Category: MLB

We’re open for business here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the fall chill. There’s no cover charge. We always have room for a friendly face. We have a few tables available. The hostess can seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night, I asked you who you were cheering for in the upcoming World Series. The vote wasn’t as lopsided as I thought it would be, as “only” 63 percent of you said you were cheering for the Rays. For the other 37 percent, I guess you have your reasons.

On Tuesdays, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz and you’re free to join us.

Tonight we’re featuring Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox playing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as a 1930s Cab Calloway-style jazz tune. And yes, that’s Wayne Brady on lead vocals.

Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.

Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma have an article up in The Athletic about some free agent pitching targets for the Cubs over the winter. (sub. req.) Tonight’s question is which one do you think would be the best fit for the Cubs?

OK, I’m cheating a little bit. The first name that Mooney and Sharma mention is Tarik Skubal, and if I put him in the poll he’d probably get at least 90 percent of the vote. But as Mooney and Sharma mention, signing Skubal would force owner Tom Ricketts to go way outside of his comfort zone as far as it comes to signing free agents. I’m not saying that there is no chance the Cubs sign Skubal. I do think there’s a chance that Ricketts and Hoyer decide to roll the dice on Skubal. But I don’t think it’s a big chance. Small chance. Really small chance. But I am saying there’s a chance. But not enough of a chance to include him here.

The other three starting pitchers mentioned by the pair are much more likely options for the Cubs. The three of them are:

Right-hander Michael King: King isn’t technically a free agent yet, but he has an opt-out clause that everyone is expecting him to exercise. As Mooney and Sharma note, the Cubs were interested in King last year, but didn’t want to match the Padres’ offer. For one, it would have cost the Cubs a draft pick as he had received a qualifying offer. Second, the deal for three years and $75 million with two opt outs meant that the Cubs would have been taking on all the risk and potentially getting only one year out of King.

But King had a good year in 2026, including shutting the Cubs down in the postseason, which you probably remember. The 31-year-old King went 12-10 with a strong 3.21 ERA over 185 innings this past season. He also kept the ball on the ground, which is good with the Cubs infield. The one warning sign is that King’s strikeout rate this past year dropped to a career-low 21 pecent in 2026.

Right-hander Freddy Peralta: The Cubs have been linked to Peralta for a while, mostly because of the long history between him and manager Craig Counsell in Milwaukee. With free agency approaching, the Brewers dealt Peralta to the Mets last winter and until the trade deadline in August, he was pretty freaking bad in Queens with a 4.99 ERA. Some of that was the Mets poor defense. Some of that was just Peralta being bad.

But Peralta was traded to the Rays at the deadline and after a disastrous start in Colorado when he got rocked for seven runs, Perlata was mostly pretty good for the Rays. He seemed to have rediscovered his old form from Milwaukee. In ten regular season starts with the Rays, Peralta had a 3.25 ERA. Then, of course, he dominated in the playoffs and was just named the American League Championship Series MVP last night after two terrific games against Cleveland. As Mooney and Sharma point out, Peralta’s velocity took a big step up during the playoffs, potentially indicating that his problems with the Mets are behind him.

The one potential yellow flag to Peralta’s time with Tampa Bay is that, like King, his strikeout rate dropped, striking out just 19.7 percent of batters. On the other hand, his walk rate dropped too.

Right-hander Sonny Gray: At 36, Gray is easily the oldest of the three pitchers we’re looking at tonight. But he really isn’t slowing down much at all. Gray had one of the best seasons of his career in 2026 and he led the league with 18 wins. Gray also had a 2.72 ERA, which was his lowest since his abbreviated rookie season in 2013.

Gray is also a strong ground ball pitcher, getting 46 percent ground balls last season and 49.4 percent over the course of his career. Gray also doesn’t walk batters, which allowed him to go deeper into games even as he ages. In 22 of his 29 starts last year, Gray went at least six innings. In six starts, he went seven innings or more.

The other advantage with Gray is that with his age, he’d probably be willing to settle for a much shorter contract of one or two years. That would mean a lot less risk if things go bad.

Mooney and Sharma mention the players and coaches on the Cubs with Vanderbilt connections, that might entice the Commodore alum. But I also wanted to mention that the Cubs drafted Gray out of high school in 2008 in the 27th round. Admittedly, Gray was a strong commit to Vandy and that draft pick was a kind of “Hey, if you change your mind. . .” pick, but the point is that the Cubs interest in Gray goes all the way back to the Jim Hendry era.

So which of these three pitchers would be the best fit for the Cubs in 2027?

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Since there’s no baseball until Friday, it seemed like a good time to bring back a Purple Row After Dark discussion.

I took this idea from a Denver Nuggets Instagram post I stumbled onto, and I thought it would be worth pursing here.

But first, let me turn it over to the Nuggets:

And that raises tonight’s question for the Purple Row Night Owls: What was your first baseball jersey?

Me, I went through a Chicago White Sox phase long ago (and it’s a long story), but my first MLB jersey featured Robin Ventura.

Share yours in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Dax Kilby’s tremendous start with the Yankees organization came to a screeching halt this season, as he was limited to just 32 minor league games due to multiple hamstring injuries. 

Kilby has been able to remain on the field thus far in Arizona Fall League action, though, and he’s back showing exactly why he’s the top-ranked prospect in New York’s system.

The 19-year-old former first-round pick out of Newnan High School made some changes to his swing in an effort to cut down his ground ball rate, and those appear to be paying off early on. 

Kilby reached base safely two more times during Tuesday’s exhibition meeting. 

He opened the scoring for the Salt River Rafters right out of the gate, crushing the fourth pitch of the game 107.1 mph to deep right-center for his second homer during Fall League play. 

