CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 23: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds greets JJ Wetherholt #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals during the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, May 23, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeffrey Dean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Kevin McGonigle in the AL was a no-brainer, so no point in throwing that question out there. But the NL, well… Sal Stewart won, and my question, in its basic form, is whether you would’ve helped or hurt that cause if you were one of the voters.
To me, it was a relatively easy vote for JJ Wetherholt and I don’t think Stewart even had a particularly good season, so my answer is a very easy “no.” If you want a different, much longer examination, Ben Clemens did it here over a month ago. Any specific vote aside, Stewart just didn’t really hit that well considering his home park, and I think arguments beyond his counting stat have to rely on his leverage/men on base splits, which aren’t very compelling to me for this type of award.
Anyway, are you here to make a spirited defense of Stewart, or… not?
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 14: Sebastian Walcott #12 of the Texas Rangers stands on deck during a game between the Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros at Surprise Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning.
With the GM meetings underway, Kennedi Landry writes about the work cut out for Chris Young and gang this winter with plenty of areas to address in free agency.
At The Athletic, Chad Jennings writes about how teams could attempt to mirror the Rangers from the last time a lockout loomed by jumping early into free agency this month.
And, though the Rangers had no candidates for the recently named Rookie of the Year award, the MLB Pipeline team notes that the long awaited arrival of Sebastian Walcott could give them a contender for 2027.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 30: Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the Atlanta Braves fields in the ninth inning during Game Two of the Wild Card Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on September 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that the Phillies are interested in free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim. Salisbury noted that the Phillies are targeting Kim as insurance for the shortstop position if Trea Turner’s defense does not meet Dave Dombrowski’s challenge to improve that the Phillies president issued at the start of the offseason.
Kim, who has played shortstop, second base, and third base in his career, signed a one year, $20M deal with the Braves last offseason but played in just 51 games due to a torn tendon in his finger suffered after he slipped on ice in South Korea before the season. When he did return to action, Kim had the worst season of his six-year career and was one of if not the worst hitter in MLB, as his .116 AVG and .356 OPS both ranked 416th out of 416 hitters with at least Kim’s 147 plate appearances as a qualifier. His usual reliable defense that earned him the Gold Glove for utility players in 2023 also took a step back. albeit in the obvious small sample size of 47 games.
Despite this, there is some logic behind the Phillies supposed interest. As Salisbury states in the article, the Phillies do indeed require some sort of back-up plan for shortstop if they choose to move Turner off of the position at some point mid-season in 2027. Even if Turner suddenly rebounds defensively, the Phillies currently do not have a third baseman or a utility infielder under contract, as both Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa are free agents. Kim could serve as an insurance plan for both of those positions as well in the event the Phillies do not retain either. Prospect Aidan Miller is widely expected to play third base for the Phillies at some point in the near future, but the Phillies still need someone to occupy the spot in the meantime even if it’s only for half of a season.
Kim has shown in the past that he can be a very valuable player, as he averaged 3.8 WAR per season during his first four seasons in MLB with the San Diego Padres while serving in a super utility role. For perspective, Bryce Harper led all Phillies position players with 3.1 WAR in 2026. However, Kim hasn’t been that player since 2024, as his 2025 was also disappointing, as he played in just 48 games thanks to shoulder surgery he underwent near the end of the 2024 season.
If the Phillies were to sign Kim, they would be betting that the now 31-year-old can regain his form from before his injuries. At the very least, they would be betting that Kim can be a serviceable utility player in the likely event that Sosa leaves for a bigger role elsewhere. So, do you think the Phillies should sign Ha-Seong Kim? What type of contract would you offer him if so? What role do you envision him in?
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 29: Arizona Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall (R) hugs Ketel Marte #4 during the 2023 National League Champion ring ceremony prior to the game against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field on March 29, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 7-3. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Since the run to the World Series in 2023, the team has come within a game or two of making the playoffs the past few seasons while ownership has stretched the budget to try and get back. How do you expect the payroll to look in the coming season?
Hall: I do not think we need to spend at that level to win and believe it will come down. I realize I said the same before last season and we obviously increased, but with so many young players, we should be able to better manage a Major League budget without sacrificing our competitiveness. In fact, we would only do so if we thought we would improve our results as well.
Arizona is re-signing outfielder A.J. Vukovich, the Aces officially announced on Sunday.
Vukovich had spent the last six seasons in the Diamondbacks’ system, after he was drafted 119th overall in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft.
He began to tap into his power swing in the 2023 season, slugging .485 for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. He hit 24 home runs that season, albeit in an extremely offense-focused Texas League environment. That helped him end up at No. 14 on Arizona’s top 30 prospect rankings at the time.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has named Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle the 2026 American League Rookie of the Year, and Reds infielder Sal Stewart the 2026 National League Rookie of the Year.
“I feel for the fans, and I know when it’s good, and it’s good, baseball is good right now,” Martinez said Saturday, according to the Boston Herald. “So stop the crap around and get something done and don’t lock out baseball for the fans.”
In Boston for the Pedro Martinez Foundation’s 10th annual gala, Martinez said that “honestly speaking, I’m pissed” as he appealed to both players and owners to find a solution.
“Please, for the fans, both sides, figure it out, a good way to get it done, and do not lock out baseball,” Martinez said.
Joe Maddon was the right manager at the right time more than once. A former minor league catcher who never reached the majors as a player, and who spent over three decades in various capacities within the Angels’ organization, Maddon didn’t get his first major league managerial job until he was 52 years old. As part of a new regime that took over a Tampa Bay team that had never won more than 70 games in the franchise’s eight-year history, Maddon clicked with a cutting-edge front office and helped mold a young squad into an American League powerhouse seemingly overnight. The Devil Rays won 66 games in 2007, Maddon’s second season, then — after a nominal exorcism that made them the Rays — 97 games and the AL pennant in ’08 before losing to the Phillies in the World Series.
Maddon led the Rays — a team that generally ranked near the bottom of the league in both attendance and payroll — to the playoffs four times in a six-season span from 2008–13, winning AL Manager of the Year honors twice. With his horn-rimmed glasses, his varied interests beyond baseball, and his understanding of statistical analysis, he emerged as an icon, a hip and literate nerd who could lead the game’s Davids into battle with Goliaths, or just recommend a nice merlot.
Teams are expected to lay the foundation for their offseason trade talks as the GM Meetings get underway. Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is one of the biggest names available. The Snakes have more or less acknowledged that they’ll listen to offers on the three-time All-Star, who has clearly frustrated many within the organization by failing to show up for certain games over the years.
