BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 04: Mickey Gasper #30 of the Boston Red Sox hits a home run during the first inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on September 4, 2026 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Before we begin looking ahead to 2027, OTM is looking back at 2026, highlighting some of the biggest, strangest, and most memorable moments of a memorable season. Today, we look at one of the most improbable, incredible months in baseball history.
On the final day of August, the hottest hitter in all of Major League Baseball, Mickey Gasper, returned to the Red Sox lineup after a brief, and unnecessary, detour. Upon his return, he did what he had been doing the entire month. He homered, immediately, in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game against the Mariners at 1-1. It was Gasper’s sixth home run of August, a month which he didn’t even play a game at the MLB level until the 17th. For a player who had two home runs in 92 career games entering that month.
In his next at bat, NESN flashed arguably the single craziest stat that they had ever posted on our television screens.
Now, was there a little bit of small sample bias here? Certainly. Was Barry Bonds also the first player in history to balloon to a Size 9 hat during April of 2004? Almost certainly. You can take everything on there with a grain of salt. Gasper had 38 plate appearances in August at that moment. Ted Williams had 33 plate appearances in September of 1957. Of course, Williams also reached base in 16 consecutive plate appearances during that time; a Modern Era record that still stands today. By the way, Williams hit .453 in the second half that year.
What made this graphic all the more improbable was that Gasper had been demoted to Triple-A the day before. It was prior to the final game of the disastrous four game set at the Yankees, with Roman Anthony and Trevor Story returning from the IL at the same time. It was bad karma, and the Red Sox got what they deserved that day, losing 16-1. It wasn’t the only bad karma that week, with paying customers getting the Jedixson Paez Game just a couple of days later.
Gasper spent the day at home in New Jersey, as he wouldn’t need to report to Worcester until the next day. As he explained:
“I spent about 15 hours hanging out with my dogs and my pets, just hanging out at the house. Mom made a nice dinner,” Gasper said. “I was just relaxing, getting my mind right, just preparing for what was ahead of me. I watched the whole game, so I did see Willson come out [early]. But I was eating dinner and then I saw I had three missed calls from [chief baseball officer Craig Breslow], so I figured something was up. I gave him a call right back and got on a flight this morning.”
But, back to that 1.827 OPS. Gasper was recalled on the 17th thanks to an incredible Triple-A slash line of .337/.450/.566 with a 165 wRC+. As I wrote, for whatever reason, in a Minor Lines just three days earlier, “The guy shows up for work every day and will be ready for the call when needed. I expect to see him hitting .300 somewhere at the age of 40.”
In his first three games, against the Diamondbacks, Gasper started as the designated hitter and he homered in all three of them. The most memorable being the third one, a three-run homer to tie the game at 5-5.
A week later, at Miami, Gasper mixed in a two homer game, the only two runs that the Red Sox scored until extra innings, where they went on to win 7-3. At this point, Gasper was catching on nationally, as he was having one of the greatest eight game stretches of all-time.
Gasper walked ten times in the month, and struck out just twice. His final hit of the month was the early home run against Seattle, as he went 1-for-4 with a walk that day, and the final month long OPS was a measly 1.671, down from the graphic’s 1.827. The full slash line over 12 games: .400/.571/1.100.
He homered on his first at bat of September as well, one of four homers that month, finishing with ten on the season before a severe biceps injury ended Gasper’s year just before the playoffs. Offseason surgery will have him out 4-6 months, but the 31-year-old deserves a chance to start the season with the big league squad, at catcher, infield, or otherwise, to prove that the third greatest OPS of all-time “modern day Ted Williams” was no fluke.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 03: Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches in the first inning during the National League Divisional Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on October 03, 2026 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Photo by David Dennis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It has been 10 days since the 2026 season concluded with the Milwaukee Brewers winning their first World Series championship in franchise history. Unsurprisingly, there haven’t been any major moves that have drastically changed the landscape of the sport, and until that first spark is ignited, we must sit back and wait patiently as the offseason trudges on.
The main concern for the Dodgers this offseason is the status of free agent Tarik Skubal, and they aren’t the only ones vying for his services. Teams like the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres have all expressed interest in signing the still-reigning two-time American League Cy Young award winner, but the details surrounding a potential contract are mirky.
The Dodgers have already shown over the last three years that they are willing to hand out long-term contracts with record-breaking annual salaries while also dishing out short-term deals with inflated annual values. Katie Woo of The Athletic spoke with A.J. Pierzynski of the Foul Territory podcast about what type of deal Skubal will sign, where she envisions the Dodgers giving Skubal a contract more similar to that of Kyle Tucker rather than Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“I don’t see the Dodgers shelling out the long-term mega contract for the same reasons they didn’t to for Kyle Tucker. Andrew Friedman wants to prolong the team’s competitive window… Could we see a similar structure to what the Dodgers offered Kyle Tucker— shorter term with a much higher AAV— as their option? That’s certainly the thought process going into the GM Meetings.”
