Category: MLB

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) announced finalists for the major categories on Monday night, and the World Champion Brewers unsurprisingly had a finalist in four of the five categories, as Brice Turang, Jacob Misiorowski, Pat Murphy, and Trevor Megill will all look to take home a trophy.

Leading the way is Turang, who was named as one of three finalists for NL MVP alongside Cubs’ outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dodgers’ pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. While PCA is expected to take home the hardware, even being in the top three is a big step forward for the Brewer second baseman, as he received down-ballot votes to finish 14th in the NL voting last season.

Turang batted .268/.366/.450 with 21 homers, 100 RBIs, 102 runs scored, and 19 steals this season, turning in 7.3 bWAR, good for the second-best mark by a position player in the majors behind Crow-Armstrong (9.8). He also finished second in dWAR at 2.9, behind only Tampa Bay’s Taylor Walls (3.0).

Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski paired his incredible velocity with much improved command in 2026, making himself the NL Cy Young favorite early in the year and building on that as the season progressed. He was named a finalist alongside the Braves’ Chris Sale and the Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez.

Miz made 30 starts this year, going 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 2.17 FIP, and 252 strikeouts across 174 2/3 innings. He led the league in ERA, FIP, strikeouts, WHIP, H/9, and K/9, and he finished fourth in bWAR among pitchers behind only Sánchez, Cam Schlittler, and Jesús Luzardo.

Murphy, in his third year as manager of the Brewers, is a finalist for NL Manager of the Year for the third consecutive season. He took home the award each of the first two times, joining Kevin Cash (2020 & 2021) and Stephen Vogt (2024 & 2025) as the only managers to win the award in back-to-back years. He’ll look to become the first to win it three consecutive times this year, as he helped guide the Brewers to a franchise-best 103 wins this year en route to their first World Series title. He’s competing against the Phillies’ Don Mattingly, who stepped in as interim manager after a 9-19 season and led the team to a 79-55 record to earn an NL Wild Card spot, and the Braves’ Walt Weiss, who helped Atlanta bounce back from a 76-86 season to finish 94-68 with the third-best record in the NL.

Megill, who had a dismal start to his 2026 season, turned things around in a major way, finishing 30-for-33 in save opportunities with career-best marks in bWAR (1.8), appearances (63), innings (61 2/3), FIP (1.85), and strikeouts (69), turning in a 2.63 ERA, second only to his 2.49 mark a year ago. The 32-year-old closer is up against two of the more dominant closers in the game in the Phillies’ Jhoan Duran and the Padres’ Mason Miller.

The only category Milwaukee didn’t have a finalist in was the NL Rookie of the Year, as the Mets’ Carson Benge, the Reds’ Sal Stewart, and the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt were named finalists. To view the full list of finalists, click here.

The awards will be announced over the course of next week, with Rookies of the Year kicking things off on Monday, November 9 followed by Managers of the Year (November 10), Cy Youngs and Relief Pitchers of the Year (November 11), and MVPs (November 12). In addition to those major categories, All-MLB Teams, the Hank Aaron Awards, the Comeback Player of the Year Awards, the Outstanding DH Award, and the Executive of the Year Award will also be announced on Wednesday, November 11.

Jazz Chisholm’s fate with the Yankees seems to be decided.

The Bronx Bombers extended a $23.15 million qualifying offer to closer David Bednar on Monday, but did not offer one to the free agent infielder — neither move coming as a surprise considering the way 2026 panned out. 

The campaign was a rough one for Chisholm, who didn’t produce the results the organization or he expected, and could result in the second baseman signing a pillow contract. 

Chisholm’s talent has been displayed at times, but has been overshadowed by the lack of consistency and concentration, which is likely part of the reason for the expected split. 

The Yankees could still re-sign him as a free agent, but that appears unlikely. 

Chisholm has expressed a desire to remain with the Yankees going forward. 

Following the Yankees’ loss in the ALDS, he told reporters, “This is where I want to be.” 

If it is the end of his tenure in The Bronx, it came with boos from Yankees fans, which seemed to confuse Chisholm. 

“It doesn’t hurt, it’s just confusing because it’s the playoffs and we’re trying to win games,” he said after the Yankees were swept by the Rays in the ALDS. “So you’re booing a guy that’s playing currently trying to help the team win. You’re hearing boos instead of trying to hype guys up. But at the end of the day, it didn’t hurt me because I’ve seen Aaron Judge get booed here too.”

And one former major league general manager believed that the “baggage” was too much for the Yankees to want to bring Chisholm back. 

“[Ketel Marte] and free agent Jazz Chisholm, I love both their talents, don’t get me wrong,” Jim Bowden said Monday on Foul Territory. “But I put them kind of in that box where I’m just not sure that’s what I want to win with. I’d rather go younger, rather go with less baggage, rather go with more hard-nosed consistent players that come to the ballpark every day and play the game the right way, where I don’t have to have all the issues come involved.

“I don’t have to worry about teammates guiding them, I don’t have to worry about lollipops being licked at second base. … I just don’t want any part of that. These jobs are hard enough as it is, it’s hard to win games as it is. So I’d probably pass on both.”

Brewers manager Pat Murphy called Brian Cashman following his comments about the Yankees after Milwaukee won the World Series. 

The Brewers skipper was speaking with The Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman when he was asked about the comments that got caught on camera and circulated on social media. 

“I called Brian Cashman right away when I heard it got out,” Murphy said on the latest episode of “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.” “I picked up a phone and called Brian right away, and had a good conversation. And the best I could try to explain that I wasn’t talking about the 2026 Yankees.” 

Murphy explained that his comments to Brewers star Jake Bauers, who is a soon-to-be free agent, in the wake of Milwaukee’s first World Series title had been a long-running joke between the star and team skipper, related to his pending free agency and how he would forget everything he had learned with the Brewers. 

“After every celebration, I’d shake his hand. I’d say, ‘You rich so-and-so, you’re going to leave us,’ ” Murphy explained. “We’re not going to be able to pay you. You’re going to leave us and you’re going to forget all about how we did things. … I would just give him this rhetoric every time.” 