Marte has full control over his destiny, as he secured no-trade protection by reaching 10 years of service time (the last five of which have come in Arizona). He’s signed for another five years at a total of $87.5MM, covering ages 33-37. Marte is only making a $12MM salary next year, though, and $3MM of that is deferred.
That’s a fine salary even if he only repeats his league average .249/.316/.432 showing this year. If he bounces back some or all of the way to the player he was before, arguably the best second baseman in the sport, it’s a bargain for the on-field production. There’ll surely be teams that have trepidations about Marte’s work habits, and some might take him off their target list altogether, but the D-Backs should get some kind of interest given the star offensive upside he’s shown at his best.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: Carson Benge #3 and A.J. Ewing #9 of the New York Mets celebrate their 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on September 18, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Meet the Mets
Carson Benge finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting—runner-up to Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, whose massive home run and RBI totals beat out Benge’s more well-rounded case.
The Mets had two other players receive votes for NL Rookie of the Year; Nolan McLean finished fourth and A.J. Ewing came in ninth.
“I do favor the Mets at this point,” said Jon Heyman on MLB Network yesterday regarding the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, which is heating up with the Dodgers facing financial constraints that may limit their ability to re-sign this off-season’s top free agent.
“I think the Mets are going to be looking to make some trades for starting pitching,” said SNY MLB insider Chelsea Janes, reporting from the GM meetings in Vegas. “I don’t expect them to go full free agency.”
The Dodgers claimed infielder Christian Cairo off waivers from the Mets, who had signed him prior to the 40-man roster deadline and then designated him for assignment. They did the same with infielder Kyren Paris, but he cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.
Around the National League East
Per reporting by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Braves have “no interest” in trading Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Phillies have reportedly shown interest in shortstop Ha-Seong Kim as insurance at the position in case they decide to have Trea Turner, who has not excelled defensively, play elsewhere on the diamond.
With left-handed pitching at the top of their wish list, Adrian Morejon, Alex Vesia, and Sean Newcomb are top free agent targets for the Miami Marlins.
Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle won the American League Rookie of the Year honor decisively, with Parker Messick and Payton Tolle rounding out the top three. With injury holding him back at the end of the season, early-season NL favorite JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals came in third behind Stewart and Benge.
The GM meetings kick off this week in Las Vegas and normally one would not necessarily expect there to be a flurry of activity, but with a looming lockout, this year is different.
One team who will be active is the Cubs, who are looking to address their starting rotation, which is their biggest priority this off-season. Though that makes them a great candidate for the Skubal sweepstakes on paper, they “appear unlikely to enter the bidding war,” for Skubal, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. However, it is expected that Chicago will check in on pretty much every other free agent starter.
Speculation is growing that the Rangers may be shopping the expensive trio of Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi in an attempt to shed payroll. But it won’t necessarily be a simple feat; both deGrom and Eovaldi have full no-trade clauses and Seager has a partial no-trade clause and is owed $150 million over the next five years.
Per reporting from Jon Heyman, the Yankees are not necessarily looking to sign a second baseman, even with the departure of Jazz Chisolm in free agency. The club may look to upgrade at third base instead.
Speaking of notable Yankees departures in free agency, Max Ralph of MLB.com explores who may be the Yankees’ closer next year in the absence of now free agent David Bednar.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Thomas Henderson wrote about the fascinating NL Rookie of the Year race, representing a battle of more traditional counting stats against more analytical triumphs and how Carson Benge’s case combined the resumes of the run-producing Sal Stewart and the defensive skills of JJ Wetherholt.
As another offseason begins, the Braves have multiple needs to address to truly return to the being a true World Series contender. It is abundantly clear that more quality needs to be added to the Braves offense. However, reliable depth also needs to be added to the Braves rotation. A big reason for this is the significant injuries that have occurred to several young arms in the organization over the past few years. Grant McAuley dives more into the current state of the Braves internal options for the 2027 rotation.
Braves News
Ivan looks at whether or not this year’s GM meetings could be different than most years with the lockout looming.
Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers and Sal Stewart of the Reds were voted the AL and NL Rookies of the Year. Didier Fuentes received a few 5th place votes in the final results.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 03: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the first inning in game one of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on October 03, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A very merry Tuesday to all of you who celebrate. We have 22 days left of regular Hot Stove baseball until the owners lock out the players, so be sure to open up your lockout advent calendar for today.
Brett Taylor has more on López as well. In short, the guy throws in the upper-nineties although his control is poor, he missed all of 2026 and he only has six innings above rookie ball. But the Cubs have two years to straighten him out now.
There’s a real crisis in this country in that men don’t read anymore. That’s not entirely true, men do read some non-fiction books, usually about politics, war or history. Reading non-fiction is good. But so is reading fiction. Young men and boys, especially, have fled from reading fiction. This creates a vicious circle, as publishers are less apt to publish fiction geared towards men, because female-oriented fiction is more profitable. This causes even fewer men to read and the cycle repeats itself.
If you don’t believe me, just go to your local Barnes & Noble and look at the new fiction books. You’ll find very few male authors and a lot of books written by women with female protagonists. It’s not anti-male discrimination. It’s just capitalism.
Now there’s no reason that men can’t read a book written by or about women. Anyone familiar with my movie picks knows that I love crime fiction/hardboiled noir. And a ton of that these days is written by women for women. I do read some of the stuff written for women—I found Out by Natsuo Kirino to be excellent, for a recent example. But sometimes you want to read something that’s written mostly for you and that gets me turning to the classics of the past—Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett or Mickey Spillane. I’ve seen several Mike Hammer movies, but I’m just starting to read Spillane. Some of what Spillane wrote was clearly sexist and racist: it was a product of white men of the early fifties. But it’s also the literary version of a “guy movie” with tough guys and lots of action.
I guess my point here is that everyone should read more and they should read more from all sorts of points of view. Read books by both men and women. Read books by both Americans and from other cultures. If that happens, we’ll get a better variety at Barnes & Noble.
Finally, guitarist Richard Lloyd of Television died at 75 on Saturday. If you don’t know Television, they were one of the bands who played the legendary New York Club CBGBs in the mid-1970s. The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads and Patti Smith Group went on to big fame. Others like Television, the Dead Boys and Richard Hell and the Voidoids went on to become cult heroes. But Television’s two albums before breaking up: Marquee Moon (1977) and Adventure (1978) are considered classics by anyone who has listened to them. Unlike a lot of the punk bands of the era, Television were generally quite talented musicians and Lloyd was a very good guitarist. Unlike a lot of those punk bands, Television had longer songs with long instrumental jams and dueling guitarists in Verlaine and Lloyd. I went back to my old Trouser Press Record Guide and they wrote “A tendency to ‘jam’ onstage caused detractors (and, paradoxically, British fans) to refer to them as the Grateful Dead of punk.” I always found that description funny.
