ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 13: Shawn Armstrong #43 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches during Game Two of the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Guardians and Rays will, apparently, play tonight at 8PM ET, and Shawn Armstrong will open.
I would guess it will be Armstrong for an inning, maybe plus a batter or two, then Joey Cantillo. It’s possible Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi will get some middle inning opportunities there. I wonder, too, if Armstrong gets the open today to possibly give him as much time as possible to recover for a possible closing opportunity in game 5, if Cade Smith is unable to go.
No official word from MLB, yet, but I think we are left to assume they will try to play at 8PM tonight. Looks like there will be a weather window.
The Brewers swept the Dodgers to win their first NL Pennant since 1982. If the Guardians were to make the World Series, I would greatly prefer to play the aging Dodgers. I also know many folks were hoping the Dodgers would make the World Series for the purpose of arguing for a cap-floor. Me? I am just happy the Dodgers will not three-peat and that we will either have a brand new champion OR my Guardians will end the longest title drought in sports.
PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 25: Rain falls as the tarp covers the infield prior to game three of the 2008 MLB World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays on October 25, 2008 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Does game four of the American League Championship Series feel like a must win for the Tampa Bay Rays?
100% yes.
Will the weather affect the game?
Also, 100% yes.
The Rays and Guardians are at the mercy of mother nature in Cleveland and thus far, she has not been benevolent to the two teams.
Game three’s start time was moved up to 1pm on Thursday, making the earliest LCS game since the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets played at 12:20 at Shea Stadium. The earlier start time did little to help wake up the Rays sluggish offense as they only mustered two runs and struck out 13 times during the 3-2 loss.
Junior Caminero in particular had a rough game as he went to the plate four times and returned back to the dugout each as a strikeout victim. Caminero has only once in his big league career struck four times in a single game and that was back in 2025, when he went 0-4 with 4 K’s against the San Francisco Giants. The rest of the starting lineup didn’t fare much better as they only collected three hits during the game; Chandler Simpson provided the only runs when he laced a two-run triple down the right field line that actually gave the Rays the lead at the time.
The Rays postseason offensive production continues to be miniscule as they are now collectively hitting .197/.249/.314 with a 56 wRC+. The Rays touted big three of Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and Junior Caminero have combined to hit .221/.284/.324 with just 1 HR over 75 PA, registering a 71 wRC+. During the regular season, those three hit .281/.359/.469 with 86 HR over 2026 PA, registering a 130 wRC+.
On the mound, the pitchers have done their part, with the staff holding a 2.72 ERA over their six postseason games. But there isn’t much margin for error when the offense has only averaged exactly three runs a game.
Tonight, it will be up to Nick Martinez to keep up the valiant pitching effort thus far from the Rays staff.
The 35-year old veteran makes his return to the mound after last starting during game three of the ALDS against the New York Yankees. Martinez was shaky during the outing but the overall results were fine. He surrendered five hits — all singles — while he walked one and struck out three over 3.2 innings of work. He left the game after getting drilled by a line drive off of the bat of Anthony Volpe, though the hit likely would have spelled the end of Martinez’s outing anyways.
Over the course of an All-Star season, the now 36-year old Martinez compiled a 3.10 ERA | 3.96 FIP with a 15.1 K% and league leading 3.6 BB% over 180 IP.
The Rays bullpen was exceptional during game three as Tyler Wells and Steven Matz provided the Rays with a total of four scoreless innings while racking up six strikeouts.; it was Matz’s first time pitching since September 26th. This allowed Kevin Cash to provide an extra day of rest to his top relievers, while also shielding them from being seen by the Guardians hitters more than needed; plus, they kept the game close enough to where the Rays still had a chance to mount a comeback.
Thus, all of the Rays top bullpen arms should be available today should Kevin Cash need to call upon them.
The Guardians meanwhile are thus far undecided on their pitching plans.
Speculation right now points to southpaw Joey Cantillo providing the bulk of the innings with Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi also appearing as options. Manager Stephen Vogt relied on his top relief arms during game three’s victory so there’s a question as to the availability of Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski, and Daniel Espino although I’m sure if the moment calls for it, any of that foursome would eagerly pitch.
Joey Cantillo has been an under-the-radar solid thrower for the Guardians since making his big league debut in 2024. The 26-year old mainly worked as a starting pitcher this season for Cleveland while splitting the 2025 season between the rotation and bullpen. Overall during the 2026 campaign, Cantillo compiled a 3.62 ERA | 3.98 FIP with a 24.9 K% & 11.8 BB% over 159 IP.
As for the weather.
