Category: MLB

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

A Premier Setup Man

In two-plus seasons with San Diego, Adam has posted a 2.08 ERA. Prior to 2026, the right-handed reliever posted consecutive sub-2.00 ERA seasons. He was the Padres’ go-to reliever for the eighth inning behind closer Robert Suarez. Southpaw Adrian Morejon has since turned into their setup man for closer Mason Miller following Adam’s subpar 2026 campaign.

Overall Grade: B-

Adam pitched to a 2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .233 opponent batting average in 2026. Those are phenomenal numbers, but the right-hander pitched just 34 1/3 innings after missing nearly three months down the stretch with a right shoulder strain. The lower grade is mostly due to that missed time. Adam missed the stretch run that saw San Diego go from a .500 ballclub to the top NL Wild Card spot.

Still, what Adam managed to do is impressive. He posted his first season under 2.0 WAR since 2023 due to the missed time. When he was on the mound prior to rehab, his injury was apparent in his performance. Adam simply couldn’t limit hard contact. The right-hander surrendered the same number of home runs (5) that he did in 2024, except in half of the innings (73.2 IP in ‘24 compared to 34.1 in ‘26).

The right-hander is set to be a free agent and should receive a large payday despite his injury-marred 2026 campaign. Adam has set himself up as one of the most consistently dominant relievers in all of baseball. He’s posted a sub-3.00 ERA in five consecutive seasons and a sub-2.00 ERA in three of those years. His game went up a notch after being traded to San Diego. It remains a possibility that he re-signs with the Friars, though Adam seems likely to depart in free agency.

Will Smith won each of the last six World Series, but that streak will end this year, because nobody named Will Smith plays for the Milwaukee Brewers nor Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers catcher and the since-retired left-handed relief pitcher of the same name played for teams that won championships every season from 2020-25.

Those two players converged during the 2020 National League Championship Series, a few weeks before the first of those six straight championships.

Down three games to one in the NLCS that year, the Dodgers trailed the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in the sixth inning of Game 5. With Mookie Betts on second base and two outs, the lefty Smith was called in from the bullpen to face Max Muncy, who drew a six-pitch walk.

Will Smith the Dodgers catcher ran the count full himself, before hitting a three-run home run off Will Smith the pitcher to turn the game around, in what would be a 7-3 Dodgers win.

Will Smith vs. Will Smith.

Advantage, Will Smith. 😱 pic.twitter.com/RxjuhY5hek

— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2020

That home run by Smith was the only hit off his pitching namesake in seven tries. In the other matchups — 2019 when the lefty was with the Giants, and 2021-22 with the Braves — the catcher was hitless in six at-bats with three strikeouts against the pitcher.

The Dodgers won that 2020 NLCS over the Braves then snapped a 32-year championship drought by beating the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. One year later, Smith the reliever was on the Atlanta team that snapped a 26-year title drought.

Will Smiths’ World Series wins

• 2020 Dodgers: catcher
• 2021 Braves: lefty pitcher
• 2022 Astros: lefty pitcher
• 2023 Rangers: lefty pitcher
• 2024 Dodgers: catcher
• 2025 Dodgers: catcher

The Dodgers’ Will Smith punctuated the 2025 championship by hitting the series-winning home run in the 11th inning of Game 7, after setting a record by catching all 73 innings in the World Series.

It was a good run for the Will Smiths.

In 2026, we will have a first-time World Series champion.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians7-3 on Monday, Oct. 19 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series to punch their ticket to the World Series. They powered their way through the ALCS after going down 2-1 early and persevering after Game 4 was postponed due to rain. They were the top seed in the American League and swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series.

They will face the Milwaukee Brewers, who secured their spot in the Fall Classic by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. They beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the division series after finishing the regular season with a 103-59 record, making them the National League's top seed.

Both teams have appeared in the World Series before, with the Rays having more recent experience, but have yet to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy.

Which teams haven't won a World Series?

There are five teams that have never won a World Series. Two of them are the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, who will face each other in the 2026 World Series. The Seattle Mariners are the only active franchise to have never appear in a World Series.