But the comments were not meant to be directed at the Yankees or claim this year’s squad was selfish, Murphy said. 

“I was just referring to the teams that have a lot of high-paid, long-contract players,” Murphy said. “That sometimes it’s harder to get all those guys together to play together. And I used the Yankees because I knew Jake was with them before. … I regret saying it, but that was Jake and I’s humor behind the scenes and I got caught.” 

It didn’t appear that Murphy realized he was being recorded during that moment on the field after Bauers had presented the Brewers manager with the game ball from the final out. 

Brewers closer Trevor Megill suggested that Murphy regretted the comments during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week. 

Murphy did not go into detail about the conversation between himself and the Yankees general manager, but called Cashman a “good guy.” 

The Brewers manager was caught on camera while celebrating the Game 5 World Series win on the field at Tampa Bay. 

“You’re going to be a rich f–ker. Just remember when you were on that horses–t Yankees team and you guys were all playing for yourself? Just remember, say, ‘This is the way we used to do it,’ ” Murphy is heard saying in the now-viral clip. 

Bauers appeared to enjoy the comments in the video and was laughing as he hugged Murphy after giving him the game ball. 

Bauers played one season with the Yankees in 2023 before he was traded to the Brewers in November 2023.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cardinals fans and fans across the country.

Happy Tuesday one and all.

The Arizona Cardinals are now 3-5 and their offense found their footing for one quarter and a little more on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

In doing so they benched Jacoby Brissett and moved to Gardner Minshew for the time being.

Now the question is, does this change the confidence you have in the direction of the Arizona Cardinals?

Also, should the Cardinals at 3-5 and not completely out of the NFC Playoff picture be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?

I gave one caveat to being sellers still, keeping Budda Baker, because I know that is a contention for some in the fanbase still.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks.

Should the Cardinals still be sellers?

Are you confident in the Cardinals?

Major League Baseball proposed Tuesday, Nov. 3 that a salary cap would be delayed by a year and implemented in 2028, permitting teams to operate knowing what the proposed rules would be in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was immediately scorned by the players union.

MLB proposed a $258.2 million salary cap and a $180.2 million floor, with MLB projecting that it would require 12 teams to increase payroll by $636 million to reach the floor, and eight clubs to decrease their payroll by $528 million to abide by the cap. MLB says that would net an additional $108 million payroll increase league-wide.

MLB also proposed increasing the minimum salary to $1 million for players with at least two years’ major-league service and $900,000 for those with less service; a $30 million increase to their pre-arbitration bonus pool, while also agreeing to the union’s proposal of lowering free agency from six years to five years for players 30 and older, while eliminating the qualifying offer system for free agents.

“We recognize that clubs will need a full offseason to prepare to operate within the cap and floor system,’’ MLB said in a statement. “Therefore, with this offseason already underway, we proposed today to begin the cap and floor system in 2028. This proposal would allow a smoother transition into the cap and floor system without delaying key player benefits … and transactional reform that will reduce roster churn.

“The projected salary cap and floor for 2028 continues to provide more money for major league players while leveling the playing field and giving more teams the ability to participate in the free agent market and retain their homegrown stars so that every fan believes their team has a fair chance to win it all.”

The MLBPA fired back in a response later Tuesday afternoon.

“Coming off another incredible season of baseball, MLB owners continue to propose blowing up the current system and replacing it with one designed to line their pockets and increase their franchise values,’’ the union said in a prepared statement. “Despite MLB’s proposal to delay implementation to 2028, at its core, the negative impacts of the owners’ salary cap remain the same."

“Even with a so-called 'transition year' in 2027, the owners’ latest offer would result in: immediate restrictions to player contract rights; stagnant luxury tax thresholds; a $400M reduction in amateur signing bonuses; stripping current competitive advantages for smaller market teams; rejection of dozens of player proposals on issues from minimum salaries to revenue sharing to rosters and transactions, and many more," the union said.

“Players stand ready to negotiate in good faith toward a new CBA that will capitalize on our sport’s unprecedented momentum and benefit players, clubs, and fans alike.’’

If the salary cap and floor are implemented, the 12 teams that would have to increase payroll would be: the Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Athletics, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.

The clubs that would have to lower their payroll: Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.

MLB also said it would agree to allocate the players’ share of the 2026 CBT proceeds to players as a bonus based on service accrued in 2026 ($285,000 to each player that received a full year of service, $213,400 to any player with three-quarters of a year of service, $142,300 to any player with a half-year of service, and $71,100 for any player with a quarter year of service.

MLB agreed to accept the union’s proposal to lower the number of times a player can be optioned to the minors in a season from five to four; exclude foreign professionals when determining whether an eligible prospect will receive a full year of service for finishing first or second in the Rookie of the Year voting, and prohibiting clubs from optioning or outrighting a player during the playing week by implementing weekly rosters.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET, Dec. 1. If no agreement is reached, MLB is expected to implement a lockout, which happened during their last negotiations in 2021, lasting 99 days.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Which MLB teams would have to cut payroll in latest salary cap proposal?

Joe DeMayo and guest co-host Sal Licata deliver the latest episode of The Mets Pod, as free agency has officially begun for the Mets and MLB. 

Joe and Sal do the weekly dive on Tarik Skubal's free agency and make their predictions on where they think the ace will land. 

The guys also discuss other free agent arms, starters who could be trade targets, and the beginning of the race for Japanese star Teruaki Sato. 

Later, The Mets Pod Answering Machine brings up the debate over mid-tier free agent spending by the Mets, Down on the Farm goes long on Joe's all-new Top 30 Mets Prospects List, and the Mailbag poses questions about Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, finding more offense at first base, and more. 

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

The Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball PAC donated $5,000 to former All-Star Mark Teixeira's congressional campaign on June 8, 2026, according to Federal Election Commission filings USA TODAY Sports reviewed. Teixeira's campaign confirmed receipt on June 12. That evening, the San Francisco Giants hosted a Pride Night event, which Teixeira forcefully condemned in the following weeks.