The local news in Cleveland is reporting dreary miserable weather conditions for the weekend. It is likely to rain almost for the entirety of Friday, almost surely leading to a rain delay or possible postponement. The wind will wreak havoc on fly balls while the cold and rainy atmosphere will make for horrendous on field conditions. Memories of BJ Upton sloshing around on a muddy infield are at the forefront of my mind.
The sun will reemerge on Saturday but won’t bring warmth with it as the high is forecasted to to be around 46 degrees during the first pitch.
First pitch tonight is currently slated to be thrown at 8pm
The Los Angeles Dodgers' season ended abruptly Thursday night and in so doing effectively kickstarted the most scrutinized free agency for a starting pitcher since Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s arrival three years ago. Tarik Skubal, like all free-agents-to-be, will not officially be a free agent until five days after the World Series ends. But he will not pitch another inning before he signs. His resume is written. The market will do the rest.
Exactly how the Mets will approach, let alone shape that market is not something they have been willing to share yet publicly. President of baseball operations David Stearns went so far at his end-of-season news conference as to dodge a question about the high end of the starting pitching market that he merely inferred (correctly) was referring to Skubal. Publicly, at least, he and his front office have barely provided any tea leaves at which to squint.
But context, history, and conversations throughout the season with Mets officials who could not speak publicly about a player who was not yet a free agent, offer some insight into a potential Skubal pursuit. Despite Stearns' infamous reticence to hand out massive pitching contracts, the Mets seem likely to chase him to some degree – if only because there is no superstar Cohen technically cannot afford and therefore no superstar he seems unwilling to pursue. And unlike Kyle Tucker or evenBo Bichette, when the Mets pursued the former and signed the latter, Skubal directly addresses his team’s greatest need.
At present, the situation is loaded with variables about which the available information is incomplete. The first of those variables is Skubal, who was unwilling to speak about his future immediately after the Dodgers’ loss in Game 4 of the NLCS Thursday night. He offered no hints. He was focused on the disappointment.
"Today sucks, you know," he told reporters, including the California Post. "And that's kind of where my head's at."
Skubal, 29, has always spoken publicly like someone who will prioritize winning in his next destination. He is represented by Scott Boras (more on that later), who also represents Juan Soto. People familiar with Soto’s thinking say he still firmly believes Cohen wants to win and will do what it takes to transform the Mets into the annual World Series contender he promised. If Skubal checks in which his fellow Boras client, there is no reason to believe he would not hear a spirited pitch for Queens.
And if Skubal, who is currently on the Major League Baseball Players Association’s Executive Subcommittee, wants to prioritize setting a new bar for starting pitching contracts… well, Cohen and the Mets are capable of doing that, too. While Cohen has spoken publicly about how financially inefficient free agency can be, and while some have speculated that he might wish to pull back on payroll after two missed postseasons, Stearns was adamant in recent months that he is operating with no new budgetary restrictions and expects to able to make the moves he wants. Therein lies another variable.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws a pitch in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Signing Skubal to the kind of massive, long-term contract a two-time Cy Young Award winner in his prime will expect goes against all of Stearns' team-building instincts. The only time Stearns pursued a long-term deal for a free agent starting pitcher, it was for the much younger Yamamoto, who was 25 when he signed and therefore fit the Mets' youth-driven model for pitchers more comfortably.
Skubal will be 30 next season and underwent an elbow procedure this year. One could almost plan for him to lose one of the next few years to Tommy John surgery (which would be his second). All great starters do at some point. But Stearns does not shy away from those deals as much because of potential injury as because of what happens later in the deals, when aging saps performance but the financial commitment is still commensurate with a premium player.
It would be worth pointing out here that Stearns has signed several other players to contracts that turned out to be financially inefficient and did not yield the long-term ace this team has needed for half a decade, and also that Cohen has pushed Stearns beyond his comfort zone for several long-term position player deals the former Milwaukee head of baseball operations would never have suggested himself. Soto's deal, for example, is astronomical. The average annual value of Bichette’s deal would qualify as an overpay in any team’s model – at least in terms of the quantifiable aspects of his impact.
Those deals offer an important lesson: Even if Stearns is reluctant to sign a player – or, more accurately, if it does not fit his team-building tenets – Cohen’s opinion matters. No one knows that better than Boras, who will pitch Skubal to Cohen as a big-market necessity. "Want to be like the Dodgers?" the argument will likely go, according to those who know Boras' approach. "Sign the stars while you build out the player development monster to support them."
Still, Cohen says one of truths he has internalized during his first years owning the Mets is how ineffective free agency can be as a team-building method.
"What are the areas to make the team better? Farm system. Trades. Staff. And free agency. Free agency is a negative expected value," Cohen said late this season. "…If you have to fill in holes, you have to fill in holes, too. So you have to be tactical. But every time you dip into free agency, you just know that’s a tough place to be."
