Category: MLB

Before we begin looking ahead to 2027, OTM is looking back at 2026, highlighting some of the biggest, strangest, and most memorable moments of a memorable season. Today, we look back at a statistical anomaly that says a lot about the 2026 Red Sox offense.

With the Championship Series in full swing in both the AL and NL, the 2026 season is quickly winding down. But that doesn’t mean we’re quite done with it. There are some loose ends. Some questions unanswered. Some further insights to probe. In particular, one game was still tickling my brain. September 23rd.

This was a Wednesday night game against the Cleveland Guardians. Part of the penultimate series of the year, the one right before the Cubs came to town and things went crazy with the storm. The Red Sox would win the game 1-0 with 12 hits. And they were all singles. That seems weird right? This was noted at the time as somewhat uncommon. And, yes, as you slice stats and measurements you end up with small samples. That’s how so many online accounts can make “fun fact” claims about nearly every game. But I wondered just how uncommon this actually was.

In the 2026 season, this was the only game where a team had at least 12 hits and scored up to a single run. That includes if a team had 12 hits and was shut out. The Sox are unique here.

If we expand this to the Wild Card Era (1995 onward) it has occurred just 73 times. And just five of those teams won. The 2026 Red Sox, 2015 Pirates, 2014 Angels, 2000 Rangers, and 1997 Yankees all pulled off 12 or more hits and 1 run for a win. Only the Red Sox and Yankees did the trick without an extra base hit. Although even for the other teams, the most they hit was a double.

If we look at it in the other direction, there were 252 teams that had exactly 12 hits and scored more than 1 run in 2026 alone. This included the Sox on March 26th against the Reds. Opening Day. They were the first to do it. What a world that was, starting the season with 3 hits by Roman Anthony.

But back to the original question: 12 or more hits, 1 run or fewer. If we go all the way back to 1898 on Baseball-Reference, it’s only happened 368 times. And of that total, the team with 1 run on 12 or more hits only won 22 times. The Dodgers had 20 hits (18 singles) over 22 innings on August 23, 1989 against the Montreal Expos And the only run— by either team — was scored by LA in the 22nd inning. It was a Rick Dempsey home run off Dennis Martinez.

What if we forget the number of runs and just look for teams that had at least 12 singles? That happened 5 times in 2026. The Yankees pulled if off against the Sox in the August doubleheader we don’t really want to think much about. The Rays, Astros, and Marlins each did it as well. The Sox, Yankees, and Marlins won while the Rays and Astros lost. There are 157 occurrences of this during the Wild Card Era. The team hitting all singles won 89 times. Sometimes it really is just the hits that matters. One interesting tidbit looking at all these box scores is on June 18, 2023 that Marlins and Rays had 12 hits (all singles) and 4 runs, against the Nationals and Padres, respectively. The Marlins won 4-2 and the Rays list 5-4.

So the 12 hit, 1 run game against the Guardians was uncommon. Not the most uncommon. But not the type of thing that happens often. Just a couple games per season at most. But the fact that they won? That’s not something you’re likely to see. Another weird moment in a weird season.

Good morning.

Kennedi Landry writes that, if nothing else, MacKenzie Gore was available to pitch for the Texas Rangers in 2026.

Evan Grant writes that the infield was stricken with injuries all season but it was also the most productive unit for Texas in 2026.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Mark Polishuk checks out the offseason outlook for the Rangers where Chris Young and crew will be tasked with putting together a team to return to October.

And, in other news, Jon Daniels once traded with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire Nathaniel Lowe when he was still Nathan Lowe and Daniels was the decision maker for the Rangers. Now Jon Daniels is a senior advisor with Tampa Bay and Lowe collected the go-ahead and game-winning RBI hit against the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS. It’s a small world, I suppose.

Have a nice day!

As we get closer and closer to the end of the 2026 MLB season, the impending lockout and CBA negotiations will begin to take center stage in the baseball world. Even now as the final four teams get the league championship series underway, we still received some drops of information regarding the negotiations between the league and the MLB player’s association.

It’s imperative to take all of these leaks and reports with an appropriate grain of salt, as both sides will likely try to use the media to negotiate in public. The proposals this far out should receive even more skepticism, as neither side will be willing to concede this early. However, one of the latest reported proposals from the league has a somewhat interesting topic of discussion, and that’s the length of MLB’s regular season.

In the proposal, MLB broached the idea of shortening the regular season from the current 162 games back to the former 154 games. The latter was the standard until the American League moved to 162 games in 1961 with the National League following the year after. Seven less games obviously mean that the regular season would be one week shorter, allowing for each week to have a built-in off day for each team. That would theoretically help keep players, especially pitchers, healthy as they would be less wear and tear on their bodies. Part of the league’s reasoning for this idea was also the ability to then extend the length of the divisional round of the postseason from a best of five to a best of seven. In addition to that, MLB proposed that the higher seeds would be able to choose their opponents for those series.

