Category: Baseball

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. 52, Edouard Julien (-1.0 rWAR)

The modus operandi for the new front office of the Colorado Rockies entering the 2026 season was to raise the talent level and improve contact abilities. The free-swinging nature of the Rockies’ lineups of the past was an issue that the new leaders were hoping to rectify.

The Rockies made two trades near the end of January that seemed to focus on this goal and then some. One of those trades brought over TJ Rumfield from the New York Yankees, while the other brought back pitcher Pierson Ohl and infielder Edouard Julien from the Minnesota Twins. Ohl ended up as a non-factor in 2026 because of Tommy John surgery, but Julien spent significant time with the big-league club.

A strong start but a sharp decline

Julien’s time in Minnesota was disappointing. After a strong rookie campaign in 2023, Julien’s production declined rapidly over the next two seasons at the plate. Sure, he played well enough in Triple-A, but with other rising talent options for the Twins and his lack of minor league options, he became expendable for the Twins.

The Rockies hoped Julien’s elite contact and on-base skills could rebound and translate to a change of scenery, while providing defensive versatility at two open positions: first base and second base. The 27-year-old made a strong first impression in spring training, slashing .300/.417/.533 in 30 at-bats with 10 strikeouts and six walks over 11 games. It was certainly better than his .158/.304/.211 slash line during the World Baseball Classic with Team Canada, where he still drew four walks against eight strikeouts.

The trade appeared to be even more of a steal as Julien took off in April. By the end of the first month of the season, he was slashing .304/.396/.443 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 91 plate appearances over 27 games. Notably, Julien was doing quite well out of the leadoff spot, and it looked like the Rockies had found a quality option to get on base and get the offense started.

Then the wheels fell off.

Julien hit just .083 in May, going 5-for-61 while making 16 starts. He endured a 12-game hitless streak from May 10 to May 27, going 0-for-34 with 12 strikeouts and two walks. As he struggled, he was moved toward the bottom of the lineup as Jake McCarthy started to really take off.

He rebounded nicely in June, however, slashing .288/.422/.365 and showing off the plate discipline that made him intriguing in the first place. In 64 plate appearances, he drew 12 walks while striking out just 15 times. Unfortunately, he declined sharply again in July, going 5-for-38 across 14 games.

He played just three games in August, going hitless and drawing four walks, before he was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque, where he finished out the season batting .263/.394/.375 with 20 strikeouts against 16 walks in 99 plate appearances. As for his line with the Rockies, Julien batted .208/.322/.292 in 88 games.

The good and the bad at the plate

Up until getting sent to Triple-A, Julien was a regular piece for the Rockies. He and Willi Castro split the majority of the time at second base as Castro bounced around the diamond at multiple positions.

The reason that Julien got so much playing time was that the on-base factor was so important for the Rockies. His 14.1% walk rate was the highest it had been since the 15.7% he recorded in 2023, and his 25.7% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. Despite playing in just 88 games, Julien’s 39 walks were the fifth-most on the team this season.

He was also making more contact than he ever had before, at a rate of 78.0%. On pitches inside the strike zone, Julien had an 86.3% contact rate on a 62.5% swing rate. However, it also meant that he was making a lot of contact on pitches outside of the strike zone, with a 49.5% contact rate on an 18.6% swing rate. The ability to control the zone and exhibit elite discipline is what the Rockies hoped he could do on the regular, and they saw the impact it could have in two separate months. Unfortunately, the wild swings in the opposite direction showed that the contact didn’t always yield results.

Julien has been a groundball machine during his career with a 48.6% groundball rate. In 2026, Julien posted a career-high 50.3% groundball rate. Despite a career-high hard-hit rate of 49.7%, Julien just wasn’t finding results. See, he was elite at making contact on a lot of pitches, but that accounted for a lot of foul balls and weak balls put into play. When he would smoke a ball, it was on the ground half the time and playable for opposing defenses.

He also didn’t benefit much from the platoon system facing right-handed pitching, batting .214/.324/.307 in 84 games.

Julien definitely has the potential for more power in his bat; he hit 16 home runs during his rookie campaign, after all, but he couldn’t tap into that with the Rockies. Of the 49 hits he had this season, he had just nine doubles, a triple, and three home runs.

Offensively, the potential was there for Julien to thrive, especially looking at his Baseball Savant batting metrics, but the reality is that he just couldn’t take his game to the next level like a lot of other players were able to do this season at the plate. It feels as though his offensive stats are hollow outside of being able to draw walks and sometimes get a groundball single.

Defensive woes

As for the defensive side of things, that’s where Julien’s struggles really came to light. Initially, it was believed he would be a main option to man first base before Rumfield made that position his own. The Rockies were also committed to using Castro everywhere they could, particularly at third base and shortstop, to spot struggling players. That left second base primed for Julien to play the majority of his time there.

Unfortunately, it was not a pretty sight most of the time.

There were concerns about Julien’s defense in Minnesota and that is why he got bumped from spots multiple times. He didn’t do much to dispel those concerns in Colorado. In 467.1 innings at second base, Julien recorded -7 Defensive Runs Saved and was worth -4 Outs Above Average and -3 Fielding Run Value.

He could still throw out some highlight-reel plays here and there, but Julien’s defensive tenure at second base was not a pretty sight. His range and arm were not good, and there was a reason that his defensive playing time diminished as Kyle Karros solidified third base, allowing Castro to play at second base more regularly, and Julien served as the designated hitter and pinch hitter more often.

Au revoir?

The intentions behind the acquisition of Edouard Julien were well placed by the Rockies this season. Having a player capable of controlling the strike zone and drawing walks is something that will work for the crew at 20th and Blake. For brief moments, Julien did a great job showcasing that idea.

