Category: MLB

With a young core of MLB ready players under team control for many seasons to come, a highly touted farm system, and a bottom of the league payroll, the Cleveland Guardians have many resources and means to improve a team that just went to game 6 of the ALCS against a legitimate contender. The Guardians have plenty of spending room (given payrolls we’ve seen the team run out in the not so distant past) to take on salaries of veteran players, and plenty of talented young players in the farm system to use as pieces to acquire controllable talent for the upcoming seasons.

Today we are going to look at a few players as trade targets that could be difference makers or reasonable improvements to turn the Guardians into a legitimate postseason threat for 2027 (if there’s a season) and beyond. For the purposes of today, we will just be going over some players and the advantages and disadvantages of bringing them on. Hashing out exact trade packages is not part of this exercise, as I firmly believe that the Guardians have the talent to acquire any of these players, and believe it’s best to leave hashing out the details of the transaction to the professionals.

Shortstops

Zach Neto

Neto is a RHH SS who’s posted a career 113 wRC+ and 12.0 fWAR in about 3.5 seasons with the Angels. He’s got 3 years of arbitration left on his contract, so he wouldn’t come cheap, but he would be a strong candidate for an every day player in the middle of the lineup. In 2026 he posted a well above league average 11.9 Barrel % and posted his 3rd consecutive 20/20 season, so he can steal some bases as well. His range at SS has been well below average, but the offensive production would almost certainly make up for it.

CJ Abrams

Abrams is coming off a career year offensively. He had his first career 30/30 season in 2026, and he was one homer in 2025 and 2 homers in 2023 short of having 4 straight 20/20 seasons (all of which he stole over 30 bases in). His wRC+ in 2026 of 124 was significantly higher than the 105 and 104 marks he put up in the previous 2 seasons, but even with some regression, he looks to be a reliable 20/20 guy that also could fit in the middle of the Guardians lineup nicely. Defensively he’s a weaker option than Neto, but if he can be more like the 2026 version of himself going forward, he could also make up for the weaker defense. Abrams also wouldn’t come cheap, as he has 2 years of arbitration left on his contract, but definitely is an option worth considering.

Jeremy Peña

Peña is in the final arbitration year of his rookie contract and is by far the most experienced SS on this list. In his last 2 seasons, he’s put up a 136 wRC+ and a 124 wRC+. The home run numbers don’t blow you away, but he’s missed almost 90 games in those 2 seasons combined, and having an .800 OPS both years is of course very good. He’s also below average defensively at SS, but like the others, if his bat can be as good as it’s been the last couple years, it should make up for the poorer defense. As long as he can stay on the field for this season, he could be another option to target in a trade.

First Base

Alec Burleson

Burleson has 2 years of arbitration and is coming off back to back 124 or better wRC+ seasons. He also played in 160 games in 2026, showing he’s able to play every day if needed. Burleson is a LHH who can’t hit LHP, but his thump vs. RHP cannot be denied. And with an offense that is consistently near the bottom of the league in all major categories, you’ll take every extra bit of power that you can. Burleson also was a well above average defensive first baseman in 2026.

Spencer Steer

Steer, like Burleson, also has 2 years of arbitration remaining on his contract. While I’ve listed him as a first baseman, he’s played all over the field for the Reds. He doesn’t have quite the defensive ability of a guy like Daniel Schneemann, but he does have that level of  defensive versatility. Steer also mashes LHP. In 2026 he had a 188 wRC+ vs. lefties. His career splits are a little more modest at 128 wRC+ vs. LHP and 97 wRC+ vs. RHP, but both of those are very playable, and he could even be a serviceable bat vs. righties too.

Outfield

Brandon Marsh

Marsh is coming off a bit of a down year in 2026. After having wRC+ totals of 124, 106, and 115 the previous 3 seasons, he dropped to a 90 mark in 2026. He’s a bit in the Burleson class, as he’s a LHH who’s struggled vs. LHP in his career, but he’s on the final year of arbitration in his contract and could be a great addition if he can find his way back to his 2023-2025 form. He’s also been a solid defender (apart from in 2026), which he would also need to recapture to be a contributor to a contending team. But given multiple seasons of success in the past, it’s not unreasonable to think he can do that.

Wyatt Langford

Langford would likely be one of the most expensive pieces listed here, but it’s hard to deny he’s worth the price. With 3 years of arbitration still on his contract, he has a lot of team control. Despite dealing with off and on injuries this season, he almost had a second 20/20 season in a row, and ended with a 115 wRC+ in 2026 (right on pace with his career average). He has a career 126 wRC+ vs. LHP and 111 vs. RHP, so he’s very capable of being an everyday contributor.  Langford is also a plus defender in the outfield.

Pitching

Reid Detmers

Detmers had a career season in 2026 and has 2 seasons of arbitration on his contract. He pitched 185 innings in 2026, with a 3.36 ERA, a 3.01 FIP, 211 strike outs, and just 48 BBs.  The Angels have finally started to look like they’re willing to make more reasonable deals, and as far as SP options, there weren’t too many better than Detmers in 2026.

Logan Gilbert

Seattle is in a bit of an in between situation. They looked like they were poised to be a contender again with their SP, but after underperforming in 2026, a lot of their offensive pieces are headed to free agency, and Logan Gilbert is on the last year of his contract with them. Gilbert’s 2026 was a bit lower than average for him, but 186 innings with a 3.73 ERA and 205 Ks is hardly anything to scoff at. He would be a very nice compliment to an already solid looking Guardians rotation.

I’m not going to hold my breath on the Guardians’ front office going all out to acquire any of these guys, but if we’re talking hypotheticals, we might as well swing for the fences. If there was ever a time to unload the farm system and make a real run for the Guards, now is the time. The core is young, under control for an extended amount of time, and they all look Major League ready. It’s time to bring in some experienced players, round out the roster, and take a real shot at ending baseball’s longest active championship drought.

Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco made his MLB debut back all-the-way-back in 2009 with the Cleveland Indians. Coming into 2026, he’d made 335 appearances – including 284 starts in 16 seasons – and he’d add to that with the Atlanta Braves last season.

How acquired

The Braves signed Carrasco on July 28, 2025 to a minor league deal and he’d end up making three starts with Atlanta across several big league stints with poor results. Despite his lack of success with the Braves in 2025, Atlanta signed him to minor league deal in early February 2026 with a Spring Training invitation.

What were the expectations?

Carrasco, who turned 39 prior to the start of the regular season, was veteran organization pitching depth but when injuries set the organization’s starting pitching depth aflame, Carrasco’s value increased as Spencer Schwellenbach, Joey Wentz and Spencer Strider were lost as option to start the season before and during Spring Training.

2026 results

Carrasco’s 2026 results with Atlanta were less about the numbers he produced as it was about what he was able to provide the team by protecting other pitchers. He pitched in eight games with Atlanta, absorbing 16.2 innings allowing 21 hits, including three home runs, while striking out only seven batters. But, he finished six of the appearances he made; with six of those games including more than one inning pitched.

When all was said and done, Carrasco was selected to the big league roster eight times between April 23 and July 9, 2026. He’d opt to sign in the KBO where he’d make 11 starts for the LG Twins in late July.

What went right?

Until his final MLB game, Carrasco had been effective as a junk-baller with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings limiting damage in part by only giving up one walk. His only appearance in a Braves victory was his first, finishing the game in a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on April 23. He twice allowed two runs in four innings of blow-out losses, saving the team’s bullpen from additional innings.

What went wrong?

Although his performance was likley more appreciated by the organization and his teammates than Braves fans, Carrasco’s last big league game in 2026 – a possibly the final one of his career – was his worst. In two innings, he allowed five runs on five hits and a home run and walked twice as many batters has he had coming into the game.

Maybe the worst part about that contest was that he entered the game against the New York Metropolitans in the eighth inning with the Braves trailing 5-3. After working a scoreless eight, Braves manager Walt Weiss left him in the game in the ninth where he proceeded to implode, allowing five runs.

Atlanta would then rally for six runs in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn’t complete a miraculous comeback, falling 10-9.

Despite that final sour experience, it is hard to consider Carrasco’s overall season anything but helpful, despite his 5.94 ERA that was inflated by his July 5th appearance.

2027 outlook

Despite never having been an All-Star, Carrasco has notable 17-year career that include leading the American League in wins and finishing fourth in the AL Cy Young Award in 2017, being honored with the Roberto Clemente Award and AL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2019 after an in-season battle with cancer. He’s won 105 big league games and tossed 1,704 innings.

Was 2026 the last one for Carrasco?

Maybe, but if he wants to continue his professional career in the U.S., his effectiveness in Korea is likely to bode well for another minor league contract. Given how Atlanta’s organization prioritizes veterans who are good locker room, it shouldn’t be shocking if the Braves given him a minor league deal to at least be a mentor to the organization’s young pitchers in Triple-A.

The Houston Astros announced yesterday the hiring of Randy Flores as their new general manager. Flores replaces Dana Brown, who was fired in late August.

The 51 year old Flores is a former major league pitcher who is also a former Texas Ranger. If you don’t remember him, well, that’s understandable. On August 31, 2001, the Rangers traded Randy Velarde — who they had acquired the previous offseason from the A’s in exchange for Aaron Harang and Ryan Cullen in what was a rather unfortunate move — to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. That player to be named later ended up being Randy Flores.

Flores pitched 20 games for the 2002 Texas Rangers — a bad team with a very bad pitching staff. Flores threw only 12 innings, and faced just 52 batters, in those 20 games, in which he posted a 4.50 ERA. He ended up being put on waivers and was claimed by the Colorado Rockies, for whom he put up a 9.53 ERA in eight appearances. He returned to the majors in 2004 with the Cardinals, and spent the next several years as a more or less replacement level reliever.

That 2002 pitching staff also included such luminaries as Hideki Irabu, John Rocker, Chris Michalak, C.J. Nitkowski, Dan Miceli, Rudy Seanez, and the immortal Rob Bell and his Loch Ness curve. On the position player side, there was, among others, Ruben Rivera, Carl Everett, and Kyler Murray’s uncle.

You will be interested to know, I’m sure, that Flores wasn’t the Astros’ top pick. Per Chandler Rome, Jim Crane had been courting Matt Kleine of the Milwaukee Brewers, and offered him the job right after the World Series. Rome indicated that there were rumors that Kleine wanted either a higher salary or a president of baseball operations title. Apparently, when a deal couldn’t be done with Kleine, Crane pivoted to Flores.

Flores had been with the St. Louis Cardinals for a decade-plus prior to joining the Astros. Ironically, he joined the Cardinals to replace Chris Correa, the guy in the Cardinals organization who went to jail for hacking the Astros’ front office database because 0f his belief that Jeff Luhnow, who had been hired by the Astros from the Cardinals, had taken information he shouldn’t have when he left St. Louis.

Brian Cashman will be back on a new deal, but the front office around him will look differently next season.

The Yankees are not renewing the contracts of grizzled top advisers Brian Sabean and Omar Minaya, as The Post’s Jon Heyman first reported.

The behind-the-scenes changes also will include two professional scouts — Tom Wilson and the retiring Pat Murtaugh — not returning, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have hired former major league reliever and Harvard grad Frank Herrmann as supervisor for global evaluation/player development integration.

Herrmann had worked in the Blue Jays’ front office.

Sabean and Minaya had been hired ahead of the 2023 season, the former as executive adviser to Cashman and latter as a senior adviser.

Both had been the lead decision-makers with other organizations — Sabean for the Giants, Minaya for the Mets and Expos — both brought decades of experience in the game and in New York, and both had Cashman’s ear for the past three seasons.

