Category: Baseball

The Pirates season has come to a close finishing 82-80. The offense was the big story for the club this season with how dynamic and dominant they were at the plate. The pitching wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t the best in the league, let’s take a look at the Pirates bullpen this season. 

The Good

Yohan Ramírez served as a reliable workhorse and multi-inning weapon out of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. He racked up over a strikeout per inning (102 K in 85.0 IP) with a strong 2.86 ERA across 66 appearances. The bullpen was very questionable for a lot of the season, but Ramirez was definitely one of the more reliable and trusted arms. 

Mason Montgomery led the team with 18 saves and had a solid 2.55 ERA. Montgomery was shaky in the beginning of the season, but he looked better in the second half of the year. 

Luke Weaver was a big addition for the Bucs at the trade deadline from the New York Mets, and he looked pretty solid at times for the team. Weaver is Under contract through the 2027 season, with his next unrestricted free agency scheduled for 2028.

In the Middle

The Pirates were ranked in the middle in bullpen ERA at 14th with a 4.01 ERA. That’s not bad, but the big thing with the bullpen was inconsistency. As a team, they had 41 total saves on the year, which was an above average state compared to the rest of the league.   

Gregory Soto was a name the team called on a good bit this season, pitching in 68 games. He also had the problem of inconsistency, he had a 3.68 ERA and had an issue with allowing the long ball. As a whole, the bullpen allowed 65 home runs on the year, which was on the lower side in the league.   

The Bad

For the whole season, the Buccos didn’t have a go to closer. Mason Montgomery was thrusted into that role later in the year, but I’m not sure if he can be a legit long-term closer in the ninth inning for the Pirates next season.

To start the season, Denis Santana was the closer but he was designated for assignment by the Pirates on July 23, 2026, after posting a 6.05 ERA.

Another disappointment was Camilo Doval, who was traded from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline. Doval was supposed to be this big pickup at the deadline, but he was designated for assignment by the Pirates on September 22, 2026 and was later picked up by the San Francisco Giants. 

The Pirates need to go out and get a legit closer in the offseason because they need that guy they can fully rely on. I think having Mason Montgomery throw in the seventh and maybe having Luke Weaver in the eighth can work as great set up guys. New closer to follow.

Overall, the Pirates bullpen did okay this season in places, but inconsistency killed them, especially when the Pirates had those rough months in the middle of the year. If the Bucs want to snap their playoff drought for the 2027 season, they should be aggressive in the offseason and spend some money on some guys in the bullpen that can help out. 

CHICAGO – There are some atmospheres a young team just has to experience for itself.

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable acknowledged his team was affected by the magnitude of Game 3 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians. The team's first playoff game at home since 2021. A chance to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since 1906. A fanbase ecstatic to be in the postseason after three 100-loss seasons in a row.

“This group has always responded well to different atmospheres, whether that's on the road or here. … It was different yesterday,” Venable said Thursday, Oct. 8, ahead of Game 4.

“I'm not sure that there was anything that myself or anybody else could have said to prepare them for that,” Venable added. They had to experience it for themselves.”

Jim Crane’s reputation for control could make Houston’s search for new leadership far more difficult than anyone wants to admit.

The two most important positions in the Houston Astros organization are either open or facing uncertainty, and the scary part is that they may also be two of the least attractive jobs in Major League Baseball.

Think about that for a moment.

We’re talking about an organization that has enjoyed one of the most successful runs in modern baseball history. A franchise with multiple World Series appearances, two championships, a passionate fan base, and a reputation for winning. On the surface, the opportunity to become the next general manager or manager of the Houston Astros should be one of the most coveted positions in the sport.

But there’s one major problem:

Jim Crane.

With Dana Brown’s departure as general manager and uncertainty surrounding Joe Espada’s future as manager, the Astros should be positioned to attract some of the brightest minds in baseball. Experienced executives and proven managers should be lining up for interviews, while young, innovative candidates should view Houston as the perfect opportunity to establish themselves on the biggest stage.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe that’s the reality.

The biggest obstacle facing the Astros isn’t necessarily the roster, the payroll, or even the organization’s depleted farm system. It’s the reputation of an owner who, in my opinion, has become far too involved in baseball decisions and far too controlling of the people he hires to make them.

Let’s be clear. Jim Crane owns the Houston Astros. He has every right to run his organization however he sees fit. He’s invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the franchise, and nobody can take away the success the Astros have enjoyed under his ownership.

But there’s a significant difference between being an involved owner and being an owner who makes it difficult for the baseball people he employs to actually do their jobs.

That distinction could become the single biggest issue facing this organization moving forward.

Why Would an Established Candidate Want These Jobs?

We will probably never know everything that happened behind closed doors with Dana Brown, Joe Espada, or even Dusty Baker before them. We don’t know every disagreement, every personnel decision, or how much authority each man actually had.

Baseball is a small world. Executives talk. Managers talk. Agents talk. Reputations travel quickly throughout the industry. Does anyone really believe that experienced baseball executives and managers aren’t going to do their homework before considering an opportunity in Houston?

If you’re an established general manager with a proven track record, why would you leave a comfortable situation to take a job where you might not have the final say on the decisions you’re ultimately going to be judged for? If you’re a veteran manager who has spent decades earning the respect of players and front offices, why would you willingly enter a situation where ownership might constantly second-guess your decisions? Look no further than the friction that surrounded Dusty Baker’s final years in Houston.

Baker was a future Hall of Fame manager with a World Series championship and decades of experience. He had earned the right to manage his clubhouse and make baseball decisions based on his knowledge and instincts. Yet even with his résumé, questions persisted about the relationship between the manager and ownership.

If someone with Dusty Baker’s credentials faced those challenges, what does that tell prospective candidates about the environment they’re potentially walking into?

Established baseball people don’t need the Houston Astros job badly enough to surrender the authority and independence they’ve spent their careers earning.

That should concern every Astros fan.

The Risk for Young, Up-and-Coming Candidates

Now consider the other side of the equation.

Maybe Crane decides to go in a different direction and hire younger, emerging talent. Someone with fresh ideas, a modern analytical approach, and a desire to make a name for themselves in Major League Baseball. That sounds exciting, right? However, put yourself in the shoes of one of those candidates.