Unfortunately, his entire batting profile and lack of a defensive home made it more difficult to justify him staying around as the season entered the final stretch. Rumfield also ended up exhibiting the approach so much better over the course of the season as well.

In all likelihood, Julien will be made a free agent when the offseason begins. There is a world where you keep him on as a minor league depth piece, but ultimately he doesn’t bring enough to the table to justify keeping him around. Hopefully he can find an opportunity elsewhere, because there is some sort of potential, but the best thing he did for Colorado was show what a disciplined approach can do for a ball club.

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Kate Upton has seen enough.

She will be giving up America’s pastime and admitted as much while on the “Today” show on Wednesday just days after husband Justin Verlander retired from his 21-year MLB career.

“I’m so excited. I’m never watching another baseball game again,” the 34-year-old model admitted while sitting next to Verlander when asked about her feelings about his retirement by co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.

“It was tears of joy for me,” Upton added as laughs filled the room.

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Verlander, 43, was honored at Comerica Park on Friday night before taking the mound for the last time on Saturday against the Pirates in what was a 4-3 win for Detroit.

Before his last start, the three-time Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champion also caught the first pitch thrown by his 7-year-old daughter, Genevieve, who threw a strike and then gave her dad a big hug in what was adorable moment.

“It’s been awesome. We’ve been practicing,” Verlander told reporters before the game. “She’s all pumped up about it. We actually came out here to the field and practiced off the mound one day. I asked her, ‘Where do you want to go? You want to go to the mound? And she’s like, ‘The mound.’ I’m like, that’s my girl.”

Another emotional moment came when Verlander was pulled in the top of the sixth inning.

He began to shake with tears as Genevieve, who was wearing her dad’s Tiger jersey, sprinted out to give him a hug following his last MLB pitch. Verlander gave his daughter the ball and said goodbye to his teammates before walking off the diamond to a standing ovation while holding Genevieve’s hand.

Upton, dressed in an orange sweater and Tigers hat, was watching with their 1-year-old son, Bellamy. The family of four hugged before leaving through the team’s dugout.

Verlander gave up five hits and two runs with six strikeouts. He finished the season with a 7.00 ERA.

His 266 career wins rank 36th all-time — tied with Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey — while a total of 3,560 strikeouts are the eighth-most ever.

“There’s no script,” he said afterwards. “I want to go as long as I can. I skipped about a month’s worth of rehab to be able to do this, but I also don’t want to just go out there and throw 20 pitches. I think everybody feels comfortable with 20 pitches, and then after that, we’re kind of in a who-knows zone.”

Verlander and Upton met while filming a commercial for “Major League Baseball 2K12” in 2013. The two became an official couple in 2014 and Upton posted a photo of her with the major leaguer at Fenway Park.

The two got engaged in 2016 and tied the knot in 2017 in Tuscany, Italy just days after Verlander won the World Series with the Astros.

It was always inevitable that Cam Schlittler would continue his feud with Red Sox fans and Boston-based media outlets.

Following the blowout 9-2 win on Wednesday night that clinched the Yankees’ slot in the ALDS, Schlittler was easy to find in the comments on the Yankees’ celebratory social media post. The Walpole, Massachusetts native had some choice words in response to some earlier comments made about his career stats against the Red Sox.

Schlittler’s comment, “Wat the 4’s gotta say now,” is a clapback at some personalities from New England sports media personality Jared Carrabis’ podcast ‘Section 10.’

To provide a bit more context, Rusey, one of the personalities on the podcast, previously called Schlittler ugly and essentially useless, even after dominating Boston in the final rivalry matchup of the regular season. He could’ve taken the high road in celebratory fashion on Wednesday night, but he seemingly found that choice too boring and let the fans stay mad.

Schlittler had an outstanding performance to completely shut down Boston in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday night. Pitching through six and a third scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts, the Yankees’ ace has accumulated a 0.47 ERA in his first six career starts against the Red Sox. He’s the fourth pitcher in MLB postseason history with two 10-strikeout games before turning 26.

The Yankees’ postseason run hasn’t seen the last of Schlittler, as he will likely take the mound for the second game of the best-of-five Division Series against Tampa Bay, with a chance to start in Game 5 as well should it go the distance. Securing the Wild Card Series in two games allows for an extra day of rest before the Yankees travel down to face the Rays.

Coverage for Game 1 of the ALDS begins Saturday at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Basking in the afterglow of a Phillies victory over the Braves on Wednesday, I kept going back to something over and over. Yes the in game redemption arc of Bryce Harper was probably the dominant storyline of the game, as was the Alec Bohm home run. Cristopher Sanchez carried them on his back for 6+ innings until he could literally not do it any more, sending the game to the bullpen. That’s when Don Mattingly pulled the Andrew Painter card to help him get through the game.

It turned out: the Phillies may have another pitcher with an elite pitch on their staff.

If we look at the Phillies’ starting rotation and tried to name the elite, 80 grade pitches that are there, one might determine these ones, in no particular order:

• Sanchez’s changeup
• Jesus Luzardo’s sweeper
• Zack Wheeler’s splitter
• mayyyyyyyyyybe Aaron Nola’s knucklecurve (if you’re feeling generous)

But did Painter’s changeup also just join the list? After only one game, one could be tempted to call it elite, especially since it was in a playoff setting when the leverage index was well over one. I’m not sure that I am there yet, but boy did that pitch look elite.

It wasn’t just one pitch that made me consider this over and over. I cannot get over the pitches that he threw to Dominic Smith. To have the absolute stones to throw the changeup as the first pitch is impressive. It ended up being middle-middle, not exactly where one wants to put it, but Smith was likely so amped up about getting a first pitch fastball that he’s miss the changeup by a mile.

