NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 07: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning in game three of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on October 07, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When Max Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million contract during the 2024-2025 offseason, the scouting report said that the Yankees were getting one of the game’s premier southpaws with impeccable defense, but who had regularly battled injuries throughout his career. Now at the contract’s quarter pole, that scouting report has played out as advertised. Across his first two years in pinstripes, Fried’s 8.3 fWAR and 2.83 ERA rank eighth and fifth, respectively, among starters with at least 300 innings pitched, and he took home the 2025 AL Gold Glove. After a mostly healthy 2025 that saw him throw a career-high 195 innings, however, the 32-year-old battled injuries this season, culminating in an offseason elbow surgery announced earlier this week.
2027 Contract Status: Entering third year of eight-year, $218 million contract
With Ace of the Past Gerrit Cole still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and Ace of the Future Cam Schlittler about to explode on the scene, Fried was tabbed as the Yankees’ Opening Day starter in San Francisco — his fourth career Opening Day start, and first in pinstripes. He was characteristically dominant in that first start, allowing just two runs in 6.1 scoreless frames to set the tone not just for his 2026 performance, but that of the Yankees’ rotation as a whole.
When healthy this season, Fried was the definition of consistency. Across his 20 regular season starts, he allowed more than three runs just three times. One came against the LA Angels on April 16th, during that strange four-game set in the Bronx where the Yankees’ pitching staff randomly crumbled to pieces (they gave up 32 total runs against the American League’s second-worst offense). The second came on May 8th, where the future World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers put together a four-run second inning courtesy of four singles and a pair of walks; since he would hit the injured list with an elbow bruise following his next start, it’s fair to wonder whether he was beginning to feel the effects of the injury here. The third, and final, came in the final week of the season, as the Rays offense broke through in the seventh as he was outdueled by Tampa Bay ace Drew Rasmussen. Even in these three starts, however, Fried managed to give the Yankees length, going 5.1, 6, and 6.1 innings in each, respectively.
In his other 17 outings, Fried was magnificent. He surrendered one run or fewer in 12 of those outings, and struck out six or more nine times. More importantly, he continued to be elite at generating soft contact, ranking in the 99th percentile in barrel percentage, 97th percentile in hard hit percentage, 96th percentile in average exit velocity, and 83rd percentile in ground ball percentage.
Furthermore, when the lights shone brightest, Fried came up big. Taking the ball against Boston in Game 2 of the Wild Card Round, he spun six innings of one-run ball, striking out six and walking just one; the only blemish came on a Willson Contreras home run with two outs in the sixth, a wall-scraper that was Boston’s first postseason run since the sixth inning of Game 2 of the previous year’s Wild Card Round. He wasn’t quite as strong a week later, getting tagged with the loss as the Yankees got swept, but honestly, he pitched well enough to keep the Yankees in the ballgame: in truth, he really only made two bad pitches all night, although both unfortunately ended up in the seats.
As we look ahead to next season, there is a concern on the horizon: Fried’s injury history. As we know, elbows are a ticking time bomb for pitchers, even those like Fried who rely less on swing-and-miss stuff and more on soft contact. Even though Fried is on track to be a full go for the hypothetical spring training that starts on time, and will almost certainly be ready for whenever the teams actually report, we’re still going to want to keep an eye on his elbow going forward. That’s true for all pitchers, though, and at least with Fried, we know that, when he’s on the mound, he’s going to be an ace.
See more of the Yankees Roster Report Card series here.
SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Seiya Suzuki #27 of the Chicago Cubs singles in the fourth inning during Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series presented by AbbVie between the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Orioles need several things to go right next season if they hope to make the playoffs. The infield could do its part if Gunnar Henderson returns to form, Jordan Westburg stays healthy, and/or Jackson Holliday takes a step forward. The rotation could carry its weight if Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz pitch like top of the rotation arms, the team resigns Trevor Rogers, and/or a young guy or two hits the ground running. The bullpen could do some heavy lifting if Ryan Helsley and Félix Bautista remain active, Alex Hoppe and Anthony Nunez develop, and/or Yennier Cano pitches to his potential.
But what about the outfield? Is there any world where Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers and Tyler O’Neill carry this team to the postseason? I don’t think so. With respect to Christian Franklin and Rece Hinds, I don’t exactly see that duo making the difference either.
The outfield, as it is currently constructed, is not viable for a playoff team. Fortunately, the Orioles have an opportunity to add a difference maker or two this offseason.
Seiya Suzuki is available after accumulating 16.2 bWAR over five seasons in Chicago. A quick Google search of Suzuki geneates plenty of articles just like this one. The Mariners view Suzuki as a potential replacement for free agent Randy Arozarena. The Padres have interest, as do the Phillies. Some believe Suzuki should make Toronto his next home, while others think he belongs in Boston. It’s no secret that the Orioles would face plenty of competition in a pursuit of Suzuki. ESPN listed the Tokyo native as the fifth best free agent available this offseason.
The 32-year-old cut his teeth in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) before he was posted and signed with the Cubs in 2021. He tallied at least 20 home runs in each of the last four seasons while playing above average defense in the outfield corners. He slashed .270/.368/.473 with a 131 OPS+ and 12 Defensive Runs Saved in 2026. The OPS+ would have been good for second among the Orioles regulars behind only Pete Alonso (149). Christian Encarnacion-Strand posted a 134 OPS+ over 58 games. Cowser (95), Beavers (93) and O’Neill (92) all posted a below average OPS+ last season.
There’s no question that the Orioles need to add in the outfield, but is Suzuki worth the money? MLB Trade Rumors projects Suzuki to sign for four years, $105 million. The same site projects Arozarena to receive a similar four-year, $100 million deal. There’s plenty to like with Arozarena as well, and I won’t knock you if he’s more your taste. Baltimore should pursue both outfielders, but it’s far from a guarantee that the organization could land either one.
Mike Elias has repeatedly stated that the team has the financial power to go out and acquire players like Suzuki. “It doesn’t mean we’re definitely going to do a five-year, $100-plus million deal this offseason, or every offseason. But we have the ability to talk to those players this winter and we’re going to do that.” Suzuki is one of those players.
The team desperately needs some stability in the grass. O’Neill simply cannot stay on the field, and he’s streaky at the dish when healthy. Cowser wowed with his defense, but it’s unclear if he’ll ever match the offensive output from his rookie season. Beavers failed to carry his momentum into 2026, and player development is not linear. Suzuki would immediately become the most dependable outfielder on the roster. He eclipsed 130 games played in each of the last four seasons, posted an above average OPS+ each year, and routinely demonstrated the ability to take a walk.
Suzuki and Arozarena are both expected to reject the qualifying offer, so Baltimore would need to relinquish draft pick compensation if they signed either one. A hundred million and a draft pick is a steep price to pay for a corner outfielder in his 30s, but Suzuki feels like the closest thing to a lock out of the available outfielders to produce over the next few seasons. The Orioles could offset the loss with draft compensation from another team if they fail to resign Rogers.
Maybe Heston Kjerstad fills this role in another universe, but things never worked out in Baltimore. Cowser still has time to improve at the plate, but he brings more value in the outfield grass. Enrique Bradfield Jr., another former first round pick, should debut this season. Unfortunately, Bradfield projects as another plus defender with minimal power.
Elias also floated the idea of some infielders getting reps in the outfield this spring. Blaze Alexander has already played some center, but does the team really trust Coby Mayo or Encarnacion-Strand to cover ground out there? Shouldn’t Jackson Holliday figure things out at the plate before learning a new position?