Lead singer Tom Verlaine passed away in 2023 and bassist Fred Smith died earlier this year. The aforementioned Richard Hell, who left the band before their first recording contract, is still with us, as is drummer Billy Ficca, who would go on to be the drummer for The Waitresses after Television.
Here is the title track of Marquee Moon. I picked it because it features Lloyd’s guitar playing prominently. Also because it’s awesome. But most of Television is.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 07: Carter Jensen #22 and third base coach Vance Wilson #17 of the Kansas City Royals celebrate a solo home run hit by Jensen during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 07, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Carter Jensen finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Major League Baseball revealed the final results Monday night. Jensen placed behind winner Kevin McGonigle (Tigers) and received 31 points in the voting. McGonigle led with 204 points, including 28 first-place votes.
Jensen received four third-place votes, nine fourth-place votes and one fifth-place vote.
This season, Jensen produced a special rookie campaign. He hit .239 with 27 home runs (team high) and 81 RBIs (also team high) while finishing with a 3.3 WAR in 149 games.
Bobby Witt Jr won the Royals Les Milgram Player of the Year award (as voted by the local KC BBWAA chapter).
Witt, 26, has won the award five consecutive seasons. He ranks second behind Royals Hall of Famer George Brett — who took home the honor eight times in his career.
“Bobby, five times winning the Player of the Year, probably not going to be the last either,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, I mean, just the special talent, the humility, the person. All the things we love about him. You know, from his standpoint, and I’m sure he’ll tell you, he didn’t feel like he had a good year and he’s still an MVP candidate.”
Michael Wacha won the Royals pitcher of the year award and Salvador Perez won the Royals special achievement award.
Wacha earned Pitcher of the Year honors after one of the most durable seasons of his 13-year Major League career.
The 35-year-old right-hander went 9-10 with a 3.32 ERA in 32 starts, recording career highs in starts, innings (200 2/3) and quality starts (21). He led the American League in both innings and quality starts, becoming the third Royal to lead the AL in both categories, according to Elias Sports Bureau, following Bret Saberhagen in 1989 and James Shields in 2013.
A most deserving trio!
Congratulations to Michael, Bobby, and Salvy for earning our 2026 team awards! pic.twitter.com/cw5eWPbgrb
MLB mothership has 2027 Rookie of the Year candidates for each team.
Royals: Lucas Braun, RHP (No. 16) Braun’s stuff is never going to wow anyone, but he’s spent the past three years at the upper levels and is ready for a shot. He scuffled a bit after getting dealt from the Braves to the Royals at the Trade Deadline, but he’s been a very durable starter, topping 140 IP twice in the last two years (over 130 IP this past season) and could be a very solid inning-eating back-end starter in 2027.
Mizzou footbal is big mad about the officiating against Texas.
Mauricio Pochettino, current USMNT coach, is apparently the favored candidate to replace the not-yet-fired (at least as I typed this) Michael Carrick at Manchester United.
The Jaguars made a flurry of trades, highlighted by getting DT Jordan Davis from the Eagles.
Arizona Cardinals QB Gardner Minshew maybe tore his UCL in his throwing arm. Soooo…TJ surgery for a football player? How odd. They may not do surgery.
Jensen Huang, the Nvidia CEO, is in some hot water (different link than Max’s yesterday).
Your song of the day is Electric Guest with Oh Devil.
Jonathan Clark added a Fall Stars appearance to his desert résumé this week. | (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
The Arizona Fall League is underway, and Chicago has seven prospects in the Grand Canyon State. The crew includes Mathias LaCombe, RHP (No. 17); Colby Shelton, INF (No. 23); Nick Altermatt, RHP; Jonathan Clark, RHP; Grant Magill, C; Tommy Vail, LHP and Garrett Wright, RHP.
The team added Vail after Pierce George, RHP (No. 18), suffered an olecranon fracture in his pitching elbow. While it sounds like an awful injury, he is expected to participate in 2027 Spring Training. Anthony DePino, INF (No. 21), was also originally on the Dogs roster, but instead underwent shoulder surgery. He should also be ready for spring.
Caleb Bonemer, 3B/SS/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 27), concluded his fall stint on Oct. 24 after slashing .286/.364/.633 with a .996 OPS in 13 games. Over his 49 at-bats, he hit four doubles, two triples and three homers, with six walks, 12 RBIs and an equal number of Ks. Shelton also appears done for the season, as he’s no longer listed on the Dogs’ roster. He finished hitting .277/.379/.511, with an .890 OPS in 15 games.
The White Sox prospects are suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs (9-17), sharing the dugout with hopefuls from the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Glendale Desert Dogs 2, Surprise Saguaros 0 (11/4/26) Magill’s struggles at the plate continue, as he went 0-for-3 with two Ks. Clark earned his first save despite loading the bases in the top of the ninth. Fortunately, he pitched around the traffic and secured the final out.
Mesa Solar Sox 6, Glendale Desert Dogs 3 (11/5/26) It’s been a messy fall for LaCombe, and this outing didn’t help. He entered in the top of the seventh and got a ground out before loading the bases on a single and back-to-back walks. A strikeout put him one out from escaping the jam, but a two-run single ended his afternoon. Altermatt took over and got the final out, then returned for the eighth. After retiring the leadoff hitter, he had to work around an error by the second baseman. A single, ground out and double brought home two unearned runs, and a free pass put runners on first and second with two gone. Altermatt finally shut the door on the inning with a grounder.
NL Fall Stars 7, AL Fall Stars 4 (11/8/26) Both Bonemer and Clark earned spots on the AL Fall Stars squad, but only Clark saw action in the NL’s win. Bonemer wrapped up his fall stint on Oct. 24, while Clark faced three batters in relief. The righthander stopped the bleeding in the bottom of the eighth, entering with two outs, a runner on second and three runs already across. He struck out Wyatt Sanford to end the inning, then returned for the ninth and needed just one pitch to get a fly out before surrendering a single and getting the hook. His runner eventually scored after a walk, single and throwing error, leaving Clark with an unearned run on one hit over two-thirds of an inning, with no walks and one K.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - AUGUST 05: Carlos Narváez #27 of the Baltimore Orioles prepares for a pitch during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 5, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles have known their plan at catcher every season since Adley Rutschman was drafted first overall in 2019. But now that Rutschman himself has been traded away, there are question marks at the position moving forward. Samuel Basallo will obviously factor into it, though it seems like the team prefers him to spend at least half of his time at DH. That leaves a void behind the plate without a clear solution. Carlos Narváez got first crack at the job in the post-Rutschman era, and it did not go particularly well.