Then to back it up with another changeup, this one down in the zone?!?!?!?!

Heavenly lord that pitch is illegal in about four countries.

In that moment, the tying and winning runs on base, seeing Painter rely on that pitch means that the trust he has in it is sky high at the moment. The coaching staff probably has more, better data on the pitch that suggested throwing it to Smith in that moment was the correct call. It perfectly set up his third strike, the ABS challenge that, quite honestly, should have never needed a challenge in the first place. There was quite literally nothing that Smith was going to be able to do with that well placed of a fastball.

I’m still thinking about it today.

Well that’s how you win a playoff series! The Yankees swept aside an inferior Red Sox squad, outscoring their opponents, 17-2, in two games in the Bronx. They are set for a date with the Rays in what should be a thrilling ALDS. However, before we get to that, we get to introduce our first Sequence of the Week of the postseason, Cam Schlittler setting the tone in Game 1 for the eventual sweep of Boston.

We join Schlittler in a packed house at 161st St. and River Ave., the Yankees ace set to throw the first pitch of this seventh playoff meeting between eternal foes. He is the best pitcher in the AL, the presumptive Cy Young winner after posting the third-lowest ERA (1.95) by a starter in a season in franchise history. He owns the Red Sox in his young career and is looking to author another chapter in his postseason biography after tossing eight scoreless innings and striking out a dozen to eliminate the Red Sox in Game 3 of last year’s AL Wild Card Series. The Red Sox offense may have been hobbled by injury in September, but they are not a group to be trifled with, starting with leadoff hitter Roman Anthony. Anthony missed most of the season with a torn finger ligament but returned at the end of August to post a 119 wRC+ in his final 25 games.

Schlittler certainly wants to declare a statement of intent from the first batter he faces, particularly the face of the Boston franchise. Everybody in the stadium and watching the broadcast knows a heater is coming first pitch, the only question is how fast.

We have our answer. Schlittler throws one of the fastest pitches of his season, dotting this 101 mph four-seamer on the corner away and at the knees for strike one. If anyone had any doubts whether Schlittler would be amped up for this start, this pitch is a resounding yes.

With the adrenaline coursing through his veins, it looks like Schlittler has access to a couple more mph on his fastball. He looks to take advantage of this fleeting boost in velo with another four-seamer to Anthony, convinced that he can throw it by the dangerous Boston lefty.

This one comes in at *just* 100 mph. Austin Wells sets a target up and in and Schlittler doesn’t miss his spot by much, tugging this pitch just a few inches inside. It starts as a ball out of his hand and never really deviates toward the zone, making for a pretty straightforward take by Anthony.

After two pitches, it appears Schlittler’s release is better aligned for that outside lane than to the glove side. Anthony showed zero interest in offering at the first pitch fastball called for a strike, so Schlittler and Wells go back to that well.

Schlittler throws almost an identical copy of the first pitch of the game, dotting another 101 mph four-seamer low and away. Same pitch, same result. Anthony is clearly hunting something up and on the inner half. It wouldn’t make sense for him to be guarding against the breaking ball below the zone considering Schlittler threw a fastball roughly 90-percent of the time during the regular season.

It’s been a slightly different approach from Schlittler to start the game, as he generally likes to live up in the zone with all three of his fastballs. That partially helps to explain Anthony’s passivity against the two in-zone four-seamers low, however that approach now has him in the hole, 1-2. There’s no subtlety to the following pitch selection, Schlittler looking to bully Anthony into submission with another heater over the plate.

This is Schlittler’s third four-seamer at 101, though this one catches way more plate than the other two. All the same, Anthony still can’t catch up despite knowing exactly what’s coming, his late swing slashing the pitch foul back to the screen.

Following that foul ball, Schlittler introduces his first wrinkle of the AB. After finally establishing his four-seamer in the zone but above the knees, Schlittler has the situation perfectly set up to get Anthony to chase a curveball in the dirt.

You might wonder why an MLB hitter would swing at a pitch that bounces in front of home plate. However, out of the hand this curveball looks exactly like the four-seamer in the zone that immediately preceded it. Because he has to stay geared up for 101, Anthony is almost forced into starting his swing before that curveball’s downward break kicks in, leaving him no chance to check his swing in time. I’ll admit I was shocked to see Schlittler throw a curveball this early in the game. I was expecting a diet of purely fastballs in the first inning and maybe even the whole first time through the order before using the curveball later in the game as a change of speeds and change of look.

Here’s the full sequence:

This outing was vintage Schlittler against Boston, but with an extra twist that could vault the Yankees ace into truly untouchable territory this postseason. He threw a career-high 32 curveballs to the tune of a gaudy 50-percent whiff rate. It surely confounded the Red Sox game plan against him and they were helpless against the Uncle Charlie for the entirety of his outing. Even if he ups the fastball usage in subsequent starts, the curveball usage rate in this game plants the seed of doubt in the mind of anyone attempting to game plan for Schlittler. Don’t be surprised to see his calling card elevated heater rack up whiffs in bunches now that hitters have to be mindful of the hook.

Though not quite as stratospherically dominant as last season’s Wild Card start against the Red Sox, Schlittler still found a way to silence Boston without his A-1 fastball command. He threw a career-high 117 pitches across 6.1 scoreless, striking out ten to join Bob Gibson as the only other pitcher in MLB history with multiple scoreless starts with double-digit strikeouts against the Red Sox in the playoffs. Needless to say, we are excited to see what brilliance he cooks up next.

