Category: Baseball

Good morning, baseball fans!

There is, unfortunately, no baseball to be had today (Saturday). But the 2026 MLB Playoffs will continue on Sunday with Game 5 of the American League Championship series between the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians.

As usual, I am writing this in the past, which means I do not yet know the outcome of Game 4. And neither team has announced a starting pitcher as of this time. But either way, the game will start at 5:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, airing on TBS/HBO Max, with national radio coverage available on ESPN Radio.

I think we’ve all weighed in on who we want to win this series, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s who we want to win this game. Personally, I hope this series goes a full seven games so the winner is tired going into the World Series, because it’s a rare year that my rooting interests are for the National League team. But after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers, I think the Milwaukee Brewers have more than earned our support.

But that’s just my opinion. Who are you rooting for in Game 5?

Aaron Ashby did not have his best season in 2026. He pitched a ton: he tied for sixth in the league in appearances, and only Houston’s AJ Blubaugh surpassed his 87 bullpen innings this season (Ashby added another 2 1/3 innings in one appearance as an opener). Ashby’s 89 1/3 total innings are his most in a season since 2022, when he was primarily a starter; he’d only thrown 95 innings in the big leagues total since a shoulder injury cost him the entire 2023 season. That much action — arguably overuse — sapped Ashby’s effectiveness a little bit from 2025, when he was one of the best relievers in baseball:

• 2025: 66 2/3 innings, 2.16 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 1.170 WHIP, 10.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9
• 2026: 89 1/3 innings, 3.12 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 1.310 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 4.1 BB/9

Ashby was evolving, though, and underlying metrics suggest he wasn’t actually a lesser pitcher in 2026 despite more walks and a slight downturn in results. His “Stuff+” metrics, which attempt to put a number on how “nasty” a pitcher is, mostly held in 2026; his sinker and slider, two of the best pitches in the majors in 2025, were a little worse, but his curveball and changeup were both a little better. His Statcast profile in 2026 shows just as much red as it did in 2025; in both seasons, Ashby ranked among the elite in ground ball percentage and barrel percentage. In 2026, Ashby was in at least the 88th percentile in all of expected batting average, expected ERA, whiff percentage, and strikeout percentage — all higher than last season. His average fastball velocity was up a tick, from 97.4 to 97.7 mph.

So, while Ashby’s ERA was a run higher and an increase in walks created occasional problems, Ashby’s stuff was just as good as it was the previous season, in about 40% more innings. Watching Ashby was not always a comfortable experience this season — his command would come and go, and his 10.7% walk rate was higher than in any previous season — but his pitches were essentially as hard to hit as ever.

Maybe it should not have been a surprise, then, what we have seen from Ashby in the postseason.

Ashby pitched in three of four games against the Padres in the NLDS. He went multiple innings in two of those three outings, and picked up a win in the Game 4 series clincher when he went three scoreless, hitless innings to bridge the game from starter Robert Gasser to the big guns at the back of the bullpen, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill. In those three games in total, he pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowed two hits and two walks, didn’t allow a run, and struck out five.

In the sweep of the Dodgers, Ashby also pitched in three of four games. In a tight Game 1, Ashby pitched the seventh and eighth in a one-run game and allowed only a walk. He picked up saves in Games 2 and 4, and his Game 4 performance — he pitched the final three innings, and twice, with the tying run on third with one out, got out of the jam — will go down in Brewers lore. His full numbers against the Dodgers: 6 2/3 innings, two hits, one walk, six strikeouts.

Through two series, Ashby has pitched in six of Milwaukee’s eight games. He has totaled 12 1/3 innings; he has a win, two saves, he’s allowed four hits, three walks, and no runs, and he’s struck out 11.

