The MLB postseason is getting closer, and the list of October-bound teams continues to grow.
The Tampa Bay Rays locked up the American League East on Tuesday, Sept. 22, and with it secured home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. They're one of several teams that have already punched their tickets to October, while a pair of AL division races and several wild-card battles remain unresolved.
Here's a look at every team that has clinched a playoff berth, plus the clubs closest to joining the 2026 MLB postseason field.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates a home run during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 21, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For a lot of the season, there has seemed to be only one obvious choice to end up as the Most Valuable Oriole. You never know if some voters will talk themselves into something silly to stop it from being unanimous. In 2026, it was so obvious that even those people got it right. Pete Alonso was announced ahead of Wednesday’s doubleheader as the Most Valuable Oriole for this season.
The only real downer about Alonso’s first season as an Oriole is the fact that so much of the roster around him was incapable for large stretches of the season of doing its part to make this a good Orioles team. Alonso’s 40 homers, .265/.359/.510 batting line, and 4.6 bWAR (hopefully with more to come over the last five games) were, in some sense, “wasted.” The team will probably be eliminated from postseason contention officially today.
That doesn’t take entirely away from the joy that Alonso has brought to the Orioles. He’s also brought better-than-advertised first base defense. If he doesn’t win a Gold Glove, that would be an egregious snub. He seems excited to be an Oriole in a way that comes along maybe once or twice in a decade, and his sign-off of every interview with “Let’s go O’s” is charming. We can all feel good about that contract going for four more years, at least for now.
The unanimous selection of Alonso marked the first time that the team had a unanimous winner since Cedric Mullins was the choice in 2021. That was the year that Mullins had the 30 home run/30 stolen base season for the Orioles, breaking out at the plate after giving up on being a switch hitter.
The Orioles do not announce the exact vote breakdown, or even who votes for this award. It is a mystery list of media and broadcasters who cover the team. Camden Chat is not included on that list. Ballots are submitted with a first place, second place, and third place, and the winner is tallied based on a points system. It’s easy when it’s unanimous for first place.
What the Orioles do announce is a list of players who did not win but also received votes. These guys were all on at least one voter’s ballot, in addition to the unanimous winner, Alonso: Blaze Alexander, Samuel Basallo, Shane Baz, Kyle Bradish, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Rico Garcia, Gunnar Henderson, Trevor Rogers, and Brandon Young.
Weird votes are typically a fixture of this opaque process. Last year was a bigger “weird vote” year – somebody actually voted for interim manager Tony Mansolino a year ago. Somebody else, or maybe the same person, voted for Dylan Carlson, who was a -0.7 bWAR player for the 2025 Orioles. Most of these guys on the 2026 list were at least good for part of the season and can be somewhat justified as choices. Nobody voted for Craig Albernaz or this year’s negative bWAR outfielders, Dylan Beavers and Leody Taveras.
In the case of Alexander and Encarnacion-Strand, they just didn’t get to play enough to demonstrate more value; their overall performance was good in the games that they played. Alexander missed a bunch of games due to getting bones broken by a hit by pitch. Encarnacion-Strand only arrived in the organization during the season. He might turn out to be a Ryan O’Hearn kind of late bloomer story, or he might turn out to be a Jeremiah Jackson kind of flash in the plan.
When it comes to guys like Bradish, Henderson, Rogers, and Mayo, they weren’t good for significant portions of the season, so their season numbers don’t look like anything special. You have to squint more for some than for others to see the case. Mayo is closing out the season with three excellent months. Henderson has been hitting well since about mid-August and has maintained value with solid shortstop defense – that’s not to say it’s flawless, but the good has outweighed the bad even in what is another disappointing year for him overall. For Bradish, I don’t know. It felt good when he got that contract extension.
For me, Alonso is at the top, followed by Young and Rogers. Young’s surprisingly-good season was probably the only thing that prevented the Orioles from being completely buried in May or June. The team is 19-8 in Young starts this year. Whoever voted for Baz clearly didn’t hold the team’s 10-21 record in his starts against him. Baz probably “deserves” like 15-16 in his starts.
After Alonso and Young, you can make the case for a lot of people as third place, and that’s reflected in the variety of names who also received votes. Rogers was not good in April and May but has looked like a fringe Cy Young candidate ever since. That picks up on last year, when he was a Cy Young-caliber pitcher in the 18 starts that he made. That’s why I’d pick him for the third place spot; Rogers was the MVO winner a year ago.
Somebody’s going to pay Rogers this offseason. I don’t have any hope that it will be the Orioles.
If you’ve been a long time follower of my work, you’ve seen me write many times from the perspective of glass half empty, glass half full. I particularly like to do it when you could justifiably look at a game and go either way with the information you got out of it. I thought Tuesday night was one of those games. As usual, your mileage may vary.
The glass is half empty. The Marlins won their 77th game Tuesday night. They are a full 10 games behind the Cubs. I doubt scores are much of a spoiler this time of the year, but all three Wild Card teams finished Tuesday in a three-way tie. So the Marlins are then 10 games out of a playoff spot. If they swept their last five games (it would be very bad news for the Cubs) they would end up with 82 wins. Just better than .500. They are improved, but they are at least one tier removed from the caliber of playoff teams. Struggling to score runs, needing an unearned run to end up with two runs in 12 innings, eventually losing to the Marlins, it’s all not great.
