Category: Baseball

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

No. 34, Vimael Machín (0.0 rWAR)

On one hand, Vimael Machín had the best MLB season of his career — one that’s spanned five big league seasons and 10 minor league seasons.

Playing in his first season for the Rockies, he hit .500 with a .500 on-base percentage and 1.000 OPS as well.

The only problem was that Machín only had six at-bats in three games.

The Rockies signed the 33-year-old infielder to a minor league contract on Dec. 21, 2025 and extended an invite to spring training. After being assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque, Machín had a successful year with the Isotopes. In 438 at-bats in 113 games, the Puerto Rican hit .288/.367/.438 with an OPS of .805. He hit 12 homers, 22 doubles and four triples, scored 61 runs, drove in 73 more runs, drew 53 walks and struck out 71 times.

He seemed like a great candidate for a September call-up, but the honor went to Adael Amador and Blas Castaño. Then, infielder Willi Castro got hurt and was placed on the IL on Sept. 5. The Rockies turned to Machín for some late-season infield depth, while optioning Tyler Freeman to the Isotopes.

From Sept. 6 to Sept.13, Machín started two games — against the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals — at third base, going 2-for-5 with two strikeouts. He also went 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter against the Yankees.

When starting pitcher José Quintana was ready to rejoin the rotation on Sept. 19, Machín hadn’t proven enough to stay on the roster for the final eight games of the season.

This season proved to be much like the majority of Machín’s career has played out: success in the minor leagues that doesn’t always translate to the big leagues.

Machín was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2015 out of Virginia Commonwealth University. He then went on a roller coaster ride of climbing the Cubs farm system before being put on the waiver wire in 2019. He was then picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies and traded to the Oakland A’s on the same day in the 2019 offseason.

He made his MLB debut in 2020 and moved back and forth between the A’s and the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators throughout 2021 and 2022. He played in 73 games in 2022, but never found his way at the plate, hitting .220/.300/.287 with a .587 OPS. In 2023, Machín played his entire season with the Aviators and chose free agency afterward.

In 2024, he played for the Charros de Jalisco in Mexico, then signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles before the 2025 season. He only played in four games, going 1-for-11 at the plate. Meanwhile, in the for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, he hit .286/.347/.476 with an .823 OPS.

The same scene played out for the Rockies in 2026. On Sept. 19, the Rockies designated Machín for assignment. After clearing the waiver wires, he was outrighted to the ACL Rockies on Sept. 22. Considering Colorado signed Machín to a 1-year, $780,000 deal for 2026, and the Rockies have lots of infield depth ahead of him, Machín faces an uncertain future this offseason.

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Overview.

The book is awesome for readers who have a broad interest in baseball history.  The book includes information from more than 300 interviews and many books (60 books are listed in the bibliography).

My interest and focus are on the Diamondbacks.  Although my attention sometimes wandered to other teams and their players, my focus quickly bounced back to the Diamondbacks.  From that perspective, reading the book sometimes overwhelmed me with stuff outside my focus.

From my perspective, I wondered about the following questions. Are any Diamondbacks in the book?  For each type of pitch, “What is its characteristic,” and “Which recent Diamondback starters have a characteristic pitch type that defined them?

Are any Diamondbacks in the book?

Randy Johnson (pages 21-24).   The following quote caught my attention:

“It took me forever just to get to the Major Leagues and feel like I could compete.  So, when I could, I relished the moment.” — Randy Johnson

To be more accurate, he had many moments to relish.  In his 22 consecutive seasons, he won many awards, including 5 Cy Young awards, a triple crown, World Series MVP, and he threw one perfect game.  And he was voted into the Hall of Fame.

Curt Schilling (paragraph on page 145).   An excerpt follows: “I think it’s [the splitter] one of the easiest pitches in the world on your arm because you don’t change anything.  You don’t manipulate the ball with a split, you just split your fingers.”  — Curt Schilling

I wonder that if it is so easy on the arm, why aren’t splitters more common? 

Luis Gonzalez (paragraph on page 261).  One sentence caught my attention:

“In Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, Luis Gonzalez floated a Rivera cutter into shallow left field for a single, winning the title for the Diamondbacks.” — Tyler Kepner

To add some detail to the importance of cutters in the winning sequence for the Diamondbacks:

• The cutter was Mariano Rivera’s best pitch, with late and sharp movement.
• Tony Womack hit a cutter for a down-the-line double, tying the game ahead of Gonzalez.
• Craig Counsell was hit by an inside cutter, which loaded the bases ahead of Gonzalez.
• Contributing to the success of Gonzalez’s shallow single was that Derek Jeter was playing in, hopeful of throwing out a baserunner at home. 

What is a characteristic for each type of pitch?

The following charactistics are short, with two caveats. First, although two pitchers can pitch the same type of pitch, it’s unlikely their pitches are exactly alike. Second, pitches evolve over time.

Slider: “The slider is faster than the curveball and easier to control, with a tighter break, shaped not like a look but like a slash, moving down and away toward the pitcher’s glove side.”  Page 2 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

4-Seam Fastball: “As the backspinning ball hurtles through the air, four seams cycle through each revolution.  It is the easiest pitch to steer, and gives the hitter the least time to react.”  Page 35 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Curveball:  The curveball is thrown with topspin, the seams whooshing downward as the pitch tumbles to Earth. Only certain pitches have the loose, easy wrist action to make a ball act that way.”  Page 68 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Knuckleballs:  “The best knuckleballs often zig and zag away from the mitt, sending their catchers scrambling.”  Page 97 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Splitter: “With the splitter, Sutter found a pitch that was meant to be thrown like a fastball, but required a dominant index finger to generate its straight-down – or down-and-away-from-a-lefty – movement.”  Page 126 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Screwball: “It is a slow curve, pitched with the motion of a fastball.  But most curves break away from a right-handed batter a little.  The fade-away breaks toward him.” — Christy Mathewson,  page 150 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Sinker: “Just take it off the plane that much, in the last 10 feet, and it’s a soft ground ball.” — Steve Rogers,  page 171 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Changeup: “The hitter sees fastball from the motion of the arm and the spin of the ball which sputters as it crosses the plate, fading away…”  Page 198 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Spitball: “When the ball leaves your hand, it slips off your wet fingers and clings, just a tiny bit, to the dry part of your thumb.  The ball jumps on account of it.” — Preacher Roe, page 226 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Cutter: “A good inside cutter veers off course so late that the only way to hit it on the barrel is to pull it foul.  The batter must guess where the ball will end up, he does not have time to actually see its movement.”   Page 260 of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

What is a characteristic pitch type for recent Diamondbacks starters?

Each pitcher’s charactistic pitch type is from my perspective as a fan, which depends on more than just the frequency of each pitch type.

