Category: Baseball

Good morning, Purple Row!

Here’s what’s going on with the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball.

Rockies news & links

Effectively Wild Episode 2554: Is MLB bad for NPB? And can the Rockies catch up? | FanGraphs ($)

Late last month, the Rockies announced they promoted Michael McClellan, PhD, to director of baseball analytics. (He has a background in physics, engineering, and atmospheric science.) Prior to joining the Rockies, he spent eight years with the Tampa Bay Rays. Last week, he sat down with Ben Lindbergh and talked for an hour about his time with the Rockies. He began working for the organization in 2025 after Josh Byrnes noticed that McClellan was working remotely in Colorado and spent last season focused on hitting. (He worked closely with hitting coach Brett Pill.) Now, however, he oversees the entire analytics department.

McClellan describes where the Rockies are now and what they’re working on. Among things that stood out? He’s wondering if it would be possible for the Rockies to collaborate with the Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, and Denver Nuggets to address issues of rest and recovery at elevation. In addition, they had more than 1000 applicants for their intern position. (He also provides some tips on applying for a analytics job.)

There’s too much here for me to go into detail, but if you have access to this podcast, it’s very much worth your time.

Biggest offseason needs for all 30 MLB teams | Fox Sports

If you thought the answer might be “find more pitching,” Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar instead recommend, “Get a haul for Hunter Goodman.” They write, “With a limited number of power bats in free agency, Goodman’s market should be strong.”

Ulloa’s journey to becoming a Fall Star | MLB.com

Thomas Harding spoke with the Rockies righty as he continues to focus on developing his changeup. “It’s about surrendering the result – the outcome of the at-bat – and just feeling comfortable with where you’re releasing it, and trusting that the pitch is going to move the way you want,” Ulloa said. Since finishing the season with Double-A Hartford, Ulloa has been on fire in the Arizona Fall League.

Interview with Ethan Katz | Loud Outs/MLB Network Radio ($)

I did not get to listen to this interview — I caught the end of the program. But here’s an outtake from Ryan Spilborghs and CJ Nitkowski’s interview with the Rockies new pitching coach.

Around MLB

4 things to listen for at the 2026 MLB GM meetings in Las Vegas | Yardbarker

The General Manager Meetings start today in Las Vegas. Kevin Henry is following four stories: What happens with Tarik Skubal? Who signs TeruakiSato? What will the Tampa Bay Rays do? How will the qualifying offers play out.

Look for more on the GM Meetings in my Rockpile later today.

PCA, Bellinger awarded Platinum Gloves; Team Gold Gloves to Cubs & Jays | MLB.com

Awards season is truly underway with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cody Belligener emerging as big defensive winners. Tonight, MLB will announce the Rookie of the Year winners.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

With the near certainty of a lockout and a long fight between players and owners this offseason, it’s hard to get real enthusiastic about free agency right now. It’s usually hard for Tigers’ fans in the first place. While there is the idea being floated that top free agent Tarik Skubal may sign before the December 1st lockout if the right offer is available, with the Dodgers, Mets, and Cubs, generally regarded as his main suitors, he’s a pretty unique case. Apart from Skubal, there seems to be widespread expectation that most free agents will wait until new terms of the next collective bargaining agreement are announced before signing. Likewise, teams need to know the payroll constraints they’ll be working under to really manage their budget for free agents.

However, there’s also likely to be a set of moves from many teams simply designed to shore up depth where possible before the lockout begins. Scott Harris has a habit of trying to add a depth starter early in the offseason. These moves have generally gone pretty poorly, although Drew Anderson was a better choice last year than most. Even so, Harris certainly seems to emphasize getting a little depth in his offseason shopping early on, perhaps with the idea that he won’t have to force a move later. This strategy has not worked out terribly well, but that’s more been a matter of picking the wrong pitchers. The theory is still reasonably sound, particularly with the lockout looming. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him try it again.

The Tigers have a pretty solid group to build a rotation out of next season, but they aren’t necessarily that deep either. By 2028 the Tigers may have a pretty good crop of starting pitching prospects in the upper minors. Right now, they do not. And as we’ve discussed repeatedly since the regular season ended, the Tigers need for high leverage relievers is best answered by converting 1-2 of their starters with big stuff, but limited recent workloads, into relief help. To do that they’re going to need to pick up another starting option this offseason.

The criteria is pretty simple. We’re just looking at short term deals here. The Tigers are highly unlikely to go after a big target in the starting pitching market. National media is going to continue to report that the Tigers are “keeping tabs” on the Tarik Skubal market, but no one is buying that as long as the reported price tag remains well over $300 million. The Tigers will be angling for depth here unless Scott Harris decides to break his usual patterns, so it’s not going to be a thrilling signing when and if they add an arm. Deciding to lock up a decidedly mediocre journeyman reliever in Jacob Waguespack should probably be seen as the corollary to any depth starter signing that could come before the lockout begins.

Let’s take a look at Dustin May, who is a pretty good all around fit for what the Tigers will probably look for in a free agent starter.

RHP Dustin May

This veteran right-hander makes some sense for the Tigers. The lanky 29-year-old has never been able to translate his velocity into high-end whiff rates, and his breaking stuff has never carved hitters up the way many expected when he was a prospect. On the other hand, he’s fairly consistent and took a notable leap in preventing home runs this season while finally putting his years in injury purgatory behind him.

Between 2021-2024, when he was still with the Dodgers, May’s career was in shambles as he had two UCL reconstruction surgeries with just a brief comeback in between them. He was still effective in his brief stints on the mound, but his early potential was going to waste as his mid-20’s were largely spent on the injured list. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox at the deadline in 2025. The Cardinals signed him to a one-year deal worth $12.5M for 2026 before they dealt him to the World Series champs back at the trade deadline. For two seasons now he’s been generally healthy, throwing 132.1 and 145.2 innings the past two seasons, with no major injury trouble.

May is still averaging just shy of 97 mph on his fourseam and sinker with a bit more than average extension. He’s largely backing that with his 93-94 mph cutter in a very fastball heavy profile. He uses his 86 mph sweeper a decent amount, but the break on that is a little too big to fool major league hitters as much as the movement might predict. May rips his 86 mph sweeper at over 3000 rpms, and late in the season, he started throwing more of a straight curveball at 83.7 mph, with the same monstrous spin rate and getting more whiffs with it. We didn’t see it working as effectively in the postseason. In general, May gets a very balanced spread of grounders, line drives, and fly balls, so he’s fairly neutral in terms of how park factors will affect him.

He still feels to me like a guy who might be better off ditching the cutter and trying to throw more of a prototypical slider instead, while continuing to experiment with the sweeper/curveball combo as more of a strike stealer that is hard to square up for lefties. Sometimes throwing cutters, fourseamers, and sinkers all can diminish each of those pitches individually by requiring some fairly subtle feel differences how they’re gripped and released.

However, May was with the Dodgers a long time, so I would guess there have been plenty of stuff experiments under smart coaches along the way. The intriguing note for me was his increased curveball usage late in the year and the velocity on that pitch. Both Jackson Jobe and Beau Brieske started ripping an 85-86 mph curveball that neither had really thrown before, and the pitch looked pretty whiffish in the brief looks we had of them. Possibly the Brewers were thinking along similar lines with May, making this a little more interesting fit in Detroit.

