Category: MLB

Good day fellow Mariners fans!

We’ve got another light day of links for you as the offseason remains in the very early stages. Let’s get to it.

In Mariners news…

• Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic reports that some Mariners players were involved in their search for a new manager. They apparently wanted Jason Kanzler to get the job. ($)

Around the league…

• Angels left-hander Samy Natera credits Andrés Muñoz with helping him frame his mindset on the mound.
• Congratulations to the Samsung Lions for becoming KBO champions!

• Agreeing to a deal with a 12-year-old is insane…to say the least.

• We now have academic research on the topic of whether a baseball stadium positively impacts the economy in the surrounding area.

Tate Southisene
5-for-13, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 3 SB

The Tate shows continued last week as the Braves prospect got on-base nine times again last week. Even crazier, he continues to walk just as much as he strikes out. Then, you add in the fact that he’s also a menace on the bases and it’s hard to temper expectations for him. Tate also played in the AFL Fall Stars game where he went 0-for-2…but also drew a walk and scored a run. Tate has now played in 16 games and is hitting .321/.471/.396, going a perfect 7-for-7 on stolen bases. He has also walked (14) more than he has struck out (12).

Isaiah Drake
3-for-9, 4 K, CS

Isaiah appeared in just three games last week, getting on-base in two of the three games. After missing a big chunk of the season due to injury, Isaiah has adjusted to the league and put together high quality at-bats, making good contact with pitches in the zone. The result is Isaiah hitting .327/.386/.404 in 17 games, going 5-for-6 in the stolen base department.

Owen Carey
2-for-10, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K

Owen appeared in three games last week, going 0-for-4 in his first game and then getting on-base four times in the final two games. After struggling with some injuries this year, Owen has now played in 16 games in the AFL and is slashing .283/.415/.396.

Briggs McKenzie
4IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K

Briggs looked very solid in his single start last week, striking out six across four innings. He did a great job of establishing his slider as his premium offering and using it in-zone very well, and generating whiffs from it. Also appears that Briggs is really working on the two-seam fastball to go with his four-seam. The slider, a pitch he focused on this season, now consistently looks above average. It will be interesting to see if Briggs brings back the curveball, or if the Braves have shelved it completely, but one thing remains 100% true – he knows how to generate spin.

Tanner Bauman
1IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K

After struggling early at the start of the AFL season, Tanner Bauman has done a good job of commanding his pitches – finding himself in-zone much more consistently. While the stuff hasn’t particularly been great, his execution has helped him find zeroes more consistently.

Tyler LaPorte
1IP 1H 0R 1BB 2K

Tyler appeared in one game, striking out two. He continues to show a strong arsenal, unique mechanics, and good command. A former position player who transitioned to pitching only a few years ago, Tyler could be a player to watch should the improved command show next season.

A lot has been made of the supposedly minuscule circle of advisors Craig Breslow reportedly maintains in the Red Sox front office. Prior to the season-saving 15-game win streak, when it looked all but certain that Breslow would soon be fired, media reports painted a picture of a near-reclusive CBO, one who trusted few people in the front office and alienated most others. Winning put a lot of those concerns to rest, as it so often does. But the fact remains that the Red Sox front office does have some holes. The General Manager role has been vacant since 2023, while two high-ranking assistant GMs haven’t really been replaced: Paul Toboni, who was hired to lead the Nationals last fall, and Taylor Smith, who recently departed for the A’s, after having been hired by Breslow just two years ago. That’s why — in addition to finding a power bat — Breslow says he’s making front office hiring a priority this offseason. “It is pretty clear that that executive leadership circle is down not just bodies, but down really talented people. And we’ve got to find the right people to emerge and to put into place there,” said Breslow. “The inconvenient piece is that we need to put a great team on the field and we need to win more games in 2027 than we did in 2026. Losing leadership like Taylor and Paul makes that harder, but we have to do everything we can to replace them.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

While Dana LeVangie isn’t an upper level front office executive like Smith or Toboni, he needs to be replaced now, too. A Massachusetts native, LeVangie has been employed by the Red Sox in one form or another ever since being drafted by the team back in 1991, rising to the level of pitching coach in 2018. He’s been in the scouting department since 2020, and will depart for a similar role with the Royals. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Front office and scouting hires don’t usually make the headlines, though, and they won’t this week, either, as it’s time to hand out MLB’s major awards. First up is the Rookie of the Year, which will be announced tonight and features Payton Tolle as a finalist. Here’s a case for Tolle and each of his two competitors. (MLB.com)