The middle of the road pitching staff Marlins stifled your offense, not for nine innings but 12? Obviously, Alex Bregman was out. Get well soon Alex! The good news with him is that he does appear to have missed all of the worst outcomes. But it still remains to be seen if his field of vision is clear enough for the fine skills necessary for playing baseball. Without him in the lineup we saw something we haven’t seen a ton of. That is, Pete Crow-Armstrong getting intentionally walked. Between his speed and the lineup support he has, that hasn’t been a readily deployed strategy even as he skyrockets to the top of nearly top of seemingly every offensive category.
This game was a real drag. After tying this game, the Cubs had opportunity after opportunity to win it and just could not come up with the combination of plays to make it happen. The bullpen was so good for so long. But ultimately, the collective bullpen ends up with lousy collective numbers. In the end, the Cub bullpen worked seven innings and allowed seven runs, six of them earned. That’s brutal. Surely I’m not the only one who flashed back to Ryan Pressly’s 11th inning from May of last year?
So much not good here.
But also, the glass was half full. This game was probably not playoff caliber. But it did end up having a playoff like feel to it. Wrigley was jumping when the Cubs rallied to tie the game. It’s an interesting thing to me. Ian Happ feels pretty universally loved at Wrigley Field and largely disliked on social media. I’m not sure if I can think of a player with that kind of gap between different portions of the fandom. Pedro Strop is the last polarizing figure I can remember like that. A guy who people either really liked or really didn’t.
The crowd buzzed as the bullpen held the Marlins down, giving the Cubs all of those opportunities to win. Daniel Palencia faced four batters and retired them all. Ryan Rolison faced five batters and retired four. Ryan Zeferjahn wiggled out of a jam. Those are the guys you are going to have to count on out of your pen. Aaron Civale gave up a really rare homer (at least as a Cub), but also faced eight batters and retired six. Your first four choices out of the Cub bullpen (save for maybe Jacob Webb) threw a total of 5.1 innings, facing 21 batters, allowing three hits, a walk and a hit batsman. You’d love for your starter to get a few more outs than that, but otherwise you’d take that as a start.
Palencia particularly seems to be regaining some of his form. Ryan Rolison has been surprisingly good as a Cub and Ryan Zeferjahn… well, he’s an adventure. But the Cubs didn’t lose this one on his watch. Again, not necessarily the bullpen you want, but it’s what you’ve got. You saw reasons to believe they could hold a lead for this team in a playoff atmosphere.
For me, other than the general frustration of a winnable game slipping away, my one frustration is the way modern baseball affects a game like this. We’ve done years of studies and correctly determined that outs are way too valuable a commodity to give away. So much so that it is generally a bad idea to sacrifice bunt. That’s all well and good and given the amount of time I spend looking at WPA and run expectancy, I’m as aware of those things as anyone. Also, all of that math starts slipping away in the bottom half of an extra inning tie game. In that spot it is very much worth it to sacrifice the ghost runner to third to start the inning. But it is darn hard to execute a skill under pressure that you basically never use.
Heavy sigh. There’s always the next one.
Three Positives:
Pete Crow-Armstrong had a single, double, two walks (on intentional) and his 39th stolen base. I’m going to keep saying that it is a remarkable season weather he reaches 45/40 or not. Our infatuation with round numbers is silly sometimes.
Daniel Palencia’s four up/four down.
Ryan Rolison’s five up/four down.
Game 157, September 22: Marlins 8, Cubs 2 (87-70)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
Superhero: Ryan Rolison (.280). 1.1 IP, 5 BF, H, 2 K
Hero: Daniel Palencia (.170). 1.1 IP, 4 BF, K
Sidekick: Michael Busch (.146). 1-4, 2 BB
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Pedro Ramirez (-.328). 0-5
Goat: Matt Shaw (-.285). 0-4
Kid: Carson Kelly (-.267). 1-5
Note: Edward Cabrera’s -.175 was the fifth lowest score. Caleb Thielbar was actually a .065 because he got out of a jam the previous inning. So in the end, the cumulative struggles of the offense outweighed that 12th inning, aided by the split inning between Thielbar and Cabrera.
WPA Play of the Game: Caleb Thielbar got Esteury Ruiz to pop foul to first with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th. (.193)
Marlins Play of the Game: Griffin Conine’s RBI single that started the scoring in the 12th inning with no outs. (.181)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 156 Winner: Pete Crow-Armstrong received 55 of 91 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Alex Bregman +26
Pete Crow-Armstrong +25.5
Carson Kelly +16.5
Shōta Imanaga +15
Ben Brown +13.5
Jameson Taillon -13
Nico Hoerner -16
Dansby Swanson -17
Caleb Thielbar -17.5
Seiya Suzuki -20
Scoreboard Watching: Congratulations to the Rays on clinching the AL East title. Diamondbacks win and stay alive, four back of the three wild cards. Phillies win. Padres lose. All three teams are tied for the Wild Card spots. The clock remains very close to midnight on the Diamondbacks season.
Up Next: The Cubs are going to need some length out of Kevin Gausman (9-12, 4.55) to reset their bullpen after this game. In eight starts as a Cub, two of the have gone seven innings (both wins) and has pitched past the end of five one other time, that being last time when he made it 5.2 innings. He allowed a run over five innings as a Blue Jay starter against this Marlins team earlier this year.