There will be many more ideas exchanged back and forth from both sides over the coming winter, but this is one of the first ones that feels like it has at least some realistically possibility of happening in some form. So, should MLB shorten the length of the regular season? Or should it stay where it is? Or does it not even go far enough for your liking?

Sticking with the rotation since there isn’t really much else to discuss…

Didier Fuentes may or may not be ticketed for the rotation in 2027, assuming there is a 2027 season. Chris Sale can’t fend off Father Time forever, but he’s done a good job of it so far. Grant Holmes exists. Bryce Elder exists. Everyone else is either injured-and-oft-injured, coming off a not-so-great MLB season, or a mix of both.

The Braves will probably add starters from outside the organization, and/or re-up with Tyler Mahle and perhaps even Martin Perez. But, unless it’s literally Mahle and Perez to go with Holmes, Elder, Fuentes, and Sale, they’ll have to make some more moves.

So, how many do you think they’ll make? No scoring, but for purposes of your guess, consider only a starter making about $8 million (or the equivalent of that if the CBA immediately curtails salaries), or a trade equivalent of such. They could add all sorts of Martin Perezes, but we wouldn’t really know whether that should count as an earnest effort or not until the proof ends up in the proverbial pudding.

Meet the Mets

Anth0ny DiComo identified three Mets prospects who could find themselves making a big impact for the 2027 squad.

Tim Britton analyzed the effect that a salary cap would have on the Mets and explored the different types of teams that the organization could build with different budgets.

Pete Sblendorio looked at the team’s biggest questions ahead of the winter.

Danny Abriano ranked the top five priorities for the Mets heading into the offseason.

The Mets could be open to a change at second base next season, but it would cost them.

Joe Patorno wondered if the Mets may have missed out on the real architect of the Brewers in Matt Arnold.

Around the National League East

Mark Bowman wrote about the Braves’ five biggest offseason questions.

Cole Weintraub identified some of the key dates for the Phillies entering an uncertain offseason.

Dillon Lawson has been named the Marlins’ hitting coach.

Around Major League Baseball

The Brewers overcame three deficits to pick up a 7-4 win in Game 2 of the NLCS over the Dodgers and tighten their grip on the series, as they look to prevent Los Angeles from a three-peat.

The game turned on its head during a 12-pitch at-bat between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jake Bauers, which wore out Yamamoto and led to him being knocked out of the game in the third inning.

Paul Casella highlighted some key takeaways from Game 2 of the NLCS, including the continued struggles of the Dodgers’ superstars and William Contreras coming through for the Brew Crew.

Shohei Ohtani is one of those struggling bats, and the Dodgers will discuss benching their superstar for Game 3 of the series.

The Guardians rallied past the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS with two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth, resulting in a 7-3 victory.

José Ramírez caused havoc on the basepaths, which was a key to helping the Guardians picked up their fourth straight win.

Will Leitch wrote about some storylines to keep an eye on in both the NLCS and in the ALCS.

Ramírez is relishing the second chance to bring Cleveland to the World Series after failing to do so in 2024.

Anthony Berry talked about the 2021 trade that sent Junior Caminero from the Guardians to the Rays, and wondered how it happened in the first place considering how much of a steal if seems to be in retrospect.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Linus Lawrence ranked the Mets’ biggest LDS moments.

If you find yourself bored and missing baseball, or just want to connect with your fellow Mets fans in a fun way, join the Amazin’ Avenue offseason book club, beginning with The Worst Team Money Could Buy.

This Date in Mets History

Unfortunately, the Mets have not had a lot of luck on games played on October 13, having lost playoff games on this date in 2024, 2015, 2006, 1999, and 1973. The worst of which has to be Game 2 of the 2006 NLCS, which I’d still argue is the most heartbreaking loss and the biggest “what if?” game of that series.

Once again, the Braves are entering an offseason where many questions need to be answered. And unfortunately, many of those questions will be focused on how reliable talents already with the Braves will be moving forward. That of course spotlights all the injuries that some of the Braves most promising your arms have went through over the past few years, thus leading to the question of how many arms must the Braves acquire.

And then, there is the matter of the now years long issue of the Braves offense under performing. A major factor in that is the decline of Austin Riley, someone the Braves must get going again to truly get back toward contention. In an offseason where there already is so much uncertainty around the game itself, the Braves have their own questions to answer.

Braves News

While the Braves will go into Spring Training with Didier Fuentes as a starter, it will be interesting to see how they use him as the season progresses.

MLB News

In a bit of a surprise development, the Guardians defeated the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS.

The Brewers gained early control of the NLCS as they are now up 2-0 over the Dodgers.

The NLCS now shifts to the West Coast, after the Milwaukee Brewers took the first two games of the series at home, pushing the Los Angeles Dodgers into unfamiliar territory as they trail two games to none in the series.

But more unfamiliar territory could follow.

Benching superstar Shohei Ohtani.

