Category: MLB

The Cincinnati Reds lost to the St. Louis Cardinals earlier on Monday, and surprisingly it was not due to the work of lefty Kent Emanuel.

The 34 year old journeyman was effectively plucked out of independent league ball to make this start, as the Reds got him, sent him to AAA Louisville to start once, and then rolled him out there today. He more than rewarded them by lasting 5.0 IP and allowing just 2 ER, and instead it was (once again) the putrid Cincinnati offense that backed him by scoring just a lone run in a 2-1 loss.

That means the Reds have scored 1, 1, 4, 0, 1, 9 (!), 0, 4, 1, 2, 3 runs in their last 10 contests. Good luck winning with that!

It’ll be Rhett Lowder who’ll next try to get the opponent to score -1 runs so the Reds can try to win zero to negative one, as he’ll start the evening half of Monday’s doubleheader against the Birds. Veteran Andre Pallante will start for St. Louis, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM ET.

Here’s how the Reds will line up to start Game 2 of the day:

Game 2 up next.

Powered by @PNCBankpic.twitter.com/G792zVcQGD

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 17, 2026

The Yankees announced today that Carlos Rodón will make his return from the injured list tomorrow night. Out since June 28th with left elbow inflammation, the left-hander will start in the first game of this week’s three-game set with the Orioles.

Rodón made two rehab starts in the lead-up to his return, looking particularly sharp in his most recent outing, striking out seven and allowing two hits in 4.1 shutout innings for Somerset on August 13th. He was limited to 58 pitches in that start, so expect him to be on a fairly restrictive pitch count tomorrow night.

The Yankees desperately need offensive reinforcements, but they’ll take anything they can get right now. Rodón’s return should further deepen what’s been the best pitching staff in the league, though how the roster shakes out remains to be seen. The most obvious candidate to be bumped out of the rotation is Will Warren, who has been outpitched over the course of the summer by his mid-rotation mate Ryan Weathers. Warren would’ve been on full rest for tomorrow night, so perhaps he could be involved in a piggyback sort of setup as the Yankees try to slowly increase Rodón’s pitch count.

Rodón had a 3.30 ERA in nine starts and 46 innings before hitting the shelf in June. His season had already been abbreviated by offseason elbow surgery, his season debut not coming until May 10th in Milwaukee. Though injuries have ensured this hasn’t been the kind of campaign Rodón envisioned, he’s been effective when healthy and would give the Yankees a downright super rotation if he can pitch as he did earlier year.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns discussed several topics ahead of Monday's game against the Padres...

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Senga's new role as a high-leverage reliever

Stearns spoke on Kodai Senga, who has served as the team's closer in the place of the injured Devin Williams. This August, Senga has not allowed a single run across five outings, each lasting one full inning, and has picked up the first three saves of his career in the process.

"Kodai has done a great job," said Stearns. "He's adjusted very well, and it's not just in the performance, it's also in how he's getting ready for those performances. It's not the easiest transition to make."

However, it appears that Stearns isn't yet convinced to hand Senga the closer role moving forward, both when Williams returns from injury and looking ahead to next season.

"I'm excited for [Senga] that he's doing this right now. From a future perspective, we'll [look at that] later," Stearns stated.

No expectation for Polanco to play first base

Looking ahead to 2027, Stearns was asked whether he wants to see Jorge Polanco play first base between now and the end of the season, with an eye on finding a solution at that problem position for the Mets defense.

"I don't think we need to see that," he replied. "The most important thing is getting [Polanco] on a path to be physically in a much better place in 2027 than he has been this season."

Polanco has played in just 36 of the Mets' 125 games this season, and was sidelined from April 18 to July 7 with left Achilles bursitis, as well as a wrist injury.

Pushing the limits of the young starting pitchers

Stearns has been encouraged by the strong performances of New York's trio of rookie starters: Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton. 

He explained that he wants to see each of them continue to challenge themselves to push deep into ballgames ahead of the season's end.

"We don't, frankly, have innings limits or innings guides," said Stearns. "It's more about continuing to evaluate how each individual pitcher is feeling, how they're recovering, and at this point we're in a good spot with all of them.

"They're solidifying themselves as pitchers at the major-league level, and that's important for us going forward."

Stearns' approach to prospect integration and development

Finally, following a whirlwind trade deadline which saw the Mets bolster their prospect ranks with the acquisition of infielders Jefferson Rojas and Sammy Stafura (among others), Stearns outlined his vision for what a successful Mets farm system looks like. 