Signing Suzuki would take a significant financial commitment, but the team needs a difference maker in the outfield. That’s easy for me to say—it’s not my money. Pony up, David!
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 06: Lane Thomas #20 of the Atlanta Braves hits a single during the fifth inning of Game Three of the Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on October 6, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I’ve been working on the Lane Thomas player review that is going up later today, and it occurred to me…
There have been a lot of posts saying that the Braves may as well use their limited capital on re-signing their “good” additions/continuations from the last season: Mauricio Dubon, Tyler Mahle, and Raisel Iglesias. But, no one ever mentions Lane Thomas.
There are multiple reasons for that: Thomas got hurt and missed like half the time the Braves acquired him for, and, he was unplayable against righties while his inputs (but not his outputs) backslid against lefties in a teeny-tiny sample. Put these together, and Thomas isn’t going to get much of a deal for 2027. Which means, it won’t be hard for the Braves to sign him.
If the Braves were okay with a down-the-stretch platoon of a not-hitting-that-well Mike Yastrzemski and Thomas, could they be okay with it for limited further investment for 2027? Thomas generally pounds lefties, and he did it in Kansas City — it was only in his 30 or so PAs as a Brave where that didn’t show up inputs-wise.
Of course, there are lots of reasons for the Braves not to: a logjam if you assume Jurickson Profar is around, a desire to have a real left fielder and push Yastrzemski to a different role, or even just finding a different/better platoon partner for Yastrzemski.
And, the Braves could pivot in left field and still sign Thomas as a righty DH/pinch-hit option. They dedicate a roster spot each year to someone who doesn’t even play; how much worse can Thomas be for basically no added cost?
Anyway, I don’t have any strong feelings about whether or not the Braves re-add a guy who projects for half a win over half a season next year, but it just seemed off that I don’t think his name had come up at all despite the Braves targeting him a few months ago. What do you think?
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 10: President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski of the Philadelphia Phillies speaks with the media during the 2026 MLB Gerneral Managers Meetings at Aria Resort & Casino on November 10, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke this week at the GM meetings regarding the team’s plans for the offseason. Dombrowski obviously did not fully tip his hand on anything the Phillies will do, but he did outline their shopping list of an outfielder, a utility infielder, and starting rotation depth. However, Dombrowski also hinted at the possibility that the Phillies will not be among the biggest spenders this offseason, as they are perhaps running up against some sort of internal cap on payroll.
“I don’t know,” Dombrowski said. “I guess it just depends on what ends up happening with different things. … We have a lot of high-end salary players. They’re not young. They’re not old, but they’re in that age bracket. You have to make a decision. Maybe we have enough high-end players, and we can complement them with other players overall. That’s a decision we have to make. But I’m not necessarily looking for our club to continue to get older. So you kind of factor all those things in and make a decision.” – from Matt Gelb in The Athletic
The Phillies finished last season with a $322 million payroll after factoring in competitive balance taxes according to Cot’s Contracts, placing them with the fourth highest payroll in baseball. As of right now, the Phillies are projected to have the third highest payroll for 2027 at $281M, once again factoring in CBT penalties. The biggest numbers that came off of their payroll were the final years of dead money for Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker.
That total number for 2027 will likely change for two reasons. One is the obvious that the Phillies will make at least a few signings even if they are not major, while the second is that the financial system of the sport may be dramatically different in a new collective bargaining agreement, thus possibly changing the amount owed with CBT penalties in the future. The second would likely not directly affect 2027, as one could assume that there would be at least a one-year grace period, but it may affect how the team views its long term payroll.
However, Dombrowski later reiterated that he has still been given authorization from principal owner John Middleton to have a healthy payroll. His direct quote once again from Matt Gelb in The Athletic:
“John’s always been tremendous,” Dombrowski said. “He’s very flexible, but I have a proximate area of what we’re going to be. And it’s very generous.”- from Matt Gelb in The Athletic
That gives no indication that the Phillies will necessary be looking to slash their payroll, but it paints a full picture of the team perhaps having placed an internal cap on their spending. They will in all likelihood still be among the top five in money spent for 2027, but they may not reach the number they hit at the end of 2026.
So, how much do you think the Phillies will spend this offseason? Will they hand out a multi-year deal to an external position player for the first time since 2023?
November 17th is an important day on the MLB calendar as that is the deadline for teams to add eligible minor leaguers to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft on December 9th.
2025 was a big year for protections in the Twins organization as they added Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas, Andrew Morris, John Klein, Hendry Mendez, and Gabriel Gonzalez to their 40-man ahead of the November deadline. This year will be a much lighter protection deadline, and we may not even see any 40-man additions at all. I have selected a group of eligible players that I think are at least worth talking about as potential roster additions as we approach the deadline.
RHP C.J. Culpepper
C.J. Culpepper went unprotected and unselected last offseason, but he is one step closer to being a major league reliever now, and there is bound to be some interest. He is like a righty version of Kody Funderburk. Culpepper has average strikeout stuff, but he succeeds by generating a ton of weak ground contact with his cut fastball, sinker, and breaking balls. He needs to throw more strikes, but there is a quality middle relief profile here if he can put it all together in 2027. The Twins have a tough decision on there hands here deciding if C.J. is worth a 40-man spot.
RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto
Paulshawn Pasqualotto was a force at every level of the minors this summer as he trekked from High-A to Triple-A, posting a 3.73 ERA and 3.62 FIP while striking out 95 batters in 70 innings. He has an interesting pitch mix, leading with a mid-90s fastball that is limited by poor shape but performed well enough in the upper levels. He complements it with two offspeed offerings. He has a changeup at 80-82 with elite velo separation and some strong fade, and he also throws a splitter in the mid-80s that drops off a table with a completely different shape. Pasqualotto has always had a good changeup, but he took its usage to a new and unique level in his breakout 2026 campaign. If he can improve his fastball shape, there is long-term bullpen potential here. Other teams will certainly be scouting up on Pasqualotto if the Twins decide not to protect him.
OF Yasser Mercedes
Yasser Mercedes is an interesting one, because he is the biggest prospect on this list but also the furthest away from the majors. With his 22nd birthday approaching next week, Mercedes possesses all of the raw talent you could ever want. He has easy plus raw power with blazing speed and a plus arm that plays across the outfield. He totaled 18 homers and 52 stolen bags this season, playing most of his games at the High-A level. Hit tool issues and questionable swing decisions have limited his offensive production throughout his minor league career, but if Yasser can find a little bit of success in those areas, he has big potential in all phases. We are seeing good signs is Arizona Fall League right now as he is slashing .302/.389/.488 with 8 walks and 8 strikeouts in 13 games. It is unlikely that he is selected in the Rule 5 Draft, but the slight possibility is there that a team decides to take a full-court shot on this kind of talent, and the success this fall is only going to bring him more into the spotlight.
INF Tanner Schobel
Tanner Schobel is unlikely to be protected and unlikely to be drafted, but he is still worth mentioning in this conversation. He doesn’t quite have the same speed or defensive utility as Ben Ross, but he is a similar defensive profile with a fringy bat. Schobel has quality contact skills with a patient approach but is lacking in the power department. He runs well and plays reliable defense across the infield. One more step forward as a hitter and he could find himself in a major bench league role.
Looking at the Rule 5 Draft itself and seeing what the Twins may do, they have made a selection in each of the last two years. They selected RHP Eiberson Castellanos in 2024, but returned him before the 2025 season after he posted a 7.59 ERA in spring training. They drafted C Daniel Susac in 2025, but he was immediately traded to San Francisco for catching prospect Miguel Caraballo, who has shown off a powerful bat and athletic catching profile as a teenager in rookie ball.
