Category: Baseball

The Tampa Bay Rays enter Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians one win away from capturing their third AL pennant.

After the teams split the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Tampa Bay, the Rays won two of three in Cleveland. A third consecutive victory would send the Rays to the World Series, where they would face the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers. The Guardians, however, are looking to stave off elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Tuesday.

Rays at Guardians (5:08 PM PST)

Looking to clinch the pennant in front of their home fans, Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta will make his third appearance and second start of the ALCS.

Peralta is the latest pitcher to benefit from Tampa Bay’s well-regarded coaching staff. The team’s signature trade deadline acquisition was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for September after allowing three runs in 34 innings over his final six regular-season starts.

The right-hander’s late-season success has carried over into the playoffs. Peralta earned the win in Game 2 of the series after allowing four hits over six scoreless innings. Three days later, he came out of the bullpen in Game 4 and recorded two key outs, stranding an inherited runner. Will Peralta post another quality start, or will the Guardians’ offense wake up with their season on the line?

Here’s Tampa’s starting nine for this one:

Tonight’s Rays lineup as they look to make the World Series. pic.twitter.com/SOImM6hxPs

— Jake (@TBRaysCentral) October 19, 2026

Meanwhile, Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams will not start on short rest. Cleveland will instead deploy a bullpen game, saving Williams for a potential Game 7.

Right-hander Shawn Armstrong will serve as the opener for the second time in three games. After Armstrong exits, Cleveland’s manager Stephen Vogt will likely rely on favorable matchups throughout the game, turning to his bullpen early and often to record the 27 outs needed to keep the Guardians’ season alive.

And Cleveland’s starting lineup for this anticipated contest:

All on the table.#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/l5CdO7Ez2R

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 19, 2026

Will the World Series matchup be settled today, or will the Brewers have to wait until Tuesday to learn their opponent? Who do you think will win?

The Atlanta Braves season may be over, but there is still a lot of baseball yet to be played. The Cleveland Guardians are on the brink of elimination in their hope of winning their first World Series since 1948 and they will be facing the Tampa Bay Rays in search of their first ever World Series win.

Regardless of who moves on, we will see at the very minimum a World Series winner that has not won in seventy-eight years since the Brewers also have never won a World Series and have not appeared in one since they were in the American League back in 1982. Is it a bad time to be a salary cap fan? That can be debated in the comments.

For the game this evening, the Rays will be bringing the resurgent Freddie Peralta who sports a 0.79 ERA in the postseason thus far in 11.1 innings with three appearances to include two starts. Shawn Armstrong appears to be set to be an opener for the Guardians. He has already made six appearances this postseason and has a sterling 0.00 ERA and 0.26 WHIP.

Follow along in the comments. First pitch is at 7:00 EDT.

It’s official: the Yankees’ skipper will be sticking around for the 2027 season.

YES Network’s Jack Curry, with credit to Bergen Record writer Pete Caldera, reported Monday that Aaron Boone will return for his 10th season as manager in the final year of his two-year, $10.5 million extension signed in 2025.

Plenty of mixed opinions are already swirling in reaction to this decision, but it doesn’t come as a surprising one. Many have given their praise to Boone, including former Yankees manager Joe Girardi, for bringing the Yankees to clinch their 61st postseason berth and navigating an injury-ridden roster. During his career as manager, Boone has led the Yankees to the playoffs in eight of his nine previous seasons, albeit with just one American League pennant and a World Series appearance to show for it. They’ve fallen to the division rival Blue Jays and Rays in the ALDS during the past two seasons.

The Yankees’ executives were clearly satisfied enough with Boone’s decision-making this season and chose to have him at the helm next year in hopes of bringing another championship to New York. However, with considerable levels of uncertainty at several positions this offseason, there is much to consider about how Boone will construct a winning roster. Will the Yankees give him enough ammunition to clinch a postseason spot and make it through the ALDS?

More to come…

A cat may have nine lives, but Aaron Boone has 10. 

Despite another early playoff exit, and the noise surrounding Boone’s job perhaps reaching an all-time high, the Yankees are bringing their manager back for a 10th season next year, a source confirmed to The Post on Monday. 

If and when baseball is played in 2027, with a lockout looming, it will be the final guaranteed year on Boone’s contract. As if there were not enough already, there will be even more pressure on the 53-year-old baseball lifer to finally get the Yankees over the hump in October, a feat that remained insurmountable this year when they were swept in the ALDS by the AL East champion Rays. 

Boone has achieved plenty of regular-season success during his tenure (a 790-565 record and three division titles), but he has been unable to parlay that success into a championship, coming closest in 2024 with a trip to the World Series in which the Yankees fell flat against the Dodgers. 

Questions remain about whether Boone can be the manager that gets the Yankees back to the Canyon of Heroes, and what will be different in Year 10 — the same number of years that Joe Girardi got before him (with Joe Torre staying for 12 years before that). 

There were some in the organization who thought this past regular season was Boone’s finest as a manager, given that the Yankees were missing three-time MVP Aaron Judge for over half the season, in addition to sizable injury absences for Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Trent Grisham. 

General manager Brian Cashman, who before Game 3 of the ALDS called Boone “a really good manager,” has an expiring contract but is expected to remain in his post and partner with Boone again in trying to bring home the organization’s 28th World Series championship. They are expected to speak to reporters later this week for the first time since their playoff run ended to chants of “Fire Boone” after Game 3 of the ALDS. 

The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) first reported the news of Boone’s return. 

Boone’s biggest supporters over his tenure have included Hal Steinbrenner, Cashman and, in the clubhouse, Aaron Judge. But on multiple occasions over the past two seasons, the captain notably voiced his frustration with Boone’s comments about his comeback from injuries, which put his manager in the crosshairs and raised questions about them not being on the same page. 

“He puts us in the right position to go out there and succeed, especially a season like this where I’m banged up missing 100 games,” Judge said the night the Yankees were eliminated. “… For him to manage it the way he did and put us in the best position to get into the postseason and get an opportunity to win a World Series, he’s definitely had our back and is the guy.” 

Throughout his tenure, Boone has been known for standing behind his players, sometimes to a fault, as it can sometimes come across to fans as a lack of accountability when they make mistakes. 

“He might take the blame for the way we perform, but at the end of the day, it comes down to us,” Cam Schlittler said after the ALDS. “The expectation needs to be a little bit better.” 

There were also some more practical reasons for the Yankees to stick with Boone, with a lockout looming Dec. 1, when baseball’s current collective bargaining agreement expires. If the Yankees had decided to find a new manager, they might not have been able to finalize one until November, at which point that manager might have had just a few weeks to start getting to know his new players before having to cut off contact starting Dec. 1 until what may be an expedited spring training. 

It remains to be seen whether Boone will be making any changes to his staff. Two of his coaches — pitching coach Matt Blake and director of catching Tanner Swanson — have expiring contracts but are highly regarded and widely expected to return barring promotions.

More than a quarter of the way through this 21st century, there's a decent argument to be had over which Major League Baseball team is the Franchise of the Century.

Looking for pure championship tonnage? The Boston Red Sox, with four World Series titles, are still the answer.

