Category: Baseball

The Atlanta Braves are now into the offseason, which means that it’s time for General Manager Alex Anthopoulos to speak with the media and give his thoughts on both the season that was and what’s on the horizon for the team going forward. There’s a lot (and boy, do I mean a lot) to discuss from the time he spent speaking with the local media via Zoom and as you can imagine, things ran the gamut from the usual GM-speak to some general thoughts on the club, all the while giving everybody the slightest chance to do some speculation about the direction that the Braves are going in for the future — whatever the future may hold due to the impending labor war on the horizon.

I did ask AA about what stood out to him about this team relative to the expectations that he had for this ballclub back on Opening Day and his answer kind of ran parallel to what manager Walt Weiss had been saying about his ideal clubhouse.

“I probably started focusing a little bit too much on talent and less on how the pieces would fit. I was pretty determined this offseason to get back to that…We really got back to really focusing on makeup, character, team fit with everybody that we brought in…That’s probably the one thing I’m most proud of.”

“On paper, we obviously have a lot of talented players but I’ve always said that the one thing that you shouldn’t get wrong is the makeup and the character. You do enough work and make enough phone calls, you’re probably not going to make a mistake on that one. Guys might get hurt and may not play well and you’re going to make those mistakes but in terms of knowing who you bring into the room, you should bat 1.000 on that one. Maybe occasionally someone surprises you and they slide under the line [of character expectations].”

“I’m really proud of the fact that when it came to that, we got back to who we were and what we’re about. We’ve talked about the word ‘culture…’ The culture is the players that you put into it….You bring in the right guys, they come together, those 26 each year (because it’s never the same), they set the culture. They set the attitude, they set the vibes. I feel like we were successful in getting back to that and sometimes you have to…continue to evolve and continue to self-reflect. I feel like we got back to that, which was pretty important. It doesn’t mean you’re in a World Series each year but I love what we were about and the way that the group came together.”

AA did mention that he was proud of this Braves club for keeping it close against the Dodgers in the NLDS when he was asked during the press conference about whether or not he had any regrets that he’d take with him to the offseason. “All the games, except for the last one, really through the seventh inning, they were close,” stated AA. “Obviously Game 2 we won, Game 1 we had the tying run at the plate late so they were all close except for the last one. We had some moments (obviously with guys on base) but we were right there. You wanna get the big hit and you wanna score more runs but you also know you’re facing great arms on the other side too. You’re trying to walk the fine line between ‘Should we have done this’ and being able to respect the other side.”

“You can walk through so many things but you also respect the fact that you’re going to face a great team. The series was close and each game (except for the last one where we didn’t really threaten at the end) was close.”

While plenty of the focus in the aftermath of the Postseason has been on the lack of offense near the end, Anthopoulos has chosen to take the long view of things. He repeatedly mentioned that the team finished in the top 10 in batting average (.246, which was tied for 10th with both the Diamondbacks and the Nationals) and slugging (.409, tied for sixth with the Yankees) while also mentioning that some work needed to be done with their on-base percentage, which was certainly below average at .309 and 28th place in all of baseball.

Still, it doesn’t seem like it’s the type of thing where Alex Anthopoulos would be putting pressure on Walt Weiss to potetially make a change at hitting coach. “If we had a good year, I do believe in continuity from a coaching staff,” stated AA when he was asked about his thoughts on Jeremy Hefner and Tim Hyers, specifically. “That’s not to say that you keep everybody for the sake of keeping everybody. If you think you can get better, you need to make adjustments. I haven’t had any conversations with Walt — this will be me and Walt’s first offseason together and there’s no rush on that type of stuff.”

“I think continuity is important for a few reasons. One, new coach comes in, you don’t know them and you don’t get the trust factor immediately,” continued AA. “It takes time. There’s times where you’re willing to do that and wait and obviously we did it this year with a ton of new staff but it takes time,” continued Anthopoulos. “I think there’s upside for guys to continue to get better now that potentially some of them are going into year two. In terms of [Hefner] and [Hyers] again, we were top-3 in the NL in basically everything [pitching-wise]. From an offensive standpoint, we were top-10 in the Majors in a lot of things. Second half of [2025] our on-base was lot better, it’s a lot of the same guys. This past year, on-base was low but we did all these other things well. We obviously have room to get better so I’d say that I think continuity is important…I think eveyrbody did a really good job and I’m pleased with all of them.”

At multiple points during the press conference, AA was grilled about the positions that he’d be going after during the offseason, with one question going as far as to ask Anthopoulos straight-up if they were going into the offseason looking for specifically two starting pitchers and a left fielder. As you would imagine, AA was cagey about it and stayed cagey as other media members continued to push the issue — especially when it came to players who may or may not be available via trade.

“You gotta remember, our players are going to see that stuff. ‘Hey, he only mentioned these 1 or 2 guys. Why didn’t he include me?’ Now I have an agent calling me and a player calling me…There’s zero upside to that. I get the question and I get trying to piece it all together but I will tell you this: We will go into the offseason open-minded about all kinds of stuff,” stated AA. “That’s how you have discussions and that’s how you get creative. THat’s how things go. You never know — I’ve always said that everyone has a price. There’s always a deal even on a player that you’re unlikely or reluctant to ove. At some point, you include guys. I have no idea where those things are going to go but I don’t think we’re in a position to rule anything out. I just don’t believe in doing it.”

AA did go on to mention that the Braves are planning on using their exclusive negotiation rights with both Mauricio Dubón and Tyler Mahle to the best of their ability, so they’re going to give it a good shot when it comes to retaining those two. When it comes to the team options on both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, AA didn’t commit to a decision for either player but I’d imagine that it’s safe to assume that both of them will be back.

Anthopoulos did also directly address the Jurickson Profar situation and while he did mention that Profar is under contract for 2027, he definitely stopped short of guaranteeing that Profar would indeed be back next season.

“Those are conversations that we’re going to have,” stated AA. “We know it’s coming, clearly. We know he’s under contract for 2027, we knew the suspension was gonna be a year. That’s obviously a topic we’re going to have to address and talk about, we haven’t had that discussion yet.”

“I wouldn’t be prepared to give you a definitive answer one way or another,” continued Anthopoulos. “That’s not to be cryptic or hedge. I know it’s tough because you guys can only work with what I say…There wasn’t anything for us to do or address [when it came to Profar’s suspension], he was out for the season…What I can tell you is that we’re going to have to sit and talk internally across the board about the whole thing. This is now the time to have those discussions.”

Anthopoulos also talked about Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider and while our article from Sunday touched upon those (and other) topics of discussion during the press conference, further detail really illuminated the matter. “Strider was in Florida throwing bullpens and feeling good,” said AA. “Again, you’re still far away from rehab games, innings and things like that. Schwellenbach had surgery. I think from a planning standpoint, I don’t think it’d be responsible to say ‘Okay, those guys are going to start 30 games and throw 180 innings,’ right? That’s something we’re definitely going to have to account for and talk about when it comes to where we’re going to get our innings next season.”

“I remember telling Grant Holmes even last offseason at the beginning that how he progresses was going to tell us what his potential role would be. As we sit here today, I don’t think you’re going to see us come in and say that we expect those guys to be locks in the rotation with Sale,” said AA as he continued to explain the situation. “I don’t think that’d be a responsible thing to say. We know what they can be when they’re healthy and they’re right and the upside is off the charts but right now because of the lost years for basically both…we’ll just see how the offseason progresses at this point. It’s not something going into November that we’ll have any clarity on going into next Spring.”

AA also seemed to confirm the idea that Didier Fuentes would be starting games in the future — with the future being 2027 (or whenever the next season is) if his audition for a starting rotation role goes well during spring training. “We view him as a starter long-term,” confirmed AA. “We’ve been consistent with that. We know he can be a great reliever — we just saw it. On the one hand, you have a bird in the hand that you know you’ve got a really impactful bullpen arm that we believe it’s real and that he can continue to do this — health-permitting, of course.”

“Those are things we have to weigh. We think there’s tremendous upside,” continued AA. “It’s nice to know you’ve got an impact arm out of the ‘pen but you also know that there’s tremendous upside. He can put it together as a starter since he’s still so young. The development of both the changeup and the slider are pretty encouraging.”

“What we don’t know is the workload. Can he handle 25-plus starts, 150 innings. All those things, we’ll have to have those conversations. And then, can you do that in ‘27? Are you going to go from 70-plus innings and jump to [a higher workload] and those are all things that we’ll have to talk about.”

The General Manager was really gracious with his time on Sunday, as he took questions for an hour — something that is definitely out of the ordinary. While Anthopoulos has never been shy about sharing his opinions on the team, we were certainly in uncharted territory when it came to this particular press conference. That just goes to show just how intriguing the Braves are at the moment. The current NL East Champions have plenty of questions surrounding them with an uncertain offseason looming. It’ll truly be interesting to see how things shake out for this team going forward — and whether or not we’ll have to wait out a long lockout in order to get questions to those answers. We’ll see what happens.

The offseason between 2005 and 2006 was one of great transition for the Cincinnati Reds. You’ll be shocked to be reminded of their disappointing 2005 season – Dave Miley got fired near the midpoint and they went just 1-7 over their final 8 games to finish 73-89 and in last place in the NL Central.

