Category: Baseball

The journey to the Rockies rotation has been anything but an easy path for Ryan Feltner. 

Since the Rockies signed the Ohio State righty on June 13, 2018, the Rockies organization has placed Feltner on the injured list 10 times, ranging from the 7-day IL to 60-day. The result has been a career line that shows improvement, especially in 2024, but also limited time on the roster. After an injury-plagued 2025, Feltner has rebounded to have a fairly healthy year this season.

Season	G/GS	W-L	IP	ERA	BB	SO	WHIP	rWAR
2021	2/2	0-1	6.1	11.37	5	6	2.21	-0.3
2022	20/19	4-9	97.1	5.83	25	84	1.41	-0.1
2023	10/10	2-4	43.1	5.82	28	38	1.68	0
2024	30/30	3-10	162.1	4.49	52	138	1.34	1.3
2025	6/6	0-2	30.1	4.75	12	25	1.48	0.6
2026	24/22	6-10	116.2	5.63	50	88	1.53	0.9
Totals	92/89	15-36	456.1	5.31	182	379	1.46	2.4

In the era of increased pitching injuries, an average pitcher will make 25-30 starts in a relatively healthy season. If the best kind of ability is availability, Feltner — who turned 30 earlier this month — will hit that range for the second time in his career with one more appearance this season. Even though he’s played more in 2026, his ERA is also the highest it’s been since 2023. All things considered, Feltner hasn’t played consistently enough, or effectively enough, to be a staple in the rotation moving forward.

But what if the rotation isn’t where Feltner belongs?

Perhaps Feltner would have more longevity, consistency and success as a reliever for the Rockies.

While Feltner, Colorado’s fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, has only come out of the bullpen twice this year, both performances were impressive. Most recently, Feltner relieved Kyle Freeland on Sept. 15 to earn the Rockies lone victory against the Padres. He threw five scoreless innings, giving up only three runs and one walk with five strikeouts. His other relief appearance came against Atlanta on Aug. 30 when he gave up one unearned run (zero earned) across four innings on five hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

At the same time, Feltner has put up some good numbers as a starter, recording five quality starts this season. He’s also never pitched more than six innings in an outing, and has posted four starts when he pitched four innings or fewer. His ERA has ballooned, though, and if you subtract the scoreless relief innings, the 6.10 mark is the highest he’s posted since his rookie year.

Split	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO	AVG	WHIP	GO/AO
Starter 2026	5	9	6.10	22	22	0	0	0	107.2	120	79	73	20	1	47	77	.282	1.55	1.01
Reliever 2026	1	1	0.00	2	0	0	0	0	9	8	1	0	0	0	3	11	.242	1.22	0.56

Entering this season, Feltner and Chase Dollander battled for a rotation spot, with the runner-up headed to the bullpen. At that time, Feltner edged out Dollander for the rotation. Dollander pitched the first month of the season in relief, only to return to the rotation before hitting the IL with a season-ending elbow injury in mid-May that required internal brace surgery.

When it comes to Feltner’s health, he’s been the victim of some serious bad luck.

Feltner had a September taste of MLB action when he was called up in 2021, but really vied for a spot in the rotation since 2022. That season, he didn’t face any significant injuries, but struggled to find success in moving up and down from the Rockies to the Isotopes.

In 2023, the freak skull fracture happened on a come-backer, but Feltner proved incredible resolve to return toward the end of the season, only to face shoulder inflammation in his throwing arm. In 2024, Feltner was healthy and it showed. He put up the best ERA of his career, the most appearances, the most innings pitched, and most strikeouts.

Feltner then backtracked last year. He posted a 0.6 rWAR, making him the team’s second-best starting pitcher, but he only made six starts. Back and shoulder injuries even limited his Triple-A time, where he only made seven appearances. 

Considering the 2025 season, it is impressive that Feltner has only had one IL stint this season. He’s been able to stay on the field to post the second-most appearances and innings in his career. But those starts haven’t translated to success as Feltner has gone 5-9 in his starts, while the Rockies have gone 8-14 when he starts.

Going from the rotation to the bullpen is a move most starters don’t want to make, but just look at Antonio Senzatela. The veteran pitcher went from one of the hardest-hit starters the last few seasons to a very solid reliever in 2026, as evidenced by his trade to the Milwaukee Brewers, who are currently the best team in baseball.

On the other hand, it’s not like the Rockies are overflowing with starting pitching depth. If Feltner leaves the rotation, a solid arm needs to take his place to help the Rockies take the next step forward in their organizational progression toward being a winning baseball team.

As Purple Row’s Skyler Timmins wrote about earlier this week, both the already struggling rotation and bullpen have really dropped off in the tail end of the season. How to build better, more sustainable pitchers in Colorado — as well as determining who’s a starter and who’s a reliever — will be a major long-term project for Paul DePodesta & Co.

Feltner is making $2.5 million this season and has two more years of team control. It will be fascinating to see where he ends up.

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On the Farm

Triple-A:Salt Lake Bees 10, Albuquerque Isotopes 5

The Bees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back in a win on Thursday night. Charlie Condon hit his 26th homer, Tyler Freeman hit an RBI double and RBI single, and Nic Kent hit an RBI double and scored a run on a Jose Cordova sac fly to account for Albuquerque’s scoring. Chad Stevens went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Freeman finished with three hits. Eiberson Castellano took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Double-A:Reading Fightin Phils 5, Hartford Yard Goats 4

The Hartford Yard Goats season came to an end on Thursday night after Reading won Game 2 in the Eastern League Division Series. Considering the Fightin Phils won Game 1 on Wednesday 21-4, at least Hartford put up a good fight on Thursday. The Yard Goats got down 3-0 midway through the third, but rallied back. Braylen Wimmer hit a two-run double in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 3-2.

In the eighth, Jared Thomas hit a solo homer to narrow the Reading lead.

JT GOES YARD! 💣🐐

Jared Thomas launches one to right field!

GOATS TRAIL 5-3! pic.twitter.com/QndLoFJj3B

— Hartford Yard Goats (@GoYardGoats) September 18, 2026

Cole Messina did the same in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

ONE LAST BLAST. 💥🐐

Cole Messina sends one out in the bottom of the 9th to bring the Goats within one.

Not enough to secure the win, but what a way to end it.

FINAL: 5-4. pic.twitter.com/hqNGgKGmoc

— Hartford Yard Goats (@GoYardGoats) September 18, 2026

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Fearing his career was over, veteran Quintana now set for return to rotation | MLB.com

Jose Quintana will pitch again for the Rockies this season. Being out since mid-May with a left elbow strain, Quintana is back thanks to hard work and a positive attitude. Quintana was originally scheduled to pitch Friday, but likely won’t anymore since he’ll probably only pitch a few innings and the bullpen was exhausted on Thursday in a 9-2 loss to the Padres.

What they said couldn’t be done: Nomo’s Coors no-no 30 years later | MLB.com

It’s absolutely wild that Hideo Nomo threw a no-hitter 30 years ago on Sept. 17, 1996. After a two-hour rain delay. On a chilly fall night. When the Rockies were a decent team with the Blake Street Bombers. Relive the night with all the hype and details in Manny Randhawa’s piece.