A 14-year postseason streak that includes three World Series triumphs? It'd be hard to argue with the Los Angeles Dodgers, though we'd be remiss to not mention their archrival San Franciso Giants, who also reeled off three titles, in six years.

Yet which champions of the 21st century were best-constructed, top to bottom? Dominant both in the regular season and October? USA TODAY Sports examines and ranks the 26 titlists since 2000:

26. 2006 St. Louis Cardinals

We’re not here to take the shine off anyone’s diamonds, but this group is an easy choice for No. 25. At 83 wins, they tote the lowest win total of this group.  Their postseason run was turbocharged by manager Tony La Russa’s derring-do on the last day of the season, when he held out Chris Carpenter hoping his team would either win or back in with a Houston loss. They did both – and Carpenter plowed through the playoffs. The World Series was rainy and grim and error-prone. Best forgotten, unless you wash down your toasted ravioli with a swig of Schlafly.

25. 2021 Atlanta Braves

It’s fitting that this seven-year run of Atlanta excellence netted a championship, but ironic that perhaps its most diminished team pulled it off. The Braves lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to a midseason knee injury, won just 88 games and then saw Game 1 World Series starter Charlie Morton succumb to a broken leg. They gutted through with a handful of bullpen games, Max Fried’s brilliance and a three-headed, bepearled monster in the outfield to replace Acuña.

24. 2011 St. Louis Cardinals

We mean no disrespect to the Gateway to the West. For real. It’s just that these Cardinals were 10 ½ games out of first on Sept. 5, won 90 games and needed some acts of nature to simply get in the playoffs. What they did have: Albert Pujols and Carpenter, who vanquished Roy Halladay and the Phillies in an epic NLDS Game 5 and made three World Series starts thanks to some timely rainouts.

23. 2000 New York Yankees

The Yankees’ three-peat hardly ended with a whimper. They were just a little tired, perhaps. These Bombers won just 87 games and were forced to an ALDS Game 5 by the low-payroll Oakland Athletics. Yet all the usual suspects turned up when they needed them, buttressed by David Justice, who hit 20 homers after a June trade from Cleveland and three more big ones in the postseason, earning ALCS MVP.

22. 2014 San Francisco Giants

Perhaps no franchise is tougher to slot in this exercise than the three-time champion Giants, whose whole was always grander than the sum of their parts. We’ll call this edition the weakest of their three even-year champions, simply because this was always a pitching-centric operation and Tim Hudson, 39, and Jake Peavy combined for a 9.22 ERA in four World Series starts. But the gallant Madison Bumgarner can cover up a lot of deficiencies, with help from a battle-tested bullpen.

21. 2003 Miami Marlins

Talk about a team that had everything and nothing: The only squad among this bunch that fired its manager (Jeff Torborg) midseason, drew just 1.3 million fans to its cavernous football stadium and had a closer eventually convicted of attempted murder in Venezuela. Yet these 91-win wild cards had an amazingly effective throwback duo of slap-and-run dudes in Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo combine for 7.9 WAR, a ready-made playoff ace in Josh Beckett and a 20-year-old hitting machine named Miguel Cabrera. Yes, this team took out the Aaron-Bleeping-Boone Yankees.

20. 2013 Boston Red Sox

No hate for these 97-game winners that rank the lowest among Boston’s four titlists. And salute to David Ortiz, who had perhaps his most epic postseason (.353, five homers, 1.206 OPS in 16 games), months after his "this is our (bleeping) city" moment in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. Yet these were the Sox of Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes, John Lackey and Mike Napoli, a salty veteran crew that got it done. Salute to them all, even if they’re less decorated than other squads who earned the right to pilot duck boats on the Charles.

19. 2023 Texas Rangers

Almost the epitome of the potent yet streaky squad that caught fire at the right time, Texas won just 90 games and had to fight through the wild-card series, yet proved there’s such a thing as performers built for the postseason. Namely, ace Nathan Eovaldi, slugging shortstop Corey Seager and manager Bruce Bochy, who added a fourth title to his Hall of Fame resume.

18. 2002 Anaheim Angels

They crafted the modern ideal of a playoff team: Make contact but also slug home runs, get by with nominal starting pitching and turn it over to a dominant bullpen. These wild-card Angels won 99 games, ended the Yankees’ streak of four straight AL pennants and stunned Barry Bonds’ Giants with a stirring Game 6 rally. Lackey, beginning a run of three championships with three franchises, won Game 7.

17. 2012 San Francisco Giants

The year Giants postseason devil magic was truly born. They lost All-Star center fielder Melky Cabrera to a PED suspension, trailed St. Louis 3-1 in the NLCS and trusted their season to shaky veteran Barry Zito in Game 5. But Zito and the Giants roared all the way back, and the lefty beat Justin Verlander in World Series Game 1, when Pablo Sandoval – Pablo Sandoval! – crushed three homers off the future Hall of Famer.

16. 2019 Washington Nationals

Not your average 93-win wild card, not with a pitching staff featuring future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg at the height of health and dominance and Patrick Corbin somehow justifying a $140 million contract with one great season. Oh, and this Juan Soto fellow graced the postseason stage for the first time, helping them overcome a 2-1 NLDS deficit and 3-2 World Series disadvantage to stun the Astros.

15. 2005 Chicago White Sox

Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras – this version of El Duque had just turned 40 – won’t make anyone’s list of most dominant pitching quartet. But for two weeks in October, they couldn’t be stopped, pitching four consecutive complete games to shock the Angels in the ALCS and then sweeping aside Houston. A nice capstone for franchise stalwart Paul Konerko, who hit five playoff homers and won ALCS MVP honors.

14. 2022 Houston Astros

A true meld of the older-school Astros and the next generation, with Yordan Alvarez capping the run with a mammoth Game 6 World Series home run. Jeremy Peña deftly replaced Carlos Correa, winning ALCS and World Series MVP honors, and the pitching staff’s top-to-bottom dominance was exemplified by Cristian Javier running the opening leg on a four-man World Series no-hitter.

13. 2010 San Francisco Giants

They needed all 162 games to clinch the NL West with 92 wins, but Bochy’s first championship team was about to brew up something special. While their lineup of spare parts inspired the phrase “Torture” to describe Giants baseball, the last great year of Tim Lincecum – he struck out a major league-high 231 – dovetailed with the arrival of Buster Posey and the rise of Madison Bumgarner to inspire an 11-4 run through the playoffs. And no, we did not forget Matt Cain’s 21 ⅓ playoff innings with no earned runs allowed.

12. 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers

That attrition forced them to throw four bullpen games in this postseason run, stare down a 2-1 deficit in the NLDS and get taken to six games by the Mets in the NLCS tempts us to downgrade this group. But also: Shohei Ohtani. The sport’s only 50-50 man slammed three homers and drove in 10 runs through Game 1 of the World Series, before a Game 2 shoulder separation slowed his mojo. No worries: There’s always another Hall of Famer in L.A. to pick up the slack.