• Colorado Rockies - established 1993, one World Series appearance in 2007
• Milwaukee Brewers - established 1970, one World Series appearance in 1982
• San Diego Padres- established 1969, two World Series appearances in 1984 and 1998
• Seattle Mariners - established 1977, zero World Series appearances
• Tampa Bay Rays - established 1998, two World Series appearances in 2008 and 2020

When is the last time the Rays and Brewers played in the World Series?

The Rays and Brewers have three previous World Series appearances between them.

Tampa Bay has two of those, playing in the 2008 Fall Classic when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, and in the 2020 World Series where they were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It's been a little bit longer since Milwaukee played in the World Series. They faced the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and lost in seven games. That Brewers team featured several players who would eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Ted Simmons.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB teams to never win a World Series: 2026 will have first-time champion

The face of the Los Angeles Angels' youth movement is already showing promising returns in the Arizona Fall League.

Arjun Nimmala, the top prospect in the Angels organization, earned hitter of the week honors after his red-hot start with the Mesa Solar Sox at the plate continued, MLB announced Monday, Oct. 19. The 21-year-old led the league in six different categories including OPS (1.758), slugging percentage (1.091), doubles (2), triples (2), extra-base hits (4) and total bases (12) for the week of Oct. 12-18.

His biggest game came on Oct. 15, when Nimmala finished a home run shy of the cycle and went 4-for-5 with two triples and a double and drove in three RBIs for the third four-hit game of his professional career.

99+ mph? No problem for MLB’s No. 34 prospect. 💥#Angels top prospect Arjun Nimmala drives in two runs on a pair of knocks off Jarlin Susana’s heater in the Arizona Fall League: pic.twitter.com/PfZlAzHlI2

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 16, 2026

Who is Arjun Nimmala?

Nimmala is the Angels' No. 1 prospect and No. 34 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He was drafted at 17 years old in 2023 Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 20th overall pick, which made him the highest first-generation Indian-American ever taken in one of the four major sports, per Pipeline.

The shortstop out of Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Florida, was the centerpiece of the prospect haul the Angels received from their fire sale at the trade deadline in August, during which they sent star pitcher José Soriano to Toronto in exchange for Nimmala, outfielder Eddie Micheletti and right-handed pitcher Angel Rivero.

Nimmala reported to Double-A Rocket City after the trade and hit eight home runs and nine doubles with 17 RBIs with a .966 OPS in 27 games.

Arjun Nimmala entered tonight slugging .600 across four playoff games. He hit his third home run of the postseason tonight. Fifth extra-base-hit in as many games.

Huge insurance for Rocket City. pic.twitter.com/EkkPGhz9KV

— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) September 24, 2026

Though he projects plus power and arm strength, he's not considered a strong runner and his defense is a work in progress. Nimmala is expected to be MLB ready in 2028.

What is the Arizona Fall League?

The Arizona Fall League enters its 34th season as the "premier league for baseball's top prospects." Run by MLB, the AFL is based out of Arizona and plays its games at six different Cactus League (MLB spring training) complexes. Each big league club provides seven of their prospects, who are then spread out across six teams of 35-man rosters.

The two keystone events in the league schedule are the Fall Stars Game – an All-Star showcase – on Nov. 8, followed by the Arizona Fall League championship game on Nov. 14.

The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angels prospect Arjun Nimmala named Arizona Fall League hitter of the week

The Rays can win their third pennant in club history if they win at home tonight. The Guardians will need a win to force a Game 7. Rays slugger Yandy Diaz has declared his team will win. Bold prediction? Hubris? More evidence that baseball is rigged?

Reliever Shawn Armstrong (2-1, 4.58 ERA) will start for Cleveland as an opener.

All on the table.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/l5CdO7Ez2R

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 19, 2026

The Rays start Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA), a July pickup from the Brewers.

This feels big

👀: TBS/HBO MAX
👂: 95.7 WDAE pic.twitter.com/OQKFnGZJW4

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 19, 2026

The game airs on TBS at 7 pm CT. Who ya got?

Two ways tonight can go. We either see a Rays victory, and they move on to the World Series, starting on Friday in Milwaukee. We spend the next three days staring out the window, twiddling our thumbs and waiting for that to start. Or the Guardians prevail, and we look forward to a winner-take-all battle tomorrow night at the Trop for the American League pennant. While I’m generally Rays-friendly, I kinda lean towards the latter, simply because I am greedy, and want as many baseball games as possible this postseason. After all, who knows when the next time we will get them? At least at the major league level. Still planning to go to the AFL on November 5!