"So much of it is making them feel welcome, putting them in the best position to succeed, and allowing their talents to speak for themselves. It's important to get to know the player and the person, trying to be patient, allowing our coaches and player development staff to get quality time with them."

Stearns is proud of the performances of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who are setting the standard for what successful prospect promotion to the big leagues looks like.

"I think we have gotten development at the major-league level in terms of seeing progress from young players, and it's very encouraging for us to see them perform," Stearns concluded.

After missing the past two months and stints on both the 10 and 60-day IL, Oneil Cruz is back.

The Pirates activated Cruz to the 26-man roster on Monday following a fractured left hand injury.

Cruz hasn’t played since he suffered the injury on June 7 in Atlanta and missed 58 games during the heart of summer. 

He appeared in six minor league games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis over the last two weeks before returning to Pittsburgh for final evaluation.

The Pirates also activated reliever Yohan Ramirez off the paternity list and optioned left-handed starter/reliever Hunter Barco and outfielder Ronny Simon to Triple-A. 

Cruz is not in the lineup as the Pirates begin the first of three games against the Detroit Tigers to begin the back half of a six-game home stand. 

Oneil Cruz just hit this ball 122.9 mph.

That is the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era. pic.twitter.com/dZYilTHie1

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 25, 2025

Left-handed Framber Valdez will start for Detroit, but Cruz is batting .312 with a .361 on-base percentage and .506 slugging in 77 at-bats against lefties this season.

In 64 games, Cruz is slashing .264/.350/.472 with an .822 OPS. He was on pace for his first 30/30 season with 14 home runs and 21 steals before the halfway point.

Inconsistency and struggles against lefties plagued Cruz in 2025, while the injury ripped apart what has been his best season in the majors.

His 44 RBIs still rank fourth on the team, and the offense has significantly missed his power and speed either leading off or in the middle of the lineup. 

It may be a little too late for the Pirates, who are 61-65 and sit 6.5 games out of the final wild card.

The Pirates are looking up at the Cardinals, Marlins, and Diamondbacks as the Phillies and Padres (67-58) are tied for the last two NL playoff seeds.

Today, the Colorado Rockies announced that the have designated for assignment RHP Michael Lorenzen and recalled RHP TJ Shook.

The Rockies announced today the following transactions:

– Recalled RHP TJ Shook from Triple-A Albuquerque.
– Designated RHP Michael Lorenzen for assignment.

The Rockies have 37 players on the 40-man roster.

— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) August 17, 2026

Lorenzen, 34, joined the Rockies as a free-agent signing for the 2026 season on a one-year, $8 million deal. The contract includes a $9 million club option for the 2027 season.

However, he has struggled since joining the team. He currently has a 7.08 ERA in 115.2 IP. Despite his diverse pitch arsenal, Lorenzen has been unable to adjust since joining the Rockies. He also had a 4.59 FIP and a 1.88 WHIP.

Earlier today, Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer confirmed that Tanner Gordon will take Lorenzen’s place in the rotation, according to Christian Saez.

A couple Rockies news notes:

Hunter Goodman has been scratched from the lineup with ongoing shoulder inflammation. Schaeffer says he’s day to day but no IL yet.

Also Schaeffer confirmed that Tanner Gordon will take Lorenzens spot in the starting rotation.

— Christian Saez🎙 (@DNVRSaez) August 17, 2026

In a second roster move, the Rockies have recalled TJ Shook from Triple-A Albuquerque. This season, Shook has a 3.02 ERA in 42.7 IP. This includes an 8.50 K/9. Current, players facing Shook have an OPS of .737.

He was first promoted in June 2026 after being selected by the Rockies in the Minor League Phase of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft from the New York Mets.

The Rockies have 37 players on the 40-man roster.

Purple Row will continue to follow this developing story.

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The MLB playoff picture is starting to tighten, and the wild card races remain the easiest place for the standings to change in a hurry.

With division leaders trying to create separation and bubble teams fighting to stay above the cut line, the American League and National League wild-card standings carry major postseason implications every day. A single series can swing a team from holding a playoff spot to looking up at the field, especially with several contenders clustered closely together in the race for October.

With weeks still left on the schedule, there is plenty of room for movement among teams currently in playoff position, teams just outside the field and clubs trying to turn a late-season push into a playoff berth.

