Category: Baseball

Major League Baseball's awards season gets going in earnest Monday, Nov. 9 when the winners of the American League and National League Rookie of the Year awards are revealed.

It kickstarts four days of hardware awarded by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, culminating Thursday when the Most Valuable Players for each league are announced.

Three finalists are selected for each major award, with the rookie contenders including shortstop Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers and left-handers Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox and Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL. NL finalists include Cincinnati Reds slugger Sal Stewart, New York Mets outfielder Carson Benge and St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt.

A look at the rookie race:

AL, NL Rookie of the Year: How to watch

Balloting will be revealed during an MLB Network broadcast that begins at 7 p.m. ET. Interviews with the finalists and analysis precede announcement of the awards.

AL Rookie of the Year: Finalists

Kevin McGonigle, 22, announced his arrival with authority, notching four hits in his opening day debut, and did not stop from there. The Tigers shortstop led the AL in WAR (7.1) and plate appearances (707), amasssing 168 hits and batting .278 with a .376 on-base percentange His adjusted OPS of 126 was well above league average. McGonigle would be the first Detroit Tiger to win AL Rookie of the Year since pitcher Michael Fulmer in 2016.

Payton Tolle, who turned 24 Nov. 1, debuted with Boston in 2025 but became one of its rotation anchors this past season, striking out 171 batters over 148 ⅔ innings and compiling a 3.03 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. The garrulous southpaw has emerged as a fan favorite in Boston, thanks in part to his carefree mound mentality mixed with an oft-dominant fastball.

Like Tolle, Parker Messick, 26, debuted in 2025 and became a rotation fixture for Cleveland in his full rookie season, starting Game 1 of their AL Division Series after a dominant campaign. Messick struck out 193 batters in 186 ⅓ innings, with a 2.56 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. The Guardians emerged to defend their AL Central championship as Messick, a 2022 second-round pick, joined with Gavin Williams to provide a dominant foundation to their rotation.

NL Rookie of the Year: Finalists

The likely favorite for this award wasn't necessarily on the radar to win it at the start of the year. But Sal Stewart, 22, just never stopped slugging, ripping 32 home runs and driving in 112 runs for the Cincinnati Reds. He finished the season with a .787 OPS and even stole 15 bases as he played in all 162 games.

Carson Benge, 23, likely exceeded the high hopes the Mets harbored for his first season. He hit an opening day home run and didn't stop from there, hitting 20 home runs, stealing 22 bases and solidifying right field for the Mets in an otherwise lost season. Defensively, Benge was slightly above the norm based on outs above average, but his throwing arm ranked in the 99th percentile.

JJ Wetherholt, 24, was the seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft and methodically beat down the door to St. Louis, like Benge debuting on opening day. He hit 17 homers and stole 14 bases, but his biggest impact came defensively. The former shortstop finished second in the major leagues to likely NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong in fielding run value, teaming with shortstop Masyn Winn to give the Cardinals an elite defensive look in their middle infield.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AL, NL Rookie of the Year: How to watch as MLB's awards season begins

Today, Major League Baseball’s General Manager Meetings begin in Las Vegas. Generally, the GM Meetings set the stage for later action, but with an all-but-assured lockout coming on December 1, this year may be different.

At any rate, Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta will be there as will general manager Josh Byrnes, assistant general managers Ian Levin and Tommy Tanous, and director of baseball operations Amir Mamdani. They are scheduled to take questions from media on Tuesday afternoon, so look for us to follow up on that.

At any rate, here are the big questions we have headed into this week’s meetings.

Will teams, including the Rockies, begin an offseason frenzy of trades and signings, or will they wait until after the new CBA?

Certainly, front offices will take different approaches to this question — whether they wish to makes deals in the known present or gamble on an undefined future. But given that the month is almost one-third over, if there’s going to be a busy November, it better get rolling.

The GM Meetings should give fans a better sense of MLB’s mood.

Will the Rockies make any trades?

Three of the organization’s best moves last season were the result of trades: Brenan Bernardino, Jake McCarthy, and TJ Rumfield all came to the Rockies as the result of offseason trades. Moreover, last August’s trade deadline saw the Rockies making moves to shore up their pitching, and the early results were promising.

Will we see more of this during the GM Meetings, and if so, which Rockies players might be trade candidates?

Will the Rockies sign any free agents?

In 2026, the Rockies had a mixed record when it came to signing free agents. Tomoyuki Sugano was a win; Willi Castro and José Quintana were fine, with the latter missing much of the season due to injury; and Michael Lorenzen was DFA’d in August. The question, then, becomes how deeply the Rockies will dive into the free agent pool.

(Here’s MLB Trade Rumors’ annual “Top 50 free agents with predictions” for your bookmarking convenience.)

The Rockies need starting pitching, and this year’s free agent class offers a wide range of talents and salaries. Based on what they learned in 2026, will the Rockies again make signings, and could that happen in the coming days?

How will the front office answer questions about recent staffing changes?