That winter, though, they went into overhaul mode. Veteran 1B Sean Casey was dealt to Pittsburgh and Scott Hatteberg was signed to replace him. Slugging outfielder Wily Mo Peña was flipped to Boston for rotation cornerstone Bronson Arroyo. And the first week of the 2006 season saw them swing a deal for mercurial Cleveland infielder Brandon Phillips in a move that helped solidify their later runs to a pair of NL Central titles.

On January 8th, 2006, Cincinnati signed veteran shortstop Rich Aurilia in free agency in a move that turned out to be more than worth it. Just one day before that, the lone obvious piece of the current future of the Reds was born in Miranda, Venezuela.

That last note hasn’t yet helped the current iteration of the Reds begin their latest overhaul, but catching prospect Alfredo Duno is firmly on their radar as they enter this vital offseason. Veteran catcher Tyler Stephenson will become a free agent within a handful of days of the upcoming World Series, and only Will Banfield and career backup Jose Trevino are on the roster as catching options under team control for 2027.

Trevino missed time during 2026 and hit just .217/.221/.336 in 156 PA for the Reds last season. He’s the one likely penciled in as the ‘starter’ at the moment, and remember this is a Reds club that finished a) in last place in the Central in and b) 28 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers club that just won Game 1 of the NLCS last night over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Upgrading over Stephenson is one of just a billion needs on this roster build, and they’re entering the offseason process having already taken a massive step back at catcher on-paper.

That brings us back to Duno, who at 20 years old already has the spotlight on him as the presumptive Next Big Thing to help turn around the fortunes of this stagnant franchise.

For one, he’s big-big. Listed at 6’2” and 210 lbs, he’s pretty clearly a great bit larger than that. That hasn’t yet precluded his advancement defensively behind the plate, though, and he’s got an arm back there that projects to play well going forward. It’s the offensive upside he provides at a position generally reserved for defense-first proclivities that have him atop the Reds prospect lists and near the top of Top 100 lists overall though, and in 2026 he hit .322/.406/.488 in 138 PA after making it up to AA Chattanooga. That’s just the latest part of a minor league career that’s seen him hit .285/.414/.499 across 1262 PA, including a breakout 2025 season with the Daytona Dragons in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League where he slugged .518 with more walks (95) than strikeouts (91) – and famously had a three-homer game in the Arizona Fall League playoffs.

He reached AA this year and acquitted himself rather well in an admittedly small-ish sample there. Had he performed differently anywhere else, you’d be welcome to consider it a potential outlier there, but he hit there the way he’s hit every single place he’s hit before, too. That lends one to assume that if he hit AA pitching in 2026, the Reds are going to give him the chance to hit AAA in 2027, and hitting AAA pitching puts one on the doorstep of Major League Baseball action.

So, it’s hard not to ignore that at the same time Cincinnati’s main catcher reaches free agency, Cincinnati’s top catching prospect sits on the doorstep of an MLB debut.

Catchers used to be the one position where teams notoriously slow-played advancement to the big leagues. Calling games, the defensive responsibilities, and the rigor of squatting all the time made prepping for one’s first 162 game grind more difficult than at any other position. However, with the DH in play in the National League and PitchCom devices to help with relaying signs and signals, there has been a wave of young MLB catchers breaking into the league at ages that once sounded outlandish.

Ethan Salas, six months younger than Duno, made it into 16 games at the tail end of the San Diego Padres season as a 20 year old and featured in their recent playoff run. Samuel Basallo debuted at age 20 for Baltimore during the 2025 season and by his age-21 year they’d already chosen to move on from stalwart Adley Rutschman. Duno will turn 21 in January.

With a dearth of power bats on the farm, a clear need at the position, and the dwindling team control of superstar Elly De La Cruz, it’s easy to want the Reds to push Duno’s advancement. They aren’t going to do that too much, obviously, but if he hits well at AAA to begin 2027 there’s every reason to believe the Reds will factor him into their big league plans at some point later in the summer. That makes finding a complement to Trevino to begin the year a bit perilous as there is little long-term outlook for a backstop not named Duno going forward.

The lone caveat there is one Sal Stewart, Cincinnati’s 2026 Rookie of the Year candidate who settled in at 1B almost daily after Nathaniel Lowe was dealt away at the trade deadline. He spent ample time at 3B and 2B earlier in the season – the positions where he played in the minors coming up – and any move back to being more flexible defensively for him would open up more PA at 1B and DH for any potential catcher. The Reds often used Stephenson at both 1B and DH in his years on the club, for instance, and keeping that door open for any catcher being brought in could be the one way to entice something more than a career backup hoping for an actual big-league deal to be the player they can bring in for 2027.

It’s still early to get your hopes up for where Duno will hit in the Reds lineup, but not too early to dream about where he fits within the current roster. If he continues on the path he’s laid out so far, he’s going to be a big leaguer in 2027 one way or another.

The answer to whether Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be back on the Yankees next season might be found on their lineup card for Game 3 of the ALDS. In a win-or-go-home game against the Rays, with a righty on the mound for Tampa Bay, Chisholm did not start. In the most crucial game of the year, with him having the platoon advantage, someone else was the choice at second base.

That sound like someone who will be back? Nope. 

But Chisholm, who is headed to free agency, is a high-octane talent with power and speed. He can be a strong defender. He’s got some nifty flair, too, and his athleticism can lead to thrilling plays and moments. 

Even if his Yankee tenure was uneven, he seemed to enjoy the pinstripes and said after the Tampa sweep that he’d like to return, though that’s kind of the pat answer in such situations. It’s always good free agency business to mention the Yankees, too. 

So should the Yankees bring Chisholm back? Here’s a look: 

WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP CHISHOLM

His skill set is immense -- when fully activated, anyway. He had 31 homers and 31 steals in 2025 to join Alfonso Soriano (twice) and Bobby Bonds as the only players with a 30-30 season in pinstripes. 

Chisholm was inspired enough by those numbers to muse this spring about joining Shohei Ohtani, the only player ever to have 50 homers and 50 steals in one year. Didn’t happen, obviously. 

His homer output dipped to 19 this season, but Chisholm, who will be 29 years old in February, stole a career-best 41 bags, which was tied for the fourth-most in the majors. In general, he's a quality baserunner and some metrics paint him as a fine defender at second. 

The upcoming free agent class is generally considered to be meh. Chisholm, even coming off a down season in terms of production and optics, is one of the better hitters available. The Yankees, you might recall, were not exactly an offensive juggernaut while they were getting swept by the Rays.

WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LET CHISHOLM GO

Grab a lollipop and sit down -- this might take awhile. Chisholm lost 102 points on his OPS from 2025 to 2026 and his strikeout rate, already high, went up. He’s a left-handed hitter who, like many, has problems with same-side pitching. 

His defense can be spectacular or spectacularly annoying. He was part of that gross error-fest in Game 2 against the Rays, making an awkward relay throw to try to turn an unlikely double play. Not surprisingly, the throw went awry. 

After the game, Chisholm said he’d make the ill-advised toss again. Maybe read the room? Early in the season, he admitted he didn’t fully grasp a force out rule.

Chisholm plays with a certain élan, something that often feels needed in corporate Yankeeland, but he’s also not great at harnessing that spirit. When he showed up on the field sucking on a lollipop during a game, he needed a talking-to from Aaron Boone, who was not happy. Fans didn’t think Chisholm’s mid-game treat was endearing, either. 

When Chisholm talked of going Ohtani, his 50-50 bid was greeted with derision by some on social media, rather than giddy anticipation. He was booed when he popped up as a pinch-hitter in Game 3 against Tampa Bay. 

Again, he didn’t start the last game of the season, and that was the second time in the postseason he didn’t start. Boone texted him the news the first time, but did not do it before Game 3 -- and Chisholm said he would’ve liked a heads-up. 

There often seemed to be a disconnect with Chisholm and the Yanks. Make no mistake, the Yankees aren’t free of blame, either. Why couldn’t they get more out of Chisholm?

Verdict

Go. 

Chisholm is a terrific talent and could be good elsewhere, but it feels like his time in pinstripes is over. If they don’t want him back, the Yankees should think long and hard about even extending him the $23-plus million qualifying offer. 

After a down season, Chisholm might take it and try to rebuild his value with what should be a contender again next year. What happened with Trent Grisham and the QO last year might be instructive here, but Grisham was also coming off a big season.

The Yankees have in-house solutions at second in Anthony Volpe, who started both times Chisholm didn’t in the postseason, and even José Caballero. Could they get Luis García Jr., a former second baseman who moved to first, ready to shift back?

The free agent market might work, too. Brandon Lowe hit 35 homers for the Pirates last year and might hit more aiming for the Yankee Stadium short porch all year. Luis Arraez seems like the put-the-ball-in-play type of hitter who could really help a pinstriped offense that sagged last season. How about Gleyber Torres redux?

Heading into the season, the bullpen was probably the area of the Orioles that worried me the most. There were not enough proven arms and the one big signing Mike Elias made to address it, Ryan Helsley, was fresh off a horrible final two months of the season. This could have been really bad! At times, it was really bad.