Here's the latest MLB wild card standings and playoff picture, including teams on each side of the postseason cut line, heading into prime-time action on Monday, Aug. 17.

MORE: Five series that could impact MLB playoff race, including a Chicago showdown

MLB playoff picture: Who would make playoffs if season ended today?

American League playoff field

• 1. Tampa Bay Rays (East leader) — 74-49
• 2. Chicago White Sox (Central leader) — 65-58
• 3. Houston Astros (West leader) — 63-62
• 4. New York Yankees (No. 1 wild card) — 69-55
• 5. Boston Red Sox (No. 2 wild card) — 65-58
• 6. Baltimore Orioles (No. 3 wild card) — 61-63

National League playoff field

• 1. Milwaukee Brewers (Central leader) — 77-48
• 2. Atlanta Braves (East leader) — 74-50
• 3. Los Angeles Dodgers (West leader) — 74-51
• 4. Chicago Cubs (No. 1 wild card) — 72-53
• 5. Philadelphia Phillies (No. 2 wild card) — 67-58
• 6. San Diego Padres (No. 3 wild card) — 67-58

Current matchups in American League

• Orioles at Astros; Red Sox at Yankees
• Rays and White Sox would have byes to AL division series

Current matchups in National League

• Padres at Dodgers; Phillies at Cubs
• Brewers and Braves would have byes to NL division series

American League wild card standings

Top three wild card teams make the postseason:

• New York Yankees — 69-55 (+8 games)
• Boston Red Sox — 66-58 (+5 games)
• Baltimore Orioles — 61-63 (—)
• Texas Rangers — 61-64 (½ game back)
• Toronto Blue Jays — 61-65 (1 game back)
• Detroit Tigers — 60-64 (1 game back)
• Minnesota Twins — 60-65 (1½ games back)
• Cleveland Guardians — 60-65 (1½ games back)
• Seattle Mariners — 59-66 (2½ games back)

National League wild card standings

Top three wild card teams make the postseason:

• Chicago Cubs — 72-53 (+5 games)
• Philadelphia Phillies — 67-58 (—)
• San Diego Padres — 67-58 (—)
• Arizona Diamondbacks — 66-59 (1 game back)
• Miami Marlins — 64-61 (3 games back)
• St. Louis Cardinals — 64-61 (3 games back)
• Pittsburgh Pirates — 61-65 (6½ games back)
• Cincinnati Reds — 59-65 (7½ games back)
• Washington Nationals — 60-66 (7½ games back)

MLB wild card tiebreaker rules

Ties between two teams, per MLB.com:

1. Head-to-head record
2. Intradivision record
3. Intraleague record
4. Last half of intraleague games: These are the records from intraleague games after the All-Star break.
5. Last half of intraleague games plus one: Previous intraleague game on the schedule before All-Star break is used and process is repeated until tie is resolved.

When do MLB playoffs start?

• Wild-card series: Tuesday, Sept. 29 through Thursday, Oct. 1
• Division series: Saturday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 10
• Championship series: Sunday, Oct. 11 through Tuesday, Oct. 20
• World Series: Friday, Oct. 23 through Saturday, Oct. 31

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB wild card standings today: Who would complete playoff field?

Sept. 2

Today in sports history

Today is Sept. 2. On this date in:

1880: Two teams composed mostly of Boston department-store employees played the first known baseball game under electric lights at Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. The nine-inning exhibition used three wooden light towers.

1927: Babe Ruth hit his 400th career home run as the New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 12-2 at Shibe Park, becoming the first major league player to reach the milestone.

1940: Byron Nelson captured the PGA Championship, defeating Sam Snead for his first PGA Championship and third major title.

1946: Ben Hogan won the Golden State Open, part of a six-tournament winning streak during his 13-win 1946 PGA Tour season.

1957: Milwaukee Braves first baseman Frank Torre scored six runs in a 23-10 rout of the Chicago Cubs, tying a Major League Baseball record.

1960: Wilma Rudolph won the Olympic women’s 100-meter final at the Rome Games, capturing the first of her three gold medals at the Olympics.

1960: New Zealand runner Peter Snell claimed the first of his three Olympic gold medals by winning the 800 meters at the Rome Olympics.

1960: Soviet sisters Tamara Press and Irina Press became the first sisters to win Olympic gold medals at the same games when Tamara captured the shot put a day after Irina won the 80-meter hurdles.

1965: Chicago Cubs star Ernie Banks hit his 400th career home run in a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, becoming the 11th major league player to reach the milestone.

