Not a long one here, but while y’all were celebrating Andruw Jones’ election to the Hall of Fame, the Mets traded for Luis Robert Jr. That completed a years-long flirtation between the White Sox and literally anyone even remotely interested in Robert’s services.
In the end, though, all the White Sox got were Luisangel Acuña and a 12th-round overslot signee arm from last year’s draft that registers as a fringy prospect at best. Not to denigrate Ronald Acuña Jr.’s younger brother too much, but Luisangel looks like an all-glove utility infielder based on his 200ish PAs of MLB exposure thus far, and a big chunk of his defensive value to date came in a cup of coffee in 2024 as he posted +0 FRV in about two months of play last year.
In the end, the White Sox probably rue not trading Robert after his resurgent 2023 season (4.9 fWAR). I guess trading him after his 1.3 fWAR 2025 is better than after his 0.6 fWAR 2024… maaaaybeeee… considering that they’re trading just one year of control now versus two had they traded him earlier. (Robert has a club option for 2027, but at $20 million, it’s not clear that it’ll be exercised, especially since the buyout is just $2 million.)
You could argue that the White Sox didn’t bungle much aside from not moving him after 2023, as Robert has been feeble enough at the dish since that trading him post-2024 versus post-2025 doesn’t really matter. But, I’ll leave those specifics to you.
Baltimore’s aggressive approach in free agency has left me wanting more. While the majority of Birdland remains focused on Framber Valdez, my attention has drifted to the outfield. The Orioles landed a true impact bat by inking first baseman Pete Alonso to a five year deal, but they also expect big things from left fielder Taylor Ward.
Ward posted a 116 OPS+ last season while tallying 36 homers over 157 games. The righty may not pack the same punch as Alonso, but 36 long balls are nothing to sneeze at. The O’s should gain at least some type of power from a healthy Tyler O’Neill, and Heston Kjerstad remains a wild card after a lost 2025 season.
Dylan Beavers’ stock is on the rise, and the 24-year-old will carry PPI eligibility into his rookie season. There’s plenty of power potential between Ward, O’Neill, Kjerstad and Beavers, but none of those guys play center field.
Colton Cowser started 45 games in center last season. Cowser battled multiple injuries while posting a .196/.269/.385 slash line during his sophomore campaign. The Milk Man played left field for a majority of his rookie season, but he inherited center field when the Birds dealt Cedric Mullins at the 2025 trade deadline.
Sliding over to center appeared to be a natural path for Cowser. The Sam Houston State product looked the part when called upon and featured a stronger arm than Mullins. Unfortunately, the transition went a little bumpier than it would have on paper.
Cowser missed two early months with a broken thumb, and he played through broken ribs in the second half. Former skipper Tony Mansolino shied away from immediately slotting in Cowser as the daily center fielder. When asked, Mansolino said he wanted to avoid placing extra pressure on the outfielder as he searched for success at the plate.
Cowser missed time in August with a concussion, but the O’s cut him loose in center by the end of the month. Mansolino provided an honest assessment of his play during a series against Boston.
“I was probably low man on him in center field two weeks ago, and I told him that,” Mansolino said. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with how he’s been playing in center field.”
“It’s a longer, lankier body,” the interim manager added. “He’s covering ground. The metrics like him… I feel like he’s proving me wrong right now and I really, really like that.”
When asked directly about Cowser’s strong arm, Mansolino said he was “very unpolished with his throwing arm” when he arrived in Baltimore. Mansolino said he had improved in his two years with the big league club, but added that “we need him to improve more.”
Mansolino is no longer with the team, but his words provided some insight into how the organization viewed Cowser as a center fielder last season. It’s easy to attribute some offensive struggles to broken ribs and inconsistent playing time, but these marks address Cowser’s profile as a defender.
Cowser must have passed his audition over the final two months of the season, because the Orioles did not acquire a new starting center fielder. It does not appear that Baltimore ever seriously considered Cody Bellinger, and the Birds watched Mullins sign a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mike Elias added depth to the position by signing Leody Taveras to a one-year deal early in the offseason. Taveras is a career .236/.287/.365 over six seasons. He patrolled center field for Texas from 2020-2024, but the Rangers designated him for assignment last May. Taveras made 28 appearances for the Mariners while hitting .174/.198/.272. Seattle outrighted him to Triple-A, and he elected free agency at the end of the season.
Taveras was a solid contributor for the 2023 World Champs, but he would need a real bounceback season to justify a spot on a playoff contender’s roster. Unfortunately, he’s the only other player on the 26-man with significant experience in center field. Beavers made nine appearances in center for Norfolk prior to his late-season promotion after making 26 with the Tides in 2024.
Cowser absolutely has the talent to grab the starting center fielder job and hold it all year. However, the Orioles have traded optimism for aggression this offseason. Are they content hoping that Cowser stays healthy while taking a step forward at the plate?
Former first-round pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. profiles as a major-league ready center fielder, but injuries slowed a promotion to Triple-A last season. Bradfield snuck in 15 games with Norfolk before shining in the Arizona Fall League. His advanced defense makes him a serviceable replacement in a pinch, but the Orioles likely want Bradfield to get an extended look at Triple-A pitching.
MLB Pipeline lists Bradfield as Baltimore’s fourth best prospect. He should find his way to Baltimore at some point next season, and the speedy outfielder has the potential to stick around. Bradfield’s presence may serve as a deterrent from inking a big fish like Bellinger, but it’s not like Coby Mayo prevented the Alonso signing. Harrison Bader remains available on the open market, and there’s always a trade candidate like Colorado’s Brenton Doyle.
At this point, Baltimore’s inactivity appears to represent a vote of confidence for Cowser as its full time center fielder. That feels like a respectable Plan A, but it’s worth monitoring alternatives as spring training inches closer.
MLB Trade Rumors: The New York Mets are acquiring outfielder Luis Robert, Jr. from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Luisangel Acuna and pitcher Truman Pauley, per multiple reports.
The White Sox have been looking to move the 28 year old Robert for some time. He appeared to be a burgeoning star after finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, and then combining for 5.9 bWAR in just 166 games from 2021-22, missing significant time each year due to injury.