Narváez was part of the return package in the deal that sent Rutschman (and fellow catcher Jake Rogers) to Boston. While more than a “throw in”, Narváez was certainly not the headliner in the haul coming back to Baltimore. That distinction belongs to either Anthony Eyanson or Enddy Azocar, two of the four prospects included in the deal. But Narváez’s inclusion was still important, because it gave the Orioles what seemed to be a viable option behind the plate to at least buy them time to figure out what comes next.
Heading into 2026, Narváez was expected to share the catching role in Boston with Connor Wong in what would be a competent duo with modest upside. Narváez had been quite good in 2025, posting a 100 OPS+ in the box while being a highly-regarded defender behind the dish. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference valued him at 2.8 WAR on the season.
The 2026 season, however, was more of a struggle. Narvaez was OK through May, owning a .220/.298/.321 batting line, though he had just seven extra base hits over 37 games. Even still, his glove was good enough to keep him in the lineup. But that didn’t matter much by the end of June. Narváez slumped badly, hitting .097/.143/.129 on the month. And it was not much better in July, where he put together a .172/.242/.276 slash line.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox surged, going 21-4 in July, and clawing their way back into the playoff race. Narváez was a weak link, and the team sought out an upgrade at the position. They would end up landing one of the biggest fish of the trade season, and they paid a steep price to do it, acquiring Rutschman from the Orioles on August 3. Narváez went in the other direction.
When Narváez arrived in Baltimore, he stepped back into an everyday role. Basallo was on the IL at the time, which left Yohel Pozo as the only other active catcher on the roster. It was Narváez’s job for the time being.
The Venezuelan-born backstop brought his ice cold bat with him to Baltimore. Through his first 15 games, he went 3-for-41 with two walks and 14 strikeouts. After that, his production ticked up, but just barely. From August 25 through the end of the season, Narváez hit .139/.244/.167 with one double, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. In his 33 games as an Oriole in 2026, Narváez had one extra-base hit and zero RBI.
While it would be ideal for a team’s major league catcher to be viable as a hitter, it is less important than the work he does on defense. And fortunately that is where Narváez shines.
According to Baseball Savant, Narváez was worth five fielding runs over the entire 2026 season, which ranks him in the 76th percentile of all fielders. His top skill appears to be blocking. He had 13 blocks above average, which is in the 99th percentile. Nine of those 13 came with the Orioles, even though he had half as many block opportunities compared to his time spent with the Red Sox. He also receives plus marks for his pitch framing, and prior to 2026 he had strong numbers in steal prevention as well, though that can be impacted by his battery mate.
MASN’s Roch Kubatko said last month that he expects the Orioles to be “in the market for another catcher with more offensive upside” than Narváez this offseason. That tracks with how the team has explained their plans at the position. Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in August that the “plan with [Basallo] was always to kind of rotate him though and have him catch more like half or fewer than half of the games.” That set-up requires a legitimate primary catcher on the roster to play the lions share of defensive innings. Right now, it does not seem like the Orioles have that person in the organization.
That said, it is still reassuring to have Narváez on the roster. He is a major league caliber defender, will play the entire 2027 season at just 28 years old, and he has minor league options remaining. If the team is able to land an upgrade at the position, they would then have better organizational depth at catcher than they did all of 2026, which required substantial time on the big league roster for Pozo and Sam Huff.
The Orioles do have two interesting catching prospects that could be ready for big league reps sometime in 2027. Creed Willems spent most of 2026 in Norfolk, where had a .254/.347/.414 batting line, but there are questions about his defensive mechanics as a catcher. Ethan Anderson is right behind Willems in terms of development. He just had a cup of coffee in Triple-A last year, but had a big year in Double-A (.271/.363/.518) and could be the better offensive fit in the near-term.
Narváez will factor into the Orioles 2027 catching plans in some way. He has useful skills and offers roster flexibility. But he has already squandered his best chance to prove that he should be trusted as the team’s primary backstop going into the season. Now, if they hope to compete, the O’s will need to look elsewhere.
In what may constitute a slight upset, the more slugger-ish Goose Goslin took down the more singles-and-speed Sam Rice to claim the “first sequel” of greatest Washington Senators.
Sam Rice (1915-1933): 2,889 H, 479 2B, 183 3B, 346 SB, .323 BA, .804 OPS, 113 OPS+, 54.1 bWAR. An outfielder who hit left-handed but threw right-handed, Rice was the ultimate speed-and-contact player for the Senators. After a stint in the U.S. Navy and a stop with the Petersburg Goobers of the Virginia League, he twice led the league in hits, once in stolen bases, and once in three-baggers. His career hit total—2,987—remains the closest to 3k of any retired player without reaching that milestone, a fact that may have kept him out of the HOF until the Veteran’s Committee voted him aboard in 1963. Perhaps best known for a controversial catch in the 1925 World Series.
Joe Judge (1915-1932): 2,291 H, 421 2B, 157 3B, 210 SB, .299 BA, .802 OPS, 115 OPS+, 48.3 bWAR. As a batsman, Judge was functional and fleet. But in an era known for shoddy defense with bad baseballs and awkward hand-wear, Judge was a consummate glove-man at the first sack. At retirement, he led the American League in fielding percentage, putouts, assists, total chances, & double plays. The kid from Brooklyn—discovered by his block’s postal worker, who gave young Joe his first glove—preserved Walter Johnson’s only MLB no-hitter with a fantastic snare for the final out in 1920. Ironically, he effectively ended the Big Train’s career in 1927 when he smashed a BP bottle-rocket into the hurler’s shin and broke his ankle. Judge died at the age of 68 in 1963 while shoveling snow outside of his D.C. home.
Buddy Myer (1925-1927, 1929-1941): 1,828 H, 305 2B, 113 3B, 118 SB, .303 BA, .801 OPS, 109 OPS+, 42.3 bWAR. A college baseball star at Mississippi State, Myer was the Nick Punto of his era—bouncing around multiple infield positions as a proto-utility player. At the plate he was known for a keen eye, with OBPs routinely at .370+ (including five .400+ OBP years). Buddy’s 1935 season was his apex, seeing him take home a batting title (.349), score & drive in 100 runs, and finish 4th in MVP voting to slugger Hank Greenberg. Never one to back down from a challenge, the diminutive (5’10”) Myer once brawled with Ben Chapman (surprise, surprise) when Chapman spiked Myer and hurled antisemitic insults at him—leading to fans charging the field and multiple disorderly conduct arrests.