For now though, we know there will be at least two days without meaningful baseball this week, on Wednesday and Thursday. So you might want to enjoy this while you can!

• Cleveland Guardians @ Tampa Bay Rays (2-3), 5:00 pm, TBS

Rays beat Guardians 7-3 and earn a trip to the World Series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Freddy Peralta threw 5 1/3 gritty innings, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night to advance to the World Series for the third time in the franchise’s 29 seasons.

The Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the first matchup in which both teams are seeking their first World Series title since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals.

Game 1 is Friday night in Milwaukee.

“We got one more bite!” Rays manager Kevin Cash told his team as the clubhouse celebration started.

The loss extended Cleveland’s World Series championship drought to 78 years.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our group,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It just hurts. It stings. Really felt like we had a team to go and just weren’t able to get there.”

On the 18-year anniversary of their first AL pennant in 2008, the Rays jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning on Richie Palacios’ two-run double and clinched it with closer Bryan Baker on the mound.

The Guardians wouldn’t give up and had the go-ahead run at first base in the eighth when Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to leave the bases loaded after two runs scored.

Peralta, the ALCS MVP, allowed one run and five hits to earn his second win of the series in his third appearance. He pitched six scoreless innings to win Game 2 and got two outs in relief in Game 4.

A sellout crowd of 40,230 fans waved yellow-and-blue rally towels, rang cowbells and chanted “Let’s go Rays!” throughout the night at Tropicana Field, which needed major renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof two years ago and caused extensive damage throughout the stadium.

The Rays played their 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex, got new ownership before this season and secured a new stadium deal to bear ready in 2029 near the NFL’s Buccaneers. They returned to the Trop to win 55 games in the regular season. Only the Brewers had that many home wins this year.

“This is for you!” Caminero yelled to the crowd from a microphone on the field after the game. “Let’s go! I can’t hear you!”

After sweeping the Yankees in the Division Series, the Rays fell behind the Guardians 0-1 and 1-2 in this series before taking three straight games.

Caminero gave Tampa Bay a cushion with his first career postseason homer in the seventh inning. The two-time All-Star sent a drive off the left-field foul pole to give the Rays a 5-1 lead, becoming the first player to go deep on a splitter by All-Star closer Cade Smith.

Caminero turned around before reaching first base, looked toward his dugout and pounded his chest with both arms, cupped his ear rounding second to hear more cheers, stopped before reaching the plate, pointed into the stands and crossed his arms before crossing home.

Caminero hit 42 homers in the regular season but needed 33 at-bats to get his first in October.

The Guardians answered against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour by loading the bases on two singles and a walk with two outs. Seymour walked Patrick Bailey to force in one run and hit Angel Martínez with a pitch to force in another. Kelly entered and fanned Rocchio on three changeups.

“Credit to our guys. It’s a gut punch there in the seventh. And our guys came right back,” Vogt said. “Our guys never quit. They never stopped fighting. That’s who they are.”

Díaz, who guaranteed a Game 6 victory through an interpreter on Sunday, gave the Rays another four-run lead with a two-run shot off Hunter Gaddis in the bottom of the eighth.

Caminero led off the Tampa Bay second with single off opener Shawn Armstrong, who took the loss in his second start in three games. Left-hander Tim Herrin replaced Armstrong. Chandler Simpson reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before Victor Mesa Jr. walked. Simpson advanced to third on Jonny DeLuca’s flyout to center. After Mesa stole second, Palacios looped a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead.

Armstrong, who was the opener in Game 4, faced the first four batters, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to start a game after pitching both of the previous two days.

DeLuca’s sacrifice fly off Joey Cantillo made it 3-0 in the third but the Rays missed an opportunity to break it open with more runs after they loaded the bases with no outs.

Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single in the sixth drove in Cleveland’s first run.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The NPB’s Hanshin Tigers accepted Teruaki Sato’s posting request, ever-so-slightly increasing the likelihood of giving the third baseman a new home in the Bronx.