Tolle is unlikely to take home the hardware given how good Kevin McGonigle was this year, but he’s won something else: the praise of CC Sabathia. “I love watching him, and I love his personality,” the former Yankees ace said. “I don’t think I could have pitched the way he does. I was always way more emotional and upset. It’s fun to see him have that disposition.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

With Tolle at the top of the rotation alongside Garrett Crochet and Ranger Suárez, the Sox are unlikely to go after any of the really big name arms on the market this offseason (read: Tarik Skubal). But they could still be on the hunt for some pitching. “Beyond a run producer, the focus will be on improving pitching depth. Look for the Sox to be in the market for a back-end starter to compete with Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. And while the back end of the bullpen is strong, the most successful teams in the game feature multiple power arms. If the Red Sox are convinced that Erik Miller can improve his command, the Sox should be in the market for another righthander with swing-and-miss capability.” (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

Zack Kelly has some swing-and-miss capability, but he probably won’t be back at Fenway next season. After he was designated for assignment last week, Kelly has now cleared waivers and been released. “[H]e is expected to have a robust market of teams who believe he has considerable upside.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

There was some thought around baseball that with the impending Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire Dec. 1 that there would be a flurry of moves prior to that ownership imposed deadline. The MLB owners and MLB Players Association have been exchanging proposals in more of a performative exercise than earnest intent to get a deal done. The owners have made no secret that they intend to lockout the players once the CBA expires if a new deal is not in place. The side could continue business as normal and continue to work toward a resolution, but that is unlikely.

With the deadline nest approaching, the belief from baseball pundits and the hope from baseball fans was that the teams would look to sign free agents sooner rather than later with the uncertainty about the financial constraints of that could come with a new CBA. To this point, nothing has happened with regard to free agents. The Washington Nationals extended Jacob Young and teams have added minor league pieces, but there have been no “headline” moves yet.

That could change over the coming weeks as the General Managers Meetings are set to take place this week starting today and concluding on Thursday. Could some teams make some moves? Could teams make trades involving some major league talent? The collective baseball world hopes so, but that all hinges on what fans and people outside of front offices do not know.

The San Diego Padres have many needs, with the majority of those coming in the starting rotation. Only Randy Vasquez and an unknown Joe Musgrove are likely rotation pieces, which means the Padres are in need of at least three more starters, but likely more to account for injuries, struggles, etc. This is the first offseason under new San Diego owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones. The duo have said they are all-in, but the Friar Faithful can only assume what that means. Does it mean rumors are true and the Padres are in on free agent pitcher Tarik Skubal? Does it mean re-signing Michael King, Adrian Morejon and Ty France? Quite literally no one outside of the Feliciano and Jones and their most trusted advisors know.

Fans are left to wait and see and for many that is the hardest part of this offseason. The Friars Faithful know where they have been, but there are grand ideas of where they could go. Time will tell what “all-in” means and what the San Diego roster will look like in 2027, maybe we get a glimpse this week.

Padres News:

• Casey Mize was not good with the Padres. That may have been due to injury or something else, but the result was he struggled in San Diego and Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball gave him his grade for his time with the club.

• Brent Maguire of Padres.com looks back at the 2026 season for Fernando Tatis Jr.

• Padres prospects shine during Arizona Fall League Fall Stars events.

Baseball News:

• Here is a list of the seven top performers from the AFL all-star game according to MLB.com.

• Storylines to watch for during MLB awards week.

This was an interesting little nugget from the baseball world yesterday.

The rest of that should read “However, sources say pending free agents could be moved for each other as a way to balance the risk.“

That’s interesting because the Phillies have some of those players that would qualify for this. One can look at the arbitration eligible crop for examples – Brandon Marsh, Orion Kerkering to name two – while others on the roster are very clearly veterans that, while not “impending free agents” are veterans that could be moved.

What veteran for veteran trade would you make?

The Orioles never seemed like they were entirely sure what to do with Tyler Wells. Count him as a starter for a potentially competitive rotation? Stick him in the bullpen and let him rip? It went back and forth for a while, with a long layoff due to Tommy John surgery in the middle there. Heading into 2026, the O’s had finally committed to Wells as a reliever. The results were so great that when trade deadline season arrived, Wells generated enough interest that the Orioles “had to” trade him.

They didn’t actually have to trade Wells, of course, just like they didn’t have to trade Adley Rutschman or Dean Kremer. They could have held onto him if they believed he could be a good part of the 2027 Orioles bullpen. Mike Elias decided that getting back one of the prospects he traded to the Rays in the Shane Baz deal – pitching prospect Michael Forret – was worth parting with Wells. The 6’8” righty went on to pitch in the World Series with his new team.

