Category: MLB

Juan Guzman turns 60 today.

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Guzman was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1985. Pat Gillick later traded Mike Sharperson to Los Angeles for Guzman—an easy win for Gillick, who already had plenty of them in his career.

Initially, the Blue Jays believed they were acquiring Jose Offerman, but instead, they landed Juan Guzman. The Jays began using him as a reliever in the minors. Guzman attributed some of his early control issues to pitching only one or two innings at a time, making it difficult to refine his command—a point he may have been right about.

The Jays called up Guzman to the majors in early June 1991, when their rotation was struggling behind the top three of Stottlemyre, Key, and Wells. Dave Stieb was injured, and Denis Boucher didn’t pan out, eventually being traded to Cleveland (with Glenallen Hill and Mark Whiten) for Tom Candiotti and Turner Ward.

Guzman made his debut on June 7 and remained in the rotation for the rest of the season. He excelled, finishing 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA, 123 strikeouts in 138.2 innings, and 66 walks. He limited hitters to 98 hits and was equally effective against lefties (.201 BA) and righties (.193 BA). Guzman finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Chuck Knoblauch. The Jays lost the ALCS to the Twins in five games, with Guzman earning the team’s only win in game two.

Guzman remained in the starting rotation the following year, despite missing most of August with a strained back muscle. He delivered another strong season, posting a 16-5 record and a 2.64 ERA over 28 starts. He struck out 165 batters in 180.2 innings, allowed 72 walks, and held opponents to a .207 batting average. Guzman was selected to the All-Star team and pitched a scoreless inning.

Most notably, during the first of the Jays’ back-to-back World Series wins, Guzman won both of his ALCS starts against Oakland. In the World Series, he started game three, allowing just two runs over eight innings, though he did not factor into the decision as the Jays won in the bottom of the ninth.

In 1993, the Blue Jays repeated as World Series champions, with Guzman playing a significant role. He finished 14-3 in 33 starts, with a then-career-high 3.99 ERA. He struggled with control, issuing 110 walks in 221 innings, and allowed a .252 batting average—still solid, but not as dominant as his first two seasons. Left-handed hitters fared better against him (.282), compared to righties (.223). Guzman was third in the league in strikeouts and even received a Cy Young vote, trailing teammates Duane Ward and Pat Hentgen, while Jack McDowell took the award. Signs of overuse emerged, as Guzman threw 120 or more pitches in 12 games. Cito Gaston was not known for his caution with young pitchers.

He again won both of his ALCS starts, this time against the White Sox, though Dave Stewart earned Series MVP honors for his pair of victories. Stewart allowed three runs in 12.1 innings, while Guzman gave up three runs in 12 innings. Both yielded eight hits; Stewart walked eight and struck out eight, while Guzman walked nine and struck out nine. In the World Series, Guzman started two games, earning a no-decision in a game one win and taking the loss in game five.

Guzman struggled during the next two lockout/strike-shortened seasons, posting ERAs of 5.68 and 6.32 with a combined 16-25 record. He continued to walk more than one batter every other inning and allowed more than a hit per inning.

However, in 1996, Guzman regained his form, leading the league with a 2.93 ERA and finishing 11-8. He significantly reduced his walks to fewer than one per three innings and improved against left-handed hitters (.224 BA).

In 1997, injuries limited Guzman to 13 starts, during which he posted a 4.95 ERA and a 3-6 record. In 1998, he made 22 starts for the Jays before being traded to Baltimore on July 31 for Nerio Rodriguez and Shannon Carter. The trade yielded little return, and Guzman’s stint with the Orioles was brief before he moved to the Reds on July 31, 1999. He made 12 solid starts for Cincinnati, then signed with the Rays as a free agent in 2000. Unfortunately, after just one start with Tampa Bay, he suffered a career-ending shoulder injury.

Guzman’s 10-year career concluded with a 91-79 record and a 4.08 ERA, averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Known for his wildness, he walked too many batters and led the league in wild pitches in both 1993 (26) and 1994 (13). He was slow and deliberate on the mound, struggled to hold runners, and featured a sinking fastball, rising fastball, slider, and curve. Bill Mazeroski once remarked that Guzman had “incredible stuff, and he’s just wild enough for hitters to have that in their minds.”

He was also known for his fabulous Jheri curl.

Happy Birthday, Juan! Wishing you a great day.

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Today, Casey Lawrence turns 39

I have a lot of admiration for Casey. Although undrafted, the Jays signed him after the 2010 draft. He steadily worked his way up the minor league ladder. Since the team hadn’t invested much in him, they didn’t limit his innings, allowing him to gain plenty of experience—a good thing, as long as his arm held up.

Lawrence was someone I kept an eye on in the minors, sometimes ranking near the bottom of our top 40 prospect list or on my ‘just missed out’ list. He was never a top prospect, but he persisted.

Still, if you persevere, good things can happen.

Lawrence reached the majors with the Jays in 2017, though his initial stint was challenging. He was placed on waivers and picked up by the Mariners, pitching a few innings for them in 2017 and 2018. The Twins signed and then released him before the 2020 season, and he never made their major league roster.

