Category: Baseball

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

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No. 43, Ezequiel Tovar (-0.3 rWAR)

Ezequiel Tovar’s story is a Tale of Two Players.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of Gold Gloves, it was the age of batting slumps. It was the 2024 season of light, it was the 2026 season of darkness. We had a cornerstone shortstop before us, we had nothing before us.

Not to get all Dickensian, but it really is fascinating to compare Tovar’s ups to his downs, whether that’s two seasons ago compared to this one or the first half of the year compared to the second half. His future on the team depends on where he falls between his ceiling and his floor, of which we’ve seen plenty of both.

The Big Picture: 2024 vs. 2026

Looking at his numbers over the year begs the question: who is the real Ezequiel Tovar?

We’re two years removed from Tovar’s stellar 2024 campaign, which feels like a distant memory based on how 2025 and 2026 went down.

In 2024, he put together a well-rounded year on both sides of the ball, not just by Rockies standards, but by league standards. He snagged a Gold Glove award, led the National League in doubles offensively and in outs made defensively, and was fourth in the NL in hits and total bases. With that campaign, he seemingly laid claim to the shortstop position in Colorado for years to come.

The fall off from there couldn’t have been predicted. After his 2025 was cut short with injuries, his stats in every key offensive category fell significantly in 2026.

Category	2024	2026
Games Played	157	146
At Bats	655	465
Batting Average	.269	.219
Hits	176	102
Doubles	45	23
Home Runs	26	13
Strikeouts	200	129
Runs	83	57
RBI	78	44
rWAR	3.6	-0.3

In fairness, some of his raw numbers dipped due in part to fewer total at bats, but many dropped disproportionately. Overall, his contributions to the team struggled, not only evidenced by his rWAR sinking nearly four points and into the negatives, but also by the lack of big plays that he flashed in 2024.

The doubles that he led the NL with dropped by half, as did his home runs. His batting average fell by 50 percentage points. He struggled to bring teammates home, with 34 fewer RBI.

By the numbers, he also lost his defensive edge. His Statcast Outs Above Average, “a range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player has saved over his peers”, was +15 in 2024. It was 0 in 2026.

This isn’t to say that he became a bad fielder, by any means. His fielding percentage stayed relatively stable from his Gold Glove year (.988 in 2024, .980 in 2026) and was above the league average at the position in both. But, at least by one measure, he fell to an average defensive level, making it harder to compensate for his offensive struggles.

Heading into this season, the primary question surrounding Tovar was whether he could rise again to the level of his fantastic 2024 season or whether his dependability in the field is worth the question marks at the plate. That question remains after a very split 2026.

2026 in Two Halves

As different as Tovar’s 2024 and 2026 were, so were portions of his 2026 compared to others. Promisingly, he worked through his mid-season droughts and finished the year strong offensively.

As mentioned above, he had a .219 batting average on the year. Over the last 14 days of the season, that jumped way up to .294. The pre- and post-All Star break splits were wildly different, too. In the first half of the year, he had a .200 batting average and .574 OPS. In the second half, those jumped to a .260 batting average and a .707 OPS.

In the early chunk of the year, his plate discipline was way off. He had the highest swing-rate in MLB aside a very low contact rate, paired with a high swing rate on pitches outside of the zone. He also struggled to find a batting rhythm in the friendly confines of Coors Field, batting .206 at home and .231 on the road for the year. In July, he ranked last among shortstops in fWAR and wRC+, raising mid-season questions about how to fix Tovar to make him a valuable everyday player.

His weakest stretches at the plate came during the dog days of summer. During a brutal June and July, he was batting .173 and .145, respectively. He slowly turned things around and finished his two strongest batting months of the season in August (.269) and September (.304). In those months, he broke out for a few home runs that felt like a breath of fresh air, including one on a four-hit day in early August that ended a rough month-long stretch at the plate.

What’s Next?

Tovar looked to anchor Colorado’s shortstop position for the long-term, signing a seven-year contract for $63.5 million in 2024, with a club option in 2031. He’s certainly shown evidence that he can be trusted to take on that role, but there’s also been reason for doubt.

