Category: MLB

The Atlanta Braves, who won 94 games, the NL East Division title and the NL Wild Card Series over the Phillies, made the no-brainer decision of all no-brainer decisions today.

The #Braves today exercised options for OF Ronald Acuña Jr. and INF Ozzie Albies for the 2027 season. Atlanta also reinstated RHPs Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider and Hurston Waldrep, as well as LHP Joey Wentz, from the 60-day injured list.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 29, 2026

The Braves signed Ronald Acuña Jr to a very hometown-friendly contract that allows Atlanta to retain 2023 NL Most Valuable Player. They will pay him 17 million dollars (eh, in theory if all 162 games are played) for the 2027 season. Ozzie Albies signed a much more team-friendly contract. The Braves will pay Ozzie Albies a lockout-pending 7 million dollars.

Some portions of Braves Country were certain Ronald would not be back. I believe most of those don’t watch the regular season games, believe things on social media, or both. But he’s due to make 6 million fewer dollars than MLB qualifying offers. When healthy, he’s amazing. When not healthy, he hears about it. Much the same goes for Ozzie Albies. The Braves have paid him 38 million for 23 WAR over the last 10 years. He did have a career low in wRC+ this season. But it appears they’ll keep the good vibes going one more season. It would probably prove more trouble to replace Albies this season than to keep him, and should serve as the bridge for prospects waiting in Double-A.

The Braves did some bookkeeping as well today as the postseason kicked off. They reinstated Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz from the 60-day Injured List. Alex Anthopoulos has already told us that we should not expect Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider to just pick up where they left off. Joey Wentz’s injury is at least a lower body one, blowing out his right ACL fielding a meaningless Spring Training bunt attempt. But hey, at least it’s not his arm (whistles past Joe Jimenez).

Welcome back, Ronnie and Ozzie. Let’s get this silly labor spat decided and watch some dingers, shall we?

Michael King opted out his Padres deal Thursday.

The right-hander declined his player option and will be one of the most coveted arms on the free agent market this winter. Last offseason, King returned to San Diego on a three-year, $75 million deal that included opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

King is likely seeking a long-team deal and he is poised to receive one after posting a 3.21 ERA with 159 strikeouts across 32 starts (185 innings pitched). He accrued a career-high 4.3 bWAR in 2026, highlighting the ace’s productivity and durability.

The Padres reached the National League Division Series, falling to the eventual World Series champion Brewers. King was a monumental part of San Diego’s postseason run.

In the NLDS, King allowed just one run across 12 innings (two starts) and earned the save in Game 3 when he came out of the bullpen to close out the final two frames.

The right-hander’s love for the Padres was evident after their NLDS elimination, when he said: “San Diego has been incredible for me, and it’s all the way across the country from home. I feel like I have a second home on the West Coast. It’s been awesome.

“And I hope to continue it.”

King’s comments bode well for San Diego’s chances of retaining the ace, but with the right-hander’s impending popularity on the market, a reunion will be costly. For the Padres, King is the most important free agent as his departure would leaving the starting rotation extremely bleak.

San Diego fans will have to see whether new ownership puts their money where their mouth is.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Mariners’ search for a Dan Wilson replacement has heated up. A couple of names with connections to the division-rival Astros, Joe Espada and Jason Kanzler, have been at the forefront of the conversation. With rumors continuing to swirl on Tuesday morning, the LL staff Slack channel discussed their thoughts on the most recent developments. Join the discussion down in the comments! (And keep an eye out for added context in italicized parentheticals like this one -JJ). [Or Ed. notes like this one. -KP]

Grant Bronsdon: Adam Jude makes it sound like it’s just Espada and Kanzler in the mix as the two finalists.

(Grant posted a link to a Seattle Times report from Jude in which Espada and Kanzler are described as the two finalists for the job, having been scheduled for in-person interviews with the team.)

Ryan Blake: I like Espada fine enough.

Ben Thoen: I assume his 54% winning percentages in his two seasons prior to last have been referenced. But yeah, I agree, two division titles in three years, familiarity with our rival, and Spanish-speaking are all major pluses.

Zach Mason: Two AL West titles, though.

ZAM(referencing an excerpt from the report that states the Mariners could still talk to candidates with the Rays or Brewers after the World Series): Oh, shit! That’s Daniel Vogelbach’s music!

(At the time of the discussion, Vogelbach was still over 24 hours from becoming a World Series champion with the Brewers.)

Connor Donovan: I forget who wrote it (Chandler Rome?) but I read a profile on Espada after he was let go and came away thinking that he’d be another Dan re: managing the clubhouse and we all saw how that went this past year. Would just be pretty uninspiring, in my opinion.

[Ed. note: I think this is the piece Connor is referring to; Rome also did some radio hits and podcast appearances talking about Espada after he was let go.]

Evan James: Sure feels like they wanted Baldelli and outside of that they’ll have to settle. Shame, he was the only candidate with the native experience to communicate with Dom Canzone.

Ryan: I think Dan managed the clubhouse well and he shouldn’t have been fired, so Dan 2.0 is good with me, re: Espada.

Connor: I think the hands off approach worked fine in 2025 but this past year with guys playing hurt all the time among other things has convinced me that the team needs someone that can put their foot down a bit. I was also a bit of a Dan apologist but it clearly just wasn’t working. Besides, the minute a reliever gives up a run or a pinch hitter strikes out the usual voices will be screaming “fire Espada/Kanzler.”

Ryan(referencing the handle on Kanzler’s now-private X account): Well it’ll probably be KanzlerThinks in the end.

Evan: Agreed, it’s Kanzler. Younger than me. He also sounds like a Pokemon, which is fun.

John Trupin: Kate, your point about [Nationals manager Blake] Butera that you expanded upon in the blurb is a big question mark here. The Nats seemed to have success with a roster that is super young and had no expectations. That’s not to say Kanzler couldn’t succeed here but it’s a distinct challenge.

Ryan: Every answer I’ve seen him give is a really long nothing-burger. To lead people we need to be people then lead ourselves first. Coding hobbyist is what I used to say when I didn’t know how to code. First meeting he better be asked to speak some Spanish.