This run is getting into historic territory. There’s a whole other series to go, and who knows what will happen, but: there have been only 26 instances in the history of the postseason where a pitcher went at least 12 innings with an ERA below 1.00. If you want to drop the ERA down to zero, where Ashby’s currently sits, there are only six others:

• Ken Dayley, who pitched 12 shutout innings in nine appearances for the 1985 Cardinals
• Mariano Rivera, twice, in the Yankees’ World Series runs in 1998 and 1999
• Another Yankee, Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, in 1981, who had six saves in 14 1/3 innings
• Cody Allen, during Cleveland’s run which ended in their Game 7 loss to the Cubs in 2016, had 10 scoreless appearances that totaled 13 2/3 innings and six saves
• Finally, a surprising name: John Rocker, who didn’t allow an earned run in 13 innings in the 1999 postseason (but who did allow two unearned runs)

Ashby is already at or near the innings pitched totals of all of these guys. He’s in relief ace territory at this point, and there’s a real argument that he should’ve won NLCS MVP; the cinematic nature of Jake Bauers’ exploits in the series probably clinched it for him, but Ashby was certainly just as deserving.

Ashby’s work in this postseason so far reminds me of two other players from the not-so-distant past. The first was another well-regarded prospect who didn’t work out as a starter but who became, briefly, a shutdown reliever and a major figure of the postseason: Andrew Miller. By the time he was 26, Miller had been a top 10 prospect; he’d already thrown almost 300 big-league innings in a variety of roles, and he’d been traded twice — once as the linchpin of one of the biggest trades of the 2000s, when the Tigers traded him and others for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Miller struggled as a starter but finally found success in his seventh season when he became a full-time reliever; over the next five years, Miller was as good as any relief pitcher in baseball and played a major role on several postseason teams. The 2016 campaign was the most magical, though: in 19 1/3 innings across 10 appearances for Cleveland, Miller allowed three runs (a 1.40 ERA), struck out 30 batters, and walked only five. For his entire postseason career, Miller allowed just four runs in 38 2/3 innings, giving him a lifetime 0.93 postseason ERA.

The other player I’m reminded of is Wade Davis, yet another big-time prospect who failed as a starter but who finally clicked as a full-time reliever. Davis was drafted by the Rays, but it didn’t work out there; he was traded to Kansas City in the James Shields trade, but had a disastrous 2013 season as a starter. In 2014, the Royals put him in the bullpen… and over the next four seasons, Davis had a 1.45 ERA in almost 250 innings. In the 2014 postseason, Davis allowed one earned run and struck out 20 in 14 1/3 innings across 12 appearances as a setup man, including 10 innings of a 0.00 ERA across the ALCS and World Series. The following season, when Kansas City won it all, Davis did not allow a run in eight appearances; he struck out 18 and walked three in 10 2/3 innings, the Royals won every game he pitched in, and he earned four saves and a win.

From a storyline standpoint, I remember Davis and Miller dominating the postseason discussion for those three years in the mid-2010s. The idea that the role of starting pitchers in the postseason was diminishing was still quite new at the time, so it was a big deal that you had these guys coming in and mowing everybody down. They just felt like the most dangerous weapons in their respective playoff runs. Miller came up a game short (and indeed, two of the three runs that Miller gave up in that 2016 postseason run came in the Cubs’ Game 7 triumph), but Davis is forever etched into the history of Kansas City baseball.

Ashby might already be there for the Brewers; even if things don’t go particularly as planned in the World Series, few will forget his heroics in the first two rounds. But for a guy who, like Miller and Davis, didn’t work out as a starter, and for a guy who had not had a good postseason career before this season (in 10 appearances across three seasons, he had a 7.71 ERA in 9 1/3 innings and as many walks as strikeouts), Ashby has written himself into the Milwaukee record books. If he can keep it going in the World Series, he just might join a truly elite list of postseason relief runs, the likes of which have only been seen a handful of times.