Even at his floor, Tovar combined dependable playing time with reliable defense. The biggest variable has been his offensive output, ensuring it doesn’t harm the team. In 2027, the Rockies will hope to see continued patience and discipline at the plate from Tovar. If he can improve his hitting consistency and get on base regularly, that alone would be a big win. Even more so, if he can bring back some of his power and account for more extra-base hits, he’d position himself again as one of the team’s top contributors. If his defense can get back to an above-average level, too, that would be a bonus.

Manager Warren Schaeffer sees the offensive and defensive issues as connected. In an offseason interview with Purple Row, Schaeffer said, “I think each guy goes through something different in the year. I think Tovar’s defense was down – I think in large part because his offense was so down. He did a good job of not taking it out in the field, but it’s a really difficult thing to go through the offensive season he had and it to not affect his defense.” The hope is that a consistent approach at the plate will translate to higher numbers across the board.

The Rockies drafted Ethan Holliday (No. 1 PuRP) as a shortstop with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft, although it’s likely that he will move to third base with some versatility to play elsewhere in the infield, including shortstop. Between Holliday’s draft capital and Kyle Karros’ emergence as a strong contributor at third base, more ups and downs from Tovar could force some hard decisions about who plays where.

Having just turned 25 in August, Tovar still sits among the younger side of the roster and has flashed enough potential to show that he can play the position at an award-winning level.

Will Tovar keep the late-season momentum going to prove that he can rebound? Or will it turn out that 2024 is actually the outlier? We’ll find out in 2027.

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The Tampa Bay Rays have two players nominated for baseball’s top honor for defense in SS Taylor Walls and LF Chandler Simpson.

Perhaps the most underappreciated player on the Rays roster, this is Walls’ third time being named as a finalists for the Gold Glove, as he was nominated in 2023 for his work as a utility player and then last year at shortstop.

The 30-year old Walls has been a staple of the Rays infield since making his big league debut back in 2021. Never one to be an offensive force (career 71 wRC+), Walls forces his way into the starting lineup thanks to his exceptional fielding skills. Walls lost out to Mauricio Dubon in 2023 and then to Bobby Witt Jr last season. This year, Walls will be up for consideration along with Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals (again) and Andres Gimenez of the Toronto Blue Jays.

During the 2026 season, Walls ranked 4th among all players with 21 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Walls easily beats out his competition for the Gold Glove in that statistic, as Witt Jr posted 8 DRS while Gimenez posted just 2 DRS. However, the category in which Walls suffers is Outs Above Average (OAA) as he actually posted -3 OAA over the regular season while Bobby Witt Jr was elite with a 24 OAA; Gimenez was just behind him at 19 OAA.

Chandler Simpson’s nomination is a mild surprise — which is to say not at all surprising if you’ve seen him play this season, but quite surprising if you only have a passing look at his stats or performance. Last year, in the field, Simpson was begging the question if he had a future with the glove. After working with former Rays star turned defensive consultant Kevin Kiermaier (on jumps), Rays org Outfield coordinator Jared Sandberg (on technique), and first base/outfielders coach Corey Dickerson (on mentality), Simpson has improved his defense mightily to be one of the best outfielders in baseball, a remarkable single season turnaround.

Simpson will be up for consideration against Cody Bellinger of the NY Yankees, and Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers. Bellinger is the leader in the category with +21 DRS, but Simpson notably logged a higher OAA (+8) than the other finalists, and did so with 200 more innings than Bellinger.

The winners are set to be unveiled on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1.

There are five Jays listed among the ‘finalists’ for the Gold Glove awards. Finalist is a funny term, since the vote has happened, but five are among the top three in the vote at their position.

Catcher:

Brandon Valenzuela: This surprises me some, not that he isn’t deserving but that he played less than half the team’s innings at catcher (618.2), with Alejandro Kirk (599.2) and Tyler Heineman (217.2) picking up the rest of the innings. But he showed a great arm (30% of base stealers caught) and I thought he good behind the plate. But he had more errors at catcher (9) than the other two combined (7) and, though there is a lot of noise in the ERA by catcher stat, pitchers had a slightly higher ERA throwing to him (3.94) than Kirk (3.77), but then the pitching staff changed as the season went on.

