Category: Baseball

Scott Boras' phone rang in the middle of his press conference at the MLB GM meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The super agent looked down at the screen for a moment and put his phone on silent.

"Just another owner begging to meet with Skubal," he quipped to reporters.

Even if it was a joke, Boras probably wasn't too far off on that one. As the best arm in free agency by far this winter, Tarik Skubal has no shortage of suitors. The New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays -- and yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers -- have all confirmed appointments to meet with the two-time Cy Young Award winner. He's widely expected to command a record-shattering payday exceeding $325 million, according to Bob Nightengale, that would make him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history.

So where do the Dodgers fit into that picture?

Dodgers projected 2027 rotation

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto
• Blake Snell
• Tyler Glasnow
• Roki Sasaki
• Shohei Ohtani

Skubal seems like a luxury, but Snell and Glasnow both battled injuries that kept them out for an extended period of time in 2026 and ended up creating a need for the trade in the first place. There's also uncertainty as to what Shohei Ohtani's season on the mound will look like next year. Friedman expects the four-time MVP to be ready to go by spring training, but added that he'll need to have an ongoing conversation with Ohtani as the season goes on to better manage his workload and keep him injury-free moving forward. General manager Brandon Gomes told reporters at the GM meetings that they're still trying to figure out that plan, and it may not be in place until they have a clearer picture of what the roster will look like.

“Whatever it is, there’s just a lot of different avenues, and I think for us to unilaterally decide that doesn’t make sense," Gomes said. "So it’s really bringing him into the conversation and figuring out how to navigate a full season.”

Given the amount of unknowns within a rotation that normally gets heavily impacted by injuries year after year, bringing Skubal back to LA should be a top priority.

The Dodgers have given no indication that they'll have any less resources than normal, even in the midst of owner Mark Walter's ongoing federal investigations. Boras expects a deal to get done before the current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, after which comes financial uncertainty around the league as owners and the MLBPA square off over a proposed salary cap.

Still, the Dodgers have more than enough room to flex their bank account, but the question remains of how deep into their pockets they'll be willing to go. The Athletic's Katie Woo reported that Friedman and Co. want Skubal back, but on a short-term deal and may be willing to offer a higher AAV to compensate, similar to Tucker's four-year $240 million deal inked last winter. Whether or not Skubal will be willing to take that and leave years on the table remains to be seen.

“It's very clear that there is a dominant and strong 'Sku-bull' market," Boras told reporters. “That's one thing you know it's pretty clear teams are not devoid of pursuing their championship fortunes, and they understand there's only one tarot card, no doubt.

“I think that if you look into the deep waters of talent treasure, teams are there. There's no time to come up for air, and so teams have filled their tanks, and they're all clearly ready for the scuba dive, no doubt."

Tarik Skubal's fit with Dodgers

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has been aggressive the last few winters in trying to maximize the team's current championship window. Rather than running it back after two consecutive World Series championships in 2024 and '25, he added more firepower by signing Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz -- the top two free agents in last year's class -- for a combined $310 million. Underwhelming 2026 campaigns by both, and the team's failed bid for a three-peat, don't appear to give Friedman any more second thoughts when it comes to how he'll go about building next year's roster.

"That's never our mindset, to say, 'Okay, we're good enough," Friedman said at his end of season press conference on Oct. 21. "We're going to work hard to figure out how we can improve in different areas. ... We feel good about our jumping off point of where we are. That being said, to the extent that we can keep raising the bar, raising the talent level and increasing our championship odds, we're going to be aggressive to do so."

That much was on full display when the Dodgers acquired Skubal from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline in August for their No. 5 prospect Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith to seemingly put a stacked rotation over the top. Skubal ended up keeping that rotation afloat amid injuries to Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani as he posted a 2.61 ERA with 70 strikeouts and a 1.048 WHIP in 10 starts in LA.

Friedman commended what Skubal was able to do in his short time as a Dodger, acknowledging how hard it is to move cities in the middle of the season. Routines get disrupted, and adjusting to a new clubhouse, a new environment, takes time. The 29-year-old Kingman, Arizona native's transition in LA was seamless. He instantly had the respect of the entire pitching staff and formed close friendships with many of his teammates, Snell in particular. Several players noted that Skubal never once talked about free agency during his time with them.