By now you’ve seen the quotes. After another ugly night at Yankee Stadium, a number of Red Sox veterans expressed their frustration not only with the way they played, but with certain on and off-field decisions.

First and most notably there was Sonny Gray, who didn’t mince words when it came to his thoughts about being lifted after having thrown just 70 pitches in an elimination game. “I think I’m the best pitcher in the American League going through the order a third time. I think that’s a fact,” Gray said. “I would have liked to have been trusted in that moment.” (ESPN)

Making matters worse, Chad Tracy’s decision to lift Gray in favor of Erik Miller seems to have soured the pending free agent on the organization as a whole. Gray was asked a variation on a question that every veteran has been asked dozens of times throughout their career: “Are the Red Sox a destination you’d want to return to?” It’s a softball question that, 99 times out of 100, would be answered with pablum about enjoying his time here and wanting to explore his options, and doing what’s best for his family, yadda, yadda, yadda. But in the heat of the moment, Gray offered something else:

Earlier this season, in the midst of one of the hottest stretches in baseball history, Willson Contreras made it clear that he wanted to finish his career in Boston, saying that he had “found my family.” But in the clubhouse last night he didn’t hold back in criticizing the organization’s decision-making “It’s not enough when you have talent, or you have data, or you have computers telling you what to do, because this is baseball,” he said. “The data is here to help us, but at the end of the day, you’re going to need experience and veteran guys to win games. There’s a lot of stuff that I would like to say, but I’ll stay (with) that.” Asked further about accounted for the Sox’ swing from mid-summer brilliance to fall failure, Contreras demurred in eyebrow-raising fashion: ”I’m not going to answer it because I don’t want to give my honest answer.“ (Justin Leger, NBC Sports)

So what was Chad Tracy’s explanation for the quick hook? “We were trailing, we’re struggling to score runs, and you have to when you get in spots where you’re struggling to score runs and you’re already trailing, you feel like you’ve got to be aggressive and go,” he said. “They’re getting back to the top of the lineup, they got a couple hits against them, you see if you can put it out. And if you put it out, you’re kind of lined up to where we wanted to go. That just didn’t work.” (Tara Sullivan, Boston Globe)

While Tracy’s quick hooks are garnering a lot of attention, the Red Sox weren’t going to win much of anything with the way they were hitting. “Obviously, we didn’t score enough runs,” said Sox Trevor Story. “That’s kind of what it comes down to. We weren’t really swinging it real hot at the end of the season coming into the postseason.” (Steve Buckley, The Athletic)

Naturally, it’s even harder to score runs without Roman Anthony. The Red Sox have struggled to get a handle on Anthony’s injury all season long, and that appears to still be the case today. “We’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened and what the prognosis will be,” Craig Breslow said, while Anthony himself sounded devastated: “I feel sick to my stomach. I haven’t slept much. It doesn’t really feel real, to be honest,” he said. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

LOS ANGELES — The television broadcast for every single Dodgers game this postseason, however long they last, will feature a familiar voice for those in and around Los Angeles. Joe Davis will call the Dodgers National League Division Series for Fox Sports, which begins on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers in the NLDS will play either the Atlanta Braves or Philadelphia Phillies, with that wild card series getting decided on Thursday night (5 p.m. PT, NBC) in Atlanta.

Davis will call the NLDS alongside John Smoltz for Fox Sports, with reporter Ken Rosenthal. That’s the No. 1 MLB crew for Fox, which will also televise the National League Championship Series and World Series. In other words, Davis will call every Dodgers game on television this October, no matter how long they last, just like he did in 2024.

Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday will begin at 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium and will be televised by Fox, with Game 2 on Sunday evening a 5 p.m. game that will be on FS1.

Davis called 88 Dodgers games on SportsNet LA this season, right in line with recent years — he called 87 games in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025 — in addition to five regular season Dodgers games on Fox Saturdays. This is the fifth season Davis is on the No. 1 MLB broadcast crew for Fox.

On the local radio side for the Dodgers, Charley Steiner will call Dodgers home games alongside Rick Monday for AM 570 this October, with Stephen Nelson teaming up with Monday on all postseason road games.

How will the 2026 Red Sox be remembered? Reflecting on a bizarre season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

After falling to the New York Yankees in the 2025 Wild Card Series, the Boston Red Sox took the scenic route to the same destination in 2026.

Boston’s rollercoaster season ended with another devastating Wild Card Series loss at Yankee Stadium. This one was even worse, with the Red Sox being outscored 18-2 in a two-game sweep. Again, Yankees ace Cam Schlittler asserted his dominance. Again, Boston’s offense looked lifeless. And again, managerial and defensive miscues proved costly.

The ugly series sets us up for a fascinating offseason for Craig Breslow and Co. But before we turn the page to what should be another eventful winter, let’s take a moment to reflect on all that transpired over the last eight months. What will come to mind when we look back on the 2026 Red Sox season? Did their midseason turnaround make it a success, or does another early playoff exit make it a failure?

Here’s what we’ll remember about the 2026 Red Sox:

Alex Cora out, Chad Tracy in

The 2026 Red Sox started their season 10-17 before Craig Breslow decided enough was enough. Boston’s chief baseball officer cleaned house, firing longtime manager Alex Cora along with most of his staff, including game-planning coordinator Jason Varitek, hitting coach Pete Fatse, bench coach Ramon Vasquez, and third base coach Kyle Hudson.

Breslow’s surprising move ended Cora’s eight-year tenure with the organization. He finished with a 620-541 record as manager and a World Series title in 2018.

“By acting today, it gives us 135 games ahead of us,” Breslow said in his press conference following Cora’s firing, “so we’ve got almost a full season’s worth of run to take advantage of this fresh start and ultimately to compete for a division and deep postseason run in the way that we talked about it and envisioned and believed heading into spring training.