For the third consecutive October Friday night, there was no Major League Baseball to be watched on television. While that is not entirely the fault of MLB — last Friday was empty because of the LDS series not going the distance, and last night was due to a rainout — the league could do a much better job with their playoff schedule. Matt Gross has written approximately 38 articles on this topic if you’d like to research further. Without any storylines coming out of Cleveland on Friday, let’s go back to the Dodgers.

After winning 100 games in 2026, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the playoffs as the odds-on favorites (better than 50% chance) to win the NL pennant and were far and away the favorites to win their third consecutive World Series. After a four-game sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s amazing how quickly the “dynasty is over” narrative has emerged.

At the same time, the Dodgers have myriad star/core players past their prime. As Buster Olney outlined today:

“Freddie Freeman is 37, Muncy is 36, Betts is 34. Ohtani is 32. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Edwin Diaz, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, Tommy Edman are all in their 30s. Many are on the downslope of accomplished careers.”

Personally, I think they’ll be just fine. The greatest baseball player of this generation, and maybe ever, was a shell of himself due to bicep and knee injuries in these playoffs. Tarik Skubal is a free agent, but the Dodgers barely put a dent in their farm system with who they traded for him. Their prospects are still in the top five in baseball. Josue de Paula has arrived and will be ready to contribute in 2027, with fellow outfielder Mike Sirota right behind him. Whether Andrew Friedman and company choose to move any of these prospects for major league help, or blend the kids with the veterans, will be fascinating to watch. And, of course, if there isn’t a salary cap, they will have plenty of money to throw at their problems.

Is the Dodgers dynasty in the rearview, or will this be a minor blip for the team of the 2020s? Discuss in the comments and be good to each other.

The Atlanta Braves have already made some moves this offseason, according to the transaction log. Most notably, infielder Brett Wisely was selected to the major league roster. Outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, and infielder Luke Williams elected free agency. 

Given his limited big league experience, the decision to add Wisely to the 40-man gives the Braves the option to use him in a later transaction. Atlanta will have plenty of decisions to make as it looks to improve the roster for 2027, and these early moves are a reminder that the team is already working to create flexibility for what comes next.

More Braves News:

Tate Southisene reached base four times in the recent Arizona Fall League matchup. More in the minor league recap.

MLB News:

Game 4 of the ALCS has been postponed to tonight due to inclement weather. Game 5 is slated for Sunday evening. 

From the Feed:

Braves special assistant Martin Maldonado is headed to the Detroit Tigers as a quality control coach.

In the NLCS, the Dodgers faced two HUGE opponents. The Milwaukee Brewers and “Father Time.” The Brewers are an exceptional young team and Father Time is undefeated.

Wayne Kamiya
El Segundo

Outpitched. Outhit. Outmanaged. Now OUT!

Richard Jewell
Los Feliz

It’s the fall of the Dodgers empire. It was great while it lasted. I suspect the lineup will change dramatically next year. With a pending lockout, expiring player contracts and possible retirements, who knows what the future will hold. Thank you everyone for some memorable baseball.

Cheryl Creek
Anaheim

There should be a master class for Dodgers left-handed hitters to learn how to hit opposing team’s left-handed pitchers when they throw sliders and sweepers!

Larry L. Gurewitz
Los Angeles

Due to their 2020 championship, 2024’s World Series title earned against their AL rival New York Yankees, and last year’s thrilling seven-game World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, irrespective of how this season ended — getting to the NLCS ain’t bad — the Dodgers should continue to be celebrated and the Boys in Blue appreciated.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

The Dodgers don’t suck. This season wasn’t a failure. They got beat by a better team. It’s a simple as that. The playoffs are about which team is playing its best this time of year, and right now it’s the Brewers. They are a complete team. They won 103 games in the regular season, which was more than every other team. They have good discipline at the plate, speed up and down the lineup and a bullpen that was near perfect in this series.

Dave Roberts didn’t get outmanaged. His team lost to a better one.

Ron Epstein
Woodland Hills

Good news and bad news. Bad news: The Dodgers were swept by the Brewers. Good news: At least they are no longer ruining baseball!

