Category: Baseball

Over the next couple weeks, we’re going to take a look around the Brewers’ roster and think about how, or if, the Brewers would consider upgrading at those positions and who might be available via free agency or trade. Before getting into that, though, we should go position-by-position through the Brewers’ roster to examine how things look going into the offseason—particularly in the wake of Jake Bauers’ deal with the Red Sox.

Given that the Brewers just won the World Series and, aside from Bauers, they didn’t have any big losses, we shouldn’t expect any major surprises. But it still gives us an opportunity to look to the future and imagine some unlikely scenarios.

Catcher

The Brewers have picked up the option on William Contreras’ contract, which buys out his last year of arbitration at $15.5 million. Barring an extension, Contreras will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2027 season. The Brewers declined a mutual option on backup Gary Sánchez, so he’s a free agent; other catchers on the 40-man roster include Bo Naylor, who came over in a trade on August 1^st but who played only three times with the Brewers, and Jeferson Quero, the former-top-prospect whose 2024 shoulder injury has put his future as a catcher in doubt (though Matt Arnold reiterated this week that they see Quero as a future catcher).

The answer here might be very simple: the Brewers might just go with Contreras on an expiring deal and Naylor as the backup. Naylor struggled badly at the plate in 2026, and he’s always been a pretty bad hitter, but he has well over 1,000 major-league plate appearances and has a lot of experience catching good pitching staffs in Cleveland. Given how much Contreras plays, I suspect the team is okay with Naylor as a backup.

The questions come in when considering the future beyond 2027. After his World Series MVP award, much of the Milwaukee fanbase feels that the team should make Contreras the next Brewer to receive a lucrative contract a la Ryan Braun and Christian Yelich.

With projections coming in around 5 years and $115 million or so, the Brewers could certainly afford it, but two questions follow: first, would Contreras take it? He might be dead set on reaching free agency where richer teams than Milwaukee—notably, the Yankees, who have struggled to find a reliable catcher in recent seasons—could drive up the bidding for his services. Second, signing a catcher, a position that usually doesn’t age well, through his age-34 or -35 season doesn’t seem like a very Brewersy thing to do.

The answer would be simpler if there were an obvious solution in the minor leagues. But Quero’s future is in serious doubt, and Marco Dinges, the other well-regarded catching prospect in the minor-league system, has barely played above High-A and there are questions about his defensive acumen.

It’s something to keep an eye on, with a lot of moving parts. I’m not closing the door on a possible Contreras extension, possibly even before the lockout begins at the beginning of next month. But I also wouldn’t be shocked if a blockbuster trade occurred, perhaps even followed by another blockbuster trade for a replacement. While there are some things to figure out at first base, the longer-term future at catcher makes this the most in-flux position on the roster at the moment.

First Base

I had a whole bunch of stuff written here about different scenarios with first base, whether Jake Bauers would accept the qualifying offer or whether he’d sign elsewhere, and what would happen in either case. Well, we now know that Bauers will not be back with the Brewers next season—so where does that leave the team?

Andrew Vaughn, who made $7.65 million in 2026 and should make slightly more than that next season, will now likely be back. He’s a right-handed hitter and started mostly only against left-handed pitchers last season, but he’s probably got the ability to start more against righties—he wasn’t too bad against them in 2026.

But the Brewers are likely to add another left-handed bat who could do some platoon work with Vaughn. There are two potential exciting-but-unproven answers in the minors: Andrew Fischer, who led the minor leagues with 48 homers last season while hitting .273/.413/.654 in 126 games between High-A Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi; and Blake Burke, who hit .285/.367/.603 in 96 games at Double-A before struggling in a short stint at Triple-A Nashville to end the season.

Both players come with real questions. Fischer’s swing-and-miss issues are so worrisome that some question whether he even has a future in the majors, despite his prodigious power. Burke also has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, but he’s also a guy who chases out of the zone a lot, something that Fischer avoids, and something that Bauers was so good at it bordered on being a superpower.

Luke Adams could’ve been an answer here had Bauers stayed. He’s closer to the majors than either Fischer or Burke and had a good season last year, but his fit on the major league roster alongside Vaughn is complicated. I wouldn’t really expect to see him, at least at the beginning of the season.

Spring training could be very interesting for Burke and Fischer, but the Brewers might also choose to bring in another player. The two of them have a lot of potential but have very little experience at the highest levels of the majors (Burke played 15 games and struggled, Fischer has not appeared above Double-A), and a good, veteran platoon option on a one-year deal might be attractive to the front office if they want their prospects to cook a little longer.

Infield

Barring a trade, Milwaukee is pretty set in the infield, not just for next season but for a few years. Brice Turang, a super-two player, just had his first of four arbitration years, and while he’s certainly going to get expensive, he’s under team control until after the 2029 season. Cooper Pratt won’t be a free agent until my daughter, who can’t read yet, is a teenager. Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton, who made up the rest of the infield this season, are both entering their first of three arbitration seasons.

It would be easy to send this group back out there. Pratt’s confidence has to be sky-high after he could easily have won the World Series MVP. Turang finished third in MVP voting. While Ortiz and Hamilton both have their offensive shortcomings, both have, for stretches, looked quite good at the plate, and both are reliable (at worst) defensive infielders; Ortiz is one of the best plug-and-play defensive infielders in the league.

I think the most likely scenario here is that the Brewers start the season with Turang and Pratt in their spots and Ortiz and Hamilton sharing a platoon situation at third base, similar to how it was in the postseason. There’s a big shadow on the horizon in the minors, though: the Brewers’ top prospect, considered by many to be the best prospect in baseball, Jesús Made.

Made is still only 19 and doesn’t turn 20 until May. But he’s looking good in winter baseball, and his career has followed a pretty similar path to Jackson Chourio’s, and when Chourio was at the point in his career that Made is at now, he made the Opening Day roster.

I don’t think that’s likely in this case, and certainly will not happen if no long-term extension is in place, like there was for Chourio. But Made isn’t far off, which means the team is probably going to be probing around on trade interest in Ortiz and Hamilton, just in case. Those two guys aren’t the kinds of players who are going to make a bad team good, but they are certainly the types of players who will make good teams better; smart teams should absolutely be interested if the Brewers are shopping them.

Outfield

Once again, on the surface, this seems pretty straightforward: the Brewers have Chourio and Luis Lara on long-term contracts, and Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick are both in arbitration seasons on affordable deals; Mitchell is under control for two more seasons, Frelick for three.

Ideally, the Brewers would love more production in right field. Frelick had a poor season, and Lara struggled with the bat after coming up. But Pat Murphy loves Frelick and he really does seem to be an integral part of this team’s chemistry, and there’s no reason not to expect at least a modest bounceback in 2027, his age-27 season. Perhaps he won’t get to his 2025 levels, when he had a 111 OPS+, but I’m sure he can eat into the nearly-60-point drop in batting average and OBP that occurred in 2026.

Lara figures to improve as well, as he gets used to major-league pitching. His offensive outbreak at Triple-A Nashville was something to see: he hit as many home runs (9) in 78 games with the Sounds last season as he had in his first three minor-league seasons combined. That power dried up in the majors, though, where his only home run in 212 plate appearances came off a position player. He may never be much of an offensive plus, but with his defensive prowess, he’ll offer plenty of value if he can get up to league average, particularly if he moves to center field in the next couple of years.

Chourio and Mitchell are both primed for big seasons. Chourio could certainly vault himself into MVP discussions next year, and Mitchell, if he’s healthy, seems to be a lock for at least 3-ish WAR, with some potential remaining for a breakout season in there given how he always seems to make solid contact.