Last week, Christian Saez of DNVR reviewed recent communications he’d had with former Rockies pitching coach Alon Leichman and a member of the Rockies front office. The Rockies also announced hiring Ethan Katz as their new pitching coach. On Tuesday, Rockies media will be able to follow up with additional questions.

We also know the Rockies have been on a staff-hiring frenzy. (See, for example, here, here, and here.) Will the front office reveal more about their hiring plans going forward and how they are changing the organization?

Will the Rockies resolve Kris Bryant’s contract?

It’s a long shot — I know — but the meetings are in Vegas, Kris Bryant lives in Vegas, and with everyone gathered together, perhaps it’s time to consciously uncouple this relationship.

Given the extent of Bryant’s injuries, it seems unlikely he will play baseball again. Perhaps it’s a good time to provide some closure for all involved.

So that’s what I’m watching for this week. Let us know in the comments what you’re keeping an eye on.

Purple Row will cover developments as details become available.

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

The 2026 Rookie of the Year Award is one of the more fascinating award races this year (at least it is in the National League, since Kevin McGonigle should run away with the American League variant). New York Mets outfielder Carson Benge is one of the three finalists, alongside St. Louis Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt, and Cincinnati Reds corner infielder (though mostly first baseman) Sal Stewart. Each of the three players have an interesting and varied case to bring home the hardware in what ended up being a hotly contested race (one of which that saw a few players snubbed as finalists, namely Mets starter Nolan McLean and Colorado Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield, both of which would place easily in my personal top three).

JJ Wetherholt represents the season-long interpretation of the award. He looked like the runaway favorite to win it for months, as his exceptional defense at second base (+25 DRS) and league-average offense (101 wRC+) gave him a huge head start, especially when Carson Benge was hitting like a pitcher for about a month or so. Wetherholt, despite only playing 139 games, led all National League rookies in fWAR with 4.6 — and trailed only Kevin McGonigle in fWAR among all rookies. He was a steady player for the Cardinals from the word go. He did miss a few weeks with wrist tendonitis, but he represents the safer vote.

Sal Stewart represents a vote with an older school flair. Stewart was a mediocre defender (-2 DRS at first), and his wRC+ sat at 112, so it is fair to wonder how he ended up a finalist, especially when he finished with a rather tepid 2.0 fWAR, good for fifth among NL rookies, and 17th among all rookies. How he got here was his counting stats. Stewart hit 32 home runs, easily leading all NL rookies, and finishing only behind Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamodo. His 112 RBI are twenty more than any other rookie, and were third in all of baseball. Those counting stats pop off the page, and his .263/.330/.457 slash line makes it look even better. Twenty or so years ago, Stewart wins this in a landslide and no one is batting an eye.

Carson Benge represents a little from Column A and a little from Column B. His 4.3 fWAR is second among NL rookies and third among all rookies, pairing a solidly above average bat (118 wRC+) with solid defense (+1 DRS). He went 20/20 on the season, hitting exactly 20 home runs and swiping 22 bags. He also has the benefit of a narrative behind him. Benge was, for lack of a better term, horrific to start his rookie season, finishing April with a 48 wRC+. He turned it on from there, finishing May with a 128 wRC+. He came back down to Earth a little in June with a 108 wRC+ before finishing the season on fire, notching a 126 wRC+, 143 wRC+ and 147 wRC+ in July, August and September, respectively. His ability to put a horrid month behind him and play good and even excellent baseball for the rest of the season, putting him at the very top among all rookies, was a fascinating development.

Any of these players can win this award and it should not come as a surprise. However, Benge has a unique combination of both Wetherholt’s and Stewart’s resumes that is perhaps being underrated in this conversation. You can make the analytical argument for Benge, seeing as he placed within the top three in fWAR amongst rookies, was fine defensively, had good offensive season (with an absolutely torrid second half of his year). You can also make a less analytical, more traditional argument for him, seeing as he went 20/20. According to research done by MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, Benge is the eighteenth player in MLB history to achieve that milestone as a rookie (and eight of those eighteen did it in their debut season, Benge included). That is a deeply impressive and underrated landmark for a rookie to hit, and something that does not come along often. He also as an interesting narrative case, if you want to look at it that way (and, frankly, I believe these awards are somewhat narrative based), considering he went from a 48 wRC+ in April to being in a finalist for the award, and being an offensive start for the entire summer.

If you would make me guess a winner as I type this out, I would guess Stewart gets the nod, simply because a 32 home run, 112 RBI season is not going to be ignored by voters. Despite my skepticism he wins the award, Benge represents a unique blend of the analytical argument, traditional argument, and narrative argument.

The Orioles have a second base problem. A former University of Maryland standout might be just the guy to solve it.

For the next two weeks, Camden Chat writers will be profiling a dozen players, either free agents or trade targets, that we’d like to see the O’s pursue this offseason. First up is an infield slugger with a local connection, free agent Brandon Lowe.

