Category: MLB

Kiké Hernandez may have played his final game with the Dodgers.

The fan favorite acknowledged the uncertain future he faces as he enters free agency in an Instagram post in which Hernandez expressed his gratefulness for fans.

“LA, we fell short of our big goal. But looking at the big picture, what a ride these last three years were!!” Hernandez wrote in the Instagram caption.

“If this is it for us…. Once again, I will always be thankful for you guys & I will forever love ya! #JustAKidFromPR,” Hernandez said.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman brought Hernandez back on a one-year deal last offseason, saying the “door was always open” for the utilityman. It remains unclear whether that will be the case this winter as Hernandez hits free agency again.

Hernandez has built his career as an electric personality in the Dodgers’ dugout and a clutch bat every October. His postseason numbers are simply mystifying with Hernandez coming to life every fall.

But as the Dodgers look to get younger, the front office may go in another direction this offseason. The Dodgers assembled the most expensive roster in baseball, which also happened to be the oldest.

While the Dodgers won 100 regular-season games with their veteran core, the back-to-back World Series champions were swept by a hungrier, younger Brewers team.

The four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series may alter the Dodgers’ plans as the front office attempts to build another winning roster.

Only time will tell whether Hernandez is a part of that group.

So game four, try number two.

This time there is no rain in the forecast, but it is cold. 7 C at game time and dropping from there. It is much warmer here in Calgary and slightly warmer in Toronto.

Anyway, starting lineup:

I’ve spent the day off line, for a pleasant change, which my overlords will not like, but my well being needs occasionally.

Let’s try this again.

Two nights ago the NLCS ended, but we’ve still got plenty of action left on the AL side. In a series that features a pair of top-half teams in terms of Starting Pitcher fWAR and despite an extra day of rest with the rainout, Game Four will feature one team using a starting pitcher who barely struck out one every two innings during the regular season and just a flat-out bullpen game from the other side.

Nick Martinez gets the start for Tampa Bay. Somehow, he accrued a 2.9 fWAR this season while pitching a 2.90 ERA despite a lackluster 11.5% K-BB% and a barely above-league-average 1.10 HR/9, leading to a frightening 4.63 SIERA. Nick has already made one start this postseason, going 3.2 innings and allowing 2 runs in a series-clinching win over the Yankees.

The Guardians have already used Foster Griffin, Parker Messick, and Gavin Williams in this series, so they’re set to ask their bullpen to deliver the penultimate blow against the Rays before potentially cycling all three of those guys through in the back half of the series. Shawn Armstrong will be the first pitcher out of the gate. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tanner Bibee is asked to pitch a few innings; I also wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t actually pitch that long. Steven Vogt has shown a willingness to go to his bullpen very quickly, and with good reason in a postseason that has featured fewer innings from starting pitchers than any I can recall.

Let’s hope they actually play this time.

Take two!

Here’s the Rays’ lineup:

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

Jefferson Rojas - the Mets' #1 prospect according to SNY's most recent top 30 rankings - is making big waves in the Caribbean.

Rojas, who was recently assigned to the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (a.k.a. the "Dominican Winter League"), crushed a 401-foot homer in just his second game with the team.

Jefferson Rojas smacks his first LIDOM home run 💥 106 MPH off the bat https://t.co/tplDV9hlTh

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) October 17, 2026

A few innings later, Rojas crushed another no-doubter.

#Mets infielder Jefferson Rojas liked his first homer so much ... he decided to hit another! MLB's No. 68 prospect slugs his 2nd roundtripper 423 feet for the @Gigantes_Cibao: https://t.co/H4lSK3LD5p

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 17, 2026

Rojas batted eighth in the Gigantes lineup on Saturday, playing third base.

His first game with the ballclub came a day earlier, when Rojas manned the hot corner and batted seventh in the order. He finished his debut with one hit, a walk, and a stolen base.

Rojas will spend part of his offseason playing for the Gigantes alongside MLB hitters, including Mets teammate Christopher Morel, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II, and Miami Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez, among others.

Acquired from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor at this past season's trade deadline, Rojas exploded upon his arrival to the Mets' farm system. 

His .929 OPS and nine homers in just 29 games with Double-A Binghamton earned him a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, where he continued to impress, posting a 1.037 OPS with three home runs across 6 games to close out the season.

Rojas is also a consensus top-100 prospect, currently ranking No. 68 in the sport by MLB Pipeline.

The Dodgers face several questions after an early postseason exit in the National League Championship Series.

The dynasty that the Dodgers have put together is in jeopardy of ending within the next few seasons if the front office can’t assemble another winning roster. Kyle Tucker, who was signed to a four-year, $240 million deal ahead of the 2026 season, addressed fans as the future of the franchise is in limbo.

“Through every high and low, thank you to our fans for riding with us all season. We appreciate the love and support more than you know. This isn’t the end — we’ll be back,” Tucker wrote in an Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

For most of 2026, the four-time All-Star was far from full form. Tucker ended the regular season with a .233 batting average, 17 home runs and 70 RBIs. He entered October with a .715 OPS, the lowest mark since his debut season in 2018 when he played 28 games.

Tucker’s struggles became a point of contention among the fan base, but the star outfielder came to life in the postseason. The 29-year-old averaged .333 with a .967 OPS in October, which was perhaps the only highlight of his inaugural Dodgers season.

The Dodgers, who face an uncertain future after the failed quest for a three-peat, will need Tucker to play at All-Star strength the entire 2027 season as one of the many veterans on the roster. While Tucker’s performance next year can’t be known, one thing is certain, the Dodgers will surely try to get younger this winter.

The MLB playoffs are not the only professional baseball going on right now. Here in Arizona, the Arizona Fall League (AFL) is showcasing some of the game’s top prospects in a rather more… relaxed setting, shall we say. There are six teams in the AFL, each being a combination of prospects from five different MLB teams. They play against each other for a period of about a month, at venues around the Valley, along with an All-Star game and a Championship Game at the end of the year. Arizona’s prospects play at the team’s spring home of Salt River Fields, as part of the Salt River Rafters.