Characteristic pitch types corresponding to chapters in the book: 

• Slider: Ryne Nelson (increased usage last season)
• 4-Seam Fastball:  Ryne Nelson and Eduardo Rodriguez
• Changeup:  Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez
• Cutter:  Corbin Burnes

Additional characteristic pitch types:

• Knuckle Curve:  Zac Gallen
• Sweeper:  Brandon Pfaadt (as part of a six-pitch mix)
• Slurve:  Michael Soroka

A “Core Four” Yankee no longer feels welcome in The Bronx.

Jorge Posada told The Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman in the latest episode of “The Show” podcast that he believes the Yankees no longer want him around after being asked about potentially helping the team.

“It’s gotta be the right — I mean, I could, but I don’t think they want me there to tell you the truth,” Posada said on the episode, which premiered Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t feel welcome when I go there, you know? Even in spring training, I don’t feel like — I’m just like, I don’t know, like, I don’t feel welcome. I don’t feel like they want me there, so I don’t go.”

Posada’s shocking reveal came after being asked by Sherman about whether the Yankees need someone besides manager Aaron Boone who cares about the team’s brand and has the fire that the former catcher exhibited during his career to stand up and say that certain plays are “unacceptable.”

The 56-year-old, whose No. 20 was retired by the Yankees in 2015, won over fans during his 17 years in The Bronx from 1995-2011 with his fiery passion and offensive skills, winning four titles as part of the Core Four alongside Hall of Famers in shortstop Derek Jeter and closer Mariano Rivera plus lefty starter Andy Pettitte.

Watch the full episode of “The Show” featuring Jorge Posada below.

When pressed about what would make him feel that way, he didn’t offer a specific moment but referenced the tough end to his Yankees career.

“I don’t know what happened. I’d rather just move forward,” Posada said. “My last season of my career was a really tough one when it comes to handling everything in my part and also the Yankees toward Jorge Posada. So, it’s tough to go back and feel that again.”

Posada’s final season in 2011 featured public disagreements with the team about his playing time and being shifted to designated hitter.

He believed the front office made the call, not then-manager Joe Girardi, and clarified Tuesday that he talked to Girardi about the decisions but not general manager Brian Cashman or owner Hal Steinbrenner.

“That I never got a chance to fight for my job was the toughest part,” Posada said at the time. “I don’t have an issue or a problem with Joe.”

Cashman, who declined to comment for this story, acknowledged the rocky ending at the time.

“Sometimes there are rough patches, but you try to get through them,” Cashman said then. “We obviously had a rough patch this year … but we all fought through it.”

Posada indicated to Sherman and Heyman that he doesn’t have regrets about going public with his thoughts.

Posada appeared behind the plate just one time in 2011 compared to 90 starts as the designated hitter and 14 as the first baseman, and posted a .714 OPS.

The Yankees instead went with Russell Martin as their starting catcher during a season that ended with an ALDS loss to the Tigers.

Posada has been around the franchise despite feeling unwelcome, having attended several Old Timers’ Day and appearing for the 1998 championships team’s 25th anniversary in 2023.

“I’m gonna express the way I feel and … if something’s wrong, I’m gonna tell you,” Posada said. “That’s the way I played the game. We wanted to win and we wanted to be there to do the right things. I’m very honest and that’s my probably my toughest thing with people. I’ll tell you straight up what’s wrong.”

Since he hung up the cleats, Posada has stayed involved in baseball.

He worked under Derek Jeter in the Marlins’ front office and also served as the bench coach for Team Italy during this year’s World Baseball Classic.

He said he enjoyed his Marlins role, especially since he didn’t have to be there all the time.

Posada is now finding joy in being around his family.

As he watched the 2026 postseason from afar, Posada noted that he expected a better performance from the Yankees.

“They keep coming up short and it’s just about getting hot, being healthy and all at the right time,” Posada said. “I felt like the pitching was phenomenal. I feel like they had everything going forward. Losing (Aaron) Judge, not putting any excuses, but losing Judge is a big piece in the middle of the lineup. And then you get guys that they got in the trade and I felt like they got more of the same. So it was tough to see it come up short because I thought they were gonna go a little further.”

MLB owners have, as you know, been pushing the idea that the sport needs a salary cap for teams to have better competitive balance.

You would think, then, that the Brewers/Rays World Series matchup, between two teams with modest payrolls (I’m not calling them “small market” because that term is filled with conditions), would change that mindset.

At The Athletic, Evan Drellich writes that it hasn’t. Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke:

“People can be entrenched wherever they want to be entrenched. We’re prepared to commit ourselves to the process,” Manfred said. “It’s easy to say, ‘I’m here, and I’m never moving.’ That’s not a particularly skilled approach to the process.

“The small markets operate at a disadvantage economically. They just don’t have the resources that our bigger markets do.”

Mark Attanasio, owner of the Brewers and a member of Manfred’s labor committee, said the league’s cap proposal “not only will help us compete, but more importantly, all of the teams with lower payrolls too, which is something also I think the fans want.”

Let’s be clear here. Owners don’t want a salary cap because they want more teams to compete. They want it to increase profits and to increase franchise values. Period, full stop.

You can imagine how that’s gone over with the MLBPA:

Bruce Meyer, the interim head of the union, called a salary cap “a nuclear bomb” and said “there’s no reason whatsoever” that the Pittsburgh Pirates can’t compete the same way the Brewers and Rays have.

“These teams have been successful doing it one way,” Meyer said. “They would be even more successful if they went out and spent more money. Tampa would probably have a few World Series under their belt if they had at any point gone out and signed some free agents.”

Meyer is right, in this sense. The reason the Brewers and Rays are where they are is because both teams have smart baseball management teams. Look at the Brewers: They let top executive David Stearns go to the Mets, where owner Steve Cohen has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into players. For that, the Mets had 74 wins this year and weren’t close to the postseason. They let manager Craig Counsell go to the Cubs, and well, you know that story. Counsell’s done well in Chicago. But the Cubs organization, despite theoretically having more resources, hasn’t put together the infrastructure to win. They could! But they have let scouts go and their pitching development system is, in a word, terrible.

The Rays are a similar story. Executive Andrew Friedman left Tampa Bay after 2014, which started the chain reaction that brought Joe Maddon to Chicago. Erik Neander, Friedman’s top deputy, took over and, as he had worked for the Rays since 2007, the transfer was seamless. The organization kept doing what it had been doing, and Kevin Cash, signed as manager to succeed Maddon, is now the longest-tenured manager in MLB.

Smart baseball management wins. Teams prove that over and over and over. When the Cubs won in 2016, they had it. Now? Not so much.

So Bruce Meyer says a salary cap is “a nuclear bomb,” which is pretty strong imagery, basically saying there’s no way players will go for it. This sentiment appears common among players:

Reliever Aaron Ashby, the Brewers’ player rep, was asked how long players are willing to sit out to avoid a cap.