1966: Roberto Clemente recorded his 2,000th career hit with a three-run home run off Ferguson Jenkins as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-3.

1972: Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas retired the first 26 San Diego batters before issuing a two-out walk in the ninth inning, then completed an 8-0 no-hitter against the Padres.

1986: The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs combined to use 53 players in a marathon game suspended after 14 innings and completed the next day in the 18th inning, setting a major league record for players used in a single game.

1990: Toronto Blue Jays ace Dave Stieb threw the first no-hitter in club history, finally reaching the milestone after several previous bids had been broken up late.

1996: Boston’s Mike Greenwell drove in all nine Red Sox runs in a 9-8 win over Seattle, becoming the only player in MLB history to account for all of his team’s runs in a nine-run game.

1996: David Cone returned from surgery to repair an aneurysm in his pitching shoulder and threw seven hitless innings for the New York Yankees in a 5-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

2011: Dwight Phillips won his fourth world long jump championship, Vivian Cheruiyot completed the women’s 5,000- and 10,000-meter double and Veronica Campbell Brown captured the women’s 200 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

2013: At age 64, Diana Nyad completed a 52-hour, 54-minute swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida, a crossing widely reported as the first from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, though the swim was later denied ratification by the World Open Water Swimming Association.

2019: The Texas Rangers shut out the New York Yankees 7-0, ending New York’s streak of 220 consecutive games with at least one run scored, the second-longest such streak in major league history.

2023: Shedeur Sanders passed for a Colorado-record 510 yards and four touchdowns in his Buffaloes debut, leading a 45-42 upset of No. 17 TCU in Deion Sanders’ first game as Colorado’s coach.

2023: Son Heung-min, Erling Haaland and Evan Ferguson each scored three goals, tying the Premier League record for the most hat tricks recorded on a single day.

2025: Shohei Ohtani hit his 100th home run with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 120-mph drive that became the hardest-hit Dodgers homer of the Statcast era. He became the fourth player to hit at least 100 homers in his first two seasons with a franchise.

— USA TODAY Network

This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Today in sports, September 2

Carlos Rodon’s long-awaited return now has an official date, as the Yankees announced that the lefty will start on Tuesday night in Baltimore. 

Rodon last pitched in the majors on June 28 and was soon after placed on the IL with left elbow inflammation. 

The veteran made two rehab appearances, and his most recent appearance on Aug. 13 was a good one, as Rodon went 4.1 shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out seven and walking one.

Rodon made nine starts prior to the injury, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched. 

At 69-55, the Yankees are comfortably seated as the top Wild Card seed in the American League, but they’re just 5.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot in the AL East as well. 

Adding Rodon back to a rotation that also includes Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, and Max Fried gives the Yankees a formidable foursome to handle the starting duties in any potential playoff series.

What can you really say about the Braves’ lineup at this point… or ever? Mauricio Dubon is back in left field tonight, and hitting fifth.

Monday matchup on the way! pic.twitter.com/urn8aSIWVi

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 17, 2026

Dubon had a really fun time in June while the rest of the team was imploding offensively, with a .378 wOBA and .368 xwOBA. Unfortunately, he’s more or less fallen apart as the team clambered out of its doldrums, with wOBAs and xwOBAs in the .280 range irrespective of how you slice and dice the six-ish weeks since June ended. But, here he is, hitting fifth. It doesn’t really matter, but Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Riley have been on a tear in August, so this is a case where the Braves’ lineup construction is relatively staid, even though we’ve seen it get relatively reactionary earlier in the season with regards to other things.

The Twins lineup gives Martin Perez a steady diet of righties to contend with:

It’s kind of an interesting array. Luke Keaschall will hit leadoff for the first time all season; this will be his second career game in that spot. Kaelen Culpepper has hit seventh a few times and ninth a few times, but never eighth (until this game).

This Twins lineup has pretty solid numbers up and down on paper. Hopefully the Perez pachinko comes up favorable for the Braves… or they just crush Bailey Ober.

On a batter-versus-pitcher basis, this is a funny one. Three Braves in the lineup have faced Ober: Yastrzemski, Olson, and Dubon. It’s 11 total PAs, but a total crush job: .558 wOBA, .571 xwOBA. Yastrzemski has eight of those 11 PAs and has a very high xwOBA with a low wOBA; Olson and Dubon have each crushed a ball the few times they’ve seen him.