Dax leads it off with a solo jack! The @Yankees No. 1 prospect hammers his second homer of the Fall 107.1MPH off the bat. Kilby is batting .313 this Fall https://t.co/UMY4rctmUQ

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) October 20, 2026

The youngster was retired each of his next three times to the plate, but he ripped an RBI double to center in the top of the ninth, evening things up at 10 runs apiece. 

Kilby finished the day 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, bringing his average up to .306 and giving him a Fall League-leading nine extra-base hits through his first nine games. 

He’s also swiped a total of four bases and has shown tremendous plate discipline over that span, striking out just four times while drawing a trio of free passes. 

Kilby already sits as MLB Pipeline’s 78th overall prospect, and the middle infielder could quickly cruise his way through the Yankees’ system if he keeps this rolling into a healthy season. 

Welcome to our series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability). 

The Breakout Backstop

Regardless of his lack of total work this season, Luis Campusano truly broke out this season. Much of that is due to manager Craig Stammen placing his faith in the 28-year-old to back up Freddy Fermin. Eventually, Campusano seemed to actually win the starting catcher job once Fermin’s bat proved anemic. Still, Campusano looked phenomenal behind the dish. It’s a wonder why former manager Mike Shildt ever kept him out of the lineup in 2024-25.

Overall Grade: B+

In 71 games, Campusano hit .265/.363/.433 with a .796 OPS. He hit eight home runs, 20 extra-base hits and 30 RBI. All-in-all, he ended the season with a 122 OPS+ (22 points above league-average hitters). It was by far the most successful season of his career. The only other year when Campusano had more than 200 at-bats came in 2024. He posted -0.7 WAR that season compared to 1.7 WAR in 2026.

His defense also improved. Compared to that 2024 season, his Throwing Value went up from -3 to +3 while his Blocking Value increased from -3 to 0. Framing has continued to be a less valuable facet of Campusano’s game (-4 Framing Value), however with the advent of ABS challenges, framing as an art has dwindled in the game. That said, his ABS challenges haven’t been particularly great (-2 value).

Campusano missed significant time with a fractured toe after fouling a pitch off his foot. He left the team in the first week of May and didn’t return until early July. Still, he helped win the Padres some games in that time. He hit two walk-offs late in the season that won the Friars significant games. If Campusano can build on that in 2027, it’ll be a major improvement for San Diego’s historically subpar catching tandem.

Entering the American League Championship, there wasn’t one team I wanted to play more than the other. Quite honestly, I was happy that it was going to be two small-market teams in the World Series either way, and last night, that was settled. The Tampa Bay Rays won the American League pennant for the first time since 2020, and their third time overall.

While there’s plenty of storylines to go around, it was a series that the Rays had to fight from behind in, after trailing 2-1 to the Cleveland Guardians. After the comeback was complete, former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta was named ALCS MVP, creating a number of storylines revolving around how half the Rays rotation are former Brewers.

For Brewers fans across the board, the opponent didn’t matter, but the length of the series did. The ALCS went six games, just one shy of the maximum, as the Rays took care of business. Let’s take a look at how they got it done.

Game 1: Guardians 7, Rays 3

By the time this game had started, the Brewers already had a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. By the time Game 1 ended, it looked like Cleveland was going to power their way to their first pennant since 2016.

The Rays got out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning before being quieted the rest of the way. The Guardians slowly picked their way back into the game off of a Chase DeLauter solo blast in the top of the sixth inning, which was then followed up with Patrick Bailey’s solo home run in the top of the seventh to tie the game. After taking a 4-2 lead on a Nathaniel Lowe base hit, the Rays chipped back for one more on a Cedric Mullins home run to cut the Guardians’ lead down to 4-3. That was the last we saw of the Rays offense as Cleveland cleaned house in the top of the ninth inning, scoring three runs to win 7-3.

Rays ace Drew Rasmussen shone with six innings of two-run ball and seven strikeouts. His bullpen was unable to pick him up, though, as they allowed a combined five runs over the remaining three innings. For the Guardians, everyone had a hand in the win as six pitchers made an appearance, striking out eight.

Game 2: Rays 3, Guardians 1

The first of three Freddy Peralta appearances throughout this series occurred as he threw six scoreless innings, striking out six batters. The Rays scored one of their runs via a fielder’s choice and another on an error, as their offense struggled to muster a big hit to extend the lead.

Parker Messick threw the team’s longest outing of the series to that point, spanning five innings and no earned runs due to the error. The lone offensive highlight came on a DeLauter double to drive in a run, but they ultimately stranded the tying run on second base, sealing the victory for the Rays.

Game 3: Guardians 3, Rays 2

Cleveland received another masterful outing from one of their arms as Gavin Williams threw five innings of two-run ball, allowing just two hits while striking out nine. His offense had his back from the beginning as Lowe smacked his second double of the series to give them a 1-0 lead. After the speedy Chandler Simpson tripled to give Tampa Bay their lone lead of the game, Petey Halpin hit a two-run home run to reclaim a 3-2 lead. Both bullpens held down the fort as Tampa’s offense wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

Game 4: Rays 7, Guardians 3

This game was initially rained out, making it the first in MLB’s playoffs since a postponement occurred during Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. Having to push the game back a day, and not allowing any days off for travel, the Rays got hot. After an early Guardians lead, Jonathan Aranda jump-started the offense to tie the game at 1-1. A few singles pushed the Rays’ lead to 4-1, until the eventual knockout blow came off the bat of Yandy Díaz in the top of the ninth inning to seal a 7-3 Rays win. On the mound, Tampa’s Nick Martinez went 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run in the win.