To be clear, I’m not interested in Lowe solely because #HeATerp. I mean, it sure doesn’t hurt. But as a player, he checks a lot of boxes for the Birds. The two-time All-Star would bring some much-needed left-handed thump to the Orioles’ lineup. He’s a veteran of the AL East who has (mostly) crushed the Orioles’ division rivals. And he’d stabilize a position at which the Orioles were the worst in the league in 2026.

Lowe (pronounced “Lau”) should be a familiar name for O’s fans. Those in the local area might have become aware of him during his College Park career in 2014-15, when he starred for a Maryland team that included five future big leaguers. Lowe also played one summer in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League as a 19-year-old.

Even if you didn’t follow Lowe’s collegiate career, you surely know him from his near-decade as an O’s divisional opponent. After the Rays drafted him in the third round in 2015, he spent the first eight years of his MLB career with Tampa Bay from 2018-25 before a trade last offseason sent him to Pittsburgh. Aside from an abbreviated 2022 campaign, Lowe has been a well above-average hitter for every major league season, posting a career 123 OPS+ and averaging 4.2 bWAR per year. He’s had five seasons of 21+ homers and three seasons of 30 or more. Simply put, he’s one of the best hitting second basemen in the game.

As a Ray, Lowe stepped up his game against division foes. He feasted on Orioles pitching (.857 OPS, 20 homers) and particularly torched the Red Sox (.994 OPS, 21 HRs) and Blue Jays (.918 OPS, 21 HRs) in more than 70 games against each opponent. He was less successful, though, against the Yankees, who held him to a .659 OPS.

Lowe is coming off of his most productive year yet. In his debut season with the Pirates, he tallied 35 homers and 96 RBIs — both his highest totals since 2021 — and posted a career-best 5.3 bWAR. And it’s not just his offense that impressed. With the leather, Lowe pulled off an incredible turnaround after several years of subpar defensive marks. He registered 13 Defensive Runs Saved and 15 Outs Above Average this season after struggling to a -14 DRS and -14 OAA the season before.

Could those numbers, especially on defense, have been a one-year mirage? It’s possible. At 32 years old, it’s unlikely that Lowe just suddenly figured out how to be an elite defender for the first time, so perhaps there’s some sample-size issues at play. Still, even if he can be merely a league-average fielder to go with his potent bat, he’d be a significant upgrade over the Orioles’ current second base options.

Which brings us to the uncomfortable reality we must discuss. I want Jackson Holliday to be good. You want Jackson Holliday to be good. But three years into his career, he simply hasn’t been good. And the Orioles’ lineup suffered for it in 2026. According to FanGraphs, Orioles second basemen — mostly Holliday, but also Jeremiah Jackson — rated as the worst in the American League, and third-worst in baseball, at just a 0.1 WAR (Lowe’s Pirates ranked fourth, at 4.9). The Birds’ second basemen had the worst OBP (.275) and sixth-worst SLG (.349) in the majors. Lowe had a .331 OBP and .493 OPS.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s way too early to throw in the towel on Holliday’s career. He’s 22 years old, an age when many players who turned out to be stars hadn’t even made their MLB debut yet. He’s the former #1 overall draft pick, was once the #1 prospect in baseball, and is the son of a seven-time All-Star. Holliday could well figure things out and be a standout major leaguer for many years to come.

But if the Orioles are serious about trying to be a contender next year, they can’t sit around and wait for Holliday to live up to his potential. The O’s have a real opportunity here to add an established, quality major league player at a position of need, and they should pounce on it. If they add Lowe, they have choices about what to do with Holliday. Maybe they send him back to the minors to try to get him on track. Maybe they move him to a different position. Maybe they even trade him, as recent reports have suggested. Add Lowe first and figure out Holliday later.

Because Lowe is on the wrong side of 30, his contract demands shouldn’t be too exorbitant. ESPN predicts he’ll get a four-year, $80 million deal. MLB Trade Rumors forecasts a more modest contract at three years and $69 million. That looks like a nice deal to me, and the Orioles shouldn’t hesitate to sign him if that’s the salary range that Lowe ends up in.

Lowe, of course, brings his share of risk, as does any free agent. For one thing, he hasn’t exactly been the picture of durability. He played a career-high 150 games this season, but it was one of only three times that he’s topped 109. Lowe has a laundry list of ailments that have plagued him throughout his career, including injuries to his knees, feet, back, elbow, neck, oblique, quadriceps, and…well, basically everything. The O’s would probably have to live with the fact that Lowe will miss some games, but they’ve got depth to replace him with Blaze Alexander available as a utility guy and potentially Jordan Westburg seeing some time at second.

Also, Lowe received a qualifying offer from the Pirates, meaning the Orioles would lose a draft pick if they sign him. Still, sometimes that’s the price you have to pay to land a quality free agent. And the O’s potentially will be receiving a compensatory draft pick of their own if another team signs Trevor Rogers, so it could balance out.

The Orioles’ oft-disappointing 2026 offense could use an upgrade, and Lowe seems like just the guy they need. He has the talent. He brings the experience. And he — and I cannot stress this enough — a Terp.

Good day fellow Mariners fans!

