SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 22: Robert Suarez #75 of the Atlanta Braves reacts to the camera during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Monday, June 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ryan Levy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Fresh off of confirming their spot in this season’s Postseason, the Atlanta Braves got some more good news to put out there for the morning after. Reliever Robert Suarez is finally set to go on rehab assignment, as he’ll more-than-likely be making an appearance for the Gwinnett Stripers in their series finale on Sunday. Walt Weiss informed the media of this following Friday’s win and the Stripers confirmed it with a press release this morning.
Robert Suarez expected to pitch Sunday for Gwinnett, Walt Weiss says today
Suarez has not pitched for the Braves since making an appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers back on June 19 and that ended up being one of many scoreless innings that the right-handed set-up man has tossed this season. He’s currently sitting on an ERA of 0.56 (13 ERA-) and a FIP of 2.44 (59 FIP-) across 32 strong innings. Needless to say, if the Braves can get Suarez back integrated with their bullpen as quickly as possible (and they really have no choice since Sunday is Gwinnett’s final regular season game) then that would be a huge boost to a bullpen that has already spent most of this season finding ways to get the job done on a regular basis.
Either way, this is pretty good news for the Braves and hopefully things go as smooth as possible so that Suarez will be able to help contribute from the bullpen in time for a Postseason run. We’ll see what happens.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during batting practice prior to the start of the game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on September 07, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today marks George Springer’s 37th birthday.
Springer is approaching the end of his six-year, $150 million contract.
He continues to climb the Blue Jays’ all-time leaderboards:
22nd in bWAR for position players.
23rd in OPS.
25th in games played.
13th in runs scored.
11th in home runs (tied with Josh Donaldson).
15th in walks.
14th in steals.
And he’s likely first in huge smiles.
Happy birthday, George!
Danny Valencia celebrates his 42nd birthday today.
Valencia spent parts of two seasons with the Jays during his nine-year MLB career. The team acquired him near the 2014 deadline by trading Liam Hendriks and Erik Kratz to the Royals. Down the stretch, he hit .240/.273/.364 for the Jays, primarily at third base.
He started the 2015 season hitting .296/.331/.506 with 7 home runs in 58 games, but the Jays put him on waivers, and the A’s claimed him. That decision came after the team chose to have Ben Revere play every day. Revere went on to hit .319/.354/.381 down the stretch, helping the Jays make the playoffs.
Valencia played through the 2016 season with the A’s before moving on to the Mariners and Orioles. Over nine seasons, he hit .268/.317/.426 with 96 home runs in 864 games.
Happy birthday, Danny!
Robinzon Diaz celebrates his 43rd birthday today.
Diaz was one of several ‘catchers of the future’ who ultimately didn’t fill that role.
But we remember him because we traded him to the Pirates for Jose Bautista, one of the best trades in team history. Jose played ten seasons for the Jays and hit 288 home runs (and six in the playoffs, including the ‘bat flip home run’).
Diaz played 43 games with the Pirates, hitting .289/.315/.363 with 1 home run.
Happy birthday, Robinson!
Randy Myers turns 64 today.
Myers was a big free agent signing in 1998. A few years ago, I wrote:
The Jays signed lefty reliever Randy Myers to a 3-year, $18 million contract—a curious move (a polite way of calling it a mistake). In 1997, the Jays went 76-86, finishing 5th in the AL East, 22 games behind the Orioles. A high-priced reliever wasn’t the piece to lift us over the top.
Randy struggled, posting a 4.46 ERA in 41 games, with 28 saves and 5 blown saves.
This is where the story gets interesting. The Jays suddenly realized they were paying a ton of money for a reliever who wasn’t going to get them to the playoffs, who was 35 years old and who we would be paying for two more seasons. So Gord Ash put him on waivers. His going on waivers wasn’t surprising. Back then, most players ended up on waivers in August.
The Padres claimed him. They didn’t want him, but they didn’t want the Braves to get him. So they figured if they claimed him, the Blue Jays would pull him back and stop him from reaching the Braves.
But Ash fooled them. He let the Padres have him and saved the team roughly $14 million over the next two seasons and two months.
Myers struggled over the final two months of the 1998 season, recording a 6.28 ERA (with no saves) in 21 games. He never pitched in the majors again, and the Padres paid his salary for the next two years.
Randy played 14 years in the MLB, had 347 saves and a 3.19 ERA in 728 games.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 18: Josiah Gray #40 of the Washington Nationals delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning at Busch Stadium on September 18, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday was a fantastic day for the Washington Nationals. We got so many fun moments and milestones. The good vibes were flowing and the team was playing some good baseball. I wanted to break down all the good things that happened yesterday and discuss what they mean moving forward.
There were a lot of great things that happened yesterday but the Cade Cavalli extension was the most important. The Nats have had a tough time locking up home grown talent, but they got it done with Cavalli. He signed a 4-year $47 million deal with a club option that could take it to 5-years for $70 million. We got to see our wealthy ace right away and he did not disappoint.
Cavalli tossed 5 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts and no walks. The 7 strikeouts were significant because it got him up to 200 on the season. It was the first 200 strikeout season for a Nationals pitcher since 2019. MacKenzie Gore was a strikeout artist in DC, but he only got up to 185. From start to finish, Cavalli is proving he can be an ace in this league.
Good day to be Cade Cavalli.
Got an extension this afternoon. Reached 200 strikeouts on the season in a scoreless start tonight. pic.twitter.com/h7stZ7qWnG
If the game was closer, Cavalli would have gone deeper into the game. However, with the Nats blowing out the Cardinals, it was a perfect time to manage Cavalli’s workload. He threw 73 low stress pitches and got his 13th win of the season. In his first full big league campaign, Cavalli has a 3.02 ERA with 200 strikeouts in 169.2 innings. He will get a chance to drop that ERA under 3 in his last start of the season.
However, this day was not just about Cade Cavalli. Josiah Gray made his inspirational return to the mound last night. Honestly, Gray can look to Cavalli as a light at the end of the tunnel. Both had very bumpy recoveries from Tommy John Surgery. Cavalli has come all the way back and is better than ever. Hopefully Gray can do the same as he is further removed from his injury troubles.
With the game being 9-1, it was a perfect time to get Gray back on the mound. The right-hander made his first appearance since April of 2024 in the 9th inning. He actually looked sharper than expected. In his rehab outings, Gray’s fastball was in the low-90’s. Last night, he was sitting at 94 and attacking the zone. He threw a scoreless inning and closed out the game.
Josiah Gray — who missed almost three full seasons recovering from injuries — returned to the mound tonight. Faced 4 batters and retired 3. pic.twitter.com/D8qsF6qitz
It was easy to see just how happy Gray was to be back on the mound. After he finished the game, Gray emotionally pointed towards the heavens. So much about this team has changed since the last time Josiah Gray took the mound. He has had plenty of setbacks, but he never gave up.
For now, Gray will be in the bullpen. Who knows what is next for the right hander, but I am really rooting for him. It would be great to see him have an impact on this team moving forward. If he can live in the mid-90’s with his sharp breaking balls, he might be able to carve out a role.
Personal goals were not the only thing the Nats accomplished yesterday though. The Nats 9-1 win gave them 72 wins on the season. That is the club’s high water mark since winning the World Series in 2019. They reached 71 in 2023 and 2024, but that was where the Rizzo rebuild peaked. In Paul Toboni’s first season, the Nats have already surpassed that now.
The Nationals have won the most games in a season since 2019 at 72. With one more win, they can avoid a 90 loss season
Heading into the season, the Nats were expected to win a similar number of games to 2025, where they went 66-96. Some even projected them to be even worse than that due to losing players like MacKenzie Gore, Josh Bell and Jose A. Ferrer. However, the offense has been elite and has made this team much more competitive than expected.
They were above .500 for large chunks of the season. Despite losing steam in August and early September, this group has taken big steps. The Nats only need one more win to avoid a 90 loss season, which I think is a significant milestone. With three more wins, they can get to 75 on the season as well. Obviously we will be looking for bigger goals than that moving forward, but you have to crawl before you walk.
One final individual milestone came in the first inning of this contest. CJ Abrams swiped his 30th base of the season. With 30 homers and 30 steals, Abrams has become the second Nat in franchise history to have a 30/30 season joining Alfonso Soriano, who went 40/40.
