Category: MLB

Last week, I explored a pair of free agent starting pitchers that could be potential fits for the Colorado Rockies rotation in 2026. Now that the market is wide open and the clock is ticking until Doomsday (the lockout, not “The Avengers” movie), we are in a “wait and see” period until the Rockies start making moves. The GM meetings started on Monday, which is usually viewed as the true start of the offseason activity.

Once again, I’m putting on my GM hat and trying to pinpoint another pair of free agents the Rockies could target. This time I’m looking at a pair of pitchers that could be enticing because of connections to new pitching coach Ethan Katz.

Erick Fedde

Back in 2014, the Washington Nationals selected Erik Fedde with the 18th overall pick. Three years later, he made his debut but struggled through parts of six seasons with the Nationals to the tune of a 5.41 ERA in 102 games. Following the 2022 season, Fedde headed to Korea for an opportunity in the KBO.

At the age of 30, he dominated, going 20- 6 with a 2.00 ERA across 180.3 innings for the NC Dinos in 2023. He tallied 209 strikeouts, walked just 35 batters, and received the Choi Dong-won Award, the KBO equivalent of the Cy Young. By leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, Fedde became the fourth pitcher — and the first foreign starter — to earn the pitching Triple Crown in the KBO.

That performance caught the eye of the Chicago White Sox, and they signed him to a two-year, $15 million deal. Under Katz and the other pitching coaches, Fedde continued his dominance in 2024 with the White Sox. In 121.2 innings, he posted a 3.11 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate alongside a 44.7% groundball rate. He was then traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he put up a 3.72 ERA across 10 games to finish the season.

His Cardinals tenure was not as successful in 2025 as he went 3-10 with a 5.22 ERA over 20 starts and was traded to the Atlanta Braves after being designated for assignment. That time with the Braves was short-lived, however, as he posted an 8.10 ERA over 23.1 innings with an equal number (13) of walks and strikeouts over his five appearances. He was released and then found a spot with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he worked out of the bullpen and found a little more success working out of the bullpen. In 16 innings over seven games, he posted a 3.38 ERA in seven games.

Fedde returned to the White Sox this past season, signing a $1.5 million deal and had a return to success with a 3.83 ERA over 144 innings in a bit of a swing-man role while improving his walk and strikeout rates from the previous year.

He primarily works off a four-pitch mix that is headlined by a sweeper, a pitch he adopted while in the KBO. It continues to be his best offering and helps set up his sinker and cutter usage. The main goal for Fedde is to induce weak contact and get ground balls, something that often fits the Rockies.

Additionally, Fedde will eat innings whether it be as a starter every five days or following an opener. As a rebuilding team, the best thing the Rockies can look for is length out of starters, and Fedde was one of four pitchers to toss at least 140 innings for the White Sox last season.

He also isn’t projected to cost too much. Spotrac projects his market value around $12 million for a two-year deal as he enters his age 34 season. Could Katz help convince the club and Fedde to unite and lay a groundwork of familiarity? After all, Katz has been brought in because of his ability to develop relationships with his players, and that might be enough to persuade some to come to Colorado.

Lucas Giolito

While Fedde seems like a reasonable pickup if it came to fruition, the idea of adding someone like Lucas Giolito seems a bit murkier despite the intrigue.

A first-round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2012, Giolito was part of a pitching trio sent to the Chicago White Sox in 2016 for outfielder Adam Eaton. After a solid, albeit brief, showing in 2017 and a rough 2018, Giolito came into his own in 2019 putting up an All-Star season and finishing sixth in Cy Young voting. He followed up with a seventh-place finish for the award in 2020.

Heading into the 2021 season, the White Sox needed a new pitching coach, and Giolito ended up contacting the front office to recommend Katz for the job. Giolito has known Katz since he was 15 years old when Katz was coaching Giolito at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles.The connection seemed to pay off as Giolito put up another excellent seaon in 2021, finishing 11th in Cy Young voting while posting a 3.53 ERA over 31 starts with 201 strikeouts.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to maintain those highs of his career, but he managed to be a reliable starter in 2022 and 2023 before he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in late July of that season, partly because the White Sox had never been able to work out an extension. The Angels collapsed in August, and Giolito found no success with a 6.89 ERA over six starts and was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Guardians. While in Cleveland, he struggled to a 7.04 ERA over six starts to close out the season.

Giolitio signed a two-year bridge deal with the Boston Red Sox after the 2023 season, a deal worth $38.5 million but included a player opt-out for the 2025 season. Unfortunately for the Red Sox and Giolito, he suffered a UCL injury in spring training and missed the entire season after undergoing an internal brace repair. After recovering, he exercised his option and put forth a quality 2025 for the Red Sox, going 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings alongside 121 strikeouts and 56 walks.

Some bouts of injury hampered him toward the end of the season, and Giolitio found himself on the market once again. A combination of injury concerns and perhaps too high an asking price left him on the market until he signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the San Diego Padres. After some ramp-up time in the minors, Giolitio managed just a 5.16 ERA over 29.2 innings with the Padres before a bout of right elbow inflammation sent him to the injured list for the rest of the season.

There are legitimate concerns about health and effectiveness as a starter at this point in his career, but is Giolitio worth the low-risk gamble to reunit with his high school pitching coach? Walks were an issue for him in 2026, but historically he’s been about league average in that department. The strikeout rate has also declined since 2023.

Giolitio offers a fairly standard four-pitch mix and is more prone to being a flyball pitcher, which is another risk. However, the fact that he could be signed on a cheap one-year deal, perhaps even a minor-league contract, could be an opportunity for the Rockies to see if they can go about “fixing” an ailing pitcher, kind of like they did with Jordan Romano this season.

Reunions?

When looking for pitching to come to Colorado, the Rockies have to utilize the connections of the pitching coaches to entice players. Ethan Katz has his work cut out for him, and helping recruit players he is familiar with could be a helpful way to start things off. Fedde and Giolitio would be budget options but could be vital depth pieces for the rotation.

The Rockies have a lot of options available and need to cast a wide net to bring in arms ready and willing to embrace the challenge of Coors Field and look for ways to improve.

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1926
The White Sox traded one future Hall-of-Famer player-manager for another.

Second baseman-manager Eddie Collins was released (as player, and manager), with catcher Ray Schalk taking over as manager as well. Indicating there was somehow some bad blood (or, at least, awkwardness) between owner Charles Comiskey and Collins, superstar was let go without even a phone call of warning.

Collins had guided the team to an 81-72 record in 1926 … and chipped in with a .344 batting average and 4.3 WAR! However, Collins proved a poor manager, recording -4.7 managerial WAR (mWAR) that season, after a -3.1 mWAR in 1925.