11. 2017 Houston Astros

They’d be a couple spots higher if not for The Scandal, which you may have heard about. Regardless, this was a squad, especially once they traded for Justin Verlander in August and saw him post a 1.06 ERA in five starts down the stretch and strike out 38 over 36 postseason innings.

10. 2007 Boston Red Sox

You can make an argument this group was more talented than the history-making 2004 squad. And can we really produce “remember when?” documentaries when nobody’s stopped talking about it? Anyhow, these guys featured plenty of ’04 holdovers yet upgraded with Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell on the dirt and Beckett and Jon Lester ensuring Curt Schilling wouldn’t need to pitch until his sock turned red.

9. 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers

Fun fact: Only two teams in the wild-card era have first-half winning percentages higher than these Dodgers’ .717 mark in the COVID-shortened 60-game season: The 1998 Yankees and 2001 Mariners. The former is arguably the greatest team in that era and the latter won 116 games. Point is: These Dodgers would’ve made the playoffs, as they have the past 13 seasons. And these Dodgers had All-Star and Hall of Fame players performing at peak capability – from Mookie Betts to Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw to Walker Buehler. With the rules the same for everyone, the Dodgers won more postseason games – 13 – than any champion to that point, 11 of them at a neutral site. Recognize.

8. 2015 Kansas City Royals

Shh, don’t tell any salary cap-loving owners that smaller-market teams can hit the gas and win it all. The Royals were one win – or 90 feet plus some extra-inning luck – shy of a championship in 2014, then came back and finished the job a year later. Like the Giants who vanquished them a year earlier, the Royals put the ball in play and played exceptional defense. They also had a taut bullpen and went for the jugular at the trade deadline, adding Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. Ninety-five wins and an 11-5 postseason run – not bad for a Central Division club.

7. 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks

Game 7 of the ’01 World Series has been referred to as "The Last Night Of The Yankee Dynasty." It’s also a pretty neat coda to an era of, shall we say, anti-aging enhancement. Of the 17 everyday regulars on both teams, 12 were at least 32 years old. That just doesn’t happen anymore! Sure, these Diamondbacks were plenty flawed, but didn’t need too much more than a 1-2 starting pitching punch we won’t see again. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson combined to win 43 regular season games and all four of Arizona's Series games – named co-MVPs – with Johnson replacing Schilling in relief to win the epic Game 7. No, the manager wasn’t great, the back end of the rotation was shaky and the bullpen was terrible. But sometimes two horses beats a whole stable.

6. 2009 New York Yankees

Ah, remember when a $424.5 million outlay for three players was a “splurge?” So it was for the Yankees when they reeled in CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira after missing the 2008 playoffs. And goodness, it worked: The Yankees won 103 games, went 11-4 in the postseason and tamed a budding Phillies dynasty in the World Series. Just a perfect mix of old and new guard on this team, epitomized by Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte starting every playoff game, often on three days’ rest. Alex Rodriguez clutched up, months after his exposure as a steroid scoundrel. And while Derek Jeter had long been derided as statuesque at shortstop, he produced a 6.6-WAR season, his best since 1999.

5. 2004 Boston Red Sox

Oh, yeah – these guys. As we mentioned, there might be a better Red Sox team deeper on the list, but it’s tough to match the star power, resiliency and overall thump of this club. Manny Ramirez clubbed 43 homers. Schilling and Pedro Martinez combined for 37 regular season wins. Keith Foulke was dynamite in the eighth and ninth innings. The bit parts – Bill Mueller, Mark Bellhorn, trade deadline pickup Orlando Cabrera and yes, even Dave Roberts – fit perfectly around this core. And oh, what a history-making core.

4. 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers

Until further notice, The Team That Ruined Baseball. Teams don't earn too much scorn for runaway spending unless they win it all, and these Dodgers doubled down on their '24 championship by adding Blake Snell on a $182 million deal and becoming the first club since 2000 to win consecutive titles. And this club was markedly better than the '24 squad: Shohei Ohtani's elbow and shoulder were full go, Yoshinobu Yamamoto became a playoff legend and Freddie Freeman wasn't playing on one leg. Little wonder they pulled off a miracle in Game 7 at Toronto .

3. 2008 Philadelphia Phillies

Still kind of amazing these Phillies won just one World Series and two pennants. Yet the ’08 squad featured four of their most important pieces firing at peak performance. From Ryan Howard’s majors-leading 48 home runs to Chase Utley’s 9-WAR season and Jimmy Rollins stealing 47 bases -  this was the essence of that run. Cole Hamels won Game 1 of every playoff series while fashioning a 1.64 ERA, with Brad Lidge nearly perfect in nine ninth-inning playoff appearances, racking up seven saves.

2. 2016 Chicago Cubs

Nope, not a sentimental choice here. These Cubs won 103 games and were a stunning blend of brilliant youth and veteran smarts. At 24, Kris Bryant was never better, winning NL MVP, drilling 39 homers with a .939 OPS and leading the league with 7.3 WAR; Anthony Rizzo, 26, produced 5.8 WAR from first base and hit 32 homers. Veterans Lester and Lackey produced one more championship hurrah, while Jake Arrieta was only a little less nasty than his 2015 Cy Young campaign. The late-spring re-signing of Dexter Fowler and deadline add of closer Aroldis Chapman put the team over the top – even if World Series Game 7 brought some frightful moments before Bryant’s iconic, stumbling toss to Rizzo for the final out and their first championship in 108 years.

1. 2018 Boston Red Sox

This championship looked pretty good at the time and has only gotten better with age. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez finished first and fourth in MVP voting, and the latter’s signing in spring training proved a massive boon thanks to his own production (43 homers, 130 RBI) and lending his hitting expertise to Betts and others. Mookie will be in the Hall of Fame some day and this was his finest hour, leading the majors and setting career highs in WAR (a career-best 10.3), average (.346) and slugging (.640, thanks to 32 homers and 47 doubles). A rotation fronted by three current or future Cy Young winners – Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and David Price – provided the bedrock for a 108-win season, and the trio only grew more lethal in the postseason. That’s when rookie manager Alex Cora deployed them often in relief, papering over a bullpen he trusted only so much. The season ended appropriately, when Sale pitched the ninth inning of a Price start and unleashed a nasty backfoot slider to vanquish Manny Machado and the Dodgers. That capped an 11-3 postseason and 119-win campaign – the team of the century for what’s still the franchise of the century.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking MLB World Series winners of the 21st century by greatness

Aaron Boone will return as Yankees manager for the 2027 season, SNY MLB insider Chelsea Janes confirmed Monday evening.

The 53-year-old skipper has one year remaining on a $10.5 million contract extension he signed in February 2025. The Yankees did not announce a second extension along with the news of Boone's return.

"We have learned that not only is [Aaron] Boone back as manager for 2027, no extension" On Baseball Night in New York, @sal_licata breaks the news that Aaron Boone did not receive an extension for his contract as Yankees manager https://t.co/rxwknzqzXb

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 19, 2026

The Yankees have won at least 92 games in every season since Boone took the helm in December 2017, minus the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and an 82-80 finish in 2023, the only season New York hasn't made the postseason during his tenure. His .583 regular-season winning percentage (790-565) is 13th-best in MLB history for those who have managed at least 400 games, tied with Hall of Famer Earl Weaver.

