Category: MLB

We’ve reached the end of the week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. Get out of the fall chill. We can check your coat for you. We still 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 what the Cubs should do at catcher in 2027. A clear majority of 62 percent of you want the Cubs to re-sign Casey Kelly. Another 22 percent think the Cubs should let Kelly walk and go with Miguel Amaya and Owen Ayers as their catching tandem.

Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to join us there.

Tonight in honor of Veteran’s Day, we have the United States Air Force’s Airmen of Note, the official jazz band of the USAF. Also the best jazz big band your tax dollars can buy. I can’t think of many better things to spend that money on than a jazz band, personally.

This is “Hunting Wabbits,” a tribute to Looney Tunes written by Gordon Goodwin, who joins the Airmen of Note on the piano.

I don’t actually have a film to tell you about tonight. Sorry about that. So instead I’ll throw the floor open to you.

Since it’s Veteran’s Day, I’m asking you for your favorite war/military films. I doesn’t necessarily have to be about war. It can be a story of returning veterans like The Best Years of Our Lives. Or it could be a film just about life in the military like Private Benjamin. Or you could go the more traditional route like Saving Private Ryan or Patton.

Since Veteran’s Day started as Armistice Day, I’m going to recommend three World War I films. As you might guess, it’s hard to find many movies that glorify that conflict. All three of these are pretty anti-war.

The first is the Lewis Milestone-directed original adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front. I’ve seen the 2022 German version by director Edward Berger, and the 1930 version is a lot better. I’m really not sure why the 2022 version got so much praise. It’s not bad, per se, but adding that dry history lesson about the armistice talks (which also makes the Germans look like the victims in the war) and cutting out some key events from the book to make room was a pretty terrible decision. The 1930 version is in the public domain now, so you have no excuse to have not seen it already.

Another is director Jean Renoir’s 1937 film La Grande Illusion, which is French for exactly what you think it means. It features two terrific performances from Jean Gabin and Marcel Dialo. I’ve been clear before that I consider Gabin to be one of the greatest actors of the 20th Century. La Grande Illusion is about war, of course, but it’s also about so many other things.

Finally, no list of great World War I films would be complete without Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 masterpiece Paths of Glory, starring Kirk Douglas. That this film is loosely based on a true story makes it all the more horrifying. French soldiers who are sentenced to die by firing squad to serve as an example/scapegoat for a botched attack that should never have been ordered in the first place.

I’m not saying those three are my three favorite War/Military films, but I can guarantee were I to make up a list of the best such films, all three of them would be on it. So would Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and quite likely his Full Metal Jacket.

So tell us what your favorite war/military movies?

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

I’m going to assume that Pete Crow-Armstrong is going to win the National League MVP Award later today. When you look at all the awards he has already won, the only question is whether or not it will be unanimous. I believe that it will be. Shohei Ohtani not having thrown a pitch after July 3 and his late-season fade means his contributions come up far short of PCA’s. Brice Turang had a fantastic season, but he’s going to have to be content with a World Series ring. I think the only way the award isn’t unanimous is if a voter votes against Crow-Armstrong out of spite.

When PCA wins later today, it will be the 13th time that a Cubs player has won the MVP Award and Crow-Armstrong will bee the 12th Cub to win the award. Ernie Banks won the MVP Award twice, of course, taking home the honor in both 1958 and 1959.

The winners were

1911—Frank Schulte

1929—Rogers Hornsby

1930—Hack Wilson

1935—Gabby Hartnett

1945—Phil Cavarretta

1952—Hank Sauer

1958—Ernie Banks

1959—Ernie Banks

1984—Ryne Sandberg

1987—Andre Dawson

2016—Kris Bryant

2026—Pete Crow-Armstrong (we assume)

So among those 12 seasons, which one is the best?

Here we run into some problems as our silly polling software only allows for six choices.

So I’m going to have to eliminate six of those seasons. First, because I don’t want Ernie Banks to be two of the choices, I’m eliminating his 1958 season. Banks had a higher bWAR in 1959, but that’s mostly because his defense rated out better that year. Best in the league, in fact. But I’m extremely dubious of all defensive evaluations done decades after the fact. But in truth, Banks’ 1958 and 1959 seasons are almost identical. The first season has a few more home runs and a little higher slugging. The 1959 season had a better on-base percentage and a lot more RBI, if you care about that. You could pick either year, but I’ll go with 1959 today. Maybe he would have won the Platinum Glove in 1959 if it existed. But if you think 1958 was better, just vote for 1959.