Informing the pair this early in what will be an expedited offseason, given the impending lockout, allows them to seek employment elsewhere.

Sabean’s baseball career began as a scout with the Yankees in 1985 for an organization that Cashman joined as a college intern in 1986.

Sabean rose to vice president of player development/scouting, a role in which he helped bring in the Core Four — Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte — then left for San Francisco in 1993, won three World Series as GM in 2010, 2012 and 2014, eventually was phased out of the front office and returned to the franchise where it all started, a seasoned pair of eyes chiming in on player evaluation for the Yankees.

Minaya, who also began his career as a scout, is best known locally for three different stints with the Mets, including serving as GM from 2005-10.

He also had worked for the Expos, Rangers, Padres, Players’ Association and MLB, a baseball lifer whose established relationships aided the Yankees in several notable pursuits over the past few years: Minaya was influential in the trade for Juan Soto executed with a Padres front office that he knew well, and was part of the teleconference that lured Max Fried to The Bronx.

Fried had been drafted by the Padres when Minaya was San Diego’s senior VP of baseball operations.

Sabean and Minaya, more traditional baseball men, were brought on by Cashman at a time some believed his front office had leaned too heavily toward the analytical side. It will be curious whether, and if so by whom, they are replaced.

The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009, and frustration from the fan base may be reaching a zenith after the club was swept by the Rays in the ALDS.

For the team’s ultimate failure, Hal Steinbrenner placed the blame on players who he believes underperformed — which may lead to changes within the coaching staff, particularly within their hitting team — rather than issues with the front office or at manager. Cashman has agreed to a new contract, and manager Aaron Boone will be back for the last year remaining on his pact.

Before we begin looking ahead to 2027, OTM is looking back at 2026, highlighting some of the biggest, strangest, and most memorable moments of a memorable season. Today, we look at a game that came to symbolize the team’s limp September.

We were still coming down from the high. 32-5 was a bit in the rearview on the first day of September, but Fenway was still rocking every night, as it had all summer. I was fortunate enough to be there for the first game at home after the Summer Solstice, when the Red Sox beat the Yankees to start that 37-game stretch. I was unfortunate enough to be there for the Jedixson Paez game, which was the unofficial end to my summer and, in many ways, the Red Sox 2026 season.

The Sox arrived at Fenway for a quick three-game home series, coming off losing 3-of-4 in the Bronx. Now four games behind the Yankees in the standings, with four weeks to go, the odds were not in their favor to flip the fourth and fifth seeds to get a home game at Fenway for the first time since 2021. That being said, this had not been an ordinary season, and if the team played with the same sense of urgency in September as they had with their season (and jobs) on the line all summer, it could be done. Hell, they had just made up 14 games in the standings in six weeks’ worth of games, cutting a 14.5-game deficit to the Yankees on June 25th down to a 1/2 game apart on August 7th. Four games should be child’s play.

In the first game against the Mariners, the Fenway Magic continued. Boston trailed 8-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, around the time that Tarps Off in the crowd usually peaked. Julio Rodriguez overran a fly ball; combined with three RBI from Trevor Story (including a walk-off in extra innings) and another improbable W was in the books.

And then the calendar turned to September.

“Wait ‘til you see this place. It’s complete madness, every night,” I told my friends who hadn’t been to a game with me at Fenway since the Spring. They were treated to a Jedixson Paez start. Sure, the Red Sox needed to build an extra rest day in for the starting pitchers who were approaching, or had already surpassed, career highs in innings. But they were still in a pennant race and had won plenty of games when they were underdogs on paper for months. The urgency will still be there, right?

The game started in the same way that it usually did – with a Mickey Gasper home run in the first inning. It tied the game at 1, his seventh home run in two weeks, sandwiched around a Bad Karma demotion. Then, in the top of the second inning against Paez, the Mariners went: Double, Single, Walk, Sac Fly, Single, 3-run Home Run.

6-1 Mariners. No one getting loose in the bullpen!

Top of the 3rd: Groundout, Single, Single, Single, Walk. No one getting loose in the bullpen! They’ve thrown in the towel!!

Paez gave up two doubles in the fourth inning before mercifully being replaced by Wyatt Olds in an 8-to-1 game. Final line: 3 2/3 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.

The ‘pen did what they did for most of the season. They allowed just one run over the remaining 5 1/3 innings and would have kept the team in the game for a comeback, as the Sox added runs in the late innings to force closer Andres Munoz into the game to close out a 9-6 win for the Mariners.

As September unfolded, the Paez start was a microcosm of a month where the team was never able to get their foot back on the gas pedal. Health was prioritized all month, while, somehow, they got more unhealthy. The team didn’t care about many of the games, so the crowd didn’t care about many of the games, and the energy rarely returned to the park, finishing 12-12 on the month. Their final win of the season was a Friday Night at Fenway where, of all people, Jedixson Paez was recalled to throw five shutout innings and was credited with the win in relief. It was a great moment of redemption for a pitcher who unfairly had his debut in Boston turn into a circus that he hadn’t asked for.

Grabbing the best ticket in town on September 1st treated you to the 2026 version of the Kyle Barraclough Game. Refunds were deserved for the 35,758 in attendance. For whatever reason, I haven’t gotten mine yet.

Continuing the series, let’s move to the outfield.

How to improve the Phillies: catcher
How to improve the Phillies: infield

Ah, the Phillies outfield. Long a wasteland of offensive ineptitude, 2026 saw the unit begin with questions in all three spots and end with….questions in all three spots. Try as they might, they just can’t seem to get themselves to make a roster have three outfielders at the same time that one would feel comfortable with in any situation.

How dire did it get?

“Bryan de la Cruz was hitting fifth in a playoff game” dire.

With the offseason approaching, the team is left with more questions yet again and finding itself having few answers from outside the organization. Fixing this years long issue will require creativity and usage of resources that they may not feel comfortable with. Yet if they do not, there will likely be still more questions as the season goes on.