Tucker’s near-cycle clinches LA’s 5th straight NL West title, 13th in 14 years | MLB.com

Despite injuries and ups and downs, the Dodgers have done it again. They keep winning the NL West and 2026 is no different.

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Happy birthday to Ryne Sandberg*, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1909 – Before 35,409, the largest paid baseball attendance ever, Charles Bender beats Bill Donovan and the Tigers, 2 – 0, at Philadelphia. Ty Cobb is the Triple Crown winner with a .377 BA, 9 home runs (all inside-the-park), and 107 RBI. He also will lead the American League with 216 hits, 116 runs, and 296 total bases. His 76 stolen bases make him the only player ever to win a “quadruple crown”, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1908 – The largest crowd in the history of the National League – 35,000 – cheer as the Giants shove the Pirates to five games off the pace by sweeping a doubleheader. Christy Mathewson shuts out the Bucs in the first game, 7-0, for his 11th shutout and his 33rd win. Then the Giants collect 18 hits to take the nitecap, 12-7, as Hooks Wiltse and Joe McGinnity combine for the win. The other hitting occurs in the first game when Mike Donlin tires of a heckler and punches him in the eye. Police quickly move in.
• 1922 – George Sisler‘s 41-game hitting streak is stopped by New York’s Joe Bush, the same pitcher he had started the streak against on July 27th.
• 1931 – Lefty Grove wins his 30th game, beating the White Sox, 3-1, on five hits. He is the first to win 30 since Jim Bagby of Cleveland in 1920 and will be the last American League hurler to do so until Denny McLain in 1968.
• 1937– Pittsburgh OF Paul Waner establishes a 20th-century National League record with his eighth year of 200 or more hits.
• 1950 – At Ebbets Field, the Dodgers’ Tommy Brown hits three home runs in his team’s losing effort. He is the third Dodger this year to clout three homers in one game. The Cubs’ Ron Northey hits his third lifetime pinch grand slam – a record – to give Chicago a 9-7 win.
• 1976– In his last major league at-bat, future Hall of Fame Cleveland player-manager Frank Robinson strokes a pinch-hit single against the Orioles.
• 1986 – For the second time in his career, Reggie Jackson belts three homers in a game in an 18-3 Angels laugher over Kansas City. At the age of 40 years, four months, Reggie joins Stan Musial and Babe Ruth as the only players to accomplish the feat after turning 40. Reggie scores four times and has seven RBIs.
• 1992– Pittsburgh’s Barry Bonds hits his 30th home run of the season off Philadelphia’s Terry Mulholland in the Pirates’ 5 – 2 win over the Phillies. Bonds thus becomes the fifth player in history to have a pair of 30-HR, 30-stolen bases seasons. The others include his father, Willie Mays, Howard Johnson, and Ron Gant.
• 1998 – Frank Thomas notches his 100th RBI – the eighth straight year he’s reached that level – by clouting a two-run home run in Chicago’s 11-9 win over Boston. Thomas’s home run is one of seven in the game in which 32 hits are registered.
• 2025– All-time pitching legend Clayton Kershaw, who in July became just the 20th pitcher to record 3,000 strikeouts, announces that he will retire following the season after 18 years in the majors, all with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Today in Cubs history:

• 1903 – The Cubs beat the Phils, 6-5, in the first game of a twinbill. In the second game, Chick Fraser no-hits Chicago, 10-0, for the Phils. Peaches Graham, normally a catcher, is the loser in his only major league decision, while Fraser K’s five and walks four.
• 1928 – The Braves and Cubs combine for National League-record eight double plays between them, but the Cubs win the game, 8-3. Sheriff Blake is the winner over Johnny Cooney.
• 1935 – With 30,000 fans watching at Wrigley Field, first-place Chicago tallies 20 hits in thrashing the Giants, 15-3. Charlie Root picks up the win, Chicago’s 15th straight.
• 1960 – Don Zimmer, Ron Santo, and George Altman hit 6th-inning home runs as the Cubs beat the Dodgers, 5-2, at Wrigley Field. Chicago’s biggest home run threat, Ernie Banks, sets a record by drawing his 27th intentional walk of the year.
• 1965– Larry Jackson of the Cubs beats the Mets, 4-3, for his 11th straight win over New York.
• 1970 – The Cubs sweep a pair from Montreal, winning 3-2 and 5-4. Fergie Jenkins wins his 20th in the opener, helped by Billy Williams‘ 40th homer of the year. Phil Regan is the victor in the nitecap.
• 1977 – After losing five of his last six decisions, Chicago’s Rick Reuschel notches his 20th victory, beating the Mets, 6-5. Reuschel leaves after six innings because of a blister, but racks up two hits and three ribbies at the plate.
• 1999 – Slammin’ Sammy Sosa becomes the first player in major league history to hit 60 homers twice. The Cub outfielder hits his milestone round-tripper off Brewer hurler Jason Bere.

Cubs Birthdays:Brent Lillibridge, Jody Gerut, Ozzie Timmons, Ryne Sandberg HOF*, Ed Hanyzewski, Paul Gillespie, Bob Collins.

Today in history:

• 1793 – US President George Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
• 1812 – Great Fire of Moscow burns out after five days, destroys 75% of the city and kills 12,000 people.
• 1837 – Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young co-found a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in New York City, renamed in 1853 as “Tiffany & Co.”
• 1899 – Scott Joplin is granted copyright for his “Maple Leaf Rag,” the most famous ragtime composition, by the US Copyright Office.
• 1946 – Joe Louis KOs Tami Mauriello in the first round for the heavyweight boxing title.
• 1947 – Central Intelligence Agency officially comes into existence after being established by President Truman in July.
• 1971 – Momofuku Ando markets the first Cup Noodles, packaging them in a waterproof polystyrene container.
• 1975 – American publishing heiress-turned-bank robber Patty Hearst captured by FBI in San Francisco, California.

*pictured.

The Mets. We don’t like them. We would like to beat them.

I cannot guarantee victory over the loathed blue and orange club. I can guarantee some links.

Phillies News

José Urquidy has made his way to Philly from the ChiSox via waivers.

Brandon Marsh’s season has hit a bumpy patch. ($)

Jesús Luzardo’s injury is a problem. But maybe not reason to panic. ($)

MLB News

Relievers who might be a big deal this postseason.

A breakout prospect from each club.
A 25-year-old mystery from a Fall Classic past.
Where’s the next two-way star?

It’s the final regular season homestand and it’s one of the tougher matchups. Atlanta Braves Pre/Post Game Host, Barrett Sallee from 680 The Fan joins us exclusively at The Crawfish Boxes to break it all down.

Q: Astros fans immediately flashback to the 2021 World Series against Atlanta. There’s still 5 members from that squad on the Braves. When you prepare your pre/post-game coverage tonight, will you reflect or reference that matchup?  

A: Yeah, we will definitely discuss the 2021 World Series. That was one of the most improbable runs we have seen in the sport in a very long time. It’s not often that a team that’s below .500 at the deadline makes a run like that, especially with two trade deadline pickups as the MVPs of the NLCS and World Series. As far as specific coverage, we haven’t figured that out yet. But it will definitely be a topic of conversation, especially for local callers after the network coverage wraps up.