“We believe in the group of players that we have in the clubhouse, down the hallway, and we believe that a new direction is warranted, new voices, and something that enables us to take a fresh start.”

Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy took over for Cora as Boston’s interim skipper.

A historic stretch

The 2026 Red Sox will forever be remembered as the club that started 32-46, won 32 of its next 37, and clinched an improbable playoff berth. Their incredible turnaround included a franchise-record-tying 15-game win streak.

Boston looked dead and buried on June 24. Craig Breslow’s firing felt like a foregone conclusion. Then, the impossible happened.

The Red Sox went 77-58 with Tracy leading the charge. The club’s turnaround under his leadership was eerily reminiscent of what his father, Jim Tracy, accomplished as interim manager of the 2009 Colorado Rockies. He propelled Colorado to a 74-42 record after taking over in May and won the National League Manager of the Year award.

Role players step up

Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela were the stars of the 2026 Red Sox season, but the team’s historic turnaround doesn’t happen without the key contributions of several role players.

Depth infielder Andruw Monasterio had a 1.044 OPS in July. Fellow ex-Milwaukee Brewer Anthony Seigler notched a .959 OPS in June and added an unexpected emotional spark to the dugout. Tsung-Che Cheng played great defense in 14 appearances at shortstop and saved Boston’s win streak with a spectacular catch.

Mickey Gasper and Nick Sogard weren’t huge factors while the Red Sox won 32 of 37, but they were enormous from August on. Gasper put up Barry Bonds-like numbers for a 12-game stretch and became one of Boston’s most reliable bats. Sogard shook off his reputation as a “4A” player and served as a perfect utility infielder with solid offensive numbers down the stretch.

Lefty masher Jahmai Jones, acquired from the Detroit Tigers in July for a player to be named later, had four homers and a .993 OPS in 37 games with Boston. Most of his damage was done in August, when he hit .474 with three homers and a 1.284 OPS.

A bold Craig Breslow trade deadline

Say what you will about Craig Breslow, but he hasn’t shied away from making bold, uncomfortable moves as Red Sox CBO. That was especially the case at this year’s trade deadline.

His most notable move was sending Carlos Narvaez and four top prospects — Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar and Harold Rivas — to the Baltimore Orioles for All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. The deal was widely considered an overpay, but Breslow deserved credit for doing whatever it took to add a difference-maker to the big-league roster.

Breslow also parted ways with former top prospect Marcelo Mayer, who struggled mightily in his second season with the club. He was sent to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for left-handed reliever Erik Miller.

Promising rookie left-hander Connelly Early was shipped to the Washington Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead, who suffered a season-ending wrist injury during his second plate appearance with Boston. He brought in Jones and speedy outfielder Eli White in under-the-radar deals that helped the Red Sox over the final two months.

Injuries, injuries, and more injuries

The Red Sox persevered through a number of injuries in 2026. Here’s a breakdown of each:

• Ace left-hander Garrett Crochet made only six starts during the regular season due to a shoulder injury suffered in April.
• Former top outfield prospect Roman Anthony played in only 55 regular-season games because of a torn ring finger ligament. He exited Game 1 of the Wild Card Series vs. the Yankees and was removed from the playoff roster after experiencing more hand/wrist issues.
• Offseason addition Johan Oviedo made only one start before missing the season with a flexor strain.
• Trade deadline addition Curtis Mead suffered a fractured wrist on a hit-by-pitch in his second Red Sox plate appearance and did not return for the rest of the season.
• Outfielder/DH Masataka Yoshida suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in August.
• Reliever Justin Slaten missed time throughout the season due to an elbow injury that flared up again before the playoffs, forcing him off the postseason roster.
• Breakout slugger Mickey Gasper was left off the playoff roster because of a torn biceps tendon.
• Deadline addition Eli White missed the end of the regular season and the playoffs with a foot injury.
• Utility man Anthony Seigler went down with a foot injury at the end of the regular season, missed the playoffs.
• Breakout reliever Tyron Guerrero was left off the playoff roster due to a shoulder issue.
• Outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela (quad/hamstring) and Willson Contreras (hand) were both banged up just before the playoffs.
• RHP Kutter Crawford and 1B Triston Casas missed the entire season.
• RHP Tanner Houck made just one appearance (Game 162) after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

It’s no excuse for how their season ended, but it certainly impacted their ceiling in 2026.

Craig Breslow and Chad Tracy get rewarded

On Sept. 22, the Red Sox removed Chad Tracy’s interim tag to officially make him the 49th manager in franchise history. He signed a three-year contract through the 2029 season with a club option for 2030.

Breslow was also rewarded, with his contract options being exercised through 2030.

At the time, committing to Tracy and Breslow made sense as they pulled the right strings to get Boston back into the playoffs after an abysmal start. But after what transpired in the Wild Card Series, it’s fair to wonder if there will be some buyer’s remorse.

The downfall of the “Big Three”

Marcelo Mayer was traded at the deadline. Kristian Campbell remains in Worcester with no clear path back to the majors. Roman Anthony can’t swing a bat without injuring himself.

The former top prospect trio was once hyped as the “Big Three.” While the Red Sox failed to clinch a playoff berth from 2022-24, they could at least hang their hat on the impending arrivals of three potential franchise cornerstones.

Now, there’s a real chance we’ll look back at 2026 as the year the “Big Three” dream died. Of course, Anthony and Campbell still have a chance to be difference-makers in Boston.

Different season, same result

The 2026 Red Sox gave us a fun summer. They will be remembered for winning 32 of 37 games — including a 15-game win streak — and clinching a playoff berth to complete a miraculous midseason turnaround. Besides that, they will largely be forgotten.