CJ Abrams is the 3rd player in Nationals/Expos franchise history to have a 30-HR/30-SB season, joining Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Vladimir Guerrero (2001 & 2002)! pic.twitter.com/RiJ0ieUFsb
Abrams had a rough six week stretch, but he has looked better the past week or so. It really feels like Abrams goes as the team goes. When the vibes are good, Abrams is rolling. However, he can fall into funks when the team around him is crumbling. His season may not have finished as we hoped, but Abrams overall production has still taken a massive step forward.
You can make an argument that this was the best single day for the Nats since 2019. We got a contract extension, several personal milestones, a long awaited return and a big win to reach a new high water mark for the decade. As we enter 2027, I hope to see plenty more days like this in Nats land.
(Original Caption) Turley Does it Again. Boston: New York Yankees' Bob Turley mops up in the dressing room after pitching a two-hit shutout in the game with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. It was Turley's second victory over the Red Sox this year, and his fifth win with no defeats. He struck out 13, which gave him 46 strikeouts thus far, the American League top spot. New York won, 6-0.
In the mid-’50s, Major League Baseball introduced a couple of new awards to honor exemplary performance. The Cy Young Award recognized the best pitcher in baseball (later expanded as separate awards for each league). The World Series MVP recognized the player who had the biggest impact on each year’s Fall Classic. Since that time, six players have taken home both in the same season, demonstrating a historic level of dominance as they carried their team to a title. Among them are Hall of Famers like Whitey Ford, Randy Johnson, and Sandy Koufax as well as franchise icons Orel Hershiser and Bret Saberhagen. The sixth? Bob Turley.
Robert Lee Turley Born: September 19, 1930 (Troy, IL) Died: March 30, 2013 (Atlanta, GA) Yankees Tenure: 1955-62
Turley grew up in Illinois. A baseball prodigy from an early age, he was banned from pitching in his youth league at the age of 12. Young Bob drew the attention of the Yankees after attending a tryout camp with his uncle, Ralph. The club was reportedly impressed enough to sign “R. Turley” but offered a contract to the wrong one. While Ralph briefly joined the Yankees organization, his nephew signed with the St. Louis Browns on the night of his high school graduation.
Turley immediately displayed the double-edged sword of his dominant stuff, allowing 71 free passes in 97 innings as a 17-year-old but going 9-3 nonetheless. Over four minor-league seasons, he’d post a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 411:481 in 817 innings, a harbinger of what would come in his big-league career.
Turley got the call in 1951, 10 days after his 21st birthday, starting just one game before season’s end. After that brief cup of coffee, he’d spend nearly two years serving in the Army. Returning in August of ‘53, he made 10 strong appearances for a Browns team on its last legs. When the team moved to Baltimore the following year, Turley was squarely entrenched in their rotation, pitching the home opener for the first MLB game in Baltimore since 1902.
The ‘54 season would prove to be a breakout campaign for Turley. He earned an All-Star berth while leading all of baseball in strikeouts and walks, a feat also accomplished by Hall of Fame fireballers like Bob Feller and Nolan Ryan. His 14 wins were tops on a Baltimore team that lost 100 games (Don Larsen went 3-21 for them that year).
While Turley was going places, it was clear the Orioles were not. And so, before the ‘55 season, they made a historic, 17-player swap with the Yankees, sending Turley alongside Larsen and a cadre of others to the Bronx. “I’d have crawled to New York,” Turley said later of his feelings after the trade, which flipped him from the 100-loss O’s to a Yankees team that had won 103 games the year prior.
The 24-year-old didn’t skip a beat after swapping laundry, earning another All-Star berth while winning 17 games and punching out a career-high 210. Come October, though, he stumbled. In his only World Series start, Turley recorded only four outs, allowing a Roy Campanella home run in the first and walking in a run in the second before getting the hook. It would not be Turley’s last chance to contribute in a Fall Classic.
The ‘56 season was a setback for Turley, who saw his ERA balloon over 5.00. “You had to baby him a little bit,” Yogi Berra said of Turley’s struggles. “You know, he’d get a little wild. You had to go out there and say, ‘C’mon, Bob, you’re better than that.’” The two-time All-Star was bounced from the rotation in September and worked out of the bullpen to start the World Series. But in Game 6, the day after Larsen’s perfecto, manager Casey Stengel handed the ball to his embattled star.
Turley would later call it the best game he ever pitched. Like his former Orioles teammate the day prior, he held a Dodgers lineup stacked with five Hall of Famers off the board through nine innings, recording 11 strikeouts including three at Campanella’s expense. “Man!” said the Dodgers catcher. “When you see me take three swings at three fastballs and not even foul tip one, the fellow throwing ‘em must have something. Maybe he was using a little gun to fire that ball up there.” Unfortunately for the Yankees, Brooklyn’s Clem Labine was just as tough, blanking the Yankees through 10 frames. In the bottom of the 10th, the Dodgers walked off Turley to force a Game 7. Still, after a lost season, the 26-year-old had proven he could perform under the brightest of lights.
Turley regained his mojo in ‘57, posting a 2.71 ERA in 176.1 innings and earning a complete-game victory in Game 6 of the World Series. But it was the following year that would be his pièce de résistance. Turley once again led the AL in walks but, more importantly, he led in wins (21) and complete games (19) too, edging out Milwaukee’s dual aces Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette for the Cy Young Award. He nearly took home MVP honors as well, ending up narrowly bested by Boston’s Jackie Jensen.
Facing Burdette in Game 2 of the World Series, the magical season seemed to implode on Turley. He’d face just five batters, four of whom reached base, before Stengel got the hook. Turley took the loss and wouldn’t pitch again until Game 5, by which point the Braves were up three games to one. On the brink of elimination, the Cy Young Award winner returned to form with a complete-game shutout. Most impressively, he held Hank Aaron out of the hit column, striking him out twice.
The next day, he entered in the 10th with two outs and the tying run on third, retiring Frank Torre to force a Game 7. Larsen drew the start that day but, after he put on two runners in the third, Stengel pulled out his trump card, turning to Turley. He’d allow just one run in 6.2 innings of relief as the Yankees clinched an unlikely World Series comeback. Turley was feted with the fourth-ever World Series MVP, coming just a few votes shy in the regular-season MVP race of being one of two players (alongside Sandy Koufax) to win the Cy Young, MVP, and World Series MVP in one season.
At the age of 28, Bob Turley had just put the finishing touches on one of the greatest pitching seasons in MLB history. He’d never reach those heights again, making no additional All-Star teams and receiving no more Cy Young or MVP votes. He’d have one more hurrah in the Fall Classic in ‘60. After taking home the victory in Game 2, he drew the start in the decisive Game 7 but got only three outs while allowing three runs in what would forever go down as the Bill Mazeroski Game.
Turley spent two more uneven seasons in pinstripes before splitting the ‘63 campaign between the Angels and Red Sox. He then worked as a pitching coach before entering the business world, where he made a fortune in insurance and real estate and staked a second legacy as one of the most financially successful former players in baseball history. He remained a fixture around the Yankees, regularly appearing at Old-Timers’ Day celebrations.
Bob Turley did not sustain his career long enough to end up in the Hall of Fame. At his peak, though, he was that caliber of talent, a fireballing force of nature who played a critical role on five pennant-winning squads and posted a season in 1958 that ranks among the greatest of all-time.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 04: Ryan Weiss #51 of the Houston Astros pitches in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Daikin Park on May 04, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (73-74) won 4-0 (BOX SCORE)
Sugar Land got on the board in the second inning scoring 4 runs on a Cole RBI single, a run on a fielder’s choice, an Austin RBI double and a Matthews sac fly. Weiss started for Sugar Land and was dominant tossing 8.1 scoreless innings while striking out 7 batters. Santos came on in the 9th and retired the final 2 batters as Sugar Land won 4-0.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 08: Henry Bolte #33 of the Athletics catches a ball hit by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Sutter Health Park on September 08, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
What the A’s hoped would be a contending year turned into squarely a “development” year, even though the AL West is currently paced, with 8 games left, by two teams who sit at 77-77. Did the wheat and chaff separate itself for the A’s to properly assess their 2027 options? Quite a bit, actually…
Wheat: Henry Bolte
Bolte came out like a lightning bolte, then suffered through a horrendous July (.164/.243/.224, 27 wRC+), then rebounded big time. In aggregate, Bolte is looking more and more each day like “the real deal,” especially when you consider that his latest exploits are his finest.
While Bolte still has areas in need of refining, such as his reads on pop flies and a K rate still too high at 28.5%, two key patterns have emerged recently.
