Category: Baseball

After two straight gut-punch walk-off losses at Wrigley Field, the White Sox will try to salvage the finale of the Crosstown series this afternoon before heading back to the South Side. Despite the back-to-back heartbreakers, the Sox still hold a four-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central, but there isn’t much time to dwell on what went wrong on the North Side. Atlanta comes to town tomorrow for a makeup game, followed by a big weekend series against the Mets, so stealing one from the Cubs today would be a nice way to build some momentum before another important stretch.

The bigger concern right now might be finding enough healthy, rested arms to get through it. The pitching staff is running on fumes after the Sox emptied the tank during last weekend’s sweep of the Tigers, and the effects have been pretty obvious over the first two games at Wrigley. Noah Schultz is back in Charlotte, Davis Martin is on the IL, and Shane Smith remains on the 40-man roster but hasn’t exactly made a compelling case to return, going 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA and 2.52 WHIP over 8 1/3 innings in his last seven appearances with the Knights. Drew Thorpe is another intriguing possibility after three encouraging rehab outings between Birmingham and Charlotte following Tommy John surgery, but he isn’t currently on the 40-man roster. Ultimately, we can only guess where the reinforcements will come from, but something has to give.

For today, Sean Newcomb gets the ball as the opener, with José Urquidy expected to handle the bulk of the innings. Urquidy’s White Sox debut on Aug. 14 against Detroit didn’t exactly inspire confidence, as the righthander surrendered three runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings. If the Sox have any hope of giving their bullpen a chance to recover, they desperately need length from him today. His Statcast profile offers a pretty clear roadmap for how he needs to attack the Cubs: Urquidy has struggled with walks and doesn’t generate many strikeouts, so getting ahead and forcing Chicago to put the ball in play will be critical. He also hasn’t qualified in several of Baseball Savant’s run-value categories, but his four-seamer, sweeper, changeup and curveball give him enough variety to keep hitters from sitting on one pitch. Against an aggressive Cubs lineup, pounding the zone and avoiding free passes might be more important than trying to miss bats.

The Cubs counter with Clay Holmes, who has made two starts since coming over from the Mets. His most recent outing came Aug. 14 against the Cardinals, when he earned the win and quality start with 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. Holmes’ Baseball Savant numbers show exactly what makes him difficult: His overall pitching run value sits in the 82nd percentile, with his breaking stuff in the 83rd, while his sinker ranks in the 91st percentile. He also sits in the 98th percentile in ground-ball rate and the 95th percentile in launch-angle sweet-spot percentage. In other words, the Sox probably aren’t going to beat him by pounding the ball into the dirt. Holmes doesn’t generate a ton of whiffs or strikeouts, though, and his hard-hit rate is only in the 12th percentile. The best approach is to make him work, resist chasing his pitches off the plate and look for something they can elevate rather than helping him pile up quick ground-ball outs. With Holmes ranking in the 80th percentile in chase rate, discipline outside the zone will be especially important.

Venable is going with almost the exact same lineup as yesterday, with Sam Antonacci getting the leadoff assignment and Chase Meidroth batting seventh. Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi follow Antonacci, while Braden Montgomery bats fifth and Colson Montgomery sixth. The only difference from last night is that Jake Rogers slots in at backstop. Against a ground-ball machine like Holmes, getting traffic at the top and finding a way to elevate the baseball will be key. Mune hit his 29th home run last night and has a 32-game on-base streak, so hopefully the rookie can keep that going today.

On the other side, Pete Crow-Armstrong — who has already terrorized the Sox throughout this series — gets a day off his feet at DH but remains atop the Cubs’ order, followed by Seiya Suzuki, Alex Bregman and Michael Busch. So, you know, Urquidy can ease into things.

First pitch is at 1:20 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on CHSN and can be heard on ESPN Chicago 1000. Hopefully, today’s ending is a little less painful.

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We're heading up to cheese country! 

Here is my Mariners vs. Brewers predictions and MLB picks for Wednesday, Aug. 19.

After the Brewers put up 22 runs on the Mariners, Seattle looks to get back on track tonight, and they're +105 to rebound.

Who will win Mariners vs Brewers today: Mariners (+105)

It will be extremely tough for the Milwaukee Brewers to replicate their 22-run outing from last night, which is partly why the Mariners are well-positioned to bounce back after their embarrassing 22-0 Tuesday loss. That marked the most lopsided win since 1887.

Seattle rolls with Logan Gilbert on the bump this evening, and he's been lights out on the road and overall this season. Gilbert owns a 2.90 xERA and 0.99 WHIP while allowing just a 33.75% hard-hit rate and 8.75% barrel rate across his last five starts.

On the other side, Milwaukee sends Dustin May to the mound, and he's been just as good over his last five outings, minus a 4.36 xERA, 10.17% walk rate, and 43.42% hard-hit rate allowed.

Despite the Brewers' offensive explosion last night, they've posted just an 87 wRC+, .300 wOBA, and .121 ISO over their last 12 games. Meanwhile, the Mariners have been turning it up over the past week, posting a 120 wRC+, .338 wOBA, and .766 OPS.