May intrigues me to a degree is that he’s missed a lot of time in his career and really hasn’t had long stretches of good health in which to actually hone his craft and get better. Of course, you can just as easily call that being injury prone, but you take a look at May’s raw stuff and the wildly varying arm angles from year to year, it feels like he’s still tinkering for the right arm angle and stuff.

The Tigers don’t really need a workhorse here. May just completed back-to-back full seasons for the first time in his major league career, and yet he’s been with four teams over those two seasons. He hasn’t had a chance to settle in anywhere. And yet, May had a pretty good first half before fading as the season progressed. His 4.38 ERA with the Cardinals was solid, and he boasted a 3.15 FIP in St. Louis that said he’d actually been somewhat unlucky. He dealt with back tightness in June and then an ankle contusion in July, and really wasn’t pitching well through that stretch.

May briefly got off to a good start in Milwaukee, but blew up in a start on August 19th and the next time out took a 106 mph liner to his back, striking him in the upper back on the right side. He struggled the rest of the way, posting an ERA of 5.65 with the Brewers as they limited his starts and kept a quick hook on him. He was okay in the postseason, but again was working short outings with a mix of starts and relief appearances after an opener.

May dominates right-handed hitters. His trouble has always been allowing power and walks to lefties. In 2026, the problem was really just those walks. The Tigers being in pretty good shape with lefty relievers says that May would have a quick hook hanging over him in the middle innings of any start where a tough pocket of lefties was coming up in the opposing lineup.

Things are set up pretty well for May to have a solid season in 2027. I wouldn’t expect much more than 125-145 innings, but his production should be basically league average or a little better. He would be the Tigers’ fifth starter, and might get flexed into middle relief work here and there as well. That would allow the Tigers to use one of River Ryan, Troy Melton, or Keider Montero in high leverage roles along with Drew Sommers and hopefully, Will Vest next year. If Reese Olson is finally healthy, that opens up more options.

I’m not convinced that May has tons of upside remaining or anything, but his velocity and ability to spin the baseball will continue to intrigue teams around the league. The Tigers would be happy with his Cardinals production during most of the 2026 season, and hope to help him be more consistent from start to start and cut down on the walks to lefties. Solid depth starter work with some flexibility would do just fine, though he’ll likely be angling for a two-year deal after proving that he’s finally beyond all the elbow troubles.

MLB Trade Rumors projects a two-year, $30M deal with a player opt-out after year one. Like most contracts of this type, you’re rarely going to love it, but it might be just what the Tigers need to allow them to focus on the bullpen.

Happy Monday, everyone! It has been a fairly quiet weekend news-wise, so we have a little taste of stories below, but nothing crazy breaking. We’ve got bits about a Cy Young pitcher who might not be retiring as everyone assumed, a former All-Star who is taking strange sides in the MLB/MLBPA battle, and also a look at some free agent news and rumors.

Plenty to get your week started as we wait for the hot stove to start scorching, so let’s just jump right into it.

• Max Scherzer might not be done with baseball just yet, reports Charlie Wright.
• Brian Murphy looks at how Chris Sale’s seasons with the Braves have been historically great.
• Jyun-Yue Tseng of Taiwan’s Fubon Guardians will be entering MLB’s posting system. (AP)
• I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic.

• Mark Feinsand breaks down the best free agents available by position.
• Jorge Castillo determines how the Yankees and Mets might be able to meet their goals for 2027.
• Stephen J. Nesbitt has the best feel-good story of the year about an unexpected gem of a baseball card shop, and the old man who runs it. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• It’s not TECHNICALLY baseball-related, but it’s still very, very cute.

• Theo DeRosa wonders if the Yankees’ pitching rotation could be even better in 2027.
• Pedro Martinez reflects on the 1994 strike and urges MLB and players to come to an agreement. (ESPN)
• Cody Bellinger joins Pete Crow-Armstrong as a newly anointed Platinum Glove winner. Story by Sahadev Sharma and Dan Hayes. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Throwing it back to the World Cup shenanigans.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

Craig Brown writes about the Hunter Mense hire.

He spoke to David Laurilla at FanGraphs back in 2022 about how he focused on improving decisions at the plate and what that did to a plate appearance.

“You’ve always heard about the professionalism of the at-bats, and that’s what you see here (in Toronto). Guys aren’t anxious to swing at every single pitch, because they know that 1) the stuff up here is really good, and 2) they have confidence to hit in every sort of count, in any situation, so they’re willing to take a pitch if it’s not one that they want to drive. They’re willing to wait, wait, wait, wait until they get the pitch they want. What that filters down to is the swing-decision aspect of hitting.

“Decision-making is so key at this level, in part because, again, the stuff is so good. They can expose you so fast, especially if you’re not a good decision-maker. They will find holes really, really fast, and are going to keep exploiting them. If you keep making bad decisions, they’re going to keep going there and expose you.”

I’m going to pause right there and say this feels like a fantastic hire for the organization. How many times did it seem like we were watching a hitter over the last couple of years who was just up there hacking? This isn’t about what the broadcast loves to harp on in things like “a 75 percent swing” or giving kudos for going the opposite way to move a runner. It’s about having a plan to find that pitch you can do damage on. That may be about going the opposite way, which is fine. But again…it’s about having a plan and finding the right pitch.

Giants fans discuss losing Hunter Mense.

But if we’re just looking at results, the lineup did turn things around after a bad start. Rafael Devers is a Silver Slugger Award finalist. Bryce Eldridge never looked overmatched. Drew Gilbert found a groove.

There were some nice things about the situation, but maybe not good enough to keep him around? It seems hard to believe that this is a personality conflict with the manager. As noted when he was hired:

Mense — pronounced “MENTZ,” like how Hunter Pence pronounces his surname — is good friends with Tony Vitello, so those who’ve been on the Vitello MLB Connections beat are being rewarded right now. Pavlovic mentions, “Both are Missouri natives and Mense played at Missouri while Vitello was an assistant coach.” This is the same setup for those Max Scherzer to the Giants rumors, by the way, and Scherzer is currently the only active major leaguer from Vitello’s time in Missouri.

The Royals signed pitcher Hobie Harris to a minor league deal.

Harris has spent the last two seasons in the Boston system. He didn’t get a major league opportunity with the Red Sox, instead pitching mostly with Triple-A Worcester. Harris posted a 4.15 ERA in 31 outings with the WooSox in 2025. Harris missed the first half of the ’26 season to injury, returning to throw 24 2/3 frames of 2.55 ERA ball down the stretch. He struck out more than a quarter of opponents but walked over 15% of batters faced, which wasn’t enough to get a look in a strong Boston bullpen.

The 33-year-old Harris has 16 games of major league experience, all of which came with the 2023 Nationals. He surrendered 12 runs (11 earned) with more walks than strikeouts across 19 1/3 innings. Harris has a 95 mph fastball but leans more heavily on his splitter and cutter. The University of Pittsburgh product carries a 4.26 ERA across parts of six Triple-A campaigns.

Justin Lamkin pitches a perfect inning in the Fall Stars Game.

The case for each Rookie of the Year finalist.

The Mets sign journeyman reliever Robert Stock to a one-year deal.

What to know about the general manager meetings this week.

Who could trade for Steven Kwan?