Teixeira, running as a Republican in Texas' 21st District, criticized a warning MLB sent to some Giants players who protested the evening by writing bible verses on their Pride Night hats. MLB said the players violated league uniform policies. Teixeira called the warning an attempt to "silence" Christian athletes.

"I played in the major leagues for 14 years," Teixeira told Fox News on June 30. "We play 162 games a year, we don't have these conversations. We don't take political stances. It's a hard job playing baseball and bringing something like a pride night and forcing players to wear a cap. Whether that was the rule or not, that's what it looked like."

MLB did not respond to USA TODAY Sports' request for comment.

More: 5 sports figures running for office in 2026 election. Who's funding them?

The league has a long history of political contributions and has previously requested candidates return donations. In 2018, MLB requested the return of $5,000 it gave to the campaign of Mississippi republican Cindy Hyde-Smith. That request came two weeks after she appeared in a video joking about attending "public hangings."

After the controversy, Manfred said the league office would review all donations before "any checks are cut."

"It's hard when you have an organization as large as ours, with as many issues that are impacted by the political process, to be completely out," Manfred said after the Hyde-Smith donation. "We are very cognizant, however, that in today's world, those kind of donations run the risk of being controversial with segments of our society."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB backed Mark Teixeira's congressional campaign before his Giants' Pride Night criticism

Each year, in addition to its standard Baseball Writers Association of America voting, the National Baseball Hall of Fame extends an olive branch to those either passed over by or ineligible for that process. The Hall gathers what it calls an Era Committee to evaluate these cases through a separate, more limited voting system. Notable Yankees to gain enshrinement through the committee system include everyone from Joe Torre and Casey Stengel to Phil Rizzuto and Lefty Gomez.

The Era Committee rotates between three groups: players whose primary contributions came before 1980; players whose primary contributions were made from 1980 onwards; and managers, executives, pioneers, and umpires from any era. This year, the non-players are up. If that seems like the least exciting of the three options, wait until you hear all the household names and legendary contributors among the eight nominated Monday.

I’m going to break down the worthy cases for each as well as their likelihood for selection, concluding with the three hopefuls that have deep Yankees connections. Before we dive in, some quick housekeeping. Like everything in baseball, the Era Committee process boils down to some crucial math:

• The committee gets eight names to review. These names are selected in advance by a separate Historical Overview Committee comprised of 10-12 baseball historians.
• The voting block consists of 16 baseball luminaries. While this year’s committee has yet to be announced, as a point of reference, last year’s group contained seven Hall of Fame players, six MLB executives, and three veteran journalists.
• Nominees must receive votes from at least 12 of the 16 voters to gain enshrinement.
• Voters can only vote for up to three of the eight nominees.
• This effectively caps the number of inductees through this process at three, though it is often fewer. Last cycle, Jeff Kent was the only selection of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.
• If a nominee receives four votes or fewer, they will be ineligible for the next cycle, meaning they’ll have to wait another six years for consideration.
• If a nominee receives four votes or fewer on a second ballot, they will be permanently ineligible for Hall consideration. (Of note here: the “permanent” comes with the major caveat that the Hall has changed its committee process before and certainly could — nay, likely will — change it again at some point in the future.)

One other important, more qualitative, point of order lies in the Era Committee’s rules for election. While the individuals lumped into this group are here because their primary influence on the game was determined to come as a manager or executive, their entire career in baseball is in play. As the rules state:

Those whose careers entailed involvement in multiple categories will be considered for their overall contribution to the game of Baseball.

During Torre’s 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, the voters, required to consider only his playing career, never put him on more than 22.2 percent of ballots. But when he came up for consideration on an Era Committee ballot in 2013, the voters were expected to weigh not only his four championships as manager but his nine All-Star appearances as a player in making their decision (he was ultimately selected on all 16 ballots). This provision could prove impactful for some names on this list.

Dusty Baker

Let’s start with one of the big guns on the ballot. Baker recorded 1,981 hits, 242 home runs, and 1,013 RBI — alongside a championship and a pair of Silver Sluggers — in an exemplary, 19-year playing career that fell just a bit short of the Hall’s standard. He then went into coaching, where he made an even bigger mark. Baker is the only man to lead five different clubs to the postseason, picking up three Manager of the Year Awards along the way. The eighth-winningest skipper in MLB history finally clinched his first managerial title with the Astros in 2022, putting the cherry on top of what was likely already a Hall of Fame career. He was among the first Black men to accomplish many of his achievements, staking him to a legacy as a trailblazer as well. For goodness’ sake, the man co-invented the high five; you could make a quirky Hall case out of that alone. Despite the intricacies of the Era Committee process, Baker’s candidacy seems to be as slam dunk as they come.

Bruce Bochy

Next up is another manager with an unimpeachable CV. After a nine-year playing career as a backup catcher, Bochy helmed the Padres for 12 years, leading them to what is still one of only two pennants in franchise history in 1998. He then moved to the Giants, where his 13-year tenure included three championships, the closest the game has seen to a true dynasty since the Yankees of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. In 2023, he came out of semi-retirement to join a Rangers team in transition and was richly rewarded, leading Texas to their first title in franchise history. The only other two managers to win a title in both leagues: Sparky Anderson and Tony La Russa, who both have plaques in Cooperstown.

Only five other managers have four rings and only five other managers have 2,200 wins; everyone ahead of him on both lists is in the Hall. This year’s field is crowded, and the fact that Bochy is the second-youngest on the ballot might lead some to weigh whether he’ll have more opportunities for enshrinement in the future if he’s passed over this cycle. Still, it’s difficult to imaging leaving Bochy off your ballot.

Joe Maddon

The third championship manager on the list, the biggest feather in Maddon’s cap is leading the interminably moribund Cubs to their first championship in 2016. He was also the progenitor of Rays ball, leading that nascent franchise to its first pennant in 2008 and helping establish the small-market ethos that Kevin Cash has turned into a cottage industry since succeeding Maddon in 2015. Over the course of his career, he won three Manager of the Year Awards, one of nine managers to do so (alongside Baker). He had a painful third act at The Big A, though, leading the Angels to a 130-148 record during parts of three seasons at the helm before he was shown the door, which might leave a bad taste in voters’ mouths. Maddon certainly had a distinguished and impactful career, but his résumé falls a bit short of the Hall standard—especially among this group—and I don’t expect him to get serious traction here.