One is that Bolte’s patience doesn’t just result in too many called third strikes — it also allows him to maintain a high OBP as a lead off hitter by working the count and drawing his fair share of walks. Bolte’s 8.3% BB rate is boosted by his knack for drawing the other kind of freebie: he leads the team far and away with 14 HBP. All this has helped keep Bolte’s OBP robust at .358, impressive for a 23 year old rookie.
Wednesday’s game also featured an important milestone when Bolte took Nick Martinez deep for his 11th HR of the season. At the end of the day Bolte’s slugging percentage sat above .400 for the first time. No one doubts that Bolte has raw power, but the slugging has been slow to come due to a scarcity of balls lifted beyond the infield. That is shifting and with the slugging percentage creeping ever higher.
A stat that has been worth watching throughout is Bolte’s line drive %, which has been steadily well below average since his call up, generally checking in around 12%-15% where league average is around 20%. Progress is also being seen here as the A’s CFer has his LD% now up to 16.9% overall thanks to a solid 22.8% in August, 18.2% so far in September.
And for all the gnashing of teeth each time he gets a slow read on a pop fly and Bledays it into a single, in fact Bolte is putting up excellent defensive numbers in CF thanks to his excellent range from left-center to right-center and on balls over his head. He is at +4 DRS/+3 OAA in CF, more than good enough to warrant every day playing time.
Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler have taught us not to fall in love too quickly with a terrific partial season and not to give up too fast on a fallen star, and the jury is still out on who Bolte will prove to be long term. But right now he’s looking like an essential core piece with exciting upside, just 110 games into his MLB career.
Chaff: Tommy White
Early in his rookie season White had not one but two 4-hit games, and in Tampa Bay he HRed as part of a 3-hit night. Enjoy the occasional successes because if there’s one thing White has established in his maiden voyage is that he’s bad at everything.
Even with those pleasant 3 games, White’s season slash line stands at .253/.269/.335, good (bad) for a 58 wRC+, result of a terrible hacktastic approach of swinging early and often and getting himself out as often as the opposing pitcher plays a role.
Give White “credit” for consistency. His wRC+s month by month, beginning with his July call up, have been 62, 56, 56. His BB rate, discovered by scientists using a powerful microscope, is 2.3%, and due to swinging at scores of pitches he can’t do anything productive with, “Tommy Tanks”‘s ISO sits at a woeful .082 with among the lowest exit velocity in the league.
Defensively, White is at -3 OAA at 3B in just 173 innings. Over at 1B he’s not much better, with -2 OAA in 196 innings.
None of this is a product of White being rushed due to injuries on the infield necessitating his call up. White is doing exactly what he has been doing throughout his time in the minors and it is playing out just as you would expect.
White was drafted just before the Red Sox selected SP Peyton Tolle. Oops.
Honorable Mention:
Despite the unfortunate HR served up to Jose Ramirez last night on a flat changeup, I like Seth Johnson as a potential plus reliever going forward. He’s no sure thing, as his career 7.34 ERA reflects, but he has a plus fastball and curve with a developing changeup and has shown several flashed of genuine dominance. He’s someone I think the A’s should give a longer look to in 2027.
Alika Williams can’t actually hit, even though he has put up respectable numbers and yet he is an excellent utility infielder to have on the roster. His offensive shortcomings come partly from being too vulnerable to RHP (he doesn’t recognize spin well, helping to produce his .220/.259/.358, 61 wrC+ line), but against LHP he is at .304/.347/.489, 126 wRC+ and might be league average against LHP going forward.
More to the point Alika is a slick fielding SS and 2Bman who provides legitimate value defensively on the infield. He even reminds me just a tad of Mark Ellis in the way he seems to get such a good ‘jump’ on ground balls, seemingly moving in the right direction as the ball is hit. I feel like Williams is what the A’s hoped Nick Allen would be.
Dishonorable Mention:
Chris Roycroft, like Johnson, has a big time arm but I’m not sold on his stuff/control/command playing any better than Joel Kuhnel’s. Kuhnel has had flashes of brilliance with 3 different teams this season including the A’s, but ultimately just isn’t very good. I see Roycroft following the same path — he’s still worth a look in a lost season but I’m not holding my breath.
Carlos Cortes’ April was super fun and it’s odd how mediocre players can have incredible months out of nowhere. But enough about John Mabry. Cortes has come crashing back to earth and with Soderstrom-Bolte-Butler set in the OF with Denzel Clarke profiling as an ideal 4th OFer, Devin Taylor knocking on the door and Drew Burress not far behind, I don’t see a place for Cortes on the future A’s.
For one thing Cortes is unplayably bad in the outfield, a truth that becomes more exposed the more he is put out there. In just 731 innings (the equivalent of half a season), Cortes is at -8 DRS/-8 OAA and to the eyeballs those numbers feel generous.
At the plate, the Cortes who worked the count for 12-14 pitch at bats, sprayed liners to all fields, and could turn on an inside pitch to wallop it 400 feet? That guy hasn’t been around for a loooong time. Cortes hit .106/.160/.170 in June, and is batting all of .207/.258/.314, 50 wRC+ since the All-Star break.
Certainly he’s better than that, but he has to hit a ton to offer any value because his defense is so bad. And don’t get excited about him pinch hitting, because as a pinch hitter he has been especially terrible, going 2 for 22 with 8 K.
Any wheat/chaff additions to suggest? And do you buy, or refute, these assessments? Food for banter until the A’s battle the Guardians again at 3:10pm PDT…
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 16: José Ramírez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians hits an RBI double during the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on September 16, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guardians beat the Athletics last night and the White Sox lost to Detroit, blowing a six-run lead, so Cleveland baseball fans are feeling PRETTY good this morning. Jake had your recap of the game here.
Jose Ramirez got his 1,000th career RBI last night. It came on his 12th home run of the season… hit while batting left-handed… is Jose’s wrist finally feeling better?
Colin Holderman left his rehab appearance with Columbus with a flare-up of his sore wrist. Feels unlikely we will see him again this season, which is sad.
Around MLB:
As mentioned, the White Sox lost, the Rangers beat the Blue Jays (so root for Texas tonight) and the Orioles also lost. The Guardians are 1 game up in the Central and 2 games up in the wildcard. Go Tigers!
SAN FRANCISCO - 1993: Dave Hollins of the Philadelphia Phillies plays third base during a Major League Baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in 1993 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In honor of the Philadelphia Phillies playing host to the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, we here at The Good Phight are launching a yearlong series that focuses on the history of the Phillies and the All-Star Game.Check back regularly for posts about the Phillies participation (or lack thereof) in the Midsummer Classic over its history.
We’re back again, and this one is going to be a doozy. For those who have been following along with this series and who are of a certain age or know their Phillies history, you knew that this decade would be a full one. And it is, with a whopping 8 one and done All-Stars, the most of any decade in this silly exercise. So please bear with me as this will be an extremely long post and I apologize in advance for the delay in receiving it.
Naturally, our list begins with two members of the 1993 National League champion Phillies. Dave Hollins was the frighteningly intense third baseman of those ‘93 Phillies, but before that, he was the sixth-round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 1987 MLB draft. Hollins was just a junior at the University of South Carolina at the time who hit .302 with 4 home runs a year after he slugged 19 homers his sophomore year. The Padres assigned Hollins to short-season A-ball in Spokane where he hit .309 with 2 home runs in 75 games as a 21-year-old.
It wouldn’t be long before Hollins found himself getting promoted, as he ended 1989 in Double-A after hitting .275 with a .775 OPS. But even with his growing status as a prospect, the Padres and their manager Jack McKeon decided to leave Hollins off the 40-man roster despite having three open spots, thus exposing him to the Rule-5 draft. That’s when the Phillies’ general manager Lee Thomas decided to select Hollins in the second round of the draft, snapping him up from San Diego for no cost. The Padres regretted their decision, with one executive placing the blame on McKeon who “has never been enthralled with younger players” and lamented “Jeez, as hard as third baseman are to find, you don’t just give a prospect like this away.”
But that’s exactly what the Padres did, and Hollins was thrilled about it, saying “As soon as I got the news, it was a boost for my confidence. I think I can make the team. I just hope they give me a shot to show that I can play.” And that’s exactly what the Phillies did, as they were searching for a successor to Mike Schmidt and incumbent third baseman Charlie Hayes did not show enough to warrant off any competition for the majority of playing time. Hollins stayed with the Phillies for all of 1990 but only appeared in 72 games and hit .184. Still, it fulfilled the Rule 5 draft requirements for the Phillies to retain Hollins, so they were now free to move him around their system at will.