First base:

Vladimir Guerrero: He deserves the nomination. He had the best number for Outs Above Average among AL first basemen. Also had the most errors, but then only 8.

Shortstop:

Andrés Giménez. I imagine Bobby Witt will win.

Right Field:

Nathan Lukes: Another surprise to me, since he played a little more than half the team’s innings in right field (with 80 innings in left and 60 in center). He’s tied for second among AL right fielders in OAA at 2, though he’s played a lot less innings and he didn’t have an error in right field (nor in center, he had one in left). I doubt he’ll be the winner, but happy for him to be in the top three in voting. That would help his arbitration argument, though he’s not legible until after the 2028 season (baseball rips off players who make it to the majors when they are a little older).

Pitcher:

José Soriano: I don’t know how you pick the best fielding pitcher, but good for him.

The complete list:

Here are your 2026 American League @RawlingsSports Gold Glove Finalists 💪

The winners will be announced on Sunday, November 1st on @ESPNpic.twitter.com/GpAFXeiBU4

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2026

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Beyond that there isn’t much for Jays news.

The Astros have fired their manager Joe Espada. I don’t follow the Astros enough to have an opinion on him, but it seems to be an aging team. I don’t know what the club expects.

And the Dodgers are letting Shohei Ohtani decide if he should be in the lineup and, surprise, he thinks he should be. I also think I should be the Dodgers lineup, but then I think the Dodgers manager should be making the decisions (even though I’m ready to play, today, put me in coach).

A day after granting Joe Espada permission to interview for the Seattle Mariners’ managerial opening, the Astros parted ways with their manager. With Seattle the only other team currently searching for a manager, Houston can take its time finding Espada’s replacement. Here are six names that could be in the mix.

Rodney Linares

Currently the Rays’ bench coach, Linares spent 20 years coaching in the Astros’ minor league system, where he was instrumental in the development of José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and George Springer. He joined the Rays’ big-league staff after the 2018 season and took over as Kevin Cash’s bench coach after Matt Quatraro was named manager of the Royals.

Although he has never managed at the major league level, Linares has spent the last eight years working for one of the game’s best managers. Crane has hired from the Rays’ coaching tree in the past, and it’s fair to say Tampa Bay is just as good in the dugout as it is in the front office.

Brad Ausmus 

Ausmus was once the sport’s most intriguing managerial prospect, but he chose the wrong jobs and has found himself as a bit of an afterthought. 

He chose the established Tigers over the up-and-coming Cubs in 2013, and that turned out to be a disastrous decision. The Tigers won the American League Central in Ausmus’ first season, but they got old and stopped spending money. He parted ways with the Tigers after a 64-98 campaign in 2017. 

Ausmus spent 2018 in the Angels front office, and took over as the club’s manager the next season. Again, he chose a bad job, the Angels went 72-90 in 2019 and Ausmus was fired after Joe Maddon became available.

The former Astros catcher remains close friends with senior advisor Jeff Bagwell, and nearly named the team’s general manager in 2023. As long as Bagwell has the ear of Jim Crane, Ausmus has to be considered a possibility to be the team’s manager or general manager.

Martín Maldonado

Maldonado is currently a special assistant with the Atlanta Braves after 15 big league seasons, parts of six with the Astros, all of which included a trip to the American League Championship Series. 

While he has never managed before, Maldonado has been mentioned as someone who could do that job in the future. The established relationships he already has Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Yordan Alvarez would give him a head start that someone who is a complete outsider.

Jeff Bannister

An alum of La Marque High School and the University of Houston, Bannister spent the last five seasons as Torey Lovullo’s bench coach in Arizona. Before that, he managed the Texas Rangers from 2015-2018, beating out the Astros for the American League West crown his first two seasons.

Bannister interviewed for the Astros managerial job in 2020 that was ultimately filled by Dusty Baker. He was described as “relentlessly optimistic” when he first took over the Rangers, but he does an edge and aggressiveness that is a slight departure from the men who have previously held the Astros job. Some might see that as a welcome change.

Eduardo Perez

One source described Perez, currently an ESPN analyst, as a “sneaky good name.” He interviewed with the Astros in 2020 after he was a finalist for the Mets job earlier that offseason, and he’s managed in Venezuela the last couple of winters.