Health will always remain a question with Mitchell, but the Brewers figure to be covered if he, or anyone else in their outfield, goes down. Brandon Lockridge remains under team control, but the more intriguing possibility is that of Josh Adamczewski, who put up some crazy numbers in 50 games High-A Wisconsin before moving up to Double-A, where he had a 125 wRC+ at just 21 years old. He looks like a real find, and while the Brewers will certainly want him to get some reps in Triple-A, he could be ready to fill a major-league role by mid-season if the need arises.

Starting Pitchers

This young group looks to be in a solid position headed into 2026, particularly with Quinn Priester primed to return from his surgery to correct his thoracic outlet syndrome. Dustin May, acquired at the trade deadline, is a free agent. That means the Brewers, barring injuries, will have this group to choose from:

• Unanimous NL Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski, who threw 174 2/3 innings in the regular season and 19 more in the postseason
• Logan Henderson, who had a 2.47 ERA in 98 1/3 regular season innings and threw 12 more innings in the postseason
• Robert Gasser, who threw 109 1/3 innings in the regular season and 15 more in the playoffs, where he had a 0.60 ERA in three starts
• Kyle Harrison, whose second half went poorly but who looked like a co-ace in the first half (he threw a total of 115 2/3 innings in 2026)
• Priester, who when last healthy in 2025 went 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 157 1/3 innings
• Shane Drohan and Chad Patrick, who will likely return to swingman roles
• Brandon Sproat, who will probably start the season at Triple-A Nashville trying to figure things out, and Coleman Crow and Colton Gordon, further depth options who will also presumably be in Nashville to start the season
• A wildcard option like Aaron Ashby, about whom we heard whispers that he could be in the running for a rotation spot. I’ll always be skeptical of reports like this, especially when it doesn’t seem to be a major need, but anything can happen

That’s a solid, solid group, but it does lack something: every single pitcher on this list is 28 years old or younger. There’s not a ton of experience, and while I’m not convinced that experience is all that important to winning baseball games (the Brewers were rather short on experience in their pitching options during their dominant World Series run in 2026), it would be kind of nice to have another guy around who you could reasonably hope to get 150-ish innings out of, just to take some pressure off of the younger arms.

Bullpen

Bullpens are notoriously hard to predict, but here’s where the Brewers are at:

• Trevor Megill is a free agent after the 2027 season and it’s certainly not off the table that he gets traded—Jeff Passan reported that Milwaukee will listen on offers.
• Abner Uribe is under team control for four more seasons and has a career 2.20 ERA in 179 2/3 innings. He figures to be a major part of the bullpen for several more years.
• Ashby made a star turn during the postseason, and figures to again play a major role.
• DL Hall also pitched well in the postseason and had a really solid regular season—he should play a big part in 2026 if he stays healthy. He’s entering his first year of arbitration.
• Trade deadline acquisitions JoJo Romero and Antonio Senzatela are both free agents. Romero likely pitched himself into a nice contract during the postseason; Senzatela figures to be on the cheaper side, and it’s possible the Brewers bring him back.
• Ángel Zerpa, who the team acquired in a trade before the 2026 season, had Tommy John surgery in May and could be an option in the second half of the season.
• Grant Anderson is still around, and will likely make the team, given the relative lack of right-handed options, particularly if Senzatela is not back.
• We could see an option from the minor leagues: 25-year-old Cameron Wagoner was awesome in 33 appearances between Double- and Triple-A last season, and one of the team’s more highly regarded pitching prospects, Tyson Hardin, could possibly get some relief work in the majors later in the season, even if he’s viewed as a starter in the long term.

If you assume Megill is back, then I’d say you can consider the Brewers have 12 locks for the Opening Day roster amongst their pitchers: Misiorowski, Henderson, Gasser, Priester, Harrison, Drohan, Patrick, Ashby, Megill, Uribe, Hall, and Anderson. Of course, the likelihood that all 12 of those guys are healthy when the season starts is low. That means there’s room here if the Brewers want to explore the free agent market, though we all know the most likely move is that they’ll acquire someone in some tiny trade who we’ve never heard of who then adds a cutter and turns out to be quite good.

Conclusion

Barring unexpected moves (like what would be a shocking trade of Contreras, or an extension for Made and trade of Ortiz or Hamilton), the lineup looks pretty set everywhere except first base, where Andrew Vaughn will likely welcome a new platoon partner this season. There’s probably a spot in the bullpen up for grabs, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that there could be an addition in the rotation. But it’s also definitely possible that every opening on the roster at the moment is filled internally. Don’t expect a busy offseason at the major-league level for the Brewers.

I hope none of you fine folks were planning on flying anywhere last night. If you were, you have my condolences! I hope you got back home alright, or at least to a hotel. I know it was rough out there.

Today on the site, Josh will talk about the AL MVP voting and how Aaron Judge and others have inadvertently helped doom Bobby Witt Jr. to likely become José Ramírez’s successor as the best current player in baseball who might never win an MVP, and Nick will celebrate the 48th birthday of Xavier Nady, a 2009 World Series champion who could’ve really contributed had his elbow not gone kablooie. Later, Michael will look at the final week of Arizona Fall League action.

Questions/Prompts:

1. What were your first impressions of the Red Sox signing old friend Jake Bauers to a four-year, $58 million contract?

2. What’s the longest that you’ve been stuck at an airport without leaving?

This week, the GM Meetings took place in Las Vegas. It is the first real chance for GMs to meet and discuss trade possibilities with other teams, as well as hold initial meetings with free agents. It was also awards week for MLB, with the yearly awards all announced. Here’s what took place this week.

There wasn’t much for free agent deals, but a few were signed this week to kick off free agency. The big news for the Brewers was Jake Bauers signing with the Red Sox, which also means that he turned down the qualifying offer from Milwaukee. Bauers signed a four year, $58 million contract with the Red Sox, and the Brewers will receive a compensatory draft pick after the first round. A couple of other free agents were signed at the meetings, with Emilio Pagan signing with the Tigers and Evan Phillips signing with the Braves.

Another piece of news for the Brewers was about Jeferson Quero. The Brewers were officially granted a fourth option year for Quero, meaning they can keep him in the minors for one more year. Without the option, Quero would either have to make the roster out of spring training or potentially be exposed to waivers to keep in the minors. Now, the Brewers can give him one more season in Nashville to see what he can offer in the future.

Early trade rumors are coming up for current Brewers’ players, mainly focused around the players who are free agents after the 2027 season. The main two players that have been mentioned in rumors so far are Trevor Megill and William Contreras. At the meetings, Matt Arnold spoke about the possibility of trading Contreras. He did it with usual GM speak, saying that Contreras “means a lot to this team”. When asked about Megill, he continued with the GM speak and said, “He got the last six outs of the World Series, and I just went to a Metallica concert with him, so I like him. I like him a lot.”

The yearly awards were also announced at this year’s meetings, and as expected for the World Series champions, they were represented several times. Here is a summary of the awards that they won or received votes for:

• Logan Henderson finished sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year vote, with Sal Stewart of the Reds and Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers taking the award.
• Manager Pat Murphy won his third straight NL Manager of the Year award, while Will Venable of the White Sox won it in the AL.
• Jacob Misiorowski was a unanimous winner of the NL Cy Young award, with Cam Schlitter also a unanimous winner in the AL.
• Trevor Megill finished third in the inaugural Reliever of the Year award, with Mason Miller taking the award in the NL and Louis Varland in the AL. Aaron Ashby and Abner Uribe also received votes.
• Brice Turang finished third in the NL MVP vote and Jacob Misiorowski finished fifth. Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers also received votes. Pete Crow-Armstrong was a unanimous winner in the NL and Yordan Alvarez was unanimous in the AL.
• Turang, Chourio, and Misiorowski were all on the All-MLB First Team, and Contreras was on the Second Team. Contreras also took home the Flow Mayor award, for the player with the most swagger and style.

