Just after Los Angeles beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, at Truist Park in Georgia, they hit their locker room for a postgame party that inadvertently showed off more of one their players than the public had seen prior.
As FS1 cameras focused on the team while it prepped to pop champagne bottles to commemorate yet another trip to the NLCS, a player’s naked bottom was shown live on the network’s broadcast.
The unidentified athlete had gotten undressed behind a plastic curtain and his rear was exposed while a videographer was focusing on Shohei Ohtani.
A Los Angeles Dodgers player is seen during a locker room celebration after an NLDS game.Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani, right, celebrates winning Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
The scene went unnoticed by FS1 broadcasters, however, social media users were quick to share it on X.
“Whose cheeks were out, bro?” one said.
It’s hardly the first time locker room cameras have accidentally captured MLB players in the buff. In fact, it just happened last month in San Francisco.
The Giants’ social media team shared a video of rookie Bo Davidson celebrating his MLB debut, and briefly, a naked player was caught by their camera’s lens.
The Dodgers certainly didn’t seem to mind the Wednesday night overexposure, as they dumped alcohol on one another for a significant period of time following their big win.
Up next for the team is a series with the Milwaukee Brewers that will hopefully feature more runs than rumps.
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 20, 2026: Wilian Bormie #40 of the Texas Rangers throws a pitch during the fifth inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium on March 20, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
One of the rites of the offseason is that, early on, we take a look at the players in the Texas Rangers’ organization who will have to be added to the 40 man roster this winter, or else be eligible to be selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft. It is usually a lengthy post that talks about guys who are locks (or near-locks) to be added, guys who are potentially on the being-added bubble, guys who are longshots, and analyzes how likely a player who isn’t a lock to be added would be to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
I regret to inform you that’s not the case this year. The Rangers have few players who will be Rule 5 eligible who would get serious consideration for being added to the 40 man roster, and the likelihood of the Rangers losing a player in the Rule 5 Draft this offseason* would seem to be slight.
* The last time there was a lockout, in the 2021-22 offseason, they ended up canceling the Rule 5 Draft because of how little time there was between the end of the lockout and the beginning of the regular season. I would be willing to wager that we’ll see the same thing happen this time around…that said, we will assume that is is happening until they say it isn’t.
Let’s go over the Rule 5 rules. A player signed at age 18 or younger — in other words, most (but not all) high school draftees and undrafted free agents and international free agents — are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft five seasons after they signed if they are not added to a team’s 40 man roster. A player signed at age 19 or older — pretty much every college player, and a few high school and international players — is eligible to be selected after four seasons if they are not added to a team’s 40 man roster. If a player is selected in the Rule 5 Draft,* he has to stay on the major league roster for a full season and accumulate at least 90 days on the active roster before he can be sent to the minors on an optional assignment. Otherwise, the player goes on waivers and, if he clears waivers, has to be offered back to the original team at half of the Rule 5 fee.
* The Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, anyway. The rules are different for the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, but you don’t have to add a player to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft.
The upshot of this is that high schoolers signed in 2022 or earlier, and international free agents signed in 2022 or earlier, will be eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft this offseason if they are not added to the 40 man roster by November 17 of this year. College players signed in 2023 or earlier, as well as IFAs and high schoolers who were 19 or older when they signed, will also be eligible to be selected if they are not added to the 40 man roster.
The Rangers do not have many first-time eligibles this offseason. The Rangers did not have second or third round picks in 2023, due to signing Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom. Their first pick, Wyatt Langford, is already on the 40 man roster. Their fourth and fifth round picks, Skylar Hales and Alejandro Rosario, have been traded. Their sixth round pick, Caden Scarborough, was 18 when he signed, and is thus not Rule 5 eligible.
The best of the rest, as far as 2023 college picks go, are pitchers Izack Tiger, Paul Bonzagni, Josh Trentadue and Michael Trausch. Tiger has a great arm but can’t stay healthy, having thrown just 77.1 innings as a pro, including 27.1 innings with a 6.91 ERA between the ACL and high-A in 2026 after missing all of 2025. Bonzagni missed all of 2026 with an injury after pitching just 5 innings in 2025. Trausch is a reliever in low-A. Trentadue is a reliever in AA who put up a 5.65 ERA. None of them appear to be in danger of being selected.
The 2022 draft also featured missing second and third round picks. First rounder Kumar Rocker is already on the 40 man roster. Fourth rounder Brock Porter was Rule 5 eligible last year as a 19 year old high school draftee, went unselected, and after walking 60 in 76.1 innings in 2026, is almost certainly going be left exposed again this year. Fifth rounder Chandler Pollard didn’t hit in high-A this year. Sixth rounder Tommy Specht was released two years ago. Seventh rounder Luis Ramirez has spent the last two seasons on the injured list. 11th rounder Kohl Drake was traded.
In the 2022 international class, the Rangers’ two big signings were Anthony Gutierrez and Jose de Jesus. Gutierrez hasn’t been able to stay healthy, and his 2026 season ended in the second inning of Opening Day when he tore his ACL for Hub City. De Jesus was released in May of 2025.
The two players who are first time eligible who could possibly get some consideration — though still probably won’t be protected — are relief pitcher Ryan Lobus and first baseman Arturo Disla, each of whom was an undrafted free agent signed in 2023. Disla turns 26 this month and is a bat-only guy who was good but not great in his partial season at AA this year. Lobus is a 26 year old righthanded reliever who put up a 4.90 ERA and 4.24 FIP between AA and AAA in 2026, and whose stuff is fairly pedestrian. I doubt either is going to be added to the 40 man roster, or selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
There are a handful of players who are under team control through at least 2027 and who have been Rule 5 eligible previously, but most of them would not be in serious consideration for a roster spot. We mentioned Porter and Ramirez already. Ian Moller, Yeison Morrobel and Gleider Figuereo have all made it to AA, but none of them have shown enough to believe a team would carry them on the major league roster. Larson Kindreich missed all of 2026 with an injury. Thomas Ireland pitched for Frisco and Round Rock but is pretty much an organizational depth guy. Aaron Zavala finally spent a full season in AAA but didn’t hit much and is a corner outfielder with little defensive value.