Connor:

Kate Preusser: I would read the Athletic profile of Butera linked in the piece. I didn’t know a lot about Butera and I came away pretty impressed and confident in his ability to lead despite his age. It’s a different situation for sure but I don’t think youth is necessarily a problem. I actually think some enthusiastic cringe energy might be good. I also think there’s a chance there’s a secret candidate or two not being leaked but Kramer’s report citing internal sources felt pretty deflating about that.

Ryan: Arthur suggests Espada and Kanzler might both get hired and I don’t hate sticking Kanzler as bench coach assuming we have the vet as manager.

John: Ryan, I’m sorry I think you have explained somewhat but would you mind elucidating your scammer fears comprehensively?

ZAM: We call this management move PIOTS-baiting, and it’s not a tactic we should fall for. [Ed. note 1: “PIOTS” is shorthand for “Put It On The Site” i.e. move these discussions to where people can see them; Ed. note 2: haha.]

Ryan: The few quotes I’ve seen from him have been very long, jargonny, nothingness — he talks like Dipoto. Everything I can find about him screams stereotype millenial ladder climber. I just don’t think the players will respect it. I also think forgetting to scrub socials is a big deal. That’s a massive red flag for a job that’s like 90% image/media management. Maybe he winds up being fine but this is not a good start if it is indeed the Kanzler era.

Connor: It’s one thing if his posting was like, racist or problematic in other ways but it just seemed kinda cringe more than anything. Which yeah, it’s easy to poke fun at but ultimately it doesn’t matter if he’s cringe or not; what matters is that the players buy in. Which, to be fair, is no guarantee.

Kate: I think after Wilson being an energy vortex I am ready for the opposite, even if that energy is cringe millennial-hustle culture, that at least is a vision? And I could see a room full of very Baseball Player Dudes buying into that. That being said, I am writing up some under-the-radar candidates and I want Billy Boyer in this organization like yesterday.

Ryan: That is a fair take, Kate. I don’t know, I could see them laughing in his face or being like “whoa finally my people.”

Isabelle Minasian: Let the record show I am 100% with Ryan on Kanzler who, among other things, seems like a guy who has had raw milk at least once.

ZAM: I know it’s inarticulate to discuss vibes and point to expertise rather than arguing, but I have spent 14 years as a consumer protection lawyer, and Kanzler just really tingles my grifter Spidey sense. But that doesn’t mean it’s not what will work for the players whose jerseys we buy.

ZAM: But I am also just very dispirited that our two choices are both Astros people.

Isabelle: Is he not just younger Gabe Kapler?

Isabelle(linking a 2015 piece on Kanzler by the Democrat and Chronicle, a daily newspaper in Rochester, N.Y.): The only glimmer of positivity I’ve felt towards Kanzler (and it’s still not much).

“At Buffalo, Kanzler became best friends and roommates with catcher Tom Murphy, now a prospect with the Colorado Rockies. Murphy and Kanzler became favorites of Buffalo coach Ron Torgalski.”

The discussion ended on a high note with Isabelle pointing out Kanzler’s connection to Murphy, the now-former Mariner. So, LL community, give us your thoughts! Are you satisfied with the Mariners’ managerial finalists? Do you prefer one to the other? Let us know in the comments below!

It wasn’t long into September before we all noticed that the San Francisco Giants had a looming numbers bomb waiting for them five days after the conclusion of the World Series. While the team wound up using a record 71 players this season, they had 55 players for 40 spots thanks to those still on the roster via in the injured list. We are now about 15 hours since the conclusion of the World Series (congrats, Brewers!) and the number is down to 52, thanks to the following moves:

• LHP Matt Gage was waived, cleared waivers, and outrighted to Triple-A.
• IF Osleivis Basabe was waived, cleared waivers, and outrighted to Triple-A.
• RHP Jason Foley was waived, cleared waivers, and outrighted to Triple-A.
• Mariners claimed OF Grant McCray off waivers.
• Nationals claimed RHP Braxton Roxby off waivers.

A month and a half ago, I attempted to clear the brush as a thought exercise and just tracking that, I missed out on two of these: Foley and Roxby. Pretty easy guys to lose, even in the moment, but I thought Foley’s remaining MLB option and Roxby being a recent acquisition might be factors for keeping them. Not so.

As Andrew Baggarly points out in his writeup, Foley’s stuff just wasn’t there in his 26 innings — just 15 strikeouts. If the Giants are committed to adding more stuff to their pitching staff, then yeah, phasing out these pitch to contact relievers supercharges the process. Foley’s career K/9 is just 6.58. Roxby’s has been 11+ per 9 in his MiLB career, but losing a 27-year old reliever with just 5.1 MLB innings to waivers is just the cost of doing business. He’d have been good enough to keep around if they could hold on to him, but they couldn’t and so that just creates a new opportunity for the next guy.

Speaking of, it seems like Grant McCray has been “the next guy” for the last few years. He just hasn’t been able to take advantage. But, he’ll be just 26 next season and he still has an MiLB option. Plenty of dudes have figured it out at this phase of their lives/careers.

The Giants need to deal with at least 12 more players in the next four and a half days. They’ll have a little more time after (November 17th) to figure out who to add to the 40-man to protect in the Rule 5. Right now, we can figure these following players are locks through these next four and a half days: Logan Webb, Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Daniel Susac, Randy Rodriguez, Adrian Houser, Jung Hoo Lee, Harrison Bader, Bryce Eldridge, Marcelo Mayer, Bo Davidson, Matt Wilkinson, Cesar Perdomo, Jonah Cox, Victor Bericoto, Drew Gilbert, Anthony Molina, and Landen Roupp.

19 players for 40 spots. So, really, the choices involve this soup of 33 players:

Catchers

Drew Cavanaugh
Andrew Knizner
Zach Morgan
Jesus Rodriguez

Infielders

Nate Furman
Brett Harris
Christian Koss
Shay Whitcomb

Outfielders

Scott Bandura
Turner Hill

Pitchers

Tristan Beck
Hayden Birdsong
Jose Butto
Duncan Davitt
Camilo Doval
Trent Harris
Sam Hentges
Joel Kuhnel
Seth Lonsway
Yunior Marte
Trevor McDonald
Miguel Mendez
Joel Peguero
Reiver Sanmartin
Carson Seymour
Dylan Smith
Blade Tidwell
Ryan Walker
Carson Whisenhunt
Rowan Wick
Keaton Winn

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The Milwaukee Brewers closed out the World Series which means it’s officially time to move to the offseason. After back-to-back championship runs by the big bad Dodgers, it was a small market finale in 2026, providing hope to fans of teams in the Central divisions. Sure, the Brewers also have the best collection of young, cost controlled talent in baseball, including a behemoth likely Cy Young winner who throws 105 MPH for six innings at a time, but somehow the Brewers are still an underdog story.