The slugger continues to struggle at the plate, and Ohtani endured an 0-for-4 night with two strikeouts on Monday after going 1-for-3 with a single in Game 1. Ohtani entered the NLCS having gone just 2-for-13 against the Atlanta Braves, and now sits at 3-for-20 this postseason with a trio of singles, along with three walks.

That is good for a slash line of .150/.261/.411.

Speaking after the game, manager Dave Roberts had this to say about the team’s superstar, as quoted by The Athletic:

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good. He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.

“I’ll have (that conversation) with him tomorrow.”

Our own Eric Stephen, who “has practice in Robertsese” as he described it, declared early Tuesday morning “that means Ohtani won’t be starting in Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.”

How did we get here, with the Dodgers contemplating sitting none other than Shohei Ohtani in a must-win playoff game?

Ohtani has been dealing with several injuries this season, starting with a left knee issue which caused him to miss some starts on the bump in the summer, and to miss the All-Star Game together as he sought treatment for the knee ailment.

But a right bicep issue followed, and he was eventually put on the IL in September with that issue, and the team shut him down as a pitcher on September 7.

Yet, Ohtani’s performance at the plate had begun to dip well before September. he began the year hot at the dish, slashing .293/.403/.549 with 22 home runs ahead of the All-Star break.

Over the second half of the season, Ohtani slashed just .245/.325/.447 with eight home runs. And when you dive into those numbers a bit more, the dip in performance looks even steeper. After slashing .273/.330/.557 in July, with six home runs, he slashed .241/.322/.472 in August, with six more homers.

Over eight regular season games in September and October, he slashed just .200/.333/.233, without a home run. His last homer came back in the middle of August, a blast against the Colorado Rockies on August 18. In that three game series at Coors Field, Ohtani went 5-for-14 with three home runs and five RBI.

However, since that game Ohtani has gone 14-for-90 without a home run, and with just a single RBI. That is good for an average of .156, and an OPS under .490.

Digging into Ohtani’s numbers a little more, and watching his at-bats, you can see the struggles at the plate. His swing speed has dipped — according to data from FanGraphs his bat speed on line drives is 74.8 miles per hour, down from 76.0 last year and a high of 77.7 during the 2023 season — as has his exit velocity. After averaging an EV of 93.3 mph this season, his lone hit in the NLCS came off the bat at just 74 mph:

And his approach on this single helps tell another part of the story.

As noted by The Athletic, Ohtani has tried to shorten his swing, and take balls to the opposite field rather than trying to pull or drive balls to the right side. That is because he’s struggled to catch up to fastballs and pull them, as you can see on this strikeout from the first inning Monday night, when he swings through a 95-mph four-seam fastball up in the zone from Logan Henderson:

That approach leads to moments like this from Monday night, when Ohtani tries to go the other way on a ball off the plate and looks … unlike the Ohtani we are used to seeing:

At the start of that at-bat? Ohtani actually showed bunt, something else we are not used to seeing from the slugger.

Speaking ahead of the NLDS Ohtani, through team interpreter Will Ireton, had this to say about his swing:

“It feels really good overall. I do feel like my swing is in a better place, feels smooth, and just a little tweaks here and there, and I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

And on the injuries:

“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this. I think that process is going to happen during the off-season when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”

However, he also talked about “transparency,” regarding how he is feeling physically:

“ I think the discussion became more about like what’s best for the team. Is it something that I can play through, and if that’s best for the team, sure. But I think we both came to an understanding where the decision to be on the IL came from the fact that it’s probably best for the team for me to recover and be able to focus on the postseason.”

And that might be the focus of the upcoming discussion with Roberts. As noted by Stephen early Tuesday morning, there’s “been an open question of how forthcoming Ohtani has been with his injuries as well.” But the player we have seen so far this postseason has been struggling at the plate, and with the Dodgers facing a two-game hole in the series, that could lead to a difficult decision for Roberts and the rest of the organization.

If Ohtani is indeed out of the lineup to start Game 3, Josue De Paula is likely the “top candidate” to replace him, according to The Athletic. De Paula, who was called up from Double-A Tulsa in mid-September, went 10-for-31 with a home run in limited action for the Dodgers, slashing .323/.500/.581. That was good enough for the team to add him to the postseason roster and he has a pair of walks in three plate appearances, including one on Sunday night in Game 1.

The Dodgers are set to meet the media later today during the off day before Wednesday’s pivotal Game 3.

Meaning we might learn more about Ohtani’s status in a few hours.

The Dodgers somehow scored four runs in Monday’s game against the Brewers but it wasn’t enough as the game devolved into a bullpen game and they lost 7-4, and now head home down 2-0 in the NLCS.

Bill Shakin of the L.A. Times ponders if the Dodgers should start playing baseball the way the Brewers are, especially since runs are at a premium. The Dodgers did score some of their runs as gifts from the Brewers, but the timely hitting still remains elusive.