And that’s exactly what they did in 1991, as Hollins was demoted to Triple-A following an April where he hit went hitless across 14 plate appearances in just 8 games played. Hollins had made the Opening Day roster despite most expecting him to start in Triple-A, but that poor performance and his ultimate lack of playing time led to him being sent to Scranton anyway on April 23rd, the same day the team fired manager Nick Leyva and replaced him with Jim Fregosi. Hollins meanwhile started out poorly in Triple-A before catching fire in June, hitting .330 with three home runs and 14 RBIs while capturing minor league player of the month honors. It was a well-timed hot streak, as Phillies third baseman Charlie Hayes was bottoming out with his average sitting at .203 by the end of June. Hollins found his way back to the majors on July 11th and showed why the third base job should be his as he hit .326 with a .963 OPS in 48 games after being recalled.
The Phillies entered 1992 with Hollins firmly entrenched as their starting third baseman, as the team had shipped Hayes to the Yankees in early January. Hollins took full advantage of his first chance at every day playing time, as he turned in a season that landed him 20th in MVP voting despite the Phillies finishing in last place. Now being known as “Mikey”, a nickname coined by teammate John Kruk to refer to the uber intense persona Hollins would slip into, the 26-year-old Hollins hit .270 with 27 home runs. His season highlight may have come very early into the year though, as Hollins collected 5 RBIs on a two-run homer and a three-run triple on April 27th against his old team the Padres. “I do get up a little more for them than any other team,” Hollins admitted after the 12-9 win. “It’s just the fact that I did play for them. It gives me incentive to play well because I do like to beat them.”
That exact sentiment, the feeling of proving someone wrong out of pure spite, would fuel Hollins and many of the 1993 Phillies. Hollins, along with Kruk, Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Pete Incaviglia, and Mitch Williams made up the core of what became known as “Macho Row,” the group of veteran throwbacks and castoffs that became the heart of the ‘93 Phillies as they stormed their way to a shocking NL pennant. The hard-edged Hollins was a big part of the team’s record-breaking fast start, as he hit .302 with 8 home runs through the end of May. But Hollins had been playing with a sore wrist until finally a groundball in infield practice on June 10th that aggravated the injury led to imaging that revealed a fracture in the hook of the hamate bone. Hollins underwent surgery on June 15th and was originally anticipated to miss four to six weeks, but he returned to the lineup almost exactly two weeks to the day of his surgery on June 28th.
But Hollins wasn’t quite the same after the injury, as he was hitting .237 across 15 games by the time the All-Star break came around in July. Hollins acknowledged that he may have come back a little early but felt the need to be in the lineup as long as he was cleared to play in order to try and bring stability, adding “So I’ll take my lumps for a while, then I’ll be ready to go.” Despite his poor post-injury performance, Hollins’ strong first half of the season was enough to have him named to the 1993 All-Star team at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Unlike his teammates Kruk, Daulton, and pitcher Terry Mulholland, Hollins did not start the game but rather entered in the bottom of the sixth as a defensive replacement at third for Gary Sheffield. Hollins got his chance to bat in the top of the eighth with the NL trailing 9-3 and a runner on first with one out. Facing Rick Aguliera of the Twins, Hollins ripped a double to right field to put runners on second and third with one out. But the NL couldn’t capitalize on the chance, as Andrés Galarraga popped up to shortstop and Jeff Blauser struck out to end the inning. In any case, Hollins may not have started like his teammates, but he was the only Phillie to collect a hit in the game the NL lost 9-3.
Hollins rebounded enough in the second half to end the regular season with a .273 average and 18 home runs in 143 games. He was given the opportunity to make up for his injury diminished regular season in the postseason though, as the surprising Phillies won the NL east and then dispatched the Braves in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1983. Hollins did indeed find a way to contribute, as he homered twice against the Braves including launching a two-run homer off of Greg Maddux in the decisive Game 6. Unfortunately, the magic carpet ride ended one stop short of immortality for Hollins and the Phillies, as they were dispatched by the Blue Jays in the World Series.
Hollins got off to a bad start to 1994 before the season was canceled due to the player’s strike. He was also diagnosed with diabetes, something that would adversely affect the rest of his career. The arrival of 1995 quickly showed that the Phillies nor Hollins would be able to recapture the magic of ‘93. Hollins was ultimately benched and then requested a trade. His wish was granted on July 25th when he was sent to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Mark Whiten. Hollins went on to appear in only five games with the Red Sox before suffering a broken wrist that required surgery, ending his season in early August. He signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins for 1996 but was on the move again mid-season, this time getting traded to the Seattle Mariners on August 30th in exchange for a player to be named later. That player was someone by the name of David Ortiz.
Hollins spent the next few years learning to treat his now diagnosed as Type-1 diabetes while playing with the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Indians. He was able to get the condition under control enough to have a resurgent season in 1997 with Anaheim, but that would be the last productive year of his career. However, Hollins made his return to the Phillies organization in 2002 when he signed a minor league deal with the club in the hopes of making the team out of Spring Training. He was able to do just that, but his second tour in Philadelphia was cut short after a bite from a brown recluse spider made his diabetes flare up, forcing him to the injured list in April after appearing in just 14 games. Hollins stuck around with the Phillies organization into 2003, but after playing 29 games at Triple-A Scranton, he announced his retirement in late May, ten years after the magical 1993 season.
Terry Mulholland, 1993
It should come as no real surprise that a team full of misfits and castoffs from other organizations such as the 1993 Phillies were that they would have two one and done All-Stars. Before Terry Mulholland became the anchor of that ‘93 Phillies rotation, he was the 24th overall pick of the San Francisco Giants out of Marietta College in 1984. Scout Ken Parker was on his way back to San Francisco for the draft and decided to stop at the D-III school in Ohio to watch the 6’3 lefty Mulholland, who was projected to be a third or fourth round pick, make a start. Parker immediately called the Giants’ front office after the game and declared “This is our guy.”
That guy moved quickly throughout the minor leagues despite having a quirky pitching motion, starting with the ball behind his back before releasing it in front of him. He reached Triple-A by the beginning of 1986, and despite not lasting long in spring training, a good showing while pitching for Phoenix convinced the Giants to promote the 23-year-old Mulholland to the majors on June 8th. He was to start the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds, making him the seventh rookie on their MLB roster. Mulholland, an avid baseball card collector, was thrilled to be facing off against “all the guys I’ve got cards of at home” such as Dave Parker.
Mulholland dazzled in his debut, tossing 7.1 innings of one run ball with five hits allowed, three walks, and six strikeouts in a 3-1 Giants win. Although he was called up as an injury replacement for Roger Mason, assistant GM Ralph Nelson asserted that Mulholland was here in San Francisco to stay provided he didn’t “pitch himself off the team.” In Nelson and the rest of the front office’s estimation, Mulholland must have done just that, as he was optioned back to Phoenix on July 5th after appearing in seven total games with a 4.09 ERA. He returned on July 30th and remained in the majors the rest of the year, finishing his rookie season with a 4.94 ERA across 15 appearances and 10 starts.
The Giants elected to keep Mulholland in Triple-A for the entirety of the 1987 season where he struggled to the tune of a 5.07 ERA in 37 games and 29 starts. 1988 was another up and down year for Mulholland figuratively and literally, as he bounced back and forth from Triple-A and the Majors but did accumulate a 2-1 record and 3.72 ERA across nine games and six starts with the Giants.
Mulholland entered 1989 once again in the minor leagues until being promoted in late May due to a shoulder injury to Kelly Downs. The now 26-year-old lefty mostly served as the long reliever out of the bullpen, appearing in just five games and totaling 11 innings by the middle of June. But that’s when Mulholland’s fate changed, as the Giants traded him to the Phillies along with Dennis Cook and Charlie Hayes in exchange for closer Steve Bedrosian. That trade occurred at the same time as another notable one in Phillies history, as Mulholland’s future 1993 Phillies teammate Lenny Dykstra arrived in a trade from the Mets in exchange for Juan Samuel. In any case, the Phillies, a team on their way to another dismal season, elected to keep Mulholland in the majors for the rest of the year. It wasn’t a great introduction to Philadelphia, as Mulholland pitched to a 5.00 ERA in 20 games and 17 starts across 104.1 IP.