It’s not much surprise that Wells had managed to bring about trade interest. He was getting masterful results that were getting better as the season went along. By July, Wells was frequently in the mix of where you could call him the Orioles closer, or at least an Orioles closer. He pitched 14 games that month, picking up four saves and a win. Wells went multiple innings more than once. He had a 1.10 ERA in July.

That’s probably what did it for the trade interest. Other teams would want Wells, not just for the rest of this season but knowing they could control him for 2027 for relatively cheap – projected around $4 million. Elias would be tempted to think it was the time to sell high on a potentially volatile relief asset. That’s what he ended up doing, bringing back a pitcher who was at the Triple-A level and could be close to making a difference for the MLB team.

The thing about Wells that makes him volatile is that he is an extreme fly ball pitcher. This was already true prior to this year, when Wells was typically at a ground ball rate around just 33% for his career; average pitchers are usually in the low-40s. Zack Britton, at the peak of his powers for the Orioles in 2016, had a ground ball rate of exactly 80%. For pitchers, ground balls are great. They’re most often outs. The hits are typically singles and they definitely don’t end up as homers.

In 2026, Wells ended up with a ground ball rate at 26.5%. Among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched, Wells was literally in the bottom 5 in the league for ground ball rate. For a pitcher who was as homer-prone as Wells had been before this season, that’s a real potential problem area. There’s a small margin for error there. Slip just a little bit and you’re giving up dingers left, right, and center.

Wells mostly did not slip up this year. Just 8% of his fly balls allowed went for home runs, close to a third less than the league average of about 11%. There is an element of luck to this that will probably not carry over into 2027.

Yet there was a lot of skill and a lot of good pitching too. Wells’s Statcast page for 2026 has a whole heck of a lot of red. He was great at getting batters to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone, great at getting them to swing and miss, great at avoiding walks, and great at not having batters hit the ball hard. All of these are good ways to avoid giving up a lot of homers! Assuming you can duplicate this – which, with the Rays, his odds are probably better than if he’d stayed with the Orioles.

All of this allows Wells to succeed even when some of the predictive stats don’t believe in him as much. Counting his time with both the Orioles and Rays, Wells had a 2.38 ERA. That puts a reliever among the game’s elite for that season.

With Fielding Independent Pitching, a stat that tries to take defense out of the equation by just considering what a pitcher can control, Wells was at a still decent but much less exciting 3.38. A stat that spins further off of this, xFIP, which normalizes the home run rate, put it higher at 4.03. Make that number an ERA and that’s basically Anthony Nunez’s season-long number in 2026. Not much interesting about any reliever with a 4+ ERA.

What’s the real Wells for 2027 going to be? If he loses just a little bit of the edge going into his age 32 season, it could go a lot worse for him. If he duplicates this, Elias could end up looking like an idiot. It wouldn’t be the first time, even if we limit the discussion to the Orioles trading a reliever to the Rays.

Maybe both teams will be happy with what they get out of the trade, if Forret becomes some kind of solid pitcher for the Orioles – maybe as soon as next year – and Wells helps the Rays again next year. There are such things as win-win trades out there.

Good morning.

The GM meetings begin this week in Las Vegas and Mark Feinsand writes that there is potential for it to be busier than usual with the impending lockout looming next month.

Mike Axisa checks out a handful of under-the-radar free agents, one of which is recent Rangers leadoff hitter Joc Pederson.

The 20th annual Fall Stars Game was played yesterday in Arizona Fall League action and MLB dot com’s Jesse Borek and Tim Crowley write about how each prospect fared, including a quartet of Rangers farmhands.

Have a nice day!

Happy Monday, everyone! Not a ton of news stories to update you on, but we’ve got little bits to make sure you’re in the know about everything going on in baseball. The Tigers are keeping an eye on some Japanese free agents; a former Tiger may not be retiring the way many expected he would; and a former All-Star might be taking an unexpected stance in MLB and MLBPA’s labor disagreement.

That and more below, so let’s just jump right into it.

Detroit Tigers News

• The Tigers are scouting some Japanese talent this offseason and were evidently also interested in signing Shota Imagana at one point. The Tigers have been one of many teams showing interest in Teruaki Sato and Kaima Taira, but it remains to be seen how serious they actually are about acquiring fresh international talent.

