Category: MLB

Pete Crow-Armstrong didn't just earn National League Most Valuable Player honors in 2026. He also put together one of the greatest MVP seasons the league has seen in the past half-century.

PCA swept to NL MVP honors in unanimous fashion, earning all 30 first-place votes in balloting released Thursday, Nov. 12 by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The coronation seemed a formality, as "MVP!" chants grew louder in Wrigley Field and anywhere the Cubs took their five-tool center fielder on the road.

And by season's end, it was almost unfathomable what this 6-foot, 184-pound center fielder produced.

He led the major leagues with 45 home runs – and also topped every fielder at every position with 26 outs above average.

He led the NL with a .570 slugging percentage and .943 OPS - and also stole 41 bases in 48 attempts, becoming the seventh member of baseball's 40-40 club.

He led the majors with 119 runs scored as the leadoff man for an 89-win club, and his adjusted OPS was 56% higher than league average.

Add it all up, and Crow-Armstrong produced a major league-leading 9.8 WAR, as calculated by Baseball-Reference.

That's the most impactful NL MVP season, by that metric, since Barry Bonds accrued 10.6 WAR in 2004, the third time in four years he produced double-digits in that category. Before Bonds, Colorado's Larry Walker posted a 9.8 WAR, equal to PCA, in winning the 1997 MVP.

And to find a superior MVP season not moored in the high era of baseball's performance-enhancing drug scandal or played at altitude (though WAR partially bakes that in), we have to go back to Bonds in 1993 (9.9) and Joe Morgan way back in 1975, when he posted 11 WAR on the strength of a .466 OBP and 67 steals.

At 24 years old, PCA stands shoulder to shoulder with those greats.

Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar reduced to hitting only in the second half of the season, finished second to Crow-Armstrong, earning 26 of 30 second-place votes; it ended his streak of consecutive NL MVPs at two and his overall streak at three, as he was 2023 AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels.

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang finished third, while Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski rounded out the top five.

For Crow-Armstrong, it's been a meteoric rise, from 19th overall pick by the New York Mets, to his 2021 trade to the Cubs in exchange for Javier Báez, to his year-over-year gains in less sexy but crucial categories like contact and walk rate, all of which have coalesced to make him arguably the game's best all-around everyday player.

And now, National League MVP, perhaps the first of more to come as he becomes the ninth Chicago Cub to win an MVP award, first since Kris Bryant in 2016.

"I immediately think back to Ryno," Crow-Armstrong said of 1984 NL MVP Ryne Sandberg in an interview on MLB Network after the announcement. Sandberg passed away in July 2025. "He made himself available to a lot of us the last few years. He was hugely important to the last few years of my life. I just saw Andre Dawson the other day in New York. Sammy (Sosa) was a big part of this year. KB and I just talked today.

"I don’t know where to put myself in that. I’ve been so fortunate to be around so many great Cubs. I’m happy to carry on their legacy and be able to continue to have their names brought up in conversations like this."

NL MVP voting results

• Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs: 420 points (30 first-place votes)
• Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers: 264 points
• Brice Turang, Brewers: 190 points
• Elly De La Cruz, Reds: 173 points
• Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers: 158 points
• Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks: 132 points
• Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres: 121 points
• Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies: 68 points
• Alex Bregman, Cubs: 63 points
• Matt Olson, Braves: 40 points
• Kyle Schwarber, Phillies: 31 points
• Chris Sale, Braves: 22 points
• Otto Lopez, Marlins: 17 points
• CJ Abrams, Nationals: 12 points
• Bryce Harper, Phillies: 12 points
• James Wood, Nationals: 9 points
• Brandon Lowe, Pirates: 6 points
• Ozzie Albies, Braves: 5 points
• Michael Harris II, Braves: 5 points
• Andy Pages, Dodgers: 5 points
• Jordan Walker, Cardinals: 5 points
• Sal Stewart, Reds: 4 points
• Jake Bauers, Brewers: 2 points
• Alec Burleson, Cardinals: 2 points
• Jackson Chourio, Brewers: 2 points
• Ty France, Padres: 1 point
• Hunter Goodman, Rockies: 1 point

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of the greatest NL MVPs in history. Here's why.