The next big deadline date for the Brewers is coming up next week on Tuesday. They will have until 5 p.m. CT to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Jett Williams (MLB.com No. 10), Luke Adams (No. 13), Marco Dinges (No. 14), Tate Kuehner, Brett Wichrowski, Brock Wilken, and Matthew Wood are among the Brewers’ top prospects that would need to be protected. With the potential lockout upcoming, teams may elect to protect fewer players, especially if they think the Rule 5 draft will be cancelled.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After the conclusion of the annual GM meetings this week, the Yankees’ offseason priorities are beginning to come into focus. Brian Cashman acknowledged in an interview that rebuilding his bullpen tops the list. “Two of the three pitchers going into our eighth and ninth inning are gone; (Paul) Blackburn and (David) Bednar right now are free agents, so we’ve got our work to do,” the Yankees GM said. “And because of that, I am casting a wide net.”

Options include reunions with free agents Bednar, Blackburn, Tim Hill, and Jonathan Loáisiga as well as Adrian Morejon, who was linked to the Yankees while with the Padres this past season. Other potential areas for improvement include third base, second base, and catcher.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: ($) Speaking of third base, the Yankees were linked to Alec Bohm on Thursday by Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon. Kirschner is skeptical that the former Phillie can be the solution, noting he was below average at the dish last year and has been the worst defender at the hot corner in all of baseball since debuting in 2020. While Bohm’s right-handed bat could provide some platoon advantages, Kirschner suggests the money required to sign him would be better allocated elsewhere — like making a play for Japanese phenom Teruaki Sato, Texas’ Corey Seager, or Houston’s Isaac Paredes.

FanGraphs | Matthew Roberson: After another disappointing October, an overarching look at where the Yankees go from here. Roberson recaps some of the problems at hand — an aging roster, thin farm system, and depleted coaching staff — before pinpointing what he believes to be the core issue. Since signing DJ LeMahieu before the 2019 season, the most impactful external free agent position player Cashman has brought in is Paul Goldschmidt, the aging future Hall of Famer who’s been a helpful part-time player but is no longer the type of impact bat the Yankees may need to get over the top. If Cashman eschews a major addition to the lineup this offseason, Roberson predicts one more year of World Series drought.

Today marks Pat Hentgen’s 58th birthday.

Pat will always remain one of my favorite Blue Jays.

He won the Cy Young Award in 1996—the first Blue Jay ever to do so—after going 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA and pitching an impressive 265.2 innings. Hentgen received the award on his birthday, making for a memorable celebration. It would be incredible to see a starter log over 250 innings these days. He was also selected to four All-Star teams and owns two World Series rings. Although he didn’t pitch in the 1992 playoffs, he earned a win in the 1993 World Series against the Phillies and was set to start Game 7 before Joe Carter’s walk-off home run in Game 6 clinched the title.

During his ten seasons as a Blue Jay, Hentgen compiled a 107-85 record with a 4.28 ERA over 270 games, including 238 starts.

He ranks fourth among pitchers in franchise history in WAR (26.7), and sits fifth in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and games started.

After the 1999 season, the Jays traded Hentgen and Paul Spoljaric to the Cardinals for Alberto Castillo, Matt DeWitt, and Lance Painter. It wasn’t one of the team’s better trades. Following a single season in St. Louis, Hentgen signed with the Orioles as a free agent. After three years in Baltimore, he returned to Toronto for one final season before retiring.

Over his career, Hentgen went 131-112 with a 4.32 ERA in 344 games (306 starts) and accumulated 33.0 bWAR.

He gave us an interview, which is divided into five parts: one, two, three, four, and five.

Pat has remained involved with the organization, serving as bullpen coach in 2011 before stepping away for family reasons, then returning to the same role in 2013.

A few years ago, he spent some time in the TV broadcast booth and did an excellent job. It would be great to see him take on that role more often.

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

Today also marks Santiago Espinal’s 32nd birthday.

Espinal spent four seasons with the Blue Jays and had an excellent 2021, hitting .311/.376/.405. He made the All-Star team the following year, and by mid-June was batting .298/.350/.451. Unfortunately, his performance declined after that, as he hit just .244/.301/.300 for the remainder of the season. 2023 was a tough year, and with the team’s surplus of middle infielders, Espinal was traded before the 2024 season. He batted .246/.295/.356 with the Reds in 2024.

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

Major League Baseball released a video on the upcoming CBA negotiations — and Blue Jays pitcher Jameson Taillon wasn’t happy with the “selective” narrative by the league.

Taillon, a 10-year veteran, ranted about MLB’s video posted to its social media accounts in which executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword discussed three major changes the league is looking to make.

“This is comically bad. They’re being very careful and selective of what they’re saying/showing and how they’re delivering it,” Taillon wrote in a post on X.

“This is going to be ugly if they’re trying to sway fan/public support weeks before they even lock us out. At the end of the day- they want to drive down salaries and put more money in the pockets of billionaires.

“Nobody wins except them. Simple as that. It’s not about competition. It’s never been about competition for them, it just is a nice cover up.”

This is comically bad. They’re being very careful and selective of what they’re saying/showing and how they’re delivering it. This is going to be ugly if they’re trying to sway fan/public support weeks before they even lock us out. At the end of the day- they want to drive down…

— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) November 13, 2026

MLB labeled the changes as “a win for everybody,” but Taillon clearly doesn’t view things in the same light.

The Players Association as well as several agents have been outspoken regarding the league’s proposed changes. Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, agent to Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, didn’t mince words regarding MLB’s push to implement a salary cap.

“Over our dead bodies are we going to accept a cap and further restraints on salaries,” Wolfe said.

Baseball, unlike two other major professional sports in the NFL and NBA, has flourished in recent years without a salary cap or floor. MLB’s argument over fairness in regulating team spending was recently disproved by the World Series champion Brewers, who had the 19th-highest payroll.

While teams are free to spend, the richest organizations aren’t guaranteed a trip to the Fall Classic. Toronto and the Mets are just two examples of luxurious spending in the offseason only to miss the playoffs come October.

Welcome to our series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability). 

Manny Machado

When Machado signed with the Padres, it was a massive deal. To be exact, it was the biggest contract that any athlete had ever signed up to that point. Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with San Diego, keeping him in the brown and gold for the rest of his career. He’s largely followed up on that, hitting .275 or better in five of seven seasons and 25-plus homers in all of his years (excluding the shortened 2020 season).

Overall Grade: B-

However, 2026 saw a major downtick in his batting average. Including his time with the Baltimore Orioles, Machado had never finished the season with a batting average below .250. He finished 2026 having batted a dismal .217 with a .303 on-base percentage. That said, the power remained. Machado had 52 extra-base hits, with 30 of them being homers.

It wasn’t entirely his fault. Machado’s expected batting average (.243) was twenty-six points above his actual (.217), meaning he was at least somewhat unlucky. He ended the season being mostly average on offense, with a 97 OPS+ (where 100 is average). But Machado was phenomenal in the playoffs, batting .350/.480/.600 in six games.

Even in the offseason, Machado is not immune to controversy. He was a major snub from the Gold Glove awards, with Max Muncy and Javier Sanoja being named ahead of him. This despite the fact that Machado led all third basemen in Fielding Run Value (+7) and Outs Above Average (+12). The question heading into 2027 will be whether he can bat for average after his contact hitting took a dip in ‘26.