The Jays brought Lawrence back before the 2021 season, and he pitched 18 innings for them in 2022. Released in July 2023, he was picked up by the Cardinals and threw 27.1 innings for them that year. In 2024, he pitched for the Mariners’ Triple-A team, making 29 starts with an 11-11 record and a 5.95 ERA.

He pitched an inning for the Jays in 2025 (and 15 innings for the Mariners). Last year he pitched in the minors for the Mariners and Phillies.

In total, Casey has pitched 141.2 major league innings with a 6.42 ERA. He’s also logged 1,872.2 minor league innings l.

Happy Birthday, Casey! Hope it’s a great one.

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Today, Josh Thole turns 40.

He spent four seasons with the Blue Jays, appearing in 170 games and compiling a .200/.275/.248 batting line.

He arrived from the Mets alongside R.A. Dickey (and Mike Nickeas) in exchange for Wilmer Becerra, John Buck, Travis d’Arnaud, and Noah Syndergaard—a trade unlikely to feature on Alex Anthopoulos’ Hall of Fame resume.

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Good morning, baseball fans!

The 2026 MLB Playoffs continue Wednesday night with Game 5 of the World Series between the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, who hold a 3-1 series lead, and the Tampa Bay Rays, who managed to not get swept and hope to stay alive for another game.

The game starts at 5:00 p.m. PT, airing on Fox/Fox One, with national radio coverage available on ESPN Radio.

As of the time this is being written, the Rays have not yet announced a starting pitcher for tonight’s game. Whoever it ends up being will face off against Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who finished the regular season with a 1.80 ERA, 2.17 FIP, with 252 strikeouts to 44 walks in 174.2 innings pitched. His last postseason start was in Game 1 of this series, in which he allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk in five innings.

Personally, I’m rooting for a full seven-game series, as unlikely as that might end up being. So I have to root for the Rays tonight. Because more baseball is better than less baseball.

Who are you rooting for?

Colin Rea is exactly the sort of pitcher every team needs.

Colin Rea is exactly the sort of pitcher every team doesn’t really want to use too much.

He’s a perfect guy to be a fifth starter — if you don’t overextend him. “Sixth starter” is probably a better description. Someone like this can go back and forth between bullpen and rotation and be effective in both places. These guys used to be called “swingmen” and they did both jobs throughout a season. Many of you might remember a lefty named Terry Mulholland, who did this very thing quite well for the Cubs in their 1998 Wild Card season.

As is the case with many guys like this, that sort of pitching goes up and down. Both last year and this year, Rea had some very good starts. He also had some outings that made us all cringe.

Overall, he is who he is — a guy who’s in the low 4’s in ERA, can eat up some innings, post a bit less than 1 WAR, and be a good teammate.

Rea was signed to a $4.25 million deal for 2025 with a $6 million option for 2026 (or a $750,000 buyout). Last offseason the option was restructured to a $6.5 million deal for 2026 with a $7.5 million team option or a $1 million buyout.

Rea turned 36 in July. He was barely used after Edward Cabrera left the rotation and David Peterson was returned to it; Rea appeared in just eight of the Cubs’ last 33 games, throwing only 12.1 innings over that span, odd for a guy supposedly available for long relief.

I think his time with the Cubs is done. They can probably find someone on the waiver wire or from non-tenders who can do this sort of thing for less money.

What say you?

It was a strange year for Alec Bohm. He went into his walk year with the full knowledge that the Phillies had tried to replace him with Bo Bichette over the winter and almost did until an eleventh hour offer from the Mets lured Bichette away. It was at least the second straight offseason where the Phillies’ desire to trade or otherwise replace Bohm was an open secret.

Things only got more unusual once the season actually started. Minutes before first pitch on Opening Day, it was reported that Bohm was suing his parents, alleging that the pair mismanaged his finances. The two parties eventually settled the case out of court in September, but that was after months of reports regarding the intimate details of the case.

On the field, Bohm struggled mightily in the first half of the season, resulting in his being dropped to eighth in the batting order on occasion. However, Bohm turned it around in the second half, emerging as one of the Phillies’ best hitters in the latter half of the season. But the second half surge still wasn’t enough to salvage his full season numbers from being one of the worst years of his career.

2026 stats: 155 games, .249/.315/.383, .698 OPS, 15 home runs, 88 RBIs, 87 OPS+, 90 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR

What went right

Again, Bohm’s second half is the only thing that prevented his season from being the definitive worst of his seven-year career. The 30-year-old hit .298 with a .794 OPS after the All-Star break and cut his strikeout rate from 15% to 12.5% while raising his walk rate from 6.7% to 9%. August was by far Bohm’s best month, as he hit .327 with an .830 OPS while being displaced defensively in the wake of the Luis Arraez trade that moved Bohm to first and Bryson Stott to third.

Bohm also continued to be one of the Phillies’ best hitters with runners in scoring position, even with his poor first half. His .958 OPS with RISP was the second best on the Phillies and 19th best among all qualified hitters across baseball while his .347 batting average was good for 13th best in MLB.

The highlight of Bohm’s year came in Game 2 of the Wild Card series against the Braves, as his opposite field solo home run in the tenth inning proved the difference in the Phillies lone win of the postseason.