Taiwanese reliever Jyun-Yue Tseng will enter the posting system.

Corbin Carroll has elbow surgery but should be ready for Opening Day.

What adjustments did Ryan O’Hearn make in Pittsburgh?

Could the Cardinals trade with the Orioles for a third baseman?

The Tigers are interested in Teruaki Sato.

The Samsung Lions won the Korean Series.

An MRI did not reveal a major injury for Patrick Mahomes.

Blades Brown became the youngest PGA Tour winner in 88 years.

Where did Stonehenge’s mysterious six-tone altar stone come from?

Did the media miss that Russell Brand was a sexual predator?

Nvidia is investigating CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.

Your song of the day is The Killers with The Man.

Good morning, baseball fans!

Since the season ended, the McCovey Chronicles staff have begun doing player reviews that go over each member of the San Francisco Giants’ 2026 season. Today, I’m going to kick off our community reviews as well, where we ask you all to weigh in on how you feel like each player did this year and what your favorite highlights were.

Today, we’re going to take a look at Patrick Bailey. Steven wrote an excellent review last month that I highly encourage everyone to take a look at, if you missed it.

Ultimately, I agree with Steven’s sentiments here. Bailey had a better season with the Cleveland Guardians than he did with the Giants, and also the trade didn’t make a ton of sense and still doesn’t. But that can be said about just about everything that took place in the 2026 season, I suppose.

Given the fact that he was traded less than two months into the season, I’m giving Bailey’s Giants season an incomplete, instead of a grade. I think he probably would have improved if they hadn’t traded him. And I don’t think the season would have been any worse in that scenario, though I don’t know that it would have gotten better either. But we’ll never know.

How did you feel about Bailey’s 2026 season? And what was your favorite highlight?

Major League Baseball’s awards week will begin on Monday as the BBWAA announces the winners of all of the major awards for the 2026 season. A lot of the awards appear to have clear-cut favorites but as we have seen in the past, surprises do happen. There will be a new award featured this year as the BBWAA will recognize the best relief pitchers in each league with a Reliever of the Year Award. It is important to remember that the votes for all of these awards were cast before the postseason. 

I’m not a member of the BBWAA and probably never will be. Below you will find the finalists for each award and my pick for the winner. Let’s get to it!

NL MVP (Announced Nov 12)

Finalists:  Pete Crow Armstrong, Shohei Ohtani, Brice Turang

Shohei Ohtani has taken home three straight MVP awards, one with the Angels and the last two with the Dodgers, but that streak will come to an end in 2026. Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong turned in one of the best seasons in major league history. Crow-Armstrong became the seventh player in league history to have a 40-40 season. He led the league with 119 runs scored, drove in 107 runs and nearly lapped the field by putting up 10.6 fWAR. The only intrigue here will be whether or not Ohtani or Brewers second baseman Brice Turang, who was third in the NL with 5.9 fWAR finishes second. 

Prediction: Pete Crow-Armstrong

AL MVP (Announced Nov 12)

Finalists: Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, Bobby Witt Jr. 

Things are a little less clear cut in the American League but only slightly. Astros outfielder/DH Yordan Alvarez flirted with the Triple Crown but ended up finishing second in both home runs and RBIs. His 6.8 fWAR is second to Royals’ shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Witt’s 7.0 fWAR was largely driven by his defensive value at shortstop. He was second in the AL with 45 stolen bases, but only hit 18 home runs and finished with a 119 wRC+. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero slugged 42 home runs and drove in 100 runs and was a key piece of a Rays team that finished with the best record in the American League. 

I don’t think being on a team with a winning record is a requirement for winning MVP but I also don’t think Caminero’s success should be overlooked. He’d be my pick if I had a vote but I expect the award to go to Alvarez. 

Prediction: Yordan Alvarez

NL Cy Young (Announced Nov 11)

Finalists: Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Christopher Sanchez

I have seen some suggest that the NL Cy Young race might be closer than expected. I’m not buying it though and I believe that Jacob Misiorowski will win by a safe margin. Misiorowski led the NL in strikeout percentage, ERA, xERA, FIP and xFIP. Chris Sale and Cristopher Sanchez both put up exceptional seasons but Misiorowski was just better. Like NL MVP, the better question might be who will finish second?

Prediction Jacob Misiorowski

AL Cy Young (Announced Nov 11)

Finalists: Dylan Cease, Parker Messick, Cam Schlittler

The Cy Young award in the AL appears to be a two-horse race between Cam Schlittle and Dylan Cease. An injury to Cease in the final weeks might have provided just enough separation for Schlittler to take home the award. Schlittler logged more innings (193.2) and led the AL in ERA (1.95) and expected ERA (2.85). Cease was right behind him though and had a better strikeout rate. I think Schlittler wins this and he would get my vote, but the margin might be greater than it really should be. Cleveland’s Parker Messick finishes a distant third, but more on him in a bit. 

Prediction: Cam Schlittler

NL Rookie of the Year (Announced Nov 9)

Finalists: Carson Benge, Sal Stewart, JJ Wetherholt

If there is any drama with any of this year’s awards, then it will probably be with the Rookie of the Year award in the National League. Reds first baseman Sal Stewart led all rookies with 32 home runs and 112 RBIs but was fifth among NL rookies with 2.0 fWAR. JJ Wetherholt led the NL with 4.6 fWAR while Carson Benge finished second with 4.3. 

Now WAR isn’t the end all be all but that is a big gap between first and fifth place. If I had a vote, it would go to Benge by a slim margin over Wetherholt. However, I’m expecting the old school offensive stats to carry Stewart. 

Prediction: Sal Stewart

AL Rookie of the Year (Announced Nov 9)

Finalists: Kevin McGonigle, Parker Messick, Payton Tolle

I will admit that I have expected this award to go to Kevin McGonigle pretty much all season. He certainly didn’t disappoint while posting a 129 wRC+ and 5.4 fWAR as a rookie which was the best total for a rookie in the majors. However, he is up against two pitchers in Messick and Boston’s Peyton Tolle that played big parts in their team’s respective runs to the postseason. Messick logged more innings than Tolle and had the better ERA. Tolle had a better strikeout rate and the better expected ERA. 

You really can’t fault a vote for any of these three players. If I had one I think it would go to McGonigle. 

Prediction: Kevin McGonigle

NL Relief Pitcher of the Year (Announced Nov 11)

Finalists: Jhoan Duran, Trevor Megill, Mason Miller

The BBWAA will recognize relief pitchers for the first time ever in 2026 with the Relief Pitcher of the Year Award. Like some of the other awards, it feels like the intrigue here will be with who finishes second. Mason Miller should win this one going away after putting up 129 strikeouts in just 70 innings. He had a 1.67 ERA and a 1.17 FIP to go along with 38 saves. 

Prediction Mason Miller

AL Relief Pitcher of the Year (Announced Nov 11)

Finalists: Bryan Baker, Cade Smith, Louis Varland

Bryan Baker and Cade Smith tied for the AL lead with 41 saves, but it was Toronto’s Louis Varland that might have had the better season. Varland posted a miniscule 1.27 ERA and a 1.83 FIP in 78 innings. Smith has a slight edge in strikeout rate and he and Baker both pitched for a division winner. This one feels almost too close to call but I think my hypothetical vote would go to Varland. 