Yet when the dust settled on the 2026 campaign, the Orioles had the 11th-best bullpen ERA of all teams in MLB. It wasn’t smooth the whole way, but on the whole this group was good enough that if the rest of the team had held up its end of the workload, they wouldn’t have been a drag on a contender, especially by the end of the season when several unexpected names had emerged into solid contributors.

In this week’s episode, I work my way down the list of relievers, from two one-gamers all the way up to Rico Garcia, to see who contributed, who was a mess, and who should and will be back next year. Give it a listen here:

If the above player isn’t displaying, view this article in Incognito Mode or check it out on the show’s page.

This is my weekly podcast about whatever is going on lately with the Orioles. If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to subscribe. You can get the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you prefer to access your podcasts.

How are you feeling about the way things are going with the Orioles right now? Answers could make it into the mailbag section of a future episode of the podcast.

As I sat down to write about the Rays triumphant return to the ALCS, I was beset by a nagging question.

The Rays have a nasty habit of playing up to some opponents and down to others. Will that tradition rear its ugly head in the American League Championship Series?

I recognize the absurdity of this question. The Guardians pitching is lights out, and they — like the Rays — are a top organization in the sport. This is a meeting of two very qualified franchises, despite the lack of prestige the follows teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers. And yet, if the Rays are their usual selves, this ALCS shouldn’t be a challenge.

That sentiment brings me back to that nagging worry.

I know that’s not rational. The White Sox swung 80 times in an elimination game and made contact nine times. Brain! What are you thinking? Let’s center ourselves on the more important question: Should the Rays be scared of Guardians pitching after that 21-K demolition of the White Sox?

Twenty-one strikeouts. In a winner-take-all Game 5. Against a White Sox lineup that had already set the previous nine-inning postseason record with 19 Ks just a few days earlier.

Cleveland’s pitchers finished the ALDS with 75 strikeouts in five games, a Division Series record and the fourth most in any postseason series ever. Game 4 and 5 hero Gavin Williams punched out 12, tying the franchise postseason mark, and the bullpen piled on the rest while José Ramírez’s two-run homer provided the only offense in a 2-0 win.

The Guardians are rolling into Tropicana Field on Monday with a staff that just made history, and the narrative writes itself: elite miss-bat stuff meeting a Rays lineup that… well, actually, doesn’t miss with the bat very often at all. The Rays led all MLB teams in contact rate. Their 18.8% strikeout rate was the lowest in the majors, and their 20.7% swing-and-miss rate ranked among the best you’ll ever see watching this sport year in and year out. This is a fundamentally different offensive profile.

If the Rays prioritize putting the ball in play, they should have a far better time than the White Sox did.

The Guardians’ ability to generate swings and misses is legitimate, and Williams in particular can overpower just about anyone on a given night. We’ve seen the Rays face a buzzsaw of a pitcher and succumb before (Cliff Lee in particular still haunts me to this day, but most of our current core of hitters were in pre-school when that happened). This is also a seven game series, which helps considerably, and lessens the fear of needing to face Williams too often.

Lower strikeout rates don’t guarantee runs, but they do reduce the chance of a complete offensive blackout driven by the whiff. Put the ball in play enough times against a staff that just threw a ton of pitches in a short series, and the odds of something positive happening improve.

The bigger concerns for the Rays are more prosaic: executing against a group that just found another gear in October, managing the early innings against Griffin/Messick/Williams, and ensuring their own contact approach doesn’t turn into soft contact against elite stuff.

Cleveland’s pitching is good enough to beat anyone if the Guardians’ hitters (led by the impossibly great José Ramírez) keep providing just enough support. But providing just enough run support is exactly the Rays thing. One-run games are often dismissed as coin flips, the realm of luck, bullpen luck, and the occasional walk-off heroics. For most teams that’s roughly true. For the 2026 Tampa Bay Rays, it was a competitive advantage.

The Rays finished the regular season 25-14 in one-run games, a .641 winning percentage that ranked among the best in baseball. That success in the margins helped turn a solid run differential (736 runs scored, 650 allowed, Pythagorean record around 90 wins) into their surprising 98-64 campaign, the AL East title, and the number one seed.

Cleveland arrives at the Trop, where the Rays dominated this season, with practice in tight contests (they had a 27-22 record in one-run games), and the Guardians just rode elite pitching through a dramatic ALDS comeback. But the Rays also sent the Yankees to Aruba on the backs of one-run games in two of the three games where they swept.

Low-scoring, one-run games are very much on the table in this series.

Tampa Bay’s regular-season edge in those situations is encouraging, and enough to say I’m not scared of Cleveland, but postseason baseball amplifies small samples and individual performances in ways that cannot be predicted. Like Williams and Ramírez for the Guardians, the Rays will need their a few players to step up along the way to secure another trip to the World Series.

Given the year we’ve seen from the likes of Rasmussen, Caminero, and the red hot Mesa Jr, I believe.

The Royals have made the playoffs once in the last decade, and their disappointing seasons in 2025 and 2026 have raised questions about whether the front office can build a contender. One way to get a better sense of how the Royals are doing is to compare their decisions with those of another franchise. In my recent evaluation of Royals president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo, I tried to assess how well he had done at acquiring talent. This piece takes the same approach with Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold, giving us a point of comparison with a franchise that has been more successful over the past four seasons.

The goal of my exercise was to attempt to determine which of resources or talent evaluation were the primary culprit behind the Royals’ back-to-back disappointing seasons after the surprise playoff run in 2024. I cannot realistically evaluate how big the hits or misses are without knowing what the alternatives might have been. I can’t know what the alternatives were without knowing intimate details about the Royals’ free-agent and trade negotiations to which I am not privy. It’s obvious on its face that Picollo has not done a good enough job at building a contending roster, so I am merely attempting to determine the primary limiting factor as best I can with publicly available knowledge. To that end, wins represent appropriate or surplus value for the acquisition cost, not necessarily a good add to the roster.

When we compare Picollo and Arnold, I think we need to acknowledge the reality that the Brewers have been more successful over the past four seasons than the Royals. So the expectation should likely be that Arnold is going to have a higher “win percentage” than Picollo. If that’s the case, it doesn’t mean Picollo should automatically be fired. We want to see the degree to which Picollo is being beaten to get an idea of whether this is something he is at least close on. Arnold has won Executive of the Year two years in a row, so he is considered one of the best in baseball. If Picollo is even close to the best, he’s worth keeping around for a bit. If he’s wildly worse, then I might be forced to run this exercise again with a different franchise to see how he compares to someone who is not the best because we’d have to allow for the possibility that Matt Arnold leads the best front office in baseball and it isn’t close.*

Anyway, with that all out of the way, let’s get into the scoring. In an attempt to preserve my sanity and time, I’m going to try to do less writing about individual transactions since most of you probably don’t care about these players anyway. In fact, feel free to skip to the end to read my conclusions; I won’t be offended. The only reason I’m even writing them down is as a sort of bibliography for that conclusion.

2023

Signed Blake Perkins

They paid him the minimum to be a replacement-level player.

0-0-1

Signed Wade Miley

$4.5 million for 1.0 fWAR.

1-0-1

Signed Brian Anderson

$3.5 million for 0.4 fWAR.

2-0-1

Signed Justin Wilson

Never pitched for the Brewers.

2-1-1

Signed Darin Ruf

Below replacement level.

2-1-2

Signed Julio Teheran

$1.5 million for 0.3 fWAR.

3-1-2

Signed Raimel Tapia

Below replacement level.

3-2-2

Signed Jahmai Jones

They paid him the minimum to be a replacement-level player.

3-2-3

Traded Reminton Batista for Payton Henry

Neither has appeared in the big leagues again.

3-2-4

Traded Hunter Renfroe for Elvis Peguero, Janson Junk, and Adam Seminaris

Renfroe was still useful in 2023, but Peguero was a useful piece, too.

4-2-4

Traded Kolten Wong for Abraham Toro and Jesse Winker

Wong and Winker were both awful.

4-2-5

Traded Esteury Ruiz for William Contreras, Joel Payamps, and Justin Yeager (three-team trade)

William Contreras is a perennial All-Star; Payamps was good for a bit.

5-2-5

Traded Justin Topa for Joseph Hernandez

Topa was good; Hernandez never made it.

5-3-5

Traded Taylor Floyd and cash for Trevor Megill

Megill has been a terrific closer for a couple of years, though he wasn’t this good straight out of the gate.

6-3-5

Traded Jhonny Severino for Carlos Santana

Santana was helpful

7-3-5

Traded Justin Jarvis for Mark Canha and cash

Canha was great; Jarvis never made it.

8-3-5

Traded Luis Urias for Bradley Blalock

Nothingburger.

8-3-6

Traded Alex Jackson for Evan McKendry

Ditto.

8-3-7

Traded Peter Strzeleckifor Andrew Chafin

One more time.

2023 Total: 8-3-8

2024

Signed Joe Ross

$1.75 million for 0.9 fWAR.

1-0-0

Signed Wade Miley

Turns out J.J. isn’t the only one who hangs on to guys too long, sometimes. Only threw seven innings this year.

1-1-0

Signed Eric Haase

$1 million for 0.2 fWAR/

2-1-0

Signed Rhys Hoskins

$34 million for two years totaling 1.1 fWAR.

2-2-0

Signed Jakob Junis

$7 million for replacement-level play.