Q:Let’s begin with the top of the order, it seems like there’s been a variety of combinations and most of them have worked.    

A: Walt Weiss has moved players all over the lineup this season. Typically, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Drake Baldwin are No. 1 and No. 2 depending on righty or lefty matchups. However, Harris has popped up to the leadoff spot a few times over the last few weeks. It’s been a challenge for the top of the lineup at times this season. Acuña was hurt, then Baldwin, then Acuña again. Things have settled down lately, and we have seen Olson entrenched in that No. 3 spot behind Acuña and Baldwin, wherever they pop in on any given day. Olson has been in a bit of a slump lately. He’s always been a streaky hitter, but this one seems to be longer than others that we have seen in the past. However, when he breaks out of them, he does in a BIG way. Those three can be the most dangerous top 3 in baseball if they’re all healthy and cooking at the same time. Hopefully we will see that for the rest of the season and beyond. 

Harris is a massive reason that the Braves have been successful this season. Historically, his slumps and hot streaks have been extremely low and extremely high, with nothing in between. However, this year he has been solid all season. The slumps haven’t been long, and certainly not as noticeable. The hot streaks have been incredible, which is why you see his offensive productions so high this year when compared to other seasons. 

Q: What has Chris Sale has meant to this rotation this season?

A: Sale might not win the Cy Young Award again this season, but there’s no doubt that his contribution to this team is as valuable as any other pitcher to any other team in the league. He has received very little run production, but finds ways to give his team chances to win every single game. He truly doesn’t care about his win/loss record. He goes in to every start with the only goal of giving his team a chance to win. If he has a great game and the Braves lose, he is not a happy camper. Some pitchers say things like that, but don’t really mean it. Chris REALLY means it.

He has been pushed back in the rotation quite a few times for two reasons this year. The first is to give him a little extra rest to keep him fresh and secondly, to set up matchups against good pitchers and teams to set the tone. I compare the way that Weiss uses Sale to that of a college coach in the midst of a conference schedule. Every team always has that “Friday starter.” The guy that you trust more than anybody else, and can go out and dominate not only to set the tone for the series, but also protect the bullpen for the remainder of the series. Sale has thrived because of it.

More than anything else, though, is that his mindset has permeated throughout the clubhouse. He wants to win, plain and simple. That’s all this team wants to do. If any starter or any hitter goes out and has a great day, but the team loses, that’s a bad day. The younger guys – pitchers and hitters alike – have all taken to this mindset.

Q:Are the Braves built for a deep run this postseason?

A: The Braves are definitely built for a postseason run. While the offense has gone through some rough spots – June and August to be specific – we know how dangerous it can be. Plus, the ability of the pitching staff to keep them in games really helps. The biggest reason, though, is the bullpen. We have seen Dylan Dodd and Didier Fuentes escalate their games to become much higher leverage pitchers than they were early on. When you factor in Raisel Iglesias and (hopefully) Robert Suarez, the Braves have one of the best bullpens in the game.

Q: What would be your overview on pitcher Grant Holmes ?

A: Grant has really come along this season. He has a bulldog mentality. There have been times where, whether it’s for the team or himself individually, he has been in pressure-packed situations. He has come through in every single one of them. His slider has been nasty essentially the whole season. When he gets in trouble, it’s because of walks. However, he told us a few months ago that he really toned down his intensity. As a result, his command has become much sharper and he’s been able to go deeper in games. He really has a chip on his shoulder, too. He was a first round draft pick who essentially spent a decade in the minors. He belongs, we all know he belongs, and he’s going to show everybody that he belongs every time he takes the hill.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

Only nine games remain on the Orioles’ 2026 schedule. We’re down to single digits now. Tonight, the Orioles begin their final homestand of the season, hosting the MLB-best Brewers and the wild card-hopeful Blue Jays before finishing their year at Yankee Stadium.

You’d be forgiven if you thought the Orioles’ homestand actually started four days ago, considering how much adulation and support the CitiField crowd was giving to the Orioles (well, one particular Oriole). The positive energy coming from the Mets fans seemed to bolster the Orioles’ spirits, lifting them to a series sweep. It also helps that the Mets are a truly dreadful team.

The Orioles don’t figure to get the same kind of help this weekend from the Brewers, who hold the best record in baseball and have already clinched the NL Central. If the O’s intend to keep their hot streak going, they’re going to need to bring their A game, such as it is. The pessimistic take is that the Orioles will get a cold dose of reality now that they’re facing competent teams, and that this homestand is almost certainly when the O’s will be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

But if you’re the optimistic type who’s holding out hope that the Birds can still make a late run at this, they’re going to need to play practically flawless baseball from here on out, and they’re going to need some help to knock out their wild card competitors, too. Right now it’s hard to pinpoint exactly which teams are their wild card competitors, since the AL Central and AL West divisions are very much up for grabs. The White Sox and Guardians are tied for the Central division lead (with the White Sox holding the tiebreaker), and in the West, the Astros hold a one-game lead over the Rangers (and the tiebreaker). The O’s are three games behind for the third wild card spot, currently held by the Guardians. The Rangers and Blue Jays are two games back.

With so many mediocre teams in the mix, the math gets complicated. To catch the Guardians, the Orioles would need to be four games better than them for the remaining nine games (since Cleveland holds the tiebreaker). But if the Guardians were to take the AL Central lead and knock the White Sox into the wild card race, the O’s would only need to be three games better than Chicago, since the Orioles hold the tiebreaker. Of the West teams, the Orioles hold the tiebreaker against the Astros but not against the Rangers, so however that division shakes out will affect the Birds as well. And then there’s also the Blue Jays to contend with, though the Orioles will have a chance to beat them head-to-head in their three-game series next week.

There are a lot of moving parts, and very little time for all of those parts to move in the Orioles’ favor. In all likelihood, three or four days from now there will be no need for O’s fans to keep track of the various wild card permutations. But if you’re keeping an eye on the out-of-town scores just in case, the Guardians are hosting the Athletics this weekend, the White Sox hosting the Tigers, the Astros at home against the Braves, and the Blue Jays and Rangers are facing each other in a pivotal wild-card battle in Texas. Happy scoreboard watching!

Links

Orioles make plans to bring back Povich – School of Roch

Cade Povich is the only realistic choice to replace Kyle Bradish, but see, this is why it’s hard to really believe the Orioles have any kind of chance of running the table.

What went wrong with the post-2023 Orioles? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

This is a question that would require a novel-length analysis to really delve into, but Rich Dubroff valiantly tries to sum it up in a few paragraphs.

Luis De Leon is emerging as someone that could help the 2027 Orioles – Steve Melewski

The rookie lefty didn’t exactly endear himself to O’s fans by losing his first two major league games, but he’s quietly pitched pretty well since then.