Next, Schulte is out. Schulte hit 21 home runs that year which is quite an accomplishment in the Deadball Era. He led the league in slugging percentage and OPS+. But the game in 1911 is so different that I can’t see how we can make a fair comparison.

The next player I’m eliminating is Cavaretta, who put up his numbers against mostly inferior wartime rosters. Yes, the soldiers started to return to lineups in July and August, but most of the season were against some of the worst competition ever fielded in the major leagues.

Sauer is out. He had a good year in 1952, winning the home run and RBI titles, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many people even back then who thought Hank Sauer was the best player in the league. He won the award on a three-way split in the vote where he got eight first-place votes, Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts got seven first-place votes and Brooklyn reliever Joe Black got eight-first place votes. Roberts or Stan Musial probably should have won the award.

Now come the hard choices. I’m sorry Andre, but you’re out. The decision to award the MVP to Andre Dawson in 1987 has been criticized for a few reasons. One, the Cubs were a last-place team and how valuable is a player on a last-place team? Second, recent understandings of the game have shown that while the 49 home runs Dawson hit that year were indeed very valuable, his pedestrian .328 on-base percentage wasn’t, nor were his creaky knees in right field. Dawson won the MVP that year, in part, because of the narrative of collusion and the blank check he had to give to the Cubs in order to get the team to sign him.

Finally, Gabby Hartnett is out. It came down to Hartnett versus Hack Wilson and while clearly Hartnett was the better player over the course of his career, Wilson hit a National League record 56 home runs, a record that would stand until 1998. His 191 RBI is still the major league record. That 177 OPS+ from Wilson is just too hard to ignore.

So the six players you can vote for in the “Greatest Cub MVP of All-Time Are as follows. Remember, OPS+ and WAR are adjusted for the era and environment the player competed in.

1929: Rogers Hornsby. .380/.459/.679. 39 HR. 149 RBI. 178 OPS+ 10.6 bWAR.

1930: Hack Wilson. .356/.454/.723. 56 HR. 191 RBI. 177 OPS+ 7.4 bWAR.

1959 (or ‘58): Ernie Banks. .304/.374/.596. 45 HR. 143 RBI. 156 OPS+ 10.2 bWAR.

1984: Ryne Sandberg. .324/.367/.520. 19 HR. (19 3B) 85 RBI. 32 SB. 140 OPS+. Gold Glove. 8.5 bWAR.

2016: Kris Bryant. .292/.385/.554. 39 HR. 102 RBI. 146 OPS+ 7.3 bWAR. Won World Series.

2026: Pete Crow-Armstrong. .280/.372/.570. 45 HR. 107 RBI. 41 SB. 156 OPS+. 9.8 bWAR. Platinum Glove.

So which one of these would you say is the Most Valuable Cubs’ Most Valuable? You don’t have to only use the numbers I provided here. You can use whatever criteria you want.

Thanks for stopping by tonight and all week. Stay warm out there. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. Leave us five stars. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

Chris Sale finished third in the NL Cy Young voting, but could have plausibly finished first, given more innings (assuming the same production level). Sale continues his incredibly stretch in a Braves’ uniform as a late career renaissance driven primarily by good health, in contrast to his last number of years in Boston. Here’s hoping it can continue for another few years in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career.

Braves News

Chris Sale finished top 3 in Cy Young voting, coming up short of Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sanchez.

Raisel Iglesias somewhat bizarrely finished fifth in NL Reliever of the Year, while Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee also collected votes.

We continued our annual player reviews series with a look at Luke Williams’ 2026.

MLB News

Cam Schlittler won the AL Cy Young, with Jacob Misiorowski winning on the NL side.

Ryan Jeffers rejected the Twins’ qualifying offer.

Braves’ legend and reliever Chris Martin announced his retirement from baseball.

The Astros named Brad Ausmus their next manager.

MLB.com: In what should come as a surprise to nobody, Yankees ace Cam Schlittler won the 2026 American League Cy Young Award. Courtesy of an AL-leading 1.95 ERA, which ranks third in franchise history, he became the seventh Yankee to receive the honor, and the first since Gerrit Cole in 2023. Moreover, he was the unanimous selection, having broken away from his main competition, Dylan Cease, with a dominant finish to the season.