The Astros hired Larry Dierker straight from the radio booth 30 years ago, despite having never coached before. That isn’t the case with Perez, who was the Marlins hitting coach for two seasons before serving as Bo Porter’s bench coach with the Astros in 2013.

Albert Pujols

If you can’t beat him, hire him!

Pujols spent a Hall of Fame career mashing Astros pitching, so why not try teaming up with him? He has never served on a major league coaching staff, but he led Leones del Escogido to the Dominican Winter League championship and Caribbean Series title in 2025. He also managed the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic last spring.

Pujols was the favorite to land the Angels’ managerial job last offseason before the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a contract. He also interviewed with the Padres and Orioles.

The Twins announced this morning that they named Brian Reith as their next pitching coach, replacing Pete Maki who was let go following the end of the 2026 season. They also promoted Ben Myers to the Big League training staff after spending the past few years with the St. Paul Saints, the Twins Triple-A affiliate.

Welcome to Twins Territory, Brian and Ben!

We have announced the hiring of Brian Reith as our pitching coach and Ben Myers as our Assistant Athletic Trainer pic.twitter.com/iUWMGC8rHw

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 14, 2026

Reith, 48, has been the pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate for the past five seasons. Reith is a former sixth-round pick by the Yankees, but went on to throw just 128 innings with the Reds from 2001-2004. He then made the rounds through the Indy and international circuit before settling into coaching.

When looking for a new pitching coach, there are few organizations you want to resemble more than the Rays. Plus, with a half-decade of experience with their AAA team, he was an ingrained part of Tampa’s development process and the many iterations they’ve gone through over the years. Reith has actually already coached the Twins’ two best pitchers, spending a lot of time with Taj Bradley and Joe Ryan as they were coming up through the Rays system.

Reith inherits a unique challenge in Minnesota, with a mix of talented veterans (Ryan, Bradley, Pablo Lopez, Jeff Hoffman) and exciting young pitchers that still need some work (Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews, Kendry Rojas, Mick Abel, Andrew Morris). However, if Reith can get some more consistency from the vets and help the kids take a step forward, the Twins will have as talented a pitching staff as anyone in baseball (outside of the endless money pit that is the Dodgers and whatever 6th ace they sign this offseason).

Welcome to Minnesota, Brian! Hope you still have some winter gear lying around somewhere because April baseball is frigid up north.

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

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The Arizona Cardinals made news last week, for their unorthodox handling of the trade of Marvin Harrison Jr. I don’t think people were too surprised by the trade, but the way they went about things was a little different than we have ever seen before.

That being said, the trade is done, Marv is now a Houston Texan, and the Arizona Cardinals also sent along a 2027 sixth round pick.

In return they received a 2027 second round pick and a 2027 seventh round pick.

So the question is, how would you grade the trade instantly?

We will be able to look back on this move in a year, maybe two and see if Marv figures it out, or if the Cardinals were smart ala Josh Rosen and were able to get something of value for a failed player.

Of course, part of getting something will be turning that pick into something of value, and there are questions if that is something that can be done by this regime as well.

But all of that comes later, for now, how do you grade the overall trade?

Grade the trade

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Twins third baseman Brooks Lee was named a finalist for a Gold Glove award at third base. The positional specification is important since Lee opened the season as Minnesota’s starting shortstop.

The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists – AL Third Base – Caleb Durbin, Brooks Lee, Nick Loftin#RawlingsGoldGloveAwardspic.twitter.com/KUyY7zLVmC

— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 14, 2026

Lee is unlikely to bring the hardware home, as the Red Sox’s Caleb Durbin lapped the field in most defensive metrics at third base, but it’s a testament to the work he and the Twins did with Lee in the middle of the season. Lee spent the first month as the worst defensive shortstop in baseball and then became a true asset at third, a remarkable turnaround. Lee was +8 in DRS, +6 in OAA, and +5 in FRV despite just playing 110 of his 156 games there.

No other Twins were named finalists, though I would make a compelling case for Kody Clemens in the utility spot. While he wasn’t outstanding at any individual position, there are very few players who can provide above-average defense at all three outfield positions, second base, and first base. Byron Buxton would almost definitely be a finalist as well had he played a full season, even as he’s lost a step in his mid-30s.