I can see the Twins taking another shot at a talented catcher or reliever as they have done in each of the last two years. There is always room for another big arm on the spring training staff, and there will likely be more players in the Rule 5 Draft pool that are more worthy of a roster spot than those mentions above.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 05: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning in game two of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on October 05, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees and Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers have been named the American League and National League Cy Young Award winners, respectively. Both were unanimous winners, and I’m guessing that there’s never been a year where the two winners have had more combined letters in their last names.
Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays was second in the voting, claiming 22 second place votes, while Parker Messick of the Guardians was third. Drew Rasmussen and Sonny Gray rounded out the top five, while Reid Detmers, Cade Smith, Bryan Baker and Michael Wacha also received votes.
In the National League, Cristopher Sanchez of the Phillies narrowly edged out Chris Sale of the Braves for second place, beating him by just one point, despite Sanchez having 17 second place votes to Sale’s 11. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jesus Luzardo were fourth and fifth, with Mason Miller and Eduardo Rodriguez also receiving votes.
Rob Manfred couldn’t even pronounce No. 1 pick Roch Cholowsky’s name at the 2026 draft, and we’re trusting him to negotiate a fair labor deal? | (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Just two weeks ago, the Milwaukee Brewers were crowned World Series champions for the very first time, after a win in five games over the Tampa Bay Rays to cap off a dominant 2026. But now comes the hard part.
With another thrilling baseball season wrapped up, MLB and its team owners will shift their focus to turning fans against the players, as they push to institute a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 1.
Players remain opposed to a cap, while owners cite “competitive balance” as its main purpose. I guess now would be a good time to mention that three of the final four teams in the 2026 playoffs ranked in the bottom half of the league in payroll and play in small markets: the Brewers (No. 19 TV market), Rays (No. 28) and Cleveland Guardians (No. 30). The fourth team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, had the second-highest payroll behind only the New York Mets.
These playoffs weren’t the best backdrop for the owners’ argument, because payroll hardly factored into the story of this season. The Mets, with their $346.7 million payroll, finished dead last in the NL East, with the third-worst record in the National League. The Toronto Blue Jays went from World Series runner-up to missing the playoffs despite having baseball’s fifth-highest payroll. Hell, even the White Sox, with their $103 million payroll (No. 24), were just a couple of runs away from the ALCS.
That’s not to say money doesn’t solve some (or many) problems. The Dodgers scooped up Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline and were chasing a three-peat before being swept by the eventual champion Brewers. And seven of the teams with the top 10 payrolls qualified for the playoffs.
So what does all of this mean for MLB and the 2027 season?
The short answer is: Who knows? If the sides don’t reach a new agreement before the current one expires, owners could lock out players as soon as December 2. During a lockout team employees, including executives and coaches, would generally be prohibited from communicating with players on 40-man rosters. If MLB follows its approach from the last lockout, player photos would also disappear from league and team websites.
In other words, be prepared for the return of our favorite blank player image:
With less than a month until a potential lockout, baseball’s general managers are meeting this week, from November 10-12. MLB owners will meet the following week, from November 17-19. Time is running short for the sides to reach an agreement before the current deal expires, but a lockout isn’t official until owners initiate one.
Where do both sides stand?
The centerpiece of MLB’s proposal is a salary floor and cap for all clubs, which owners argue would improve competitive balance across the league. The MLB Players Association strongly opposes a cap, and instead wants to overhaul the existing revenue-sharing system to address financial disparities between small- and large-market teams and encourage clubs to prioritize winning over profit.
MLB has made great strides in growing the game over the last few seasons, so fans are rightfully upset at the thought of a baseball season going down the drain. Many are sick of seeing big-market teams like the Dodgers, Mets and New York Yankees spend seemingly unlimited amounts of money to sign the league’s best players. Meanwhile, small-market teams keep playing Moneyball, and others seem stuck in a never-ending rebuild loop (cough, Colorado Rockies, cough). I get it: A salary cap seems like it would solve a lot of problems. And sure, it boils down to billionaires fighting millionaires. But let’s not forget what it takes for a player to actually make it to the majors, while owners seemingly print money without breaking a sweat.
Initial MLBPA proposal
Back in May, the MLBPA shared its initial proposal to begin CBA negotiations, which the owners ultimately rejected. In their proposal, the players focused on maintaining their rights as employees of the league to ensure fair treatment from MLB clubs, provide more opportunities for players to reach The Show, increase minimum salaries, and develop ways to penalize teams that aren’t trying to win.
Beyond those financial issues, MLB’s Mark Feinsand reported in mid-July that owners had presented an expanded proposal to overhaul the domestic draft and introduce an international draft. The Players Association blasted the framework, opposing cuts to the domestic draft and players’ signing bonuses and calling it “flat-out bad for baseball.”
As in its initial proposal on revenue sharing and competitive balance, the union continues to push measures to help lower-revenue clubs in smaller markets compete, including larger bonus pools for teams that qualify for the playoffs. Both sides appear to agree on the need to curb corruption in international scouting, often involving underage players. That said, MLB wants to slash eight rounds from the domestic draft while capping signing bonuses.
Initial proposal from MLB owners
MLB’s original CBA proposal in May also made competitive balance its central argument, with the owners proposing a salary floor and cap for team payrolls. Another thing that the owners love to cite is how much “fans overwhelmingly support” instituting a floor and a cap to MLB players’ salaries, to which I say, “Speak for yourself.” As Feinsand reported in his article about MLB’s proposal, the league itself admits that MLB revenue has increased by 247% since 2003. On the other hand, payroll has increased, but not nearly as much (149%).
MLB’s salary cap, floor and revenue sharing overview
Salary cap ($245.3 million) and floor ($171.2 million)
12 clubs would be forced to increase their payroll, and eight would need to reduce it to comply in 2027.
The existing Competitive Balance Tax would still apply to teams that don’t meet the necessary requirements, and the proposed cap is only $1.3 million more than the current $244 million tax threshold.
50-50 revenue split each year between clubs and players
MLB suggests hiring an independent accountant to verify financials, using a similar system to the NBA, NFL and NHL.
Sharing media revenue and addressing blackouts
Revenue would be centralized from all local media and distributed equally among all 30 teams.
Players would receive 50% of any increase in media revenue under this proposal.
One of the league’s main arguments is that MLB is the only one of the four major North American men’s professional sports leagues without a salary cap. I can agree that there should be a way to actually force teams to spend money on their players, rather than crying poor every year while raking in millions regardless of what the product on the field looks like. I also agree that revenue sharing needs to be improved regarding TV deals and the spending gap between wealthier teams and low-revenue teams.
What I don’t see the need for is a salary cap. As the league has noted, baseball has been growing over the last several years, so threatening to cancel an entire season to hoard a little more money feels unnecessary at best.
Reserve system The reserve system generally gives teams control over players until they accumulate six years of MLB service time. Players can then become free agents unless they are already under contract.
Earlier access to free agency — proposed by MLBPA, accepted by MLB.
Reduce period of club control to five years from six for players 30 and older.
Increase the league minimum salary from $780,000 to $1 million for players with two or more years of service time.
Players with less than two years of service time will receive a $900,000 minimum salary, with a $100,000 bonus from the updated pre-arbitration bonus pool.
30% increase in pre-arbitration bonus pool, up to $65 million from $50 million.
Provides a $100,000 automatic bonus for players who complete a full year of service in their first two years in the league.
