Category: MLB

The Atlanta Braves may have spent another season navigating a multitude of pitching injuries, but it was ultimately the lineup that let them down in October.

Bounced from the postseason after falling in four games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, the Braves will attempt to solve the individual and collective offensive issues that spelled the end of their season.

At the center of those struggles was All-Star third baseman Austin Riley, who experienced the most challenging season of his eight-year career as he saw his production drop for the third consecutive season. With his power down and his strikeouts climbing to an alarming high, Riley heads into a pivotal offseason.

How exactly did the club’s highest-paid player and a key member of their 2021 World Series championship team become one of the Braves’ biggest offensive liabilities? And how did such extreme regression set in during what should be the prime years of his career?

More importantly, how can he reverse these troubling trends and get his career back on track? 

Both Riley and the Braves will be searching for the answers this winter.

“First and foremost, I’ve got to be better,” Riley said following Atlanta’s Game 4 loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS. “I was terrible all year. I had some stretches where I showed life, but this is a game of consistency, and I wasn’t that this year.”

Injuries were at least partly to blame the previous two years, but Riley’s 2026 campaign was a complete struggle across 159 games. The trademark power that made him one of the most prolific third basemen in the game was simply not there on a regular basis. Even more concerning was the amount of swing-and-miss. Riley set a franchise record by striking out 201 times in 630 plate appearances.

His career-worst year leaves the team and the third baseman searching for answers. Riley somehow went from one of baseball’s most prolific sluggers to one of the least productive everyday players in the game in a span of three seasons.

From 2021 through 2023, Riley produced a 5.5 fWAR annually while averaging 73 extra-base hits, 36 homers, 99 RBIs, and an .878 OPS. He was a two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and produced three consecutive Top 10 MVP finishes. His 16.1 fWAR during that three-year run was fifth-best in the NL behind Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, Mookie Betts and Juan Soto.

Riley was also one of the game’s premier power hitters during that stretch. He was one of only three NL players with 100+ homers – Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber were the other two. Riley was also the only player in the NL to amass more than 100 homers and 100 doubles while ranking fourth in the NL with 297 RBIs during that three-year span.

All of those accolades and accomplishments make what happened over the past three seasons even more baffling. 

From 2024 through 2026, Riley averaged 1.7 fWAR per season while totaling 18 home runs, 61 RBIs, and posting a composite .718 OPS over the past three seasons, with 2026 marking the sixth consecutive year his OPS has fallen – from .898 in 2021 to just .654 this year.

Riley’s 31.9% strikeout rate was the worst in the NL and the third worst in MLB. He was also one of just 20 qualified hitters in baseball with a sub-.300 on-base percentage. Perhaps more alarming was the .365 slugging percentage which was the seventh lowest in the NL, contributing to that aforementioned .654 OPS. That ranked fourth worst among the 68 qualified NL hitters.

How it happened may be irrelevant at this point, but ways to fix it are what Riley and the Braves will explore this offseason.

“I’ve had some thoughts, because I know the capability I have and the player I can be,” Riley said. “There’s obviously got to be some changes with my swing and what that looks like. I’m not sure yet, but we’ll definitely dive into it and get it figured out… I’ve got to do some serious recon of how to get this thing back to where I know I’m capable of. From a working standpoint, I’ve got a long and hard offseason coming for me.”

Fortunately for Riley, there are at least some tangibles he can work with.

A look at Statcast illustrates a puzzling combination of rates and outcomes. Riley’s average exit velocity (91.3 mph), barrel rate (12.4%), and hard-hit rate (44.3%) were all strong while his bat speed (75.8 mph) remained elite, ranking in the 91st percentile.

The rest of his profile, however, was troubling to say the least. Riley was near the bottom of Major League Baseball in squared-up percentage (18.9%) and strikeout rate (31.9%) while his chase percentage (32.3%) was in the bottom third as well.

All of that points to one undeniable fact: Riley failed to make the kind of consistent hard contact that previously defined his game despite still possessing the requisite skillset to do so. The mechanics and timing of his swing as well as pitch selection all worked against Riley this season.

When the results are not there over a long enough period, a hitter’s natural response — whether consciously or subconsciously — is to start pressing at the plate and further compound the issues.

Even in the depth of his struggles, Riley remained outwardly optimistic. His teammates and manager likewise maintained their belief that he would eventually find his way through the slump through hard work and dedication.

“Look, I’ve seen him really good for a long time, and I see the work behind the scenes,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I know the person. You bet on the person. Obviously, (he’s) a very talented guy, but you couldn’t tell this year if he was the leading MVP candidate in the National League or if he was struggling. I mean that. He’s the same guy every day.”

Riley tinkered throughout the year to make adjustments to his stance and swing. He went back to hitting notes, prompts, and routines he recorded during his three-year run of success from 2021-2023 to see if there was anything he’d missed or could reincorporate into his regimen.

When that didn’t work, Weiss shared some advice with Riley: the answers may have to come from a different source because he’s older, his body has been through several key injuries, and change is a natural part of the game. In essence, rather than reflecting on past success, Riley should focus on tangible and incremental adjustments in the present in order to find answers at the plate.

The injuries certainly played a part in Riley’s declining numbers. He entered 2026 coming off two years marred by substantial health issues that curtailed his production and ultimately ended each season early.

In 2024, Riley suffered a fractured right hand when he was struck by a 97-mph fastball from Los Angeles Angels reliever Jack Kochanowicz in August. He missed the final 38 games of the season and finished with a .256 average, 19 homers, 56 RBIs and a .783 OPS. After three straight seasons of 5.0 fWAR or better production, Riley finished the 2024 campaign with a 2.5 fWAR.

Riley’s power was slow to return in 2025. He batted .287 over the first 47 games with eight home runs and 28 RBIs. That’s a 162-game pace for 28 homers and 97 RBIs – totals that would represent a dip from his three-year prime of 2021-2023 but certainly acceptable production.

What lay ahead was a downturn that Riley is still trying to fight his way out of.

Over his final 55 games in 2025, Riley hit just .235 with eight homers and 26 RBIs while turning in an OPS of .693 as he battled a lower abdominal issue throughout the summer. He eventually underwent season-ending surgery in August to repair a double sports hernia.

With that injury addressed, the Braves were hopeful Riley would have a chance at a normal offseason and a bounce back season. It simply did not play out that way.

“There were flashes at times, but he’d be the first one to tell you that he did not have a good year,” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “He worked hard. We’ve definitely done everything we can on our end, and we’re going to continue to work at it.”

The work will start with Riley, who refused to deflect any of the blame or criticism for his season. He spoke highly of Atlanta hitting coach Tim Hyers and the work they put in throughout the season, even if the results never came as consistently as they’d hoped.

Once he gets a chance to recharge his batteries, Riley expects to get right back to work searching for fixes and changes that can get his swing back where he wants it to be.

“It’s a long season (and) you’ve got to let your body recover,” Riley said. “But at the same time, I think (the winter is) a really good time for me to sit down and really dive into what I need to do to get back to the production that I know I can (provide). I have some ideas on what I want to do, but there’s definitely going to be some marinating on just how I get back to that consistency showing up every day.”

Heading into his age-30 season, the Braves still believe in Riley’s ability and remain committed to helping him figure things out. Of course, Atlanta has a considerable vested interest in his turnaround. Riley has six years and $132 million remaining on the club-record 10-year, $212 million extension he signed in 2023.

With their third baseman at a crossroads, the Braves are hoping Riley can find a way to rediscover his stroke and contribute to a club that needs all of its star hitters pulling the rope in order to enjoy the kind of postseason success they tasted in 2021.

“He’s been one of the best third basemen in the game from an offensive standpoint,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s still a great defender and a great teammate. It was nice to get the health part put aside after back-to-back years of being hurt. From an offensive standpoint, he’s still a young player and is capable of so much more. He’s shown that, and we’re going to continue to work at it.”

What is there to say about the Royals’ 23-year-old slugger?

First, let’s let him do the talking.

You can take your pick of which of those videos you find the most impressive. If I could choose between them, I would have included just one, but all three are a lot of fun.

Cullen Jekel wrote Jac’s end-of-the-season review last year. I don’t agree with everything he wrote at the time, but the general sentiment was fair. Jac was bad in his first year in the big leagues. Maybe the Royals promoted him too early. I’d argue that they did not. He had destroyed multiple levels of the minors, and by the time they promoted him, it had become clear to me that AAA pitching simply wasn’t going to be able to challenge him enough to make him grow. He was tortured* by big league pitching, yes, but that seemed a necessary step on his journey. That all feels justified now, as Jac is tied for the 24th-best wRC+ in MLB and was 18th-best by OPS+.