Game 5: Rays 3, Guardians 1

Game 5 showcased more stellar pitching, but three straight one-run innings from the Rays offense carried them the rest of the way. The key to success in this game was forcing Messick out of the game after just two innings, forcing the bullpen to go into early action in the third. The Rays received an even better outing from Rasmussen, who went seven innings and allowed one run, striking out six.

Small ball continued to be the source of the offense for the Rays as a bases-loaded walk and a pair of run-scoring singles drove in the three runs. Cleveland had the tying run up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t extend the game any further.

Game 6: Rays 7, Guardians 3

The same score as Game 4, as the Rays went for the knockout punch. Peralta set Tampa Bay up nicely with 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. The bullpen had one worrisome moment as the Guardians had the bases loaded and a chance to tie or take the lead, but Tyler Wells allowed just two runs as the Guardians scored their final runs of the 2026 season. Already leading 3-1, Junior Caminero landed the first blow on a two-run home run to extend the Rays’ lead to 5-1. The final blow came off the bat of Díaz, who hit another two-run blast to lock up the Rays’ third AL pennant.

The Brewers and the Rays kick things off on Friday night with first pitch coming at 7 p.m. We’ll have plenty more coverage in the coming days.

Of all the 2026 Mariners’ various problems, one that loomed largest was a clubhouse-wide passivity – a sense that the talent of the team would eventually win out and the Mariners would turn their season around, without a clear plan as to who would turn that season around and how.

In postseason interviews, both the players and GM Jerry Dipoto were able to articulate this particular failing, bemoaning mistakes made but also insisting that hard lessons were learned. But the larger question remains of who will be able to make sure those hard lessons of a disappointing 2026 are carried into an improved 2027.

The Mariners have now dismissed the majority of their coaching staff, wanting to allow a new manager to come in and handpick their own support staff. That person has a significant task before them, even beyond assembling a new major-league coaching staff: whoever it is will also have to learn the idiosyncrasies of this Mariners clubhouse and the particular way leadership functions among a group of largely younger, homegrown players – or, as was made apparent last year, doesn’t function.

When looking at the core leadership in the clubhouse, the first name that jumps to mind is Cal Raleigh. Raleigh ticks all the boxes for a clubhouse leader: he’s a homegrown player signed to a longterm deal; he has a leadership position on the field; he’s the one who steps up to do postseason interviews when things have gone sideways, as he did in 2023, and again in 2026.

But this season also showed where Raleigh, who will be playing in his age-30 season in 2027, has some growing to do in his own leadership role. A disappointing, injury-marred season prevented Raleigh from fully being able to grasp the reins in a clubhouse that was careening off a cliff, and with his absence – both on the field when he went on the IL for the first time in May and in the box score – came a loss of identity for the team as a whole. At the end of the season, Raleigh spoke about the need for some “self-reflection” about the direction the team his headed in – not just from himself, but from his teammates, as well.

“What is our team identity?” Raleigh asked philosophically. “I don’t feel like there was one this year, and that’s partly on me as a leader on this team. It’s not all on me, but as somebody who’s been here, it’s important for us to come together and figure that out.”

Bryan Woo, as a leader on the pitching staff, affirmed that the plan this off-season would be to get players together and discuss where things went wrong and what can be done about it.

“We’ve already talked about a lot of the core guys having some conversations over the off-season, periodically putting our heads together and coming up with some ideas about how we want to make that come to life. Standards and accountability and all that stuff – they’re great words, but if you don’t truly act on them and make them come to life and are about them every day, then they don’t mean anything. You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”

The pitching staff is in a more perilous leadership position than some others – none of the core of young pitchers are signed to long-term deals, and therefore are often subjects of trade speculation and rumors. They also now lack their de facto leader in the veteran Luis Castillo, a leadership vacuum that opened up when Castillo was traded to the White Sox in early August. Someone from the pitching staff needs to step into that role. For his part, Woo seems to be comfortable with doing so.

“I’m more comfortable now than I’ve been in years past,” said Woo, when asked if he would be willing to take a more vocal role in those conversations about standards and accountability. “I think as a young guy in the clubhouse, you’re just trying to find your way most of the time – when to speak up, what to say and whatnot. You want to say the right thing at the right time. Now I think I’ve learned it’s not about saying the right thing, but just saying something, and learning from the experience one way or another.“

The Mariners clubhouse is in a tricky position with leadership – the homegrown core that first brought the team to the playoffs in 2022 ranges in ages from 25 to 29: a tweener age in baseball, old enough to have been in the league for several years but not yet the indisputable voices of experience. The youngest player in that band is Julio Rodríguez, who’s still finding his own footing with clubhouse leadership: the kid brother who was once trailing after players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatís Jr. now has a line of admirers of his own, starting with new teammate Lazaro Montes and reaching all the way down to the DSL, where Mariners MiLB hitter of the year Jarvis Gomez named Julio as his favorite player.

“I feel like I’m more comfortable, especially this year,” said Julio, reflecting on his changing relationship with leadership. ”Sometimes people assume just because you’re this player or that player, you should do this, you should do that, but that’s not easy, you know. At the end of the day, we’re all grown men here, and we all have different ways of doing things.“

“But at the same time, with time and experience and learning about guys and how they do things, you kind of get more comfortable speaking up and having those conversations that you know are for the better of the team, not like, taking shots or things like that…I feel like that’s a skill that everybody with time has to develop, and I feel like this year I’m a little more comfortable with that.”