Skubal will be entering his age-30 season in 2027, and Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com writes about how pitchers with historic dominance in their 20’s have fared once they are on the wrong side of 30.
Whether Skubal’s next contract looks like a success will depend on his ability to stay on the mound. But chances are he still has at least a few Cy Young-caliber seasons ahead.
In an effort to break out of camp next year, Josue De Paula is doing everything in his power to ensure that he can be a viable defensive option in the outfield, and that includes working with former Gold Glove award winner and 2018 World Series champion Jackie Bradley Jr., reports Dylan Hernandez of the California Post.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 2: View of a Colorado Rockies hat and Wilson glove during game between the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 2, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Scott Strazzante/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As the off-season trudges ever onward, we here at Purple Row wanted to try something new (inspired by our friends over at the AZ Snake Pit) with our readers in mind. Therefore, we are kicking off the first annual Purple Row Awards! Here’s how it works:
For the next several Sundays in our “This Week in Purple” post, we will reveal the award category and provide a few nominations from our staff here on the site.
If you have a nomination of your own, post it in the comments section. Please include a link to the video if possible from MLB.com’s Film Room.
On Wednesday, we will post a poll on The Feed for readers to select their winner for the award. The finalists will be determined by rec’s in the comments, and the poll will close on Friday. Make sure to rec your favorites!
We will reveal our winner on Saturday!
So without further ado, allow us to introduce the first award category and staff nominations!
The Purple Row Awards, 2026: Best Defensive Play
Jordan Beck’s home run robbery: April 11th at San Diego
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Pete Crow-Armstrong #4 of the Chicago Cubs stands as God Bless America is played during the seventh inning in game two of the National League Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 30, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you’ve all had a lovely and relaxing weekend. It’s been a good weekend for the Cubs, as both Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs themselves have walked away with some new hardware and accolades. We’ll also take a look at some hot stove rumblings, and also where some Cubs might end up playing next season.
Let’s jump into it and gear up for the week ahead.
Make that Platinum Glove winner, Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The Cubs need pitching help this offseason. It’s no secret that this has to be one of their top priorities over the winter, and of course this being hot stove season, the rumor mill is going hot and heavy with suggestions as to which free agent pitchers the Cubs could target. And for once, it’s not just about Tarik Skubal. Three additional pitchers who are being connected as potential targets for the Cubs are Freddy Peralta (but who doesn’t want Freddy Peralta), Michael King, and also a possible reunion with Clay Holmes.
Jed Hoyer is admitting his bullpen moves for 2026 didn’t pan out, saying, “I did a poor job in the bullpen this year, full stop… The guys we acquired this winter didn’t produce nearly as well as they did a year ago.” Whether Hoyer will actually learn anything from this going into the new year is another question entirely, of course.
Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne thinks the Sox could consider adding Shota Imanga to their rotation, but it would probably depend on what happens this offseason with Sonny Gray. Browne said of the potential move, “Even if the rotation looks to be a strong suit, you can never count out Breslow from adding more rotation depth, particularly if Gray signs elsewhere. One name that intrigues me? Shota Imanaga. Breslow was really fond of him when he was scouting him for the Cubs three years ago. The Cubs wound up signing him, but Breslow was in his early stages with the Red Sox at that point.”
Food For Thought:
Last night I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie themed around the Chicago Bears. This is the third of the NFL-themed holiday movies that Hallmark has done. The first was an ode to the Chiefs (no real surprise there as Hallmark is based out of Kansas City) and the second was structured around the Buffalo Bills. As someone who is a regular viewer of Hallmark movies, Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story was charming, and less about Christmas than it was about a family’s connection to the Bears and to football in general.
I’m also not much of a football person, so watching the movie got me to thinking: why hasn’t Hallmark partnered with MLB? There’s a real lack of original Hallmark content over the summer months, and baseball fandom seems like an ideal backdrop for a charming summer love story.
Anyway, I realize I’m in the minority of people who are viewers of both sports and Hallmark movies, but I feel like the crossover really writes itself.
If you’re at all curious about the Bears-themed movie (there are some fun cameos for Bears fans, which is always a highlight of the NFL tie-in movies), here’s a trailer. Admittedly, I felt like the Chicago background could have been more Chicago-y, but also Hallmark rarely films in the cities they’re set in, but it would be fun to see more of the city.
Would you watch a Cubs-themed Hallmark movie? I feel like I’d enjoy that a lot.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees hits a solo home run in the third inning during Game 5 of the 2024 World Series presented by Capital One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
On most days in our series profiling one Yankee per day, the player in question has seen his Yankees career come to a close. Thousands of people have donned the pinstripes, and in most cases, that period of their lives has come to an end, allowing us time to look back and reflect on their careers.
Today, we celebrate the birthday of one Giancarlo Stanton, a man whose Yankees career has not yet finished. But Stanton’s Yankee tenure has already stretched nine years, with just one guaranteed year left on his contract. The bulk of his Yankees story has been written. It’s a story with more ups and downs than I think any one of us expected, and as he stares down what could be the final chapter of his career, his Yankees legacy stands as one of the strangest among the many greats that have played for the team.
Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton Born: November 8, 1989 (Panorama City, CA) Yankees Tenure: 2018-present
Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton was born in 1989 to Mike Stanton and Jacinta Garay in Panorama City, California, a Los Angeles neighborhood that was also home to former Yankee Zack Britton. Stanton grew up a Dodgers fan and became a multi-sport star Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, excelling at football, basketball, and of course baseball.
Born Giancarlo, Stanton preferred to be called Mike for part of his childhood. “Why did you name me [Giancarlo]?” he asked his mother in high school. However he was called, Stanton was a prodigious athlete, and received scholarship offers from UCLA and UNLV, ultimately accepting a scholarship from USC to play baseball.
He would never make it to campus, as the Florida Marlins took Stanton in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft, and Stanton decided to forgo his scholarship and accept a $475K signing bonus from the Fish. Stanton would quickly make a name for himself as a prospect, crushing 39 homers in the minors in 2008 and rocketing towards the top of industry prospect lists, thanks to his sterling performance and undeniable physical tools.
By 2010, Stanton ranked among the top five prospects in baseball per Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, with scouts lauding not just his immense raw power, but also his impressive mobility for a player his size, not to mention a cannon arm that helped make him a high-quality defensive right fielder. After smashing 21 homers in just two months at Triple-A, the Marlins called the 20-year-old Stanton up in June, and he quickly established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the National League, hitting a grand slam at home against the Rays for his first career home run.
Stanton would hit 22 homers and run a 118 OPS+ as part of a strong rookie campaign in Florida. In his first full season in 2011, Stanton hit 34 bombs with a 141 OPS+ across 150 games, kicking off a stretch in which Stanton was solidified as one of the game’s premier sluggers. Between 2011 and 2016, Stanton hit 186 homers, finished runner-up to Clayton Kershaw for the 2014 NL MVP, and posted a 145 OPS+, all while continuing to play a strong right field. His level of play was so stellar and consistent that he convinced the notoriously stingy Marlins to pay up, inking Stanton to a 13-year, $325-million contract extension after the 2014 season that was at that point the richest contract signed in the history of American sports. Along the way, he took a trip to Europe and decided to embrace his old name, and started to go by Giancarlo once more.
And it turns out, all this was just an appetizer for Stanton’s historic 2017 campaign. Playing in a famously pitcher-friendly home park in Miami, Stanton made what was at the time the most spirited run at a 60-homer season in the post-steroid era, ultimately finishing with 59 dingers in a season that earned him the NL MVP award. Only Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Aaron Judge, Roger Maris, Cal Raleigh, and Babe Ruth have ever hit more in a single season.
Stanton was at the peak of his powers, and that’s when New York came calling to see if he’d want to use those powers in service of an actual pennant chase. From the moment he signed his historic deal with the Marlins, those on the outside always wondered if it was a contract meant to be traded.
Indeed, with Stanton on top of the world and in MVP form, the Marlins’ new ownership group—which included former Yankees star Derek Jeter—took the opportunity to cash out, sending Stanton (and $25 million) to the Yankees for the modest return of Starlin Castro and prospects Jose Devers and Jorge Guzmán.
It was a thunderous move, the Yankees seizing the chance to pair Judge, coming off a historic season of his own, with an equally powerful running mate. With the Bombers riding high after a surprising 2017 season, the possibilities seemed endless as Stanton came to town. The Yankees had two MVP-caliber bats in the middle of their order, a bedrock of young talent, a deep farm system and even deeper pockets. Stanton’s arrival signaled that the time was now, for the Yankees to re-cement themselves as baseball’s Evil Empire, to establish a new reign of dominance over the league.
On Opening Day, Stanton smashed two homers as the Yankees won in Toronto. The next week, Stanton, Judge, and Gary Sánchez homered in a 7-2 win over the Rays at Yankee Stadium. The new era truly had begun, the first of what would seemingly be endless nights where the Yankees’ power trio would all homer and lead the team to victory.
But no sooner did the era begin that it started to end. Judge was hit by a pitch in July and missed two months, only returning at the end of the season. Sánchez, the club’s fabulously talented catcher, struggled through an injury-plagued season and hit .186. Stanton was left to carry the lineup, and he did a fine, if unspectacular, job of it. Though he didn’t reach the heights of his 2017 MVP campaign, Stanton provided reliable production while the sluggers around him were struck down, hitting .266/.343/.509 with 38 homers and 100 RBI. The Yankees survived the injuries to Judge and others and won 100 games for the first time since 2009 thanks in part to Stanton’s steady presence, though their postseason run ended in a disappointing ALDS loss to the Red Sox.
Stanton and the Yankees returned in 2019, looking forward to a healthier year from their stars that would allow their sluggers to click at the same time. Little did they know that Stanton’s body was entering a period of unreliability that lasts until this day.