Lee still has a ways to go offensively, with most advanced metrics painting 2026 as a lucky turn, but he showed meaningful strides on that side of the ball as well with an improved approach that led to more power in spurts. However, a league-average bat with top-end defense who can swipe 10-20 bags a year is still an immensely valuable player. Just look at Durbin’s WAR totals the past couple years, for example.

Regardless, it’s a well deserved honor for a player that has worked hard to get where he is after a tough start to his career. Congrats, Brooks!

Diamondbacks News

Grading Diamondbacks’ Offseason Trades, Signings One Year Later
During this quieter time of Diamondbacks roster movement, let’s look back at last offseason and how the moves played out.

Derek Law Elects Free Agency
Thanks to be one of the many injured arms the team carried, the Diamondbacks almost never got to know him before he bounced.

Three Big Mistakes from 2025-26 Offseason and How to Avoid Repeating Them
Avoiding repeating the mistakes should be incredibly easy as the pitchers are now in recovery, Zac Gallen is gone, and first base now has a plethora of candidates that do not require Arizona wishing on a magic lamp that Goldschmidt would ever return to Arizona.

The guys are Gold Glove Award finalists! pic.twitter.com/oMMhlj30Dm

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 14, 2026

Other Baseball News

Phillies Sign Don Mattingly to Two-Year Deal
After the work Mattingly did to turn the franchise around after a horrible start, this was fairly predictable.

Rays at Guardians Moved Up Due to Inclement Weather
Something, something stadiums with rooves, something something…

But in all seriousness, the game has moved forward five hours, so plan accordingly.

What This Year’s Playoffs Say About Baseball’s Future
With all due respect to Jess Passan, the playoffs say almost nothing at all about the future of the game. The battle lines have been drawn and both sides have decided to dig in deep. Nothing short of an utter catastrophe will change things at this point. Meanwhile, posts like the one below are missing the point (almost certainly intentionally).

The most likely outcome in Major League Baseball right now is that we’ll have a Brewers-Rays World Series and the owners are going to shut down the sport while telling uneducated fans that only a salary cap can let small market teams compete pic.twitter.com/I48GL8Qbbd

— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) October 12, 2026

For the 70th time, Major League Baseball has announced its Rawlings Gold Glove finalists, listing three players at each position. Brice Turang (second base) and Jackson Chourio (left field) have been named finalists for the Brewers.

During the 2026 regular season, the Brewers were above league average when it came to fielding percentage. As a team, they allowed the seventh-fewest errors in all of baseball with 72, while playing the second-most innings on the field.

Of course, whether Chourio or Turang wins the Gold Glove depends on the voters. A unique aspect of this year’s second base Gold Glove competition is that all three finalists are from the National League Central. Turang joins Brandon Lowe of the Pittsburgh Pirates and then standout rookie JJ Wetherholt.

Starting at the top, only one second baseman in the NL played more than Turang, and that was Ozzie Albies. Now, fielding percentage and errors are one and the same, as Turang finished fifth among second basemen in the NL as he committed five errors this season, which equates his fielding percentage to .992. Now, the lone category that Turang leads in, and by a decent margin, is dWAR (defensive wins above replacement). dWAR estimates how many wins a player contributes to their team based on their defensive performance compared to a league-average fielder. Out of the finalists, Turang leads the group by 1.1, with Wetherholt in second, and Lowe behind.

Turang is no stranger to the Gold Glove award as he’s been a finalist for the third season in a row, but has not won one since 2024, when he also won the Platinum Glove. While the Brewers have acquired players with multiple Gold Gloves, there have only been two Brewers players who have won multiple while wearing the ball and glove: Cecil Cooper and George Scott. Turang has the opportunity to become the third Brewers player to win multiple.

While the Brewers continue to write history, Chourio looks to further cement his legacy as a Brewers great. If Chourio wins the Gold Glove, he’ll become the first-ever left fielder to win the award for the Brewers. All-time, the Brewers have had four outfielders win the award, most recently Sal Frelick in 2024 as a right fielder.