2-3-0

Signed Gary Sánchez

$3 million for 0.4 fWAR/

3-3-0

Signed Brandon Woodruff

$17.5 million for 1.7 fWAR.

3-4-0

Signed Elieser Hernández

League minimum for replacement level.

3-4-1

Extended Jackson Chourio

Already paying dividends.

4-4-1

Traded Mark Canha for Blake Holub

Canha wasn’t bad in 2024. Holub has yet to make his big-league debut. He showed off some nice strikeout numbers in AAA, but he’s 27. So we’ll call it a draw for now.

4-4-2

Traded Hendry Mendez and Robert Moore for Oliver Dunn

Both the prospects traded look like they could be something, Mendez in particular looks like a potential stud (now with the Twins). Dunn was basically replacement level.

4-5-2

Traded Abraham Toro for Chad Patrick

Vice versa from above.

5-5-2

Traded Brian Sanchez and Jace Avina for Jake Bauers

Jake Bauers has become a mainstay in the Brewers lineup

6-5-2

Traded Cam Devanney and Ryan Brady for Taylor Clarke

We covered this one on the Royals’ side.

6-5-3

Traded Tyrone Taylor and Adrian Houser for Coleman Crow

Crow has been disappointing while Taylor and Houser have each had their moments.

6-6-3

Traded Justin Chambers for Bryan Hudson

Nothing for nothing.

6-6-4

Traded Corbin Burnes for DL Hall and Joey Ortiz

Joey saves this one for the Brewers because Hall has not been helpful.

7-6-4

Traded Clayton Andrews for Joshua Quezada

Quezada is speedrunning the Brewers’ system; he pitched at every level of full-season minor leagues this year at 22. I’m not sure I see it, but they sure do. Still, to stick with the conservative approach of Picollo’s review, it’s a draw.

7-6-5

Traded Thyago Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez for Garret Stallings

Stalling debuted this year and looked pretty good.

8-6-5

Traded Gregory Barrios for Aaron Civale

Civale was good, not great; Barrios is well-regarded as a prospect but isn’t putting up numbers. No winners here.

8-6-6

Traded TJ Shook for Tyler Jay

Nothing for nothing.

8-6-7

Traded Yujanyer Herreraand Bradley Blalock for Nick Mears

Ditto

8-6-8

Traded Jakob Junis and Joey Wiemer for Frankie Montas

Wiemer has been mostly worthless as an MLB player, but Junis was fire for the Reds after the trade, and Montas wasn’t great. Without knowing more about the Brewers, it’s hard to call this a loss – maybe the mediocre starter’s innings were more valuable to them than the relief innings they gave up. So I’ll call it nothing.

2024 total: 8-6-9

Two-year total: 16-9-16

2025

Signed Grant Wolfram

Never pitched in the big leagues for the Brewers.

0-1-0

Signed Elvin Rodríguez

Below replacement level.

0-2-0

Signed Tyler Alexander

$1 million for 0.4 fWAR but DFA’d in early June because he had a 6.19 ERA.

0-2-1

Signed Jose Quintana

$4 million for 0.8 fWAR in 24 starts.

1-2-1

Signed Erik Fedde

Below replacement level.

1-3-1

Traded Devin Williams for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin

Caleb Durbin saves this trade.

2-3-1

Traded Mason Molina for Grant Anderson

I want to call this a loss because Molina looks far more interesting as a prospect than Anderson has been as a reliever, but Molina hasn’t been quite good enough for me to pull the trigger.

2-3-2

Traded Mark Canha for Cesar Espinal

Canha was bad; Espinal is not good.

2-3-3

Traded Grant Wolfram for Daz Cameronand cash

Bad for bad.

2-3-4

Traded Yophery Rodríguez, Competitive Balance pick A, and John Holobetz for Quinn Priester

Priester was good, but not great, and underwent thoracic outlet surgery this year. Holobetz and the CB-A Pick (Marcus Phillips) look pretty good in the minors.

2-3-5

Traded Aaron Civale for Andrew Vaughn

This was when I was convinced that the White Sox were actively making everyone on their team worse and wanted the Royals to go after Luis Robert Jr.

3-3-5

Traded Jorge Quintana and Nestor Cortes for Brandon Lockridge

Nothing for nothing.

3-3-6

Traded PTBNL for Jordan Montgomery and Shelby Miller

Nothing for nothing, but an interesting example of the Brewers being willing to take on money to pay less in prospect capital. They actually wanted Miller, but took Montgomery’s salary so they didn’t have to give up much. It’s hard to tell if they ever did this again in the four-year stretch we’re evaluating, but even doing it once is more than the Royals have been willing to try.

2025 total: 3-3-7

Three-year total: 19-12-23

2026

Signed Brandon Woodruff

$22.5 million for 1.2 fWAR, a second whiff on the same player.

0-1-0

Signed Akil Baddoo

Never even appeared for the big league team.

0-2-0

Signed Gary Sánchez

$1.75 million for 0.9 fWAR; Gary is another win.

1-2-0

Signed Luis Rengifo

He was so very bad.

1-3-0

Signed Bryse Wilson

It worked again.

2-3-0

Extended Cooper Pratt

Fantastic in limited playing time so far.

3-3-0

Extended Luis Lara

Lara has not been good yet, but the extension can’t be a loss this early.

3-3-1

Traded Isaac Collins and Nick Mears for Angel Zerpa

We covered this from the Royals’ side.

3-3-2

Traded Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers for Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams

You’d rather have Peralta than Sproat, and while Myers wasn’t much, Williams has regressed a bit in AAA this season.

3-3-3

Traded Caleb Durbin, Competitive Balance Pick B, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Siegler for Kyle Harrison and David Hamilton

This looked like a hilarious win to start the season, but Durbin actually had a really good year by the end and Harrison fell off. Owen Hull, the CB-B pick, tore up High-A, too. I think we have to consider this a loss.

3-4-3

Traded K.C. Hunt for Jake Woodford

Nothing for nothing

3-4-4

Traded Jadyn Fielder for Lance McCullers Jr., Colton Gordon, and cash

Fielder’s got a little juice, but still very low. This is a tie leaning toward a loss. This would probably be at least a second example of taking on money to give up less; they cut McCullers less than two weeks after they acquired him. We don’t know how much cash they got in the deal to offset his salary, though.

3-4-5

Traded Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins for Codi Heuer and Bo Naylor

Nothing for nothing.

3-4-6

Traded Josiah Ragsdale and Alexander Frias for JoJo Romero and Dustin May

Frias is a 50 FV, and Ragsdale is tearing up the minors. Romero is a competent lefty reliever, and May has been a disappointment.

3-5-6

Traded Juan Martinez and Mark Manfredi for Antonio Senzatela

Manfredi has looked good in relief; Senzatela has not. Martinez showed a little juice in the minors, not enough to sway this, but it was already a loss.

2026 total: 3-6-6

Four-year total: 22-18-29

Conclusion

The most obvious thing is that the Brewers make more transactions than the Royals. And that’s before I realized, as I was going through this, that I had disregarded cash trades, viewing them the same as minor league free agent signings. Let’s at least summarize the cash trades here.

The Royals made 12 trades that included only cash from one side or another in the past four years. The Royals had two trades of that nature that worked out well (Yuli Gurriel and Randy Dobnak) and one that went poorly (Ryan O’Hearn, though the rumor is that there were extenuating circumstances to that one).

The Brewers made 19. They had a pair of small hits (Owen Miller, Bryse Wilson) and traded away no one they’ve ended up missing. You could argue the Royals could make more of these kinds of trades, but they’ve also got as many hits as the Brewers in fewer attempts, so maybe they’re just not wasting as much time on them.

The next most obvious conclusion is that, while the Brewers made significantly more transactions, they’ve “won” on the exact same number as the Royals, lost a handful more, and mostly ended up with extra nothing for nothings.

I went into this assuming that Arnold was going to have significantly more wins on his record over the past four years than Picollo. That fear escalated as I saw them acquire players like Durbin, Contreras, Megill, and Bauers in trades. That said, Picollo had the higher success rate. I suppose it’s possible that Arnold’s team is hitting home runs while the Royals are settling for singles from the front office, but again, some of that goes back to the resources available to them. The Brewers may not have had more money, but they had a lot more talent in their organization after the 2022 season than the Royals. That’s something that could start changing as early as this offseason, as guys like Blake Mitchell fall down the org prospect rankings despite not performing poorly.

And it’s not like the Royals don’t have big wins in the trade department, either. Aroldis Chapman for Cole Ragans was massive, even more so if Ragans can have additional healthy seasons. Freddy Fermin for Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek was even better. If Steven Cruz can take one more step forward, his trade will look as good as the Megill deal – it even took Megill time to reach this level of success. The Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha signings are better than any free agent deal the Brewers have done.

I also found it interesting that while Picollo often held on to guys too long, Arnold often brings guys back to see them underperform in a second tour. Woodruff stands out as a guy who was bad the first time and came back to be worse for more money the second time. Wade Miley was bad in his second tour. Sometimes it’s worked out for them, as with Bryse Wilson and Gary Sánchez. Still, the Royals and Brewers don’t appear to be as different in this regard as you might have imagined. I’m inferring from anecdotes and small samples here, but it seems like all front offices have guys they like and will keep or bring back even if their play hasn’t necessarily justified it. Austin Hedges in Cleveland stands out in this regard, as well.

