This version of Freddy Peralta, the one masterfully pitching for the third time in the ALCS on Monday night to secure the Rays’ World Series berth and earn MVP honors, is the one the Mets rarely saw this season.
Peralta has looked every part of an ace for the Rays this postseason, with his 5 ⅓innings of one-run ball in Monday’s 7-3 win over the Guardians giving him a 1.08 ERA this postseason.
That dominance is a stark contrast to the back-end starter he portrayed with the Mets, posting a 4.99 ERA with the team and playing a sizable role in why the team flopped this season.
Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta celebrates the end of the top of the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 6 of an American League Championship Series baseball game in St. Petersburg, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Peralta’s respective success and failure with the teams can be viewed as a representation of each squad’s season and added another successful entry to the Rays’ strong history of pitching development.
“Everything changed when I got traded,” Peralta told ESPN. “I said it before that I’ve been treated here as a king, and I feel really good about it. They’re working me really well here.”
Tampa Bay is known throughout baseball for its ability to build pitchers and, in this case, they rebuilt Peralta back into the top-end starter he portrayed in Milwaukee prior to his Mets trade.
Peralta, 30, posted a 3.79 ERA across eight seasons with Milwaukee, including a career-best 2.70 ERA in 2025 that landed him in fifth place in the NL Cy Young race.
The Mets acquired him hoping he could replicate that success, but he instead allowed more hits than innings pitched and saw his strikeouts per nine innings dip from 11.1 in 2025 to 8.9 with the team.
Tampa Bay took a shot on Peralta at the deadline in its quest to hold off the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East and got to work on helping him return to his old self.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, left, pulls pitcher Freddy Peralta from the game during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field on Thursday, June 25, 2026, in New York. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
One notable change the franchise made was having him pitch out of the stretch again, like he had done with Milwaukee but abandoned with the Mets.
“He said, ‘I always feel comfortable pitching out of the stretch,'” Rays bullpen coach Jorge Moncada told ESPN. “So we were like, ‘Go with what makes you most comfortable,’ and he went back.”
Other changes implemented, per ESPN, included moving to the third-base side of the rubber, widening his stance, speeding up his delivery, a focus on strengthening his legs and raising his arm angle.
Those adjustments reportedly helped improve his fastball, hitting 99 mph Monday, and the Rays had Peralta lean more on his change-up.
Peralta posted a 3.55 ERA across 10 regular-season starts with Tampa Bay, including a 0.96 ERA in five September starts to help Tampa Bay win the division.
“There’s some minor adjustments here and there,” Tampa Bay pitching coach Kyle Snyder told ESPN. “But I think more than anything else, it was just getting him back to feeling like himself. I think if you get the environment right, a lot of other things can snowball in the right direction for you.”
Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta holds the William Harridge Trophy following the Rays’ Game 6 win to clinch the series during the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com
Peralta began his postseason by holding the Yankees to one run in 4 ⅔ innings in Game 2 of the ALDS, and then stymied the Guardians three times in the ALCS.
He earned the win in Game 2 to even the series, recorded two outs in relief in the Game 4 victory and logged his second win Monday night to earn the Rays’ second World Series berth in franchise history.
Peralta now will compete in his first World Series before he enters free agency.
“It feels so good because the way that we’ve been working on the little things, in general, everybody — not only outside, not only the pitching coach and all that,” Peralta said. “Everybody, from the trainers, people that helped me to feel better with the massage and all that, it’s been amazing, great communication.
“They’ve been awesome with me. They’ve been giving the best of themselves to make me feel good on the field every day.”
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 08: Jonathan India #6 of the Kansas City Royals reacts after striking out during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 08, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
To help keep us Kevins organized, fearless leader Max has us use Slack. We were getting organized on offseason writing, divvying up who wants to write about whom during our “Season in Review” series, and I added my own write-in candidate to review. My candidate drew this response from the esteemed and talented Jeremy Greco:
“LOL”
“Connor, you’re a madman”
You’ve clicked on this article, so presumably you know that I asked to write an article about Jonathan India. He’s admittedly an odd candidate to want to talk about, seeing as his season ended after 17 games. Still, I personally had some expectations for him coming into the season that were not met, and I think the Royals did as well. He came into the season as their 2026 starting second baseman, and now, at the end of the year, I wonder if he will even get a major league deal as a free agent.
The Royals acquired India during the offseason before the 2025 season, trading Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds for the second baseman. The Royals had depth at starting pitcher and were looking for a leadoff hitter, so the trade made sense to most observers, myself included.
India struggled in his first season with the Royals, posting a -0.2 fWAR and an 89 wRC+. There was some context to his struggles. He was hit in the face early in the season by an errant pitch, and he also spent most of the year bouncing between the outfield, third base, and second base, excelling at none.
The plan coming into the 2026 season was for India to have less pressure. He would not hit leadoff to begin the season – thatrole went to Maikel Garcia at first. He would stay at second base exclusively, his least bad defensive position. All India had to focus on was accumulating quality at-bats and lengthening the Royals’ lineup.
That didn’t happen. India played in 17 games, posting an 81 wRC+, before hitting the injured list on April 20. India then underwent successful surgery on his left labrum on April 28, ending his season before it really had a chance to get going.
The second baseman talked to PJ Green of the Kansas City Star about his injury and his choice to get surgery, revealing that he had been struggling with shoulder subluxations for five years. Quoting here from Green:
His left shoulder, the side the second baseman catches with, would pop out of place. He’d simply pop it back in.
“Sounds psychotic, but just the person I am when I’m on that field,” India told reporters Tuesday.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro talked about India’s injury as well as his decision to get surgery, stating:
“I think he understood that this was probably the best thing long term. He was going to be a free agent at the end of the year, all those things, and he’s been playing hurt for at least the year-plus that we’ve had him.”