Who they have

A lot of the “who they have” section will probably be decided after the deadline passes on whether or not the team should offer arbitration to eligible players. Three outfielders that the team currently has under team control – Brandon Marsh, Bryan de la Cruz and Derek Hill – can be tendered a contract by the team, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be tendered a contract. It’s likely that Hill will be as his rather meager projection is more than palatable ($1.5 million) for someone who profiles well as a fourth outfielder. Giving an offer to de la Cruz doesn’t make much sense as it would unnecessarily lock up a roster spot on a guaranteed deal, but who knows.

The real question is what are they going to do with Brandon Marsh. Offering him a contract to be a platoon player would cost the team ~$9 million, but nontendering him means losing him for nothing. His crash and burn to a promising 2026 season muddies the water a bit on that question of whether or not to bring him back, but it has become a very real puzzle piece that they need to figure out.

Then there is Justin Crawford. Is he a center fielder? Is he better suited to left field a la Chandler Simpson? Is he trade bait? Figuring out where to actually play him will go a long way to determining what they will chase in free agency or the trade market.

Oh, wait, what’s on the farm you ask?

<tumble weed passes by>

Free agent options

Welcome to the land of opportunity!

“What opportunity?”, you ask. Why, the opportunity to either finally address a long festering issue with the Phillies’ roster by acquiring a real, honest to goodness solution to their outfield problem once and for all, the opportunity to patch over the issue once again with cheap, hope for the best band aids or the opportunity to once again do nothing at all and roll with what is currently on the roster.

Teruaki Sato – This list probably begins and ends with Sato. The Phillies have been looking to tap into the Japanese market for years, even offering Yoshinobu Yamamoto more money than what he eventually signed for with the Dodgers, only to come up short in each venture. This year, there is a feeling that they will not be denied. There have been multiple reports of Preston Mattingly personally going overseas to scout Sato, an indication of just how serious they are about bringing him aboard.

Seiya Suzuki – If the Phillies are truly interested in bringing in a consistent performer in an outfield corner, the Phillies could do worse than offering Suzuki a deal. He’s as metronomic as it gets at the plate, posting a wRC+ of 118 or higher in each season since he has come stateside. Twenty home runs hit in all but one season as well. He’s right handed and would be as perfect as it comes. The problem? He’s probably a DH and the team has one of those. Granted, he is coming off of his best season as a right fielder defensively, which is huge for him and his trying to create a market as an outfielder, but as someone that will play most of 2027 as a 32 year old, does anyone really believe he’s going to remain a solid option with the glove? Are the Phillies willing to shell out serious money to be on that?

Randy Arozarena – If Suzuki was consistent, what does that make Arozarena? He too has posted a wRC+ higher than 114 in each of the seasons he has played since his debut and is coming off a season in which he put up a 151. He hits for power, he has a decently patient approach and even steals some bases. He’ll play all of 2027 as a 32 year old and is a great option to give the Nick Castellanos to……as long as they don’t care about defense. Because boy oh boy is Arozarena a butcher with the glove. He makes Castellanos look positively average in the grass.

Ian Happ – If there was a “Big Three” as far as outfield free agents, Happ would definitely be the third. He provides a decent amount of skill at the plate – power, patience, on base ability – while not killing a team with his glove. His 107 wRC+ this year was his lowest in five years and brings up a question about his long term capability. One would have to assume he’ll be after a multi year deal, but as he’s the same age as Suzuki, the Phillies need to wonder if they’d want to attach themselves to that kind of player for a long time. Being a switch hitter makes him maybe slightly more appealing than Arozarena, but that would splitting hairs. He’s a good player, but for how much longer?

Taylor Ward – By now, you know the story with Ward: he’s right handed, can stand in left field and gets on base a lot. Except that once he was finally (mercifully?) traded this August, he kind of cratered. Like, cratered in a way (.125/.238/.148 in 101 plate appearances) that one has to at least wonder if there is anything wrong with him. He’ll still get a solid contract, but boy howdy did he hurt his market.

Jake Bauers – The post-World Series glow with Bauers is going to get him paid. He was really good this past season with Milwaukee and an even more good postseason. The thing with Bauers is: do you really think he’s even an outfielder? He played some left and right with the Brewers this year, but looked much better suited to being a first baseman. He might be able to shift around with the Phillies like he did with the Brewers, particularly with the stated plan of getting Schwarber more time at 1B and Harper some time in the outfield. This might be something to consider.

Ramon Laureano – We are entering the land of “one year deals” with these next few. Each one could have something good to say about them as well as something bad. For Laureano, he’s right handed! Woo! His biggest problem is health. He never seems to be able to stay on the field.

Cedric Mullins – If you’re going to sign Mullins, might as well just see if Justin Crawford can continue to develop.

Lane Thomas – Listen, if you want Lane Thomas, just sign Taylor Ward. It’s probably a better usage of that kind of money anyway. Granted, bringing Thomas aboard would be cheaper than Ward, but the latter, over the past three seasons, has been significantly better at the plate than the former. They both hit lefties well, though Ward has better power, which means Thomas would be a better choice if the desire is to have him strictly as a platoon bat.

Adolis Garcia – I mean….

Trade options

Is anyone going to trade an outfielder? The position just posted its second worst wRC+ in the last twenty years, so one would think that if any team had a player that was even remotely capable of playing good outfield defense and being competent at the plate, that team would hold onto him like grim death.

Predicted outcome

For the first time when considering what the Phillies plan to do with addressing a team need at a position, I really, truly don’t know what they are going to do.

Back in 2023, it was clear that the Phillies needed a shortstop, so seeing all the available options that year made it pretty clear they weren’t leaving free agency without someone. They ended up with Trea Turner. When they have needed a starter or a reliever, they have done so.