Boone's Yankees have won the AL East thrice and placed second in four other seasons, but they've struggled in the postseason. In nine years, New York has reached the ALCS three times and won just one AL Pennant. In their lone World Series appearance under Boone, the Yankees fell flat in a five-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, losing Game 1 in 10 innings after leading in the top of the 10th and dropping a 5-0 lead in the series-decider.

Their last two campaigns ended with a divisional-round collapse, falling to the Toronto Blue Jays in four games last year (where they were outscored 34-19) and getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays this October. The latter extended their World Series drought to 17 years.

Despite the second-straight early exit, general manager Brian Cashman gave Boone a vote of confidence after the season ended.

"I think Boone's a really good manager," Cashman said. "We're here for a reason. There are a lot of reasons behind that, and certainly he's part of that."

Many players spoke out in his favor as well, including Aaron Judge, who was one of several key players to miss significant time due to injury this season.

“He’s our manager. He’s running this ship," Judge said. "Especially a season like this -- I’m banged up, missing 100 games. You miss [Giancarlo Stanton], [Gerrit Cole], [Carlos Rodón]. Miss a lot of guys. Trent Grisham for a little bit, Cody Bellinger, who was an MVP for us. For him to manage it the way he did and put us in the best position in the playoffs and give us an opportunity to win a World Series -- he’s definitely had our back, and is our guy."

Austin Wells reportedly faced some health issues this season that set back his performance offensively. The question is, will the Yankees explore options to replace him?

Wells is eligible for arbitration, under club control through the 2029 season. The most likely scenario has him remaining behind the plate for the Yankees next year. To explain his early struggles in the regular season, a recent report from The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty revealed that Wells suffered multiple blows to the head that affected his focus.

According to Kuty’s reporting, Wells recalled specific instances where he was hit off deflections from Cam Schlittler’s pitches. During the Yankees’ first meeting against the Red Sox this season, Wells got clocked after Wilyer Abreu got a piece of Schlittler’s 98 mph fastball. The Yankees’ catcher shared that he suffered the same fate two weeks later, when William Contreras fouled back another of Schlittler’s 99 mph fastballs. Wells also shared with Kuty that he was suffering from headaches and found it difficult to track pitches during his at-bats, which led to his brief stint on the injured list in early June.

The Yankees’ catcher finished the first half of the season batting .155 with a .258 slugging percentage and six homers in 220 plate appearances. Following the All-Star break, Wells turned it around and seemed to find his groove in the second half of July. He built on his momentum in August and finished the final two months with 11 extra-base hits and a .784 OPS in 140 plate appearances. Despite his inconsistent offensive performance this season, the 27-year-old continued to shine behind the plate and was named a Gold Glove Award finalist.

Wells continued to perform well in the postseason and racked up three hits and scored two runs in the Wild Card Series against Boston. Much like the majority of the Yankees’ offense, excluding Ben Rice, he struggled against the Rays and got only two hits in a combined nine plate appearances, including an ignominious baserunning blunder during the 1-0 loss in the ALDS opener.

It’s also worth noting that Wells probably wouldn’t have felt more pressure to get back behind the plate as quickly as possible if the Yankees’ backup catcher options weren’t so mediocre. J.C. Escarra had the understudy role for the first half of the season and posted a .188 average with a .239 OBP and .510 OPS. Ali Sánchez finished the regular season with similar numbers, and though he was a good framer, he struggled at other parts of catching, including a 42-percent success rate on challenges.

An earlier report from MLB Trade Rumors projected Wells’ salary to be approximately $2.6 million, and the best move for the Yankees would likely be to settle on a figure that will give them enough flexibility to fill more pressing positions, including third base, second base, and center field.

Last week, I wrote an article breaking down NLCS MVP Jake Bauers’ 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. At the time, I called it “the best at-bat of the NLCS.”

That turned out to be incredibly presumptuous: just two days later, he worked an 11-pitch at-bat against Blake Snell that ended not with a walk, but with a go-ahead two-run home run.

Since the first at-bat earned a breakdown, this one deserves one too.

Blake Snell’s Arsenal

Snell doesn’t have quite the pitch variety Yamamoto does, but the two-time Cy Young Award winner is still incredibly nasty. He throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball. His fastball and changeup break in toward a left-handed hitter, while his slider and curveball break away. His fastball has elite “ride,” staying up as it reaches the plate, while his curveball drops off the table.

His arsenal is pretty standard; he doesn’t throw anything exotic like Yamamoto’s splitter. Still, he remains one of the best pitchers in the game for a few reasons:

1. All of his pitches are swing-and-miss pitches: Most starters have one or two put-away pitches, but all four of Snell’s miss bats. His curveball is probably his best pitch and one of the best breaking balls in the game.

Snell has missed chunks of the last three seasons due to injury, so he hasn’t qualified for year-end leaderboards since 2023, his second Cy Young season. That year, all three of his secondary pitches (slider, changeup, and curveball) had whiff rates around 50%, and his overall whiff rate ranked in the 98th percentile.

2. His fastball-curveball combination is brutal: In Game 3, his four-seamer sat around 97-98 mph with about 18-20 inches of induced vertical break, meaning it rode higher than hitters expected. His curveball came in around 83 mph and dropped roughly four feet. Both come from the same arm slot, so hitters have to guess between a fastball riding up at the letters and a curveball that falls off the table and out of the bottom of the zone. On top of that, the curveball arrives about 15 mph slower, so even a hitter who guesses right on location can be way out in front.

3. He works the edges of the zone: Snell rarely gives in with something over the middle. He lives on the corners and just above and below the zone, which leads to lots of chases and weak contact when hitters do swing.

The tradeoff is that he’s more prone to walks and high pitch counts than your average ace. His approach would rather put a hitter on base than give him something to drive. A few more stats from his 2023 season:

• Only 44.7% of his fastballs were in the strike zone, the 14th-lowest rate among starters.
• His slider had the lowest zone rate of any qualifying starter, at 25%.
• He led MLB with 99 walks.

---

In short, Snell has some of the best stuff in baseball, and he doesn’t like giving hitters anything to hit. That makes what Bauers did all the more impressive:

Every pitch from Jake Bauers’ masterful 11 pitch at-bat vs. Blake Snell…

And it ended with a bang 💥 pic.twitter.com/ibGscZwK6R

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 15, 2026

Pitchers tend to attack Bauers up and in. He’s a patient hitter, but like many power hitters, he’ll hunt inside fastballs and try to drive them, which means he can sometimes be jammed or beaten by velocity. Because of that, opponents often pair high, inside fastballs with breaking balls and changeups away, trying to keep him off balance and induce weak contact. Snell was no exception.

Jake Bauers vs. Blake Snell: The Breakdown

Pitch 1: 89.4-mph slider (0-1): Snell’s first pitch, a slider, starts up and in. It comes in looking like a fastball, but instead of riding up like his four-seamer, it drops late. Unlike a typical slider, though, this one has almost no horizontal break, so it doesn’t sweep away from the left-handed Bauers. He initially looks like he wants it but checks his swing, presumably because he recognizes the late drop and knows he can’t drive it. The slider stays in the zone for strike one.