Nine games into the season, the Rafters are 6-3. That’s good enough for second-place, but only half a game separate the leaders, the Scottsdale Scorpions, from the Rafters and the Surprise Saguaros. It has been a very offensive-minded league, with teams averaging 6.11 runs per game. But that’s absolutely par for the course: last year’s figure was almost identical at 6.13. The Rafters are middle of the pack on both sides of the ball, currently ranked third by OPS (.754) and fourth by ERA (5.42). However, they do have the best fielding percentage at .981, having made only six errors – that’s one-third of the total made by the Saguaros (18 across their nine games).

Eight Diamondbacks prospects are present on the Rafters roster, three position players and five pitchers. Leading the way is Demetrio Crisantes, Arizona’s No. 1 prospect and their only representative in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, where he is No. 84 overall. He got off to a hot start, going 8-for-17 across his first four games, including a 4-for-5 night against the Mesa Solar Sox, where he had a double, 4 RBIs, 3 runs, and stole a base. However, things have become considerably tougher since, Crisantes adding just one more hit in 15 at-bats, with five strikeouts. His line is now down to .281/.324/.438, though the .762 OPS is still the best among the D-backs hitters.

Also seeing time is outfielder Nathan Hall, who perhaps has the weirdest line of any hitter in the AFL to date. He hasn’t hit much, going 3-for-22 with five K’s. But he has amassed eleven walks in that time: so while his BA is an underwhelming .136, his OBP is a perfectly respectable .424. Not many players have an OBP more than twice their SLG (.182). We’ll see if it lasts. Finally, there’s third baseman Yassel Soler. While ranked as the system’s No. 30 prospect by MLB Pipeline, he has just a .377 OPS, having gone 3-for-20 with two walks and no extra-base hits. However, worth noting Soler is still just 20 years old, making him very young to be facing some of the game’s top pitching prospects.

On the pitching side, things are a little tougher to monitor, because we are looking at some extremely small sample sizes. Nobody has yet reached even three innings of work, basically meaningless for sabermetric analysis. Of the five pitchers sent by Arizona, only Patrick Forbes is a starter, and the team is being very cautious about his appearances, because a strained flexor limited him to less than 30 IP this year. Our 1st-round pick from 2025 (#29 overall) is this likely limited to five or six AFL outings. So far, he has started once, allowing a single run over 2.2 innings, but getting good reviews from Jack for his sweeper. Wes covered Forbes in more detail last month.

Among the relievers, most excitement is probably going to lefty Joe Ariola. A 7th-round pick in 2025, he went through four levels in 2026, finishing at Double-A Amarillo. It’s his crazy K-numbers which jump off the board: 64 strikeouts in only 34.2 innings and 140 batters faced. In the AFL, he has appeared three times, allowing one hit over 2.1 innings, with no walks and three strikeouts. Again, given the quality of the opposing hitters, that’s impressive. The other lefty is Luke Craig, another man looking to make up for lost time. Since signing in July 2024, he has just 31.1 IP due to Tommy John in early 2025. He has given up two runs in two innings here, but I’ll settle for “staying healthy”.

Connor Foley is another who had impressive K-numbers, with 46 across 26 IP between Rookie and A-ball. That may explain why the RHP got a bonus of $1 million from the D-backs, despite falling to Arizona as a fifth-round pick. But he didn’t start pitching until he was a senior in high school, so is a work in progress, with 1.1 scoreless innings in the AFL reaching 98 mph. Finally, there’s John West – at 6’8” and 265 lbs, he’s likely on his way to becoming Mark Grace’s favorite ballplayer. West is more likely to become an “innings eater”, but allowed two home runs while recording four outs over his only AFL appearance to date.

One other thing of interest in the AFL, is a rule change being tested out at Salt River Fields. It has previously been a Petri dish for things like pitch timers and ABS challenges, but this one seems to be less warmly received. Fangraphs reports, “Dark green hash marks have been painted on the outfield grass and at points along the arc where the infield dirt meets the outfield grass. Defenders have to stand within a certain distance of these hash marks when a pitch is thrown.” The aim is, as with the ban on shifts, to increase offense. But Keith Law was not impressed: “The solution still rests with the pitchers, not rearranging the deck chairs in the outfield.” What do you reckon?

Last offseason, the Nats traded MacKenzie Gore in exchange for five prospects. Four of those prospects have already played, and have shown varying levels of promise. However, there was a 5th who had to miss all of last season with Tommy John Surgery. The story of Alejandro Rosario is mysterious, but he posted that he was back on the mound for the first time in over 600 days.

Rosario was always the wild card of the Gore deal. He has had a strange and volatile baseball career so far. Coming out of high school, Rosario was a known commodity. However, he decided to forgo the draft in favor of pitching at the University of Miami. He struggled at Miami, posting an ERA over 7 in his sophomore and junior seasons. 

Despite that, Rosario still got drafted in the 5th round by the Rangers in 2023 due to his pedigree and stuff. The gamble the Rangers made on Rosario immediately looked like a wise one. He shredded the lower minors in his first season of pro ball. Rosario posted a 2.24 ERA with 129 strikeouts to just 13 walks in 88.1 innings in 2024.

Those numbers made him a top 100 prospect. There were not many holes in Rosario’s profile at the time. His fastball sat around 96-97 and could touch 100. The right paired that with a filthy splitter that took major strides forward in pro ball. That pitch sat around 90 MPH and was a wipeout offering. His last pitch is a nasty slider that flashed plus.

The raw stuff was impressive, but I would argue his command was even better. Rosario had some strike-throwing problems at Miami, but he pounded the zone in the pros. He walked less than 4% of hitters in 2024. That combination just overwhelmed minor league hitters.

However, Rosario has not thrown a pitch since that season, which makes him a very boom or bust prospect. Before the 2025 season, Rosario suffered a torn UCL which required Tommy John Surgery. The issue is that Rosario did not actually undergo Tommy John Surgery in 2025.

It is unclear why that did not happen. I am not sure if we will ever know the full details, but it seems like there was some other issue that prevented the surgery. It might have been medical or something else, but the surgery did not happen.