Now that they have a chance to do something about the outfield, I just don’t know which direction they are going to go. Will they go with only defense, offensive production be damned? Are they going to do the inverse, forgoing the leather in favor of helping an offense that could use an outside boost? It’s just so unclear what they plan on doing.

My crazy idea is to peddle Gage Wood for a similarly close to the majors outfield bat, preferably a right handed one. The natural inclination is to look west at the Dodgers, who seemingly have a plethora of outfield bats bottlenecking at the Triple-A level. While I wouldn’t exactly trust that the Phillies can develop a player at the major league level as a bat, that was before they decided to re-do their hitting instruction program. Now, I’m a little more optimistic. Of course, that would mean parting with someone is considered depth for their rotation, something they don’t have a lot of, which would make it a crazy idea in the first place.

My prediction would ultimately be that they keep Crawford and Hill in some capacity, trade Marsh and sign two other outfielders, one being a starter and the other being a quasi-starter. Who that starter is will remain TBD, but I’ll say it’s Sato.

This photo is significant for a number of reasons.

First, it shows two members of the Houston Astros visiting Wrigley Field in the first year the team from Houston was called that. They’d renamed from “Colt .45s,” often shortened to just “Colts,” to mark the opening of the first MLB domed stadium, the Astrodome, in 1965.

The players are Joe Morgan and Nellie Fox.

And so, even though we can’t see the Wrigley Field scoreboard in this photo, we can absolutely narrow this down to one specific date.

Morgan was a rookie in 1965, though he had played briefly in September callups in 1963 and 1964. Fox played for Houston in 1964 and 1965. But we already know, based on the uniforms, that this is ‘65.

In those days, all teams played 18 games against each other, nine home, nine road. The Astros were at Wrigley Field for a four-game series from May 7-9, 1965. But the ivy is too full in the photo for it to be early May.

The Astros were also at Wrigley Field for a four-game series from Aug. 20-22, 1965, the Aug. 20 date a doubleheader from a June 29 rainout.

But Fox had been released by Houston on July 31, ending his career.

The June 29 date was part of what was supposed to be a two-game series. Thus, this photo had to have been taken on the other date, Monday, June 28, 1965.

The Cubs won that game 7-2. Morgan went 1-for-4, a home run off Cubs starter Larry Jackson. Fox batted for Houston starter Dave Giusti in the sixth inning and singled. Giusti would later become an ace reliever for the Pirates, starring for them in the 1971 World Series, and posting a 2.97 lifetime ERA with 15 saves in 73 games against the Cubs. He pitched briefly and ineffectively for the Cubs in 1977 before retiring.

Morgan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990. Fox, who died of cancer in 1975, way too young at 47, was elected to the Hall by a Veterans Committee vote in 1997.

I usually wait at least a night to comment on huge news items like this. Immediate reactions bring rash statements one way or another. Ultimately, there are three competing narrativs when it comes to the hire of Randy Flores as general manager and all three narratives have kernels of truth in them. So, all of them are right and all of them are wrong perhaps in equal measure. Essentially, we have the glass half full approach, glass half empty approach, and the middle ground approach. We will look at each one by one.

Glass Half Full

If one looks at the failures of the Astros organization in recent seasons, one can look no further than the disintegration of the minor league system. Obviously, there are a number of factors that play into that. Every major league team lost much of the 2020 draft due to COVID. Then, the league took the Astros first and second round picks for two seasons because of the sign stealing scandal. Then, you have to account for losing prospects in trades to keep the championship window open.

So, saying the Astros’ farm system was terrible is not a complete indictment of Dana Brown or James Click before him. However, Flores comes over primarily with a player development background. Baseball America ranked the Cardinals as the number second overall farm system in MLB coming into 2026. In full disclosure, that ranking was higher than the Cardinals had been in recent seasons likely due to their sell off of veterans prior to the 2026 season. Baseball America had them ranked towards the middle of the pack for much of the previous decade where they ranked as low as 20th and as high as ninth. The Astros never ranked better than 24th in the same time.

Fangraphs had the Cardinals ranked fourth last season. So, multiple sources considered the Cardinals to be among the best farm systems in baseball in 2026. Flores began his work in 2015 officially, but was already gaining marks for innovation before he joined the Cardinals. That would seem to compliment the Driveline executives the Astros just brought in. It is impossible to know whether any move will be positive in the moment, but at least Flores was sought after by other clubs. He had interviewed in Baltimore and was listed as a prime candidate in Anaheim as well. This is as opposed to Dana Brown who was not a candidate anywhere other than Houston before he was hired.

I hate to make this comparison because it is unfair to Brown, but his hiring felt similar to the Houston Texans hiring David Culley. Again, this isn’t to say that Brown was as large a buffoon as Culley clearly was, but they came in with similar resumes. They were assistants that no one considered to be head coach or general manager material. Flores is at least a guy other people think should be considered for a head job. So, that would make him the Astros version of DeMeco Ryans.

Glass Half Empty

This ends up being a public relations mess for Jim Crane and the Houston Astros. Most of the last week was spent focusing on assistant general manager Matt Kleine. Kleine was one of the key deputies in Milwaukee and was reportedly the Astros number one candidate throughout the last week or so. Of course, this is when solid reporting starts to feel a little like quicksand as people look at rumors, innuendo and then add two and two to get seventeen.

What we know for a fact is that Kleine recently signed a four year contract extension with the Brewers. Exactly when that extension was signed and the exact terms of the extension we do not know. We do know that getting him would have required a buyout. From here, we go back into speculation mode. There were reports that Kleine wanted more money. There were other reports that he wanted the title of President of Baseball Operations. There are further reports that he wanted more autonomy. All of these things could have been true and none of them could have been true. I suspect that there is some kernel of truth to all of it, but we don’t know the details. So, we don’t know exactly what kept an agreement from taking place.

We also don’t know how committed the Astros were that Kleine was their number one choice. This will be a key area for them to clean up during the introductory press conference on Monday at 10 AM. Crane will need to sell the media and fanbase on Flores being their choice. I suspect that sell job will fall short. I’m not sure there is any satisfactory way to explain to a fanbase that expects results that you were unable to get your guy. That means selling Flores and selling him hard.