*And I do mean tortured. He was so obviously distraught after every out that I was not alone in clamoring for the Royals to demote him to Omaha before the end of the season and help him regain his confidence.

All that praise aside, there are two different lenses with which we can view Jac’s 2026 season.

The first is the pessimist’s lens. Jac struck out in more than a quarter of his plate appearances and had the ninth-worst chase rate in all of baseball. He also walked only 6% of the time, a number that can only look good when compared to someone who prefers to use a Segway. He also finished the season with only 553 plate appearances. Parts of that was because he was platooned and batted low in the order early in the season, but another part of it where the series of small injuries he endured throughout the season. At no point did he ever play more than 24 games in a row. At no point did he start more than 23 in a row. In the end, he totalled 143 games. It’s not like it was a lost season, but you’d like to see the best bat in your lineup 150 games at least. He was also a liability on defense, whether in right field or at first, and despite his seven stolen bases, he didn’t add much value with his legs.

The second is the optimist’s lens. From June 1 on, he had the 16th-best ISO in baseball. He was tied for the 33rd-most home runs in baseball and the 35th-best fWAR. He won AL Player of the Month in August because he slashed .411/.429/.684/1.113, leading all of MLB in every category there except OBP because he hilariously only walked 2% of the time. But the closest to him in SLG among those with higher OBPs was Bryce Harper, more than 100 points behind with a measly .573. Who needs walks when you can hit over .400 with that kind of power?

And the best part is that you don’t even need to use arbitrary endpoints to highlight how good he was. Even taking the entire season into account, he finished with the 32nd-best ISO and 12th-best batting average in MLB. He had the 12th-best wRC+ among all outfielders – a number that only improves as you remove players like Bryce Harper and Chase DeLauter, who spent more time at other positions than the outfield.

Have you all seen Baseball Savant’s player comparison tool? It’s super fun. Here. Let’s compare Jac’s 2025 to his 2026.

As you can see, some already impressive red marks drastically improved in his second season. OK, yeah, some of you have already noticed the “2024” under the first player’s image. That’s actually Ben Rice in his first year. The second image really is Jac this season, though. But, uh, take a look at this:

Ben Rice has grown into an absolute monster after kind of a weak showing that first year. I know the comparison everyone loved to make when Jac was first drafted was to Aaron Judge. That was always an unrealistic comp; Judge is a generational talent. But Ben Rice is a much more attainable goal, and he’s still very good. He slashed .264/.363/.534/.897 with 41 home runs and 4.2 fWAR as a no-defense, no-baserunning first baseman this season.

Here’s the kicker: Rice was 25 in that first year and is 27 now; Jac will still only be 24 next season.

Many of us thought that if Jac could be playable this year, the Royals could be a true playoff contender. Unfortunately, the bullpen had other ideas. But not only did Jac become playable, he became a bona fide star. And there is an absolute blueprint for him becoming the kind of superstar that can slash .421/.500/1.105/1.605 in the postseason. It’s been said that Bobby Witt Jr. needed a sidekick to help him lead the Royals to competitive baseball. There was hope that Jac could be that guy. But by this time next year, we might be talking about Bobby having become Jac’s sidekick. And that’s pretty cool.

A great defensive shortstop with solid bat-to-ball skills and a knack for reaching (and winning) World Series, Tony Kubek played in one of the best and most prolific eras in franchise history and shared the same clubhouse as some of the most relevant historical figures in the game. That wasn’t the end of his story though, as went on to offer his baseball insight and direct, outspoken style in the booth with a marvelous broadcasting career that earned him the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 2009.

Today, Tony celebrates his 92nd birthday.

Anthony Christopher Kubek
Born: October 12, 1935 (Milwaukee, WI)
Yankees Tenure: 1957-65

The son of Jennie and Anthony Alfonse Kubek, Tony was born in Milwaukee on October 12, 1935. The older Anthony played minor league baseball and helped a young Tony fall in love with the game at a very young age.

At Bay View High School, however, Kubek stood out in other disciplines, most notably football, basketball, and track. Baseball was actually dropped from the school program while he was there, so he played the game in sandlot leagues across the city of Milwaukee. There, he was spotted by Lou Maguolo, who worked as a scout for the Yankees from 1947 until the mid-seventies. A left-handed-hitting shortstop, Kubek signed with the Yanks after graduating from Bay View in 1954, and received a $1,500 bonus.

With the dream of eventually replacing Yankees legend Phil Rizzuto, Kubek started at Class D and worked his way up until reaching the majors. In the spring of 1957, manager Casey Stengel prepared the young and hungry prospect to play all over the diamond, since the Yankees had the solid Gil McDougald at shortstop. That year, Kubek started 31 games in left field, 22 in center field, 41 at shortstop, and 38 at third base, all while forming a close friendship with second baseman Bobby Richardson, another long-lived dynasty Yankee.

Kubel was 21 when he debuted in 1957, and he went on to earn American League Rookie of the Year honors after hitting .297/.335/.381 in 127 games and 475 plate appearances. He only hit three homers and stole six bases, but he doubled 21 times and played solid defense on a team that lasted until Game 7 of the World Series.

The Yanks lost that Fall Classic 4-3, but Kubek was excellent against his hometown Milwaukee Braves with eight hits, two homers (both in a 12-3 rout in Game 3 at County Stadium), four runs scored, four RBI, and a .786 OPS.

Sal Maglie, who was on the Yankees roster in that 1957 season but was ineligible for the World Series, offered an accurate scouting report on Kubek from that year while analyzing the series for Sports Illustrated:

“He’s going to be a great player. He’s a fine hitter right now. He hits with the pitch, and it’s hard to fool him. His wrists are so quick he can wait to see where the pitch is thrown before he commits himself, and then he can push it to left or pull it to right. And he’s never satisfied with himself. That’s the sign of a good ballplayer.”

The following year would see Kubek slump a bit offensively with a .265/.295/.317 line (71 wRC+), two round-trippers, and five thefts, but he was an All-Star and earned the first of three World Series rings with the Yankees. He only had a hit in 21 at-bats in this Fall Classic though, and the Yanks exacted revenge on Milwaukee with a seven-game triumph.

Kubek was also recognized as an All-Star in 1959 and finished the year with a .279/.313/.391 line, 25 doubles, seven triples, and six home runs. After hitting a career-high 14 round-trippers in the 1960 regular season, he was part of the team that lost the famous 1960 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In Game 7 of that Fall Classic, Kubek was rendered unable to field a groundball hit to him with the Yankees up 7-4, no outs, and a man on first. The ball took a weird bounce off the shoddy Forbes Field infield dirt and struck him in the throat, sending him down to the ground. He had to be replaced and sent to the hospital. The play haunted him for years, as it opened the door for a Pirates rally. It turned out to be the Bill Mazeroski walk-off homer game.

Fate would give Kubek a chance for redemption just one year later. As the Yankees shortstop, he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’ historic home run chase from up close and played on a World Series-winning roster, racking up five hits in the Fall Classic victory over Cincinnati. He played in both All-Star Games that year and finished second in the league with 38 doubles.

In many ways, 1961 was a big year for the Yankees’ shortstop. He got married to Margaret Timmel in October, and just a few days later, on November 4, joined the 127th infantry of the 32nd Division, a Wisconsin National Guard unit, according to his SABR profile.

The expectation was that the Yankees would lose Kubek for the entire 1962 campaign, and Tom Tresh turned in a Rookie of the Year-winning campaign of his own at the six in Kubek’s absence. But the veteran returned in August to post an excellent .314/.357/.432 line in 45 games. He logged eight hits with a .276 batting average as the Bombers beat the Giants in seven games in the World Series. It was his third and final title.

The 1963 and 1964 campaigns would bring World Series losses for the Yankees. His decline would start around those days, probably accelerated by injuries, most notably a back issue suffered in 1963.

After a rough 1965 season that saw him hit a paltry .218/.258/.295 line, Kubek was diagnosed with nerve damage at the top of his spinal column. He believes the origins of the injury stem from 1961, when he was playing touch football. He decided to hang up his cleats at 29. Not too long after that, he started what turned out to be a brilliant career in broadcasting.