"I can't say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time," Friedman said in October.

Now, the ball is in Skubal's court.

Dodgers pitchers already on the move

Right-handed reliever Evan Phillips signed a three-year, $35 million contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, putting an end to his six-year run in LA. In that time, Phillips was one of manager Dave Roberts' most trusted bullpen arms, and for good reason. The 32-year-old has pitched in five of the last six Octobers for the Dodgers, missing only 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery that May, and has not allowed an earned run in 17 career postseason outings. He pitched well in 26 innings after returning in July, posting a 1.08 WHIP with a 3.26 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

There's also a robust market for Alex Vesia, another go-to high-leverage guy. The New York Mets, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins are among the teams that are reportedly interested in the 30-year-old's services, along with the Dodgers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should the Dodgers re-sign Tarik Skubal? What we know from GM meetings

Generally, how do we feel about Scott Boras’ player puns? I think they’re unfortunately corny.

Anyways. Hot stove, Braves edition. ICYMI, we signed Tyler Freeman to a minor-league deal but the big blue box of the day goes to reliever Evan Phillips. Yes, I did specifically hunt for a picture of him at Truist Park for the thumbnail. Welcome, Evan!

Otherwise, take a gander at the rumor mill and things abrewin’ in our Feed:

Taking stock of the current rumors surrounding the Atlanta Braves: Let’s talk about Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim.

What’s on your mind? What else might AA cook with the stove on? It’s just kinda nice to see someone acting like there will, in fact, be baseball next year.

LAS VEGAS — Something had to give after the season Willy Adames had in 2026.

Only two years into the richest contract ever awarded by the Giants, the 31-year-old shortstop slogged through the worst season of his career by just about any measure.

One floor above the MGM Sportsbook at the ARIA Resort and Casino as the MLB general managers meetings wrapped up Wednesday, Buster Posey said he wasn’t a betting man.

But if he were, the Giants’ top baseball official said, “I’d bet that Willy has a pretty good bounce-back year next year.”

That’s a bold claim about a player on the wrong side of 30 with a bad back that bothered him all season and eventually led to shutting him down in August after the fewest games of his career.

Adames set a number of career lows last season: on-base percentage (.289), OPS (.713) and walk rate (7.3%), to name a few. The numbers closest to career highs didn’t tell a more optimistic story: strikeout rate (27.5%), errors (18).

So why, then, the sense of optimism from Posey?

“I just think he’s motivated,” Posey said. “I think he was pretty frustrated with how the year went, not only for the team but for himself personally. I think he’s motivated.”

Adames relayed those feelings when he sat down with Posey, manager Tony Vitello and the rest of the Giants’ top brass at the end of the season. His agents at CAA reiterated that when they sat down with San Francisco officials this week inside the sprawling property on the Strip.

With the money still owed to Adames — $155 million over the next five years — plus the trajectory of his health and play, the two sides would seem to be stuck with each other.

However, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported this week that the Blue Jays had bandied about the idea of trying to trade for Adames. The Giants were open for business on all of their big-money position players at the trade deadline, and Posey said their stance is the same now.

“We’ve gotta listen on pretty much anybody,” he said this week.

If Adames is back in a Giants uniform in 2027, there will have to be a difficult conversation.

Before this past year, Adames had missed just three games the previous two seasons and hadn’t played fewer than 139 in a season since debuting midway through his rookie year.

Vitello refused to take him out of the lineup, even as discipline for forgetting the number of outs on the bases while making chit-chat with Mookie Betts on second base.

Adames didn’t get his first day off until the Giants’ 28th game of the season and missed just two of their first 83 games. He then refused to go on the injured list when his back flared up in late June, instead taking up a roster spot despite being physically unable to play.

That’s not a sustainable model as he enters his mid-30s. Posey said the Giants will pencil in more scheduled days off going forward, regardless of Adames’ wishes.