Prediction: Louis Varland

NL Manager of the Year (Announced Nov 10)

Finalists: Don Mattingly, Pat Murphy, Walt Weiss

Look I don’t know what criteria goes into winning Manager of the Year. I feel like Pat Murphy right now is the best manager in the game but he has won this award two straight times and you have to remember that voting is done before the postseason. So perhaps some voter fatigue sets in with Murphy.

Don Mattingly deserves credit for helping the Phillies turnaround their season after a tough start but they really struggled down the stretch and had to hold on to secure a spot in the postseason. Walt Weiss was in his first year as manager of the Braves after taking over for Brian Snitker. The Braves led the NL East pretty much wire to wire. 

If I had a vote, it would go to Murphy, but I think Weiss might steal this one. 

Prediction: Walt Weiss

AL Manager of the Year (Announced Nov 10)

Finalists: Kevin Cash, Chad Tracy, Will Venable

From 2023 through 2025, the White Sox lost 324 games. Will Venable guided them back to the postseason in 2026 and absolutely no one expected prior to the season. They did let the AL Central slip away late, but if this turnaround doesn’t win you a Manager of the Year Award, then I don’t know what will. 

Prediction: Will Venable

You all have mastered the art of commenting but can you name a former baseball player faster than your fellow commenters? That’s the challenge with in-5, our daily trivia game, and today we’re announcing the debut of the game in the SB Nation app (in-5 is available on the web too, you’ve probably seen it at the top of the site).

The rules are simple. You get five clues to guess a player’s name. The fewer clues you need the better. Once you’ve played, drop your score in the comments of the game post and see how you stack up.

It’s a good opportunity to see if you can beat the commenter we all know you want to beat. Maybe you get it in the coveted first clue, maybe it takes four. But share your score in the comments, whatever it is.

How to play: In-5 is a daily trivia game. You get five clues to guess a player’s name. The clues go from broadest to most specific. 

Play other teams and sports: We’ve got four broader sport games for MLB, NBA, NFL, MMA, and pro wrestling, and we have 25 team-specific games across pro baseball, basketball, and football.

Giants fans, you can also play Niners trivia by joining them on the app. To play the general MLB game, follow our “MLB” community on the SB Nation app.

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Tony Barnette*, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1976 – The Oakland Athletics give future Hall of FamerBilly Williams his unconditional release, ending his 18-year major league career. Williams, who spent all but two seasons with the Chicago Cubs, retires with 426 home runs, 1,475 RBI, 2,711 hits, and a .290 batting average, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1912 – Frank Chance is sold by the Chicago Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds. When all National League clubs waive claims to him in December, the Reds free Chance to manage the Yankees.
• 1935 – Pitcher Bob Gibson is born in Omaha, Nebraska. Gibson will make his major league debut in 1959, marking the start of a 17-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals and an election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
• 1937 – St. Louis CardinalsTriple Crown winner Joe Medwick is named National League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
• 1950 – The BBWAA name Sam Jethroe of the Boston Braves as the National League Rookie of the Year. At 31 years, 2 months, 18 days of age, Jethroe becomes the oldest rookie to win the award. He has been one of the best Negro Leagues players of his time.
• 1950 – After twenty-one years with the club, shortstop and future Hall of FamerLuke Appling is released by the Chicago White Sox allowing him to become the manager of the Memphis Chicks of the South Atlantic League.
• 1960 – In an extremely close vote (225 points to 222), Roger Maris beats Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle for the AL MVP Award.
• 1982 – Robin Yount, who hit .331 for the Milwaukee Brewers and led the American League in hits (210), doubles (46), and slugging percentage (.578), is a unanimous choice as AL Most Valuable Player. The future Hall of Famer captures all 27 first-place votes easily beating runner-ups Eddie Murray and Doug DeCinces.
• 1998 – Hall of FamepitcherJim “Catfish” Hunter announces that he is suffering from Lou Gehrig‘s disease. The fatal disease, known medically as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attacks the nerves in the spinal cord and the brain and leads to a loss of motor skills. Hunter will succumb to the disease less than a year later.
• 1999 – Kansas City Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran is named the American League Rookie of the Year. Beltran became the first rookie with 100 or more RBI since Mike Piazza had 112 in 1993 and the first in the AL since Mark McGwire had 118 in 1987. Beltran is also the first rookie with a 100 run-100 RBI season since Fred Lynn in 1975.
• 2010 – The winners of the 2010 American LeagueGold Glove Awards are announced. Mariners OF Ichiro Suzuki wins his tenth Gold Glove in as many years, tying Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr. for the most Gold Gloves by an AL flyhawk.
• 2020 – Kyle Lewis of the Mariners is the unanimous winner of the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year Award, while, in a sign of how the game has evolved, pitcher Devin Williams of the Brewers is the winner in the National League in spite of not recording a single save. However, his total dominance over 27 innings was enough to win him the award, after having earlier been named the recipient of the Trevor Hoffman Award as best reliever in the league.
• 2022 – The winners of the Hank Aaron Award given to the best overall hitter in the two major leagues are announced. Aaron Judge, who set a new American League record with 62 homers is the winner in the AL, while Paul Goldschmidt, who led the National League in slugging percentage and OPS, wins in the senior circuit.

Cubs Birthdays:Michael Busch, Rowan Wick, Tony Barnette*, Walt Lanfranconi, Harvey Hendrick. Also notable: Bob Gibson HOF. Whitey Herzog HOF.

Today in history:

• 1492 – After a month of delays off the English coast and about two months at sea, the Mayflower spots land (Cape Cod).
• 1904 – First airplane flight to last more than five minutes, when Wilbur Wright flies the Wright Flyer II for five minutes and four seconds, covering 2.75 miles (4.4 km).
• 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt is the first US President to visit another country, traveling to Panama and Puerto Rico.
• 1907 – The Cullinan Diamond, the largest ever discovered and weighing 3,106 carats, is presented to King Edward VII at Sandringham House on his 66th birthday.
• 1960 – American bass baritone Paul Robeson gives the first performance at the Sydney Opera House, singing to workers from the scaffolding during construction of the building.
• 1973 -Columbia Records releases “Piano Man,” singer-songwriter Billy Joel‘s second studio album.
• 1989 – East Berlin opens its borders at the Bornholmer Strasse crossing when thousands arrive after East German government official Günter Schabowski mistakenly announces that restrictions on travel to the West will be lifted “immediately, without delay”. The next day, German crowds begin demolishing the Berlin Wall, quickly followed by officials with bulldozers.
• 1996 – Evander Holyfield upsets Mike Tyson in 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas to regain WBA heavyweight boxing title; second boxer, after Muhammad Ali, to win a heavyweight title 3 times.
• 2006 – British rocker David Bowie performs on stage for the final time – three songs at a charity concert in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom: “Wild Is the Wind”, “Fantastic Voyage”, and a duet of “Changes” with Alicia Keys.
• 2007 – Alicia Keys releases her 3rd studio album “As I Am” (Grammy Award Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 2008, 2008 Billboard Album of the Year).

*pictured.