2023 seemed like a breakout year for Robert, as he slashed .264/.315/.542 and put up a 5.3 bWAR, finishing 12th in the MVP voting for a White Sox team that lost 101 games. Over the past two seasons, however, he has missed significant time while not hitting well, putting up a .223/.288/.372 slash line in 210 games.
The White Sox opted to pick up his $20 million option for 2026, a move that seemed questionable at the time. It ended up paying off, although the package they are getting back isn’t that exciting.
Most notably for us here at the LSofB is the inclusion of Luisangel Acuna, the former Ranger prospect who was sent to the Mets in 2023 for Max Scherzer. Acuna was impressive in a limited stint when he made his major league debut late in 2024, but slashed just .234/.293/.274 in 193 plate appearances in the majors over 93 games, and .303/.347/.385 in the minors.
Weirdly, considering he didn’t homer in 315 plate appearances between AAA and the majors in 2025, Acuna has been hitting bombs in the Venezuelan Winter League this winter, hitting 8 homers in 174 plate appearances, including four in one game.
Acuna is out of options this year, meaning he would either have to stick in the big leagues with New York as a utility guy in 2026 or be exposed to waivers. The rebuilding White Sox can give him a roster spot and opportunity it was going to much harder for him to get in New York.
Pauley was the Mets’ 12th round pick out of Harvard in 2025, getting a $397,500 bonus, $247,500 above what a player not picked in the first ten rounds can receive without it counting against a team’s bonus pool, and the third highest bonus received by a 12th rounder last year. He is the second minor league pitcher from Harvard traded in the last week, joining Chris Clark, who was part of the three team deal that sent Josh Lowe to Anaheim.
The Mets are reportedly still interested in signing Framber Valdez despite the draft pick penalties they would incur.
John Harper put out an offseason report card for the Mets, including the blockbuster Bo Bichette deal.
The Mets have discussed the possibility of retiring Carlos Beltrán’s number 15, but are struggling to find time for it this season.
Former Met Carlos Beltrán finally got elected into the Hall of Fame in his fourth year on the ballot.
The Mets released a video from the moment Beltrán found out the good news.
With his induction, Beltrán has solidified his place among the all-time great Mets.
Plenty around the Mets organization offered their congratulations to Beltrán, including Steve and Alex Cohen, David Stearns, and Francisco Lindor.
In addition, multiple former teammates and managers of Beltrán sent their congratulations, including David Wright, Carlos Delgado, and fellow Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez.
Anthony DiComo broke down everything that Beltran’s election means, both on an individual level and on a greater historical level.
David Wright got 14.8% percent of the votes in this year’s Hall of Fame balloting, nearly doubling last years 8.1% total.
MLB.com revealed their top ten third base prospects, and a Met prospect claimed second place on the list.
The Mets made a major trade, sending infielder Luisangel Acuña and prospect Truman Pauley to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder Luis Robert Jr. They’re taking on his entire salary this year and either the option or buyout for 2027.
Around the National League East
The Marlins acquired right-handed pitcher Bradley Blalock in a trade with the Colorado Rockies.
In addition to Beltrán, former Brave Andruw Jones also got elected to the Hall of Fame.
Around Major League Baseball
Joel Sherman explained his Hall of Fame ballot this year.
Ken Rosenthal put out more offseason notes, including some about how a potential lockout isn’t affecting the free agency market.
The Orioles revealed their new on-field alternate caps for the 2026 season.
Pitcher Bryce Miller agreed to a one year deal with the Mariners to avoid arbitration.
Part of the Cubs path to success next season is a bounce back from Shota Imanaga, who will have to focus on some improvements to his game to make it happen.
An ownership source told Evan Drellich that it’s “a 100 percent certainty” that owners will push for a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement.
The BBWAA released the full vote tally from this year’s Hall of Fame balloting.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Thomas Henderson wrote about how, after the Bichette signing, one major hole in the Mets offense remains.
At the time of the trade, Vernon was owed about $86 million over the next four years. His salary was to jump from $15.7 million in 2010 to $26.1 million in 2011. So it was the perfect moment to trade him.
Vernon played 2 seasons for the Angels, hitting .222/.258/.409 with 36 home runs. After that, they sent him (and a lot of money) to the Yankees. With them, Vernon hit .233/.282/.349 with 11 home runs in 2013 and was paid to stay home in 2014.
I’ll admit I always liked Wells. He was one of those guys who played full out all the time (he might have been better off to pick his spots), always ran out grounders as hard as he could, did tonnes of charity work, was a good teammate, and seemed to like playing in Toronto. It wasn’t his fault that the Jays offered him way too much money. Playing all those seasons on the hard surface at Rogers Centre likely didn’t help his career. Somewhere, I have a Jays jersey with his name on it.
We didn’t get a lot out of the two players who came to Toronto. Rivera hit .243/.305/.360 in 70 games before the Jays put him on waivers to be claimed by the Dodgers. Napoli, we quickly sent on to the Rangers for Frank Francisco. In Alex’s defense, if we had kept Napoli, we likely would have lost Edwin Encarnacion.
Dumping Vernon’s contract allowed Alex to make the trade with the Marlins, which may not have turned out the way we would have liked, but it did add some excitement to our lives for a while.
I have no idea what the thought process was on the Angels’ end of things.
Tuesday marked a huge day for the Atlanta Braves organization, as Andruw Jones was finally elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Atlanta great was included on 333 of the 425 ballots, giving him just over the 75% of votes needed to make the 2026 class. Fellow center fielder Carlos Beltran was also elected.
Debuting in 1996, Jones spent 12 seasons in Atlanta before heading West to suit up for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The five-time All-Star played his last MLB game in 2012 and finished his career with 10 Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger award, a .992 fielding percentage, 1,933 hits, 1,289 RBI, and 434 home runs.
His Hall of Fame election cements his place among the legendary Braves of the ’90s and recognizes one of the game’s premier all-around talents.
More Braves News:
We’ve provided the stats, but now it’s your turn. How do you predict Ronald Acuña Jr. will perform in 2026?
It was recently announced that shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will miss a couple months of the regular season due to a hand injury, and here’s what that means for the Braves.
MLB News:
The New York Mets acquired outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox. In exchange, the Sox received INF/OF Luisangel Acuña and a minor league pitcher.
LHP Rich Hill announced that he does not plan to pitch in 2026.