When the Yankees had acquired Stanton, his injury record was long, but perhaps not too worrisome. Although Stanton had missed significant time in multiple seasons with the Marlins, much of that could be attributed to freak accidents, such as when he hurt his wrist on a swing in 2015, or the scary incident in 2014 that saw Stanton get hit in the face by a Mike Fiers fastball (soon becoming one of the league’s first stars to wear a more protective helmet). But the signs were there. In 2013, Stanton missed six weeks with a hamstring strain. He missed a few weeks at the end of the 2016 season with another hamstring problem. Just two soft-tissue injuries, but they hinted at what would prove to be Stanton’s biggest foe in the second half of his career.
In April of 2019, Stanton hit the IL with a biceps strain. He’d return in June but go back on the IL with an injury to a ligament in his knee. He posted a 138 OPS+ for the season in just 18 games. Stanton played only 23 games (with a 145 OPS+) in the COVID-shortened 2020 season thanks to another hamstring strain. He strained his quad early in 2021, and when he returned, the Yankees largely used him as a designated hitter. The decision paid dividends, as Stanton enjoyed a relatively clean bill of health the rest of that year, posting a 136 OPS+ in 139 games.
Although injuries had already ravaged his body by this point and relegated him to DH duty, there was hope that now, with Stanton focused on providing value with his bat and staying off the outfield grass, the slugger would be able to stay productive and in the lineup. The first half of 2022 lent credence to that hope, as Stanton and Judge blitzed opposing pitchers; both hit at least 10 homers in the season’s first 32 games, just the third time in franchise history two players had done so. Stanton ran an OPS near .900 for the first two months of the season, but injuries struck again. While Judge would keep up his early-season pace and set a new AL home run record, Stanton started to have ankle issues in late May, issues that would plague him for the rest of the year. Stanton would miss 52 games and post the worst batting average, OBP, and OPS+ figures of his career even when he was on the field.
Five years into his Yankee tenure, Stanton had become a strange and polarizing figure in Yankee lore. When healthy, he was still great, if not as great as his peak with the Marlins. He also authored nigh-countless signature moments in the playoffs, always finding a way to contribute come October no matter how banged up he’d been from March to September, smashing a home run in the 2018 Wild Card Game against Oakland, one in the 2019 ALCS versus Houston, and going deep four times in the 2020 ALDS against the Rays.
That was the strange paradox of Giancarlo Stanton as his Yankee tenure developed; he felt indispensable at times, but he was also the most unreliable player on the roster. The story continued in 2023 and 2024; Stanton suffered another hamstring in 2023 as he limped to the worst season of his career with an 87 OPS+, and in 2024, he strained his hamstring again. This time, though, he healed in time for the playoffs, almost single-handedly leading the Yankees to their first AL pennant in 15 years and earning 2024 ALCS MVP honors. Stanton bombarded Cleveland with four homers in five games; Guardians pitchers had no answers.
That preceded a career renaissance. In 2025, Stanton, of course, got injured, but he returned midseason and put together the best stretch of regular-season performance in his Yankees career. His 155 OPS+ on the year was his highest as a Yankee, but he went through an unholy midsummer stretch during which Aaron Judge was dealing with an elbow injury, carrying the Yankees with a 1.253 OPS and nine homers in August.
The renaissance was oh-so brief. Stanton revealed after the year that he’d been dealing with injuries to both his elbows, and after a so-so start to 2026, Stanton hit the IL with a calf problem with a seemingly minor lower-leg injury that ended up scuttling the rest of his regular season. Stanton returned to pinch-hit in the playoffs, but ultimately struck out twice in two plate appearances after playing just 24 games during the regular season.
That is where we stand with him today. Say the name “Giancarlo Stanton” and the first thing that should come to mind is his immense power, the laser-beam home runs that only he can hit. The towering grand slams, the signature playoff moments that he’s authored in pinstripes. But also at the front of mind is everything that’s been missing. Stanton is both a towering figure in Yankee history and an absence.
For all the great moments he’s created, he’s also missed so many, and at the end of the day, after hitting 267 homers with a 147 OPS+ in eight years as a Marlin, he’s hit 189 homers with a 123 OPS+ in nine years as a Yankee — though that doesn’t include the 18 career playoff blasts in 50 games, as many as Mickey Mantle in 65 games.
Stanton is a walking, mighty contradiction. He’s a player whose fingerprints are all over many of the Yankees’ most memorable moments from the last decade, and yet his absences loom just as large. He’s the most physically imposing human to ever play Major League Baseball, and the most fragile. The man gifted with some of the greatest physical tools in the game’s history is opposed and thwarted almost entirely by his own body.