MLB News

• Former Tiger Max Scherzer might not be done with baseball just yet, after all.
• The best free agents available by position.
• Seiya Suzuki has never been an All-Star but he might be one of the best free agents available this offseason.
• Could the Yankees’ pitching rotation be even better in 2027?
• Chris Sale’s three seasons with the Braves have been historically great.
• How can the Cubs fix their starting rotation problem?
• How can the Yankees and Mets meet their goals for 2027?
• Pedro Martinez urges MLB and players to come to an agreement, reflecting on the 1994 strikes.
• Jyun-Yue Tseng of Taiwan’s Fubon Guardians is entering MLB’s posting system.
• A tear-jerker of a story about a hidden gem baseball card shop that has gone unexpectedly viral. ($)
• Cody Bellinger and Pete Crow-Armstrong are now Platinum Glove winners. ($)
• Can’t tell if sarcasm…

• I don’t care that this isn’t technically directly related to baseball, it’s still very, very cute.

• A throwback to World Cup shenanigans.

• The best free agents available by position.

Even with the lockout looming-slash-pending, the GM Meetings are still happening in Las Vegas this week.

Will they be weirder than usual? More action, because the lockout is pending? Or, less action, because teams and/or players have been instructed to keep their jets on a substantially cool setting as a labor negotiating position?

The MLB.com article noted that a ton of money in huge deals was handed out ahead of the last CBA. This isn’t a very strong free agent market, but teams could still hand out a lot of cash to Tarik Skubal and Trevor Rogers… provided that there’s any interest in doing so ahead of the lockout itself.

Alex Anthopoulos always says that these meetings are places to lay groundwork for deals rather than complete deals themselves, but his view isn’t a unaninmous one. So, more action, less action, or the same amount of action? What say you?

Team news

[SI] 3 Bold Predictions For Diamondbacks in Free Agency – 1. Diamondbacks only marginally decrease payroll – or not at all. Despite wanting to reduce costs, Kendrick has still often jumped at the chance to add quality players with hopes to keep Arizona as competitive as possible. While the D-backs might be looking to cut down on costs this offseason, it would be a surprise to see a major reduction — and it would not be a surprise to still see them find ways to invest in the roster. In fact, it feels more likely than not their lowered payroll will still manage to rival previous years.

[Roundtable.io] Why Diamondbacks Should Pursue Bednar – Given the recent comments of owner Ken Kendrick expressing his desire to trim payroll, outbidding the Yankees may be easier said than done, but nothing is impossible. Given Bednar’s production, it would behoove the Diamondbacks to inquire about him. If the new Collective Bargaining Agreement institutes a salary floor that requires teams to spend a certain amount, Kendrick may not be able to trim payroll anyway. That opens up a more realistic path to acquiring Bednar or someone of his caliber.

[Fansided] Ranking Ketel Marte suitors that he and Arizona would actually accept – Given how he’s acted in recent years, the Diamondbacks might want to move on from Marte, but there’s a potential issue: the 33-year-old has a full no-trade clause, meaning that if he doesn’t want to go anywhere, he won’t. Chances are, Marte probably won’t want to go to any teams that were on his former five-team no-trade list (Yankees, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, Athletics), and the Diamondbacks won’t want to send him to a team that could hurt them (mainly their NL West rivals), or teams that don’t have enough to offer. These potential suitors could be appealing enough both to Marte and to Arizona if a trade is the route both sides choose to go down.

[ESPN] D-backs’ Corbin Carroll has elbow surgery, should be ready for spring training – Carroll had surgery this week to remove loose bodies in his right elbow and should be ready for the scheduled start of spring training in February. The team confirmed the surgery on Friday. A full recovery is expected to take about eight weeks. The three-time All-Star hit .239 with 22 homers, 78 RBIs, 33 doubles and a league-high 17 triples last season despite battling multiple injuries, including hamate bone surgery that caused him to miss much of spring training. He also dealt with back soreness during the last few months of the season, which was part of the reason he struggled in the second half after a hot start.

[Dbacks.com] What D-backs are looking for from AFL, winter ball participants – Nathan Hall, OF. Injuries — including hamstring issues and a right arm injury — have severely limited Hall’s professional repetitions since he was taken in the fifth round of the 2025 Draft. The Arizona Fall League offered an extended opportunity for him to compete, showcase his power and prove his defensive range. “He’s done a really good job of improving his contact quality since coming into pro ball, even though he’s had limited reps,” Slivka said. “I think it’s a testament to the work that he did when he was coming back from those injuries, because the swing quality and contact quality are much better than they were in college.”

Below, Hall talks about his time in the Arizona Fall League, competing with the top Minor Leaguers and more

[Burn City Sports] How Diamondbacks’ Moreno, Carroll took different paths to Silver Slugger finalist spots – Although the two players took different routes to their nominations, both made their impact throughout the 2026 season. Moreno established himself as one of the league’s top offensive catchers, while Carroll continued to showcase the combination of power and speed that has made him one of Arizona’s biggest offensive threats. With both players among the NL finalists, Arizona has another opportunity to add to their award history when the Silver Slugger winners are announced on Nov. 17.