You’ve spent years working your way through an organization, building relationships, learning the business, and waiting for your opportunity to run a baseball team or manage at the major league level. Your first opportunity could define your entire career. Would you really want that opportunity to come with the possibility of being undermined by ownership, having your authority questioned, or being held responsible for decisions you didn’t necessarily make?

Because here’s the reality of professional sports: When things go wrong, the general manager and manager usually take the blame, regardless of who was actually making the decisions.

For a young executive or manager, one unsuccessful opportunity can dramatically change the trajectory of a career. It’s one thing to fail because your philosophy didn’t work, your personnel decisions were wrong, or your team simply didn’t perform. It’s something entirely different to fail because you were never given the freedom to build and lead the organization the way you believed was necessary.

That’s a risk some of the brightest young minds in baseball may not be willing to take.

Would New Leadership Want to Tear Everything Down?

There’s another question that I don’t think is getting nearly enough attention.

What happens if the Astros do hire a younger general manager with a completely different philosophy? Would that person look at the current roster and see a team that just needs a few strategic additions to compete for another World Series? Would they see an aging core, expensive contracts, limited organizational depth, and an opportunity to completely rebuild the franchise? That’s a massive difference.

The Astros have spent years building a culture where winning the division and competing for championships are expectations, not aspirations. Despite the challenges facing the organization, there is still a foundation of talent capable of competing. A new general manager looking to establish their own identity might prefer to start over rather than inherit a roster and organizational structure built by previous regimes.

That could mean difficult decisions involving established veterans, popular players, and potentially a complete philosophical shift in how the Astros construct their roster. Here’s the bigger question: Would Jim Crane actually allow that person to execute such a plan? Would we simply be right back where we started, with another general manager carrying the title but not necessarily possessing the authority that should come with it?

The Astros Don’t Need Another Figurehead

For years, the Astros were considered one of baseball’s model organizations.

They developed talent, made calculated personnel decisions, embraced innovation, and built a championship culture that other franchises desperately wanted to duplicate.

However, successful organizations don’t stay successful simply because of what they accomplished in the past. They evolve. They adapt. Most importantly, they empower talented people to make difficult decisions.

That’s where I believe Jim Crane faces his biggest challenge as an owner. He doesn’t just need to find the next general manager and manager of the Houston Astros.

He needs to convince qualified candidates that they’ll actually be allowed to do the jobs they’re being hired to do.

If the perception around baseball is that Houston’s front office and dugout are ultimately controlled by the owner’s office, the Astros may discover that their impressive history and championship pedigree aren’t enough to attract the caliber of leadership this franchise needs. If the best candidates decide the potential headaches outweigh the opportunity, Houston could be left choosing from people who are willing to accept the conditions rather than those who are best qualified to lead.

That’s not how championship organizations should operate.

The Biggest Decision Belongs to Jim Crane

The Astros are at a crossroads.

They can build on the talent and winning foundation that still exists, make the necessary adjustments, and position themselves for another championship window, or they can continue down a path where instability, uncertainty, and questions about organizational authority become bigger stories than what happens on the baseball field.

The next general manager and manager will undoubtedly face enormous pressure to win. Before Jim Crane decides who those individuals should be, perhaps he needs to ask himself a much more important question.

Is he willing to hire the best baseball people available and then trust them enough to let them do their jobs?

Until that question is answered, the two most important jobs in the Houston Astros organization might also remain two of the least desirable.

For a franchise that has spent the better part of a decade setting the standard for success in Major League Baseball, that’s a troubling place to be.

The Brewers took down the red-hot San Diego Padres in the NLDS, and they’re now set to face off with the Dodgers for the second straight season in the NLCS.

To get there, the Brewers had a few big moments, including Jackson Chourio’s walk-off single in Game 2 and, more recently, a huge home run robbery by Garrett Mitchell.

And maybe we should just believe in them.

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When the Brewers got swept at Petco Park in August, two of the three losses came down, at least in part, to bullpen management.

In the first game, a 3-2 loss, Logan Henderson had thrown six strong innings, but Brewers manager Pat Murphy left him in after he allowed a one-out single to Ty France in the seventh. The next batter, Jackson Merrill, hit a two-run homer to give the Padres the lead.

In the third game, a 4-3 extra-inning loss, Murphy sent Dustin May back out to start the eighth. May walked Xander Bogaerts, and Murphy pulled him for Chad Patrick, who walked the bases loaded. Aaron Ashby then came in to face Jake Cronenworth, who tied the game with an infield single. The Brewers retook the lead in the 11th, but Antonio Senzatela gave up two runs in the bottom half, and the Brewers lost.

In the NLDS, Murphy learned from that series. Reluctant to let any pitcher face the Padres’ lineup a third time, he kept each of his starters on an extremely short leash, which was only possible because of the depth and effectiveness of the Brewers’ bullpen in a short series.

Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski hit the showers after just four innings in Game 1, and Milwaukee’s bullpen threw five scoreless. In Game 2, Henderson went five innings, and the bullpen allowed just one unearned run. In Game 3, May exited after three innings, and the only earned run the bullpen allowed came on a solo homer allowed by JoJo Romero.

In Game 4, Murphy pulled starter Robert Gasser after four innings, even though Gasser had allowed only three hits and one run. Milwaukee’s bullpen then held the Padres hitless over the final five innings. For those of you keeping count at home, Brewers relievers threw 19 innings (compared to 16 by Brewers starters) and allowed just one earned run, the Romero homer. That works out to a 0.47 ERA.

Neither team led by more than two runs at any point in the series, but even without any garbage time, Murphy wasn’t afraid to hold his leverage guys back until he absolutely needed them.

In Game 1, he replaced Misiorowski with Senzatela, who isn’t usually on the shortlist for high-leverage spots. Senzatela allowed two hits but got two outs, and then Murphy brought in Ashby to finish the inning.

After Henderson exited in Game 2, Murphy went to Romero, who got two outs and issued a walk. Then, Murphy brought in Uribe, who got the final out of the inning.

In Game 3, down a run in the bottom of the fourth, the first two relievers out of the bullpen were again Romero and Senzatela, who covered 2 2/3 innings between them.

With a one-run lead in Game 4, Murphy finally went first to one of his most trusted options, Ashby, who responded with three hitless innings. Uribe and Megill, the Brewers’ usual eighth- and ninth-inning duo, closed out the game and sent the Crew to the NLCS.