Chourio will be joined by Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs and Daylen Lile of the Washington Nationals. While comparing the stats to the other left field finalists, Chourio ranks first in dWAR with 1.0. Happ follows with a 0.6 dWAR, while Lile finished the season with a 0.1. While looking at the less complex statistics, Chourio leads all of the NL in fielding percentage with a perfect 1.000, with zero errors committed. Perhaps one slight against Chourio in the voting chances is that he had the six most chances among the qualified players.

The Brewers duo will try to become the 14th and 15th all-time Brewers players to win a Gold Glove. Winners will be announced on November 1st at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Daylen Lile had a tremendous rookie year in 2025. However, he had a really tough time on the defensive side of the ball. This offseason, Lile made a major effort to improve defensively. That hard work paid off, as Lile is one of three finalists for NL Gold Glove at the left field position.

The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists – NL Left Field- Jackson Chourio, Ian Happ, Daylen Lile#RawlingsGoldGloveAwardspic.twitter.com/ATdhFPFEAg

— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 14, 2026

Lile will be going up against Brewers star Jackson Chourio and Ian Happ, who has won four straight Gold Gloves. I think Lile is a long shot to win the award, but the fact he is even a nominee tells you a lot about his defensive improvements. He has always had the athletic ability to be a good outfielder, but now he has the instincts as well.

When you dive into the numbers, Lile’s defensive turnaround is remarkable. In 2025 Lile posted -14 defensive runs saved, -8 outs above average and -10 fielding run value. This season Lile had 8 DRS, 1 OAA and 2 FRV. If there was an award for most improved defender, Lile would probably win it.

I remember last offseason around this time Lile posted a lot of workout videos and defense was the theme of many of them. One even mentioned the Gold Glove as a goal. That seemed like a far fetched idea at the time, but he is right in the mix after a great defensive season.

Daylen Lile in the lab working on his defense pic.twitter.com/Q9fvURuzyp

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) November 7, 2025

If I had to make a prediction, I think Happ is likely to win the award. Voters clearly gravitate to his skillset and he had another great defensive year. Happ posted 10 DRS, 2 OAA and 6 FRV in left field this season. By the numbers, this is Happ’s best defensive season since his first Gold Glove in 2022.

Back to Lile though, I think this improvement speaks volumes about his work ethic. You do not get this much better at defense by accident. This nomination came thanks to hard work, determination and a tireless drive to succeed. 

If anything, Lile might have been too hyperfocused on his defense last offseason. With so much of his effort going to improving his defense, Lile fell into some bad habits at the plate this year. However, with his work ethic, I have confidence that those will be corrected. If Lile can combine last year’s offense with this year’s defense, he can be an All-Star caliber player.

When watching the games, there is one area where I think Lile improved the most. That would be his instincts at the wall. Last season, Lile had a really tough time making plays around walls. That flaw led to a lot of balls getting past him and not making tough catches at the wall. He just did not know what he was doing out there.

This season, he had great instincts at the wall. He made a few great diving catches and was good at keeping balls in front of him. There was a catch he made against the O’s in foul territory that really impressed me. 

louisville slider pic.twitter.com/SZbaQK1xuP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 16, 2026

The play he made here was really similar to a catch he made last year against the Mets. While he made both plays, he was in much more control this season. Last year, he made the catch but had to be removed because he crashed into the wall so hard. He was much more aware of his surroundings this year.

Lile is a player I am very bullish on moving forward and a big reason for that is his determination. He wanted to get better at defense after 2025, and he did just that. With his proven ability to get better, I think he can clean things up offensively as well. Daylen Lile is a very likable and hard working player, so it is nice to see him get rewarded.

On May 26, 2023, I had the unfortunate experience of sitting through a Noah Syndergaard start at Tropicana Field. Normally, Dodger baseball is fun, even in defeat, but this game was an exception. The Rays were getting on base and turning the game into a de facto track meet by bullying Syndergaard’s complete inability to hold runners on.

I even had to double-check my notes, but Taylor Walls stole second and third base on consecutive pitches.

Even with proper lighting on streaming that was oddly lacking at the venue, this game was not fun.

If I were at home for that game, I would have stopped and gone to do something else. It was this game where I coined the phrase “being trapped at the ballpark.” I spent all this time and effort to get to St. Petersburg, FL; I had clocked the game as a loss before I even touched down, and I still felt obligated to stay and watch a one-sided, dreary affair.