Elimination of the Qualifying Offers system — proposed by MLBPA, accepted by MLB.
Deferred payments will not be permitted in any new contracts.
Current contracts would be unaffected, so Bobby Bonilla Day is still safe for another nine years.
Maintain the status quo of the salary arbitration system, but be open to creating a new framework if the MLBPA desires.
New “Cornerstone Player” system applied to free-agent signings to help MLB teams retain their superstar players, including maximum contract lengths and salaries.
Free agent contracts can cover a maximum of five seasons for MLB free agents, or six seasons if being re-signed by their existing team.
The maximum free-agent salary if signed from another team is 15% of the salary cap, or 16% if re-signed by their existing team.
Note: This rule does not include players who are still under reserve, meaning younger players can still sign long-term deals, though there are still maximums for salary guarantees based on years of service.
Domestic amateur draft
Signing eligibility:
Players must be 20 years old by September 1 of their draft year, and at least two years removed from high school.
Players can be drafted without being an active collegiate player (i.e., Independent League players) and would be eligible to be drafted one year earlier than in the current system.
Separate Domestic and International drafts:
Equal signing-bonus pools for both drafts starting at $200 million.
12-round draft with unlimited signings of undrafted players.
Limitations to trading draft picks include the inability for teams to:
Trade future picks beyond the upcoming year (i.e., 2028 draft selections can’t be traded until the 2027 draft is completed).
Trade away first-round picks in back-to-back drafts.
Acquire more than three additional selections in the first three rounds of a draft outside of their originally assigned selections.
Mandatory draft combine medical evaluations.
Reduce draft lottery selections each year from six to four.
No club would be able to receive a lottery pick in three straight years.
Competitive Balance picks eliminated.
International player development
Increase age of signing eligibility to at least 18 years old by September 1 of their draft year.
Encourages students to stay in school while pursuing a baseball career, and decreases pressure on teenagers, which subsequently reduces the incentive of PED use in children.
Expand the Amateur Scouting League to create more playing opportunities for players of all talent levels, including working with governments to implement programs in players’ hometowns, ultimately giving players more chances to continue developing if they are not signed in their first year of eligibility.
Includes meals, housing, education, and a stipend for all players participating.
Implementation of an International Draft to reduce competition among players in the current system.
Same 12-round process and $200 million bonus pool as the proposed Domestic Draft above.
Player protections and regulations to maintain fairness and safety for international players.
Season structure and playoff format
154-game regular season:
Scheduled off day every week (usually Monday or Thursday), with a national game being aired on Mondays, beginning in 2029.
Postseason changes:
Higher-seeded Clubs in the Wild Card and Division Series select their opponents, beginning in 2027.
3-seed selects Wild Card opponent (5 or 6-seed).
1-seed would select which Wild Card winner to play in the Division Series.
Expansion to best-of-seven Division Series (up from five), beginning in 2029.
Off days to be added before non-guaranteed games (after game four).
Fewer daytime game slots, with the season ending a week sooner.
Where do the negotiations stand now?
With a salary cap still a nonstarter for the MLBPA, MLB proposed last week to punt its cap-and-floor system to 2028, as reported by CBS Sports. The league says the delay would ease the transition, but players have repeatedly made clear that they oppose a cap, regardless of when it takes effect.
The 1994 dispute over a salary cap helped trigger a strike that wiped out the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason. This time around, owners continue to insist on a cap.
Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Shaikin outlined what could happen if negotiations reach an impasse. If the sides reach a valid impasse after bargaining in good faith, owners could attempt to impose terms from their proposal without the union’s agreement. But the MLBPA’s opposition to a salary cap alone wouldn’t establish bad faith, and the union could challenge the owners’ actions or respond with a strike. There’s precedent for a legal fight: During the 1994-95 strike, owners unilaterally changed employment terms, prompting the National Labor Relations Board to seek an injunction. In 1995, a federal judge ordered owners to restore the previous terms, helping bring the strike to an end.
Negotiations haven’t reached an impasse, and there’s still time to reach a deal. The best outcome would be for both sides to keep bargaining and reach an agreement, but we know how much the owners like to line their pockets.
If you’ve made it this far, bless your soul. The CBA is a beast, and at some point, I understand the sentiment: “Just let me know when they reach a deal.” We’ll continue to provide updates as they come. For now, we can hope MLB comes to its senses — though I’m not holding my breath.
Former Detroit Tiger catcher Brad Ausmus tries on the number seven jersey he will wear as the teams new manager, Sunday November 3, 2013. He was manager until 2017. Tigersmanagers029 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
First of all, I will point out that we are not in the lab for this one. Sometimes, I have to take off the lab coat, step outside for a smoke break and offer my opinion. The lab isn’t a good place for that. So, what follows is essentially commentary/opinion on what has just happened. There are just some things I need to get off my chest before this train gets too far out of the station.
The Astros announced Brad Ausmus as their next manager and the introductory press conference is set for Friday morning at 10 AM. Ausmus comes in with a long enough resume as a manager and bench coach. He served as the New York Yankees bench coach the past three seasons and was in Oakland before that. He has a 386-422 record as a manager which comes out to a .478 winning percentage. Obviously, won loss records can be deceiving as some of those teams were not built to win. He won 90 games in 2014 and won the AL Central, but things went steadily downhill from there. He was one and done in Anaheim in 2019.
I should note that this was the season that Tyler Skaggs died of a drug overdose on July 1st of that season. Others will obviously place some blame on Ausmus for lack of oversight. I mention it because others have mentioned it. I don’t necessarily put that on Ausmus, but it should be a part of the mosaic that it is his managerial career. Obviously, all of these things (the bad record and other checkered details) can be explained. There is always room for growth as well.
If I were doing a lab we would look at managerial tendencies and whether those teams overachieved or underachieved. However, this criticism has very little to do with that. Ausmus may have learned a great deal from his first two stops and could be a better manager for it. I have to acknowledge that possibility because there is always the possibility that I am wrong about him. This hire just feels “meh” in a time when you need something to get the fans and players’ blood going.
The golden age of the Astros dynasty was that period between 2015 and 2019. That was when Jeff Luhnow hired A.J. Hinch to be the manager. Was he a perfect manager? Of course not. He was a perfect complement to Luhnow. He had an analytical mind and so he was able to absorb the data that Luhnow provided and infuse that into his managing. This is not about the data or lack of data necessarily. Ausmus is famously smart and can process tons of information. This is simply about the manager and the general manager being on the same page because the manager was the general manager’s choice.
You hired Randy Flores over a week ago. You had an opportunity to let him hire a manager and then work hand in hand with his guy. Ausmus isn’t Flores’ hire. This has Jeff Bagwell’s fingerprints all over it. I make no bones about the fact that I love Jeff Bagwell the player. He might be my favorite Astro ever because of the intelligent way he played the game. He’s clearly in way over his head here and he either needs to be the president of baseball operations where he can be held accountable or he needs to get out of the damn way. Again, this isn’t personal. His “back of the baseball card” mentality just doesn’t play in the 2020s.
We played this backwards game before when the club hired Dusty Baker before they hired James Click. We saw how that didn’t work. Click would make moves that Baker got to veto. Obviously one could look at the efficacy of those moves and judge ourselves (namely Jose Urquidy for Willson Contreras in 2022) but there is no universe where a manager should be overriding the general manager. That is a bassackwards way to run an organization.