Ryan Gusto (1-5, 4.14) starts for the Marlins. The 27-year-old righty has lost two of his last three starts, including one against the Cubs. He allowed five earned runs in 4.2 innings against the Cubs a couple of weeks ago. Let’s hope the Cubs can get their bats going Tuesday.
Find a way, win a game. Celebrate a playoff spot and find the good vibes. We’re going to need them to chase down that top Wild Card spot. It’s still very much on the table.
NEW YORK - OCTOBER 17: Joba Chamberlain #62 of the New York Yankees celebrates striking out Vladimir Guerrero #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to end the top of the seventh inning in Game Two of the ALCS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 17, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The legend starts with the name. Born Justin Louis Heath, now legally Joba Chamberlain, Joba actually was picked up and assigned to him by his father after a cousin struggled to say the name of a different relative. Chamberlain’s father was born on and grew up on the Winnebago Reservation, giving him access to the exclusive club of Indigenous major leaguers.
Justin Louis “Joba” Chamberlain Born: September 23, 1985 (Lincoln, NE) Yankees Tenure: 2007-2013
Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, Chamberlain had to work for everything he would eventually earn. After graduating high school, Chamberlain took a year off from school to work and save money for school. He then landed at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. After a dominant freshman year, Chamberlain transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Chamberlain helped the Cornhuskers reach the 2005 College World Series.
Injuries limited Chamberlain in 2006 at Nebraska, but the Yankees still used their supplemental-round pick to select the right-hander 41st overall. Due to injuries, Chamberlain did not get any minor league experience that summer or early fall after being drafted. However, Chamberlain burst onto the scene and shot through the system in 2007.
The Yankees had Chamberlain start the 2007 season with High-A Tampa. After a month of dominating to the tune of a 4-0 record with a 2.03 ERA in seven starts, the Yankees promoted the youngster to Double-A Trenton. Chamberlain kept rolling and was selected to pitch in the Futures Game that summer. On July 20, 2007, Chamberlain made his final start in Double-A against the New Britain Rock Cats. I was actually sitting beside Reggie Jackson, who gave me the first bit of breaking news I ever received… despite giving up three home runs that day, the Yankees were calling the kid up to Scranton.
Chamberlain only needed three games and eight innings of Triple-A baseball before he got the call to the show and Joba Mania took hold of the Bronx. Upon reaching the big leagues, Chamberlain pitched 16 innings without allowing an earned run to begin his career, further fueling the craze. The organization wanted to protect their young blossoming star and created the now-infamous Joba Rules.
Designed by upper management and enacted by manager Joe Torre to prevent injuries, the rules prohibited Chamberlain from pitching on consecutive days, mandated an extra day of rest for every inning he pitched, and required two full days of rest if he threw two innings in an outing. These rules changed over the next few seasons as the team tried to transition him back from the pen to a starter. These rules would be no match for the banks of Lake Erie and the midges of the 2007 postseason.
After posting a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings, Chamberlain and the Yankees were ready for a playoff run in 2007. However, Chamberlain got coated in tiny flies and lost control of the ball. The Yankees lost the game and series, in what has to be one of the biggest what-if moments of modern Yankees baseball.
Chamberlain was built up during the 2008 spring training to be a starting pitcher. However, the club decided to use him in the bullpen to start the season. He had another dominant stretch, and the Yankees decided to transition Chamberlain mid-year into a starting role. He continued to roll until he suffered a rotator-cuff injury in early August, one that was partially attributed to a quick throw by catcher Iván Rodríguez. When Chamberlain returned at the end of the season, the Yankees were eliminated and kept him in the bullpen.
Entering 2009, the Yankees added CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, which gave the young Chamberlain two aces to pitch behind in the rotation. The season was up and down for Chamberlain, but as the innings started adding up, the Yankees brought back Joba Rules. This time, the rule was he could make one start every seven days, then changed back to regular usage but limiting outings to four innings per appearance. The team used Chamberlain out of the bullpen in the playoffs, en route to the 2009 championship.
The 2010 season would be the beginning of the end for Chamberlain in pinstripes. In spring training, he lost the last rotation spot to fellow former prospect Phil Hughes and found himself back in the bullpen. Then, during the 2011 season, Chamberlain found himself under the knife, undergoing Tommy John surgery in June. That injury and recovery was further complicated when he injured his ankle on a trampoline in January of 2012.
Injuries limited Chamberlain to just 22 appearances in 2012. Chamberlain could not catch a positive break, as after battling back, he again got hurt, this time suffering an elbow injury on a broken bat in Game 4 of the 2012 ALDS. The Yankees brought Chamberlain back in 2013 for what ended up being his final season as a Yankee.
Across seven seasons as a Yankee, Chamberlain in total struck out 446 batters across 444.2 innings, had a WHIP of 1.38, and an ERA of 3.85. Chamberlain later pitched for Detroit, Kansas City, and then ended his career down by the lake in Cleveland. Chamberlain announced his retirement on October 4, 2017. Since retiring, Chamberlain has occasionally appeared on television as a baseball analyst and hosts a podcast.
Happy birthday, Joba!
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
A Pod of Their Own and Home Run Applesauce are hosting their annual Dollars 4 Dingers fundraising event this Saturday, September 26 at the Lion’s Head Tavern. The event starts at 2:00 PM, and all proceeds go to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
For those unfamiliar with Dollars 4 Dingers, in the month of September, fans pledge a dollar amount per home run hit by the New York Mets, or any baseball team the donor chooses, with all of the proceeds going to the NDVH. Now in its eighth year, Dollars 4 Dingers has thus far raised over $77,000 heading into this month. This year, we’ve raised almost $6,000 thus far, and will raise even more this weekend with our annual raffle.
