune observed that “the American League is not, after all, much behind the old, cumbersome National League.”
The 1900 triumph was the first pennant won by a Chicago team in 14 years.
The White Sox, mostly intact and even bolstered from 1900, went back-to-back in winning the AL pennant in 1901, the first season the AL was considered a major league. In fact, Frank Isbell, Roy Patterson, Ed McFarland played on the 1900 and 1901 pennant winners and 1906 World Series winners.
1977 The move was overshadowed by the failure of Ron Blomberg (signed three days later) falling flat as heir apparent slugger after the South Side Hit Men season, but in some sense, signing pitcher Jim Hughes hit harder. Injuries limited Hughes to just two games out of the pen in 1977, making him a perfect candidate for Bill Veeck’s shoestring Rent-a-Player scheme; plus, perhaps Hughes would fare as well as Twins third baseman Eric Soderholm did for the White Sox under similar circumstances a year earlier. However, Hughes was cut at the end of Spring Training and never pitched a single game for the White Sox, or any other MLB team, after that.
1995 On the strength of a career-best 2.2 WAR season while working off of a prove-it, one-year deal, Dave Martinez re-signed with the White Sox for two years and what turned out to be just shy of $2 million.
Martinez did not sit back after getting paid, putting up a stellar 4.4 WAR season in 1996 and getting on base nearly 40% of the time. While that year would stand as the very best of Martinez’s 16 years in the majors, he followed it with his second-best season, 3.1 WAR in 1997. All told, the outfielder’s three best career years came in his three years with the White Sox.
And somehow, the club didn’t interview him for its manager role after Ozzie Guillén bolted Chicago in 2011.
2012 Chris Sale finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting, the first of seven straight years he would finish in the Top 6. Sale, on the strength of 5.7 WAR, a 17-8 record, 3.05 ERA/3.27 FIP, 1.135 WHIP and 192 strikeouts, earned 17 votes, an 11% share. The battle for the award itself was very tight, with David Price edging out Justin Verlander, 153-149.
In all five of Sale’s starting seasons on the South Side, he earned Cy Young votes.
2024 White Sox All-Star lefthander Garrett Crochet was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 32 starts and 146 innings in 2024, his first season as a starter after missing most of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In fact, he joined a short list of players in baseball history when he made his first career start on Opening Day.
Among pitchers with at least 140 innings, Crochet led the A.L. in strikeouts with 12.88 per nine innings and was second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.33).
Crochetbecame the third Sox player to win the Comeback award, joining righthander Liam Hendriks in 2023 and designated hitter Jim Thome in 2006.
Alas, less than a month after receiving the honor, Crochet was dealt to Boston as the headliner in a five-player swap.
The Padres are going all in on their starting rotation this offseason.
President of baseball operations A.J. Preller has made the unit its top priority, and the Padres put teams on notice at the general managers meetings in Las Vegas earlier this month. San Diego is reportedly considering all starting pitchers on the market, from Tarik Skubal and beyond.
President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller of the San Diego Padres speaks with the media during the 2026 MLB General Managers Meetings at Aria Resort & Casino on November 10, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Getty Images
In recent years, the Padres have been limited in their spending under former ownership. Preller essentially had to be creative with constraints on the budget.
It doesn’t look like that will be the case for the 2027 season.
The Dodgers are at an interesting point of their dynasty as the team’s three-peat aspirations didn’t work out. The direction of the NL West champions is sort of in limbo, and the Padres can capitalize on their rivals’ ambiguity this offseason with a couple of big splashes on the free agent market.
Dodgers free-agent relievers Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia have garnered interest from San Diego’s front office, and the latter remains available. But the starting rotation comes before anything else this winter.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Milwaukee. Getty Images
The Padres have added quick fixes or temporary additions to the rotation since 2023, but that appears to be on the cusp of change as the team is looking to invest in starters.
“The last three years, really, since, you know, since Peter (Seidler) passed, it’s been, in terms of our budget and our payroll, it’s been pretty much — haven’t had a ton of ability to go add on the free-agent market,” Preller told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune this week in Las Vegas.
“You know, we were able to line up with Michael King last year, but a big part of that was what Yu Darvish did. He knew he probably wasn’t going to be able to pitch this past season and wanted to give us the opportunity to go spend money elsewhere. Kind of unheard of.
San Diego Padres players watch from the dugout during the seventh inning in Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego. AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan
“But I think for us, the last three years have been more about making our money work for us and finding some players that are hungry that might maybe overperform the contracts that we gave them. That part doesn’t change.
“You’re always looking for players that you feel like are gonna outperform what we’re paying them and guys that go out and overachieve. But hopefully [the ability to spend more money on players] just opens up some other doors and avenues that we haven’t had in the last three years.”
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 01: Spencer Schwellenbach #56 of the Atlanta Braves and AJ Smith-Shawver #32, JR Ritchie #60, Michael Harris II #23 and Brewer Hicklen #53 of the Atlanta Braves celebrate in the fourth inningduring Game Three of the Wild Card Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on October 1, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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