“I don’t think guys are going up there trying to hit home runs,” Betts said. “Guys are going up there just trying to have good at-bats. Sometimes, you get ‘em. Sometimes you don’t. But we are playing against a really good team. We just have to put it behind us and just come out and play Dodger baseball.”

But, as Bill Plunkett of the OC Register points out, it didn’t work. He details the ways the Dodgers scored, and how they needed the Brewers’ help to do so.

Before the game, Plunkett also highlighted how Will Smith hasn’t had any production at the plate up until this afternoon.

“It’s been five games,” Smith said, dismissing the significance of his .053 batting average this October. “Obviously (I) want the results to be a little better. But at the end of the day, it’s five games at the plate. No panic from me. So I’ll be fine.”

Now, it’s been six games and Smith still only has one hit, and his postseason batting average is .043.

“I respect the Dodgers a great deal,” said Murphy. “That’s all there is to it. They’re arguably one of the best teams ever put together. They’re a great team.

“And I’m not going to think about anything but the next game. That’s it. Just one inning, one pitch at a time. Don’t look ahead. Don’t plan. Don’t complain, explain; just keep going.”

That’s what Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy told reporters after the game, as reported by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. And as Cassavell notes in his article, the Dodgers threw their two top starters and have nothing to show for it.

Paul Casella also of MLB.com points out some keys for Game 3 back in L.A., including how to contain William Contreras, asking where the Dodgers offense will come from, and which bullpen will outlast the other.

The vaunted Dodger bullpen got outdueled by the Brewers bullpen, who has been phenomenal so far this postseason. They threw five perfect innings to finish out the game and seal the win.

The Dodgers have a lot of work to do to get themselves back in this series. Game 3 is at 5pm PT back in Los Angeles.

Michael Forret isn’t just a pitching prospect. He’s also a potentially fascinating science experiment.

You’ve heard of Rays Pitching Magic, right? The Tampa Bay organization, currently battling for the American League pennant, has a reputation for sprinkling metaphorical pixie dust on their pitchers to suddenly transform them into unhittable behemoths. The Rays have worked their magic both on journeyman major leaguers — witness Bryan Baker morphing from an unreliable middle reliever into the best closer in baseball — and also on prospects, refining flawed youngsters into MLB-quality hurlers.

So that brings up a question. What happens when the Rays get hold of a new prospect from another organization, bolster him with their sorcery for a few months, and then send him back from whence he came? Can their pitching magic hold strong once the player returns to his original organization, or will he inevitably backslide without the Rays’ instructors to help him?

Michael Forret is the case study for that very scenario. The 22-year-old Oriole-turned-Ray-turned-Oriole-again spent just under eight months soaking up Tampa Bay’s wisdom and know-how. Now he’ll hope to bring what he learned back to the Birds, with an eye on potentially making his major league debut next year.

Forret (pronounced for-ETT) has become a sought-after prospect since his humble pro beginnings as the Orioles’ 14th round draft pick in 2023. The North Carolina native was a junior college pick from State College of Florida, a school whose most successful MLB player in history was — and you’re not going to like this — Glenn Davis (19.7 WAR).

Almost immediately in the O’s minors, Forret showed the kind of success that belied his late-round draft status. In 2024, he posted a 3.88 ERA and 11.2 K/9 for Low-A Delmarva and then-High-A Aberdeen, flashing increased velocity from his junior college days. But it was 2025 when he really broke onto the scene. At age 21, Forret dominated High-A to the tune of a 1.51 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) with a sparkling 11.5 K/9 and 0.804 WHIP. He slashed his walk rate dramatically from the previous year, from 4.0 BB/9 to 2.6. He earned a promotion to Double-A Chesapeake and made three excellent starts there as well.

Forret’s 2025 dominance saw him rocket up the Orioles’ prospect chart. He rose to #11 in MLB Pipeline’s O’s prospect rankings, one of the organization’s highest-regarded young pitchers. A year later, he’s #10. “He’s not your typical overpowering starter,” Pipeline writes. “The 6-foot-3 right-hander beats hitters with deception, a deep arsenal and command. There’s some crossfire action in his delivery, making him tough on right-handed hitters.”

The Rays are among the teams who took notice of Forret. And when the Orioles were looking to strike a deal last winter for cost-controlled starter Shane Baz, they ultimately agreed to include Forret as part of the five-player return package on Dec. 19. And so began the youngster’s journey with the developmental wizards in Tampa Bay.

Forret hit the ground running with the Rays, dominating with Double-A Montgomery. In 10 starts with the Biscuits, he was 6-0 with a 2.15 ERA, 1.049 WHIP, and 9.3 K/9. Even with a fastball that averages only 92 mph, Forret continued to demonstrate quality command and deception to get batters out. Writes FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen: “He attacks righties around their hands with the fastball and then dots sliders on the black away from them, while he jams lefties around theirs with cutters and sliders, and then forces them to choose between covering elevated fastballs or his sinking cambio (changeup).”