After four playoff games, Murphy’s playoff bullpen strategy is clear. He’ll hold his leverage arms for the right moment, erring on the side of saving them for a true do-or-die situation. He trusts the depth of his bullpen, and he trusts his guys to show up when the lights are brightest.

Comparing Murphy’s bullpen management to that of Padres manager Craig Stammen, it’s hard not to conclude that the bullpens were the difference in this series. The Padres have what Murphy called “the best bullpen in baseball,” so Stammen, like Murphy, kept his starters on a short leash. Unlike Murphy, though, Stammen didn’t seem to trust his depth options.

In Game 1, Stammen used all of his best relievers except closer Mason Miller: Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui, Jason Adam, and Adrian Morejon. If not for a Contreras homer off Morejon, the only run San Diego’s bullpen allowed in Game 1, it would have worked.

After starter Michael King exited in Game 2, Stammen went to Matsui and Rodriguez again, then brought in Miller to attempt his first six-out save since 2024. After a dominant eighth, Miller looked fatigued in the ninth and lost command. The Brewers worked three walks, setting the stage for Jackson Chourio’s walk-off single on Miller’s 40th pitch.

Miller and Morejon, who threw 31 pitches in the eighth inning of Game 1, were unavailable for Game 3 with what Stammen called “shoulder stickiness.” When Nick Pivetta exited, Stammen didn’t turn first to one of his less-used arms (Randy Vásquez, Joe Musgrove, or David Morgan). Instead, he went to the same three relievers, Adam, Matsui, and Rodriguez, then called on Game 2 starter Michael King for 40 more pitches.

Understandably, King also ran out of steam in the ninth. After getting the first out, he walked two straight batters, then gave up a 107-mph one-hopper to Christian Yelich. Unfortunately for the Brewers, Yelich hit it right into the shift, and Bogaerts turned two to secure the win.

In Game 4, with his bullpen overworked, Stammen pulled starter Walker Buehler, who’d allowed one earned run over three innings, for Game 1 starter Robbie Ray. Ray gave up a triple to Garrett Mitchell, who scored two batters later to give the Brewers a lead they’d never relinquish. After Ray, Stammen went back to Rodriguez, Matsui, Adam, and then Miller, who didn’t look like his usual dominant self but kept the Brewers off the board. Finally, down 3-1, Stammen turned to Joe Musgrove, who looked great in two hitless innings across the eighth and ninth.

The Brewers now head to the NLCS with a bullpen that allowed one earned run in 19 innings and, more importantly, with arms that aren’t running on empty. Only Ashby threw more than four innings, only Uribe pitched in all four games, and nobody threw more than three innings in a single outing. Guys like Romero and Senzatela also proved Murphy can trust them in the middle innings, and Chad Patrick, Shane Drohan, and Kyle Harrison haven’t pitched yet.

That depth will matter even more in a seven-game series. If Murphy keeps trusting it, the Brewers’ bullpen might be the best weapon left in the postseason.

The Dodgers advanced to the NLCS without much help from their best player.

Shohei Ohtani’s struggles at the plate since returning from an injury in September have been well documented. He hasn’t hit a home run since then, has produced one RBI and had a brutal .154 OPS during the Dodgers’ four-game NLDS against the Braves.

Yet, this is Shohei Ohtani — one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.

It’s a matter of when, not if, Ohtani is going to turn things around. And this should scare the other teams still playing baseball this season.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman indicated as much with a comment on Wednesday night.

“At some point, it’s going to click for him. And the other [teams are] going to be in big trouble when that happens,” Friedman said of Ohtani.

All it might take is one pitch or one good swing for Ohtani to begin feeling like himself. Perhaps that will happen in the NLCS against the Brewers. Perhaps it will happen if the Dodgers advance to the World Series.

But Ohtani is too good for this slump to persist much longer. And when he does turn things around, Los Angeles’ already elite offense will get its anchor back.

Major League Baseball is heading straight for a work stoppage. Of that we are all almost 100% certain, as the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires on December 1st and both MLB and the MLB Players Association seem far apart on their biggest demands.

Chief among those is the scuttlebutt surrounding a potential cap and floor on total payrolls, something championed by several owners who see spending money as the lone way to compete in this sport (while the low-budget Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Guardians all remain alive in the postseason).

A new wrinkle was leaked on Thursday however. As ESPN’s Jeff Passan relayed, MLB proposed limiting the regular season to just 154 games (down from 162) as part of a structural overhaul of the regular and postseasons, with a caveat that Division Series would move to a best of seven format.

The other fun wrinkle here is that teams could then choose their opponents in the postseason, something that’s been a topic of discussion just about every postseason as some Wild Card teams finish with records far greater than teams who won weak divisions (and therefore ended up with tougher overall paths to advancing).

Shaving off games during the regular season means shaving off money from gameday receipts, television contracts, and the like. It would also mean fewer overall game checks for players, so this would be something the MLBPA would likely be in opposition to unless there were significantly greater incentives for playing in the postseason. Such is life in a labor/owner negotiation, as there are billions of dollars riding on these seemingly small decisions.

I can only assume we’ll get more interesting ideas leaked in this entire process. Keep in mind this is the same league with the same commissioner who gave us the Manfred Man, killed the shift, added pitch clocks and ABS, and slapped sponsor logos on helmets. Change does not seem to phase Rob Manfred, so change will 100% be on the table early and often within these negotiations all winter.

For me, one of the most memorable moments from the 2010 Texas Rangers playoff run — the season the Rangers won a playoff series for the first time ever, the season the Rangers went to the World Series for the first time ever — is a scene from a play where things went bad for the Rangers.

Specifically, it involves the second inning of Game Four of the ALCS, when the New York Yankees, down 2 games to 1, took the lead in a game that they needed to win to bring the series back to even.

The first ten batters of the game had been retired — six Rangers hitters sat down by Yankee starter A.J. Burnett, four Yankees hitters by Tommy Hunter of the Rangers. The #5 hitter for the Yanks, Robinson Cano, got down 0-1 to Hunter before lofting a fly ball to the wall in right field. Nelson Cruz looked like he might have a play on it, but it was caught by a backwards hat wearing Yankees bro in the first row.