Saturday’s event acts as the unofficial close of the year’s fundraising, and we’ve got some amazin’ prizes for our raffle. If you missed a giveaway this season there will be several included as raffle prizes such as a Carlos Beltrán bobblehead, a Mr. Met Unisphere bobblehead, a Francisco Lindor WWE bobblehead, a Mets squishy dumpling, and a Mets’ K-Pop Demon Hunters jersey. For Seinfeld fans, there will be a Cosmo Kramer bobble and a “Nice Game Pretty Boy” t-shirt.
Art But Make It Sports and Athlete Logos were generous enough to donate some prizes as well. There will be a signed copy of Art But Make It Sports’s book and multiple Mets themed hats courtesy of Athlete Logos.
The Mets’ Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, put together amazing prizes for the fundraiser including signed balls from A.J. Ewing, Jefry Yan, Chris Suero, D’Andre Smith, and Jonathan Santucci.
And now for the grand prize (insert dramatic drum roll here). Courtesy of the Amazin’ Mets foundation, a Francisco Lindor signed ball!
The Lions Head has been a fantastic partner for us over the last two years, and this year will have drink specials all day, plus the Mets’ game on so that we can cheer on a meaningless game in a rough season. That shouldn’t deter you from coming, though! There will be delicious drinks, great prizes, and fellow Mets fans to hang out and commiserate with. Misery loves company, after all!
It’s also not too late to make a pledge this season. For every Mets home run hit in September you can pledge any amount of money. No amount is too small for the National Domestic Violence hotline.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 11: Cade Cavalli #24 of the Washington Nationals pitches during the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alyssa McDaniel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With the season about to wrap up, the Washington Nationals have decided to shut down Cade Cavalli for the season. He only had one more scheduled start, but the Nats are going to close the book on their ace. It is a decision I understand even though I don’t love it and think it is a bummer for the fans.
Cade Cavalli is done for the year. He is healthy, to be clear, but the Nats are shutting him down given all the innings and where they are at in the standings.
Even though the fight to avoid last place this weekend is something to watch, there is not a ton to play for this season. We all know Cavalli’s injury history, so I understand proceeding with caution. He has thrown way more innings than he ever has before in 2026.
This season Cavalli has thrown 169.2 innings. That is a major leap from the 122.2 innings he threw last year. Cavalli’s career high before this season was the 123.1 inning he threw all the way back in 2021. The logic behind this decision is quite clear, but it is still a bummer.
I know that I wanted to see Cavalli take the ball one more time at Nationals Park. Even if he only threw 4 or 5 innings, I would have loved to see him take the ball. It would have sent a nice message to Nats fans that want to see their newly extended pitcher in action one more time.
My dad has complained about how the Nats are constantly waiting for tomorrow instead of battling today. The trade deadline was an example of this and so is the Cavalli shutdown. Personally, I am more understanding of the bigger picture, but I get where he is coming from.
Cavalli has made it this far, would one more start really put him over the edge? While there is not a ton at stake for the team, there were still some individual goals out there for Cavalli. If he tossed 1.2 more scoreless innings or threw 5 innings of one run ball, he would have finished his season with an ERA under 3. That would have been quite the milestone for the right hander.
He also had the chance to reach 175 innings if he threw 5.1 more innings. That will not happen now. Hopefully he can achieve those goals next year. The book is now closed on Cavalli’s season and the numbers are very impressive. Cavalli finished the year with a 13-5 record and 3.02 ERA in 169.2 innings.
If you want more advanced stats, Cavalli had a 3.25 FIP, a 3.13 xFIP and 3.9 fWAR. The 28 year old struck out 28.3% of hitters while only walking 6.8%. Whatever way you slice it, Cade Cavalli had an elite season in his first full big league campaign.
Despite falling short of a few milestones, there is one big one that he did hit. In his last start against the Cardinals, Cavalli got his 200th strikeout of the season. Only 9 pitchers have hit that mark this season at this point. Cade is the first Nat to strike out 200 hitters since 2019.
Good day to be Cade Cavalli.
Got an extension this afternoon. Reached 200 strikeouts on the season in a scoreless start tonight. pic.twitter.com/h7stZ7qWnG
Overall, this was a phenomenal year for Cade Cavalli. He established himself as the Nats ace and got rewarded with a contract extension. It is a bummer that we will not see him one more time. However, that is just the way modern baseball works I suppose. Shutdowns have become normal, and the Nats played a big role in popularizing that with the Strasburg situation back in the day.
As we move forward, I hope Cade Cavalli can make meaningful starts in September and into October. He has shown an ability to get stronger as the year goes on, with a sub-2 ERA after the All-Star Break. There will be no more Cade days in 2026, but hopefully we can see Cavalli starts in October in 2027 and beyond.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 18: Rain covers the stands at Fenway Park prior to a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays on July 18, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Monday, OTM weather guru Matt Gross warned us all about the scheduling chaos that could be headed our way if Boston gets hit by a nasty ol’ nor’easter this weekend. As Matt’s piece flew around the internet, it immediately led to speculation that MLB might move the games in an attempt to avoid what would be a meaningless-to-the-Sox and necessary-but-annoying-to-the-Cubs doubleheader on Monday, the day before the playoffs start. But, according to a league source, MLB has no intention of moving the series, though a Friday double-header is possible. “Everybody is well aware that the weather could get bad. I know it also could miss and not be bad,” Chad Tracy said. “It’s very much on everybody’s radar through each organization plus Major League Baseball.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Update, 2:30 PM: It is now official. There will be a doubleheader on Friday.