The experience for the Twins versus Martin Perez is similar, just 27 PAs across three players. It’s a collective .388 wOBA and .425 xwOBA, with a lot of that coming because Byron Buxton has hit quite well in 16 PAs. But, none of these batter-versus-pitcher things are for anything other than amusement, given the sample.

Game Summary

The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead within four batters, highlighted by an Alec Burleson RBI double. After that, short starts by the 27th men turned this close game into a battle of the bullpens. The under-rated Reds bullpen was able to hold down the Cardinals offense, inducing 1-13 with RISP to keep the game closer than Oli Marmol would have cared for. A quintet of Cardinal relievers held fast the remainder of the way for a taut 2-1 win to open a key five game series against the Reds.

Pre-game notes

• This morning, the tilt is a make-up of a previously rained out game (the one Brycen Mautz was supposed to start). This time, Quinn Mathews will serve as the 27th man and will make the start.
• Weather could yet again be a factor, although more likely for the night game.
• The Reds counter with Kent Emanual, a 34-year-old lefthander. There is some story there, if you are interested. 3 TJ surgeries?

The first innings

The Cardinals jumped out early. Joshua Baez, leading off, draws the HBP. Herrera walks. After a Walker K (those are starting to add up), a Burly double gets the Cardinals out to an early two run lead. Fermin grounds out and Winn continues his struggles with a K. But an early 2-0 lead is a good thing, particularly when Mathews came out and opened his outing with 3 strikeouts.

In second, the feel goods returned as Blaze Jordan opened up with yet again another triple. However, the bottom of this line-up did their thing and Jordan never moved off third base. Mathews worked himself into trouble in the 2nd with a couple of walks but worked out of it.

In the third, a walk to Herrera (again) and a single by Burly put Emanual back on the ropes, but a GIDP by Fermin rescued him. Mathews worked through the bottom of the third with a walk. He compiled 5 Ks and 3 BBs in the first three innings.

The middle innings

Another walk and single put Emanual on the ropes yet again, but Pages and Baez were unable to capitalize. The Cardinals are 1-10 w/ RISP in just four innings. I heard the ghost of Mike Shannon saying you can’t let a team hang around like this…

In the bottom of the 4th, Dane Myers saw eleven (!) Mathews pitches and liked the eleventh pitch enough to deposit it in the upper deck to cut the Cardinal lead in half. Mathews command seemed to be drifting and his velocity seemed to be dropping as he piled up 32 (!) pitches while working through the fourth inning, ending up the inning above 90 pitches, effectively ending his outing. He has a lot of whiff in his game, but it is easy to see the next step in his development is to reduce the number of uncompetitive (waste) pitches he throws. This game takes on the feel of a game that will burn down the bullpen, win or lose.

Rolling into the fifth, a Walker double created more RISP opportunities, and an equal amount of frustration. Gastelum relieved Mathews in the fifth inning and sawed through the Reds hitter in eleven pitches. In the sixth, three Cardinals strike out against the Reds reliever Mey.

The decisive and bitter end

In the seventh, a Herrera walk (again) and a Walker single creates more RISP opportunities, and more futility. Soriano dispatches the Red in the bottom of the 7th. A dying quail from Winn turns into a single when it lands in no man’s land to end his 0-18 skid, but alas nothing comes of it. Stanek enters for the eighth. He gives up a two out double but gets out with a nifty 1u putout. Don’t see that every day. Since many have appeared to have skipped PFP recently, Stanek fielded a tapper and ran the ball to first base for the final out of the inning. No hijinks possible!

Riley O’Brien took the mound for the save opportunity. He opened with a three-pitch strikeout of Cardinal nemesis E. Suarez. Myers K’s after an eight-pitch AB (same guy that hit a HR on pitch 11 off Mathews). Toglia with the backwards K to close the game out. ROB was very sharp!

Post-Game Notes

• No Today on the Farm article … Monday is a quiet day in MiLB.
• The teams pick back up again in a few hours.
• Gastelum, Graceffo, Soriano, Stanek and O’Brien each pitched an inning. Pitch counts were mostly low and likely that some of these guys could pitch again in the nightcap.

It’s no secret that shifting Kodai Senga into the role of late-inning reliever was an idea born out of desperation, even exasperation, after he floundered as a starter this season. 

But that doesn’t make the move any less significant if it turns out the Mets strike gold here. Perhaps, anyway.