Still, Collins caught on as a player-coach with his old club, the Philadelphia A’s and put up one final, outstanding season in 1927, hitting .336 with a 2.3 WAR.

Schalk played in just 18 games in Chicago over two seasons as a player-manager, guiding the club to a 102-125 record over one-plus seasons at the helm. He ended up an even worse manager than Collins, recording -5.8 mWAR in his lone full season managing Chicago.

All three of Collins’ seasons managing the White Sox were winning ones, and he finished with a career record of 174-160.

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1964
Future White Sox closer Roberto Hernández was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico.

Hernández was acquired in a minor deal with the Angels in 1989, and two years later was pitching for the South Siders. After getting shelling in the second two of three starts made in 1989, Hernández moved to the pen and with the fast demise of closer Bobby Thigpen, became the White Sox closer for good in mid-August.

He would throw 345 games for the White Sox all told, with his final full season on the South Side, 1996, his greatest: 4.1 WAR and a sixth-place finish in Cy Young voting. The next year, Hernández was part of the “White Flag Trade” made with the San Francisco Giants.

He left Chicago with 161 saves, then second-most in club history behind Thigpen, and still third all-time.

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1981
The White Sox hired Charley Lau as batting coach, giving him an unprecedented six-year contract. The contract was warranted given his popular hitting approach, best manifested in the success of Kansas City’s George Brett and encapsulated in Lau’s book, The Art of Hitting .300.

Lau only lived through the first two years of his White Sox deal, as he was stricken with colon cancer and died before the 1984 season, at the age of 50. Since his death, Lau’s No. 6 has been unofficially retired by the White Sox, used only by Lau disciple Walt Hriniak during his coaching tenure in Chicago.

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1998
White Sox GM Ron Schueler swapped promising center fielder Mike Cameron to the Reds for infielder Paul Konerko. 

Konerko would eventually blossom into a consistent, power-hitting first baseman, finishing his career with 432 home runs and 1,383 RBIs. He was a six-time All-Star, a World Series champion, the 2005 ALCS MVP and 2002 Comeback Player of the Year.  

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2005
They never made it on the cover of Sports Illustrated for winning the World Series, but the Sox did make the cover of The Sporting Newsfor the accomplishment.

The caption was short and to the point: “Sweep!”

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2010
Alexei Ramírez was awarded his first Silver Slugger, the only White Sox player so honored in 2010. For Ramírez, the 2010 season was his breakout star turn, his best-ever season in the majors, so the award was duly earned. The shortstop added a second Silver Slugger to his trophy cabinet in 2014 — but two years later he was out of baseball.

The San Diego Padres have been in the headlines during the GM Meetings in Las Vegas. There have been reports about how aggressive general manager A.J. Preller has been in the free agent market, especially considering the enormous need for pitching in San Diego. There have been reports about how much interest Preller has in adding players from Japan who are either making the move from overseas or who have already spent some time in MLB. And of course, there is the biggest rumor that the Padres are a player for top free agent pitcher Tarik Skubal.

The Friar Faithful have come to know and in many cases expect these storylines to permeate through GM Meetings and Winter Meetings year after year. That is one of the things that come with having Preller, the Rockstar GM, as the architect of your baseball team.

In recent years, Preller has operated on a minimal or seemingly no-existent budget — he has even cut payroll and still been able to put together a competitive team. San Diego has made the playoffs each of the past three seasons, but has not had enough to reach the pinnacle of the sport. This season, if there is a season, should be no different especially with financial backing from new ownership. It is unknown what kind of financial commitment Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones will make in terms of payroll spending, but when you purchase a team for billions of dollars there is no reason to expect they will go cheap.

With that said, San Diego did make an addition to the roster with the signing of Ryan Weiss who is a right-handed pitcher who most recently was with the Houston Astros. It is unclear whether Weiss will be used as a reliever or a depth possibility in the rotation, but with pitching coach Ruben Niebla and his track record with pitchers surely all options are on the table. It was not the signing many fans hoped for, but it should be the first of many as the GM Meetings and offseason continues leading up to the expected lockout on Dec. 1.

Padres News:

• It is no secret the Padres need starting pitching. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball looked at the state of the San Diego rotation at this point in the offseason.

• Adrian Morejon has been with the Padres his entire career and that may come to an end as he enters free agency, but he was dominant in 2026 for San Diego. See what grade he received from Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball.

• Reports from the GM Meetings regarding Morejon and his free agency have stated the pitcher wants to remain a reliever despite some teams wanting to convert him to a starter.

Baseball News:

• Will Venable of the Chicago White Sox and Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers win Manager of the Year in their respective leagues.

• Multiple teams are expected to meet with Tarik Skubal in the coming weeks.

• Free agent reliever Emilio Pagan agreed to a one year deal with the Detroit Tigers.

• New York Yankees starter Max Fried had offseason surgery to remove a bone spur.

• The Texas Rangers are open to trading stars off their roster.

• The Seattle Mariners do not intend to bring back J.P. Crawford.

When the Orioles traded for Trevor Rogers at the trade deadline in 2024, I wasn’t especially impressed. He had a high ERA and an injury history. When he pitched to a 7.11 ERA in his first four starts, then made his final five starts down in Triple-A, I was less impressed. 2024 Stacey would not believe that 2026 Stacey is advocating for the Orioles to sign Trevor Rogers to a hefty free agent contract, and yet here we are.

Starting in 2025, Rogers turned things around in a big way. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury, then underwent a lengthy minor-league rehab. During that rehab, his numbers were terrible. But he was obviously working on things because after making his season debut with the Orioles on May 24th, he was incredible and never looked back.

You know the rest of that season. A 1.81 ERA in 18 starts. Awarded Most Valuable Oriole despite missing the first two months. People were calling to extend him then, but for me, at least, it felt early. I remembered 2024. I knew his shaky numbers with the Marlins before he arrived. I guess I was wrong.

He was the 2026 Opening Day pitcher and while that game was good, he got off to a rocky start. No one expected him to repeat his 1.81 ERA, but we sure didn’t expect that number to be 6.84 at the end of May. It was disappointing, but in retrospect, it seemed that his late April IL stint related to the flu really took him out.

It seemed to take him quite a while to fully recover. But once he did, he was back to the guy we wanted to see at the top of the Orioles’ rotation.

From June 4th through the end of the season, Rogers posted a 2.90 ERA over 20 starts. He struck out 119 in 121 innings. He walked 21. His fastball velocity had dipped earlier in the year and was back up to about 93 mph. He looked a lot like the pitcher the Orioles saw in 2025. The fans had quieted down about extending him when his ERA was over six, but they were back at it over the final two-thirds of the season. And rightly so.