“He won’t like it,” Posey said. “But I think we have to do it just to put him in the best spot to be successful. He can be mad at me. If he wants to get mad at me, it’s coming from a good place because we want him to be as productive as possible.”

Posey retired after his age-34 season, but he played long enough to understand the aging curve isn’t friendly to ballplayers after their 30th birthday. He had to change the way he trained, and he’s recommending that Adames do the same in conjunction with the Giants’ training staff.

“You can’t just go in and throw around the heaviest weight all the time and expect to keep your mobility the same,” Posey said. “I think there’s an emphasis for him … to really structure his workouts to increase his athletic movements. Maybe think of it — I don’t know this, but the way I’m thinking — is like less bulky muscle mass.”

Posey was hopeful that the modified workouts would help Adames’ range at shortstop, one factor in his league-worst array of advanced defensive metrics. Defensive Runs Saved, Fielding Run Value and Outs Above Average all rated him as one of the league’s three worst shortstops.

For Posey, the objective of this offseason is to turn around a team coming off one of the worst seasons in its history. Adames’ goals aren’t all that different. 

And for Posey to achieve his aim, he needs his shortstop to do the same.

The offseason is in full swing and the Mariners are reportedly interested in soon-to-be-free-agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

With the team’s 2026 fWAR leader Randy Arozarena likely on the way out of the Pacific Northwest, the Mariners are tasked with replacing his outgoing production using some newfound payroll flexibility that has been absent in recent years. Suzuki, on paper, seems like an ideal candidate to foster a clean transition in the Mariners outfield. That said, would his bat translate to the most pitcher-friendly environment in baseball?

I know. You’ve heard it before. At this point, Mariners fans are surely plenty familiar with the struggles that hitters, especially those of the right-handed variety, can experience when their careers open a new chapter in Seattle. We’ve seen it time and time again. Taylor Ward, Rob Refsnyder, Mitch Garver…the list could go on all day — these are only the most recent examples of previously reliable right-handed bats failing to meet expectations once they began taking half of their plate appearances at T-Mobile Park.

Of course, Suzuki would become the most highly touted right-handed free-agent bat signed by the Dipoto regime, with an asking price that could eclipse $100 million and a commitment spanning the better part of his mid-30s. More money does not equate to more success, and it certainly comes with more risk involved, but the track record is largely what you’d be paying for on the free agent market.

As John pointed out in his piece yesterday, Suzuki sports a 128 wRC+ for his career, matching Arozarena’s output. And though Suzuki has been playing home games in a less suppressive offensive environment, wRC+ adjusts for park factor and Wrigley Field still generally leans pitcher-friendly over the past several years. A quick glance at his Baseball Savant profile shows that quality of contact took a modest step back in 2026, though much of the offensive value lost in this regard was seemingly made up by drawing more walks — his walk rate improved as it has in every season since making the jump from NPB to MLB, now reaching an impressive 12.8 percent clip.

All of this brings us to the Thursday discussion prompt:

Do you want the Mariners to make this splash in free agency? Would you trust Seiya Suzuki’s bat to succeed in Seattle? Why or why not?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. And if you don’t want to see Seiya Suzuki in Mariners uniform, let us know where you’d rather see the team use their payroll flexibility this offseason!

After the franchise’s first World Series title just a few weeks ago, the awards are rolling in for the Brewers. On Tuesday night, manager Pat Murphy won an unprecedented third consecutive NL Manager of the Year Award. On Wednesday night, it was Jacob Misiorowski’s turn, as he took home the NL Cy Young Award unanimously.

Now, our friends at Breaking T have created shirts to celebrate both.

Winning pitching’s top award is one of the hardest things a pitcher can do, unless you’re Jacob Misiorowski. The Miz unanimously won the NL Cy Young, becoming only the 17th pitcher to do so. In what was a stellar season for the flamethrower, this award is the ultimate icing on the cake.

It’s a three-peat in Milwaukee for manager Pat Murphy, who just won his third-straight Manager of the Year award. He had his crew knocking on the door for 2024 and 2025, but in 2026, they blew that door open and won it all.

• Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc.
• Super-soft, durable t-shirts and hoodies
• Designed and printed in the USA
• Free returns and exchanges

Click here to get a UnaniMIZ shirt, and click here to get a Threepeat Pat Murphy shirt. And be sure to check out Breaking T’s full line of Brewers’ merchandise here.

Michael Kopech last pitched in Major League Baseball as a Dodgers reliever in 2025.

Kopech only pitched 11 innings, posting a 2.45 ERA as he dealt with numerous injuries that kept him sidelined for a majority of the season. The 30-year-old was a free agent last offseason, but remained unsigned through the 2026 season.

While the Dodgers chased a three-peat, Kopech spent the year recovering from a knee injury. Now, the right-hander is looking to return to MLB and is set to throw for teams Saturday, according to The Athletic.

The Dodgers acquired Kopech in a three-team trade with the White Sox and Cardinals, where Los Angeles also received utility man Tommy Edman. The deal was key for the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series run as both Kopech and Edman were instrumental.

In 2024, Kopech sported a 1.13 ERA across 24 innings with the Dodgers after the trade deadline. He accrued a 1.1 bWAR.

Ahead of the 2025 season, the Dodgers signed reliever Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal with the expectation that he would be the team’s primary closer.

Scott had a nightmarish first season in LA and the Dodgers searched for other closing options.

Kopech likely could have been the Dodgers’ closer in 2025 had he not been plagued by injuries. If the right-hander has returned to full form, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him find a new team this offseason.

The first Dodgers free agent is off the board, as reliever Evan Phillips signed a new contract with the Atlanta Braves for three years and $35 million.

Phillips, per the Braves, will make $11 million in each of 2027 and 2028, and $13 million in 2029.

The 32-year-old right-hander had a 3.46 ERA and 4.37 xERA in 31 games for the Dodgers this season after coming back from Tommy John surgery in June 2025, with 33 strikeouts against only three unintentional walks in 26 innings. His 31.1-percent strikeout rate was his best since 2022.

Phillips made $6.5 million last year for the Dodgers, his sixth season with Los Angeles.

A waiver claim by the Dodgers from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2021, Phillips quickly became a high-leverage reliever in Los Angeles. He posted a 2.36 ERA and 3.03 xERA in 232 games for the Dodgers with 46 saves, with 254 strikeouts (a 29.2-percent strikeout rate) and 50 unintentional walks in 221 innings.

Phillips pitched in five different postseasons for the Dodgers, totaling 17 games, and did not allow a run in his 18 1/3 innings, with 24 strikeouts and eight unintentional walks, and recorded his first postseason save during the 2026 National League Division Series against the Braves.

After returning from the injured list in July, the Dodgers were cautious with Phillips’ usage, limiting his back-to-back outings. But he started to feel like his old self about a month back into the groove.

“I appreciate what they’ve done, trying to build me up, plus also protect me, plus giving me advantageous lanes while also challenging me,” Phillips told True Blue LA in September. “It’s been great so far, and I definitely feel like I’m coming closer and closer to that best version of myself that I have been and continue to strive to be.”

The Cincinnati Reds are one of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, and they’ll continue to champion that they’ve remained as such for so long. They are! They’re one of just 30!

That means they’re participating at this year’s GM Meetings at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, meetings that began earlier in the week and wrap up today, Thursday November 12th. While the GM Meetings typically do not have nearly the fireworks as the annual Winter Meetings in December, the looming lockout on December 1st has almost assuredly rendered the latter not-happening in 2026, and therefore this year’s GM Meetings have taken on a slightly larger spotlight.

No agent in the sport has a larger gravitational pull than Scott Boras. Boras just so happens to represent Cincinnati Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz. Given that the overriding sentiments heading into the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the lockout that will come with that are that ‘small market’ teams simply can’t compete with ‘big market’ spending, it was unsurprising to hear Boras get asked his thoughts on the topic – and it came through a question regarding the Reds being able to ‘keep’ Elly after having failed in earlier attempts at signing him long-term.