Much of this baseball offseason is going to spent with the MLB owners and MLB Player’s Association each publicly jockeying for why they are on the right side of the pending lockout.

The MLB used its official Twitter account Friday afternoon to share the owners’ latest offering, with a pointed interest towards fans and trying to sway them to the side of the ownership.

Here’s MLB’s latest messaging:

Baseball fans have repeatedly told us they have two issues with the game today: blackouts and fairness

We’re proposing to make three major changes to baseball:

1. Entering into a partnership with players where all revenues that are generated are split 50/50 between the teams and the players
2. Implementing a salary cap and floor that will regulate what each team can spend
3. Revenues from media generated in baseball are shared equally by the clubs

This will reduce the revenue disparity in baseball and help us address local blackouts

Major League players’ total compensation would go up and fans would get a more competitive game

It’s a win for everybody

Baseball fans have repeatedly told us they have two issues with the game today: blackouts and fairness

We’re proposing to make three major changes to baseball:

1. Entering into a partnership with players where all revenues that are generated are split 50/50 between the teams… pic.twitter.com/GgeKshvFmN

— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2026

What do we think, folks? I can admit I find it a bit weird that MLB uses its official social media accounts with large followings (13.7 million on X alone) to boost its case.

But I can also admit that getting rid of blackouts sounds good and I’ve been coming around on the net good that a salary cap/floor would bring to baseball.

Our third pitcher, and the second in a row in the Vote, moved on, and in decisive fashion, as righty starter Tanner McDougal easily outpaced the field, with 30 of 63 votes (48%). It’s the second straight rout in our polling, and the third-biggest share percentage won so far:

McDougal, a fifth round pick in 2021, finished as our No. sixth-voted prospect last year, after not making the Vote in 2025. He finished at No. 33 in the 2024 Vote.

McDougal is the second right-handed starting pitcher to advance so far:

Past No. 8s in the SSS Top Prospect Vote
2026 Christian Oppor (24%)
2025 Kyle Teel (30%)
2024 Jordan Leasure (23%)
2023 Cristian Mena (27%)
2022 Romy González (41%)
2021 Gavin Sheets (29%)
2020 Luis Basabe (32%)
2019 Blake Rutherford (34%)
2018 Jake Burger (29%)

This latest round also marked the first votes earned for both Alex Weingartner and newcomer Sebastian Romero. It also saw the second straight tie between not one but two pairs of players, Kyle Lodise/Landon Thome and Weingartner/Kyle Casteel.

Currently rehabbing after shoulder surgery but expected to miss little or no time in the spring is first baseman Anthony DePino, who will be making his all-time Vote debut as well.

South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2027

1. Caleb Bonemer — 71% (Cholowsky 25%, Fauske 3%, Prosek 2%, Bergolla Jr./Carlson/McDougal/Sandlin/Thome/Volchko 0%)
2. Roch Cholowsky — 75% (Sandlin 8%, Bergolla Jr. 6%, Carlson 5%, McDougal 3%, Fauske/Mogollón 2%, Prosek/Thome/Volchko 0%)
3. David Sandlin — 30% (Carlson 23%, Fauske 10%, Bergolla Jr./McDougal 9%, Prosek 8%, Lodise/Thome 4%, Mogollón 3%, Volchko 0%)
4. Billy Carlson — 38% (Bergolla Jr. 27%, Fauske 13%, McDougal/Prosek 7%, Thome 4%, Lodise/Mogollón/Wolkow 2%, Volchko 0%)
5. William Bergolla Jr. — 27% (Fauske 25%, McDougal 21%, Prosek/Thome 10%, Lodise 4%, Mogollón/Wolkow 1%, Volchko/Weingartner 0%)
6. Jaden Fauske — 34% (McDougal 26%, Lodise/Prosek 9%, Thome 8%, Wolkow 6%, Volchko 4%, Mogollón 3%, Casteel 1%, Weingartner 0%)
7. Mathias LaCombe — 55% (McDougal 21%, Prosek 14%, Lodise/Thome 4%, Volchko/Wolkow 1%, Mogollón/Casteel/Weingartner 0%)
8. Tanner McDougal — 48% (Prosek 17%, Lodise/Thome 8%, Wolkow 6%, Volchko 5%, Mogollón 3%, Casteel/Romero/Weingartner 2%)

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Kyle Casteel
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 19
2026 high level Butler Area (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats (H.S) 10-0 ▪️ 13 games ▪️ 65 ⅔ IP ▪️ 0.64 ERA ▪️ 103 K ▪️ 11 BB ▪️ 0.685 WHIP

Casteel is the sort of player you dream of getting to start off the $150,000 round of 10 picks: A player who the White Sox had been talking to regularly that, based on how the first round fell, now was draftable knowing the club could meet the prep’s demands. It’s undoubtable that Casteel is far better than the 315th pick (MLB had him ranked at No. 162 overall), and thus the White Sox pocketed a player who should have been selected in the fifth round. Casteel has power and control, and while the White Sox will bring him along with care, he has a rare profile in a pitching-starved White Sox system.

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Anthony DePino
First Baseman
Age 24
2026 high level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -0.7 years
Overall 2026 stats (High-A/AA) 125 games ▪️ 25 HR ▪️ 82 RBI ▪️ .262/.363/.481 ▪️ 6-of-7 (85.7 %) SB ▪️ 64 BB ▪️ 128 K ▪️ .991 FLD%▪️ 3.1 WAR

DePino was drafted as a poor man’s Jake Burger, which is a pretty fair compliment, for starters. But his breakout 2026 puts him straight on an actual Burger arc. His first full pro season was outstanding, far better than expected for a seventh-rounder out of the baseball hotbed of Rhode Island. DePino so impressed that he was tabbed for Arizona Fall League play, but ended up missing that final session of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

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Kyle Lodise
Shortstop
Age 22
2026 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 24
2026 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level 0.0 years
Overall 2026 stats 111 games ▪️ 20 HR ▪️ 77 RBI ▪️ .230/.380/.440 ▪️ 42-of-51 (82.4%) SB ▪️ 92 BB ▪️ 141 K ▪️ .957 FLD%▪️ 3.6 WAR

Lodise made a return visit to Winston-Salem in 2026, and his first full professional season went extremely well. With a low average and slug to burn, the shortstop fits right in with the org profile of swinging hard, damn the contact. Thankfully, Lodise is selective enough at the plate to produce astronomical OBPs. And his power bat is showing better than advertised at this point.

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Javier Mogollón
Second Baseman
Age 21
2026 high level Winston-Salem (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.0 years
Overall 2026 stats (Low-A/High-A) 91 games ▪️ 14 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .262/.368/.448 ▪️ 36-of-44 (81.8%) SB ▪️ 53 BB ▪️ 123 K ▪️ .965 FLD%▪️ 2.5 WAR

The diminutive (5´8´´, 160) infielder wowed in rookie ball and though his climb has slowed, Mogollón has steadily risen up our ranks, from No.62 in our 2024 Top 100 to the cusp of the Top 10 today. That said, he’s seen two straight seasons shortened by hamstring issues. At least in 2026, Mogollón was able to return before season’s end, providing a clutch bat coming that provided a .313/.389/.813 slash and eight RBIs en route to sweeping to a SALLY title.