Again, its possible that the Rangers will feel like they have 40 man roster spots to spare and feel, say, Morrobel has made enough progress and is young enough that they protect him rather than take the risk that someone chooses to take him, or Porter’s got enough potential that they don’t want to risk losing him now that he’s made it to AA. But it is more likely, I think, that none of this group gets added.
To the extent that the Rangers really have a tough call to make, it is on guys they will have to make the call on before the normal Rule 5 deadline, because it involves guys who will be minor league free agents at the end of the season. Players who were signed in 2020 become minor league free agents the day after the World Series ends.
The 2020 draft was only five rounds because of the pandemic, and the only player from that draft class still in the organization who isn’t on the 40 man roster is pitcher Dylan MacLean, who would not seem to be a candidate for a 40 man roster spot. The Rangers also signed that year, as undrafted free agents, Aidan Curry and D.J. McCarty. Curry has shown flashes, but is probably someone who, like Gavin Collyer last year, will be a priority to re-sign to a minor league deal rather than someone the Rangers will want to put on the 40 man roster.
The other notable UDFA signee from 2020 was Josh Stephan, who was traded to the Blue Jays in the Josh Smith/Adam Macko trade a couple of months ago. Stephan was almost certainly going to be allow to become a free agent, though I imagine the Rangers will have interest in bringing him back on a minor league deal, assuming the Jays don’t roster him.
The Rangers did trade for 2020 draftees Dane Acker and Trevor Hauver, and Acker has shown promise at times, but hasn’t been healthy and was terrible in the limited amount of time he spent on the Round Rock active roster this year.
Finally, we have international signees Wilian Bormie and Bryan Magdaleno, a pair of relievers who are slated to become free agents this winter.
Magdaleno was Rule 5 eligible after both 2024 and 2025. There was some unhappiness over Magdaleno being left exposed in 2024, as he had put up 1 .27 ERA in 42.2 innings, though mostly in low-A, with 68 Ks, 21 walks and just 19 hits. After going unselected, Magdaleno was terrible in Frisco in 2025, then bounced back with a solid, if unspectacular, 2026 season that saw him put up a 3.05 ERA in 56 innings, though with 38 walks against 77 Ks.
Magdaleno turns 26 in February. He’s a lefty, which is nice, but he has struggled to throw strikes, and the Rangers kept him in Frisco all year rather than sending him to Round Rock. He’s a possibility to be added, I guess, but I imagine he’s not getting a major league deal from anyone, and Texas will try to bring him back on a minor league deal if they want to keep him around.
If the Rangers add anyone, I suspect it would be Bormie. The righthander turns 26 in April, and has a quality fastball and slider but (as is often the case with these fringy reliever types) struggles with command. Bormie split the season between AA and AAA, and per Statcast, while at AAA, averaged 98 mph on his fastball. In 49 appearances covering 58.2 innings roughly evenly split between Frisco and Round Rock, he struck out 72, walked 31 and put up a 2.61 ERA, with his ERA being below 3 at both levels.
However, Bormie’s peripherals suffered once he got to AAA. His K rate at AA was 33.6% but was just 24.1% at AAA, while his walk rate went from 9.2% at AA to 15.0% at AAA. The result was a 4.97 FIP and 4.72 xERA in his 29 innings at AAA.
The Rangers faced a similar decision last offseason with Gavin Collyer, who they opted to let enter free agency and then re-signed to a minor league deal. Texas could go the same route with Bormie, betting that no team is going to offer him a major league deal (or a more lucrative minor league deal), or they could decide that there’s room on the 40 to carry him for the time being and eliminate any risk of losing him.
So that’s it. Not much excitement for us, I don’t think, in the run up to November 17. Maybe next year…
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 07: Manager Dave Roberts celebrates defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Wednesday’s win was also the 72nd career postseason win for Roberts, surpassing Tony La Russa for second-most in MLB history.
“It’s special,” Roberts said on Monday night in Atlanta. “I have a lot of respect for Tony and the managers that have done what I’m doing; they’ve done it for a long time.”
Roberts is now a dozen wins behind Joe Torre for the most postseason wins ever.
Roberts has done all this in 11 seasons at the helm of the Dodgers, and his 11th season isn’t finished yet. Torre managed a total of 29 seasons in the majors, though 76 of his 84 postseason wins came in his dozen years with the New York Yankees.
Modern managers have more opportunities to amass postseason wins, with both the wild card round and Division Series. Plus, League Championship Series before 1985 were only best-of-5 instead of best-of-7, making in harder for earlier managers to pile up the October victories. So here is every MLB manager with at least 30 postseason wins, broken down by series.
Manager
Postseason wins
World Series
LCS
Division Series
Wild Card
Joe Torre
84
21
29
34
Dave Roberts
72
16
24
27
5
Tony La Russa
71
13
34
24
Bobby Cox
67
11
30
26
Dusty Baker
57
9
21
25
2
Bruce Bochy
57
16
20
17
4
Terry Francona
44
11
15
16
2
Jim Leyland
44
5
16
23
Casey Stengel
37
37
A.J. Hinch
36
7
9
15
5
Sparky Anderson
34
16
18
Joe Maddon
32
5
9
16
2
Tommy Lasorda
31
12
16
3
Joe McCarthy
30
30
All of Casey Stengel’s 37 wins came in the World Series, and the same for Joe McCarthy’s 30 wins in the Fall Classic.