Boras’ answer to the question was revealing in its honesty about how arcane the Reds way of doing business has become, specifically in a division that has seen other ‘small market’ clubs figure out ways to reach the highest of heights. Hat-tip to Gingersaurus Rex for helping relay the video:

Boras pointing out that the franchise effectively operates the way franchises operated 20 years ago is telling given that this message from the current ownership group of the Reds – which took over 20 years ago in 2006 – still lives and breathes because the internet never dies:

Enjoy Elly in a Reds uniform while you can, folks. Just hope you haven’t already seen him in that uniform for the last time.

The Atlanta Braves made the first significant transaction of the Major League Baseball offseason, signing free agent reliever Evan Phillips to a three-year, $35 million, the team announced on Thursday, Nov. 12.

It's a return to Atlanta for Phillips, who was drafted by the Braves in 2015 and made his MLB debut for the club in 2018. The 32-year-old right-hander had been an integral part of the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen since arriving in 2021, posting a 2.36 ERA in 232 regular season games for Los Angeles.

Atlanta had the second-best bullpen ERA (3.44) in the National League in 2026 despite being without $45 million closer Robert Suarez for half the season. The addition of Phillips further solidifies the back end of the Braves bullpen with Dylan Lee and Dylan Dodd also in the mix for high-leverage innings ahead of Suarez.

Phillips has also made 17 postseason appearances for the Dodgers, without surrendering a single run. He picked up three holds and two wins in the team's 2024 World Series run, but missed the 2025 postseason after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned in July 2026 and pitched five games in this year's playoffs.

Raisel Iglesias, who saved 34 games for the Braves in 2026, is a free agent after spending five seasons with the club.

Evan Phillips contract details

Announcing the signing, the club said Phillips would be donating 1% of his salary to the Atlanta Braves Foundation.

• 2027: $11 million
• 2028: $11 million
• 2029: $13 million

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta Braves drop $35 million on reliever Evan Phillips

Okay, the stove is more lit now.

Due to a bunch of issues with Twitter and other embeds, basically, the Braves are signing (and reuniting with, sorta) reliever Evan Phillips on a three-year deal worth $35 million. The deal pays Phillips $11 million in each of 2027 and 2028, and includes a $13 million salary in 2029.

The deal continues a tenure-long trend of giant spend on relievers for Alex Anthopoulos and company. Phillips was an elite-level reliever from 2024-2024 with the Dodgers, posting a combined 4.3 fWAR while making 60-plus appearances in each of those three seasons. Since then, he’s worn down a bit, making just seven appearances in 2025 and 31 in 2026 (along with five appearances this past postseason). He’s been waylaid by a series of injuries recently, including a rotator cuff strain in early 2025, followed forearm discomfort leading to Tommy John Surgery that saw him miss the rest of 2025 and much of 2026.

Phillips joins a bullpen that currently looks to be led by Robert Suarez, who had his own injury issues in 2026, and Dylan Lee. The Braves could still reunite with Raisel Iglesias, but Phillips gives them a fearsome threesome even if Iglesias is not re-added, which could grow to a quartet if a reunion ends up being in the cards. Dylan Dodd is also likely to carry a substantial relief load, while Didier Fuentes and Ray Kerr may or may not end up in the bullpen depending on how the offseason and Spring Training play out.

The move is a kinda-sorta reunion for Phillips and the Braves. Atlanta drafted him out of UNC Wilmington in the 17th round of the 2015 draft, and he made his MLB debut for the Braves in 2018. He was then traded in the Kevin Gausman deal, and was not a particularly effective reliever with the Orioles. After they cut him in 2021, he caught on with the Rays, but was claimed by the Dodgers, and then grew into his own in the 2021-2022 offseason.

For his career, Phillips has 280 relief appearances and one start, and has compiled 5.0 fWAR across 278 innings of work, with a 79 ERA-, 79 FIP-, and 86 xFIP-. That said, he hasn’t had an xFIP- in a single season above 86 since 2021, and has largely posted video game-ish numbers from 2022-onward.

The Dodgers have suffered their first big free-agent loss of the offseason.

Right-handed reliever and former closer Evan Phillips signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, bringing his six-year tenure in Los Angeles to a close.