When asked about his future at various times by the press, Rogers expressed his fondness for Baltimore but also stated that he doesn’t negotiate during the season. And why would he? He is a 28-year-old left-handed starting pitcher coming off two impressive seasons. He is arguably the second-best starting pitcher on the FA market this year (there is no arguing the first: Tarik Skubal).

This is Rogers’s time to lock down his big contract. First, he has to turn down the $23.15 million qualifying offer from the Orioles. He will do that. Then it’s on for him.

I don’t begrudge Rogers going after that big contract. But I think the Orioles are in a place to be the ones who re-sign him. We know that Mike Elias has not yet signed a free-agent pitcher to a big contract. There was a time when I believed he wouldn’t do that. But I don’t believe it now. He signed Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz to contract extensions. And he, of course, made the incredible signing of Pete Alonso last year. Alonso isn’t a pitcher, but it proves that Elias is willing to go big.

The Orioles need to sign or trade for a top pitcher for 2027. Between Bradish, Baz, and Brandon Young they have a solid mid-to-back of the rotation, at worst. Bradish has number one potential but struggled, and he will be coming off an injury after having a hernia repair in October. Baz was unreliable in 2026. And Young, who went beyond expectations last year, has to prove he can repeat his success.

If the Orioles don’t sign Rogers or similar, those three will be the top of the rotation. That leaves Cade Povich and Trey Gibson to round things out. And that can’t be the way that it goes for the Orioles. Not if they want any hope of competing.

Trevor Rogers is a known quantity. He is one of the top starting pitchers on the FA market. He is going to get his payday. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Rogers will get a five-year contract worth $115 million. Five years would take Rogers through his 33rd birthday. So you’re not looking at giving a guy a contract that will take him through until he’s old. I know it’s not my money, but I’d take that deal on Rogers without hesitation.

The Orioles have a lot of work to do if they want to contend in 2027. Upgrading the rotation is a requirement, and they can do by reuniting with the pitcher who has been so good for them the last two seasons.

When the 2026 MLB season started, J.C. Escarra was entrusted with the inglorious position of backup catcher. Backup catchers occupy a unique role, as they are expected to shoulder a relatively steady workload while facing fairly low offensive expectations. Even with those low expectations, Escarra left fans and the front office wanting more in 2026.

Nothing personal, but many were surprised when the front office opted to pair Austin Wells with Escarra’s left-handed bat instead of going with a right-handed-hitting backstop out of spring training. The former delivery driver filled the role through the first few months of the season before finding himself shuttled between the majors and Scranton. After a series of moves, he spent most of the summer with the RailRiders before returning to the big-league club in late September.

Grade: D-

2026 Stats: 32 G, 92 PA, 8 R, 16 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .188/.239/.271, 42 OPS+, 40 wRC+, 0.1 fWAR, 0.1 bWAR.

2027 Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

In 2025, defense was Escarra’s calling card. He displayed strong framing and receiving skills, but unfortunately, he could not replicate those results in 2026. According to Baseball Savant, Escarra’s Catcher Framing Runs went from five to zero. The rest of his defensive metrics were still solid, with his blocking and throwing rankings placing him above average. However, losing that strike-stealing advantage is tough to overcome when you are a bit of a one-trick pony.

Offensively, Escarra struggled, even by backup catcher standards. His final slash line was .188/.239/.271, as he managed just 16 hits in 32 games, with no homers. In his defense, he did at least hold his own against lefties. In an extremely small sample of 21 plate appearances, Escarra hit .316 and slugged .421 while striking out just twice. This split of course was the other side of the coin to Escarra struggling mightily against right-handed pitching.

The underlying metrics don’t paint a much prettier picture. Escarra posted a .206 expected batting average and a .308 expected slugging percentage. His barrel rate dropped from 5.6 percent in 2025 to 4.5 percent in 2026, while his hard-hit rate fell from 43.1 percent to 33.8 percent. Simply put, Escarra struggled to make consistent quality contact against major league pitching.

At the end of June, the Yankees optioned the slumping catcher to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Back in the minors, Escarra’s bat woke up, as he crushed International League pitching to the tune of a .301 average and 11 home runs in 256 at-bats. Trying to find his way back to the big club, Escarra started to dabble with switch-hitting. However, even after the press had some fun with the storyline, Escarra did not take a single official major or minor league plate appearance from the right side during the 2026 season.

Heading into 2027, Escarra is still under team control. With the Yankees expected to be in the market for a catcher, it is possible Escarra will once again factor into the Triple-A catching mix for the newly-minted Highlanders. However, at 31 years old, he is not exactly a prospect who needs everyday at-bats to develop. His minor league production shows that he can still hit lower-level pitching, but the challenge is translating that success against major league arms. If he cannot provide consistent offense, he needs to be elite defensively to justify a spot on the roster. Teams are always looking for catchers in the spring, so Escarra should continue to have some value moving forward.

One last note: the impact of Tanner Swanson taking a job in Seattle may be worth tracking this offseason. With the longtime catching coordinator now in the Mariners’ dugout, it is at least possible that a catcher like Escarra could be part of a trade between the two clubs this offseason if they are able to link up for a deal.

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See more of the Yankees Roster Report Card series here.

Okay, it’s totally bad form to add more Big Board-esque questions when I’ve done eff-all to score any of the existing ones, but here we go. When I first thought about the Big Board, this was the sort of one-off debate I thought it would be useful for, and while I’m not sure why this of all things is one of the more-organic opportunities for weighing in that we’ve had over the last season or two, it is, and here we are.

We’ve even got dueling reporter narratives: one reporter says the clubhouse would be happy to welcome him back, another says he’s basically persona non grata. And, the Braves really do care about the clubhouse, so that presumably matters. But, the sum total of considerations could be expansive.

Yes, Profar has been gone for a full year, and it’s not like he was all that impressive in the second half of 2025 (barely above 2 fWAR/600 while massively outhitting your xwOBA is not a great way to go through life, son). But, cutting him or sending him away in a bad contract swap is also getting nothing for your money, and the Braves may be loath to do that. If there are clubhouse effects, those probably swing the decision one way or another, but hard to know which way they may go. Combine all that with the fact that Mike Yastrzemski kinda sucked in 2026, and that Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s central estimate of playing time is probably going to be somewhere in the three- or four-month range rather than a full season, and that makes removing even an unexciting bench-quality option with a low floor and a lot of skew towards that floor harder to part with. But, the Braves could also part ways with Profar and use their limited resources on whatever Profar was theoretically supposed to provide back when he was signed (an actual starter-quality guy in a corner outfield spot).