We’ve got another light day of links for you as the offseason remains in the very early stages. Let’s get to it.

In Mariners news…

• Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic reports that some Mariners players were involved in their search for a new manager. They apparently wanted Jason Kanzler to get the job. ($)

Around the league…

• Angels left-hander Samy Natera credits Andrés Muñoz with helping him frame his mindset on the mound.
• Congratulations to the Samsung Lions for becoming KBO champions!

• Agreeing to a deal with a 12-year-old is insane…to say the least.

• We now have academic research on the topic of whether a baseball stadium positively impacts the economy in the surrounding area.

Tate Southisene
5-for-13, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 3 SB

The Tate shows continued last week as the Braves prospect got on-base nine times again last week. Even crazier, he continues to walk just as much as he strikes out. Then, you add in the fact that he’s also a menace on the bases and it’s hard to temper expectations for him. Tate also played in the AFL Fall Stars game where he went 0-for-2…but also drew a walk and scored a run. Tate has now played in 16 games and is hitting .321/.471/.396, going a perfect 7-for-7 on stolen bases. He has also walked (14) more than he has struck out (12).

Isaiah Drake
3-for-9, 4 K, CS

Isaiah appeared in just three games last week, getting on-base in two of the three games. After missing a big chunk of the season due to injury, Isaiah has adjusted to the league and put together high quality at-bats, making good contact with pitches in the zone. The result is Isaiah hitting .327/.386/.404 in 17 games, going 5-for-6 in the stolen base department.

Owen Carey
2-for-10, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K

Owen appeared in three games last week, going 0-for-4 in his first game and then getting on-base four times in the final two games. After struggling with some injuries this year, Owen has now played in 16 games in the AFL and is slashing .283/.415/.396.

Briggs McKenzie
4IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K

Briggs looked very solid in his single start last week, striking out six across four innings. He did a great job of establishing his slider as his premium offering and using it in-zone very well, and generating whiffs from it. Also appears that Briggs is really working on the two-seam fastball to go with his four-seam. The slider, a pitch he focused on this season, now consistently looks above average. It will be interesting to see if Briggs brings back the curveball, or if the Braves have shelved it completely, but one thing remains 100% true – he knows how to generate spin.

Tanner Bauman
1IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K

After struggling early at the start of the AFL season, Tanner Bauman has done a good job of commanding his pitches – finding himself in-zone much more consistently. While the stuff hasn’t particularly been great, his execution has helped him find zeroes more consistently.

Tyler LaPorte
1IP 1H 0R 1BB 2K

Tyler appeared in one game, striking out two. He continues to show a strong arsenal, unique mechanics, and good command. A former position player who transitioned to pitching only a few years ago, Tyler could be a player to watch should the improved command show next season.

A lot has been made of the supposedly minuscule circle of advisors Craig Breslow reportedly maintains in the Red Sox front office. Prior to the season-saving 15-game win streak, when it looked all but certain that Breslow would soon be fired, media reports painted a picture of a near-reclusive CBO, one who trusted few people in the front office and alienated most others. Winning put a lot of those concerns to rest, as it so often does. But the fact remains that the Red Sox front office does have some holes. The General Manager role has been vacant since 2023, while two high-ranking assistant GMs haven’t really been replaced: Paul Toboni, who was hired to lead the Nationals last fall, and Taylor Smith, who recently departed for the A’s, after having been hired by Breslow just two years ago. That’s why — in addition to finding a power bat — Breslow says he’s making front office hiring a priority this offseason. “It is pretty clear that that executive leadership circle is down not just bodies, but down really talented people. And we’ve got to find the right people to emerge and to put into place there,” said Breslow. “The inconvenient piece is that we need to put a great team on the field and we need to win more games in 2027 than we did in 2026. Losing leadership like Taylor and Paul makes that harder, but we have to do everything we can to replace them.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

While Dana LeVangie isn’t an upper level front office executive like Smith or Toboni, he needs to be replaced now, too. A Massachusetts native, LeVangie has been employed by the Red Sox in one form or another ever since being drafted by the team back in 1991, rising to the level of pitching coach in 2018. He’s been in the scouting department since 2020, and will depart for a similar role with the Royals. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Front office and scouting hires don’t usually make the headlines, though, and they won’t this week, either, as it’s time to hand out MLB’s major awards. First up is the Rookie of the Year, which will be announced tonight and features Payton Tolle as a finalist. Here’s a case for Tolle and each of his two competitors. (MLB.com)

Tolle is unlikely to take home the hardware given how good Kevin McGonigle was this year, but he’s won something else: the praise of CC Sabathia. “I love watching him, and I love his personality,” the former Yankees ace said. “I don’t think I could have pitched the way he does. I was always way more emotional and upset. It’s fun to see him have that disposition.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

With Tolle at the top of the rotation alongside Garrett Crochet and Ranger Suárez, the Sox are unlikely to go after any of the really big name arms on the market this offseason (read: Tarik Skubal). But they could still be on the hunt for some pitching. “Beyond a run producer, the focus will be on improving pitching depth. Look for the Sox to be in the market for a back-end starter to compete with Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. And while the back end of the bullpen is strong, the most successful teams in the game feature multiple power arms. If the Red Sox are convinced that Erik Miller can improve his command, the Sox should be in the market for another righthander with swing-and-miss capability.” (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