David Waldowski
Laguna Woods

The excuses for the Dodgers collapse flew off the page minutes after the last out of Game 4. Observations: 1) The Brewers were a better team, more prepared and clearly better managed. No excuses, please. 2). Anyone surprised has not been paying attention. During the regular season the Dodgers lost more games than they won against teams with better than a .500 record. 3). I never thought I could write this but has Shohei Ohtani become the LeBron James control freak of the Dodgers? 4) Will the next headline be “Mark Walter puts the Dodgers up for sale?”

David Bialis
San Diego

Starting with the Blue Jays last year, and continuing with the Brewers, Rays and Guardians this season, I truly hope MLB teams will return to “anti-analytics “ baseball. Watching games with base runners, tough at-bats and actual strategy by managers is much more enjoyable than strikeouts and home runs with no one on base.

Thanks for bringing back baseball. Keep it going!

Tim Boyd
San Juan Capistrano

I’m sure there are Dodgers fans unhappy about losing to the Brewers. But nobody wins all the time and the Dodgers have won a lot.

Another great season. Three World Series titles in six years isn’t too bad. Lots of people would love to see their team win a championship just once. Ask a Padres fan.

Doug Dunlap
Valencia

Stumbling finish

“OK Rams fans, don’t change the channel, we promise we’ll do it right this time. Just keep watching as we hold the ball and our kicker will come running up and kick a field goal. OK, here we go. .. Whoops! Ha! Gotcha again, didn’t we?!”

I’m not sure who’s been duped more times; Charlie Brown as Lucy keeps yanking the ball away from him when he’s about to kick it, or Rams fans, when the special teams are sent out to attempt a field goal.

Jerry Leibowitz
Culver City

Hey, is George Blanda still alive? Maybe we can sign him to kick for us.

Eric Monson
Temecula

If there were a real time machine would Les Snead and Sean McVay go back to the end of the 2023 season and re-sign Matt Gay instead of letting him go in free agency so they could save a few dollars?

Alan Lawler
La Verne

Les Snead has built a Rams roster capable of winning championships, but his persistent failure to address the kicking game might have cost the team at least one or two more trips to the Super Bowl. With the departure of Harrison Mevis, the Rams will have used six field goal kickers in five seasons. Until the Rams prioritize the position and stop relying on practice-squad castoffs, they will continue to undermine their own championship hopes.

George Pisano
Rancho Palos Verdes

Bumbling start

Thank goodness the Chargers again snapped defeat from the jaws of victory with that pathetic fourth-down try when they were leading 17-10. They increased their chances of the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Russell Hosaka
Torrance

To Jim Harbaugh, what are you waiting for?

Cut yourself loose of Mike McDaniel now. It’s past time. McDaniel sold us all on a bill of goods that is now very fraudulent. Be a CEO and cut the guy loose!

Felipe Varela
Whittier

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

Email: sports@latimes.com

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

I don’t know, I’m not all that inspired by Dave Dombrowski’s end of year presser. He sounded like he’s going to try and make changes, but with this roster as it is, how will be actually do that? Some are going to have waive some no-trade clauses for that to actually happen.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The goals laid out by Dave Dombrowski are pretty obvious. What isn’t obvious is how he is going to achieve all of them ($).
• Now that he is the one in charge permanently, expect Don Mattingly to make some clear changes to the roster ($).

MLB news:

• There are several teams during these LCS games that had small revenues. What does their making it that far say about the coming lockout?
• The end of the Dodgers’ season (yay!) also meant the end of Miguel Rojas’ career as he announced his retirement from the game.
• Doesn’t look quite like the Yankees will be offering a qualifying offer to Jazz Chisholm. That becomes an instant “Hmmm” idea for the Phillies.
• The Padres are going to keep building, but it looks like they’ll need an entire new starting rotation next year.