And, elsewhere…

[NY Post] MLB pitch-rigging case witness testifies he stopped getting tips after Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal – Luis de Aza Baez, an Uber driver, told prosecutors that starting in 2023, he got information about Clase’s pitches from the big-leaguer’s associate, Enoc Pena, with the tips coming through a group chat titled “Uber Inc.,” which included other drivers at the time. When De Aza Baez tried again during the 2024 season, however, he was told that “what was going on with Ohtani, there was no more information like that.” In March 2024, Ohtani was surrounded by controversy after it was reported that millions of dollars were sent from the superstar’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking scheme.

[Reddit] I have never played baseball but I am confident I could enter the game up one in the bottom of the 9th and finish the game without allowing an earned run – This is probably borderline genius. That is all.

Finally, something you might have missed. On Halloween, David Peralta made his pitching debut in the Venezuelan league! You may remember, he originally came up as a pitching prospect before switching to the outfield, playing indy ball and eventually making it to the big leagues there for the Diamondbacks. Well, it looks like things have gone full circle, as he pitched for the Braves de Margarita against the Tigres de Aragua. Admittedly, he came in with two outs in the ninth, and it took him four attempts to get the final out, allowing two hits and a walk. But he stranded those base-runners, leaving the bases loaded on a fly-ball to right.

Resident Evil

• Rating: B-
• Dir: Zach Cregger
• Star: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser

I have never played the video-game franchise. I am, however, a big fan of the Milla Jovovich films. Despite critical disdain – not least from fans of the game – I would say, at their best, they are close to peak action-horror. Are they schlock? Sure. Empty cinematic calories? Absolutely. So? I was thus somewhat resistant to the idea of this reboot. By the end though, I’d been somewhat won over. This isn’t a good adaptation of the game either, by most accounts. But it does capture the spirit of video games, especially when played by a fairly stupid person. For a lot of the time, this could legitimately be retitled, Poor Decisions: The Movie.

Read more

It’s 2023 and the calendar has just flipped over to September. The Yankees are already out of the playoff race as they take the field in Houston. In an effort to inject some youth into the lineup and some excitement into the fanbase for the final month of a disappointing season, they’ve called up their much-hyped top prospect Jasson Domínguez for his MLB debut. With his first swing in the major leagues, Domínguez crushes an opposite field two-run home run into the Crawford Boxes off future first ballot Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. At just 20 years old, you could allow yourself to dream about just what heights this budding star might hit. Fast-forward three years, and now the question facing the 23 year old is whether he has a future with the Yankees.

Grade: F

2026 Statistics: 57 games, 222 plate appearances, .225/.267/.368, six home runs, 14 RBI, 4.5 BB%, 21.6 K%, 76 wRC+, -1 OAA, -0.2 fWAR, -0.2 rWAR

2027 Contract Status: Pre-arbitration

In the subsequent years since that scintillating debut, Domínguez missed the majority of the 2024 season to Tommy John surgery. He got his first real run out at the major league level in 2025, but those 123 games exposed his serious shortcomings on defense. At least his bat produced at a slightly above average level to provide a nominal floor, but the trapdoor opened and swallowed him up in 2026.

What makes it worse is that Domínguez had a real opportunity to prove he belonged in the majors with Aaron Judge missing almost 100 games with a broken rib and a subsequent calf injury and Cody Bellinger losing a month to a hamstring injury over the summer. Not only did Domínguez fail to grab that opportunity, but his beleaguered play raised serious doubts about his viability as a major leaguer and opened the door for fellow top prospect Spencer Jones to leapfrog him on the outfield depth chart.

Domínguez spent the first month at Triple-A before getting called up on April 27th. He struggled to the tune of a .617 OPS and 70 wRC+ with one home run in 32 plate appearances before landing on the 10-day IL with a left shoulder AC joint sprain. It would be another five weeks before he returned to the major league roster, by which point Judge’s extended absence had begun, seemingly creating an opportunity for consistent playing time.

Jasson got a decent run of starts over the next two months and looked fairly serviceable in his first month back from his shoulder injury. From June 13th through July 10th, Domínguez slashed .255/.293/.447 with four home runs and six stolen bases — good for a 105 wRC+ in 100 plate appearances. However, with the Yankees desperate for production against left-handed pitching, the trade deadline acquisition of Heliot Ramos along with Jones’ gradual improvements against big league pitching and steadier defensive play further squeezed Domínguez out of the outfield picture. With just a 53 wRC+ across his subsequent 80 PAs after July 10th, Domínguez was demoted to Triple-A on August 4th, where he would stay for a month.