COVERS INTEL: Jackson Chourio has maintained a .538 SLG, .905 OPS, .269 ISO while genertating a 55.6% hard-hit rate and 16.7% barrel rate over his last 30 at-bats versus right-handed pitching. 

Mariners vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-137)

After last night's thumping, this evening should be far less high-scoring, especially with Gilbert and May on the mound.

Both hurlers own at least a 3.64 xERA and 1.25 WHIP. The Mariners should be able to get on top of May's offerings this evening, but don't expect anywhere near the same level of run production from the other side.

Gilbert is simply too locked in right now, posting a 2.29 ERA and 0.97 WHIP while allowing just a 38% hard-hit rate.

The Under is firmly in play. Don't pay more than this current price tag.

Mariners vs Brewers home run prediction: Jake Bauers (+365)

Jake Bauers has been white hot, and he's the best option in this matchup. The Milwaukee first baseman owns a .647 SLG, .265 ISO, 51.9% hard-hit rate, and 14.8% barrel rate over his last 10 games. He's logged five extra-base hits in that stretch too, though falling short of clearing the fence is a concern. However, there wasn't a close second among the other hitters who stood out as a strong home run candidate.

Bauers owns an elite rating on Batters-Box's current-season dataset. He covers 85.7% of Logan Gilbert's pitch mix and goes yard 21.74% of the time when rated elite this season.

Take this down to +350.

Mariners vs Brewers weather

This game is being played in a dome.

Mariners vs Brewers odds

• Moneyline: Mariners +105 | Brewers -121
• Run line: Mariners +1.5 (-200) | Brewers -1.5 (+180)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+124) | Under 7.5 (-137)

Mariners vs Brewers trend

The Seattle Mariners have covered the first five innings run line in five of their last seven games (+2.50 Units / 27% ROI).

Find more MLB betting trends for Mariners vs. Brewers.

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On the heels of Monday’s piece it can be difficult to keep a level-headed outlook on these things. I try to stay above board, but I am also human and subject to the kind of emotional responses any fan would have during good times and bad. In this case, when we have decided that a manager or general manager should be on their way out, it becomes a lot easier to find evidence that supports that particular point of view. Often times, that evidence can be jaded or slanted to meet our particular viewpoint. Certainly evaluating the results of particular trades can fall into that category.

The early returns on Daulton Varsho fall under this paradigm. There are two primary problems with evaluating trades this way. The first problem is small sample size. Varsho has less than 50 at bats as an Astro and is just over 50 plate appearances total. That is equivalent to about two full weeks of baseball. Any player (including Yordan Alvarez) can look bad for two weeks at a time. So, evaluating a trade at the trade deadline is difficult at best under those circumstances.

The second problem is that all moves should be evaluated based on the available evidence at the time of the decision. So, to provide a perfect example of this, I am looking at three trade deadline acquisitions from recent Astros history and looking at what they did after they became Astros. Clearly, I think everyone will notice a trend, but to keep things interesting I will remove their names so that we can remove any emotional baggage that may come with those names.

None of these are good baseball players based on the numbers we are seeing. Clearly, Player C is a special kind of awful, but I think most people know that is Varsho and most people know that is only two weeks worth of baseball. I think everyone will look at the Arrighetti for Varsho deal as an abject failure if those are the numbers we are looking at some May 27th. Fortunately for Varsho, he has a little more than a month to fix what clearly looks broken.

Player A and B were acquired in 2015 and 2022 respectively. It is easy to look at those numbers and assume failure. Carlos Gomez (Player A) had an extra year of control beyond 2015, but was released prior to the end of the 2016 season. Trey Mancini (Player B) was a free agent following 2022 and the Astros had no interest in bringing him back following that performance.

We have to be fair to Jeff Luhnow, James Click, and Brown, so we have to look at these deals in the same lens. So, what we will do is look at what these guys were doing before the deals were consummated. We get the benefit of hindsight. General managers do not. So, I always try to look at things given the information they had at the time. Since we already know who the players are, we will dispense with the anonymous pleasantries.

It’s ironic that Gomez and Mancini had the exact same OPS coming into their time in Houston. The average OPS in the league usually hovers between .700 and .720 depending on the season. So, it was perfectly reasonable to expect both players to provide above average performance. There are usually three things that can happen when acquiring a player midseason and two of those things are bad. The Red Sox saw the other one when they acquired Curtis Mead and he was almost immediately hurt. A player can play significantly worse than what he has done. He can play as good or better. Two of those three outcomes are bad.

So, there are two separate questions we have to ask and answer. The first question is whether I would have made the trade at the time given the same set of information the general manager had. The Carlos Gomez trade was a hard one because it included Mike (“El Rato”) Fiers but saw Josh Hader going the other direction. Three other prospects went the other direction as well with Domingo Santana being the most significant of those prospects. Hader is likely to be a borderline Hall of Famer, but no one could have known that at the time.