MLB Trade Rumors | Charlie Wright: As has been the case frequently in recent years, the Yankees head into the offseason looking for an upgrade at third base, as the most recent attempt to gain stability at the position, Ryan McMahon, struggled mightily both at the plate and in the field in 2026. To that end, the Yankees appear to have interest in former Phillies infielder Alec Bohm. A batter with a career OPS+ of 101, Bohm struggled mightily in his contract year, posting a .249/.315/.383 slash line (87 OPS+); unfortunately, in a week year at the position, he might just represent the closest thing to a sure thing — at least, on the free agent market.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Speaking to reporters at the GM Meetings, Brian Cashman all but confirmed that the team will not be bringing back Jazz Chisholm Jr., listing Anthony Volpe, José Caballero, and Max Schuemann as options at the keystone next year. While he did not explicitly say the team had no interest in bringing him back, and in fact went very much out of his way to praise Chisholm’s ability on the field, work ethic, and character as a person, he did lump him in with Harrison Bader, Luis Severino, and Gleyber Torres — players who had lackluster contract seasons and who were, ultimately, not pursued in free agency.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees staff will have quite the shakeup next season, as bench coach Brad Ausmus has been hired to be the next manager of the Houston Astros. The former catcher, who has spent the last three years in the Yankees’ dugout as Aaron Boone’s right hand man, had interviewed for both of Houston’s recent vacancies (GM and manager), and will now officially return to the organization he spent ten years with as a player.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: (subscription required) Ausmus will not be the only person departing the organization: earlier in the day, it was reported that hitting coach James Rowson had accepted a job as “offensive coordinator” with the San Francisco Giants. Soon after, The Athletic reported that Aaron Bates, who had served as co-hitting coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2023, had emerged as an early favorite for the job within the baseball community.

Tonight was the yearly MLB Awards show. In addition to the All-MLB teams announcement, several other awards were announced at the show. Here’s a breakdown of the awards presented tonight.

Prior to the awards show, a new award that was introduced by the BBWAA this season is the Reliever of the Year award. Trevor Megill was named in the top three for the NL and ended up finishing third in the vote. Mason Miller of the Padres ended up taking the award as a unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first-place votes. Megill was on 27 of 30 ballots, earning two second-place and 11 third-place votes with 66 total points. Megill barely finished ahead of Adrián Morejón of the Padres, who received 64 points. Aaron Ashby (ninth place, six points) and Abner Uribe (12th place, two points) also received votes for the award. Miller also won the Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award that was presented during the awards show.

On the AL side, Louis Varland of the Blue Jays won the BBWAA AL Reliever of the Year Award. He barely beat Cade Smith of the Guardians, who finished second. While Smith was the only AL reliever named on all 30 ballots, Varland received 16 first-place votes to take the award. Bryan Baker of the Rays rounded out the top three. Baker also won the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award.

One Brewer took home some additional hardware. William Contreras earned the Flow Mayor Award, formerly known as the Entertainer of the Year Award. From his on-field celebrations to his style off the field, Contreras provided plenty of entertainment throughout this season. Contreras’ brother, Willson, presented him with the award, which is a diamond toothpick.

Though no other Brewers took home awards, they were represented on stage a few times. A few members of the Brewers were on hand as they celebrated their World Series win. Also, both Contreras brothers were on stage with Jackson Chourio to honor Team Venezuela as winners of the World Baseball Classic this spring.

While Brewers’ President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold had a chance to take home another Executive of the Year Award, he didn’t win it this time around. Instead, it went to Rays’ President Eric Neander, who rebuilt the Rays from back-to-back losing seasons to the best team in the American League. He also oversaw the team as they had to rebuild following the damage from Hurricane Milton, which forced the Rays to relocate to Steinbrenner Field for a season. Neander did shout out Arnold in his speech, saying, ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I never wanted to be you more.’

Looking at the other awards, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros was one of the big winners of the night. He took home three different awards: the AL Hank Aaron Award, AL Comeback Player of the Year, and Outstanding DH Award. Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals won the Hustle & Heart Award. Going back to the NL, Pete Crow-Armstrong won the NL Hank Aaron Award, and Zack Wheeler took the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Major League Baseball had their MLB Awards event tonight and that just means that the Awards for Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong just keep rolling in. Tonight Crow-Armstrong was named the winner of the Hank Aaron Award for the National League. The Aaron award goes to the best offensive performers in each league. Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez won the award for the American League.