Even after Rosario got traded to the Nats, there was mystery surrounding whether he got the surgery. It was reported he got the surgery in the winter, but it turned out that was not the case. Eventually, Rosario finally got the surgery though.

With the news that Rosario is throwing again, it seems like the recovery is going well. Heading into next season, this will be one of the more fascinating storylines to follow. Rosario is also Rule 5 eligible this offseason, so the Nats have a decision to make there as well.

Obviously, this is far from a guarantee, but if Rosario looks like he did in 2024, he will be the best player from the Gore package. Sure, he turns 25 in January, but the combination of stuff and command is rare. Of all the minor leaguers, he might be the one I am most intrigued by.

There are so many possibilities here. Maybe the best role for him could be in the bullpen, at least to start. After all, it will take him a while to build up from an innings perspective. However, there is a world where Rosario could have a Cade Cavalli like trajectory where he is a top of the rotation arm in a couple years.

It is nice to finally have news about Rosario. Hopefully, there are no ill effects from the surgery and he can thrive again. One of the reasons Toboni wanted a volume focused package for Gore was so he can take a gamble on Rosario. This is a mysterious situation, but there is monster upside in Alejandro Rosario.

In truth, the decision for the Least Valuable Player of the 2026 Yankees only ever boiled down to two players. The two standout candidates for this ignominious award were Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham, and for very similar reasons. In addition to their black hole bats polluting the lineup, there was apprehension from the start that they could ever provide the amount of value commensurate with the amount of money they were earning. The pair combined to cost the Yankees a hair over $38 million in 2026 — 11.3-percent of their estimated $335.8 million luxury tax payroll — and yet combined to produce just 1.2 fWAR, or a measly 2.8-percent of the team’s 43.1 overall fWAR. McMahon narrowly edges Grisham for the distinction for the 20-point gap in their wRC+ (78 vs. 98) and regression in the one area where he was supposed to excel: defense.

When it became apparent that a key cog of Operation Run It Back concerned persisting with McMahon as the team’s starting third baseman, the mental gymnastics required to rationalize this decision began tying fans’ minds in knots. “If the Yankees can find a way to help his bat take advantage of the Yankee Stadium short porch and bring it closer to league average production, this along with his reliably stellar defense at the hot corner creates a player with plenty of value to the 2026 team,” was a common refrain.

The problem with this wishful thinking became immediately obvious when you realize that McMahon has never posted a league average or better season at the plate by wRC+ despite playing the first eight-and-a-half seasons of his career at Coors field, rendering the belief that you could suddenly transform a 31-year-old hitter into something he had never been a folly.

McMahon’s season began worse than even the most pessimistic fan could have predicted with just a 51 wRC+ and 33-percent strikeout rate through the end of April. The walk rate that had provided a nominal floor of offensive value was drying up and he was bleeding bat speed, leading to a tweak in the width of his batting stance that provided a modest improvement but still nothing close to the 91 wRC+ hitter he had been over the previous five seasons. McMahon missed 38 games after dealing with a late-June throat infection and a mid-August Grade 2 thumb sprain, but by that point was already ceding reps at third to a pair of ostensibly worse defenders in José Caballero and Amed Rosario.

The Gold Glove caliber defense which convinced the Yankees to acquire him from the Rockies at the 2025 trade deadline had deserted him. It got to the point where the Yankees were giving practice reps to Anthony Volpe at the hot corner — a position he had never played in his professional career — in the days leading up to the playoffs. It culminated in a play which really summarized his season in a nutshell, McMahon booting a routine grounder from Yandy Díaz, the first batter the Rays sent to the plate in Game 2 of the ALDS. That error started an avalanche of defensive miscues that ended with four errors in an ugly 5-2 loss.

For a player brought in for his defense, it begged the question “what do you even do here?” McMahon rode the bench in Game 3 as the Yankees got swept, bringing an end to possibly the worst season of his big league career when combining all the factors. He finished with a putrid .213/.279/.357 triple slash line, with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, a 78 wRC+, and 0.5 fWAR in 360 plate appearances across 124 games. His .279 OBP and 78 wRC+ placed him among the 20 worst hitters in MLB with at least 350 PAs in 2026. His 11 home runs, 78 wRC+, 7.8-percent walk rate, zero Statcast Outs Above Average, and 0.5 fWAR were all the lowest marks of his career since the COVID-shortened season of 2020 and easily the worst marks of any season in which he played at least 100 games.

He also cannot be separated from the broader context of the team. His presence on the roster emboldened the Yankees to re-up with Rosario over the winter to reprise his platoon partner role. That turned into an unmitigated disaster, Rosario immediately forgetting how to hit against lefties — the one thing he was supposed to be good at — while producing an almost impossibly bad -7 OAA in just 394 innings, his seven errors at third coming in moments that contributed to costing the Yankees a shot at the division.

The most disheartening aspect of the whole charade is that everybody could see it coming. It is therefore not so much an indictment on McMahon — a known quantity who happened to regress in the one area where he still provided some value — as it is on the Yankees front office for allowing third base to remain a perennial black hole. In the words of our fearless leader Andrew Mearns, it all started with “the original sin of giving DJ LeMahieu six years to save on taxable AAV.”

Since signing LeMahieu to that second contract prior to the start of the 2021 season, eleven players have taken at least 100 plate appearances while manning third base for the Yankees. Below is a breakdown of the amount of guaranteed money paid out to each of those players and the offensive production and value they provided:

It total, the Yankees have paid out $222.5 million to players who have soaked up the majority of playing time at the hot corner. The 89 wRC+ those players have returned ranks 21st in baseball while the 11.5 fWAR is only a touch better in 19th place. Plenty of teams have committed nine-figure sums to the position during that span — Manny Machado, Rafael Devers, Nolan Arenado, Anthony Rendon, Carlos Correa, Austin Riley, Alex Bregman, José Ramírez, Matt Chapman, and Kevin McGonigle have all signed deals in excess of $150 million — but outside of Rendon and Correa no team gets a consistently worse return on the amount of money they invest in third base than the Yankees.