Source: Red Sox and Cubs planning to play doubleheader Friday ahead of rainy weekend: https://t.co/H74lx3joh5
Garrett Crochet was never planning on pitching in a regular season game before the playoffs, so this weekend’s storm won’t impact him. But he continues to make progress, having faced a live hitter for the first time in his recovery process yesterday. Crochet faced Ceddanne Rafaela, threw 16 pitches, and got his fastball up to the 94-96 MPH range. “I would say the way that live just went, that I could go get outs,” Crochet said. “It depends obviously what role they want me in. It’s not really for me to say. I know myself, and I know my body, and the biggest thing was that I felt good out there. Felt like I was able to ramp up intensity to a place that I haven’t gone yet.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
That the Sox pitching has held so steady without Crochet is a testement to the staff’s overall depth, and to the way Payton Tolle in particular has stepped up this season. Last night, the fans let him know he’s appreciated. “Yeah, I think he’s won them over pretty significantly,” said Chad Tracy. “Obviously, he’s been awesome this year.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
Tolle has won over the fans first by pitching really, really well, and second by appearing to be an all-around great dude, as when he hugs opposing players on the baseline. But, as it turns out, hugging players on the field isn’t new for him, as we can see in his highlight video of his high school basketball days:
The Sox bullpen sure could use an arm of Crochet’s caliber, particularly given the recent performance of Erik Miller. Miller is seriously struggling to throw strikes and is working on his mechanics behind the scenes to fix the issue. “I would like to kind of have been through this by now and kind of be over it,” Miller said. “But all I can do is just keep taking the ball and try to get through it. There’s no way I can kind of feel better and work through without throwing in a game, so that’s kind of just how it’s going to have to be: Just keep throwing to get through it.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
It’ll be difficult for Chad Tracy to navigate Miller and the rest of the bullpen as the Sox head down the stretch, but that’s why he’s getting paid the big bucks — for at least three more years. Tracy was made the permanent manager yesterday and isn’t hiding from his emotions. “I choked up a little bit,” Tracy said. “Choked up because you stand there in the moment and think about the journey. And you also look around at the faces of guys that I’ve had — quite a few for five years. Some of them I’ve had in my life for parts of the last five years of being here. So to look around at the players in the room and being able to have that announcement with some players that I’ve grown very, very close with was a cool moment.” (Christopher Smith, Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Sep 22, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics right fielder Carlos Cortes (26) celebrates with shortstop Alika Williams (12) after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Good morning A’s fans!
Last night, the Athletics erased the bad taste of their winless road trip with a wild late-game comeback, overcoming a six-run deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of their season-ending homestand. With just five games remaining in the regular season, time is running out for A’s players to leave positive final impressions before the long offseason ahead.
Due to the rash of injuries the team’s starting position players suffered, the A’s were not able to obtain much of a glimpse of the full-strength squad’s potential. Brent Rooker’s knee injury resulted in a lost season for the slugger, while maladies also caused fellow starters Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz to miss a large chunk of time.
As a result, the team’s offense struggled to score enough runs to make up for its league-worst pitching staff, particularly a bullpen largely comprising spare parts discarded from other organizations.
Several position-players stepped up into the void created by the team’s numerous injuries. While Zack Gelof, Henry Bolte, Alika Williams and Donovan Walton made positive impressions, others such as Max Muncy, Tommy White and Jonah Heim failed to fully make the most of extended playing time. Those three are long shots to begin next season with the A’s. Heim’s pathway is the likeliest, but only if the upcoming free agent re-signs to continue being the backup catcher.
Given the numerous position-player options the Athletics have at their disposal, the club should invest the majority of its resources this offseason into reinforcing its pitching staff. Whether that means spending money to lure free-agent arms or using its surplus of major-league ready hitters to acquire a pitcher via trade, the Green and Gold cannot afford to sit on the sidelines for a second consecutive offseason.
It will be interesting to see who the Athletics hire as their next general manager and the direction he/she chooses to take. With a few quality pitching additions and better injury luck, the franchise could quickly find itself back in playoff contention next summer. That is if this winter’s CBA lockout does not completely wipe out the 2027 season.
How should the Athletics approach this upcoming offseason? What are you hoping to see from the team over these last few games of 2026?
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 15: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Ritter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning folks!
The Mariners dropped another massive stinker in yesterday’s 7-0 loss to the Astros. The good news is that we’re less than a week from the end of this disappointing season.
Paul Skenes blamed the World Baseball Classic for his declining velocity in 2026. As long as players continue to participate in the tournament I’m going to remain skeptical that they sincerely believe any of this.
Sep 22, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (46) is congratulated after scoring against the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After taking some dumb losses last week, the Yankees came into this week with absolutely no breathing room left in the AL East race. The Rays magic number was down to two, meaning any Tampa Bay victory in the four-game series this week would see them clinch the division in the Bronx.
Looking to at least prevent that, the Yankees took the opener of Tuesday’s doubleheader thanks to a dominant outing from Carlos Rodón. Unfortunately, they did not put in the best of performances in the second game, and a Rays victory ended the AL East race.