Clyde Milan (1907-1922): 2,100 H, 1,004 R, 495 SB, .285 BA, .706 OPS, 109 OPS+, 40.8 bWAR. Before Ty Cobb re-wrote the record books for speed on the base paths, Clyde “Deerfoot” Milan was the gold standard of stolen bases. Twice leading the American League in bags swiped (88 in 1912; 75 in 1913), Milan averaged 40 steals per season over his 16-year MLB career. What Clyde lacked in Dead Ball Era power numbers (17 career round-trippers) he made up for by choking up on the lumber and compiling a .353 career on-base percentage. In 1911-1913 he garnered three consecutive top-9 AL MVP finishes. Milan could man all three OF stations and often led the league in assists, double plays & Range Factor. A high error total speaks as much to Clyde’s ability to even have a chance at suppressing more flying spheres than his contemporaries.
Joe Cronin (1928-1934): 1,090 H, 242 2B, 72 3B, 51 HR, 577 R, 673 RBI, .304 BA, .842 OPS, 118 OPS+, 37.0 bWAR. Joe Cronin played just seven seasons for the Senators—but he certainly made the most of them. A doubles and triples machine (once leading the league in each), the swaggering shortstop cracked the 100+ RBI mark five times in Washington via his penchant for clutch knocks. Per Connie Mack: “With a man on third and one out, I’d rather have Cronin hitting for me than anybody—and that includes Cobb, Simmons, and the rest of them”. In 1933, he became a player/manager—and in his first year at the helm led the Nats to a pennant (alas, a World Series loss to Bill Terry’s New York Giants). Joe would join the Cooperstown ranks in 1956—then be named American League President in 1959. During his tenure (‘59-‘73), the AL would expand by four markets and shift around four other franchises.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 23: A general view of the Giants equipment rack before the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
As we continue looking back at the 2026 San Francisco Giants, today I thought we would take a look at another compilation that the team’s social media team put together. This time of the best defensive plays of the season.
So grab your coffee, settle in, and enjoy!
What was your favorite defensive play of the 2026 season?
Sep 23, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees catcher Ali Sanchez (39) and relief pitcher David Bednar (53) celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Edwin Diaz makes $23 million a year to close out games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has seemed to stop caring about a payroll budget at all. This year’s qualifying offer is $23.15 million, meaning if Yankee closer David Bednar accepts the one-time, one-year deal, he’ll be the highest paid closer in baseball for one season, a season in which we’re not quite sure what the baseball landscape will look like.
Of course Bednar has the right to negotiate a longer-term deal with the Yankees or any other team after declining the QO, and something like the three-year $51 million contract Devin Williams inked with the Mets might be more in line with what he wants —less money per year, but more of a long-term commitment especially if 2027 sees games be lost.
The Yankees were burned by the qualifying offer last year, extending it to Trent Grisham only for the alleged centerfielder fail to reach a full win of value, and the club was clearly worried about a similar misfire should they put the QO tab on Jazz Chisholm Jr. I think there’s considerably less risk in having Bednar around, even at a slight annual overpay, than either of those two guys, but there’s also less risk with an accepted QO than there is with signing him for more than one more year.
Let’s start with the good — a 2.47 ERA that dropped to a 2.15 in the second half, Bednar brings a very old school, bulldog-like mentality to the ninth, seems to be eager to get the ball in the pressure moments, and makes me feel relaxed when he’s on the mound with a two-run lead.
But the Yankee ability to pick up a turnip and turn it into a middle reliever with a 98 mph sinker and 2.61 ERA, which they do at least once a year, keeps expenses on relief pitching low. The team committed just $24,840,763 to the bullpen this year, a million bucks and change more than the Dodgers paid for Diaz alone while putting together a better unit albeit by ERA. The one team with a better relief ERA, the Red Sox, spent more than half of that (let’s round up) $25 million on Aroldis Chapman, who had an excellent season, but the Yankees could recreate the proverbial aggregate for less money.
As always, I don’t care about Hal Steinbrenner’s wallet, but he does, and that kind of flexibility in filling out a bullpen gives the Yankees a wide range of options — they are almost always able to make deals at the trade deadline because they have a little extra money that they DIDN’T give to someone like Aroldis Chapman or Edwin Diaz or Josh Hader, or they can give that extra money to a headlining free agent, or they can buck their fungible relief trend and have Bednar for one expensive year.
At one year I don’t mind ballooning the relief budget, especially when the free agent class is pretty underwhelming. I don’t think the Yankees will make a push for Tarik Skubal, Jazz can go play somewhere else, and while I want Teruaki Sato, I don’t imagine I’d consider Brian Cashman a failure if he can’t sign the NPB MVP. At three or four years, I no longer want Bednar — his fastball was down a full mile per hour in 2026, and while I don’t mind a 33-year-old closer, I worry a lot about a 34 or 35 year old.
That kind of commitment also restricts the pot of money that can be given out in the 2028 or 2029 FA classes, both stronger than the ‘27 cohort. Lastly, I think a multi-year deal to closers locks them in a role because of the money they’re owed; the closer is the closer because he’s the closer. Relief pitching is exactly where you want to maintain your flexibility, one year with David Bednar sounds like a great time. Much more than that locks up resources in the side of the roster the Yankees are best at tinkering with.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 04: Luis Robert Jr. #88 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 04, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re only 22 days away from the Owners locking out the Players in the major labor dispute that has loomed over the sport for the last 18 months. Chaim Bloom, newly minted GM Rob Cerfolio, and the St. Louis Cardinals front office have a very limited window to operate to improve the big league roster heading into the 2027 season. There are areas of the roster that those in and out of the organization have identified as areas to address. Some want to see a significant addition to the starting rotation; others want the focus to be on the bullpen; 3rd base has been speculated on relentlessly; and those here at VEB made a convincing argument that center field is somewhere that the front office should NOT be complacent.
Nathan Church, who is the incumbent at the position, left a lot to be desired in his performance a season ago after Victor Scott II, once again, did not display tangible improvement offensively and subsequently lost his roster spot, as he now faces uncertainty about whether or not he will be tendered a contract this offseason. Of the 23 MLB CFs who had a minimum of 450 PAs, Nathan Church ranked 21st in fWAR, 19th in OBP (.290), 15th in SLG (.364), 19th in OPS (.654), 20th in ISO (.118), 18th in wRC+ (81), 19th in wOBA (.288), and 19th in xwOBA (.283). Coming into the season, Church was viewed as more of a 4th OF type by me and other 3rd party evaluators, and those numbers suggest that those evaluations were correct. Church can be a serviceable late-game defensive replacement or a short-term fill-in, but he should not be relied upon to start in extended stretches of the season.