The Dodgers’ signing of Kyle Tucker gave opposing fans all the more reason to hate the Dodgers, and it gave fellow team owners all the more reason to loathe the Dodgers front office.
To win two consecutive championships and continue to add star talent while sporting one of the highest payrolls in baseball is the envy and ire of small market organizations. With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring after the 2026 season, an impending lockout is all but certain. Rather than discuss a salary floor to ensure that owners allocate a fair percentage of revenue towards their roster, the main issue that will be brought up this offseason will be a salary cap, notes Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
Major League Baseball owners are “raging” in the wake of Kyle Tucker’s free agency agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers and it is now “a 100 percent certainty” that the owners will push for a salary cap, one person briefed on ownership conversations who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic. “These guys are going to go for a cap no matter what it takes,” the source said.
Links
With a four-headed monster that includes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers starting rotation on paper looks to be one of, if not the best, in baseball entering the 2026 season. What has been a dire issue over the last two seasons has been the health of the rotation, as each of the aforementioned names have missed significant time due to injury since the beginning of the 2024 season.
As a means to potentially shore up the back end of the rotation and add a relatively younger arm, the Dodgers are maintaining their interest in Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, notes Katie Woo of The Athletic.
The Dodgers remain interested in Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta, a two-time All-Star approaching his final season before free agency. Peralta is one of the top starters on the trade market after logging a career-best 2.70 ERA over 33 starts for the National League Central champions. Given the injuries that plagued the rotation last year, trading for Peralta is worth exploring.
Andruw Jones had two more years of Hall of Fame eligibility entering this year, and he made history on Tuesday by becoming the first player from Curacao to be elected into Cooperstown. On making the Hall of Fame in his ninth year of eligibility, here is what Jones had to say on getting the call, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
“You don’t play this game to be a Hall of Famer. You play to help your team win a championship. And when you go out there and be consistent and put up numbers and then your name starts popping up [as a candidate], it’s a big honor for me, and it’s a big honor for my family.”
Former Dodger Rich Hill isn’t planning on pitching in 2026 despite spending limited time with the Kansas City Royals this past season. He also has his disagreements with Joe Kelly’s definition of retirement, as he explained on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.
The main rhetorical question of the offseason: Are the Dodgers truly ruining baseball? That is what Huston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times answers in the latest edition of Dodgers Dugout.
“Nic and I have built a relationship where we’re always bouncing ideas off each other,” Núñez said. “Always trying to keep each other in the loop at what’s going on at every level. Our communication is really good, and we complement each other. And we learn from each other. For us to be able to work together as one unit, it’s exciting.”
Núñez calls Jackson “The Doctor” because of his biomechanical knowledge, and Núñez brings vast playing experience and the ability to connect with young players, especially international signees. Their different backgrounds and perspectives stood out as they led the organization’s instructional league in Arizona last fall, as did the camaraderie and continuity in processes that Núñez, Jackson and Raccuia shared.
Beltrán played for seven teams from 1998 through 2017, collecting 435 home runs and 312 stolen bases while excelling in the postseason, hitting .307/.412/.609 across 65 games. A Rookie of the Year for the Kansas City Royals in 1999, Beltrán won two Silver Slugger awards and three Gold Gloves.
Jones won 10 Gold Gloves, patrolling center field for the Atlanta Braves with such aplomb that Willie Mays once called him the best he ever saw at the position. Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Schmidt are the only players besides Jones with 10 Gold Gloves and 400 homers, with Jones bashing 434 for five teams from 1996 through 2012.
Kansas City Royals — Moving in the outfield fences might be their biggest move of the offseason. The Royals traded for outfielder Isaac Collins, rolled the dice on outfielder Lane Thomas, and added some relievers (notably, left-hander Matt Strahm) but they haven’t made anything that qualifies as a splash.
Early in the offseason, on the Kauffman Corner podcast, I made a point that the Royals responsibility last winter likely meant they had to be a little irresponsible this winter to fix the issues that plagued them. I still stand by what I said last year in that I totally understood not wanting to overspend on players who probably weren’t good enough to overspend on, but I also disagreed with it. To their credit, I think they were generally right. Anthony Santander had a terrible first season in Toronto that was marred by injury. Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games almost immediately for PED use. And what I heard last year was that the Angels had asked for Carter Jensen for Ward. I think if everything went the way it had, we’d all be frustrated by that trade today with Ward approaching free agency.
Under scouting director Brian Bridges, the Royals leaned into versatile athletes in the 2025 draft. Tulane two-way player Michael Lombardi epitomizes this approach. He worked predominantly as a center fielder and reliever for the Green Wave, but Kansas City will develop him as a right-handed starter. “You’re dealing with an athlete who’s highly competitive,” Bridges said. “A two-way player who wants to concentrate on pitching, with limited mileage on his arm. He’s athletic with feel to pitch.”
Owners still have to determine what salary floor and ceiling they’re comfortable proposing, a discussion that’s expected to be a topic at next month’s regularly scheduled owners meeting. The floor, in particular, could be a contentious issue for smaller-market teams, some of which might stand to make more money on an operational basis in the current system. The value of all 30 franchises would instantly rise if a cap is introduced, however.
It would take at least eight owners of 30 to effectively hold up a labor deal, but when it comes to a cap, internal politics will not be the owners’ biggest hurdle. Players have historically been willing to miss many games to avoid a cap system.
“We just completed one of the greatest seasons in MLB history, with unprecedented fan interest and revenues,” union head Tony Clark said in a statement. “While the free-agent market is far from over, it is gratifying to see players at all levels being rewarded for their incredible accomplishments by those clubs that are trying to win without excuses.”
I am on the ship today, so I can’t get a link from YouTube. Instead, take this baseball and toss it at someone out of love. Shoot them a message, a quick call, or something to let them know you care about them.
The Colorado Rockies have been busy lately with the signing of free agent pitcher Michael Lorenzen and the reported signing of utilityman Willi Castro. It’s been clear that the Rockies are hoping to build a team in 2026 that affords them the ability to let the young players of 2025 get more time to develop properly. It’s been about gaining depth with players that can allow them to rebuild a bit more smoothly this season.
The starting rotation remains the main area of focus as the team is interested in adding another starting pitcher in the same vein as Lorenzen. While it’s very unlikely they go after the high-profile, there are still several available free agents that could still be helpful in 2026. Particularly, there is one familiar face that could be an interesting flyer if both sides are willing to take a chance.