McMahon is just the latest figurehead of this maddening trend. The Yankees owe him $16 million in 2027. After a disastrous 2026 campaign, the question for McMahon is not whether he can fulfill that outlay with value on the field. It’s whether the Yankees will follow a similar path as they did with LeMahieu in 2025, Aaron Hicks in 2023, and Jacoby Ellsbury in 2019 and cut bait this offseason, eating the dead money for the privilege of not having to subject fans to his poor play.

Sure, White Sox fans are divided between the majority who consider 2026 and the possible hand from Pope Leo the greatest case of divine intervention since the parting of the Red Sea, and those who think a little more intervention in the way of actually getting hitters to put the bat on the ball in the playoffs would have been nice. But even those who are upset about the way the season ended instead of overjoyed how the first 166 games went have nothing on Dodger followers.

My son, who lives in L.A., says there is widespread — well, at least a little spread — belief that Dodgers owners got the players to throw the series to the Brewers so there won’t be a big outcry for a salary cap come negotiating time. Apparently, QAnon is alive and well.

OK, that’s absolutely ridiculous. There’s no reason to believe a shred of it. But was there ever a reason to believe the negotiating story of the owners?

COMPETITIVE BALANCE? REALLY?

No question, having three of the four final teams standing be from small markets, including the two smallest metro areas, doesn’t exactly help the argument that there has to be a salary cap to even out the old playing field. Pretty much just makes it look like organizational competence is what really counts. But what unsuccessful owner wants to admit that?

Sure, it’s worth a try on MLB’s part. It’s good P.R., and makes it look like you really care about the game and the fans, not just how many billion pieces of eight you can jam into your pockets.

“We’re out to screw over the players and if fans miss a season, tough,” just doesn’t have the ring of a great sales pitch.

If you want to believe the owners’ main concern is really competitive balance, by all means go for it. Goodness knows gobs of Americans have come to believe even stranger things.

But — small question — if the owners really want negotiations to be for the good of the game, why, oh why, is Jerry Reinsdorf on their negotiating committee, the player- and fan-hating White Sox chairman who has been the strongest voice of obstruction and stupidity on their side for decades? Sure, a 91-year old whose team just had a surprisingly good season would seem on the surface to be someone who would want to solve problems and move on, but Reinsdorf’s bitterness runs too deep for that — players take his money, fans (and taxpayers) don’t give him enough of it, so to hell with them. And why is the equally incompetent Dick Monfort of the Rockies the chairman?

The only big spender on that six-member committee is Hal Steinbrenner of the Yankees, presumably a counterweight to Mark Attanasio of the Brewers, who will really have trouble keeping a straight face when uttering “competitive balance.”

AS FOR THE PLAYOFFS

The Brewers and Guardians being alive as of this writing means that Christian Yelich and José Ramírez are both still playing, which is great for their teams and for the sport, which is a very, very fine thing, two superstars who do things right on and off the field. Yeah, I know — Sox fans are supposed to hate Ramírez for how badly he beats us (.811 career OPS), but if you don’t like watching how he plays the game, you just don’t like baseball.

AND AS FOR THE WHITE SOX

Speculation is already well underway as to how the team should proceed in order to keep doing a George Jefferson (movin’ on up), both within the world of Soxdom and from outside.

Naturally, there are things being said and written about the need for major free agent pitcher acquisitions. But after we all get a good laugh about that, since those speakers and writers seem to neglect there are 29 other teams who might like some good pitchers and would even pay for them, we can move on.

The more likely avenue would be trades, given the plethora of shortstops in the system — even with Caleb Bonemer in Arizona learning to play the outfield, presumably to initially platoon with one of the incumbents, none of whom hits lefties at all (a couple of key successes down the stretch notwithstanding).

(At least one speculator suggests trading Andrew Benintendi for a starting pitcher, apparently not realizing the other side would have to be brain dead to agree to such a thing.)

Of course, on the shortstop front, there’s the question of Colson Montgomery, who managed to have just a 90 OPS+ despite 31 homers, thanks to a .197 average and setting the all-time record for striking out, and whose D is just a C-. Some folks think the Sox can get a pitcher for him. Guess that’s worth a try.

Behind Bonemer and William Bergolla Jr. are Roch Cholowsky and the slick-fielding Billy Carlson — and if you don’t think having a slick-fielding shortstop matters, you haven’t been watching the playoffs — so it could become a question of what you can get for whom.

Also on the strikeout front, there’s speculation about Munetaka Murakami, who K’d 16 times in 31 trips to the plate in the playoffs, but he had a 130 OPS+ for the season and had a .347 OBP compared to Colson’s .282. Besides, he didn’t do those godawful lawyer commercials.

SO?

Hot Stove doesn’t begin until after the World Series. But there’s no reason not to keep the kindling handy, if and when the lockout ever ends.

If you’re choosing not to watch the rest of the MLB postseason, I don’t blame you at all. However, something interesting happened in Game 2 of the NLCS, something that prompted me to reflect on the Yankees’ performance (or lack of) against the Rays.

Down 1-0 against the Brewers, the Dodgers started Yoshinobu Yamamoto to try and even up the series. Yamamoto, if you recall, pitched a complete game against those same Brewers in Game 2 of last year’s NLCS, a first-pitch Jackson Chourio homer the sole blemish on his ledger. This year, however, the Brewers were ready. Taking full advantage of a slightly off Yamamoto, they worked counts and grinded at-bats, chasing him after 2.2 innings, 75 pitches, and 3 runs allowed. Milwaukee went on to win 7-4, completing their revenge.

Here was an example of a smart team beating an excellent pitcher who had confounded them in the past. Contrast this with how the Yankees utterly folded against Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 of the ALDS. Why couldn’t the Yankees do as the Brewers did?

Now, I realize that overcoming elite pitching is a tall ask. It’s possible that not even the Brewers could have solved Rasmussen based on how good he looked that night. However, what irks me isn’t the end result, but the process. The Yankees had seen Rasmussen quite recently; he’d beaten the Bombers to clinch the division for the Rays on September 22. The Tampa Bay ace used the same gameplan for ALDS Game 1. However, the Yankees appeared to have done no homework, looking completely unprepared to counter his approach. 