“I guess as long as it takes,” Ashby said. “We’re gonna have a long season here, and I guess if that means having a longer offseason, so be it.”

In this article posted here earlier this month, I noted some discussion of what a “drop dead date” could be for owners before they blink. The TL;dr version is that about 60 games into the season is when owners could start to lose out on big TV money, because at that point the current TV deals could roll into another year and not expire until the end of 2029. That would delay the big money that owners hope to get from new national TV deals.

So we’re in a holding pattern. Neither side has changed its position, but we might get some more clarity from this, per the Drellich article:

The union holds an annual meeting with players near the end of November, which this year coincides with the final days of bargaining before the lockout. In 2021, the owners met the players where they were holding that meeting, in Texas.

These days, the union holds that same meeting in Arizona, where it opened an office in 2023. Which means this time, Arizona could be the site where Manfred announces that the sport is frozen.

“We’ve told them where we’re going to be,” Meyer said. “They haven’t confirmed, but I expect there’s a high likelihood we’ll be talking and bargaining, and you never know what’s going to happen.”

I am 99.9 percent sure that owners will lock out players when the CBA expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. After that, it’s anyone’s guess when it will end.

Try to enjoy the rest of the World Series. We might not see MLB players back on the field for quite some time after that.

There are a few candidates for the greatest moment in Texas Rangers history. You could potentially including, I guess, Nolan Ryan’s no hitters or Kenny Rogers’ perfect game, but otherwise, pretty much all of them, I think, come in the 21st century, which says something about the first 30-something years of the team’s history.

There’s Neftali Feliz fanning ARod to send the Rangers to their first every World Series in 2010.

There’s Cliff Lee striking out 13 Yankees in a two hit complete game shutout in Game 3 of the ALCS.

In 2011, Nelson Cruz’s 11th inning walk off grand slam against the Tigers in the ALCS was magical.

As an Ian Kinsler stan, his 9th inning homer in Game 5 of the 2011 ALDS against the Rays, with him skipping out of the box on the way to first base, is still a favorite.

The five home runs Adolis Garcia hit in the 2023 ALCS against the Houston Astros — especially the Game 6 grand slam, after striking out his first four at bats, to blow the game open — tremendous.

But to me, the greatest moment in Texas Rangers history took place three years ago today. Game 1 of the 2023 World Series, in Arlington. The Rangers, down 5-3 going to the bottom of the ninth against D-Backs closer Paul Sewald. Leody Taveras leads off with a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate. Marcus Semien strikes out.

And then, up steps Corey Seager, and first pitch…

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched that clip — dozens, at least. And it still gives me goosebumps.

“He could tie it with one swing…HIGH DRIVE…ITS TIED!!!”

I defy you to watch that clip and not have big feelings.

That was a $325 million dollar swing. That was the greatest moment in Texas Rangers history.

That home run just tied up the score, but at that moment I knew — much like I knew, when Mitch Garver homered in the second inning of Game 6 of the ALCS in Houston to tie up the game, that the Rangers would win the ALCS — that the Rangers were going to win, not just the game, but the whole damn thing.

Two innings later, Adolis Garcia won the game for the Rangers in dramatic fashion:

You know, we know, intellectually, that Adolis Garcia was a beast in the 2023 playoffs. We remember that he came up huge. But watching that clip, and the one of the ALCS homers, brings the feeling back.

Five days later, in Arizona, in a game where the Rangers didn’t have a baserunner until the fifth inning, and didn’t get a hit until the seventh, a gritty performance by Nathan Eovaldi kept the D-Backs off the scoreboard for six innings. Aroldis Chapman retired a pair of batters and issued a walk in the seventh before turning the ball over to Josh Sborz, who recorded the final seven outs.

And in an echo of 2010 and Neftali Feliz, Sborz ended the game with a backwards K:

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a Rangers fan. As a kid, I was desperate to see the Rangers win the World Series, to be crowned champions. As an adult — especially after 2011 and 2012 — I started to think it would never happen, that the Rangers were cursed, and that I’d never see them lift the trophy.

Sometimes I find myself wondering, why do I do this to myself? Why am I a fan of this team? Why do I subject myself to the heartache and heartbreak and disappointment that is such a regular part of our fandom?

And then I watch those clips above, and my question is answered. 2023 makes it all worthwhile.

The Tampa Bay Rays played 162 games in the regular season and easily proved they were the best team in the American League. They did this with effective pitching, amazing defense, excellent scouting, well worked at-bats, and fantastic fundamentals.

These are the things that allowed the Rays sweep the New York Yankees in the ALDS and then overcome the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS.

And then these are the things that have eluded the Rays thus far in the World Series against the best team in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers have shown exactly why they are so great.

The hitters will absolutely wear down a pitcher with each at-bat seemingly taking a toll on the unfortunate soul on the mound; when a strikeout does occur, it’s only after an exorbitant amount of fouled off offerings. The Milwaukee pitchers have made quick work of the Rays, either striking them out with ease by expanding the zone or inducing weak contact to perfectly placed fielders. The only thing the Brewers haven’t done is crush the ball out of the ballpark, but there just hasn’t been a need; there have only been two home runs hit this World Series (Frelick and Hicks).

Now the Rays are on the brink of losing their 3rd attempt at a World Series in humiliating fashion, losing all four games, and forced to watch as the Brewers celebrate at Tropicana Field.

It will likely be all hands on deck for the Rays regarding the pitching strategy but Griffin Jax is the probable starter. Over the regular season, Jax had a 3.53 ERA | 3.76 FIP with a 25.3 K% & 7.6 BB% over 112.1 IP. Thus far in the postseason, Jax has a 6.00 ERA | 4.77 FIP with a 23.1 K% & 11.5 BB% over 6 IP. It has been 12 days since Jax last took the mound, taking the loss in game three of the ALCS against Cleveland, allowing three runs on five hits over four innings of work.

The Brewers will have the majority of their pitchers available including the trio of fearsome arms in the backend of their bullpen: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Aaron Ashby.

Their official starter hasn’t been announced but there are several options. Possibly southpaw Ktlye Harrison, who hasn’t pitched yet this postseason. Milwaukee could also go with Shane Drohan or Dustin May. It will be anyone’s guess as to who Pat Murphy will call upon to try and get the 27 outs needed to secure a World Series title.

First pitch is tonight at 8:08.

Hopefully there will be a first pitch tomorrow.

Game 2 of the 2026 World Series ended, to some, in controversy. Yandy Díaz may, or may not, have checked his swing in a full count facing Aaron Ashby, getting himself punched out as the Brewers went up 2-0 in the Fall Classic. The called strike three set off a round of assurances that the check swing challenge system being tested in the minor leagues will fix this, that we will have a perfect game soon.

I’m not sure I want a perfect game. I’m not sure I want a perfect anything.