Left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson has settled into a fairly solid arm since his days with the Rockies. The Rockies’ 20th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Anderson turned in three solid years with the organization before an injury took him down in 2019. He became a journeyman over the next few years, once he was healthy, spending stints with the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Los Angeles Angels. In his career, Anderson, now 36, has posted 17.3 WAR per Baseball Reference and owns a career 4.30 ERA through 231 games, including 223 starts, and was an All-Star in 2022 and 2024.
So, why could he be a fit for the new look Rockies?
Well, one of the first things that sticks out is that he is a relatively reliable innings eater. Now, he isn’t going to go out and deal 200 innings, but he can regularly take the ball every five days and throw five or six innings a game. Since 2018, he has worked at least 130 innings in each full season and made at least 25 starts. His career high of 179 1/3 innings came just recently in 2024. In 2025, Anderson made 26 starts and failed to complete at least five innings just seven times. Of those seven starts, he failed to record at least one out in the fifth inning just twice. For a backend veteran starter, that’s the kind of length the Rockies need in 2026 that they have been lacking for several years now.
Giving length is a useful skill, but what about the run prevention? Obviously, Anderson isn’t going to go out and throw up zeros night after night. He only had four scoreless outings on the year, but for a backend starter, that’s not necessarily required. The job of any starter, particularly one in Colorado, is to mitigate damage and keep things from spiraling out of control. Anderson has continued to do that in his career, and last season, he allowed more than four runs in a start just three times. He gave the Angels plenty of chances to win games, but bullpen failures and a rough offense just couldn’t offset some nights.
Still, Anderson can be effective on the mound and give you a chance to win a game if the offense can keep pace with the opposition. But the inner workings of Anderson’s game should still be intriguing for the new age Rockies.
Per Statcast, he finished with the 16th-lowest hard-hit rate in baseball last season. He remains around league average in Whiff rate with 25%, but places in the 68th percentile in Chase rate with 29.8%. He manages to limit hard contact and gets a decent number of ground balls and fly balls. He manages to do this with an arsenal of pitches to work with.
Anderson is the definition of a soft-tossing lefty. Over his 10-year career, nothing has really changed in terms of the overall velocity of usage of his pitches. The fastball roughly sits at 89 mph while he deploys an assortment of offspeed and breaking pitches. His changeup has been a particularly solid offering against right-handed batters. In all, he has roughly six pitches at his disposal that he could tinker with and deploy that could give the new pitching leadership more info to chew on.
There is a sense of familiarity that could also help the combined collaborative effort the Rockies are fostering now. Anderson has the reputation of being a studious pitcher, constantly taking notes and reflecting on his outings. He is a student of the game, a professor continuously trying to hone his craft and perfect his approach. That type of mentality would play well with the Rockies, as he can impart some knowledge not just from his time in other organizations, but also from Colorado. In 46 appearances at Coors Field, a total of 258 2/3 innings, Anderson sports a 4.04 ERA.
Now, of course, it’s worth pointing out some of the concerns. One of the main ones is that Anderson is not a pitcher who will strike out batters. With a career 19.4% strikeout rate, Anderson has at least been consistent in that department, but 2025 saw the lowest rate of his career at 17.4%. His career walk rate does come in under league average, but over the last three years with the Angels, he had at least a 9.5% walk rate.
Additionally, home runs have always been a concern for Anderson. In 2018, he led the league with 30 home runs allowed, but to his credit, he has reigned things in a bit and been more consistent, but last season some a spike in home runs. Coincidentally, his fly ball rates have also increased over the last few years.
It’s always going to be risky picking up a player who is pitch-to-contact, especially at Coors Field. Anderson would need to truly perfect his execution and utilize his defense accordingly. But that’s the type of problem that the new regime is eager to figure out and Anderson could easily fit the mold of what they are trying to do.
The biggest question would concern the price. Per Spotrac, Anderson’s market value is projected to be roughly $6.97 million. That’s not an awful amount for a one-year deal that he might have to settle for, but it’s unclear how much more the Rockies are willing to spend on the big league roster. Still, he’s an affordable free agent that could be worth serious consideration at that price.
Ultimately, the Rockies need another arm. I like Anderson because he is familiar, has carved out a nice career, is relatively cheap, and would add another lefty to the rotation to re-join Kyle Freeland. He’s older and wiser and could be a unique fit to help mentor the young pitchers on the team while bringing back some of the magic of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. 2026 is all about throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, and Anderson is worthy of joining that discussion.
We’ve heard a lot about how the organization is excited about the new additions to the coaching staff for pitching, but we haven’t heard as much from the players. Well, count Kyle Freeland as someone who bought in and is extremely excited about the new direction for the Rockies. Thomas Harding caught up with Freeland to discuss his thoughts on the team’s new front office.
When the Rockies made the signing of Michael Lorenzen official, Bradley Blalock was designated for assignment. After a few days, the team was able to swing a deal with the Miami Marlins, acquiring minor league pitcher Jake Brooks in return for Blalock.
This week, Evan Lang and I discuss the finalization of Lorenzen’s signing, what Willi Castro’s signing signals for the Rockies and what other moves they may still need to make, while also talking about the return of Nolan Arenado to the NL West alongside the Dodgers spending big on Kyle Tucker.
Bob Nightengale wonders why admitted PED-user Andy Pettitte moved towards induction when other tainted candidates have not. He also says if Pettitte gets into Cooperstown, there is no excuse to not elect the many others connected to PED use. He thinks this is a bad thing.
Sad news as former White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood has passed away at 84. Wood put up some insane innings totals from 1971 to 1975—insane even for the early seventies. I also wonder if the knuckleball isn’t dying out. There aren’t many living knuckleballers left. But our condolences go out to Wood’s family, friends and former teammates. Also to the knuckleball.
On Tuesday, Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected by the Baseball Writers of America Association as the two latest inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Those of you who have paid some attention know that I’m a Hall junkie, so I thought it would be fun to take a look to the future, to see who is in a good position from this year’s results and who will be joining the ballot next year; we’ll also see if there are any former Brewers coming up for consideration anytime soon.
Who’s in a good position after this year’s results?