Joe Espada was hired after Dana Brown, but he wasn’t really Brown’s guy. He was a holdover and they gave him the job without doing a serious search. I suppose it made sense. Baker retired more than getting fired, so you wanted someone to keep the train moving. However, it was clear at different points that the two were not on the same page about different things. I could blame one or the other, but neither is here because neither really succeeded. You could easily claim that one of the reasons that neither succeeded is because they were not working together effectively.
Ausmus interviewed for the job the day before Flores was even announced. I suppose it is possible that a second interview took place, but there has been no solid reporting on that. This was clearly a Jim Crane and Jeff Bagwell production. It’s about getting the buddies back together, whether that is in the best interest of the organization or not. So much for the whole spiel about Flores having full authority. The first major decision under his watch wasn’t his.
This is not a sky is falling pronouncement. Brad Ausmus isn’t David Culley. He is a smart and capable guy that has experience doing the job. It is a missed opportunity. It was an opportunity to turn the page and let a new general manager put his stamp on the team. There were reportedly three other legitimate candidates and any of them would have been more exciting than the hire they just made. It’s less exciting because of the lackluster track record and the fact that this isn’t Flores’ hire. Obviously, teams shouldn’t be run purely on fan reactions. However, when you consider the Matt Kleine fall out you can imagine how these combined announcements have dampened fan enthusiasm for the club.
We should be very clear. Randy Flores hasn’t made a single trade or signing and Ausmus hasn’t filled out one lineup card. Neither has done anything to warrant serious criticism. This is about process. Teams are successful when they have good processes in place for nearly everything. Neither of these hires came about from a good process. Obviously, good things can come out of chaos and that could be true here. We can hope for the best, but the odds are dwindling with every progressive move.
Los Angeles, - September 22: Relief pitcher Alex Vesia #51 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws to the plate against the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 13: Shohei Ohtani #17 and Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers look out from the dugout during a 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes talked with reporters Tuesday in Las Vegas, and added more to what the team is thinking as far as signing Tarik Skubal. Jacob Macofsky covered what he talked about in yesterday’s article.
Wednesday, Skubal’s agent Scott Boras spoke with reporters and laid out more details about his client that is this year’s biggest free agent on the market.
“Much like 2021, there’s a clear intent on a group of players, and we have no reservations by any teams that they’re going to operate within their abilities and freedoms because they want they don’t want to lose to their competitors,” Boras told reporters. “They want the market to be what it is for them, and they’re utilizing their rights to compete. I think they’re very concerned about losing the opportunity to sign select, key players, and they’re pursuing it aggressively.”
Maddie Lee of the L.A. Times covers this and more of what Boras said about his highly sought after client, and what the Dodgers pitching staff needs and doesn’t necessarily need heading into the 2027 season (should there be one).
Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic also covers what else Boras is thinking in terms of the offseason and the possible impending lockout, and how in typical Boras fashion the news conference was a spectacle unto itself. The place that Boras’ team had picked to hold his annual press gaggle was not sanctioned by ARIA hotel, and thusly was moved to a different location.
According to Stavenhagen, Boras strongly hinted that Skubal would sign before the impending lockout, as did his clients Marcus Semien and Corey Seager in 2021-22 before that season’s lockout.
“I think they’re very concerned about losing the opportunity to sign select key players, and they are pursuing it aggressively,” Boras said.
One pitcher who will definitely be on the team next season is Shohei Ohtani, but when he will first pitch for the Dodgers is not certain. As Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic discusses, the team is not sure when the two-way player will return to the mound. Brandon Gomes had this to say about Ohtani –
“Whatever it is, there’s just a lot of different avenues, and I think for us to unilaterally decide that doesn’t make sense. So it’s really bringing him into the conversation and figuring out how to navigate a full season.”
Lots to be decided in the coming weeks and months as the Dodgers look to reclaim the top spot in MLB from the Milwaukee Brewers.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 18: Colorado Rockies center fielder Jake McCarthy (31) runs and slides into third base after his triple in the sixth inning during a game between the Seattle Mariners and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 18, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, Purple Row!
Here’s what’s going on with the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball.
Jake McCarthy’s season was one of the lone bright spots for the 2026 Rockies. Paul DePodesta and the front office chose not to convert that bounce-back production from McCarthy into pitching at the trade deadline, but Thomas Harding speculates that they could look to do so this offseason. Harding argues that McCarthy provides the front office with flexibility. If the Rockies don’t find the deals they want, they can simply hold onto him and allow him to prove that last season was not a fluke.
Everyone knows that the Rockies need to improve the pitching talent in the organization. The question has just become how best to acquire that talent. Drew Creasman argues that overpaying for the top of the market on one or two high-priced starters is not the best path forward. Instead, Creasman argues that the Rockies should be casting a wide net, bringing in a multitude of new arms, and getting creative in order to give them all a chance to accrue innings before seeing what sticks.
The Houston Astros have found their new manager. Brad Ausmus comes with a wealth of experience, including his ten seasons as a catcher for the Astros as well as a four seasons as a manager for the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels. Most recently, Ausmus has served as the New York Yankees bench coach for the past three seasons.
The Detroit Tigers have gotten the ball rolling on free agency on Tuesday night by signing former Cincinnati Reds closer Emilio Pagán. The one-year, $11.5 million deal was not the first Major League contract signed this offseason, but it is the first for over $2 million. Pagán joins as a potential replacement for Kenley Jansen who served as the Tigers closer in 2026. Brandon Day posits that the Tigers could stand to continue adding to the back-end of the bullpen beyond this signing.
The Women’s Professional Baseball League has officially confirmed that a second season is planned for 2027! The league has put out an explainer about how the offseason will work. Roster construction will be split into three distinct sections:
Exclusive Player Re-signing Window: Teams may re-sign up to 10 players from their 2026 roster and must come to agreements with those players by November 20, or they will be entered into the draft.
WPBL Draft 2027: Next year, all unsigned players, including those that played in 2026 as well as players who submit applications to join the league, will be available in a 10-round draft. There will be a draft combine prior to the draft for prospective players to show off their talent. After the draft, teams will have two weeks to come to contract agreements with selected players.
Free Agency: Any eligible players not selected in the draft or successfully signed by their drafting team will be granted free agency. Teams will be allowed to sign free agents up to their 20-player roster limit.
The league has yet to announce specific dates for the start of the season, but we now know there will for sure be at least one professional baseball league running in the United States next year.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JUNE 28: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 28, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Since October 2nd, the staff here at Camden Chat has been bringing you reviews of all players who were consequential to the 2026 team. Today is the final day of those reviews, and it’s no understatement to say that we saved the best for last. What would we have done without Pete Alonso?
When the Orioles signed Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract last December, I was shocked and thrilled. The Orioles don’t do contracts like that! Players like Pete Alonso don’t end up in Baltimore! But they did. And everything Pete Alonso did since the day he signed that contract has been a boon to the Baltimore Orioles.
Starting with his introductory press conference, Alonso was impressive. He seemed genuinely excited to be an Oriole and gave thoughtful and interesting answers about why he chose to come to Baltimore. He seemed eager to win and to help his teammates in any way he could. It was a great introduction and a sign of things to come.
The ovation that Alonso got on Opening Day was thunderous, though he went hitless in his Orioles debut. It’s hard to recall now, but he did have a rough start to the season. Through the first 31 games, Alonso OPS’d just .668 and went into the month of May with a .198 batting average. He had enough of a track record that it wasn’t too worrisome, but it was frustrating for the fanbase to watch given the high expectations.
Alonso started May by homering in back-to-back games and never looked back. Later in the season, Alonso revealed that he struggled with his routine early on. It was his first time starting a season with a baby in the house, and he had to learn how to be a baseball player and a dad at the same time. Once he got that down, he was again unstoppable.