The Toronto Blue Jays have apologized for Anthony Santander's Islamophobic Instagram posts that criticized U.S. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, the club posted a statement attributed to President and CEO Mark Shapiro to their social media channels. Toronto said it had conversations with members of the city's Muslim community to reflect on the incident, which happened after national elections in the United States.

"The Blue Jays are deeply sorry to the Muslim community and our fans for the pain and harm these Islamophobic posts have caused," the statement said. "We will work with leaders in Muslim communities to fight against all forms of hate."

The statement continued by saying the incident was an "opportunity to listen and learn" that "reaffirms our beliefs and values as an organization."

"We condemn Islamophobia and all forms of hate."

Two days earlier, at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins expressed concern over the right fielder's actions.

“There really aren't words to express my level of disappointment with him making those comments. I've expressed that to him," he said, according to Sportsnet reporter Ben Nicholson-Smith, "... anything exacerbating some level of anti-Islamic hate is just extremely concerning, extremely disappointing."

The official apology comes after the club released a previous response to Santander's Instagram stories that criticized El-Sayed, who won a highly contested race for U.S. Senator in Michigan and in doing so became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. Screenshots of a video showed a caption that read, "America voted for Sharia (law) last night!" Another post seen in screenshots had a caption on the video that said, "Islam is not peaceful."

“Baseball is for everyone," said the initial statement, which was attributed to a team spokesperson, "and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark. Individual comments do not represent our organization’s values and beliefs.”

The previous response received criticism for not apologizing and not taking a strong enough stance against Islamophobia.

Santander has yet to comment publicly.

The 32-year-old did not play for Toronto last season as the Blue Jays went 79-83 and failed to make the playoffs. He has been struggling with shoulder injuries and had surgery in February.

The Venezuela native was limited to just 54 regular season games in 2025, the first year of a five-year, $92.5 million contract, due to a left shoulder subluxation. He returned in time to play in five playoff games, but a back injury forced his removal from the ALCS roster, ending his season. The Blue Jays made it to the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

Contributing: Gabe Lacques

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blue Jays apologize for Anthony Santander's posts, condemn Islamophobia

By virtue of them not being announced as finalists, we knew that neither Cam Schlittler or Ben Rice were going to win the 2026 American League Most Valuable Player Award. However, we had a pretty good feeling that the Cy Young and the slugger were going to finish high in the voting. On Thursday night, the announcement came, and Schlittler and Rice finished in fourth and ninth place respectively.

The Astros’ Yordan Alvarez took home the award over fellow finalists Junior Caminero and Bobby Witt Jr. Alvarez ended up being the unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first place votes. Caminero was a clear second, receiving all but three second place votes.

One of the three second-place votes that didn’t go to Caminero did go to Schlittler — shout out to Dave Skretta of the Associated Press. The rest of his votes range somewhere between third and 10th. He only just narrowly missed being named a finalist, as he finished only seven points behind Witt for third. While a pitcher winning MVP has happened in recent memory, it can often be hard for them to get close considering that they have an award for themselves in the Cy Young. Finishing fourth matches Shane Bieber in 2020 — although there’s quite a big caveat on that one — for the best finish for a pure pitcher (sorry, Shohei) since Clayton Kershaw’s National League win in 2014.

As for Rice, he received two third-place votes himself, but all the rest of his ranged between fifth and 10th place. I think if I were voting, I would’ve had him higher up in ninth, but I am somewhat biased in the fact that I watch him every day.

Those were the only two Yankees to receive votes, which isn’t particularly shocking. You can view the full list here. For those curious, the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong was unsurprisingly named the unanimous winner in the NL.

There were certainly plenty of aspects to the Yankees’ 2026 season that were disappointing, but Schlittler and Rice certainly weren’t the reasons.

Junior Caminero can now officially be said to have been a candidate for the Most Valuable Player as he placed 2nd among all players in the American League for the prestigious award. Yordan Alvarez received the honor as the league’s Most Valuable Player for his incredible season.

It was another terrific season for Caminero in his second full year at the big league level as the now 23-year old third baseman hit .276/.360/.524 with 42 HR over 702 plate appearances, registering a 142 wRC+ and accruing 5.3 fWAR over 162 games.