This anecdote is noteworthy now, because the Brewers have essentially been able to run at will on Dodger pitching in the NLCS. At the beginning of the series, I figured runs would be a premium.

Runs have been hard to come by for the Dodgers, but not so much for the Brewers.

No free rides

I wasn’t worried about Tarik Skubal or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but clearly I was wrong. But Skubal and Yamamoto weren’t dishing out free passes, either. Blake Snell and, particularly, Tyler Glasnow are middling at holding runners in 2026.

• Snell – 10 steals in 13 attempts
• Glasnow – 14 steals in 17 attempts
• Skubal – 4 steals in 4 attempts (with Los Angeles); 4 steals in 5 attempts (with Detroit)
• Yamamoto – 6 steals in 10 attempts

It’s not 2023-Noah Syndergaard bad, but if the Brewers turn the base paths into a track meet, that favors their style of play.

Snell and Glasnow have to pitch better than they did previously in the NLDS. If they combine for another ten walks over the next 48 hours, any attempt at coming back in this series likely ends before it has a chance to get started.

Turns out, you can now run on Will Smith

Will Smith nabbed ten base stealers in the regular season in 49 attempts, for a 20.4% caught-stealing rate. The league average in 2026 was a 23.3% caught-stealing rate. It’s not terrible, but a far cry from when he caught 32 out of 96 would-be basestealers to lead all of baseball in 2024.

As an aside, for those wondering if Hunter Feduccia would fare better at holding the Brewers’ running game at bay, the answer is probably not.

In 2026, in 59 games with the Rays, there were 37 stolen bases in 49 attempts, which is a 24.5% caught-stealing rate. What’s the problem?

However, with the Dodgers, in 31 games, Feduccia has only caught two runners in 27 attempts. Technically.

One of those was on the last day of the regular season campaign, when Jack Dreyer picked off Scott Bandura with Feduccia never touching the ball.

The other, which is far more relevant to our discussion before Game 3, is that Feduccia’s other nabbed runner with the Dodgers was Jake Bauers of the Milwaukee Brewers on August 14, 2026.

If there was an opportunity to repeat this bit of history, now would be the time.

Recently, a young man from Chicago’s South Side went viral for his feelings about what happens if, or when, his White Sox lose. The sixth grader spoke straight from my soul when he said he would have “no heart for baseball” if the Sox lose. This has long been my relationship with baseball and the Yankees.

Frankly, when it comes to Major League Baseball, if it is not the Yankees, I have no desire to watch. Never have, never will. Call me an old-timer, but I would rather read about the outcome the next morning than try to enjoy another team winning in the moment. Unfortunately, like so many other times over the last 17 years, that means that after enjoying the fall weather until darkness forces me inside, I now have no baseball to enjoy.

This year, with a lockout looming and the longest championship drought of my fandom’s life, the darkness feels earlier than ever. The void that the NFL and betting app commercials are trying their best to fill still feels empty. I have never done a good job of preventing the Yankees’ elimination from souring me on sports for a bit, but this year, I have decided to try an unexpected way to fill the void.

If you did not know, Mike Pinsky is on Season 51 of Survivor. Why would a random man on a reality television show that has been running for over 26 years matter in this context? Well, you see, Pinsky just so happens to be the Yankees’ assistant director of baseball operations.

What is an assistant director of baseball operations? According to what has been released and what Pinsky himself has said on the show, his role involves advising general manager Brian Cashman on roster construction, assisting with contract negotiations, and helping evaluate trade and free-agent targets.

So essentially, Pinsky gets paid to do what we all do right here on our beloved Pinstripe Alley, but with a direct line to Cashman. In an interview with The Athletic, Cashman offered the kind of praise he might give to any player in the Yankees organization, calling Pinsky a gifted person and saying he believes Pinsky has what it takes to endure and win. Gotta love that Cashman just recycled the lines he has used to describe players year after year.

For those who are not familiar, Survivor is a game played on an island in Fiji that combines physical competitions and social manipulation to whittle a group of contestants down to a “Sole Survivor.” The show has really changed from a survival-like competition into something more like a chess match involving immunity idols, advantages, twists, and jury management. That means backstabbing or building relationships so well that people still vote for you to win at the end.