What went wrong

It’s hard to overstate just how bad Bohm was in April. He hit .151 with a .426 OPS in the season’s inaugural month, with his 16 wRC+ being the third worst of any qualified hitter. He rebounded a bit in May and June, but even then, Bohm was only hitting .215 with a .632 OPS by the time of the All-Star break in mid-July. His dreadful April set the tone for his season, as Bohm was often made the whipping boy for the fanbase’s frustrations with the Phillies offense.

Even when Bohm did finally turn a corner, he didn’t do anything to make one believe that he finally took a real, meaningful step forward as a hitter in his last season of team control. He still doesn’t hit for much power despite his big frame, as Bohm’s rate of balls pulled in the air of 9.1% was still well below league average despite being an uptick from 2025’s 7.7%. Since entering the league in 2020, Bohm’s .412 slugging percentage ranks 52nd out of 63 players who have appeared in at least 800 games over that span.

Final Grade: D–

Bohm’s second half is the only thing that prevented this grade from being an F. Despite that performance, he still finished as one of the worst everyday hitters in the majors. If you take a step back and look at the big picture, Bohm is now seven years into his career, meaning he is as close to a finished product as can be reasonably expected. The mountains of evidence compiled in his career to this point paint a pretty clear picture of Bohm as an average at best hitter with below average power who plays below average at best defense on the infield corners. That is a player that can help some teams, but it is not someone who you want consistently hitting in the upper half of your order.

What exactly is that type of player worth? That will be an interesting question to follow this winter as Bohm enters an offseason of uncertainty. It is widely assumed that the Phillies will not bring him back as Bohm enters free agency, but the back injury to top prospect Aidan Miller has made the transition appear much less seamless. Add in the fact that utility infielder and backup third baseman Edmundo Sosa is also a free agent, and the Phillies’ depth at the hot corner suddenly looks lacking. The safe bet is that Bohm is playing elsewhere in 2027, but until the Phillies either commit to Miller at the start of the season or find some other stopgap until he is deemed ready, a reunion with Bohm cannot be definitively ruled out despite the team’s apparent attitudes toward him in recent offseasons.

In a career that almost never happened after a car accident in his youth nearly cost him his leg, Joe Page’s left arm eventually guided him to the Bronx and championship glory. The journey to get there started in Pennsylvania coal country and would eventually return to the area.

Joseph Francis Page
Born: October 28, 1917 (Cherry Valley, PA)
Died: April 21, 1980 (Latrobe, PA)
Yankees Tenure: 1944-1950

Page grew up in Springdale, outside of Pittsburgh. The eldest of seven siblings, he spent his youth working as a breaker boy sorting coal at the mine where his father worked. With his primary focus elsewhere, Page was not much of a prospect on the diamond during his school years. Then, in 1936, a car accident left him with a compound fracture in his leg and out of sports for a couple of years.

Bulking up while working in the mines during this hiatus helped the lefty add a few extra ticks to his fastball and develop a desire to get away from the coal mines. Seeing his left arm as a ticket out, Page started playing amateur baseball in Pittsburgh. He played for several years before finally impressing Yankees scouts enough to sign with the organization in 1940.

Page then worked his way through the farm system. He started with the Butler Yankees in the Pennsylvania State Association. The following year, he was assigned to the Augusta Tigers in Georgia. In 1942, Page found himself on the doorstep of the big leagues with the Newark Bears, the Yankees’ top farm team. He remained in Newark for the 1943 season, posting a 14-5 record across 28 appearances.

The leg injury that almost cost him his career before it started might very well have been what saved it and got him his big break. Due to the injury, Page was classified as 4-F and was ineligible for the military draft during World War II. In April 1944, the Yankees called him up to the big leagues.

Making an immediate impact, Page won five of his first six decisions. The rookie was selected to the All-Star team, but he came back down to earth as the Yankees faded late in the season. Page ended the year back in Newark, finishing his major league debut with a 5-7 record and a 4.56 ERA across 16 starts and three relief appearances.

The Yankees were without Page to start the 1945 season as he dealt with a sore arm. Returning from the injury, the lefty was mainly utilized out of the bullpen before moving back into the rotation in September. In 20 games, Page went 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA. Manager Joe McCarthy continued to clash with Page over his lack of focus and partying, which had been concerns since his rookie season.

McCarthy and Page kept locking horns until the manager’s exit early in the 1946 season. Page continued to bounce between the rotation and the bullpen, starting 17 games and pitching in 14 more in relief. Across 136 innings, he posted a 3.57 ERA while finishing with a 9-8 record.

Page was moved to the bullpen ahead of the 1947 season. Manager Bucky Harris called on him 56 times, and Page responded with a 14-8 record and a 2.48 ERA. Retroactively, he would be credited with 17 saves while tossing 141.1 innings and setting a then-American League record with 14 wins in relief. Becoming a true relief ace, Page was dubbed the Fireman because he often came into games to put out the other team’s rally. Making his second All-Star team was a bonus, as was helping the Yankees reach the World Series. Page pitched 13 innings across four games on the biggest stage, including the final four innings of Game 7, helping the Yankees take down the Brooklyn Dodgers in that decisive seventh game.

The Fireman kept things rolling to start the 1948 season, leading the league with 55 appearances and making his third All-Star team. However, both Page and the Yankees struggled after the break, and the club missed out on a chance to repeat as World Series champions. Page finished the year with a 7-8 record and a 4.26 ERA.