Seattle’s new manager will also be tasked with making sure the two newer veteran voices in the clubhouse – Josh Naylor and Brendan Donovan – assume their leadership mantle, especially with the looming departure of the longest-tenured Mariner in J.P. Crawford. Donovan, who missed most of the year with a spate of injuries, never had the opportunity to fully connect with his new teammates. Naylor connected with his young infielders, especially Cole Young, but was hampered by both his own injury issues – a nagging wrist issue that took an off-season procedure to clean up – and injuries and inconsistencies across the infield that meant, aside from Young, he never knew who’d be feeding him the ball on any given night. That’s all further complicated by Naylor’s leadership style, which tends to be more of a carefully observed slow burn rather than an immediate call to arms.

“It’s my first year here, so I got to see a lot of things,” said Naylor. “I’m a very big viewer, and I just kind of see things from afar and then go off that.”

Naylor did praise his teammates, calling them a “great group,” and noted that the team genuinely seems to like each other, going to team dinners or group events. However, he noted that the process of building a team identity is an ongoing one, something that might have been limited by the lack of consistency in a clubhouse that seemed to lack a clear direction.

“Identity is huge in sports, personal identity and then a group identity” said Naylor. “I think it’s just—it’s continuous work too. It’s not just set in stone one day that you do this, this, and that, and it kind of sticks. It’s a day-to-day thing, but we work on it really every day here…With the identity aspect, I think we’re going to do our best to bond more and bring this group together more, and find ways to win ball games going into next year, doing the little things right.”

Doing the little things right was a constant refrain in end-of-season assessments from both players and front office members – or rather, a lack thereof. That, more than anything, speaks to the lack of consistent day-in and day-out leadership in the clubhouse and the need for players to step up, no matter how discomfited it might make them.

“You’re not going to be perfect,” said Woo. “But you’re gonna learn to lead by leading. You’re gonna learn to do something by doing it. It’s an honest process, but that’s what you really need to do, just give it your best effort.“

The Mariners need a manager who can oversee this ‘honest process’ and empower team leaders to lead, however imperfectly. The pieces are all there: what’s lacking is the person who can put them all together. As anyone who’s undergone a leadership change will tell you, it’s a fine line to walk between perpetuating the old ways that prompted the leadership change in the first place and importing an identity ham-fistedly. But it’s the job of a manager to get the best out of their people, and will be the job of the next Mariners manager to bottle up the talent currently free-flowing in the clubhouse into a container with an identifiable shape.

Joe DeMayo and guest co-host Chelsea Janes drop the latest episode of The Mets Pod, as Joe and SNY's MLB Insider go long on Tarik Skubal and the offseason ahead. 

Joe and Chelsea break down all the noise around the free agency of Skubal and the possibility of him landing with the Mets, while also discussing the roles Steve Cohen and David Stearns will play in any pursuit of the star pitcher. 

Later, they compare Freddy Peralta's time in NY with the more successful version in Tampa, while also contrasting the different ways a Brewers vs. Rays World Series matchup can be interpreted in the shadow of MLB's ongoing labor issues. Then, the show takes voicemails about other pitching options and the future for Francisco Alvarez, while the Mailbag brings up the continuing questions at first base.

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Mets are interested in speaking with Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee about a position on the coaching staff, according to a report on Tuesday from MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

Mallee, 57, has spent the past three seasons with Chicago, but previously served as hitting coach for the Houston Astros (2013-14), Cubs (2015-17) and Philadelphia Phillies (2018-19). His last stint before returning to Chicago was with the Los Angeles Angels (2020-22) as assistant hitting coach.

Mallee, along with Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly, helped the Northsiders put up impressive numbers last season, leading baseball in OPS (.767), slugging percentage (.428), RBI (804), and runs (850), and walks (674), while finishing 2nd in OBP (.251),  sixth in average (.251).

The Mets are also scheduled to speak with Kevin Long about a position on manager Andy Green's coaching staff, according to a report Monday 

The coaching staff was among David Stearns' talking points during the president of baseball operations' Sept. 28 news conference.

"Andy and I are going to have conversations on that this week, and we'll get to a decision point here over the next week or so," Stearns said last month when asked about building out Green's 2027 coaching staff.

After the season, the Mets dismissed director of hitting Jeff Albert, but retained hitting coach Troy Snitker and assistant Rafael Fernandez. It is unclear exactly what position the Mets are interviewing Mallee for at this time.

One of the more interesting stories to follow in 2026 was the case of Yohandy Morales. The slugging corner infielder had a great season in AAA, yet the front office was reluctant to call him up. When Morales finally got his shot, he performed well, but showed some of the flaws that made folks skeptical.

After being drafted in the second round of the 2023, Morales put up solid but not spectacular numbers in the minors prior to 2026. Back in 2025, Morales hit .265 with 15 homers and a .769 OPS between AA and AAA. Morales made consistent hard contact, but he struck out too much and hit too many ground balls.

Those problems did not disappear in 2026, but the production took a massive step forward. For the first couple months of the season, Morales was one of the biggest stories in the system. He hit .341 with a .924 OPS in April and followed that up with an even better month, hitting .361 with a 1.122 OPS in May.

Morales slowed down a little bit after that, but he still put together a tremendous season in Rochester. Overall, the former Miami Hurricanes star hit .286 with 25 homers and  an .882 OPS in 104 games. However, the Nats did not promote Morales to the big leagues until September.

In my opinion, the biggest reasons for that are his chase rate, which was over 30% in AAA and his zone contact rate, which was under 75%. Both of those numbers are red flags, especially for a Nats regime that focuses heavily on underlying data like that. 

When September rolled around, there was no reason not to give Morales a cameo, so they pulled the trigger. He immediately made a strong first impression, getting three hits, including a homer in his debut against the Braves. Morales is big, strong and shockingly fast for his size, which makes him easy on the eyes. The former second rounder really looks the part.