The Japanese Triple Crown winner is now officially available to pursue MLB contracts, and the Yankees are one of many teams interested in his talents. Sato finished the regular season batting .306 with a .383 OBP and .991 OPS. The slugger also recorded 39 home runs, just short of his career-high 40 last season, and totaled 106 RBIs. It’s hard not to dream about the lefty hitter’s swing in Yankee Stadium.

Envisioning the Yankees’ lineup for next season, Sato could make a great fit in the middle of the order. Keeping the power hitters at the top, including Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger (in no particular order), it’s easy to visualize Sato batting cleanup or at fifth. His tenacity could be just what the Yankees need to build off the heavy hitters’ momentum and be unstoppable at the plate. Too often last year, New York had to settle for the slumping Jazz Chisholm Jr. or rookies Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. in the five-hole. Even if he’s not chosen to be the primary cleanup hitter, Sato would slot in nicely there as well, easing the pressure on the youngsters and lengthening the lineup.

In addition to adding some power to the Yankees’ offense, Sato could solve the Yankees’ constant frustrations at the hot corner. Ryan McMahon, José Caballero, and Anthony Volpe are the current options. None really emerged as a reliable everyday starter, as Volpe shifted from shortstop to second base (before sampling third very late in the game) and the trio of McMahon, Caballero, and Amed Rosario alternated — often committing costly errors that put the Yankees in tough spots. McMahon’s offense was lackluster at best, finishing the regular season among the top 20 worst hitters in the league, batting .213 with a .279 OBP and 78 wRC+. A career lefty-killer, Rosario too often came up empty against southpaws, and likely won’t be back after becoming a free agent. Caballero occasionally managed to give the Yankees a boost offensively, but his defense gave Boone enough pause to bench him for the majority of the postseason.

It’s worth noting that while Sato won the NPB equivalent of Gold Glove at third in 2025, MLB.com’s Max Ralph noted that “there are some concerns about his long-term fit on the infield.” If Sato can even be acceptable there, that would be enough. His bat alone already makes him a much more enticing possibility than McMahon, Caballero, or Volpe.

The Yankees should try every avenue to bring Sato to New York, as he’d be a great addition to the middle of the order. They will surely need someone like Sato as another offensive weapon to supplement their core, in addition to the kind of defensive skills to keep any opposing teams at bay.

Another brilliant start by Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen carried the Rays to victory in a decisive Game 5 in Cleveland that put the Rays in the driver’s seat as the series comes home to Tampa. The Guardians now face back-to-back elimination games, and while they should have ace Gavin Williams going on short rest on Tuesday, if they get there, the Guardians will be trying to piece together another bullpen game out of depth starters and their heavily taxed relief corps just to survive on Monday.

Tasked with taking them down will be right-hander Freddy Peralta, and it would be pretty fitting if it was Peralta carrying the Rays into a World Series matchup against the club he’s spent most of his career with, the Milwaukee Brewers. Peralta signed a free agent deal with the Mets last offseason, only to be moved to Tampa at the deadline after a rough first half. As they do, the Rays helped him clean up his mechanics and get back to form, producing a pretty strong finish to the season in September. Even so, Peralta is not fully back to being the strikeout artist he’s been his whole career. The Rays are unlikely to get seven innings of zero or one-run ball out of him against a very scrappy and desperate Guardians lineup.

RHP Shawn Armstrong (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (1-0, 0.79 ERA) at Tropicana Field, 8:08 p.m. ET on TBS.

Calling on Big Shawn.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/2IxRyK6xO1

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 19, 2026

Freddy coming at you fast 🔥#ForTampaBay | #postseasonpic.twitter.com/hmbwmbqgkP

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 19, 2026

Rays lineup

Yandy Diaz – DH
Jonathan Aranda – 1B
Liam Hicks – C
Junior Caminero – 3B
Chandler Simpson – LF
Victor Mesa – RF
Jonny DeLuca – CF
Richie Palacios – 2B
Taylor Walls – SS

Freddy Peralta – RHP

Guardians lineup

Steven Kwan – LF
Jose Ramirez – 3B
Chase DeLauter – RF
Jo Adell – DH
Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
Travis Bazzana – 2B
Patrick Bailey – C
Petey Halpin – CF
Brayan Rocchio – SS

Tanner Bibee – RHP

Broadcast info

Time: 8:00 PM EDT
TV: TBS/HBO Max

The Mets are scheduled to speak with Kevin Long about a position on the coaching staff, according to a report Monday evening by the New York Post's Mike Puma.