Today, we wish him a happy 37th birthday as he and the Yankees stare into the unknown. He has one year left on his deal, and reports say he’ll come to spring training next year with a chance to show what he’s got left. He could have a 2025 miracle run left in him, or nothing. He’s just 44 homers from 500, a Hall of Fame-caliber figure that’s so close and yet so, so far. We will all be so lucky if, at age-37, Stanton finds just enough of the elixir of youth to stay on the field for some stretch of time, long enough to swat a few more mythical home runs and create a few more memories.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 9: Jeremy Pena #3 of the Houston Astros tags out Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park on September 9, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Is it possible for the Phillies to have someone win a Gold Glove? I talked about Bryson Stott the other day in a question of the day, but what about someone else? Is there really anyone else that could get that kind of hardware? I’m not too sure.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 19, 2026: A view of a sign warning fans to Watch Out For Batted Balls in centerfield prior to an interleague game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park on September 06, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Brewers beat the Orioles, 1-0. (Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Hello, friends.
There are 136 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game, Opening Day 2027. I cannot stress enough that there is no guarantee at this point of there being a game on that day.
The early days of the baseball offseason have not brought much in the way of big news for any team, and certainly not much in the way of news for the Orioles. With the owner-imposed lockout looming, I am curious when that will change, or if it will change. The month of November is usually not full of big moves.
Circumstances are different this time around, with this month probably being the only month where teams can plan for next year’s roster without having to rush around wildly in what will probably be a hectic short time between when negotiations are concluded and a potentially belated spring training starts up. Maybe this week’s GM meetings, usually a low-key affair that’s more about laying groundwork for later conversations and decisions, will spark more activity than usual. Or maybe not. I don’t know.
One thing I do know is that when Mike Elias has something big brewing, there is rarely a steady stream of rumors about it. The moves almost seem to come out of nowhere. If Elias is making an attempt to re-sign Trevor Rogers, we aren’t going to know about it until that’s what happens. It’s unlikely that we’ll know afterwards how close he came, if he even tried. If it’s not your job to sit around and react to Orioles news, I suggest that you don’t hold your breath waiting for anything.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
We are well into the time of year where diligent daily Bird Droppings readers may see repeats. It’s almost certainly not getting better in December.
Could Holliday be an Orioles trade candidate this winter? (Orioles.com) If you really like Blaze Alexander, really believe in Jordan Westburg’s return, really think Coby Mayo’s second half of the season development is for real, and really feel that Christian Encarnacion-Strand is the next Ryan O’Hearn-type success story by the Orioles… well, Jackson Holliday is the guy who gets left out of that picture, or perhaps should be left out. The question, of course, is what does Mike Elias believe about all of those things?
Today in 1966, Frank Robinson was unanimously named the MVP of the American League, becoming the first player to ever win the award in both the AL and the NL. This was the season where Robinson won the batting Triple Crown, the only Orioles player to ever do so.
In 1991, Cal Ripken Jr. was named as the AL MVP for the second time in his career, winning 15 of 28 first place votes. With 11.5 bWAR that season, Cal completely out-classed the league, with no other player even within 3.5 bWAR of himself.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2000 hitter Carlos Casimiro, 1994 outfielder Dwight Smith, and 1955 outfielder Wally Westlake.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: astronomer Edmond Halley (1656), game maker Milton Bradley (1836), Dracula author Bram Stoker (1847), author Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), and actor Matthew Rhys (1974).
On this day in history…
In 1602, Oxford’s Bodleian Library opened to the public. The largest library at the university remains open to the public today.
In 1889, Montana was admitted to the United States, becoming the 41st state.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on November 8. Have a safe Sunday.
DUNEDIN, FL - FEBRUARY 24: New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) waits to bat against the Toronto Blue Jays on February 24, 2026, at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It would be nice to say that we’re X days away from pitchers and catchers, and X days away from Opening Day 2027. Even if it’s a long time from now, it’s comforting to have a final date in mind! It’s the same idea as when you’re a kid, it’s always X days until Christmas, your birthday, the last day of school, etc. But while there are technically dates in place, the MLB owners’ pending lockout on December 1st hangs over everyone’s head like the Sword of Damocles. Hopefully the worst is that the season just gets delayed like the start of 2022, but … we’ll find out, huh?
We have a couple items ahead on the site today, Jake will celebrate both the 37th birthday and the up-and-down Yankees career of Giancarlo Stanton; it will be interesting to see if they call it with one year remaining on his contract, or if they at least see it out to the beginning on 2027. Later, John will have the weekly Social Media Spotlight.
Questions/Prompts:
1. If you were to guess, where do you think Jazz Chisholm Jr. ends up in free agency?
2. Let’s consider another! If you were to guess, where do you think Trent Grisham ends up in free agency?
Baseball’s offseason heats up this week as the annual general managers’ meetings begin in Las Vegas.
The meetings were once an intimate affair, often held at a warm-weather resort so the GMs could hit the links in the afternoon. Media coverage was scant.
Things have changed over the years. The meetings have become a bigger and busier event, winter meetings lite, if you will, with extensive media coverage. There doesn’t seem to be as much time for golf as executives meet on industry policy matters in the morning and work on team construction in the afternoons. And, of course, they are the GM meetings in name only. Most every club is now run by a president of baseball operations, with a general manager slotting in lower on the masthead.