Next year’s Hall of Fame ballot will be a really interesting one. There’s one strong newcomer (see below) but there are no slam-dunk first-ballot choices like we saw with Ichiro Suzuki last year, and there are no players coming back to the ballot who just missed—both Beltrán and Jones were over 65% last year and needed to make only small jumps in support to make it.
We aren’t going to see that with returning players next year, and in fact, it’s definitely possible that no returning players get elected.
After Beltrán and Jones, the next highest vote-getter on Tuesday was the former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley at 59%. That’s a big jump for Utley, who got just 39.8% of the vote the year before, but he’d need another leap of almost 20% to make it in next year. It’s not inconceivable: as we saw with the selections of Ichiro, Billy Wagner, and CC Sabathia a year ago and no super-strong first-ballot candidates this year, others will tend to soak up votes from writers who now turn their focus elsewhere.
This could get Utley close. His case is a bit non-traditional—he finished his career with just 1,885 hits and 259 homers, he never won a Gold Glove, and he never finished higher than seventh in MVP voting. 20 years ago, he’d have no chance. But the analytics that have become the most popular tools to evaluate players suggest that we were missing something with Utley, and his WAR-based case does not just make him a borderline candidate; if you believe the WAR numbers, he’s a pretty ironclad Hall of Famer. Not everyone believes those numbers, which is why Utley is still 16 percentage points short after his third appearance on the ballot.
There are a couple of other interesting returning cases: Andy Pettitte, a staple of the late-90s Yankees dynasty and one of the most prolific postseason pitchers of all time, also made a big jump—even bigger than Utley’s, from 27.9% to 48.5%. Pettitte is also reaching the end of his time on the ballot; he’ll have two more chances before his eligibility expires. Pettitte’s case is complicated by his connection to performance-enhancing drugs, a connection which is viewed as far less egregious than some of his contemporaries but is, nonetheless, an issue for many voters.
The other big mover this year was Félix Hernández, who improved by 26.1 percentage points from year one to year two (the largest single-year gain under the modern voting system, according to Ryan Thibodaux, who runs the Hall of Fame tracker) and, at 46.1% after two ballots, is in excellent position. Hernández’s counting stats are far lower than the traditional Hall of Fame starting pitcher, but it looks like he may be the test case for what Hall voters will have to start looking for in an era when starting pitchers do not play the same way as they used to.
Other returners include Alex Rodríguez (who topped 40% this year on his 5th ballot but probably has a hard cap on the number of voters who will vote for him), Bobby Abreu (who made a modest leap to above 30% but is running out of time), Jimmy Rollins (the counting stats support him over his teammate, Utley, but the advanced stats do not), Dustin Pedroia, Cole Hamels, Mark Buehrle, David Wright, Omar Vizquel, Francisco Rodríguez, and Torii Hunter. Vizquel, who got 18.4% on his ninth ballot, will be back for the 10th and final time next winter. The one first-ballot player who will make a second ballot is Hamels, who received 23.8% of the votes on his first ballot. That’s an uphill climb, but it’s better than Hernández did on his first try.
Who’s new to the ballot?
The next big question is who the new players are. This group is headlined by a player who I think has a strong chance at becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer but has a tricky case: Buster Posey. Posey, from a quality perspective, certainly played at a Hall of Fame level: he won an MVP in 2012, something only two other catchers have done since the 1970s (Iván Rodríguez in 1999 and Joe Mauer in 2009), and by rate stats had one of the best careers of any catcher, ever. FanGraphs’ version of WAR, which includes a player’s pitch framing prowess, is especially fond of Posey.
But Posey had a short career. He played only 1,371 games (that’s almost 150 fewer than Pedroia and over 200 fewer than Wright, both great players who we think of as having careers that were “too short”), and in terms of counting stats, finished with just 1,500 hits and 158 home runs. Even at catcher, where physical demands tend to limit the number of games played per season and shorten careers, that’s low; that’s fewer hits than Thurman Munson, another catcher who some feel played at a Hall of Fame level but isn’t there because his career was cut short when he died in a plane crash not long after turning 32.
Posey’s case will be fascinating. I think the lack of great catchers, historically, will probably work to his advantage, and I think he’ll be recognized for what he was, which was—from a pure peak perspective—probably the best catcher of the 21st century (though Joe Mauer and Cal Raleigh fans will argue, and I’m sure Yadier Molina fans would argue too, though Molina’s case is more about longevity than peak prowess).
There is really only one other new name on the ballot next season who might garner enough support to make it to a second year, and that’s pitcher Jon Lester. Lester probably didn’t do enough to get real Hall support—he has just 43.4 bWAR for his career—but he won 200 games, a rarity in modern times, struck out almost 2,500 batters, had three top-four Cy Young finishes, and was a postseason hero who won an NLCS MVP and three World Series. That should be enough of a resumé to get him to the 5% needed for a second showing.
Other interesting but not exactly compelling first-year players include Brett Gardner, who won a World Series, was one of the best defensive corner outfielders of all time, and was about a league-average hitter; Ryan Zimmerman, one of the great heroes of the Washington Nationals franchise; and Kyle Seager, who has no shot at all at making the Hall of Fame but was a better player than people remember.
Are there any former Brewers debuting on next year’s ballot?
We will not know who the new players on the ballot will be until it’s announced late next fall, but we can make a few guesses at what former Brewers could join Francisco Rodríguez in representing the franchise.
One very notable former Brewer shouldget a spot on next year’s ballot: Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy, who is the best catcher in Brewers history (though William Contreras is coming for that crown), had a 12-year career that included a couple of All-Star games and a fourth-place MVP finish in 2014, the best season ever by a Brewers catcher. Lucroy was also one of the first players to get extra shine because of the new ways in which pitch framing was being measured, and FanGraphs’ version of WAR viewed him as a legitimate star, with four straight seasons with at least 5.6 WAR. Lucroy’s 17.7 career bWAR is nothing particularly special, but his 35.2 fWAR ranks 38th all time among catchers in that database.