Through NBC official David Kennedy, Kubek landed a job as a color commentator for Game of the Week. In a career that spanned over 20 years, the former Yankees great worked alongside voices such as Curt Gowdy, Jim Simpson, Bob Costas, and Joe Garagiola, among others.

Kubek went on to broadcast 11 World Series, 14 League Championship Series, and 10 All-Star Games. In addition to his work at NBC, he also had stints with the Yankees, the Blue Jays, and also at TSN and CTV before stepping away from the game in 1994.

You could certainly say that Kubek has lived life to the fullest. He and his wife Margaret had four children and five grandchildren. He was a star with the bat, the glove, and the microphone, while also serving his country. Not bad at all.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Before we start, some obvious statements. Firstly, we do not know when Opening Day will take place in 2027. With the expiration of the agreement between the owners and the players, and the highly contentious nature of the upcoming negotiations (in particular, around the introduction of a salary cap), it’s possible there may not even be a 2027 Opening Day. However, I’d say odds are strongly on the side of there being some kind of season, albeit in a shortened form. Next, this is super early. We haven’t even had contract tenders yet. What follows also presumes perfect health, which on the basis of previous seasons, is not going to happen. That all said…

The definites

Let’s start with listing the roster spots which are, at the time of writing, definitely filled. We’ll then break down each area and look at the most plausible candidates to fill in the gaps.

• Catcher: Gabriel Moreno
• First base:
• Second base: Ketel Marte#
• Shortstop: Geraldo Perdomo#
• Third base: Nolan Arenado
• Left field: Lars Nootbaar*
• Center field:
• Right field: Corbin Carroll*
• Designated hitter:

• Starting pitcher: Corbin Burnes
• Starting pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez
• Starting pitcher: Brandon Pfaadt
• Starting pitcher: Merrill Kelly
• Starting pitcher:

• Closer: Justin Martinez
• Set-up: Juan Morillo
• Set-up: Brandyn Garcia
• Reliever:
• Reliever:
• Reliever:
• Reliever:

I don’t think many of the above need explanation. I’ve tagged the starting line-up with markers for whether they hit left-handed (*) or are switch-hitters (#), because this is a factor in what the team will look for to fill in the blanks. These players are all under contract for 2027. However, note that a blank doesn’t necessarily mean the team has to sign or trade for someone to fill the position. It may mean there is no overwhelmingly clear internal candidate, and as we’ll see, some of these may still be filled with players already in the organization. I also haven’t even mentioned the bench, because I’d say there are no “definites”. There are some “highly likelys” though.

The starting line-up

Three spots remain uncertain: first base, center field and designated hitter. The free-agent market at 1B is pretty terrible. Only three potential FA players put up even one fWAR this year: Ty France, Jake Bauers and Paul Goldschmidt. Much though the fan-base would like to see Goldy back, I’m highly skeptical. Bauers would be nice, also plays the corner outfield, and would add the left-handed thump, having hit 26 home-runs. He only turned 31 earlier in the week, so we’re not talking Carlos Santana v2.0. It’s been estimated the team might have around $20 million to add to the 2027 payroll. But that might not be enough for Bauers, predicted to earn almost $30 million.

This will probably cause some tiny heads on Twitter to explode, but I’d expect the team to go with a platoon of Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear at first. Small sample size (33 PA), but Smith looked much better when he came back up in September (.290/.333/.548 for an .882 OPS). Locklear is a player for whom the health issue tabled above is perhaps the most serious concern. September has been a cursed month for him the past two years, tearing his elbow and shoulder in 2025, then fracturing a thumb this year. However, these seem more the result of bad luck than bad health. Smith, as a lefty, will see most action, with Locklear on the bench.

Center field is a spot where the team has clear internal options. We saw two of them play the position this year: Ryan Waldschmidt (53 starts) and Jordan Lawlar (29). Both are currently 24 years old and hit right-handed, so no advantage to either there. Lawlar hit better in 2026 (OPS+ 115 vs 94), albeit in about half the number of plate appearances. However, Jordan has his share of health concerns this year, including a fractured wrist, strained hamstring and a concussion scare after getting hit in the head. This is almost flipping a coin, but I’d give it to Lawlar, with Waldschmidt becoming the fourth outfielder.

Designated hitter is a spot where I can see the team spending some of the $20 million. There has been some suggestion about moving Ketel Marte to DH, but that would just create a hole at second, which might be harder to fill. The team has had some success in previous seasons with the likes of Joc Pederson in 2024. He had a decent bounceback season with the Rangers, producing a 134 OPS+ and will be a free agent this winter again, after signing a two-year, $37 million contract. Might be too rich for us, if he wants something similar, and I can see us going after a reunion with switch-hitting Josh Bell, who played for Arizona in 2024.

• First base: Pavin Smith
• Center field: Jordan Lawlar
• Designated hitter: Josh Bell (free-agent)

The bench

I’m going to presume we go with 13 position players, which would mean a four-man bench. Based on the discussion above, we already have two members on the bench, in Tyler Locklear and Ryan Waldschmidt. While I’d not be surprised by an Ildemaro Vargas re-signing, I’m adding Tim Tawa as one of the “highly likelys” I mentioned. He appeared in 104 games for the D-backs, started at five different positions plus DH, and had a respectable 91 OPS+. We still need a backup catcher. For the former, I can see a third year with James McCann filling the role. Torey Lovullo’s a big fan, singing the catcher’s praises after he signed last winter, and McCann seems to like the organization too.

• Bench: Tyler Locklear
• Bench: Ryan Waldschmidt
• Bench: Tim Tawa
• Bench: James McCann (free agent)

The rotation

Just a single spot to be filled in the Opening Day rotation, and this is an area where we’ll be going with one from the plethora of internal candidates. However, none of the ones used in 2025 exactly covered themselves in glory. Ryne Nelson (15), Mitch Bratt (10), Jose Cabrera (5) and Kohl Drake (5) combined for 35 starts, but went 4-12 with a collective 5.14 ERA in those. None of them had an ERA for the year below 4.70 or a FIP under 5.12. While the others are still young, Nelson will turn 29 before pitchers and catchers report – whenever that may be. After a breakout campaign in 2025, this year was a hard reality check. But his experience likely gives him the job, until the others prove themselves better.

• Starting pitcher: Ryne Nelson

The bullpen

The good news: the Diamondbacks bullpen in 2026 was the best in a while. Since exactly when, depends on your preferred metric. By ERA, since 2018. By FIP and fWAR, since 2017. And by Win Probability, since 2007. Part of that is, admittedly, relative. They ranked only 16th in the majors by relief ERA. Still, we’ll take it. The bad news? A lot of the innings need to be replaced. Our top three by bullpen IP (Taylor Clarke, Kevin Ginkel and Jonathan Loaisiga) are free agents, as are Paul Sewald and Ryan Thompson. All told? We have lost five of our top seven by IP, and must replace 285 innings (almost half all bullpen work), at a better than average 3.76 ERA. A full season from Justin Martinez is barely a start.

We didn’t get much help otherwise. Beyond those seven and JMart, seven other pitchers threw 10+ relief innings. While the usual caveats about reliever volatility and small sample sizes apply, of those seven only impending free-agent Dennis Santana and Gerardo Carrillo had an ERA below five. I’m hoping Andrew Saalfrank can return to something approaching previous form (career ERA+ 243!) after missing all of 2026 due to shoulder surgery. Beyond that though? While the back end looks solid, it really looks like Mike Hazen is going to have to rebuild much of the bullpen again over the winter. Expect more dumpster diving for depth, but I’d not be surprised to see one or more of Clarke, Ginkel and Loaisiga resign.

• Reliever: Gerardo Carillo
• Reliever: Andrew Saalfrank
• Reliever: Jonathan Loaisiga (free agent)
• Reliever: Taylor Clarke (free agent)

Feel free, of course, to disagree with me in the comments, argue over who will (or will not) be back, and discuss where the team should spent the relatively small amount of money it looks like they’ll have available.

For the second time in three years and seventh time in my lifetime, the Cleveland Guardians are in the American League Championship series. This time, they face off against fellow, small-market, analytics-darling the Tampa Bay Rays.

During the 2026 season, the Rays were fifth in MLB at 104 wRC+, ninth in baserunning runs above average at +4.7, 13th in Defense at -12.6, third in starting pitcher ERA at 3.51 (3.79 FIP), and 14th in bullpen ERA at 3.99 (4.35 FIP).