But even as he is skeptical of its expected value, he has always seemed to understand he cannot win without using free agency entirely. For example, he has also spoken several times about operating in what he calls reality, particularly as it pertains to signing starting pitchers: If the market suggests the Mets can only sign top-end types by giving long-term deals, they might have to adjust their approach and give a few. Under the current rules of MLB – and who knows what those will be after the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations – signing Skubal is the quickest way for the Mets to jumpstart a rotation built around promising young arms that could use an ace to show them how to win.
Whether Skubal wants to be a mentor, or the pressure that comes with being the Mets' latest highly paid savior, or the scrutiny of pitching in New York after thriving as one of many stars in Los Angeles, is the biggest variable of all. The general consensus among those in the Mets organization and those who deal with Stearns' front office regularly seems to be that if Cohen decides he wants Skubal, the Mets will pay whatever it takes to get him. So trying to predict whether Skubal will be a Met next year, then, might be as simple as whether Skubal wants them.
Before the White Sox jump into a contract extension, Munetaka Murakami needs play like he’s worth a more premium contract. | (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
For a team predicted to bust before the first pitch on Opening Day was thrown, the Chicago White Sox managed to usurp expectations and delay disappointment until October 10, when they lost the ALDS after blowing a 2-0 series lead to the Guardians. Optimists may say that criticism can only go so far when a team improves by 24 games, but for those who are brutally honest with this team’s front office, prospect pipeline and team performance, we know that this team is far from dominating the AL Central — much less the AL.
Getting down to brass tacks, the biggest drivers of the swift postseason collapse need to be seriously and objectively examined for the health and longevity of the team.
Munetaka Murakami’s stock drop Murakami’s overall performance this year was underwhelming. Although his .847 OPS is what the majority of his paycheck went towards, his .207 batting average and 196 strikeouts, which translated to a 35.4% strikeout rate, detracted from his value. With a poor second half, Murakami’s end to his rookie campaign left a bitter taste, even for Sox fans. And a playoff output of five hits in 31 plate appearances, with 16 strikeouts and only one extra-base hit coming from his lone homer run in Game 1 of the ALDS, was painful.
Back in May, I would’ve found a way to subsidize Murakami’s salary to keep him in black and white. Now, the play and the pay aren’t adding up. His strikeouts became too routine, while his home-run swing progressively slowed. Although it’s was only his first taste of the majors, Murakami wouldn’t be able to command eight figures if he were signing a one-year deal today. While he’s delivered sensational moments and viral clips, his presence on the team in 2028 isn’t guaranteed, even if money wasn’t an object.
Colson Montgomery: Sink or swim In his first full year in the majors, Montgomery’s volatility at the plate is hard to dismiss as a mere sophomore slump. He batted below the Mendoza Line, hit just .179 against righties, and struck out in 35% of his at-bats. In the postseason, these benchmarks hardly improved: Montgomery’s batting average benefited from a small plate appearance sample size, improving to a more tolerable .238, but his ability to hit against righties fell to .154 and his strikeout rate jumped to more than 40%.
Young lefties who consistently struggle against righties are typically boom-or-bust players. Boom players like Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker compensate for their shortcomings with Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. Bust players like Jarred Kelenic, on the other hand, always have their suitcase packed for their next minor league stint. The Sox still have a couple years before Montgomery is eligible for arbitration, but GM Chris Getz should think long and hard about whether his starting shortstop is worth keeping around with Roch Cholowsky hot on his heels.
Will Venable’s effectiveness as a manager Getz went on record with a loose commitment to bolstering the starting rotation in his end-of-season press conference, but his manager doesn’t get off scot-free. After flirting with a dynamic and a role-less pitching strategy during the regular season and increasingly down the stretch, Venable decided to get cutesy and underutilize the rotation while overtaxing the bullpen. Relievers contributed 44 ⅓ IP, while starters (primarily Sean Burke) supplied 17 ⅔ IP, representing the biggest contrast of any team that played in a division series. While it’s easy to say his magic worked against the Astros and Guardians through four games of the postseason, Venable’s magic touch ultimately proved to be more show than substance.
Like Montgomery, Venable is still learning and growing after finishing his second year in his first managing job. However, there will be a low tolerance to Venable’s antics in years to come if the Sox don’t take the division and run. Look at how Joe Espada’s tenure with Astros took a turn within one year. Chicago isn’t never far from a talent drain with its shoestring budget and unpredictable front office, so Venable should try to focus on winning than outsmarting teams if he wants to keep his job.
Dramatic end to Trent Grisham’s year after such a pedestrian regular season, eh? He was elevated to the leadoff spot in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Rays as Aaron Boone tried to jolt a snoring October offense. It did not work, making Grisham a flashpoint in the post-sweep disappointment.