Rasmussen’s style of pitching can be summed up as: throw strikes that are hard to punish. The first part is easy to quantify. This year, 49.7% of his pitches landed in the strike zone, while the league average was 41.5%. He likes to attack batters early, as he ran a 67.1% first-strike rate (league average was 61.4%). Consequently, Rasmussen is extremely stingy about issuing free passes: his 4.8% walk rate placed him in the 97th percentile among all pitchers this season. This is a guy that is comfortable challenging hitters in the zone.

It’s the second part that sets Rasmussen apart from mere strike-throwers. The Rays ace has both the stuff (110 Stuff+) and command (106 Location+) to avoid damage while challenging hitters. While he is generally average at getting whiffs and avoiding contact, he limits barrels and hard contact extremely well (79th and 83rd percentile, respectively), and generates grounders at a comfortably above average clip (65th percentile). This is not someone you go hacking against. 

Rasmussen’s strengths were on full display in that September 22 start. Rasmussen pitched 6.2 innings of 1-run ball, striking out 11 in the process. Of the 114 pitches he threw that day, 45.6% were in the strike zone, down from his season average but still above league average. However, the Yankees flailed helplessly against his stuff, making contact only 35 times out of 53 swings for an abysmal 66% contact rate. Even when they did make contact, it was mostly harmless. The Yankees managed just two hard-hit balls in fair territory against Rasmussen, both by Heliot Ramos of all people: a 107.3 mph lineout in the fourth, and a 110.5 mph double in the seventh. I count only two positives from that outing for the Yankees: they managed to make Rasmussen throw 114 pitches, and they coaxed three walks out of him. Other than that, they got schooled.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the Yankees just needed to do X, Y, and Z to solve Rasmussen. There are no obvious answers to counter a guy this good. But at the same time, business as usual doesn’t cut it, either. If you’re trying to win against elite pitching in October, you need a team-wide, concerted approach. 

For what it’s worth, if I was calling the shots, I would have instructed the Yankees to be extremely passive. I would have implored them to run deep counts, wait for mistakes, and to avoid expanding the zone at all costs. Groundbreaking, I know. But at least this puts pressure on Rasmussen to consistently execute, and while he’s a great pitcher, he’s not a robot. This strategy is also rooted in an honest appraisal of the Yankees’ strengths and weaknesses at the plate: they sucked at making contact (75.1% contact rate, 27th in MLB), but they were above average at avoiding chase (31.9 O-Swing%, 9th best). And if nothing else, this would have likely meant a higher pitch count for Rasmussen. Yes, he throws strikes, but more than half of his pitches still land outside the strike zone. Laying off those even once per at-bat would have resulted in a markedly higher pitch total for Rasmussen, forcing the Rays to go to their bullpen earlier.

However, the Yankees did none of that in Game 1 of the ALDS. Instead, they went up hacking. Their overall swing rate was 50.4%, up from their season average of 46.3%. They kept chasing pitches out of the strike zone; their O-Swing% for the night was 36.5%, much higher than their seasonal mark. They made contact on those pitches just 39.1% of the time, with their overall contact rate dipping to a truly pitiful 60.3%. All this chase and whiff prevented the Yankees from being able to run deep counts; of the 25 plate appearances against Rasmussen that night, 10 ended in three pitches or fewer. And that’s how they let Rasmussen dominate them for 8 innings and 101 pitches.

Again, I’m not saying that the Yankees would have easily solved Rasmussen if only they had been a bit more patient. They ran up his pitch count to 114 on September 22, and he still ended up limiting them to one run. What irritates me is the perceived lack of strategy. Surely, they had to have known about Rasmussen’s strengths. They should have known their own strengths and weaknesses as a team. Why, then, was their plan to just swing away?

I don’t have any insight on the inner workings of the Yankees’ organization. Maybe they were planning on being more patient against Rasmussen, but the plan was just executed poorly. Or maybe their increased aggressiveness was a conscious strategy based on internal data I don’t have access to. But watching Game 1, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Yankees’ batters were just going up there with no real plan other than “try to hit ball”. It makes you wonder how the Yankees approached advance scouting and preparation for that all-important game – or whether they did so at all.

The Dodgers won 100 games this season. They claimed the National League West yet again. But, after reaching the National League Championship Series, their World Series three-peat bid flamed out in a sweep to the Brewers.

In the wake of their elimination, the California Post graded the season of every player on the Dodgers’ roster.

First up, the offense, which ranked top five in the regular season in scoring, batting average and OPS –– but faltered in the playoffs and was shut down in the NLCS.

Shohei Ohtani: F

To be clear: The two-way star was the second-best player in the National League this year, hitting 30 home runs and posting a sub-2.00 ERA in 14 starts on the mound. Even in a relatively down year for him, he finished fifth in the majors in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement. He remains, undoubtedly, MLB’s foremost star player and the Dodgers’ most potent weapon.

But that is why the way his season finished was such a failure.

What mattered most for the Dodgers this year was having Ohtani –– especially as a hitter –– at full strength come the postseason. By trying to play through right arm and left knee injuries, he wasn’t.

And while there is blame to be shared for the way his health was managed, from team decision-makers to Ohtani himself, it is impossible not to second-guess what this October might have looked like if the slugger was in a better place physically.

Instead, his .192 playoff batting average was not nearly enough to save the Dodgers’ offense. In the end, his one big swing in Game 4 of the NLCS was too little, too late. Moving forward, he and the team might have to reimagine his usage to avoid a repeat of this year. Because, especially as the rest of the roster gets older, they can’t afford another late-season injury crisis like this with Ohtani again.

Freddie Freeman: B-

In his 17th MLB season, Freeman earned his 10th career All-Star selection, finished 13th in the majors in total hits, and continued his march towards Cooperstown. But, the 37-year-old also saw his total production (measured by WAR) decline for a fourth straight year.

He hit just one regular-season home run after July 4. His batting average dropped from .306 to .288 amid a knee issue in September. And despite a couple big swings in the playoffs, he finished October just 5-for-29. Now, entering the final season of his contract but intending to play at least a couple more beyond that, the Dodgers will have to start deciding if he will remain in their longer-term plans.