During the 2026 season, the Guardians were a different team after the trade deadline offensively, so I want to provide their wRC+ from August 4th on. The rest of the numbers reflect the full season. So, after the MLB trade deadline, the Guardians were sixth in MLB at 106 wRC+, for the full season, eight in baserunning runs above average at +5.1, ninth in Defense at -7.3, ninth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.93 (3.89 FIP), and sixth in bullpen ERA 3.54 (3.70 FIP).

Looking at the numbers on paper, if you trust the Guardians are more of the offense they have been since making significant trade deadline additions, these teams are fairly evenly matched. The separator is superlative Tampa Bay Rays starting pitching… and, if you have watched these teams throughout the season, you know that the Rays consistently do ALL the little things to win baseball games. The Guardians often do these things… but definitely not as consistently and relentlessly as Tampa Bay has done. With that said, we will see how these dynamics play out in front of us shortly.

Keys to the ALCS for the Guardians

Leverage Your Lefties: The Rays were the 26th best offense against LHP in 2026 with a 90 wRC+ (the Guardians had a 91 wRC+, so… this is a mutual issue). They were fourth best against RHP at 110 wRC+. So, Stephen Vogt will likely need to maximize his left-handed pitchers value by putting them in position to neutralize Tampa’s offensive threats. Expect some heavy doses of Foster Griffin (game one starter), Joey Cantillo, Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski whenever they are available. Junior Caminero at 152 wRC+, Victor Mesa, Jr. 146 wRC+, Ryan Vilade 126 wRC+, and Yandy Diaz 114 wRC+ are the primary threats on Tampa’s roster, so working around them (whether with walks or pitching changes) will be crucial to making this plan effective.

Manage Martinez: Angel Martinez had a nightmare ALDS going 0 for 15 with 8 strikeouts. Yet, he had a 152 wRC+ from August 1st onwards and led the team in homers. I suspect the Guardians probably are not going to win the ALCS without Martinez figuring something out. Does seeing how his team managed to win a playoff series without him hitting help him take a breath and stop chasing everything? Might manager Stephen Vogt start Petey Halpin vs. RHP from the Rays? Should he? Figuring out the role Martinez should play in the series ahead will likely prove critical to enhancing the team’s chances to shock the world.

Pounce on the Pen: Aside from not being great against left-handed pitching, the Rays’ other weakness is their bullpen aside from closer Bryan Baker. Now, Baker doesn’t strike out a TON of hitters (9 per 9) and his expected numbers don’t back up his 1.44 ERA from the season… but guys just don’t square him up, and, when they do, they seemingly hit it right at someone. Can the Guardians force the excellent Tampa Bay Rays starters to throw a lot of pitches and get into the bullpen earlier? They’ll have to foul off a lot of pitches to do so because the Rays are strike-throwers and unlikely to issue many walks. If Cleveland can find their way to some BABIP-led hits, some opportunistic home run swings, and some lengthy foul-ball led AB’s, they SHOULD be able to capitalize on a less than ideal Rays’ relief corps.

Resist Revenge: The Guardians eliminated the Rays in the 2022 wildcard series, after the Rays eliminated them in the one-game wildcard playoff in 2013, so this is a rubber match, of sorts. However, the revenge factor goes much deeper, as I’m sure we are all aware and as will be absolutely drilled into our heads by national broadcasters looking for narratives. The Guardians traded Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero to the Rays, and Richie Palacios is a prominent former Cleveland ballplayer, also. Shawn Armstrong and Nathaniel Lowe have played for the Rays… but more prominently, Guardians’ skipper Stephen Vogt was drafted and eventually cut by the Rays. I don’t think MLB teams, as a whole, think about this aspect of the game a lot, but individual players certainly do. I am sure Diaz, Caminero and Palacios would like to place an exclamation point on Cleveland’s decision to move on from each of them, and it will be up to the Guardians’ pitching staff to neutralize all narrative attempts in that direction.

Hold on to Hot Hosey: Jose Ramirez ended the ALDS with a 211 wRC+. If he is feeling good and able to sustain something like this as a hitter, that has the potential to upend this series. However, don’t expect the Rays to spend much time pitching to Hosey if he’s still seeing the ball this well. They will begin to pitch around him/intentionally walk him quickly, which will make it so the rest of the Guardians’ hitters need to come through. Speaking of that…

DeLauter Finds De Lift: After being clearly the Guardians’ best hitter in the 2026 season, DeLauter had a suboptimal ALDS with a 53 wRC+, not taking a walk and running a groundball of 60%. I would guarantee the Guardians will need more from Chase to have a good series this time to be able to go to the World Series. He needs to be a little more patient and find a way to lift some balls off of the infield. He’s more than capable of doing it, but a balky wrist issue may be playing a factor at this point. DeLauter is my key player to watch this series for the Guardians.

Messick Meets Moment: Obviously, the Guardians need Gavin Williams and Cade Smith to continue to be great. But, they somehow managed to beat the White Sox with their best pitcher in 2026, Parker Messick, underperforming. Was Messick off because of how well Chicago knew him? Is he tiring after surpassing career highs in innings pitched? We are about to find out the answers to this question, and Messick will have to return to something closer to his regular season top-3 Cy Young-award finisher form for the Guardians to have a good shot at making the seventh World Series in the history of the franchise.

Unstoppable Force Budges Immovable Object: The Guardians’ pitchers strikeout a TON of hitters, third best in MLB at 9.58 batters per 9 innings. The Rays have the lowest strikeout rate in MLB of 7 batters per 9 innings. Something’s gotta give. Even if the Guardians manage to find some strikeouts, they will need to play excellent defense to compensate for the huge reduction in whiffs their pitchers will get this series as compared to the matchups against the free-swinging White Sox.

Likely Pitching Matchups (All subject to change, to openers, to weather in Cleveland, etc):

Game One, Monday, 8PM ET, @Tampa Bay: Drew Rasmussen, RHP 2.67 ERA (2.81 FIP) vs. Foster Griffin, LHP 3.60 ERA (3.96 FIP)
Game Two, Tuesday, 8PM ET, @Tampa Bay: Freddy Peralta, RHP 3.25 ERA (3.93 FIP) vs. Parker Messick, LHP 2.56 ERA (3.07 FIP)
Game Three, Thursday, 6PM ET, @Cleveland: Gavin Williams, RHP 3.76 ERA (3.47 FIP) vs. Nick Martinez, RHP 3.10 ERA (3.96 FIP)
Game Four, Friday, 6PM ET, @Cleveland: Joey Cantillo, LHP 3.62 ERA (3.98 FIP) vs. Griffin Jax, RHP 3.53 ERA (3.76 FIP)
*Game Five, Saturday, 8PM ET, @Cleveland: Rasmussen vs. Griffin
*Game Six, Monday, 5PM ET, @Tampa Bay: Peralta vs. Messick
*Game Seven, Tuesday, 5PM ET, @Tampa Bay: Williams vs. Martinez

*if necessary

The Rays in 2026 were led Junior Caminero 142 wRC+, Liam Hicks 130 wRC+, Victor Mesa, Jr. 128 wRC+, Yandy Diaz 125 wRC+, and Jonathan Aranda 123 wRC+.

The Guardians in 2026 were led by Chase DeLauter 131 wRC+, Steven Kwan 114 wRC+, Travis Bazzana 110 wRC+, Angel Martinez 108 wRC+ and Nathaniel Lowe 107 wRC+.

The Guardians will need to be incredibly crisp about their execution in pitching, in plate discipline, in defense, and in baserunning to have a shot of hanging with the Rays. Blink in ANY of those areas, and this will be a very quick playoff appearance. It feels amazing to have this opportunity, but you are never guaranteed another shot. It’s crucial for the Guardians to find a way to take advantage of the moment in front of them and fight their way to a shot a title. It is feasible they do so, and that’s all you can ask.

Glossary:
wRC+ is a measure of overall run production where 100 is league average, adjusted for ballpark effects.
Defense measures a team’s overall run value above average in fielding.
FIP looks at ERA independent from a team’s fielding abilities.

Memorable Blue Jays Playoff Moments

11 Years Ago

Eleven years ago, the Blue Jays triumphed in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Rangers.

After dropping the first two games of the series, the Jays faced a daunting challenge. Yet, they responded with a decisive 8-4 victory, scoring early and often.