Jon Meoli: Pete Alonso has given the Orioles his best. They’re on the verge of wasting it. – The Baltimore Banner

At least Pete is signed for four more years after this one. I just wish I could feel confident that the Orioles won’t waste all of those, too.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two former Orioles pitchers were born on this date: 2021-22 righty Marcos Diplán (30) and the late lefty Harvey Haddix (b. 1925, d. 1994), who finished his career with the O’s from 1964-65.

On this date in 1976, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, then playing for Cleveland, appeared in the final game of his 21-year major league career. Appropriately enough, it came against the Orioles, and befitting of Frank’s stellar career, it was an RBI single. It came as a pinch-hitter in the eighth in a 3-2 O’s win at Cleveland Stadium.

One year later, another Orioles legend got his moment as the O’s celebrated “Thanks, Brooks” Day to honor the retiring Brooks Robinson. A sellout crowd of 51,798 packed Memorial Stadium to cheer on the beloved longtime Oriole in an hour-long pregame ceremony. Brooks received a minutes-long standing ovation from the crowd as he rode in a car around the warning track, greeting fans. Despite insisting on no gifts, Robinson was presented with a new car, replacement Gold Glove awards for the ones he had donated to charity, and even third base itself, given to him by his replacement at the position, Doug DeCinces.

And on this date in 1991, yet another legendary O’s Hall of Famer had a day to remember. Cal Ripken Jr. hit his 30th homer in a loss to the Red Sox, making him the first shortstop in major league history to have a 30-homer, 40-double season. He finished the season with a career-high 34 homers as well as 46 doubles on his way to winning his second AL Most Valuable Player Award.

From a regular season standpoint, the 2026 season ends Sep 27. For teams like the Cardinals, their minds’ eye has already started to turn toward the 2027 season. However, transactions (for the most part) that begin to shape the organization’s talent pool won’t really begin until after the World Series ends, or very early in November.

This off-season portends a bit of a unique feature in that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires on Dec 1, and the universal expectation is that transactions will freeze at that point and the players will be locked out of MLB facilities. This will create the MLB version of NCAA’s quiet period, inconveniently overlapping with the time most MLB teams conduct the most extensive roster reshaping exercises of the year. Unless there is a surprise early agreement on a new CBA, expect that the Winter Meetings won’t include player transactions (free agent signings or trades) and the Rule V draft will not occur (on the last day of those meetings). The Winter Meetings themselves may not even occur.

Given this backdrop, what is in store for the Cardinals as they continue to reshape their roster and strive to re-acquire a playoff contending team?

First, I want to take a look back at what this new management team did to reshape the roster in their first year at the helm. Some will remark that this management team has been around longer than a year, which is fair, but they really didn’t get their fingerprints on the major league roster until last November. This article focuses on that roster, not the MiLB side, which has been changing for a longer time. Let’s look a year ago.

When the 2025 season ended, the Cardinals had wrapped up with 78 wins and a retirement party for outgoing POBO John Mozeliak. Change was in the air and hopes were high. As I look at the 40-man roster at the time, it seemed an extensive roster reshaping might be in order. 78-win teams will create that impression. At the time, I counted up 21 pots that could undergo some churn (and hopefully, improvement). See below.

Free Agents	40-man clean up	Trades	Non-tender	60-day IL
Mikolas	Koperniak	Contreras	King	Thompson
	Pozo	Nootbaar
	Roycroft	Donovan
	Raquet	Gorman
	Munoz	Romero
	Veneziano	Gray
	Alcala	Arenado
	Prieto
	Siani
	Thompson
	Veneziano

Mikelos was expected to depart via free agency and did. King was non-tendered, as expected. Ten spots on the 40-man roster needed upgrades. A year later, all but one (Prieto) have been moved on. Although the path from then to now was a bit circuitous, I think it fair to opine that in general, improvement has been achieved.

Thompson ended 2025 on the 60-day IL but was not added back to the 40-man when it expired. He remained in the organization, however, but he has not pitched since. I suspect his career is over.

Additionally, one could look at the established veterans on the roster and anticipate that some, if not all, could be dealt as the Cardinals transitioned from one core set of players to another. Their contracts represented a tangle, but management put up the cash to make transactions happen. Here we look up a year later, and all seven indeed have moved on.

That covered the pending departures. Moving on to anticipated adds.

Many 40-man roster changes are instigated by the need to bring on prospects who needed Rule V protection or were ready to make their MLB debuts even if they don’t need protection. The player situations coming out of the 2025 season are shown below, along with some obvious acquisition needs that would be met via trade or free agency.

MLB Debuts	Rule V protection	External Acq.
Mathews	Ramon Mendoza	LH reliever (King)
Wetherholt	Joshua Baez	SP (mikolas)
Henderson	Leonardo Bernal
Bryce Mautz	Austin Love
	Brycen Maultz
	Bryan Torres
	Pete Hansen
	C. Hjerpe

In the first column, we have the players that could have been projected for MLB debut in 2026 before needing 40-man protection. Three were indeed added to the 40-man and promoted. Henderson suffered a long-term injury and his future is cloudy.

The second column identified players needing 40-man protection. Baez, Bernal, Mautz, Torres and Hjerpe were protected. Love, Hansen and Mendoza were not. All protected players saw their MLB debut and most project as part of the future. The ones that were not added? Hard to say these were mistakes. Winquest was overlooked in this list and got drafted in the Rule V (and returned).

The last column identified the obvious needs (before any MLB roster transactions occurred). Dustin May effectively replaced Mikolas. Justin Bruihl effectively replaced John King and they were added to the 40-man when acquired. Several other pitchers were added later as well, such as Stanek, Shuster, Bruihl, Soriano.

One complicating factor seemed particularly acute last year. At the end of 2025, in addition to the aforementioned Thompson, the Cardinals were carrying 3 pitchers with long-term injuries that would carry over into the 2026 season. This had the effect of freezing three 40-man spots, rendering them unusable until recovery occurred. Roby and Hence were already on the 40-man, and in spite of the injury, Hjerpe did get added. Hjerpe eventually made it back and had his MLB debut recently and he required a 40-man spot when he returned. Roby was handled differently. In 2026, he wasn’t actually placed on the MLB 60-IL but was optioned to MiLB and from a 40-man standpoint treated as a player in the minors. He did pitch in game conditions in order to preserve the option year. He will pitch in the AFL. Hence did not make it back and was subsequently removed from the roster.

Without getting into individual players and situations too much, I think a couple of observations about the overall process may be instructive for how this management team operates.

While the opportunities for churn were obvious a year ago, we should note that it really took almost a full year (not just the off-season) to accomplish “churning” 22 out of the 23 spots (deductions) and 11 more additions. For example, there was much teeth gnashing when Pozo remained on the roster coming into the 2026 season. Heck, if I could see the need for roster upgrade in September, 2025, why would that not be done by when the 2026 season opened? Answer: Sometimes it takes a little longer. At the end of the day, they got there.

The process itself is not complete. I look at this an iteration number one of the transition. I suspect we face another this next year (not just the off-season), complicated by CBA machinations.