I appreciate the tenacity shown by India, but going over this article does raise some questions about the Royals’ decision-making process when acquiring him.
What was known about his shoulder problems when the Royals acquired him?
If he had been playing hurt for over a year, should the surgery have been pushed harder last year?
We aren’t privy to the medical information they are, and it’s a group decision, but how it ended up playing out was disappointing for both the Royals and India. Singer was the Royals’ best trade chip after the 2024 season, considering his combination of value and ability to be replaced, and the Royals got negative WAR in return for him across two seasons.
We have the benefit of hindsight on this, but if India has really been dealing with this for five years, it does help explain his lack of power since his rookie season. Maybe this is just a lesson on not procrastinating, or why roughing it out is not worth it, or maybe it was just bad luck on timing. Either way, I’ll be very curious about how India’s market plays out this offseason. He will be a free agent coming off a disappointing season followed by a lost season. I don’t think I’d want to guarantee him a major league deal, but maybe someone will want to take a chance that the shoulder being fixed finally gets him back to the stellar level we saw as a rookie.
The Royals hit worse at second base than I realized this season. The boys in blue had an 89 wRC+ while playing second base. Michael Massey did have a bounce-back season, posting 2.3 fWAR with the majority of it at second base, but there was definitely a lane for another above-average hitter who could play second.
India’s absence did not sink the season, but it was one among the many injuries that strained the Royals’ depth and found it to be lacking. J.J. Picollo rightly gets a lot of credit for his success with trades, but the India-Singer swap was at the very least a missed opportunity, regardless of whether we think the process was sound or not. If this is the last we see of India in a Royals uniform, then I’ll remember him every time I feel my shoulder barking at me to go ahead and get that checked out.
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: A detail shot of an Oakland A's hat with commemorative pins prior to the game between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to Tuesday A’s fans.
After all the waiting, it’s finally over. The A’s have their newest front office leader, tabbing Red Sox assistant GM Taylor Smith to lead the organization as they wrap up their brief stay in Sacramento and begin the Las Vegas era.
Now that we have our guy it’s time to look at the next steps for the Athletics this offseason. There isn’t much time before the World Series wraps up and his first offseason steering the ship begins. Over the next few days he’ll begin staffing his front office, bringing with him familiar names from his times in Boston and Tampa Bay.
We now also know how old Smith is. At the ripe age of 31, he’s now the youngest leader of a front office in the league:
At 31, Taylor Smith is now the youngest head of baseball operations in MLB. https://t.co/fEopM2F3Tq
Because of that, when considering who he’ll be bringing into the fold one would hope that he doesn’t forget to rely on an experienced voice every now and again. Billy Owen’s, who’s been in the A’s front office for a long time and interviewed for the GM role, could be a quality and experienced person for Smith to keep around. Or he could continue with the outside hires and invite someone fresh to the organization. Would he be able to poach one of his former co-workers in Boston like Michael Groopman, Raquel Ferreira, or Eddie Romero? All three of those people are also viewed as future front office leaders so getting any of them would only be a boost for Smith.
Once he has his second-in-command and the rest of his team set up he’ll need to decide whether he believes manager Mark Kotsay should stay on. His tenure in the dugout hasn’t gone all that well, though a lot of that has to do with the lack of talent the previous front office game him. Kotsay is signed through the 2028 season, though Smith likely has the green light to make a change this offseason if he so chooses. If Smith decides that he doesn’t have the right voice in the clubhouse yet, then he’ll have to make a quick turnaround and hire someone fast. A lot of the best candidates will find homes sooner than later.
Once he’s got the front office set up, and decided on Kotsay’s fate, only then will he be able to truly turn his full focus and attention to the roster. Former GM David Forst did a good job giving Smith a solid position player core to work with, one that should hopefully deliver a postseason trip sooner than later. There may be some tweaks here and there, and Smith could also make a bold move and trade Shea Langeliers at his peak value, but we’ll have to wait and see how he views this roster.
One way or the other, the pitching staff as a whole needs to be a major focus for Smith this offseason. With Ginn, Jump, and likely Severino, he’s got three spots more or less spoken for. Jacob Lopez pitched well down the stretch and is out of options so he could have an inside track as of now for a roster spot. And top prospect Jamie Arnold should be making his debut some time next year.
All that being said, depth is something he’ll have to focus on for the starting rotation. The bullpen however is going to need an entire makeover. There should be multiple openings in the Athletics’ bullpen entering the offseason and Smith’s goal should be to fill at least two of those spots with reliable arms that the manager next year, whether it’s Kotsay or not, can trust and turn to. And now the long work begins.
A lot of folks felt like an “outside hire” was necessary. Someone who would bring an analytically driven perspective. Knowing his path to this moment has been filled with data driven experiences as well as “baseball” applied sciences & conversations makes him an ideal hire per… https://t.co/Ku3fLh74rc
That’s one way things could change with Smith in charge:
The A's threw the second-most fastballs in the minor leagues this season. The Boston Red Sox (where Taylor Smith is coming from) famously limited their four-seam usage back in 2024 and have continued that process to good results. Could we see the A's follow a similar path?
If he can fix the pitching, he’ll have done his job:
I’m excited about the Taylor Smith hire.
I was hoping that the A’s would go with someone outside of the organization rather than an internal candidate. Bring in fresh ideas and a new approach to things.
My favorite part about the hire is that he has spent time with the Rays,…
The Cubs signed right-hander Jacob Webb to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million last December. The contract came with a team option for 2027 for $2.5 million.
Webb’s overall numbers with the Cubs (68 games, 67 innings, 3.36 ERA, 1.254 WHIP, 8.8 percent walk rate, 25.7 percent K rate) were quite comparable to his three seasons prior.
It’s the way he got to those numbers that both excited and horrified Cubs fans.