This culminated in the worst four-game stretch of Domínguez’s career upon his recall on September 5th. Jasson made a pair of high profile errors against the Padres and Rockies, leading to a swift demotion just five days later. And it was the nature of the errors that led to the immediate loss of patience, both resulting from complete lapses in concentration as the Yankees were making one final push to try to chase down the Rays in the division.

Domínguez would not appear in another major league game in the regular season and would be left off the postseason roster. All told, 2026 was a year of alarming regression for a young player who should have been making progress on both sides of the ball. He finished the year below replacement level, his 76 wRC+ the worst on the team among hitters with at least 100 PAs. He saw his walk rate plummet from 9.6-percent in 2025 to a measly 4.5-percent in 2026, resulting in an OBP drop from .331 to .267 — both marks placing him in the seventh percentile or worse among MLB hitters with at least 220 PAs. He posted a career-low 5.6-percent barrel rate and saw his average exit velocity drop 2.5 mph and his hard-hit rate nosedive from 49.6-percent to 39.1-percent.

The defense remains the biggest concern, and it has gotten to the point where you seriously worry when even a routine fly ball is hit in his direction. He was well below average in his initial reaction to a batted ball and among the league’s worst in the routes that he took. It snowballed to the point that he looked devoid of confidence when approaching a ball in the outfield, as we saw with the above pair of examples.

At this point, there are only three facets of Jasson’s game that give you hope. At 93.3 mph, his arm strength places in the 94th percentile of MLB outfielders. His sprint speed remained intact, placing in the 85th percentile at 28.8 ft/s. And despite the regressed batted ball results, his 74.5 mph average swing speed places him in the 85th percentile of MLB hitters. The raw tools are there, but his process prevents him from making the most of them.

Still at just 23 years old, one would think there is plenty of time for Domínguez to piece things back together. It remains to be seen whether that happens in pinstripes. As my colleague Andrés wondered last week, this offseason could determine whether Domínguez’s future lies with the Yankees. Nothing he did in 2026 offers faith in the once-bright prospect regaining the team’s trust.

In resetting the bullpen for 2027, there is one lefty that might represent a reasonable snag for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Nick Lodolo’s recent injuries and middling results could create a buying opportunity, particularly if the Reds aren’t convinced he has another level to reach. His projected $5.7 million salary for 2027 is affordable enough for the Rays to take a chance on a pitcher who already has a major-league track record, but the Reds’ willingness to move him – and the prospect cost – would determine whether he is a realistic target.

There are a few areas of Lodolo’s arsenal that could benefit from some adjustments, but he already does several things really well. The first is his unique, low-slot delivery from the left side. He further adds to this deception by throwing the ball across his body with a long arm action.

Another strength of Lodolo is the consistency of his pitch locations. This is measured by something I call “command deltas.” His location consistency of most of his pitches has been comfortably above-average throughout his career:

Lodolo’s breaking ball showed roughly average location consistency in previous seasons, but that consistency declined in 2026. He experimented with a new grip in July, around the same time the location data began to deteriorate. The timing raises the possibility that he hasn’t fully developed a feel for the new shape, although the available data can’t establish whether the grip change is responsible.

If the new shape isn’t producing a meaningful improvement in movement or results, reverting to the previous grip would be worth considering. Here’s Lodolo’s heat map for his breaking ball from March through June of this year:

And then July through the end of the year:

Lodolo’s changeup has limited velocity and VAA separation from his fastballs, potentially limiting its ability to disrupt hitters’ timing and generate swings and misses.

An alternative grip could help him create a more distinct offering, though any change would need to be evaluated by its resulting movement, location, and performance. Lodolo currently employs a more traditional offspeed grip that looks similar to a circle-change:

Lodolo could experiment with alternative changeup grips, including a spiked or split grip, to see whether he can create greater movement and separation from his fastballs. His current offspeed pitch has about six mph of velocity separation, so there may be an opportunity to develop a more distinct offering. Whether a new grip produces better depth, more velocity separation, or improved swing-and-miss would need to be evaluated through testing.

Regardless, Lodolo’s release traits give him a foundation for continuing to attack left-handed hitters with his fastball and breaking ball.

Adding some changeups could provide a different speed and movement profile, giving hitters another look without requiring a wholesale change to his existing approach. It would also fit with the Rays’ recent interest in using offspeed pitches against same-handed hitters.