The Mancini trade primarily involved Jose Siri. That one obviously doesn’t hurt as much in retrospect and the club did win the World Series, so the overall results are not as disappointing. Still, I think most people would add an above average center fielder and first baseman at the deadline for just prospects or fringe players. That brings us to the second question.

The second question is how should the players be used? This is more on the manager than on the general manager. Why in God’s name is Daulton Varsho batting cleanup? Even if he produced at his Toronto numbers that doesn’t set him up for success. Mancini was yanked around between left field and first base because Dusty Baker didn’t want to commit a spot to him. The Astros may have expected too much out of Gomez as well in retrospect.

Ultimately, this will be the test for both Brown and Espada. As hard as it is, we have to be fair. What is reasonable based on the information available at the time? Sometimes the most logical decisions don’t work out. Occasionally the least logical decisions will actually pan out. Managers and general managers should be evaluated mostly on the efficacy of their decision making and not necessarily on the short-term results.

For the near-decade that Aaron Boone has been manager of the New York Yankees, fans have been able to memorize the script of every season with near-perfect accuracy. They play well, then they struggle, then they rally to reach the playoffs, but lose their way in the postseason en route to a crushing defeat. The magic of sports—and, less romantically, the sheer mathematical variance of baseball—is meant to thwart the I’ve-seen-it-already musings of the cynics, but the Yankees have proven those cynics right each year. 

Perhaps the largest and most frustrating throughline in the Boone era has been the the extended, one-to-two-month team-wide hitting hibernation which generally comes along near the regular calendar’s midway mark. These outages, which tend to accompany a frightening rash of silly mistakes and poor fundamentals, have been a staple even in the seasons where most of their best players are healthy; obviously not the case in 2026. Yet even without Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton, the Bombers still boast plenty of superbly talented hitters who are fully capable of keeping the offense running serviceably until those key contributors return.

Instead, the Yankee offense has utterly flatlined since the All-Star Break. To wit, they have scored a paltry 3.15 runs per game in the second half, hitting .203—barely over the Mendoza line!—with a .626 OPS overall. Toss all those ugly numbers into the computer and it churns out a noxious 75 wRC+ figure, second-worst in baseball ahead of only the blatantly-tanking Angels. This comes despite the valiant efforts of a pitching staff which has been in an absolute groove: their 2.89 ERA since the intermission is head-and-shoulders above their peers. 

How can a talented lineup blessed with the backing of what is currently the best pitching staff by a country mile, fail so spectacularly to meet them even two steps of the way, let alone half?

We must first acknowledge the MVP-sized vacancy at the top of the lineup. Judge has not been in the Yankees’ lineup for over two months and it is still unclear when he will return from the rib fracture he sustained on June 2. His absence, along with that of his good buddy Bellinger, are difficult to overstate, but this season the Yankees would seem to be better set up for an extended Judge absence than most. After all, Ben Rice’s numbers at the time of Judge’s injury were essentially just as spectacular. Rice has had to pick up Judge’s torch as the team’s top offensive player. You should expect a decline in his numbers during this time, as pitchers fine-tune their approaches and treat him like the number-one weapon he now is—but it’s hard to imagine he would completely fall apart. 

Unfortunately, Rice’s season has completely fallen apart. To wit, he is hitting .158/.254/.297 (.551 OPS) since the Midsummer Classic, while running an eye-watering 31.6 percent strikeout rate across that span. It seems as if, rather than stick to his strengths and build on his spectacular first half, Rice is trying to make up for the production the lineup lost when his co-star hit the shelf. The result: his production has tumbled from Judgian heights to Chris Carter-esque doldrums.

Now fully lacking an intimidating presence at the heart of the order, the lineup has resembled a bunch of dudes who vaguely recognize the fact that they are on a team together. They wear the same uniform, but simply have not played as such—failing to adjust to the concrete reality that their best power bat and best contact bat are both out of commission. They play with little of the urgency you would expect a team that shorthanded to carry, flailing against pitchers who are under no illusions that more imposing hitters lurk in the weeds behind them.

It is in equal parts a testament to the superb maturity of George Lombard Jr. and a profound condemnation on the rest of the offense that the 21-year old rookie shortstop has been by far the team’s most consistent hitter in terms of working quality at-bats. He can’t hit 1.000, but Lombard has operated with an unflappable approach armed with an intimate understanding of his strengths and weaknesses as a hitter. When I watch Lombard hitting, I can see the meticulous thought he is putting into every pitch, the preparation which informs every decision to swing or take. It feels like we’re thinking along with him, and it’s been the main reason watching him has been a joy, regardless of whether he ultimately gets a hit. 

I cannot claim to know what any of the rest of the lineup is thinking when they get up there; your guess is as good as mine. Heliot Ramos has looked utterly overmatched since joining up at the deadline, equally punchless against righties as the lefties he was brought aboard to hit. Luis García Jr.’s staggering 22.1 percent home run-per-fly ball rate with Washington was due to regress to the mean, and that regression has come right as the rest of the team endures an extended outage. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is continually adding to the list of reasons why he may be playing his final few months in pinstripes. Trent Grisham is at last climbing out of an extended slide of his own (and he did carry the team to a win last night), having hit .165 in July.