I wrote almost two years ago as the ABS system loomed on the horizon about preserving a tinge of doubt. That challenge system has turned out great. The most egregious calls, especially earlier in the season, were corrected, but limits on how many reviews you get and internal controls on who and when you can challenge introduced a new layer of in-game tactical decisions, adding friction to the newly-optimized strikezone.

That balance is the one that I’m increasingly interested in finding. Everything is very easy for us now. I can write this from my toilet while on a lunch break from my email job with a burrito in a heat bag on the back of a bicycle about to be dropped off outside my door. The perpetual optimization of the consumer life has made it easier to do nothing but stay home and consume, but has removed bumping into a friend walking down the street or seeing a cool bird because you had to walk through the park to get food yourself.

The increase in LLM usage underscores this as well. Once again I give a pledge to you all that you will never read a word of mine that came from Claude or Chat or any of the New C Words, but I work with people and text (a limited amount) with people and read essays from people that involve a prompt, and maybe a follow-up, and no sweat or creativity afterward. These things cause me great pain to read.

Baseball’s path to optimization hasn’t really made people more stagnant in the same way that DoorDash and streaming services have. Instead, the path to optimization has resulted in the thing that I believe is hurting the watchability of the sport: pitching is too good. We have learned how to add three miles per hour to everyone’s pitch, with an extra three inches of horizontal break to every sweeper, three inches of induced vertical break to everyone’s fastball, we’ve figured out tunneling so the three pitches a reliever features all look the same until past the swing decision point, and we’ve worked out that using five pitchers in a nine-inning game is more effective on a per-inning basis than three.

Indeed, one major reason why the Brewers and Rays are in the World Series in the first place is because they have so managed to optimize pitching. Between Jacob Misiorowski and Freddy Peralta and Aaron Ashby and Drew Rassmussen, this is what you get when you’ve hit the absolute prime in development. The only way to claw any of that back is institutional — I’m in favor of both limiting the number of pitchers you have on your roster, and tying the DH to pitcher usage in some way, but this post isn’t about that.

It’s about baseball losing friction. Once everything is optimized yes we should have a game where everything is decided solely by the players and … OK, yeah, sure, but that also means we never get a Jeffrey Maier, or a Jackie-and-Yogi at home plate, indelible moments of baseball’s history. Sports are meant to have a little mess, just a little, because that’s what we end up talking about.

Last Friday I saw the newly-restored remaster of Ken Russell’s The Devils, one of the more controversial and explicit pieces of film ever made. It was a little inconvenient to get there, as the bus we had to take is the least reliable bus line in the city, the mall the cinema is attached to is very much a liminal space with an elevator that has over the summer induced vertigo more than once. I could have stayed home, pulled up a torrent, watched it on TV not five feet from the desk where I work a full-time job.

But I didn’t, and the experience was better for it. Rolling my eyes at an unreliable bus leads to widening them at Sister Jean cloaked entirely in shadow. Forgoing the free torrent for a paid showing meant whoa I’ve never heard the score like that.

We want optimization, and we should get a good amount of it. This Series is the showcase of the uber-optimized ballclub though, and forgive me for preferring to argue whether Jackie was really out at home plate — and he was.

The greatest player in franchise history, Evan Longoria, will be on hand throw out the ceremonial first pitch before game four of the 2026 World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.

Originally drafted by the Rays as the 3rd overall selection of the 2006 draft, Longoria rapidly reached the big leagues by April 2008 and cemented himself as the team’s third baseman for the next decade, completely shattering franchise records along the way. During his 2008 campaign, Longoria became the first player in team history to be awarded the Rookie of the Year.

During his 10-year long tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays, Longoria hit .270/.341/.483 with 261 homeruns, registering a 123 wRC+ over 1,435 games played. The first four years of his career, Longoria was on a Hall of Fame trajectory as he averaged 6.7 fWAR per year, but then injuries began to take a toll on his performance. Still, Longoria provided the Rays with solid defense and offensive production throughout the second half of his time with the Rays.

In 2011, Evan Longoria provided fans with a lifetime memory when he punched the team’s ticket to the postseason with a walk-off homerun during Game 162 to finalize an incredible month long comeback.

To go along with 2008 Rookie of the Year award, Longoria won three Gold Gloves for Tampa Bay and took him a Silver Slugger award in 2009; Longoria also received MVP consideration in six of his 10 seasons with Tampa Bay, placing as high as 6th twice (2010 & 2013). Longoria twice hit three homeruns in a single game and hit for the cycle in 2017, just the second player in franchise history to do so.

Following the 2017 season, Longoria was traded to the San Francisco Giants and played decently for five years, averaging 1.4 fWAR per season. Longoria’s last hurrah came in 2023 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with whom he reached the World Series.

Evan Longoria officially retired as a member of the Rays in 2025. Then earlier this year, the Rays retired the #3 and inducted Longoria into the Tampa Bay Rays Hall of Fame.

LOS ANGELES — With the Dodgers season now concluded, we have some distance to look back at the television and radio broadcasts for the team in the 2026 regular season.

The Dodgers had 17 games exclusively on national television or streaming, including games on NBC, Fox, ESPN, and Apple TV, and were 9-8 in those games. That left 145 games for SportsNet LA, in their 13th season televising Dodgers games locally, and the seventh year available more widely in and around Los Angeles after years of carriage disputes.

Joe Davis called 88 games on SportsNet LA, right in line with his 87 games in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025. The extra game locally this year came on July 19 at Yankee Stadium. The day before, Fox was set to televise Dodgers-Yankees with Davis on the call, but the game was rained out. The makeup game, during the day on Sunday, was televised by SportsNet LA with Davis and Orel Hershiser on the call, followed by a nightcap that was on NBC.

Davis, who also helms the No. 1 MLB team and the No.2 NFL broadcast team for Fox, called five regular season Dodgers games for Fox as well as six of their eight postseason games, missing only Games 3-4 of the National League Division Series in Atlanta after losing his voice.

He said one of his favorite parts of SportsNet LA broadcasts this year was doing profiles of former Dodgers players, giving a glimpse into sometimes obscure players and telling the stories of folks the audience might not have known.

Here’s one example of one of those in-game profiles by Davis, on August 28 when the Dodgers played the Tigers in Detroit. Davis came back from break to start the top of the sixth inning talking about Goody Rosen (who folks here might remember from a Dodgers Rewind in September 2022).

“Happy Dodger birthday to Goodwin ‘Goody’ Rosen, who was from Canada, played center field for the Dodgers in the late 1930s, from 1937 through 1939, and then didn’t appear in another major league game for five years,” Davis said on the broadcast. “He was in the minors for four seasons before World War II opened up a bunch of roster spots across every team. So he comes back up, in 1945 Goody hits .345 for the Dodgers, but he was in his mid-30s by now so he only played one more season, retired from the big leagues. Kept on playing though, he played some semi-pro baseball and some fast-pitch softball for the Canadian national team. Goody lived to be 81 years old.”