Thanks to an ill-timed storm in Cleveland, we were left without baseball last night. Baseball-less nights will be a fate we’ll soon have to resign ourselves to, once the World Series concludes, and with a lockout on the other side, we have little idea of when the MLB-less stretch of the calendar will end once it starts. Best not to think about that now! If you’re able to stomach watching the ALCS without the Yankees’ participation, they’re gonna give it another go tonight, with the Guardians looking to extend their lead over the Rays.

On the site today, Nick will profile Red Rolfe, one of the great supporting players on many of the Yankees’ early championship teams. Later, Matt looks back on the finest pitching performances by the Yankees in 2026, and Michael delivers his weekly Arizona Fall League update. And also, Peter writes why Ryan McMahon was the Yankees’ LVP this year, and Kento analyzes the Yankees’ (lack of) a plan against Drew Rasmussen in the ALDS.

Today’s Playoff Matchups:

American League Championship Series Game 4
(Cleveland leads, 2-1)

Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
(TBD vs. RHP Nick Martinez)

Time: 8:00 p.m. EST

TV: TBS/HBO Max/truTV

Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH

Questions/Prompts:

1. The buzz has it that the Yankees are likely to tender David Bednar a qualifying offer. What are the odds that he accepts?

2. How worried should the Dodgers be that their decline has at last begun? Will they no longer be the juggernaut that paces the NL every year? Or will they bounce back in 2027?

The post-season is always a blend of exciting and frustrating. Exciting to see games with so much riding on every pitch and to see some of the best teams strut their talent. Frustrating that the A’s are not one of those teams and to reflect on the gap between how the best teams play and how the A’s play.

Here’s what the A’s next GM/PBO ought to be noticing as they put together their first rosters and coaching staffs:

• Grinding out at bats You don’t see players compulsively taking first pitches and trolling for walks nor compulsively swinging at whatever slop comes their way. There is discernment in the plate appearances that produces a blend of aggressiveness on strikes with a willingness to wait for a better pitch and draw walks from sufficient patience. The A’s showed this at times in 2026 but it was fleeting — the norm was a lot of hacking and chasing and precious little discipline. The A’s need hitters, and hitting coaches, who are committed to the practice of staying disciplined and discerning in their approach.

• Insistence on fundamentals Certainly there have been moments of break down even amongst the teams still standing. But one story really has stayed with me this post-season and it was the benching of Cooper Pratt back on August 25th, 2026, partly for not running hard on a fly ball ball that wound up falling for only a single, partly for not working to get a bunt down, and partly — at least according to teammates — for a culmination of events over time. Most essential is the dedication to a “winning culture” several players cite in backing their manager’s intolerance of a lack of hustle or commitment to fundamentals. The A’s need a manager who will bring “tough love” and a fundamentals rich style of play to offset inherent imitations in talent/payroll.

• Emphasis on development and analytics The competition has simply waltzed by the once Moneyball-proud Athletics. The Brewers and Rays, in particular, spend ample resources not on payroll but rather on development and analytics and it shows. Jacob Misiorowski, Drew Rasmussen, and Gavin Williams may be “true aces” but they don’t necessarily have better arms than Luis Morales, Jack Perkins, and Gage Jump, who could be a worthy “Big 3” if stuff alone determined outcomes. The A’s need to invest strongly in the kind of development and analytics the LCS teams boast — teams who, by the way, ranked 20th (MIL), 28th (TB), and 29th (CLE) in Opening Day payroll.

Are there some other categories you can name where the teams still playing stand out, either in the way they are coached/instructed to play on the field or, perhaps more importantly, how they are set up off the field? Soon the A’s will hire a new front office — and then the new front office will begin to reshape how the A’s are run with an eye on being on of the teams still playing when 27 of the teams are watching from home.

CLEVELAND — Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians was postponed because of rain Friday night.

Major League Baseball was hoping there would be a three-hour window of dry weather to get the game in, but the showers never let up.