The win in the opener did clinch the top AL Wild Card spot at the very least, so there will be at least two games at Yankee Stadium in October. However, that means the Yankees are now locked into the #4 seed no matter what happens to them or other teams the rest of the season. While the Yankees’ don’t have much left to play for in the regular season, that’s not accurate around the rest of the AL. Let’s check in on what happened in those races in today’s Rivalry Roundup.
Cleveland Guardians (82-75) 3, Boston Red Sox (84-73) 2
Nathaniel Lowe’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth gave the Guardians another crucial victory in the AL Central race.
Cleveland jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in this one. In the second inning, David Fry hit an RBI single, while the Guardians scored another run on a double play with a runner at third. The Red Sox got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the frame as Andruw Monasterio hit into a run-scoring ground out.
That lead stood up for quite a while for Cleveland, as Parker Messick put in five solid innings, followed by a couple scoreless innings from their bullpen. However in the eighth, Mickey Gasper hit a pinch hit homer to tie things up with Boston down to their last couple outs.
Despite their newfound life, the Red Sox had the wheels come off in the ninth. Reliever Erik Miller hit Chase DeLauter with a pitch and then gave up a single to Jo Adell, putting runners at the corners. Lowe then hit his sac fly, but Cleveland left two runners on after that, missing a chance at a bigger lead. That didn’t end up costing them, though as Cade Smith worked around a walk to finish things off.
Other Games
Chicago White Sox (81-76) 14, Kansas City Royals (69-90) 11: Cleveland’s win ended up allowing them to maintain a one-game lead in the Central, as the White Sox won a wild one in Kansas City. Chase Meidroth led the way for Chicago with a five-RBI, three-hit game that allowed the White Sox to open up a 14-4 lead. However, things got unexpectedly tight down the stretch, as the Royals scored three runs in the eighth and four in the ninth. Chicago got the final outs after that to prevent any more danger, keeping them a game back in the Central.
New York Mets (72-85) 6, Texas Rangers (78-79) 3: Meanwhile over in the AL West, the entire division is back below .500 as the first place Rangers dropped one to the Mets. While Texas led 3-2 going into the sixth, the Mets put up three runs, taking the lead on a two-run Francisco Alvarez double. The Rangers had no answer after that as just one Texas batter reached base after the Mets took the lead.
Houston Astros (78-79) 8, Seattle Mariners (73-84) 0: The Astros were able to take advantage of Texas’ loss, crushing the Mariners to draw even atop the West. Houston took the lead before an out had even been recorded, thanks to Yordan Alvarez, and they only kept adding on from there. Christian Walker hit a three-run homer in the third, while Alvarez added one of his own later.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 17: Kevin McGonigle #7 of the Detroit Tigers looks on against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on September 17, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Detroit Tigers’ rookie Kevin McGonigle has put together a pretty incredible campaign in his first season of major league baseball. He hasn’t just led the rookie class in the maor leagues all year long, he’s done things few players his age have ever accomplished. Even so, the fact that he just turned 22 years old doesn’t really enter into the picture unless voters decide to put some weight on his age as a tiebreaker. McGonigle appears to have the award locked up, but Cleveland Guardians rookie left-hander Parker Messick also deserves some serious consideration, and he remains McGonigle’s top competition for the award in the final week of the regular season.
Right now, the oddsmakers don’t see this as a contest at all. Bet MGM has McGonigle at -3000 to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, while Messick is at +1500 to win. ESPN and several other sites agree with that assessment.
McGonigle entered the season as the Tigers’ top prospect and more than lived up to the billing. He hit the ground running in late March and April and really never stopped hitting. He slumped somewhat in May and again in August, but even his slumps were instructive, as McGonigle at his worst never went into a real funk for long. Even better, his work with Tigers’ Hall of Fame shortstop, Alan Trammell, in the 2025 Arizona Fall League paid dividends in the field. One of the few questions about him as a prospect was whether he could hold down the shortstop position, or whether he’d need to shift to second or third base. Instead, McGonigle improved his footwork and overall efficiency on defense, and did a nice job playing an even mix of shortstop and third base throughout his rookie season.
The standout number for McGonigle is his outstanding .376 on-base percentage, but just as impressive is his 13.5 percent strikeout rate, compared to his 13.7 percent walk rate. He’s hit for just average power, with 17 home runs and a .149 isolated power mark, but the long, pesky at-bats with minimal strikeouts, and his constant presence on the bases, have made him a true headache for opposing teams to deal with all season long. McGonigle holds a stellar 128 wRC+ overall, and a 121 wRC+ while playing shortstop, placing him fourth amongst all major league players with a 100 plate appearances as a shortstop. Of the three shortstops currently ahead of him in wRC+, only Elly De La Cruz graded out better than McGonigle defensively.
Meanwhile, McGonigle has played 601 innings as a third baseman as of this writing. He’s racked up 7 defensive runs saved (DRS) per Sports Info Solutions, while Statcast has him at -2 outs above average (OAA). He’s played 675.2 innings at shortstop, compiling a +2 DRS with a -1 OAA mark. Those differences in marks from different systems aren’t very far apart, and it’s fair to say that McGonigle has been roughly an average defender at both positions.
For a hitter this talented to be solid at both of the two most difficult spots on the infield, and to be able to comfortably flex between them as a rookie in his age 21 season is extremely impressive. At no point has McGonigle really felt like a rookie. Instead, he immediately stepped into the major leagues as a foundational piece, able to thrive in all facets of the game and even making things easier for his manager by tackling both shortstop and third base as needed. With four games remaining, he’s basically a lock to top Harvey Kuehn’s 1953 franchise record for reaching base in a rookie season.