1990 would be a much better year for Mulholland. Finally starting the season in the majors, he rewarded the Phillies’ faith (or lack of better options) with the best year of his career to date, logging a 3.43 ERA across a then career-best 180.2 innings. The highlight of his and the Phillies season came on August 15th, when Mulholland threw the seventh no-hitter in Phillies history and the first by a Phillie at Veteran’s Stadium, fittingly by blanking his old team the Giants in a 6-0 win. He collected eight strikeouts and allowed just one baserunner on a throwing error in the seventh from Charlie Hayes. But a double play immediately after that error allowed Mulholland to face the minimum and complete the no-hitter on just 105 pitches. Hayes redeemed himself later by getting the final out by spearing a line drive off the bat of Gary Carter. The no-no came at a time when Mulholland was still struggling to lock down a spot in the Phillies rotation. He would remain there the rest of the season and averaged over seven innings pitched over his final nine starts.
Firmly entrenched in the rotation in 1991, Mulholland blossomed into an old school workhorse. He tossed a career-high 232 innings across 34 starts, going 16-13 with a 3.61 ERA. 1992 was much of the same, as Mulholland again threw over 200 innings and led baseball with 12 complete games. But the Phillies themselves were not ascending with their rotation anchor, as they finished in last place and completed their sixth straight season of finishing below .500.
1993 of course saw a drastic change in the team’s fortune, and Mulholland was right at the center of it. He anchored the rotation as the Phillies got off to a record setting hot start and rode that momentum all the way to a surprising World Series berth. But before that came the All-Star game, and Mulholland was named as the starter for the National League. The starting nod made him the first Phillie to receive the honor since Steve Carlton in 1980. Mulholland had a rather uneventful first inning, retiring the side outside of allowing a one-out walk to Paul Molitor. The final out of the inning was Joe Carter in a bit of foreshadowing for later events. The second didn’t go as smoothly for Mulholland, as he allowed a home run to Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett. He would finish his All-Star apperance with two innings pitched, one run allowed on one hit, and two walks. Mulholland himself later described his start as “below par.”
Mulholland struggled a bit in the second half as well, posting a 4.19 ERA across 12 appearances and suffering a pulled muscle in his hip on September 6th. His status for the postseason was in some jeopardy, but Mulholland recovered enough to make three starts during the Phillies World Series run. However, the team would go 1-2 in those starts, as Mulholland allowed 13 total runs in 15.2 innings pitched. His lone win came in Game 2 of the World Series where he went 5.2 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits while the Phillies beat Toronto 6-4 to even the series. However, Mulholland was also the starter for the fateful and decisive Game 6 and allowed five runs in five innings before Carter walked the series off against Mitch Williams in the ninth.
That World Series start would turn out to be the last Mulholland would make in a Phillies uniform until 1996, as he spent the next two years with the Yankees and the Giants after Philadelphia traded the lefty to New York on February 9th, 1994. It was a pure cost saving move, as Mulholland was a year out from free agency and the Phillies had already told him that they would not give him the three-year deal he had asked for. In return for their one-time ace, the Phillies received Bobby Muñoz, Kevin Jordan, and Ryan Karp.
But Mulholland struggled so bad in his two years away from Philadelphia, posting a 6.11 ERA across 53 appearances, that he found his way back to Philadelphia on a minor league deal to begin 1996. The reunion didn’t last long though, as the Phillies traded Mulholland again, this time sending him to the Mariners at the trade deadline in exchange for Desi Relaford. Despite that trade occurring in early August, Mulholland finished second on the 1996 Phillies in pitching wins with 8, just one behind Curt Schilling’s 9.
Mulholland would improbably go on to pitch for another ten seasons in the major leagues, making stops with seven teams before ending his career with the Diamondbacks in 2006 when he was waived on June 21st. The highlight of Mulholland’s post Phillies career came in 1998 when he pitched to a 2.89 in 70 appearances, mostly in relief, and was a valued member of a Cubs team that won 90 games before ultimately being swept by the Braves in the NLDS.
Mariano Duncan, 1994
Duncan may have also been a member of those hallowed 1993 Phils, but he had to wait another year until he received his All-Star honor. But much before that, Duncan was one of 11 children born to Enrique Duncan and Nilda Nolasco in the Dominican Republic. He was also one of four brothers in the family to have reached the major leagues. Duncan and his brothers, along with other locals such as future Phillie Juan Samuel, would use cardboard boxes for gloves, rolled-up socks for balls, and tree branches for bats to play ball growing up.
By age 15, Duncan had dropped out of school to focus all of his efforts on baseball. That risky decision paid off, as he was signed by the Dodgers on January 17th, 1982, for a sum of $5,000. The deal came after Duncan was originally rejected by the Dodgers at a tryout, forcing him to redouble his efforts. Duncan was made to be a switch hitter and assigned to play shortstop when he was sent to rookie ball in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. That’s where the 19-year-old Duncan struck out in 21 of his 55 at-bats and committed 15 errors at shortstop in 30 games. Despite harboring ideas of giving up on his dream, Duncan remained with the Dodgers and improved in 1983, hitting .266 and leading the Class-A Florida State League with 56 steals in 109 games while playing the outfield.
The 21-year-old Duncan found himself in Double-A in 1984 after playing winter ball. Now playing second base, Duncan hit just .253 but once again showcased his speed, leading the level with 11 triples in 125 games. After another offseason in winter ball, Duncan reported to Triple-A to begin 1985. However, he received a call less than 24 hours before MLB Opening Day that informed Duncan that he was being promoted and would be not only making the Dodgers roster, but that he would be starting at second base and leading off in place of the recently injured Steve Sax. It was a rough debut though, as Duncan had the displeasure of starting his big-league career against Nolan Ryan, who promptly struck out the rookie on three pitches in his first at-bat. Duncan was then moved to shortstop once Sax returned from injury and the starter there in Dave Anderson went out with an injury. All in all, he played 142 games his rookie season, hitting .244 with 38 stolen bases and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.
1986 was not as kind to the 23-year-old Duncan. His production at the plate slipped and he began to fall out of favor with manager Tommy Lasorda before suffering a broken foot on August 19th that cost him a month of playing time. Duncan finished his sophomore season hitting just .229 in 109 games but increased his stolen base total to 48. He decided to give up switch-hitting in 1987, opting to become a right-handed hitter only. But the injury bug hit him hard again, as he suffered a bruised hip on a takeout slide and required knee stiches after being spiked, with both instances occurring in a little over a week. Upon his return, he committed three errors in an inning and left after five innings with a migraine, tipping his cap to serenades of boos from the home fans. His season ended for good on August 16th when he tore a ligament in his knee, finishing his 1987 season with just 76 games played.
Things got worse in 1988. Duncan got into what amounted to be a stare down with Dodgers star free agent signing Kirk Gibson that turned into a minor altercation to begin spring training. Later, Duncan along with teammate and close friend Pedro Guerrero missed a bus and the start of a spring game, resulting in Duncan being demoted to Triple-A five days later. Duncan accused Lasorda of being a liar, saying that the manager had assured him of his spot on the MLB roster, and threatened to stop playing baseball before being talked out of by his father and Guerrero. The Dodgers again bounced him around the infield, having him play second base in winter ball but having him go back to shortstop in Triple-A. Injuries also set in again, as a rib stress fracture and a broken hamate bone limited Duncan to 56 games in the minor leagues while the Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
He made the Dodgers roster in 1989 but didn’t stay with them long, as L.A. traded Duncan to the Reds on July 18th. Cincinnati’s starting shortstop Barry Larkin suffered an injury in the All-Star game, so Duncan was used in his stead. The trade ended up working wonders for Duncan in 1990, as he hit .306 in 125 games and led the NL in triples while helping the Reds win a World Series under new manager Lou Pinella, who was hired to replace the banned from baseball Pete Rose. However, Duncan would request a trade in the offseason, as the Reds re-signed second baseman Bill Doran, a mid-season acquisition whose back spasms allowed Duncan more playing time, to a three year-deal. A trade wouldn’t come though, and Duncan played all of 1991 with the Reds but saw his playing time drop to 100 games as he acted as insurance for the oft-injured duo of Larkin and Doran. He decided to leave in free agency and signed with the Phillies on a two-year, $4.5M contract.
Philadelphia GM Lee Thomas had plans of trading for Duncan in 1991, but the deal died when Von Hayes, who was to be part of the return for Duncan, suffered a broken wrist. Manager Jim Fregosi stated that the team envisioned Duncan as a super utility player, playing everywhere in the infield and spending some time in the outfield. That’s exactly what happened with Duncan in 1992, as he started games in left field, shortstop, second base, and third base. The approach allowed Duncan to play in a career high 142 games and saw him set career highs in hits (153) and doubles (40).