Through the end of April he was pretty terrible: 13 appearances, 5.06 ERA, 6.19 FIP, 2.063 WHIP, two blown saves. Over his next 15 appearances, though, he was quite good: 0.51 ERA, 1.29 FIP, 0.792 WHIP, 22 strikeouts, four walks and no home runs in 17.2 innings. That lowered his season ERA to 2.22.
Then Webb had five really bad outings in which he posted a 15.75 ERA, allowed three home runs in four innings and had two more blown saves.
Just when you thought all was lost, Webb then went on his streak of 24 consecutive scoreless outings in which he had a 0.932 WHIP, 25 strikeouts in 24.2 innings and had three holds and seven saves.
It looked like the Cubs might actually have found a closer in the absence of Daniel Palencia.
Then, as you no doubt remember, Webb blew back-to-back saves with walk-off homers served up to the Mariners and Diamondbacks, the first two of an eight-game stretch in which he posted a 14.85 ERA, 2.100 WHIP and allowed four home runs in 6.2 innings, yikes.
He finished up his season after that with three scoreless outings against the Reds, Marlins and Red Sox, and then threw 1.2 scoreless frames in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Padres, long after the game was lost.
So who is Jacob Webb? The guy who piles up lots of scoreless frames? Or the guy who blows save after save after save (he wound up with eight blown saves, just one fewer than the number of saves he recorded)? If Webb saves those two games in which he allowed walk-off homers, the Cubs would have hosted the Padres instead of going to San Diego. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, but relief pitching, as you know, was a trouble spot all year.
Webb is 33. When he’s good he’s very good. When he’s bad…
Is that worth $2.5 million for 2027? I’d say yes, presuming the Cubs get Daniel Palencia back in top form to close. Webb, I believe, can be part of a good setup staff, presuming the Cubs bolster that staff. That’s not very much money. The Cubs should exercise the option.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 19: Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates after defeating the Cleveland Guardians in game six of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field on October 19, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning! The Tampa Bay Rays have earned their spot in the 2026 World Series and will face the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, October 23rd at 5 PM for Game 1. Both teams are searching for their first-ever World Series win and an exciting matchup awaits.
Freddy Peralta | (Photo by Cole Carter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
One of the Mets’ biggest moves before the 2026 season was the team’s trade with the Brewers for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers. As was the case with nearly all of the most significant moves of the offseason, this one went pretty terribly for the Mets, as Peralta wound up with a 4.99 ERA and a 4.45 FIP while the team lost so many games that it wound up finishing last in the National League East.
The expectation that Peralta would be the Mets’ ace this year was always a bit unfair. Despite his shiny 2.70 ERA with the Brewers in 2025, the underlying metrics that season and his track record over the course of his career showed that his fifth-place finish in Cy Young voting—the first time he’d gotten any votes for the award—was an anomaly. The Mets themselves might not have hyped him up as an ace, but they certainly raved about him in the context of where he’d land in their rotation. And Peralta’s mention of being interested in a seven- or eight-year contract extension with the team certainly set the bar a bit high.
Even if he didn’t end up pitching like an ace, though, Peralta looked the part of a pretty good major league pitcher. Over the three seasons that preceded his arrival in Queens, he had a 3.40 ERA and a 3.88 FIP in 516.0 innings, and he made at least 30 starts in each of those three seasons.
With the Mets, though, he threw 113.0 innings over the course of 22 starts, and just wasn’t good. His strikeout rate, which had been 28.9 percent over those last three years with the Brewers, fell to just 21.4 percent with the Mets. His walk rate was nearly identical to what it was before, but his overall results were obviously much worse. And even on days when he pitched well, he struggled to go deep in games, as he had just one seven-inning start, rarely completed six innings, and often found himself struggling to complete five.
Despite all of that and their position in the standings, the Mets did well to flip Peralta for a solid return of prospect when they traded him to the Rays at the deadline. Gary Gill Hill and Émilien Pitre—a right-handed pitcher and a middle infielder, respectively—are closer to the big leagues and could get a shot sooner rather than later. And in his brief time with the Cyclones following the trade, outfielder Aidan Smith stood out with a .938 OPS.
After the trade, Peralta fared much better with the Rays, of course. He did so with an even lower strikeout rate than he had with the Mets, though his walk and home run rates were lower, too. The Rays play excellent defense, and his BABIP was significantly lower in the 55.1 innings that he threw for them in the regular season. Maybe it was all luck and defense, or maybe it’s just that baseball can do strange things over any particular short period of time.
Whatever the case, it’s quite frankly hilarious that Peralta is thriving in the postseason with the Rays, as he was just named the MVP of the American League Championship Series following the team’s clincher last night. Peralta started and won that game, of course, and now he’ll face the Brewers—the only major league team he had pitched for until this season and the team that David Stearns used to run—in the World Series.
After that, he’ll be a free agent. The Mets will presumably look elsewhere for rotation help.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 19: Members of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate on the field after defeating the Cleveland Guardians to advance to the World Series in Game Six of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field on Monday, October 19, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Every year I promise myself I’m going to keep a running list of memorable moments from the season so, at the end when I write about them, I’ll have them ready to go instead of having to rely on memory and the notes made in my scorebook.
And yet, it always gets lost in the shuffles of airline/hotel reservations, expense reports and other parts of the chaotic baseball season.
I say all that as a setup for the list below. Instead of Top Moments or Best Moments, let’s just call it moments I thought were important during the season. Feel free to reach out to me with thoughts on what I might have missed
It wasn’t a secret. The 2026 Arizona Diamondbacks could not hit right-handed pitching at the clip they would have preferred; they struggled to get much production out of any pure left-handed bats not named Corbin Carroll.
The Diamondbacks were acutely aware of that deficiency. They tried to address it with a variety of in-house and external options. None of them truly panned out to the level GM Mike Hazen and the D-backs front office likely would have hoped.