As someone more plugged in than most, I am not sure the analytical chops that Flores brings to the job. It is easy for him to sell himself on the results the Cardinals farm system has experienced, but how does that translate to the rest of a baseball operation? Kleine seemed to be a little more involved in the other day to day operations in Milwaukee, but that could be a misplaced perception. Only time will tell of course.

The Reality Based Narrative

This might be what we would call the marriage between the glass half empty and glass half full approach. I start by asking a couple of governing questions. Is the organization in better hands today than it was before the decision was made? In other words, is Randy Flores destined to be better than Dana Brown? Of course, I can’t say for sure, but the reasonable answer would be yes. A part of that calculation would have to be all of the recent hires the Astros have made around Flores to help with the player development and analytics side of things.

I think most people would agree that we would all feel more comfortable if the general manager made those decisions on staffings that work directly for him, but the Astros don’t operate that way for whatever reason. At the very least, Flores gets to be intimately involved in picking a manager. So, while it would be projection, we would have to say that the Flores/future manager combination will be superior to the Dana Brown/Joe Espada combination. That of course has to include all of the hires the organization has made in the last couple of weeks.

The second governing question is whether anything fundamentally changes in the way things run under Flores. I have no idea at this point and no one does. That is the reality. We don’t know if Crane will trust Flores more and give him more decision making power. Maybe Flores being a former player gives him an upperhand in terms of communicating a vision that Crane and Jeff Bagwell can buy into. Maybe Crane will never trust an executive again to have more autonomy. We just don’t know.

If I were to harbor a guess, I would guess he has more authority than Brown had in 2026. I think Crane knew he was moving on from Brown and just didn’t want to pull the trigger yet. In that scenario, you wouldn’t empower a lame duck much power to do anything really. Of course, that raises all kinds of questions as to why you are allowing someone you don’t believe in to continue doing the job, but we can set those questions aside for now. The point is that Flores has more immediate power than Brown did at the end of his tenure. How much more power? We are in no position to know.

This will be an important question as there are tons of decisions that could be made. Some of those decisions involve potentially dealing away valuable assets. Will Flores be empowered to do it? Will he have to clear each decision through Crane and Jeff Bagwell? Will Crane completely refuse to consider that option at the outset? We really don’t have answers to any of those questions yet. Until we know it is impossible to really give a full answer on this hire.

Ah, Halloween. On this glorious intersection of Allhallowtide and capitalist consumerism run rampant, we herald in the year’s final days by celebrating all things spooky, as we let ghouls, goblins, and children dressed up in overpriced costumes run wild in one last day and night of outdoor tomfoolery before the cold darkness of a lockout-lengthened winter sets in.

In the spirit of this haunting-filled day, let’s look back at the last few years. While, perhaps understandably, we tend to focus on the Yankees’ recent history, many of the decisions made over the last couple of years have been influenced by actions — or the lack of action — taken by the team as long ago as a decade. Which moves have haunted the Bronx the most in recent years? Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Austerity in 2018-2019

To some extent, everything comes back to the 2018-19 offseason, when Manny Machado and Bryce Harper were free agents. Following a year in which the Yankees won 100 games but were absolutely shellacked by the eventual champion Red Sox team. That Bombers team had an aging Brett Gardner in left, Didi Gregorius out for months due to a torn UCL, and a ton of uncertainty in the infield — Luke Voit’s breakout was fun, but there’s always reason to be wary of an age-27 breakout at first base; meanwhile, a young Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar had finished second and third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, but there was reason to skeptical of Andujar’s performance at the plate and his ability to stick at third long-term. In short: the Yankees were good, but not so good that they couldn’t benefit from adding a superstar in his age-26 season, and lo and behold, not only were there two of them out there on the market, both were interested in donning the pinstripes — and Harper was supposedly even willing to learn first base to do it.

So naturally, the Yankees prioritized getting under the luxury tax, and well, since then, they’ve had problem after problem that could’ve been solved by literally having paid one of these two guys — especially Machado. Concerns about Andujar turned out to be warranted, and then he tore his labrum. It’s only now as a part-time player over the past two years that he’s finally been able to carve out a role for himself. Gio Urshela was really good replacing him during the #NextManUp campaign, and followed that up with a solid 2020, but soon regressed into the journeyman utility player he had been. The Josh Donaldson experience? A disaster. DJ LeMahieu? The first contract worked, but he soon became always injured. Oswaldo Cabrera? Although a fun player, never more than a fill-in. Jazz Chisholm Jr.? A second baseman out of position. Ryan McMahon? Somehow a brief improvement before an ugly 2026. Sure, Machado’s contract is now a bit of an albatross, as he’s owed $39 million through 2033, but that’s the result of the extension the Padres signed him to, not the original deal.

The biggest excuse given for not seriously pursuing Harper in 2018 was that he was an outfielder, and the Yankees had plenty of depth there. Well, Father Time came for Gardner, injuries caught up to Giancarlo Stanton and Clint Frazier, and Aaron Hicks experienced a severe and sudden decline. Since 2019, the Yankees have traded for Joey Gallo, Harrison Bader, Alex Verdugo, Juan Soto, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, and Heliot Ramos in order to fix their outfield — and that doesn’t include the small army of players acquired simply to get injuries, such as Mike Tauchman and Jake Bauers, or the multiple prospects who have failed to stick. The team sure could’ve used Harper in any of those stretches … oh, and as it turns out, he’s a decent enough first baseman, too — yet another position that has been a bit of a revolving door.

Sure, the Yankees may currently be fine at the first base/DH spot and have their corner outfield set, but let’s be real, each of the last few seasons has ended with Hal Steinbrenner on the podium saying the team needs to be more consistent at the plate, and either one of these two would have gone a long way towards remedying that problem.