We’re kicking off our 2026 MVBrewers rankings, and the voting for this year’s No. 1 player was perhaps the closest we’ve ever seen: With 74 total votes in our poll on The Feed, catcher William Contreras edged second baseman Brice Turang with 37.9% of the vote (28 votes) compared to 35.1% (26 votes). Jacob Misiorowski garnered 18.9% (14 votes), while Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, and write-in candidate Aaron Ashby each picked up two votes (shoutout to @Berhaltersburner for the recognition).

While Turang is a top-three MVP finisher in the league (likely behind Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani), that’s a regular-season-only award, whereas we don’t have those restrictions here, and perhaps that’s exactly what separates Contreras from Turang.

While Contreras ranked seventh on the team in bWAR (2.9) and sixth in fWAR (3.0), he added more immeasurable value than any other player, managing one of baseball’s pitching staffs. He also was an incredible ABS-challenger in the postseason — after an MLB-leading 195 challenges in the regular season at a 56.9% overturn rate, Contreras went 22/33 as a catcher in the postseason, including an incredible 10/13 in the World Series.

Contreras also raked all postseason, slashing .373/.448/.588 with three homers, two doubles, nine RBIs, seven runs scored, and a steal across 13 games.

And while Contreras had a great postseason, he had nothing to be ashamed of in the regular season. Yes, he turned in just 2.9 bWAR after eclipsing 3.7 WAR in each of his first three seasons with Milwaukee, but he still hit .270/.341/.417 with 18 homers, 27 doubles, 94 RBIs, and 82 runs. Part of the reason his WAR is deflated is a rough stretch from early July to mid-August — across 31 games, he went just 16-for-113, slashing .142/.240/.257 with two homers (one of which was a walk-off homer against the Marlins), five doubles, eight RBIs, and 10 runs scored. Not ideal for an All-MLB catcher.

Even so, Contreras’ Baseball Savant page still features a lot of above-average metrics. He ranked in the top-third of the league in xwOBA (.334), xBA (.261), xSLG (.441), average exit velocity (90.3 mph), hard-hit rate (44.1%), squared-up rate (31.5%), whiff rate (20.7%), and strikeout rate (14.7%). He was also one of the league’s best catchers at catching base stealers, ranking in the 92nd percentile in caught stealing.

Overall, it was a great season for Milwaukee’s backstop, and he’ll look to build on his strong postseason in the final year of his contract in 2027 (or will the Brewers give him an extension?).

We’ll continue these rankings on Thursday with our No. 2 player. To weigh in on the voting, visit The Feed.

1. William Contreras (2.9 bWAR, 3.0 fWAR)

Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you enjoyed this lovely fall weekend.

After a brief flurry of activity around the first of the month, things have gone quiet around MLB. Despite the short timeline due to the impending owners’ lockout, not much has taken place. No notable free agent signings have occurred, no interesting trades have gone down. We’re less than a month from baseball shutting down, so these teams better get hopping!

Maybe we will see some action this week, as the General Manager meetings kick off in Las Vegas tomorrow. The GM meetings are usually about laying the groundwork for off-season deals, but the tone could be different this year due to the unusual circumstances. At least, I hope it will be different. We’re looking at a bleak winter for baseball, so I’d like to have some things take place in the next week or so. I would recommend the Orioles sign Trevor Rogers to a contract, if they’re looking for my advice.

While we wait on the Orioles and the rest of the league to start doing things, we can focus on the baseball that is happening now. Namely, the Arizona Fall League. Last night, the Fall Start Game took place as the AFL winds down for the season. Four Orioles prospects were selected to represent the AL: pitchers Braxton Bragg and Patrick Reilly, and outfielders Vance Honeycutt and Ike Irish.

I can’t tell you who won the game. It was tied 3-3 in the seventh inning when I turned in for the night. But I can tell you how our prospects did, and that’s all the really matters.

Reilly started the game for the AL team, and it did not go well. He didn’t allow a hit, which is great! But he walked three batters and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. Not what you want to see from the starting pitcher. Bragg pitched the third, and fared better. He struck out the first two batters, one called and one swinging. Then he induced a groundout to end the inning.

Honeycutt, who has had an outstanding fall season, went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. He did take a walk. Irish had a more successful night. He singled in a run in the third inning, which at the time gave the AL a 2-1 lead. He also walked.

The Fall Star game is at weird time in the schedule. The AFL is off today, then has two more days of “regular season” games. Thursday through Saturday is a quick playoff round, with the championship taking place on Saturday night.

The Peoria Javelinas, which is home to the Orioles’ prospects, are currently tied for first place at 16-10.

Links

Braxton Bragg joins fellow Oriole prospects Honeycutt, Irish, Reilly at Fall Stars Game – Baltimore Baseball
Rich Dubroff spoke to pitcher Braxton Bragg ahead of last night’s Fall Stars Game.

Rotating some statistics among Orioles starters – MASN Sports
In which Roch Kubatko looks back at key numbers from last season’s starting rotation.

Looking For A Match In A Steven Kwan Trade – MLB Trade Rumors
I have seen comments in the Camden Chat community advocating acquiring Steven Kwan. MLBTR looks at the possibilities, and the Orioles are one of them.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies, Al Severinson (b. 1944. d, 2015) and Whitey Herzog (b. 1931, d. 2024).

Severinson had a short Major League career, just 88 games. He played 12 of those with the Orioles in 1969, a bullpen pitcher with a 2.29 ERA in 19.2 innings.

Herzog was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 for his performance as a manager, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals. Before he became a manager, he spent eight seasons in MLB as a player. That included 212 games with the Orioles in 1961-62.

On this day in 1988, the Orioles traded minor leaguer Pete Bohm to the Pittsburgh Pirates for first baseman Randy Milligan. Milligan spent four seasons with the Orioles, starting with the Why Not team of 1989. That year, “Moose” Milligan hit .268/.394/.458 in 124 games and made up the heart of the batting order along with Cal Ripken and Mickey Tettleton.

Milligan was even better in 1990, with an OBP over .400 and a .900 OPS. Unfortunately, the Orioles weren’t as good that year. In four seasons with the Orioles, Milligan had an OPS+ of 130 with 59 home runs and 81 doubles. Pete Bohm never made it to the majors, so I’d say the Orioles won that trade.

Milligan was a prominent member of the Orioles during my formative years. 1989 is the first year I remember watching baseball, so I always remember him fondly.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2 (13-9)

SURPRISE 18, MESA 8 (BOX)

• 1B COLE MATHIS: 1-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, HBP, SB (2)
• RHP BRENDAN GIRTON: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• RHP RYAN LAMBERT: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (14-9)

SURPRISE 8, SCOTTSDALE 0 (BOX)

• RHP CALVIN ZIEGLER: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 (14-10)

GLENNDALE 2, SURPRISE 0 (BOX)

• 3B BOSTON BARO: 0-4, 2 K
• 2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 1-3, 2 K
• RHP IRVING COTA: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5 (15-10)

SURPRISE 9, SCOTTSDALE 1 (BOX)

• 1B COLE MATHIS: 0-3, R, 2 BB, K
• 2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 0-2, R, 2 BB

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (16-10)

SURPRISE 8, SALT RIVER 7 (BOX)

PH-3B BOSTON BARO: 1-3, R, RBI

• 1B COLE MATHIS: 1-3, 2 BB
• 2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 0-1
• RHP PEYTON PRESCOTT: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP BRENDAN GIRTON: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, WP
• RHP CALVIN ZIEGLER: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HBP