Steven Kwan is a name that has a ton of intrigue to me if the Cardinals want to make a short-term investment: a 4-time Gold Glove winner and a consistent 3-5 win player per season. That kind of improvement in value could potentially push the position player group to a strong wild-card contender. Before anyone decides to participate in fake outrage, no, that’s not the annual goal of an established franchise with a history of winning, like the St. Louis Cardinals. But after 4 consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs in an era where it’s never been easier to achieve a playoff berth, that would represent a welcome step forward. The Guardians are a notoriously challenging front office to make deals with; however, their baseball ops people have a model they follow relentlessly and can present challenges lining up on the value of a return. If Chaim Bloom and Co. decide that the price for Kwan is too rich, they can pivot to the free agent market where today’s topic target exists.
A common theme among Cardinals fans is that because of the success of the “Dustin May experiment,” the front office should replicate that with another starting pitcher this offseason. Fellow writer Scott Plaza has advocated ad nauseam for Kris Bubic, and while I don’t hate the idea, I even advocated for him in the piece that I pulled back at the last second last month before changing course and advocating for more opportunities from internal pieces in the rotation. But let’s not close ourselves off to the idea that the sign-and-flip process is exclusive to just the pitching staff.
Luis Robert Jr’s profile matches up with Dustin May in more ways than you might have initially thought. An under-30 player who has high upside measurables, has struggled with injuries, and is in need of a reset in an environment that can guarantee him starting opportunities and has had success with keeping players healthy. “Lou-Bob,” as those on the South Side called him, suffered through another injury-plagued season after being dealt to the New York Mets. Let’s be honest, pretty much every player brought in by the Mets last offseason underperformed, so I’m willing to overlook what was mostly a lost season for him in an organization that proved it wasn’t able to get the most out of its players.
Robert Jr. did, however, display a career-high average bat speed of 77.3 MPH, which would narrowly rank him 3rd on the Cardinals behind Jordan Walker (79.3 MPH) and Joshua Baez (77.5 MPH). Why is bat speed important? For one, it increases exit velocities and is a widely recognized indicator of power potential. Faster bat speed also allows hitters to wait back longer and provides greater adjustability when trying to recognize spin. Because of those two elements, it also allows players the ability to find success even if they don’t catch the barrel flush on the ball.
Sprint speed is another top-notch element of Robert Jr’s game that he can use on both sides of the ball to impact a game. He registered 28.9 ft/s sprint speeds in 2026, and that would have rated as the 4th fastest on the team behind Jordan Walker, Joshua Baez, and Victor Scott II. The power/speed combo is one that can really raise the floor of a team’s upside, and Jordan Walker, Joshua Baez, and a potential addition of Luis Robert Jr. could give the Cardinals one of the highest-upside outfields in baseball.
Injuries are, of course, part of the discussion, but nothing that I think is indicative of immediate concern. A couple of right hip flexor issues, a sprained wrist, an MCL sprain, and a couple of hamstring strains are a part of his injury history. There is one injury, of note, that would grant some pause, that was a bulging lumbar spine disc herniation. The good news is that it is not a result of playing the game of baseball but is more commonly associated with poor form when lifting heavy weights; it was likely suffered during training, and he has since returned to play after the injury. St. Louis has its fair share of recent outfielders with injury questions, including Tyler O’Neill and Lars Nootbaar.
So, whats the cost? In this industry, money talks. Former VEB writer Ben Clemens over at Fangraphs projected him to receive a 1-year, $ 14 million contract, and their staff writer had this to say about Robert Jr:
As you read this, approximately 25 hitting coaches are watching video of Robert hit and thinking, “I can fix him.” A handful of those coaches might be right, but the decision-makers in front offices shouldn’t count on it, as doing so would require Robert staying healthy long enough for a potential fix to take hold and he has yet to make it through a 162-game season without missing significant time. His only season without an IL stint was 2020, which famously was much shorter than a typical season.
After impressing at the plate over his first several seasons, Robert hasn’t posted an above-average wRC+ since 2023. Injuries likely played a role in that, but despite diminished overall production, he has demonstrated growth at the plate over the last couple of years. He’s become more patient at the plate, swinging and, more importantly, whiffing less. As a result, his walks are up and his strikeouts are down. His bat speed increased by nearly two ticks last season and perhaps relatedly, his power numbers crept up as well; even though he only logged 230 plate appearances, he clubbed 11 home runs.
When healthy, Robert should still offer solid outfield defense. His arm has lost a little juice, but his sprint speed remains elite. Still, given his slew of soft tissue injuries, it may be prudent to pencil him in at DH once or twice a week.
IF the Cardinals can manage to keep him healthy, this is a guy with 30-30 upside. Luis Robert Jr. could provide more upside, more potential, more potential ROI (if they manage to find themselves out of it at the deadline) OR one of their young CF options like Tai Peete or Josiah Ragsdale proves ready to take the everyday job. Chaim Bloom has preached “urgency and conceding nothing” along with his vision for the franchise’s long-term approach. Cardinals fans are excited about the direction of the team when it comes to the long-term core pieces being developed. But they are also simultaneously getting antsy when it comes to results on the field and in the standings, and as previously stated, it’s now been 4 consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance, which is now the longest such stretch during the 21st century. Though this offseason brings a short window for activity, inactivity will not be met with a pleasant response from fans, not only in online discourse, but the DeWitt family can expect a depression in ticket sales to reflect that as well, and Cardinals fans seem intent on matching the investment made by ownership and front office alike.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 28: Brice Turang #2 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with Garrett Mitchell #5 after scoring a run during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in game five of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field on October 28, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Bold Predictions
Paul Dietrich: The Brewers have a pair of 30/30 players
Well, I took this assignment pretty seriously. I predicted before the season that Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang would each finish with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases. Chourio did go 20/20 for the third time in his three seasons, but his early-season injury prevented him from reaching the 30/30 mark; with 25 homers and 23 stolen bases in 127 games, he very well may have made it if he’d made his season debut before May 4. Turang, though, didn’t get particularly close. While he had an excellent season (more on that below), he hit 21 homers and stole 19 bases, not even close to the 30/30 threshold.
Harrison Freuck: Jacob Misiorowski reaches the 200-strikeout threshold
This doesn’t really seem all that bold in retrospect. In my defense, though, Miz entered the season with just 66 major league innings under his belt, and he was coming off a career-high 129 1/3 innings, which would mean he’d need an incredible 13.9 K/9 to reach 200. Well, he didn’t quite get that K/9 rate, but he did throw 174 2/3 innings, and with 13 K/9 over that stretch, he ended up leading the majors with 252 strikeouts. Not too bad for a 24-year-old who entered the season with command issues.