“It never cleared out the way they were hoping. It started to get later in the hour, and MLB and I think both clubs did everything they could to try to get it in,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Made the most sense, like, at this point and this hour, with no guarantee that there wasn’t another band coming.”

The teams will resume their playoff series Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with Game 5 also at Progressive Field on Sunday at 5 p.m., and Game 6, if necessary, on Monday at 8 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“We knew how many days ago that today was going to be a challenge. Numerous weather calls, numerous back and forths, and ultimately MLB decided we needed to wait it out,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Obviously it’s an important game, and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to play the games when they’re scheduled. But MLB ultimately decided to wait this one out.”

It is the first time an ALCS game has been postponed since 2019, when the New York Yankees were hosting the Houston Astros.

The Guardians have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Petey Halpin’s two-run homer propelled them to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams will stick with their scheduled Game 4 starters from Friday. Cleveland will go with a bullpen game, with Shawn Armstrong being the opener. Nick Martinez will pitch for Tampa Bay.

It will be Armstrong’s fifth appearance this postseason. The right-hander has allowed only one hit in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.

Armstrong thought his season was done in late July when he strained a calf muscle, but he returned during the final week of the regular season.

Armstrong was drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round in 2011 and made his big league debut four years later. He was traded to Seattle in 2017 and spent time with four other organizations, including Tampa Bay, before signing with the Guardians this season.

“I think I said it to (Erik) Sabrowski, whenever we were standing in the outfield in Game 2 in Tampa — obviously I played here, I got drafted here, coming back here and being able to be in this situation is — words can’t describe it,” Armstrong said before Game 3 on Thursday.

Martinez started Game 3 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees. He went 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The right-hander was 15-6 during the regular season and ranked sixth in the AL with a 3.10 ERA. He was third in the AL with 26 starts in which he allowed three runs or fewer.

“It’s just like my starts throughout the year; it’s going to be a dogfight going in, just to see how many outs I can get for this team. It’s important,” he said Thursday.

The teams might have to play the final four games of the series without a day off, culminating in a potential Game 7 on Tuesday. That could be welcome news for the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a week off before they open the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against the Cleveland-Tampa Bay winner.

Milwaukee is in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982 after completing a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series on Thursday night.

“We’ve got four games in a row. We have an opportunity to win some games and move on. And that’s all we’re focused on,” Vogt said.

Shohei Ohtani wants to bea two-way player again next season.

What he said was expected. 

How he said it was worrisome.

“I intend on doing everything,” he said in Japanese.

Is next season destined to end the way this one did for the Dodgers, with a broken-down Ohtani rendering their lineup incapable of generating the offense required to return to the World Series?

Not necessarily.

As Ohtani catalogued his frustrations from his injury-plagued season after the Dodgers were swept out of the playoffs by the Brewers on Thursday night, one particular failure seemed to bother him more than the others.

“I wasn’t able to pitch in the postseason,” he said. 

This was either the best news the Dodgers could have received or an early death knell for their next season.

Depends on what Ohtani does to improve his chances of pitching next October.

Does he modify his in-season pitching schedule and accept some form of load management?

That would give him a chance, not only to pitch in games that matter most, but also to remain the difference-making hitter the Dodgers need him to be.

Or does he simply change his offseason workout regimen in hopes that he can strengthen his body to where it can withstand pitching and hitting from Opening Day to the last game of the World Series?

Considering how quickly his season was derailed and the effects those injuries had on him as a hitter, that plan would be an invitation for disaster.

Ohtani turns 33 next year.

He didn’t specify what he was thinking, other than that he would start deliberating a course of action now that the Dodgers were in their offseason.

The ambiguity that was both a source of optimism and concern was the result of how Ohtani addressed reporters.

A horde of journalists from the United States, Japan and who knows where else formed a semicircle around Ohtani, who fielded inquiries in a scattershot question-and-answer session that lasted about seven minutes.