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8

NL FALL STARS 6, AL FALL STARS 4 (BOX)

• RHP IRVING COTA: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP RYAN LAMBERT: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE SEASON TO DATE

BRUIN AGBAYANI: 15 G, 45 AB, .111/.298/.178, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 12 BB, 18 K, 2/2 SB, .185 BABIP

BOSTON BARO: 12 G, 35 AB, .200/.378/.314, 7 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 10 BB, 11 K, 3/3 SB, .261 BABIP

COLE MATHIS: 13 G, 49 AB, .163/.379/.245, 8 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 16 BB, 8 K, 2/2 SB, . 175 BABIP

IRVING COTA: 6 G (0 GS), 13.2 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER (4.61 ERA), 3 BB, 16 K, 2 HBP, 1 WP, 0 BLK, .257 BABIP

BRENDAN GIRTON: 7 G (0 GS), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER (3.86 ERA), 4 BB, 8 K, 0 HBP, 1 WP, 0 BLK, .278 BABIP

RYAN LAMBERT: 6 G (0 GS), 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER (0.00 ERA), 4 BB, 10 K, 0 HBP, 1 WP, 0 BLK, .000 BABIP

PEYTON PRESCOTT: 6 G (6 GS), 11.2 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 8 ER (6.17 ERA), 7 BB, 10 K, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 0 BLK, .333 BABIP

CALVIN ZIEGLER: 7 G (0 GS), 5.2 IP, 5 H, 11 R, 10 ER (15.88 ERA), 8 BB, 6 K, 4 HBP, 3 WP, 0 BLK, .267 BABIP

What’s crazy about this Eagles team is that it’s like watching the Phillies on offense. So many things are going wrong at the same time, yet the same solutions are being tried like they’ll suddenly work.

It reminds me of the Phillies’ offense in the playoffs.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The general manager’s meetings starts today. Dave Dombrowski has a really long “to-do” list to get things back to where they were.
• Kyle Schwarber is a finalist for the Silver Slugger award as DH. He should be the one to win it over Shohei Ohtani.

MLB news:

• Ty France has already drawn some interest from “multiple teams” this young offseason ($). A good right handed bat? The Phillies should be interested as well.
• Max Scherzer will pitch in something called “lockout games”, then decide if he wants to come back for yet another season.
• Despite some weird report from Yahoo this weekend, the Braves are still on the lookout for starting pitching.

Following a successful weekend in Biloxi, Jay Johnson’s Tigers returned home for a Sunday doubleheader. LSU welcomed in Troy for two 9-inning games. Although they lost a good amount of their impact players, the Trojans are coming off of an Omaha visit, making it to the College World Series for the first time in program history just 5 months ago.

The Tigers took both games of the doubleheader in what was a beautiful day at the Box. It was a late inning comeback in game 1 with LSU down 9-5 in the 8th inning, but a 3-run homerun by their leader, Steven Milam, got them within striking distance for the 9th. Notre Dame transfer, Bino Watters, made his purple and gold debut this weekend and could not have gotten off to a better start. With two outs in the 9th, he walked it off with a 2-run single to clinch a 10-9 victory.

LSU got a strong start by William Schmidt, with impressive relief appearances by Diego Velazquez and Lucas Nawrocki to bookend the game on the mound. Nawrocki has flashed his ability to be a 2-way player this fall and that was on display in this one, as he started at DH and went 1-2 with a triple at the plate, then pitched the final inning in which he struck out the side to eventually get credited with the win.

The second game of the day was all Tigers from the very beginning. Last year’s ace, Casan Evans, made his second fall appearance and was dominant, striking out 5 in just 2.0 innings of work. Cooper Sides and Braxton Beaty followed him up by combining for 4 innings of no hit baseball, including 7 strikeouts. After a shaky outing from Kaden Smith, Ethan Plog took over to close out the game by also not allowing a hit and striking out 3.

The offense got out to a hotter start in the second game than they did the first. That was in large part to Nawrocki, who led off with a solo homerun after closing out game 1 on the mound. Watters delivered 2 more hits, making it 5 total on the day. Jason Wachs, Dominic Santarelli, and Parker Loew each drove in runs later in the game, helping the Tigers complete the sweep with a 9-3 final score.

I will have more in-depth breakdown of each pitcher individually, along with the offensive stars, to follow this short recap. Below will be the cumulative stats for each game. As I normally do, I’ll attach my quick recap video that I film afterwards, along with our press availability with Jay Johnson.

Stay tuned for more to follow soon after this.

Game 1 (LSU 10-9)

Pitching

William Schmidt: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 4 K / 0 BB / 28 pitches (21 strikes, 75%)

Logan Schmidt: 0.2 IP / 3 hits / 4 runs / 1 K / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 23 pitches (11 strikes, 48%)

Landon Hood: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 2 runs / 3 K / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 37 pitches (23 strikes, 62%)

Danny Lachenmayer: 1.0 IP / 4 hits / 3 runs / 1 K / 1 HBP / 30 pitches (18 strikes, 60%)

Diego Velazquez: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 0 runs / 3 K / 1 BB / 42 pitches (23 strikes, 55%)

Lucas Nawrocki: 1.0 IP / 2 hits / 0 runs / 3 K / 0 BB / 18 pitches (14 strikes, 78%)

Hitting

Bino Watters: 3-5 / 2 RBI

Lucas Nawrocki: 1-2 / triple / HBP

Cade Arrambide: 1-4 / RBI

Angel Laya: 2-3 / HR / BB

Steven Milam: 1-4 / HR / 3 RBI

Dominic Santarelli: 1-4

Cade Kurland: 0-4

Jason Wachs: 0-4

Mason Braun: 0-2 / 2 BB

Dawson Park: 1-3

Jack Ruckert: 0-1

Nate Davis-Cleary: 0-1

Game 2 (LSU 9-3)

Pitching

Casan Evans: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 5 K / 1 HBP / 27 pitches (20 strikes, 74%)

Cooper Sides: 2.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 3 K / 2 BB / 37 pitches (25 strikes, 68%)

Braxton Beaty: 2.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 4 K / 2 BB / 32 pitches (22 strikes, 69%)

Kaden Smith: 1.2 IP / 3 hits / 3 runs / 2 K / 4 BB / 45 pitches (18 strikes, 40%)

Ethan Plog: 1.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 3 K / 1 BB / 29 pitches (17 strikes, 59%)

Hitting

Bino Watters: 2-4 / RBI / double / BB

Lucas Nawrocki: 2-3 / 2 RBI / HR

Cade Arrambide: 0-3

Angel Laya: 0-1 / BB

Steven Milam: 0-2

Dominic Santarelli: 1-1 / RBI / HBP

Cade Kurland: 0-1 / BB

Jason Wachs: 1-2 / 2 RBI

Mason Braun: 0-1 / BB

Dawson Park: 0-1 BB

Jack Ruckert: 0-2

Nate Davis-Cleary: 0-1 / BB

Parker Loew: 1-2 / RBI / double

Dylan Minnatee: 0-3 / RBI

John Pearson : 0-2

William Patrick: 0-2

Jordan Martinez: 0-1 / BB

Eddie Yamin: 1-2 / double

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe is a free agent this offseason, and the team could look to re-sign him or let him walk to another team on the open market.