Red Sox fans don’t look back fondly on seasons that end with anything less than a deep postseason run. Even the 2021 Red Sox, who exceeded expectations with a trip to the ALCS, are an afterthought.

Don’t be fooled by the midseason surge. This was a club that entered the 2026 campaign as one of the favorites in the wide-open American League. They failed to match that expectation, marking the year as another failure for the organization.

The Dodgers did not need Tarik Skubal to win the National League West. They traded for him to help them win a third consecutive World Series.

Their legacy is at stake. So is his.

That could be hyperbole. Skubal turns 30 next month, already the winner of two Cy Young awards, one of them unanimously. He could sign the largest contract of any pitcher in major league history this fall. His career might be only at its halfway point, and already we can say he’ll be remembered as a star.

So I asked him if his career would feel somehow empty if he did not win a World Series. No one in Anaheim thinks any less of Mike Trout, and no one in San Diego thinks any less of Tony Gwynn, because neither Hall of Famer won a World Series.

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Skubal thought about it. Yes, he said, his career would feel diminished without a championship.

“I think winning is the most important thing, so I think that’s fair to say,” Skubal told me.

“If I retire and I don’t have one, that will definitely be something that I don’t know when I will live it down.”

The Dodgers imported him for five or six starts in October, the first of them this weekend. I wasn’t sure of the right noun to use to capture his feelings: Excitement? Pressure? Responsibility?

“I think all of those things,” he said.

How so?

“I’ve grown to appreciate expectations from teammates, from fans, from organizations,” he said. “I’ve come to appreciate pressure. Early on in my career, there wasn’t much of that. It was more just kind of finding my footing, which I’m grateful for. It helped me learn a lot about myself.

“Having the expectation of being a team that is going to win the World Series, and me being a part of that, is something that I’ve come to really appreciate. I’ve come to appreciate all that stuff. As much as they can be looked at as negative things, or stress-inducing things, I’ve come to really appreciate those things, because I haven’t had that for my entire career.”

As soon as the Dodgers traded for Skubal two months ago, he was delighted to receive a text message from a pitcher who wore the weight of expectations throughout his career.

When his Detroit Tigers opened last season at Dodger Stadium, Skubal asked teammate Jack Flaherty to arrange a meeting with Clayton Kershaw.

“Honestly,” Skubal said, “I wanted to get a jersey from him.”

They talked pitching too, of course, and stayed in touch. When the Dodgers landed Skubal, Kershaw’s welcome text led to him sharing advice not just about the team itself but about navigating the notorious L.A. roads to Dodger Stadium, and various neighborhoods that Skubal, his wife and two young boys might enjoy.

For Kershaw, the postseason was a widely publicized menace throughout the previous decade. In 2019, after he inherited a two-run lead in the deciding game of the division series, Kershaw gave up home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto.

After the game, Kershaw said, “Everything people say is true right now about the postseason.”

In 2024, the Tigers were five innings from the American League Championship Series, leading 1-0 in the deciding game of the division series, with Skubal on the mound. Three singles, a hit batter and a grand slam later, the Tigers trailed for good.

“I felt pretty responsible for the season ending,” Skubal said.

Kershaw earned his redemption in 2020, winning both of his World Series starts as the Dodgers won their first championship since 1988. That title lifted the postseason burden off Kershaw, and I wondered whether Skubal might feel the same way if he leads these Dodgers to a parade.

Skubal rejected the premise.

“I don’t really buy into that narrative with Kersh, the postseason struggles,” Skubal said.

Kershaw’s 41 postseason appearances include four starts on short rest and nine relief outings. In 2013, he pitched a combined 259 innings between the regular season and playoffs. In 2015, that number was 246 innings.

“It takes a superhuman to be held to the standard he was being held to, in the biggest of moments,” Skubal said. “I think he was great. He did everything he could for his team. He wore it out there sometimes. Chasing box scores and stuff is kind of unfair to judge guys on, because I’m sure he was pitching through some stuff and grinding through some stuff.

“But he had to do it, because he was Clayton Kershaw.”

Kershaw’s postseason earned-run average: 4.62. For Skubal, in six postseason appearances, all of them starts: 2.04. In that one five-run inning, he gave up more runs than he has in the other 38-2/3 innings of his postseason career.

After he gave up those five runs, he returned for one more inning and retired the side in order.

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“That moment solidified who I thought I am, in terms of how I responded to that failure, how I responded to that adversity,” he said. “It’s weird to say and it’s probably weird to portray, and I don’t know how many people it’s going to resonate with, but that’s what I feel.”

Right time, right place: If Skubal wants to win a World Series, where else would he rather be?

“For him?” pitcher Blake Snell said. “There’s no better time for anybody than right now.”

The Dodgers acquired infielder Tommy Edman from the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2024 trade deadline. For Edman, that’s two Octobers and two parades.

“In St. Louis, I think we were hovering around .500,” Edman said. “I found myself traded here and I was like, ‘OK, all of a sudden I’m on the team with the best record in baseball right now, going for a ring just about every single year.’

“That’s the expectation we have here. There’s definitely a level of excitement.”

Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager, said he could see the joy in Skubal on the day the Dodgers celebrated the division title.

“There’s also a difference between being on a team like the Tigers — and nothing against that organization — where the goal really isn’t to win the World Series. It’s the hope,” Roberts said. “But being here and seeing the standard that we have and it’s like: ‘I’m here to win the World Series. This team has the best chance to win the World Series, and I get to be a part of it.’