In addition to winning the Hank Aaron Award tonight, Crow-Armstrong was also named as the center fielder fof First Team All-MLB team. Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman was named as the third baseman for the Second All-MLB Team.

The Hank Aaron Award is decided by a vote by a panel of Hall of Famers as well as a fan vote that accounts for 30 percent of the totals.

Crow-Armstrong becomes the fourth Cub to win the Hank Aaron Award, which has been handed out annually since 1999. Sammy Sosa won the inaugural award in 1999. Aramis Ramírez earned the award in 2008 and Kris Bryant took home the trophy in 2016.

So far, Crow-Armstrong has taken home the Hank Aaron Award, a Gold Glove for center field, the Platinum Glove, First Team All-MLB honors and The Sporting News’ Player of the Year Award. There’s only one more award to come, as well all expect him to be named the National League Most Valuable Player by the BBWAA tomorrow.

A pair of young Yankee stars were named to the official All-MLB Team at the MLB Awards Show in Las Vegas—one last serving of pomp and circumstance before a long and soon-to-be contentious winter. Newly-minted AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler was named to the All-MLB First Team at starting pitcher, while Ben Rice took home Second Team honors at designated hitter.

Schlittler, who was announced as the AL Cy Young winner a few hours prior to the ceremony, became the third Yankee starting pitcher to receive an All-MLB selection since their introduction in 2019 (in part as a way to salute full season production rather than just a good first half helping an All-Star selection). Max Fried was named to the Team in 2025; Gerrit Cole was previously a First Team honoree in 2023 and 2021 and a Second Team choice in 2020.

Schlittler’s prowess on the mound was unimpeachable in 2026, as he pitched to an AL-best 1.95 ERA in 193.2 innings.

Ben Rice is the first Yankee DH to receive an All-MLB nod. Rice made the All-Star team in 2026 behind a volcanic first half in which he was one of the best hitters in baseball. His overall statline cooled somewhat during the stretch run, in large part due to the prolonged absence of Aaron Judge, but he still finished with 41 home runs and 97 RBI, posting an .897 OPS (149 wRC+). Amazingly, despite the Yankees’ early dismissal from the playoffs in the ALDS, Rice’s four home runs were the most hit by anyone in the 2026 postseason.

Overall, seven Yankees were given All-MLB nominations. Luis García Jr. (1B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Cody Bellinger (OF), David Bednar (RP), and Brent Headrick (RP) were put up for consideration in addition to Rice and Schlittler. With stiff competition throughout the league at those premium position groups, it’s perhaps not a surprise to see those latter five names fall short of selection. Bellinger, for his part, has a solid consolation prize in the form of the Platinum Glove he took home earlier in award season.

Below are the full First and Second Team All-MLB honorees:

Schlittler and Rice have already been linked to each other in several ways: their shared home state of Massachusetts, their modest prospect pedigrees at the time they were drafted, and their similarly-timed breakouts as stars in the Bronx. Now, they share All-MLB honors together in 2026. Here’s to more award-worthy campaigns from those two in the future!

Entering the eighth year of the All-MLB team, the Brewers have had five players earn the best-at-their-position honors, and another five earn All-MLB Second Team honors. Tonight, three more were added to the first team: Brice Turang, Jacob Misiorowski, and Jackson Chourio. William Contreras also made it on the Second Team at catcher, his second time making it (First Team in 2024).

This award season, the Brewers had seven players nominated for All-MLB honors: Turang, Contreras, Chourio, Misiorowski, Jake Bauers, Trevor Megill, and Abner Uribe. Only the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Braves had more players nominated this season.

As we’ve already seen from the defensive awards, Turang was, without a doubt, the best second baseman in baseball. In just his fourth season in the big leagues, Turang continued to prove himself as one of the best middle infielders in baseball. Despite watching his batting average drop 20 points and racking up 21 more strikeouts than a year ago, Turang saw a big increase in RBIs, doubles, and a few more home runs. The First Team All-MLB honor is the first time he’s been selected for this award, after he made the Second Team a year ago.