In his 17 games of big league action, Morales showed his strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side of things, Morales absolutely smoked baseballs. His 91.7 MPH average exit velocity, 62.5% hard hit rate and 15.6% barrel rate are all elite. That hard contact led to a .596 slugging percentage and .851 OPS.

Morales’ raw power is truly a plus tool. He has the ability to go yard from foul pole to foul pole. Morales actually pulled the ball in the air more than expected, but his opposite field power is the star of the show. The home run he hit in Detroit on a cold day in a big ball park was truly jaw dropping. You have to have monster power to pull off what Morales did.

Yohandy Morales produced in AAA and produced in the big leagues. However, there are still reasons to pump the breaks. For one, he struck out 31.9% of the time while not taking a single walk in 47 big league at bats. That combination of whiff and chase is concerning and could get exposed when big league pitchers see more of him. We saw Abimelec Ortiz also get off to a hot start before pitchers adjusted to him.

The corner infield spots are also pretty crowded entering 2027. Based on their actions in 2026, it seems like Andres Chaparro, Brady House and maybe even Ortiz are all ahead of Morales in the pecking order. The Nats also did not play Morales at third base in the big leagues despite playing there in the minors. Blake Butera said he could see Morales playing some third moving forward though.

Yohandy Morales had a very productive season in the minors and during his time in the big leagues. In his 17 MLB games, Morales hit .255 with 4 homers and an .851 OPS. His ability to make consistent hard contact is his super power, and we will see how far that will take him. Overall, Morales had a very good year, but has holes in his game. He will be in the mix for corner infield reps heading into next year.

Season Grade: A-

For the most part you can count the ways in which things went well for the 2026 Cincinnati Reds the same way you can count how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

• Elly De La Cruz emerged as an offensive superstar to begin to match the talent he has within.

• Chase Burns was the ace we all dreamed about, and the Reds signed him long-term.

• Sal Stewart socked a lot of homers, drove in a ton of runs, and might win Rookie of the Year.

One, two, three – that’s what went right all season long.

Amid those and the extensive list of things that decidedly did not go well, though, is a ho-hum 105 OPS+ season from a corner outfielder who posted a .217 batting average and a grand total of 1.2 bWAR. That would go to one JJ Bleday, who’ll turn 29 within the next month, as his season would’ve made him tied for the 10th most valuable position player on the World Series bound Milwaukee Brewers.

He was not terrible. He’s got that going for him, which is nice. Signed off the scrap heap for just $1.4 million with another pair of seasons of team control coming with him, he provided just enough cheap production that a team like the Reds will absolutely be jumping for joy at their find, convinced there is so, so much more to him than the .217/.324/.416 (.740 OPS) he put up in 545 PA for them during the 2026 season.

That may be because we – and the Reds – really did see so much more than that for a time.

Though JJ lost out on a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster due to the presence of fellow lefty outfielder Will Benson and Nathaniel Lowe (who the Reds would have lost back to free agency had they not chosen to pick him at that time of the season), he went straight to AAA Louisville and mashed. And when it became obvious that he was more deserving of a big league roster spot than most of his peers by late April, he was summoned back to the big leagues and promptly mashed the way the Miami Marlins thought he would when they selected him 4th overall out of Vanderbilt back int eh 2019 MLB Draft.

He was the best hitter in the National League through June 1st, if not on the entire planet. He took home the NL Player of the Month Award for May, and when he woke up on June 2nd he owned a .301/.399/.655 line (1.053 OPS) with 10 homers across 31 games played – all with a completely reasonable .304 BABIP through 133 PA. The Reds, at the time, looked like they’d found the second coming of Scooter Gennett.

Two things in particular should stand out at this point of the article. One, that I cherry-picked June 2nd as an important date, for some reason, and two, that Bleday held a completely normal (and almost completely average and expected) .304 BABIP to start his season. He was that good without it being ‘lucky,’ in essence – his .304 BABIP through games played on June 1st anked tied for 110th out of the 306 MLB players who’d logged at least 120 PA through that date. In other words, his numbers weren’t being inflated by Acts of the Baseball Gods that would have suggested that a good portion of his otherworldly work would not be sustainable.

June 2nd, though, is when the Baseball Gods did decide to start fighting back, however.

There were 163 MLB players who logged at least 300 PA from June 2nd until the end of the regular season, and JJ Bleday was one of them. Nobody else posted a BABIP worse than the .216 he put up in that time.

Not a single person.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that Bleday is a pretty extreme fly-ball hitter. Extreme fly-ball hitters typically do carry BABIPs slightly below average since no batted ball is ‘easier’ to catch than fly balls. That tracks intrinsically, as they spend more time in the air and the ones that aren’t hit into the seats are typically hit much softer than laser liners and even pulled grounders. At 51.4%, he ranked as the 6th most fly-ball happy hitter among that 163 player sample, and his 0.52 GB/FB ratio was the second lowest to only Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh. Pending MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong, I should point out, ranked 4th there at 0.54, while other noted sluggers like Miguel Vargas, Wilyer Abreu, and Isaac Paredes ranked in the Top 10 (with Yordan Alvarez at 16) – good company, in essence.

His 23.7 degree launch angle anked 4th – again with Raleigh atop the list – and he ranked in the middle of the pack in each of exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate. His expected slugging was roughly 40 points higher than his actual slugging during this time, and the .190 average he posted was somehow the third worst. Those aren’t superstar numbers by any means, but had his BABIP hovered more around the middle of that pack like most of the rest of his batted ball metrics, we’re talking about a guy who should’ve posted an OPS around ~.760 or .770 during the ‘slump’ portion of his 2026 season, not a guy who actually posted a .639 mark that ranked 147th out of that 163 player sample.