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“So I fully see him, now that he is completely immersed into our culture, where the first month was trying to feel his way: ‘Where do I fit in? I’m this hired gun.’ And now it’s like he’s one of the guys.”

Skubal insists that he has not really thought about his free agency, that his focus is on the here and now, and on each start as it comes. That means this month could be his last in Dodger blue, and that means this really might be his best chance to win a World Series.

“I don’t really know if I like the verbiage of that, thinking I must win this year,” he said. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

Fans of the other 29 teams didn’t necessarily think it was fair that the Dodgers got Skubal. Owners of the other 29 teams are trying to stop them, or at least slow them down, by demanding a salary cap. No matter. One of the co-owners of Skubal’s current employer has a saying about this here and now: It’s winnin’ time.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With the Postseason run on the line, the Atlanta Braves are now in a situation where they’ll likely be leaning on their bullpen to get them through to the Divisional Series over the Philadelphia Phillies. There was an open question as to whether or not Grant Holmes would get the start or if they’d go with a bit of a strategy for the final game of this series and as it turns out, there will be some tactics at play.

The Braves have announced that Ray Kerr will be on the mound to start tonight’s game for the Braves.

From a personal standpoint, it’s an amazing story for Kerr as he’s gone from missing the entirety of the 2026 season to returning to the bullpen a couple of months ago, making the Wild Card Series roster and now getting the call to make a start. Perseverance matters and Kerr is full of it.

From a tactical standpoint, it makes sense. Kerr has gone three innings in four different occasions so far this season and he actually did so against the Phillies back on September 13. That was when he pitched three scoreless innings and struck out four batters while only giving up one hit and zero walks. I’d imagine that Atlanta would be thrilled with a repeat of those results in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.

Kerr’s last appearance on Septmeber 25 was similar in that he went three innings (all scoreless) and only gave up two hits and a walk while he was out there. He’s perfectly capable of eating multiple innings in effective fashion and the Braves are going to need every bit of it in order to stay alive in this one.

As for what’s happening afterwards, I’d imagine that Grant Holmes could come in for relief after that and if he gets three innings then that’ll get the Braves through to the sixth and then they can start to really use some of their big arms out of the ‘pen. I’d say it’s an open question as to whether or not both Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee make appearances in this one but everybody else in the bullpen would appear to be available.

So there you have it, folks: It’ll be Ray Kerr vs. Aaron Nola to start out the Winner-Take-All Game 3 of the Wild Card Series. What do y’all make of this?

Three of the four Wild Card series were decided on Wednesday. The White Sox took out the Astros by again jumping out to an early lead and then pulling away. In the process they won their first postseason series since their 2005 World Series title. The Yankees pitching staff continued to work over a pretty hapless looking Boston Red Sox lineup, while Ben Rice and rookie George Lombard Jr. continued to power the Yankees’ offense despite the lack of Aaron Judge. Finally, the Cubs chances depended largely on their offense getting red hot, and it just didn’t happen. Their pitching staff was always pretty suspect but they weren’t really the problem as the Padres held the north siders to just one run in two games.

The divisional round will get underway on Saturday, but there is one series left to be decided. The Philadelphia Phillies lost on Tuesday and they were hanging on by a thread on Wednesday as the Atlanta Braves led 3-1 heading into the eighth inning. Instead, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper came through with back-to-back solo shots against lefty Dylan Lee to tie the game. They ultimately scratched out a run extras and blanked the Braves to win in 10 innings.

So, Thursday’s 2:00 p.m. ET matchup on Peacock is for all the marbles. Whoever ends up starting for each team won’t matter much as this is an all hands on deck scenario.

Wednesday’s games have come and gone, and two other teams were sent packing along with the Red Sox as Boston’s season ended unceremoniously at the hands of the Yankees. Plenty more ex-Red Sox made impacts on their respective games, and the playoff picture for the divisional round is now set…. on the AL side, anyway. To borrow my usual Minor Lines segueing line, let’s get into it.

Phillies 4, Braves 3 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)

The only series to get tied up in game 2 did so in dramatic fashion as this game is also the only game of the postseason thus far to reach extra innings. Things looked bleak for the Phillies’ season when they gave up two runs in the seventh; the Phillies had Christopher Sanchez putting in work but his production was just a hair under that of the Braves’ Tyler Mahle. But, Mahle couldn’t stay in forever, and after 7 innings of allowing just one run, he was pulled and Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper took full advantage in the 8th with back-to-back homers. Alec Bohm then got in on the action with a solo shot of his own in the 10th off of Didier Fuentes. Game 3 begins at 8:00 PM tonight.

White Sox 7, Astros 3 (BOX SCORE)

The White Sox’s first playoff advancement in more than 20 years came with another decisive victory including some heavy offense in the first inning. The White Sox, who led the league in 1st inning runs this season, got Hunter Brown for four runs before the frame was over. This included a two-run knock by Andrew Benintendi followed by another RBI by Tristan Peters. The Astros answered with a lead-off home run by Jeremy Pena, and stayed in the game due to an unusual outing by Sean Burke wherein he struck out eight but allowed three home runs; thankfully for him, those were all solo shots.

The reaper’s kiss for Houston came from Chicago’s Chase Meidroth, who belted a three-run shot to put this game, and the series, out of reach. And, yes, Meidroth was part of the return for Garrett Crochet, who also saw some playoff reps on Wednesday. Chicago will now head to Cleveland to begin their divisional series on Saturday afternoon.