Note the imbalance of subtractions and adds from the minor league system last year. The Cardinals chose to add a number of one-and-done players to fill out their MLB roster, many of whom were already off the roster by the end of 2026 (Pushard, Shuster, Blewett, et.al.). This appears to have been by design, to provide roster flexibility as prospects ascend. Keep this in mind. The main path for these guys coming in? Spring training non-roster-invitees (NRI).

When compared to prior years, the amount of churn after 2025 was high. I think most agree the roster had grown stale and this churn was necessary, if sad at times, as we saw favorite players depart. What I think we learned is that this management team is methodical, but not necessarily conservative. Turning over half the roster is not “passive”. Fans can squeal about whether Baez should have come up in July instead of August, but realistically, the indirect path led to the needed changes.

How might this apply to this upcoming off-season? If they follow a similar recipe, it should look about like this:

Free Agents	40-man clean up	Trades	Non-tender	60-day IL
Urias	Strzekeki		Gorman	Rajcic
Stanek	Prieto		Liberatore
	Scott II		Pages

Soon after the World Series, expect the Cardinals to decline option years on Urias and Stanek. I anticipate a much more limited roster clean-up this off-season (to start with), which I will explain more in the next section. I see 3-4 guys being removed from the roster as part of a general clean-up and another 3 potentially being non-tendered. They will need these spots cleared to make room for new prospects being added, and these are the guys I anticipate going first.

For each of these three non-tender candidates, their performance, projected role and arbitration salary make their spots tenuous at best. It is possible they could end up in the traded category, if another team wants to jump the line before the non-tender deadline.

As to the Free Agents and clean-up spots, I’ve heard these being referred to a “organic changes”. They occur every year with every team and this (or something like it) is this year’s edition. Urias and Strzeleki are already gone, being DFA’ed in the 3rd week of September. Both players were at various stages of injury recovery and the timeline on the season was running out. With the writing on the wall, I anticipate both transactions were done with the players knowledge and acceptance.

Last, two 40-man roster spots may free up in February if Rajcic and Dobbins get placed on the 60-day IL for the 2027 season. Similar to Fitts and Roby last year, they may choose to option these guys and put them on the MILB full season injured list. This decision will likely depend on how many MLB additions they bring into camp for Spring Training.

In total, I expect only 8-9 spots to open up over the off-season. A fair bit different than last year.

Moving on the the potential additions the Cardinals will have to consider as they map out 2027:

MLB Debuts	Rule V protection	External Acq.	60-day IL
Rodriguez	Jesus Baez	Reliever (Rajcic)	Rajcic
Cijntje	Chase Davis	Starter (Dobbins)
Molina	Zach Levenson	CF
Doyle	Chen-Wei Lin	3B
Franklin	Won-Bin Cho	Other relievers
Jesus Baez	Ledbetter

I’ll start with the Rule V protection column. As described in a prior article, I anticipate that these six players will be the players moved on to the 40-man. Might be one or two more or less, probably depending on if they see some of the new outfielders as better alternatives to Scott II.

In the IL-60 column, Rajcic must be moved back to the 40-man as the IL-60 list expires at season’s end, so he looks like an addition. This leads to my roster math … seven players on, eight or nine players depart (free agents, 40-man, non-tender). This isn’t a statement that the other 32 spots don’t need upgrading, it is recognition that they free up those spots when someone is ready to fill them (trades, free agency). By November, they’ll need seven spots just to protect their own assets, so they will focus there first.

Looking down the road, it seems prudent to expect the Cardinals will continue to promote up some of their high-ceiling prospects (the first column) through the course of the 2027 season, but likely not coming on Opening Day. In constructing their 2027 roster, they must be mindful to allow for up to 7 spots to churn mid-season as these phenoms matriculate. Realistically, the 40-man roster will need at least half-a-dozen players on it that they do not expect to be with the team come this time next year, to allow for these promotions.

As you look at potential roster improvements (listed generally in the external acquisition column), the team will have pretty much two alternatives. One, they can go out and acquire players that upgrade these areas, or they can wait for some of the uber-prospects to master AAA and be promoted.

If they choose to wait, they will be faced with either coming out of spring training 2027 with a roster largely unchanged from the one that ends 2026 or acquiring a series of short-term upgrades that can be displaced when the uber-prospects are ready as 2027 progresses (or perhaps longer).

There will be some trickiness here, because those yet unidentified, short-term upgrades will displace existing roster members. Bruihl? Torres? Rincon? Peirera? Mautz? Fermin? Winquest? It speaks to the improvement of the overall roster that these decisions will be a bit tougher this go-around than last year.

A third option is to trade off from the core set of players and more radically approach upgrading the roster. Herrera? Burleson? Winn? All are possibilities, but this seems somewhat remote, but a non-zero probability.

So, at the end of the day, I see 3 pathways:

1. Keep the roster mostly intact, except for the organic changes related to free agency, non-tenders and a couple of fringe players,
2. Obtain a number of short-term upgrades and displace role players, and/or
3. Deal off from the core set of players to upgrade the roster in the areas of need (3b, CF, SP, RP, bench).

Remember, the Cardinals will have about 30 days to execute whichever approach they choose before the lock-out starts. They will also likely have a short window post-lockout, but that will be a mad scramble that will be difficult for this methodical group to navigate.

The Detroit Tigers dropped the series opener to the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Thursday night, 3-1. Framber Valdez struggled early, giving up all three runs that the home team would score in the first inning and the offense simply had no answer for the opposing pitching staff.

Getting the start in Game 2 for the Motor City Kitties is right-handed rookie Andrew Sears, who has had mixed results in his four appearances so far. The 24-year-old has put up a perfectly mediocre 4.50 ERA and 4.10 FIP so far in two games as a starter, allowing 11 hits (one home run) and three walks while striking out nine, along with a pair of hit-by-pitches over 10 innings since being moved into the rotation.

The ChiSox have a righty rookie of their own taking the bump on Friday night in David Sandlin, who will make his fifth start of the 2026 campaign. The 25-year-old has put up a 4.15 ERA and 3.83 FIP over 21 2/3 innings as a member of Chicago’s rotation, but a rough outing that saw him surrender eight earned runs over four frames prevents him from having much more impressive numbers.

Take a look below at how the two match up in the second of the four-game series this weekend.

Detroit Tigers (72-81) vs. Chicago White Sox (78-75)

Time (ET): 7:40 p.m.
Place: Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois
SB Nation Site:South Side Sox
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 154: LHP Andrew Sears (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP David Sandlin (2-2, 5.64 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Sears	4	16.2	17.8	5.5	26.4	4.18	0.1
Sandlin	6	30.1	23.0	9.5	46.4	5.04	0.1

SEARS

SANDLIN

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers have officially clinched the NL Central, and they’re now on the verge of clinching their first-round bye. They’re also nearing a franchise record for wins (97-65 last season) and have a realistic shot at becoming the first 100-win team in franchise history. Lots to still play for (even if it’s somewhat symbolic) over these last 10 days.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread:

In theory, taking two of three in a road series to open the week should qualify as a success, but in dropping the series finale in Minnesota, the Yankees lost ground in the AL East race, and they wake up today in Arizona five back of the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s a sobering set of events; the Yankees have played very good baseball for some time now, but haven’t been able to inch closer at all to their rivals. The goal at this point is to get the deficit within four, so that when the Yankees and Rays match up for four games in the Bronx next week, New York still has something of a gutshot straight draw, a narrow window to move into first with a sweep.