The next former Brewer who should get a spot on this ballot was only in Milwaukee briefly, and that’s reliever Joakim Soria. From 2007-2010, Soria was one of the best relievers in baseball. A lost season in 2012 derailed him a bit but he continued to have solid seasons into the mid 2010s, and in 2018 the first-place Brewers acquired him from the White Sox at the trade deadline to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run (Milwaukee sent Wilber Pérez and former first-round pick Kodi Medeiros to Chicago; neither ever made the majors). Soria pitched 26 times for the Brewers in the regular season and suffered some bad luck (a 2.93 FIP but 4.09 ERA) but had a difficult postseason. He had three scoreless outings (including a win and a hold) in the divisional round against the Rockies, but he gave up multiple earned runs twice in four outings in the NLCS against the Dodgers. Soria became a free agent after the season and left for Oakland, and his brief Brewers career was over. In all, Soria amassed 229 saves and had a 3.11 ERA (137 ERA+) and 3.12 FIP in 763 innings pitched.
The last guess is more borderline, and that’s that Wisconsin native and former Brewer—for all of 5 2/3 innings—Jordan Zimmermann will get an honorary spot. Zimmermann pitched 1,614 innings across 13 years, almost entirely for the Nationals and Tigers, and he had a respectable career that saw him make back-to-back All-Star Games and seventh- and fifth-place Cy Young finishes in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Zimmermann, who was from Auburndale, Wisconsin and pitched at UW-Stevens Point, made his last two big-league appearances for the Brewers in 2021.
None of these players has any shot at making the Hall of Fame, and I’d be surprised if any got more than a token vote or two, but it’s still fun to see their names.
Brewers fans will need to wait until 2029 before anyone who spent time in Milwaukee will actually make some noise on the ballot. That’s the year when Zack Greinke should become a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But he’s not the only former Brewer with a good chance of getting a little support: Brewers Legend Josh Donaldson also debuts that year. (Let’s go out for a beverage and I’ll tell you why Donaldson should get serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.)
The shortstop is sometimes referred to as “captain of the infield,” and filling that role in a starting big-league lineup is a huge responsibility. There’s an added layer of pressure when assuming the role of New York Yankees Shortstop, following the career of our own Captain, the legendary Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter. For the past few years, that responsibility has fallen on Anthony Volpe, the former top prospect who was deemed by many to be a storybook successor to Jeter due to his own lifelong Yankee fandom and a photograph he took with The Captain as a little boy.
As great a story as that would be, Volpe is entering his fourth season as the starting shortstop and has never been able to produce enough offensively to be considered a franchise cornerstone. His wRC+ over those three years (83, 87, 83) has been consistently underwhelming, and his defense suffered major regression last season as well following a strong 2024 with the glove. The Yankees have more star potential in their farm system at shortstop than any other position, so 2026 will be a make-or-break year for Volpe.
The Yankees acquired José Caballero from the Rays at the trade deadline in 2025, and he provided an immediate boost during the final two months of the season in the field, on the basepaths, and even at the plate. The team also signed veteran Paul DeJong in free agency. DeJong is another glove-first shortstop who hasn’t posted an above-average season offensively since 2019 and is unlikely to play a major role as a Yankee, but he could realistically make the Opening Day roster while Volpe recovers from shoulder surgery. Amed Rosario, who will likely make most of his appearances at second and third base or in the outfield against left-handed pitching, can also fill in in a pinch at short.
Behind all this major-league depth, there are a number of exciting young shortstops in the minor leagues looking to keep the momentum alive or break out in 2026. Here are the players working their way through the organization at short.
Projected to start the year in Triple-A are three shortstops with modest big-league experience the Yankees have acquired at some point over the last calendar year: Braden Shewmake, Zack Short, and Jonathan Ornelas. Shewmake is entering his age-28 season with just 31 MLB games on his resume, and he’s never been a reliable option at the plate in his career. He played 85 games with the RailRiders in 2025 and slashed .244/.318/.362 with four home runs. Short spent 2021-23 with the Tigers, bounced between the Red Sox, Braves, and Mets in 2024, and was an Astro in 2025. He has 243 games played in his career and has been a below-average option on both sides of the ball. The same can be said for Ornelas, who spent most of his 32 career games with the Rangers and has yet to homer or steal a base in 58 plate appearances.
The Yankees’ top prospect, George Lombard Jr, should take over the starting shortstop role in Triple-A at some point in 2026, but will most likely begin the season where he left off, in Double-A with the Somerset Patriots. The Yankees drafted Lombard in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he quickly ascended to the top of the farm system thanks to his defensive upside, raw power, and advanced plate discipline. He obliterated High-A pitching in 24 games to start the 2025 season before earning a promotion to Somerset, where he underwent an adjustment period but finished strong. Lombard will not turn 21 until early June, at which point he may be with the Triple-A team. A 2026 MLB debut is probably not in the cards for Lombard, but he is Volpe’s most direct competition long-term for the starting role. His upside is through the roof.
Directly behind Lombard on the depth chart are three players from the Yankees’ most recent draft class who will either be in High-A or Low-A to begin 2026: Dax Kilby, Kaeden Kent, and Core Jackson. Kilby was the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, and looks to be on a similar trajectory to Lombard as he’s already a consensus top-five player in the farm system. He was drafted out of high school and went directly to Low-A, where he slashed .353/.457/.441 with 16 stolen bases and a 159 wRC+ in 81 plate appearances. Kilby turned 19 in November, and his batted-ball metrics, plate discipline, and power-speed blend indicate star potential. He and Lombard could easily be the team’s two most enticing prospects by midseason.
Kent and Jackson were the Yankees’ third- and fifth-round picks from the same draft class. Kent (the son of recently elected Hall of Famer Jeff Kent) is a well-rounded player with slightly above-average tools across the board. His big-league debut in High-A was underwhelming through 25 games, but the sample size is small enough that it can be considered a footnote on a promising, high-floor profile. Jackson is in the same boat, as he hit .363 and .364 in his last two seasons at Mississippi but also struggled through a subpar 25-game sample with Hudson Valley to begin his big-league career. Both players will look to right the ship in 2026.
Also in the mix for at-bats around these levels is Roderick Arias, who once headlined the team’s international free-agent class in 2022 but has regressed mightily since then. Arias has spent the last two seasons with Low-A Tampa, and last year he slashed .208/.325/.315 with a 88 wRC+. Barring a major and immediate turnaround, it is difficult to be excited about Arias as a future big-leaguer at this point in his career.