Even as something of a reluctant participant, Senga has made the transition look easy in what so far is a small sample, pitching a scoreless inning in each of five appearances over the last 12 days, the last three to lock down the ninth inning and earn a save in the absence of the injured Devin Williams.

From a quality-of-stuff point of view, it seems sustainable.

As one major league scout said, “He does profile best as a closer with that fastball/splitter combination. In short stints he can dominate with those two pitches.”

From a more all-encompassing point of view, the smooth transition so far has been a pleasant surprise for the Mets, considering Senga’s difficulties the last two seasons, both physically and seemingly mentally as well, in addition to his stated preference to remain a starter.

All of which makes it quite presumptive to expect that Senga will morph into something resembling peak Edwin Diaz with no issues along the way.

As a Mets person told me, “To say the feeling here is one of cautious optimism would be an understatement.”

To that point, it could be notable to see how Senga emerges physically from three consecutive days of purposeful throwing -- if you count him warming up with some intensity on Saturday for an appearance that became unnecessary when the Mets won in walk-off fashion, in addition to his saves on Friday and Sunday.

“He’s been a guy who has indicated that he can’t pitch to his own standard unless everything is aligned perfectly,” the Mets’ person said. “And as a starter he needed the extra day, so it’s only natural to wonder how he’ll deal with the grind of pitching as a reliever over an extended period of time, since part of that job is to pitch when you might be slightly fatigued, or at least not feeling at your best.”

With that in mind, there was no word Monday from manager Andy Green of any workload hangover for Senga, though that’s not something he would necessarily speak to, ever wary of tipping his hand to an opponent. 

As it is, after his busy weekend Senga was almost certainly unavailable for Monday night’s series opener with the San Diego Padres, so the next several days will bear watching.

In the meantime, Senga certainly has created some intrigue with his success so far. As the scout noted, he has the weapons to be a dominant closer, with the fastball he’s throwing 97-98 mph and his famous ghost fork, with which he struck out the last two Washington Nationals’ hitters on Sunday to close out a 4-3 win.

Could he be part of the late-inning mix next season? Could he even displace Williams as the closer?

Suffice it to say MLB scouts share the Mets’ internal caution, based not only on questions about Senga’s durability as a reliever but also his penchant for pitching at times as if intent on avoiding contact.

“Since he got hurt last year (the June hamstring injury) he seemed to lose some his willingness to attack with his fastball,” a second scout said. “He’s always had a tendency at times to nibble around the edges of the plate and try to trick guys with his breaking stuff but he really seemed to lose his confidence when he came back last year.

“I heard Mendy (Carlos Mendoza) became really frustrated with him, and you could see why. Senga would come out on the attack for an inning, and then for some reason he’d start going more finesse, throwing his off-speed breaking pitches, and he’d get himself into trouble and let innings get away from him.

“As a reliever, I’m sure they’re driving that point home with him, that he doesn’t need anything but the fastball and the split, and maybe a show-me slider every once in a while. If he can command his fastball it really sets up his ghost fork as his out pitch.”

A third scout offered a similar outlook.

“Does he have the stamina physically? That’s my biggest concern,” said the scout. “But also, can he stick to the script? Because as a starter he looked like he would overthink things at times and try to trick hitters, even when he had his good fastball.”

The good news for the Mets is that as a reliever Senga so far seems content to stick to using that fastball-splitter combination. In his two outings against the Nationals, 23 of the 25 pitches he threw were either fastballs or splitters, to go with two sweepers (one of which resulted in a hit-by-pitch).

It’s a good sign, but a small sample size.

In any case, if Senga’s success continues it offers a potentially important piece of next year’s puzzle, either as a set-up man for Williams or as a closer himself.

Or such success could make simply it easier for the Mets to trade him.

Last year, after all, they wanted to be done with Senga after he became so discombobulated that he essentially told them he couldn’t pitch late in the season even as they were desperately short on starters during their failed chase for a wild-card berth.

Two sources say David Stearns “tried hard” to trade Senga during the offseason and “came close” to completing deals with a few different teams, only to run into roadblocks on each occasion.

Maybe other teams don’t trust that Senga will stay healthy -- he has one year remaining on his five-year, $75 million contract, a signing that raised eyebrows among some baseball people at the time because of whispers about an elbow problem.

Also at that time some teams saw Senga as more of a reliever than a starter, and though he said recently he still sees himself as a starter, he also admitted he hasn’t pitched well enough to have an argument about being moved to the bullpen.