I don’t think there’s a ton left to ‘unlock’ with Bleday as he enters his age-29 season in 2027, especially not with the hitting coaches employed by the Reds running the show. I do think, however, that if he simply runs back the approach and batted-ball impacts he had in 2026 during the 2027 season his numbers at season’s end will look rosier than the ones on the back of his baseball card right now – and that’s before we even get into how he should never face a left-handed pitcher ever again. And if that’s the case, there’s still a chance the Reds can make a claim that they really did find another diamond in the rough.

The Texas Longhorns made an addition to the 2027 roster on Tuesday when Houston Memorial right-hander Grant Sperandio announced his re-classification.

The 6’2, 210-pounder will enroll in January and play for the Longhorns next season. Sperandio originally committed to the Longhorns three years ago.

Considered one of the top right-handed pitchers in the country, Sperandio has a chance to factor into Max Weiner’s pitching rotation next season because he has a power arm with a fastball that reaches 97 miles per hour and high spin-rate secondary pitches — a curveball and a slider — that he can throw for strikes, including three different types of fastballs he can manipulate in the zone thanks to a three-quarter arm slot.

The World Series is upon us, and this one should be a delight: The team with the best record in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers, against the team with the best record in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays.

The players are about to take baseball’s grandest stage. Yet this has somehow become a strange national obsession: not how Jacob Misiorowski or Junior Caminero might shine in the series, but how many people might watch it.

Should you care? Not really. Have you ever thought about watching a World Series game and thought, “Hmmm, let me consider what the ratings might be before I decide to tune in?”

Major League Baseball cares, of course, because its owners count on billions of dollars from the sale of television rights, and those rights are worth more money when more people watch the games. And, since the fog of a collective bargaining war has enveloped the sport, the ratings make for an intriguing subplot in the World Series.

Read more:Rays defeat Guardians in ALCS, will face Brewers in World Series

This World Series is what owners say they want: less of, say, the Dodgers and the New York Yankees, more of teams from smaller markets that seldom advance through the playoffs, if they even get there. Neither the Brewers nor the Rays have won a World Series.

Yet the ratings for the Dodgers-Yankees World Series in 2024 almost doubled those for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers in 2023, and this year’s ratings should be much closer to 2023 than 2024.

So, in a sport that already generates the majority of its broadcast revenue in national rather than local packages, amid the collapse of regional sports networks, are the owners taking a risk of making less money on the World Series?

Fox currently airs the World Series as the jewel of a seven-year, $5.1-billion deal that expires in 2028.

Ed Desser, a Santa Monica-based consultant who launched NBA TV and helped negotiate the Dodgers’ record SportsNet LA deal, said the value of a World Series featuring teams such as the Dodgers and Yankees goes beyond the large audiences they command because they play in large markets.

“It’s commonplace for people to hate the Dodgers, hate the Yankees — and, to some extent, that’s good for business, because it’s another rooting interest. Anything that gets people to focus their attention is good,” Desser said. “It’s easy to hate a team that’s in a glamorous place and spends more than almost anybody.

“I’m not sure that anybody has an ax to grind against the Rays or the Brewers. Sports is about passion.”

That said, neither Desser nor Bob Thompson, the former president of Fox Sports Networks, believes MLB is setting itself up for a big fall in revenue from the Fall Classic.

For Fox — and whatever other bidders might emerge come 2028 — ratings would be important, but not as much as you might think.

“Does expected audience matter? Of course,” Desser said. “They’re in the media business, and the way you monetize is by selling subscriptions to your channel and selling advertising.

Read more:Shaikin: Questions about Shohei Ohtani's health, a salary cap and Mark Walter loom for Dodgers

“But, typically, you’re taking a much longer viewpoint. You’re making a deal that might be five, eight, 12 years. When you do that, you have an expectation that some teams get better, some teams get worse, sometimes you get a large market, sometimes you get a small market. It kind of evens out.”

This is the fifth season of the current Fox contract. The 10 World Series berths have been spread among nine teams, with the Dodgers appearing twice.

To a broadcast outlet, Thompson said, financial success in the World Series is not just about ratings.

“It’s about how good the matchup is and how long the matchup goes. The bulk of the advertising is sold up front (before we know the teams),” Thompson said. “Ratings for the series aren’t going to be a huge deal, unless you’re selling time in, say, Game 6 and Game 7, where you can really be jacking your rates.”

Last year’s Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series extended to seven games, attracting viewers amid a dramatic finish and ultimately getting a higher rating than the 2024 Dodgers-Yankees series, even though Canadian viewers weren’t included in that Nielsen count. The Dodgers-Yankees series lasted five games, and the Dodgers beat up on the Yankees when the Yankees weren’t beating themselves.

Even if the World Series itself might be worth less with more lower-profile teams competing, Thompson said MLB could include it as part of a larger package, or dangle it as an incentive for streaming outlets or other new bidders.

He also noted that the latest MLB collective bargaining proposal calls for fewer regular-season games and more postseason games.

“Playoffs are going to get you a premium over regular-season games,” Thompson said.

And, to the extent that postseason ratings might be in decline, ratings for everything — sporting events, awards shows, news shows, dramas, comedies, you name it — are in decline. Only the NFL is immune to lower ratings.

“Big events matter more than they used to, even with smaller audiences,” Desser said. “The World Series is still a big event, and there is a premium for that.”

Read more:Shaikin: How the playoffs might impact the lockout, and ... unfair to the Yankees? What?

The three most-watched shows on broadcast television in the week of Oct. 5-11, according to Nielsen: Sunday Night Football (Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens) with 17 million viewers; SEC Football (Alabama vs. Georgia) with 12 million viewers; NLCS Game 1 (Dodgers vs. Brewers) with 11 million viewers.