Rosen’s story was interwoven by Davis into the first three pitches of the sixth inning, while Tommy Edman was batting, and harkened back to an older era when baseball broadcasts included more storytelling.

Stephen Nelson was on play-by-play for the other 57 SportsNet LA games in 2026, and also called 59 games on AM 570 radio, plus four more radio games in the postseason when the Dodgers were on the road. He also called all three exhibition Freeway Series games against the Angels on March 22-24.

2026 SportsNet LA broadcaster pairings

Hershiser was the analyst for SportsNet LA for 85 games, similar to his 83 games in 2025, 83 games in 2024, and 84 games in 2023. He also called all four Dodgers games on NBC as an analyst, as well as the April 15 game against the Mets.

The most prolific TV pairing for the Dodgers on SportsNet LA this year was Davis and Hershiser at 58 games with Nelson and Hershiser next with 27 games.

Eric Karros called 34 games, 19 with Nelson and 15 with Davis. Karros was also in the SportsNet LA booth alongside Nelson for three Freeway Series games in March.

Jessica Mendoza called 17 games for SportsNet LA, 11 alongside Davis and six with Nelson.

Dontrelle Willis also made his return to local Dodgers broadcasts this season for the first time since 2023, calling all seven games of a road trip through Miami and Cincinnati from September 12-18, two games with Davis and five alongside Nelson. Willis was the analyst for all four Dodgers games exclusively on Apple TV, with Wayne Randazzo on play-by-play.

Willis during the series in Miami on September 13 was inducted into the Marlins Hall of Fame. In that same game, Josue De Paula hit his first major league home run, a towering 416-foot blast to right field.

“First of all, what a bomb for your first hit in the big leagues. But being with Dontrelle that road trip was so fun. He hadn’t called a game for SNLA since 2023, which was my first year. And we’ve been trying to get him back. Because it’s just pure energy and joy,” Nelson recalled. “So, D-Train’s energy, combined with the energy Josue brought with that swing an in general down the stretch, was just a fun thing to be part of. And I’m so pumped for his future. It couldn’t be brighter.”

The other two games on SportsNet LA featured Nomar Garciappara as analyst alongside Joe Davis on April 26 against the Chicago Cubs, and Clayton Kershaw making his broadcast booth debut on August 25 against the Braves in Atlanta, also alongside Davis. Kershaw was also a part of some NBC Sports telecasts this season as an analyst sitting near the dugout.

Here are the television broadcaster pairings for all Dodgers regular season games in 2026.

Six times this season Colorado Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros played against the Dodgers when Eric Karros, Kyle’s father, was calling games. Karros would go out of his way to avoid acknowledging the relationship, almost to comical effect, at times simply referring to “the third baseman.”

After a Karros single at Dodger Stadium on May 26, first baseman Freddie Freeman was laughing with him and continuously pointing up to the Dodgers broadcast booth, where Eric Karros was calling the game, trying to get a reaction.

“I’m obviously a few years behind EK in terms of being a father to two boys. So I look up to him in many respects there; how he and Trish have raised Kyle and Jared,” Nelson recalled. “But calling a game with him hitting as Kyle homered off [Miguel] Rojas at Dodger Stadium was just awesome. And hilarious. He was so so proud but he was trying to be impossibly professional those Rockies series.

“Then later in the year, at Colorado. Kyle was hurt. And we were talking about him. Our director cut to a shot of Kyle in the Rockies dugout and he was looking up. I’m looking at him, and I’m like ‘I think he’s looking at you,’ and we start waving and Kyle smiles and waves back. That’s the good stuff, man.”

Charley Steiner missed nearly all of the 2024 and 2025 seasons while battling multiple myeloma and a broken back. But he gradually worked his way back in 2026, calling 35 Dodgers games on radio. In the beginning of the year he called one home game per series, and started the year calling the first three innings, then four, five, six, seven, and eventually on August 15 he called his first complete game of the season, a game Steiner felt was among the most important calls of his career.

“I turned to him after it was over and gave him a fist bump. Neither one of us said a word,” radio analyst Rick Monday said of that August 15 broadcast, on a feature by Tom Rinaldi on Fox Sports that aired before Game 3 of the NLCS. “I knew my buddy was back.”

Steiner called 10 complete games over the final six weeks of the season, then called all four Dodgers home games on radio during the postseason.

Monday at age 80 was the most prolific of all Dodgers announcers in 2026, calling 155 regular season games and all eight postseason games on radio, after calling 27 spring training games with Tim Neverett on SportNet LA.

“I’m so fortunate to have Mo. I’m his partner, he’s my partner,” Steiner said. “We’re friends, and Duane [McDonald, producer and engineer] in the booth, it’s a nice — it’s family.”

“What a rare and special and unique character, and yet for twenty-something years we’ve been together, whether it’s in the booth, on the bus, in the airplane, at dinner. To be part of that, it’s a wonderful group,” Steiner added, on his long relationship with Monday. “When you do it for so long, and are so close, yeah, we just go out and play.”

The only games Monday missed this year were for trips to Cooperstown, both related to the 50th anniversary of his stopping a United States flag from being burned on the field at Dodger Stadium in 1976. James Loney filled in as radio analyst for the May 22-24 series against the Brewers in Milwaukee — his second year filling in, after calling two radio games in 2025 — and José Mota moved over from the Spanish radio booth to serve as the English analyst for May 25 at home against the Rockies. Mota then was the analyst alongside Nelson when the Dodgers played the Mets in New York from July 24-26.

Radio pairings here are fudged a little bit, as the 25 games that Steiner called but did not finish were also counted for Neverett (16 games) and Nelson (nine), so there’s some double counting here.

One of the easier decisions Scott Harris will have to make about his roster for 2027 will also be one of the first of the offseason. The Detroit Tigers hold a $10 million club option on right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson, and they seem certain to exercise it. With a long lockout looming, and minimal free agent movement expected until a new CBA in place, the Tigers can’t really afford to let major league caliber pitchers walk at such a reasonable price.

After four years almost exclusively as a starting pitcher in Japan and South Korea, Anderson’s return to the major leagues went pretty well overall, despite him having to flex back and forth between the bullpen and a starting role. He made 11 starts for the Tigers, posting a 2.61 ERA with a 4.45 FIP as a starting pitcher. Out of the bullpen, he had a 4.63 ERA with a 4.11 FIP across 56.1 innings of work. That’s not far from a full season’s work out of the bullpen, and yet he managed 51.2 innings as a starter as well. That versatility is something the Tigers sorely need with a reasonably deep group of rotation options and a bullpen that is still weak on the right-handed side of the equation.