If we look at a more modern era, since the League Championship Series has been around since 1969, here are the most postseason wins in just the World Series and LCS combined:
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 07: Los Angeles shortstop Mookie Betts (50) reacts following the conclusion of the NLDS game 4 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on October 7th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Guardians 9, White Sox 3 (BOX SCORE) (CHW leads 2-1)
Jo Adell struck out three times in game 1 of this series, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. He had a mammoth game on Wednesday, driving in three runs with a triple and showing exactly why the Guardians went and got him at the deadline. His three-bagger along with another three-bagger from Jose Ramirez kept the Guardians out in front and extended their season by at least one more game as the White Sox look to put it away at home tonight at 8:00.
It truly was great seeing Chris Sale deal for at least the first portion of his outing Tuesday, even until Playoff Kiké Hernandez emerged and took him out of the park. On Wednesday, the Braves sure looked like they were going to make this series even more interesting with a run in the first inning, as they also put the pressure on Tyler Glasnow with walks and got to the bullpen in the fifth. Their own Tyler (Mahle) pitched 6 1/3 solid innings, but then Andy Pages put the game – and the series – away in the seventh. I keep seeing “this lockout going to hit hard if the Dodgers win the Series again” and I honestly think people saying that are kind of right.
Happy Yankees elimination day to you and yours. There are 2009 reasons to love the result of this series, but you also can’t help but wonder how good the Red Sox would have done against this dynamic Tampa pitching staff. Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa. Jr., though, did what the Sox couldn’t; they took Max Fried out of the short porch twice. And speaking of that short outfield, Anthony Volpe hit a routine pop fly… I mean, a double straight into a fan’s hands with two men on. The crowd erupted, as they thought the game had become a tie on a play that started with the Yankees’ win probability at just 24%. That was not the case, as it was ruled fan interference (and was likely going to come about six inches short of the wall anyway) and Spencer Jones would unceremoniously strike out in the next at-bat and leave Volpe stranded. Another postseason . Cue Big Papi:
Even though seeing Xander Boegarts, Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler play in postseason ball was fun, I like this Brewers team that just finds ways to beat teams. That Misiorowski outing against the Dodgers is going to be appointment viewing. Jackson Chourio has struggled in October but his single to score Garrett Mitchell made a big difference. Aaron Ashby, who feels like he’s linked to the Red Sox due to how many rumor wires I’ve had to read in the last decade that involve him, coming out of the pen and pitching three hitless propelled the Brewers to an NLCS berth. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position Wednesday, but the win didn’t need to be flashy.
It may sound like one of the made-up crazy facts, but cheese rolling is an actual sport in England. Citizens would gather at the top of an incline, send cheese wheels rolling down, and then run along with their cheese. The festival is held annually in Gloucester.
The Aztecs invented popcorn.
Originally, they used this as an ornament and was used in headdresses. This ornament would be used as a way to praise their god Tlaloc, the god of maize and fertility.
The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head.
Praying mantises are the only known insects able to rotate their heads from side to side.
The player he is now drove in the runs that sank the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night and sent the Dodgers on their way to a 4-1 victory in Game 4 of their National League Division Series.
“Tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Andy picked us up huge with a big hit.”
The best-of-five series over, Pages walked around the visiting clubhouse at Truist Field in a commemorative gray shirt that was soaked with cheap sparkling wine and beer. A pair of goggles covered his forehead.
“Special,” he said. “Special.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andy Pages speaks to the media during a press conference after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
The journey here started a year ago, when Pages batted just .078 in the postseason. By Game 5 of the World Series, he was on the bench.
But Pages said he considers that World Series to be a wonderful memory, and not just because he made a game-saving catch in Game 7 as a defensive replacement.
“Because we won,” he said.
And rather than sulk over not starting the last three games of the World Series, Pages decided to use his failures to guide his training.
To be the kind of player who could be trusted in big games, Pages figured, he had to become a more selective hitter.
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) hits a two-run RBI-single during the seventh inning in Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Colin Hubbard
Improving his eye by stepping in against an artificial pitching machine called a Trajekt Arc, Pages made his first All-Star team this year.
A broken hand in late August nearly derailed his season, but Pages did what he could to remain sharp. Before he was able to swing a bat again, Pages was stepping in against the Trajekt Arc again.
Pages returned for the final week of the regular season and batted .333, which is why what happened next was shocking.
In the first two games of the NLDS, Pages was a combined 0-for-7. What was worse than the numbers was how he looked. He looked lost. He looked desperate.
At this point, manager Dave Roberts acknowledged he was concerned.
However, Roberts said, “This is one of those things where I’m gonna continue to give Andy leash. I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team.”
Pages rewarded Roberts with a two-hit performance in the Dodgers’ Game 3 win.
In Game 4, Pages stepped into the batter’s box with the game on the line.
Seventh inning. Two outs. Bases loaded. Game tied, 1-1. Fireballer Ryan Suarez on the mound.
Pages worked a full count.
Suarez threw him a 99.7-mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and Pages banged it up the middle.
Two runs scored, and the Dodgers were suddenly ahead, 3-1.
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) celebrates after hitting a two-run RBI-single during the seventh inning in Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
“I was waiting for that moment,” Pages said. “I prepared a long time for that moment, and thanks to God I was able to get the result.”
He prepared for the moment. He dreamed of the moment.
But he didn’t try to visualize it.
“I think that when you think too much about something, it doesn’t happen,” he said. “You have to let things happen.”
Did he ever.
Redemption, evolution, call it whatever you want.