Phillips, 32, was one of several longtime Dodgers relievers who hit the free agent market this offseason, along with Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen.

While he was a potential re-signing candidate for the club, he was also likely to end up elsewhere if he attracted a strong market.

And in the end, he got an even bigger deal than he was projected to receive from a Braves club trying to rebound from its National League Division Series elimination to the Dodgers in October.

After originally joining the Dodgers as an unheralded waiver claim in 2021, Phillips blossomed as one of the club’s best relievers over the last half-decade.

From 2022 to 2024, he posted a 2.21 ERA with a team-high 44 saves. He played a key role on their 2024 World Series team, though he missed that year’s Fall Classic with a shoulder injury.

Phillips suffered another health setback in 2025, making only seven appearances before going down with an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery.

However, he returned during the second half of this season and — after some initially inconsistent performances — regained his typically dominant form down the stretch, posting a 2.33 ERA in his final 24 appearances while also hitting 100 mph with his fastball at one point.

That was enough for the Braves to make a significant investment in the nine-year MLB veteran and make him the first of what could be several fan-favorite departures this offseason.

Already this week, Vesia began attracting wide-ranging interest at MLB’s annual General Managers’ Meetings. According to a source, roughly half the league had checked in with the 30-year-old left-hander.

That signaled a likelihood that Vesia –– who was widely ranked as an even better free-agent target than Phillips this offseason –– would draw three-year contract offers of his own.

Now, Phillips’ deal almost feels like a starting place for him, which would raise the chances of Vesia winding up elsewhere too this winter; though, the Dodgers’ need to retain left-handed depth means they will maintain interest in him as the offseason progresses.

The Dodgers, of course, knew such a bullpen exodus could be a possibility this winter. Despite that, they still remain confident in the group they will return, which includes Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Edgardo Henriquez and Brock Stewart, as well as a number of younger arms they were looking to give opportunities to.

They can also always pivot and make other relief additions, with general manager Brandon Gomes describing their approach to the bullpen market as “probably an opportunistic-type thing.”

Prior to Phillips’ signing, for example, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that the club had checked in on veteran left-hander Tim Hill, as a soon-to-be 37-year-old who would likely be available on a shorter-term, more cost-effective deal.

Thus, Phillips’ departure won’t send off any alarm bells at Chavez Ravine. But it still represents an impactful loss, one that might not be the last the Dodgers suffer this offseason.

Evan Phillips and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to terms on a 3 year, $35 million deal, per reports.

Phillips, a righthanded reliever, was originally signed by the Braves in 2015 after being selected in the 15th round out of the University of North Carolina. He broke into the majors in 2018 with Atlanta, making 4 appearances with an 8+ ERA before being sent to the Baltimore Orioles at the deadline for Kevin Gausman and our old friend Darren O’Day. after a couple of years as a not very good up-and-down guy, Phillips was released by the Orioles and signed by the Rays for the 2021 season. He only had one major league appearance with the Rays before they waived him, and he was claimed by the Dodgers.

He was terrific for the Dodgers in 2022 and 2023, pretty good in 2024, and then missed of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. After being non-tendered, he resigned with Los Angeles and put up a 3.46 ERA and 3.87 FIP in 26 innings over 31 games upon his return in 2026. In 221 innings over 232 games for L.A., he has put up a 2.36 ERA and a 2.90 FIP.

How does that compare to what the prognosticators prognosticated for him in his venture into the free agent market? Baseball America projected he would get less than $10 million guaranteed. The projections at Fangraphs from Ben Clemens said 2 years, $20 million, while the median crowdsource was 1 year, $6.8 million. Kiley McDaniel had Phillips in his “other free agents of note” category. MLB Trade Rumors had Phillips at 2 years, $24 million.

This is the first multi-year deal for a free agent of the offseason. I was going to say it was the first free agent signing of significance, but Emiliano Pagan and the Tigers agreed to a $11.5M one year deal yesterday, it was reported.

Astros' Yordan Alvarez and Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong win 2026 MLB MVP awards originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Major League Baseball has crowned two first-time MVP winners in 2026.

Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs were named the AL and NL Most Valuable Players on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Alvarez and 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong were the runaway winners, taking home the awards unanimously.

Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals finished behind Alvarez in the AL voting. Crow-Armstrong ended Shohei Ohtani’s streak of three straight MVPs, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star finishing second and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang in third.

This year marks a changing of the guard after years of dominance by Ohtani and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. They were the MVPs in both 2024 and 2025, and at least one of them had been an MVP every year from 2021-25. Both players battled injuries throughout this season, with Judge playing just 66 games and Ohtani hitting his fewest home runs (30) since 2020.

Alvarez, the 2019 Rookie of the Year, had a standout season to carry the Astros to the AL West title, despite going just 81-81. He set a career-high with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, and he led MLB in walks (109), batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432), slugging (.601) and OPS (1.033).

After battling injuries in 2025, Alvarez played 158 games in 2026 while making his fourth All-Star appearance (and second start at DH). He hit three grand slams in June alone, becoming the 11th player in MLB history to pull off that feat.

Alvarez previously finished third in MVP voting in 2022, and this is his third top-10 finish. He joins teammate Jose Altuve (2017) and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (1994) as just the third Astro to win the award.

Crow-Armstrong’s MVP campaign came in his third season, and his victory was emphatic. He led the NL in runs (119), home runs (45), slugging (.570), OPS (.943) and WAR (9.8) while playing all 162 games.

In addition to his prowess at the dish, Crow-Armstrong won the Gold Glove in center field and stole 41 bases. He was just the seventh player in MLB history to achieve a 40-40 season (40 home runs, 40 stolen bases).

Crow-Armstrong is the ninth Cub to win MVP, joining Gabby Harnett (1935), Phil Cavarretta (1945), Hank Sauer (1952), Ernie Banks (1958 and 1959), Ryne Sandberg (1984), Andre Dawson (1987), Sammy Sosa (1998) and Kris Bryant (2016).

As the offseason continues, let’s talk a little bit about the Dodgers infield. Specifically, who’s on second base. Or perhaps What’s on second base, even if that might confuse Elizabeth Holmes.

Alex Freeland had the most starts (67) and defensive innings (579) at second base for the Dodgers in 2026, the bulk of that coming in the first two and a half months of the season when Tommy Edman was on the injured list following ankle surgery. Edman on the season finished second on the team in second base starts (42) and innings (386 1/3), and the now-retired Miguel Rojas made 36 starts with 302 1/3 innings at second base. All three were above average defensively at the position by both Defensive Runs Saved and Fielding Run Value.

The Dodgers were squarely in the middle of the pack among major league teams with 2.2 Wins Above Replacement at second base, ranked 15th as measured by FanGraphs. That value was mostly fueled by the defense, as Dodgers second baseman ranked 20th among 30 teams with an 89 wRC+ and 22nd in slugging percentage (.358), while 15th in both on-base percentage (.318) and batting average (.249).

Dodgers second basemen combined for nine home runs, 28th in baseball, ahead of only the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals.

Rojas is now retired. The Dodgers just claimed utility player Christian Cairo off waivers and he could conceivably fill in at times at second base, once he makes his major league debut. The Dodgers still have Edman and Freeland, plus Hyeseong Kim, though Kim has yet to show he can hit major league pitching for extended periods of time.

For a team relatively with Hall of Famers locked into positions at designated hitter (Shohei Ohtani) and first base (Freddie Freeman), plus three starting outfielders in place and beloved veterans in the infield (Mookie Betts, Max Muncy) and catcher (Will Smith), second base stands out as perhaps the easiest path for the Dodgers to improve in 2027.

To that end, Katie Woo at The Athletic on Wednesday reported the Dodgers are seeking a right-handed-hitting infielder which “would free up Tommy Edman to serve in more of a utility role, allow Mookie Betts to get a blow when needed and allow for more depth alongside Alex Freeland.” On Thursday, Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic reported two infielders the Dodgers have shown interest in — Maurico Dubón and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, each of whom can play multiple positions.

Which is to say second base could once again feature a number of players seeing time at the position. Today’s question is which player do you think will lead the Dodgers in games started at second base in 2027?