Calling them ‘the GM meetings’ has an easy and traditional ring to it.
So, it’s off to Vegas the baseball world goes.
Some years, the GM meetings are frenzied and action packed. Back in 2007, the Phillies took a big step toward winning the 2008 World Series when they traded for closer Brad Lidge at the event.
Some years, the GM meetings are less exciting, with teams mostly laying groundwork for transactions that could come later in the offseason.
This year’s event could have a little of everything, some notable early moves and important groundwork, because teams could move quickly in building out their rosters as the game is due to shut down on December 2 as the labor agreement between the owners and players expires at midnight the day before.
As a matter of labor strategy, owners will lock out the players as negotiations for a new deal intensifies. The lockout will bring a moratorium on signings, trades and all other baseball business. Time will tell when the game gets up and running again and what its economic system will look like. Owners want a salary cap. Players are adamant that they won’t go for one.
In the remaining few weeks before the lockout, some teams will act quickly to make moves. Others will sit back and wait for the storm to clear.
The Phillies aren’t expected to be one of the teams that sits around and waits. There was a lockout after the 2021 season. The Phillies spent the month before it aggressively pursuing slugger Kyle Schwarber. They weren’t able to get a deal done before the shutdown, but did make important strides toward getting one done when the game re-opened.
Phillies baseball boss Dave Dombrowski heads to Vegas with a sizable to-do list as he tries to get his club the World Series title it thirsts for before its core group of players moves into the old folks’ home. Already, it’s on the front stoop.
The Phillies have made the postseason five years in a row, but haven’t won a postseason series since 2023. The team still boasts a strong starting pitching staff, but its bullpen, offense, defense and bench all need upgrades.
The team’s greatest need – an offensive infusion or bullpen boost – can be debated. But that 6.28 bullpen ERA and those six blown saves the last three postseasons are difficult to ignore.
Heading into the GM meetings, there are signs that the Phils are prioritizing a bullpen upgrade with lefty setup man Adrian Morejon at the top of their list. Morejon, who will pitch at 28 next season, has strung together three brilliant seasons. He is the top free-agent reliever on the market, but there is significant play on him. Some projections have him getting a four- or five-year deal approaching $20 million annually. The Phillies’ payroll, with arbitration estimates, already projects to be in the neighborhood of $290 million. It landed at about $322 million in 2026.
Can the Phils sign Morejon and still have room to address their other holes, starting with a glaring need for a right-handed outfield bat? We’ll see. At his end-of-season news conference in October, Dombrowski acknowledged the challenges of the team’s tight payroll, which is dotted with multi-year, high-priced contracts that are basically immovable because of no-trade rights.
“The reality is, hey, that’s up to me,” he said. “I’ve created this situation, right?”
Morejon received a qualifying offer of $23.15 million from San Diego so signing him would cost the Phillies their second- and fifth-round draft picks next season, as well as $1 million in international signing pool money. For a team that needs to improve its stock of prospects, that’s a significant consideration, but not one that supersedes the need to win now.
However this goes, the Phillies must come out of this offseason, however that looks, with a lefty setup man, if not Morejon then maybe someone like Steven Okert or JoJo Romero.
While upgrading the bullpen appears to be the Phils’ top priority at the moment, they do want to address their offense, particularly with a right-handed bat. Free-agent outfielders Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki would both be excellent fits, but they, like Morejon, will be expensive and received qualifying offers from their previous clubs. Nonetheless, the Phillies have and will continue to monitor the market for both players.
In addition to the bullpen and the offense, Dombrowski will be looking for starting pitching depth, infield insurance and an upgrade at backup catcher. Some of this help could come through trades.
A busy offseason — in many ways — gets humming this week.
San Diego, California - September 25: Casey Mize #32 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Petco Park on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Well the offseason continues to be eerily quiet as the clock ticks down on the seemingly inevitable lockout. The expectation has been that there will be a flurry of movement before the lockout, but we haven’t seen much movement of note as of yet. We did at least get a few morsels of rumors as it relates to Braves’ interest in starting pitchers at the deadline, which may inform interest this offseason.
San Diego, California - September 25: Casey Mize #32 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Petco Park on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Well the offseason continues to be eerily quiet as the clock ticks down on the seemingly inevitable lockout. The expectation has been that there will be a flurry of movement before the lockout, but we haven’t seen much movement of note as of yet. We did at least get a few morsels of rumors as it relates to Braves’ interest in starting pitchers at the deadline, which may inform interest this offseason.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - SEPTEMBER 12: Shoki Oda #11 of Team Japanthrows in the second inning during the BFA U18 Asian Baseball Championship Super Round game between Chinese Taipei and Japan at Taipei Dome on September 12, 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Gene Wang - Capture At Media/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Bleacher Report | Adam Wells: The Yankees have been linked to a number of Japanese stars in recent weeks as they attempt to reestablish a foothold in the Japanese market that the Dodgers have dominated of late. They reportedly have a meeting planned with 18-year-old starting pitcher Shoki Oda, who broke out during the 2026 Koshien National High School Baseball Championship of Japan. The young ace’s fastball has been recorded as high as 98 mph, attracting the attention of as many as a dozen MLB teams. Oda announced that he plans to forgo pitching in NPB and wishes to declare himself for the international free agent signing period that will open on January 15th.*
*This will likely happen regardless of the lockout, like during the early 2022 dispute. These agreements are with players who are not about to be added to the MLB 40-man roster and the new minor leaguers would join a different union. That’s why Triple-A, Double-A, etc. Opening Day 2027 will not be pushed back by the MLB lockout.