The Twins will be looking to emulate the success of the Brewers and Rays, something more easily said than done, but their own collection of young talent is nothing to scoff at. There are pretty clear holes for a team that has missed the postseason in five of the past six seasons, but they are also ones that are relatively easy to fill. Wherever they go, it will undoubtedly be an eventful offseason.

November 2: Free Agency Begins

Technically, free agency is already underway, but players aren’t eligible to sign with new teams until November 6th. Players on the 40-man roster are also eligible to be traded again. Players and teams with contract options must also make those decisions by this deadline. Teams must decide whether or not to extend Qualifying Offers to free agents by this point as well.

Twins Players Impacted:

• Free agents: LHP AJ Minter, LHP Taylor Rogers, C Ryan Jeffers
• Josh Bell: $10M mutual option with $1.25M buy out
• Joe Ryan: $13M mutual option with $100K buy out (Ryan is still controllable via arbitration for 2027 either way)
• Ryan Jeffers: QO decision

November 9-12: GM Meetings

These are typically quieter than the Winter Meetings in December, but with the owner lockout looming on December 1, the Winter Meetings are likely to be cancelled anyway, making this much more significant especially when it comes to trade discussions. Last time there was a lockout, there was a flurry of moves at the GM meetings, not the least of which being Byron Buxton’s long-term extension to stay in Minnesota.

November 17: Rule 5 Protection and QO Deadlines

By the 17th, MLB teams will have to add players to the 40-man roster if they want to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. The Twins don’t have any glaring prospects to add to their list this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two. Players also have to decide whether or not to accept the qualifying offer by this day. Jeffers will be a unique case of the QO system, so long as the Twins extend him one.

November 20: Non-tender Deadline

Teams must decide whether to offer contracts to their arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players by this date. You don’t have to agree to a specific contract, just tender a contract with the final figure to be decided at a future date either via negotiation or the arbitration process. There’s typically of flurry of deals around this date for teams that prefer not to settle salaries in court. The Twins announced deals with all of their arbitration-eligible players on the deadline last year.

This will be potentially the most intriguing time for roster decisions in Minnesota. The Twins have a number of high-profile players who could be removed from the roster.

Twins non-tender candidates: Royce Lewis, Bailey Ober, Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, Tristan Gray, Cole Sands, Anthony Banda

All of November: Awards Season

Various awards are announced throughout the first few weeks of November. Here is the complete list.

• November 1: Gold Glove winners
• November 2: HOF eight-person Contemporary Baseball Era ballot
• November 2: Silver Slugger finalists, BBWAA finalists (MVP, Cy Young, ROY)
• November 6: Platinum Glove
• November 9: Rookie of the Year
• November 10: Manager of the Year
• November 11: Cy Young, Reliever of the Year, All-MLB teams, Hank Aaron Award, Comeback Player of the Year
• November 12: MVP
• November 16: 2027 HOF Ballot
• November 17: Silver Slugger winners

December 1: CBA Expiration, Lockout Begins

The big, scary deadline finally arrives after Thanksgiving. When the current collective bargaining agreement expires, the owners are widely expected to initiate a lockout, preventing any team-initiated games, training, or transactions. This only affects players on the 40-man roster, as minor leaguers are not yet considered MLB employees and are not governed by the same rules.

Minor league trades, signings, and transactions can still take place without a MLB CBA in place, but those will still be slow coming as the types of players who typically sign minor league deals only do so once it’s clear a 40-man roster spot isn’t coming their way. That, of course, can’t happen until teams sign or trade for better options on the market, so things usually come to a standstill.

I’m of the opinion that, despite what the owners would like you to believe, they’re in a worse negotiating position than the players as they really need the positive momentum of the last half decade to keep up.

To that end, I largely avoid politics and stick to baseball here, but given the tenor of this conversion it is a very relevant point. So here is your warning to skip the next two paragraphs if you don’t want that in your baseball diet…

There is a current window in the American economy and political system that allows billionaires and private equity firms to act with near impunity thanks to, inarguably, the most corrupt and easily influenced president in American history. With the midterms around the corner and a general shift in the American psyche against the ultra-rich, that window will close within the next half decade.

These billionaire owners want to sell now while franchise values are high and the 1% controls more of the economy than ever. If there is a prolonged labor stoppage, they lose that negotiating window by trying to build back brand equity and customer trust. For the first time maybe ever, the rich, old billionaires have to operate on a much tighter time table than the players do. That’s why they are pushing so hard for a salary cap and using MLB’s official channels to push their propaganda. Nothing will provide a short-term spike in franchise value like controlled labor costs. There is absolutely merit to finding ways to reign in the increasingly high spending of the Dodgers and the Mets and raising the floor for our beloved smaller market franchises, but a blanket cap system is not the solution.

Also, to be clear, the owners don’t have to lock out the players, but after the 1994 World Series was cancelled due to a players strike, the owners have chosen this route in every CBA negotiation since.

Events Likely to be Postponed or Cancelled

Due to the lockout, the following will likely be either postponed or cancelled altogether. Maybe we’ll all be surprised and the players union and owners make an agreement early on, but neither side tends to negotiate in earnest until we’re at risk of games getting cancelled. Once an agreement is reached, most things below will get rescheduled, but something like the Rule 5 draft could be skipped altogether.

• December 7-9: Winter meetings
• December 8: MLB Draft Lottery
• December 9: Rule 5 draft
• January 8: Arbitration figures exchanged
• January 15: 2027 international signing period opens

With the Brewers wrapping up the World Series last night, the first day of Hot Stove season is upon us, and with it comes a bevy of decisions on options – player, club, and mutual – across the league. In the Mariners’ case, they had three club options to resolve for Andrés Muñoz, Víctor Robles, and Bryce Miller, and the org announced this afternoon that they have picked up Muñoz’s for $10 million, while opting to decline both Miller’s and Robles’s at $6.075 million and $9 million, respectively.