Zack Kelly has some swing-and-miss capability, but he probably won’t be back at Fenway next season. After he was designated for assignment last week, Kelly has now cleared waivers and been released. “[H]e is expected to have a robust market of teams who believe he has considerable upside.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

There was some thought around baseball that with the impending Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire Dec. 1 that there would be a flurry of moves prior to that ownership imposed deadline. The MLB owners and MLB Players Association have been exchanging proposals in more of a performative exercise than earnest intent to get a deal done. The owners have made no secret that they intend to lockout the players once the CBA expires if a new deal is not in place. The side could continue business as normal and continue to work toward a resolution, but that is unlikely.

With the deadline nest approaching, the belief from baseball pundits and the hope from baseball fans was that the teams would look to sign free agents sooner rather than later with the uncertainty about the financial constraints of that could come with a new CBA. To this point, nothing has happened with regard to free agents. The Washington Nationals extended Jacob Young and teams have added minor league pieces, but there have been no “headline” moves yet.

That could change over the coming weeks as the General Managers Meetings are set to take place this week starting today and concluding on Thursday. Could some teams make some moves? Could teams make trades involving some major league talent? The collective baseball world hopes so, but that all hinges on what fans and people outside of front offices do not know.

The San Diego Padres have many needs, with the majority of those coming in the starting rotation. Only Randy Vasquez and an unknown Joe Musgrove are likely rotation pieces, which means the Padres are in need of at least three more starters, but likely more to account for injuries, struggles, etc. This is the first offseason under new San Diego owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones. The duo have said they are all-in, but the Friar Faithful can only assume what that means. Does it mean rumors are true and the Padres are in on free agent pitcher Tarik Skubal? Does it mean re-signing Michael King, Adrian Morejon and Ty France? Quite literally no one outside of the Feliciano and Jones and their most trusted advisors know.

Fans are left to wait and see and for many that is the hardest part of this offseason. The Friars Faithful know where they have been, but there are grand ideas of where they could go. Time will tell what “all-in” means and what the San Diego roster will look like in 2027, maybe we get a glimpse this week.

Padres News:

• Casey Mize was not good with the Padres. That may have been due to injury or something else, but the result was he struggled in San Diego and Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball gave him his grade for his time with the club.

• Brent Maguire of Padres.com looks back at the 2026 season for Fernando Tatis Jr.

• Padres prospects shine during Arizona Fall League Fall Stars events.

Baseball News:

• Here is a list of the seven top performers from the AFL all-star game according to MLB.com.

• Storylines to watch for during MLB awards week.

This was an interesting little nugget from the baseball world yesterday.

The rest of that should read “However, sources say pending free agents could be moved for each other as a way to balance the risk.“

That’s interesting because the Phillies have some of those players that would qualify for this. One can look at the arbitration eligible crop for examples – Brandon Marsh, Orion Kerkering to name two – while others on the roster are very clearly veterans that, while not “impending free agents” are veterans that could be moved.

What veteran for veteran trade would you make?

The Orioles never seemed like they were entirely sure what to do with Tyler Wells. Count him as a starter for a potentially competitive rotation? Stick him in the bullpen and let him rip? It went back and forth for a while, with a long layoff due to Tommy John surgery in the middle there. Heading into 2026, the O’s had finally committed to Wells as a reliever. The results were so great that when trade deadline season arrived, Wells generated enough interest that the Orioles “had to” trade him.

They didn’t actually have to trade Wells, of course, just like they didn’t have to trade Adley Rutschman or Dean Kremer. They could have held onto him if they believed he could be a good part of the 2027 Orioles bullpen. Mike Elias decided that getting back one of the prospects he traded to the Rays in the Shane Baz deal – pitching prospect Michael Forret – was worth parting with Wells. The 6’8” righty went on to pitch in the World Series with his new team.

It’s not much surprise that Wells had managed to bring about trade interest. He was getting masterful results that were getting better as the season went along. By July, Wells was frequently in the mix of where you could call him the Orioles closer, or at least an Orioles closer. He pitched 14 games that month, picking up four saves and a win. Wells went multiple innings more than once. He had a 1.10 ERA in July.

That’s probably what did it for the trade interest. Other teams would want Wells, not just for the rest of this season but knowing they could control him for 2027 for relatively cheap – projected around $4 million. Elias would be tempted to think it was the time to sell high on a potentially volatile relief asset. That’s what he ended up doing, bringing back a pitcher who was at the Triple-A level and could be close to making a difference for the MLB team.

The thing about Wells that makes him volatile is that he is an extreme fly ball pitcher. This was already true prior to this year, when Wells was typically at a ground ball rate around just 33% for his career; average pitchers are usually in the low-40s. Zack Britton, at the peak of his powers for the Orioles in 2016, had a ground ball rate of exactly 80%. For pitchers, ground balls are great. They’re most often outs. The hits are typically singles and they definitely don’t end up as homers.