The Royals’ assertion that they want major-league-ready guys in trades actually fits in with the Brewers’ behavior. Of the four stars the Brewers acquired via trade, three of them had already played in the big leagues before the Brewers got them; Durbin was the lone exception, and he came with Nestor Cortes Jr., who was supposed to improve the Brewers’ rotation. In fact, Durbin and Jett Williams are the only prospects acquired by the Brewers in large-ish trades, and both came with established starting pitchers even if those pitchers didn’t work out. Prospects will break your heart, but they’re worth grabbing if they can give you a second shot on a risky starting pitcher trade, I guess.

That said, one big change the Royals should consider adapting from the Brewers is a willingness to sign the young prospects who look like stars early on. Chourio and Pratt look to be huge wins for the Brewers. Even if Lara ends up being a miss, the value gained from Chourio and Pratt will outweigh what is lost with him. The Royals should absolutely be locking Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone in ASAP if they want to keep their payroll down and keep options open for filling holes later.

*I wrote that entire paragraph before beginning the evaluation. I was convinced that Arnold and the Brewers were going to do better than the Royals; I just wanted to see how much better. Imagine my shock and delight when I had finished and reached the conclusions above.

It’s not yet mid-October, but the Yankees have already been dismissed from contention for the 2026 World Series trophy after being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series. We can try to find explanations and think about what could have been, but the reality is that there’s a long winter (and spring, in all likelihood) ahead for New York.

In the meantime, it’s time to reflect on the season that just ended, for them, at least. Here are the five worst moments of the year for the Yankees and their fans, in no particular order, and some honorable mentions, too.

ALDS Game 2, fifth (and first) inning

Monday was a sad day for Yankee fandom. The team got outmaneuvered and outplayed by the Rays and fell into a 0-2 hole in the AL Division Series, in a game in which New York’s defense committed not one, two, or three, but four errors. There were even more misplays that weren’t scored errors, too.

It was a nightmare from the jump, with both Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm Jr. committing ghastly errors within the first few Rays at-bats of the day. The Yankees had hoped to tie the series with their ace on the mound in Cam Schlittler, but the future Cy Young Award winner was all but helpless to stop the scoring behind him. (Austin Wells also committed a catcher’s interference error.)

The fifth inning was particularly brutal as well. Schlittler had buckled down and limited the damage, allowing the Yankees to come back and tie it up at 1-1. Jonathan Aranda opened things with a single to right that Spencer Jones got an awful jump on, rendering it uncatchable. He moved to third on Junior Caminero’s double.

Aranda scored on Liam Hicks’ groundout, and then Caminero crossed home plate after George Lombard Jr. couldn’t handle Chandler Simpson’s slow grounder. It was originally scored an error but was ruled a fielder’s choice.

George Lombard Jr. misses the ball and Chandler Simpson makes it 3-1 for the Rays 😳pic.twitter.com/FssNbFzLji

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) October 6, 2026

Brent Headrick entered the game and struck out Victor Mesa Jr., then Jonny DeLuca reached on a throwing error by Lombard.

DeLuca stole second, and Richie Palacios singled to bring in two. Just like that, the game went from 1-1 to 5-1, Rays. It felt like the Yankees were bleeding out slowly, but steadily, and the series got away after that inning, which proved to be even more damning than the embarrassing opening salvo.

Aaron Judge’s season-ending calf injury

If Aaron Judge’s rib injury in May wasn’t brutal enough, fate would have another physical ailment in store for him, just as the Yankees geared up for the postseason. In mid-September, he suffered a significant calf strain that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Notably, Judge went against the Yankees and eschewed any rehab games before returning from the broken rib, also chafing at being removed early in a few of his first games back. It’s in the eye of the beholder whether this rush back perhaps led to the calf ailment, or if this might have very well happened on a rehab assignment regardless.

The captain carried some hope that he would be part of the AL Wild Card series or Division Series roster, but he simply wasn’t ready. He was, essentially, trying to rehab an injury that usually takes 4-6 weeks in just 14-21 days.

Just as it happens in life, it’s the hope that kills you (sometimes). Yankees fans dreamed of the prospect of having Judge back for the series vs. Boston, and then the one against the Rays, but there was no way he would have been 100 percent ready. The offense struggled without Judge for much of the year, and though they pounded the Red Sox bullpen in the first round, they took it on the chin against Tampa Bay.

Yet another summer swoon

On July 1st, the Yankees were swept at home by a mediocre Tigers team. It wasn’t just the sweep per se: it marked their seventh consecutive loss, since the Red Sox also took out the brooms on them in the previous series while resurrecting their own 2026 season.

Over a stretch from June 18th to July 8th, the Yankees lost 15 of 20 games. It was rough, and it was awful in many ways. They looked like a minor league team, and while they had to navigate a series of injuries, it’s no excuse to play the way they did.

Wells’ ALDS Game 1 baserunning blunder

We must, unfortunately, return to that awful ALDS at the hands of the Rays. The Yankees were down 1-0 in Game 1 of the Division Series against Tampa Bay. They were being no-hit by Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. With two outs in the eighth, Austin Wells hit a well-struck ball near the right field line that looked like a double. At minimum, the no-hitter was snapped and the Yankees would have a real shot at tying the game with a man in scoring position

Regrettably, Wells didn’t hit the brakes at second like 95 percent of other catchers in the league would. He didn’t see third base coach Luis Rojas’ stop sign and tried to stretch it into a triple, and got tagged out. It was the only hit of the night for the Yankees, and they couldn’t do anything because the same batter-runner produced an out on the basepaths. The biggest insult of all? It wasn’t even a close play. Victor Mesa Jr. has a good arm and Taylor Walls is a highly capable defender, and they burned Wells with ease.

Early-April sweep at the Trop

Is it fitting that three of these worst moments came against the Rays? It was early in the season, but being swept at Tropicana Field from April 10th through the 12th sure was a bad omen knowing what the season turned out to be.

It was also the Yankees’ fifth consecutive loss back then, and sixth in their last seven games. That April 12th defeat in the series finale allowed the Rays to tie New York at the top of the AL East. It’s easy to forget that in 2025, Tampa Bay finished under .500 and not much was expected of them this year. But early on, they made their statement, and it was one that had lasting impact.

(Dis)honorable mentions

• Fan interference erases Anthony Volpe homer in ALDS Game 3
• Junior Caminero “sweeping” at Yankee Stadium
• Subway Series disaster at the hands of Tyrone Taylor
• Four-game sweep at Fenway
• August 25th bullpen meltdown vs. Astros
• Division hopes slip away with walk-off losses in Arizona and Minnesota
• Giancarlo Stanton injures calf walking to second base
• Max Fried hits the injured list with elbow injury on May 16th
• Aaron Judge’s right rib stress fracture in late May (goes hand-in-hand with the calf injury, honestly)

(1-6) Glendale Desert Dogs 4, (4-3) Surprise Saguaros 5

• Tate Southisene, SS: 0-for-2, BB
• Isaiah Drake, RF: 1-for-4, RBI
• Owen Carey, DH: 0-for-3, R, HBP
• Owen Hackman, RP: 2IP 0H 1R 0ER 1BB 1K
• Logan Samuels, RP: 1IP 2H 2ER 1BB 0K
• Tanner Bauman, RP: 1.2IP 2H 2R 1ER 1BB 1K

Box Score

The Desert Dogs fell to 1-6 after a late rally by the Saguaros last night. The Braves had six prospects play in the game, including the return to the diamond for Tate Southisene who has been out since July 28th after getting hit in the hand/wrist area.

To no surprise Tate’s first game back, and first plate appearance back, resulted in a five pitch at bat where the pitcher was forced to use three different pith types to retire Tate, ending in a slider on the outer third that Tate lined at 96 MPH straight to the right fielder. In his second at bat, Tate expanded his zone, swinging at a slider under the zone but ultimately grounded out to third base. In his third at bat Tate would protect the zone twice, fouling off pitches close to the zone, before taking an 8 pitch walk. Tate would be replaced in the sixth inning, ending his first game back at 0-for-2 with a walk.

Isaiah Drake got the start in right, going 1-for-4 with an RBI. In his first at bat Isaiah took an aggressive approach, swinging at the first pitch which was a cutter on the edge of the zone, popping up to second base. His second at bat came in the fourth inning when he once again swung at the first pitch, a slider in the zone, and flied out to right field this time. In his third at bat, Isaiah came to the plate with two runners on and two outs. He did a great job of protecting the inside of the plate, fouling off two pitches on the inside, before he took at 94 MPH cutter that sat middle-middle and singled to center field, driving in Dillon Lewis and putting the Desert Dogs up 3-1. Drake would then take second base on an errant throw by the center fielder. In his final at bat of the game, Isaiah came up with a runner on first and worked a six pitch at bat, where he didn’t expand once, before he lined out to left on a cutter high and inside, but in the zone.