Pages finally had his October moment in the batter’s box.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Stomper, the Athletics mascot, thanks fans during the final game of the season against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park on September 27, 2026 in Sacramento, California. The Astros clinched the American League West title. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Earlier this year I took a look at two positive examples of teams that had been in the Colorado Rockies position and seemed to have turned things around. The Miami Marlins turned a 100-loss team in 2024 into an almost .500 squad in each of the last two seasons while the Chicago White Sox have taken their team to the playoffs just two seasons after losing 121 games in a single season.
Coming into the season, the Athletics looked like they were perhaps on a similar upwards trajectory. Coming off an abysmal 50-112 record in 2024, the A’s had won more games in each of the past two season. They had what looked like a young core of exciting hitters and a shiny new ballpark being built in Las Vegas. It appeared as though the franchise was on the upswing.
Instead, the Athletics fortunes took a dive back into the same lowly tier of teams that the Rockies currently occupy and lost 98 games.
As important as it is to diagnose what has caused teams to have success and emulate them, it’s equally as important to consider the circumstances that have led other teams to continued failure.
So, which portions of the Athletics troubles can the Rockies learn from?
Don’t abandon your fanbase
First, we have to get the obvious factor out of the way since it has little bearing currently on the Rockies. The largest factor looming over the Athletics organization is unique to their franchise.
Owner John Fisher chose to move the team away from Oakland, its home for decades, after failing to secure a sweetheart deal with the local government. This has left the team in a transitory period for the past two seasons where they have been playing in a minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento.
In theory, they only need to stay there for one more season until they move to their currently under construction, new ballpark in Las Vegas.
This doesn’t change the fact that they have sacrificed all good will they had with the people who had previously attended their games. Fisher cut off decades of attachment from the people of Oakland in order to move somewhere that he wouldn’t need to pay as much of the construction costs for a new stadium.
Ultimately, this transitional period may come to pass, and the team’s new roots in Las Vegas could eventually prove strong. It is, however, a wild gamble that has had clear negative effects on the team in the short term before even considering the emotional cost to the people of the Bay Area.
Beyond the players, the lack of seating at the small ballpark has meant that their attendance numbers have been dramatically lower than all other teams for the past two seasons.
These are not factors that directly result in wins and losses on the field, but they are certainly additional hurdles to overcome in attempting to put together a winning roster. This has been, and remains, an entirely self-inflicted problem.
That being said, the Rockies attendance has started to dip over the past few seasons. After ranking ninth in all of Major League Baseball as recently as 2021, the Rockies have slipped in the attendance rankings every season since. In 2026 they ranked 18th in the league.
They have a long way to go to reach the utter lack of fan support that John Fisher A’s currently have, but they should be careful not to take that for granted in the long term.
Don’t underestimate the importance of depth
In 2025, the Athletics lineup was one of the most exciting in baseball:
Veteran slugger Brent Rooker played all 162 games and hit 30 home runs for the third straight season.
Catcher Shea Langeliers proved that his breakout 2024 wasn’t a fluke by hitting 31 home runs of his own.
Tyler Soderstrom finally made good on his prospect pedigree with a 120 wRC+ while learning a position entirely new to him.
Rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson hit the ground running and was both second in the Major League batting title and American League Rookie of the Year races.
Second, that is, to the A’s other rookie star Nick Kurtz.
The fourth overall pick in 2024 (one after the Rockies selected Charlie Condon), Kurtz rocketed through the minor leagues and made his debut at the end of April the following season. In his rookie season, Kurtz was not only unanimously voted Rookie of the Year but also his .290/.383/.619 slash line earned him American League MVP votes.
2025 @officialBBWAA AL Rookie of the Year Award finalists:
With all five of these players and bounce-back candidate Lawrence Butler under team control through at least 2028, the A’s had an offensive core to envy at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
So what happened in 2026? Injuries exposed a lack of depth.
Every player named above other than Butler spent at least some time on the injured list in 2025. To make it worse, Langeliers was the only one of these players to avoid an elongated stay on the 60-day injured list.
Without a consistent showing from this offensive core, the rest of the team’s faults were on full display. Their lack of pitching talent could not be papered over by mashing home runs the way the front office had drawn it up. A lack of major league baseline talent available in their depth chart was exposed as soon as the their core started going down.
Essentially, they had no fallback options to keep them afloat.
For the 2026 A’s, the plan was to let the exciting lineup core mash and hope that would be enough. As soon as a couple of the key players went down, there was no one else on the team to keep it from sinking back to a nearly 100-loss season.
The Rockies roster is a bit different than the Athletics was heading into last season.
The Rockies have managed to cultivate someexiciting potential core offensive players in Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfield, and Cole Carrigg, but they don’t yet have anyone that will factor into the MVP race. The Rockies have not been able to cultivate nearly the ceiling that the Athletics did over the past two seasons.
On the flipside, the Rockies front office has made it a point since they were installed last offseason to “raise the floor” of the roster. The additions of players like Willi Castro, Mickey Moniak, Troy Johnston, and Connor Norby are the sort of depth moves that the Athletics failed to make.
While the front office looks to find more upside, they would be wise to also continue adding even more complementary pieces lest they fall into the same trap as the 2026 A’s.
Spend some money
Many of the 2026 Athletics roster problems could have easily been solved in the offseason had they been willing to do one thing: Spend money on free agents.
The team entered last offseason having had their pitching staff put up the 22nd worst fWAR in the Majors despite having employed Mason Miller for the first half of the season.
How did they address this obvious roster weakness? They signed notable aces Aaron Civale, Mark Leiter Jr., and Scott Barlow all for a total of less than $10 million.
That’s not to take anything away from those specific players — a team can never have enough competent big leaguers. (See the first section about not having enough depth.) If the team had already been fielding an expensive roster, simply supplementing it with small deals around the edges like those is both understandable and commendable.