This morning on the site, you can get ready for the weekend series against the Diamondbacks with Nick’s preview, and get caught up on Thursday’s action with Sam’s Rivalry Roundup. Later, Matt’s entry in our Yankee Birthday series features a lesser-known figure in Brent Lillibridge, Josh discusses why Cam Schlitter’s stellar season has him leaving fWAR, and Madison delivers the answers to this week’s mailbag.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at Arizona Diamondbacks

Time: 9:40 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, DBacks.tv

Venue: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

Questions/Prompts:

1. Will Gerrit Cole turn things around and reel in his gopher-ball problems tonight?

2. The 73-80 Detroit Tigers have nearly the same run differential as the 93-59 Tampa Bay Rays. This is less a question than it is a frustrated observation.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had one of the best Minor League systems over the past couple of seasons, and this year has been no different. As a result the Buccos are sending three of their top prospects to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League.

Three out of the top 30 prospects in Pittsburgh’s system will be representing the Pirates’ organization when league play begins on Oct. 3. Wyatt Sanford (5), Easton Carmichael (8) and Jhonny Severino (28) were selected to compete alongside prospects from the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins that make up Glendale’s squad.

Sanford has been one of the most exciting prospects in High-A this year, despite missing nearly two months with a hand injury. With the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Sanford has been one of the best hitters in the South Atlantic League. On the season he has a .292 batting average and a .974 OPS. His 19 homers on the season certainly showed that he had more pop than many anticipated, and his 33 steals showcased his ability to be a capable athlete at the next level. His involvement in the AFL could be huge for his career moving forward, especially considering he missed significant time due to injury during the regular season.

TWO HOME RUN NIGHT FOR WYATT SANFORD. 😤 pic.twitter.com/ZyGfN8N5m9

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) September 12, 2026

Sanford’s former Greensboro teammate Easton Carmichael has also made waves in 2026. In just his first full season of professional baseball, the Oklahoma catcher has put together quite the campaign. Carmichael was promoted to Double-A Altoona at the tail end of July, and although he hit better with Greensboro he’s still shown flashes of excellence with the Curve. His 20 homers on the season come off the back of some solid consistent hitting at the plate. A disciplined approach, Carmichael rarely plays recklessly and is good at picking his spots offensively. His 13 steals are also staggering for a catcher, as he continues to develop into a well-rounded ball player.

Jhonny Severino had a huge first year in Greensboro as he hit .256/.308/.524 with .832 OPS. He also had 111 hits, 23 doubles, 31 home runs, 95 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. At just 21-years-old he looks like a seasoned hitter already, as he added 15 more homers to his season total from last year. The Pirates have a lot of depth at shortstop these days with players like Severino and Sanford coming up behind Konnor Griffin, and both of these Grasshoppers could be promising prospects in the making.

The Pirates also sent pitchers Cameron Keshock, Zander Mueth, Brandon Cain, Cristhian Tortosa and Michael Walsh to Glendale. Those five are not listed in the organization’s top 30 prospects list.

MLB.com | Clark Fahrenthold: Carlos Lagrange made a triumphant return to the mound Wednesday, striking out two in a scoreless inning with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Most encouragingly, the fireballer’s heater topped out at 102.1 mph and he threw four pitches in triple digits. The Yankees’ number-two pitching prospect had been on the shelf since the end of June with a capsular sprain in his right shoulder. The team had transitioned him to a bullpen role earlier this year in hopes he could help out the major-league team down the stretch, though it’s unclear if that remains an option this year.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: ($) With the postseason approaching, a round-robin of looming questions. Spencer Jones’ struggles in center have weakened his case to hold down center field upon Trent Grisham’s return, though Kirschner would still give him the edge. In a potential Wild Card series, he projects Cam Schlittler to start Game 1 with Max Fried and Gerrit Cole (in no particular order) to follow, making Carlos Rodón an option in a relief role. With starters bouncing to the bullpen, Tim Hill, Luis Gil, and Michael Fulmer don’t make the cut for Kirschner’s roster projection.

MLB.com | Patrick Donnelly: Inherent in the Grisham/Jones question and other decisions about postseason playing time is a simple question: how much can a player be trusted to perform his first time playing October baseball? Fellow rookie George Lombard Jr. and deadline acquisitions Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos join Jones in making zero playoff appearances to date. Aaron Boone opines that playing in the Bronx helps mitigate the newcomer concern. “You play for the Yankees, you play in New York,” said the Yankees manager, “it has a way of getting you ready for the postseason.”

In Buster Posey’s big interview with Tim Kawakami, he stated that the bullpen would be a point of emphasis this offseason. That group has been among the worst in the sport, but not quite negative in value, believe it or not: +0.9 fWAR, bad enough for 25th in MLB. As bad as they’ve been there, they’ve been as bad with their gloves in the field, coming in 24th place with -16.4 Defensive Runs Above Average. In fact, they lead all of Major League Baseball in errors with 102 and counting. They need better defense. How can they make that happen?

Well, this is where trading away Patrick Bailey and losing Daniel Susac to injury hurts. Bailey had been the top defender on the team three years running and even this year, with just 238.1 innings under his belt before the trade, his +5 Fielding Run Value and 4.8 Defensive Runs Above Average made him third-best. Susac’s +8 FRV and +8.7 Def in 351 innings wound up being a great swap (second-best), but here are the other two players in the top four: Luis Arraez, the team leader in defensive value this season (+9 FRV, +9.2 Def in 885.2 innings), and Matt Chapman (+5 FRV, 4.6 Def in 718.2 innings), checking in at #4. Drew Gilbert is #5 with +4 and +2.6. Casey Schmitt follows, then Christian Koss, then Jonah Cox are the next bunch of positive defenders. So, let’s just say that Susac, Chapman, Gilbert, Schmitt, Koss, and Cox aren’t the problem.

Also not the problem? Bryce Eldridge (-2.3 Def) or Rafael Devers (-7.9). Defensive measures for first basemen are typically tough because it’s considered such an easy position. Very easy to drop into negative numbers. Admittedly, Devers’ 8 errors are the third-most on the team behind Willy Adames (18) and Matt Chapman (9), but I’m going to chalk some of that up to lingering injuries and basically settling in to a new position. Still this trio makes up 34% of the team’s errors this season.

But the worst defenders on the Giants are pretty easy to identify. Willy Adames (-8.3) and Jung Hoo Lee (-10.5) both have both cost the Giants about 1 game each over the course of the season with their poor defense. They are the worst position players on the roster by far (minimum: 100 innings). The pitching group’s 17 errors is tied with Cincinnati for 2nd in MLB (or, 29th) behind only Toronto.

Now, maybe you’re a gut-trusting eye-tester when it comes to defense, and I can understand that because it’s hard to conceive of how laser tracking and computer modeling could properly value defensive contributions or the subtleties of playing in the field, but if you line up the good defending teams vs. the bad defending teams this season, an interesting pattern emerges:

With the exceptions of the Royals and Phillies, bad teams have bad defense and good teams have good defense. Though, it must be noted that the Royals have gone 38-41 over the last 3 months and the Phillies 25-15 since improving their defense significantly with the addition of Luis Arraez.