The immediate aftermath of the play was captured in this immortal gif:

I have no idea how many times in my life I’ve watched this. Hundreds? Thousands? I feel like I have watched it at least 50 times just today, thinking about doing this post, and then with it cycling on the screen as I continue typing this post.

I really get so much joy from this gif. I feel like Sam Malone on Cheers with the painting of the dogs playing poker, talking about how he sees something new every time he looks at it. There’s so much going on there, and I wish I could find the old SBN piece — I think by Jon Bois, but maybe by Grant Brisbee or Jeff Sullivan — where he offers up a backstory for each person in the gif, and read it again, and make all of y’all read it again.

Part of the reason that I can get joy from this gif is that, well, the Rangers went on to win the game, and then the series. Kind of like I’d probably find some humor and lightness in another extra base hit over Nelson Cruz’s head that occurred a little over a year later, had the Rangers ended up winning that Game 6 (or the subsequent Game 7).

But at the time, it sucked, and I hated the Yankee bro, and everyone else in this shot — yes, including the popcorn guy in glasses, and the two different kids — with a degree of sports hate that I had previously reserved solely for Dwight Clark and for the 1996 Seattle Mariners.

The hate didn’t last long. The Rangers tied it up in the top of the third, gave up singletons in the third and fourth to go down 3-2, but then exploded for eight runs in the final four innings,* rolling to an easy 10-3 win.

* The Rangers scored five runs in all off of Burnett, the final three coming on a two out, three run home run by Bengie Molina in the top of the sixth, a play that may have inspired my “most momentum-shifting play in baseball” mantra. They scored one off of Boone Logan, one off of Joba Chamberlain, and three off of Sergio Mitre. The only Yankee pitcher who made an appearance and didn’t give up a run was future Rangers great David Robertson.

Texas was up 3-1 in the series, and though they fell to the Yankees in Game 5 behind a bad C.J. Wilson start and an offense that managed just two runs on 13 hits (one of which was a Matt Treanor home run, shoutout to Mr. May!), they rolled over New York in their return to Arlington for the Good Game 6. Colby Lewis — who was incredible in that postseason run — threw eight innings of three hit, one run ball, Vlad Guerrero and Nelson Cruz sparked a four run fifth to give the Rangers a comfy lead, and Neftali Feliz finished it off by freezing ARod on a called strike three:

Seriously, watch this clip again (even though you have to sit through a stupid 15 second commercial because MLB.com has to monetize their video snippets). Remember that feeling? Remember how amazing that was? I still get goosebumps when I watch the Corey Seager World Series home run, and I still get goosebumps when I watch this.

So, yeah, the Yankees bro gif is fun to me. It makes the Rangers comeback, and ultimate series win over New York, all the more delightful.

That said, in the aftermath of last night’s Yankees game-tying homer that wasn’t, I was thinking about the Yankees bro clip, and the timing of it in relation to the Yankees’ recent history.

The 2010 Yankees, you may recall, were the defending World Series champions, having beaten the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 World Series four games to two. (Both losses, incidentally, were against Cliff Lee, who shut out the Yankees on two hits over eight innings in Game 3 of the 2010 ALCS. The Yankees, of course, tried to get Lee from the Mariners at the 2010 trade deadline before the Rangers out-bid them, and there was talk that Lee was in the Yankees’ head, much like Mike Scott was in the head of the Yankees’ crosstown rivals in the NLCS in 1986).

The 2010 Yankees were favored over the Rangers, even though the Rangers had homefield advantage. The Yankees had the second best record in the A.L., with 95 wins, while the Rangers had the worst record of the four A.L. playoff teams, at “just” 90-72. The Yankees still had Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte from their dynasty teams, plus high-priced former Rangers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, stud second baseman Robinson Cano (who the Rangers could have had in the ARod trade, though they picked Joaquin Arias instead) in his prime, C.C. Sabathia fronting the rotation…

And the Rangers…well, they were the Rangers. Yes, they traded for Cliff Lee, and signed an aging Vlad Guerrero to be their DH. But otherwise, they were relying on a bunch of hitters without playoff experience, as well a converted reliever and a guy who got run out of the majors and had to go to Japan in the rotation behind Lee. The end of the 90s saw the Rangers chased from the playoffs by a Yankees dynasty, and the start of the 2010s seemed to be setting the stage for the same thing to happen in a new decade.

Texas ceded homefield advantage one game into the series, blowing a 5-0 lead that included a gruesome five run eighth inning where five pitchers — C.J. Wilson, Darren Oliver, Darren O’Day, Clay Rapada and Derek Holland — combined to retire none of the first seven batters in the inning. The Rangers won big in Games 2 and 3, but when Cano homered off of Big Game Hunter to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in Game 4, when backwards hat Yankees douche was yelling and posturing and Horatio Sanz’s twin was cheering and the Sopranos extra in the 72 inch waist jeans was yelling “Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!” over and over, it felt like an ill harbinger, a bad omen, the beginning of the end of the Rangers’ magical run.

In another timeline, maybe that’s the case. In another timeline, the Burnett stifles the Rangers in this Game 4, and Wilson’s Game 5 egg is followed up by a slightly less effective Colby Lewis in Game 6, with Philip Hughes avoiding the crooked number in the bottom of the fifth in Arlington and David Robertson and Kerry Wood keeping Texas off the board until Mariano Rivera gets Josh Hamilton swinging with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Rangers fans watching the Yankees celebrate at TBiA before stomping the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.

We aren’t in that timeline, though. In this timeline, the Rangers ended the Yankees’ hope of repeating as champions, of bringing back the Yankees Dynasty. They rebounded from the Cano home run that set off the iconic celebration in the stands, won the game, and won the series.

And the Yankees?

The Yankees are still chasing their next ring. When Robinson Cano hit that home run, Yankees fans felt another title was imminent, and even if, somehow, someway, they didn’t win it all in 2010, it would just be a brief delay of the inevitable, and the next ring would come in 2011 or 2012, with the Yankees surely having accumulated multiple rings by the time the 2026 season ended.

But that hasn’t happened. The Rangers have won more titles since then than the Yankees have. The Rangers have been to three World Series — including 2010 — to the Yankees’ one. Nevermind a Yankees dynasty…New York has found it difficult to get past the divisional round during that time.