Sandy Alderson

Moving from managers to executives, Alderson presents a strong case for consideration. As GM of the A’s from 1983 through 1997, he led the team to three straight pennants and one championship. He also became one of the pioneers of “Moneyball” philosophies during his mentorship of future A’s executive Billy Beane. Alderson then moved to the league office, serving as executive vice president for baseball operations during the heart of the steroid era and into its fallout. Following a seven-year stint in the commissioner’s office, Alderson joined the Padres as CEO in 2005, helping the team to consecutive division titles before jumping to the Mets, who developed a horde of arms and won the 2015 NL pennant under his watch. It will be interesting to see how his multi-generational case plays among this group — as remarkable as his career was, a single championship for an executive might hold him back on such a decorated ballot.

Ted Turner

A maverick businessman who bought the Braves in 1976, Turner helped usher in the team’s run of excellence in the ‘90s and ’00s, a period in which Atlanta won 14 straight division titles, five pennants, and one championship. But his largest contribution to the game of baseball writ large was his vision for media.

Turner’s TBS station broadcast Braves games around the country on cable TV, creating not only a legion of fans far from Atlanta but a new model for growing the game. It is completely fair to argue that MLB would not be the same behemoth it is today had it not been for Turner’s efforts. Turner was a controversial figure whose self-promotion and outsized personality rankled some within the game, a factor that could complicate his case. He also passed away on May 6th, which could either garner momentum to memorialize his contributions to the game in this manner or lead to less urgency for his induction compared to living nominees (I suspect the latter).

Brian Sabean

Sabean has a long history with the Yankees, dating back to his tenure as director of scouting for the club from 1986-90 and vice president of player development and scouting from 1990-92. He rejoined the team in 2023, serving as executive advisor to Brian Cashman until he was shown the door last month. In between, he spent 29 years in San Francisco, serving as GM during both the Baker and Bochy eras and twice earning Baseball America Executive of the Year honors. In a twist of fate, the two managers who served under Sabean almost certainly doom his chances on this ballot; while he would have a strong case most other years, it would be a surprise to see him gain momentum over either.

Lou Piniella

Piniella had a long and distinguished playing career, winning Rookie of the Year honors with Kansas City in 1969 and earning two rings during 11 years with the Yankees.

He was the team’s hitting coach while still on New York’s active roster in 1985 and eventually served as manager for two brief stints in George Steinbrenner’s tumultuous heyday — first from 1986-87 and then again to finish out 1988 following Billy Martin’s last stand.

Piniella then embarked on something of a managerial odyssey. He won his only managerial title during his first year in Cincinnati, 1990, but was out after three seasons. His longest tenure was in Seattle, where he won two of his three Manager of the Year Awards during 10 years in charge of a ridiculously talented club and oversaw both the 1995 squad that saved baseball in Seattle and the 116-win 2001 team. Wanting to manage closer to home in Tampa, Piniella moved to the Devil Rays before finally wrapping up his career with the Cubs, where he won a couple more division titles and took home his third Manager of the Year for a 97-win 2008 campaign. “Sweet Lou” ranks 17th all time with 1,835 managerial wins and is in both the Mariners’ and Reds’ Halls of Fame.

Piniella has had a heartbreaking run with the committee system. Each of his last two times on the ballot (in the 2018-19 and 2023-24 cycles), he fell just one vote short. The famously cantankerous former skipper was magnanimous last time around, thanking the Hall of their consideration in a statement. At 83, despite a crowded ballot, there may be growing momentum to get Piniella over the top. Which leads us to our final nominee.

Bill White

I’d like to redirect our attention to Clause B of the Era Committee’s rules for election. If ever there was a candidate whose “overall contribution to the game of Baseball” need be considered, it’s White. He began his baseball life as a ballplayer, earning eight All-Star berths and seven Gold Gloves at first base during an exceptional career that was too brief to warrant enshrinement on its own. He then embarked on a trailblazing broadcasting career that led him to New York, where he became the first Black play-by-play man for an MLB team. Alongside Rizzuto, White helped form one of the most iconic broadcast duos in Yankees history for 18 seasons. He then served as National League president, the first Black person to hold a comparable title in the major North American sports.

One of White’s final acts in baseball was serving on Veterans Committees (an earlier iteration of Era Committees), working alongside Yogi Berra and Pee Wee Reese to get his old friend, Rizzuto, enshrined. White received the Hall’s Buck O’Neil Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2026 — a worthy honor, but one that could ironically stunt his momentum for full enshrinement.

White fell two votes short of induction on the 2023 ballot and, at 92, must be considered a priority case. While he’s not as much of a household name as several others on the ballot, when evaluating his baseball life in totality — player, broadcaster, executive, and elder statesman — and his remarkable legacy as a trailblazer, you could make the case that he’s at least as deserving as any of his fellow nominees.

Still, if Baker and Bochy are locks, the math for either Piniella or White to show up on 12 ballots gets narrow, especially with other strong candidates like Alderson, Turner, and Sabean potentially in play to siphon votes away. While it’s a reaffirmation of the need for Era Committees that this year’s group of nominees is so deep, at least one of these two legendary Yankees figures will likely be left out in the cold yet again.

In the MLB draft, you usually have to wait multiple years to see players reach the big leagues. Even successful first rounders often take many years to reach the MLB and establish themselves. However, I think 2026 first rounder Chris Hacopian has the chance to be an exception to that rule.

Thanks to his unique skillset, I believe the 11th overall pick will be in the big leagues by early 2028. It is unlikely, but honestly there is an outside shot that Hacopian could be a September call-up in 2027. That is how advanced I think his bat is. When you look at the history of advanced college bats, that is not a crazy ETA.

Hacopian’s ability to make contact, hit the ball hard and have a good approach is the foundation of his game. Usually, those traits translate well to professional baseball. There is a reason that Baseball America said that Hacopian was the best pure hitter and closest to the big leagues out of Nats draft picks.