Owen Carey hit 9th and got his first at bat in the third inning where he had an 8 pitch at bat where he fouled off four pitches in the zone, before ultimately grounding out to second. His second at bat Owen was less patient, striking out on three pitches, with two coming out of the zone including chasing a changeup high and outside the zone for strike three. In his third at bat Owen led off the seventh with a HBP, went to second on a ground out by Wyatt Sanford, and came into score on a Dillon Lewis single.

The first Atlanta pitcher to make an appearance was Owen Hackman who came into the game in the fifth inning and pitched a scoreless two innings. Owen was primarily four-seam, but also threw his sweeper, slider, and changeup. While the four-seam command was just okay, his sweeper and changeup were much better and he landed both in better locations and were used to generate weak contact. Overall, very solid two innings for Owen. He was replaced by Logan Samuels two surrendered a pair of runs but flashed a plus changeup, and solid slider, though struggled to generate whiffs. Tanner Bauman replaced Logan Samuels and picked up the blown save and eventual loss. Tanner’s slider was solid, but he struggled to command his two-seam, four-seam, curveball, and changeup. His whiff rate was impressive, coming in at 45%, but the second pitch home run he surrendered tied the game, and the eventual game winning runner was courtesy of him as well – however the run did score via an error on a missed catch by the first baseman.

It’s been broadly hinted by Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer that the Cubs might be moving on from outfielder Seiya Suzuki after the Japanese star had five productive seasons on the North Side.

Here’s what happened at Hoyer’s season-ending news conference:

Hoyer did not go into detail on Suzuki’s situation. Hoyer simply acknowledged that things could look different in 2027, given the volume of free agents the North Siders have both in terms of pitchers and hitters.

“We can’t retain everyone,” Hoyer said. “The team’s going to look and feel different next year. In a lot of ways, that’s a good thing. But I do want to emphasize that we have a lot of good players who are going to be free agents, and we’ll be in touch.”

Well. Let’s be clear. If the Cubs wanted to retain “everyone,” they could. It’s simply a matter of extending the payroll, something Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts did this year in a “win-now” situation. The Cubs didn’t win, obviously, but why should 2027 not be the same? Does the team want to win every year?

Rhetorical question, I suppose. The article linked above also quoted Suzuki:

“If we’re talking about all the good memories, it’s going to take about three hours. Is that OK?” Suzuki said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “My first time being in the U.S., it was with Chicago. Just being with the teammates, with the supportive staff, everybody around me that helped me, I enjoyed that. And also with playing at Wrigley, and the fans. They are so passionate. I was really hoping that we could go back to Wrigley and play in front of them.

“But there’s so many good memories. My family, they love Chicago. But with free agency, that’s something new for me. And I think there’s a lot of processes involved with that. So I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

It does sound like Suzuki would like to stay with the Cubs, though I wouldn’t expect him to give the team any sort of “hometown discount.”

So what would it take to keep Suzuki a Cub? He just finished what is probably overall his best season. His SLG of .473 was almost exactly at his career mark of .472. He set career highs in runs and walks, and by the eye test and also statistically, he had his best defensive season in MLB. That might even put him in the running for a Gold Glove.

Suzuki signed a five-year, $85 million deal with the Cubs just before the 2022 season, an AAV of $17 million. Clearly, he was worth everything the Cubs paid for him and more — beyond his production on the field, he helped raise the team’s profile in Japan. While Shohei Ohtani is obviously the MLB icon in Japan, when I went to the Tokyo Series last year I ran into quite a number of Japanese fans who were big fans of Suzuki. That’s certainly something worth having in addition to his baseball skills.

I think Suzuki will age better than many MLB players as he enters his mid and late 30s. He just turned 32 in August, so signing him to (say) a five-year deal would be his age 32 through age 36 seasons. He’s likely to be oe of the top hitting free agents, if not right at the top of the list.

Bottom line: I don’t think the Cubs can afford to NOT keep Suzuki. They don’t really have any ready replacement for him.

So, without further ado: Would five years and $120 million keep Suzuki in Chicago? Hoyer says he doesn’t want to get into a bidding war, but I do think the Cubs could afford that.

Who says no?

It is easy to look at every season that the Mets have failed to make the playoffs after a large investment in a new player and evoke the title of the Bob Klapisch and John Harper book about the 1992 Mets’ season. The Worst Team Money Could Buy is an evocative title, and is indicative of the type of thinking that was and is still prevalent when discussing failing teams with big payrolls.

While 1992 led to a dark age in Mets’ fandom, there are hopes that 2027—if baseball is played at all—can and should be a better year for the Mets. But in anticipation of that potential lockout, we’re going to start up a book club where, every month for the duration of the offseason, we will read a book about the Mets and/or baseball in general, and then have a chat about it.

And so, four weeks from today, on November 9, we will have a chat in our comments section about the book. It is available to borrow from Archive.org, it is available via Bookshop.org, check your local library, and there are lots of used copies out there in the wild.

If you’ve got ideas for a future selection, leave them in the comments!

Team news

[SI] Diamondbacks Rookies Poised For Bigger Roles in 2027 – The Arizona Diamondbacks, like all 29 other baseball clubs in the 2026 season, found themselves dipping into their pool of prospects at one point or another in their unsuccessful search for a postseason berth. Some such prospects stood out more than others. Some stayed on the roster long enough to graduate that status and become rookies. Here are three of those rookies who are likely to see their fair share of playing time in 2027, and perhaps well beyond.

[Tucson.com] Diamondbacks top prospect chasing MLB dream in Arizona Fall League – Demetrio Crisantes played soccer and baseball until he was 11, when his father and assistant coach, Miguel, told him he had to pick one sport. When they settled on baseball, Miguel decided to go “all-in” for his son. The family owned a produce warehouse consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers in Nogales, the historic border city in Southern Arizona. Miguel decided to split the warehouse in half with a blue tarp and transform the other side into a baseball training gym for the community to share. That warehouse has produced a bountiful crop.

[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks bringing back hitting coach Joe Mather – Mather has been the Diamondbacks’ hitting coach for the past five seasons, taking on the role after the 2021 campaign. From 2024-26, only the Los Angeles Dodgers scored more runs than the Diamondbacks (2,416), as Arizona led the league in scoring in 2024 and finished sixth in 2025. Throughout Mather’s tenure, the Diamondbacks have been a high-walks, low-strikeouts offense. This past season was more uneven for the offense collectively, which tied for ninth in MLB in scoring but made up a lot of ground over the final eight games (59 runs). Hitting right-handed pitching and converting with runners in scoring position were costly shortcomings, and blame has been shared between the roster construction and coaching.

[roundtable.io] Two Things Diamondbacks Need to Reach Playoffs Again – I know this might not seem like the answer, given that three of the four teams left in the playoffs are small-market teams with small-market payrolls, but Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick wants to trim payroll, and that may not be a good idea. I am not saying Arizona should run back its roster or keep bad contracts, but it does not have the luxury of shipping off too many quality players for the sake of saving money. Its farm system is not good enough for that to happen… Arizona has had some quality players recently making their way to the big leagues, such as Ryan Waldschmidt and Tommy Troy, but it does not change the fact that their system is not close to that of the Brewers or the Rays.

And, elsewhere…

[MLB.com] Miz is mortal, but ‘Brewers ball’ bests Dodgers … and other key takeaways from Game 1 – The Brewers won more games than anyone this season by playing their brand of baseball — so don’t expect that to change just because they’re playing the two-time defending champs. While not quite everything went exactly to plan for the Brewers in Game 1 (more on that in a moment), they played their game to perfection. With Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal rolling early, Milwaukee manufactured the crucial go-ahead run in the fifth inning with some impressive small ball. Garrett Mitchell worked a leadoff walk, advanced to second on Cooper Pratt’s sac bunt and scored on rookie Luis Lara’s single up the middle.

[Fox] The Art Of The Out: Pitching And Defense Take Center Stage In Rays-Guardians ALCS – The Rays-Yankees matchup was David vs. Goliath in terms of payroll because New York opened the season with MLB’s third highest at $302.8 million and Tampa Bay ranked 26th at $90.5 million. But the Rays are facing a team now that spent even less. The Guardians were last in the majors at $75.5 million. Both teams emphasize contact at the plate, speed on the bases, strong fundamentals, solid pitching and doing whatever it takes to win. “I do think there’s more similarities than not,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Sunday. “I feel Cleveland does mirror us or we mirror them. And I say that with the utmost respect to them, the way they develop pitching, the way they think about the game.”

[NPR] Opinion: Can I keep the baseball I caught? – Before we criticize anyone’s ethics, we ought to ask ourselves: what would we do if a baseball fell into our hands at a playoff game? Keep it, or give it to the nearest child? Because I am a father, I’m pretty certain I would give it to a child. But also because I’m a father, I know that within a few days, the ball so tenderly bequeathed might have rolled, abandoned, under a bed, surrounded by lost socks and forgotten Labubus. Also, a foul ball hit by almost any player would be a nice souvenir. But what if it had been a home run struck by, say, Shohei Ohtani? That ball could be as much of an investment as a Picasso!

The Mets are, how should I put this, not historically known for their winning ways. The most commonly noted exception to that trend is their success on Opening Day (42-23). But perhaps it’s time we give that same recognition to their performance in the National League Division Series. The Mets have played in five Division Series — 1999, 2000, 2006, 2015, and 2024 — and they have gone a perfect 5-0, advancing to the National League Championship Series each time. Only one other franchise, the Toronto Blue Jays, has an undefeated record in the Division Series round. So with MLB’s 2026 DS having recently wrapped up, let’s count down the best moments from the Mets’ dominant Division Series history.