His approach against righties is a little too fastball-heavy. He throws a fastball roughly 50% of the time against right-handed hitters, split between his four-seamer (30%) and two-seamer (20%). Against right-handed hitters, Lodolo’s four-seamer has substantially outperformed his two-seamer: it has allowed a .300 wOBA and generated a 26.4% whiff rate, compared with a .442 wOBA and 14.4% whiff rate on his two-seamer. Shifting more of his fastball usage toward the four-seamer looks like his clearest opportunity for improvement. His two-seamer could still be thrown front-door to righties early in counts when they’re less likely to swing, and an adjustment in position on the rubber could create a difficult angle on those pitches to make them more effective even if hitters do swing.

Nick Lodolo is already a good major-league pitcher, with distinctive release traits and a foundation of consistent pitch location. For the Rays, he could be an affordable trade target with several plausible avenues for improvement:

• Evaluate whether his new breaking-ball grip offers enough movement or performance gains to justify the decline in location consistency, and consider returning to his previous grip if it doesn’t.
• Experiment with alternative changeup grips to create more separation from his fastballs, judging any changes by their movement, command, and ability to generate swings and misses.
• Introduce the changeup more often against left-handed hitters as a secondary look, and test whether greater usage against righties can generate more chase and whiffs.
• Against righties, shift fastball usage toward the more effective four-seamer and reduce reliance on the two-seamer, while retaining the latter as a situational option.

Lodolo wouldn’t need every adjustment to work for the trade to pay off. The appeal is that he already has a major-league foundation, and the Rays could explore several targeted changes without needing to overhaul his entire arsenal.

One of the biggest positions of emphasis for the Houston Astros has to be center field. One of the things I like to do is take a look at past results while also defining our terms. There are a number of metrics we will look at in this edition and some of you will be unfamiliar with some of them. Obviously, we start with the standard SLASH statistics (AVG/OBP/SLG) and go from there.

We can derive a few different numbers from those including isolated power and isolated patience. ISO power is calculated by subtracting batting average from slugging percentage. Isolated patience is derived by subtracting batting average from on base percentage. We can then take those two and add them together for the basis of secondary average. Secondary average includes a base running element we will not include. However, we can take that product and add it to batting average and divide by two to get a number I will call real offensive value (ROV). If secondary average is everything a hitter does that does not include batting average then averaging that number with batting average should give us an overall look at the player’s contributions.

Finally, we get bases per out. Those of you that have been frequent readers are familair with the stat, but we will reset in case anyone is new to this. You take total bases, walks, stolen bases, and hit by pitches and then divide that sum by the total number of outs a player accrues. Any time we take a look at a position this winter we should start by looking where the league is on these numbers and where the Astros were to get a frame of reference to go on.

Obviously, the Astros have their own secret sauce in how they look at these things. They are armed with servers and advanced software. I am armed with a ten year old Macbook. However, all of these numbers show the same thing to varying degrees. The Astros center fielders were decidedly below average when compared to the MLB universe. Keep in mind the MLB universe includes every positions and both part time players and regular players. So, finishing this far under average at a position like center field is not promising.

The goal should be to get back to the MLB average. Anything above and beyond that is gravy. Assuming this team keeps everyone we would surmise that Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena, Isaac Paredes, and Carlos Correa are all significantly above average. Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, and Jose Altuve are closer to the league average. So, if the Astros can get average performance out of center field and left field then they will have an offense that is significantly above average overall.

Internal Candidates

There are three players that likely will challenge for the position as it stands now. We can presume that Jake Meyers is likely out since he has been DFAed. There is always the possibility that he could stick on a minor league contract and get an opportunity, but we will look at Brice Mathews, Lucas Spence, and Zach Cole. Since Mathews is the only one to get extensive major league time, we will look at their numbers from their collective minor league careers.

Keep in mind we are talking about minor league numbers. These will include all the way down to A ball and through AAA. This is probably a Jimmy Price question. I do not have a minor league to major league decoder ring. All I know is that in all likelihood, most players will not produce at the big league level what they produced at the minor league level. Cole barely produced an .801 OPS during his minor league career. The other two did not get there. So, the likelihood of any of these guys being significantly above average is probably not all that good.

Keep in mind that the average OPS was .718, so I suppose there is hope that one of them could turn some magic beans into ML average performance. Obviously, Spence is the darling after his September performance, but he has the least impressive minor league numbers of the three. His K rate is the only one under 25 percent though, so he might have the upper hand coming into camp.

Free Agent Options

All five of these players have one thing in common. They all have had one really magical season that has captivated scouts and fans alike. It is tempting to look at the back of their baseball card and dream about them repeating that one season. These numbers are their career numbers and probably closer to what fans can hope for. Ironically, Mullins and Varsho demonstrate a significant difference between ROV and BPO. BPO has a base running element and Mullins is obviously more of a threat there.