Grisham, who has numbers against Rays starter Nick Martinez and owns a discerning eye for the strike zone, was supposed to get on base in front of Ben Rice, who was most of the pinstriped thunder in the playoffs. Big damage would follow.
But Grisham went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, including a whiff for the final out of the final Yankee game of 2026. Rice was on deck, helpless as a one-run loss – and a season – ended.
Now Grisham heads into free agency coming off very different circumstances than last year, when the Yanks extended him the $22.05 million qualifying offer and he took it. What’s his fate now?
Should Grisham, who played 259 games in center field over the past two regular seasons for the Yanks, plus 12 more in the playoffs, stay or go?
WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP GRISHAM
It was easy to dream on Grisham after 2025, when he had 34 home runs, 74 RBI and an .811 OPS, all career bests. On the Yankees, only Aaron Judge hit more homers and walked more that year. Grisham’s short lefty stroke and ability to hit the ball hard seemed a snug fit for Yankee Stadium’s right-field porch.
Grisham has never been a high batting average guy, but his strike-zone control jacked up his on-base percentage that season to .348, a career-best for a full season that the Yanks could at least hope represented a late-20s breakout. He was a center fielder who had won Gold Gloves in 2020 and 2022 with San Diego.
But Grisham, who turns 30 on Nov. 1, could not repeat that success in 2026. In 121 games, he had 18 home runs and 59 RBI. His slash line sagged to .211/.308/.395. His OPS tumbled 108 points to .703, below the MLB average of .719.
Still, the Yankees could reason that it was just a down year and that there’s more in his tank. Grisham’s expected batting average was down only three points from 2025 and his expected slugging indicated he could’ve expected bigger results, based on the quality of contact he made.
Grisham was hampered by two stints on the injured list with hamstring issues. Could the Yanks re-sign Grisham theorizing that they can expect a reasonable amount of production from him while they see how much they’ll get from youngsters such as Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez? Can Jones or Cody Bellinger be the regular center fielder?
In the losing clubhouse after Game 3, Grisham said, "I love the people here. I love playing here." At the very least, Yankee fans seem to appreciate a certain level of want-to when it comes to playing in the Bronx. Is that meaningful here?
WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LET GRISHAM GO
Here are the Yankee outfielders for 2027, at least so far: Judge (duh), Bellinger, Heliot Ramos, Jones and Domínguez. Grisham just crowds it.
Aug 13, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) runs out a single against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
It’s only a sample of 86 regular-season games and five more in the playoffs, but Jones probably earned a regular role after notching a .742 OPS, 11 homers and 10 steals. He seems to know he’s got things to work on, too. He’s athletic and can run and throw and maybe the Yanks should see if he can handle center field. Perhaps he’s the left fielder if Bellinger slides over.
Domínguez has not been able to seize a job and had a .635 OPS in 57 games this year. He has not been a good defensive player. But he’s only 23 years old. Isn’t it time to find out for real whether he can be the big deal he’s always been purported to be?
For what Grisham was in 2026, it’s not worth rostering him and potentially blocking anyone else. Defensive metrics did not love Grisham’s work in center field this year. When he was a leadoff hitter this year, his rate stats were worse than his overall production.
He’s also a left-handed hitter. As an offense, the Yankees probably could use more right-handed balance.
VERDICT
Go.
This one seems pretty easy. It’s time to find out what’s on the roster already. And if the Yankees deem they need outfield help, there are intriguing free agents who could help the offense.
Randy Arozarena (.865 OPS) and Seiya Suzuki (26 homers) are right-handed corner options. Tyrone Taylor, who hit .351 after the Mets traded him to the Cubs, is another righty option who would fit as center-field insurance and do-it-all fourth outfielder.
Grisham came to the Yanks as part of the pre-2024 season trade that brought Juan Soto to the Yankees. They got a player who eventually took over center field and gave them one very good year, but now he’s likely bound for a new baseball home.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 15: David Hamilton #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning during Game Four of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Is everything in baseball actually about the Red Sox, even when it’s not about the Red Sox? Somehow I feel like the answer is yes.
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers last night to complete a four-game sweep of the NLCS and reach their first World Series since 1982. The first out of the game came on an outstanding play at shortstop by Mookie Betts. The first runs of the game were scored off Dustin May, who entered the game in the second inning, after Shane Drohan opened things up for the Brewers. And the Brewers comeback was powered by none other than David Hamilton, who knocked in childhood Sox fan Sal Frelick in the fifth inning, and then iced the game with a solo shot in the 9th. It’s Red Sox all the way down, just as it should be.