The two main rookie ball shortstops to be aware of are Mani Cedeno and Stiven Marinez. Cedeno signed as part of last year’s international free-agent class, and is considered a promising young prospect due to his smooth right-handed swing and advanced plate approach. However, he struggled in his first season of rookie ball with a 35.7% strikeout rate in the Dominican Summer League. While this is certainly a red flag, Cedeno is still just 17-years-old and has time to turn it around. Marinez, who is a year older than Cedeno, has a similar offensive profile but found more success in the DSL in 2025. He posted a 116 wRC+ in 47 games with 22 stolen bases, and speed is considered one of his defining traits. Both players will need to develop physically before reaching their full game-power potential, but that’s to be expected at this point in their careers.
Shortstop is a deeply competitive position within the Yankees organization entering 2026. Those hoping for a Year 3 breakout from Volpe were sorely disappointed, but he’ll have at least one more opportunity to retain his role moving forward after recovering from shoulder surgery. If he’s unable to ever reach his full potential, the Yankees will hopefully be able to look to Lombard and Kilby as long-term options. The duo of first-round draft picks will look to continue developing into future stars this season, and we should hear their names a lot more as their careers continue to play out.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.
Happy Birthday to Mike Krukow*, farewell Hollywood Stars,and other storiesfor the discerning reader.
1953 – The Baseball Writers Association of America passes over Joe DiMaggio in his first year of eligibility and elects pitcher Dizzy Dean and outfielder Al Simmons to the Hall of Fame. Dean gathers 209 votes while Simmons’ total of 199 is one more than needed. The colorful Dean had a .644 career winning percentage and won 120 games from 1932 through 1936, including 30 wins in 1934. Simmons, who drove in 100 runs in each of his first eleven major league seasons, was one of the most feared hitters of his time. Also joining DiMaggio, who finishes eighth in the voting, are in order Bill Terry, Bill Dickey, Rabbit Maranville, Dazzy Vance, Ted Lyons, Charles Bender (ninth) and Gabby Hartnett (tenth). All will eventually make it. DiMaggio’s low total can be explained by the fact that there is no actual ballot, only write-in votes, and it is not clear whether DiMaggio is eligible since he played his last game only two years earlier. (1,2)
1522 – Head Inquisitor Adrian Florisz Boeyens is elected pope.
1793 – Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine in Paris, following his conviction for “high treason” by the newly created French Parliament (Convention nationale), during the French Revolution.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.
Thinking back on those incredibly talented early 00’s Cardinal teams, just a few players come to mind that have stood the test of time in my rapidly aging mind. Two of them are shoe ins as Hall of Famers, but I think there is one more that really stands out besides Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina: Jim Edmonds.
As much as I love Scott Rolen as one of the best Cardinals third basemen ever, Scott could never match Jim Edmonds hitting, who was nearly as good as a defender. It was nice to have two of the best players ever on your team back in 2004 or so! But Edmonds stuck out because of the home runs from center field.
I’m not saying that Rolen shouldn’t have made the Hall of Fame; far from it. I think of Rolen as another favorite player, but much more of a stoic. He made elite defense look easy. I’m not a small hall guy. I find the Hall of Fame more on the Shame side of things, for a variety of reasons, but in the spirit of brevity: it has become oddly selective and biased. It always has been that way, but now the Hall has fought to keep up with the times. Whatever those sports authority HOF voters are up to, I’m not that impressed. I don’t really like the system of electing players to the Hall of Fame, but I also don’t have the answers. Is it that the system cannot keep up with the amount of new players and needs to be changed? Or should it be leaving players on the cusp out of the induction?
Voting will improve now that we are surrounded with new statcast technology that is integrated even into MLB’s website and the stadiums themselves, it’s become about as mainstream as it gets. It remains to be seen how the BBWAA will evaluate the balance of offensive and defensive value going forward, while comparing it to the past. Players like Nolan Arenado will certainly be compelling cases when the time comes.
Just for fun, I am going to compare Jim Edmonds to Scott Rolen via Fangraphs:
Scott Rolen
Right around 70 WAR career
Peak year 2004: 9 WAR, 159 wRC+
4 seasons of 4+ WAR
Over 300 HR, over 1200 RBI
Jim Edmonds
64.5 WAR
Peak year 2004: 8.3 WAR, 168 wRC+
10 seasons of 4+ WAR
Nearly 400 HR, 1 short of 1200 RBI
This is sort of an apples to oranges argument, where it appears that Rolen is a little better of a player, except that Jim runs away with the show with a lot more years at a more premium value. Add to that the fact that Scott Rolen derived more of his value through ridiculously elite defense, while Edmonds was the better hitter by career wRC+.
Maybe it comes down to longevity? Jim Edmonds played in 2011 games, while Scott Rolen played in 2038.
How about 6+ fWAR seasons? Rolen had 4, Edmonds had 6.
Perhaps the argument I’m making might be more to show that Arenado could make the Hall of Fame? I cannot see any reason why Jim Edmonds shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame if Scott Rolen is in. Center field is a premium position, but elite defense at third base is also extremely valuable. If you’re a small Hall guy, maybe neither is in.
Nolan Arenado has some work to do if he’s going to match either of these guy’s WAR totals. He’s just over 50 in total. He has more home runs than Rolen, so his home run total is fine. Arenado is well over 200 games away from 2,000 games. He will need a resurgence in the desert to reach that milestone.
Arenado does have 4 seasons of 6+ WAR though. That might end up being important. During Edmonds’ last five seasons or so, he was no longer himself, so maybe that left a bad taste in the BBWAA writer’s palettes… Arenado’s on-base percentage fell off a cliff after his big career year of 2022 (7.2 WAR), so what people might remember is him losing his abilities at the plate, while his elite defense dwindles. I hope he turns it around, but we no longer need to bank on it.
How about a homer happy comparison? Arenado has had three 40+ HR seasons and seven 30+. Rolen had no 40 home run seasons, and three 30+ seasons. Edmonds had two 40+ HR seasons and four 30+. So of the three, you’d have to argue peak Arenado was the best home run hitter. It’s now when the Coors effect of the Mile High City comes in, and I guess you could say that the three players are pretty similar overall, with Nolan Arenado lacking the longevity career-wise, so far.
It will be an interesting test for Nolan Arenado to play as many games as Scott Rolen, but maybe that’s a goal worth working towards. They are rather similar players in some ways.