Anyway, the question is simple: will Jurickson Profar record an appearance for the Braves in 2027? Please add a confidence integer to your answer: 1 for “I have no idea and am just participating for the fun of it,” 5 for “I am dead certain this will happen,” or the other three digits on the gradient in between those two.

Trades and free agency acquisitions are often an emotional thing. Teams sometimes want a shot of enthusiasm and getting that star player feels like it will galvanize the fan base. However, most general managers don’t think that way anymore. There is a science to this thing and when a player like Jeremy Pena becomes available in trade talks, there will be a limited number of teams where it makes sense for a trade to happen. Obviously, we can look at what is coming back later, but we are going to list five teams that might think it is a good idea to make a deal for Pena.

The obvious first question is what this analysis is based on. There are three factors that impact whether a team should consider a Jeremy Pena. First, they would need to have a need a shortstop. So, we will look at the gap between what Pena did according to FWAR (3.4 wins) and what that team’s shortstop did. The bigger the gap the more it makes sense for a team to consider a move. Secondly, the team needs to be a contender for the playoffs next year. He has only one more year of club control, so it makes no sense for a non-contending team to bring him in. Lastly, it needs to be a richer team that could potentially afford an extension. It makes no sense for a Tampa Bay or Milwaukee to decide they could use him because he likely won’t stay there long term.

Boston Red Sox

Won-loss record: 87-75
2026 Payroll: 207.99 million
2026 Shortstop: Trevor Story 0.2 FWAR

Vince Gennaro used to be the executive director of SABR. He published a landmark book titled “Diamond Dollars: The economics of winning baseball.” The book contained two relevant points here. First, the notion that players are worth ten of 15 wins is patently ridiculous. Sure, Pete Crow-Alexander had a brilliant season, but most superstar players finish between five and six wins. Then, you would have to subtract what the current player at that position does to get a net gain. As we can see from Pena’s 3.4 above, the Red Sox would have a net gain of three wins according to Fangraphs.

That spills us into the second point. According to Gennaro, there is a sweet spot where it makes sense to spend. A 70 win team should not sell out to add three wins. It makes no sense. However, a team in that 85 to 90 win range would see their playoff odds increase a ton with just three additional victories. Going from 87 wins to 90 wins virtually guarantees a spot in the new format. So, it would seem like they would motivated to do that.

Obviously, Story is still under contract and no one is taking that contract off their hands. So, they would either need to release him or relegate him to the bench. Obviously, the question of a trade fit is whole different question. The Astros should be in the business of taking the best package regardless of who offers it. However, given the three parameters above, it would appear that the Red Sox would be the most motivated buyer.

New York Yankees

Won-Loss Record:93-68
2026 Payroll: 308.34 million
2026 Shortstop: Jose Caballero 1.3 FWAR

The Yankees are not in the top spot because they are not quite as desperate. Caballero is not an exciting player, but he is useful. Of course, they could let Jazz Chilsohm walk in free agency and move Caballero to second. That would give them some payroll flexibility assuming there is no hard cap. They are not in that sweet spot zone that Gennaro described, but they could be motivated to make a run at the Rays for the division. In that case, a net gain of two wins could come in handy.

There are two things complicating this one. First, the collective bargaining agreement could seriously hamstring the Yankees and prevent them from adding any payroll. Secondly, Pena seems to have gravitated towards Boston and that matters when looking at long-term possibilities. I would not offer a king’s ransom for a guy I know will be one and done.

Atlanta Braves

Won-Loss Record: 94-68
2026 Payroll: 263.46 million
2026 shortstop: Mauricio Dubon (FA) 2.4 FWAR

The fact that both Mauricio Dubon and Ha Seong Kim might not be back in Atlanta complicates this situation greatly. Maybe the Braves does bite the bullet and sign Dubon to a more reasonable number. Like the Yankees, they will be looking at the CBA negotiations with an eye for how to pivot if things break a certain way. Obviously if the Astros trade Pena then Dubon becomes an immediate FA option in Houston, but that is a different topic for a different day.

Like the Yankees, they are also outside of that magic zone where motivated moves make sense. A Pena move could be seen as a shot across the bough for the Dodgers and Brewers since the Braves are likely to win the NL East again. Obviously, what each of these teams can offer is a whole separate conversation we can get into later.

Less Realistic Options

Philadelphia Phillies

Won-Loss Record: 88-74
2026 Payroll: 291.95 milion
2026 Shortstop: Trea Turner 1.1 FWAR

Turner is entrenched on the roster and signed through the apocalypse. However, he was -17 DRS last year at short and -8 and -9 respectively in OAA and FRV. There is talk of moving Turner to second base and bringing in a more capable shortstop. Obviously, that involves some mental gymnastics that the above teams really don’t have to deal with.

However, they exist in that Gennaro zone at 88 wins. Their payroll is such that they will have to pivot if the sport goes to a hard cap. Such a move would depend on the mood of ownership. If they want to make one last run with this nucleus then getting a Pena and move Turner could do the trick. If Turner could be a neutral second baseman then he probably elevates himself to a two win player. That would effectively give them three additional victories over what they had last year. I hate trying to read the mind of an owner, so this goes under the less realistic options.

San Francisco Giants

Won-Loss Record: 65-97
2026 Payroll: 190.17 million
2026 Shortstop: Willy Adames 0.4 FWAR

There is a old adage that you don’t get in the way of your opponent when they are making a mistake. I put the Giants in the less likely category because frankly it doesn’t make sense from a competitive or financial standpoint. Plus, moving Adames means you might have to move a young second baseman that looks like a good young player. However, Buster Posey is not the smartest of executives, so I could see him thinking this move vaults him back into contention in the NL West.

Unlike the other teams, the Giants can afford to add payroll no matter where the new rules come down. They could be in an enviable position if the Dodgers have to suddenly shed salary. What’s troubling is that they would likely have to overpay Pena to get him to stay there because that’s not a good home ballpark for him. At that point, you would have several players with long-term deals that could become negative assets if they aren’t negative already. Of course, there I go again bringing logic and reason to a situation where an executive could make an emotional move. If he offers the right package I’m not getting in his way.

Meet the Mets

Mark Feinsand listed five teams to watch at the GM meetings, and the first on the list was the New York Mets.

The stove is already heating up this offseason, and there’s plenty of rumors flying around, including that the Mets will be meeting with Skubal next week.

Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis picked one Rookie of the Year candidate from each team for next season, with the Mets selection being a lefty pitcher near the top of their farm system.

Hall of Famer and former Met Willie Mays will be honored by the USPS next year with a commemorative stamp.

The Mets will be holding their annual food drive at Citi Field on Thursday, November 12th.