Alonso’s hot May turned into a scorching June. Even as the Orioles struggled, Alonso was out there every day putting up numbers. He hit eight home runs in the month and slugged .557. He slowed down a touch in August, but was saving the best of his season for the last two months.
Thanks to the general mediocrity of the American League in 2026, the Orioles hung around the Wild Card race for most of the season despite their sub-.500 record. And it felt at times like Alonso was doing all that he could to drag them over the finish line by himself. And he did so despite struggling with a calf injury.
From July 31st through the end of the season, Alonso mashed 20 home runs and had a .402 on-base percentage. You could not keep the guy off the bases. In August, he had a 17-game hitting streak during which he hit .470. One day after he lost his hitting streak, he came back with a four-hit game.
The most memorable series of Alonso’s season came in September when he returned to New York to face the Mets. Mets fans were understandably devastated by the departure of Alonso. He is their franchise leader in home runs and the kind of player you want to build a team around. The Mets fans spent the entire weekend chanting his name, wearing his name on their backs, and expressing their discontent with the Mets’ ownership.
For Alonso, he just kept playing like he had been. He was sitting on 299 home runs, and everyone knew he was going to get #300 at Citi Field. He did just that, and with maximum drama. In the second game of the series, Alonso stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth inning. The Mets were up, 3-2. That is when he launched the 300th home run of his career. It tied the game and the Citi Field crowd went wild. It was the most unusual scene I’ve witnessed in baseball. The Orioles went on to win in extra innings, and Alonso hit another home run the next day before leaving New York.
He finished the season in style, hitting three home runs in the O’s sweep of the Blue Jays, and going 4-for-8 with two more dingers in the rain-shortened final series against the Yankees. Alonso finished the year with a batting line of .267/.363/.522. He led the league in HR (43) and RBI (113). His 5.0 fWAR ranked tops among all first basemen. He was unanimously selected as the Most Valuable Oriole.
It was as good a start to his Orioles career as you could imagine. The only sad thing is that it happened in a year when the Orioles had a losing record. I try not to dwell on that too much, but it is reality. This could be the best year of Alonso’s contract, and there were zero postseason games. But even without that, he brought us a lot of joy.
Alonso’s play on the field was the most important thing, but it wasn’t the only thing. He came across as a leader. He worked with Gunnar Henderson as the star tried to get back to form. He spent time with his teammates in the batting cages long after the game ended to help them improve. He advised Coby Mayo when the young player was struggling at the plate. On the last home game of the year, Alonso led his teammates back onto the field to acknowledge the fans who had spent the season supporting this underachieving team.
Signing Pete Alonso is the best single move Mike Elias has made with the Orioles. I can’t wait to see what he does next year.
Hey, everyone! Glad to be back. I again appreciate Al, Ashley and Josh for stepping to the plate for me.
I was on a cruise that had blues performers, like Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo as a duo (TajMo), plus some that I wasn’t familiar with. I’ll pause the old blues and fairly unknown performers I come across and work on presenting some of the best that I saw on the cruise for a while. These performers would have graced these pages eventually, but why wait?
OF COURSE, PCA and the Cubs got Platinum gloves. PCA All-MLB Team. Hank Aaron Award winner. Good to see. And looking forward to the MVP announcement.
It looks like a normal November out on the market — who’s available, who is the best fit for the Cubs, the Cubs suddenly are/aren’t pursuing a player. But by the first of December, things might get kind of crazy, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m ready for an interesting November (and hopefully there’s no lock-out at all).
Sorry if I post an article on a subject that has been beaten to death as I catch up from being out. Hopefully it will at least be from a different perspective.
I appreciate your reading.
*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.
9.8 WAR | 45 HR | 41 SB@Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong put together a ridiculous 2026 campaign, worthy of an All-MLB First Team selection! pic.twitter.com/5WiEfltJme
Clay Snowden (Just Baseball): Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Bryan Abreu. “Chicago has prioritized bringing in veteran bullpen arms via free agency and trade over the past year, and I think Abreu would headline that list.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Dustin May As a Big-Velocity Option for the Chicago Cubs? “May doesn’t necessarily have the pitch profiles the Cubs look for, but he does miss bats when he’s at his best, and he does have a history of strong groundball rates before the last two seasons. He also throws a wide variety of pitches, and the Cubs may appreciate having that foundation with which to work off of.“
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Cubs Free-Agent Starting Pitching Target: Trevor Rogers. “There’s no mystery about the identity of the top left-handed starting pitcher on this winter’s free-agent market. Should the Cubs balk at Tarik Skubal’s asking price, however, there is an exciting alternative.”
John Bastian (MLB.com): Here’s how Cubs are handling the bullpen this offseason. “The Cubs entered this offseason with a better foundation in place for the 2027 relief corps. While the bullpen will need some addressing, there are returning pieces that drop that segment of the roster lower on the list of priorities.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): About That Whole Convert-Adrian-Morejon-to-Starter Thing? He Might Not Actually Want to Do That. “Operating on the faulty assumption that pretty much any pitcher who has converted to relief from starting would love, if given the opportunity, to return to starting, a lot of folks got out over their skis on the shape of Adrian Morejon’s free agency.”
Randy Holt (Bleacher Nation): Could Cubs and Padres Link Up on Catcher Trade? “The Cubs have a need behind the plate. The Padres have more catchers than they need. Is there a trade fit between the two parties?”
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Should the Cubs Be in the Ty France Sweepstakes? “Unsurprisingly, there are already several teams showing interest in free-agent first baseman Ty France. In the wake of a disappointing season by their incumbent first baseman, should the Cubs be one of those clubs?”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Cubs Rumors: Three Established Starters, Out on Top Free Agents, Reunions with Happ? Kelly? More. “It’s just incredibly disappointing that Tarik Skubal is right there, the PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT pitcher for this team at this time, but the Cubs are just like “Nah” … right away. I may not be “surprised” by their reluctance to get the best guy available, but I’m every bit as disappointed.“
Brock Beauchamp (Diamond Centric): 2026-27 MLB Offseason Trade Candidates: Top Targets Ranked. “Though his future is more likely as a second-division regular than as a star, Pedro Ramírez is a positive contributor already. If squeezed out of a somewhat ossified Cubs positional corps, he would bring back a solid arm, at least.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell received one second-place vote for NL Manager of the Year pic.twitter.com/17Csl8WaNQ
Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Name Ben Martin New Farm Director. “Most Cubs fans aren’t very familiar with Ben Martin, and those who are probably know his name from the story about how he helped Alex Bregman out of that nasty slump
Food For Thought:
Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (born May 17, 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments along with singing and whistling, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal was born Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. on May 17, 1942, in Harlem, New York.[4] Growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts, he was raised in a musical environment: his mother was a member of a local gospel choir and his father, Henry Saint Claire Fredericks Sr., was an Afro-Caribbean jazz arranger and piano player.
Early in childhood he recognized the stark differences between the popular music of his day and the music that was played in his home. He also became interested in jazz, enjoying the works of musicians such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson. When Henry Jr. was eleven years old, his father was killed in an accident at his construction company. Henry Jr’s mother remarried, and his stepfather owned a guitar which he began using at the age of 13 or 14. His first lessons were from a new neighbor from North Carolina of his own age who played acoustic blues guitar. Henry chose his stage name, Taj Mahal, from dreams he had about Mahatma Gandhi, India, and social tolerance. Mahal moved to Santa Monica, California, in 1964 and formed Rising Sons with fellow blues rock musician Ry Cooder. Jesse Ed Davis, a Kiowa native from Oklahoma, joined Taj Mahal and played guitar and piano on Mahal’s first four albums. The group was one of the first interracial bands of the period, which may have hampered their commercial viability.