Jackson Heiden:Jake Bauers is the true team MVP
Well, I kinda cheated, considering I didn’t join the writing staff until May, so I’ll be going off who I felt was the midseason MVP for the Brewers. All I can say is boy, did that age well. Bauers will never have to pay for a drink in the state of Wisconsin after his performance in the postseason. He drew 10 walks, collected nine hits, and had arguably the biggest home run of the postseason to give the Brewers a lead over the Dodgers. Outside of that, he turned in career highs in every statistical category, proving to be one of the best and consistent players all season long.
Jason Paczkowski: Brice Turang finishes in the top five for NL MVP
Definitely got this one right. Even before the MVP vote is revealed on Thursday, we already know that Turang is in the top three for NL MVP. While he’s unlikely to win it over Pete Crow-Armstrong, he has a chance at finishing second over Shohei Ohtani (which none of us would have thought possible at the start of the season). He finished third among position players in the NL with 5.9 fWAR and 7.3 bWAR.
Adam Zimmer: Jacob Misiorowski is a top-five NL Cy Young finisher
Nailed this one. I’ve been super high on Misiorowski since he was a minor leaguer, but even I didn’t expect his first full season in the big leagues to be one of the most dominant seasons ever, putting his name in conversations with legends like Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. My bold prediction may not have even been bold enough; Miz hasn’t officially been named the National League Cy Young winner yet, but he’s the odds-on favorite.
Storylines to Watch
Paul Dietrich: Who is the first blue-chip prospect to break through?
In my blurb before the season, I wondered if, by Opening Day in 2027, Jesús Made, Cooper Pratt, and Jett Williams would be in the lineup. Made is still a teenager until a month into the (hypothetical) 2027 season, and Williams had an injury-plagued, disappointing season that threatened his status as a real prospect. I wasn’t wrong about Pratt, though: he was in the Brewer lineup by mid-June, performing better than anyone expected, and he went up a level in the playoffs, where he very easily could’ve been the World Series MVP.
The other prospect who made it to the bigs this year was not someone anyone really expected before the season. Luis Lara wasn’t a non-prospect by any means, but it was his incredibly hot start with the bat at Triple-A Nashville that earned him a long-term extension and a call-up to the big leagues in early July. Lara ultimately made less of an impact than Pratt, but he was a positive presence and if he can fine-tune his offensive game a bit, then he’ll have a major role in the future.
Harrison Freuck: Can Milwaukee’s 2025 breakout stars repeat in 2026?
When I wrote this storyline, I specifically referenced Brice Turang, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick, and Andrew Vaughn.
The bad? Priester didn’t throw a single pitch as he ultimately underwent season-ending surgery in the summer. Patrick pitched to a similar stat line compared to his 2025 campaign, making 57 appearances (six starts) with a 9-4 record, 3.40 ERA, 4.17 FIP, and 93 strikeouts over 106 innings, but he made no playoff appearances before being left off the World Series roster as he struggled down the stretch.
The good? Turang improved on his 5.5 bWAR season to turn in a 7.3 bWAR season, and he’s now one of three MVP finalists. He came a stolen base away from a 20-20 season, with 21 homers, 100 RBIs, 102 runs scored, and a .268/.366/.450 line. He also took home a Gold Glove for the second time in his young career. Vaughn, who was a valuable bat for Milwaukee down the stretch last season, was relegated to a backup/platoon role thanks to Jake Bauers’ breakout (more on him later), but he was still solid even in limited opportunities — over 104 games, he hit .306/.390/.444 with six homers, 18 doubles, 43 RBIs, and 33 runs scored.
Jackson Heiden: Can Joey Ortiz turn into a reliable every day third baseman?
As I mentioned above, I wasn’t here for this, so I’m going off of what I thought as a spectator. To be completely transparent, I was ready to move on from Joey Ortiz back in 2025, and for the first month of the season, that was still the case, until it wasn’t. It’s hard to imagine what the 2026 season would’ve looked like had the Brewers not gotten the second half from Ortiz that they did. During the first two months of the season, Ortiz batted .234, barely getting on base. In the second half of the season, he became a key piece, completely changing the dynamic of the left side of the infield, batting .323 over the final three months while continuing to play lockdown defense at the hot corner.
Jason Paczkowski: Can Andrew Vaughn maintain his 2025 performance?
While Andrew Vaughn did maintain his 2025 performance in 2026, it wasn’t a massive success. He ended up with about the same numbers over the course of the season. His OBP rose slightly from .375 with the Brewers in 2025 to .390 in 2026, but his slugging percentage dropped from .493 to .444. He ended up mostly as a bench bat after Jake Bauers had a dominant season and barely played in the playoffs. Vaughn could still be needed in 2027 depending on what Bauers does with the qualifying offer.
Adam Zimmer: Who’s going to play third base?
The Brewers entered the year with a Luis Rengifo-David Hamilton platoon at third base, which I (correctly) assumed wouldn’t be the plan all season. Although he got hot in October, Hamilton produced just 0.4 WAR over the regular season, and Rengifo was designated for assignment by June. Instead, the Brewers called up top prospect Cooper Pratt to play shortstop and moved Joey Ortiz back to third. Pratt hit .281 with a .718 OPS in his rookie season, while the move to third base seemingly revived Ortiz’s bat: he posted a .911 OPS and 25 RBIs after the All-Star break.
Team MVP
Paul Dietrich: Brice Turang
Amusingly, all five of us chose Turang as the team MVP before the season. And while I would listen to arguments about, certainly, Jacob Misiorowski, and maybe some would argue for Chourio or William Contreras, Turang was the correct answer. By Baseball Reference WAR, he was the team’s best player, and by FanGraphs’ version, he was the most valuable position player. Turang’s evolution from light-hitting defensive whiz to one of the best all-around players in the league has been a joy to watch, and it earned him not just team MVP honors but a top-three finish in the National League, making him the first Brewer to do so since Christian Yelich in 2019.
Harrison Freuck: Brice Turang
As I said above, Turang had another great season that culminated in a top-three MVP finish. While our community gave the edge in the MVBrewers rankings to William Contreras, I’d argue that’s primarily due to Contreras’ management of the pitching staff and his performance in the postseason. It may be overshadowed by some of the other performances, but Turang still batted .261/.404/.413 with a homer, four doubles, four RBIs, nine runs, two steals, and a team-high 11 walks in 13 postseason games. I’d say that’s a perfectly good line for a guy who put up 7.3 bWAR in the regular season, warranting him the team MVP distinction.