New skipper Casey Stengel was able to right the ship in 1949. Page posted a 13-8 record and a 2.59 ERA to go along with 27 saves. That was 17 more saves than the next closest individual reliever in the American League and at least eight more than any other AL team. His outstanding season earned him third place in the MVP voting. For a reliever in that era, that kind of recognition was rare. The Yankees took down the Dodgers again in the World Series, this time in five games. Page earned the inaugural Babe Ruth Award as the World Series MVP after winning a game and recording another stellar appearance that would have been a save in the Fall Classic.

Page received the biggest salary ever given to a reliever ahead of the 1950 season, but this marked the beginning of the end. After hurting his hip in May, he struggled all season, posting a 5.04 ERA across 37 appearances. The club opted to leave the veteran off the roster as the Yankees faced the Phillies in the World Series. The guys were able to get it done without him, sweeping their way to another championship.

Before the 1951 season, Page injured his arm. He started the year in the minors trying to work his way back to the big leagues, but the Yankees released him on May 16th. Page kept grinding, and several years later, he briefly made it back to the majors with the Pirates in 1954.

After retiring from baseball, Page managed a couple of bars in Pennsylvania and became a regular at Old-Timers’ Day. Known for his cheerfulness, partying, and close friendship with Joe DiMaggio, Page remained a fan favorite. His final career line included a 57-49 record, 3.53 ERA, 790 innings pitched, 76 saves, and a 7.3 WAR.

Happy birthday, Joe!

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

Back with the series literally no one has asked for, no one apparently wants, and yet I am compelled to do. If you missed the first installment, you can catch up with the method behind the madness here, as well as the first batch of coaching staff candidates from the AL Central.

Today we’ll cover the NL East, since teams from the AL East and NL Central are currently in the World Series, and I’m putting off the Western divisions (mostly because that will be one giant article since I’m skipping essentially the whole AL West).

Again, if you haven’t already read the first installment in this series and yet are the kind of Sicko to read this one, I really suggest reading that first. Commenter rumdoodle described this series as “here’s what you could have won!” and that is…not an incorrect assessment of this enterprise, but also a) it’s good context to understand the broader coaching landscape the Mariners are hiring out of, for a variety of roles; b) some of these people might become Main Characters in baseball somewhere down the road, and won’t you feel so clever already knowing who Nic Wilson is (that’s what we call A Tease in the biz).

Anthony Contreras (Phillies)

Current role: Third base coach (MLB) – technically

Age: 43

Bonus points: West coast ties (from Los Gatos; attended San Jose State)

Contreras has been managing for almost a decade, jumping from the Padres organization to the Phillies, who gave him an opportunity to manage at the Triple-A level in 2022, a job he held before being promoted to the big-league staff in 2026. Contreras, the winningest manager of the IronPigs of all time, is well-respected by the players he’s managed, but his current role is somewhat up in the air after the Phillies hired Carlos Mendoza, a name once linked to the Mariners coaching search, to be their third-base coach. Come to us, AC! West coast, best coast!

Relevant quote: “What he brings to the table, how of a person he is on and off the field, he’s one of the best. Of the coaches I’ve been with, he’s one of one.” – Orion Kerkering on Contreras

Tucker Frawley (Mets)

Current role: “Director of defense, baserunning, and gameplay” for the Mets

Age: 37

Bonus points: Chatterbox

Remember how I said at the outset of this whole thing that I heavily weighted being involved with ABCA and being actively involved in the art of coaching and professional development and sharing knowledge and whatnot? Crawley, a longtime Yale assistant coach, is all about that life. This man has IDEAS, specifically about infield defense, and he is not afraid to tell you about them.

Relevant quote: “From an infield standpoint, I want us to chase aesthetics less, and efficiency more, and I often equate things to hitting, where there are just some hitters who have a knack of consistently finding the barrel and hitting the ball hard, and when they’re able to do that, there’s usually some freedom that the hitting coaches give them.”

Matt Tuiasosopo (formerly of the Braves)

Current role: free agent; former minor league infield coordinator

Age: 40

Bonus points: Born in Bellevue; deep roots in PNW sports culture; drafted by Mariners and played at both minor and major-league levels

Okay I’m technically cheating on this one, but hear me out. The Tuiasosopo name is a well-known one in PNW sports, but for whatever reason, the Mariners didn’t bring him home as a coach after his playing career officially ended in 2018; instead, Tuiasosopo immediately transitioned to coaching in the Braves system, the last MLB organization he’d been with, in 2019. By 2024, he had worked his way up to third base coach, replacing the legendary Ron Washington, but was demoted from that position by June of 2025 and reassigned to minor-league infield coordinator; his LinkedIn indicates he’s now working for an energy tech company in Atlanta.

Relevant quote: “I think if you’re a coach, you’re a servant. It’s all about the players. You have a servant attitude. It’s not about us as coaches anymore, it’s about giving these players love and instruction. Sometimes you gotta be hard on ‘em, sometimes you gotta lift ‘em up and build ‘em up. I always believe that you build up and not tear down. And I think that if you serve these guys and love on ‘em and build that trust, build that relationship, you can do a lot of great things. It’s something that I believe in, just in life in general and not just here at the field – serving people around you and thinking about others and not yourself, and I just try to live that.”