In 2026, Wells ended up with a ground ball rate at 26.5%. Among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched, Wells was literally in the bottom 5 in the league for ground ball rate. For a pitcher who was as homer-prone as Wells had been before this season, that’s a real potential problem area. There’s a small margin for error there. Slip just a little bit and you’re giving up dingers left, right, and center.

Wells mostly did not slip up this year. Just 8% of his fly balls allowed went for home runs, close to a third less than the league average of about 11%. There is an element of luck to this that will probably not carry over into 2027.

Yet there was a lot of skill and a lot of good pitching too. Wells’s Statcast page for 2026 has a whole heck of a lot of red. He was great at getting batters to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone, great at getting them to swing and miss, great at avoiding walks, and great at not having batters hit the ball hard. All of these are good ways to avoid giving up a lot of homers! Assuming you can duplicate this – which, with the Rays, his odds are probably better than if he’d stayed with the Orioles.

All of this allows Wells to succeed even when some of the predictive stats don’t believe in him as much. Counting his time with both the Orioles and Rays, Wells had a 2.38 ERA. That puts a reliever among the game’s elite for that season.

With Fielding Independent Pitching, a stat that tries to take defense out of the equation by just considering what a pitcher can control, Wells was at a still decent but much less exciting 3.38. A stat that spins further off of this, xFIP, which normalizes the home run rate, put it higher at 4.03. Make that number an ERA and that’s basically Anthony Nunez’s season-long number in 2026. Not much interesting about any reliever with a 4+ ERA.

What’s the real Wells for 2027 going to be? If he loses just a little bit of the edge going into his age 32 season, it could go a lot worse for him. If he duplicates this, Elias could end up looking like an idiot. It wouldn’t be the first time, even if we limit the discussion to the Orioles trading a reliever to the Rays.

Maybe both teams will be happy with what they get out of the trade, if Forret becomes some kind of solid pitcher for the Orioles – maybe as soon as next year – and Wells helps the Rays again next year. There are such things as win-win trades out there.

Good morning.

The GM meetings begin this week in Las Vegas and Mark Feinsand writes that there is potential for it to be busier than usual with the impending lockout looming next month.

Mike Axisa checks out a handful of under-the-radar free agents, one of which is recent Rangers leadoff hitter Joc Pederson.

The 20th annual Fall Stars Game was played yesterday in Arizona Fall League action and MLB dot com’s Jesse Borek and Tim Crowley write about how each prospect fared, including a quartet of Rangers farmhands.

Have a nice day!

Happy Monday, everyone! Not a ton of news stories to update you on, but we’ve got little bits to make sure you’re in the know about everything going on in baseball. The Tigers are keeping an eye on some Japanese free agents; a former Tiger may not be retiring the way many expected he would; and a former All-Star might be taking an unexpected stance in MLB and MLBPA’s labor disagreement.

That and more below, so let’s just jump right into it.

Detroit Tigers News

• The Tigers are scouting some Japanese talent this offseason and were evidently also interested in signing Shota Imagana at one point. The Tigers have been one of many teams showing interest in Teruaki Sato and Kaima Taira, but it remains to be seen how serious they actually are about acquiring fresh international talent.

MLB News

• Former Tiger Max Scherzer might not be done with baseball just yet, after all.
• The best free agents available by position.
• Seiya Suzuki has never been an All-Star but he might be one of the best free agents available this offseason.
• Could the Yankees’ pitching rotation be even better in 2027?
• Chris Sale’s three seasons with the Braves have been historically great.
• How can the Cubs fix their starting rotation problem?
• How can the Yankees and Mets meet their goals for 2027?
• Pedro Martinez urges MLB and players to come to an agreement, reflecting on the 1994 strikes.
• Jyun-Yue Tseng of Taiwan’s Fubon Guardians is entering MLB’s posting system.
• A tear-jerker of a story about a hidden gem baseball card shop that has gone unexpectedly viral. ($)
• Cody Bellinger and Pete Crow-Armstrong are now Platinum Glove winners. ($)
• Can’t tell if sarcasm…

• I don’t care that this isn’t technically directly related to baseball, it’s still very, very cute.

• A throwback to World Cup shenanigans.

• The best free agents available by position.

Even with the lockout looming-slash-pending, the GM Meetings are still happening in Las Vegas this week.

Will they be weirder than usual? More action, because the lockout is pending? Or, less action, because teams and/or players have been instructed to keep their jets on a substantially cool setting as a labor negotiating position?

The MLB.com article noted that a ton of money in huge deals was handed out ahead of the last CBA. This isn’t a very strong free agent market, but teams could still hand out a lot of cash to Tarik Skubal and Trevor Rogers… provided that there’s any interest in doing so ahead of the lockout itself.

Alex Anthopoulos always says that these meetings are places to lay groundwork for deals rather than complete deals themselves, but his view isn’t a unaninmous one. So, more action, less action, or the same amount of action? What say you?