In June, Forret moved up to Triple-A for the first time, and the adjustment wasn’t exactly smooth. In two of his first three starts with Durham, he was battered for five runs. But he adapted quickly. He posted a 2.89 ERA in his next six starts, holding batters to a .645 OPS, and might have been in the Rays’ plans for a big league promotion late in the season.

And that’s when the Orioles came into the picture again.

At the trade deadline, the Rays were in the market for a setup man, and the Birds’ Tyler Wells was in their sights. The Orioles targeted a familiar face as their return piece. And voila, Michael Forret was back in the O’s organization in a one-for-one swap on Aug. 3.

“Getting the call that I was coming back to Baltimore was kind of a surreal experience,” Forret said in a MASN interview. “I obviously wasn’t expecting that, but I’m super excited to be back.”

So did Forret bring the Rays’ fairy dust back with him to the O’s organization? Well…the early returns aren’t great.

The O’s assigned Forret to Triple-A Norfolk, where he made five starts before the season ended. The results: a 6.35 ERA, 10.3 H/9, and 5.6 BB/9. Batters tagged him for an .804 OPS. Still, in such a small sample size, it’s hard to read too much into those lousy numbers. Forret had one particularly rough outing — an eight-run, 10-hit debacle against Gwinnett — but didn’t give up more than two runs in any other start.

Was Forret getting drastically different instruction from the Orioles’ coaches than he did in Tampa Bay? Not really, according to him.

“Now that I’m back, I’m seeing there’s more similarities than differences,” Forret said. “I think that a lot of what Tampa did was just pitch to your strengths, which was a very similar process to what we do over here. Be in the zone and understand the importance of getting ahead in counts, winning your 1-1 counts. [That] has become a big shift over here and they’re doing the same thing over here now, too.”

But Forret did learn at least one thing during his stint with Tampa Bay.

“I picked up a cutter with the Rays,” he said. “That’s a big pitch for the Rays organization. They want their pitchers throwing cutters. So I tried picking it up after I got traded. Starting getting the hang of it, and then in spring training finally fine-tuned it and everything. And that’s been a nice pitch for me to have this season, just to kind of bridge in between my fastballs and my sweeper [and] my changeup.”

Forret will start the 2027 season at Norfolk (assuming he’s added to the 40-man roster this offseason, and isn’t traded back to the Rays), where he’ll need to prove that his stuff will play against higher-level hitters. The 22-year-old righty has his flaws, and he might not have the highest upside of the Orioles’ stable of pitching prospects. But if the O’s need to dip into the minors for pitching help in 2027, they should make sure they don’t miss the Forret for the trees.

Today’s Reflections

YAY! Cleveland made the ALCS and won Game 1! Go Cleveland!

(This is SO HARD to say, but) YAY! The Brewers won! They beat the Dodgers twice, the Evil Empire, Part II!

GO Brewers! (ouch)

There’s an article below that describes a major change to baseball that is being tested in the AFL — Forcing outfielders to lineup in a particular spot prior to each pitch. This is to promote more extra-base hits. AWESOME!

Why not just eliminate singles — make every hit to the outfield an automatic double!Just think, PCA can set the MLB doubles and triples records by August!

This is stupid. Way back when, when infielders extremely overloaded the hitter’s power side — that was hurting baseball as nearly every ball hit in that direction was an automatic out. It was damaging the game.

Much differently, outfielders cover a much larger area and make adjustments by more that whether the hitters are dominant to one field. For each individual hitter, scouting and spray charts determine if the outfielder needs to move more to the power side, or less. If they need to move deeper, or shallower. It is detailed, studied analysis, not a “Here’s a LH batter — everybody move to the second base side.”

Instead, MLB wants to put a ball and chain on outfielders. Which is surprising, because while I disagree, a large number of people think that snaring a home run over an eight-foot fence is the most exciting play in baseball. If it was a 10-foot fence, sure, that would be really impressive. (I almost went into a diatribe of what I think are more exciting plays, but I digress).

Why not control outfielders like you do video games? Have a coach with a joystick control how effective an outfielder’s play is. (I better be careful — someone may be watching).

Bottom line — the extreme infield shift hurt baseball. Constricting outfielders to certain spots of the field is fixing something that doesn’t need fixing. We have way too many ERAs that are at or above 5.00 already. Is this a “fix” to dominant pitchers like the Miz — while he’s striking out 14 a game, allow almost every ball hit to the outfield will fall for a hit. That would improve baseball!

Bullhockeypucks! Looks like I’ll head out to a AFL game soon (I was going to, anyway). Read the story — more interesting points than I have room to write about. 🙂

I appreciate your reading.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

The Change MLB is Considering That Would Damage Baseball:

• Matthew Nethercott (Diamond Centric): MLB Experimenting With Another Major Rule Change That Could Transform the Game. “The Arizona Fall League is testing restrictions on defensive positioning that could dramatically alter how teams approach outfield defense.”