10. Franco freezes Bonds(2000 NLDS, Game 2)

In the 10th inning of a back-and-forth Game 2 at San Francisco, John Franco entered to put out Armando Benítez’s fire. The Mets had led 4-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, but Benítez surrendered a three-run, game-tying homer to J.T. Snow with two outs to go. Jay Payton put the Mets back ahead with an RBI single in the top of the 10th, but Benítez then allowed Armando Ríos to reach on a single to begin the bottom of the frame. Franco arrived and got a pair of outs on the ground — one of which erased Ríos via a bad baserunning blunder — to bring Bonds to bat with two outs as the potential tying run or final out. With a full count to the already three-time MVP Award winner, Franco threw a pitch that was beautifully painted on the inside corner (or perhaps just beautifully framed by Mike Piazza behind the plate). Either way, the umpire rung up a disgruntled Bonds, evening the series as it went back to Shea.

9. deGrom’s bakers dozen(2015 NLDS, Game 1)

Jacob deGrom’s first postseason start, much like his first All-Star appearance three months earlier, was an electrifying statement to the rest of the league (and a foreshadowing of the two Cy Young Awards to come). His 13 strikeouts tied a Mets postseason record set by Tom Seaver in Game 1 of the 1973 NLCS against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. He also became at that point just the ninth pitcher to strike out 13 while allowing no runs in a postseason game (two players, Gerrit Cole and Clayton Kershaw, have joined that list over the past 11 years). While deGrom’s Game 5 start to clinch a series victory was arguably the more impressive display, as he bounced back from a two-run first inning and battled without his “A stuff” to still put up a quality start, his Game 1 performance was a thing of pure majesty.

8. Alfonzo’s grand slam in Arizona(1999 NLDS, Game 1)

The first grand slam in Mets playoff history couldn’t have come at a better moment. Edgardo Alfonzo had already hit a homer in Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS, putting the Mets on the board with a solo shot off Randy Johnson (in the first of the southpaw’s four consecutive Cy Young Award-winning seasons) in the first inning. When Alfonzo came to bat in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the score tied at 4-4, he went deep again, crushing a ball down the left-field line and into the second deck to give the Mets an 8-4 lead and all but seal their series-opening victory.

7. Jones’ shutout(2000 NLDS, Game 4)

In his first postseason start after eight big league seasons with the Mets, Bobby Jones completely baffled a Giants lineup that finished the regular season with the third-best team OPS (.834) in the Majors. The 30-year-old right-hander allowed just one hit (to future Hall of Famer and former Met Jeff Kent) and two walks, completing the second shutout in Mets playoff history after Jon Matlack twirled one in Game 2 of the 1973 NLCS against the Reds. Jones also notched one of just 34 series-clinching shutouts in playoff history to date. Mike Hampton would join that list eight days later in the NLCS, making the 2000 Mets the only team to have multiple pitchers throw shutouts in series-clinchers.

6. Murphy’s takeover(2015 NLDS, Game 5)

Everyone remembers that Daniel Murphy homered in six straight playoff games, setting an MLB postseason record (while remarkably hitting four of those six against that season’s NL Cy Young Award finalists Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Jake Arrieta). But Murphy’s other heroics in the winner-take-all Game 5 of the NLDS might be more easily overlooked. The Mets eked out a win over the Dodgers by a final of 3-2, and the second baseman was directly responsible for all three runs the Amazins’ scored. In the top of the first, he sent a triple to the warning track in left-center field, scoring Curtis Granderson and putting the Mets up 1-0. In the top of the fourth, with the Mets trailing 2-1, Murphy mustered a leadoff single. When Lucas Duda walked two batters later, Murphy caught the Dodgers’ defense sleeping and advanced to third base, allowing him to score when Travis d’Arnaud hit a sac fly which would have otherwise been a harmless flyout. Then, in the sixth, Murphy took matters into his own hands, tattooing a Greinke fastball down the right-field line for a go-ahead homer. Murphy would go on to win the NLCS MVP Award — but if there was an NLDS MVP Award, he would have won that, too.

5. Lo Duca goes 2-for-1(2006 NLDS, Game 1)

The most memorable — and most bizarre — defensive play in Mets Division Series history set the tone for a three-game sweep against the Dodgers. In the top of the second inning of Game 1 at Shea Stadium, L.A. had runners at first and second with nobody out facing rookie John Maine. The Dodgers’ Russell Martin banked a ball off the right-field fence, setting the runners in motion. Shawn Green and José Valentín combined for a clean relay to get the ball to catcher Paul Lo Duca, who tagged the lead runner (shoutout to Jeff Kent once again) sliding head-first into home plate. Lo Duca looked up to see the verdict from the home-plate umpire John Hirschbeck, who ruled Kent out. But when Lo Duca turned back around toward the diamond, he was suddenly met with the other runner, J.D. Drew, who was attempting to take the Mets by surprise. Instead, Lo Duca managed to get the tag down before Drew’s fingers touched the plate, turning a potential bases-loaded, nobody-out jam — or a potential go-ahead hit — into a double play.

4. Céspedes flips his bat to the heavens(2015 NLDS, Game 3)

Mets fans didn’t really need any extra motivation to go all-out in the first-ever playoff game at Citi Field, but after Chase Utley’s hard slide into Rubén Tejada during Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS…well, they got that extra motivation and then some. The Citi crowd was waiting for a moment to explode from the first pitch, and it got several fantastic opportunities. Curtis Granderson hit a bases-clearing, go-ahead double in the second. Matt Harvey got out of a big jam in the third by striking out Carl Crawford. Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-run homer to make it a 6-3 Mets lead in the third. But none of those moments could match the sheer euphoria caused by the sight of Yoenis Céspedes’ mammoth three-run shot rocketing into the second-deck in left field. Suddenly, the Mets were winning 10-3, the Dodgers’ formidable pitching staff was scrambling, and Cespedes’ bat was flying over home plate like an outbound red-eye from LaGuardia. Playoff baseball had officially arrived at Citi Field.

3. Benny and the Mets and the walk-off HR(2000 NLDS, Game 3)

The fan-favorite Benny Agbayani delivered his signature moment in Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS to put the Mets ahead in both a gridlocked game and a hotly-contested series against the Giants. After Edgardo Alfonzo evened the score at 2-2 with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning, neither side was able to break through until the bottom of the 13th, when Agabyani got hold of a fastball from southpaw Aaron Fultz and sent it into the left-field stands at Shea Stadium. It is one of just eight walk-off homers in playoff history to be hit in the 13th inning or later.

2. Pratt’s all (1999 NLDS, Game 4)

Todd Pratt had hit just three home runs in 71 games during the 1999 regular season, making him one of the more unlikely power threats in a stacked Mets lineup. But he proved the hero during Game 4 of the NLDS on a Saturday afternoon at Shea Stadium, with the Mets and second-year D-backs tied at 3-3 with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning. After Arizona right-hander Matt Mantei bounced a first-pitch breaking ball, the Mets’ backup catcher got a fastball over the plate and elevated it to center field. Five-time Gold Glove Award winner Steve Finely gave the ball a chase and leapt at the wall, but he couldn’t stop it from soaring over the fence and sending the Mets to the NLCS. It was the first series-clinching homer by a National League player since Bill Mazeroski’s in the 1960 World Series. There have only been three series-clinching homers in DS history, and Pratt’s was the first (before David Ortiz for the Red Sox in 2004 and Chris Burke for the Astros in 2005). Plus, the 1999 Mets would have gone on to become the only NL team in history to record multiple walk-off homers in the same postseason if Robin Ventura’s “grand-slam single” in the NLCS went down as a home run in the record books.

1. Lindor gives Citi its moment(2024 NLDS, Game 4)

The end of the Mets’ 2024 season featured one Hollywood moment after another, but Lindor’s go-ahead grand slam stands apart because it was in front of a Citi Field crowd that had waited through…a lot. They had waited 18 years (since September of 2006) to celebrate a clinch in Queens, whether for a postseason berth or series. They had waited through a four-city road hoping for the chance to experience postseason baseball in-person, watching as the Mets somehow clinched a playoff spot in Atlanta thanks to Lindor’s ninth-inning homer and even more miraculously advanced past Milwaukee thanks to Pete Alonso’s ninth-inning homer. They had also waited all night for the Mets to get on the board. When Lindor came to bat to the sound of The Temptations’ “My Girl” with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth, New York was 2-for-11 (2 singles) with RISP, still trailing 1-0. Even with a bad back, Lindor had carried the 2024 Mets to the precipice of this magical moment. It was only right that he then be the one to deliver it. As Lindor crushed a middle-middle fastball from the Phillies’ Carlos Estévez over the right-center-field wall, that Citi crowd got to erupt after five innings, four series, and 18 years of waiting.

It’s no secret that left field has been a black hole for the San Diego Padres. In the last three seasons, 12 players have manned the left side of the outfield. That includes two starters in Jurickson Profar (2024) and Ramón Laureano (2025-26). Behind them are depth pieces like Nick Castellanos, Gavin Sheets and Samad Taylor alongside names you’d be hard-pressed to remember like Oscar Gonzales or Tirso Ornelas.