Pitch 2: 83.8-mph changeup (1-1): Snell follows with a changeup, about 14 mph slower than his fastball, that dives 34 inches and runs in toward Bauers. Lefties don’t often throw changeups to left-handed hitters (in particular, Snell’s changeup performs better against righties), so it’s a sign Snell is willing to show Bauers everything. The goal is to stop him from sitting on the fastball, but the pitch bounces in the dirt for ball one.

Pitch 3: 96.3-mph fastball (2-1): Snell throws a fastball low and away, likely hoping Bauers will take it for strike two so he can go for the put-away pitch. He misses, though, and the count goes to 2-1.

Pitch 4: 87.0-mph changeup (2-2): Snell comes back with another changeup, this one starting high and inside before dropping. Bauers is out in front and just barely ticks the top of the ball for a foul tip that ends up in the glove of catcher Will Smith. Strike two.

Pitch 5: 90.6-mph slider (2-2): Snell goes back to the slider for the first time since the opening pitch. Like that first one, it has almost no horizontal break, so out of the hand it looks like a fastball, and Bauers appears to be sitting on one. His front foot comes down well before the pitch arrives, but he does a great job keeping his weight back and waiting on the slider before fouling it off to stay alive.

Pitch 6: 82.3-mph curveball (2-2): Bauers is still a little out in front, since he’s clearly not expecting a curveball, but he manages to chop it foul.

Pitch 7: 97.6-mph fastball (3-2): Snell follows the slow curveball with the hardest fastball he’s thrown Bauers all at-bat, a jump of 15 mph. Bauers wants it and starts to swing, but he recognizes it’s a few inches off the inside corner and checks his swing to run the count full.

Pitch 8: 98.2-mph fastball (3-2): Snell comes back with another fastball, this one even harder than the last one. It starts up in the zone before riding up and out of it. Bauers is already committed and can’t check his swing, but he gets enough of it to foul it back and stay alive.

Pitch 9: 86.3-mph changeup (3-2): Snell changes speeds again, coming back with a changeup that’s about 12 mph slower than the fastball. Once again, Bauers isn’t sitting on the changeup, so he’s out in front, but he manages to keep his weight back and just gets a piece of it.

Pitch 10: 90.9-mph slider (3-2): Snell comes back with a third slider. Bauers is out in front again, so his swing is still awkward, but now that he’s seen it a couple of times, he’s able to do more than just foul it off. He lines it down the right field line, but it goes just foul.

Pitch 11: 97.8-mph fastball (home run): After two straight secondary pitches, Snell goes back to the fastball, presumably trying to blow it by Bauers high and inside. Instead, it runs out over the middle of the plate, and Bauers — who’s been sitting fastball all at-bat — doesn’t miss it: 109.4 mph off the bat, 412 feet to right field. The two-run homer scores Christian Yelich and gives the Brewers a lead they never relinquish.

JAKE BAUERS PUTS THE BREWERS BACK IN FRONT! pic.twitter.com/KK8xCFd7j1

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

---

So, to correct myself: Bauers’ walk against Yamamoto was the best at-bat of the NLCS for exactly one game. I’m done making predictions. At this rate, he might top this one too.

The biggest complaint many Nationals fans have about the organization right now is the lack of spending and questionable commitment from ownership. Since winning the World Series back in 2019, the organization fell into a malaise. Payroll was slashed, stars were traded and last place finishes piled up. Now, after the team took a step forward under Paul Toboni and Blake Butera, the time to show commitment is now.

If the Nats do not spend serious money this offseason, it is very hard to believe that it will happen ever again. The team enters the offseason with the smallest payroll in the sport by $25 million. Spencer Nusbaum wrote a great story about this and took a look at some offseason possibilities.

The Nationals will enter the winter with the smallest payroll in MLB by about $25 million, per @EthanHullihen. That is a wide margin.

So which players are at their disposal at different spending limits? Free to read: https://t.co/GL2uNhm88W

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) October 15, 2026

After an 11 win improvement and so little money on the books, it feels like the perfect time to spend. The Nats could spend around $70 million this offseason and still only have the 20th ranked payroll in the sport. That sort of spending would give the Nats the ability to sign a big fish in the rotation and the bullpen while still having money to play with. 

We have written about some of the possibilities including Kevin Gausman, Michael King and Tyler Mahle. The Nats could realistically sign two of those guys and still be a bottom 10 payroll. This is about as financially flexible as a team can be. The only question is whether the Lerner family wants to spend any money at all. Or is having the lowest payroll in the league the whole point?

Since the 2020-21 offseason, the Nats have been one of the least active teams in free agency, at least when it comes to handing out real money. They have not spent more than $15 million since that offseason. The Nats have not given out a free agent contract worth over $10 million per year since 2022.

(Updated)
Nelson Cruz: 1 yr, $15MM (2022)
Trevor Williams: 2 yr, 14MM (2025)
Trevor Williams: 2 yr, 13MM (2023)
Brad Hand: 1 yr, $10.5MM (2021)
Kyle Schwarber: 1 yr, $10MM (2021)
Michael Soroka: 1 yr, $9MM (2025) https://t.co/VNTsPj63Dr

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) December 30, 2024

Even the Rays, a notoriously small market club, gave Nick Martinez 1-year $13 million. Martinez rewarded the Rays for that investment with a 3.10 ERA in 180 innings. At the very least, the Nats need to be making deals like that. If the Nats shopped in that aisle of free agency instead of settling for Miles Mikolas and Cionel Perez, this season could have been a lot different.

Of course, spending money for the sake of it is not wise. The teams remaining are all smaller market clubs, but they pick their spots to spend as well. Milwaukee has locked up Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Cooper Pratt among others. The Rays have extended Yandy Diaz and made the Martinez move. Meanwhile, the Guardians extended Jose Ramirez and Tanner Bibee. 

Another factor that could loom large here is the lockout. In any world where a salary floor is implemented, the Nats will be well below it. That will force them to spend money, and agents will exploit that. Why not get ahead of it and spend like you should anyways. This is not a small market club!

Coming soon to FanGraphs 👀 pic.twitter.com/Um3cxguA6u

— Jon Becker (@jonbecker_) October 19, 2026

This post is a good guide to where teams sit financially and what they would need to spend to get to a floor. As you see, the Nats would need to spend some serious money. If a floor is implemented, the Nats will sign players to reach it and take on contracts other teams do not want.

Whether the Nats spend will be the ultimate question this offseason, along with the lockout. Sure, you can have success with a smaller market, but the Nats are just limiting themselves by being so cheap. You are closing the door to talented players.

I also think the sales pitch to free agents will be easier this offseason. After the new regime’s first season, the arrow is pointing up for the first time in a while. This team is not 5 years away anymore. Nats fans have been waiting for a good team for a long time. Now that is finally within shouting distance. It is time to strike and aggressively push to make this team better. The money is there, now spend it and spend it wisely.