None of these decisions should come as a surprise. While Muñoz battled through a career-worst season, blowing an eye-popping ten saves and seeing his ERA more than double from 2025’s 1.73 to 4.24, underlying numbers suggest a strong chance for a bounceback next year. He posted the best strikeout and walk rates (37.1% and 10.0% respectively) since his first full season with Seattle in 2022, which led to a FIP of 3.34 – nearly identical to his first All-Star season in 2024. A surprising homer problem was the main culprit of Muñoz’s struggles, as he allowed nine after serving up just two in 2025 despite his ground ball rate holding steady. An uptick in hard-hit rate in 2026 could be cause for concern, but with his kick change continuing to develop into a real weapon against left-handed hitters – his kryptonite for the first couple months of 2026 – it would come as no shock to see him as his usual self in 2027.

Víctor Robles stole the hearts of Mariners fans with a scintillating 2024 season upon his arrival to Seattle after the Nationals cut bait, bursting onto the scene with 3.2 fWAR and a 155 wRC+ across 262 plate appearances, while bringing tremendous baserunning and solid outfield defense. The M’s rewarded him with a two-year, $9.75 million extension with the aforementioned club option for 2027, but the injury hits kept coming for Robles over the next two seasons, as he limped to a composite 81 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR over a combined 263 plate appearances. When healthy, however, he remained a strong baserunner, and it’s not out of the question that Seattle opts to bring him back on a cheaper deal or as a non-roster invitee. As things stand with Lázaro Montes and Michael Arroyo standing in the open doorframe, though, it seems likely that he will move on to a team with some more room in their outfield. If this is the end, thanks for all the memories, Vic.

Despite Bob Nightengale continuing to be Bob Nightengale, Bryce Miller remains under team control after the org declined his club option, opting to pay a $15K buyout. During negotiations last winter, Miller and the Mariners reached an agreement on a one year contract at $2.4375 million for 2026 alongside the club option. While he improved on an injury-wracked 2025 after returning from the IL in May, cutting his season ERA from 5.68 to 4.17 and FIP from 5.17 to 4.41, the wheels fell off in the second half as he posted a 6.05/5.63 ERA/FIP after the All-Star break, with a brutal August (9.00/6.35 ERA/FIP in 20 innings) doing much of the heavy lifting. With Kade Anderson making a strong first impression and Ryan Sloan waiting in the wings, Miller’s time as a starting pitcher in Seattle may be coming to an end. He’s set to enter his second year of arbitration, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting him to earn $3.9 million.

The Mariners’ 40-man roster currently sits at 35, with eight players on the 60-day injured list that will need to come off in the next several days.

The St. Louis Cardinals are set to begin one of the more intriguing off-seasons in recent memory now that the World Series is in the rear view mirror. Important internal roster decisions and an almost certain lockout loom on the near horizon.

Here are the important dates on the St. Louis Cardinals front office schedule as we head into the off-season:

November 1: Gold Glove winners announced on ESPN at 7pm central time

November 2: 8-person National Baseball Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for managers, executives and umpires

November 2: Silver Slugger Award finalists announced at 1pm central time

November 2: BBWAA Awards Finalists announced – 5 – 7 pm central time (MLB Network) including Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and MVP

November 6: Heart & Hustle Award winners announced on MLB Network

November 6: Gold Glove Award winners dinner in NYC and Platinum Award winners announced

November 9 – 12: GM meetings in Las Vegas

November 10: Managers of the Year announced on MLB Network from 6p to 7p central time

November 11: Cy Young Awards and BBWAA relievers of year on MLB Network from 6p to 7p central time

November 11: MLB Awards Show – 8 to 10pm on MLB Network including All-MLB first and second teams , Hank Aaron Award winners , Comeback Players of year, Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman relievers of year and Edgar Martinez DH of year

November 12: MVP Award winners announced on MLB Network from 6p – 7p central time

November 16: Hall of Fame announces its 2027 ballot, 11 am central time – Writer’s ballot

November 17 – 19: Owner meetings in New York

November 17: Silver Slugger Award winners announced, Deadline for players to accept qualifying offers – 3pm central time, Rule 5 protection deadline (Players need to be added to 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 draft)

November 20: Non-tender deadline

December 1: CBA Expires 10:59 pm central time – Lockout begins

I would love to continue and say the Winter Meetings December 7-9 and Draft Lottery on December 8 would be happening, but the lockout will almost certainly delay those indefinitely. Let’s hope common sense kicks in sooner rather than later between owners and players so that the most important part of baseball isn’t damaged or lost – the fans.

Corbin Burnes will not be opting out of his contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per reports.

This is one of the least surprising bits of news that we will have this offseason. Burnes signed a 6 year, $210 million deal with the D-Backs after the 2024 season, which included an opt-out after 2026.

Burnes suffered a torn UCL that resulted in him undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2025 season. That cost him almost all of 2026 — he ended up pitching 10.1 innings over three starts for Arizona this season, allowing 9 runs, including 5 home runs, which is kind of impressive, if you think about it.

Burnes, the National League Cy Young Award winner for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles prior to the 2024 season in exchange for DL Hall and Joey Ortiz. Both Hall and Ortiz were meaningful contributors to the Brewers’ championship team this season.

Burnes is guaranteed $35 million per year for the 2027-30 seasons, although $11 million per year of that is deferred, which reduces the overall value such that it is valued for luxury tax purposes at $32.911 million per year. Given he’s coming off of an injury and given the uncertain labor market this offseason, his declining the opt-out is a no-brainer.

The Milwaukee Brewers are now your new World Series champions. The retrospectives are already here, as Andy McCullough of The Athletic has an article out today tracing their path to the franchise’s first World Series title. One note is particularly interesting for Tigers fans. According to this report, the Brewers made a very competitive offer for Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, and the Tigers had accepted it in principle. The Brewers front office thought they might have a deal done, only to watch as Zyhir Hope was pulled from his Double-A game and a deal between the Tigers and Dodgers was announced instead.

Well, kudos to the Brewers, who clearly didn’t need much help. The reported deal was for two top 100 position players in infielder Luis Pena and utility player Jett Williams, along with outfielder Josh Adamczewski. The Tigers wanted pitching, but the Brewers were unwilling to part with rookie left-hander Logan Henderson in a deal. So the offer was the best offer they were going to make when Scott Harris called to ask for their best package before moving to the Dodgers to get their final offer. Not long after, they noted the Hope news, and Harris called back to tell them he was going with a different offer.