Nelson Prada (Marlins)

Current role: Manager, Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Age: 50

Bonus points: bilingual

Prada has a long history of managing, both stateside (where he’s been a long-tenured manager in the Marlins system) and globally (he’s worked with the Cardenales de Lara, who are like the Venezuelan baseball equivalent of the Yankees, and has served as Team Spain’s WBC coach); he’s also coached in the AFL and is Driveline certified for hitting. He’s currently the reigning Southern League Manager of the Year after leading Pensacola to a league-best 79-58 record that was also the third-best winning percentage in franchise history. Prada, whose bright playing career was cut short by a freak eye injury that blocks his vision to this day, has a unique perspective on the adversities players can face and how to be their advocate.

Relevant quote: “If you care about players, you have a group that is going to fight for you. I want the players to know that I care about them, and I really do care. I’m not being two-faced. Everywhere I go, I want players to feel like everybody’s a part of the team.”

Shawn O’Malley (Nationals)

Current role: Assistant hitting coach

Age: 38

Bonus points: IT’S SHAWN O’MALLEY

In case the name Shawn O’Malley doesn’t spark the same joy for you as it does for Mariners fans of a certain age, or the lead image for this story didn’t trigger something for you, O’Malley was part of the cursed Dipoto-transition-era Mariners but became a fan favorite because of his local ties, gritty play, and role in big moments like this catch in the stands or his role in the biggest comeback in club history against the Padres in the 2016 season. O’Malley went on to coach in the Mariners organization for a while at the minor-league level before going to join Blake Butera in a revamped Nationals staff. Real talk, I don’t really think any of the newly-hired Nats coaching staff is going anywhere after outperforming expectations in 2026 and was going to leave them off entirely; I just wanted to give O’Malley some shine.

Relevant quote: “HE GOT IT!”

The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is going to be front and center in the news all offseason given the December 1st expiration date of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between it and Major League Baseball itself. The MLBPA, repping the players themselves, is a labor union that wields a lot of power in brokering the future of the game on behalf of those that get on the field and play it, but there’s a whole lot more to it than just signing documents.

It’s a participatory organization. The players from all 30 franchises – both major and minor league – are a very, very active part of said group. Part of that includes putting their voices together to determine their Players Choice Awards at the end of every regular season, something they’ve done every year since 1992.

They announced their award winners on Wednesday morning, and Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart was tabbed the ‘Outstanding Rookie’ for the National League on the back of his 32 homer, 111 RBI breakout campaign in 2026.

Since 1992, the Players Choice Awards have celebrated excellence across Major League Baseball, recognizing performance, leadership, perseverance, and impact on and off the field. The awards are especially meaningful to players, because they’re determined through a vote of their… pic.twitter.com/J3PjBkP9AP

— MLBPA (@MLBPA) October 28, 2026

It’s the second significant RoY award taken home by Sal, who was also named the 2026 Sporting News National League Rookie of the Year last week. This one, though, holds a little bit more prestige and personality given that it was voted on by the players themselves. Nothing like being celebrated by a jury of one’s peers!

This award, though, doesn’t come with any tangible compensation. That’s reserved for the BBWAA Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, and that will be announced on November 9th. Keep in mind that if Sal takes home that one, the Reds will be comped with an extra draft pick at the end of the 1st round in next summer’s draft (as well as the overall draft bonus pool bonus money bump that comes with it).

Either way, congrats to Sal who is stacking up a pretty impressive amount of hardware after his first full season in the big leagues.

Morning, all!

Defector has an article up about former Ranger Mark Teixiera, who is expected to be elected to Congress next month.

The Tampa Bay Rays somehow pulled off a walkoff to stave off a World Series sweep by the Brwers.

The Rays are only the fifth team in MLB history to force a game 5 after being down 0-3 in a World Series. None of the previous teams that have accomplished that feat have forced a game 6, much less won the title.

Zack Wheeler's remarkable return earns Players Choice Award from his peers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Zack Wheeler’s return to the mound was one of the Phillies’ biggest success stories of 2026. Now, he’s being recognized by the players who witnessed it firsthand.

The Major League Baseball Players Association announced Wednesday that Wheeler was voted the National League Comeback Player of the Year as part of its annual Players Choice Awards.

The 36-year-old right-hander received the honor after returning from venous thoracic outlet syndrome, which required surgery to remove a rib after doctors discovered a blood clot near his right shoulder in August 2025.

Wheeler made his season debut April 25 and returned to form, posting a 14-5 record with a 3.00 ERA and 193 strikeouts across 162 innings in 28 starts.

In a video released by the MLBPA announcing the award, several pitchers around the league praised Wheeler’s ability to overcome an injury that initially raised questions about his future.

Resilience is an understatement. 🙏 Congratulations Zack Wheeler on being recognized as the 2026 Players Choice Awards NL Comeback Player!@Philliespic.twitter.com/v3bAOPCUY6

— MLBPA (@MLBPA) October 28, 2026

“He’s a special player. He’s had a tremendous career,” Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler said. “You see the injuries can be, you know, a setback and then rehab can be a tough process. I was very impressed.”

Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt recalled his initial reaction to Wheeler’s diagnosis, believing the injury could potentially bring his career to an abrupt end.

“What I thought at the time was like he doesn’t deserve to go out like this,” Bassitt said. “He deserves to have a path where he can choose when he’s done.”

Wheeler also offered a glimpse into the uncertainty of his recovery, detailing the multiple procedures required to restore proper blood flow.

“This is one of these surgeries that, you know, just isn’t really that common,” Wheeler said. “So a lot of uncertainty around it. At the same time, you got to keep a positive mindset.”

That mindset helped Wheeler return to the level of performance his peers had grown accustomed to seeing.

And for a pitcher who has spent more than a decade competing against some of baseball’s best, the recognition carried particular significance.

“I always thought when we vote on these every year that this would be one of the cool awards to win,” Wheeler said. “The ones that the players vote on is the guys that you’re competing against, playing with, guys who know what it takes to be good day in and day out.”

Wheeler could soon add another honor to his résumé.

He is also a leading candidate for MLB’s separate NL Comeback Player of the Year Award, which will be announced Nov. 11. Unlike the Players Choice Awards, which are voted on by major league players, MLB’s honor is determined by a vote of the 30 MLB.com club beat reporters.

With the Milwaukee Brewers still looking to wrap up the World Series after the Rays eked out an extra-innings win in Game 4, fans will once again have the opportunity to attend a watch party at American Family Field in a potential clinching Game 5 tonight.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT tonight, and the parking lots will open at 4:30 p.m. with ballpark gates opening at 5 p.m. Tickets for Brewers season seat members go on sale this morning at 10 a.m. and the general public at 12 p.m. at brewers.com/postseason.

Tickets cost $15 each, and fans may purchase up to six tickets per person. Parking is $15 in preferred lots and $10 in general parking.

Fans can also enjoy access to select food and beverage locations, interactive fan activities, mascots, Brewers entertainment, and shopping at the team stores.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit brewers.com/postseason.

(6-13) Glendale Desert Dogs 1, (10-9) Salt River Rafters

• Tate Southisene, SS: 0-3, .863 OPS
• Isaiah Drake, LF: 1-3, 2B, .532 OPS
• Logan Samuels, RP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 3.00 ERA
• Owen Hackman, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.00 ERA

box score

Statcast

The offenses on both sides were sluggish as good pitching ruled the day, but even with that two Braves prospects had a decent showing at the plate. Tate Southisene did go hitless, but with a solid flyout and two other batted balls over 100 mph on his register for the game it’s hard to say he had a terrible day out there. He wasn’t able to square one up and add to his breakout performance for Glendale, but as long as the hard contact is there the performance will keep pace. Southisene has looked terrific with his swing decisions and ability to cover the strike zone, and there is little from this fall that you could point to as a negative. Isaiah Drake has not put in the same level of performance this fall, but finally broke through in this game with a double on a bouncer that snuck into left field for his first extra base hit of the fall and the only from a Desert Dog this game. It was one of two hits for the team in the game, though Drake’s only involvement in Glendale’s run-scoring second was grounding into an inning-ending double play during which the go-ahead and eventual winning run scored. Drake has done a good job of making contact so far this fall, but it’s the ability to consistently get to hard contact that has been the problem. A shutout pitching performance from Glendale ruled the day, and two Braves relievers contributed mightily to that effort. Logan Samuels came in with a runner on second base in the sixth inning and retired the first batter he faced to strand the runner and maintain the lead. He then added a scoreless frame in the seventh inning with only a hit batter to mar the day. Owen Hackman continued his strong work this fall with a scoreless save. He did allow a one-out single, but bounced back with a strikeout in a huge spot and got a weak ground ball to end the game. Hackman has done a great job of commanding the strike zone this fall, though he has carried over his struggles with finding consistent swing-and-miss with his secondaries.

TThe Royals have employed several underrated players in their history, but in my opinion, none have been as overlooked on a national level as Kevin Appier. The Royals drafted the California native with the ninth pick of the first round of the 1987 draft. The ’87 draft had some players. Ken Griffey Jr. went number one. Jack McDowell (we’ll talk about him later) went with the fifth pick. Craig Biggio and Albert Belle went later in the first and second rounds, respectively. Other notables were Travis Fryman, Reggie Sanders, and Steve Finley. The Royals picked up Jeff Conine in the 58th round. The draft is a crazy crapshoot.

Appier quickly made his way through the Royals’ minor league system and made his major league debut on June 4, 1989, at the age of 21. He bounced between Omaha and Kansas City for parts of two seasons before becoming a mainstay in the Royals’ rotation.

Appier was listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, though he looked bigger. He had a distinctive motion, reminiscent of Bob Feller and Goose Gossage, two other guys who could bring the heat. During his windup, Appier would drop his right arm low, with his left shoulder high, then violently deliver the pitch. He had an excellent fastball, especially in his younger years, complemented by a terrific slider and forkball. Batters had to work to get a hit off Appier.

Appier had a nice rookie season and ended up winning the Rookie Pitcher of the Year award. He should have won the Rookie of the Year award, but ended up in third, behind Sandy Alomar and Kevin Maas. This wouldn’t be the last time Appier got screwed over by the voters.