The Shortstop Problem

In the days following the 2014 season, the main question surrounding the Yankees was, “How are they going to replace the legendary Derek Jeter?” The solution, as it turned out, was rather easy: Didi Gregorius, a young shortstop acquired from the Arizona Diamondback as part of a three-way deal in exchange for Shane Greene. While it wasn’t quite as seamless as the DiMaggio-to-Mantle transition in the 1950s, Sir Didi went on to become a fan favorite — and, at least during the juiced ball era, a veritable middle-of-the-order bat.

Unfortunately, once Gregorius’s years of team control ran out after the 2019 season, the Yankees embarked on a years-long merry-go-round trying to replace him. First, the team turned to former top prospect Gleyber Torres, who had performed admirably filling in at shortstop when Gregorius was injured but was clearly most comfortable at the keystone — something that was clear to anybody with eyes after the 2020 season; the team then had to keep him at short after re-signing LeMahieu instead of making a harder push for Francisco Lindor. When that, rather predictably, failed, the team had to use Urshela and the anonymous Andrew Velazquez there down the stretch in 2021.

Rather than trying to sign Carlos Correa to the pillow contract he ended up getting from the Twins or making a play for future Rangers World Series MVP Corey Seager, the Yankees then swung a deal for Isiah Kiner-Falefa (not a bad player, miscast as a starting shortstop on a contender). When that went bust, they then handed the keys over to another top prospect who profiled more as a second baseman while in the minors, Anthony Volpe. The 22-year-old beat out fellow acclaimed up-and-comer Oswald Peraza, but neither were truly up for the job. Despite some stretches of time in which he looked to be taking the next step offensively — and a Gold Glove in what was admittedly a down year for AL shortstops — that ended as well as the Torres experiment. In the meantime, they opted not to pursue a shortstop in free agency, leaving them with no other options.

Will George Lombard Jr. help get the Yankees out of their post-Gregorius cycle, and finally allow this ghost to reset? I’m hopeful, but it remains to be seen.

The Devin Williams Conundrum

Once the Yankees signed Max Fried during the 2024-25 offseason, the rotation seemed to be a bit overflowing with arms, especially lefties. As such, the team decided to package Nestor Cortes with Caleb Durbin, a relatively minor infield prospect whose stock had risen during the 2024 season, and sent them both to the Brewers in exchange for arguably the best closer in baseball, Devin Williams. It was a move that, at the time, made sense: Clay Holmes was departing in free agency, the team needed another bullpen arm, and at the time, Nasty Nestor was behind Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt in the rotation pecking order.

This move, though, has already had major consequences — and will continue to do so, for the foreseeable future. First, the injury bug hit the Yankees rotation hard in 2025: Cole missed the full season with a torn UCL, Schmidt was gone for the latter half, and Gil made just 11 starts. The team was forced to rely on Marcus Stroman, who they had tried to dump that winter, and Ryan Yarbrough, who was signed as a bullpen arm, for 17 starts (oh, and both of them also hit the shelf). If it wasn’t for Cam Schlittler’s breakout and the trio of Fried, Rodón, and a rookie Will Warren making 33 starts apiece, the season would’ve been a disaster; and while Cortes himself spent much of the year injured, the psychological part of trading away what would have been sorely-needed depth stung.

To make matters worse, Durbin has developed into a solid third baseman with a league average bat, who finished top-three in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in 2025 before getting shipped to the Red Sox over the winter. Although he’s no superstar, his 4.4 rWAR/2.8 fWAR would have been miles better than the replacement-level play the Yankees got at the hot corner this season.

Had Williams been a dominant closer, this would have been an OK pill to swallow. Except … he was easily the second-worst closer the Yankees have had in recent years, and probably the worst when you factor in only the performance on the field.

Aroldis Chapman

The list of baseball-related things my Boston friends and I agree on is very short. Johnny Damon was fun to watch. The Mookie Betts trade was a disgrace. Aroldis Chapman sucks.

Yea, that’s pretty much it. From a purely baseball perspective, the decision to trade for Chapman was great — the prospects the Yankees sent over didn’t really amount to anything. The decision to trade him to the Cubs was even better, as it introduced Gleyber to the Bronx and brought Adam Warren back where he belonged. The decision to sign him again that winter was…defensible, even if I didn’t exactly love the idea of spending big money on a reliever during what I expected to be a down year (remember, expectations heading into 2017 were low). So why does this move haunt the Yankees? Well, because I absolutely despise the fact that he ever donned the pinstripes, and hate the fact that, if I ever need to look up his stats on Baseball Reference after he retires, there’s a solid chance the site will use a picture of him in a Yankee uniform as his profile picture since his seven seasons in the Bronx represents—and will likely forever represent—his longest tenure with any one team.

You’ll hear boos from more than just ghosts if you ever play that clip in the Bronx.

With the Milwaukee Brewers winning their first-ever World Series title, there are only four Major League Baseball franchises who have never won a championship: the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays.

But the longest drought in baseball belongs to Cleveland, which last won a championship in 1948. They've coming agonizingly close, losing the 1997 and 2016 Fall Classics in seven games. Other previous champions in the midst of droughts of at least 40 years are the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979), Baltimore Orioles (1983), Detroit Tigers (1984) and New York Mets (1986).

Of the four teams to have never won a World Series, the Mariners are the only team that has not even reached the Fall Classic.