Oda would follow a similar path to Roki Sasaki, who joined the Dodgers on a $6.5 million signing bonus in 2025. By not signing for NPB and going through their posting system after a certain amount of years, Oda would be treated as an international free agent, capping the amount he could sign for and giving the signing team six years of team control, as opposed to someone like Teruaki Sato, who is being posted by his NPB team and can therefor sign a lucrative multi-year deal.
MLB.com | Benjamin Hill: Earlier in the offseason, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announced that they would undergo a rebranding ahead of the 2027 season, and now we know the new name of the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. They will now be known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Highlanders — partially a nod to the inaugural name of the Yankees’ big-league franchise.
The Yankees were known as the Highlanders from their inception in 1903 until they became the Yankees in 1913. The change comes as the team enters its 20th season as the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, and is the fourth name in their history following Red Barons, Yankees, and RailRiders. They had been the RailRiders since moving into the highly-renovated PNC Field in 2013.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: While not strictly Yankees related, it is possible one of their trade targets has come off the board. Earlier in 2026, the Yankees were rumored to have interest in Nationals center fielder Jacob Young, but he has now signed a four-year, $23 million extension with a fifth year option with Washington. After several seasons of well below average offensive production, Young improved to slash .252/.318/.390 with 10 home runs, 50 RBIs, a 95 wRC+, and 18 steals in 22 attempts. His real calling card is his center field defense, where he has accrued the second-most Statcast Outs Above Average (+46) of any qualified outfielder over the last three seasons, trailing only presumptive NL Cy Young Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Yahoo! Sports | TJ French: Another possible outfield depth piece is no longer an option. Jarred Kelenic elected free agency after joining the organization on a minor-league deal at the end of August following his DFA from the Braves. The Yankees never selected his contract to the majors, and he appeared in 19 games at Triple-A, posting a 43 wRC+ with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 92 plate appearances. The sixth overall pick by the Mets in the 2018 MLB Draft, Kelenic was one of the centerpieces in the 2018 trade with Seattle for Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó. His big league career never really got on track after that point, and in six big league seasons playing for the Mariners, Braves, White Sox, and Rangers, Kelenic batted .211/.283/.371 with 50 home runs, 162 RBIs, an 84 wRC+, and 0.8 fWAR across 1,571 plate appearances.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - SEPTEMBER 12: Shoki Oda #11 of Team Japanthrows in the second inning during the BFA U18 Asian Baseball Championship Super Round game between Chinese Taipei and Japan at Taipei Dome on September 12, 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Gene Wang - Capture At Media/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Bleacher Report | Adam Wells: The Yankees have been linked to a number of Japanese stars in recent weeks as they attempt to reestablish a foothold in the Japanese market that the Dodgers have dominated of late. They reportedly have a meeting planned with 18-year-old starting pitcher Shoki Oda, who broke out during the 2026 Koshien National High School Baseball Championship of Japan. The young ace’s fastball has been recorded as high as 98 mph, attracting the attention of as many as a dozen MLB teams. Oda announced that he plans to forgo pitching in NPB and wishes to declare himself for the international free agent signing period that will open on January 15th.*
*This will likely happen regardless of the lockout, like during the early 2022 dispute. These agreements are with players who are not about to be added to the MLB 40-man roster and the new minor leaguers would join a different union. That’s why Triple-A, Double-A, etc. Opening Day 2027 will not be pushed back by the MLB lockout.
Oda would follow a similar path to Roki Sasaki, who joined the Dodgers on a $6.5 million signing bonus in 2025. By not signing for NPB and going through their posting system after a certain amount of years, Oda would be treated as an international free agent, capping the amount he could sign for and giving the signing team six years of team control, as opposed to someone like Teruaki Sato, who is being posted by his NPB team and can therefor sign a lucrative multi-year deal.
MLB.com | Benjamin Hill: Earlier in the offseason, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announced that they would undergo a rebranding ahead of the 2027 season, and now we know the new name of the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. They will now be known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Highlanders — partially a nod to the inaugural name of the Yankees’ big-league franchise.