His best season would have been 1993, when he posted an 18-8 record. He made 34 starts that summer and threw almost 239 innings while posting an ERA of 2.56 to go along with five complete games. It was good for a 9.3 bWAR season, which was tops in the American League by a wide margin.

Jack McDowell (remember him?) won the American League Cy Young Award with his 22-10 record and 3.37 ERA. Randy Johnson, with a 19-8 record, 308 strikeouts, and a 3.24 ERA, took second. Appier, in one of the most criminal oversights in recent history, took third.

Unfortunately, WAR was not around at the time to illustrate just how badly the voters mangled the Cy Young voting.

The MVP race was nearly as bad. Frank Thomas won the award thanks to gaudy home run and RBI numbers. Appier finished way down the ballot, at No. 24, unbelievably behind two teammates: Jeff Montgomery at No. 13 and Greg Gagne at No. 22!

Look, I understand that bWAR is not a perfect measurement, but one thing it has done is illustrate just how badly award voters have done in past years.

Speaking of statistical measurements, one that I’ve always thought was pretty solid was pitching game score. In Appier’s 16-year career, he had 23 games in which his game score was 80 or better. Of those 23 games, his win-loss record was 16-7.

Do you know how hard it is for a team to lose a game when the pitcher throws an 80 or better game? It’s almost impossible, but the Royals somehow found a way to do it! All seven of those losses came by one run. Six of them came by the score of 1-0.

This illustrates a second point. Appier had the misfortune of playing for some absolutely horrible Royals teams. Because of this, he made only one All-Star team, in 1995.

Think about that for a moment. The guy was one of the top three or four pitchers in baseball over the decade of the 1990s and made only one All-Star team!

It’s also important to remember that the ’90s were a decade of offensive firepower. Steroids. Juiced baseballs. You name it, the ’90s had it.

During his career, Appier threw two two-hitters and two one-hitters. When he was on, he was a threat to throw a no-hitter any time he took the mound.

On July 7, 1990, in a game at Tiger Stadium, Appier gave up a clean leadoff single to Lou Whitaker. That was it. He did walk four Tigers to go along with six strikeouts. The Royals won that game, 4-0. The walks kept the game score at just 87.

He was even better on July 27, 1993, in a game against the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium. On that hot evening, Appier held Texas hitless until the seventh inning, when alleged juicer Rafael Palmeiro somehow pulled a low-and-away slider over the right-field wall.

Appier walked only one and struck out 11, going the distance in the 1-0 loss. The game scored 91. The Royals collected nine hits off Kenny Rogers that night, including three by Gary Gaetti, but went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and, in the most Royal fashion, somehow couldn’t plate a single measly run.

His highest game score came on September 15, 1995, in a homecoming game at Anaheim, when Appier struck out 13 Angels while walking only one as part of a three-hit complete game. That masterpiece scored a 93. The Royals won that game, 5-0. Joe Vitiello (remember him?) stroked a home run.

Appier missed almost all of the 1998 season with a torn labrum. When he realized the Royals were not serious about winning, he requested a trade and was obliged. In July 1999, the Royals sent him to former rival Oakland for Jeff D’Amico, Brad Rigby, and Blake Stein. Not a memorable trade on the Royals’ behalf for an organizational legend.

Appier was 31 at the time and, following surgery, was heading into the tail end of his career, but he could still summon the magic. He pitched two seasons in Oakland, followed by one in New York with the Mets and two more with Anaheim, before returning home for one last injury-plagued stint with the Royals.

Appier made the postseason twice, once with Oakland in 2000 and again with Anaheim in 2002. He picked up a ring that year as the Angels bested the Giants in the World Series.

Over his career, Appier finished with a record of 169-137 and almost 2,600 innings of work. He recorded 1,994 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.74. That was good for almost 55 bWAR. His name still dots the Royals’ top 10 single-season and career pitching record books.

He was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 2011. He made seven Opening Day starts in his 13 years with the club and was their Pitcher of the Year on three occasions.

I’ve always felt like Royals fans appreciated Appier, then and now. It’s a shame he wasn’t given his due on a national stage because, during his peak, he was one of the very best in the game.

Good morning everyone!

We sure witnessed a wild World Series game last night. Let’s get to all of that and more in today’s batch of links.

MLB Postseason scores…

• Former Mariner Ben Williamson became a postseason hero with his walk-off 12th inning hit against the Brewers to keep the Rays alive in a 4-3 win. Milwaukee will get another chance to clinch the series in Game 5 tonight.

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, it appears that former Astros manager Joe Espada and Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler are finalists for the Mariners’ managerial opening. They hope to make a final decision by the end of the month.
• Kate Preusser dug deep to find some Mariners coaching candidates from the ranks of the AL Central.

Around the league…

• Twins right-hander Jeff Hoffman has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his pitching elbow but is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
• Yankee legend Jorge Posada says he “doesn’t feel welcome” with the organization in a post-playing career capacity.
• The Pirates have reportedly hired Astros Triple-A pitching coach Sean Buchanan in an unknown role.
• The Astros have released outfielder Nelson Velazquez so he can pursue career opportunities in Asia.
• Maddie Landis at Baseball Prospectus projected the production for incoming NPB stars Teruaki Sato and Shugo Maki. ($)
• This is super interesting to keep in mind as we prepare for a long winter with lots of projecting for the 2027 season ahead of us.