For Chourio, it’s his first honors of his career, doing so despite playing in just 127 games after an injury kept him out for the first month of the season. Chourio became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in each of his first three seasons. This season, not only was he clutch, but he hit well, batting .291, a career best, while walking 47 times.

As for Misiorowski, he caps off what is officially the most First Team All-MLB winners in Brewers franchise history. On the same night that he won his first Cy Young Award, Miz earns his first career All-MLB award. Miz had an out-of-this-world season, leading all of MLB with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts; he also was the only pitcher in baseball with a complete-game shutout.

The full All-MLB teams are below.

First Team:

• C: Gabe Moreno, ARI
• 1B: Pete Alonso, BAL
• 2B: Brice Turang
• SS: Bobby Witt Jr.
• 3B: Junior Caminero
• OF: Jackson Chourio, MIL
• OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC
• OF: Fernando Tatis Jr., SD
• DH: Yordan Alvarez, HOU
• SP: Jacob Misiorowski, MIL
• SP: Cam Schlittler, NYY
• SP: Chris Sale, ATL
• SP: Dylan Cease, TOR
• SP: Cristopher Sánchez, PHI
• RP: Mason Miller, SD
• RP: Louis Varland, TOR

Second Team:

• C: William Contreras, MIL
• 1B: Willson Contreras, BOS
• 2B: Brandon Lowe, PIT
• SS: Elly De La Cruz, CIN
• 3B: Alex Bregman, CHC
• OF: James Woods, WAS
• OF: Randy Arozarena, SEA
• OF: Jordan Walker, STL
• DH: Ben Rice, NYY
• SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD
• SP: Sonny Gray, BOS
• SP: Tarik Skubal, LAD/DET
• SP: Drew Rasmussen, TB
• SP: Jesús Luzardo, PHI
• RP: Bryan Baker, TB
• RP: Cade Smith, CLE

On the same night he placed third for the 2026 National League Cy Young Award, Chris Sale was named to the All-MLB First Team.

Sale was spectacular once again this past season across 27 starts, posting a superb 2.16 ERA, 2.29 FIP and 2.82 xFIP over the course of 162.2 innings. The veteran lefty struck out 200 hitters and only walked 31, trailing only Jacob Misiorowski in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Sale also closed out Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Round in heroic fashion at Truist Park as the Braves advanced past the Phillies to move on to the NLDS.

In three seasons with the Braves, Sale has been named to the All-MLB First Team twice. What was a risky buy-low on Sale and his health in December 2023 has turned out magnificently for the Braves and Alex Anthopoulos as the future Hall of Famer has been arguably the best pitcher in the sport across the last three seasons on a per-inning basis.

On Sunday, we gave you a list of the best defensive play of 2026 and asked you to provide others that stuck out to you. As this is a Rockies site, we will be voting on Rockies plays, but an Honorable Mention goes to Colorado Springs Northsider’s nomination of the Colton Cowser walk-off home run robbery in August (that was definitely the play of the year at Coors Field).

So without further ado, here are your Top 5 (in chronological order):

• Jordan Beck’s home run robbery: April 11th at San Diego
• You’ll believe TJ Rumfield can fly: May 18th vs Texas
• Cole Carrigg crashes into the Wrigley Field ivy: June 16th at Chicago
• Cole Carrigg turns an 8-5 double play from center field: June 17th at Chicago
• Tyler Freeman’s incredible throw: July 17th vs St. Louis

Which one is the best Rockies defensive play of 2026? Voting will be open until Friday at 8pm MT.

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

On the first day of the official MLB General Managers’ meetings in Las Vegas, A.J. Preller spoke to the media and the team also announced that starting pitcher Ryan Weiss had signed a one-year contract, including a team option for 2028.

In the first action for the major league roster for this offseason, the Padres signed 29-year-old Ryan Weiss to a reported $1.85 million deal with an option for 2028.

Weiss, originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018, has spent time in the minor leagues, with the Independent Atlantic League, in the Chinese professional league, and in the KBO since being drafted. He made his major league debut last season with the Houston Astros, pitching in nine games. He also appeared in 22 games for their Triple-A team.

He features a high-90s four-seam fastball, a sweeper, a changeup, a sinker, and a curveball in his pitch mix. In his time with the Astros, Weiss posted a 7.62 ERA with two of the games as a starter. He finished the season in Triple-A and had a strong end of his season. Over his last 19.1 innings pitched in 2026, Weiss had a 1.37 ERA. 