Team news

[SI] 3 Bold Predictions For Diamondbacks in Free Agency – 1. Diamondbacks only marginally decrease payroll – or not at all. Despite wanting to reduce costs, Kendrick has still often jumped at the chance to add quality players with hopes to keep Arizona as competitive as possible. While the D-backs might be looking to cut down on costs this offseason, it would be a surprise to see a major reduction — and it would not be a surprise to still see them find ways to invest in the roster. In fact, it feels more likely than not their lowered payroll will still manage to rival previous years.

[Roundtable.io] Why Diamondbacks Should Pursue Bednar – Given the recent comments of owner Ken Kendrick expressing his desire to trim payroll, outbidding the Yankees may be easier said than done, but nothing is impossible. Given Bednar’s production, it would behoove the Diamondbacks to inquire about him. If the new Collective Bargaining Agreement institutes a salary floor that requires teams to spend a certain amount, Kendrick may not be able to trim payroll anyway. That opens up a more realistic path to acquiring Bednar or someone of his caliber.

[Fansided] Ranking Ketel Marte suitors that he and Arizona would actually accept – Given how he’s acted in recent years, the Diamondbacks might want to move on from Marte, but there’s a potential issue: the 33-year-old has a full no-trade clause, meaning that if he doesn’t want to go anywhere, he won’t. Chances are, Marte probably won’t want to go to any teams that were on his former five-team no-trade list (Yankees, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, Athletics), and the Diamondbacks won’t want to send him to a team that could hurt them (mainly their NL West rivals), or teams that don’t have enough to offer. These potential suitors could be appealing enough both to Marte and to Arizona if a trade is the route both sides choose to go down.

[ESPN] D-backs’ Corbin Carroll has elbow surgery, should be ready for spring training – Carroll had surgery this week to remove loose bodies in his right elbow and should be ready for the scheduled start of spring training in February. The team confirmed the surgery on Friday. A full recovery is expected to take about eight weeks. The three-time All-Star hit .239 with 22 homers, 78 RBIs, 33 doubles and a league-high 17 triples last season despite battling multiple injuries, including hamate bone surgery that caused him to miss much of spring training. He also dealt with back soreness during the last few months of the season, which was part of the reason he struggled in the second half after a hot start.

[Dbacks.com] What D-backs are looking for from AFL, winter ball participants – Nathan Hall, OF. Injuries — including hamstring issues and a right arm injury — have severely limited Hall’s professional repetitions since he was taken in the fifth round of the 2025 Draft. The Arizona Fall League offered an extended opportunity for him to compete, showcase his power and prove his defensive range. “He’s done a really good job of improving his contact quality since coming into pro ball, even though he’s had limited reps,” Slivka said. “I think it’s a testament to the work that he did when he was coming back from those injuries, because the swing quality and contact quality are much better than they were in college.”

Below, Hall talks about his time in the Arizona Fall League, competing with the top Minor Leaguers and more

[Burn City Sports] How Diamondbacks’ Moreno, Carroll took different paths to Silver Slugger finalist spots – Although the two players took different routes to their nominations, both made their impact throughout the 2026 season. Moreno established himself as one of the league’s top offensive catchers, while Carroll continued to showcase the combination of power and speed that has made him one of Arizona’s biggest offensive threats. With both players among the NL finalists, Arizona has another opportunity to add to their award history when the Silver Slugger winners are announced on Nov. 17.

And, elsewhere…

[NY Post] MLB pitch-rigging case witness testifies he stopped getting tips after Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal – Luis de Aza Baez, an Uber driver, told prosecutors that starting in 2023, he got information about Clase’s pitches from the big-leaguer’s associate, Enoc Pena, with the tips coming through a group chat titled “Uber Inc.,” which included other drivers at the time. When De Aza Baez tried again during the 2024 season, however, he was told that “what was going on with Ohtani, there was no more information like that.” In March 2024, Ohtani was surrounded by controversy after it was reported that millions of dollars were sent from the superstar’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking scheme.

[Reddit] I have never played baseball but I am confident I could enter the game up one in the bottom of the 9th and finish the game without allowing an earned run – This is probably borderline genius. That is all.

Finally, something you might have missed. On Halloween, David Peralta made his pitching debut in the Venezuelan league! You may remember, he originally came up as a pitching prospect before switching to the outfield, playing indy ball and eventually making it to the big leagues there for the Diamondbacks. Well, it looks like things have gone full circle, as he pitched for the Braves de Margarita against the Tigres de Aragua. Admittedly, he came in with two outs in the ninth, and it took him four attempts to get the final out, allowing two hits and a walk. But he stranded those base-runners, leaving the bases loaded on a fly-ball to right.