Kodai Senga, who is already garnering some trade interest, will be building up as a starter heading into spring training.

Matthew Roberson at Fangraphs wrote about some of 2026’s most underappreciated players, with Christian Scott getting the first nod.

David Stearns made it clear that the Mets will be looking to upgrade offensively at first base, though jared Young looks like he may be part of that solution.

Around the National League East

Bob Boone, 1980 World Series champion with the Phillies (and father of Aaron and Bret Boone), died at the age of 78.

Around Major League Baseball

Writers for MLB.com made cases for each Manager of the Year finalist this season.

Yankees pitcher Max Fried had a bone spur removed from his elbow, but he’ll begin throwing again in December.

Cubs starter Ben Brown underwent successful spine surgery Monday and should be game ready at some point in the first half of next season.

It would be difficult, but the Rangers could try to move Corey Seager this offseason, according to Ken Rosenthal.

Pat Murphy won his third straight Manager of the Year Award, the first manager to ever win three consecutively.

Will Venable won the American League Manager of the Year Award after leading the White Sox from the basement to the playoffs.

Adrian Morejon may be an intriguing starter conversion candidate for some teams in free agency, but he would rather remain in the bullpen.

Pitcher Ryan Weiss, who has started in both the KBO and CPBL, has signed with the Padres on a one year deal with a club option.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Steve Sypa continued his series of profiles of international free agents with Japanese pitcher Hiromi Itoh.

Micah Noe began a series on the history of MLB labor, with the first part focusing on baseball’s first century, give or take a few years.

Lukas Vlahos examined various reliever-to-starter conversion candidates in free agency this offseason.

This Date in Mets History

Bobby Bonilla returned to the Mets 28 years ago today—a transaction the Mets are quite literally still paying for.

As the hot stove begins to warm up, Alex Anthopoulos quickly shut down Ronald Acuña Jr. trade rumors. He said the star outfielder will not be traded and there have been no calls involving an Acuña Jr. trade.

#Braves Alex Anthopoulos: "We are not trading Ronald Acuña Jr. Put it in bold."

Anthopoulos said there have been zero calls outgoing or incoming on trading Acuña. Any rumors are completely unfounded.

Anthopoulos added:
"We need him. We need to add to him."

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) November 10, 2026

2027 is the final guaranteed year of Acuña’s contract with the Atlanta Braves. His deal includes a club option for 2028.

More Braves News:

Walt Weiss finished runner-up in the NL Manager of the Year race. Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers won his third consecutive Manager of the Year award.

Our 2026 player review series continues with Anthony Molina. 

MLB News:

The Detroit Tigers signed reliever Emilio Pagán to a one-year, $11M deal. 

The San Diego Padres agreed to a one-year, $1.85M deal with right-hander Ryan Weiss. The contract includes a team option for 2028.

Max Fried of the New York Yankees underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow. He is expected to be ready by Spring Training. 

Bob Boone, father of Aaron and Bret Boone, passed away at 78.

Is Manager of the Year the dumbest award in baseball?

I think it is.

For starters, no one cares about it. I mean no one. Can you name a single winner of the Manager of the Year Award of the past 10 years? Don’t even think about lying to me, you obviously cannot. And that’s a good thing. Baseball is a player’s game. This isn’t college hoops, where the ego-puffing men performatively screaming on the sideline are bigger stars than the players themselves. Baseball managers aren’t stars at all. They’re just kind of there. To belabor the sky metaphor, baseball managers are clouds, at best.

And because baseball is a player’s game — one that’s decided on the field instead of in the pages of a playbook — almost no one on the outside is even capable of evaluating the job a manager does. Managers don’t have elaborate styles of play they bring from one team to another. They don’t spend days designing defensive schemes that befuddle more talented teams. Their job is mostly to keep the clubhouse happy and pull a pitcher at the right moment. That’s just about it.

And because the job is so hard to evaluate from the outside, voting usually follows a predictable pattern: voters just give it to the manager of the team that had a better season than anyone expected. They do this despite the fact that we all know that, every single season, there will be flukey teams who get a little magic fairy dust sprinkled on them and make a surprising playoff run. That’s just how baseball works and, more often than not, those teams go right on back to being mediocre-to-bad the next season. So, e.g., we give the 2023 NL Manager of the Year to Skip Schumaker. After all, the 2022 Marlins only won 69 games, so Schumaker guiding the same team to 84 wins the next season obviously means he did an amazing job, right? Of course — just please try to ignore the fact that he must have forgotten how to manage the next year, because the same team with the same manager subsequently went 62-100 the very next season.

All of this is to say: I don’t really care that Chad Tracy didn’t win the American League Manager of the Year last night. He finished third, behind winner Will Venable of the White Sox and runner-up Kevin Cash of the Rays. Did either Venable or Cash truly do a better job than Tracy? No one knows. What they do know is that the Red Sox were predicted to make the playoffs before the season started, while the White Sox and Rays were not. Ergo, those managers must have done a great job.

But does anyone actually think that either Veneble or Cash had a harder job than Tracy had on the day he reported to Fenway Camden Yards for the first time? Would literally any manager in baseball have traded places with Tracy that day, as he took over a team that appeared dead in the water and replaced a popular World Series-winning manager, knowing he was likely to be fired himself at the end of the season? And, as for Venable, would anyone be surprised if his White Sox finish under .500 again in 2027? And, if they do, will any of the voters who deemed him the best manager in the American League in 2026 perhaps wonder if they made the wrong call?

No, they will not. You know why? Because they won’t ever think about the 2026 Manager of the Year Award ever again, because, as we established up top, literally no one cares about this award. At all.

So, congrats to Will Venable. My condolences to Chad Tracy. Now please, for the love of god, can Craig Breslow do something interesting so we have something real to talk about?

The race for the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes has begun, and the Dodgers are once again in the mix for the best free agent talent on the market.

While the left-hander will be stripped of his title as the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner over the coming days, he is the ultimate envy of any team that can afford his services. In their pursuit of re-signing the team’s Game 1 starter of the postseason, the Dodgers will be meeting with Skubal, yet the details surrounding when and where the meeting will take place have yet to be disclosed, notes Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“We’ve been in touch with his camp, and our expectation is we’ll meet at some point,” [Brandon] Gomes told reporters, including MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas.

The Dodgers are competing with teams such as the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres in the hunt for Skubal, and the Mets have already scheduled a meeting with Skubal for next week, per Jorge Castillo of ESPN. Castillo notes that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns declined to comment on their pursuit of Skubal.