Per McCullough,

“I appreciated the s— out of that,” Arnold said. “He was very transparent.” The timing allowed Milwaukee to pivot and trade for St. Louis reliever JoJo Romero and starter Dustin May. But they did not add an ace.

Instead, the Tigers accepted the deal for Zyhir Hope, who is similarly ranked to Williams, along with injured right-hander River Ryan and High-A pitching prospect Brady Smith. Smith and Adamczewski are pretty comparable, thought the latter is graded a notch higher by some prospect sites.

I’m a big fan of Luis Pena, so this pains me a little bit, but at the same time, the Brewers had to know the Tigers were hunting for pitching with both Skubal and Casey Mize headed to free agency. Someday this may be a very interesting what if, as the Brewers package was the stronger offer on paper. It just didn’t address the Tigers main need, which was pitching to fill the gap until their stock of A-ball level pitching prospects develops further. It really all comes down to Ryan, and whether he can finally put the injuries behind him and reach his potential as a frontline starter or potential ace reliever.

It’s an interesting little study in approach as well. Harris asked for the final best offers and picked the best package from his perspective. It’s tricky balancing need vs. overall value in all sports, but particularly in baseball. Maybe if Harris had acquired both Pena and Williams, he could turn entirely to pitching in free agency with a killer group of position prospects on their way to bolster what they already have in Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark, and others. But adding pitching in free agency has not been a front office strength. As far as potentially trading Williams or someone else for cost-controlled pitching later on, the truth is that acquiring arm talent with significant team control is really difficult. No one wants to give up inexpensive pitching, even for a good position player generally ranked in the middle of many top 100 lists. Certainly not during the offseason.

We’ll see how it all shakes out in the long run, but it was interesting to get a bit more of a blow-by-blow of events than has been previously reported. Good to know Harris didn’t just string anyone along and potentially leave the Brewers scrambling in the final minutes. That’s the kind of thing that can really put other teams off from dealing with you again, but it’s certainly not mandatory to inform a team that their trade isn’t accepted. They sometimes don’t find out until a deal is already complete.

The report is a bit of housekeeping from a Tigers fans perspective, but we’ll take it as closure on the 2026 Skubal saga. Let the offseason begin.

With 2026 baseball officially behind us, and so much speculation and insecurity around 2027 baseball, we are now entering that liminal space between seasons that may wind up lasting far longer than any of us would like. We will be with you throughout all of it, however long it lasts, and to begin the official offseason coverage, we’re going to take a look at some important dates for the Mets and Major League Baseball as a whole.

Deadlines and Important Dates:

October 29:

Free Agents file

At the end of the season, the Mets had zero (0) free agents. Every single player that was due to hit free agency today was traded (or claimed off waivers) during the season. And so the 9am deadline came and went without any Mets activity at all.

November 2:

Free agency opens at 5 p.m. ET 

Last day to issue Qualifying Offer 

60-day Injured List reinstatement 

Contract options deadline 

In terms of the internal machinations, the Mets have no Qualifying Offers to issue. The Mets currently have three players on the 60-day Injured List who will need to rejoin the 40-Man roster (Tylor Megill, Reed Garrett, and Jorge Polanco). Bo Bichette is the only Met with a player option, so he will have to make a decision about his future in Queens by Monday evening.

With the lockout expected to begin less than a month from now, look for free agency to happen quite quickly.

November 9-12

GM Meetings in Las Vegas

These are usually fairly tame, in terms of trades and signings, compared to the Winter Meetings, but with those in question, look for the GM meetings to be a hotbed of activity.

November 17

Deadline for players to accept the Qualifying Offer, 4 pm ET

Rule 5 protection deadline (Players need to be added to 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 draft)

With the Mets needing to add some minor leaguers to their 40-man roster, expect a flurry of releases and trades to make some room before this deadline. Our Lukas Vlahos did a great job of outlining where the Mets’ roster stands at the end of the season.

November 17-19

Owners meetings in New York

Expect to see a lot of cigars lit with $100 bills and other signs of excess while crying poverty.

November 20

Non-tender Deadline

See the note about the Rule 5 deadline above.

December 1 

CBA Expires 11:59 pm ET – Lockout begins

This is the big one; even if things go better than any of us expect, there will likely still be a lockout starting on December 1st.

Likely to be postponed or cancelled

December 7-9: Winter Meetings in San Diego

December 8: Draft Lottery

December 9: Rule 5 Draft

January 8: Arbitration Figures Exchanged

The Winter Meetings almost certainly won’t happen, and the others in this category will be postponed until the lockout ends.

January 15

International Signing Period opens

This will be the only real activity between the lockout’s beginning and end.

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Awards and Hall of Fame:

November 1

Gold Glove Awards announced

The Mets have three players – Luis Torrens, Nolan McLean, and Carson Benge – who are Gold Glove finalists. The award announcements will be exclusively revealed via ESPN at 9pm EST.

November 2

HOF eight-person Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for managers, executives and umpires

Silver Slugger Award finalists announced – 2 pm ET

BBWAA Awards Finalists announced

The Mets look to have at least one Rookie of the Year candidate, but seem unlikely have any finalists in any other categories (Cy Young, MVP, Manager of the Year). These will be announced on an MLB Network broadcast from 6pm-8pm.

November 6

Heart & Hustle Awards announced – TBD – MLB Network
Gold Glove Awards dinner in NYC – Platinum Glove winners announced

November 9

Rookie of the Year – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)

It seems likely that Carson Benge and/or Nolan McLean get votes in the Rookie of the Year category, with Benge being the Met frontrunner.

November 10

Manager of the Year – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)

The Mets had two managers this year and neither seems likely to grab any votes here.

November 11

Cy Young Awards and BBWAA relievers of year – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)

MLB Awards show – 9-11pm ET (MLB Network)

All-MLB first and second teams

Hank Aaron Award winners

Comeback Players of year

Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman relievers of year
Edgard Martinez DH of year

I suppose there is a chance that a Met picks up an honor on the first or second team, but that seems like the only likely Mets action here.

November 12 

MVP Award – 7-8 pm ET (MLB Network)

In what world would a 2026 Mets be an MVP candidate?