Back in 2024, we saw a crop of polished college bats in the draft. Just over two years later, many of these players are already standout contributors. Jac Caglianone, Nick Kurtz, Cam Smith and Christian Moore all reached the big leagues in their first full pro seasons. Meanwhile, JJ Wetherholt, Travis Bazzana, Carson Benge and Braden Montgomery all made impacts this season. The Nats took Seaver King, who has been a slower burn, but nobody would have been that surprised if he debuted last season.

These college bats are reaching the majors quicker than ever. We also saw this play out in the 2023 class as well, with the likes of Dylan Crews, Jacob Wilson and Wyatt Langford. The 2025 college bats were not as strong, so they have not moved as quickly.

I think Hacopian will fall into that quick moving category. He has never struck out more than he walked at any level he has played. Even in his 13 games in pro ball, he had 8 walks to just 8 strikeouts. His natural feel for hitting will help him shoot through the minor leagues. Hacopian has tremendous batted ball and contact metrics across the board.

If there was one thing that would slow Hacopian’s progress, it would be his batted ball angles. Hacopian makes a ton of hard contact, but he hits the ball on the ground quite a bit and does not pull it much. In Wilmington, Hacopian had a 48.4% ground ball rate, which is on the higher side, but not alarmingly so. His pull percentage was only 12.5%, which is insanely low. For context, James Wood’s pull percentage for his career is 31.7%, and he is not exactly a dead pull hitter.

Of course, this is a small sample size, but he was more of an up the middle and the other way guy in college as well. I can guarantee you that the Nats are working to get Hacopian to pull the ball more. This regime has shown the ability to help hitters pull the ball more and elevate more.

I think their confidence in helping hitters do that is a big reason why they took Hacopian. If he can do those things, he will be an insanely complete hitter. We could be talking about a hitter that flirts with .300 and hits 25+ homers. Even though he is not much of an athlete and is an average defensive second baseman at best, that profile would still play.

On the occasions we did see Hacopian pull it in the air, good things happened. He only hit one pro homer, but it was an absolute bomb to the pullside. Assuming the Nats can get Hacopian to do that more consistently, the sky is the limit.

In those 13 games, Hacopian hit .275 with a .396 OBP and a .746 OPS in High-A. He might start the season back in Wilmington, but I would bet that he goes to Double-A Harrisburg. His bat is advanced enough to at least hold his own. If he gets off to a fast start, he could even reach Triple-A before too long.

With CJ Abrams future in question, there could be spots available on the Nats infield by the end of the 2027 season. However, I think a 2028 arrival is more likely. It is a small sample, but Paul Toboni has been pretty patient with promoting prospects. I think Hacopian and Eli Willits will be on a similar trajectory and both will be knocking on the door late in 2027 but make their full debuts to start the 2028 season.

Hacopian is a home town kid, who should move through the system quickly. That means we should be hearing a lot about him and I will be writing a lot about him. I can’t wait to see how Paul Toboni’s first draft pick performs in his first full season of professional baseball.

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 29, Gabriel Hughes (0.1 rWAR)

When the Colorado Rockies selected Gabriel Hughes 10th overall out of Gonzaga in the 2022 MLB Draft, they knew they were taking on a power arm with at least a middle-of-the-rotation ceiling. However, after Tommy John surgery cut his 2023 season short and kept him out of the 2024 season, he had to start building his stock in 2025.

Hughes had a solid season last year, despite dealing with several injuries throughout the year. Heading into 2026, it seemed like it was inevitable that he would finally reach the big leagues. He finally earned his call-up to the big leagues in early July 2026, making his Major League debut on July 3 against the San Francisco Giants.

His inaugural taste of the majors was predictably turbulent. Across 14 games (13 starts) for Colorado, Hughes posted a 6.33 ERA and an 0-8 record. On paper, those surface-level traditional figures look grim. However, a closer look under the hood reveals a far more nuanced picture of a young arm navigating his initial trial by fire.

Triple-A momentum

After a solid, albeit limited, spring training audition, Hughes was sent to Triple-A Albuquerque to start the 2026 campaign. He got off to a rough start, posting an 8.64 ERA in 25 innings across six starts. The strikeouts weren’t an issue as he had 32 against just six walks, but he was giving up a lot of contact and getting hit hard. At the end of April, he was placed on the injured list and missed most of May.

After a pair of strong rehab starts with High-A Spokane, Hughes was sent back to the Isotopes where he looked like a man possessed. Over his next three starts in June, Hughes allowed just four hits across 15.2 innings with 16 strikeouts and five walks, limiting opponents to a .080/.179/.100 slash. His best outing of the year at any level came on June 25 when he fired six shutout innings at home against the Salt Lake Bees, giving up just two hits while striking out six.

It was hard to ignore that Hughes had tapped into something while recovering from injury, and he had suddenly tamed the Pacific Coast League. As the Rockies looked for pitching reinforcements, it was hard to ignore one of their top prospects banging on the door.

So, that’s when he got an 11:30 pm call while in his hotel in Round Rock, Texas, from Isotopes manager Pedro Lopez telling him he was headed to the big leagues.

A strong pair of debuts

The initial plan for Hughes when he was called up was to wet his feet working out of the bullpen. If the opportunity were to arise he could work his way into the rotation, but the Rockies wanted to see what he could do in a multi-inning role first before taking that next step.

In that July 3 game against the Giants, Hughes entered with an 11-run lead in the seventh inning after Ryan Feltner had cruised through six. He breezed through three innings on 53 pitches to secure his first big-league save while giving up two hits with one strikeout.

Hughes’s ability to hammer the strike zone was immediately evident, but his poise on the mound would shine in his next appearance, which came in his starting-pitching debut against the defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on July 8.

The Dodgers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning as Hughes struggled to find the zone and threw 39 pitches. However, he seemed to flip a switch in the second inning, retiring 15 Dodgers in a row before allowing a two-out double to Max Muncy in the sixth inning. Hughes threw just 55 pitches over those five innings after the first and had a first-pitch strike rate around 80% while becoming the first rookie since Peter Lambert in 2019 to record a quality start in their first big-league start.