1993 of course proved to be a magical year for Duncan and the Phillies. He hit .282 and played 124 games as the Phillies went on their run to the World Series. Duncan was responsible for one of the most memorable moments of that beloved season, as he smacked a game-winning grand slam off of Lee Smith with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning on May 9th, adding another win to the Phillies impressive early season record of 22-7. He added another grand slam on September 28th, helping seal the division clinching win over the Pirates.
The Phillies exercised the option on Duncan’s contract for 1994 and he rewarded them for it by being named the starting second baseman for the NL at the All-Star game, joining Fregosi, Dykstra, Doug Jones, and Danny Jackson as the Phillies representatives for the game to be held in Pittsburgh. The selection surprised Duncan, as he believed he had better seasons in his career and was nursing a foot injury at the time, but nevertheless he was able to beat out Ryne Sandberg, who retired on June 14th, and Craig Biggio in the voting.
Duncan hit seventh in the NL’s starting lineup, sandwiched in between David Justice and Ozzie Smith. Despite receiving the starting nod, Duncan only received one at-bat and grounded out to third off of the Yankees’ Jimmy Key. Duncan’s All-Star season was also cut short, as the 1994 players strike that began on August 12th wiped out the rest of the regular season and the postseason. His contract actually expired during the strike, but Duncan agreed to return to Philadelphia on a one-year deal in 1995 once the labor dispute was settled. The 32-year-old Duncan took a dramatic pay cut, signing for just $350k and incentives after making $2.2M the prior season. Duncan’s agent Tony Attanasio hinted at possible post-strike collusion from the owners causing the “embarrassing” contract but also acquiesced that Philadelphia may have brought the opportunity for the most playing time and that Duncan loved playing there.
Unfortunately for Duncan, his time in Philadelphia ended not much later, as the Phillies waived him in August after he played in only 52 of a possible 94 games despite hitting .286. The Reds claimed Duncan and he went on to hit .290 in 29 games for the first-place club who ultimately lost in the NLCS to the Braves. The Phillies meanwhile chose to play the recently promoted Kevin Jordan in Duncan’s absence. Jordan hit .185 in 24 games of his rookie season in 1995.
Duncan signed a two-year deal with the Yankees following 1995 and was tasked by manager Joe Torre in mentoring a young shortstop named Derek Jeter. That partnership turned out well for Duncan, as he was able to capture a World Series ring with the Yankees, the second of his career. Despite this, Duncan’s Yankees tenure didn’t exactly end well, as owner George Steinbrenner declared in 1997 that Duncan would never play second base for the Yankees again after a particularly brutal game in the field, leading Duncan to demand a trade. A trade materialized on July 29th, and Duncan was sent to the rival Toronto Blue Jays. In a twist of fate, the trade also resulted in former ‘93 Phillies teammate Pete Incaviglia being called up to the Yankees.
The 34-year-old Duncan would play 39 games with Toronto, hitting just .228 with a .531 OPS. Those games would be the last he would play in the majors, as he spent the next few years playing in Japan, spring training games, and the minors before an Achilles injury ended his career for good in 1999.
Tyler Green, 1995
In a series of improbable and sometimes forgettable All-Stars, this one might be the most improbable and forgettable. Tyler Green was a big, 6’5 right-hander from Wichita State that the Phillies selected with the 10th overall pick in the 1991 draft. It was actually the second time Green was drafted, as the Reds selected him out of high school in the third round of the 1988 draft, but Green opted to pitch in college instead. The Phillies chose to select him with their first-round pick and sign him to a $330k deal despite Green suffering shoulder problems his senior year that helped contribute to a 4.51 ERA. Such type of injury would become a recurring theme in Green’s short career, as his first year in professional ball would end after just two months and five games played due to an elbow injury that shut him down for the year.
Despite this, Green entered 1992 with high expectations. His short time playing in 1991 was tantalizing, and he flashed his potential in spring training while being named by Baseball America as the player from his draft the closest to reaching the majors. Nevertheless, the Phillies opted to start Green in Double-A Reading with the hope that he would be in Triple-A by July. The team didn’t want to bring him to the majors just yet because doing so would expose him to the upcoming MLB expansion draft.
The plan started off well, as Green did indeed get promoted to Triple-A Scranton on June 29th after going 6-3 with a 1.88 ERA in 12 starts. But his shoulder problems once again reared their ugly head, as Green was sidelined after just two appearances with Scranton. The worst news came at the end of the season, as it was determined that Green required offseason surgery on the continuously ailing shoulder.
The 23-year-old Green made the MLB team out of spring training in 1993 and made his MLB debut on April 9th, but it was as a one inning relief appearance where Green allowed a two-run homer to the Cubs Mark Grace in the ninth inning of an 11-7 Phillies loss. He was then optioned back to Triple-A on April 13th but returned on July 31st when starter Tommy Greene went on the injured list. Tyler Green made his first career start on August 1st against the Pirates and went 4.2 innings while allowing three runs on nine hits in a 5-4 Phillies win. He made one more start in place of Greene but it was with much worse results, as Green allowed four runs on five hits in just 1.2 on the road against the nascent Marlins.
Green entered the 1994 season in a camp competition with Bobby Muñoz, Jeff Juden, and Mike Williams for the fifth spot in the Phillies rotation. He ultimately lost out in that competition, as Green was sent to Scranton once again to begin the season. He appeared in 27 games, all but one of which were starts, and pitched to a miserable 5.56 ERA with a 7-16 record before the 1994 player’s strike ended his chances of finding his way back to the majors that season.
1995 started much of the same way after the strike concluded, as Green was once again involved in a competition for a spot in the Phillies rotation. It was a crucial year for Green, as the Phillies were beginning to run out of patience with their former prized prospect and wanted to see the now 25-year-old make some real progress. He checked off the first box when he made the MLB rotation out of spring training. As the season got underway, it appeared that Green was finally blossoming into the frontline starter the Phillies believed he could be, as he went 8-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 14 first half starts.
His performance was enough to get added to the National League’s All-Star team, seemingly confirming that he had finally arrived in the majors. Green joined teammates Dykstra, Daulton, Mickey Morandini, and Heathcliff Slocumb (more on those last two in future editions) as the Phillies representatives in the home of the Texas Rangers in Arlington. He entered the game in the fifth inning with the AL leading 2-0. Green allowed back-to-back singles to Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs before striking out Kirby Puckett and getting groundouts from Iván Rodríguez and Kenny Lofton to end the threat. The NL would come back to win 3-2 thanks to a trio of home runs from Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, and Jeff Conine.
The Phillies entered the second half at 39-29 and 4.5 games out of first place thanks to losing eight of their nine games to that point in July. They were still within striking distance and would be leaning on Green to help get them back into the thick of the race. However, Green had a nightmare second half that has seldom been replicated since, as he appeared in 12 games (11 starts) and was rocked to the tune of a staggering 10.68 ERA with an 0-5 record. He allowed 12 home runs in just 44.2 second half innings, including two separate instances where he allowed three homers in a game. The lowest point for Green came on September 8th, as he allowed five runs on four hits and recorded just one out in a 12-3 loss at home to the Astros, a team the Phillies were in direct competition with for a Wild Card spot. Manager Jim Fregosi announced following the game that Green was being removed from the rotation, a stunning fall for a pitcher was in the All-Star game not even two full months prior.
The downward spiral continued in 1996 for Green, as he started the year with shoulder problems once again. Originally thought to be mild tendinitis, it was later revealed that Green had a torn labrum that required surgery and would keep him out for the entire 1996 season. He returned to the Phillies in July of 1997 but never came close to recapturing his first half of 1995 form, as Green made 14 starts and pitched to a 4.93 ERA in 76.2 innings. 1998 was even worse, as Green went 6-12 with a 5.03 ERA across 159.1 innings in what would be his last time pitching in the majors. He then underwent surgery in October to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.
Green remained in the Phillies organization through 1999 before entering free agency with the team making no attempt to resign him. He signed a one year-deal with the Royals to begin 2000 but was released before the regular season began. Green then caught on with Cleveland in June but made just 12 minor league appearances with a 7.68 ERA, effectively ending his career at age 30.
Friday was another rough day at the park for the Cubs. The story really is the offense turning nine hits, four walks and a hit batter into four runs. One of those four runs was on a solo homer. So all of that traffic didn’t do the Cubs a ton of good. Simultaneously, the Reds turned eight hits and five walks into six runs. The Reds didn’t hit any homers, though they did have a triple. There isn’t a clear line between a certain number of base runners and a certain number of runs. But each team had 14 base runners and the Reds scored two more runs. Neither team had any errors, so that wasn’t a factor in the outcome.