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Cole Prosek
Third Baseman
Age 19
2026 High Level Magnolia Heights (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats (H.S) 41 games ▪️ 18 HR ▪️ 79 RBI ▪️ .545/.678/1.177 ▪️ 62 R ▪️ 7 SB ▪️ 31 BB ▪️ 12 K

Coming to Chicago as a second-rounder, Prosek seems more highly-regarded by evaluators than the guy picked ahead of him by the White Sox, low first round choice Landon Thome. That’s a curious thing, but Prosek dominated his prep competition even more thoroughly than Thome. Plus, while the White Sox regard Prosek as a second baseman, his prep time was spent significantly at the hot corner, and he has experience behind the plate as well.

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Sebastian Romero
Center Fielder
Age 18
2026 high level DSL White Sox (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -0.6 years
Overall 2026 stats 52 games ▪️ 11 HR ▪️ 54 RBI ▪️ .277/.391/.538 ▪️ 7-of-10 (70.0%) SB ▪️ 18 BB ▪️ 61 K ▪️ .963 FLD%▪️ 1.6 WAR

The sexy international prospect for 2026-27 is Romero, who had a boisterous pro debut, flashing perhaps all tools but hit. Or, at least the bat control aspect of the hit tool, because 18 walks — just three more free passes than hit-by-pitches — indicates a willingness to swing at ANYTHING, as does his 61 Ks against woeful DSL arms. However, when contact is made, ball go boom.

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Landon Thome
Shortstop
Age 19
2026 High Level Nazareth Academy (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats (H.S) 7 HR ▪️ 29 RBI ▪️ .545 AVG ▪️ 49-of-50 (98.0%) SB

How crazy is it to have two high school teammates (Thome and Jaden Fauske) on our first ballot of the voting year … or any ballot, ever? The White Sox were so hot to dip back into Nazareth’s roster that they dealt promising 2023 first-rounder Jacob Gonzalez to Pittsburgh to acquire the draft pick to snag him; clearly the club was not confident Thome would drop into the second round. Unlike his father, Hall-of-Famer and White Sox adviser Jim, Landon is better regarded for his speed and defense than his ability to put the ball over the fence. Slugging will come in time for junior, however.

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Joey Volchko
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 21
2026 high level University of Georgia (NCAA)
Age relative to high level +0.1 years
Overall 2026 stats 11-2 ▪️ 18 starts ▪️ 1 CG ▪️ 95 1/3 IP ▪️ 3.68 ERA ▪️ 119 K ▪️ 46 BB ▪️ 1.343 WHIP ▪️ 2.1 WAR

This big-armed righty can touch 100 mph with his fastball, but wildness concerns might have precipitated Volchko’s drop to the White Sox in the third round in spite of MLB ranking him as a second round (68th-best) talent. He’s a big-game pitcher who dragged the Bulldogs to their first College World Series win in 18 years with a complete-game effort over the University of Texas. There’s a chance Volchko ends up as a high-leverage bullpen arm, but he will get every chance to stick as a starter.

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Alex Weingartner
Right Fielder
Age 19
2026 high level St. Augustine College Prep (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats 30 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 36 RBI ▪️ .495 AVG ▪️ .817 SLG ▪️ 33 SB ▪️ 21 BB

Oddly enough, Weingartner may be a doppelganger for the player listed right below; both he and George Wolkow were prep plums selected lower than their skill and scout rankings indicated, and both players scored sweet bonuses from the White Sox to lure them from potential college commitments. Both have rocket arms (Weingartner, in fact, pitched for his St. Augustine Hermits in 2026) as well.

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George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 21
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 14
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 13
2026 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 16
2026 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -2.0 years
Overall 2026 stats 123 games ▪️ 22 HR ▪️ 100 RBI ▪️ .239/.317/.446 ▪️ 15-of-22 (68.2%) SB ▪️ 50 BB ▪️ 179 K ▪️ .971 FLD%▪️ 1.6 WAR

Wolkow sacrificed speed and what batting eye he had for power in 2026, and while that made for some impressive counting stats (22-100 plays on the back of any baseball card) the hole in his swing hasn’t been sewn. If the White Sox brass is having Wolkow bet on his best tool, power, at all others’ expense, he’s slipping into the Colson Category.

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On this chilly Friday in November, join me in ignoring the looming lockout as we pretend that baseball is proceeding as scheduled next season. (Alex Anthopoulos certainly is with the offseason’s first big splash with the signing of reliever Evan Phillips). Here, life is beautiful because Opening Day is in 131 days.

The Braves have announced that single game tickets are now on sale for the 2027 season, which (for now) kicks off on the road at Dodger Stadium. But we care about what’s going on at the home ballpark. And if you’re anything like me, what’s being given away at the gate may be a factor in when you plan to visit Truist Park.

More giveaways, ticket packages, and theme nights are to be confirmed as plans for the season finalize, but here’s what you can look forward to based on the current slate and schedule. More info is available on the Braves promotion page.

Friday Fireworks, Saturday Block Parties, Alumni Sundays

Nothing like a weekend series at home.

If the fireworks during the anthem/seventh inning stretch, after every strikeout (thanks, Gas South) and home runs aren’t enough, you can stick around after every Friday night home game for a Georgia Lottery-sponsored spectacular. It’s worth seeing for whatever baffling unique theme or playlist they choose to accompany the show.

The Braves Block Party returns to the Battery before every Saturday contest. Partake in live music and other entertainment before finding your seats. There’s a significant chance he Home Depot tools and Blooper and his ever-increasing horde of mascot security for roaming around for photo opps as well.

Sunday matinees are preceded by a pair of alumni showing up to sign autographs, which are TBD for now. Kids can also run the bases after the game concludes.

Gate Giveaways

The promotional gate giveaways are for the first 15,000 fans that enter the stadium. (Items in ticket packages are an entirely separate thing, more below). Depending on the item, sometimes you can rock up at closer to 7 pm and still get one. Others require some logistical magic and being in a line before most have even clocked out of work.

There will absolutely be more of these announced as we get closer to baseball being played. But for now… please enjoy the merchandising team’s best attempt at the brief: safe, apparel-forward choices that are fun enough to hopefully distract from the conspicuous absence of current player-themed items.

Magnetic Schedule (April 2 vs. HOU)

Everyone in attendance at the home opener gets one of these to slap on your fridge. Thanks, Georgia Power.

Truist Park “10th Anniversary” T-Shirt (April 3 vs. HOU)

Not sure a ton of people will be gunning for this one, but a concert-style tee celebrating your very favorite Cobb County ballpark’s 10th birthday can be yours.

BravesVision Bobblehead (April 16 vs. MIA)

Wiley erasure, unfortunately, but Brandon Gaudin and C.J. Nitkowski are getting their seventh-inning cracker jack toss immortalized in bobblehead form. How do the broadcasters get a bobblehead that looks more like them than some players? A mystery.

Phil Niekro Replica Jersey (April 20 vs. WAS)

The Braves love to do things in alumni-honoring ways, and this is the first of several giveaways featuring a Braves legend. Instead of Dale Murphy like last year, Phil Niekro gets the nod here for a replica jersey.

Mystery Hot Dog Hat (May 28 vs. PIT)

Yes, baseball and hot dogs are inextricably linked. We saw the first steps of the Braves embracing the hot dog mania that’s overtaken some other ballparks last year with the introduction of the “Build-A-Dog” challenge as mid-inning entertainment. Multiple teams have glizzys that race. Sometimes they rain from the sky in Seattle. But maybe the Braves saw their division rival Nationals have immense success with a “Bad Day to be a Hot Dog” hat giveaway and wanted to copy their homework, so here’s our version. The “mystery” is if your design will feature a hot dog with ketchup or mustard.