The top entertainment show that week: Tracker (CBS), with 7.4 million viewers.

The owners will make their money on the World Series, one way or another.

“Even at a lower expectation for audience, there is still going to be that value,” Desser said. “It’s one of the biggest things happening in October.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

As you no doubt know by now, the World Series beginning Friday in Milwaukee between the Brewers and Rays is the first World Series involving two teams that had never won it before since 1980, when the Royals and Phillies met. That one was won by the Phillies, four games to two, and that franchise had been around for nearly a century (starting in 1883) before winning. They’d won only two National League pennants before 1980, in 1915 (losing the World Series to the Red Sox) and 1950 (losing to the Yankees). The 1980 Royals, meanwhile, were in just their 12th season and had posted seven winning seasons in those 12 years. (Comparison point: From 1969-80 the Cubs had just four winning seasons.)

This World Series isn’t exactly that one, but we do have one team (Milwaukee) that’s won only one pennant previous to this year in its 58 years of existence (1982, when they lost the World Series to the Cardinals as an AL team). The Rays have been in two World Series, losing both (2008 to the Phillies and 2020 to the Dodgers). Both these teams have had multiple postseason appearances over the last decade, eight for Milwaukee and six for Tampa Bay.

Both these teams have been described as “small market” teams. Let’s examine that for a moment. The Brewers do, in fact, inhabit the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball (TV market size generally being the benchmark for such things). This ranking of TV markets shows Milwaukee as No. 38, smallest in MLB. (That will change two years from now when Las Vegas, No. 40, joins MLB.)

But notice another thing about that ranking. Where do you find Tampa-St. Petersburg? No. 11. That’s right, the TV market of the Rays is nearly a Top 10 market, just below the San Francisco Bay Area and just ahead of Phoenix.

So why are the Rays a “small market” team? Likely this comes from their payroll spending, which has been among the lowest in MLB for quite some time. This year, per Spotrac, the Rays’ cash payroll ranks 28th (the Brewers, incidentally, are 18th).

Why is this happening? Most likely, because of the location of their stadium:

The vast majority of the people who live in the Tampa Bay area live east of the bay, in Tampa and its suburbs. Now look how difficult it is to get to the Trop from there. Three bridges, and during rush hour? Forget it. I have been there twice and stayed in St. Petersburg and it’s still hard to get to. Here’s what I wrote about my first visit there in 2017.

The Rays were recently sold and they are finally going to get a new stadium built. It will be in Tampa, near the Raymond James Stadium where the NFL’s Buccaneers play. This, plus their World Series appearance, should help Rays attendance jump significantly. They could almost immediately become a “big market” team.

So if anyone tells you that this matchup will have any effect on the labor negotiations that will follow, you can tell that person that they’re wrong. Nothing that happens in the World Series is going to change ownership’s desire for a salary cap. That is being asked for not for “competitive balance,” as has been stated by some including Commissioner Rob Manfred, but to increase team profit and thus, team valuations.

I seem to have strayed from the baseball aspect of the World Series here, a bit, so let me say that we have a matchup of the teams with the best record in each league since all the way back in … 2024, when the Dodgers and Yankees met. Just the year before, the 84-win Diamondbacks (who swept the 101-win Dodgers in a division series) and 90-win Rangers (who swept the 101-win Orioles in a division series) were the World Series opponents. In my view, the postseason really is random. This year it went in fairly predictable fashion. Other years, it doesn’t.

These teams played very early this year in Milwaukee at the end of March, with the Brewers taking two of three. I doubt that has much predictive value for the World Series.

As far as who I’m rooting for? I don’t think you have to take more than one guess. I respect what the Brewers have accomplished, but I can’t root for them to win. Go Rays, and let’s make this a seven-game series, because, well, more baseball is always good and after this World Series ends, we don’t know when we’ll next see MLB players on the field.

Shohei Ohtani memorabilia is still fetching eye-watering numbers even after his disappointing 2026 postseason.

A jersey the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar wore in 2025 just sold for $2,055,700 on The Realest’s auction block.

Officials who oversaw the sale said in a statement this week the hefty price tag set a public auction record for a 21st century game-used baseball jersey, topping the $1.792 million that New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge’s MLB debut uniform previously netted.

Ohtani donned the jersey on March 18, 2025 during Los Angeles’ Tokyo Series matchup against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

It featured the first-ever Gold MLB Logoman patch, and Ohtani later signed it. He also wrote inscriptions on it that commemorated the date of the game and his 2025 National League MVP award.

Ohtani went on to have huge seasons in ’25 and ’26, though he had a forgettable run for the Dodgers during their playoff run this month.

The designated hitter batted .192 in eight games while dealing with several injuries. He also recorded just one home run and only three RBIs.

Nonetheless, the market for his items is still clearly as hot as ever — something The Realest founder and CEO Scott Keeney noted in the days after the record-breaking sale of the Ohtani jersey.

“The greatest collectibles are the ones that capture moments that can never be recreated, and this jersey represents exactly that,” Keeney said. “Ohtani is redefining what’s possible in the collectibles market, and the global response to this jersey reinforces just how significant these historic artifacts have become.”

Last week, Rawlings announced their 2026 Gold Glove Finalists. Perhaps surprising to some (but not Colorado Rockies fans) was the inclusion of Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield along with Matt Olson and Ty France.

“It’s not easy to do in your first year,” said Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer via a phone call last week.

Of Rumfield’s defense, Schaeffer said, “It was impressive, and it was steady.”