From the recap:

It started perfectly. Ben Revere put down an excellent bunt single, and Josh Donaldson followed with a home run. Then a Chris Colabello home run put us up 3-0 before the Rangers had their first at-bat.

Second inning: Kevin Pillar hits a solo homer.

Third inning: Donaldson walks, Jose Bautista doubled followed by an Edwin Encarnacion ground out (Bautista tried to go second to third, but Elvis Andrus decoyed him and got him at third), scoring Josh. Colabello doubled, bringing home another. A Russell Martin walk and a Pillar single were up 7-1.

One more run in the seventh got us to 8.

A bit of controversy emerged as R.A. Dickey pitched 4.2 innings, surrendering 5 hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts, and just one earned run. Despite a manageable pitch count of 78, manager John Gibbons removed him just one out shy of qualifying for a playoff win. It seemed strange to take the win away from R.A.

Gibbons brought in David Price, despite Price’s postseason struggles—he had allowed 5 runs in 7 innings in Game 1. Price had posted a stellar 9-1 record with a 2.30 ERA since joining the Jays at the trade deadline.

With only Game 5 remaining, and assuming the Jays would win, Gibbons had already chosen Marcus Stroman to start the finale. Perhaps he wanted to avoid any controversy regarding that decision.

Personally, I would have preferred Price to be available in the bullpen for Game 5, in case Stroman struggled. Dickey deserved the chance to earn the win, and it seemed unnecessary to use Price when Dickey could have pitched deeper, keeping the bullpen rested for the deciding game.

The win set up a very interesting game five.

34 Years ago

The Jays clinched Game 6 of the ALCS, advancing to the World Series for the second consecutive year with a 6-3 victory over the White Sox.

Dave Stewart delivered 7.1 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. Duane Ward secured the save, surrendering a solo home run over 1.2 innings and striking out three.

On the offensive side:

Devon White went 3-for-5, capping the game with a ninth-inning home run. Paul Molitor contributed by going 1-for-3 with a walk and a triple, driving in two in the ninth—a key three-run inning, especially after Ward allowed a home run in the bottom half. Pat Borders added a 2-for-4 performance with three RBIs, highlighted by a two-run single in the second and an RBI ground out in the fourth.

The Jays would go on to defeat the Phillies in the World Series.

That team featured an outstanding lineup:

If Sonny Gray leaves, five pitchers Red Sox should pursue in free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox should prioritize adding power to their lineup this offseason, but they may also need to fill a significant void in their starting rotation.

Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray is set to become a free agent after a sensational debut season with Boston. The soon-to-be 37-year-old led MLB with 18 wins while compiling a 2.72 ERA and 1.148 WHIP across 29 starts.

Gray was the Red Sox’ de facto ace while Garrett Crochet missed most of the 2026 campaign due to injury. Without him, the projected 2027 rotation looks something like this:

1. Garrett Crochet, LHP
2. Payton Tolle, LHP
3. Ranger Suarez, LHP
4. Brayan Bello, RHP
5. Jake Bennett, LHP

Not too shabby, but extremely left-handed-heavy. Plus, Bello was astoundingly bad as a starter this year with a 7.18 ERA over 11 outings.

So, who could potentially replace Gray in the Red Sox rotation next season? Here are a handful of intriguing right-handers expected to hit the open market this winter:

Michael King

• 2026 stats: 12-10, 3.21 ERA, 1.178 WHIP, 159 SO, 70 BB, 185 IP (32 starts with San Diego Padres)
• Age: 32

King bounced back from an injury-plagued 2025 with a stellar 2026 for San Diego. As a result, he’ll likely be one of the pricier free-agent pitchers this offseason.

That shouldn’t dissuade the Red Sox from pursuing the New England native and Boston College alum. King is as consistent as they come when healthy, and if he declines his $28 million option for 2027, he’d be an exceptional addition to the middle of Boston’s already-strong rotation.

Kevin Gausman

• 2026 stats: 9-12, 4.51 ERA, 1.272 WHIP, 184 SO, 47 BB, 177.2 IP (23 starts with Toronto Blue Jays, nine starts with Chicago Cubs)
• Age: 36

Gausman is coming off a down season during which he was traded from Toronto to Chicago before the deadline. It was the first time since 2019 that the veteran finished a season with an ERA above 4.00.

That makes Gausman primed for a bounce-back campaign at 36 years old, just like Gray was upon being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals last winter. Even if Gausman can’t put up Cy Young-caliber numbers like Gray, he can be counted on to post. He has made at least 31 starts in each of his last six seasons.

Nick Martinez

• 2026 stats: 15-6, 3.10 ERA, 1.094 WHIP, 109 SO, 26 BB, 180 IP (31 starts with Tampa Bay Rays)
• Age: 36

After a rocky 2025 with Cincinnati, Martinez returned to form with a career year for the Rays. The nine-year veteran pitched exclusively as a starter for the first time in his career and blew away expectations while earning his first All-Star nod.

Martinez has a $20 million mutual option with the Rays for 2027, but mutual options are rarely picked up. He should be near the top of Boston’s wish list if he’s available.

Casey Mize

• 2026 stats: 6-10, 4.32 ERA, 1.226 WHIP, 110 SO, 38 BB, 131.1 IP (16 starts with Detroit Tigers, 10 starts with Padres)
• Age: 30

The 2026 season was a mixed bag for Mize. A first-time All-Star in 2025, he looked even better with the Tigers this year, posting a 2.70 ERA over 16 starts.

His strong start made him a valuable trade chip for Detroit, and he was shipped to the Padres for two prospects, including left-hander Kash Mayfield, San Diego’s No. 2-ranked prospect.

Mize struggled mightily with the Padres, posting a 7.46 ERA in 10 starts. That raises obvious concerns as the former No. 1 overall draft pick enters free agency, but the upside he showed with Detroit makes him an intriguing option for the back end of Boston’s rotation.

Freddy Peralta

• 2026 stats: 10-11, 4.42 ERA, 1.325 WHIP, 156 SO, 63 BB, 169 IP (22 starts with New York Mets, 10 starts with Rays)
• Age: 31

The former Milwaukee Brewers star struggled in Queens, but nothing really went right for the Mets in 2026. With the Rays, Peralta looked much more like his All-Star self, sporting a 3.25 ERA and 1.012 WHIP across 10 starts.

If you believe Peralta’s midseason turnaround with Tampa wasn’t a mirage, picking him as Gray’s replacement is a no-brainer. His track record in his nine years in the league speaks for itself.

MILWAUKEE –– Shohei Ohtani might be absorbing much of the negative attention around the Dodgers lately.

But it’s catcher Will Smith who has been the team’s biggest offensive problem so far this postseason.

In a 2–1 loss to the Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night, the perennial All-Star’s recent struggles finally came into sharper, harsher focus.

He went hitless for the fourth time in five games in these playoffs. He bounced into a double play –– the first of three for the Dodgers on the night –– that killed a potential first-inning rally against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski.

On the bright side, he drew a walk and didn’t strike out (something he had done seven times in the last three games).

However, the veteran slugger is now a glaring 1-for-19 in this year’s playoffs –– prompting manager Dave Roberts to be asked whether the 31-year-old needs to be dropped from the No. 3 spot of the batting order.

His answer was somewhat of a surprise.

“It’s a fair question,” Roberts acknowledged. “But right now, I still like him at the top of the order.”

The numbers, even in a small postseason sample, tell a different story to this point, with Teoscar Hernández and maybe even Andy Pages playing like better options for such a crucial part of the lineup.

Hernández had two hits Sunday, raising his postseason average to .250. Pages drove in the Dodgers’ only run, and is now 5-for-11 with three RBIs in the last three games.

Smith, meanwhile, seems to have lost the swing that helped him hit .354 over his last 16 regular seasons, following a three-month absence earlier this summer with a neck injury.

He was not in the Dodgers’ clubhouse postgame during the period that was open to reporters.

“He’s not swinging the bat well,” Roberts acknowledged. “It’s just, it’s hard because the body of work. He just has that knack to get a hit –– to get a big hit.”

Indeed, no one (other than maybe Miguel Rojas) had a bigger hit for the Dodgers last October, when Smith belted a go-ahead, championship-deciding home run in extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series.

The moment cemented his status as a franchise legend. It affirmed his reputation as one of the league’s most overlooked star hitters.

It’s part of the reason why the Dodgers aren’t even considering potentially taking him out of the lineup now, either.

“That’s just not going to happen,” Roberts said definitively while batting away that possibility.