All tallied up, McGonigle has been worth 6.7 rWAR from Baseball Reference as a rookie in one of the all-time great rookie campaigns in MLB history, particularly for such a rookie who was 21 years old for most of the season. By FanGraphs, McGonigle is at 5.1 fWAR prior to Tuesday’s matchup with the Washington Nationals.
By contrast, the 25-year-old Messick has been worth 5.8 rWAR, with one start left in his rookie regular season. Yes, the Guardians pitching factory has done it again. He’s also at 4.6 fWAR, though his solid five inning start with one earned run on Tuesday will give these numbers a little boost.
Messick has 178.1 innings across 30 starts with a 12-9 record and a 2.57 ERA/3.11 FIP combination. His 26.2 percent strikeout rate is good rather than great, but still ranks him 15th best among qualified starters. Even better, he’s done it while walking just 6.6 percent of hitters and keeping a well below average home run rate of 0.86 home runs per nine innings (HR/9). Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays and Cam Schlitter of the Yankees are probably in a two-man race for the AL Cy Young, but Messick, as well as a resurgent season from the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom, aren’t too far behind.
Messick is certainly the best rookie pitcher in the American League. I think the contest between the two is closer than their WAR totals say, and the odds should probably not be quite so far apart, but even so he’s been outpaced by McGonigle’s steady production in all phases of the game. If there’s one additional argument Messick lobbyists will point to, it’s the fact that Messick has helped the Guardians get to the postseason, while McGonigle’s brilliant debut has been for naught in that regard. Still, this isn’t a team award, and typically that sort of thing doesn’t play into the equation.
Even so, it’s important to note that Messick is having a pretty historic rookie season of his own. As pointed out by MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince on Tuesday, the last rookie pitcher to make 30 starts with a 2.60 ERA or lower was Dwight Gooden back in 1984. Maybe he goes on to have a great postseason as well, but the votes are placed before the postseason begins, so that won’t be a factor.
Kevin McGonigle was the top ranked prospect in baseball who debuted this season in the American League, and second only to the Pirates’ Konnor Griffin, who didn’t do a whole lot and missed a big chunk of the season to injury. McGonigle had all the hype and all the pressure on him coming into Opening Day. He’s done nothing but live up to every bit of it while conducting himself like a seasoned professional since arriving in camp back in Februrary. We’ve witnessed one of the all-time great seasons for a player his age, and he’s stood out above the pack against fellow rookies who are anywhere from 2-4 years older. Even better, the eight-year extension signed in April means Tigers fans will be rooting for McGonigle well into the mid 2030’s, at least.
Should this turn out as expected and McGonigle wins AL ROY, the Tigers will get a prospect promotion incentive pick for promoting McGonigle to the major leagues for the whole season, so this has implications for the whole team as well. The Tigers will then have a first round pick in the lottery pool, and two picks in the competitive balance round A, setting themselves up for a potentially monstrous draft. Certainly it’s not guaranteed that McGonigle is going to win, but he’s clearly the front runner and there really isn’t anything Messick can do to close the gap.
Rookie of the Year voting consists of 60 writers in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, with two from each franchise’s coverage. Voting occurs before the start of the postseason. So votes will be locked in by early next week, but we’ll have to wait until November to find out the results.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Luis Campusano #12 of the San Diego Padres tags out Josue De Paula #95 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at home plate during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 22, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Diego Padres were riding high after a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins, which followed winning three out of four against the Colorado Rockies. They took that momentum into UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium to face the Los Angeles Dodgers and got smacked in the mouth while being held scoreless on just five hits in a 7-0 loss on Tuesday night.
The loss was made worse when you factor in the San Diego ace, Michael King, was on the mound. The right-hander had been dominant over recent starts and was the unquestioned leader in the rotation — and he still is, but he took some lumps in his latest outing against Los Angeles. King was tagged for five runs on six hits in just four innings of work. He also allowed two walks, both of which led to runs for the Dodgers, and recorded five strikeouts.
The red-hot Padres offense which had been putting up runs and hits in bunches, went quiet — a story the Friar Faithful know all too well after recent playoff struggles against the National League West rivals. Luis Campusano was the only San Diego player to have multiple hits in the game and that was two. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the game with a hit, but did not get anything else in the contest. Xander Bogaerts was the only other Padres regular with a hit and Ethan Salas recorded a pinch-hit single in his first plate appearance in the top of the sixth inning.
The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Rockies. The Miami Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers. The positive from all of that is the Padres have the same record as the Cubs and Phillies, but both teams have the tie breaker over the Friars. However, they remain in control of their destiny and the magic number to clinch a playoff berth remains at two. San Diego will try to move that number to one, and hope for some help from Colorado to knock off Arizona to claim a playoff spot.
The first step for the Padres is to beat the Dodgers and they will attempt to do that tonight at 7:10 p.m.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 20: Aroldis Chapman #44 of the Boston Red Sox and Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox react after clinching a playoff berth following a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 20, 2026 at at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Wednesday, OTM readers! For the Red Sox, this week’s games are largely meaningless. They’re all but locked into the fifth seed, with a trip to the Bronx waiting for them in the Wild Card round. So, are you watching the games this week? Last night, for the first time in a long time, I opted to watch the Cubs and Phillies to see how the NL playoff picture would shake out. I’ll be at the game tonight with my softball team, and I’ll be watching tomorrow to see how Ranger Suarez approaches things, but I really won’t care about the outcome.