It’s time to start looking at the decisions to be made with regard to the Diamondbacks for next year. Normally, I’d be starting off with a look at the team, player and mutual options to be exercised. But there’s only really one of note, and it is easily the least interesting kind (we’ll get to it later in this article). I suppose technically, we could include the Corbin Burnes opt-out option. When he signed the six year, $210 million contract, it included the ability to opt out after 2026. But he has made only fourteen starts over the two years so far, and barely came back from injury this season. On that basis, here’s the SnakePit’s carefully considered opinion on whether Burnes will exercise the opt-out.

No.

Want a second opinion?

No, but in italics.

There. That’s all sorted, so moving on. There will be a fair amount of money coming off the books for the team, with many players from the final roster (or injured list) becoming free agents at the end of the season. However, a significant chunk of that will be earmarked, either for pre-contracted obligations, or for increases to our arbitration eligible players – we’ll be covering those in a future article. And, of course, players may be worth more or less money than they received in 2026, depending on their performance. Here are the men, in descending order of salary, mostly taken from the Baseball Reference contract page for the team. Might they be back in 2027?

Zac Gallen ($16.2m)

I am very tempted to go with “No, but in bold“, and leave it at that. The disaster which was the re-signing of Zac Gallen will hang around until the last of his deferred payment is sent in the middle of the 2034 season. Not many one-year deals include eight years’ worth of deferrals. Mind you, the Tigers will be paying Justin Verlander for his one-year deal through 2039, so Gallen’s not the record holder there. And while not one-year deals, the Dodgers will be writing checks to Edwin Diaz until 2047, and the Guardians to José Ramírez through 2051. That’s getting up ito Bobby Bonilla territory. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah: No, but in bold.

Michael Soroka ($7.5m)

This is the one mentioned above where there is a “mutual option” for next year, at $10 million, with a $1 million buyout. These are exercised incredibly rarely, because a player either does well and wants to test free-agency, or does badly, and the team goes in another direction. The last mutual option exercised which I could find was more than a decade ago, when Aramis Ramirez and the Brewers did so for 2015. And that was because Ramirez knew it would be his last season. Soroka will hit the free market, and get more than $10 million. But the team could certainly use a starter. Whether they pursue Soroka probably depends on how much Mike Hazen spends on a left-handed power bat.

Ryan Thompson ($3.95m)

Became something of a forgotten man, though of all the relievers used by Arizona in 2026, only Kevin Ginkel has made more appearances for the D-backs. Thompson had a solid start, with a 2.76 ERA and FIP through July 1st. But the subsequent month was a disaster, before going on the injured list in early September with a strained lower back. If those struggles were a result of the back problem, I’d certainly kick the tires on a return, regardless of what Reddit might think. Over his 174 appearances here, Thompson has an ERA+ of 120, and age 34, there’s probably still some gas left in the tank. However, Gambo has suggested it probably won’t be in Arizona.

Dennis Santana ($3.5m)

Santana had a dire start to the season in Pittsburgh, posting an ERA north of six across 44 appearances. After being released by the Pirates in late July, he was picked up by the D-backs and was significantly improved. He had a 4.20 ERA, much in line with his FIP (4.23). While that is still basically only league average, a similar price to the above is probably about the going rate for a middle reliever. His poor start might depress the market for the pitcher to a helpful degree. But he certainly would not be the worst free-agent signing called Santana, made by the Diamondbacks in recent seasons.

James McCann ($3.25m)

With hindsight, I could perhaps have included the signing of McCann as one of Mike Hazen’s best moves of last season. By pure WAR he didn’t move the needle much – 0.3 bWAR and 0.5 fWAR. But a backup catcher with an 111 OPS+ across 51 games is pretty good, and Torey Lovullo often spoke of McCann in glowing terms, especially in regard to his handling of the pitching staff. The salary figure above is an estimate, including playing time bonuses. I think McCann did max out, despite missing seven weeks with a strained quad. That’s never a good thing for a catcher, and he is now aged 36. But we’ve spent more on worse catchers previously, e.g. Carson Kelly in 2023.

A.J. Puk ($3.1m)

Almost exactly at this point last year, we were speculating whether the team might non-tender Puk, as he recovered from Tommy John. Turns out, they should have done so. Instead, he spent the entire year on the IL, his return proving elusive. If life was fair, after getting paid without pitching in 2026, A.J. should pitch without getting paid in 2027. However, life is not fair, so he’ll still get a check. By Opening Day, it will be close to two years since his last major-league appearance, and I’d not be surprised if he has to settle for a minor-league deal, to prove his health. That might be the only way Arizona takes him back.

Kevin Ginkel ($2.75m)

Safe to say Kevin has done pretty well for a 22nd-round draft pick. No pitcher has appeared in more seasons for the D-backs than Ginkel (and only two – Brad Ziegler and Andrew Chafin – have played more games). But he might lose that honor next year, when Merrill Kelly takes the field for his ninth campaign, because Ginkel may well be in pastures new. I do think Kevin took more fanbase flak than deserved, given an ERA+ of 101 this year, over a team-leading 74 appearances, and a better FIP than Taylor Clarke. Finally hitting free agency at the age of 32, this will likely be his best chance at a decent contract, and I expect him to get a nice payday elsewhere.

Taylor Clarke ($1.55m)

I might be cautious about resigning Clarke, despite a very impressive 2.96 ERA. His K-rate was flat-out terrible: just 5.5 per nine innings, ranking him 196th of the 200 pitchers with as many innings pitched [still ahead of Zac Gallen though…] Outside of a low walk-rate, his Baseball Savant page has a concerning amount of blue, including an xERA of a considerably less impressive 4.42. This year and last, he has benefited from a low BABIP of .228, compared to the MLB average of .293. While he did a good job of avoiding hard contact this season, I’m not sure he would be worth a market price perhaps 2-3 times what he earned this year.

Jonathan Loaisiga ($1.5m)

It’s always nice to put one over on the Yankees, and after they let him go last winter, the D-backs got a real bargain in Loaisiga. He was worth 1.7 bWAR, compared to 0.5 bWAR from 2022-25 combined in New York, courtesy of an ERA and FIP both below three. Johnny Lasagna is going to get paid, potentially a multiyear deal somewhere in eight figures. With the team’s limited resources, needs elsewhere, and Mike Hazen’s (understandable) aversion to paying big for relief help, I don’t see Arizona being in the competition. Hazen is more likely to be looking for Loaisiga v2.0 elsewhere than re-signing the original.

Ildemaro Vargas ($1.25m)

Vargas’s fifth go-around with the Diamondbacks was easily his most successful. He appeared in 142 games, far more than a previous career high of 95 (with the Nationals in 2024). That’s almost one-quarter of his entire career total since he first reached the major in June 2017. Ildemaro started at all four infield positions plus DH, was NL Player of the Month in April after batting .378, and is a Gold Glove nominee. On the other hand, after May 1 he had a .557 OPS, so that month was more fluke (.384 BABIP) than breakout. There may not be room for him on the Opening Day roster, with Tim Tawa having more upside as a utility infielder, though Vargas would be a nice depth piece.