He will be added to the list of pitchers given the opportunity to show what he can do as a starter and should benefit from the tutelage of pitching coach Ruben Niebla and his staff.

Off-season notes

• Padres’ special assistant A.J. Ellis was hired by the New York Mets as manager Andy Green’s strategy coordinator for the major league coaching staff. He had a hybrid role with the Padres, working both in the front office and on the field as a supplemental coach. That is the second staff position that will need to be filled for the Padres after bullpen coach Ben Fritz was hired as the Diamondbacks’ primary pitching coach.
• Controlling owners Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano were seen in the Dominican Republic with A.J. Preller in late October. While in the DR, Preller signed 18-year-old Venezuelan right-handed pitcher Moises Alcalde for $20,000. He is viewed as a possible starter prospect. Preller also signed 17-year-old Panamanian left-hander Yeremy De León ($30,000), 17-year-old Venezuelan left-hander Raymer Moreno ($50,000), and 17-year-old Cuban infielder Omar Guerra ($25,000).
• Japanese RHP Tatsuya Nogami, 18, was signed to a minor league contract per Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. He already has a 98 mph fastball as part of his repertoire. The Padres have reportedly signed more than 50 international prospects during this signing period, the most of any major league organization. The signing period closes on Dec. 15.
• 1B/DH Nick Pratto has resigned a minor league contract with the organization. Pratto spent most of 2026 with the El Paso Chihuahuas, playing in 71 games while hitting .271 with a .818 OPS.
• RHRP Amgel Hernandez, 23, has signed a minor league contract with the Padres per a report from MadFriars.com. Originally part of the Miami Marlins organization, Hernandez played in Mexico in 2026.

• Preller had a 45-minute media availability at the GM meetings on Tuesday. Addressing many questions from reporters, Preller outlined plans to meet with pitcher Joe Musgrove soon to plan for his offseason. He also addressed the obvious need for starting pitching and responded to a question from Jon Heyman (New York Post and MLB Network) about whether he was looking for three or four starters. His answer was, “Keep going.” The rumor mill has the Padres linked to Tarik Skubal, but Preller was evasive when questioned about a possible visit to Petco Park.
• When asked about the payroll for this season, he said that it was still a fluid situation and would be “player-dependent,” but there would be a better feel for the budget after meeting with players and agents during the GM meetings to see what the market was looking like. He also acknowledged ongoing communication with Michael King and his agent regarding resigning with the team. King is exploring the market but still a possible re-sign, depending on how the free agent market plays out.
• Preller’s full media scrum is available here:

President of baseball operations David Stearns made clear on Tuesday that the Mets are prioritizing improvements to their starting rotation.

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to look for external options to fill the bullpen.

To that end, the Mets have checked in on lefty A.J. Minter, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported Wednesday night.

The Athletic reported earlier in the day that the Mets have also had interest in lefties Alex Vesia and Tim Hill, who are both free agents.

Minter spent 2025 and part of 2026 with the Amazin’s, but the former season was truncated due to season-ending lat surgery. And this past year, Minter was effective upon his return with a 2.35 ERA in 23 outings before he was sent to the Twins as part of the Mets’ trade deadline sell-off.

The southpaw held a 2.78 ERA in 25 games after the trade to Minnesota.

As part of the deadline fire sale, the Mets also sent away relievers Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazobán and Brooks Raley. Kodai Senga was then shifted into a high-leverage bullpen role, though Stearns said Tuesday that the expectation is that Senga will work toward being a starter in spring training — whenever that begins after the expected MLB labor fight.

Vesia, 30, has spent all but one season with the Dodgers and has been an effective late-inning lefty with a career 2.87 ERA with 443 strikeouts across 332 1/3 innings.

The 36-year-old Hill has pitched the last two and a half seasons in New York with the Yankees. While righties feasted (.909 OPS) off the veteran in 2026, Hill kept lefty hitters consistently in check (.611 OPS).

The Mets already brought back right-hander Robert Stock, who served as depth in the rotation and bullpen, on a one-year MLB deal.

LAS VEGAS — As someone who spent seven seasons atop the Brewers front office, David Stearns wasn’t totally disconnected as the franchise celebrated its first World Series title two weeks ago. 