A rollercoaster ride

He continued to look solid through his next three starts, allowing six runs on 16 hits over 15.1 innings, going at least five innings each time. However, Hughes hit a rough patch of inconsistency that would hinder him through the rest of the season.

Over his final nine starts, Hughes posted an 8.17 ERA over 39.2 innings of work. While he continued to grit his way through at least five innings in four of those starts, Hughes saw elevated pitch counts that knocked him out of games earlier than expected, including one start in Detroit where he threw 70 pitches and lasted just two innings.

Despite knowing that Hughes was going to grind as much as he could and throw strikes, teams became more selective in the box and were fouling off pitches. Hughes had a decent first-pitch strike rate of 59.7%, but nibbling became an issue.

Despite preventing hard-hit balls and limiting opponents to a .271 AVG, Hughes still struggled to limit baserunners as opponents had a .772 OPS and a .319 BAbip. He had a league-average 8.5% walk rate alongside a 19.8% strikeout rate, but the efficiency of at-bats didn’t afford him chances to work deeper into games.

Through 13 starts, Hughes went 0-8 with a 6.33 ERA. The only other Rockies pitcher in franchise history to begin their career with zero wins through their first 13 starts was Jon Gray in 2015-16. Despite games where he pitched well enough to earn a win, the offense was often too lacking to give him any support.

The potential to come

Despite what the stat box says, there was a lot to like about Hughes during his first big league stint.

Immediately, his maturity and composure on the mound exhibited a player wise beyond his years. A studious individual, Hughes is meticulous about finding the right way to win a ballgame. He wasn’t easily rattled most of the time, living up to his alma mater’s Bulldog nickname.

What was most impressive was the potential of Hughes arsenal. Utilizing a four-seam fastball that is more akin to a cutter (fashioned after his childhood hero Mariano Rivera), Hughes complemented it with a deep mix that includes a changeup, a slider, a sweeper, a curveball, and a sinker.

He was able to command his pitches and utilize them as needed, sometimes having to rely on one more than the others because it was working. In that start against the Dodgers, catcher Brett Sullivan noticed that Los Angeles was not catching up to the fastball, so they just rode that pitch for as long as they could. Hughes was a poster child for the advantage of a deep arsenal, but you still need to have a bread-and-butter pitch, which was that cutter. Opponents hit .285/.245/.394 against it with an 18.4% whiff rate and a 15.7% putaway rate.

Out of all his starts, that one in Los Angeles and his start in New York against the Yankees are the beacons of what Hughes brings to the table at his best. Against the Yankees, he threw five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and striking out six. He also induced 13 swings-and-misses and four groundball outs.

Hughes made a name for himself in the minors as a strike-throwing machine, and we saw that quite a bit this season. His ability to get strikeouts is also encouraging, as he had six starts with six or more strikeouts. The next step is to work on efficiency and refine both his control and command with his pitches.

Most encouraging was Hughes ability to tame Coors Field in his rookie campaign. Through seven appearances, he posted a 4.09 ERA compared to an 8.71 ERA in seven road starts. He limited opponents to a .234/.294/.363 slash at home, which is almost miraculous considering the state of the Rockies’ rotation over the last few years.

A student of the game

Ever a thinker, Hughes was sure to take 2026 as a great opportunity to learn. From everything that he experienced this season, he was able to take something into the offseason to help him improve for next year.

“I think one of the things I’ve really learned is that I have to have different starting points for a lot of my pitches when I’m here versus on the road,” Hughes said to Purple Row’s Samantha Bradfield. “It’s not something I’ve thought about too much in the past when I was in Albuquerque. But here, where the margin for error is so low, I think it’s extremely important. So that’s something I’ve continued to work on. But that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve noticed because the margin for error is so low, so you have to be sharp here and on the road.”

Having just turned 25 years old in August, Hughes has the opportunity to be a staple of the Rockies rotation for the next few years. The Rockies need Hughes to take that next step forward while they also need to prove they can continue to develop and improve players.

The future is bright for Gabriel Hughes; he just needs to continue to refine his methods.

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The Red Sox roster is now down to 40 players, but it took some work getting there. The first player to be designated for assignment was reliever Zack Kelly. That was something of a surprising choice. Kelly has been far from outstanding as he’s bounced between AAA and the Red Sox over the last few years — he’d thrown 131.1 innings for the Sox with an ERA+ of 104 and he battled frequent injuries. But he was also one of the hardest throwers in the organization and looked good in his limited innings this season. Choosing Raymond Burgos over Kelly is surprising, but the fact that Kelly is out of options may have been the deciding factor. (Anthony Franco, MLB Trade Rumors)

The other player who was DFA’d, Eduardo Rivera, has already been dealt, as the Chaim Bloom-led Cardinals picked him up in exchange for minor league pitcher Juan Carlos García. Rivera had trouble translating his AAA success to the big league level this year, while Garcia, an 18-year-old out of Mexico, is little more than a lottery ticket. (MLB.com)

In a less debatable bullpen move (a move that could be called a no-brainer, really), the Sox picked up a one-year option on Garrett Whitlock, who has been one of the league’s best relievers with the Sox. This guarantees he stays with the team for at least one more season, and the club holds an additional option for 2028. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

It’s hard not to feel good about the top of the 2027 bullpen with Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman already in the fold. But the bullpen was never going to be the main focus of this offseason. “I think we need some more offense,” Willson Contreras recently said. “That’s for [Craig]Breslow to figure out.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

But before we fully move onto 2027, there’s still some things about 2026 to wrap-up. This includes handing out awards, and the league announced that two Red Sox are finalists for a couple of the big ones. Payton Tolle is one of three finalists for AL Rookie of the Year alongside Parker Messick of the Guardians and Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers. Chad Tracy has been named a finalist for the Manager of the Year alongside Kevin Cash of the Rays and Will Veneble of the White Sox. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

Yes, you can actually believe that statement. The Phillies have finalists for three major awards.