Commending a Take, and then a reconsideration on that take:

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Hope to Add New Breaking Ball to Edward Cabrera’s Arsenal. “Despite knowing they had much more work to do with Cabrera, he was essentially a car driving on a donut spare over those last few games.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Additional Thoughts on Edward Cabrera’s Blister Issues, Pitch Tweaks. “I wondered whether my initial analysis of Edward Cabrera‘s blister issues and new breaking ball had been missing a key concept.”

Free Agents/Trades/Predictions:

• Doug Schwamb (Chicago Cubs): One Cubs Player Likely to Be in Trade Rumors This Winter (And Who Might Be a Target). “The Chicago Cubs need to look at all avenues to fix their starting pitching problems.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Way-too-early prediction for Cubs’ starting rotation at the start of the 2027 season. “Too early for predictions?”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): The Cubs’ Top Needs Heading Into the 2026 Offseason. “If the Cubs wish to make a deeper playoff run, they have a few key areas to address.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs’ outfield need shouldn’t tempt them into Jarren Duran trade if Red Sox squeeze him out. “He was Ian Happ except for not having the walks to hold up his offensive value.”
• Doug Schwamb (Chicago Cubs On SI): One Dream Cubs Free Agent Target Who Can Solve One of Their Biggest Problems. “The Chicago Cubs badly need starting pitching, and they have the money to go after one of the best names on the market.”

Assorted Stories:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A 2026 Chicago Cubs Draft Report Card a Few Months Later. “We hope the Cubs did very well on their pitching selections, but it’s gonna take a minute to know for sure.“
• Brandon Glick (Cubbies Crib): Cubs prospect Josiah Hartshorn gets MLB Pipeline recognition that surprises absolutely nobody. “A well-deserved coronation.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Atheletic {$}): The Cubs hope to put Edward Cabrera’s blister issues, poor season in the past. “2026 was a disaster.”

Food For Thought:

Granville Henry “Stick” McGhee (March 23, 1918 – August 15, 1961) was an American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee“. McGhee grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. He received his nickname when he was a child. He used a stick to push a wagon carrying his older brother Brownie McGhee, who had contracted polio. Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshman year he dropped out of high school and worked with his father at the Eastman Kodak subsidiary. In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, and then to New York City. He entered the military in 1942, and when he was discharged in 1946, he settled in New York.

In the military, McGhee often played his guitar. One of the songs he performed was “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee”, one of the earliest prototypical rock-and-roll songs. Cover versions were recorded by Wynonie Harris, Lionel Hampton, Big John Greer, Johnny Burnette, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Mike Bloomfield‘s Electric Flag. McGhee continued to make records for Atlantic and created popular songs, but his music career overall was not successful. He recorded a number of rock-and-roll songs, such a “Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice”, “Head Happy with Wine”, and “Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter”. However, he was unable to make money from his records. He retired from the music industry in 1960.^[5] He became ill shortly afterward and died in August 1961 of lung cancer.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Good morning, Purple Row!

The MLB offseason is all about trade rumors in a typical year, but with a looming lockout and an anticipated busy November, chatter is picking up.

And the Colorado Rockie getting attention is catcher Hunter Goodman. (Hey, 41 home runs and three years of team control have that effect.) Remember all that speculation we did prior to the trade deadline? Let’s get ready to do it all again.

There were questions as to whether the Rockies should have made that move last summer, but given that Goodman’s trade value has only increased, Paul DePodesta’s decision to wait seems like a savvy move. But get ready for the speculation to increase.

November should be a busy (and interesting) month.

In today’s Rockpile, look for an interview I conducted with Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer 10 days ago.

In the meantime, here’s what’s happening today.

Rockies news & links

• New York Yankees must trade for 41-HR superstar catcher amid rumors | Heavy Sports — In the wake of the Yankees disappointing postseason performance, Michael DeRosa argues, they need to make changes, and one of them should be acquiring Hunter Goodman. Hey, TJ Rumfield worked out pretty well. What are you offering, Brian Cashman?
• Ranking the top 25 MLB trade chips for 2026-27 offseason | Bleacher Report — Goodman comes in at #5. “After a fourth straight 100-loss season, nothing should be off the table as the Rockies explore ways to improve,” Joel Reuter writes. “The asking price will be high given his remaining control, but he might be the most impactful power bat on the market.“
• Career-best season by Rockies infielder solidifies right move last offseason | si.com — Maddy Dickens points to the career season and positional versatility of Willi Castro, arguing that he was an good signing on the part of the Rockies front office.
• Paul DePodesta discusses rockies’ pitching struggles | MLB Trade Rumors — Last week, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta spoke with media about issues with the starting rotation. Connor Byrne looks at the numbers supporting that assertion.
• I’m going to start dropping in an occasional podcast given the contracted Rockies coverage we’re seeing. So here are Ryan Spilborghs and Troy Renck discussing the playoffs as recent negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA.