The Yankees were known as the Highlanders from their inception in 1903 until they became the Yankees in 1913. The change comes as the team enters its 20th season as the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, and is the fourth name in their history following Red Barons, Yankees, and RailRiders. They had been the RailRiders since moving into the highly-renovated PNC Field in 2013.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: While not strictly Yankees related, it is possible one of their trade targets has come off the board. Earlier in 2026, the Yankees were rumored to have interest in Nationals center fielder Jacob Young, but he has now signed a four-year, $23 million extension with a fifth year option with Washington. After several seasons of well below average offensive production, Young improved to slash .252/.318/.390 with 10 home runs, 50 RBIs, a 95 wRC+, and 18 steals in 22 attempts. His real calling card is his center field defense, where he has accrued the second-most Statcast Outs Above Average (+46) of any qualified outfielder over the last three seasons, trailing only presumptive NL Cy Young Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Yahoo! Sports | TJ French: Another possible outfield depth piece is no longer an option. Jarred Kelenic elected free agency after joining the organization on a minor-league deal at the end of August following his DFA from the Braves. The Yankees never selected his contract to the majors, and he appeared in 19 games at Triple-A, posting a 43 wRC+ with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 92 plate appearances. The sixth overall pick by the Mets in the 2018 MLB Draft, Kelenic was one of the centerpieces in the 2018 trade with Seattle for Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó. His big league career never really got on track after that point, and in six big league seasons playing for the Mariners, Braves, White Sox, and Rangers, Kelenic batted .211/.283/.371 with 50 home runs, 162 RBIs, an 84 wRC+, and 0.8 fWAR across 1,571 plate appearances.
Diego Natera (left, celebrating a June 23 homer) had two uneven seasons in the DSL, but the best of each year supports an enticing future. | Sideline HD
Diego Natera Catcher 5´10´´ 190 pounds Age: 19 First appearance in the South Side Sox Top 100 2026 High Level DSL (rookie) Age relative to high level +0.4 years SSS rank among all catchers in the system 8 Overall 2026 stats 31 games ⚾️ 1 HR ⚾️ 4 RBI ⚾️ .314/.400/.600 ⚾️ 4 BB ⚾️ 13 K ⚾️ 1-of-15 (6.7% CS) ⚾️ .957 FLD% ⚾️ 0.3 WAR
Every time we run out this Top 100, the results can surprise, a player ranked higher than anyone else has him (cough Grant Umberger cough) and we’re right … or, sometimes fantastically, we’re wrong. So let me take this moment to direct all slings and arrows my way if two-season DSL catcher Diego Natera dissolves into the ether if he makes it Stateside for the ACL White Sox in 2027; he’s on the list solely because I’m taking a flier on him.
The White Sox inked Natera to an international deal in January 2025, handing over a $225,000 signing bonus that wasn’t exactly spare change but not quite saying more than why not, either. The 17-year-old’s summer didn’t quite validate the decision, either, as he was, uh, BAD. Like, .156/.415/.267 slash bad.
However, there was one thing that was really, really good about Natera in 2025: his defense, particularly an arm that gunned down 36% of base-stealers. He was just a baby, and was flashing a cannon.
In 2026, the script flipped, as Natera in somewhat limited time shook his bat awake (.314/.400/.600) but lost the plot behind the plate. Here’s his sole homer of the 2026 season:
The ranking here reflects a belief he’ll put the two sides of his game together in 2027, as he makes the challenging move into the ACL.
Diego Natera (left, celebrating a June 23 homer) had two uneven seasons in the DSL, but the best of each year supports an enticing future. | Sideline HD
Diego Natera Catcher 5´10´´ 190 pounds Age: 19 First appearance in the South Side Sox Top 100 2026 High Level DSL (rookie) Age relative to high level +0.4 years SSS rank among all catchers in the system 8 Overall 2026 stats 31 games ⚾️ 1 HR ⚾️ 4 RBI ⚾️ .314/.400/.600 ⚾️ 4 BB ⚾️ 13 K ⚾️ 1-of-15 (6.7% CS) ⚾️ .957 FLD% ⚾️ 0.3 WAR
Every time we run out this Top 100, the results can surprise, a player ranked higher than anyone else has him (cough Grant Umberger cough) and we’re right … or, sometimes fantastically, we’re wrong. So let me take this moment to direct all slings and arrows my way if two-season DSL catcher Diego Natera dissolves into the ether if he makes it Stateside for the ACL White Sox in 2027; he’s on the list solely because I’m taking a flier on him.
The White Sox inked Natera to an international deal in January 2025, handing over a $225,000 signing bonus that wasn’t exactly spare change but not quite saying more than why not, either. The 17-year-old’s summer didn’t quite validate the decision, either, as he was, uh, BAD. Like, .156/.415/.267 slash bad.
However, there was one thing that was really, really good about Natera in 2025: his defense, particularly an arm that gunned down 36% of base-stealers. He was just a baby, and was flashing a cannon.
In 2026, the script flipped, as Natera in somewhat limited time shook his bat awake (.314/.400/.600) but lost the plot behind the plate. Here’s his sole homer of the 2026 season:
The ranking here reflects a belief he’ll put the two sides of his game together in 2027, as he makes the challenging move into the ACL.