The likelihood of any of the trio actually winning the award is pretty slim. Each of them have a player in their category that dominated that category in the season, although how a manager can dominate is still befuddling to me.

Duran was one of the outstanding relievers this season. 33 saves, an ERA under two, a strikeout per nine rate over 12, the man just took down the competition during the regular season with stunning regularity. Luckily this voting was done before the postseason began.

Sanchez would maybe be the winner this year for the Cy Young award had he not been in the same season as The Miz. Sanchez’s scoreless inning streak is one of those things a pitcher can hang his hat on when contemplating the season as a whole, but he was excellent yet again. What a trade that has turned out to be.

Even with Mattingly, it’s hard to deny that the team was in the toilet when he took over following a 9-19 start. He led them to the playoffs where they put up a decent fight in the first two games before the team rolled over and showed their belly. He was rewarded with a contract extension.

Now that we are past the day on which all team and player options have been exercised (or not), qualifying offers have been made and all players on the 60-day injured list have been returned to 40-man rosters, I thought it would be useful to have a look at where the Cubs’ 40-man roster stands.

This is especially timely right now, I think, because of the upcoming expiration of the MLB/MLBPA labor agreement on Dec. 1. While nothing major has happened so far, conventional wisdom says that there could be quite a few trades and/or free agent signings before that expiration date, while teams and players still know the rules under which the sport is currently governed.

That means a lot of things could happen in the next four weeks.

The Cubs’ 40-man roster currently stands at 34 players. Here are those 34 players.

Pitchers (21)

Julian Aguiar
Javier Assad
Ben Brown
Edward Cabrera
Tyler Ferguson
Braxton Garrett
Porter Hodge
Gavin Hollowell
Cade Horton
Riley Martin
Phil Maton
Shelby Miller
Jayden Murray
Eric Orze
Daniel Palencia
Ethan Roberts
Ryan Rolison
Justin Steele
Jacob Webb
Jordan Wicks
Ryan Zeferjahn

A couple of those names are likely unfamiliar to you. Aguiar was acquired on waivers from the Reds Sept. 26, and Orze was claimed on waivers from the Twins … yesterday.

It would not surprise me if either or both of those pitchers were exposed to waivers again before Nov. 1. The non-tender deadline (Nov. 20) is also a date to watch. I would not be surprised if the Cubs decided to non-tender Roberts, who is arb-eligible for the first time, and perhaps re-sign him to a minor-league deal.

Catchers (1)

Miguel Amaya

Obviously, the Cubs will need more than one catcher. Perhaps they can re-sign Carson Kelly, or someone like Ryan Jeffers. Owen Ayers, who might make his MLB debut in 2027, won’t be added to the 40-man roster until the labor issues are settled.

Infielders (8)

Gabriel Arias
Alex Bregman
Michael Busch
Nico Hoerner
BJ Murray Jr.
Pedro Ramirez
Dansby Swanson
James Triantos

Arias is a non-tender candidate. Murray could be exposed to waivers. I think Murray’s promotion to the MLB team in September was a reward for his long service in the organization and I wouldn’t expect to see him back.

Incidentally, you don’t see Tyler Austin on this list. That’s because the Cubs outrighted him to Triple-A Iowa on Monday. He’ll have the option to accept that or free agency. The Cubs could sign him back to a minor-league deal at that point, but I suspect he’ll just move on.

Outfielders (4)

Kevin Alcántara
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Justin Dean
Matt Shaw

The Cubs list Alcántara as a DH, which I find interesting. 2027 will be a make-or-break year for him, I believe. Either he’ll be given a real shot as a starting outfielder, or perhaps the Cubs will move on.

Dean is a useful spare part for defense and baserunning, but he does turn 30 next month. He has options remaining, which helps.

Major league relief pitchers are a lot like running backs in football. They tend to have shorter careers than players at other positions, with success arcs that resemble mountains. You never know when they will fall off the cliff and see their effectiveness disappear, fading into the abyss. That is what makes any reliever with a decade-plus of service time stand out. Paul Quantrill played 14 seasons in the show, with a little over a season of that time spent in pinstripes.

Paul John Quantrill
Born: November 3, 1968 (London, Ontario)
Yankees Tenure: 2004-05

Born in Ontario, Canada, Quantrill bounced around quite a bit during his childhood as his father was frequently relocated due to his job with General Motors. The family eventually settled in Okemos, Michigan, where Quantrill attended high school. The Dodgers drafted him in the 26th round in 1986, but he opted to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison instead.

Following three productive seasons with the Badgers, Quantrill was drafted again in 1989, this time in the sixth round by the Boston Red Sox. He agreed to sign and began his professional journey. Quantrill was not a flamethrower, instead he used a heavy sinker and excellent control to induce ground ball after ground ball. After working his way through their system, Quantrill made his major league debut with Boston on July 20, 1992. In 27 appearances, he went 2-3 with a 2.19 ERA across 49.1 innings.

Quantrill spent the 1993 season with Boston before returning to the Red Sox to begin 1994. In May, he and Billy Hatcher were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Mike Sullivan and Wes Chamberlain. Quantrill spent the rest of 1994 and the entire 1995 season in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies moved him into the rotation in 1995, and he threw a career-high 179.1 innings while making 29 starts.

Before the 1996 season, Quantrill was traded again, this time to the Toronto Blue Jays for Howard Battle and Ricardo Jordan. This kicked off the longest and most successful run of his career, as Quantrill spent six straight seasons with Toronto.

The Jays used Quantrill as a starter in 1996 but moved him to the bullpen ahead of the 1997 season. He responded with a 1.94 ERA over 88 innings, establishing himself as a reliable option out of the bullpen. Over the next several seasons, the right-hander became a staple of Toronto’s relief corps. In 2001, Quantrill made his only All-Star team and finished the season as the league leader in appearances, with his number being called 80 times.

Toronto tried to capitalize on that success and flipped Quantrill and César Izturis to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Chad Ricketts and Luke Prokopec in December 2001. Quantrill spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons in Dodger blue. The Dodgers used him 86 and 89 times, respectively, over those two seasons, leading the National League in appearances both years. After the 2003 season, Quantrill reached free agency and signed a two-year deal with the Yankees.