Around MLB

• Clutch Guardians Come from Behind to Take ALCS Game 1 | Covering the Corner — José Ramírez is inevitable (complimentary).
• Come On Back From the Ledge for a Spell: William Contreras Would Not Let Brewers Lose Game 2 | Brewer Fanatic — Matthew Trueblood analyzes what William Contreras has brought to the Brewers this postseason.
• Each team’s penalty for signing a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent | MLB Trade Rumors — This year, a qualifying offer is worth $23.15 million. The Rockies are a revenue-sharing team, so should they sign a free agent who has received a QO, it would mean forfeiting their third-highest selection in the 2027 draft. (There’s no way they’ll do that.)
• Where could Jazz Chisholm Jr. land in free agency? | MLB.com — No, the Rockies aren’t on the list, but I always enjoy free-agent speculation. Mark Feinsand lays out some possibilities.

This week on the internet

TJ Rumfield was selected for the second team, which is good!

Musical interlude

And since I alluded to Fleetwood Mac in the headline, I thought I’d follow through with an absolute banger that has stood the test of time.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

While it still hurts that the Yankees aren’t out there playing, you better soak the rest of the playoffs in. We only have, at most, three more days with more than one game, and we’re only guaranteed one more. Before you know it, we have only the World Series and then the long, cold winter and offseason.

However, there’s still some baseball left to go, and it’s important baseball at that. Let’s check in on how the action played out on Monday night.

National League Championship Series Game 2

Milwaukee Brewers 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
(Brewers lead series 2-0)

William Contreras had three hits and drove in three runs, leading the Brewers to a win and a two-game lead over the reigning two-time champs.

Through much of the game, the teams kept trading runs and the lead back and forth. The Dodgers held 1-0 and 4-3 leads, while the Brewers took a 3-2 edge at one point. In the bottom of the fifth, Contreras struck with a game-tying home run and Milwaukee took control of the game after that.

An inning after his homer, Contreras hit a go-ahead single. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers got in on the action in the ninth, each recording RBI hits to help Milwaukee put the game away.

A large part of the reason they were able to do that is that the Brewers’ bullpen completely shutdown the Dodgers. After putting up four runs in four innings off starter Logan Henderson, LA not only didn’t score against Milwaukee’s bullpen, they didn’t manage a baserunner over the final five innings.

Another key for Milwaukee was that they knocked out Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto after just 2.2 innings. After dominating last postseason, Yamamoto had to leave this game early after laboring for 75 pitches in less than three frames. Bauers did some damage, drawing a walk after 12 pitches, immediately before a big hit by Christian Yelich.

American League Championship Series Game 1

Cleveland Guardians 7, Tampa Bay Rays 3
(Guardians lead series 1-0)

The Guardians proved that it is possible to record more than one hit off Drew Rasmussen, as they drew first blood in the ALCS with a win on the road in the Trop.

The Rays got out to a very quick start. Junior Caminero and Johnny DeLuca each recorded RBI singles in the first inning, as Tampa Bay started with a 2-0 lead. However, those would be their last runs for quite a while, as Cleveland worked their way back into the game.

Rasmussen continued his run of shutout innings from the ALDS, but the Guardians eventually broke through. In the sixth, Chase DeLauter got him for a homer to get Cleveland on the board. An inning later, Patrick Bailey led off the frame with another home run, also knocking Rasmussen out of the game.

After slugging out their first two runs, the Guardians eventually got the lead thanks to their customary “Guardsball.” After José Ramírez got the eighth inning started with a single, DeLauter came up with a big double to set things up. Nathaniel Lowe then popped in a single to score both runners and give Cleveland their first lead of the day.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cedric Mullins led off with a home run to get one of those runs back. However, the Guardians only added to their lead further in the ninth. Ramírez and Jo Adell each came up with RBI hits as Cleveland put up three runs to take a commanding lead. The bottom of the ninth then took just seven pitches as the Guardians closed out the win.

The Guardians managed to steal game one of the ALCS, meaning they just have to split the remaining six games to go to the World Series.

They can feel free to go an easier route if they want, of course.

Jake had your recap here. Just take it one day at a time, boys. Tonight at 8pm is the next game to try to win.

Zack Meisel wrote about Nathaniel Lowe and his journey after the game.

The Brewers beat the Dodgers to take a 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

It’s pumpkin spice season. Do you think the Phanatic likes pumpkin spice? Given that he’s green, he’s probably more of a matcha guy.

On to the links.

Phillies news

Mark your calendars: here are the important dates for the offseason.

Aidan Miller is feeling good in the Fall League.

MLB news

How did Junior Caminero end up in Tampa Bay?

And how were the Championship Series teams built?