Do you watch every game? Are you watching the next few nights? Are you an adult who has other things to take care of and doesn’t schedule your life around the Red Sox? Talk about this and whatever else you’d like in the comments. Be respectful to one another, and go Sox.
Although the 2026 season was an immense disappointment, it’s unlikely that there will be sweeping changes made to organizational leadership. The Royals extended manager Matt Quatraro on a new three-year contract that covers the 2027-29 seasons — with a club option for 2030 — back in February. General manager J.J. Picollo signed a five-year extension just 11 months prior. He’s under contract through 2030, with a club option for the 2031 season. Prolonged struggles can eventually jeopardize executives and managers even when they’re under contract, but it’s quite rare for those figures to be replaced so early in long-term contracts — and the Royals have historically been a franchise that’s very loyal to its top decision-makers.
The challenges for Picollo and his staff this winter will be significant. They’ll have multiple needs to address both on the pitching side of the roster and in the lineup. They’ll need to do so without a great deal of payroll space, barring a sudden hike in spending from owner John Sherman. One could argue that those facts, coupled with a last-place finish in a thin American League Central, signal there’s a need for a more forward-looking, long-term approach this offseason, but Kansas City’s activity at the trade deadline was indicative of the fact that a rebuild isn’t in the cards.
Being mediocre in the American League kept most teams in the postseason hunt, but the Royals couldn’t even manage that. However, the Royals can make life miserable for their division rivals. The race for the Central crown is between the Guardians and White Sox, and the Royals will play both teams this week at Kauffman Stadium. “I’m looking forward to playing these guys this week,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters Sunday after KC’s 4-3 loss to the Pirates. “We can have something to say about who wins the division, who goes to the playoffs, and I’m looking forward to competing.”
One reason to believe in next year: [Holds up a photo of Bobby Witt Jr.] What, are you gonna not watch this guy?
Count me among those with egg on my face when it comes to the 2026 Kansas City Royals. I expected them to compete with the Tigers for a division title. Let’s just check in on those standings …
Right. Neat.
So do you really want me to tell you what is coming in 2027? Probably not.
Instead, I’ll just say it’s always a pleasure to watch Bobby Witt Jr. play. Carter Jensen looks like a successful successor to Salvador Pérez at catcher, Jac Caglianone looks legit, and I think Noah Cameron has borderline-ace potential.
Will Vinnie Pasquantino come into his own as a star first baseman? Will Cole Ragans recover from a disaster season?
And what will they do about the bullpen? If you set the minimum number of innings to two — two innings — here are your bullpen ERA leaders:
36-year-old Anthony Gose (0.00, 9.2 innings) 32-year-old Jose Cuas (2.21, 20.1 innings) 31-year-old Randy Dobnak (3.02, 73 innings) That’s right. Not a single reliever who has thrown more than 21 innings has an ERA under 3.00. How common is that? This year, only three* other teams are in the same boat: the Twins, Mariners and Nationals (who set a new MLB record for blown saves in a season). — Weaver
*Daniel Lynch IV had an ERA of 1.96 as a reliever, but was moved into the rotation in early August. Since we’re looking forward to 2027, I’m not counting him.
**The Angels only had one guy, Chase Silseth, and they traded him. So … count them if you want, they’re 60-96.
This year, Roccaforte took that next step the Royals had been waiting for. While spending the majority of the 2026 season at Double-A, Roccaforte saw an even greater boost in his power. He belted 30 home runs and drove in 80 runs before being promoted to Triple-A Omaha in August, where he continued to rake. In 28 games for the Storm Chasers, Roccaforte put up an .862 OPS.
There is just one flaw that is holding back his offensive game. Like in his previous seasons, Roccaforte has continued to fall victim to the K. In 540 at-bats this season, he struck out 181 times. But as his power stroke develops at an encouraging clip, it may be something that the Royals will be able to live with.
With bats like Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone, and Bobby Witt Jr. already in the lineup, Royals fans could see an exciting change coming in 2027. Paired with fellow prospect Blake Mitchell, the addition of Roccaforte could transform the ball club into an explosive offensive powerhouse. The Royals could be young enough and good enough to compete with the Chicago White Sox as the team to watch out for in the AL Central over the next several years.
If the concern is that small-market clubs cannot compete with big markets, then we must first understand that small markets receive billions of dollars in subsidies through central revenues, local revenue sharing, and the redistribution of luxury tax proceeds.
Beyond the finances, the MLBPA has identified additional paths to level the playing field. For instance, the argument is that despite the subsidies, small-market clubs cannot afford to acquire high-end talent in free agency and must rely heavily on the draft. Generally speaking, why not allow small-market teams to pick at the top of the draft to ensure they can acquire young, talented, and affordable players? Brilliantly run clubs like Tampa and Milwaukee should not suffer draft position as a result of their success, while big-market clubs reap the benefits of their failures. Does anyone believe it would be fair for the Mets to have the first pick in the draft, which is a possibility?
Additionally, there has been an influx of professional Japanese players, who have immediately contributed at the big-league level. History has shown that most, if not all, of these enormously talented players sign with big-market clubs. Why not make those players subject to a draft or available only to small market clubs?