Hindsight being 20-20, it is fair to wonder if the Diamondbacks regret not moving Marte last winter when they had freer reign, as Marte’s previous contract had only a five-team no-trade list (the A’s, Cardinals, Giants, Pirates, and Yankees were the clubs on Marte’s list last winter). Or, if the D’Backs hadn’t signed Marte to that last contract extension, 2027 would’ve been the final guaranteed year of Marte’s old deal, with a $14MM salary for 2027 and a $3MM buyout of a $13MM club option for 2028.
This wouldn’t have necessarily made a trade this offseason any easier, as Marte still would’ve had his 10-and-5 trade protection and might’ve insisted on an extension from a new team or at least a guarantee of the 2028 option as a condition for approving a swap. The discord from August 2025 also surely had impact on Marte’s trade market last winter, and only Hazen knows if any team offered anything even remotely worth consideration. It would’ve been a big risk in selling low on Marte last winter, as he was coming off an excellent 2025 campaign that included All-Star and Silver Slugger honors.
The Rays are headed to the World Series, champions of the American League after a night this team and these fans will never forget.
It was 18 years ago on this exact date — Oct. 19, 2008 — when the Rays punched their ticket to their first World Series, and Monday’s 7-3 win over the Guardians in Game 6 of the ALCS is sending them back for another shot at their first title in franchise history.
The 2026 World Series will crown a first-time champion either way as the Rays face the Brewers, who swept the back-to-back defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS. The Brewers have never won the World Series since joining MLB in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots and the Rays, who joined MLB in ’98, are in the same boat. Coming off the Dodgers’ dominance, a new day will dawn.
Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers is aiming to be the next Japanese slugger to move to American baseball.
Sato, who hit 39 home runs this season with 106 RBIs and an average of .306, is looking for a move to Major League Baseball through the posting system, the Japanese news agency Kyodo has reported.
He won the triple crown in Japan’s Central League.
“I am grateful to the team for respecting my wishes,” Sato said in a statement from the Tigers.
Perdomo and Swanson are longtime good defenders who both had good seasons this year, but they aren’t capable of the same incandescent brilliance as that top trio. I also considered Andrés Giménez, Otto Lopez, and Mookie Betts for this spot; they’re all in the same tier as Perdomo and Swanson for me. I’d be happy to have any of them as my shortstop, and I bet they’d all contend for the top spot if they shifted down to second base, but right now, the three W’s of Winn, Walls, and Witt are head and shoulders above the rest.
Boone has a 790-565 record during his managerial tenure, with winning records in all nine seasons. The Bronx Bombers have won three AL East titles and made the playoffs eight times under Boone, with that 2024 pennant marking their deepest postseason run. Boone ranks seventh all-time in both wins and total games amongst Yankees managers.
Of course, the biggest knock against Boone is that the first six managers on that list all won at least one World Series title. The Yankees’ lack of championships since 2009 counts as a major drought by their franchise standards, and New York’s lone pennant under Boone saw the Dodgers summarily dispatch the Yankees in five games. The team is 1-2 in three trips to the ALCS under Boone, and the last two seasons have seen the Yankees eliminate the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series before falling to the AL East champs in the ALDS (a four-game loss to the Blue Jays in 2025, and a three-game sweep to the Rays this October).
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 07: Paul Blackburn #58 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the seventh inning in game three of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on October 07, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If there’s one thing that you can trust the Yankees to do, it’s find a guy you don’t know from Adam and turn him into one of the five or so best relievers in baseball. They did such a good job with Clay Holmes that he’s now a starter, Luke Weaver carried the ball for the 2024 squad until he essentially could not stand, and others make up a full cohort of previously-anonymous stone cold hurlers.
The 2026 version of this was Paul Blackburn, who prior to now had spent parts of 10 seasons bouncing around the major and minor league rosters of the Athletics and Mets before finding himself the setup man for the New York Yankees, locking down the 8th inning and more.
Blackburn will be one of the more interesting free agent cases for the Yankees. The team has steered clear of long-term investments in relief pitchers for a couple of years now, but were happy to sign Weaver to a two-year, $20 million deal a couple years ago, and that turned out to be a solid decision. A similar contract would work for Blackburn, except he’s been a little volatile in his year and a half in the Bronx.
Acquired from the Mets in 2025, Blackburn was underwhelming in his first season, with an ERA above five. His xERA, which puts more emphasis on contact quality, was 2.92, and his numbers were slightly skewed by an abnormally high home run rate. In short, we didn’t really get a complete picture of Paul Blackburn, and we never really can in just 15.1 innings.
We got a more complete picture this year, with 85 innings of work being a little more indicative of Blackburn’s talent. He got his home runs back under control, but in line with a bullpen corps that didn’t strike out many men — literally the median rate in MLB — he sat down just 20.5 percent of men he faced, while walking 9.8 percent. A two-to-one strikeout to walk ratio is really pretty pedestrian among modern MLB relievers, but a 54 percent groundball rate and 51 percent medium contact rate helped engineer that run prevention.
The medium contact rate is what really stands out to me. Hard groundballs are often outs, but if they’re up the middle or a first baseman is holding the runner on, those balls will find the outfield. Soft groundballs are often outs, but sometimes they’re hit too slow to make the play on. Medium contact is exactly what an infielder wants — slow enough to get to, hard enough that you can get your feet set and get a good throw off without needing to rush.
That contact is the key to Blackburn’s talent going forward, that and his ability to go more than three outs. In 32 of his 62 appearances Blackburn threw more than one inning, an attribute that I think only grows more and more valuable as starters throw fewer and fewer innings. The question of whether you bring Blackburn back for 2027 largely hinges on how repeatable those two qualities are.