Mookie Betts: B

What was shaping up to be a lost year for Betts instead finished with signs of renewed life. On Aug. 4, he was hitting .223 with a .670 OPS. In 46 games after that, he posted a .315/.399/.562 slash line while nearly doubling his home run total from 13 to 23.

It was the best he had looked since the first half of 2024 and a reminder that, even at 34 years old now, there is a superstar level he is still capable of reaching. The Dodgers will be hoping that’s what they get from him in 2027.

Max Muncy: B+

This was a resurgent season for Muncy, who returned to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2021 while hitting for his highest average (.252) since 2018. He stayed healthy, playing 149 games and hitting 29 home runs.

He also improved his defense, earning a nod as a Gold Glove finalist at third base. He’ll be back at third next season, in the final guaranteed year of his contract.

Andy Pages: A-

Pages didn’t sustain his torrid pace from early in the year (he had a .303 average and .899 OPS on May 27, then a .254 average and .751 OPS thereafter) but still cemented himself as the youngest core piece of the roster, earning an All-Star nod with his improved approach and stellar center-field defense. His postseason was an improvement from 2025, too.

Teoscar Hernández: C

A late surge at the plate helped save some of Hernández’s season-long numbers (.267 average, .759 OPS) following a prolonged slump upon his return from a hamstring strain.

But after being bandied around in potential trade discussions last offseason, it’s possible his future with the club could be in question again this winter.

Kyle Tucker: D

The only thing saving this from being an F is the way Tucker finished his otherwise dismal debut season, highlighted by a team-best .333 batting average in the playoffs. Still, the 29-year-old played nowhere near expectations after his $240 offseason signing, setting career lows in average (.233), OPS (.715) and home runs (17).

The Dodgers will be desperate for him to return to form next year, when he will play an even more vital role in their still-aging lineup. If not, those $60 million player options in 2028 and 2029 will start to feel like poison pills.

Will Smith: C

This is a relatively incomplete grade, given Smith was limited to just 73 games by a three-month neck injury. But even when he did play, the veteran backstop took a step back. His .260 average and .781 OPS were the second-lowest marks of his career (ahead of only 2024). He went just 3-for-31 in the playoffs, salvaging only so much with his Game 3 double in the NLCS.

Tommy Edman: C

After missing the start of the year recovering from ankle surgery, Edman did little more than meet expectations in his utility role with the Dodgers. He was a streaky .247 hitter, finishing with a just-about-league-average .714 OPS. He played good defense and shifted around the diamond. But any more profound impact was limited.

Kiké Hernández: C

Injuries derailed Hernández’s year. And though he had another big October moment –– hitting a home run off Chris Sale in the NLDS –– there was little else to take from his 13th big-league campaign. Once again a free agent, he will represent one of the more intriguing questions of the Dodgers’ winter.

Each of the last three offseasons, they have re-signed him to a one-year deal. Whether they do so again could be a signal for how much, or little, of a shakeup they’re planning for next year.

Dalton Rushing: B

For Rushing, it was a year of promising highs (seven home runs in March/April, .288 batting average in July) and frustrating lows (emotional outbursts early in the year, his spat with Ohtani on the mound in June, and a late-season elbow injury that sidelined him for the playoffs) for the former top prospect. He has more to prove entering Year 3 in 2027.

Alex Freeland: C

Another ex-prospect, Freeland didn’t capitalize on increased opportunity this year, hitting just .234 with only 13 extra-base hits in 89 games. Though still only 25, he remains on the fringes of the team’s long-term plans.

Alex Call: C

The backup outfielder survived the trade deadline. But after hitting just .233 in his reserve role, he might not be a lock to return in his reserve role next year.

Josue De Paula: B+

In his brief MLB debut, De Paula did everything right as a hitter, reaching base at a .500 clip in 11 regular-season games before drawing two key walks as a pinch-hitter in October. Offensively, he seems ready for everyday big-league duties. But the gigantic question mark about his outfield defense leaves his 2027 role unclear entering the winter.

Hyeseong Kim: D

Time will tell if the Dodgers still see something in Kim. But the way he was buried in triple-A this year, after playing just 43 games in the majors in April and May, was not a good sign as he enters the final guaranteed year of his contract.

Hunter Feduccia: B

The former Dodgers farmhand returned to the club in a deadline day trade and was perfectly adequate as the backup catcher over the final couple months of the season. Whether there’s a role for him in the organization again next year remains to be seen.

Miguel Rojas: A

We’re grading on a curve here, in what was a fittingly effective send-off season for the now-retired veteran infielder. Rojas did his job by menacing left-handed pitching (.293 average against them), playing stout defense and serving as a vocal leader in the Dodgers’ star-studded clubhouse. After an accomplished 13-year MLB career –– highlighted by his season-saving home run in Game 7 of last year’s World Series –– his presence will be missed in the clubhouse.

The Brewers’ sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS was a complete team effort. While there were heroes in each game and throughout the series, almost every position player stepped up at some point in the series and made a big play for the team. Let’s take a look at each position player’s contribution in the NLCS, as well as their biggest moment in the series.

Gary Sánchez

Did not play

We’ll start with Sánchez, because unfortunately, there’s no moment for him. He did not play at all in the NLCS, and only has one plate appearance in the postseason so far (a ninth-inning pinch hit in Game 2 of the NLDS). It was a good plate appearance, as he drew a walk to extend the inning for Jackson Chourio’s walk-off hit.

William Contreras

4 games, 5-for-14, 1 double, 1 home run, 3 walks, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored, +.275 WPA

Game 2 was Contreras’ big game of the series, where he went 3-for-4 with a walk, home run, and three RBI. The biggest of those plays was his game-tying home run in the fifth inning, which tied the game at 4-4. That home run was a massive shot off the scoreboard, hit 438 feet with an exit velocity of 106.3 mph. It was worth +.160 WPA according to FanGraphs. While his sixth-inning single put the Brewers ahead for good, it was only worth +.100 WPA.