And just to underscore how important defense is, in the past 10 years, the only Giants teams with positive Defensive Runs Above Average values were:

• 2021 (+28.3) | 107-55
• 2023 (+22.6) | 79-83
• 2019 (+19.6) | 77-85
• 2024 (+8.9) | 80-82
• 2025 (+7.9) | 81-81

Not exactly the strong point I was hoping to make but you can see that the past decade of Giants Baseball, whenever it has even bothered to approach success, has had strong defense as part of the foundation.

So, how can the Giants improve? The sexy call is to figure out how to get Jung Hoo Lee off the roster. If that’s possible, sure, why not? That’s a good step in the direction of fixing the defense while getting cheaper. I’m not confident that Lee’s bat is worth keeping around, either. But it’s not that easy to trade a player like Lee. There’s the money owed to him for one thing, but it’ll be tough from a fanbase position to do it, too. He is a draw, even though he and the team are not good.

And, if Casey Schmitt hadn’t torn his meniscus, I’d think it’d be close to a no-brainer to put him at short and slide Willy Adames over to second base; but, I’m not so sure that’s in the cards now. In any case, Adames had better move in with Ron Washington this offseason and hope that he has an Arraezean renaissance in 2027. But that could still happen with him at second base. He has been bad enough there that I think trying to get Chapman to play short while sticking Schmitt at third might make more sense than giving Adames another go.

The team has increased its athleticism in the field as the season has gone along and that’s the sort of thing they’ll need to keep doing in order to improve this part of the team. On paper for next season, it’s basically Daniel Susac, Jonah Cox, and Matt Chapman as the defensive keystones. The team does have a glut of up the middle players working their way through the minors so reinforcements could be well on the way, but I’ll just go ahead and say that the Giants don’t go anywhere without better defensive play. A better defense will take the pressure off the team needing to spend big bucks on the bullpen — or even the rotation, which might be a better use of time and resources, Buster Posey.

Erie SeaWolves 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 (box)

Kenny Serwa put together a whale of a start for the SeaWolves, while a game tying home run from his catcher sparked the offense as the Erie SeaWolves advanced to the Eastern League Championship series for the fifth straight season.

Things didn’t start off well for Tony Cappuccilli’s squad in this one. The Giants first round pick in July, right-hander Jackson Flora, got the ball for two innings and the SeaWolves couldn’t deal with him, striking out four times in two perfect frames. Fortunately, he’s on a strict pitch count. Once he was out of the game, lefty Jacob Bresnahan took over to flip the SeaWolves platooning. The SeaWolves got a single from Izaac Pacheco and a walk to E.J. Exposito to start the third inning. Seth Stephenson advanced them with a sac bunt, but they squandered that chance as Peyton Graham and Zyhir Hope struck out.

Meanwhile, Serwa was cruising in the early innings before trouble struck in the fourth. A one-out single and then a walk set the table for Kaeden Kent, who smoked a three-run shot to right field for a 3-0 lead.

The SeaWolves couldn’t get it going in the fifth, but credit to Cappuccilli for sticking with Serwa, who proceeded to steady the ship and cruise through seven innings with no further trouble.

Finally, in the top of the sixth, Stephenson reached and took second on an error. Graham struck out, but Hope walked, and Thayron Liranzo mashed a three-run homer to tie the game.

Thayron Liranzo ties the game for Erie in the 6th with a monster 3-run homer to left. pic.twitter.com/kiXZfi4Phl

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 18, 2026

They didn’t stop there. Chris Meyers followed with a double. Andrew Jenkins struck out, but Luke Shliger walked. The Squirrels went back to their pen, but Marques Johnson walked Pacheco to load the bases. A passed ball scored Meyers, and it was 4-3 SeaWolves.

Serwa tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, and Stephenson walked to start the seventh. He stole second, and after Graham made on out on a comebacker to Johnson, a wild pitch got Stephenson to third, and Hope drove a ball out to center field for a sacrifice fly. 5-3 SeaWolves.

Zyhir Hope lofts a fly ball to center and Seth Stephenson scores on the sac fly to put Erie up 5-3. pic.twitter.com/sLbBQkPECJ

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 18, 2026

Surprisingly, Cappuccilli continued to ride his veteran knuckleballer, and it worked. He gave up a leadoff bunt single, but got a double play ball to face the minimum in the inning. Really good work from Serwa to recover from the homer and pitch deep into this one, especially as the bullpen isn’t exactly stacked with monsters.

Tanner Kohlhepp took over in the eighth, pitching around a two-out walk, and so it was up to hard-throwing sinkerballer Moises Rodriguez. The slender right-hander was 98-99 mph, but with one out, Graham booted a routine ground ball at shortstop, and after getting a fly ball for the second out, Rodriguez walked the next hitter. He bounced back, tying up Zander Darby, who hit a little swinging bunt down the first base line. Rodriguez pounced on it, flipped to Jenkins, and it was party time for the Erie SeaWolves organization.

Moises Rodriguez gets a soft tapper for out number 3 and the @erie_seawolves are moving on the the Eastern League Championship series for the 5th consecutive year. pic.twitter.com/nTfMHehwom

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 18, 2026

Congrats to Greg Coleman, Greg Gania, Tony Cappuccilli and his staff and team, and the whole SeaWolves family on reaching their fifth straight Eastern League championship series.

Liranzo: 2-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, K

Stephenson: 1-1, 2 R, 2 BB, SB

Meyers: 1-4, R, 2B, K

Serwa (W, 1-0): 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves will have two days off until the Eastern League championhip best-of-three series gets underway on Sunday. Game 1 will be held at home at UPMC Park at 5:05 p.m. ET before heading to Reading next Tuesday.

Division CHAMPagne 🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾 pic.twitter.com/RMJcbGDcPf

— Erie SeaWolves (@erie_seawolves) September 18, 2026

Toledo Mud Hens 5, Louisville Bats 1 (box)

Dylan File threw a good game, and the Hens took advantage of seven walks to beat the Bats again on Thursday.

File was cruising early on and the Hens broke through in the bottom of the third. Max Burt and Trei Cruz walked with one out, and sent the Bats back to their bullpen. The new reliever walked James Outman and Max Anderson both, forcing in a run. Jace Jung lifted a sacrifice fly to right to plate Cruz, and it was 2-0 Hens.

File allowed a solo shot in the fifth, but in the bottom half, Jung doubled in Cruz to make it 3-1 Hens.

File wrapped up his day in the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh, Cruz led off with a single. Outman grounded into a force of Cruz, but Max Anderson singled, and Jung doubled in both runners to make it 5-1.

Enmanuel de Jesus handled the seventh and eighth without much issue. Yilber Diaz walked two and struck out one in closing out the ninth. Hopefully he can get his control dialed in this offseason.