He was used as a swingman in 2025, starting four games and going more than three outs 2/3 of the time. He started fulltime two years ago, so I think it’s safe to say that he can be used in that longer-stretch role again next year, he’s built for it. The contact stuff is trickier — he’d never posted something as strong as a 54 percent groundball rate before, but he did it in a very Matt Blake way, with hard sinkers to righties and stepping up his changeup to lefties.
Blackburn was good enough, and there’s enough substance behind his improvements, that I’d be willing to put a bet on him for 2027. Contact quality and relying on batted balls rather than whiffs invites a little more volatility than a guy who just strikes out a third of batters faced, but that will be baked into the cost of whatever contract he eventually agrees to. One of the stars of the league’s second-best bullpen, Blackburn has earned another shot to star in the eighth inning.
See more of the Yankees Roster Report Card series here.
The path to the World Series was right there for the Yankees.
In a weak American League and with one of the best starting rotations in baseball, the Yanks had a chance to make it back to the Fall Classic and vie for their first championship since 2009. But another team bested them in the postseason.
For the second straight season, an AL East rival defeated the Yankees in the ALDS. This time, the Rays swept the Yankees, leaving GM Brian Cashman,Aaron Boone and the rest of the organization searching for answers. What will it take to get this core group of players led by Aaron Judge over the hump? What pieces are needed to fill in the holes to mitigate mistakes and come out on top against teams that, on paper, the Yankees are better than?
There are no easy fixes in baseball, especially with a looming lockout and a new CBA, and -- at the time of this writing -- since Cashman and the powers that be have yet to speak to the media following the ALDS loss, it's unclear what the Yankees plan to do this offseason to rebuild a roster that was formidable on paper and expensive -- third-highest in baseball. A team that had the second-best record in the league, but just couldn't defeat a team whose salary ranked 26th in baseball.
Wins in the regular season are great, but it doesn't mean much if the results in the postseason aren't there. As Judge said after the ouster by the Rays: "We're the Yankees. I feel like [the front office] should go all-in and do what they need to do. If we've got holes, if it's finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, you got to go out there and get it. That's why I signed back here to play with the Yankees is to fight for a championship every single year and go all-in."
Well, if we had the keys to the Yankees machine, here's a step-by-step process of what we'd do to fix the roster for 2027...
Rebuild bullpen by bringing back core
Every offseason, the bullpen needs rebuilding, and this one is no different.
David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough and Tim Hill are the notable names heading to free agency, and will be tough to replace. That's why our first order of business is to bring back the core.
Bednar was essential to the success the 2026 Yankees had. Cashman doesn't usually give out big contracts to closers, but a qualifying offer for one season would help if he accepts. If Bednar doesn't, then Cashman needs to buck the trend and lock down the right-hander to a multi-year deal to ensure the Yanks have the closer they can trust and know can handle the big city.
If a deal cannot be made, the New York needs to pursue other options like Raisel Iglesias.
Of the other free agent relievers, Blackburn would be my choice to bring back. Whatever the Yankees did to revive his career as a reliever, they can hopefully duplicate. A reunion is something that both sides should want, and a one or two-year deal (with an option) could bring back their setup man.
Yarbrough and Hill, while good, don't necessarily have roles in the bullpen anymore. Yarbrough was used only in long-relief situations when games were already out of hand, and Hill's effectiveness as a left-hander dipped this past season. After pitching to a 3.09 ERA in 2025, Hill's ERA ballooned to 4.60 in 2026. Brent Headrick is now the left-handed specialist, and the Yankees can use any one of their former starters (Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, Will Warren) in the Yarbrough role.
Those former starters can also fill the spots used by journeymen Michael Fulmer and John Schreiber, who are also free agents. Schreiber was actually pretty solid for the Yankees when they acquired him later in the season (1.64 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 11 games), so bringing him back for cheap isn't a bad option, either.
Jul 19, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher David Bednar (53) follows through on a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Get a right-handed hitting catcher
The biggest need for the Bombers in 2026 was a catcher who can hit from the right side. They started the season with lefties Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra, but that hamstrung Boone's options off the bench and made the bottom of the lineup a black hole.
It wasn't much better once Ali Sanchez was called up to be that right-handed bat, as he slashed .244/.275/.302 with an OPS of .577 in 51 games.
There are a few intriguing upgrades in the free agent market, with Ryan Jeffers the top catching free agent available. While he would fit what the Yankees need, he could cost them too much, which they wouldn't want to do in a platoon or bench capacity. I believe the Yankees trust Wells not only in his defense and how he handles the pitching staff, but also that the offense he was once touted for is still in there.
Over his final 10 regular season games, Wells increased his batting average from .177 to .186 while smashing four home runs. That carried over into the postseason, where he had an OPS of .761.
Perhaps Tyler Stephenson, a former first-round pick, could fit the bill of a bench catcher. While his numbers don't match what Jeffers brings, the 30-year-old would be an upgrade over Sanchez and not cost what Jeffers would get on the market -- or a draft pick if the Twins extend the qualifying offer to him.
The end of the line for Stanton
Giancarlo Stanton has one more year on his contract before the Yankees have a chance to exercise a club option on the slugger.
Stanton is owed $25 million for 2027, but the Marlins are on the hook for $10 million, which means if the Yanks move on from Stanton, they'd only be taking on $15 million of dead money. The Yankees have done this before. Most recently, with DJ LeMahieu, DFA'ing the All-Star infielder and taking on his $22 million when they released him back in 2025.
Aaron Hicks had about $27 million left on his deal when the Yanks cut him in 2023.
It's time for the Yankees and Stanton to part ways.
Oct 3, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) looks on after striking out in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The Yankees would likely be comfortable with Stanton on the roster if he could stay healthy and there wasn't a logjam in the DH spot.