At the end of the day, San Diego has an abundance of pressing needs in order to balance out their roster. If the Padres’ new ownership is serious about bringing this city a World Series, they need to put their money where their mouth is. That would include signing a legitimate left fielder. Who are the best options?

The Power/Speed Threat

Randy Arozarena is, without a doubt, the top left fielder free agent on the market in this upcoming 2026-27 class. It’s easy to tell why. For six consecutive seasons, Arozarena has hit 20 home runs and stolen 20 bases. He’s the first player since Barry Bonds to display that level of elite power and speed. That might sound crazy, but it’s not. Bonds tops the list of consecutive 20/20 seasons with nine. Behind him are Bobby Abreu and Bobby Bonds with seven. Arozarena is tied for fourth with Willie Mays with six.

He certainly would come with an expensive price tag, though the impending lockout and CBA negotiations could muddy that up a little bit. The bigger question is if San Diego is comfortable taking a hit on batting average and defense. From 2023-25, Arozarena never batted higher than .254. He batted .219 in ‘24. But the left fielder turned that around this past season, batting .281 and bringing his strikeouts down from 191 (’25) to 145.

Defense is the biggest issue. Arozarena has a passable glove in left field. Especially with the elite defensive duo of Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. already present, it wouldn’t be the biggest problem. However, Arozarena is tied for 101st out of 102 left fielders in Fielding Run Value with -7 FRV. Out of 35 qualified fielders, Arozarena ranks 28th in Outs Above Average (-5 OAA).

Consistency is Key

This one might cost even more than Arozarena, but it would be incredible to see. Seiya Suzuki is fresh off a 7.2 WAR season in his walk year with the Chicago Cubs. His home run total (26) went down from 2025 (32), but his OPS increased by 37 points due to increased plate discipline and bat-to-ball ability. He’d slot incredibly well into San Diego’s lineup, and be an incredible presence in left field.

It’s true, Suzuki is mostly a right fielder. But his glove should still translate well. He revamped his defense in 2026, posting +5 OAA and +8 FRV. If that trend continues, Suzuki could round out one of the most elite defensive outfields in baseball alongside Merrill and Tatis. However, the 32-year old is expected to command a long-term deal that could prove too much for San Diego.

A Surprising Trade Possibility

Ronald Acuña Jr. has been one of MLB’s brightest stars over the better part of the last decade. Unfortunate injuries have derailed an otherwise immaculate career. The superstar outfielder for the Atlanta Braves has a club option for 2027 that Atlanta seemed all but certain to exercise. However, the 29-year old went 2-for-15 in the playoffs and was a big factor in the Braves’ elimination in the NLDS.

It’s been speculated that Atlanta could make Acuña available via trade after picking up his club option. That being said, it seems unlikely that the Padres have the prospect capital to get the deal done. San Diego’s farm system is heavily depleted and the club would be much better off seeking a new outfielder via free agency.

Other Options

The Friars will have contributors Dustin Harris and Samad Taylor likely returning to the club. The two formed an incredible contact/speed platoon down the stretch for San Diego. There’s certainly questions persisting of whether that success can continue. The two seem best fit to come off of the bench for the Padres, with both being incredible pinch-hitting or pinch-running opportunities.

However, with San Diego prioritizing signing reliable starting pitching this offseason, it’s possible that they’re willing to continue with their duo of Harris and Taylor in order to invest more into the pitching staff. Hopefully, the Padres will spend on a solid starter to supplant the duo in left. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine where else a big bat might fit in the lineup math.

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Padres News:

• The San Diego Union-Tribune took a look at what Padres players are arbitration eligible and what their salaries might be.

Baseball News:

• The Milwaukee Brewers topped the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the National League Championship Series thanks to help from Brice Turang.

• The Dodgers believe they have a chance to even the NLCS with Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the mound.

• Jose Ramirez is looking forward to another opportunity to help the Cleveland Guardians get to the World Series.

• Here are the game times for the NLCS and ALCS with all four teams in action tonight.

A Tampa Bay Rays Hall of Famer will be one hand throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the first game of the 2026 American League Championship Series.

Carl Crawford, a 4-time All-Star and winner of a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award, will throw out the first pitch as the Rays play their first ALCS game at Tropicana Field since 2008. Carl Crawford was actually on the field the last time the Rays played in the ALCS at the Trop, playing in left field when Akinori Iwamura stepped on second base and the late great fellow Rays Hall of Famer Dave Wills declared that “this improbable season has another chapter to it. The Rays are going to the World Series!”

Tampa Bay originally selected Crawford in the 2nd round of the 1999 draft and he quickly became one of the team’s top prospects. In the early years of the Rays franchise, they were extremely aggressive with minor league advancement so despite being selected out of high school, the Rays pushed Crawford to the Majors by the 2002 season and he was their Opening Day left fielder in 2003. On Opening Day that season, Crawford launched a walk-off homerun against the Boston Red Sox kickstarting a new era in Tampa Bay.

Over the next several years, Crawford would infuriate opposing pitchers due to his blazing speed. From 2004 to 2006, Crawford led the league in triples. During a five year stretch from 2003 to 2007, Crawford led the American League in stolen bases. During a game in 2009, Crawford tied a Major League record when he collected six stolen bases in a single game, a feat that has not been accomplished since.

Crawford currently ranks 2nd on the Rays all-time fWAR leaderboard while also having set the franchise record for hits, singles, triples, and stolen bases.

Following his foray into free agency after the 2010 season, Crawford would play with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers before being released in 2016 and effectively retiring following the season.

Overall, Crawford hit .290/.330/.435 with 136 HR, registering a 104 wRC+ and stealing 480 bases over 1,716 games played for his career.

In 2023, Crawford became the third person inducted into the Rays Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class

The talent. The work ethic. They just don’t make them like CC.

Our final Rays Hall of Fame class of ’23 inductee couldn’t be anyone but this absolute legend. pic.twitter.com/TtUqJn7laC

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 26, 2023

The Dodgers came up just short in Game 1 of the NLCS, falling 2-1 to the Brewers on Sunday night, leaving the tying run on base to end the game.

Kyle Tucker was that runner in scoring position after a two-out walk off Milwaukee closer Trevor Megill. Josue De Paula followed with a walk off his own, doing so in five pitches. It was the second game in a row with a pinch-hit walk for the 21-year-old De Paula, who kept alive the winning rally in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Braves on Wednesday.

The Dodgers as a franchise have 55 total walks as a pinch-hitter in the postseason, and De Paula is just the fourth Dodger with two pinch walks in the same postseason.

Dodgers with two pinch walks in one postseason

• Pete Reiser, 1947 (both in World Series)
• Mike Davis, 1988 (NLCS, World Series)
• Max Muncy, 2018 (NLDS, NLCS)
• Josue De Paula, 2026 (NLDS, NLCS)

De Paula batted for Kiké Hernández against a right-handed pitcher in each of his last two pinch-hit appearances.

“He’s got a good heartbeat, looks over the ball really well. I’ve got no hesitation running him out there. I just felt with Megill he’s just a really good pitcher, especially tough on right-handers,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “What way gave us the best chance to get Mookie up to bat, and that’s the decision I made, and I felt good about it.”

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Tarik Skubal needed 26 pitches to get through the fifth inning, in which the Brewers scored the go-ahead and ultimately winning run. Garrett Mitchell walked to open the frame, was bunted to second base, and scored on a single by Luis Lara.

“The leadoff walk just can’t happen,” Skubal said. “It gives them the opportunity to create something, and ultimately that’s all they needed today.”

Tarik Skubal breaks down his Game 1 outing and the challenge of facing Milwaukee’s patient lineup. #Dodgerspic.twitter.com/fa6ASEdJMo

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) October 12, 2026

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Ahead of the NLCS, Owen Riley and Maxfield Lane at their Down on the Farm newsletter projected the Dodgers as favorites in the series, based largely on expected performance by the Los Angeles offense against left-handed pitching:

The result: the teams remain evenly matched according to wRC-based comparisons vs. RHP when they are able to allocate more plate appearances to starters. However, the gulf between the two lineups vs. LHP grows substantially, leaving the Brewers further behind.

The Dodgers faced two left-handers in Game 1. DL Hall induced an inning-ending double play to his only batter face to escape an inherited jam in the fifth inning. Aaron Ashby allowed one walk in his two scoreless innings.

“I guess the only solace is you got them in the game, you got to take a look. We just know that if there’s any chance for them to win the game, we’re going to see those guys,” Roberts said Sunday night, talking about the Brewers usual high-leverage relievers, left- and right-handed. “Hopefully in a long series it could prove to be beneficial the more times we see them.”

At ESPN, 13 of 15 writers picked the Brewers to win the NLCS.

“This year’s version will go seven games, and it will be a showcase of baseball at its optimal level,” wrote Alden González, “A shining example of the varying ways teams can compete for championships, regardless of payrolls.”

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Dodgers historian Mark Langill at Dodger Insider wrote about Don Drysdale’s longtime friendship with Bob Uecker, who played for the Milwaukee Braves and was a Hall of Fame announcer for the Brewers.