LAS VEGAS — The New York Mets are scheduled to meet with left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal, the prize of this offseason’s free agent class, next week in California, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

No player in the history of Major League Baseball has been handed a nine-figure salary for one year of service, but Dylan Hernandez of the California Post makes an outlandish proposal for the Dodgers to offer Skubal a one-year deal for $100 million.

They will have to offer Skubal enough money to forfeit the security of a longer deal. What about $100 million to pitch for them next year? Perhaps a player option or two after that? If nine figures for one season of baseball sounds expensive, consider the cost of not retaining Skubal.

Former Dodgers shortstop and 2020 World Series MVP Corey Seager could be finding greener pastures for 2027 and beyond, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Texas Rangers intend on trading Seager this offseason.

The Rangers, though, intend to explore moving Seager at the general managers’ meetings, according to people briefed on their intentions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

I have written a couple of articles regarding the bad bullpen of 2026, one focused on how good bullpens really do have a lot of correlation to winning teams, and the other about how the 2026 bullpen was one of the worst 21st century Cardinals bullpens. Now I would like to look at some options in free agency that St Louis could possibly go after in order to bolster the bad bullpen.

Aware that it is quite possible that the Cardinals will do absolutely nothing this offseason when it comes to free agency, I still think they should spend a little bit to stabilize the bullpen issue. The Cardinals rarely let their bullpen stink for long, so maybe they’ll actually sign a guy or two. There are many options on the market this offseason when it comes to relievers! If a reliever seems just really bad and not an option, I won’t mention them. I will however mention good options we probably won’t afford.

• Jason Adam: part of the amazing Padres bullpen, he is now available via free agency. He is a right handed FIP beater that had a 2.26 ERA and 3.77 xERA last season. The ugly FIPs make him look like replacement level fodder, but maybe there’s something there for the Cardinals. He might not be too expensive. While he’s always been an overperformer on FIP, there may be some concern about his 2026 season, as his FIP rates went even higher than usual. Still, his ERA works for me, and the xERA isn’t alarming. He is pretty old, however! Might be a risky signing. probably about $10 mil
• Tyler Alexander: the 32 year old lefty free agent from the Texas Rangers had a 3.33 xERA and 3.10 FIP in 2026. Seems like a good pickup to me! I’m unfamiliar with the player, but he seems like an option for the Cardinals. probably a $2 to $3 million one year deal
• David Bednar: 32 year old right handed pitcher will probably not be available to us, but it sure would be nice to have him with his career 3.03 ERA and 2.96 FIP. he probably gonna get paid
• Brock Burke: a 30 year old left handed pither from the Angels excellent bullpen posted a 2.30 ERA, 3.65 xERA, and 3.76 FIP. His career stats aren’t bad either. I definitely would not be opposed to this signing, except he walked too many batters in 2026. A career 3.14 BB/9 is good enough for me though.probably will get a multi year deal averaging around $4 million a year
• Andrew Chafin: the 36 year old lefty looks even more like Kenny Powers than Ryne Stanek did, and Chafin had much better run rates of 2.41 ERA and 3.46 FIP. However, he did walk more batters than Stanek did in 2026, and the past few years he’s been ballooning his career walk rate. I think I’d pass on Chafin.
• Taylor Clarke: the 33 year old righty seems like he wouldn’t be too expensive, but his rate stats are kind of all over the place in 2026 with a 2.96 ERA, 4.41 xERA, 3.85 FIP, and 4.28 xFIP. His career stats are not very good, so I think I’d pass, but maybe there’s something there, too. Hard to say. $3 to $4 millionone year
• Dietrich Enns: the 35 year old lefty has pitched in Korea for a significant part of his career, and was signed by Baltimore in 2026 where he had a major walk issue. He might be worth a look at though, with career rate stats of 3.86 ERA, 3.37 xERA, 3.57 FIP, and 4.14 xFIP. probably dirt cheap
• Kevin Ginkel: 32-year-old righty with a 4.12 ERA in 2026 might be available for a good deal, which I would accept given his career 3.59 xERA and 3.47 FIP. multi-year averaging $6 million, pass if not a good deal
• Brusdar Graterol: did a double take at that name! Sign this man just for that name, what what. That’s peculiar even for a baseball name! He’s only 28, throws right handed, and possesses a career 2.78 ERA, 3.06 xERA, 3.20 FIP, a 3.58 xFIP, and a 1.98 BB/9! Sign him, Bloom. probably dirt cheap
• Raisel Iglesias: 32 year old right handed reliever with a career 2.87 ERA, 3.12 xERA, 3.20 FIP, and 3.34 xFIP. Do it, Chaim! Too costly, however. Just kidding, Bloom!
• Pierce Johnson: a 35 year old righty coming from Atlanta with a declined mutual option is coming off a down season, but his career stats are 3.90 ERA, 3.85 xERA, 3.85 FIP, and 3.93 xFIP. Not bad. But maybe nothing to mess with unless he’s dirt cheap. Pass. could be gotten for a one year deal for $4 million or less, but probably a little overpriced
• Jakob Junis: another mid 30s pitcher with a declined option, Junis is a good example of a bullpen guy you probably can’t guess about how good they’ll be next season. Jakob may have figured something out though, his rate stats have been good over the last few years, ignoring his xERA. RHP probably 1 year around $3.5million
• Tyler Kinley: 35 year old righty with rate stats all over the place in his career, the definition of bullpen volatility. Not sure if they’ll see something with him, but I think I’d pass because the walk rate is definitely a concern. probably too costly
• Andrew Kittredge: Kitt is still a good reliever at age 36. The righty now is at 3.44 ERA, 3.66 xERA, 3.74 FIP, and 3.52 xFIP over the course of his career, and he was still good last year. He will probably get paid more than he’s actually worth, but if the price is right he would be a lot of fun to bring back. probably affordablebut tough to say
• Jonathan Loáisiga: a 32 year old right handed reliever with a career 3.30 ERA, 3.31 xERA, 3.65 FIP, and 3.71 xFIP. Seems like a no-brainer if the price is right! most likely way too expensive
• A.J. Minter: another lefty! Minter will surely be seeking a few years, but he’d probably be worth it with a career 3.15 ERA, 3.22 xERA, 3.04 FIP, and 3.55 xFIP! Somehow he keeps those babips against low. too expensive in all likelihood
• Adrian Morejon: the 27 year old left handed pitcher will be a tough sign for any team with a 2.33 xERA and 2.37 FIP in 2026, and a career 3.26 ERA. absolutely no way
• Steven Okert: 35 year old LHP who is coming off a career should confuse teams somewhat, but his career 3.41 ERA is no joke, and a career 3.83 FIP ain’t bad. Wouldn’t be bad pickup if he’s not too pricey. more than likely will be a multi year deal out of the Dewitt’s price point
• Emilio Pagan: the 35 year old RHP is a pretty damn good pitcher with a career 3.38 xERA! wants multiple years around $10 million a year, hard pass
• Evan Phillips: a 32 year old RHP with a career 3.37 ERA and 3.40 FIP will not be an easy sign. $9 million
• A.J. Puk: a 31 year old LHP with a 3.38 ERA and 4.51 FIP in 2026, and a career 3.15 xERA would be nice! probably dirt cheap
• JoJo Romero: still just 30 years old, the lefty might just come back to the birds and possesses a career 3.51 ERA and 3.86 FIP. JoJo has always been a FIP beater but he also outperforms his xERA consistently. Escape artist. Last season, he left over 80% of runners on base. mlbtraderumors projects a 2 year $13 million contractbut maybe he will be a little less pricey
• Joe Ross: the 32 year old righty has a career 3.58 ERA and 3.75 FIP. probably anaffordablemillion-dollar contract
• Ryan Thompson: the 34 year old righty has an incredibly consistent set of career stats: 3.67 ERA, 3.61 xERA, 3.64 FIP, and 3.76 xFIP. His year to year stats fluctuate quite a lot though! Not sure. His peak seasons are really good though. not cheap, not expensive, reliable
• Alex Vesia: a 30 year old lefty with excellent stats: 2.87 ERA, 3 xERA, 3.5 FIP, and 3.95 xFIP. He would be fine at Busch III! He will probably get a pretty damn good contract, though. way too expensive
• Ryan Yarbrough: the 34 year old lefty had a really good 2026 with a 3.69 ERA and 3.45 FIP. His career rate stats are all over 4.0 however. Seems too risky, unless he ends up signing for a good deal to try and duplicate his 2026. LHP probably could be had for around $3 million