Ben Rice, the Yankees' young All-Star, was relegated to the everyday DH spot after they acquired Luis Garcia Jr. at the trade deadline. And while Rice could play first base, his defense isn't up to par with Garcia's. And against a right-handed pitcher, you'd want both Rice and Garcia -- who has one more year of arbitration -- in the lineup.
Judge will also need some games at DH, further complicating the roster construction.
With a trade partner highly unlikely, the easiest solution is to cut Stanton and open up the spot for another bench hitter who can play the field. It's a tough decision involving a clubhouse leader, but it needs to be done.
Let the kids play
George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones were forced into big league roles in 2026 thanks to ineffective play and injuries. And the Yankees are probably better off for it.
Lombard feels like the everyday shortstop moving forward after Anthony Volpe was demoted and returned as a second baseman, and Jones more than held his own at the plate and defensively, filling in when Judge and Trent Grisham were injured.
Now that Grisham is almost certainly not returning, an outfield of Cody Bellinger, Jones, and Judge -- with Heliot Ramos as the fourth outfielder -- feels like the natural progression for the Yankees outfield.
And while not necessarily a kid, Volpe should get every chance to win the everyday second base job in the event Jazz Chisholm Jr. signs elsewhere. Volpe and Jose Caballero can be the versatile infielders the team needs. And they both can give Ryan McMahon a spell at third base. Heck, perhaps the Yankees can work with Garcia to be a second base option -- which he has 480 starts in his MLB career -- to give more lineup flexibility.
And then we have Carlos Lagrange. The flamethrower should be ready to make an impact in the rotation or bullpen.
Leaning on the kids to start the season would give the Yankees more athleticism, versatility, and keep costs down.
Use surplus of pitching to explore trades
The Yankees have plenty of arms and while it helped them navigate numerous injuries in 2026, they are better served dealing one or two young arms to bolster the roster.
When healthy, the rotation will be Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Warren/Weathers.
Warren and Weathers are young, controllable arms who could be dealt to help rebuild the bullpen or even make a bigger splash. Could the Rockies' Hunter Goodman be pulled away from the team to give the Yankees the right-handed catcher they crave? Perhaps CJ Abrams could be the Chisholm replacement at second base.
Even if it's to replenish the farm system, being smart and creative from a position of strength should be one of the priorities this season.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 07: Jason Adam #40 of the San Diego Padres delivers the pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the sixth inning in game four of the National League Division Series at Petco Park on October 07, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Tampa Bay Rays punched their ticket to the 2026 World Series to take on the Milwaukee Brewers with a win over the Cleveland Guardians in Tampa Bay on Monday night. At best, there are seven games left in the MLB season so Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball thought it was a good time to look back at the season for the San Diego Padres — more specifically, he takes a look at the individual players and gives them a grade for their performance.
Zdunich started with reliever Jason Adam who suffered a quadriceps injury that cut his 2025 season short and he spent significant time on the injured list this season as well. It is unfortunate timing for the right-hander as he is set to be a free agent at the conclusion of the World Series. The injuries and the concerns that will surely be discussed about further injuries will dampen his earnings on the open market, but he has shown that he can be dominant when healthy.
The question facing the Padres and their fans is, “Should Adam be re-signed?” That question may not be able to be answered until the San Diego executives determine if they are going to try to re-sign Adrian Morejon or if Yuki Matsui is going to exercise his player option and opt-out of his current contract. Left-handed relievers are commonly more highly sought after than right-handers. If Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller wants to commit to re-signing Morejon that could impact an offer to Adam. If Matsui opts-out and Preller does not try to re-sign him that could unlock additional money to offer Adam.
The thing Preller and his staff have to figure out is will Adam stay healthy and if he does, will he return to the 2024 pitcher who served as part of a dominant backend trio for San Diego with Tanner Scott and Robert Suarez. Preller could stick to his oft-used tactics of signing Adam to a “prove-it deal.” Adam would have the opportunity to show he can stay healthy and perform and he could also have options from the player and team side that would give him some security and flexibility.
At the end of it all, Adam is a good major league pitcher. More than that, he seems to be a good human who is genuinely loved and appreciated by his teammates. That being said, it all comes down to numbers. Adam played 2026 on a one-year, $6.675 million deal. It would be hard to go much beyond that given his recent injuries but if he would consider a similar one year deal or a multi-year deal that has a similar cost per year he could be back in the Padres bullpen in 2027.
Do you, the Friar Faithful, think Adam should be re-signed?
Boston, MA - August 22: Boston Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu is mobbed after hitting a walk-off single. The Boston Red Sox played the San Francisco Giants at Fenway Park on August 22, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
I didn’t know it when I was sitting in the bleachers at Fenway during that Saturday night in August, but the Red Sox’s wild 3-2 walk-off victory against the Giants on August 22 might’ve been the fork in the road for the 2026 season.
Maybe it’s arbitrary to say that one game out of 162 was the moment where this iteration of the club crossed the Rubicon, where the magic of the preceding summer weeks continued but the base line for what was to come was laid out without us even knowing it at the time. But with the benefit of hindsight, I think that’s what game 129 was for us.
The TL;DR recap of the game: Patrick Sandoval wasn’t good enough on the bump as Boston’s starter, but he was somehow able to limit the damage to just two runs. After sleepwalking for most of the game, the Red Sox bats eventually woke up and clawed back to tie the game in the ninth. With the bases then loaded, Wilyer Abreu hit a hard grounder to first. The throw home took the Giants’ catcher off the plate, Eli White slid in head first, and the Sox stormed the field in jubilation. The review from the umps then proceeded to go on for what felt like an hour, but the call—and in turn Boston’s victory—was confirmed.
What a night to be at the ballpark, man. I remember my head hurting from screaming so much following the walk-off, but I didn’t care. What a win in a summer filled with excellent wins. It’s been said before many-a-times at this point, but it’s worth repeating: I’m glad the Sox gave us our summer back after a horrid spring, even if they couldn’t give us much of a fall. That’s a win I’ll remember for a while.