Use this space to talk about David Hamilton and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 22: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers stands on the mound during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Globe Life Field on September 22, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: Seth Lugo #67 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on Thursday, September 17, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Michaela Schumacher/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Last season, the Royals faced a crossroads with Seth Lugo. As they approached the trade deadline, there was healthy debate over whether the Royals should trade Lugo and try to acquire younger talent, or whether they should keep him to finish the year and bring him back for 2026. Just a few days before the trade deadline, the Royals and Lugo reached a deal on a two-year, $46 million extension with a vesting option for another year at $23 million per year. Lugo was going to remain a Royal.
Lugo’s performance dipped significantly after he signed the extension, but he also pitched with a back injury for a while before being shut down by the team. The hope coming into the season was that he was healthy and would be able to help lead the Royals back to the playoffs on the strength and depth of their starting pitching. His 2024 season was spectacular, but it was unrealistic to assume he would get back there production-wise. Still, an ERA around four while picking up the ball every fifth day would provide the value the Royals paid for in his contract.
The veteran started the season hot. Through April, Lugo sported a 2.63 ERA with a nearly 3:1 K:BB ratio. It looked like the back issue might have been all that held him back, and that bringing him back was the right decision. For the rest of the year, however, Lugo alternated between being a back-end starter or 2005 José Lima. Here are his remaining ERAs by month:
The right-hander did miss some time in June on the concussion – IL after getting struck in the forehead by a Brandon Nimmo fastball. Given the bump that appeared on his head, it’s a miracle that the injury wasn’t worse than it was. Besides that, Lugo was quite healthy this year, tossing 172.1 innings. Unfortunately, he had a 5.17 ERA over those innings.
Lugo has been an “out-pitching-his-peripherals” guy in previous seasons, but this year he actually had a 4.38 FIP, which was better than his 2025 FIP of 5.09. In some ways, he had the inverse of his 2025 season: an okay ERA and bad FIP last year, but a bad ERA with okay FIP this season. I don’t really know what to make of that, but I ask that we all be consistent in our arguments. If you are a “Lugo can out-pitch his peripherals consistently” kind of guy, please don’t turn around and argue, “But his FIP was better this season!”
The veteran really struggled against lefties this season, surrendering an .874 OPS against opposite-handed batters. That OPS mark would have led all Royals batters this season. His curveball, four-seam fastball, and sweeper were all terrible against lefties this year, combining for -32 runs of value against southpaws alone. They also represented 46% of his usage against lefty batters. Compare that to two years ago, when Lugo’s fastball held its own against left-handed hitters while his curveball was worth +8 runs, and it’s clear that something has changed in his ability to fool hitters, particularly lefties, and keep them off balance. Whether Lugo can find that again or we are watching an aging player rage against the dying of the light remains to be seen.
It will be interesting to see how Lugo is deployed next season. If Lugo throws 162.2 innings next season, his 2028 option will vest at $20 million. If not, it becomes a $17 million club option. The Royals have a $3 million buyout if Lugo’s option doesn’t vest and they don’t want to pick up the club option.
If Lugo pitches as he did in 2026 next year, the Royals may want 2027 to be his last season. Of course, if he throws as many innings as he did in 2026, his 2028 salary is guaranteed. Kansas City doesn’t have a stable of starters lined up for 2027, so I expect Lugo will be one of the starting five and not shifted to the bullpen. There could be tension between the team and the player next year if it’s August and Lugo has a 5-run ERA and is closing in on his innings limit. For now, this is just something to monitor, but I don’t love seeing financial incentives that could put a team and a player at odds over his playing time.
As it stands right now, I think the Royals would have been better off trading Lugo last season versus bringing him back for this one, but I admittedly don’t know what was on offer. What I do know is that Lugo was able to pick up the ball every fifth day, but he was also part of the Royals’ pitching problems this year that led to the second-worst ERA in the American League. The starter comes across as a real craftsman, and I have no doubt that he will work on his issues against lefties in the offseason. I wonder if that will be enough, or if we all witnessed the beginning of the end of Lugo’s career as an effective starter.
Next month, I’ll begin my usual “Cubs free agent target” series, as well as writing a few articles about potential Cubs trade targets.
For now, I’d like to continue this series that’s been taking a look at 2026 Cubs who are going to be free agents.
Tyrone Taylor came over from the Mets as part of the deal that brought Clay Holmes to Chicago. While Holmes did okay, most of the time, Taylor performed the duties he was asked exactly as expected.
He was brought in to back up all three outfield positions and to hit against left-handed starters. He did both of those jobs quite well.
In 30 games for the Cubs, Taylor batted .351/.390/.500 (26-for-74) with eight doubles, a home run and three stolen bases in 82 PA. That’s a really good showing. Overall in 2026, Taylor batted .318/.348/.573 (35-for-110) against left-handed pitching with 10 doubles and six home runs. (I was unable to split out how many of the 82 PA for the Cubs were vs. RHP. It wasn’t many, to my recollection.)