Jake Bauers

4 games, 4-for-14, 1 double, 1 home run, 3 walks, 6 RBI, 1 run scored, +.383 WPA

As the NLCS MVP, Bauers had plenty of big moments in the series. While his Game 4 two-RBI double and RBI walk helped secure the series sweep, his most impressive and biggest moment came in Game 3. Two days after working a 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he had an 11-pitch battle against Blake Snell. He won the battle with a two-run home run to right-center, hit 412 feet with a 109.4 mph exit velocity. It flipped the game from a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 lead and was worth +.320 WPA.

Brice Turang

4 games, 4-for-11, 1 double, 1 home run, 5 walks, 2 RBI, 6 runs scored, +.209 WPA

While Turang had an overall positive series, he didn’t have much for big moments in it. His biggest moment came in Game 1 of the series, when he got the Brewers on the board. A leadoff home run in the fourth inning started the scoring off Tarik Skubal, tying the game at 1-1. It just cleared the fence in front of the bullpen, flying 384 feet with a 102.5 mph exit velocity, and was worth +.136 WPA. Even though he didn’t have much for big moment, he was consistently on base and scored six runs in his nine times on-base. He also added plenty of value on defense, helping turn three double plays in Game 1.

Cooper Pratt

4 games, 5-for-14, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base, -.149 WPA

The numbers weren’t kind to Pratt in the season, as he overall had a negative WPA throughout the series. His only game with a positive WPA came in Game 3, where he went 3-for-4 with a stolen base. Pratt provided more value on defense, as he was part of the three double-plays the Brewers turned in Game 1. He also had a nice play on a hard-hit ball in the ninth inning of Game 4, helping finish the clinching game of the NLCS. It was a good recovery from his three errors committed in the NLDS.

Joey Ortiz

2 games, 1-for-7, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, -.117 WPA

It was also a rough series for Ortiz, who played in just two games and only recorded one hit. That hit was an insurance run in Game 3, giving the Brewers a 6-2 lead in the ninth inning. Since the Brewers already had a strong lead, that play was only worth +.019 WPA.

David Hamilton

2 games, 4-for-7, 1 home run, 2 RBI, 5 runs scored, 3 stolen bases, +.361 WPA

Though Hamilton only played in two games, he was a major player in both of those games. Not only was he regularly on base, his strong baserunning gave the Brewers more chances to score. His series was punctuated in the ninth inning of Game 4. A solo home run gave the Brewers a huge insurance run, increasing the lead to 6-4. It was hit 402 feet with an exit velocity of 105 mph, and was worth +.104 WPA.

Jackson Chourio

4 games, 3-for-19, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, -.181 WPA

After putting together a very strong performance in the NLDS, Chourio took more of a backseat in the NLCS. He didn’t have much for big moments, only recording three hits in the series. However, he did give the Brewers an instant lead in Game 3 with his home run on the first pitch of the game, a 391-foot blast with an exit velocity of 106.1 mph to right-center that was worth +.098 WPA. His running catch in the ninth inning of Game 4 also secured the final out of the series, sending the Brewers to the World Series.

Garrett Mitchell

2 games, 2-for-14, 3 walks, 2 home runs, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, +.120 WPA

It’s a little hard to believe that Mitchell only had two hits in the series with how much of an impact he had. He had several great catches in the outfield to help keep the Dodgers at bay in each game. However, his two home runs, both off left-handed pitchers, were big moments in those games. In Game 3, his home run two pitches after Bauers’ home run gave the Brewers an insurance run. He topped that the next night, leading off the sixth with a solo home run to right-center to give the Brewers a 5-4 lead. It was hit 409 feet with a 105.2 mph exit velocity, and was worth +.162 WPA.

Sal Frelick

2 games, 0-for-6, 2 walks, 1 run scored, 1 stolen base, -.086 WPA

Frelick didn’t record a hit in his two starts in right field, but did walk twice. His highest positive WPA came from a walk in the fifth inning of Game 4, and followed that by stealing second. Those together were worth +.050 WPA, and started the rally that tied the game. He also provided some good defense during the series. One of his better plays came in the third inning of Game 2. He made a leaping catch to rob Freddie Freeman of extra bases, as well as keep the game tied for the moment.

Luis Lara

2 games, 1-for-7, 1 RBI, -.011 WPA

Lara got the other two starts in right field, and had similar results to Frelick. He also provided some good defense in the outfield, ranging far for some catches. However, his one hit in the series was a big one. In the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 1, Mitchell was at second following a walk and sacrifice bunt from Pratt. Lara then singled to center, bringing in Mitchell and giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead. It ended up being the game-winning RBI and was worth +.121 WPA.

Andrew Vaughn

2 games, 1-for-5, 1 double, 2 walks, +.018 WPA

Vaughn came into the NLCS with a bit of rust. Due to a late-season illness, he spent the end of the season on the injured list and hadn’t made a start since September 19th. He did play in the NLDS, but only a couple of innings as a late-game replacement. Vaughn started in Game 1 and 3 of the NLCS, serving as the DH in both games. In the series, he drew two walks (one intentional), and his big moment was a double in the second inning of Game 1, the first Brewers’ hit of the game. It was worth +.046 WPA. He advanced to third on a groundout, but was left stranded there.

Christian Yelich

3 games, 2-for-10, 2 RBI, 1 run scored, -.039 WPA

Even though Yelich had a rough season, he’s stepped it up in the postseason so far. While he wasn’t as good in the NLCS, he still had a big moment in the series. In Game 2, he went 2-for-5 at the plate. The first of those hits gave the Brewers their first lead of the day. It was a two-RBI single to center field, and the Brewers led 3-2 at the time. The play was worth +.203 WPA.

Change is coming to Philadelphia (we hope). If the NLCS, and to a lesser extent the ALCS, has taught us anything, it’s that the Phillies need to make things different for next year’s roster if they want to have a chance at competing for a World Series. There is a gap that currently exists between them and teams like the Dodgers or Brewers, so to close that gap, things need to be different.

What we’re going to do is look at all the positions the team has and try to come up with ways that perhaps a tweak or two could be made in the hopes that things can be better in 2027. Maybe some changes are drastic, maybe some are incremental.

Let’s start behind the plate.