“I’m just really happy for that group,” the Mets president of baseball operations said Wednesday at the general managers meetings. “I know a lot of those folks over there. They have worked incredibly hard, so it’s incredibly well deserved.” 

Stearns, who stepped aside from running the Brewers after the 2022 season to serve as a team consultant for one year before jumping to the Mets, was careful to distance himself from his former club when asked if he felt any measure of pride in helping develop part of Milwaukee’s core. 

He repeated that he was happy for the Brewers, beginning with the team’s ownership. 

Were there takeaways from the Brewers’ success that might translate as he attempts to win with the Mets? 

“Each situation is unique, and when you see organizations operate on a high level, you always try to learn something from them,” Stearns said. “We also recognize we’re in a different place, different market and need to act differently.” 

Most notably, the Brewers won the World Series with a $146 million payroll — less than half of what the Mets spent last season on salaries. 

And whereas a rebuilding season or two might be tolerated in the smallest media market for a major league team, it doesn’t work in New York under an owner in Steve Cohen with a stated goal of competing for a championship each season. 

“I think one of the benefits we have is we have the entirety of the player universe and the whole world available to us,” Stearns said. “That is a benefit and it’s also different than what some other markets have, including Milwaukee.” 

But that hardly guarantees the right pieces will be selected, as Stearns discovered last season — a calamity he previously described as an “uncapped downside scenario.” The Mets assumed risk with a drastic roster overhaul and significantly underperformed, finishing with 74 victories, far removed from the postseason race. 

“There are challenges in all markets,” Stearns said. “My job is to use the advantages we have in our market and to put a consistent winner on the field. I think we’re going to be able to do that.” 

The Mets have missed the playoffs the past two seasons, putting Stearns firmly on the hot seat as he begins the fourth year of a contract that runs through 2028. 

This winter’s primary mission is to improve a starting rotation that includes many question marks. Team officials will meet next week with the top free agent on the market, Tarik Skubal, with the hope of luring the left-hander to Queens on what could be a record contract for a starting pitcher. 

Asked Wednesday to name the certainties for his starting rotation next season, Stearns named Nolan McLean and Christian Scott. 

“I don’t know that I am going to go and line up the entirety of what that group looks like when we’re still [months] away from all showing up in Port St. Lucie,” Stearns said. “But I would also expect there to be a member or members of the rotation who aren’t members of the organization right now.” 

The industry faces a Dec. 2 shutdown, with owners set to impose a lockout as they seek a salary cap. But from Stearns’ perspective, this offseason is like any other. 

“I am confident that however this offseason plays out, we’ll be well prepared to handle it,” Stearns said. “And when the games begin, we’re going to have a good team on the field.” 

We all knew that Jacob Misiorowski was going to finish with the NL Cy Young award thanks to his historic season. The real race was for second place.

Now, we know who took that spot.

Sanchez finishing second is no real surprise. Chris Sale may have been better to some, but the fact that Sanchez threw almost 7 full games more than Sale obviously accounted for something.

Jesus Luzardo finishing fifth is a nice surprise. He was truly great this past season, ascending to ace status for many.

San Diego Padres star closing pitcher Mason Miller is being recognized as the best at his position in all of Major League Baseball.

Miller was unanimously crowned the league’s National League Reliever of the Year after compiling a 38-save season.

This year is the first time the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has voted on the award, and it differs from Trevor Hoffman winning the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 2006 and 1998.

Last year, Miller was selected to his second career All-Star Game, and made 66 appearances for the Padres and converted 38 of 41 save opportunities, while recording a 1.67 ERA and a 0.900 WHIP.

Before 2026, the highest number of saves Miller had was in his rookie season in 2024, notching 28 saves in 55 appearances with the Oakland A’s.

Miller finished last season tied in the National League for saves with Riley O’Brien of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Miller finished ahead of Jhoan Duran of the Philadelphia Phillies, who finished with 24 second-place votes, and Trevor McGill of the Milwaukee Brewers, who only had two votes for second place.

During the playoffs last October, Miller made MLB history in the Padres’ National League Wild Card series victory over the Chicago Cubs, where he earned his 10th career postseason strikeout after facing his 12th career batter in the playoffs.

Breaking a record was nothing new for Miller last year, as he also set the Padres’ scoreless-innings record by throwing 34 2/3 consecutive innings without giving up a run last season.