Over this last week, I keep seeing the Cubs biggest stars in the key WPA spots. They are getting their big guns into a position to win. That’s a good thing. But on a night like Friday, it was a frustrating thing. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman each posted an 0-for-5. Pete had seven baserunners with one out and two baserunners with two outs and got none of them home. Bregman’s was less frustrating, he batted with just two baserunners all night. Of course, part of that is because Pete had a really rough night. It happens but it doesn’t make it less frustrating.
On the other side of the ball, Clay Holmes struggled early, righted the ship, struggled late and was ultimately charged with all six runs in just 5.1 innings. The last three of those were inherited runners, allowed by Javier Assad, thrust into a leverage situation out of the bullpen because the Cubs basically have no trustworthy relievers. I’ve been asking for Craig Counsell to generally look to one of his starters turned reliever as the first guy out of the pen most games and that strategy was ineffectively employed here. Many of you have clamored for Javier Assad over and over again. I like Javy, but he’s reached mythic proportions with Cub fans and I fear that he’s one pitcher the Cubs are right about and there’s a reason the peripherals suggest that over time his numbers would be a fair bit worse.
I don’t mean to be rude with Assad or too frustrated with Holmes. They are without question two of the more effective pitchers in a boat load that have pitched for the Cubs this year. I read AZ Phil who, at times, is pretty dialed in to things the Cubs do and often makes a lot of sense on things they should do. He suggested that Tommy Hottovy will take the fall for this season. I’m having trouble finding the logic hole. Hottovy was not one of Counsell’s guys but a holdover from the previous administration. I could see the wisdom of going in a different direction. He went on to suggest that they work on the whole strength and conditioning program for the pitching staff. When I’m referencing something not from BCB about the Cubs, I’m trying to give credit for ideas that weren’t mine and I’m endorsing the sentiments.
This whole Cub season is such a terrible miscalculation. There is zero question that the position player group is plenty good enough to win a World Series, even in a world where the other teams are healthy and executing. The Cubs couldn’t even find enough pitching to feel comfortable enough to feel like even a Wild Card series is anything more than a crapshoot. I did see at least one sportswriter at one of the larger sites project how the playoffs would go and have the Cubs beating the Dodgers in a second round series before getting knocked off by the Brewers. I understand where that sentiment is coming from and still raise an eyebrow at it. I’ve watched entirely too much Cub baseball this year to feel comfortable with that projection.
One more day comes off of the calendar. One more opportunity missed to regain comfortable control of the first Wild Card spot. Glass half full and glass half empty. Fangraphs updated their odds before this series and had the Cubs sweeping this series and the subsequent one with the Marlins. But the Cubs have now dropped another game they should have won. Even still, FG has the Cubs winning 90 along with the Phillies. They just can’t keep letting winnable games get away.
Three Positives:
Michael Conforto had three hits.
Carson Kelly had two hits, a walk and was hit by a pitch. He scored one and drove in another.
Ian Happ had a solo homer.
Game 154, September 18: Reds 6, Cubs 4 (85-69)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Carson Kelly (.220). 2-2, BB, HBP, RBI, R
Note: A point I’ve made a ton of times is that blown saves increasingly doesn’t mean what they once did. We picture a blown save as the closer allowing a run or runs in the ninth inning. Javier Assad blew a save in a 4-3 game in the sixth inning. He came in with the bases loaded and one out. In no world was he going to finish the game. While we would have loved a double play grounder or a pop up and another out leading to three stranded runners, in the Fangraphs numbers, I can see their expected runs projection for bases loaded with one out. A team is expected to score 1.6 runs runs from that point on in the inning. Javy definitely didn’t get the job done, allowing all three inherited runners to score, but it’s a silly blown save.
WPA Play of the Game: Jose Trevino singled with the bases loaded and two outs to give the Reds a two run lead in the sixth inning. Those were the last runs scored in the game. (.240)
Cubs Play of the Game: Seiya Suzuki singled with runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth, it scored two runs, giving the Cubs a one run lead. (.203)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 153 Winner: Pete Crow-Armstrong 46-44 over Shōta Imanaga.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Alex Bregman +25
Pete Crow-Armstrong +23.5
Carson Kelly +19.5
Shōta Imanaga +15
Ben Brown +13.5
Jameson Taillon -13
Nico Hoerner -16
Dansby Swanson -17
Seiya Suzuki -17
Caleb Thielbar -17.5
Note: The closest ever finish for the Rizzo award (excluding 2020) was two points, Strop (22) over Hendricks (20) in 2018. We’ve had a 0.5 difference for last place before in 2019: Heyward (-20) under Strop (-19.5). Kyle Tucker (27) was the defending champion, so we knew from day one we’d have somebody different this year. Imanaga is the only current Cub who has previously won a Rizzo.
Scoreboard Watching: Hat tip to the Braves on clinching a playoff spot. Phillies lose (tied with Cubs, Cubs own tiebreaker). Padres win (they’ve joined the tie, the Cubs also own the tiebreaker with them). Diamondbacks lose. The Cub magic number to reach the playoffs is three with eight to play. Spoiler alert, the Diamondbacks will lose three games. We have our six-team NL Playoff field, the only thing that remains is confirming the seeding order.
Up Next: Games aren’t won and lost on paper, but the Cubs have the most favorable pitching matchup of the four Wild Card hopefuls. The Diamondbacks have the worst, facing a possible Cy Young and certainly a finalist. I’ve got my money on a Yankee with a sub-2.00 ERA winning a Cy Young. Call me crazy.
Matthew Boyd (8-5, 4.16) starts for the Cubs. He’s tail-spinning. He’s 1-4 over his last seven with a 5.14. Because we can’t have even mediocre things. He pitched the last time the Cubs were in Cincinnati and allowed four runs over 6.1 innings (and won). That was during a month that he recorded a 1.67 ERA in five starts.
28-year-old lefty Nick Lodolo (3-5, 5.12) starts for the Reds. Stop me if you’ve heard this. He’s tail-spinning. He’s 0-3 with a 6.09 over his last seven starts. He also faced the Cubs in that July series. He allowed two runs over five innings and didn’t figure in the decision. After that game, he was out for a month. His seven starts counts back to his first start back. His last three starts, he’s thrown 100, 97 and 104 pitches. So he’s plenty stretched out. He has pretty consistently had a WHIP around 1.5 and that’s just too much traffic. The Cubs can certainly beat this guy if their pitching will at least act as a speed bump.
Find a way. 3-1 or 15-12, it doesn’t matter. Get a win, effectively eliminate the Diamondbacks and keep the inside track on the top Wild Card.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 18: Manager Torey Lovullo #17 of the Arizona Diamondbacks walks in the dugout during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Chase Field on September 18, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Yankees defeated the Diamondbacks 9-2. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Diamondbacks News
Diamondbacks Crushed By Yankees Fans had to be somewhat hopeful with Eduardo Rodriguez taking the mound for Arizona Friday night. Alas, it was not meant to be. The veteran lefty was slapped around and the Diamondbacks were soundly beaten as they continue to try and stave off elimination.
Snakes Drop Series Opener Arizona looked much like a AAA team against the Yankees on a night where Lovullo and the team were hoping to make a postseason statement.
Gallen Makes First Career Bullpen Appearance in Brutal Rout Zac Gallen’s first career appearance as a reliever came in mop-up duty against the Yanks. He was unable to stop the hemorrhaging, allowing three runs in two innings as Arizona watched its playoff chances continue to evaporate.
Corbin Carroll Dropped to Seventh The young Arizona star is dropped to seventh in the batting order for the first time in two years.
Diamondbacks Release Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The writing has been on the wall about this one all season. Thanks to Gurriel for three good years previous to this one. Good luck in your future endeavours.
Padres Have Become Team No One Wants to Face While the Diamondbacks were having trouble keeping pace, the Padres have boldly passed both the Phillies and the Cubs in the Wild Card standings and are now looking to be the first Wild Card instead of the third. San Diego is currently on a record-setting pace for the second month this season.
Sunday Night Baseball's season finale features a clash between the NL-leading Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with live coverage set to begin at 7:00 PM ET on Peacock and NBCSN.
Fans can look forward to Jason Benetti on play-by-play duties, where he'll be joined by former MLB pitchers Ben McDonald and Tim Dillard. Ahmed Fareed will host the evening's pregame show with legend Joey Votto, who will serve as the game's "Inside the Pitch" analyst.