Could it be that the Yankee bro’s celebration, caught on camera, along with the fans around him, caught the eye of the fickle gods of baseball? Could it be that the ostentatiousness and brashness of an entitled fanbase, encapsulated in that that shot, caught the attention of the baseball gods, who decided to punish Yankees fans for their hubris?

Despite consistently running one of the highest payrolls in the game, despite being one of the marquee franchises in the game, the Yankees haven’t won a World Series title since. They have now gone 17 seasons without a title, tied for the longest stretch in franchise history since the team won its first title in 1923. Given their payroll, their on-field success in the regular season during that time, you’d have thought they’d have won the World Series at least once in that stretch, right?

Could it be…the Curse of the Yankees Bro?

It’s The Day After and now that we’ve all had some time to really take things into perspective, the obvious thing to do in times like this is to look forward. The good news is that following their exit in the NLDS at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s pretty clear where the Atlanta Braves need to focus their improvement efforts on. The main question, however, is how are they going to do that in a way that tangibly changes things going forward?

For the most part, the Braves are going to be running it back. In order of compensation, Chris Sale, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr. (team option), Robert Suarez, Sean Murphy, Jurickson Profar (Yep), Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Harris II, Reynaldo López and Ozzie Albies are all under contract for next season. Dylan Lee, James Karinchak, Joey Wentz, Michael Grove, Luke Williams and Bryce Elder are all eligible for arbitration. Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, Drake Baldwin, Ray Kerr, Didier Fuentes, Dylan Dodd and Victor Mederos are still in pre-arbitration so they’re under team control.

Now, it’s tough to imagine what moves can be made considering that there’s a pretty decent chance that the financial landscape of baseball is going to change significantly once the impending CBA negotiations and potentially-looming lockout is said and done with but no matter what, I’d imagine that the 2027 Braves are going to look similar to the 2026 Braves. Atlanta is locked in at catcher, first base, (very likely) second base, third base, center field and (very likely) right field, they’ll have enough starting pitching to fill out a rotation from the names I listed above and their bullpen is likely going to have its key players returning as well.

There’s an opportunity to run it back for the Braves and I’d imagine that Alex Anthopoulos would do so. Again, this is a team that won 94 games and the NL East Division and has made the Postseason in every season but one since winning the World Series in 2021 — and even in 2025, you could argue that the injury bug was the main culprit for how disastrous that season ended up being. This is still a solid core with players who have the potential to break out at any given moment, so there’s no reason to even consider blowing it up. It’s also clear that both Anthopoulos and Walt Weiss value clubhouse chemistry a ton and this clubhouse’s chemistry is arguably as good as it gets around baseball, so that’s another reason to not just cause an earthquake with the ballclub.

With that being said, it can’t be denied that the offense has taken a precipitous drop since their historically-successful 2023 regular season — and it’s not like there have been many changes with this squad since then. The Braves have gone from a MLB-leading 126 team wRC+ in 2023 to a 101 wRC+ in 2024, then 101 wRC+ again in 2025 before sliding down to a below-average 97 wRC+ in 2026. Acuña, Olson, Murphy, Riley, Albies, and Harris were all here in 2023 and the fact that the lineup has declined as much as it has is actually a bit strange considering that there are only two players in that group who are over 30: Murphy and Olson, and it’s not like they’re ancient, themselves.

I hate to do coaching speculation since 1) we’re not privy to their contract situations and 2) we haven’t heard anything suggesting that anybody’s jobs could be in danger but it would also make sense if Tim Hyers’ position as hitting coach could come into question considering the performance. Dodgers pitching staff or not, a Postseason performance like what we saw at the plate from the Braves is going to put the magnifying glass on what exactly is going on with the offense and when it comes to that, Hyers is the one who could end up taking the blame in a big way if the Braves do decide to make a change. That’s purely speculation on my part but also I’m not the only one!

It’s also difficult to envision any trades being made — again, they’re locked in at a lot of positions for a lot of dollars and any trades would have to be of either the blockbuster variety or something at the very fringes. So with that in mind, the way that the Braves could address the situation is the ol’ fashioned way: From within.

As it turns out, the Braves currently have two position player prospects on the farm who just so happen to play the positions that could fill the pressing positional needs for the Braves for the forseeable future. Eric Hartman really made a name for himself during this past minor league season and while the Braves did have him playing center field for the most part, he also spent time manning left field as well. Tate Southisene is another consensus Top 100 prospect who has done a solid job of improving on the farm system this season and sure enough, he’s capable of playing shortstop as well.

Will they be ready in time for the 2027 season? That’s a bit doubtful, considering that both prospects are estimated for a 2028 arrival according to MLB Pipeline. It’s more of a long-term option but those two are coming and they could finally address two inconsistent spots on the roster that have dogged the Braves for a few years now.

The bridge options are appealing, though. I’d imagine that the Braves are going to try hard to bring back Mauricio Dubón for another season considering how valuable he was for them with both his versatility and being able to man the shortstop spot when needed. Left Field may be a trickier proposition — remember, Jurickson Profar was slated to be a full-time DH before he got caught enjoying too much of a balanced and nutritious breakfast everyday for the second season in a row and had to take an unpaid suspension for the entirety of the 2026 season. Yaz is still going to be around but again, he’s certainly a platoon option rather than an everyday option. I’d imagine that they’ll try to acquire another outfielder to form a platoon.

The main reason why I haven’t mentioned trading as much so far is because of the contract status of a lot of the core players and also because again, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to what baseball looks like after the labor war ends. There’s not a lot to speculate on until that’s figured out but again, I can’t see other teams really having the appetite to attempt to “fix” Austin Riley with the contract that he’s on and it’s a safe assumption that the Braves are simply going to try to figure this out internally when it comes to improving the offense as a whole.

It’s a tricky situation to be in if you’re Alex Anthopoulos and anybody in this front office! The team on paper is fine but if they’re going to take the next step and potentially pick up another World Series title during this current window that they’re in, it’s clear that they’re going to need to find a way to hit more consistently — especially in the Postseason. This routine of the bats failing to show up in October for the past few playoff appearances is starting to get honestly tiring and concerning. Even if the level of competition ratchets up during the Postseason, a near team-wide power outage that the Braves sustained shouldn’t be happening as consistently as it does for this team in the playoffs. It also started to rear its ugly head during this regular season as well (remember June?) and it’s become clear that improving the offense should be the main focus going into the offseason.