These numbers were quite a bit better than Taylor’s career numbers vs. LHP. In several previous seasons, he played a lot more than he did in 2026, when he had 241 PA (341 in 2025, 345 in 2024, 405 in 2022).
This suggests that perhaps Taylor has found a role he’s good at. Not only did he hit well, but he played excellent defense.
The only drawback is that Taylor isn’t young. He’ll turn 33 in January. He still appears to have all those skills intact and I would think he could be useful for the Cubs for another year or two. Taylor also played for Craig Counsell for five years in Milwaukee, so the Cubs manager is quite familiar with him. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Counsell lobbied for Taylor to be acquired from the Mets.)
It’s really the first time in a while that the Cubs have had a fourth outfielder this good. Mike Tauchman did okay in that role for a while, but Taylor is better defensively. And as a right-handed hitter, he can give PCA a breather in center field every once in a while. PCA played in all 162 games and led MLB with 726 plate appearances. He seemed to be running out of gas at the end of the season.
Taylor made $3.8 million in 2026. He had a very good year as that fourth outfielder. Would you give him a two-year, $8 million deal? I would. Or would it cost a bit more? Still worth it, in my view.
Los Angeles, CA - October 15: Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws to the plate against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning of Game 4 of a NLCS playoff baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
When a team as talented as the Dodgers gets swept in a four-game series, there are so many things that have to go wrong for that to happen—even in Game 4 alone, you could probably point to several mistakes, letdowns, and a bit of bad luck as to why the result went the way it did. In the middle of that, one might focus on Tyler Glasnow as the latest of the noteworthy Dodgers to perform well below their normal standard, leading to this series exit.
All the pressure that was not there with Glasnow during the regular season, as this team has been able to routinely play it safe with his many injury problems, was stored for this one moment. The reigning back-to-back champs were vulnerable; they needed one dominant outing from a starter who has the stuff to shut down any lineup any time. Despite early glimpses of it, Glasnow came nowhere close to it.
Contrary to every other game in this series, the Dodgers were able to give their starter a significant lead early on. What was lacking when Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell pitched was given to Glasnow, as Los Angeles hoped to stave off elimination. That pressure to be absolutely perfect wasn’t necessary after just two innings, as the Dodgers put up a four-run lead in the second.
Nearly as important as the early offensive breakthrough, Glasnow looked unhittable through three perfect innings—the Dodgers’ starter struck out two batters in each of the first three frames, bullying an offense that had been giving Los Angeles pitching all sorts of trouble.
A theme of these four games was that all that seemed excruciatingly difficult to achieve for the Dodgers came with relative ease for Milwaukee. While it felt like the Dodgers had to dig deep inside for those four runs in the second, Glasnow went from complete control to getting battered by a Milwaukee offense in the blink of an eye.
It began as it so often does with Glasnow on the mound: a walk, the first of the game to Brice Turang; then came two bullets for extra-base hits, and just like that the Dodgers’ lead was cut in half. And it still could’ve been fine had Glasnow settled in after finishing the inning, but he just generated an even bigger mess in the following frame, again starting with a walk. By the time his line was done, he was responsible for four runs, unable to hold on to an early lead.
For the whole series, you’ve seen me come here and focus on the offense’s struggles over anything else, from underwhelming pitching by a starter and/or relievers, but here things were different. Sure, stopping at four with nothing to show for it from the third inning onward is regrettable, but Glasnow had what no other Dodger starting pitcher had in this whole series, and he squandered it. Excruciatingly, he did so in the worst possible way, twice setting the table for a scoring inning with a free pass.
When the Mets sent prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to the Brewers ahead of the 2026 season, Freddy Peralta was undoubtedly the headliner of the package they got in return. With Peralta heading for free agency after the season, though, conventional wisdom at the time of the trade was that the Mets did well to get then-27-year-old Tobias Myers from Milwaukee alongside Peralta, as he’d been quite good in his time in the big leagues and was under team control for several years to come.
Peralta’s struggles with the Mets were far more noticeable given his prominent role in the rotation, but coming off two seasons in Milwaukee that saw him put together a 3.15 ERA and a 3.92 FIP across his time working as a starter and a reliever, Myers was quite disappointing this year, too.
In just 53.2 innings at the major league level with the Mets this season, Myers had a 5.53 ERA and a 4.65 FIP, both of which were the worst single-season marks of his relatively young major league career by wide margins. And the Mets’ handling of Myers, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in late May and spent the rest of the season bouncing between Syracuse and Queens, probably didn’t help him very much.