Tom Glavine Hockey Jersey (June 1 vs. COL)

Drake Baldwin’s hockey jersey last year was one of the most coveted giveaway items. Folks lined up as early as 3 pm (and I would know, because I was among them). Merrimack Valley’s Most Valuable Player Tom Glavine gets an hockey jersey of his own in an Atlanta City Connect flavor.

Hawaiian Shirt (August 20 vs. NYM)

Vintage baseball cards of Braves HOFers and tropical flowers intermingle in this year’s version of the Braves Hawaiian shirt. This is probably going to be up there in terms of popularity.

90’s Windbreaker (September 24 vs. MIA)

If you’re in need of a paper-thin windbreaker, this might be the giveaway for you. If I had to guess this will only really be available in L and XL sizes.

Ticket Packages/Theme Nights

These specialty items are a separate ticket and you’re guaranteed the item, unlike in a gate giveaway. These are usually accompanied by other festivities at the ballpark to make it a full theme night.

• Science Education Day (April 22 vs. WAS) meant for elementary school groups
• Girls Night Out (April 29 vs. NYM) gets the ladies a mock neck sweatshirt
• Star Wars (May 6 vs. SD) is a Braves/Star Wars jersey shirt
• Military Appreciation (May 31 vs. COL) features a Braves military appreciation t-shirt
• Braves Country 5K (June 5 vs. MIN) will have info available at a later date, but usually includes a t-shirt
• Father’s Day (June 20 vs. NYY) offers a 200minute session of catch on the field following the afternoon game
• Pride Night (June 23 vs. PHI) will have more info on the item/festivities coming soon
• Summer Camp Day (July 21 vs. PHI) is for, you guessed it, summer camps
• Deaf Awareness (August 1 vs. STL) gets you a City Connect-style jersey shirt with “Braves” spelled out in ASL across the chest
• HBCU (August 25 vs. MIL) features a jersey shirt with HBCU across the chest and 48 on the back
• Los Bravos (September 23 vs. WAS) is another jersey shirt with Latin American country flags patterned on the sleeves and jersey number

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Anything in this initial batch speaking to you? What’s a must-have or a pass? What are you hoping to see announced in the future, and is that Alan Jackson bobblehead commercial still stuck in your head? Let us know.

An offensive coordinator?

What is this, football?

Well, no, but that is where James Rowson’s inspiration was rooted when he suggested the increasingly common baseball title in his talks to join Tony Vitello’s Giants coaching staff.

“I always felt like the NFL had a good model for this,” Rowson said on a call with reporters Friday morning once his hiring had become official. “In the NFL, they have running backs coaches, they have wide receivers coaches — they have individual coaches for areas. But at the end of the day, they have an offensive coordinator who’s trying to put all that together. …

“It’s focused on scoring. And I feel like baseball can take a page from that.”

The job is a new one for a franchise that played its first ballgames when Chester A. Arthur was president, but it’s not unprecedented as coaching staffs swell in size around the league.

The Rangers, Padres, Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays, White Sox and Astros have all had coaches hold the position, which may be more associated with football but is a growing trend in MLB.

The Giants will have company next season in the Royals, who promoted their hitting coach, Connor Dawson, into the role while hiring Hunter Mense away from San Francisco to serve under him.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey said this week at the MLB general managers meetings in Las Vegas that it was Rowson’s “preference” to take on the more expansive role.

“Kind of what through his experience he feels like will give him the structure and chain of command,” Posey said. “To have the oversight on all run production.”

Rowson, who spent the past three seasons as the Yankees’ top hitting coach, wanted to expand his purview. Vitello, with his college background, was all for it.

If Rowson hadn’t suggested it, the Giants may have.

“It was an exact phrase I used with Buster and [general manager] Zack [Minasian] and some of the other guys at the end of the year,” Vitello said. “Really offense, defensive coordinator, at least mentality, and making sure we’re as structured as possible.”

One area of improvement from Vitello’s first year as a professional manager that came up in his discussions after the season with Posey and the front office was a clearer chain of command.

On the pitching side, Posey said the communication was “just a little scattered at times.” They addressed that by reshuffling the staff, keeping Justin Meccage as pitching coach but reassigning Frank Anderson to be the assistant from director of major-league pitching. Christian Wonders, the assistant pitching coach last year, will lead minor-league pitching development.

Rowson’s new, overarching title is part of cleaning things up on the offensive side.

“As the offensive coordinator, I need to bring together our hitting staff, the baserunning guys, myself,” Rowson said. He added, “Tony’s gonna be in charge of how all that comes together.”

Rowson, 50, oversaw a three-man hitting staff that helped the Yankees produce the eighth-most runs per game in the majors last season. He has also served as a hitting coach for the Twins (2017-19) and Cubs (2012-13), an assistant hitting coach for the Tigers (2023) and as Don Mattingly’s bench coach with the Marlins (2020-22).

“Not saying this was a downfall of Mense,” Posey said of the Giants’ hitting coach last season, who hadn’t held a top job before, “but I do think after last year, [we wanted to] hire a guy who’s been there and done the work. By all accounts, making phone calls to different people, I kept hearing the same thing over and over again. One of the better leaders they’ve been around.”

Rowson will oversee baserunning, game-planning, basically anything that has to do with touching home plate — something the Giants did less often last season than all but four other teams. They drew walks at the lowest rate in the league and didn’t put much into action when they reached base, last in the league in stolen bases for much of the year until a late uptick. 

Turning things around will take a multipronged approach. The Giants need to get more out of the veteran core of their lineup — Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers — but it’s just as important for Bryce Eldridge, Casey Schmitt and other young players to continue to develop.

Rowson’s job? It’s right there in the title. It’s on him to coordinate it all.

“The hitting coach, just in the title, and I’ve done that through the years, it’s always focused on, ‘Do the guys get a hit? How many hits did they get?’ ” Rowson said. “It’s not necessarily focused on scoring runs. And offense is to score runs to win the game. …

“If you outhit the other team, it doesn’t guarantee you the win. You have to outscore them.”

The MLB free agent market is beginning to shake out, spurred into action during the general managers meetings in Las Vegas this week.

Reliever acquisitions have been the first wave, with Emilio Pagán landing with the Tigers for one year and $11.5 million, and Ryan Weiss with the Padres for $1.85 million during the meetings. Former Dodger Evan Phillips signed with the Braves on Thursday for three years, $35 million.

Left-hander Alex Vesia, who has been with the Dodgers for the last six seasons, is also expected to garner plenty of early interest on the free agent market.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani lost the MVP to Pete Crow-Armstrong. What he needs to do to reclaim it

On Friday, first baseman Jake Bauers added a tally to the position-player side, agreeing to a deal with the Red Sox. Fresh off a career year and World Series title, Bauers reportedly is set to sign a four-year, $58-million contract.

So teams aren’t waiting until after the impending lockout to reinforce their rosters. But that still leaves a wide range of possibilities before the current CBA expires on Dec. 1.

“We’re totally focused on business as usual, trying to make sure we’re as prepared as possible in case things happen in different ways,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. “Whether that’s trade or free agency, continue to put ourselves in a position to be able to act if something comes up that we feel like is really important to helping our team, both short term and long-term.”

That was a common refrain from leaders of baseball operations departments around the league.

“Business as usual for us,” new Orioles GM Jared Banner said. “We’re looking to get better, and that’s our focus here. So we’ll just read and react as each day passes by.”

Business as usual, however, means a variety of things for different teams.