The A’s, on the other hand, only spent a total of $95 million dollars on their 2026 payroll.
With the fifth-lowest payroll commitments in the league, the Athletics decided that the best way to bolster their feeble pitching staff was to sign a handful of depth arms and hope that their small collection of highly touted prospects would be able to make the leap sooner rather than later.
It wasn’t an impossible plan. All of the Athletics most highly rated pitching prospects (Gage Jump, Kade Morris, Jamie Arnold, Wei-En Lin, and Braden Nett) started the season in Double-A or higher.
The future core of their rotation was on the cusp of the majors, so why spend money on high-priced free agents just to block those young players?
Pitching prospects, as it turns out, are not guaranteed to remain healthy, much less live up to their potential. Jump and Morris both made their Major League debuts in 2026, but neither managed an ERA below 5.47. Arnold only just made it to Triple-A to end the season. Lin and Nett both missed significant time to injury. (Lin is still out recovering from Tommy John surgery.)
All told, the youthful wave of reinforcements to an abysmal pitching staff failed to materialize fast enough to matter for the 2026 season.
Had they simply spent money to bring in a handful of short-term stopgaps via free agency, perhaps their team as a whole could have weathered the injuries on the lineup side a bit more. Given that their division was won by the .500 Houston Astros, they would not have needed much to become legitimate contenders.
Instead, they sat on their hands during the winter and continued their modus operandi of moving forward with the cheaper internal options.
The Rockies, heading into this offseason, face a similar choice, albeit within a different specific context. They can either pump money into addressing an abysmal starting rotation, or they can play around with some marginal upgrades and wait for a wave of pitching prospects.
The problem for the Rockies is that they really don’t have an identifiable wave of pitching talent in the minor league system anywhere near what the A’s had coming into 2026. Ensuring that Chase Dollander has a spot in the rotation when his arm is healthy is not reason enough to avoid bringing in outside talent.
While the 2026 Athletics and the 2027 Rockies aren’t exact mirrors of one another, there are enough similarities to learn from.
Ultimately, the Athletics rise to prominence was stymied by ownership level decisions that hamstrung their front office. For the Rockies to avoid taking a similar step backwards it is on ownership to not settle for good enough. They should instead continue to empower the front office to make whatever moves they believe will improve the team and not take half measures.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 05: Mitch Garver #18 of the Seattle Mariners hits a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park on July 05, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This site discussion was sparked by a couple of posts on BlueSky by Mike Petriello and Céspedes Family BBQ. Mike pointed out that this year’s .206/.286/.341 hitting line in the playoffs is, while atrocious, somehow not the worst postseason hitting line by OPS in the divisional era – it’s 5th after some truly wretched seasons of hitting in the 70’s and 80’s.
CFBBQ posted some recent close historical comps to the this year’s postseason slash line, featuring none other than Your 2024 Mitch Garver (.172/.286/.341). Is this good?
Lookout Landing staffers met to discuss whether this something that merits action from MLB, and what steps could be taken to remedy the balance of the modern game. -NV
Ezra: Maybe they should move the mound back a little bit.
John: I genuinely think so, and I think they should shrink the allowed glove sizes significantly. It’s a much less visible change, but is something they’ve done before on a couple occasions and has a positive impact without being quite as obvious from a viewing perspective.
Ezra: Interesting, I’ve never heard that before but I’d be intrigued to see that implemented.
John: For pitchers, I do think there’s merit to a slightly larger glove so they can’t have their pitches tipped, but also…I kinda think that’s fine.
Here’s an article on it being a big issue during the early 90s and the positive impact it had that kinda got washed out (or at least became impossible track) due to the rise of steroids. In 2016, MLB allowed an expansion in glove size from 12 to 13 inches, which is, as far as I know, still the rule. Going down to 11 or 12 incheas would be really beneficial and also allow truly elite athletes to shine even more in the field.
Ezra: Since I saw the rise and fall of Tim Anderson I’ve come around more on moving the mound back. Bat speed is so important to being a good hitter these days, and all it takes is a little bit of skill deprecation and your career could be over, whereas for pitchers, Tommy John isn’t the death sentence or crapshoot it used to be, throw as hard as you want, sit for a few months and potentially come back throwing harder. I know it’s not that simple, but I feel like ya’ll get what I’m saying.
Nick: In that vein, I’ve heard that moving the mound back actually made breaking stuff even harder to hit, with another foot to move.
John: I’ve heard people make that case, I remember Kyle Boddy saying it. I think there’s some logic to it, but I think the tradeoff is if that were the case, curveballs would be nastier than sliders, and we’ve just spent like 15 years seing sliders take over for big breaking curveballs. And firmer changeups taking over for bigger breaking ones. Now, there are sweepers and splitters that’ve come into some vogue and use, but to me that’s agian more just natural ebb and flow, and reduced effective velocity is ultimately a help for everything.
Nick: That’s a good point. But, counter-counterpoint, sliders taking over for curveballs may not indicate that less movement+more velocity is inherently better, but something else about pitch shape and arsenal construction strategy. Plus, with an extra foot to move, the hard slider gets the benefit of a more difficult-to-hit shape while also benefitting from the extra velo. I’ be curious to see if lowering the mound again isn’t more effective.
John: I could see it being the case, but I think more time to make the decision on the swing and to calibrate the flight path is going to always be easier for a hitter.
Note: The Atlantic League tested a 61’6” mound in 2021. Any effects were of little note.
Ezra: I don’t think MLB will change anything though, because it’s the home runs that sell tickets and as long as they got guys going 30-30, 20-40, 50-50, or hitting 60+ they’re probably not going to are.
John: I think that this doesn’t inherently damage homers. Teams aren’t gonna put the lid back on understanding homers are exponentially better than other hits mathematically, but making it more viable to have a high average is what makes the game more compelling (specifically the ball being interestingly in play more).