Caminero possesses the fastest bat speed in the game and is among the upper echelon when it comes to xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, Avg Exit Velo, Barrel%, and Hard-Hit%. This past season, Caminero’s offensive game went up a notch as he honed his plate discipline. This led to a drop in strikeout and nearly doubling his walk rate.

Since the start of the 2025 season, Caminero is second in all of baseball in homeruns (87) while he ranks 8th in wRC+ (136) and 10th in fWAR (9.9). He is the only player in franchise history to have multiple 40 homerun seasons as well. Caminero joins Eddie Matthews, Alex Rodriguez, and Juan Gonzalez as the only players to accomplish this before their age 24 season

To add to his honors this offseason, Caminero has also been named to the All-MLB First Team as the top third baseman in the game; Teammates Drew Rasmussen were named to the All-MLB Second Team as a top starting pitcher while Bryan Baker was also named to the team as a top reliever.

With his 2nd place finish, Caminero became the closest player in franchise history to be named the MVP; Evan Longoria placed 6th in 2010 and 2013.

After nearly a decade as one of baseball's most powerful and productive hitters, Yordan Alvarez is finally getting his due.

Alvarez was named the unanimous 2026 American League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers' Association in polling released Thursday, Nov. 12, as the Houston Astros slugger earned a just reward for a season in which he dominated the circuit.

Alvarez, 29, earned his first MVP after two previous spots in the top 10, most recently a third-place finish in 2022, when he led the Astros to a World Series title. Since his 2019 debut, only Aaron Judge's 1.037 OPS outranks Alvarez's .975 mark in that span.

And with Judge felled by injury for all but 66 games this season, Alvarez more than ably filled the void left by the New York Yankees' three-time MVP.

Alvarez duplicated Judge's 2025 feat in winning AL MVP, leading the major leagues in all three slash categories - a .316 batting average, a .432 on-base percentage and a .601 slugging percentage. All the while, he slammed 42 home runs and drove in 106, threatening for the traditional Triple Crown before Baltimore's Pete Alonso eclipsed him with 43 homers and 113 RBIs.

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, who equaled Alvarez's 42 home runs, finished second with 267 points, while Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was third with 188 - after finishing second and fourth in 2024 and 2025.

Alvarez joins Judge and former Detroit Tigers great Miguel Cabrera as the lone AL players since 1970 to win a batting title and hit at least 40 home runs. He's the third Houston Astro to earn MVP honors, joining Jose Altuve (2017) and Jeff Bagwell, who was honored in the National League in 1994.

All the while, Alvarez kept the Astros afloat during a year in which they got off to a 16-27 start. Ultimately, they made history of a dubious sort, winning the AL West at 81-81 but becoming the first playoff participant in a full season with a non-winning record. His 6.8 WAR trailed only Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle (7.1) among position players.

2026 AL MVP voting, results

• Yordan Alvarez, Astros: 420 points (30 first-place votes)
• Junior Caminero, Rays: 267 points
• Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: 188 points
• Cam Schlittler, Yankees: 181 points
• Pete Alonso, Orioles: 144 points
• Miguel Vargas, White Sox: 129 points
• Kevin McGonigle, Tigers: 109 points
• Randy Arozarena, Mariners: 95 points
• Ben Rice, Yankees: 92 points
• Willson Contreras, Red Sox: 67 points
• Dylan Cease, Blue Jays: 20 points
• Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox: 17 points
• Parker Messick, Guardians: 10 points
• Dillon Dingler, Tigers: 7 points
• Steven Kwan, Guardians: 5 points
• Munetaka Murakami, White Sox: 5 points
• Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox: 4 points
• Ezequiel Durán, Rangers: 3 points
• Drew Rasmussen, Rays: 3 points
• Isaac Paredes, Astros: 2 points
• Cade Smith, Guardians: 2 points

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Astros' Yordan Alvarez supplants Aaron Judge as AL MVP after eerily similar season

Scott Boras' phone rang in the middle of his press conference at the MLB GM meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The super agent looked down at the screen for a moment and put his phone on silent.