A drop in the batting order, on the other hand, could (and probably should) be under consideration. In what figures to be a low-scoring, tightly contested NLCS, the team can only afford a black hole from the three-spot for so much longer.

And five games in, the gravity of his slump is weighing on the team.

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The Guardians have announced their roster for the ALCS, making one change from the 26 guys they brought to the ALDS.

The Guardians have swapped right-handed pitcher Slade Cecconi on to the roster for the longer ALCS (with more back-to-back games) and left utility man Daniel Schneemann off the roster.

There was some speculation about if Tanner Bibee would make the roster, but he’s still here after a ROUGH end to the season and terrible brief outing in game four of the ALDS. I don’t think there was a clearly better option for Bibee’s spot, but we will see what kind of exposure Stephen Vogt allows Bibee and unused Matt Festa and Cecconi to see for the series ahead.

Again, I would have liked to see the Guardians take a shot at getting some left-handed bench thump for this series (from Kyle Manzardo or Cooper Ingle, given Ralphy Velazquez is probably not an option at this point), but, hey, they just won a playoff series, so I have to trust their plan for the moment. Just feels like it would be nice to have one more home-run threat to help in potential pinch-hitting spots.

It will be important, given the length of this series and the lack of convenient off-days, for Vogt to use almost all of his 14 pitchers. Finding the right spots to let Cecconi, Festa and Bibee have a chance to contribute may become a crucial part of the Guardians’ chance at upsetting the Rays in the days ahead.

The promise of a low-scoring game was fulfilled in the NLCS opener, as the Brewers needed only a pair of runs to improve on last postseason’s outcome, having been swept by the Dodgers the last time out. There was plenty of frustration to go around for the Dodgers offensively—especially so considering how effective they were in getting Jacob Misiorowski out of the game early, which ties into the glass-half-full outlook they can take from this loss in what always felt like it was going to be a complicated series.

Through nine innings of Game 1 against the Brewers, the Dodgers offense reached base safely more often than it did in any of the three wins against the Braves in the NLCS. Combining walks and hits, the Dodgers got on base 13 times, including seeing at least one hitter reach base in eight of the nine frames.

This traffic amounted to next to nothing because the issues with runners in scoring position carried over. And unlike in the series against the Braves, the Dodgers’ power was nowhere to be found, as all of their seven hits were singles. Nevertheless, the Dodgers could’ve easily had a better scoring output without power if not for timely double plays that the Brewers relied on to end not one, not two, but three separate innings—most notably getting out of a bases-loaded situation in the second.

As frustrating as this performance might have been, to be this threatening so often against the best the Brewers have to offer could easily be seen as an encouraging sign. Focusing specifically on the power or lack thereof, regardless of how phenomenal the Brewers’ pitching is, this lack of thump was most likely a one-off scenario for an offense that has more than nine hitters capable of punishing a mistake. It’s extremely plausible that the Dodgers’ offense will do more with less before this series is over, maybe as early as Game 2.

Moving on to specifics, with Shohei Ohtani getting his occasional hit here and there, Will Smith has been left holding the bag as the core piece most struggling in this current version of the Dodgers’ offense. Smith was one of the few starting hitters in this game who didn’t record a hit, but he did, however, hit the ball hard in all three of his at-bats with nothing to show for it. The Dodgers’ most disappointing hitter of the regular season, Kyle Tucker, looked locked in, and although he also didn’t record a hit, the quality of the at-bats was impressive—including a couple of walks against Jacob Misiorwoski and Trevor Megill.

Dave Roberts’ respect for the Brewers’ relievers was evident in his lineup construction with a righty/lefty approach one through nine. In that spirit, potential impact off the bench might be key, and there was promise in it as well. Josue De Paula was once again asked to take a key at-bat late in a playoff game and delivered his part. The young outfielder pinch-hit for Kiké Hernández in the ninth with Trevor Megill on the mound, and he helped get the tying run in scoring position by working a two-out walk, ultimately stranded on a Mookie Betts flyout. The ability to rely on a patient hitter of his quality off the bench adds a layer of danger to this offense.

Every team needs to have a player that isn’t quite a starter, but plays a lot more than a player considered strictly a backup. The official term is “utility player”, but it does feel like there needs to be something more than just that title.

“Not quite starter”

“Almost starter”

Whatever it is, Edmundo Sosa was the embodiment of that job, gathering over 250 plate appearances in each of the past four seasons.

2026 stats: 250 PA, .247/.283/.429, 9 HR, 44 RBI, 2.8 BB%, 21.6 K%, 89 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR

What went right

As stated previously, each team needs a player that can fill in most anywhere. After adding outfielder to his resume in 2025, he actually started there the most this year, seeing his name on the lineup card in left field 32 times. Is that a good thing? Not really, but that’s more an indictment on the construction of the roster than anything else.

Sosa did more or less what we have expected him to do all these years he has been here. He’s played a good defense, popped a few home runs, stole a few bases, filled in where necessary.

Right?

What went wrong

Listen, we all know what Sosa is going to do when he goes to the plate. He’s going to swing as hard as possible at any baseball thrown in the vicinity of home plate. His walk rate, even in its meager form, is not a career low for him. He had one a mere tenth of a percentage point lower in 2023, so it’s not unprecedented to see him never take a walk.

It just felt like so much this year, his at bats were not truly productive ones. There would always be the occasional hit that won a game or tied a game in the past, but this year, there weren’t that many “B*tches love Sosa” moments that happened during the season. It was though we expected him to come up short and he didn’t disappoint.

There were flashes of it.

There is even plenty of evidence that Sosa might be the most well liked teammate the team has. He’s just about the perfect player for the role he fills, but there was just a feeling of wanting a little bit more from him in 2026. Each time he was exposed to more playing time, his production fell off. His defense was still fine, but it might be time to confine him to one spot and let that glove flourish.

Final grade: C+

He was just fine, hence the tick above average.

He’s probably going to convince someone to give him a starting job and to be honest, he’s earned it. So long as a team realizes that they are going to get someone whose bat will hover in the 85-95 wRC+ range, his glove should bring enough value that he can bat towards the bottom of a lineup and be productive.

Should his market never really form and the team decides to move on from Alec Bohm, there would be worse things for them to do than give Sosa a shot at starting at third base until Aidan Miller is ready to join the club (assuming he gets to the majors as a third baseman first before he becomes a shortstop).

The Atlanta Braves are now into the offseason, which means that it’s time for General Manager Alex Anthopoulos to speak with the media and give his thoughts on both the season that was and what’s on the horizon for the team going forward. There’s a lot (and boy, do I mean a lot) to discuss from the time he spent speaking with the local media via Zoom and as you can imagine, things ran the gamut from the usual GM-speak to some general thoughts on the club, all the while giving everybody the slightest chance to do some speculation about the direction that the Braves are going in for the future — whatever the future may hold due to the impending labor war on the horizon.

I did ask AA about what stood out to him about this team relative to the expectations that he had for this ballclub back on Opening Day and his answer kind of ran parallel to what manager Walt Weiss had been saying about his ideal clubhouse.

“I probably started focusing a little bit too much on talent and less on how the pieces would fit. I was pretty determined this offseason to get back to that…We really got back to really focusing on makeup, character, team fit with everybody that we brought in…That’s probably the one thing I’m most proud of.”

“On paper, we obviously have a lot of talented players but I’ve always said that the one thing that you shouldn’t get wrong is the makeup and the character. You do enough work and make enough phone calls, you’re probably not going to make a mistake on that one. Guys might get hurt and may not play well and you’re going to make those mistakes but in terms of knowing who you bring into the room, you should bat 1.000 on that one. Maybe occasionally someone surprises you and they slide under the line [of character expectations].”

“I’m really proud of the fact that when it came to that, we got back to who we were and what we’re about. We’ve talked about the word ‘culture…’ The culture is the players that you put into it….You bring in the right guys, they come together, those 26 each year (because it’s never the same), they set the culture. They set the attitude, they set the vibes. I feel like we were successful in getting back to that and sometimes you have to…continue to evolve and continue to self-reflect. I feel like we got back to that, which was pretty important. It doesn’t mean you’re in a World Series each year but I love what we were about and the way that the group came together.”