While the expectation that Peralta would be the team’s ace based on his 2025 ERA always seemed a bit foolish, it is concerning that both pitchers who fared well over the course of multiple seasons in Milwaukee took such significant steps in the wrong direction upon joining the Mets.
As for Myers, well, he’s still under team control through the end of the 2030 season, but the Mets used his final option year this year, which means he’d have to be designated for assignment to be removed from the 40-man roster in 2027, assuming there’s a season. Given that reality, Myers seems to be a lock for the team’s Opening Day roster, barring the acquisition of a slew of relievers that pushes him so far down the depth chart that the Mets would either look to trade him or risk losing him on waivers.
All of that seems pretty unlikely given the players who are in the organization at the moment. It would behoove the Mets to figure out what went wrong for Myers this year, though, and maybe he’ll just fare better without having to worry about getting sent to the minors at the first sign of trouble or whenever it’s convenient for the Mets’ never-ending desire to churn the last couple bullpen spots of their roster.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 21: J.T. Ginn #35 of the Athletics reacts after the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on August 21, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning A’s fans!
Yesterday, the American League Championship Series resumed with Game 3 after both teams had Tuesday off. Playing in front of their passionate fan base, the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams recorded nine strikeouts over five innings of two-run ball, while center fielder Petey Halpin hit the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers en route to a second consecutive World Series title. This year, the Brewers got revenge, sweeping the Dodgers to return to the World Series for the first time since 1982. It seemed like there would be a Game 5 after Shohei Ohtani’s three-run home run put the Dodgers up 4-0. The relentless Brewersresponded with six unanswered runs before holding on for the pennant-clinching victory.
A small-market team will win the World Series this year for the first time since the Kansas City Royals did in 2015. That shows a well-coached, low-payroll team can perform just as well as a high-payroll team featuring multiple players with expensive contracts.
The Athletics, who popularized the “Moneyball approach”, have much to learn from these three clubs that have all better adapted to the new era. Off the field, the A’s need to invest more in their baseball operations and analytics department. Those staffers play a major role in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles’ annual success.
The Brewers are in MLB's smallest market and rank 19th in payroll, but have one of the sport's biggest baseball ops and data teams.
Additionally, the Green and Gold must improve their major league pitching staff and organizational pitching development, especially after they posted the worst ERA in the AL this season.
Homegrown aces Gavin Williams (Guardians), Drew Rasmussen (Rays) and Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers) have all led their teams’ rotations this October. Meanwhile, the A’s have not developed a homegrown ace since Sonny Gray. Can J.T. Ginn, Gage Jump or Jamie Arnold take that mantle next season, or will the team keep relying on a rotation full of middle-and back-end starters?
What is your favorite moment in Athletics history?
Dallas Braden lost his mom to melanoma when he was in high school, and his grandmother Peggy Lindsey helped raise him in Stockton. For a long time he wanted nothing to do with Mother's Day.
On Mother's Day 2010 he threw a perfect game against the Rays. Twenty seven up, twenty… pic.twitter.com/uyTOReccwW
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) October 14, 2026
Should the A’s acquire Andre Pallante from the St. Louis Cardinals to bolster their starting rotation?
This is the type of pitcher the A's should be targeting this winter. https://t.co/Ad03b7lvDK
The Athletics last made the ALCS 20 years ago. Will the drought end next year, or will it last until the franchise’s Las Vegas era begins?
Game 4 of the 2006 ALCS! The A’s were down 3-0 to Detroit…Yet started out hot, banging in 2 runs during the 1st, showing hope to keep the season alive! 🔥
After a thrilling game, Detroit took the sweep when Ordóñez hit a walkoff 3-run bomb in the 9th inning with two outs…💔…
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers jogs around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning friends and happy Friday!
Yesterday brought plenty of MLB postseason excitement. Let’s get to all of that and more.
MLB Postseason scores…
The extraordinary happened: The Dodgers were swept at the hands of the Brewers in a 6-4 comeback victory. The Brew Crew advances to their first World Series in 44 years where they hope to capture their first-ever pennant.
Rookie outfielder Petey Halpin was the hero for the Guardians in yesterday’s 3-2 win over the Rays, hitting the go-ahead homer with a bat flip to match. The Guards lead the series 2-1.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It is always a difficult decision once your team is knocked out of the playoffs. Do you root for the team that knocked your team out to go all the way or do you stop watching altogether.
This season was certainly an exception if you were a San Diego Padres fan who decided to continue watching the MLB playoffs as no fan of the Padres would want to see the Los Angeles Dodgers advance to yet another World Series. The moment San Diego was knocked out of the postseason by the Milwaukee Brewers and it was determined the National League Central champions would be taking on the Dodgers the Friar Faithful adopted the Brewers as their team, at least in the NL.