Nick: I agree, the surge in homers has way less to do with selling tickets and way more to do with MoneyBall.
Ezra: Yeah, I think the image of having multiple .300+ hitters on the All-Star Team could be really valuable in terms of raising interest among the more dedicated fans.
John: I honestly think beyond just highly dedicated fans, it’s a valuable showcase of the sport’s variety that draws people in. It’s fun to watch hits and steals, and correspondingly, great defense (or bad defense get exposed!).
Nick: I’ve seen more than enough of bad defense being exposed this year, personally.
This could be the last MLB season with a “qualifying offer,” as it’s termed in the labor agreement between owners and players. It’s possible an entirely new system will be created.
Until then, the current labor agreement runs through Dec. 1 and so qualifying offers will be made, and accepted or rejected, under that agreement.
We now know the amount of this year’s QO:
I reported last week that the qualifying number for this offseason would be about $23.1M. For those who want more exact, a source told me: $23.15M.
That’s up 5.1 percent from last year’s figure of $22.025 million.
Last year, 13 free agents were given a qualifying offer. Four of them accepted the offer: Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres, Brandon Woodruff and Shōta Imanaga. The Imanaga acceptance was said to have surprised the Cubs front office, but in the end, Imanaga produced reasonably well for the $22.025 million, making 32 starts, posting a 3.77 ERA and 1.096 WHIP, and 2.0 bWAR. The 35 home runs he allowed were a problem, of course, and whether Imanaga returns to the Cubs remains to be seen. He cannot get another QO, as a player can get only one.
There are three Cubs who might get qualifying offers this year, so let’s look at each of them.
The first is obvious. Seiya Suzuki has been an outstanding player for the Cubs for five seasons and had another productive year in 2026, batting .270/.368/.473 with 26 home runs and a career high 5.1 bWAR. His right field defense was improved both by the numbers and by the eye test.
Suzuki will get a QO and almost certainly reject it to test the open market. There have been reports that the Cubs aren’t likely to re-sign him, which would be a mistake. They should do everything possible to keep him.
Ian Happ, who’s also been a productive Cub for many years, will get a QO as well. Happ’s 2026 season wasn’t quite as good as his previous years, with a slash line of .218/.326/.412 with 24 home runs and 2.9 bWAR. The .218 figure was a career low. He did continue to play good defense and likely wins another Gold Glove, but the batting line was that low largely because he just stopped hitting left-handers. He batted just .145/.217/.267 in 144 PA against RHP and by season’s end, was being platooned.
The Cubs will still likely give Happ a QO. It’s not that much more than the $20 million he made in 2026. And he just might take it, trying to rebuild his value before hitting free agency again next winter — possibly under a new FA system.
The only other Cub who might rate a QO is Matthew Boyd. Boyd was injured for much of 2026, making only 22 starts, but was reasonably productive for much of the time he was healthy. His year was only worth 1.0 bWAR and he’ll turn 36 in February, so he probably should not be given a QO, in my view. There’s also a mutual option for $15 million for Boyd or a $2 million buyout, and the Cubs will almost certainly pay the buyout.
There aren’t any other Cubs pending free agents who would rate a QO. Some are ineligible because they received one in the past (Imanaga) or were traded during the year (Clay Holmes, David Peterson, among others). As a reminder, teams have until five days after the World Series ends to extend a QO, and players then have about 10 days (the date will be officially set later) to decide whether or not to accept.
Of Suzuki, Happ and Boyd, who would you give a qualifying offer?
TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 27: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks to the dugout under the CN Tower before playing against the Cincinnati Reds in their MLB game at Rogers Centre on September 27, 2026 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Thurday.
We only get one playoff game today, the Guardians and White Sox play game four. White Sox are up two games to one. It is an 8:00 Eastern start.
The Rays beat out the Yankees in three games. Yay Rays.
The Dodgers beat out the Braves in four games. You disappointed me Braves.
The Brewers beat out the Padres in four games. Please, Brewers, beat the Dodgers.
We have a couple of days left in the Haiku voting. Get your votes in.
But the symbolism was hard to ignore. Boone has spent his entire Yankees existence coming up short in October, and here he had inadvertently planted his main attraction in an Aaron Judge-less cast 37 feet away from a potential Hollywood ending.
The complaint is that Boone had Ben Rice batting second and then he was one batter away from hitting at the end of the game, when he would have been the tying run. I’m a bigger fan of blaming the players than the manager.
Aaron Judge said:
“He puts us in the right position to succeed,” Judge maintained, “especially in a season like this where I am banged up missing 100 games.” Judge mentioned all the other injuries Boone had to work around and said, “He’s definitely had our back and is the guy.”
Judge turns 35 near the start of next season (if there is a start to next season). He spent most of this season injured. And he doesn’t have a World Series ring. I’m ok with him never getting one.
Shi Davidi wrote about Kazuma Okamoto and how big a star he is in Japan. I can attest to that. I wore a Blue Jays cap in Japan and people wanted to talk about him all the time (expect for when they wanted to talk about how we lost the World Series to the Dodgers.
The story suggests that Okamoto will make it easier for the Jays to sign other Japanese players. I’m not sure that is true, but ok. I’d imagine Japanese players will sign with the team that offers them the best deal, like anyone else.
The Jays do have some questions to answer before next season:
Is Ernie Clement an MLB second baseman, or do they need to find someone else?
Do they count on Anthony Santander to play outfield next year?
Is Spencer Miles a starter or reliever?
Is Ricky Tiedeman a starter or reliever? Likely reliever I’d guess.
Do they want to sign a full time DH, or do they want to use the spot to rest players?
And, of course, can Vlad be Vlad again?