Jackson Chourio: very good at baseball. ($)

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

Both the ALCS and NLCS are underway, and we’re one step closer to an all-Central division World Series as both the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians were winners yesterday. The Brewers’ 7-4 win over the Dodgers gave them a 2-0 series lead as the teams travel to Los Angeles today. It’s a delightful outcome for the majority of baseball fans, who are exhausted by the idea of a Dodgers World Series three-peat. The 103-win Brewers are showing why they were the best team in baseball this season, and they’re halfway toward getting revenge on L.A. for last year’s NLCS sweep.

The more surprising result came in the ALCS opener, where the Guardians (85-77 in the regular season) stole a win on the road from the heavily favored Rays (98-64). Things seemed to be going as planned for the Rays when they pounced for two runs in the first and handed the lead to their ace, Drew Rasmussen, who tossed five scoreless innings. But the Guardians turned the tables and stunned the Tropicana Field crowd by scoring seven times in the final four innings, including a pair of solo homers off Rasmussen to tie the game and a five-run explosion against the bullpen.

It was a particularly rough night for two former Orioles relievers, Tyler Wells and Cole Sulser, who combined to cough up five runs in the Rays defeat. Wells, making his first appearance of the postseason — and his first in exactly a month, after he missed much of September with forearm tightness — was tagged for a single and a double in a tie game in the eighth. Both runs scored after he left the game, saddling him with the loss. Later, Sulser, trying to keep it a one-run deficit in the ninth, instead let the Guardians put the game out of reach with a three-run rally in which he gave up two singles, a walk, a wild pitch, and a balk.

Wells and Sulser struggled, but you could question manager Kevin Cash’s choices to bring them into the game at all. Was it wise for Wells, who’d had a month-long layoff from the mound, to make his return in as high-pressure a situation as a tied playoff game in the eighth? And why use Sulser, who had a -0.3 WAR in the regular season, instead of All-Star closer Bryan Baker (another former Oriole) in the ninth? Yes, the Rays were losing, but it was only a one-run game. If Baker had shut down Cleveland in the top of the ninth, Tampa Bay might’ve had a real chance to tie the score in the bottom half. I guess now we’ll never know. But in happier former Oriole news, Cedric Mullins smashed a left-on-left homer in the eighth that kept the Rays close, at least for a little while.

The Rays will look to even the series tonight, with Freddy Peralta taking the mound against Guardians ace Parker Messick. Will there be more bullpen shenanigans this time around?

Links

Do you think Albernaz should have publicly criticized Oriole players? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

Purely my speculation, but I don’t think the Orioles’ beat crew are the biggest fans of Albernaz. Rich Dubroff states that it was “not a good look” for Albernaz to air out his criticisms of players in the media.

Vance Honeycutt and other O’s prospects are off to good starts in the AFL – Steve Melewski

Honeycutt is continuing to rake in the AFL, and he credits his turnaround to consulting with a private hitting instructor in Gaithersburg. Not exactly a rousing endorsement for the Orioles’ development staff.

Jon Meoli: The Orioles’ prospect contingent in the Arizona Fall League is more consequential than ever – The Baltimore Banner

The performances of some of the Orioles’ AFL players might decide whether they join the 40-man roster or get left out in the cold, writes Meoli. No pressure!

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Hayden Penn (42) and the late lefty Ron Moeller (b. 1938, d. 2009).

The O’s have played five postseason games on this date in history:

• In 1970, the Orioles took an insurmountable three-games-to-none lead in the World Series against the Reds, winning a 9-3 rout in Game 3 in front of a crowd of 51,773 at Memorial Stadium. Orioles starter Dave McNally truly did it all. Not only did he pitch a complete game victory, but he also hit a game-breaking grand slam in the bottom of the sixth. McNally was the second (and final) pitcher in postseason history to hit a grand slam (and the other one was done by his Orioles teammate, Mike Cuellar, 10 days earlier in the ALCS). Former Reds superstar Frank Robinson burned his former team with a dinger of his own.
• In 1971, the Orioles and Pirates played the first nighttime World Series game in history. The O’s lost, so we don’t need to discuss it further.
• In 1979, the Orioles took a 3-1 series lead over the Pirates in the World Series with a 9-6 win in Pittsburgh. Trailing 6-3 in the eighth, the O’s erupted for a six-run inning. Pinch-hitter John Lowenstein drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double, and two batters later, pinch-hitter Terry Crowley did the same. Even relief pitcher Tim Stoddard joined in on the fun with an RBI single, and Stoddard also finished the game with three scoreless innings on the mound.
• In 1996, the Orioles lost the ALCS to the Yankees with a 6-4 defeat in Game 5. Bleh.
• And in 1997, the O’s stayed alive in the ALCS with a 4-2 victory in Game 5 in Cleveland. Geronimo Berroa’s two-run single in the third provided the game’s only runs for the first eight innings, and Eric Davis added some much-needed insurance with a home run in the ninth. Orioles pitchers Scott Kamieniecki and Jimmy Key held Cleveland’s powerful offense scoreless for eight innings before closer Randy Myers survived a two-run scare in the ninth.