Resident Evil

• Rating: B-
• Dir: Zach Cregger
• Star: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser

I have never played the video-game franchise. I am, however, a big fan of the Milla Jovovich films. Despite critical disdain – not least from fans of the game – I would say, at their best, they are close to peak action-horror. Are they schlock? Sure. Empty cinematic calories? Absolutely. So? I was thus somewhat resistant to the idea of this reboot. By the end though, I’d been somewhat won over. This isn’t a good adaptation of the game either, by most accounts. But it does capture the spirit of video games, especially when played by a fairly stupid person. For a lot of the time, this could legitimately be retitled, Poor Decisions: The Movie.

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It’s 2023 and the calendar has just flipped over to September. The Yankees are already out of the playoff race as they take the field in Houston. In an effort to inject some youth into the lineup and some excitement into the fanbase for the final month of a disappointing season, they’ve called up their much-hyped top prospect Jasson Domínguez for his MLB debut. With his first swing in the major leagues, Domínguez crushes an opposite field two-run home run into the Crawford Boxes off future first ballot Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. At just 20 years old, you could allow yourself to dream about just what heights this budding star might hit. Fast-forward three years, and now the question facing the 23 year old is whether he has a future with the Yankees.

Grade: F

2026 Statistics: 57 games, 222 plate appearances, .225/.267/.368, six home runs, 14 RBI, 4.5 BB%, 21.6 K%, 76 wRC+, -1 OAA, -0.2 fWAR, -0.2 rWAR

2027 Contract Status: Pre-arbitration

In the subsequent years since that scintillating debut, Domínguez missed the majority of the 2024 season to Tommy John surgery. He got his first real run out at the major league level in 2025, but those 123 games exposed his serious shortcomings on defense. At least his bat produced at a slightly above average level to provide a nominal floor, but the trapdoor opened and swallowed him up in 2026.

What makes it worse is that Domínguez had a real opportunity to prove he belonged in the majors with Aaron Judge missing almost 100 games with a broken rib and a subsequent calf injury and Cody Bellinger losing a month to a hamstring injury over the summer. Not only did Domínguez fail to grab that opportunity, but his beleaguered play raised serious doubts about his viability as a major leaguer and opened the door for fellow top prospect Spencer Jones to leapfrog him on the outfield depth chart.

Domínguez spent the first month at Triple-A before getting called up on April 27th. He struggled to the tune of a .617 OPS and 70 wRC+ with one home run in 32 plate appearances before landing on the 10-day IL with a left shoulder AC joint sprain. It would be another five weeks before he returned to the major league roster, by which point Judge’s extended absence had begun, seemingly creating an opportunity for consistent playing time.

Jasson got a decent run of starts over the next two months and looked fairly serviceable in his first month back from his shoulder injury. From June 13th through July 10th, Domínguez slashed .255/.293/.447 with four home runs and six stolen bases — good for a 105 wRC+ in 100 plate appearances. However, with the Yankees desperate for production against left-handed pitching, the trade deadline acquisition of Heliot Ramos along with Jones’ gradual improvements against big league pitching and steadier defensive play further squeezed Domínguez out of the outfield picture. With just a 53 wRC+ across his subsequent 80 PAs after July 10th, Domínguez was demoted to Triple-A on August 4th, where he would stay for a month.

This culminated in the worst four-game stretch of Domínguez’s career upon his recall on September 5th. Jasson made a pair of high profile errors against the Padres and Rockies, leading to a swift demotion just five days later. And it was the nature of the errors that led to the immediate loss of patience, both resulting from complete lapses in concentration as the Yankees were making one final push to try to chase down the Rays in the division.

Domínguez would not appear in another major league game in the regular season and would be left off the postseason roster. All told, 2026 was a year of alarming regression for a young player who should have been making progress on both sides of the ball. He finished the year below replacement level, his 76 wRC+ the worst on the team among hitters with at least 100 PAs. He saw his walk rate plummet from 9.6-percent in 2025 to a measly 4.5-percent in 2026, resulting in an OBP drop from .331 to .267 — both marks placing him in the seventh percentile or worse among MLB hitters with at least 220 PAs. He posted a career-low 5.6-percent barrel rate and saw his average exit velocity drop 2.5 mph and his hard-hit rate nosedive from 49.6-percent to 39.1-percent.

The defense remains the biggest concern, and it has gotten to the point where you seriously worry when even a routine fly ball is hit in his direction. He was well below average in his initial reaction to a batted ball and among the league’s worst in the routes that he took. It snowballed to the point that he looked devoid of confidence when approaching a ball in the outfield, as we saw with the above pair of examples.

At this point, there are only three facets of Jasson’s game that give you hope. At 93.3 mph, his arm strength places in the 94th percentile of MLB outfielders. His sprint speed remained intact, placing in the 85th percentile at 28.8 ft/s. And despite the regressed batted ball results, his 74.5 mph average swing speed places him in the 85th percentile of MLB hitters. The raw tools are there, but his process prevents him from making the most of them.

Still at just 23 years old, one would think there is plenty of time for Domínguez to piece things back together. It remains to be seen whether that happens in pinstripes. As my colleague Andrés wondered last week, this offseason could determine whether Domínguez’s future lies with the Yankees. Nothing he did in 2026 offers faith in the once-bright prospect regaining the team’s trust.