"Just another owner begging to meet with Skubal," he quipped to reporters.

Even if it was a joke, Boras probably wasn't too far off on that one. As the best arm in free agency by far this winter, Tarik Skubal has no shortage of suitors. The New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays -- and yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers -- have all confirmed appointments to meet with the two-time Cy Young Award winner. He's widely expected to command a record-shattering payday exceeding $325 million, according to Bob Nightengale, that would make him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history.

So where do the Dodgers fit into that picture?

Dodgers projected 2027 rotation

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto
• Blake Snell
• Tyler Glasnow
• Roki Sasaki
• Shohei Ohtani

Skubal seems like a luxury, but Snell and Glasnow both battled injuries that kept them out for an extended period of time in 2026 and ended up creating a need for the trade in the first place. There's also uncertainty as to what Shohei Ohtani's season on the mound will look like next year. Friedman expects the four-time MVP to be ready to go by spring training, but added that he'll need to have an ongoing conversation with Ohtani as the season goes on to better manage his workload and keep him injury-free moving forward. General manager Brandon Gomes told reporters at the GM meetings that they're still trying to figure out that plan, and it may not be in place until they have a clearer picture of what the roster will look like.

“Whatever it is, there’s just a lot of different avenues, and I think for us to unilaterally decide that doesn’t make sense," Gomes said. "So it’s really bringing him into the conversation and figuring out how to navigate a full season.”

Given the amount of unknowns within a rotation that normally gets heavily impacted by injuries year after year, bringing Skubal back to LA should be a top priority.

The Dodgers have given no indication that they'll have any less resources than normal, even in the midst of owner Mark Walter's ongoing federal investigations. Boras expects a deal to get done before the current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, after which comes financial uncertainty around the league as owners and the MLBPA square off over a proposed salary cap.

Still, the Dodgers have more than enough room to flex their bank account, but the question remains of how deep into their pockets they'll be willing to go. The Athletic's Katie Woo reported that Friedman and Co. want Skubal back, but on a short-term deal and may be willing to offer a higher AAV to compensate, similar to Tucker's four-year $240 million deal inked last winter. Whether or not Skubal will be willing to take that and leave years on the table remains to be seen.

“It's very clear that there is a dominant and strong 'Sku-bull' market," Boras told reporters. “That's one thing you know it's pretty clear teams are not devoid of pursuing their championship fortunes, and they understand there's only one tarot card, no doubt.

“I think that if you look into the deep waters of talent treasure, teams are there. There's no time to come up for air, and so teams have filled their tanks, and they're all clearly ready for the scuba dive, no doubt."

Tarik Skubal's fit with Dodgers

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has been aggressive the last few winters in trying to maximize the team's current championship window. Rather than running it back after two consecutive World Series championships in 2024 and '25, he added more firepower by signing Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz -- the top two free agents in last year's class -- for a combined $310 million. Underwhelming 2026 campaigns by both, and the team's failed bid for a three-peat, don't appear to give Friedman any more second thoughts when it comes to how he'll go about building next year's roster.

"That's never our mindset, to say, 'Okay, we're good enough," Friedman said at his end of season press conference on Oct. 21. "We're going to work hard to figure out how we can improve in different areas. ... We feel good about our jumping off point of where we are. That being said, to the extent that we can keep raising the bar, raising the talent level and increasing our championship odds, we're going to be aggressive to do so."

That much was on full display when the Dodgers acquired Skubal from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline in August for their No. 5 prospect Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith to seemingly put a stacked rotation over the top. Skubal ended up keeping that rotation afloat amid injuries to Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani as he posted a 2.61 ERA with 70 strikeouts and a 1.048 WHIP in 10 starts in LA.

Friedman commended what Skubal was able to do in his short time as a Dodger, acknowledging how hard it is to move cities in the middle of the season. Routines get disrupted, and adjusting to a new clubhouse, a new environment, takes time. The 29-year-old Kingman, Arizona native's transition in LA was seamless. He instantly had the respect of the entire pitching staff and formed close friendships with many of his teammates, Snell in particular. Several players noted that Skubal never once talked about free agency during his time with them.

"I can't say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time," Friedman said in October.