Now, this show is not for everyone, but it does offer a chance to quickly strip away some layers and learn a lot about the players. The show is designed to make contestants uncomfortable and expose their generosity, arrogance, paranoia, patience, and resilience in a foodless vacuum.

The season’s fourth episode airs tonight, and spoiler alert: Pinsky, unlike the Yankees, is still alive. Our very own Mr. October. I am officially locking in, not necessarily because I think this somehow counts as a Yankees win if he pulls it off, but because I want to learn all I can. I want to know what Pinsky will do. How will he handle things? When is he going to reference work and apply it to the strategy of the game he is playing? Will he say the word “analytics”?

I mean, come on, what if he tells us how much the Yankees really depend on analytics in their decision-making? Pinsky has said there are parallels between the Yankees’ management structure and his experience playing Survivor. A fellow contestant compared playing with Pinsky to playing with a sponge, saying he spent his time soaking up information without giving anything back. Call me a sponge too, because whether it is fair, foul, or fruitless, I want to learn more about one of the personalities in the Yankees’ front office and its processes while hopefully being entertained once a week. 

Realistically, I know we will not get Pinsky telling Jeff Probst about the Yankees’ salary restrictions or potential free agent targets. I also realize this sounds like a fan who is so starved for actual team success that they have been reduced to cheering for a front-office suit eating bugs on an island just to feel something in October.

But hey, here’s to hoping other fans enjoy watching whichever team wins the World Series. For me, I’ll support the last Yankee standing. I hope Pinsky has the time of his life and represents the organization well. At the end of the day, this is his individual journey and story, but it’s kind of cool to have a Yankee still alive in October, at least for now.

Earlier today Rawlings announced the finalists for this years Gold Glove awards.

TJ Rumfield was named as a finalist among National League first basemen alongside Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves and Ty France of the San Diego Padres.

Rumfield is one of five rookies since 1901 to have a season with at least 1,150 innings played at first base and seven or fewer errors, joining Todd Helton (1998), Travis Lee (1998, ARI), Freddie Freeman (2011, ATL), and Nolan Schanuel (2024, LAA). https://t.co/fJwmOpcZPo

— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) October 14, 2026

Rumfield’s consistent glove work helped stabilize the Rockies infield all season, and it appears as though the that did not go unnoticed by people outside the organization. The 26 year old rookie played 139 games at first base this season, committed only seven errors, and collected six Defensive Runs Saved.

Rumfield faces stiff competition for the award as the other finalists, Olson and France, already have four Gold Gloves between them. Olson leads all NL first basemen in Outs Above Average with 11 whereas France leads in Defensive Runs Saved with 15.

Rumfield is the lone Rockie to have been named a Gold Glove finalist this season.

The winners are set to be announced on Sunday, November 1.

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Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, outfielders Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter, and infielder/outfielder Ezequiel Duran have been named finalists for the 2027 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. The full list of finalists in both leagues is here.

Along with deGrom, the finalists among the pitchers in the American League are Tanner Bibee of the Guardians and Jose Soriano, now of the Blue Jays. One would not normally expect a 38 year old managing various physical issues to be a Gold Glove finalist, but then, life is full of surprises. deGrom has never won a Gold Glove before.

Langford is a finalist in left field, going up against Cody Bellinger of the Yankees and Chandler Simpson of the Rays. Langford was +5 in Statcast’s Fielding Runs Value in 2026 between left field and center field, and +10 in DRS. compared to Simpson’s +3/+8 and Bellinger’s +8/+20.

Carter is up against Steven Kwan and Ceddanne Rafaela for the center field Gold Glove award. Carter is +9 in FRV and +6 in DRS, while Kwan is +7 and +17 while playing center and left roughly the same amount in 2026. Rafaela is at +16 and +21.

Duran is a finalist for the utility Gold Glove, along with Jose Caballero of the Yankees and Zach McKinstry of the Tigers. Duran played every position except for pitcher and catcher over the course of 153 games in 2026, with the bulk of his playing time coming at third base and shortstop.

The winners will be announced on November 1.