Padres 4, Cubs 1 (BOX SCORE)

Xander Boegarts was involved in both defining plays for the Padres on Wednesday night as they advanced to the divisional round. He hit an RBI single in the second inning and was also on base when Gavin Sheets tore the game open (or, as it was only the fourth inning, at least put it on notice) with a two-run shot. The inning could have gotten even uglier for Chicago, but Pete Crow-Armstrong had one last leaping catch at the wall in him for 2026 to end the inning. The rest of the game rolled on without incident or too much clamor, and the final score stayed 4-1. The guy who started the game for San Diego? You might recognize him – it was Nick Pivetta. The Padres now head to Milwaukee to face a pretty powerful contender for their best-of-5.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about seeing Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas, give an inspirational speech. One of the pivotal moments of Cole’s life was his relationship with former player Reggie Smith, when Smith was a star for the Red Sox and Cole was a shy and withdrawn youth. The 20 minutes Smith spent with Cole changed his life. Smith, who enjoyed a terrific 17-year career, is often described as “the other Reggie.”

There’s no disrespect in that. Reggie Jackson drew a lot of attention from the media. Reggie Smith just quietly went about having excellent season after excellent season.

Much has been written lately about players who have been overlooked by the Hall of Fame. You know the names: Luis Tiant. Bobby Grich. Lou Whitaker. Dwight Evans. Tommy John.

At the top of that list should also be Reggie Smith.

Smith, like many young men of the 1960s, was a multi-sport standout in high school, excelling in football and baseball. His father, Lonnie, played one season in the Negro American League. As a teenager, Smith played for a Los Angeles team coached by former Negro League star Chet Brewer. Being a ballplayer was his destiny.

Smith signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Twins shortly after graduation. After a strong start for the Twins’ Rookie League team, they inexplicably left him unprotected in the minor league Rule 5 draft and lost him to the Boston Red Sox. Smith blasted his way through the Red Sox minor league system, posting an excellent 1964 season at Class A Waterloo. He spent the summer of 1965 at Double-A Pittsfield, then, in 1966, at the age of 21, won the International League batting title with a .320 mark for the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs.

This earned him a six-game cup of coffee with the Red Sox. He collected the first three hits of his career on September 24 at Yankee Stadium. He never played another game in the minors.

Manager Dick Williams installed Smith as his starting center fielder in 1967, and the rookie helped lead the Sox to the pennant, the Impossible Dream season. Smith played in his first World Series and finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote behind Rod Carew.

Smith spent eight seasons in Boston, where he developed into a star, making two All-Star appearances, winning a Gold Glove and earning MVP votes in four seasons. I only saw Smith play once in person, coincidentally in the very first game I ever attended. He went 1 for 3 with a walk while facing Steve Busby. Busby was one of the top pitchers in the game at the time and only gave up five hits that game, a 3-2 KC win.

Smith’s time in Boston ended after the 1973 season with his trade to St. Louis. The move represented a fresh start for Smith, who suffered under the racial strains of Boston. The Red Sox were the last baseball team to integrate when they added Pumpsie Green in, get this, 1959. It seems almost inconceivable today that a team would wait almost 12 full seasons before integrating. Smith called Boston out for being a racist city, a charge that was also made by other prominent Black athletes such as Satch Sanders and Bill Russell. It got so bad for Smith that he began wearing a batting helmet in the field at Fenway Park to protect himself from coins, batteries and other hard objects thrown by his home crowd!

The city of St. Louis had a much more relaxed racial atmosphere, plus the Cardinals had two strong Black superstars in Lou Brock and Bob Gibson, which took a lot of pressure off Smith. On paper, it was the perfect landing spot for him.

He only played 2½ seasons in St. Louis but was generally excellent, both at the plate and in the field. He developed into a leader and mentor for younger players and always set a great example by staying in excellent physical condition. He moved to right field while playing with the Cardinals, making room in center for the up-and-coming Bake McBride. Smith was widely recognized for having one of the strongest arms in the game, so strong that the Red Sox briefly considered trying to turn him into a pitcher while he was in their minor league system.

In June of 1976, the Cards made one of their worst trades of the decade, and they had a few, when they sent Smith home to Los Angeles in exchange for Joe Ferguson and a couple of throw-ins. Smith had a career rebirth in LA, spending eight years with the Dodgers, where he played in two more World Series.

In 1977, Smith clubbed a career-high 32 home runs, led the league in OBP at .427 and posted the best OPS+ of his career with a 168 mark. The Dodgers met the Yankees in both the 1977 and 1978 World Series and lost both times. Smith hit .273 with three home runs in the 1977 classic but was overshadowed by the other Reggie and his titanic three home runs in three at-bat game.

Smith joined the San Francisco Giants for the 1982 season, but at the age of 37, the end was near. He still hit a very respectable .288 with 18 home runs in almost 400 plate appearances.

Not finding any suitors in the States, he played for two seasons in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants before finally retiring at the age of 39.

What a career. Over 2,000 hits, 314 home runs, over 1,000 RBI, over 1,100 runs scored and a career slash of .287/.366/.489 with a career OPS+ of 137 worth almost 65 WAR. Add in his seven All-Star appearances, the Gold Glove, the four World Series appearances (he played on the Dodgers’ 1981 winner), and his Hall of Fame case looks strong. He ended his career as one of the best switch-hitters ever. Here’s another crazy tidbit: The teams that Reggie Smith played a full season for never had a losing record. The guy was a hell of a player, and people forget just how good he was.

In retirement, Smith stayed close to the game, serving in various capacities for USA Baseball (Pan Am Games, Olympics, World Baseball Classic). He also runs a baseball clinic in Encino, California. Smith was always one of the more cerebral players of his era. He plays seven different musical instruments and found time to get his pilot’s license. Smith was in Kansas City last week for his induction into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Hall of Fame. Here’s hoping the National Baseball Hall of Fame takes another look at his case while he’s still alive.