AA did mention that he was proud of this Braves club for keeping it close against the Dodgers in the NLDS when he was asked during the press conference about whether or not he had any regrets that he’d take with him to the offseason. “All the games, except for the last one, really through the seventh inning, they were close,” stated AA. “Obviously Game 2 we won, Game 1 we had the tying run at the plate late so they were all close except for the last one. We had some moments (obviously with guys on base) but we were right there. You wanna get the big hit and you wanna score more runs but you also know you’re facing great arms on the other side too. You’re trying to walk the fine line between ‘Should we have done this’ and being able to respect the other side.”

“You can walk through so many things but you also respect the fact that you’re going to face a great team. The series was close and each game (except for the last one where we didn’t really threaten at the end) was close.”

While plenty of the focus in the aftermath of the Postseason has been on the lack of offense near the end, Anthopoulos has chosen to take the long view of things. He repeatedly mentioned that the team finished in the top 10 in batting average (.246, which was tied for 10th with both the Diamondbacks and the Nationals) and slugging (.409, tied for sixth with the Yankees) while also mentioning that some work needed to be done with their on-base percentage, which was certainly below average at .309 and 28th place in all of baseball.

Still, it doesn’t seem like it’s the type of thing where Alex Anthopoulos would be putting pressure on Walt Weiss to potetially make a change at hitting coach. “If we had a good year, I do believe in continuity from a coaching staff,” stated AA when he was asked about his thoughts on Jeremy Hefner and Tim Hyers, specifically. “That’s not to say that you keep everybody for the sake of keeping everybody. If you think you can get better, you need to make adjustments. I haven’t had any conversations with Walt — this will be me and Walt’s first offseason together and there’s no rush on that type of stuff.”

“I think continuity is important for a few reasons. One, new coach comes in, you don’t know them and you don’t get the trust factor immediately,” continued AA. “It takes time. There’s times where you’re willing to do that and wait and obviously we did it this year with a ton of new staff but it takes time,” continued Anthopoulos. “I think there’s upside for guys to continue to get better now that potentially some of them are going into year two. In terms of [Hefner] and [Hyers] again, we were top-3 in the NL in basically everything [pitching-wise]. From an offensive standpoint, we were top-10 in the Majors in a lot of things. Second half of [2025] our on-base was lot better, it’s a lot of the same guys. This past year, on-base was low but we did all these other things well. We obviously have room to get better so I’d say that I think continuity is important…I think eveyrbody did a really good job and I’m pleased with all of them.”

At multiple points during the press conference, AA was grilled about the positions that he’d be going after during the offseason, with one question going as far as to ask Anthopoulos straight-up if they were going into the offseason looking for specifically two starting pitchers and a left fielder. As you would imagine, AA was cagey about it and stayed cagey as other media members continued to push the issue — especially when it came to players who may or may not be available via trade.

“You gotta remember, our players are going to see that stuff. ‘Hey, he only mentioned these 1 or 2 guys. Why didn’t he include me?’ Now I have an agent calling me and a player calling me…There’s zero upside to that. I get the question and I get trying to piece it all together but I will tell you this: We will go into the offseason open-minded about all kinds of stuff,” stated AA. “That’s how you have discussions and that’s how you get creative. THat’s how things go. You never know — I’ve always said that everyone has a price. There’s always a deal even on a player that you’re unlikely or reluctant to ove. At some point, you include guys. I have no idea where those things are going to go but I don’t think we’re in a position to rule anything out. I just don’t believe in doing it.”

AA did go on to mention that the Braves are planning on using their exclusive negotiation rights with both Mauricio Dubón and Tyler Mahle to the best of their ability, so they’re going to give it a good shot when it comes to retaining those two. When it comes to the team options on both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, AA didn’t commit to a decision for either player but I’d imagine that it’s safe to assume that both of them will be back.

Anthopoulos did also directly address the Jurickson Profar situation and while he did mention that Profar is under contract for 2027, he definitely stopped short of guaranteeing that Profar would indeed be back next season.

“Those are conversations that we’re going to have,” stated AA. “We know it’s coming, clearly. We know he’s under contract for 2027, we knew the suspension was gonna be a year. That’s obviously a topic we’re going to have to address and talk about, we haven’t had that discussion yet.”

“I wouldn’t be prepared to give you a definitive answer one way or another,” continued Anthopoulos. “That’s not to be cryptic or hedge. I know it’s tough because you guys can only work with what I say…There wasn’t anything for us to do or address [when it came to Profar’s suspension], he was out for the season…What I can tell you is that we’re going to have to sit and talk internally across the board about the whole thing. This is now the time to have those discussions.”

Anthopoulos also talked about Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider and while our article from Sunday touched upon those (and other) topics of discussion during the press conference, further detail really illuminated the matter. “Strider was in Florida throwing bullpens and feeling good,” said AA. “Again, you’re still far away from rehab games, innings and things like that. Schwellenbach had surgery. I think from a planning standpoint, I don’t think it’d be responsible to say ‘Okay, those guys are going to start 30 games and throw 180 innings,’ right? That’s something we’re definitely going to have to account for and talk about when it comes to where we’re going to get our innings next season.”

“I remember telling Grant Holmes even last offseason at the beginning that how he progresses was going to tell us what his potential role would be. As we sit here today, I don’t think you’re going to see us come in and say that we expect those guys to be locks in the rotation with Sale,” said AA as he continued to explain the situation. “I don’t think that’d be a responsible thing to say. We know what they can be when they’re healthy and they’re right and the upside is off the charts but right now because of the lost years for basically both…we’ll just see how the offseason progresses at this point. It’s not something going into November that we’ll have any clarity on going into next Spring.”

AA also seemed to confirm the idea that Didier Fuentes would be starting games in the future — with the future being 2027 (or whenever the next season is) if his audition for a starting rotation role goes well during spring training. “We view him as a starter long-term,” confirmed AA. “We’ve been consistent with that. We know he can be a great reliever — we just saw it. On the one hand, you have a bird in the hand that you know you’ve got a really impactful bullpen arm that we believe it’s real and that he can continue to do this — health-permitting, of course.”

“Those are things we have to weigh. We think there’s tremendous upside,” continued AA. “It’s nice to know you’ve got an impact arm out of the ‘pen but you also know that there’s tremendous upside. He can put it together as a starter since he’s still so young. The development of both the changeup and the slider are pretty encouraging.”

“What we don’t know is the workload. Can he handle 25-plus starts, 150 innings. All those things, we’ll have to have those conversations. And then, can you do that in ‘27? Are you going to go from 70-plus innings and jump to [a higher workload] and those are all things that we’ll have to talk about.”

The General Manager was really gracious with his time on Sunday, as he took questions for an hour — something that is definitely out of the ordinary. While Anthopoulos has never been shy about sharing his opinions on the team, we were certainly in uncharted territory when it came to this particular press conference. That just goes to show just how intriguing the Braves are at the moment. The current NL East Champions have plenty of questions surrounding them with an uncertain offseason looming. It’ll truly be interesting to see how things shake out for this team going forward — and whether or not we’ll have to wait out a long lockout in order to get questions to those answers. We’ll see what happens.

The offseason between 2005 and 2006 was one of great transition for the Cincinnati Reds. You’ll be shocked to be reminded of their disappointing 2005 season – Dave Miley got fired near the midpoint and they went just 1-7 over their final 8 games to finish 73-89 and in last place in the NL Central.

That winter, though, they went into overhaul mode. Veteran 1B Sean Casey was dealt to Pittsburgh and Scott Hatteberg was signed to replace him. Slugging outfielder Wily Mo Peña was flipped to Boston for rotation cornerstone Bronson Arroyo. And the first week of the 2006 season saw them swing a deal for mercurial Cleveland infielder Brandon Phillips in a move that helped solidify their later runs to a pair of NL Central titles.

On January 8th, 2006, Cincinnati signed veteran shortstop Rich Aurilia in free agency in a move that turned out to be more than worth it. Just one day before that, the lone obvious piece of the current future of the Reds was born in Miranda, Venezuela.

That last note hasn’t yet helped the current iteration of the Reds begin their latest overhaul, but catching prospect Alfredo Duno is firmly on their radar as they enter this vital offseason. Veteran catcher Tyler Stephenson will become a free agent within a handful of days of the upcoming World Series, and only Will Banfield and career backup Jose Trevino are on the roster as catching options under team control for 2027.

Trevino missed time during 2026 and hit just .217/.221/.336 in 156 PA for the Reds last season. He’s the one likely penciled in as the ‘starter’ at the moment, and remember this is a Reds club that finished a) in last place in the Central in and b) 28 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers club that just won Game 1 of the NLCS last night over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Upgrading over Stephenson is one of just a billion needs on this roster build, and they’re entering the offseason process having already taken a massive step back at catcher on-paper.