I’ll especially remember it thanks to the bizarre ending as well. That review process, where we weren’t sure how the decision was going to pan out (or if it ever was going to be made, my goodness it took forever) was unlike something I had seen in person at Fenway. The walk-off celebration, followed by the prolonged review, followed by another walk-off celebration once the call was confirmed; that’s just a funny (well, at least for us Sox fans that night) and unique order of events. Just when you think you’ve seen everything at a baseball game…
And yet, that Saturday night in August ended up being one of the last times we were truly galvanized by the 2026 Boston Red Sox, no?
That win against San Francisco was the second victory en route to a sweep, and the Sox then immediately took the first two games in Miami, but the following weekend was where we dropped three games out of four in New York towards the end of August. After the walk-off to get the team up to 11 games over .500, the Sox finished the regular season on a 17-16 run (and we just established that three of those wins game before the Yankees series, so things really ended on a whimper).
It was the latest chapter of the magical run that was Summer 2K26 at Fenway, but it was one of the first examples of what would eventually be one of the major factors as to why there was no Fall 2K26 at Fenway: the offensive struggles. As our fearless leader Dan mentioned in his game summary for the win, Boston get just one guy into scoring position prior to the 8th inning. The lack of output at the dish wasn’t the only reason we got bounced from the playoffs a few weeks ago, but I think it was obviously the biggest reason. The woes with the bats did not come out of nowhere; that was a concerning trend for basically all of September. Pitching was able to keep the boys in a lot of games—much like it did during this game—but that alone would not be enough in the end.
I guess you could make the argument that this win sort of encapsulated the Red Sox’s entire post-Colorado-road-trip story. If you had to pick one game to be the microcosm of this club’s second half, I’d say this was the one. It featured the magic that got them back into the hunt and the Achilles heel that knocked them right back out of it.
The walk-off on August 22 was sensational, but summer effectively ended once Eli White slid across the plate. We just didn’t know it at the time.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 30: Jacob Johnson #27 of the Texas Rangers poses for a photo during the 2026 Arizona Fall League media day at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning.
Shawn McFarland checks out the options for the Texas Rangers when it comes to addressing their pitching staff in free agency where, notably, they’ll have to nearly completely remake their bullpen again for a third consecutive winter.
MLB Trade Rumors’ Anthony Franco writes about the roster bind the Rangers find themselves in with expensive veterans and an owner itching to go cheap.
Kennedi Landry writes that, among Rangers farmhands, famed prospect Sebastian Walcott and pitcher Jacob Johnson have been standouts at the Arizona Fall League.
And, after vanquishing Nathaniel Lowe and Austin Hedges’ Cleveland Guardians, the Jon Daniels and Nick Martinez Tampa Bay Rays will attempt to earn their first World Series championship against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2026 Fall Classic.
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 01: Jacob Misiorowski #32 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Pretty much the title.
The current matchup is a matchup of the two teams with the best records in their respective leagues. This hasn’t been a recent rarity: 2024, 2020 I guess, and 2013 have all featured the same. (Also 1999, 1995, and 1992, all featuring the Braves.)
It’s also a matchup that guarantees a first-time title-holder.
For two teams that were relatively power-less (bottom six in ISO for both) in the regular season, both have gotten to the final round via outhomering the opposition (duh), but I guess it could be interesting to see what happens when they face off. (The Rays-Guardians series was kind of a preview of this already.)
By the way, the last time these two teams met was in the second series of the year. The Rays won the first game, 3-2, in Milwaukee, and then the Brewers smacked them around in the next two games, outscoring them 14-4.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: Leody Taveras #30 of the Baltimore Orioles warms up before game one of a baseball doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 23, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One of the real hallmarks of the 2026 Orioles is how many things happened where, if you were told in March that they were going to happen, you would know that meant the season went poorly. Not all of these things were bad. “Brandon Young is the team’s starting pitcher ERA leader” would have seemed apocalyptic, for example. That was good! Most that would have sounded bad in March did in fact turn out to be bad for a successful Orioles team, including this one: Leody Taveras led Orioles outfielders in innings played this season.
The Orioles signed Taveras very early on last offseason, inking him to a one-year contract worth about $2 million for the 2026 campaign. That was less than fourth outfielder money for a guy who is kind of a classic fourth outfielder, in that he’s hit badly but not so badly as to be unplayable, he’s decent enough as a defender that he should be able to play any of the outfield positions, and he’s modestly fast, such that you could even maybe deploy him as a pinch runner sometimes.
There was nothing exciting at all about that signing. That was especially true since Taveras was coming off of a 2025 season where he had been horrible, getting dumped by the Rangers – where Taveras was once a top 50 prospect who debuted for his age 21 season – after just a month and then getting dropped by the Mariners, who claimed him off waivers, after about six weeks. He ended up batting .205/.226/.304 for 58 games of the 2025 season; that’s why the Orioles could sign him for the price they did. Taveras was hitting badly enough to be unplayable in 2025. It wasn’t a bad cheap bet to guess he’d be better than that this year. Overall, he was better than that.
The path to more regular playing time for Taveras opened up a couple of weeks into the season, when Tyler O’Neill fell ill and ultimately landed on the concussion injured list due to passing out during an off day at home and hitting his head on the way down. The Orioles shifted Colton Cowser out of center field to a corner spot and had Taveras as their every day guy while O’Neill was out.
Taveras seized the opportunity. By the end of April, he was batting .288/.397/.455. Of the younger players who we might have expected to play over Taveras, Cowser had a .489 OPS and Dylan Beavers was better but still not good at a .645 OPS. The Orioles responded to who was actually playing well and this meant more playing time for Taveras. He played most games in center field through early June. The main problem is he stopped hitting; he had a .630 OPS from the end of April until he relinquished the every day center field job back to Cowser.