Long, 59, was most recently spent 2022-26 as the Philadelphia Phillies' hitting coach.

His MLB hitting coach stints include the Yankees (2007-14), Mets (2015-17) and Washington Nationals (2018-21).

Among those tenures, he helped the Yankees (2009) and Nationals (2019) win the World Series.

With the Nationals, Long mentored a young Juan Soto, now the Mets' prized slugger, during the first leg of Soto's career in Washington (2018-22).

Long's time as the Mets' hitting coach was under former manager Terry Collins, who led the team from 2011-17.

New manager Andy Green's coaching staff was among David Stearns' talking points during the president of baseball operations' Sept. 28 news conference.

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

There is a little bit of baseball news:

• Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato is entering the ‘posting system’ this off-season. The story I read says that the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies and Blue Jays are the likely landing spots. I don’t know how likely it is that the Jays will be after him, as he’s played mostly third base in his NPB career. He hit .306/.383/.609 with 39 home runs for Hanshin Tigers last year. The year before he had 40 home runs. Ok, sign him Rogers.
• And the Yankees say that Aaron Boone will return as manager next year. I didn’t think there was much doubt.

Rays are up 3-2 in the series. I don’t care who wins the series, but I’m cheering for Cleveland tonight, because I want a game seven.

Tonight’s lineup:

I’m going to post this early because I’ve got a couple of things to get done and odds are I’ll forget to post it.

With three games decided by two runs or fewer, the ALCS series has been very competitive this season.

The outliers are Game 1, when the Cleveland Guardians won 7-3, and Game 4 when the Tampa Bay Rays won 7-3. The Rays are averaging 3.6 runs per game in this playoff round, while the Guardians are just behind at 3 runs per game.

So it’s no wonder the series is going on much longer than the Milwaukee Brewers four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rays will have the advantage of home field tonight for Game 6, and they feel so confident that Yandy Díaz said, “it all ends tomorrow. We’re going to win tomorrow,” after the Tampa Bay beat the Guardians 3-1 in Cleveland on Sunday evening.

For Game 6, the Guardians are turning to RHP Shawn Armstrong, who has yet to give up a run in 7.2 innings over six appearances with six strikeouts this postseason, including a one-inning start against Tampa Bay in Game 4. Freddy Peralta will be on the mound for the Rays. Peralta was very effective against the Rays in Game 2 when he threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks, while striking out six in a 3-1 victory.

Cleveland Guardians (2-3) at Tampa Bay Rays (3-2) — 6:08 PM MDT

Pitching Matchup: RHP Shawn Armstrong (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP Freddy Peralta (2-3, 3.43 ERA)

SB Nation sites:DRaysBay | Covering the Corner

Radio: ESPN Radio

TV: TBS/HBO Max

Lineups:

All on the table.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/l5CdO7Ez2R

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 19, 2026

10/19 ⚾ Rays Lineup is Out!
Provided by mlbstartingnine (@DailyMLBLineups for link)

📊 Live Line: Rays -157 • O/U 6.5#Rays#RaysLineup#MLBpic.twitter.com/T2poSCFvUG

— MLB Daily Lineups (@DailyMLBLineups) October 19, 2026

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The American League Championship Series returns to the gulf coast of Florida on Monday night as the Tampa Bay Rays look to complete the series flip over the Cleveland Guardians.

Tampa took both games over the weekend up in northern Ohio after entering the weekend slate trailing two games to one within the series. Now, they’ll take the field at home in the Trop with Freddy Peralta on the mound and once again pitching like an ace with the opportunity to make it to the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on the docket.

Righty ‘reliever’ Shawn Armstrong will start for Cleveland in what will very clearly be an all-hands-on-deck bullpen game as they look to stave off elimination. First pitch is slated to be chucked by Peralta at 8:08 PM ET down in Tampa, with coverage of the game carried on TBS/truTV.

Here is how both clubs will line up to start:

Do-or-die for the Guardians while the Rays have their sights set on the AL pennant pic.twitter.com/HVjcn7nAfr

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 19, 2026