The Yankees extended Quantrill’s run as the appearance king to four consecutive seasons in 2004, with skipper Joe Torre calling him out of the bullpen 86 times in his first season in the Bronx. Quantrill served alongside Tom Gordon in the Quan-Go-Mo edition of the bullpen and was mostly effective, going 7-3. His ERA sat at 3.26 at the end of July—including a 2.72 ERA across a 49-game stretch from early April through mid-July—but all those appearances finally caught up with him.

The wheels started to come off over the final two months of the season. His ERA ballooned to 4.72 by the end of September, a casualty of his ghastly 11.07 ERA across the last 22 games.

Then, in his only postseason as a player, Quantrill played a role in the infamous 2004 ALCS. In Game 4, he surrendered the walk-off home run to David Ortiz and, well, let’s not relive any more of that trauma. It was clear by the time the season ended that the 35-year-old had been overworked and was running out of gas.

Coming into 2005, the Yankees didn’t know what they would be able to get from Quantrill. The veteran struggled to a 6.75 ERA in 32 innings, and in July, he was traded to San Diego for Darrell May, Tim Redding, and cash. Like Gordon and Steve Karsay before him and Scott Proctor after, Torre ran his arm ragged.

Quantrill lasted only two months with the Padres before they released him. The Marlins signed him in September to finish out the 2005 season. Quantrill pitched for Team Canada at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006 before officially retiring. His 14-year playing career came to an end with 841 appearances, 1,255.2 innings, and a 3.83 ERA. Quantrill appeared in 80 or more games in five different Major League seasons.

Since his retirement, Quantrill has continued to coach for Team Canada. At the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, he got to coach his son Cal Quantrill, whom the Yankees drafted but failed to sign in 2013. Cal later became the eighth overall pick by the Padres in 2016 and has posted a perfect solid nine-year career, bouncing back from recent (relative) oblivion with a very nice 2.86 ERA in 110 innings between the Rangers’ bullpen and rotation.

In 2010, Paul Quantrill was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame — a deserving honor for the Ontario native. Happy birthday, Paul!

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Another day, another set of free agent contract projections. Where might the Guardians do some shopping?

MLB TradeRumors released their top 50 MLB free agents list yesterday. You can find our review of FanGraphs’ top 50 here. Today, we are going to look at a different nine free agents (not among the ones we chose to highlight yesterday) the Guardians could look at from MLB TradeRumors’ list, including those players listed just outside their top 50.

Paul Blackburn, RHrP, 2 years/$15M, 32 years old, 1.59 ERA/3.75 FIP in 2026
Analysis: A groundball-heavy reliever, Blackburn seems like he got pretty lucky to be a reliable high leverage arm last season. I have an option I prefer below, but if Blackburn would get down to a one-year deal, he might be a Guardians’ target.

Steven Okert, LHrP, 2 years/$15M, 35 years old, 2.13 ERA/3.23 FIP in 2026
Analysis: At Okert’s age, I don’t think I’d do two years guaranteed, but if he drops to one year, give me his career 3.28 FIP vs. LHH in the bullpen combined with the career numbers he put up last season.

Joc Pederson, LHH DH, 1 year/$14M, 34 years old, 128 wRC+
Analysis: The Guardians definitely looked at Pederson in past offseasons, but were unwilling to meet his agent’s asking price (causing Pederson to call out their ownership as cheap). I don’t find this fit LIKELY, but if the Guardians are done with Manzardo, I think there would be room on their roster to run a quasi-DH/pinch-hit platoon with Pederson and Adell. Because of Adell’s ability to stand in the outfield, they can still get Jose and DeLauter DH days, and bring Pederson off the bench. Again, unlikely, but I don’t think out of the realm of possibility.

Jonathan Loaisiga, RHrP, 2 years/$13M, 32 years old, 2.42 ERA/2.88 FIP in 2026
Analysis: If Loaisiga is going at THIS low of a salary, I’d hope the Guardians would be all over that. He does not get a lot of whiffs… but he gets tons of groundballs and supresses contact. I think his groundball-heavy approach would be a nice change of pace for the backend of the Cleveland pen.

Kris Bubic, LHP, 1 year/$12.5M, 29 years old, 3.76 ERA/3.54 FIP in 2026
Analysis: I don’t want Bubic simply because he had both elbow and shoulder injuries last year. If not for that, I’d bet on the Guardians to unlike the potential he’s always had to be a mid-rotation starter.

Taylor Ward, RHH OF, 1 year/$12M, 32 years old, 102 wRC+ in 2026
Analysis: It wouldn’t be an offseason without me speculating about Ward to the Guardians. But, my passion for the former Angels’ outfielder has mostly passed. Ward had a great season for on-base percentage last season but his slugging dropped immensely. For his career, he hasn’t really hit lefties much better than right-handers. So, I’m kinda out on him… but if the Guardians see some reason for his slugging to rebound to 2025 levels, the 119 wRC+ he put up that season would be a welcome addition. I just don’t see any reason for that to happen, myself.

Shane Bieber, RHP, 31 years old, 4.37 ERA/5.15 FIP in 2026
Analysis: This would be a bet on Carl Willis to get Bieber back to where he gets strikeouts. Is that a good bet? It depends on the cost, but I don’t think there’s a single Guardians’ fan out there who would oppose trying this out.

Alec Bohm, RHH 1B/3B, 30 years old, 90 wRC+ in 2026
Analysis: Bohm will have to accept that he is a lefty-masher, not a starter, to end up in Cleveland. His 120 wRC+ vs. LHP would look great at first base and third base when Jose DH’s against southpaws at the right price.

Patrick Sandoval, LHP, 30 years old, 5.12 ERA/3.74 FIP
Analysis: Sandoval never figured it out in Boston, but his underlying numbers still look solid. How about a pillow deal with one of the best pitching organizations in baseball who have been good (knock-on-wood) at keeping pitchers healthy, Patrick?

What do you think about these options? Let us know in the comments below