Anders’ pick…

• Over at The Stranger, friend of the site Matthew Roberson wrote about the weird AI obsession that Seahawks Vice Chair (and son of the owner) Neal Khosla has.

About a week or so ago (right around the second anniversary of this moment), I was bombarded online with videos of Mark Vientos’s first inning solo home run off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 4 of the 2024 National League Championship Series (a moment I remember far too well, as I was in attendance for the game). I was skeptical of Vientos up until this point in his career, but his 2024 regular season, combined with his exceptional postseason performance, made me eat my words and admit to myself that he was a future star for the Mets. Vientos is, after all, one of only five players to homer off Yamamoto in the postseason, joining a group that includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Kyle Schwarber, and Jackson Churio—a truly star-studded list. Now, that home run and his terrific 2024 season only serve as a reminder of what he could have been, and how far his star has fallen.

For the second straight season, Vientos failed to perform to the standards that he set during his breakout 2024 campaign, when he slugged a career-best 27 homers, posted a career-best 131 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR, and followed that with five home runs, 14 runs batted in, and a 176 wRC+ in 13 postseason games. As a reminder, his numbers did dip precipitously in 2025, as he finished the year with a 96 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR in 121 games. He also managed just 17 home runs and saw his OPS dip from a career-best .837 in 2024 to .702 in 2025. Despite the decline, there was some hope that maybe 2025 was the outlier, and not 2024.

Heading into 2026, Vientos was not a lock to earn an everyday spot in the lineup, especially with some new additions threatening his playing time. He began the year as a right-handed platoon designated hitter, mostly seeing time against left-handed pitching, but injuries to Jorge Polanco opened the door for Vientos to snag some reps at first base, perhaps opening the door for more playing time. When he did see the field, he spent most of the time at first base, logging just over 519 innings at the position, but his -3 DRS proved that Vientos was not the long-term solution for first base.

That brings us back to Vientos’ bat, which is what he’s here for. As mentioned, he got plenty of chances to DH, and he failed to hit when his name was written on the lineup card. He actually started off the year red-hot, picking up hits in ten of his first 21 at-bats, which included three straight multi-hit efforts in San Francisco on April 3-5. At that point, he was hitting .476/.522/.714 and looked to, perhaps, be on his way to a bounce-back season.

Not so fast! Lest you think this was a precursor for things to come, it was not meant to be, as he went hitless over his next 23 at-bats to plunge his slash line to .227/.255/.341. Carlos Mendoza continued to give the 26-year-old playing time to try and get him out of his funk, but he ended April on an 8-for-32 stretch after snapping that long hitless drought. He also demonstrated an alarming power outage, as he ended April with just two home runs and three doubles, and for someone who was in there to slug homers and drive in runs, this was not what you wanted to see. He broke out from that funk a bit in May, putting together his lone multi-home run effort on May 3 against the Angels and picking up five home runs and six doubles in the month. Despite that, he still ended the month hitting .225/.260/.390 on the year.

His playing time further diminished, and he recorded just seven hits across 48 at-bats in June. He was relegated to late-game pinch hitting opportunities against left-handed pitchers, and with good reason. While his overall numbers were not good across the board, they were downright putrid against right-handers. He finished the year with a 48 wRC+ and a .182/.229/.309 slash line in 159 at-bats against righties. Comparatively, he posted a much more respectable 119 wRC+ with a .252/.296/.513 slash line in 115 at-bats against south paws. While those numbers will hardly put him on the road to Cooperstown, they are, at the very least, playable. He also struck out a ton against righties, picking up 44 Ks against them against 27 Ks against lefties. That, understandably was why Mendoza, and eventually Andy Green, played him the way they did.

Misfortune befell Vientos when he got struck by a pitch on July 9 that resulted in a fractured hand and a lengthy Injured List stint. He would not return until August 31, with the Mets’ season well over. He recorded 37 at-bats over the final few weeks of the year and contributed eight hits, including one homer, which failed to impress. In all, he concluded 2026 with 13 home runs, 41 runs batted in, a 78 wRC+, a .652 OPS, and -1.1 fWAR in 87 games.

As a result, Vientos may very well may have played himself off the Mets’ roster. While he is still under team control, he really is a man without a role in New York. He doesn’t hit well enough to serve as Designated Hitter, and it’s hard to roster someone solely to DH or pinch hit against left-handed pitching. His defense at first and third are mediocre, to put it kindly, and he really is just eating a valuable spot on the 26-man roster. He has three more years of team control and is entering his first year of arbitration this winter. He is probably a good “Change of Scenery” candidate, and the promise of his bat is probably enough to entice a team to give him a shot. It’s very likely this is exactly how the front offices approaches the Mark Vientos Problem this winter.

It really is a shame, because Vientos was one of the many great stories from the 2024 season. A kid from Connecticut who grew up a Mets fan putting it all together and having himself a terrific postseason…what could be a better sell? It was the perfect set up for what could have been a long, productive career in orange and blue. That story looks like it may not play out that way in the end, and it looks like Vientos will either not play a significant role in New York going forward, or will find himself suitinwg up elsewhere in 2027.