November 16 

Hall of Fame announces its 2027 ballot, 12 pm ET – Writer’s ballot

Bobby Abreu, David Wright, and Francisco Rodriguez will all be on this ballot, with potential ex-Mets Asdrubal Cabrera, Todd Frazier, and Jay Bruce potentially looking at debuts on the ballot.

November 17

Silver Slugger Awards

December 6

BBWAA announces Contemporary Baseball Era inductees

January 19

Hall of Fame announces BBWAA voting results & 2007 inductees, 6 p ET (MLB Network)

Yesterday, I looked at the free agents who might fit the Giants’ lineup and last week I examined the free agent and trade markets for starting pitchers. Today, a far more respected entity, MLB Trade Rumors, offers up a list of potential trade targets for all the teams, pitchers and hitters alike. Right now, the San Francisco Giants have, for the first time in a long time, one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball. Does that make it the right time to trade prospects for major league upgrades? Let’s evaluate the list and find out.

The Giants are suggested for five players: 3 hitters, 2 pitchers. The hitters are outfielders and the pitchers are starters. So far, MLB Trade Rumors is on the right track. Yesterday, I noted that the hitting group was pretty thin in the outfield, and that any notable move was likely to make the acquisition the best of the bunch. And, even if we all agree that the entire pitching staff needs to be reworked, grabbing a starting pitcher or two should be the first order of business in that process.

But of this group, only 2 players would be under team control beyond 2027. That’s important because the Giants aren’t one big trade away from being a playoff team, nor should they approach this offseason that way. If they’re going to expend prospect capital — or even somebody from their major league roster (MLBTR offers up four potential trade candidates from the Giants) — it ought to be somebody who will be around for at least a couple of years. There’s no compelling reason to do otherwise.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I haven’t named any of the players mentioned. I didn’t want to cannibalize their work for a post so fresh — although, it’s notable that they listed CJ Abrams as a trade candidate but did not include the Giants as a potentially interested team, even though they tried to trade for him last offseason. But beyond preserving some first 24 hour clicks for MLBTR, I don’t think the names are as important as the idea. Should the Giants trade prospects or major league talent to acquire major league talent that’s nearing the end of team control? The answer has to be no.

But MLB Trade Rumors’ article does list a Giant. Their rankings try to balance value and likelihood of a deal, and for those reasons, they’ve got Rafael Devers at #19. Now, the Giants made Devers available as recently as three months ago, so this isn’t outlandish. Just yesterday, I celebrated Devers’ season for how it flipped the narrative about him and demonstrated that he’s just a hitter who hits no matter where he is. Their reasoning is fine:

The Giants wouldn’t get much of a prospect return, but this might be their best chance to unload one of their long-term contracts and clear payroll room to spend on pitching or outfield help. 

If the money is equal, let’s say, then of the Adames-Chapman-Devers trio he’s the easiest to move. He’s the youngest, the best hitter of the bunch, and plays a position with a more predictable age/decline curve and one that points to a solid performance tale over the length of the contract. But there’s a massive however: in order to make the money equal, the Giants would have to get Adames ($155.7 million) and Devers ($211 million) at least down to what Chapman’s still owed ($100.67 million). MLBTR is in the range of $30-46 million in buydown.

But trading Devers for salary relief is a bad reason to trade Rafael Devers. And at the end of the day, whatever money that will be spent on free agency is likely to go towards paying a premium on players a great farm system could produce for far less of a cost or who will simply be adequate rather than significant improvements. They’re better off trading young hitters for young pitchers… but those are the trades with the highest difficulty.

Maybe the Giants have turned the corner in their player acquisition and development pipeline or maybe they just have a good crop. That’s what time will tell. What is an absolute certainty right now is that the major league roster needs a lot of improvement. So, rather than try to execute the most difficult kind of trade or try to clear massive salaries off the books, why not do the easiest thing and simply add payroll?

The Giants spent an estimated $189.76 million on their major league roster in 2026. They’re currently projected to be around $173.93 million to start next season, about a $15 million difference. They can double that without any trades just by getting out from Harrison Bader’s $13 million (easier said than done, sure, but they’re working on it) and non-tendering a couple of their arbitration guys. Committing to a payroll of $210 million, let’s say, gives them about $52 million to work with. That seems like a perfectly fine amount for a team that’s kicking off a whole new rebuild while not trying to tank. By the way, that’d be more in 1-year spending than the team committed in 2025 ($36 million) and 2026 ($44.95 million).

The final thought in all this is that the second-best use case with a farm system is being able to leverage it to acquire players in trades. They have an “excess” of middle infielders to offer and some intriguing upside pitching prospects, too, but the Giants haven’t had a farm system that just makes their team better in such a long time that it stands to reason letting it play out for that purpose is the best move right now.

The Milwaukee Brewers dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, their 4-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series giving them their first title in franchise history. Up there in baseball Valhalla, Bob Uecker had the night of his afterlife.

That puts a wrap on the 2026 Major League Baseball season as a whole, meaning the Cincinnati Reds can once again peel themselves off the couch and begin preparations for a 2027 season that, mercifully, cannot possibly be as disappointing as the one that just ended. Baseball wastes little time in sprinting into administrative season, and that began this morning at 9 AM ET when players eligible for free agency were allowed to file.

That includes the likes of Tyler Stephenson of Brock Burke, two names in particular who need a spotlight right here. Though both could have filed for free agency as early as this morning, there’s a five-day window where their former team will be the lone club that can negotiate with them, and since both sure do look like players the Reds would like to have back in 2027 (and beyond), that means the two sides have five days to figure out what a contract would need to look like going forward for that to work. I don’t expect either to sign during this window, but at least there’s a little bit of a heads-up that the Reds will get prior to both getting the opportunity to talk to all 30 clubs beginning next week.

The end of that five-day window will also be the final chance for teams to issue a Qualifying Offer to any of their free agents who were not acquired mid-season. At one point in time that seemed like a discussion the Reds front office was having surrounding Brady Singer, though that has (thank the lord) gone silent amid his season-ending slump. That also marks the day where option decisions must be made, so by then we’ll know if Emilio Pagan has opted into his $10 million salary to remain with the Reds in 2027 or decided to test the free agent waters again. We’ll also have a resolution on the mutual option between the Reds and Eugenio Suarez, though those almost never get picked up by both sides anyway. It’s also the deadline to put players back on the roster from the 60-day IL, so there could be some DFA shuffling (or minor trades) to accommodate the likes of Hunter Greene and Spencer Steer needing 40-man spots once again.