There it is, an extensive or is that exhaustive rundown of possible bullpen options for the Cardinals. I would hope they could afford at least one! That bullpen could use some help, even if it’s just a little. The market has a ton of good lefties and a variety of good right handed pitchers.

While I understand the Cardinals are “hurting” financially and times is dangerous, I believe the 26 pitchers listed above could and would help the team at least somewhat. Cardinals fans at least deserve a decent bullpen if they are expected to tune in to every game and/or show up to buy tickets, merch, and overpriced food and drink. If they have a bad bullpen again, people will be headed for the exits early, and viewership will be down.

Considering the tight bank of the current incarnation of the Dewitts, and the happy farm developer Chaim Bloom, I would suggest they sign one off this shortlist just to keep the fans happy (ish):

• Tyler Alexander (LHP)
• Taylor Clarke (RHP)
• Jakob Junis (RHP)
• Andrew Kittredge (RHP)
• JoJo Romero (LHP)
• Joe Ross (RHP)
• Ryan Yarbrough (LHP)

Which one of those 7 would you sign?

I would also suggest the Cardinals sign a bargain-bin gamble relief pitcher from the following:

• Dietrich Enns (LHP)
• Brusdar Graterol (RHP)
• A.J. Puk (LHP)

I think if they unexpectedly wanted to sign a long-term reliever contract, Ryan Thompson wouldn’t totally baffle me on a three-year deal. But you wouldn’t really know what to expect year to year. Would only do it if they think they know why he’s been consistently inconsistent (*or is that the other way around?).

As you can see, if you wanted to bring back an old but really good bullpen arm, Kittredge is not a bad plan. Nor is Romero. But you probably can’t have both. The benefit of going back to Kitt is that there are a lot of left-handed options this offseason. Romero is younger and a more worthy investment, though, and there are plenty of righties to choose from. Romero + Graterol could be a heck of a deal!

2000 Music

In the year, 2000, in the year, TWO THOUSANDDDD

If you are looking to revisit Y2K, you’re in the right place! I have a lot of really cool albums for you to listen to. I will be sharing them over the coming weeks. To start out, here are some of my top rated bigger name picks:

• godspeed you black emperor! ‘Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antenna To Heaven’ underground punk rock orchestra’s magnum opus #postrock #canada
• Radiohead – ‘Kid A’ still no other album like it in other band’s or Radiohead’s catalog. A capture in time!
• yo la tengo – ‘And then nothing turned itself inside out’ mellow alt rock not quite shoegaze but not quite anything else… space rock, alternative, mellow cool
• Queens of the Stone Age – ‘Rated R’ top-notch soundtrack to your favorite bender weekend! #rocknroll
• Ween – ‘White Pepper’ Dean and Gene Ween at the top of their game! #altrock #psychedelicpunk

The year 2000 has so many really really good albums that I’m going to review Y2K in many installments! I see no other way! And maybe less albums will be easier to digest if you want to keep up. Check ‘em out, and thanks for reading! Let me know if my bullpen suggestions make sense.

LAS VEGAS – The Dodgers could re-sign Tarik Skubal.

They could inject youth in their lineup. 

They could improve their bullpen.

None of that will matter if Shohei Ohtani isn’t healthy in October, and based on what general manager Brandon Gomes said on Tuesday, there should be serious concerns that he won’t be.

While Gomes refrained from saying how Ohtani would be managed in 2027, every indication was that Ohtani will be permitted to attempt what he failed to do this year, which was to be a two-way player from the start of the season to the finish.

“It doesn’t mean that if he goes wire to wire, [next] year plays out in the same way,” Gomes said.

But it can.

With Ohtani breaking down by the middle of the season.

With Ohtani not even close to performing like the offensive force he was required to be for the Dodgers to win another World Series.

But Gomes didn’t sound as if the Dodgers were thinking of delaying the start of Ohtani’s season as a pitcher to control his workload.

Gomes said Ohtani would have a “normal” offseason.

Their plans for his winter throwing program?

“Leave it up to him,” Gomes said.

Leave it up to Ohtani and he will almost certainly prepare himself to be ready to pitch when the Dodgers open their season.

And once he does that, why wouldn’t he want to pitch from the start?

“I think the competitor in everybody is always that they’re gonna play 162 [games],” Gomes said. “Knowing Shohei, that’ll be his mindset.”

And that could be trouble.

Wagering on Ohtani to deliver in the batter’s box or on the mound is entirely defensible.

Wagering on him to remain healthy as a full-time two-way player at this stage of his career borders on reckless.

The last time Ohtani was a hitter and pitcher for an entire season was in 2022. 

He turns 33 next year.

By now, the Dodgers have to know that Ohtani can’t be trusted to recognize his own physical limitations. 

A person’s strengths and weaknesses spring from the same well, and in the case of Ohtani, he has an extraordinary tolerance for pain as well as a drive to win. The qualities have shaped him into the No. 1 player in the world, but they were also responsible for him blowing out his elbow with the Angels in 2023 and for what happened this year.