On the surface, all five look like they are better than the league average. That is of course assuming that each can reach their career averages in 2027. It also assumes they can stay healthy which we know is an issue in some cases. Finally, it does not even include their fielding numbers. So, there is a ton that goes into these decisions, but at first blush it would appear like any of them would be better than what the Astros threw out there last season for much of the season.

Trade Candidates

This is my least favorite portion of the analysis. I hate speculating on who might be available. So, we are combining Spotrac’s trade list and adding Jarren Durran who the Red Sox and Astros flirted around last season. Boston is one of the rumored destinations for Jeremy Pena, so there is always the possibility that Durran could be coming back. This does not include any AA or AAA level players that could be close to being ready that could be involved in a theoretical deal.

Duran is similar to the free agents above. He has one really good season to his name and that is buttressing his numbers some. Last season he produced a .207/.266/.361 slash line, but that includes a .210 ROV and .586 BPO, So, acquiring Duran is a bet on two things. First, that he will bounce back from that season and come closer to 2024 and 2025 when he played at an all-star level. Secondly, it is a bet that he can continue to be a plus defender. He can become a free agent in 2029 under current rules, so you would be getting two more years of club control.

The other three have varying levels of fielding ability, but none of them are likely to be even average performers offensively. Such a trade would have to be part of a larger package where you are settling for an overall average cnterr fielder and hopefully improving another slot at the same time. So, if you are trading for a big league center fielder then you are probably going to be disappointed. There are likely minor league options though.

Final Thoughts

It looks like the best bet will come in free agency. However, this is where things get dicey. The Astros are already up against the tax threshold as it stands. They likely have wants in the rotations, at left field, and maybe in the bullpen if they allow Bryan Abreu to walk. So, it is nice to say go out and pay for a guy, but that money might be spoken for.

Obviously, that can change if players like Christian Walker, Jeremy Pena, and/or Josh Hader are dealt. That presents opportunities to get a center fielder in exchange or at least clear out enough salary to allow them to sign one of the guys above. All five would present upgrades over the numbers put up last season. Some will be better than others but also more expensive than others. It’s part of the fun task that Randy Flores has in outfitting this team for next season.

The Orioles outfield situation was an absolute mess in the 2026 season. Though the team has moved on from a couple of players who participated in that disaster this year, a few remain projected for starting roles as things stand right now. It is imperative that this change.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, my message is simple. The Orioles need to sign a good outfielder! They don’t have a lot of leeway to try to get cute with upside plays on cheaper, likely-mediocre options. They can’t keep waiting around for their stagnated “core” players to get back on a positive track. The best way that they can solve their problems is to spend a bunch of David Rubenstein’s money on who they think will be the best of the top free agent outfield options.

Will Mike Elias actually do this? That’s the question. In a fit of optimism that I’m not completely wasting my time by doing so, I spend this week talking about the cases for guys like Seiya Suzuki, Randy Arozarena, and Ian Happ:

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This is my weekly podcast about whatever is going on lately with the Orioles. If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to subscribe. You can get the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you prefer to access your podcasts.

How are you feeling about the way things are going with the Orioles as we head towards the start of the free agency period? Answers could make it into the mailbag section of a future episode of the podcast.

Meet the Mets

The National League Rookie of the Year Award will be handed out tonight and Carson Benge is one of the three announced finalists for the honor.

After a failed season, it’s only natural for the Mets to make some changes and additions for next year, and the General Managers Meetings are the perfect place to start.

Around the National League East

Just in case enough things didn’t go well for the Braves, Chris Sale in the red and blue has been better than at any point in his career.

Headed by Paul Toboni, the shrewd Nationals might have come out of the Foster Griffin deal with a robbery named Will Dion.

Around Major League Baseball

The General Manager Meetings take place this week in Las Vegas which might be more important than usual considering the sport is three weeks and a day from locking out for months.

At the same time, MLB is having their annual BBWAA Awards week and the quartet of ceremonies kicks off tonight with the Rookies of the Year.

Someone who suffered during the last sustained work stoppage in 1994, Pedro Martinez weighed in on the battle between the owners and the MLBPA.

Despite never making an All Star team and only reaching free agency at the age of 32, Seiya Suzuki might be the best hitter available on the market this offseason.

For the rest of the free agent field, it’s only fair to put together a collection of the best players at each position and MLB dot com was naturally on that.

The Home Run Derby happened! Well, not that one. Blue Jays prospect Aaron Parker won the Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby with 19 total homers.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Grace Carbone reviewed the final days of David Peterson, New York Met.

This Date in Mets History

Happy birthday to certified Mets Legend Joe Nunnally.