Dive in below to see how to watch Sunday night's action.
MLB Sunday Night Baseball is a weekly primetime Major League Baseball showcase, featuring marquee matchups each Sunday night during the regular season. The games air on NBC and Peacock and anchor NBC Sports’ Sunday night programming lineup.
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NBC Sports will also stream one out-of-market game each day of the 2026 MLB season nationally on Peacock. Telemundo Deportes will present all NBCUniversal-produced MLB games in Spanish, with Universo televising all games broadcast on NBC.
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ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 18: Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates as Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) scores a run during the MLB game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers on September 18, 2026 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 18: Kyle Finnegan #67 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 18, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Ryan Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the Detroit Tigers signed reliever Kyle Finnegan to a two-year, $19 million contract last offseason, it seemed like a decent idea. Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg were well aware that their relief corps was perilously thin, relying heavily on Will Vest turning in a fourth straight excellent season. That’s generally asking a lot of all but the most durable high leverage arms in the game. While their efforts to reinforce the pen went very badly, it wasn’t because they didn’t see the problem developing or simply ignored it. They haven’t developed much pitching, leaving them minimal options, and once again, the pro scouting side of the Tigers’ operations failed to identify free agent pitchers that were moving into an uptrend or whom the coaching staff could tune up into qualified high leverage relief help. Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen were central to their mitigation plan, and in both cases, things went very badly indeed.
On Monday, Finnegan’s season came to an early end, as he hit the injured list with a groin strain. In a sense, it was a merciful conclusion to his season, as his trendline wasn’t getting any better in the final third of the season. The Tigers will have to hope he can get himself healthy and turn things around in the second year of his deal. Still, at this point in his career, they’ll also have to have a quick hook ready if things don’t look markedly better for Finnegan next spring, or whenever the 2027 season gets underway. The Tigers certainly have other issues to address, but without much improved work protecting leads, the 2027 Detroit Tigers will probably suffer the same fate as this year’s model no matter what they do.
So let’s try to zoom in on Finnegan and figure out why he struggled so much this year. My initial hypothesis was that work on his slider and improved use of that pitch cut into his splitter’s effectiveness as it abandoned him for long stretches this season, putting pressure on a fastball that is usually average at best, and was much worse this season. Certainly the spike in walks indicates worse command, but for much of the season it felt like his stuff just wasn’t as good either. We’ll see if that holds up to a deeper dive.
It’s important to start out with a clear picture of who Finnegan was as a pitcher coming into this year. While he’d saved a lot of games for the Washington Nationals from 2023-2025, his metrics never supported a high leverage relief role, at least not for a team with a good bullpen in the first place.
From 2023 through the 2025 season, covering Finnegan’s age 31-33 seasons, he racked up 190 innings with a 3.65 ERA and a 4.03 FIP. That’s pretty pedestrian middle relief caliber work. The Nationals just didn’t have much of a bullpen in those years, and as a solid enough veteran with plenty of experience, Finnegan was their best among a lot of mediocre options to close games. It really clarifies things to look at his FIP components year by year. A quick and simple interpretation is that the Tigers bought into a single season of good home run suppression that doesn’t line up with the rest of Finnegan’s recent history, and overpaid for it. That’s the most straightforward explanation, but if we’re trying to figure out if there’s any hope for 2027, we’ll have to look a little deeper.
Season
IP
K%
BB%
HR/9
ERA
FIP
2023
69.1
21.9
8.3
1.43
3.76
4.58
2024
63.2
22.1
8.9
1.27
3.68
4.25
2025
57.0
24.0
7.9
0.63
3.47
3.12
2026
60.2
17.4
12.6
1.48
4.30
5.42
Obviously, the huge decline in home runs in 2025 was a mirage. Finnegan regressed right back to his previous numbers, and that’s a pretty bad sign for 2027. Things go much deeper though, as his strikeout and walk numbers were atrocious, and the worst of his recent career.
Simply looking at pitch values, the big culprit was Finnegan’s fastball, which was far worse this season. His slider was used a lot more, but its value declined a bit, while his splitter mostly held up. That’s a bit deceiving though, as he threw it a little less (-5.5 percent from 2025), while the whiff rate on it declined from a strong 37.3 whiff rate in 2025 to a still solid but worse 31.9 mark in 2026. Even so, Finnegan used his fastball less and his velocity held up, and yet it was mauled for a .444 wOBA and a .225 ISO. Whenever he didn’t quite have the confidence to command the splitter-slider combo, he leaned into the fourseamer and got routinely hammered.
And yet, the fourseamer looked much the same as well. His 6.6 feet of extension was unchanged from 2025. He actually averaged 17.7 inches of induced vertical break (IVB), which is essentially riding action on the pitch, compared to 17.1 IVB last year. Somehow, with basically the same fastball, he produced a .299 wOBA, and a .152 ISO against the heater in 2025.
Below are Finnegan’s fastball heatmaps for 2025, and then 2026 below.
That may tell the tale as much as anything. Finnegan simply threw far more fourseamers right down the middle in 2026 (bottom image) instead of pounding the top of the zone like he did in 2025. His IVB is pretty average, and his 96.2 mph average is also pretty par for the course for major league relievers these days. But, when he was spotting the fourseamer more effectively, he was still a solid reliever. This year? Gas can city.
The issue with trying to be optimistic here is that Finnegan just turned 35 years old. That’s not outrageously old for a reliever, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if high leverage relief work just wore on him more this season. Fatigue from slower recovery can certainly show up in fastball command, and it’s not as though Finnegan was known as a guy with high end command in the first place. Not too many guys get better beyond the age of 35.
It certainly doesn’t help when the the guys around you aren’t pitching well either, because suddenly the fine line that A.J. Hinch and Chris Fetter have walked in recent years with Will Vest and otherwise a batch of pretty unimposing bullpen arms dependent on matchups and optimal usage, falls apart. Once your bullpen is out of order, as the Tigers was for much of the season but most particularly in May, the effects cascade unless you have a really dominant reliever or two to act as stoppers, or a true ace who can routinely pitch into the seventh inning.
None of this is going to inspire any joy from readers about the Tigers owing Finnegan $8 million for 2027. Pro scouting continues to be a real blind spot for the Scott Harrs-Jeff Greenberg front office, and they aren’t going to get a do-over with a clean slate next year. Finnegan is on the books, and so he’s going to come to camp and pitch in the bullpen on Opening Day, unless injury interferes.
Nothing found in Finnegan’s season numbers suggests that this is a pitch mix issue, or ever really a major issue with the splitter and slider. Neither is a big time weapon, but both were reasonably effect when he was in command of them this season, and the work on the slider is still in progress and could bear a little better fruit in 2027. But turning things around next year is going to rely on Finnegan getting his fastball command back in form, and whether he can or not is really anyone’s guess. All he can really do is try to get into optimal shape coming into the season and hope that helps, but visually at least, there doesn’t appear to be much meat left on the bone for him in terms of conditioning.
Hopefully, Will Vest comes back strong, and the Tigers do at least have Drew Sommers looking like an emerging dominant relief arm. They need much more, and they’re probably still a year away from the farm system restocking them with arms they can convert to relief roles. If Finnegan is in middle relief next year? Fine. It’s a poor expediture of money, but it’s already spent, and he could be effective in lower leverage situations if he can locate the heater more consistently again. If the Tigers find themselves forced to use Finnegan in high leverage situations with any regularity? They’re probably going to have another major problem on their hands yet again.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium on September 13, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning folks!
The Mariners scored a feel-good win against the Rockies yesterday with Lazaro Montes’ emphatic blast leading them past Colorado by a 5-4 final. Bryce Miller takes the hill in the middle match today slated for 5:10 pm PT.
Since Lynch has been back in the rotation, this is the first game where he’s led with the changeup. He threw it 24 times in his 24 pitches, with his sinker next and his four-seamer after that. He’s always had that really good changeup, and his slider is often a nice swing-and-miss pitch. I wonder if he could actually find success as a starter if he continued to throw his changeup this much, but maybe added a cutter and stepped back a bit from the four-seamer. I think his sinker legitimately gets grounders, so it’s an important pitch, but if he can spin the slider, maybe he can add that third fastball, as Brian Sweeney talks about, and stick.
Not to be the Debbie Downer on a five shutout inning night, but I still don’t buy it.
That Hallmark may fetch well above market value for an aging headquarters it barely occupies — and get a new one from the bargain — does not hurt matters, either.