“We are always going to be on the front end of aggression with how we operate in the market,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said. “So whether the market wants to operate faster or slower than it typically does, we’re usually not listening. … Teams know that typically, if we don’t start the hot stove, we’re among the starters. So our behavior won’t change much, and my general resting place is, if our behavior is going to be unaffected, I don’t sweat too much what the other 29 teams will do, unless they’re holding us up.”

The Mariners took that aggressive approach before the last lockout too. They were one of the major contributors to an active first month of free agency, during which teams committed a whopping $1.9 billion before Dec. 2, 2021.

“It’s definitely a convenient thing to point to because there just aren’t a lot of situations that are even remotely similar to this,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said of the record flurry of activity five years ago. “I don’t think it’s going to follow the same course; I would expect it not to.”

Looming beyond this lockout is the threat of a salary cap. And though the MLB Players Assn. has made it clear that it will continue to fight the owners’ push for an overhaul of the current structure, teams also can’t completely ignore the possibility of a salary cap, or some other guardrails on spending in the next CBA.

The owners’ latest proposal reportedly included a salary cap of about $258.2 million, depending on next year’s revenue, to be implemented in 2028.

Though many around the industry expect that, in the case of a salary cap, MLB would build in a gradual rollout or specific exceptions to make the massive change a little less destabilizing, such a shift would pose a challenge to large-payroll teams such as the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have some money set to come off the books in 2028 — veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman’s contract expires after next season, and Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy and Hyeseong Kim have 2028 club options. But the Dodgers’ current commitments for 2028 (over $275 million in CBT payroll, according to Spotrac) already put them above MLB’s latest proposed salary cap.

Read more:Relief pitcher Evan Phillips signs three-year deal to return to Atlanta Braves

“We’ll put ourselves in position to see what’s available, and then go from there because we really don’t know what any of that looks like,” Gomes said. “So we have to function with what we know right now.”

The Dodgers at least don’t have many glaring needs going into 2027. At the top of the list will be their bullpen and bench, markets that they could explore in the coming weeks.

They’ve also remained in touch with top free agent Tarik Skubal’s representatives, after a largely successful trade-deadline union this past season, and are set to meet with him. But it is still unclear just how aggressive the Dodgers will be, or whether Skubal will agree to a contract by Dec. 1.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

There’s a wind of excitement and intrigue swirling around Braves Country at the moment after the Atlanta Braves became the first team to make a big splashy signing this offseason with the addition of Evan Phillips to their bullpen. It’s a move that appears to be in line with what the Braves have usually done with their relief pitching signings since Alex Anthopoulos got the reins of baseball operations since he hasn’t been afraid to hand out relatively big money to relievers — no matter what the market may look like.

Still, it’s certainly an interesting time for Phillips himself, as he will not only be returning to the organization that drafted him all the way back in the 2015 MLB Draft but he’ll also be playing in a city that he currently calls home as well. He mentioned in his media availability on Friday afternoon that he does live in Atlanta during the offseason and he admitted that once it became clear that it was a possibility that he could join the Braves, both he and his wife were “really excited about that possibility.”

“The Braves were right there at the top of our list alongside a couple of others,” stated Phillips when he was asked by Mark Bowman of MLB.com about where he was hoping to land during this offseason. “It went the way that it did and we couldn’t be more excited.”

He also talked about how this is his first “real crack at” free agency after how things went last offseason due to his injury. In that vein, I asked Evan Phillips about how important it would be to be able to focus on just getting better and improving during the offseason rather than having to focus on rehabbing.“

“This’ll be my first offseason not having to focus on a rehab in two years,” explained Phillips. “I had the [shoulder injury] at the end of ‘24 that kept me out of the World Series…then the Tommy John rehab was a bit more intensive.”

“[It’s good to] just to be able to get home and get back with my routine for the offseason and immerse myself with the guys here in Atlanta and see what they might have for me.”

Again, it’s pretty important to note that it’s certainly a bit convenient that he’ll be able to continue focusing on what’s important while not really having to switch up his base of operations. It’s one of those things where it doesn’t seem all that important but from a human perspective, it’ll probably be huge for Phillips when it comes to being able to benefit from that convenience.

With that being said, the reality of the upcoming labor war is also sure to play a factor in just how much offseason work Evan Phillips will be able to get in with the coaching staff and overall organization here in Atlanta nd he mentioned that as he continued to answer my question to him.

“I know we’re pushing up against the deadline on December 1 so that might accelerate some of those conversations that we won’t be able to have through the rest of the winter,” admitted Phillips. “[Still,] I’m just looking forward to it. I’m so ready to get with this group and get to work and see what they might have for me.”

Indeed, it’s going to be intriguing to see just how much Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and bullpen coach J.P. Martinez will be able to get out of Phillips now that they’ll be able to work with him going forward. Again, they’ll be up against the gun a bit but I’d also imagine that Phillips will be able to figure out a way to keep improving while on his own during the dark portion of the offseason — however long it may take.

Still, Phillips is excited to get going and he’s also feeling pretty confident about continuing to bring the stuff that he had in Los Angeles with him to the mound in Atlanta. “New velocity highs for me in my career at 32, I never would’ve thought,” stated Phillips when he was asked by Bowman about his results after Tommy John surgery. “It’s not something I was chasing. I’m fortunate it’s gone that way because it opens up what I’m able to do even more. I’m just really excited to maintain some of those things that I’ve learned and see if we can bridge that across the next few years.”

Phillips will (hopefully) have three years to continue proving that for the Braves going forward and hopefully they’ll be three productive years here in Atlanta’s organization. He’s coming back home in more ways than one and hopefully this second go around ends up being the one that everybody remembers, rather than another footnote. We’ll see what happens, though.

Pat Murphy wasn’t off by much. Just a couple hundred miles and five stops on the Acela train line.

The Milwaukee Brewers manager’s touching hot mic moment with star first baseman Jake Bauers after the World Series intimated that Bauers was going to be a "rich (expletive)" and implored him to remember how they got down in Milwaukee when Bauers is "on that (expletive) Yankees team and playing for yourselves."

Well, Bauers got plenty rich Friday, Nov. 13, agreeing to a four-year, $58 million deal. He’ll just be playing for the Boston Red Sox, not the New York Yankees.

Bauers' departure from the champion Brewers was somewhat expected. The club rehabilitated his career from the verge of retirement after cycling through six organizations, four at the major league level, before Bauers figured things out in Milwaukee.

Yet the Brewers remain viable by keeping it moving and not placing bigger-dollar bets on 31-year-olds who might end up platoon players. The split was amicable, and so, too, is Murphy’s relationship with the Yankees.

Pat Murphy and Yankees: No hard feelings

As many observers could ascertain, "the Yankees" were a figurative term in Murphy’s address to Bauers, the stand-in for "any team with considerably more resources than the Brewers." In this era, the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers are far more spendy than the Yankees, who have not won a World Series since 2009.

So, when Murphy apologized to Yankees club president Brian Cashman, the architect of New York’s sustained success understood.

"He took the time to realize that he said something that he regretted, that he's caught on a live mic," Cashman told reporters Tuesday at the general managers' meetings in Las Vegas. "He wanted to take the time, track us down over here at the lowly Yankees to make sure he would apologize for that, so that meant a lot to me."

Jake Bauers' journey: How Milwaukee saved his career

Bauers didn’t totally break the bank. But it's a nice raise for a guy who admitted to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he was on the verge of retiring a couple years ago but needed health coverage for his expectant wife.

Bauers made $2.7 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility, a hard-fought journey to free agency. It took him nine years to reach six years of service time, a slog that included no major league appearances in 2020 or 2022.