Do they take Myles Straw’s option? That’s an easy one, no. Do they try to sign him again?
The Jays, and all the other teams, will be wondering what the salary cap (or tax, or whatever they call it) will look like next year?
Getting swept at home had the Yankees devastated in the clubhouse.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone described a dejected group Wednesday night after losing 4-3 in Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium to complete a sweep at the hands of the Rays.
“The ending is terrible,” a solemn Boone said after the game. “There’s no easy way. It’s a broken clubhouse. What you go through as a team, as a family over the last eight, nine months getting ready for this. It’s just the worst.”
The manager also put Trent Grisham in the leadoff spot despite being ice-cold with the bat over the last month.
Grisham went 0-for-5 in the decisive Game 3, and 0-for-11 in the ALDS, and was nursing an injury for much of September.
The final out of the game wound up being a Grisham strikeout with Jazz Chisholm Jr. stranded on second base representing the tying run.
They enter the offseason with loads of decisions to make, including Chisholm Jr., who is due to be a free agent this offseason.
The Bronx Bombers will need to replace his production as his season ended uncomfortably, with him being benched to start Game 3 before he took over for Jose Caballero.
Aaron Boone described the Yankees clubhouse as broken after the ALDS loss to the Rays. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“No comment. Next.” Chisholm Jr. said when asked how it felt to be benched.
The Rays move on to the ALCS to face the White Sox and Guardians for the right to face the winner of Dodgers vs. Brewers/Padres in the World Series.
Meanwhile, general manager Brian Cashman has a lot of work to do, though baseball also has its own problems as the sport deals with a potential lockout.
Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Tarik Skubal didn’t pitch in his team’s NLDS-clinching Game 4 win against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.
But he still stole the show postgame, given his beer-soaked celebration tactics during two live interviews.
In one interview with Dodgers reporter Kirsten Watson, Skubal was asked about the celebration to come and said, “I can’t f****** wait.”
Then he chugged the two beers he was double-fisting, most of which missed his mouth and ran down his chest.
Tarik Skubal chugging two beers in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ clubhouse after winning the NLDS. (X/@BlakeHarris).
The celebrations continued moments later, when Skubal did a wild interview with Dodgers SportsNet LA reporter David Vassegh.
“I’ve got another beer in a place where it shouldn’t be,” Skubal said to Vassegh. Their interview paused so that beer could be thrown and poured on everybody in the vicinity, Vassegh included.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal (29) celebrates defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. Getty Images
As Vassegh struggled to re-gather himself, Skubal said, “The game is speeding up on you, it is speeding up on you.”
Then Skubal got another beer poured down his back and said, “What’s running down my pants right now is so cold.
“It’s because these f****** guys!” he added before turning to throw more beer at the teammates behind him.
The fact this Tarik Skubal interview was live on TV is diabolical
After Vassegh and Skubal gathered themselves once again, Skubal was asked how much the Dodgers meant to him and said, “It’s a great team. The culture they have here, the preparation, the expectation to win, I love being a part of it.”
Everybody associated with the Dodgers loved Skubal being a part of it, as well.
If this is how wild celebrating the NLDS is, it will be fun to see how Skubal would celebrate a World Series championship.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal speaks during a news conference ahead of a baseball NL Division Series, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
After the Yankees were eliminated in the ALDS by a division rival for the second straight season, Aaron Judge delivered a message to Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman.
“We’re the Yankees. I feel like they should go all in and do what they need to do,” Judge, who did not play in the playoffs due to a calf strain, said after the Yankees’ 4-3 Game 3 loss to the Rays in The Bronx Wednesday night. “If we’ve got holes, if it’s finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, you got to go out there and get it. That’s why I signed back here to play with the Yankees is to fight for a championship every single year and to go all in. That’s what I do every offseason is get ready to give this team and this city everything I’ve got, so I expect them to do the same.”
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Judge, the three-time MVP who turns 35 in April, has five years left on the nine-year, $360 million contract he signed after testing free agency following his historic 62-homer season in 2022.
Asked if he feels the front office has gone all in enough, Judge turned more diplomatic.
“It’s tough to say,” Judge said. “I want to trade for everybody, sign everybody every single year, but I know that’s not realistic. They give us a winning team every single year, but that’s not good enough here in New York. We’re the Yankees. You’ve got to go out there and expect championships and go all in every year. So I’m excited to see what they do.”
Aaron Judge is on the Yankees’ dugout fence in the first inning of Game 3 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on October 7, 2026. Robert Sabo for New York PostYankees GM Brian Cashman (l.) and owner Hal Steinbrenner (r.) Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
The likelihood of a work stoppage, with the players and owners locked in bitter CBA negotiations, looms over MLB’s offseason, but the Yankees have major questions on some free agents and others.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., David Bednar, Trent Grisham, Paul Goldschmidt and Paul Blackburn are among the Yankees players whose contracts are up.
The Yankees will also have to decide if they’ll stomach one final year of Giancarlo Stanton, where Anthony Volpe, Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez fit in, and whether to move on from third baseman Ryan McMahon.
The 28-year-old superstar deleted any Atlanta Braves-related content from his Instagram account after Atlanta lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. He also changed his profile picture to a black photo with “desconectado” written in gray, which translates to “disconnected” in English.
There’s no way of knowing exactly where Acuña Jr.’s emotional state is at. Some on social media are claiming he does this every offseason, while others are suggesting this is proof the star wants out of Atlanta.
Ronald Acuna Jr.’s Instagram profile after the Braves’ NLDS loss to the LA Dodgers (Instagram/@acunajr13).Acuña Jr. produced a .133 batting average with just two hits, one RBI, and four strikeouts across four NLDS games. Getty ImagesAcuña Jr. was booed by Braves fans during Wednesday night’s 4–1 loss. Getty Images
Acuña Jr. hasn’t done the bulk delete on his X account. Then again, he hasn’t been active on that platform since the 2026 season began, aside from one post about his home country of Venezuela.