Now, the ball is in Skubal's court.

Dodgers pitchers already on the move

Right-handed reliever Evan Phillips signed a three-year, $35 million contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, putting an end to his six-year run in LA. In that time, Phillips was one of manager Dave Roberts' most trusted bullpen arms, and for good reason. The 32-year-old has pitched in five of the last six Octobers for the Dodgers, missing only 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery that May, and has not allowed an earned run in 17 career postseason outings. He pitched well in 26 innings after returning in July, posting a 1.08 WHIP with a 3.26 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

There's also a robust market for Alex Vesia, another go-to high-leverage guy. The New York Mets, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins are among the teams that are reportedly interested in the 30-year-old's services, along with the Dodgers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should the Dodgers re-sign Tarik Skubal? What we know from GM meetings

Generally, how do we feel about Scott Boras’ player puns? I think they’re unfortunately corny.

Anyways. Hot stove, Braves edition. ICYMI, we signed Tyler Freeman to a minor-league deal but the big blue box of the day goes to reliever Evan Phillips. Yes, I did specifically hunt for a picture of him at Truist Park for the thumbnail. Welcome, Evan!

Otherwise, take a gander at the rumor mill and things abrewin’ in our Feed:

Taking stock of the current rumors surrounding the Atlanta Braves: Let’s talk about Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim.

What’s on your mind? What else might AA cook with the stove on? It’s just kinda nice to see someone acting like there will, in fact, be baseball next year.

LAS VEGAS — Something had to give after the season Willy Adames had in 2026.

Only two years into the richest contract ever awarded by the Giants, the 31-year-old shortstop slogged through the worst season of his career by just about any measure.

One floor above the MGM Sportsbook at the ARIA Resort and Casino as the MLB general managers meetings wrapped up Wednesday, Buster Posey said he wasn’t a betting man.

But if he were, the Giants’ top baseball official said, “I’d bet that Willy has a pretty good bounce-back year next year.”

That’s a bold claim about a player on the wrong side of 30 with a bad back that bothered him all season and eventually led to shutting him down in August after the fewest games of his career.

Adames set a number of career lows last season: on-base percentage (.289), OPS (.713) and walk rate (7.3%), to name a few. The numbers closest to career highs didn’t tell a more optimistic story: strikeout rate (27.5%), errors (18).

So why, then, the sense of optimism from Posey?

“I just think he’s motivated,” Posey said. “I think he was pretty frustrated with how the year went, not only for the team but for himself personally. I think he’s motivated.”

Adames relayed those feelings when he sat down with Posey, manager Tony Vitello and the rest of the Giants’ top brass at the end of the season. His agents at CAA reiterated that when they sat down with San Francisco officials this week inside the sprawling property on the Strip.

With the money still owed to Adames — $155 million over the next five years — plus the trajectory of his health and play, the two sides would seem to be stuck with each other.

However, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported this week that the Blue Jays had bandied about the idea of trying to trade for Adames. The Giants were open for business on all of their big-money position players at the trade deadline, and Posey said their stance is the same now.

“We’ve gotta listen on pretty much anybody,” he said this week.

If Adames is back in a Giants uniform in 2027, there will have to be a difficult conversation.

Before this past year, Adames had missed just three games the previous two seasons and hadn’t played fewer than 139 in a season since debuting midway through his rookie year.

Vitello refused to take him out of the lineup, even as discipline for forgetting the number of outs on the bases while making chit-chat with Mookie Betts on second base.

Adames didn’t get his first day off until the Giants’ 28th game of the season and missed just two of their first 83 games. He then refused to go on the injured list when his back flared up in late June, instead taking up a roster spot despite being physically unable to play.

That’s not a sustainable model as he enters his mid-30s. Posey said the Giants will pencil in more scheduled days off going forward, regardless of Adames’ wishes.

“He won’t like it,” Posey said. “But I think we have to do it just to put him in the best spot to be successful. He can be mad at me. If he wants to get mad at me, it’s coming from a good place because we want him to be as productive as possible.”

Posey retired after his age-34 season, but he played long enough to understand the aging curve isn’t friendly to ballplayers after their 30th birthday. He had to change the way he trained, and he’s recommending that Adames do the same in conjunction with the Giants’ training staff.