Mahal stayed with Columbia for his solo career, releasing the self-titled Taj Mahal and The Natch’l Blues in 1968. His track “Statesboro Blues” was featured on side 2 of the very successful Columbia/CBS sampler album, The Rock Machine Turns You On, giving a huge early impetus to his career. His work of the 1970s was especially important, in that his releases began incorporating West Indian and Caribbean music, jazz and reggae into the mix. Stalled in his career, he decided to move to Kauaʻi, Hawaii in 1981 and soon formed the Hula Blues Band. In the 1990s, he was on the Private Music label, releasing albums full of blues, pop, R&B and rock. He did collaborative works both with Eric Clapton and Etta James. In the late 1990s or early 2000s, Mahal moved to Berkeley, California, where he still lives and occasionally records today.
Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb’ Mo’, is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as “a living link to the seminal Delta blues that travelled up the Mississippi River and across the expanse of America.” From early on, Keb’ Mo’s parents, who were from Louisiana and Texas, instilled in him a great appreciation for the blues and gospel music. By adolescence, he was an accomplished guitarist. Keb’ Mo’ started his musical career playing the steel drums in a calypso band. He moved on to play in a variety of blues and backup bands throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Keb’ Mo’s first gold record was received for a song, “Git Fiddler”, which he co-wrote with Papa John Creach on Jefferson Starship‘s Red Octopus.[3]Red Octopus hit number one on the Billboard 200 in 1975.
In early 2014, he was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best Americana Album (BLUESAmericana) and Best American Roots Performance (“The Old Me Better”). Keb’ Mo’s 15th solo studio album in 2022, Good to Be…, was his most recent No. 1 Blues album in the U.S.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 30: Jacob Misiorowski #32 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates during the 2026 World Series Parade of Champions at Henry Maier Festival Park on Friday, October 30, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
As if they really needed to, the Royals have denounced any notion that Bobby Witt Jr. will be traded
“He’s not going anywhere,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said Tuesday. “Bobby’s a Royal. He’s not going anywhere.” This season, Witt drew some interest from other teams ahead of the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline. The Boston Red Sox reportedly inquired about Witt’s availability — via Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. The Royals maintained their stance. Witt is viewed as a franchise cornerstone and Picollo doubled down on that notion at the meetings.
Here is how the Royals plan to bolster their bullpen
The top guys are clearly David Bednar, Adrian Morejon and Rasiel Iglesias. They will command big salaries and could be outside the Royals’ price range. Both Bednar and Morejon received qualifying offers from their respective teams. They have until Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. Central to make a decision. This season, the qualifying offer is one year worth $23.15 million. It’s unlikely the Royals will make a significant push for those relievers. Instead, the club could build its bullpen with a sum-of-its-parts approach.
Bobby Witt Jr. was announced for the third time, as a First Team All-MLB selection.
For the third consecutive year, Bobby Witt Jr. was named shortstop on the All-MLB First Team during Wednesday night’s 2026 MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards from The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
With the honor, Witt became the first shortstop to earn three All-MLB First Team selections since the awards were introduced in 2019.
The All-MLB Team recognizes the top players at each position across the Major Leagues, with selections based solely on their regular-season performances. Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the results, while a panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other baseball officials determined the other half.
Witt also became the first 3-time winner of the Heart & Hustle Award
Bobby Witt Jr.’s impact is all-encompassing, and it isn’t limited to what he does on the field.
The Royals shortstop was named the 2026 Heart & Hustle Award winner by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA), becoming the first player to receive the honor three times since it was established in 2005.
“That’s the ultimate goal, to go out there and play every day for your teammates and the fans and for your family,” Witt said while receiving the honor at the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards. “I just play the game as hard as I can and I’m going to try to do it for as long as I can.”
Witt, 26, had already joined Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who won in 2006 and ’07, as the only players to earn the award twice. Now, he stands alone with three consecutive wins.
Matthew Swigonski of Kings of Kauffman listed some potential Carlos Estévez replacements
Could the Royals get some outfield help from the Phillies? Brian Burrows of Kings of Kauffman talks about it
Yirsandy Rodríguez of Royals Keep talks about four starting pitching options for the Royals in free agency
Here is a full list of MLB’s first and second All-MLB teams.
Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and New York Yankees phenom Cam Schlittler won the Cy Young award last night
Yordan Alvarez and Pete Crow-Armstrong were named the 2026 Hank Aaron Award winners last night as well
Colton Cowser’s game-ending home run robbery was named the Premier Play of Year
Yordan Alvarez also won the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award last night
Alvarez also won Comeback Player of the Year (What can’t he win? Because he will probably be MVP too.) Zack Wheeler of the Phillies also won it
Here is your song of the day: I’m Still Standing by Elton John
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 19: Iván Herrera #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals watches his walk off three-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium on May 19, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In case you missed it, Jake and I talked to Derrick Goold earlier in the week on the podcast, which was very informative in many ways and you should listen to it if you haven’t. One of the takeaways from the podcast was that from Goold’s knowledgable position, the Cardinals are not going to judge their progress by wins and losses in 2027. He effectively said they do not care about wins next year. They care about development, they care about the future, but wins will not be the metric in which they judge how the season goes.
This was disappointing to hear. He did make the point that most people seem to perceive the 2026 team as better than the 2025 team even though it won less games. I think that’s more of an expectations thing and that the team seemed to be moving forward based on why they were good. Also, fans might perceive it that way, but I don’t think there is a very good argument that the 2026 team was actually better. They didn’t get worse (it was a one-win difference) after trading Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Arenado. That was big and showed the Cardinals were closer than we thought.
Or at least, I was hoping that was the takeaway. Doesn’t appear to have been the takeaway the Cardinals are choosing to take from the 2026 season. I’ve made this comparison before and it probably won’t be the last time I make it. The Cardinals are in a remarkably similar position to the 2015 Cubs, which obviously doesn’t mean they need to behave exactly like them, but they should have a similar attitude.
You’re googling the 2015 Cubs and seeing they won a lot of games. 97 of them in fact. They weren’t supposed to. The 2014 Cubs won 73 games. If Chaim Bloom was in charge of the Cubs then, there is no way the 2015 Cubs would win 97 games and they probably don’t win the World Series in 2016. After the 73 win season, Theo Epstein realized the Cubs had a lot of prospects arriving soon, and instead of waiting for them to prove themselves, he added prematurely, which ended up not being premature at all.
He signed Jon Lester, Jason Motte, Jason Hammel, and David Ross, and also traded for Dexter Fowler. The Cardinals don’t need a backup catcher and they’ll probably sign someone like Motte, coming off a bad season. I’m also not asking for the Cardinals to sign Tarik Skubal (I doubt Bloom has permission to even attempt it) or even sign a pitcher to a 7-year deal. It’s more the idea behind what the Cubs did than their specific moves that the Cardinals should replicate. Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell hadn’t yet debuted, but would make important contributions to the 2015 squad. Javier Baez had debuted, but 2016 would be the season he would arrive. Willson Contreras also debuted for the 2016 team and was immediately a great hitter.