Buy Brewers World Series celebration book

Here's a look at the longest World Series droughts after the Brewers' triumph:

MLB longest World Series droughts

1. Cleveland Guardians: 78 seasons (Last title: 1948)

2. San Diego Padres: 58 seasons (Never won; joined 1969)

3. Seattle Mariners: 50 seasons (Never won/appeared; joined 1977)

4. Pittsburgh Pirates: 47 seasons (Last title: 1979)

5. Baltimore Orioles: 43 seasons (Last title: 1983)

6. Detroit Tigers: 42 seasons (Last title: 1984)

7. New York Mets: 40 seasons (Last title: 1986)

8. Oakland Athletics: 37 seasons (Last title: 1989)

9. Cincinnati Reds: 36 seasons (Last title: 1990)

10. Minnesota Twins: 35 seasons (Last title: 1991)

11. Colorado Rockies: 34 seasons (Never won; joined 1993)

12. Toronto Blue Jays: 33 seasons (Last title: 1993)

13. Tampa Bay Rays: 29 seasons (Never won; joined 1998)

14. Arizona Diamondbacks: 25 seasons (Last title: 2001)

15. Los Angeles Angels: 24 seasons (Last title: 2002)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB's longest World Series droughts: What teams are up next?

Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.

Good morning, LSB.

Joc Pederson has said no thanks on his 2027 mutual option and will hit free agency.

Ditto Kyle Higashioka and Jakob Junis.

And the Astros have found their new GM after a lengthy search.

And that appears to be about all there is this morning.

Have a good weekend!

The Yankees are shaking things up in their front office. 

While GM Brian Cashman has already confirmed that he will be sticking around in the Bronx on a new deal, the club will not be renewing the contracts of Omar Minaya or Brian Sabean, per Jon Heyman of the NY Post. 

Both served as special assistants to Cashman during their time with the organization. 

Minaya joined the Yanks during the 2023 offseason, two years after wrapping up his third stint with the Mets. 

The long-time baseball executive worked his way up to the GM role on the other side of town, then returned to them as a special assistant to Sandy Alderson, before taking his talents to the Bronx. 

Sabean began his involvement in baseball as a scout for the Yanks in 1985, and after a long tenure with the Giants that saw him eventually bumped up to the head man role, he returned to the Big Apple in 2023. 

David Lesky writes about what the Royals can learn from the Brewers.

The Brewers simply hit on pitching. They strike guys out. They had 18 guys throw at least 20 innings. The league average strikeout rate in 2026 was 22.1 percent. The Brewers had 13 of those 18 above league average. The Royals also had 18 pitchers throw at least 20 innings. Four of them had a better-than-average strikeout rate. One of them was Cole Ragans and one was Kris Bubic. I suppose the Royals could sign Bubic, but it’s not anything I’d predict and Ragans won’t be a factor until midseason at best. It’s not even about the walks as much as the strikeouts. Eight of the 18 Brewers walked more than league average. It was 10 for the Royals, which isn’t all that different. The Royals need more strikeouts.

Craig Brown reflects on the World Series.

A couple of stray World Series thoughts as we process a long winter (and probably spring) ahead…

I felt the similarities between the Brewers and the 2015 Royals in that both teams played a form of what I’ve taken to call Total Baseball in that they do just about everything right. Strong starting pitching? Check. A selfless move-the-line batting order? Uh-huh. A lockdown bullpen? For sure. Clutch hits, including home runs? Yep. Hell, both teams check the box with salt of the earth managers who are refreshingly honest.

MLB Trade Rumors lists top trade candidates for this offseason, with mentions for Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey, and Kyle Isbel.

A Bleacher Report writers imagines a Bobby Witt Jr. trade to Boston

So, you want to trade for Witt? Well, this is what it would take. Or something like it, anyway.

Tolle? He’s a potential ace-caliber lefty who still has five years of club control left. Abreu? He’s a Gold Glover with 20-homer power who still has three years of club control left. Arias? He’s the best prospect in the American League. Gonzales? He’s not on Arias’ level, yet he might be Boston’s best pure hitting prospect.

The Brewers held their championship parade on Friday.

Jay Jaffe looks at the most dominating postseason runs by World Series champs.

The Dodgers are still the odds-on favorites to win it all in 2027.

Why the Brewers can repeat next year.

World Series TV ratings were fairly strong for having small markets, and it may be due to MLB scheduling.

14 more players became free agents after options were declined.

David Schoenfield at ESPN guesses where top free agents will land.

Mike Axisa at CBS Sports ranks the top 50 free agents.

Only four teams now have yet to win a title, which has the best chance?

The Astros hire former Cardinals executive Randy Flores as their new GM.

Which pitchers are lighting up the metrics in the Arizona Fall League?

Jorge Posada says he doesn’t feel welcome by the Yankees.

An appeals court revokes a pardon for convicted sex offender Wander Franco.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark will step down in January.

Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson announces this season will be his last.

More visitors came to Kansas City for the World Cup than expected, but they spent slightly less than projected.

Dozens of people protest the “Liberty Bibberty” ads at Liberty Mutual’s headquarters.

The creepy science behind sleep paralysis ‘demons’.

Your song of the day is Eric Clapton with She’s Waiting.

Hello everyone and happy Halloween!

As we get the weekend started, here’s what you need to know from the baseball world.

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, the Mariners have reportedly hired CJ Gillman to be their new hitting coach (despite not having a manager yet).
• Michael Arroyo underwent an elbow scope procedure and is expected to return to action in April 2027.
• Ryan Blake provided an early look at the 2027 projections for the Mariners ahead of the coming offseason.
• Kate Preusser gave a helpful breakdown of important offseason dates to remember.
• Washington State University unveiled a new John Olerud statue at their baseball field. I think perhaps they could have captured his likeness a bit more favorably.
• Christine Wren, a Seattle native and the first-ever full time female baseball umpire, died at the age of 78.

Around the league…

• The Astros have hired Cardinals assistant general manager Randy Flores to serve as their new GM.
• The Seibu Lions announced that they will post right-hander Kaima Taira to Major League Baseball.
• Several teams and players declined and exercised options for the 2027 season. Check out the full list here.
• The Diamondbacks are looking for controllable starting pitching this winter, which may or may not be tied to their ask for second baseman Ketel Marte.
• Matthew Gross at Over The Monster expressed frustration that we have to go into this offseason with such pessimism thanks to the looming lockout.