How will they do that? There’s still a ton of questions to be answered and we’re still a little too early to be getting into specifics. But it’s clear what needs to be done and hopefully we’ll see them make progress on addressing those issues once everybody gets a chance to actually figure it out in the offseason. We’ll see what happens.

Another year, another early playoff exit.

This one feels a little different, as not only could the Yankees not catch the small-payroll Rays in the AL East, they were swept out of the ALDS by their divisional foes. Their World Series title drought is now 17 years — the longest stretch since the Yankees won their first championship in 1923.

Now, they head into an especially uncertain offseason — for both themselves and the sport.

And in his closing comments after Wednesday’s loss, their most important player — Aaron Judge — had a message for the front office: “We’re the Yankees. I feel like they should go all-in and do what they need to do and if we’ve got holes, it’s finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, we’ve got to go out there and get it.’’ 

Complicating matters is the fact that MLB is almost certainly going to face another lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1 and there are fears that it may last deep into next year, with the landscape of the game potentially changing significantly, as the owners seek to implement a salary cap.

With all that in mind, here’s a look at some of the key decisions the Yankees have to consider:

Leadership

The most important issues the Yankees face this offseason are at the top: Does Hal Steinbrenner want general manager Brian Cashman to continue to lead baseball operations? And if Cashman does return, does the longtime executive want to keep Aaron Boone as manager with one year remaining on Boone’s deal?

Cashman endorsed Boone before the Yankees’ season-ending loss to the Rays in Game 3 of the ALDS, saying, “I think Boone’s a really good manager. We’re here for a reason. There’s a lot of reasons behind that. And he’s certainly part of that.”

Boone, following the sweep, said he “of course” expected to return, adding, “Those conversations are for another day.”  

As for Cashman, the last time his contract ended, it wasn’t renewed until later in the offseason.

Free agent position players

The Yankees’ offense went cold in the ALDS without Judge — as well as for long stretches during the slugger’s absence during the regular season. 

Part of that was due to down seasons from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham.

Grisham is almost certainly a goner, with his production with both his bat and glove deteriorating this season after getting the qualifying offer last offseason.

Chisholm is eligible for the qualifying offer, but it seems increasingly unlikely the Yankees give it to the second baseman, who followed up a breakout year with a rough one filled with mistakes.

Chisholm didn’t start against right-hander Nick Martinez in the clincher, another bad sign for the lefty-swinging infielder.

Veteran bats Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario will also be free agents.

Goldschmidt was valuable as a righty-hitting option at first base and could return under the right circumstances, but Rosario played poorly all season.

Free agent pitchers

The strength of the Yankees, their starting rotation, should remain largely intact, but the bullpen is another matter.

Closer David Bednar is set to hit the open market and is coming off a strong season in The Bronx. He figures to be at or near the top of the list when it comes to who the Yankees look to retain.

Blackburn emerged as a key, late-inning right-handed arm after resigning with the Yankees last offseason, who value his ability to pitch in high-leverage situations. 

Lefties Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough have provided valuable innings over the years in The Bronx, while John Schreiber and Michael Fulmer, two late-season signings, will also be back on the market.

Who’s on first?

As we look towards 2027, the only spot in which the Yankees are set in the infield is at shortstop, where George Lombard Jr. appears ready to stick for years to come defensive miscues notwithstanding.

The Yankees could go with Luis García Jr. at first base, but they may also want to open that spot for Ben Rice if Giancarlo Stanton is able to stay healthy and can serve as the DH. Either way, they’ll look to make a change at second, since García can’t play there every day.

Could that be Anthony Volpe, who breathed new life into his career after losing his shortstop job to Lombard, or do they look to sign someone like oft-mentioned target Luis Arraez?

Moving around the diamond brings us to third base, where Ryan McMahon took a big step back with his defense — which was his calling card when he was acquired from the Rockies in 2025. He was also benched against a righty in the postseason, but is owed $16 million next season.

And back to Stanton, what can the Yankees expect from the injury-prone DH who missed almost the entire year with calf injuries?

Their outfield situation appears to be more set, with the always reliable Cody Bellinger in left and perhaps Spencer Jones as the answer in center.

But Heliot Ramos was a huge disappointment after coming over from San Francisco at the deadline and another year has passed and Jasson Domínguez still hasn’t proven he’s an everyday player, leaving his future with the organization in doubt.

Of course, Judge has to stay healthy for any of their roster moves to matter. 

The Yankees overcame his absence to get to the postseason, but they were no match for Tampa Bay without him and clearly aren’t a World Series threat unless he’s in the lineup.

Catching up

The Yankees looked into upgrading the catching spot at the trade deadline, but ultimately stayed with Austin Wells, who was among the worst hitters in the game in the first half of the season. 

He steadied himself at the plate after the All-Star break and was one of the few bats that did anything against the Rays, but they need some help in the area.

They pursued Ryan Jeffers from the Twins at the trade deadline, but he stayed in Minnesota. Perhaps they look to him again in free agency.

Making a pitch

While the rotation is in good shape with Cy Young favorite Cam Schlitter, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Will Warren all healthy — along with Ryan Weathers and perhaps Clarke Schmidt — there are plenty of questions about the pen.

They could look at Raisel Iglesias, the Atlanta closer that has long intrigued the Yankees, although he turns 37 in January. 

Adrián Morejón, the left-hander the Yankees looked into at the deadline before he stayed in San Diego, is also a free agent.

And then there’s hard-throwing Carlos Lagrange, the fireballing righty the Yankees hoped might provide innings out of the pen, but was unable to recover from a shoulder injury in time to make his debut. 

The Yankees might prefer this news doesn’t spread.

Video emerged from the visitors’ clubhouse on Wednesday night, after the Rays finished their sweep of the Bronx Bombers in Game 3 of their ALDS series, of the winning team singing along to Frank Sinatra’s “(Theme From) New York, New York.”

The Rays, arm-in-arm, with beer showering over them, added one final insult to the Yankees’ playoff injury on their home turf, where they play the quintessential New York tune after wins.

The end of the 3-0 sweep also saw Tampa Bay star Junior Caminero mime a broom while he celebrated on the field, with the third baseman later mimicking former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz’s catchphrase, “Da Yankees lose!”

Invoking a Red Sox legend in this instance is a fitting choice.