This offense lacks the kind of modularity or adaptability you see from rivals like the Rays, Red Sox, or Blue Jays. They have one gear, and if that gear stalls out halfway up the hill, you’d better call roadside.

This all came to a head where else but Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays (owners of the league’s third-worst wRC+ since the break at the time I’m writing this) outmaneuvered the Yankees in two close games to take the series. The Yankee offense did little to put up any kind of resistance to the Blue Jays pitchers, and routinely did them favors with poor effort, like Ramos failing to run out a groundball flubbed by Andrés Giménez; or poor decision-making, like García—far from a burner—trying to steal second with Spencer Jones at the plate.

The Jays, meanwhile, played to their strengths: working deep counts, forcing the Yankees’ terrific pitchers to labor for outs, and hustling on every play, legging out infield hits against a New York defense all too often caught on its heels. Again, they’re a far cry from the thumpers they were in 2025, but they at least did the little things to beat the Yanks. Remember, the Bombers’ pitching staff hasn’t just been cromulent during this span, they’ve been as good as it gets. That’s a group with an identity: a tightly-knit coven of obsessive pitching wizards. But their stats aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on if you don’t score some damn runs for them.

The Yankees don’t have the kind of contact chops or speedy runners to play the Jays’ brand of ball, but they have options. They could build a brand of baseball that isn’t just standing around and waiting for Judge and Bellinger to come back.

Even if and when those two return, what positive habits have the rest of the lineup cultivated which can allow them to succeed on the days where they don’t produce? If Judge and Bellinger—who had stopped hitting for power even before his injury—don’t produce right away, what is their recourse? What can they lean on if their top-end talent scuffles, or hits into hard luck? Watching this team hit this same wall every year, it’s unclear if they’ve ever cared to figure out the answers to these tough questions.

I’m certain that Boone and the Yankees would bristle at the implication that they lack an offensive identity. Boone has fiercely defended his players during their struggles, attesting to their talent, degree of preparation, and competitiveness. He is entitled to that view. He is also more or less obligated to have it, as any admission otherwise would immediately imperil his job. It’s like those ads Meta is running about how optimistic they are about the future of AI. Of course you think like that—your entire business model depends on it.

In 2019, the Bombers had to contend with a rash of horrible injury luck. They overcame that misfortune with the ascendence of new important contributors like Mike Tauchman, Cameron Maybin, Gio Urshela, and of course DJ LeMahieu, who had the best reputation from that group but still far exceeded preseason expectations (which had him on the Opening Day bench). When Plan A couldn’t materialize, Plan B still got the Yankees to a 103-59 record. They were ultimately outclassed by the Astros in the ALCS, but it felt as if the best years were still to come; that a team who could find ways to find production even when their stars weren’t in the mix was bound to put it all together soon.

Instead, the Yankees have become more reliant on their stars than ever before. Judge’s brilliance at the plate became the primary variable which determined whether the team’s offense lived and died—one brilliant Juan Soto campaign notwithstanding. In the years since “Next Man Up”, their lineup has regressed into the Bunch of Guys, content to sit back and play the percentages rather than rallying behind their greatest strengths or adjusting to the realities of their roster.

Steve Cohen said this offseason that he was growing annoyed by the Mets’ lack of postseason winning during his ownership tenure. 

That frustration only continued with the team’s disastrous start to this season, but he’s quickly grown past that and is ready to flip the page with an eye towards next year. 

While the Mets still find themselves way outside the postseason picture, Cohen is happy with the direction the organization is headed down the stretch.

New York heads into Wednesday’s series finale 10-6 thus far in the month of August. 

“There’s a lot of things to be excited about,” Cohen said Wednesday at Citi Field. “The development of our young players is significant, that creates a nice foundation. It would be great if we could get [Francisco] Lindor and [Juan] Soto on the field at the same time.

“We’ve had new players who have adjusted to New York and you can imagine them being much more comfortable next year, so I think there’s a lot to look forward to -- I see the foundation of something I think we can get behind, but we’ll see how it goes.”

And it’s not just the big league club that has Cohen hopeful for the future. 

Though it's still a small sample size, he's also been encouraged by what he's seen from the young talent David Stearns was able to bring to the organization during the trade deadline sell-off. 

Two of them, Émilien Pitre and Billy Amick, are already just one step from the majors. 

“They've looked pretty good over a short period of time,” Cohen said about the acquisitions. 

“When you look and see the value that we were able to get back, it’s lots of different types of players, which I think is kind of fun -- it’s a great infusion of young talent into our organization, so I’m hoping that works out for us.”