While last season was a year filled with memorable moments for Miller and the Padres, they would probably like to forget how it ended, after they were eliminated in Game 4 of the NLDS to the Milwaukee Brewers.

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LAS VEGAS –– In the wake of their National League Championship Series sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers last month, there was a sense in the Dodgers’ clubhouse that they had just concluded a “last ride” with that iteration of the club’s dynasty-cementing roster.

How true that proves to be, however, could depend on their willingness to bring back several popular core pieces who are free agents this winter.

While most of the team’s biggest stars will return in 2027, the Dodgers do have decisions to make with everyone from Kiké Hernández to Alex Vesia to Evan Phillips and even Brusdar Graterol.

All of them played key roles during the club’s run to back-to-back World Series championships in 2024 and 2025.

All of them are now on the free-agent market this offseason, but have indicated hopes of re-signing in Los Angeles.

As this lockout-threatened winter unfolds, they will provide something of a litmus test for how much roster turnover the Dodgers are willing to endure.

Start with Hernández, the longtime fan-favorite who has compensated for recently disappointing regular-season performances with his penchant for providing heroics in October.

The Dodgers have a need for his skill set, seeking right-handed-hitting infielders capable of playing multiple positions across the diamond (especially in the wake of Miguel Rojas’ retirement). They have re-signed the 35-year-old veteran in each of the last three offseasons, as well, seemingly always saving a place on the roster for the franchise’s all-time postseason games played leader.

At the outset of this winter, however, Hernández struck a more uncertain tone regarding his future, acknowledging he didn’t “really know what’s going to happen” in his free agency.

General manager Brandon Gomes offered no further clarity while speaking at the GM Meetings on Tuesday, saying: “Kiké has been such a huge part of what we’ve done in the past, and we’ll continue to have those conversations. But what that looks like right now, I have no idea.”

Hernández’s lack of regular-season production over the past few years explains why the Dodgers might be more hesitant to re-sign him again. Not only has he hit just .219 with a .645 OPS since 2024, but he has missed significant time with elbow and oblique injuries.

What the Dodgers need in 2027 is someone who can be a weapon against left-handed pitching, and give some of their older veteran regulars (like Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Mookie Betts) more days off to keep them fresh.

Come October, the Dodgers would still love to have Hernández’s presence in the lineup. But they’ll have to weigh that against the risk of what has become a more inconsistent overall track record.

Vesia, meanwhile, presents a completely different dynamic.

Few relievers have been more consistent than the 30-year-old left-hander since he joined the Dodgers in 2021. He has posted a 2.66 ERA in that time while making 367 appearances for the club (150 more than anyone else).

That durability has made Vesia a hot commodity on this year’s free-agent market, where only Adrian Morejon is seen as a better left-handed reliever option. He has already fielded interest from roughly half the league, according to a source, and could be in line for three-year contract offers.

Phillips, 32, will figure to field similarly wide-ranging interest, though could have a slightly more limited market thanks to his age and injury history. From 2022 to 2024, he was the Dodgers’ best reliever, collecting a team-high 44 saves with a 2.21 ERA. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025, and battled bouts of inconsistency in his return this year, albeit before mounting a strong finish to the campaign that included him hitting 100 mph with his fastball.

Both would make sense as re-signing candidates for the Dodgers (who let Phillips linger on the free-agent market last year before bringing him back on a one-year deal). But the team also feels confident about its other returning relievers –– a group headlined by Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Edgardo Henriquez and Brock Stewart –– and has several younger arms it would like to leave opportunities open for next season.

Then there’s Graterol, the hard-throwing right-hander who has not pitched since 2024 because of shoulder and back surgeries.

The 28-year-old was finally regaining health by the end of this past season, and there is expected to be mutual interest in a reunion with the Dodgers, another source said. But he is also testing the free-agent waters to see what kind of opportunities he could get to re-establish himself as a high-leverage weapon.

Fellow out-of-contract Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen is another name to monitor, though it’s unclear if the 38-year-old right-hander intends to continue playing after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in September (the latest setback in his checkered injury history).

For now, the Dodgers have been described as “slow-moving” on such fronts. In an offseason of potential transition, they are waiting to see how each player’s market develops while evaluating how aggressively they will try to retain them.

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