Jung: 2-3, 4 RBI, 2 2B

Cruz: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB

Anderson: 1-3, R, RBI, BB

File (W, 7-1): 6.0 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens had won six of their last eighth, and are up 3-0 in this series heading into a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Friday in Toledo.

If two teams in the bottom of their respective divisions play a game of baseball, does it really happen? Sorry, that California air is really getting to me. Just kidding, I’m not in California.

The Minnesota Twins are there in Anaheim taking on the “Los Angeles” Angels. Stop me if you’ve heard this, but the team facing Minnesota scored a few runs in the first inning. This time it was off of starter Taj Bradley, albeit not really entirely all his fault. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but the Twins defense kinda played a part. Bradley walked Mike Trout with one out. That’s Bradley’s fault. Then someone named Wade Meckler hit a grounder to someone named Ben Ross and the grounder ate him up and couldn’t get the out. Moisés Ballesteros brought in Trout with an RBI single. Denzer Guzman (not sure on the relation to Twins great Cristian Guzman) singled to left field and the throw in did not go directly to second base to get Ballesteros at second, but according to the radio, it should’ve and could’ve gotten him for a second out. After a strikeout of Josh Lowe, Oswald Peraza drove his hit to right field, bringing in Ballesteros. That’s a 3-0 lead after the first inning for the Angels.

After that, it was goose eggs through seven. Rookie Walbert Ureña held the Twins to four hits across his seven innings of work, striking out nine batters while walking none. Bradley settled down to turn in seven frames as well, allowing only two more hits and notching nine strikeouts, raising his K total to 199 on the year.

Minnesota batters did claw back one run in the eighth. On two consecutive pitches to lead off the inning, Walker Jenkins singled to center and Ben Ross got his first major-league hit – a double – off of bullpen arm Luke Murphy. After striking out Luke Keaschall, former Twins player-turned-manager Kurt Suzuki turned to Tayler Saucedo. Brooks Lee hit a sac fly, allowing Jenkins to tag up and touch home from third.

Ben Joyce came in for the ninth to attempt to close the door on Minnesota. Victor Caratini hit a two-out single, setting up newly-hot Jenkins. And Jenkins did a hot thing: hit a homer to tie the game. Ross did a not-hot thing and struck out to keep it a tied game at three runs apiece.

A depleted bullpen was put to work tonight for the Twins. Andrew Morris pitched a clean eighth while A. J. Minter, who pitched last night, was given the ninth. After striking out two batters, he gave up an almost-home-run double to Josh Lowe. Derek Shelton pulled him in favor of Jeff Hoffman. An intentional walk to Adam Frazier put runners on first and second and a double-steal during a Jose Siri at-bat put both runners in scoring position and took the force play off the books. But no worries, as Hoffman got Siri out on strikes to take the game into extras.

The tenth inning had Manfred Mann’s Earth Band participant Ben Ross on second base with Blake Weiman pitching for the Halos; Keaschall singled him over to third while Lee hit an RBI single to untie the baby. Kody Clemens dropped a sac bunt to move the runners to second and third. A Josh Bell pop-out and an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers brought up Royce Lewis with the bases juiced. However, he made the decision to strike out on four pitches.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: the bullpen blew it. Yoendrys Gomez, who got tagged with the blown save yesterday, was tabbed to take the bottom of the tenth with Jose Siri joining Manfred Mann’s Earth Band at second base for the Angels. A flyout and a walk set up runners on the corners for Trout, who singled in Siri to tie the game at four runs. Kody Funderburk was brought in to face Meckler, which resulted in a single to walk-off the game, 5-4.

These two teams meet up again tomorrow – same time (838p Central), same place (Angel Stadium) – for the second game of this four-game set. Connor Prielipp (5-7, 5.24 ERA) is listed as the starter for Minnesota while Grayson Rodriguez (4-7, 6.10 ERA) goes for Anaheim.

Also, this is my last game thread and recap for the season, so I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for joining in and making this fun as always!

W: Blake Weiman (1-1)
L: Yoendrys Gomez (2-4)

STUDS

• Walker Jenkins: 3-4, game-tying HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Brooks Lee: 2-4, 2 RBI

duds

• Royce Lewis: 0-5, 4 K

COTG

Prester John (no relation to me, or at least I don’t think so) willed Jenkins out of his slump.

This is why we watch! Trevor Story’s season looked dead and buried both three months and three weeks ago. He’s battled injury, surgery, rehab, way too many strikeouts, and growing chatter from knuckleheads like me who have repeatedly questioned if he even belongs back in this lineup.

Well tonight, he came to the plate with the Sox down 3-1 in the eighth and on the verge of getting swept. He was facing a tough reliever in Jacob Latz, a Texas team that was 63-1 when leading after seven innings, and the weight of his team going a combined 0-17 with runners in scoring position in the series up to that point.

Then he did this:

As somebody that’s been leading the “Trevor Story is cooked ” charges, I love this so much! Nothing can humble and amaze quite like baseball, and after months of hard work, grinding behind the scenes, and having to deal with all the noise, Story smashed a 108mph line drive home run not only in the face of Latz and Texas’ playoff hopes, but also in the face of all those who have been doubting him for weeks (hand raised).

It’s just one game, and the real test doesn’t start until the 29th, but boy did this have to feel incredible for Story who hadn’t gone deep since May 13th. To do it in that moment, in his home town, and against the backdrop of everything that’s happened this year is just so perfectly baseball. It’s why we love this game so much, and why people like Story are willing to put in the work behind the scenes for months on end to get the chance to do something amazing like that.

I know some of you might not believe it after what I’ve written about him in recent weeks, but I truly am very happy for Story! He deserves all the credit tonight!

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Oh, and in addition to Story’s game changing three-run homer, he followed that up by starting double plays on defense to end both the eighth and ninth:

Baseball really is the best!

Studs

Trevor Story: If I didn’t put him here, I’d have to legally resign from Over The Monster.

Wilyer Abreu: He looked a little better tonight with a sharp single in the fourth and a walk that turned into a run on Story’s three-run shot.

The bullpen: The comeback wouldn’t be complete without the pen holding it down, and with Aroldis Chapman unavailable with lat tightness, Wyatt Olds, Alec Gamboa, and Garrett Whitlock combined to go 2.2 scoreless innings.

Duds

Only one dud tonight, and that’s me given my recent stance on Story’s playing time. The crow is delicious, and I hope it remains on the menu well into October!

One other important note

Just before Story’s home run, Willson Contreras was hit in the hand by a pitch and had to leave the game. The good news is x-rays were negative, but given x-rays were also negative after Curtis Mead got hit in July, I’m not going to be celebrating this one until we get further confirmation.

X-rays were negative on Willson Contreras, at least initially, but he remains sore.

Aroldis Chapman was unavailable due to lat tightness and is day-to-day.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) September 18, 2026

Willson Contreras: "Sore. Painful. My hand was numb for like five minutes. That was the reason I came out of the game. I have fractured, before, the same hand. It felt like a fracture. Thankfully, it’s not a fracture on the top of the bone. I’m just frustrated."

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) September 18, 2026

Play of the game:

Was there ever any doubt it would be Story’s home run? Here’s the game changing swing one more time.