Yet he found a comfort level in being uncomfortable in Milwaukee, under Murphy.

"I'm super grateful they traded for me. Super grateful to be here these last three years," Bauers told USA TODAY Sports as the season wound down. "At the same time, I think playing here can be a little bit uncomfortable, compared to some places.

"There's a lot of things that the staff, starting with Murph, and also the players in the clubhouse – we don’t let slide. That's a big key to our success. At the same time, it can be uncomfortable at times if you're not willing to face the man in the mirror."

Red Sox: What role will Jake Bauers play in Boston?

In Boston, Bauers may wear a lot of hats – and gloves.

The Red Sox already have an All-Star first baseman in Willson Contreras – brother of William, Bauers' World Series MVP teammate in Milwaukee. Yet there are plenty of at-bats to have at DH and Bauers also played 16 games in left field for the Brewers last season. He will bat somewhere in the middle of the lineup and is a nice hedge against any enduring health woes involving young left-handed slugger Roman Anthony.

The Red Sox are known to be shopping left fielder Jarren Duran, who is elite defensively but in an enduring offensive slump. Fenway Park’s tight quarters in left would be a passable place for Bauers to roam.

He'll aim to add thump – he broke out with 26 homers a year ago – to a Red Sox lineup that finished 18th in the majors in OPS. More important, he will have the gravitas that comes with being a World Series champion – and NLCS MVP.

Murphy won’t let him forget that, either.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pat Murphy said Jake Bauers would be a 'rich (expletive).' Here's how right he was

On Thursday, the Texas Longhorns signed 18 high school baseball prospects as part of the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class in the rankings by Perfect Game and Baseball America.

“We’re really excited about this group of student-athletes and what they bring to our program,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “They are talented players who have the work ethic, character and competitiveness we look for at Texas. We believe each of them has the ability to make an impact on our program, both on and off the field. We’re looking forward to getting them to Austin and helping them grow as players and people.”

In recent years, the shorter MLB Draft has resulted in more top prospects heading to college, like right-handers Sam Cozart and Brett Crossland in the 2025 class, but the top prospects remain likely to sign — Schlossnagle’s recruiting philosophy, also employed by other top programs, is to hope a several of those players head to the Forty Acres instead of professional baseball.

Pitchers

• George Ferguson | RHP | 6’4, 218 | Abilene: A physical, frontline starter candidate, Ferguson is ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect in the class by Perfect Game. His fastball has reached 96 mph with an expected jump in 2027 that Ferguson pairs with advanced feel for his secondary offerings. Power arms ranked that highly are virtual locks to sign after the draft.
• Grant Sperandio | RHP | 6’2, 210 | Houston Memorial: A top-50 national recruit and MLB High School All-American who is graduating early to join Texas in January 2027. He stuff is instant-impact and SEC-ready, headlined by a blazing fastball that tops out in the high 90s. Getting Sperandio to campus early without having to worry about the draft is a major coup for Schlossnagle.
• Lukas Waite | RHP/OF | 6’2, 205 | San Diego (Calif.) Patrick Henry: Another All-American and explosive two-way athlete. On the mound, he works with afastball in the low to mid 90s and sharp breaking pitches. Waite’s speed — he runs a 6.22-second 60-yard dash — could complicate the decision about where he plays, but he’s listed as a pitcher here because of that explosive fastball.
• Easton Sarmiento | LHP | 6’4, 180 | Chino Hills (Calif.) Ayala: A top-100 prospect nationally, Sarmiento is one of the highest-upside left-handers in the country because he pairs a projectable, athletic frame with a low-90s fastball and a plus slider.
• Ryder Renfro |RHP | 6’3, 215 | Kingwood: A physical right-hander with a low-effort, repeatable high three-quarters delivery and a starter profile. His four-pitch mix features a fastball up to 93–94 mph with high spin (over 2600 rpm), a mid-70s sweeping slider, a curveball, and a changeup that fades. Those are attributes that will make him a prospect to watch when the draft arrives.
• Cooper Vais | RHP/OF | 6’1, 200 | Arvada (Colo.) West: The top-ranked prospect in Colorado, Vais is a high-ceiling two-way athlete, touching 92 mph on the mound with a sharp curveball and repeatable mechanics, while showing high-level exit velocities and 6.63 speed as a position player.
• Luke Armijo | LHP | 6’1, 200 | Whittier (Calif.) La Mirada: A polished California southpaw sitting just outside the national top 100. He features a quick arm with a fastball already reaching 92 mph, giving him a projection as a potential early contributor.
• Hayden Anderson | LHP | 6’5, 220 | West Des Moines (Iowa) Waukee: An imposing, physical left-hander with a classic starter’s build. He operates with a fastball up to 90 mph and a developing changeup, offering significant velocity projection as he matures in Austin.
• Beckett Berg | RHP | 6’5, 195 | Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame: A tall and long-limbed right-with a high-upside frame, Berg may need time to boost his fastball velocity in the Texas strength and conditioning program.

Infielders and catchers

• Lubin Rincon SS/3B | 6’3, 180 | PearlandThe Bennett School: Ranked No. 12 nationally by Perfect Game and No. 1 in Texas by Prep Baseball Report, Rincon is a premier left-handed hitting shortstop and major MLB Draft follow. Rincon boasts a prototypical frame with smooth actions capable of playing anywhere on the infield. Signing with Texas will be a footnote on his professional baseball journey.
• Selvin Garrett | MIF | 5’11, 170 | Buda Johnson: A top-100 national prospect known for his high-level athleticism and consistent in-game production. He is a plus runner with clean defensive actions who projects to stick at shortstop while handling the bat with growing impact. Garrett is a player the Longhorns would really like to get to campus.
• Hank Rippy| INF | 6’2, 185 | Austin Anderson: A local standout and draft follow ranked inside the top 10 in Texas, Rippy features excellent hands defensively, a quick arm, and a simple, repeatable left-handed swing that produces huge exit velocities with pull-side power. Texas is likely to need a hometown discount to get Rippy to the Forty.
• Hudson Holt | 3B/SS/OF | 6’2, 200 | Rockwall: A versatile multi-positional athlete capable of playing third base or the outfield with an advanced all-field hitting approach at the plate.
• Matthew Fernandez | C | 5’11, 175 | Miami Lakes (Fla.) Columbus: The lone catcher in the class, Fernandez is a durable backstop who projects as longterm depth behind the dish.

Outfielders

• Grant Westphal | 6’2, 205 | Leawood (Kan.) Blue Valley: Ranked No. 65 nationally and No. 1 in Kansas, Westphal is a physical left-handed hitter with massive offensive impact — 107-mph exit velocities, 6.58 speed, and a fluid swing that drives the ball into all gaps. Those are tools that MLB scouts could fall in love with.
• Luke Gladchuk | 6’0, 185 | Aledo: An All-American ranked No. 66 nationally, Gladchuk brings some juice as a center fielder with 6.48-second speed, a 99-mph outfield arm, and fast hands from the left side that that generate hard line-drive contact. A power surge this spring could vault him up draft boards.
• JJ Utash | 6’4, 215 | Gilbert (Ariz.) Williams Field: A top-100 prospect possessing some of the loudest raw power in the entire class — prototypical SEC physicality produces posted exit velocities over 106 mph from the right side. Utash also boasts a strong arm.
• Ira Rootman | 6’3, 195 | Los Angeles (Calif.) Harvard-Westlake: A speedy outfielder from the California powerhouse has a smooth swing with effortless power and plus ability in the field. Ranked just outside the top 100, Rootman could be an instant-impact player for the Longhorns.