That brings us back to Duno, who at 20 years old already has the spotlight on him as the presumptive Next Big Thing to help turn around the fortunes of this stagnant franchise.

For one, he’s big-big. Listed at 6’2” and 210 lbs, he’s pretty clearly a great bit larger than that. That hasn’t yet precluded his advancement defensively behind the plate, though, and he’s got an arm back there that projects to play well going forward. It’s the offensive upside he provides at a position generally reserved for defense-first proclivities that have him atop the Reds prospect lists and near the top of Top 100 lists overall though, and in 2026 he hit .322/.406/.488 in 138 PA after making it up to AA Chattanooga. That’s just the latest part of a minor league career that’s seen him hit .285/.414/.499 across 1262 PA, including a breakout 2025 season with the Daytona Dragons in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League where he slugged .518 with more walks (95) than strikeouts (91) – and famously had a three-homer game in the Arizona Fall League playoffs.

He reached AA this year and acquitted himself rather well in an admittedly small-ish sample there. Had he performed differently anywhere else, you’d be welcome to consider it a potential outlier there, but he hit there the way he’s hit every single place he’s hit before, too. That lends one to assume that if he hit AA pitching in 2026, the Reds are going to give him the chance to hit AAA in 2027, and hitting AAA pitching puts one on the doorstep of Major League Baseball action.

So, it’s hard not to ignore that at the same time Cincinnati’s main catcher reaches free agency, Cincinnati’s top catching prospect sits on the doorstep of an MLB debut.

Catchers used to be the one position where teams notoriously slow-played advancement to the big leagues. Calling games, the defensive responsibilities, and the rigor of squatting all the time made prepping for one’s first 162 game grind more difficult than at any other position. However, with the DH in play in the National League and PitchCom devices to help with relaying signs and signals, there has been a wave of young MLB catchers breaking into the league at ages that once sounded outlandish.

Ethan Salas, six months younger than Duno, made it into 16 games at the tail end of the San Diego Padres season as a 20 year old and featured in their recent playoff run. Samuel Basallo debuted at age 20 for Baltimore during the 2025 season and by his age-21 year they’d already chosen to move on from stalwart Adley Rutschman. Duno will turn 21 in January.

With a dearth of power bats on the farm, a clear need at the position, and the dwindling team control of superstar Elly De La Cruz, it’s easy to want the Reds to push Duno’s advancement. They aren’t going to do that too much, obviously, but if he hits well at AAA to begin 2027 there’s every reason to believe the Reds will factor him into their big league plans at some point later in the summer. That makes finding a complement to Trevino to begin the year a bit perilous as there is little long-term outlook for a backstop not named Duno going forward.

The lone caveat there is one Sal Stewart, Cincinnati’s 2026 Rookie of the Year candidate who settled in at 1B almost daily after Nathaniel Lowe was dealt away at the trade deadline. He spent ample time at 3B and 2B earlier in the season – the positions where he played in the minors coming up – and any move back to being more flexible defensively for him would open up more PA at 1B and DH for any potential catcher. The Reds often used Stephenson at both 1B and DH in his years on the club, for instance, and keeping that door open for any catcher being brought in could be the one way to entice something more than a career backup hoping for an actual big-league deal to be the player they can bring in for 2027.

It’s still early to get your hopes up for where Duno will hit in the Reds lineup, but not too early to dream about where he fits within the current roster. If he continues on the path he’s laid out so far, he’s going to be a big leaguer in 2027 one way or another.

The answer to whether Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be back on the Yankees next season might be found on their lineup card for Game 3 of the ALDS. In a win-or-go-home game against the Rays, with a righty on the mound for Tampa Bay, Chisholm did not start. In the most crucial game of the year, with him having the platoon advantage, someone else was the choice at second base.

That sound like someone who will be back? Nope. 

But Chisholm, who is headed to free agency, is a high-octane talent with power and speed. He can be a strong defender. He’s got some nifty flair, too, and his athleticism can lead to thrilling plays and moments. 

Even if his Yankee tenure was uneven, he seemed to enjoy the pinstripes and said after the Tampa sweep that he’d like to return, though that’s kind of the pat answer in such situations. It’s always good free agency business to mention the Yankees, too. 

So should the Yankees bring Chisholm back? Here’s a look: 

WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP CHISHOLM

His skill set is immense -- when fully activated, anyway. He had 31 homers and 31 steals in 2025 to join Alfonso Soriano (twice) and Bobby Bonds as the only players with a 30-30 season in pinstripes. 

Chisholm was inspired enough by those numbers to muse this spring about joining Shohei Ohtani, the only player ever to have 50 homers and 50 steals in one year. Didn’t happen, obviously. 

His homer output dipped to 19 this season, but Chisholm, who will be 29 years old in February, stole a career-best 41 bags, which was tied for the fourth-most in the majors. In general, he's a quality baserunner and some metrics paint him as a fine defender at second. 

The upcoming free agent class is generally considered to be meh. Chisholm, even coming off a down season in terms of production and optics, is one of the better hitters available. The Yankees, you might recall, were not exactly an offensive juggernaut while they were getting swept by the Rays.

WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LET CHISHOLM GO

Grab a lollipop and sit down -- this might take awhile. Chisholm lost 102 points on his OPS from 2025 to 2026 and his strikeout rate, already high, went up. He’s a left-handed hitter who, like many, has problems with same-side pitching. 

His defense can be spectacular or spectacularly annoying. He was part of that gross error-fest in Game 2 against the Rays, making an awkward relay throw to try to turn an unlikely double play. Not surprisingly, the throw went awry. 

After the game, Chisholm said he’d make the ill-advised toss again. Maybe read the room? Early in the season, he admitted he didn’t fully grasp a force out rule.

Chisholm plays with a certain élan, something that often feels needed in corporate Yankeeland, but he’s also not great at harnessing that spirit. When he showed up on the field sucking on a lollipop during a game, he needed a talking-to from Aaron Boone, who was not happy. Fans didn’t think Chisholm’s mid-game treat was endearing, either. 

When Chisholm talked of going Ohtani, his 50-50 bid was greeted with derision by some on social media, rather than giddy anticipation. He was booed when he popped up as a pinch-hitter in Game 3 against Tampa Bay. 

Again, he didn’t start the last game of the season, and that was the second time in the postseason he didn’t start. Boone texted him the news the first time, but did not do it before Game 3 -- and Chisholm said he would’ve liked a heads-up. 

There often seemed to be a disconnect with Chisholm and the Yanks. Make no mistake, the Yankees aren’t free of blame, either. Why couldn’t they get more out of Chisholm?

Verdict

Go. 

Chisholm is a terrific talent and could be good elsewhere, but it feels like his time in pinstripes is over. If they don’t want him back, the Yankees should think long and hard about even extending him the $23-plus million qualifying offer. 

After a down season, Chisholm might take it and try to rebuild his value with what should be a contender again next year. What happened with Trent Grisham and the QO last year might be instructive here, but Grisham was also coming off a big season.

The Yankees have in-house solutions at second in Anthony Volpe, who started both times Chisholm didn’t in the postseason, and even José Caballero. Could they get Luis García Jr., a former second baseman who moved to first, ready to shift back?

The free agent market might work, too. Brandon Lowe hit 35 homers for the Pirates last year and might hit more aiming for the Yankee Stadium short porch all year. Luis Arraez seems like the put-the-ball-in-play type of hitter who could really help a pinstriped offense that sagged last season. How about Gleyber Torres redux?

Heading into the season, the bullpen was probably the area of the Orioles that worried me the most. There were not enough proven arms and the one big signing Mike Elias made to address it, Ryan Helsley, was fresh off a horrible final two months of the season. This could have been really bad! At times, it was really bad.

Yet when the dust settled on the 2026 campaign, the Orioles had the 11th-best bullpen ERA of all teams in MLB. It wasn’t smooth the whole way, but on the whole this group was good enough that if the rest of the team had held up its end of the workload, they wouldn’t have been a drag on a contender, especially by the end of the season when several unexpected names had emerged into solid contributors.

In this week’s episode, I work my way down the list of relievers, from two one-gamers all the way up to Rico Garcia, to see who contributed, who was a mess, and who should and will be back next year. Give it a listen here:

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