Anderson was a little too prone to free passes and home runs, but he also posted one of the team’s best strikeout rates in a relief role. His FIP numbers say he had things go his way in his time as a starter, but Anderson does keep the ball on the ground as well, posting a 48.4 percent ground ball rate on balls in play. Combined with a 12.4 percent swinging strike rate compared to the league average of 10 percent and a high chase rate, Anderson has plenty to operate with.

Over the course of the season, the Tigers helped him dial in his pitch mix, relying mainly on his fourseamer, nasty kick change, and his curveball. They experimented with his slider more in late April and May, but it did not go well and they rightly ditched that pitch more and more as the season progressed and turned to the curveball instead. He only threw the slider 4.8 percent of the time, yet it accounted for three of the 16 total home runs Anderson allowed on the year. More work is required before it’s more than a show-me pitch.

The issue with keeping Anderson is that while he was pretty useful as a starting pitcher, he’s going to have a hard time cracking the rotation next year without some injuries. Framber Valdez, Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton, River Ryan, Keider Montero, and, if finally healthy, Reese Olson, are probably all ahead of him on the starting depth chart. At least to start the year, Anderson is going to be in the bullpen, and he’s just not a great fit for high leverage relief either. He functions best as a fifth starter or as a bulk and middle relief arm, and he’ll have to be more consistent next year for that to change.

The Tigers have at least three lefties to hold down that side of the bullpen in Drew Sommers, who should be a high leverage option next year, Brant Hurter, and Tyler Holton. That leaves five spots for right-handers. Will Vest’s status is a big question mark, and the Tigers have Kyle Finnegan under contract already for 2027 after a tough 2026. The situation is really uncertain on that side of the bullpen. There’s clearly room for Anderson, and with free agency bound to be delayed this offseason, the Tigers will almost certainly keep him, but the only problem he helps solve for them is depth.

The issue with high leverage relief work is that Anderson’s curveball and kick change are his big swing and miss pitches. The changeup is clearly the nastiest pitch he’s got, but the big movement and the feel required to spot it down make him vulnerable to leaving too many hangers up in the zone under pressure. At least, that was how it looked this year. His fastball doesn’t get hit very hard, but it’s certainly not the type of whiff generating heater that most good high leverage relievers possess. The x-factor is his 80 mph curveball, which he used more and more as the year went on and he was moved into the rotation and really needed a strong third pitch. He racked up a 33.3 percent whiff rate on it, and while it has a similar tendency to get crushed when left up in the zone, it’s a lot simpler pitch to grip and rip under pressure.

One of the changes Anderson made in his years playing overseas was lowering his arm angle. He averaged 42 degrees this year, whereas in his major league seasons prior to going to Japan and South Korea, his arm angle was averaging 49 degrees. The lower arm slot, without other adjustments, can produce less induced vertical break, which usually leads to fewer whiffs. On the plus side, Anderson now averages over 95 mph with a few extra inches of extension than he did earlier in his career when he was averaging 92-93 mph. The tradeoff for more velo and extension is probably worth it, but with modest ride and not much run, it’s almost more like a cut fastball. It worked out, as hitters hit .215 with a meager .356 slugging percentage, and those numbers are backed up well by Statcast’s expected metrics, but it’s not that easy to see where more whiff inducing movement is going to come from.

Anderson gets 82 percent spin efficiency on the fourseamer, so they could possibly work on that to get more ride, but with his arm angle that may just add more run rather than ride, and sometimes that hurts a pitcher more than it helps them. Anderson’s fourseamer has pretty similar traits to Jack Flaherty’s fastball, and that bodes well for it as Flaherty’s fourseamer is rarely hit hard in the air either. They just aren’t going to miss a ton of bats with it either. Those slightly gyrospin fourseamers are more about getting a little late, seam-shifted movement to miss barrels rather than to generate big whiffs.

An argument in Anderson’s favor is that pitching late innings relief is not what he’s used to doing. He also had to deal with a different baseball than they use in South Korea. It’s possible that those factors just required more acclimation time than the Tigers could give him once the injuries started piling up left and right in April and May. Perhaps with his experience gained he’ll do a better job in setup situations with a lead next year and just feel more comfortable all around, no matter how the Tigers deploy him.

Anderson is worth the $10 million on the open market. There’s no buyout cost if the Tigers choose otherwise, but really it’s a pretty easy decision to pick up the club option. He may not fit perfectly into the Tigers needs in terms of specific relief roles, but he does in terms of their need for more right-handed depth, and he offers some bat missing ability and a solid ground ball profile. Figuring out exactly what to do with him in the bullpen is a little more complicated. Still, having him in house makes it a little easier to wait out the CBA negotiations and then try to target pitching in free agency once everyone knows where they stand with the new ruleset. And possibly Anderson’s improved second half says he was settling in and bound for a stronger second season back in the big leagues next year.

Despite finishing with the second best overall record in the Northwest League this year, the Frogs were unable to clinch a playoff spot this season, falling just short with steady and consistent play that was unable to ever ascend high enough on the standings for a half-season crown. Playing in the compact confines of Everett’s home ballpark, the AquaSox offense posted absolutely massive numbers on the season, leading the league in multiple major categories at the plate including homers, runs, OPS, and stolen bases. The pitching, though fighting an uphill battle with the aforementioned home ballpark, held their own, and gave them a chance to win on a nightly basis. It’s obviously disappointing to miss the postseason with as good as they played all season, but the individual successes up and down this roster are impossible to ignore and deserve to be celebrated.

Team Performance

First Half Record: 33-33 (+22 Run Differential)

Second Half Record: 34-32 (+37 Run Differential)

Final Record: 67-65

Team ERA: 4.96 (fourth in Northwest League)

Team OPS: .834 (first in Northwest League)

Stat to Know: Led Northwest League with 193 home runs (29 more than second place)

Season Stars

Felnin Celesten

Where else to start than with the newly crowned Northwest League MVP? Celesten had the bounceback of all bounceback seasons and managed to take home some serious hardware this 2026 season after an outstanding year at the plate. Slashing .314/.409/.534 at the level with 18 stolen bases, Celesten’s ranginess at shortstop and switch hitting ability made him a massive threat for the AquaSox for much of the year and ultimately led to his well deserved promotion to Double-A. Despite struggling a bit after his promotion and ending the season on the IL, his 2026 was undoubtedly one for the ages and has positioned him as one of the best prospects in this system.

Luke Stevenson

After a successful stint with the Nuts after his drafting in 2025, Stevenson hit the ground running with the Frogs and got off to a torrid start to his 2026, and despite some struggles in the middle of the year, a strong stretch run to close out the season kept his season numbers in a great spot. Stevenson’s season was largely what most would have expected from the power-hitting backstop: lots of walks, lots of strikeouts, lots of homers, and great defense. The whiff is going to concern some evaluators and could in theory leave him off some Top 100 lists this offseason, but the floor is still rather high considering the quality at which he does everything else on the diamond, and his defense behind the plate alone might just be enough to get him to the big leagues one day. Stevenson is set to slate somewhere in the the top ten organizationally and will look to prove his approach can work against Double-A pitching next season.