Generally speaking, the questions he was asked were lacking in detail — or, in some cases, the details were lost as they passed through Ohtani’s interpreter. When Ohtani said something noteworthy — the statements quoted above, for example — more pointed questions on the subject couldn’t be asked because another journalist wanted to ask about something entirely different.

For example, when Ohtani acknowledged that he could undergo offseason surgery but didn’t say what body part he might have to repair, there was no follow-up question on the subject. Some bozo Japanese reporter at the front of the mob asked an unnecessarily verbose question about what he, Shohei Ohtani, saw in the Brewers that the Dodgers were lacking.

(Ohtani was known to be dealing with discomfort in his right arm and left knee when he was placed on the injured list in September. That was probably still the case in the playoffs. When manager Dave Roberts was asked what was bothering Ohtani before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, he replied, “It’s everything. It’s the upper body. It’s the knee.”)

While Ohtani left unanswered questions about his health status, and perhaps deliberately so, he made it a point to expound on his desire to be a two-way player again.

He spoke of his disappointment of not being able to take the mound in the playoffs, as well as at the end of the regular season.

“That’s a point of dissatisfaction,” Ohtani said.

He continued, “Of course, I feel like I want to continue [playing both ways]. Because of that, I want to have a good offseason.”

Right after saying he planned on “doing everything,” Ohtani said, “I want to do my best so that I can have a better season [than this season].”

Effort alone won’t make that happen, of course, and this is where the Dodgers have to step in. Rather than continue to be his servants, they have to be his partners. 

Practicality doesn’t appeal to Ohtani. Dreams do.

So sell him on a dream.

Ohtani on the mound in the World Series, perhaps in a Game 7. But unlike in 2025 when the Dodgers were playing the Blue Jays and Ohtani lasted just 2 ⅓ innings, this time he is the winning pitcher.

The Dodgers can get him there, maybe by giving him more time between starts, maybe by holding him out as a pitcher in the early stages of the season.

Ohtani doesn’t sound as if he has a firm plan in place, which means the Dodgers have an opportunity to shape his thinking. They have to take advantage of it.

Rocco Baldelli joined the Dodgers front office last December after the Twins fired him as their manager.

Baldelli reunited with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who he built a relationship with when his career was cut short with the Rays and became a special assistant to Friedman in Tampa’s front office.

Baldelli hasn’t managed since he was fired by Minnesota in the middle of the 2025 season with a year remaining on his contract. Now, it appears there might be an opportunity for Baldelli to return to MLB as a manager with the Mariners.

Seattle currently has a vacant managerial spot after the team forced former skipper Dan Wilson to announce that he and the organization were parting ways.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Baldelli is among one of the many candidates Seattle is evaluating. Joe Espada, Brandon Hyde and former Dodgers catcher David Ross are also potential options to be the next Mariners manager.

In his first season with the Twins, Baldelli led the team to 101 wins in 2019. He also led the franchise to its first postseason series victory in 19 years during the 2023 campaign.

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Baldelli had a 527-505 record (.511 winning percentage) in seven seasons with the Twins, including three American League Central titles. He was named the AL Manager of the Year in 2019.

There’s a chance Baldelli’s first season in the Dodgers front office, might be his only season with LA if the Mariners choose to hire him as their next manager.

The Dodgers will have a new look in 2027.

Yes, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts will still be in the lineup, but the roster will likely feature a much different set of faces than the 2026 group of Dodgers. One player that won’t be back with the team is Miguel Rojas, who confirmed NLCS Game 4 was the final game of his career.

The veteran infielder took to social media to thank his teammates for the wonderful journey he’s been on since his return to LA in 2023.

“All I can say is THANK YOU for changing my life ,” Rojas said.

“I will forever be grateful and so proud that I wore Dodger blue and represented this community every single day.

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“Love you Dodger Family .-

“Miggy Ro .”

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Rojas made his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 2014, but was traded to Miami ahead of the 2015 season. He was re-acquired by LA in 2023, a season before the Dodgers went on to win the first of their back-to-back World Series.