Are you penciling Garrett Crochet into the Red Sox October bullpen? Getting back in time to contribute to the postseason is his goal, but he’s trying to maintain the right mindset. “I’m quite hopeful. I’m not gonna say [when], because I don’t know. The past couple times I’ve been like, ‘Oh yeah, I probably don’t even need to go on the IL and here I fucking am, four months later. Right now, I’m trying to practice delayed gratification with myself. Unless I’m crossing the finish line, I’m not going to start celebrating.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

One player who probably won’t contribute down the stretch of the regular season, though, is Masataka Yoshida. The DH and sometimes-outfielder was diagnosed with a “significant” hamstring strain and while the team has not ruled out a return in time for the postseason, it doesn’t appear likely at this point. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

Thankfully, Roman Anthony is finally on rehab. The young star played in AA Portland last night and is thrilled to be back on the field. “I was driving here today, and it just felt weird to finally be here,” Anthony said. “It’s been a long, long process for me, and took a lot longer than I could have expected when I first did it. I’m happy that it’s all behind me, and I can just play baseball… You miss an extended period of time, and you realize how much you miss playing the game that you love to play so much. I landed yesterday, and it just [felt] like home.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

But if a ballfield feels like home to Anthony, then naturally he’s teammates would feel like family. And he recently said goodbye to a teammate he was really close to, Marcelo Mayer. “I think anytime somebody goes, it’s sad. Obviously, Marcelo hit a little different. I came up with him and lived with him every day. And he was my roommate since I was 18, 19 years old. So seeing him go, I was excited for him to kind of get a new opportunity and almost like a refresh. And to be back close to home. I think it’ll be good for him. And hopefully get to see him come to Boston. That’d be pretty cool, right?” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

When Anthony does return, he’ll find a new slugger in the lineup. Adley Rutschman took his time acclimating to a new team and returning to form after his wrist injury, but he showed what he can do last night. “I think whenever you’re coming off the IL, you just never know,” he said. “Sometimes you feel good and then you go out there and the swings that you’re taking don’t work in the game as well. And sometimes you feel good and they do.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Even if he does make it back to the big leagues soon, Anthony’s return won’t be the best thing that happens in Red Sox Nation this week. That’s because the annual Jimmy Fund Telethon raised more money than it ever has before. And, yes, there’s still time to donate. (WEEI)

For the second time in as many series, the Atlanta Braves are going to have to figure out a way to not get swept. This long and winding week-long road trip has gotten off to an inauspicious start so hopefully we’ll see the bats come to life and AJ Smith-Shawver help to stop the bleeding in its tracks. Let’s see what happens, folks! First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET.

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Speaking to reporters in the Mets' dugout ahead of Wednesday's series finale against the Padres at Citi Field, owner Steve Cohen discussed the state of the team, touching on his hope for the future while looking back at why the 2026 season went sideways. 

While Cohen reaffirmed his commitment to president of baseball operations David Stearns, who is under contract through the 2028 season, he also went into detail about "mistakes" he felt were made as the 2026 team was being constructed.

"We might have taken too much risk as far as when you think about all the changes that were made," Cohen said. "Whenever there are significant changes, sometimes it takes a while to integrate. Those are the things I'm looking at. It's an example of where we can be better."

Cohen added:

"I just think when you add new players, when you add a coaching staff. Maybe adding players with an injury history. When you add risk upon risk upon risk -- one risk alone, but when you add enough risk to something, all of a sudden you can have a dispersion of results. It doesn't mean that it had to turn out bad. It just means that you have dispersion of results, and maybe the possibility of an undesirable result is more of a possibility because of the risk you're taking. 

"I equate it to running a portfolio. The more risk you take in a portfolio -- yeah, it can have major upside, but also your downside can be bigger. And so you can have bigger variance in results. I think that's what happened here."

The Mets underwent a drastic makeover during the offseason, with Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leaving via free agency, while Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil were traded.

New York also turned over nearly the entire coaching staff aside from manager Carlos Mendoza (who was fired and replaced by interim manager Andy Green in late June). 

When it comes to the players who left, Diaz has been injured and ineffective for the Dodgers and McNeil has struggled for the Athletics. Meanwhile, the Mets' outfield seems set for the future with Juan Soto, A.J. Ewing, and Carson Benge as Nimmo puts up strong offensive numbers for the Rangers (while playing poor outfield defense).

The decision to not make a strong effort to retain Alonso, who signed a five-year deal with the Orioles worth $155 million, looms large given how Alonso is performing (.854 OPS and 28 homers in 126 games for Baltimore), his connection to the fan base, and who the Mets chose to help replace him.

Shortly before Cohen spoke, it was revealed that Jorge Polanco -- who was signed in part to replace Alonso at first base and in the lineup -- would be having season-ending surgery due to the left ankle bursitis that limited him to just 37 games this season as he hit .148/.201/.230 with two home runs in 145 plate appearances.

Before signing a two-year deal with New York, Polanco had been limited by injury each of the last four seasons, including issues with his knee, hamstring, and ankle.

Another key player the Mets brought in this past offseason was Marcus Semien, who was acquired in the trade for Nimmo, allowing New York to clear the final two years of Nimmo's contract.