Jonny Farmelo

With his first full season in his young professional career, Farmelo mashed his way through the Northwest League and earned his way up to Double-A by season’s end. The speedy centerfielder was aggressive in all facets of the game; his 41 stolen bases were second best in the entire system (five behind Nick Becker), and though his whiff was elevated, he managed to slug just enough to make it work and produce effectively. In an ideal world, Farmelo is able to maintain the level of thump he’s been able to reach while cutting back on the raw whiff rates, but that’s obviously much easier said than done and may prove to be an unsuccessful venture. Should that be the case, Farmelo will need to continue to show he can be an elite defensive centerfielder with major game power and game-changing speed on the basepaths in order to reach his fullest potential, and if his strong end to the year is any indication, he’s well on his way to doing just that.

Sleepers

Brandon Eike

Eike probably deserves to be in the “stars” section for the monstrous year he had for the Frogs, but given he isn’t considered a Top 30 prospect by most all outlets, we’ll highlight him here and show him the love he deserves. Launching 29 homers on the year and slugging his way to an OPS of .892, Eike was a consistent force in the middle of the Everett lineup and proved to be invaluable for this Frogs roster. There’s a ton of swing-and-miss in his profile and the overall abilities outside of the slug are somewhat limited, but if Eike can continue to hit the ball with authority as he ascends through the upper-minors, the raw production may prove to be too good to overlook.

Carlos Jimenez

Yet another deserved “star”, Jimenez’s 2026 was just as good, if not better, than the aforementioned Eike. After a few years of toiling in the low minors, Jimenez put together a truly outstanding year this season, revitalizing his prospect pedigree a bit after some general fatigue. The 23 year old posted a .926 OPS on the year with 20 stolen bases and a K-rate of just 21%. His 14.6% walk rate made him a constant threat on the basepaths, and his simple lefty swing managed to do a ton of damage for him at the plate. He’ll assuredly get a shot to shine at the Double-A level next season, and should he continue to find sustained success, he’ll undoubtedly play himself up prospect boards.

Colton Shaw

The best pitcher on this staff all season, Shaw’s sinker-sweeper combination was just what the doctor ordered for his homer-friendly home ballpark, and he used that tandem to lead the staff in just about every major pitching category. Shaw’s lower launch gives his sinker some wicked action and allows it to tunnel well with his secondaries, making him an incredibly interesting arm to watch for in 2027. The M’s have strongly gravitated toward high-command sinkerballers in recent classes, and though it may just be a blip, it seems to be an organizational preference that they’ve identified as a market inefficiency they can capitalize on. Colton Shaw’s certainly done his part in proving that notion right, and his outstanding 2026 makes him one of a handful in this organization with a very strong “up arrow” next to his name.

In the end-of-season press conference, Chris Antonetti indicated the Guardians would be looking to make upgrades to their starting rotation and their bullpen this offseason. What could those upgrades look like?

As the month of November unfolds, we will do deeper dives into the names that become more obviously available, but this article is a chance to bring up some pitchers who may be a good fit for Cleveland for fans looking to do some searching and analyzing. In future articles, we will break down statistics, ages, and contract projections, but this post is “food for thought.” We know we will only have about one month before the lockout begins so it is possible that the Guardians make a move before baseball settles in for a long winter’s (and spring’s?) nap. Without further ado, here are some ideas to ponder:

Free Agent Options:
S-Tier: Tarik Skubal, LHP. Analysis: Not happening.

A-Tier: Trevor Rogers, LHP, Kevin Gausman, RHP, Freddy Peralta, RHP, Brandon Woodruff, RHP
Analysis: Very, very unlikely… but the Guardians can feel free to surprise me and sign one of these guys if they want (even Guasman who is old and I hate for hitting Jose intentionally). Rogers is my favorite of the bunch and has the best extension (a trait the Guardians’ love), but he’s getting a huge deal that is, obviously, highly unlikely to come from Cleveland.

B-Tier: Robbie Ray, LHP, Casey Mize, RHP, Patrick Sandoval, RHP, Jack Flaherty, RHP, Foster Griffin, LHP, Tyler Mahle, RHP
Analysis: It’s this part of the market where I can imagine the Guardians potentially deciding to put their hat in the ring IF those ALCS checks cleared and IF David Blitzer liked that taste of getting close to a World Series. Mize is my clear choice among this bunch (also has the best extension), but there is something to like about each option in here. Ultimately, I expect these players to get contracts longer than what the Guardians are comfortable offering, but they are definitely worth monitoring as the offseason progresses.

C-Tier: Shane Bieber, RHP, Matthew Boyd, LHP, Zac Gallen, RHP, Shota Imanga, LHP, Kris Bubic, LHP, Walker Buehler, LHP, Brady Singer, RHP
Analysis: I am very interested in Cleveland as a place where Bieber or Gallen could try to rebuild their values as starting pitchers for a year to try for one more free agent contract. We know what Bieber can offer and Gallen has good extension numbers and a strong track record…. up until 2025. Can he rediscover the ability to be a front of the rotation arm? That’s the question. A reunion with Boyd would be fun, and Buehler and Imanga both are decent pillow-contract/Guardians’ fix-a-pitcher options. Bubic and Singer both fit as “Guys the Royals Couldn’t Figure Out But Maybe We Could,” but, notably, the Dodgers couldn’t fix Bubic and the Reds couldn’t fix Singer, so Singer is probably the pitcher with more meat on the bone. Singer had HORRIBLE numbers last season but he does have an elite extension profile. I would keep an eye on him as someone the Guardians may be in on for a very inexpensive one-year deal or a minor-league contract. Of this bunch, count me as most excited about Imanga because it would be a chance to open a path into the market for Asian players… but, aside from that, give me a Bieber reunion counting on him and Carl to rediscover the magic.

Some potential trade candidates to monitor:
Reid Detmers, LHP, Angels
Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins
Eury Perez, RHP, Marlins
Joe Ryan, RHP, Twins
Taj Bradley, RHP, Twins
Logan Gilbert, RHP, Mariners
Bryan Woo, RHP, Mariners
George Kirby, RHP, Mariners
Bryce Miller, RHP, Mariners
Jose Soriano, RHP, Orioles

Analysis: Aside from Alcantara, Detmers and Ryan, I don’t think anyone on this list is LIKELY to be traded, but all are in the realm of possibility. Understand that to get any of these arms, the Guardians would be parting with multiple top prospects. The one exception would probably be Alcantara who probably could be had for a package of lesser prospects if the team is willing to take on his contract… but the package would still need to be guys with some solid, major league potential. Every one of these pitchers has potential to pitch at the front of a playoff rotation, so I am on-board with the Guardians pursuing them and sacrificing serious prospect capital to get a deal done. Just know… it would hurt if they pulled it off. Detmers is my favorite of the bunch.