Boston famously used the Sinatra classic as a rally point en route to their 2018 World Series title, after Aaron Judge played the tune while walking past the Red Sox clubhouse on his way out of Fenway Park after an ALDS win.

It came back to bite him when Boston blared “(Theme From) New York, New York” after defeating the Yankees in four games — and then again after they defeated the Dodgers to win it all.

Judge later told The Post he had “no regrets” about his decision.

The Yankees captain, who missed the entire playoff run with a calf injury, is once again left watching another AL East team march on. It’s a feeling he’s not going to let himself move on from.

“Just hating every single moment of it,” Judge said of his thoughts when he was sitting in the dugout as the series came to a close. “So I don’t forget it. I was thinking of missed opportunities this season and this series.”

SAN DIEGO — Major League Baseball proposed to the players union Thursday that the regular season be reduced from 162 games to 154 games for the first time since 1960, with teams also playing four split-doubleheaders during the season, ending the season a week earlier than normal.

The reduced schedule, which would provide virtually each team an off day every Monday except for holidays and special events, would begin in 2029 to coincide with MLB’s new national TV package. 

MLB, while wanting to lengthen the division series from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format (which would potentially add eight games to the postseason), also is proposing once again that the highest-seeded teams in the postseason can choose their playoff opponent. It is similar to the same proposal during their 2021 negotiations when it tried to expand the playoff field to 14 teams, but the union refused because it believed it would promote mediocrity, and they settled on a 12-team playoff pool.

ATLANTA — Usually, booze-soaked clubhouse celebrations are not the time to inquire about potential changes to the lineup.

But when one potential change might have to do with Shohei Ohtani — the Dodgers’ biggest star and most troublesome question mark so far this postseason — then an exception on Wednesday night was warranted.

Yes, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was indeed asked after the team’s Game 4 elimination of the Braves if they were considering benching the slumping slugger after his injury-plagued struggles continued in the National League Division Series.

And while, no, Friedman made clear such drastic measures aren’t on the table, the fact that speculation is even swirling only underscores the tenuous nature of Ohtani’s current situation.

“At some point, it’s going to click for him,” Friedman insisted. “And the other team’s going to be in big trouble when that happens.”

For now, that feels more like wishful thinking for the Dodgers and their $700 million conundrum.

In the NLDS, Ohtani still looked nothing like himself while continuing to play through right arm and left knee problems.

During the four games against the Braves, Ohtani went 2-for-13 with two walks, four strikeouts and a glaring lack of threatening at-bats. He was dropped to fifth in the batting order for Game 3, then moved only to the cleanup spot in the team’s series-clinching Game 4 triumph.

The 32-year-old made a positive impact on Wednesday, drawing a first-inning walk and then scoring after stealing second base and taking third on an errant throw.

After that, however, he struck out, grounded out and watched a fly ball die at the warning track. As a result, he finished the NLDS with a .154 average, second lowest among Dodgers regulars ahead of only Will Smith.

Now, two questions will linger as the Dodgers take their next step in this postseason:

Can Ohtani turn things around?

Can the team still win if he doesn’t?

The former seems much more difficult to answer, with repeated votes of confidence from team officials thus far having yet to materialize in consistent production from the four-time MVP.

After Game 3, manager Dave Roberts was adamant that Ohtani is “going to come to life — it will happen.” When asked the following afternoon what fueled such conviction, though, the answer felt more like a manifestation rather than clear and tangible signs of progress at the plate.

“The misses are better … because they’re to the big part of the field versus hitting a ball on the ground to the right side of the infield,” Roberts insisted. 

“I thought the intent to stay on the baseball was better than it was in Games 1 and 2. So that’s also encouraging,” he added.

But really, Roberts continued, his belief was based on his star hitter’s track record and penchant for catching fire even when it is least expected.

“I feel that just the talent, the care [that he has], it’s going to happen,” Roberts insisted.

Yet, when the skipper returned to the podium after Game 4, he — like Friedman — was back to answering questions about why it hasn’t happened yet.

“He’s scuffling right now, but I really believe that he’s going to come to life at some point,” Roberts reiterated.

What Roberts said next might be more important, especially with the Dodgers entertaining no plans to drop him from the lineup for now.

“It’s just good to know that we can still win a series when he’s not doing what we all know he can do,” Roberts said.

Given how out of sorts Ohtani continues to look, the two-time defending champions might have to do so again in their NLCS matchup with a stingy Brewers pitching staff.

One silver lining: Ohtani was similarly ineffective in last year’s NLDS against the Phillies, going a woeful 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in that series, before turning around and winning NLCS MVP honors in the team’s sweep of the Brewers, a four-game rout that was capped off by his iconic three-homer, 10-strikeout masterclass in a pennant-clinching Game 4 victory.

But back then, Ohtani was fully healthy, coming off a career-high 55-homer campaign and at full strength as both a hitter and pitcher.

This version of Ohtani offers no such hope of a similar turnaround. He hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18. He has just one RBI since then, as well, with his 15-day stint on the injured list in September having failed to rectify his physically diminished swing.

It means, moving forward, the Dodgers will need the rest of their lineup to keep picking up the slack.

They did so in the NLDS, when Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman combined for five home runs, Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernández delivered more clutch postseason moments, and almost everyone else from Mookie Betts to Andy Pages took competitive at-bats that kept opposing pitchers under stress.

Whether the team can continue to replicate that recipe might determine its fate in a bid for a third straight World Series title.

Because right now, despite the Dodgers’ adamant claims that Ohtani will eventually rebound this October, he looks incapable of being anything more than a complementary piece of their offense.

Despite what fans intially thought, Ronald Acuña Jr. denied taking a shot at his former Braves manager, Brian Snitker on his podcast “La Bestia” this week.

During Monday’s episode of the podcast with Brewers stars William Contreras and Jackson Chourio, the former asked Acuña in Spanish about the Braves’ coaches and seemed to point to how things have been in the first season without Snitker — though the catcher didn’t name the manager.

“All good bro. They didn’t bother me again. You know that c–ksucker thought he was the king,” Acuña responded as reported by Phillip Feliz, a known Spanish-to-English athlete translator on X.

On Wednesday night after the Braves were eliminated by the Dodgers in the NLDS, the outfielder told The Athletic he did not take a swipe at Snitker in that moment. He declined to name the coach he was speaking about.