None of these players had proven anything before the 2015 season. The 2014 Cubs weren’t good, but both Anthony Rizzo and Jake Arrieta become core players and Kyle Hendricks surprised with 13 great starts. So they added to Arrieta and Hendricks with Hammel and Lester. Arrieta ended up being otherworldly that year, which is obviously going to significantly help you beat expectations, but Lester had a 5 win season too.
Let’s compare it to the Cardinals’ situation. They are missing an Arietta, although they do have their fair share of potential aces who are going to debut in 2026: Liam Doyle, Jurrangelo Cjintje, and Tanner Fraklin. Question defensive stats if you want but signs point to JJ Wetherholt being a star already. There’s your Rizzo. Joshua Baez and Leonardo Bernal have had their taste. Rainiel Rodriguez would probably be a guarantee to debut if the Cardinals were attempting to win next season. The prospects are close! Very close in fact.
In addition, the Cardinals will definitely have more prospects than they can use. Wetherholt is locked in at 2B, and right now that’s the only guarantee for the infield. Jack Gurevitch, Jesus Baez, Deniel Ortiz, Blaze Jordan will have to force out Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson if only one of them gets 3B, and a decent chance Rainiel Rodriguez will end up playing either 1B or 3B at least part of the time. Right behind those guys is Yairo Padilla and Sebastian Dos Santos. In the outfield, you have Josiah Ragsdale and Tai Peete with a farther away group in Trevor Condon and Alex Frias (amongst many other mediocre prospects like Won-Bin Cho). They’re going to be entering an outfield already covered by Joshua Baez and Jordan Walker. We already need to trade catchers. I will need to make this a two-parter if I was forced to name all the pitchers.
People are getting traded at some point. You don’t need to wait to make them prove they aren’t the future before you do it. Yeah it’s risky of course. But prospects usually don’t work out, and more importantly perhaps, even if they do, you usually don’t regret trading them. You remember all the ones you do regret, which makes you have a distorted view of how often you actually regret trading prospects. If you are trading for a legitimately great player, it’s almost always a smart move to trade prospects (Marcell Ozuna was not a legitimately great player if you want to bring up that trade)
I’m still not really asking for a big move – though I would appreciate one such as trading for Gunnar Henderson. Just try to improve the 2027 team. Care about winning. At least put the Cardinals in the position where the playoffs seems like a possibility and not a pipe dream. If you are someone who believes the Cardinals can make the playoffs with the roster they have, imagine how good they could really be if 3B and CF weren’t black holes.
So we’re already good enough and we can’t block Jesus Baez or Tai Peete does not make sense to me as an argument because neither of those players will impact the 2026 team, so feel free to get a one-year solution to that problem. I have no problem with that. If either of those guys are absolutely destroying AAA and need to be called up, you’ll find playing time for them. Injuries happen or you could just trade your one-year solutions. There are ways to do this that don’t involve signing Dexter Fowler to 5 years.
On the flipside, if you think making any moves would be foolish because this team isn’t close, fine, then trade anyone you can trade. If you believe improving CF and/or 3B is a complete waste of time, because any move we make won’t result in the playoffs, you got to pivot in the other direction. You don’t think the team is close? Got to trade Alec Burleson then. Trade Andre Pallante for sure.
If you’re in between these two viewpoints, like myself, and think of the Cardinals as somewhere between a 75 and 80 win team, with young, emerging players who could easily outperform that projection, then I think getting a Henderson or a Steven Kwan or even a Luis Robert is worthwhile, because now you’re increasing your chances of of being a playoff team. I want to improve CF or 3B specifically because Baez or Bernal or Quinn Mathews or one of the stud prospects who will start the year in Memphis can change the timeline and if multiple players do have that kind of season, 90 or more wins is on the table.
I honestly find this most confusing because Bloom and company have stressed that they don’t want to give a specific date on the timeline, which I totally understand, but if you aren’t behaving any differently than if the Cardinals just won 70 games last season, it kind of feels like you have a set timeline you’re sticking to? Part of why I’m advocating for this is that I look at the roster and there honestly aren’t that many holes and the bar to improve 3B and CF and the bullpen is just not high at all.
On the positive side of that interview, Goold did expect the Cardinals to be creative in their pitching usage as a response to the likely innings limit of Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, and Richard Fitts, plus the gradual integration of the arm talent in Memphis that hasn’t debuted. That’s kind of an easy way to improve the bullpen: just use starters for multiple innings in relief.
Third base was replacement level last year and CF was not a whole lot better than that. We’re shedding Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott (maybe), but a good portion of the PAs are going to be taken by the same players. And players who, based on scouting and projections, don’t really have upside. Are we not getting a CF in front of Church because he might get 2 WAR? Fourth outfielders still play a whole lot, and if Church really does improve, we would get the benefit of the CF the Cardinals acquire AND a very good fourth outfielder. At least Blaze hasn’t really been given a legitimate chance, even if I don’t think he has the defensive chops to play 3B (yes I know what his OAA was in a very small sample)
Last point: trying to win in 2027 will have two very positive downstream effects. First, it will make fans want to go to games. Famously, Bill Dewitt III said that if fans don’t come to the ballpark, they won’t spend. Well, if you don’t try to win, fans won’t come to the ballpark. It’s not exactly a winning message to say “listen we don’t actually care about wins right now, but we still want your money.” Secondly, it signals to free agents that the Cardinals are trying to win, which is kind of how the Cardinals can get players to come here in the first place. I see it all the time. “Why would x player want to come here?” Well they think they can win here. That’s not a selling point if you don’t do anything. It might not have an effect this offseason, but it could convince a player next offseason.
In short, even if it’s minor, one-year improvements, please try to improve the 2027 team so that the Cardinals increase their odds of making the playoffs, because I don’t think the Cardinals are far off and I want to watch a winning team again.
Movie corner
Sorry still reading Crime and Punishment. In case I didn’t pick a divisive enough main topic, here’s a divisive movie opinion: Heat isn’t that good. Yes, the 1995 movie Heat is… fine. It has some great scenes. It has a lot of subplots I don’t care about in a movie that has zero business being near three hours. Do people really care about Al Pacino and Robert Deniro’s significant others in this movie? I don’t know if it’s because Michael Mann can’t write romance, but the only relationship I actually bought was Ashley Judd and Val Kilmer, which has a very good ending. Yes I am only using the actor and not the character names because I don’t remember the character’s names and this is just faster.
I like Deniro’s ending in concept, but in practice, Amy Brenneman isn’t even a character, she’s there so that Deniro is tempted to abandon his lifestyle. When she makes her decision, she makes it because that’s what the movie needs, but it doesn’t seem very believable to me. And the movie also needed to speed run through Pacino’s relationship to make its point, where it seemed like we saw them go from the honeymoon stage to the disillusioned stage in like a couple weeks?
And can we talk about Al Pacino’s performance? I can’t believe this performance is in a movie we are supposed to take seriously. He would fit right in if he was dropped onto the set of Face/Off. But that movie knows it’s dumb. Heat is very serious. I know Pacino says it’s because he thought his character would be doing cocaine. No, Al, it’s because you were doing a lot of cocaine. If the movie wanted us to think he was on cocaine, believe me, we would have seen it because Mann certainly didn’t cut anything else.
Man I could rant for days about this movie, but also why the hell was there a shoe-horned serial killer in this movie? What a weird choice! Robert Deniro doesn’t even know about that! It’s completely irrelevant. His actions at the beginning of the movie already get us to root for him to die, it was just so unnecessary. Positives: a few great scenes, every character actor in the 90s was in this thing so you know non-Pacino division this is some good acting. (Although Mykelti Williamson does take a cue from Pacino and is more over the top than he usually is)