The chaos kept on continuing for Orioles outfielders. Beavers suffered an oblique strain. Cowser batted like a guy who needs to never take an at-bat against a lefty starting pitcher. Taylor Ward was traded at the deadline. O’Neill got hurt again toward the end of the season.
What all of this meant was that Taveras stayed in the lineup even after he started hitting more like the guy who was ditched by two teams in 2025; he posted a .591 OPS from May 1 to the end of the season. That is unplayable, except if you’re on the 2026 Orioles and the other outfielders either keep getting hurt, or keep proving to be terrible defenders, or can’t hit a changeup, or whatever other problems were going on.
Taveras is the only reason the Orioles didn’t start turning to Christian Franklin- or Rece Hinds-level players earlier than they did. Never mind that Taveras himself probably would have been shuffled out of any semi-functional team’s outfield mix. That’s just not what the Orioles were in 2026.
Even so, Taveras ended the season at exactly 0.0 bWAR, so he was the definition of a replacement-level player. There is a whole lot of blue on the Statcast page. Blue is bad. There were, unfortunately, multiple below-replacement Orioles outfielders as the season went along, including Beavers. I think if you had gone back a year ago and told Mike Elias that his fourth outfielder signing was going to start 115 games, he would have probably signed a better guy than Taveras.
Or at least, I hope he would have. I don’t know. Elias is a weird guy who galaxy brains himself into stupid decisions sometimes. This wouldn’t be the first time and if that’s what it was, it won’t be the last either. He might have still thought he nailed it with signing Taveras, believing he had the secret to get Taveras to hit like it was 2023 (.733 OPS in a 2.9 bWAR season) again. This did not turn out to be the case. His defense was worse than past years as well, at least as measured by Statcast’s Outs Above Average. Taveras was a 34th percentile range defender.
It’s not exactly Taveras’s fault that every other part of Mike Elias’s outfield plan went haywire. You can’t expect a guy to be something that he’s not. Though in baseball, sometimes for a month or two, a guy can be something that he’s not, which Taveras managed to pull off in April.
There is no contractual obligation to the Orioles for Taveras next year. The deal was for one season and at the end of the World Series, that season is done. Something is going to have to be done about the outfield situation that was a complete disaster for the 2026 O’s. Hopefully, part of that is signing a better bench outfielder than Taveras, so that even if he is needed as much as Taveras was, that won’t be as much of a downgrade for the Orioles.
Desert heat: Caleb Bonemer brought his own firepower to Arizona, launching his first two AFL homers. | (Jill Weisleder/Getty Images)
The Arizona Fall League is underway, and Chicago has eight prospects in the Grand Canyon State, headlined by Caleb Bonemer, 3B/SS/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 27). Rounding out the crew are Mathias LaCombe, RHP (No. 17); Colby Shelton, INF (No. 23); Nick Altermatt, RHP; Jonathan Clark, RHP; Grant Magill, C; Tommy Vail, LHP and Garrett Wright, RHP.
The team added Vail after Pierce George, RHP (No. 18), suffered an olecranon fracture in his pitching elbow. While it sounds like an awful injury, he is expected to participate in 2027 Spring Training. Anthony DePino, INF (No. 21), was also originally on the Dogs roster, but instead underwent shoulder surgery. He should also be ready for spring.
The White Sox prospects are suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs, sharing the dugout with hopefuls from the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chicago ties Los Angeles for sending the most Top 30 prospects (five) to the AFL.
Salt River Rafters 6, Glendale Desert Dogs 5 (10/13/26 — 10 innings) The Dogs brought some early pop, but the Rafters had the last bark. Bonemer smacked his first AFL homer in the bottom of the first, sending a two-out, two-run shot 388 feet to left-center to give Glendale an early lead. It was his only hit of the contest, but he made it count.
Shelton joined the first-homer club in the fifth, leading off the frame with a solo shot to knot the game at 3-3. Magill also saw action behind the plate but went 0-for-4. The teams were tied at 5-5 after nine, but Salt River pushed its ghost runner across in the 10th to hand the Dogs the loss.
Glendale Desert Dogs 3, Scottsdale Scorpions 1 (10/16/26) The Dogs finally picked up their second win, and Bonemer made sure they started with a bang. His first-inning solo shot traveled 431 feet to left at 111.9 mph off the bat, giving Glendale a 1-0 lead it never surrendered.
Bonemer finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout while patrolling center field. Shelton had a quieter day at the plate, going 0-for-3 with a free pass and a K.
Surprise Saguaros 10, Glendale Desert Dogs 0 (10/17/26 — 7 innings) The Dogs managed just two hits as Surprise rolled to a shutout win. Bonemer supplied one of those knocks, a two-out double in the bottom of the first, and finished 1-for-3. Magill handled catching duties but went 0-for-2 with a pair of punchouts.
On the mound, LaCombe tossed a scoreless fifth before things got messy for his fellow Sox prospects. Wright inherited a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, allowing just one runner to score on a sac fly before ending the threat with a strikeout. The seventh was a different story, as a pair of errors by the shortstop helped saddle the righty with three unearned runs. Altermatt entered with runners on the corners, and the inning kept unraveling with a wild pitch, a single and a walk. Another unearned run crossed before he finally ended the frame, and the game, with a ground out.
Salt River Rafters 7, Desert Dogs 1 (10/19/26) The Dogs’ bats were quiet again, mustering only four hits in another offensive struggle. Shelton supplied half of them, including a two-out RBI base hit in the fourth that plated Glendale’s only run. The 23-year-old finished 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and a walk, while Bonemer went 0-for-4 with a K.
Clark made quick work of the Rafters in the bottom of the eighth, needing just eight pitches to complete a scoreless, hitless frame.