In the 2024 offseason, the Guardians needed starting pitching and managed to snag Luis Ortiz and Slade Cecconi, though neither pitcher seemed especially available. Some names to consider along these lines are Andrew Alvarez of the Washington Nationals, Gabriel Hughes of the Rockies, and Carmen Mlodzinski of the Pirates. Each pitcher has some interesting underlying metrics that indicate a better pitching group could get more out of them. Alvarez and Mlodzinski are both 27, so in the age range where a trade is something teams consider, while Hughes is only 25 and would cost more because of that. However, I’d like to, again, highlight Hughes who gets ELITE extension release as a pitcher the Guardians would be poised to maximize if they could pry him free from Colorado.

Which pitcher catches your eye as a Guardians’ fan? Let us know in the comments below

Good morning, baseball fans!

The 2026 MLB Playoffs continue today with Game 4 of the World Series between the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, who hold a 3-0 series lead over the Tampa Bay Rays, who are just trying to stay alive for another game.

Tonight’s game begins at 5:00 p.m. PT, airing on Fox/Fox One, with national radio coverage available on ESPN Radio.

As of the time this is being written, the Brewers have not yet announced a starting pitcher. Whoever it ends up being will face off against Rays right-hander Griffin Jax, who ended the regular season with a 3.53 ERA, 3.76 FIP, with 116 strikeouts to 35 walks in 112.1 innings pitched. His last start in this postseason was in the Rays’ 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on October 15th, in which he allowed three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks in four innings.

Personally, I’ve got to root for the Rays tonight. As much as I am hoping the Brewers take the series, a sweep is only fun if it’s your team doing it (as in 2012). I’d love to see the Rays come back and at least make the series a little more interesting. But I wouldn’t be unhappy to see the Brewers win it all tonight, either.

Who are you rooting for?

So far this offseason, we have talked about some of the bigger names on the free agent market. That includes the likes of Michael King, Adrian Morejon and Brandon Lowe. Today I want to discuss some under the radar targets that have surprising upside. David Peterson, Kris Bubic and Kyle Hart all have risk, but they also have the ability to outperform their contracts.

For fans of the NL East, Peterson is the biggest name here, so let’s start with him. The lefty spent parts of 7 seasons with the Mets before being traded to the Cubs in June. Since 2022, Peterson has had his ups and downs, but has been largely reliable. He has thrown at least 105 innings every year and has posted a WAR of at least 1. 

After a dreadful start to 2026, the trade reinvigorated Peterson. He posted a 3.70 ERA with the Cubs and was arguably their best pitcher after the All-Star break. Following the midsummer classic, Peterson posted a 2.73 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 66 innings. 

The 31 year old southpaw is not a flashy pitcher by any means. He throws his two low-90’s fastballs over 50% of the time. However, those offerings play up due to Peterson’s elite extension. His slider, changeup and curveball give him a trio of solid secondary pitches. Peterson relies heavily on ground balls, which makes his ERA heavily reliant on BABIP, but his FIP has generally been in the mid to high 3’s throughout his 5 year run. 

Peterson will be more expensive than the free agents the Nats have signed over the past few years, but compared to a King or Peralta, he will be cheaper. Something in the ballpark of 3-years $33 million should get it done. One potential issue I would have is that Peterson is fairly reliant on a good defense, but I like his steadiness. He is a solid arm, who can make playoff starts when he is at his best.

Kris Bubic is also a soft tossing lefty, but he is very different from Peterson. The 29 year old lefty has a very high ceiling but his injury prone nature makes him a big risk. However, that risk is also a potential opportunity for the Nats. If Bubic hits, he can be a true middle of the rotation starter while not being paid like one.

Over his last 217.2 innings, Bubic has a 2.98 ERA with a 2.91 FIP and 227 strikeouts. The problem here is that he has only thrown 217.2 innings since 2023. This season, Bubic suffered from forearm and shoulder issues, which is obviously terrifying. However, he got back on the mound at the end of the year and threw in the playoffs for the Dodgers.

In 2025, the one season where Bubic was relatively healthy, he had a 2.55 ERA in 116.1 innings and made the All-Star game. Bubic’s fastball only averages 92, but it has elite ride from a lower slot which makes it a very good pitch. He also has a filthy changeup which plays beautifully off the fastball. His sweeper and slider cap off a very complete arsenal.

With his injury issues, Bubic will likely have to take a one-year deal, maybe with a club option. If Paul Toboni is hunting for upside on the free agent market, this would be a great opportunity. We have seen injury prone pitchers suddenly stay healthy before, with Shane Baz and Jacob Degrom being recent examples. 

If the Nats can somehow keep Bubic healthy, he would be a great signing. He might not be able to be a full time starter, but I think he could provide value as a reliever if that is how you keep him healthy. Bubic is the type of high upside, lower cost move I could see the Nats making.

One of the Nats biggest needs this offseason is a matchup lefty. Paul Toboni tried so hard to find a left handed reliever who could consistently get left handed hitters out. He never really got his guy though. Thankfully, there are plenty of lefty relievers on the market.

There are top tier guys such as Alex Vesia and Adrian Morejon. This class also has a nice second tier consisting of JoJo Romero, Brock Burke, Sean Newcomb, Gregory Soto and more. However, I have a third tier option that could outproduce that second tier in 2027.

We will see if the Padres pick up Kyle Hart’s $2.5 million club option, but if they don’t I like the lefty. On the surface, this sounds weird. He posted a 4.92 ERA this year and the 33 year old has a 6.25 ERA in his career. However, his peripherals and stuff tell a different story.

Despite that 4.92 ERA, Hart had a 3.63 FIP and xERA. Hart did a fantastic job of limiting hard contact and getting ground balls. His velocity also went up by over 2 MPH after being moved to a full time bullpen role. If you are looking for a stuff demon, Hart is a sneaky option.

In addition to the harder fastball, Hart also introduced a splitter, which got very good results. Batters hit just .163 against the pitch with a 39.4% whiff rate. That helped him a lot against right handed hitters. Hart’s sweeper is also a very strong weapon against lefties.

He has never fully turned that stuff into results, which is why the Padres might not pick up his option. After all, he is out of minor league options and was left off the playoff roster. However, I think he could be primed for a late career breakout entering his age 34 season. Hart will be quite cheap and I think he could outperform better known options such as JoJo Romero or Brock Burke.

None of these three arms are perfect, but they would not be sleeper options if they were. However, I think Peterson, Bubic and Hart all have the ability to outperform their contracts by quite a bit. You would be taking a risk, but the reward could be huge and the price won’t be massive.