Semien played through a hip injury earlier this season and has struggled badly offensively, hitting just .208/.269/.351 (.620 OPS) in 107 games.

The main risk when it came to Semien had to do with his performance at the plate, which sagged in 2024 and 2025 before cratering this season.

Stearns and the Mets also took a chance on oft-injured center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who has been limited to 48 games this season because of a back injury and has a .648 OPS.

The Mets took risk in the offseason with the rotation as well, banking on bounce backs from Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and Sean Manaea, who all struggled badly down the stretch in 2025.

Senga dealt with injuries, was removed from the rotation, and has been thriving lately in a high-leverage relief role, Peterson was traded to the Cubs in July, and Manaea (who dealt with a bone chip issue last season) was relegated to the bullpen for the first few months before returning to the rotation in June and finding success -- and his fastball velocity.

One of Stearns' major offensive moves in the offseason that is working out is the Bo Bichette signing.

But Bichette seemed to have a bit of an adjustment period early on as he put up a .583 OPS in 59 games through May. Since then, he is hitting .312/.350/.464 (.814 OPS) and playing strong defense at third base. 

Putting a bow on his thoughts regarding how too much risk might have hurt the 2026 Mets, Cohen summed it up:

"When I look at it as a whole, I see individual decisions that make perfect sense. But when you add it all up, then you get into a different realm of 'did we take too much risk?' It's kind of looking at it from a top down perspective as opposed to an individual decision."

Given Cohen's feelings and the lessons Stearns has learned, it's fair to believe the Mets will approach this coming offseason differently.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel is reporting that the Colorado Rockies are calling up LHP Mark Manfredi, a pitcher they acquired in the Antonio Senzatela trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers drafted Manfredi, 26, in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. The native of Highland Heights, Ohio, attended the University of Dayton. The lefty was a starter when drafted, but has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen since 2025.

He spent the 2024 season with the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers where he earned a 3.94 ERA over 76.0 IP with a 1.37 WHIP.

Last season, Manfredi pitched for the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers where he had a 3.30 ERA in 60.0 IP with a 1.27 WHIP.

This season, he started with Biloxi and was promoted in June to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. During his time with the Sounds, he’s tallied a 3.09 ERA across 23.1 IP. This number includes 30 Ks and 11 BB.

He has struggled a bit since arriving at Triple-A Albuquerque where he has a 10.80 ERA over 5 IP, including six walks.

Manfredi is known primary for his fastball, of which FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen wrote, “Manfredi has a good fastball. He sits 93-97 with uphill angle. His secondaries aren’t especially nasty, but he has two different breaking balls that play up a little bit against lefties because of his arm slot, and he’ll throw the occasional changeup to keep hitters honest.”

As Jeff Aberle noted in his PuRPs evaluation, the Rockies would need to provide Manfredi protection from the Rule 5 Draft, so the promotion is not unexpected, especially in light of the organization’s decision earlier this week to DFA Michael Lorenzen.

Moreover, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta foreshadowed the move when speaking with media immediately following the trade deadline.

“Manfredi is also a guy who I think has a chance to be here relatively soon,” DePodesta said. “We think he can factor into our bullpen for sure from the left side, and it’s a very different look than [Brennan Bernardino].”

Purple Row will continue to monitor this developing story.

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Mets owner Steve Cohen met with reporters prior to Wednesday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres and discussed a host of topics, including finding the club’s next manager. 

With Carlos Mendoza dismissed midseason, Andy Green moved from a player development role into the interim manager job. While the results have been promising (the Mets have gone 23-23 with Green), president of baseball operations David Stearns has said that Green will return to the front office after the season, and Cohen echoed that on Wednesday, though he did say he'd welcome Green changing his mind.

“Well, I’m going to take him at face value. He’s telling us that he wants to go back to the front office,” Cohen said. “We’re going to do a managerial search and if it turns out he wants to throw his hat into the ring, that would be great.”

Asked about what qualities he wants to see in the next skipper, Cohen said relating to the players in the clubhouse is near the top of the list.

“I want a manager that can really relate to the players. I love the idea of a manager that motivates the players,” said Cohen. “As we know, playing baseball is up and down. People have great moments and go into slumps. So how do you get the best out of your players? And I think that’s pretty important.”

Three of the last four full-time Mets managers – Mendoza, Luis Rojas, and Mickey Callaway – stepped into the managerial role with no prior experience as a major league manager. 

Cohen was asked if past experience was a prerequisite this time around, but deferred to Stearns when it comes to handling the upcoming search.

“I’m going to leave that to David. That’s a little bit in the weeds for me,” Cohen said. “What I really think is we’ll see quality candidates and then we can figure out what to do next.”

Of course, there are already names floating around for the Mets job, including Alex Cora, who was fired by the Red Sox earlier this season but has a proven track record.

“I’m sure there’s a bunch of names out there," Cohen said when asked specifically about Cora’s candidacy. “Once again, they’ll do a managerial search and they’ll figure it out then.” 