If you go by the website Baseball Reference, Scott Rolen retains his WAR total but Edmonds falls behind. BR’s defensive evaluation of Edmonds doesn’t see Jim as valuable as fangraphs. So maybe both players are borderline cases? Maybe I’ll open another can of worms!
So what just happened: Andruw Jones has entered the conversation. He is now a Hall of Famer. How does he compare here? He is between Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen in career WAR total. He has 6! 6+ fWAR peak seasons. And nine 4+ WAR seasons! But Jim still has that beat with 10. The thing with Andruw Jones though, is that he doesn’t have a monster season, at least not like any of these Cardinal players have had. His wRC+ never peaked past 140, and he derives a lot of his value from defense. But! He had a 50+ home run season, and over 400 HR. He also played in more games than any of these guys. Even more of a power hitter.
In the end, maybe this whole time it was Andruw Jones playing alongside the career trek of Jim Edmonds, while being a little better defender and hitting even more home runs, which ultimately held back Edmonds from the Hall. When using Baseball Reference, Jones also falls back towards a 60 WAR total, but still higher than the Edmonds total. It’s so close though, that Edmonds seems to have gotten jobbed by the voting system, sort of falling through the cracks.
It seems like a good time to mention that ex-Cardinal Carlos Beltran has been inducted into the Hall of Fame! Mostly known for being one of the greatest postseason hitters of all time (and a certain scandal), Beltran certainly had a really damned good career. Beltran and Jones had rather similar WAR totals. Carlos had four 6+ fWAR seasons. Nine 4+ WAR seasons just like Andruw. But again, Edmonds with the ten four plus! It does seem like a snub. Can anyone explain the logistics of the system that lead to Jim not getting the recognition? Was it his annoying broadcasting career? I kid I kid!
One must wonder if Edmonds had played one more season to cross the 400 HR and 1200 RBI barrier, which he fell just short of. He could have used one more extra award, or something, anything, to put him over the top. He just played at a time with a ton of good baseball players. Jim Edmonds had a career OPS of .903! Jones was .823 with a much lower career batting average. They say the elite defenders make it look easy, but Jim Edmonds made it look fun. And his moonshot home runs were a thing to behold. He should be in.
The Bling
Edmonds was a 4 time all star, 8 gold gloves, 1 silver slugger
Rolen was a 7 time all star, also 8 gold gloves and 1 silver slugger
Beltran was a 9 time all star, 3 gold gloves, and 2 silver slugger awards
Jones was a 5 time all star with 10 gold gloves, a silver slugger, and he lead the league in HR and RBI in 2005
Arenado is a bit different by having an incredible amount of platinum gloves, he has the highest MVP career share rank of all 5 players here based on baseball reference, while being another 8 time all star like Edmonds and Rolen, obtaining 5 silver sluggers. So for a while there he was known as the player for top tier defense with a lot of offense thrown in, less of a longevity guy and more of peak guy and an accolades collector, at least so far
Arenado might be showing some wear and tear: he is 7th in at bats among active players. He will be close to #1 in that department in a couple years if he can stay on the field. If he retired today, he would be top 100 all time in slugging percentage with .507! Nolan is 100th all time in career home runs, currently.
One thing that will NOT put Arenado over the top is postseason numbers. He is 1-4 in postseason series with a .385 OPS. That one win was a Rockies win over the Cubs, at least! Andruw Jones on the other hand, went to a lot of postseason games and batted .796 OPS! However, Nolan Arenado does not know what it is like to lose two World Series like Andruw Jones.
Scott Rolen was in 7 postseason series with the Cardinals. He was a .678 OPS postseason hitter, but won most series he was in except the 2004 world series! Of course, he won the trophy in 2006, to make up for that. Rolen’s peak postseason heroics can be summed up in the 2004 NLCS vs Houston where he hit 3 home runs against them! Allowing the Cardinals to advance to the World Series.
Jim Edmonds postseason should be brought up more in regards to his case for the Hall of Fame. He played in 46 postseason games and accrued 263 postseason plate appearances. He hit 13 home runs during that timeframe at an .874 OPS clip! That’s a home run for every 20 or so PA! He was victorious in more postseason series than not, Edmonds best postseason performances being in 2000 vs Atlanta in the NLDS (1.886 OPS), 2002 vs the Giants in the NLCS (1.105 OPS), 7 RBI vs Houston in the 2004 NLCS, and 2005 vs the Padres in the NLDS (1.280 OPS). No wonder they called him Jimmy Baseball.
Like Edmonds and Rolen, Beltran is also 1-1 in World Series play. But to outdo Jim Edmonds really good postseason numbers, Beltran was just on a whole other level than most postseason players. A postseason OPS north of 1.000 is legendary. 1.021 to be exact. He won in 9 postseason series and lost in 6, so he was no stranger to the postseason with 65 games and 256 PA. About the same but not quite as many plate appearances as Edmonds, but in almost 20 more games over the years. Beltran had 16 postseason home runs which is more than Edmonds 13…. but, Jim did it in a lot less postseason games played. And get this: both Edmonds and Beltran have 42 RBI in the postseason. Maybe Edmonds really did get the Hall of Fame snub? He fell just short, or just fell through the cracks in the voting process.
As for Arenado, I think it only fair to remember that he hasn’t been on the right teams at the right time to amass postseason numbers like the other guys. His postseason performance so far could be attributed to small sample size nonsense. He has been stuck on teams that haven’t been nearly so successful.
Speaking of voting, I’m going to give StrawPoll a try! Vote accordingly, I hope the links work.
Today I am going to share with you the results of my last few posts, examining the best songs of 2025 through my own lists and a ton of other people’s year end lists, creating one big mega playlist and then narrowing it down to only 76 songs (just what it turned out to be, wanted to keep it at least under triple digits). I think I started out with 600 songs that I liked and then picked the best ones from that. There’s also a heavy metal version.
Also, I’m going to share with you a few choice cuts, songs that are making me happy at the moment. Which is not so easy to do in the middle of the winter. Sometimes I like dark and heavy, but sometimes I just want chill or downtempo lounge music of some form or other.
That wraps up my 2025 coverage. Thanks for checking it out or for just reading the baseball part. Pitchers and catchers report in less than a month! Just gotta get through the winter. Rock on.