Rojas was a central piece to the Dodgers’ curation of a tight-knit clubhouse. The 37-year-old was viewed as a leader of the team and praised for his defensive prowess as an experienced infielder. Rojas etched his name into Dodgers postseason history when he hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning of World Series Game 7 against the Blue Jays.

While Rojas won’t be on the Dodgers roster next season, the culture he helped build remains.

One half of the 2026 World Series is set. The Milwaukee Brewers will represent the National League in the Fall Classic, advancing to their first Series since 1982, when they were an American League team. The Brewers were utterly dominant in sweeping the two-time defending champion Dodgers, rallying back from deficits in all four games by coming up with clutch hits at every turn. They’re going to be a tough customer for whichever AL team has to face them.

We won’t know which team that is until at least tomorrow. The Guardians carry a 2-1 ALCS lead over the Rays into tonight’s Game 4, having delivered three well-pitched games in which they’ve held Tampa Bay to three or fewer runs each time. Cleveland is firing on all cylinders right now, making even the Rays — who had the AL’s best record this season — look vulnerable. The Guardians would love to finish off this series with wins tonight and tomorrow at Progressive Field to keep this series from going back to Tampa.

Rays at Guardians, 8:00 PM (TBS/HBO Max) — Guardians lead 2-1

RHP Nick Martinez (TB) vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong (CLE)

The Guardians’ rotation is a bit thin behind the dynamic duo of Gavin Williams and Parker Messick, so they’re going with a bullpen game. It’ll be started by the former Oriole Armstrong, who has been lights out in the playoffs so far, retiring 16 of the 17 batters he’s faced. He’ll be tasked with facing the Yandy Díaz/Jonathan Aranda/Junior Caminero trio before the Guardians turn to a bulk reliever, possibly lefty Joey Cantillo or righty Tanner Bibee. That top of the order for the Rays really needs to get things going. Díaz, Aranda, and Caminero are a combined 5-for-34 in this series, including an 0-for-10 from Aranda and seven strikeouts in 11 at-bats by Caminero.

The Rays counter with the veteran Nick Martinez, who had a sensational debut season in Tampa Bay with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts. The 35-year-old is making just his second career postseason start. His previous one came last week in the ALDS against the Yankees, when he gave up two runs in 3.2 innings. He’ll need to be careful with Chase DeLauter, who has three extra-base hits in 10 at-bats in this series, and a rejuvenated José Ramírez, who is 6-for-12.

Rays lineup:

DH Yandy Díaz
1B Jonathan Aranda
LF Chandler Simpson
3B Junior Caminero
C Liam Hicks
RF Victor Mesa Jr.
CF Jonny DeLuca
2B Richie Palacios
SS Taylor Walls

RHP Nick Martinez

Guardians lineup:

LF Steven Kwan
3B José Ramírez
RF Chase DeLauter
DH Jo Adell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
2B Travis Bazzana
C Patrick Bailey
CF Petey Halpin
SS Brayan Rocchio

RHP Shawn Armstrong

If the weather today seems a little cooler, the air slightly fresher, and that glass of Phoenix tap water marginally less chemically than yesterday, there’s a good reason for this. It’s the first Dodger-free day of post-season baseball since the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series. I think we all expected the Brewers to give them a tough fight – they did win more regular season games. But a 4-0 sweep? The much-vaunted Dodgers line-up held to a .185 average and .520 OPS? Very pleasant indeed. Milwaukee now have eight days to cool their heels before the World Series starts next Friday night, against the Rays or Guardians.

Speaking of which… We’re waiting for this one to get under way tonight in Cleveland [insert roof joke here]. Whether it will go on or not, remains to be seen, but on the off-chance it does – here’s your Gameday Thread! If it doesn’t, I imagine we’ll have an early game on what should have been Sunday’s travel day instead.

• Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Guardians (1-2), TBS