Who they have

We all know that behind the plate, they have hitched their wagon to J.T. Realmuto. For better or worse, they have decided that the best path forward is to give a soon-to-be 36 year old catcher two more years guaranteed to at least be a major part of the plan. The wisdom of a such a move, likely done as a panic to losing out on the Bo Bichette sweepstakes, now looks even worse considering Realmuto just posted the worst offensive season of his career. What compounds the problem is that the team had no real other option as the backup to help take away some of the plate appearances Realmuto was using. Believing that either Garrett Stubbs or Rafael Marchan would be some kind of viable option to help give the team good production behind the plate is akin to believing that a human would be able to survive on Neptune.

Their farm system is even more barren. Their best catching prospect, Alirio Ferrebus, spent the bulk of the season in Clearwater, admittedly having a good season, but still showing that he is light years away from making an impact. Their other options that would loosely have the “prospect” tag given to them have not convinced anyone that there is a threat to Realmuto’s hold coming from within.

To give the tl/dr version, the Phillies catching situation both in the present and future is bleak.

Free agent options

To say that the free agent market for catchers is rough would be being kind. The best starter is going to be Ryan Jeffers and it’s not particularly close. He just spent this past season in Minnesota putting up a 128 wRC+ in nearly 400 plate appearances and is only going to be 30 years old, so teams that are in need of a solid starting option are going to be calling his agent.

The Phillies do not need, or apparently, want a starter. Committing to Realmuto for $15M AAV means they still want him to carry the bulk of the playing time, something their pitching staff also wants to see as well. Scouring the market for a backup makes things a little more tolerable to handle as there are a few options that might fit the bill. The key is going to be two things: a) is that catcher solid defensively, which is what they mostly value from their catching, and b) can he be a starter in case Realmuto succumbs to another injury? Those two things could lead to a couple of options.

Jake Rogers – Well if Stubbs or Marchan is your guy, then Jake Rogers might be for you! Given that Rogers had an OPS that started with a 5, his market would likely be something around nil or barely above. He was one four, yes four, teams this year, getting DFA’ed like there was no tomorrow. Is he great behind the plate? He’s not great, but he’s not going to hurt any team with his defense. For likely a minor league deal or, at most, league minimum, there are worse options.

Jonah Heim – A pretty astounding fall from grace here, Heim was once a catcher running a 107 wRC+ and giving his team really good defense. Now, he’s coming off a season in which he had a 62 wRC+ and has a significant amount of blue on his Baseball Savant page for both offense and defense. Bringing Heim aboard would be a roll of the dice that somehow, the team could recapture some bit of glory with him. Another one that likely wouldn’t cost more than a minor league deal with a spring invite, it would be a pretty large roll of the dice, but could also serve as depth that they aren’t exactly overflowing with.

Carson Kelly – Now we’re getting to actual options here. Having a wRC+ over 100 (103) as a catcher is going to look good on anyone’s resume. Kelly ended 2026 with 10 home runs and 58 RBI, all while entering a timeshare with Miguel Amaya at the end of the season. That means he’s already accustomed to the role. Obviously, the ideal would be a timeshare where the catcher complement each other on the batter’s box, one hitting right handed, the other left. Bringing Kelly in would not create that ideal as both he and Realmuto are right handed, but beggars, choosers, etc. He’s still decent behind the plate and would be an instant upgrade over both options the Phillies were using as part of a rotation in 2026. He might be a bit more of a financial expenditure than they’d like, but there needs to be an upgrade. Kelly would represent that.

Tyler Stephenson – The dream free agent target. Stephenson is the best free agent catcher behind Jeffers, meaning bringing him in would be the team turning the job over to him and relegating Realmuto to being a very expensive backup. That’s not really how the team would probably want to spend their money, but again, this is a position that is seeing a significant dropoff in production and needs to be something more than a lost at bat each team the spot comes up in the lineup. Stephenson would command less than what Jeffers would offer, so there’s at least that. He’s great at blocking baseballs in the dirt; just don’t ask about all the other things a catcher is supposed to do. Again, bringing Stephenson in is akin to pie in the sky hopes, but we can all have them, right?

Trade options

The trade market is probably as bad as the free agent market. Teams are very aware of the lack of truly capable catchers that would deserve major league playing time, so the market for them could be higher than what a team like the Phillies would want to pay. Instead of trading for a starter though, the Phillies are likely looking for a backup that doesn’t embarrass himself if a longer term need arises.

Hunter Goodman – This would obviously be the dream player to get for the Phillies if they were serious about upgrading the catching position. He hits for power, he plays an alright defense and isn’t all that expensive. Team control? You betcha. He’s also going to command at the minimum the Phillies’ top 2-3 prospect plus others. Is a catcher moving away from Coors Field what they’d want to spend their prospect capital on?

Mickey Gasper – The first thing to know about Gaspar is he’s hurt. He tore up his biceps muscle enough that he needed surgery, so he’ll be out a while. Maybe a team doesn’t want to part with prospects when the recovery from such a procedure would take time. Maybe the team isn’t really that impressed with him, not truly believing in his end of year power surge (10 HR in 225 PA) and thinking it’s a mirage. That would be the game the team is playing with a trade for him. Is he healthy? Is the power real? For the right price, the answers might be worth finding out.

Pedro Pages/Jimmy Crooks – The Cardinals are littered with catching prospects. They have Leo Bernal now, Rainel Rodriguez soon and these two are good. That means they have Pages and Crooks just sitting there, waiting to be poached. Giving one or the other the chance to work with Realmuto and grow into perhaps the heir apparent would be worth giving up a little more than just a wild card or relief prospect.

Predicted outcome

There are a litany of other options the Phillies could look into. They could probably also just bring back one of Stubbs or Marchan on a cheaper contract instead of the projected $1 million they are each to get. The guess is here is that Stubbs is brought back on a minor league deal to help in Lehigh Valley to get Gage Wood or any other prospect ready for the major leagues like they did with Andrew Painter while also addressing the backup spot through free agency. Carson Kelly only got 2 years and $11 million his last go ‘round on the market and if he were to take that same deal, the Phillies should probably be on that.