Wednesday notes…

• GOING FOR THE SWEEP, PART 1: This is the 18th of the Cubs’ 60 regular-season series against the White Sox in which they won the first two games. There was a third game in 10 of the previous series. The Cubs won five and lost five. The Cubs have won eight straight at home vs. the Sox: the final game of 2023, both played in 2024, three last year and the last two nights. Their previous longest home streak in the rivalry had been only four games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• GOING FOR THE SWEEP, PART 2: This is the 13th of the Cubs’ 42 series in which they have won the first two games. They won the third game as well in seven series, most recently Aug. 3-5 at home vs. the Dodgers, and lost it in five, including last week at Washington. The win over the Dodgers completed their fourth three-game sweep. The others were over the Diamondbacks, Mets and Padres, all at home. They won a fourth game, too, at home vs. the Phillies and Pirates and at New York vs. the Mets. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• IN THE SUNSHINE: The Cubs are only 27-26 in day games, far worse than their 46=27 at night. They finished last season 43-32 in sunshine. They are 17-12 in day games at home, including 10-5 in day games following night games. They were 29-20 and 7-8 a year ago. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• PCA! PCA! PCA!: Pete Crow-Armstrong, 17 games in August: .278/.400/.611 (19-for-69) with four doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 16 RBI, 13 walks, 19 runs scored and five stolen bases (with no caught stealing).

Cubs lineup:

White Sox lineup:

Clay Holmes, RHP vs. Sean Newcomb, LHP

Clay Holmes was lights-out in his last start, last Friday against the Cardinals: 6.2 innings, one hit, one walk, 11 ground-ball outs.

The last time he faced the White Sox was May 26, 2025 at Citi Field and he had a similar outing: 5.2 innings, four hits, one run. Many of those White Sox aren’t on the team anymore and current Sox are a small sample size 3-for-18 against Holmes.

Just keep those ground balls coming.

Once again, the White Sox appear to be using an opener, this time Sean Newcomb. His last outing was Aug. 16 against the Tigers, when he was used to close things, posting his fourth save. He also faced the Tigers as an opener Aug. 14 in Detroit, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings. He hasn’t thrown more than 33 pitches in an outing since June, so expect at most two innings here.

He threw two scoreless innings against the Cubs May 17 at Rate Field and has generally been effective this year, posting a 2.51 ERA and 1.103 WHIP in 46 games covering 68 innings.

You might remember, or choose to forget, Newcomb’s 17 games with the Cubs in 2022, when he posted a 9.33 ERA and allowed seven home runs in 22.2 innings.

The last time Newcomb was an opener, José Urquidy was the “bulk guy,” and that’s the last time Urquidy pitched (Aug. 14), so I’d expect that to happen again today. Fun fact: Urquidy was supposed to come to the Cubs in 2022 from the Astros in a trade for Willson Contreras, but Astros owner Jim Crane personally blocked the deal that had already been agreed to by the teams.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on CHSN and WCIU-Ch. 26 with the Sox announcers.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation White Sox site South Side Sox. If you do go there to interact with Sox fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Detroit Tigers (61-64) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (61-66)

Time/Place: 12:35 p.m., PNC Park
SB Nation Site:Bucs Dugout
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-1, 6.23 ERA) vs. RHP Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.88 ERA)

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Baseball all day long! We have a full slate ahead, with plenty of value in the MLB player props market.

Join me as I break down three of my favorite MLB picksfor Wednesday, Aug. 19, including why I expect Pete Alonso to go nuclear.

For more props, Josh Inglis has you covered with his three favorite MLB home run predictions.  

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Parker Messick	Over 6.5 strikeouts	+102
Griffin Conine	To record a hit	-154
Pete Alonso	Over 1.5 H+R+RBI	-138

Parker Messick Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+102)

One of the most exciting young pitchers in the game right now is Cleveland Guardians southpaw Parker Messick, who has the highest average strikeout rate on the slate over at Batters-Box. He also owns the No. 1 pitcher rating while facing a San Francisco Giants lineup that has struggled mightily against left-handed pitching.

So far this season, the Giants own a 23.1% strikeout rate, 76% contact rate and 33.4% swinging-strike rate. On the road against lefties, those numbers take a dive, with a 30.8% strikeout rate, 70% contact rate, and 34.2% swinging-strike rate. Over their last 60 at-bats against a left-handed pitcher, only three hitters have a strikeout rate below 13.3%. Everyone else is above 30%.

Messick has posted a near-30% strikeout rate across his last three outings, setting him up in an excellent spot to shove against an ice-cold Giants lineup. He has also recorded 6+ strikeouts in each of his last four starts.

Do not pay juice for this prop.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CLEG, NBCSBA

Griffin Conine To Record a Hit (-154)

Miami Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine to record a hit against Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola is mainly a price play.

For starters, Conine is the No. 1-rated hitter on Batters-Box's current-season dataset. Across 26 elite-rated matchups this season, he has recorded at least one hit 61.54% of the time.