What do you reckon? Who do you think will be back in 2027?

The Dodgers 2026 season ended last week, a few weeks shorter than they hoped. This was a shorter season than the last two championship runs because of not only playing in the World Series, but also starting spring training early and starting the regular season early with trips to Asia in both 2024 and 2025.

In that respect, 2026 felt more like a normal year. But seven months is a lot of baseball and there were a lot of moments that stood out, good and bad.

The Dodgers had eight walk-off victories:

• April 10 vs. Rangers
• April 27 vs. Marlins
• June 5 vs. Angels
• June 19 vs. Orioles
• July 6 vs. Rockies
• August 11 vs. Royals
• August 21 vs. Pirates
• September 3 vs. Cardinals

The Dodgers had a nine-run first inning against the Angels.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched the team’s only complete game of the season at Yankee Stadium.

Max Muncy hit three home runs in a game against the Rangers, and later in the season passed Eric Karros for most home runs ever at Dodger Stadium.

Freddie Freeman got his 2,500th career hit on June 9 in Pittsburgh.

Top prospect Josue De Paula made his major league debut in September and impressed at the plate. In October he was the youngest Dodgers position player to bat in the postseason since Willie Crawford in 1965.

Andy Pages started the All-Star Game and after a nightmarish postseason at the plate in 2025, came through this October, including the game-winning two-run single to close out the Braves in the Division Series.

There were plenty of other moments I’m sure I have forgotten, but that’s why I’m turning to you. Let us know in the comments below what was your favorite moment of the 2026 Dodgers season.

A hitter whose menacing presence in the batter’s box was unlike any other, Giancarlo Stanton now sees what once seemed like a likely historic accomplishment looking further away than ever. Nearing 37 years of age and coming off a season in which he only accumulated 90 at-bats, Stanton looks bound for a retirement falling short of the 500-HR club. Currently sitting at 456 home runs, Stanton would need a significant turnaround to reach the mark that has been a benchmark for the Hall of Fame historically.

Prior to this season, Stanton’s many injury problems had limited his regular season exposure, but he had, ever since the 2020 campaign, found a way to muster up enough playing time to gain significant ground on this chase for 500 bombs. Bringing a specific number to the table, between the 2021 and 2025 seasons, Stanton averaged 28.2 home runs per year. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a whole lot given what we know of Stanton’s capabilities, but it’s more than Bryce Harper over the same period (26.2).

That level of production and availability kept the spark alive for him joining the 500-HR club, maybe even as a Yankee, but then 2026 rolled around and, by all indications, his calves gave out. Twenty-three games scattered between March and April were all that Stanton could provide in a season so worrisome that it has put his future with the Yankees in doubt.

Assuming Stanton had been able to carry on the pace he had between 2021 and 2025 for just a couple more seasons, so this one and in 2027, there was a realistic shot he might get to this number wearing pinstripes. Now, the Yankees are left to calculate if it’s worth it to dedicate their DH spot to a hitter who has spent more time off the field than on it in the past two seasons.

The specifics of Stanton’s contract show he is owed $25 million for the 2027 season, out of which only $15 million is covered by the Yankees, with the other $10 million coming from the Marlins. For 2028, Stanton has a team option worth the same amount, with a $10 million buyout. Overall, the Yankees still owe Stanton $25 million.

Although it isn’t the specific point we must address here, any Stanton-related cut has to take other factors into account—such as the flexibility the DH slot could provide if a more reliable hitter was slotted in but also keeping it available for other players to spend time rotating into the role. When it comes to the figure owed to him—although it’d represent a significant hit—we’re at a point where it’s well within reason for the club to cut the cord should it deem it is too unlikely he can play regularly in the near future.

Technically, if Stanton can get back to the availability of even 2025, he could still fight for this immense achievement, not to mention other team-oriented goals such as winning his first championship. That being said, the likelihood of this happening puts him more distant than close to the Yankees’ long-term plans. An accomplished star in this game and one whose continuous hamstring injuries have taken their toll, it’s worth pondering how much Stanton is willing to push this.

For the first time in three years, the Dodgers’ winter has begun with a quiet period.

They didn’t reach the World Series this fall. Which means they have some time to sit back and take stock of their roster before the offseason kicks into gear.

This year, of course, uncertainty surrounds the future of the sport. A lockout is almost certain to commence at the beginning of December. When a new CBA is struck, and what changes to the league’s financial structure it could possibly entail, is still anyone’s guess.

Because of that, forecasting the Dodgers’ moves this winter also remains a guessing game. At what will be a potential point of transition for the franchise, there are any number of routes that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Co. could take.

For now, though, they do begin the offseason with a few obvious questions that will need to be answered.

Here are the five most pressing, as the two-time defending champions try to move on from their failed three-peat bid:

Tarik Skubal a Dodger again?

This year’s free agent class is as thin as any in recent memory. But Skubal represents the one, superstar-caliber, potential record-setting exception.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner is expected to break Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s high mark of $325 million guaranteed for a pitcher. He could get upward of $400 million –– if not even closer to $500 million –– if the right combination of suitors emerges.

The Dodgers, of course, will be in the mix.

Their admiration for Skubal was clear at the trade deadline. Their appreciation for his talent and work ethic only grew during his three months with the club. The relationships he built in the clubhouse –– including, first and foremost, with Blake Snell –– figure to only strengthen their case, as well.

However…

The Dodgers already have ample future financial commitments. How comfortable they are adding another, especially before knowing what changes will come with MLB’s new CBA, could be the defining question of their winter.

Entering the offseason, their 2027 payroll (for luxury tax purposes) is at $388.4 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Even for 2028, there is over $300 million on their books at this point.

If the league were to enact a salary cap, or harsher luxury tax rules (this year’s first tax threshold was at $244 million), those totals could prove problematic.

And even if not, that would still be a lot of long-term money tied up in 30-something-year-old players (Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are all under contract for at least half-a-decade more).

That isn’t to say the Dodgers can’t afford, or won’t be comfortable with, a mega-signing for Skubal. If they feel he maximizes their World Series odds for even the next couple seasons –– in the way they thought he did this past year –– they will make an effort to sign him.

At this point, though, too many uncertainties surround his market, the sport’s larger landscape, and the Dodgers’ preferred economic plan, to know exactly where they stand in his sweepstakes.

Re-sign Kiké Hernández?

Each of the last three offseasons, Kiké Hernández has been a free agent.

Each of the last three winters, his ultimate re-signing felt like a fait accompli.

This time, however, even Hernández seemed more uncertain about his chances of staying in Los Angeles in 2027. 

After the team’s NLCS elimination, he said he “would love to be back” but didn’t “really know what’s going to happen” –– so much so, he added, that “if I’m not, I hope that I get to play for a winning team [somewhere else].”

In an Instagram post a few days later, he expressed his gratitude to the organization and its fan base with a foreboding “If this is it for us…” caveat.

What makes Hernández’s situation interesting this year is what it could reveal about the front office’s bigger-picture roster-building philosophy. In re-signing the October hero and veteran utilityman the last few seasons, the club was making an effort to keep its core –– even including part-time fringe players like him –– together.