Milwaukee made San Diego and likely many fans around baseball happy when the Brewers took Game 4 from the Dodgers by a final of 6-4, completing a four-game sweep of baseball’s Goliath. For Padres fans, it was bittersweet. You have to love seeing the Dodgers eliminated, but you have to wonder what might have been. If just a few things in the NL Division Series had gone differently, San Diego could have been the team to “slay the dragon,” but that was not to be.
The Padres will have to wait for another opportunity to reach the precipice of the sport and they are hoping that comes in 2027 with new owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones saying they are all-in to bring a championship to the City of San Diego. What that means and what it will look like is unknown, but under a first-year manager and with a constricted operating budget to build a team in the 2025-26 offseason, the Padres built a team that came up just short. There is work to be done, but there is reason to believe San Diego is closer than ever to reaching its ultimate goal.
Padres pitcher Michael King will have the opportunity to test free agency should he choose to do so and Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball says the Padres should lock him up if he does.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 25: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees makes a fielding error in the ninth inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Over the last few years — ever since the 2024 World Series, to be honest — the Yankees have had a reputation for defensive sloppiness. In truth, that is a tad overstated: as mentioned earlier this week, when we previewed the Yankees’ defensive highlights from the 2026 season, the team has finished in the middle third of the pack, according to most defensive metrics, in each of the past three seasons. Nonetheless, even the most optimistic of us (and I certainly count myself among that group) cannot deny the fact that the Yankees have repeatedly stuck their foot in their mouth over and over. And so, in an exercise in catharsis, let’s look back at some of the worst of the worst errors, misplays, and miscues from the 2026 season. We won’t be ranking them, because they all frustrate me in all sorts of different ways, but don’t let that stop you: let us know what you think about our list in the comments section below!
You know a defensive miscue is bad when the broadcaster in the opposing dugout says, “What on Earth is he doing?” Well, that’s exactly what happened to Jazz Chisholm Jr. back in April, as the second baseman took forever to throw the ball, allowing the speedy Otto Lopez to reach on an infield single to start the frame. While, ultimately, it didn’t end up costing the Yankees anything other than some damage to David Bednar’s ERA, as the team still wound up winning 9-7, this type of mistake is, in my opinion, among the most frustrating — this should have been an easy out, and yet, it wasn’t.
Following his strong start to his big league career, George Lombard Jr. did his very best to erase all goodwill toward him by making errors in six consecutive games — no easy feat. Of these, the final one, from August 27th, is the one that sticks with me the most. First of all, not only does Lombard boot the ball, but then José Caballero, who catches the ricochet, compounds the problem by airmailing first base instead of just eating it; the damage was already done, there was no need to make it worse.
I was at this game — in fact, I was out on the terrace when the play occurred, so I have a fairly unique vantage point. To some extent, it feels a tad unfair to put this on the list. While it’s hard to see on the video, the fly ball was hard to track, as it was knuckling in the wind (if you recall, this was the CC Sabathia game, which was moved from Saturday night to Friday afternoon due to inclement weather — and even then, hours before the storm hit, the wind was beginning to blow). Spencer Jones then slams into the outfield wall hard, with a very loud thud that made me actually a tad concerned about a potential injury. Then, it bounces in the worst possible direction, i.e., towards center field, and thus, away from the player responsible for backing up Jones. Last, and certainly not least… honestly, it was kind of cool. I had never seen an inside-the-park home run in person before, and now, the only things left on my baseball bucket list are to see a no-hitter, perfect game, and a cycle.
Still, an inside-the-park homer is an inside-the-park homer. No matter my own personal feelings, it belongs here.
When we reviewed the team’s best highlights, we took a look at José Caballero, who as the team’s Swiss Army Knife played literally every position on the diamond outside of pitcher, catcher, and first base. And while he was never quite a liability at any position…well, spending so much time bouncing around the diamond does result in a fair number of errors scattered around the diamond. We already saw one of his misplays at the hot corner above, so let’s check out some of his miscues elsewhere.
While playing the keystone on September 25th — the same game as the above inside-the-park homer, in fact — Cabby botched a ground ball, then simply couldn’t find it, thus allowing the run to score.
Back in May, he allowed the speedy Chandler Simpson to reach on this error that, uh, I’m not quite sure exactly how he managed to send the ball scurrying in that direction.
In August, he made two errors on the same play, bobbling the ball on the transfer trying to turn two, then throwing the ball low so that it skips away from Luis García Jr. (to be fair, García probably should’ve had that, but still).
Playing some center field on June 21st, he fields a grounder that went under the glove of Chisholm, then proceeded to throw the ball over everyone’s head when Spencer Steer tried to stretch it into a double, allowing the leadoff batter to reach third on what should have been a routine groundout up the middle.