Regardless, Acuña Jr. didn’t do much to help his team topple Los Angeles. He produced a .133 batting average with just two hits, one RBI, and four strikeouts across four NLDS games.
The Braves have a $17 million team option on Acuña Jr.’s contract this offseason, so he would need the franchise’s blessing if he were to leave Atlanta.
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(Original Caption) Ping Bodie, erstwhile stormy patrol of the New York Yankees, has applied to the judge in Los Angeles, Calif. for his release from the matrimonial league. Pings asks waivers on Anna Bodie, whom he married in 1908, averring that she told his friends he was a bootlegger, crazy, and "a common drunk" and that her mental cruelty further extended to the sending of telegrams, "knocking" him, to Judge Landis, Miller Huggins, and other baseball leaders. (Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images) | Corbis via Getty Images
Francesco Stephano Pezzolo was born in San Francisco, California, in 1887. That man would later be known as Frank Stephen Bodie and, eventually, Ping Bodie. Bodie felt the need to change his name out of fear of being mocked and discriminated against for his Italian heritage. The Ping portion of his name came from the sound of him hitting baseballs with a legendary 52-ounce piece of lumber, and the Bodie part he adopted from a town in California that was special to him and his family.
Frank Stephen “Ping” Bodie
Born: October 8, 1887 (San Francisco, CA)
Died: December 17, 1961 (San Francisco, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 1918-1921
There is not much recorded on Bodie’s childhood, but he came into the public eye around 1905 while playing baseball in the California State League at just 17 years old. The young ballplayer was moved all over the field and played for a variety of independent league teams before catching on with the San Francisco Seals in 1908.
With the Seals, Bodie stopped bouncing around positions and started primarily roaming the outfield grass. During the 1910 season, Bodie had a breakout season for the Seals, hitting an unheard-of 30 home runs during the deadball era. The power surge placed the young right-handed hitter on the radar of every big league club. In September of 1910, Bodie was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 draft.
After that impressive season, Bodie was invited to spring training and broke camp with the White Sox in 1911 but found himself mostly riding the pine. After the team started slowly on offense, owner Charles Comiskey publicly criticized the team and called out the offense. Allegedly, the rookie Bodie, with true American-Italian bravado, walked right up to the owner the next day and told him he could be the answer to his problems if he could get him in the lineup. The rest, as they say, is history. In 145 games as a rookie, Bodie slashed .289/.348/.407 with four home runs, good for a 2.8 WAR.
In Chicago, Bodie rose to fame due to his powerful swing and big personality. A showman and entertainer at heart, the press fell in love with the humor and charisma Bodie brought to the ballpark every day. After a successful rookie year, there would be no sophomore slump. In 1912, he hit five more home runs and slashed .294/.358/.407. For the second straight season, he was tied for the team lead in home runs as the White Sox finished just above .500 for the second straight season.
The 1913 season was a weird one for Bodie as he set his career high in home runs with eight. Those eight long balls were good for third in the league. However, Bodie’s average dropped to .264, and for the first time, his slugging finished below .400 at .397. The decline did not stop for Bodie in 1914. A season-long struggle caused conflict with manager Jimmy Callahan. After Bodie finished with a .229 batting average and three home runs, the White Sox sold him back to the Seals.
Despite his big league success, Bodie accepted going back to the Pacific Coast League. Bodie completely dominated for the next two seasons. The Philadelphia Athletics needed offense and signed Bodie ahead of the 1917 season. Bodie did not disappoint, slashing .291/.356/.418 with seven home runs, good for third in the league again. The Athletics finished the season 55-98-1. Bodie would later joke that he was the only ticket in town other than the Liberty Bell that year. In March of 1918, the Athletics traded Bodie to the New York Yankees for George Burns, who was a Yankee for as long as it took the paperwork to process after being purchased from Detroit only to be flipped.
Bodie’s age-thirty season was his first in pinstripes, and he slashed .256/.319/.358 and finished seventh in the league with three home runs. Unfortunately for Bodie, the Yankees did not fare much better than any of his previous clubs, finishing the 1918 season 60-63-3. However, he started the legendary run of San Francisco Italians in the Bronx.
Both Bodie and the Yankees turned things around in 1919. The club went 80-59-2. Bodie slashed .278/.334/.406 with six home runs. The turnaround might have been due to the fact that Bodie scored a big win in an eating contest in April of that year. In a publicity stunt, Bodie competed against a Jacksonville Zoo ostrich named Percy in a spaghetti eating contest. Legend has it that Bodie won on the 11th plate as Percy could not finish his, and Bodie finished it for him.
The Yankees made a splash following the 1919 season by acquiring Babe Ruth. Bodie got the honor of being Ruth’s first roommate on the Yankees for the 1920 season, a role that he absolutely loved due to the extra attention brought his way from the presence of Ruth. The Yankees went 95-59 on the year, and Bodie had one of the best seasons of his career, slashing .295/.350/.446 with seven home runs.
As much fun as 1920 was, the 1921 season saw the good times finally run out for Bodie as his production fell off the table. In 31 games, Bodie hit .172 with no home runs. In August, the Yankees traded him to Boston. New York went on to win the American League pennant that year but fell in the World Series to the Giants. After the season was over, Bodie refused to go back to the Red Sox and returned home.
Not yet done with baseball, Bodie played in the minors for another seven years. After retiring from the game, he took up work as an electrician in Hollywood. For over thirty years, he worked on sets and got roles as a bit actor with Universal Studios. At age 74, in his hometown down by the bay, Bodie died of lung cancer.