Rumfield became one of five rookies since 1901 to have a season with at least 1,150 innings at first base and have seven or fewer errors, joining Todd Helton (1998), Travis Lee (1998, ARI), Freddie Freeman (2011, ATL), and Nolan Schanuel (2024, LAA).

It’s worth considering, then, how he compares defensively with his fellow finalists as well as what he brings to a rebuilding Rockies team.

Considering the competition

As a reminder, Rumfield was acquired by the Rockies via trade from the New York Yankees.

“TJ, I think, has always been a fairly underrated prospect,” said Amir Mamdani, Rockies director of baseball operations, via text message. “I think in part because he doesn’t meet the archetype of a typical 1B slugger.”

He continued, “I think TJ’s gift, which we were fortunate to see on display for 155 games, is the fact that he has a tremendous feel to hit. Has always put the ball in play at an impressive rate, and while the power has been more modest (15-20 HR a season), he’s always held his own offensively as he moved up through New York’s system, and ultimately seemed pretty blocked there, behind Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, and others.”

The Rockies were happy to take advantage of the Yankees surplus.

In 2026, Rumfield saw his first year of MLB play, and he made the most of it. Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves is 32 and is already a three-time Gold Glove winner. San Diego Padre Ty France, also 32, has won a Gold Glove as well.

Rumfield is the only newbie of the group, and while he did win an MiLB Gold Glove for first base in 2023, this announcement is another way to announce the rookie’s arrival.

Now to the numbers.

Here’s how the three finalists compare defensively in terms of standard defensive metrics as shown by FanGraphs:

Olson has played significantly more defensive innings (1424.0) than Rumfield (1156.1), and both are well ahead of France (1030.1). Although Olson has one more error than Rumfield, given the number of innings he logged, it’s difficult to hold that against him. Olson also started and finished more double plays than either of the other finalists. By this metric, Olson has clearly made a case for his fourth Gold Glove.

Consider, then, what the advanced defensive metrics show, again, per FanGraphs:

Although France leads the trio in defensive runs saved, Olson again has the better numbers in terms of outs above average and fielding run value.

Rumfield had a 2026 that placed him (rightfully) in the Rookie of the Year conversation, but the numbers indicate that he is not a Gold Glove front runner.

Still, it’s been a tremendous season for the Rockies first baseman.

“For him to be mentioned among Matt Olson and Ty France,” Schaeffer said, “those are two really good defenders, and I’m proud of TJ for the work he put in every day to get there.”

Considering what he brings to the Rockies

Schaeffer is quick to acknowledge what Rumfield means for Colorado.

“For a big man over there, which a lot of first basemen are, his hands are soft,” Schaeffer said, “and he makes pretty much every play over there — difficult plays.”

And it’s not just the plays that Rumfield makes; it’s also how he anchors his infield teammates.

“He’s got the athletic ability to read hops,” Schaeffer said, “and for me as an infielder myself, the the biggest thing for a first baseman was giving the rest of the infielders confidence that you can make a great play and not make the best throw, and your guy’s going to pick you up over there, and TJ does that on a consistent basis.”

Schaeffer added, “I think he makes life easy, way easier for [Ezequiel] Tovar and for [Kyle] Karros, and for whoever was playing second base — Willi Castro — and they know that. So they can try to make more difficult plays because they know that he’s going to pick them up on the backside.”

Rockies general manager Josh Brynes agrees.

“I thought receiving throws, like the wingspan picks, all that stuff, it felt like he saved a lot of errors or converted outs,” Brynes said over the phone, adding, “Just the infielders, their freedom of making any kind of throw is enhanced.”

Although the rebuilding Rockies are coming off a less-than-stellar season defensively, Rumfield was a stalwart at first, which Schaeffer sees as key for any successful defensive unit.

“I mean, (if) you have a really good first baseman, you can do more things. Kyle Karros can try more crazy plays where you have to be free to do it. And if you have any inkling that your first baseman isn’t going to catch the ball, you can’t make those plays. And same thing with Tovar on that side of the on that side of the diamond,” Schaeffer noted.

He pointed to other MLB first basemen to illustrate his point.

“When Christian Walker was in Arizona, he anchored that good infield that they had. Matt Olson anchors that infield. Even Freddie Freeman in L.A — they throw it over there, and they know he’s going to catch everything. So you see really good infields anchored by first basemen that receive every throw.”

Mamdani concurs.

“Defensively, I think it’s a credit to him and all the work he’s put in,” Mandani said.

“He and Andy González worked a lot this year, whether it be the red machine, or other defensive drills, and I think if you look at his contribution both from a statistical standpoint with range and defensive runs saved, but even in terms of his receiving at first base. The number of plays he made, even anecdotally, to make scoops, or catch balls as a big target that other first basemen wouldn’t be able to get to, he was just incredibly steady over there, and I’m happy for him that that’s being recognized.”

It would not be unreasonable to consider Rumfield’s season “Helton-esque.”

Even if Rumfield isn’t a Gold Glove winner in 2026, that’s some high praise, and he’s set himself up to build on this year going forward.

“It’s a testament to him and the work that he put in, because I think (with) defense, there’s skill involved certainly, but a lot of it is sort of effort and practice and focus,” said Ian Levin, Rockies assistant general manager of baseball operations, over the phone.

“And he puts in the time, he puts in the effort, and he’s done it throughout his career prior to coming to us, and then we see it with us. So, just the the ability for him to to do that, put into action, and now actually become a Gold Glove finalist for it, I think is huge credit.”

“Just to be a finalist, that’s awesome as a rookie to be among those (players),” Schaeffer said. “TJ, he set a high bar for himself in his first year.”

The Gold Glove winners will be announced on November 1, 2026.

This story was updated to include comments from Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes.

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