The outfielder has been absolutely destroying the baseball lately. He homered last night, and hopefully he can go deep again, but we only need the floor here. Over his last 10 games, Conine owns an .833 SLG and .433 ISO while generating almost a 60% hard-hit rate and a 22.7% barrel rate.

Nola has been tormented by left-handed hitters at home this season, allowing them to hit .314 with a .583 SLG and .407 wOBA. On top of that, lefties are producing a 56% elevation rate and 36.8% hard-hit rate against him.

If you're not in the juice-paying business, take his hits + runs + RBI prop. However, the hit prop is playable to -160.

Check out Quinn Allen's full Marlins vs. Phillies predictions.

• Time: 6:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MIAM, NBCSP

Pete Alonso Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (-138)

It is hard to ignore just how hot Baltimore Orioles slugger Pete Alonso has been over his last 10 games, posting a .947 SLG, .824 xSLG, and .447 ISO while generating a 65.6% hard-hit rate and 22% barrel rate.

Alonso also enters today's matchup with an elite rating on Batters-Box. Across 60 elite ratings over the last three seasons, he has gone Over this prop 68.33% of the time.

Tonight, he draws New York Yankees right-hander Will Warren, who has been allowing a boatload of hard contact to opposing hitters over his last five outings. The last 60 right-handed hitters he has faced are producing a 56% hard-hit rate, 9.3% barrel rate, and 60% elevation rate, all while posting a .479 xBA, .662 xSLG, and .358 ISO.

The trends and recent numbers are too delectable to pass up. Take this down to -140, or grab his 2+ bases at plus money.

Check out Chris Hatfield's full Yankees vs. Orioles predictions.

• Time: 6:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, MASN, AmazonPV 

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Today marks the 58th birthday of former Blue Jays pitcher Woody Williams.

I’ll admit, I often confuse Woody Williams with Chris Carpenter. Both left the Blue Jays and eventually landed in St. Louis—Williams with a stop in San Diego along the way. They each found greater success with the Cardinals (though Carpenter excelled even more), and they were teammates during their time there.

Woody was a 28th-round draft pick in 1988 out of the University of Houston (Joey Hamilton was chosen a few spots earlier by the Orioles in the same round). Expectations were likely modest, but he excelled in the minors. In May 1993, the Blue Jays called him up to help in the bullpen, where he pitched in 30 games with a 4.38 ERA.

He spent the next couple of seasons in the back of the bullpen. Then, in August 1996, he finally got his chance in the rotation. Paul Quantrill began the season as a starter, but was moved to the bullpen. With Marty Janzen and Huck Flener struggling, Williams earned a shot. He made 10 starts, going 4-5 with a 4.35 ERA.

The following season, Williams spent a full year in the rotation, finishing 9-14 with a 4.35 ERA. Over 31 starts, he pitched 194.1 innings, allowing 201 hits and 31 home runs (during the height of the PED era), with 66 walks and 124 strikeouts. While not spectacular, he held his own as the third starter behind Roger Clemens and Pat Hentgen. The game has changed a lot in the past twenty years—back then, Woody was a reliable third starter who nearly reached 200 innings.

In 1997, Williams went 10-9 with a 4.46 ERA. Over 32 starts, he pitched 209.2 innings, allowing 196 hits, 36 home runs, 81 walks, and recording 151 strikeouts.

Then came the trade—or, more accurately, the infamous trade. Williams and a few minor leaguers were sent to San Diego for Joey Hamilton. GM Gord Ash trusted the advice of newly hired assistant GM Dave Stewart, who had played with Hamilton and claimed to see star potential in him. Ash signed Hamilton to a three-year, $16.5 million contract (a hefty sum at the time), but Hamilton delivered a disappointing 14-17 record with a 5.83 ERA.

Williams went on to have a solid career. He spent five seasons with the Padres, posting a 51-45 record and a 4.32 ERA. The Padres later traded him to the Cardinals, where he flourished—going 45-22 with a 3.53 ERA over four seasons. His standout year was 2003, when he finished 18-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 34 games (33 starts).

As a Blue Jay, he compiled a 28-34 record with a 4.30 ERA over 166 games (76 starts). Overall, he finished his MLB career with a 132-116 record and a 4.19 ERA in 424 games, 330 of them starts. How many 28th-round picks can claim a career like that?

I read that he occasionally threw a knuckleball, though I don’t recall ever seeing it.

According to Wikipedia, Woody has five children and lives in Alvin, Texas.

Happy birthday, Woody. Hope it’s a great one.

Also celebrating birthdays today:

• Luis Gómez turns 73 today. He spent two seasons with the Blue Jays (1978–1979), playing shortstop in 1978 and serving as a utility infielder the following year. Gómez hit .227/.276/.282 in 212 games and played eight MLB seasons with the Twins, Jays, and Braves.
• Jeff Tam turns 54 today. In 2003, he appeared in 44 relief games for the Jays, marking the end of his six-year MLB career. Tam posted a 5.64 ERA and allowed opponents a .314/.396/.465 batting line. Most of his career was spent with the A’s, though he also played for the Mets and Cleveland.