Jackson Heiden:Christian Yelich
Yeah, I know, maybe I’m living in 2018, but I have felt that for the Brewers to make a deep run, they would need their soon-to-be captain to be somewhat of himself of old. My thought process behind this pick was that everyone else would continue to produce at the level they have been, and that the missing link in Yelich would be the man that they needed. While his regular season was less than optimal, taking a step back from the season prior, his postseason performance was more what I was looking for. He collected 11 hits, a double, a triple, and drove in five, while walking six times.
Jason Paczkowski: Brice Turang
There’s not much more to say here. Turang was one of the best players in the National League by fWAR and bWAR, as mentioned before. His defense recovered and he won his second Gold Glove, and his bat has been just as strong. He hit 21 home runs and had his first 100-RBI season, and barely missed joining the 20-20 club with 19 steals. The only question remaining for Turang in 2026 is where he finished exactly among the top three for NL MVP.
Adam Zimmer: Brice Turang
I, like the rest of the staff, picked Turang, so I won’t spend too much time on this one. While you could make a case for Misiorowski, Turang followed up his second-half breakout in 2025 with the best all-around season of his career. He posted 7.3 bWAR to Misiorowski’s 6.4 and was named an NL MVP finalist alongside Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers.
Most Improved Player
Paul Dietrich: Jacob Misiorowski
I wondered if this was cheating when I made this prediction, as Miz had only thrown 66 regular-season innings and had looked like a star in the 2025 postseason. But I was right: his 2025 regular season was a roller coaster, and I was certainly right about his improvement in 2026, as he was undeniably the best pitcher in baseball.
Harrison Freuck: Jake Bauers
Bullseye. I used Bauers’ strong final month of the 2025 season paired with a solid spring training to predict he’d have a breakout regular season, and breakout he did. By now, we’ve all heard the storyline about how he was ready to retire before coming back to the Brewers, and he proved that was the right decision — after putting up a career-high 0.6 bWAR in 2025, he slugged his way to 3.3 bWAR in 2026, slashing .266/.389/.484 with a team-high 26 homers, 22 doubles, 86 RBIs, 93 runs, and 11 steals across 144 games, taking over what was initially intended to be a platoon with Vaughn at first base. Despite a rough World Series, he still turned in a fairly solid postseason, winning NLCS MVP with a pair of long at-bats (one culminating in a walk, the other a homer) against the Dodgers, and drawing 10 walks for a .345 OBP.
Jackson Heiden:Jacob Misiorowski
It feels almost cliché to pick the ace of the staff, but at the beginning of the season, we didn’t know if we were going to see the ace that we saw all season. In 2025, Miz had the stuff, but he didn’t throw it as effectively as he did in 2026. A ton of walks and inconsistent command didn’t instill a ton of confidence in me. But knowing our pitching staff and what they’re capable of, it’s unsurprising, given how well he pitched this season.
Jason Paczkowski: Robert Gasser
While Gasser wasn’t the most improved player on the team, he definitely took a big step forward this season. For most of the season after being brought back up in mid-May, he was up and down in his starts. The turnaround for him started on August 26. Six days earlier, Gasser was pulled mid at-bat against the Mariners after a particularly bad inning. Then, against the Mets, Dustin May was hit by a comeback line drive in the first at-bat of the game, and Gasser was called on to soak some innings. He was brilliant in that appearance and saved the Brewers’ bullpen. In his last nine appearances (eight starts and a long-relief appearance), he allowed one run or fewer in eight of them. That includes three scoreless starts in the postseason. He’s established his spot in the rotation for 2027.
Adam Zimmer: Joey Ortiz
The correct answer is probably Bauers, although the gap between his improvement and Ortiz’s is smaller than some might think. Ortiz went from being basically the worst hitter in the league to finishing the year hitting .270 with a .730 OPS, and his bWAR jumped from 0.2 last year to 2.6 this year. Bauers went from 0.6 to 3.3. Still, Ortiz struggled in the playoffs and didn’t play every day, while Bauers was a much bigger part of the Brewers’ World Series run, earning NLCS MVP honors along the way.
Newcomer of the Year
Paul Dietrich: Angel Zerpa
Well, we can’t win them all. Zerpa, who I’m still somewhat intrigued by, made 12 appearances for the Brewers, pitched to a 6.39 ERA, was shut down with arm trouble, and had Tommy John surgery in early May. We’ll see if he can get back in the picture by the second half of next season.
Harrison Freuck: Luis Rengifo
Oops. Luis Rengifo was arguably the worst newcomer of the year. Across 57 games, he batted a dismal .205/.280/.254 with no homers, nine doubles, 19 RBIs, and 19 runs scored before he was designated for assignment in mid-June as Cooper Pratt was called up to take over at shortstop. To add insult to injury, Rengifo caught on with the Padres and played great for them — .291/.375/.409 with four homers, 17 RBIs, and 19 runs scored over 38 games — before a season-ending injury. That stretch also included a grand slam against Milwaukee. Ouch.
Jackson Heiden:Kyle Harrison At the midseason awards, this was looking good. At the revisit, not so much. Harrison had quite the decline in the second half of the season, so much so that he never appeared in a postseason game. If you told a Brewers fan in May that he wouldn’t be a factor in the World Series run, I think they would’ve called you crazy. He had a 2.44 ERA through June, and then from July on, he had an 8.87 ERA. A left forearm/elbow issue in July forced an injured list stint, and then a couple of noticeable mechanical issues led to his second-half slump. While the forearm issue is concerning, he didn’t pitch in October, and has a full offseason to heal, which convinces me that he’ll be back to where he was next year.
Jason Paczkowski: Kyle Harrison
For the first two months of the season, Harrison was looking like a brilliant offseason acquisition. He had a 1.57 ERA and 2.45 FIP with 73 strikeouts through his first 11 starts, and was a legitimate All-Star candidate. That started to come apart against the Athletics on June 8 in what was a forgettable series for most of the pitching staff. While he had a few more strong starts after that, he ended up on the IL for a month with a forearm/elbow injury, and then just seemed to run out of gas after his return. Hopefully an offseason with some extra rest and conditioning work will help him recover and be ready for 2027.
Adam Zimmer: Kyle Harrison
This looked like the right pick for most of the season, and even though the wheels came off down the stretch, Harrison (1.7 fWAR, 0.5 bWAR) is still in the conversation. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a clear winner for this one. Cooper Pratt is probably the right choice: he matched Harrison’s 1.7 fWAR despite not being called up until June, and he played well in the World Series. You could also make a case for David Hamilton (0.4 fWAR, 1.9 bWAR) or JoJo Romero based on their postseason performances.