The responsibility to protect Ohtani from himself will be that of the Dodgers, who can’t be as passive with him as they were this year.

“I think it’s just making sure that we are taking all of the information into account and trying to set up a system that allows him to pitch and be successful and be healthy towards the end because we know how dominant he can be on the run,” Gomes said.

Gomes offered a couple of examples of what the Dodgers could do. They could start him less frequently early in the season. They could give him more days off as a hitter.

Ohtani will be consulted.

“I think for us to unilaterally decide that doesn’t make sense,” Gomes said. “So, it’s really bringing him into the conversation and figuring out how to navigate a full season.”

That arrangement produced disastrous results this year, as the Dodgers listened to Ohtani when he said he believed he could play through injuries to his knee and arm.

His condition worsened to where he couldn’t make his final pitching start before the All-Star break. By mid-July, his physical problems were starting to affect him in the batter’s box. 

The Dodgers were able to win their division with a limited version of Ohtani, but the playoffs were a different story.

Ohtani batted just .192 in the postseason. He had only one extra-base hit – a home run in their season-ending defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

Gomes made it sound as if Ohtani would be given the chance to have his dream season – to be a dominant two-way player from opening day to the final game of the World Series. By granting him that opportunity, however, they will be exposing themselves to the possibility of reliving their worst nightmare.

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The Orioles’ decision to reacquire Andrew Kittredge from the Chicago Cubs was their first attempt at reshaping the 2026 O’s into a contender. And, like many of the Orioles’ efforts in 2026, it turned out to be a little misguided as Kittredge’s second run in Baltimore had more lows than highs.

Baltimore purchased Kittredge’s contract from the Cubs on November 4th, 2025. The move brought the veteran reliever back to Baltimore just over three months after Mike Elias sent him to Chicago at the 2025 trade deadline.

At the time, it looked like a stroke of genius from the Orioles front office. In sending Kittredge to Chicago, the Orioles brought back teenage SS propsect Wilfri De La Cruz (now Baltimore’s No. 30 prospect). To be able to buy the 36-year-old right-hander back for cash considerations just months later gave the Orioles a way to bolster their bullpen at virtually no cost.

With the Orioles also adding veteran closer Ryan Helsley last offseason, the assumption was that Kittredge would slot into the 7th/8th inning role for Baltimore. That plan was put on hold to begin the year, as he started on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. When he finally made his 2026 debut on April 24th, he slotted right back into that set up role, working a scoreless 7th inning in a win against the Red Sox.

Over the next month, eight of his 13 appearances came in the 7th or 8th innings. If you ignore a May 3rd blow up against the Yankees that saw him give up seven runs while only recording one out, Kittredge pitched to a 1.74 ERA over his first 12 appearances of the season. Over those same outings, he racked up 12 Ks across 10.1 innings while allowing a .179 batting average against. By all accounts, his return to the Orioles as a set up man was going according to plan.

Kittredge’s role changed as it became clear that Helsley couldn’t stay healthy. Though the Orioles would-be closer first landed on the IL on May 1st, it wasn’t until June that Kittredge started consistently getting the call in the 9th inning. From the beginning of June until the All-Star break, the veteran righty made nine of his 16 appearances in the 9th inning. Across those 16 outings, Kittredge continued to shine, posting a 1.88 ERA and .218 BAA while picking up three saves and three holds.

The veteran continued to lead the Orioles bullpen in the second half as the O’s pushed to get back in the playoff race. Kittredge earned a save in the Orioles’ most topsy-turvy game of the season, coming in for the final out of a 12-inning affair against the Tigers when Baltimore completed a comeback from a 7-0 deficit. From July 17th to August 29th, he continued to keep runs off the board, posting a 1.56 ERA while adding five more saves and five more holds. Even his bad nights didn’t cost the Orioles, as his only two blown saves during that stretch both ended in Baltimore extra-inning victories.

However, there were signs that Kittredge’s strong performance was heading toward a regression. After his BAA hovered around .200 for most of the first half, his first 19 second-half outings saw him give up an opponent’s avearge of .284.

That regression finally bore real consequences during the Orioles’ three-game road set against the Rockies. In the first game of the series, Kittredge should have taken the blown save and loss, but for Colton Cowser making the defensive play of the season with a walkoff home run robbery. Two days later, Kittredge entered in the 9th with the Orioles up 3-2 and looking to secure a series win. After starting the inning with a strikeout and flyout, Kittredge allowed back-to-back two-out doubles to blow the save, with the Rockies going on to win the game in extra innings.

The Orioles’ inability to secure a series win vs. the Rockies was seen as the first death knell for their playoff chances. Manager Craig Albernaz also seemed to lose faith in Kittredge down the stretch, as that blown save vs. the Rockies was one of only six appearances he made in September. Across those six outing, Kittredge had a 7.20 ERA and .318 BAA as he potentially ended his Orioles career with a whimper.

Kittredge finished the season with -0.4 bWAR after compiling a 3.54 ERA, 11 saves and 40 Ks over 48.1 innings in 55 appearances. His 1.37 WHIP was his worst since 2018, while his 7.4 K/9 was his worst since 2022. He also became the first Orioles closer since 2021 to lead the team in saves with 11 or fewer. Sure, the Orioles went 36-19 in games Kittredge pitched. And yet, his negative WAR, negative Win Probability Added and mediocre stats across the board paint the picture of a pitcher whose appearances felt like he was just accumulating service time instead of consistently making a difference.

As of two weeks ago, Kittredge is officially a free agent. With Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano and the hopefully healthy Helsley and Félix Bautista leading the back end of the bullpen, there’s little reason to think Kittredge will return to Baltimore. And yet, with the organization prioritizing starting pitching and outfield depth this offseason, maybe a cheap deal could see the Orioles reunite with Kittredge a second time.

Good morning, baseball fans!

With today being a holiday, I thought we could take a look at the behind the scenes footage from Mike Krukow’s final broadcast for the San Francisco Giants.

The 2026 season was hard to watch, quite literally in multiple ways. But there was always one saving grace, as there always has been for the team in my lifetime. And that was the wonderful broadcasts from Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. And eras have to end, even when we don’t want them to. And we had to say goodbye to Mike Krukow on the call at the end of this season. That hurt way more than anything else the organization did to us this year. Because Krukow has always felt like part of the family. Like part of every family that enjoyed Giants baseball broadcasts. We’ve filled our homes with his familiar voice and enjoyed his sense of humor and anecdotes for decades.

So today, let’s watch the behind the scenes of his final broadcast.