Lowe, 32, enjoyed a breakout year with the Pirates, where he had 5.3 wins above replacement, a career high for the 9-year veteran. In 150 appearances for the Pirates, he had a batting average of .260, 35 home runs, and 96 runs batted in. His strong showing in a contract year makes him one of the top free-agent infielders available, but that could be a flash in the pan. It’s very possible we may have seen the best of Lowe already.

Bleacher Report contributor Zachary D. Rymer listed Lowe as one of the top eight potential free agent busts in the league this offseason.

“The bad stuff concerns what happened when Lowe didn’t make contact. His 28.8 K% marked his highest strikeout rate since 2019, and it might undersell how much he swung and missed. He had a 66.9 contact percentage, third-lowest among qualified hitters,“ Rymer wrote.

“That would be easy to forgive if Lowe had good plate discipline, but his 33.6 chase percentage was a career high and in the 27th percentile to boot. That’s never ideal, and least of all for a 32-year-old whose “old man skills” should be getting sharper.“

Lowe is expected to get many strong offers in free agency, which could poach him from the Pirates, who would love to re-sign him but at a reasonable price tag. Other teams may offer Lowe a much larger bag, which could mean he is one-and-done in Pittsburgh.

These concerns might be part of the reason why the Pirates are hesitant to give him a larger deal, but they have their number in mind for him when negotiations begin in the offseason.

LAS VEGAS — They’re arriving from all parts of the country like every other tourist hitting the casinos, hoping their wager strikes it rich so they can a fortune back home.

Some spinning roulette wheels. And others flipping cards at the blackjack or rolling dice at the craps tables.

But for executives representing the 30 teams arriving into town Monday for Major League Baseball’s General Manager meetings, they’ll be trying to sweet-talk free agents, coerce rivals into trades, and hope to leave town by the end of the week with at least one desired possession on their radar.

These meetings will be unique with no executive or agent knowing exactly how the landscape will look like in 2027.

Will there be a salary cap? Will there be strict financial restrictions? Will nothing be changed? Will everything look different? When will the 2027 season start? Will there even be a 2027 season?

MLB HOT STOVE: Ranking top 112 free agents: Will Tarik Skubal sign before lockout?

The best bet is that the high-priced free agents, fearing the great unknown, will sign before the pending lockout at 11:59 p.m ET on Dec. 1, to get their money now while big-market teams still are in play. This means no more waltzing through the winter and all of the way until spring training, with players wanting to secure their future in these next three weeks before the lockout, just like 2021 when nearly $2 billion was spent in the final days before the 99-day lockout. There were six free-agent signings in excess of $100 million that year, with the Texas Rangers dropping a cool $500 million on infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, and a record 27 signings in all the final day.

But this weak free-agent class, sorely lacking in depth, could mean that teams will be more aggressive in trade talks, believing their best hope is to part with prospects instead of relying on checkbook baseball. Yet, with the lockout potentially shortening the 2027 season, GMs believe that players with only one more year of control will have their value diminished unknowing just how many games he’ll actually play for his new team.

GMs and executives believe the blueprint for these meetings will be eerily similar to 2021. There’ll be plenty of conversations with agents and teams in trade talks, but no one will be walking out the doors of the Aria Resort & Casino with a major acquisition by the end of the week.

Here’s a pre-lockout look at who will be the biggest movers and shakers this week, from executives to free agents to players on the trade block to players who could hit free agency a year early:

FIVE EXECUTIVES TO WATCH

Dave Dombrowski, Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies continually make the playoffs, albeit on the final day of the season this year, but have gone backwards in the postseason. They have gone from winning the pennant and losing in the World Series in 2022; losing in the NLCS in 2023; losing in the NLDS in 2024-2025; and losing in the NL wild card round last season. The Phillies, who are in desperate need for a third baseman and left fielder, badly want to shake things up, and that requires more than just firing a few of their coaches. Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner are available, but Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are staying put.

A.J. Preller, San Diego Padres: The Padres have brand new ownership, who spent $3.9 billion on the franchise, but the question now is how much Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano are willing to add to the payroll. The Padres had to piecemeal their starting rotation lst season, and will be without free agents Michael King and Nick Pivetta, as well as premier left-handed setup man Adrian Morejon. Preller wants to be aggressive, but he still has monstrous backloaded contracts on the books with Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis and Xander Bogaerts. That trio alone is owed $721 million, and they each have no-trade clauses. Would Preller dare dangle Tatis, or all-world closer Mason Miller?

Jed Hoyer, Chicago Cubs: Well, not only did Hoyer and the Cubs have to watch their crosstown rivals, the White Sox, play deeper than they did into the postseason, but their NL Central nemesis, the Milwaukee Brewers, are now the belle of the ball as World Series champions. And after winning the NL Central four consecutive years, the Brewers aren’t going away anytime soon. The Cubs lost five free-agent starters, and will be as aggressive as any team in baseball trying to completely revamp its rotation. They’ll be in play for Tarik Skubal, and every other marquee free-agent starter from Michael King to Freddy Peralta to Sonny Gray.

Chris Young, Texas Rangers: Young and his staff have been informed that the payroll will not be increasing, meaning that if they need to bring in talent, some has to go out the door. That means Young will be letting teams know that everyone from Corey Seager to Jacob deGrom to Nathan Eovaldi will be available. It will be difficult moving them with their contracts, but the trio also has full no-trade clauses. Oh, and to make matters worse, the AL West is only going to get better with the Angels and A’s about to start spending, and the Mariners out to prove that last year’s grossly underachieving season was simply an aberration.

Andrew Friedman, Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers had their most miserable October in three years, and despises the feeling. Now, with an aging team that’s now a year older, we’re about to find out whether owner Mark Walter’s insurance empire’s woes will have an impact on the Dodgers. If the Dodgers sign Tarik Skubal, it’ll be business as usual. If they don’t, well, Friedman may have to pull more tricks up his sleeve than simply moving outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.

MLB TRADE RUMORS: 10 TRADE TARGETS TO WATCH

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

The Rangers need to dump a big contract if they want to restructure their team, and it starts with Seager, who still has $155 million remaining over the next five years of his deal. He is coming off the worst year of his career last year with 20 homers, 51 RBIs and a .736 OPS, and had elbow surgery in October. He has also missed 159 games the last three seasons. If that’s not complicated enough, Seager, 33, also has 10-and-5 rights and can veto any trade.

Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks

This is becoming a messy divorce. The D-backs tried to trade Marte last winter, but never received the offer they wanted, and kept him. Now, they deeply regret it. They are more compelled than ever to move him, but Marte now has full no-trade rights. If the D-backs can’t get Marte to show up to the ballpark, how in the world can they expect him to agree to a trade? This will be a fascinating soap opera.

Jeremy Peña, Houston Astros

Peña was close to signing a five-year extension in 2025, switched agents to Scott Boras, and now all contract talks have ended. He’s a free agent after the 2027 season, and the Astros can slide Carlos Correa back to shortstop if needed. The Astros will certainly listen to all offers, just as they did with Kyle Tucker two years ago, and their decision may be based on whether there will qualifying offers will even exist in the next CBA to gain a draft pick when he departs as a free agent.

Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

It was surprising that Ryan wasn’t moved when the Twins had their firesale at the 2025 trade deadline. The Twins declined the $13 million mutual option with him, leaving him eligible for salary arbitration one last time. They’ll certainly dangle him and listen to see if any offers make sense now, or wait until next July when his value may rise.

Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers

It’s hard to believe that deGrom’s 5-year, $185 million contract that he signed with the Rangers is now on the final year, paying him $37 million in 2027, but there’s a kicker. If he pitches at least 160 innings in 2027 and finishes in the top five of Cy Young voting, it triggers a $37 million player option in 2028. He rejected a deal to Atlanta last year at the trade deadline, would he do it again this winter? Is there any place he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause?

Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays

Rasmussen proved to be one of the finest pitchers on the planet last year, and after three elbow surgeries, is a walking medical miracle. He and Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez are the only two pitchers who have made at least 30 starts and yielded a sub-3.00 ERA the past two seasons. The Rays picked up his $20 million option, making him their highest-paid player for a single season in franchise history, and said they plan to keep him. But also said there are no guarantees. They’ll listen, and if someone jumps in with an offer they can’t refuse, they may have to part ways.

Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

No one would have ever imagined two years ago that Henderson would ever become available. This is a guy who finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2024 with a 7.0 WAR. His offensive production has since plummeted. He has gone from 37 homers to averaging 20 the past two years, with his slugging percentage plummeting from .529 to .420.  The Orioles gave up on catcher Adley Rutschman last summer. Henderson could be their next homegrown All-Star to go.

Trevor Megill, Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers now have a history of trading away their closers a year from free agency, sending All-Star Josh Hader to San Diego in 2022 and Devin Williams to the Yankees in 2024. Megill has saved 30 games each of the past two seasons, but the Brewers also have Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby who certainly have the talent to be premier closers. Megill, who’s projected to earn $8 million next year, will definitely be shopped, and likely moved before opening day.

Jacob Wilson, Athletics

Wilson just completed the first year of his seven-year, $70 million contract, but took a big step backwards offensively. He went from 13 homers and 63 RBIs with an .800 OPS to seven homers and 37 RBIs with a .685 OPS. There’s certainly zero urgency to trade him, but the A’s are desperate for starting pitching, and he is a fabulous trade chip.

Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have talked about trading Duran for two years, but have always had a high asking price. That price figures to drop after he was the second-worst qualifying hitter in baseball, slashing .207/.266/.361 last year. They don’t want to pay a projected $11 million in salary arbitration for a player who may be a fourth outfielder, at best. He should be as good as gone.

10 MLB FREE AGENTS TO WATCH

Tarik Skubal

He broke the salary arbitration record a year ago. He’ll break the free-agent record for a pitcher this winter. Skubal certainly will exceed the $325 million contract that Yoshinobu Yamamoto received two years ago from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers will be the favorites to re-sign him, but with owner Mark Walter’s finances under investigation, and the New York Mets already having $244.4 million on the books for 2027, with a potential salary cap on the horizon, could there be a surprise team? The Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays could sneak in and grab him?

Freddy Peralta

Will the real Freddy Peralta stand up? Is it the Peralta that was the Milwaukee Brewers’ ace and one of the finest pitchers in the National League? Is it the Peralta who was a bust for four months with the New York Mets (5-9, 4.99 ERA)? Or is it the Peralta whose greatness resurfaced with the Rays the last two months of the season, yielding a 0.79 ERA his last six starts, and was the ALCS MVP? He’s the only pitcher in baseball who has made at least 30 starts each of the past four seasons, and will be a nice back-up option for those who can’t afford Skubal.

Adrian Morejon

Simply, the finest left-handed reliever on the market. He may have only eight career saves, but he was invaluable as the San Diego Padres’ setup man, going 9-3 with a 2.83 ERA, and striking out 107 batters in 86 innings. The only worry is that he was unavailable for the Padres the final two games of the postseason with left shoulder soreness.

Luis Arráez

There’s not a better contact hitter in the game than this three-time batting champion, and as the Milwaukee Brewers proved on their way to the World Series championship, contact plays. Arráez also improved his value by playing tremendous defense at second base last year for the Giants and Phillies. He’s tired of constantly switching teams, and hopes that this time around, he can find a permanent home that appreciates his uncanny bat skills.

Michael King

He turned out to be the centerpiece of the Padres’ trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees. He was fabulous for the Padres and went from a reliever to an ace, going 30-22 with a 3.15 ERA. Certainly, he wants to be paid like an ace now, opting out of the final $58 million over two years remaining on his contract. He may have more suitors than any free agent on the market.

Jazz Chisholm

He could be in for a rude awakening in the free agent market with executives openly wondering if anyone would give him more than a two-year contract. No one can debate his talent. He may need an opt-out on any multi-year proposal so he can hit market again and re-establish himself.

Teruaki Sato

He’s coming off a Triple Crown season in Japan, hitting .306 with 39 homers and 106 RBIs, after hitting 40 homers in 2025. Yet, he has teams wondering if he could be an everyday third baseman, first baseman or left fielder. Teams are worried about his rash of strikeouts, 909 in 3,313 plate appearances in Nippon Professional Baseball. They worry whether he’ll be overmatched by Major League pitching. Yep, the same concerns that everyone had about Munetaka Murakami, and he made fools out of everyone but the Chicago White Sox who got a steal at $34 million over two years. He’s entering a weak free-agent market with lessons from Murakami dancing in everyone’s heads.

Brandon Lowe

He not only is one of the premier power-hitting second basemen in the game, but his defense dramatically improved last year in Pittsburgh, too, ranking in the 98^th percentile in defensive run value. He played in a career-high 150 games last year, hitting 35 homers with a 121 OPS+. There’s no reason in the world the Pirates should not bring him back for an encore. He was exactly what the Pirates needed to rejuvenate their offense.

Sonny Gray

Gray, 37, is defying Father Time with a sensational season with the Red Sox, going 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA. He also proved once and for all that he can pitch in a major market. He’d be ideal in Atlanta teaming with Chris Sale for a 1-2 old man’s punch.

Mauricio Dubon

You want the best utilityman in baseball? Dubon is your man. He can play all over the field, playing 99 games in the outfield, 62 games at shortstop, eight games at third base and four games at second. He also hit .276 with 12 homers and 10 steals. His free agency should be fascinating since every team in baseball could use a player like this.

TEN PLAYERS WHO WILL BENEFIT MOST IF FREE AGENCY IS REDUCED TO 5 YEARS FOR 30-YEAR-OLDS

• Mason Miller, San Diego Padres: He’d be eligible for free agency after the 2028 season.
• Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians: Eligible for free agency after 2030.
• Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins: Eligible for free agency after 2028.
• Ben Rice, New York Yankees: Eligible for free agency after 2029.
• Caleb Durbin, Boston Red Sox: Eligible for free agency after 2030.
• Braxton Ashcraft, Pittsburgh Pirates: Eligible for free agency after 2030.
• Bryan Baker, Tampa Bay Rays: Eligible for free agency after 2027.
• Tristan Peters, Chicago White Sox: Eligible for free agency after 2030.
• Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers: Eligible for free agency after 2029
• Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays: Eligible for free agency after 2028.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happens in Vegas? Top MLB free agents and trade targets for GM Meetings