“You can’t just go in and throw around the heaviest weight all the time and expect to keep your mobility the same,” Posey said. “I think there’s an emphasis for him … to really structure his workouts to increase his athletic movements. Maybe think of it — I don’t know this, but the way I’m thinking — is like less bulky muscle mass.”

Posey was hopeful that the modified workouts would help Adames’ range at shortstop, one factor in his league-worst array of advanced defensive metrics. Defensive Runs Saved, Fielding Run Value and Outs Above Average all rated him as one of the league’s three worst shortstops.

For Posey, the objective of this offseason is to turn around a team coming off one of the worst seasons in its history. Adames’ goals aren’t all that different. 

And for Posey to achieve his aim, he needs his shortstop to do the same.

The offseason is in full swing and the Mariners are reportedly interested in soon-to-be-free-agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

With the team’s 2026 fWAR leader Randy Arozarena likely on the way out of the Pacific Northwest, the Mariners are tasked with replacing his outgoing production using some newfound payroll flexibility that has been absent in recent years. Suzuki, on paper, seems like an ideal candidate to foster a clean transition in the Mariners outfield. That said, would his bat translate to the most pitcher-friendly environment in baseball?

I know. You’ve heard it before. At this point, Mariners fans are surely plenty familiar with the struggles that hitters, especially those of the right-handed variety, can experience when their careers open a new chapter in Seattle. We’ve seen it time and time again. Taylor Ward, Rob Refsnyder, Mitch Garver…the list could go on all day — these are only the most recent examples of previously reliable right-handed bats failing to meet expectations once they began taking half of their plate appearances at T-Mobile Park.

Of course, Suzuki would become the most highly touted right-handed free-agent bat signed by the Dipoto regime, with an asking price that could eclipse $100 million and a commitment spanning the better part of his mid-30s. More money does not equate to more success, and it certainly comes with more risk involved, but the track record is largely what you’d be paying for on the free agent market.

As John pointed out in his piece yesterday, Suzuki sports a 128 wRC+ for his career, matching Arozarena’s output. And though Suzuki has been playing home games in a less suppressive offensive environment, wRC+ adjusts for park factor and Wrigley Field still generally leans pitcher-friendly over the past several years. A quick glance at his Baseball Savant profile shows that quality of contact took a modest step back in 2026, though much of the offensive value lost in this regard was seemingly made up by drawing more walks — his walk rate improved as it has in every season since making the jump from NPB to MLB, now reaching an impressive 12.8 percent clip.

All of this brings us to the Thursday discussion prompt:

Do you want the Mariners to make this splash in free agency? Would you trust Seiya Suzuki’s bat to succeed in Seattle? Why or why not?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. And if you don’t want to see Seiya Suzuki in Mariners uniform, let us know where you’d rather see the team use their payroll flexibility this offseason!

After the franchise’s first World Series title just a few weeks ago, the awards are rolling in for the Brewers. On Tuesday night, manager Pat Murphy won an unprecedented third consecutive NL Manager of the Year Award. On Wednesday night, it was Jacob Misiorowski’s turn, as he took home the NL Cy Young Award unanimously.

Now, our friends at Breaking T have created shirts to celebrate both.

Winning pitching’s top award is one of the hardest things a pitcher can do, unless you’re Jacob Misiorowski. The Miz unanimously won the NL Cy Young, becoming only the 17th pitcher to do so. In what was a stellar season for the flamethrower, this award is the ultimate icing on the cake.

It’s a three-peat in Milwaukee for manager Pat Murphy, who just won his third-straight Manager of the Year award. He had his crew knocking on the door for 2024 and 2025, but in 2026, they blew that door open and won it all.

• Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc.
• Super-soft, durable t-shirts and hoodies
• Designed and printed in the USA
• Free returns and exchanges

Click here to get a UnaniMIZ shirt, and click here to get a Threepeat Pat Murphy shirt. And be sure to check out Breaking T’s full line of Brewers’ merchandise here.

Michael Kopech last pitched in Major League Baseball as a Dodgers reliever in 2025.