But now, it’s possible a large shake-up could be in order. If so, the 35-year-old Hernández would figure to be a potential casualty. 

“We had a good run, but here we are,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with me personally, moving forward for next year. But this team is well-positioned to keep winning.”

Trade Teoscar Hernández?

Last winter, the Dodgers at least entertained potential trade discussions involving outfielder Teoscar Hernández.

This winter, it would be no surprise if they were even more open to shopping the veteran outfielder.

For all Hernández has done in his three years as a Dodger, after all, he could be the first core piece squeezed out in their transition to the future.

The club has a wave of corner outfield depth at the top of their farm system, starting with rookie sensation Josue De Paula. They have few other veteran pieces who would make sense to explore moving. And if the team was looking for ways to get younger, and open up opportunities for its top prospects, Hernández (who is entering the final year of his contract anyway) would be the logical place to start.

That doesn’t mean the Dodgers are determined to move him. When fully healthy, he has still looked like an impact player. And given De Paula’s massive defensive question marks in the outfield, it’s not as if they have a risk-free replacement waiting in the wings.

But, Hernández could nonetheless be in a tenuous place this offseason. 

Whether or not the Dodgers stick with him will be another illustration of their larger priorities entering 2027.

Bring back “Bullpen Dawgs?”

Another key decision for the Dodgers will come in the bullpen, where their three (actually, four) longest-tenured arms are all out of contract.

Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips are all entering free agency, after playing key roles in the team’s back-to-back World Series titles. So too is Brusdar Graterol, who hasn’t pitched since the 2024 Fall Classic because of shoulder and back injuries.

It all raises a familiar question: Will the Dodgers try to maintain some level of continuity, specifically by attempting to re-sign Vesia and/or Phillips? (Treinen’s future is less clear, at 38 years old and coming off a season-ending shoulder injury, as is Graterol’s given his daunting injury history).

Or, will they see this as another chance to cycle some fresh faces onto the roster, while potentially opening up a couple relief roles for some of their younger arms?

Strike an extension?

There are two primary contract extension candidates for the Dodgers this offseason –– one on either side of the age spectrum, and representing different possibilities for the club’s future.

Andy Pages is the first, coming off an All-Star campaign in 2026 and entering his first season of arbitration eligibility in 2027. Both sides are likely to at least be open to exploring a potential longer-term commitment this offseason. Doing so would lock down the one young core member of the Dodgers’ lineup –– Pages is currently on track to be the only sub-30 member of the starting lineup next year –– and give them one future pillar to build around.

Then there is Freddie Freeman, whose contract situation will come to a head over the next 12 months.

The 2027 season is the final one of Freeman’s current deal. However, the 37-year-old has indicated a desire to potentially play at least two more seasons beyond it, putting the onus on the Dodgers to make a decision on his future in Los Angeles.

To this point, the future Hall of Fame first baseman has repeatedly sidestepped any contract talk publicly. But it’s unlikely next year begins without him and the team at least discussing his long-term status in the organization at some point.

It could be yet another barometer of how the Dodgers view their own long-term plans overall. 

This season felt like the beginning of the end for their dynasty core. And while many of their most familiar faces will still be back in 2027, this winter should offer indications of how quickly the club plans to transition into a new era, and how aggressively they will begin maneuvering to get there.

With the start of another week, it’s time for an update on the Cubs’ Boys of Autumn playing in the Arizona Fall League.

If you haven’t been following along or if you just need a refresher on what is going on in Arizona, check out the introduction and the recap of the first full week.

The Mesa Solar Sox, the Cubs affiliate in the AFL along with the A’s, Blue Jays, Angels and Red Sox, had an abbreviated week with only four games. Monday’s home game was rained out and made up on Wednesday, but Tuesday’s game at Surprise was postponed because of a power failure. I’m not sure if that game will be made up. In any case, the Solar Sox didn’t take the field until Wednesday.

The Solar Sox went 2-2 over the week, putting their overall record at 4-6. Here’s how they did in those four games. The home team is listed second.

Wednesday, October 14: Salt River Rafters 3, SOLAR SOX 7

Thursday, October 15: SOLAR SOX 14, Rafters 9 in ten innings.

Friday, October 16: SOLAR SOX 5, Surprise Saguaros 12

Saturday, October 17: Rafters 5, SOLAR SOX 0

Here’s how the eight Cubs prospects on the Solar Sox did.

Infielder Juan Cabada: The second-youngest player in the AFL this year played two games this past week. He was the third baseman for Mesa on Thursday and the second baseman on Friday.

Cabada went 2 for 6 on Thursday with an RBI single in the first inning and an RBI single in Mesa’s five-run top of the tenth. In Friday’s loss, Cabada went 0 for 3 with a walk.

For the season, Cabada has played seven games and is hitting .167/.286/.167 with one stolen base. He has scored twice and has driven in three.

Outfielder Harrison Feinberg: Feinberg only played in Thursday’s extra-inning win over Salt River. He was the left fielder in that game and went 2 for 4 wth a walk.

In four games for the Solar Sox, Feinberg is hitting .385/.529/.385 with two steals. He has scored twice and has one run batted in.

Outfielder Kade Snell: There were some high hopes for Snell coming into the AFL and this past week, he played like the sleeper prospect he is. Snell played left field on Wednesday and went 2 for 3 with a walk. On Thursday Snell played right field and he was 1 for 3 with three walks and a stolen base. After an off-day on Friday, Snell returned to DH on Saturday and was 1 for 3 as the Solar Sox were shut out. That’s 4 for 9 with four walks and a steal on the week.

For the AFL campaign, Snell is hitting .286/.459/.321 wth two steals over eight games. He has four runs batted in and has scored six times.

Right-hander Jhon Cabral: Cabral pitched the ninth inning on Wednesday in a non-save situation. He walked the first batter he faced, but then retired the next three in order. Cabral struck out one.

Over 2.1 innings and three appearances, Cabral has yet to allow a run or a hit in the AFL. He has walked three while striking out two.

Right-hander Anhuar Garcia: Garcia has had a rough AFL campaign because he’s had trouble throwing strikes. That continued this week after he threw 1.2 innings of relief on Friday. Garcia allowed three runs on one it and four walks. He also balked twice. In his defense only one of the three runs was earned. Garcia struck out two.

In three appearances, Garcia has an ERA of 6.75 over 6.2 innings. However, he’s allowed five unearned runs on top of the five he’s given up that were earned. Garcia has walked eight and has struck out four.

Right-hander Yohendris Gonzalez: Gonzalez did not pitch this past week. He has a 40.50 ERA after allowing six runs over just 1.1 innings in two appearances so far.

Right-hander Dominick Reid: With the shortened week and Reid having pitched on Saturday the previous week, Reid did not get a start this week. Reid is still 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA over two starts.

Right-hander Luis Rujano: Rujano threw 1.1 innings in Saturday’s shutout loss. He allowed one run on one hit, but the run was unearned. Rujano walked two and struck out one.

For the season, Rujano has pitched four innings in three relief appearances. He has an ERA of 2.25 with four walks and four strikeouts.