“I’m not going to violate that code,” he said via an interpreter. “We were just talking about the past, even things all the way back to the minor leagues.”

Before Acuña finished his next sentence on the podcast, Contreras began to say, “El gerente,” a term that means “manager” in Spanish, but it’s specifically used for a general manager rather than the skipper of a team.

The interpretation led to intense speculation that Acuña’s comment was directed at Snitker. Many questioned Feliz’s translation and went after him online.

Feliz later posted a video defending his translation of the podcast clip, insinuating the Braves questioned him directly.

“I want to make something clear. My job on social media is not to care for any MLB team’s reputation. Want me to care for your reputation? Hire me. Any MLB team, hire me. Reach out to me,” Feliz said on Tuesday morning in a video on X. “If I do that willingly on the timeline, I chose to. It’s not because I’m getting paid to. If you want to question my translations when you don’t even speak the language, you’re a fool.

“You want to question my work on X and question whether I’m a Dodgers spy playing 3D chess because I decided to drop this clip ahead of Game 3 against the Dodgers? You know what’s far more interesting? The fact that Ronald Acuña Jr. himself decided to drop this episode on their off day. Look it up. Their podcast, ‘La Bestia,’ dropped less than 24 hours ago. It wasn’t I fetching for clips to drop, he handed me the clip. As far as me trying to tarnish the Braves’ reputation, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: I’m rooting for the Braves this series. F–k the Dodgers.

“If you want to question my work on X when my posts get global reach, I need to ensure I’m posting with accuracy. If you believe heart to heart that Ronald Acuña Jr. wasn’t talking about Brian Snitker, go watch the interview [and] come back to me. Go watch the extended clip that I posted [and] come back to me.”

Acuña and Snitker, who held the manager role in Atlanta from 2017-25, had some friction throughout their lengthy time together that included six division titles and a World Series in 2021.

On Aug. 18, 2019 when a 21-year-old Acuña hit a ball to the right field wall against the Dodgers, he didn’t run hard out of the batter’s box and it only resulted in a single.

A frustrated Snitker pulled him from the game.

Similarly in 2025, Jarred Kelenic admired a long ball and was thrown out at second base for trying to stretch the hit against the Twins. When asked if Snitker talked to Kelenic about the decision, he said “Was I supposed to?”

Acuña, 28, who was rehabbing a torn ACL at the time, took to X to comment on the situation in a since-deleted post.

He wrote: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”

He later apologized to the manager and his teammates, deeming it a “moment of frustration.”

Following the 2025 season in which the Braves missed the playoffs, Snitker stepped down and moved on to hold a senior advisory role within the organization. Walt Weiss, Snitker’s longtime bench coach, replaced him and tried to push the team past the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Acuña had a quiet postseason, going 3-for-24 through seven games with no home runs nor RBIs. He had an OPS of .425.

It follows a regular season in which he hit .255 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs across 107 games.

He has not hit a home run in the postseason since the 2020 NLDS against the Marlins. Acuña did not play in the 2021 World Series due to a torn ACL.

Acuña premiered his podcast last month and he has since hosted his father, his cousin and WBC teammate Royals’ Maikel Garcia, and mentalist Michel Gallero on the show.

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

No. 47, Kyle Freeland (-0.4 rWAR)

We’ve all heard the cliches.

“Denver native.”

“Went to Thomas Jefferson High School.”

“Grew up 15 minutes from Coors Field.”

“The hometown kid.”

Heck, we’ve heard these so many times that we made an entire bingo card out of them!

But 2026 marked what could be the last time we hear those phrases uttered on the Colorado Rockies home broadcast about Kyle Freeland.

Since he was drafted eighth-overall in the 2014 MLB Draft, Freeland has spent his entire career with the Rockies. He’s had some highs – such as his near-no-hitter in 2018 – and plenty of lows. And 2026 unfortunately marked a low for the left-hander, who not only finished with career worsts in a number of categories, but also finished with a negative rWAR for the first time since 2019.

Freeland was tagged for a career-high 104 runs (100 earned), and his 29 home runs allowed tied a career worst (also 2023). His 6.65 ERA is a career high, and his 75 ERA+ is also a career low, while his 1.522 WHIP is second only behind his 1.581 in 2019. Finally, his 3.72 SO/BB ratio was the highest of his career.

But Freeland also hit numerous milestones in 2026:

• On March 27th against the Miami Marlins, he made his fifth Opening Day start – the most Opening Day starts in franchise history. He also became the first pitcher in franchise history to make three consecutive Opening Day starts.
• On June 1st against the Los Angeles Angels, he passed Jorge De La Rosa (985) for the second-most strikeouts in club history. 
• On June 7th against the Milwaukee Brewers, he set the franchise record in innings pitched, surpassing Aaron Cook (1,312.1)
• On June 19th against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he struck out his 1,000th career batter, becoming the second Rockie to achieve the feat behind Germán Márquez (1,069).
• On August 2nd against the Kansas City Royals, he threw his first-career complete game.
• On September 27th against the Chicago White Sox, he started Game 162 for the second time in his career (also 2017), becoming the fourth Rockies starter to start game No.1 and No. 162 in the same season.

On top of his on-field struggles, Freeland’s season was also muddied by injuries. He spent two separate stints on the injured list – April 15-28 with left shoulder inflammation (retroactive to April 13) and August 24-September 15 with cervical radiculopathy. 

Ahead of his first IL stint, Freeland was pitching well. In three starts, he’d posted a 1-1 record with a 2.30 ERA across 15.2 innings. He hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of the three starts.

But when he returned, the wheels fell off.

In his first start back against the Cincinnati Reds, he allowed four runs on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Two of the runs came off a Spencer Steer home run in the first inning. In each of his first four starts after coming off the IL, he allowed four or more runs while only pitching five complete innings twice in that span. 

May was Freeland’s worst month when he posted a 12.46 ERA across 21.2 innings (five starts). He struggled through June and July, but really hit his stride again in August, posting a 2.52 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in four starts. He allowed four runs on six hits with the two homers on August 19th, but then was placed on the IL again.

In his final three starts, Freeland went 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA across 11 innings to likely end his career in Purple Pinstripes.

It’s unclear at this time what the future holds for the five-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee, as his contract expired at the end of the 2026 season.

But regardless, I will always be a Kyle Freeland Fan.

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