Kopech only pitched 11 innings, posting a 2.45 ERA as he dealt with numerous injuries that kept him sidelined for a majority of the season. The 30-year-old was a free agent last offseason, but remained unsigned through the 2026 season.

While the Dodgers chased a three-peat, Kopech spent the year recovering from a knee injury. Now, the right-hander is looking to return to MLB and is set to throw for teams Saturday, according to The Athletic.

The Dodgers acquired Kopech in a three-team trade with the White Sox and Cardinals, where Los Angeles also received utility man Tommy Edman. The deal was key for the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series run as both Kopech and Edman were instrumental.

In 2024, Kopech sported a 1.13 ERA across 24 innings with the Dodgers after the trade deadline. He accrued a 1.1 bWAR.

Ahead of the 2025 season, the Dodgers signed reliever Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal with the expectation that he would be the team’s primary closer.

Scott had a nightmarish first season in LA and the Dodgers searched for other closing options.

Kopech likely could have been the Dodgers’ closer in 2025 had he not been plagued by injuries. If the right-hander has returned to full form, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him find a new team this offseason.

The first Dodgers free agent is off the board, as reliever Evan Phillips signed a new contract with the Atlanta Braves for three years and $35 million.

Phillips, per the Braves, will make $11 million in each of 2027 and 2028, and $13 million in 2029.

The 32-year-old right-hander had a 3.46 ERA and 4.37 xERA in 31 games for the Dodgers this season after coming back from Tommy John surgery in June 2025, with 33 strikeouts against only three unintentional walks in 26 innings. His 31.1-percent strikeout rate was his best since 2022.

Phillips made $6.5 million last year for the Dodgers, his sixth season with Los Angeles.

A waiver claim by the Dodgers from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2021, Phillips quickly became a high-leverage reliever in Los Angeles. He posted a 2.36 ERA and 3.03 xERA in 232 games for the Dodgers with 46 saves, with 254 strikeouts (a 29.2-percent strikeout rate) and 50 unintentional walks in 221 innings.

Phillips pitched in five different postseasons for the Dodgers, totaling 17 games, and did not allow a run in his 18 1/3 innings, with 24 strikeouts and eight unintentional walks, and recorded his first postseason save during the 2026 National League Division Series against the Braves.

After returning from the injured list in July, the Dodgers were cautious with Phillips’ usage, limiting his back-to-back outings. But he started to feel like his old self about a month back into the groove.

“I appreciate what they’ve done, trying to build me up, plus also protect me, plus giving me advantageous lanes while also challenging me,” Phillips told True Blue LA in September. “It’s been great so far, and I definitely feel like I’m coming closer and closer to that best version of myself that I have been and continue to strive to be.”

The Cincinnati Reds are one of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, and they’ll continue to champion that they’ve remained as such for so long. They are! They’re one of just 30!

That means they’re participating at this year’s GM Meetings at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, meetings that began earlier in the week and wrap up today, Thursday November 12th. While the GM Meetings typically do not have nearly the fireworks as the annual Winter Meetings in December, the looming lockout on December 1st has almost assuredly rendered the latter not-happening in 2026, and therefore this year’s GM Meetings have taken on a slightly larger spotlight.

No agent in the sport has a larger gravitational pull than Scott Boras. Boras just so happens to represent Cincinnati Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz. Given that the overriding sentiments heading into the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the lockout that will come with that are that ‘small market’ teams simply can’t compete with ‘big market’ spending, it was unsurprising to hear Boras get asked his thoughts on the topic – and it came through a question regarding the Reds being able to ‘keep’ Elly after having failed in earlier attempts at signing him long-term.

Boras’ answer to the question was revealing in its honesty about how arcane the Reds way of doing business has become, specifically in a division that has seen other ‘small market’ clubs figure out ways to reach the highest of heights. Hat-tip to Gingersaurus Rex for helping relay the video:

Boras pointing out that the franchise effectively operates the way franchises operated 20 years ago is telling given that this message from the current ownership group of the Reds – which took over 20 years ago in 2006 – still lives and breathes because the internet never dies:

Enjoy Elly in a Reds uniform while you can, folks. Just hope you haven’t already seen him in that uniform for the last time.