November 1st will see the Gold Glove Awards given out to star defenders across the league. The Reds have no star defenders in the eyes of the powers that be, though – at least, not this year.

November 2nd will see Silver Slugger Award finalists announced, and here’s where we may see the sport’s spotlight swing back to Elly De La Cruz. The 2nd will also see the finalists for all the major BBWAA awards announced, of which Sal Stewart will surely be included in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

November 9th will be the day the Reds find out if Sal won the NL RoY, or not. While the honor itself is a glorious one, keep in mind that the Reds would be in line to get an extra draft pick at the end of the 1st round in 2027 if Sal takes home the prize – and the draft bonus pool boost that goes along with that.

November 9-12 will feature the GM meetings in Las Vegas, ones that will surely be interesting this season given the looming lockout that will be just three weeks later.

November 11th will be the day both the NL and AL Cy Young Award winners will be announced. Chase Burns won’t win the NL award this season despite being firmly in the mix for most of the year, but he’s going to end up with some down-ballot votes.

November 12th is the day the MVPs are announced in both leagues. Elly’s not going to win in the NL this year, but there’s a realistic chance he finishes within the Top 3.

November 16th is the date we’ll see who the BBWAA has included on their ballot for induction in the Hall of Fame, at which point in time social media will become a giant argument over who is worthy of a plaque in the hallway of an old building in an obscure and hard to reach town in upstate New York.

November 17th is the day Silver Slugger Awards are actually announced. It’s also the deadline day for players to accept QOs, if they’d received them. It is also-also the day teams must add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from potential selection in the Rule 5 Draft, which is typically held during the Winter Meetings in December…

…however, the Winter Meetings are currently scheduled for December 7-9th, and that’s after the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire on December 1st, and there’s zero indication whatsoever that the MLBPA and MLB itself will come to an agreement before that date to postpone an inevitable lockout.

There’s a lot that typically goes on between December 1st and the start of spring training in mid-February, but the dates when those events will occur (or be cancelled) are pretty meaningless at this juncture. Baseball will have to see the arbitration process dealt with in short order at some point, the Draft Lottery to determine the order for next June’s draft will need to take place, and who signs who will all have to fight what figures to be a long, dark transaction freeze until the two sides can figure out how to properly distribute their billions of dollars. It remains to be seen whether teams will make moves in a fury before the expiration date of the current CBA, or if they’ll roll the dice on getting lucky with what’s left after the fact.

It has been well established at this point that the Nationals did not have a good bullpen. They set the record for blown saves and had a rotating cast of characters all season long. Of that group, Orlando Ribalta and Brad Lord were the most reliable. Neither were lights out, but both of them posted sub-4 ERA’s and logged at least 40 appearances.

Ribalta and Lord are unlikely to be star relievers, but they are the type of arms you need to fill out a bullpen. The Nats are trying to build a bullpen filled with unique arms, and these two are an example of that. Despite both being right handed relievers, they have very different pitching styles and roles.

At 6’7 245 pounds, Ribalta is a towering presence on the mound and comes at hitters with an over the top delivery. His 97 MPH 4-seam fastball has a good combination of velocity and ride. Ribalta’s secondary pitches include a slider he often uses to get ahead of hitters and a fluttering changeup to put guys away.

Ribalta’s calm mound presence allowed him to come through in some big spots for the Nats. He played a role in some of the Nats meltdowns, but most of the time, Ribalta was not the one causing the fire. In fact, he was the one putting them out. Ribalta had a knack for getting out of bases loaded situations, and he earned the trust of Blake Butera.

MLB hitters are now 0-11 vs Orlando Ribalta this year with the bases loaded.

— Optimistic DC Sports Fan (AC12 Ring Before Harper) (@JWoodGlazer29) July 25, 2026

Overall, Ribalta had a nice breakthrough season, but there is still room for growth. The 28 year old posted a 3.77 ERA and a 3.91 FIP with 42 strikeouts in 43 innings. His 84.6 MPH average exit velocity against and 36.7% chase rate were both elite metrics. However, his strikeout rate of 23.6% and walk rate of 10.1% are both pretty average for a reliever. Right now, Ribalta is a solid 7th inning guy, but if the strikeouts start matching his stuff, the ceiling is higher.

While Ribalta was a high leverage arm, Brad Lord was in a different role. Lord is your classic multi-inning reliever, a role that is becoming more common across the league. With starters not pitching as deep into games, teams need to get creative with how they use their pitchers.

Most of the time, Lord pitched about 2 or 3 innings in his appearances. In his 40 outings this season, Lord threw 83.1 innings. Until about late June, Lord was an absolute weapon in that role. However, he hit a wall after blowing a game against the Phillies in devastating fashion. Lord had a blow up outing against the Pirates shortly after that, and then he went on the IL.

However, Lord had a rock solid finish to the season. After August 1st, Lord had a 3.55 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings. He is not the flashiest reliever in the world, but he is very helpful and can eat innings effectively. Lord was the only Nats reliever who was on the team from start to finish.

Barring an unforeseen development, the Nationals’ Opening Day bullpen will be:

Clayton Beeter
Cole Henry
Brad Lord
Cionel Pérez (L)
Andre Granillo
PJ Poulin (L)
Gus Varland
Ken Waldichuk (L)

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) March 23, 2026

We saw this season that Lord is not someone you really want to turn to in save situations. However, he can be a nice piece in a good bullpen. His profile reminds me a lot of Chad Patrick in Milwaukee, who logged 106 innings this year, mostly in a bullpen role.

From a pitch mix standpoint, Lord relies heavily on his 4-seam fastball and sinker. Both pitches have a lot of movement thanks to his sling shot release. His low release point and funky mechanics make him a tricky at bat. Lord is great at doing the dirty work in the bullpen.

Neither Lord nor Ribalta should be your best relievers, but that says more about the state of the rest of the Nats bullpen. Both are useful pieces who should play a role for years to come. Now the priority should be to acquire truly elite arms so those two can pitch in the proper role.