So we’ll see -- maybe Senga will be a revelation as a reliever, as the early results suggest. Maybe he’ll embrace the importance of the role. However, there’s obviously history here that looms as much a part of that equation, and thus any long-term evaluation, in the weeks and months ahead.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country.

In defiance of what anyone could have imagined for the Orioles when they traded away the players they did before the trade deadline, they have not only hung around in the wild card race but they have, at least at the time of this writing, managed to plop themselves into one of the wild card spots.

Had the O’s sank like many people, perhaps even Mike Elias, expected, then it would not much matter when their injured players worked their way back. Now, it might actually matter when players return from the injured list. Samuel Basallo has already started on a rehab assignment. Pleasant surprise infielder/outfielder Blaze Alexander might be not too far behind that.

There could also be help for the bullpen, though things are more vague about when either Félix Bautista or Ryan Helsley might make their way back. Without Tyler Wells in that mix, they are sure going to need some more dependable arms to appear. It is far too early to say whether a returned Bautista or Helsley would be a dependable arm, but there’s no harm for a fan in believing.

This week’s site poll is about which of these players you think will be the biggest help to the Orioles between now and season’s end. Results will be posted on Friday or Saturday, so make sure you let vote below:

It is going to be a little while yet before even Basallo, the closest of these guys to a return, is able to make it back. Hopefully the Orioles don’t do one of their patented 2026 “get your hopes up only to crush them even harder” stretches of games before the IL guys can start to make it back.

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The Royals will get some familiar faces back in the lineup tonight with the return of Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia. Both players were activated from the Injured List today, but to make room for them, the Royals demoted infielder Josh Rojas and designated outfielder Starling Marte for assignment. The team also added left-hander Connor Thomas to the bullpen, and demoted Jose Cuas.

Marte signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Royals in spring training as a veteran bat to bolster the outfield. The 37-year-old mostly played against lefties, appearing in 59 games, hitting .242/.298/.314 with two home runs in 168 plate appearances.

Pasquantino has been out three weeks after reinjuring his hand. It has been a rough year for the 28-year-old. He has battled hand injuries and is batting just .232/.318/.345 with just six home runs in 79 games. Jac Caglianone has been filling in at first base and has seen his bat take off. He moves back to right field tonight, with Pasquantino back at first base.

Garcia has been out since late June with a muscle strain in his hand. He was set to return in late July, but had a setback in his rehab. His numbers are also down from last year, although he has been near league-average with a line of .261/.320/.373, although with just five steals in 69 games. Garcia is in the lineup tonight hitting fourth, with Pasquantino hitting fifth.

Connor Thomas was claimed off waivers from the Athletics earlier this month, and the Royals are the fifth organization he has played for. The 28-year-old lefty appeared in two games with the Brewers last year, and two with the Braves this year. He has a 2.40 ERA in 41.1 innings of relief in the minors this season. With Daniel Lynch IV pitching in the rotation, Thomas is the only lefty in the bullpen.

In a meeting of two pitchers who began their careers in the AL East, Blake Snell leads the Dodgers against Tomoyuki Sugano and the Rockies. This visit to Coors Field comes at an opportune time for a struggling offense, having just lost three out of four against the Brewers at home. The Dodgers averaged a terrible 2.5 runs per game, with the spotlight on Kyle Tucker’s hitless homestand, but between Brewers pitching and Rockies pitching, one could fill nearly as large a gap as you’ll find in baseball.

It’s only fitting that after speaking out on the challenges he faced in a rehab outing in Salt Lake City, having difficulty in making the ball move as he intended, Snell makes his first road start in Coors Field. Weirdly—despite having played in the National League West for the last six years—Snell hasn’t made a start in Colorado since 2023, when he went against his poor track record in Coors to toss a magnificent outing for the Padres, striking out 12 in seven innings and allowing just one run.

While pitching in Colorado has been uncommon for Snell recently, second-year starter Tomoyuki Sugano wants to avoid a third loss in as many starts versus the Dodgers, currently in his best form of the season. Sugano is on a run of five starts without allowing more than three earned runs—three of them at home—having led Colorado to a win in four of them. Based on what they paid for him, committing a little over $5 million, Sugano has been a terrific signing, the Rockies’ best starting pitcher on the season by a wide margin with a 110 ERA+.

Monday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Rockies
• Ballpark: Coors Field, Denver
• Start time: 5:40 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)