I actually think the Nats have a decent amount of interesting bullpen arms. The depth is in a much better spot than it was a year ago. However, they need to find a true anchor in the back end to tie everything together. If they do that, we will also see the best of guys like Lord and Ribalta.

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

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No. 32, Zach Agnos (0.1 rWAR)

No Rockies pitcher had a more unusual collection of assignments in 2026 than Zach Agnos.

He made three starts, earned two saves, regularly worked multiple innings out of the bullpen and pitched in just about every game situation imaginable. By season’s end, he’d logged 91 innings, nearly 39 more than his previous professional high.

He also finished with a 5.93 ERA.

Agnos was more useful than good, but there were stretches of effective pitching and some encouraging developments in his arsenal that suggest he might have more to offer.

2026 statistics

G (GS)	W-L	IP	ERA	FIP	WHIP	K	BB	SV	rWAR
41 (3)	0-2	91.0	5.93	4.57	1.51	58	35	2	0.1

Source: Baseball Reference.

A little bit of everything

Agnos entered 26 of his 38 relief appearances with Colorado trailing, including 13 when the Rockies were behind by at least four runs. For a team that lost 104 games, pitching from behind was hardly unusual.

The Rockies generally weren’t asking him to escape inherited jams, either. He began 31 of his relief appearances with a clean inning and was often left to cover two or three.

There were opportunities to finish victories, too. On April 8 against Houston, Agnos worked 3.1 innings to earn his first save of the season. He added another on April 26 against the Mets.

On May 21 against Arizona, Agnos made his first start since high school.

He retired the first six Diamondbacks he faced. He ran into trouble in the third, walking Adrian Del Castillo and allowing a single to Ketel Marte, but got Corbin Carroll to line out to center to end the inning.

He then retired all six hitters he faced in the fourth and fifth, finishing with five scoreless innings, one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.

Colorado lost 2-1, but Agnos had done his part.

Five days later, he allowed seven earned runs in two innings against the Dodgers, including a home run by Mookie Betts.

Five days after that, the Giants scored seven earned runs against him in one inning.

Fourteen earned runs in three innings, immediately following five scoreless innings against Arizona.

Two months of genuinely good pitching

In July and August, Agnos allowed just six earned runs over 27.1 innings, posting a 1.98 ERA. He walked four batters, struck out 17 and continued working primarily in multi-inning appearances.

All six earned runs came in two appearances.

On July 22 against Washington, Agnos entered with two outs in the seventh and the Rockies trailing 5-0. He allowed three consecutive singles and two earned runs before recording the third out. He stayed in the game long enough to cover 2.1 innings, allowing seven hits and three total runs.

On August 21 against Cleveland, Patrick Bailey hit a three-run homer off Agnos, who eventually allowed four earned runs in 2.1 innings.

Those were the only two appearances in July and August in which Agnos allowed an earned run.

Every other outing was scoreless.

On July 6 against the Dodgers, he threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit. On August 5 against Tampa Bay, he worked two hitless innings.

For two months, Agnos wasn’t just effective. He was excellent. But that performance was a dramatic departure from his struggles earlier in the season, and he couldn’t sustain it through September.

The difference between those three stretches is striking:

Period	IP	ERA	BB	K
May – June	34.0	8.21	15	19
July – August	27.1	1.98	4	17
September	12.1	8.76	8	6

Source: Baseball Reference.

Agnos allowed multiple earned runs in each of his final five appearances.

It’s fair to wonder whether the workload caught up with him. His 91 innings were well beyond the 52.1 he’d previously thrown in a professional season. His velocity was also down across all six pitches in his final appearance on September 22, although it had remained largely normal earlier in the month.

Something different in the arsenal

Agnos didn’t just take on different assignments in 2026. He also changed what he was throwing.

After relying on four pitches in 2025, Agnos added a slider and sinker to his repertoire. The slider was particularly interesting against left-handed hitters, producing a positive five-run value. Overall, opponents hit just .161 against it.

Agnos threw his splitter less frequently than he had in 2025, but opponents hit just .194 against it in 2026. It also generated a 41.9% whiff rate, easily the highest of his six pitches.

His sweeper also showed promise, holding opponents to a .220 average while generating a 34.6% whiff rate.

The results weren’t nearly as encouraging across his entire arsenal. Baseball Savant’s run value data highlights some significant differences depending on which side of the plate hitters stood:

Pitch	vs. LHH	vs. RHH
Four-seam fastball	-2	-8
Cutter	-6	+2
Sweeper	-1	+2
Sinker	-2	0
Slider	+5	-3
Splitter	0	-1

2026 pitch run value by batter handedness. Positive values favor the pitcher; negative values favor the hitter. Source: Baseball Savant.

Agnos threw his four-seam fastball and cutter more than any other offerings, accounting for nearly half his pitches. Opponents hit .306 against the four-seamer and .359 against the cutter.

Agnos struck out just 14.3% of opposing hitters, placing him in the second percentile among major-league pitchers. He did lower his walk rate from 12.3% in 2025 to 8.6% in 2026, while also improving his hard-hit and barrel rates.

The individual results from his secondary pitches suggest Agnos has something to work with. The challenge is finding a way to turn those pitches into more strikeouts and better overall results, particularly when his most frequently used offerings have been so hittable.

Where does Agnos stand heading into 2027?

Agnos made three starts, posting a 1.69 ERA over 10.2 innings, compared to a 6.50 ERA in 80.1 innings as a reliever. That’s a considerable difference, although three starts are not enough to establish him as a rotation candidate. His more likely role remains that of a multi-inning reliever, something the Rockies leaned on him heavily for in 2026.

But he’s hardly the only pitcher capable of filling that role. Colorado has other young pitchers who could benefit from those opportunities, and as the organization works to improve its pitching staff, there should be more competition for those innings.

At 26, Agnos is still under team control and won’t be arbitration-eligible until 2028. He also has minor-league options remaining, giving Colorado some flexibility to keep him around without committing to a permanent spot in the major-league bullpen.

That works in his favor, but only to a point. His versatility helped him accumulate 91 innings in 2026, but a 5.93 ERA isn’t going to do much to protect his opportunities as better pitching becomes available.

Whether Agnos can turn the promise of his secondary pitches into more consistent results may determine how much longer that versatility remains valuable to Colorado.

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