Category: Baseball

The offseason is here, and with it comes the natural discussions: who’s getting traded, who’s getting signed, and how long will we be without baseball for? Hopefully, not for long. The Guardians’ 2026 season wound up surpassing any and all expectations heading into the season, but building off an 85-win season and ALCS appearance can feel like a mountain to climb for a ball club unwilling to spend. Despite that, we’re going to look at a handful of free agents that Cleveland could take a look at this offseason to improve the roster for 2027*. Now, I know what you’re thinking, and you’re probably right. A Dolan ownership with a foot out the door isn’t going to spend. The Guardians started 2026 with baseball’s lowest payroll, and they’re going from 20.9% of that payroll being covered by arbitration salaries to a whopping 51.4%, per FanGraphs. Cleveland’s projected 2027* payroll sits somewhere just shy of $100-million. Arbitration alone makes a huge difference.

So, how realistic is any of this? For that answer, I recruited some help. You will see graphics throughout this article from my friend and data wizard, PastTheEyeTest. You will not find a more in-depth analytical baseball site that’s completely free like this, and he was kind enough to use his contract projection model to assist me in our endeavor here. I will then be grading on a 1-to-10 scale as to whether this player is feasible for the Guardians to sign.

The old saying goes we’re trying to turn F’s into C’s, and the trade deadline accomplished that in the short term. The addition of Foster Griffin will not be remembered as fondly as many would like it to be because Griffin regressed to his expected numbers and simply didn’t put up the same quality of outing as he did in Washington. That was still far better than what they were getting from Slade Cecconi, and when Tanner Bibee’s season took a sharp nosedive, Griffin stepped up in big spots and delivered strong outings in must-win games. This was less an F and more D-grade situation as Bibee was still generating innings eating outings, but Griffin gave Cleveland postseason innings that the other two were not trusted to provide. Griffin is set for free agency entering the ‘27 season, and Cleveland will be in dire need for starting pitching depth as their postseason run signified.

Gavin Williams was terrific this postseason, and Foster Griffin secured 10.1 innings of a 3.48 ERA (0.78 FIP) in both starting and bulk roles, but beyond the two of them, it was bleak. Parker Messick, coming off a truly historic rookie season, was visibly gassed each of his final two postseason outings showing shoddy command and little feel for his best pitches. He wasn’t throwing strikes, he was getting squared up, and two of the worst outings of his career happened just this October. There’s a deeper issue to be investigated here. Cleveland entered the season with the hopes that Tanner Bibee still had ace potential. They were very wrong. That misguided mindset created an excuse to not go and sign a starting pitcher, and the rookie Messick paid for it in innings. The brakes were never tapped for the rookie as Cleveland steamrolled its way into a divisional race with Messick headlining the rotation, and across August and September, he pitched into at least the sixth inning in 8 of his 11 starts, eclipsing 90 pitches in nine of those outings. To Messick’s credit, he was outstanding, and he will receive both Rookie of the Year and Cy Young votes because of his season. It also highlighted a need because while he was pitching like an ace, he ideally should not have been worked the way he was.

In the postseason, across 11 games, Cleveland accrued just 47.2 from its regular season starting pitchers. Cantillo was used exclusively in relief, Cecconi came on in lower leverage spots when the Guards were trailing against Tampa, and Tanner Bibee recorded a singular out. This is largely not a Stephen Vogt problem. It’s a sincere lack of quality depth for October. The lack of Cantillo boiled down to finding the right way to use him. Cantillo found success as a bulk arm later in September, finding his best outings in weeks after relieving the opener, but he never assumed the same role in the postseason, in large part to uncontainable command issues. Cecconi was moved to the bullpen after the Foster Griffin trade, and Tanner Bibee had the highest ERA of any qualified starter in baseball over the final two months of the season, including an ERA of 7.36 in September.

The simple answer is they need better arms. The more complex answer is they need better stuff. So, where can they find that this offseason? Foster Griffin is not realistic. Griffin’s camp was reportedly already seeking north of $100-million before the deadline,

— StL/MIL RHP Dustin May

Where to even begin here…Dustin May has been a name for a while now. From highly touted prospect to losing so much of his early seasons to injury to being the centerpiece of any and every mock trade for the Dodgers to a scary injury where he suffered a tear his esophagus after swallowing a piece of lettuce, May bounced back from all of that to set a career high in innings and strikeouts, and he’s now won three World Series in a row, with four overall.

May had a strong first half highlighted by a complete game, one-hit shutout as a member of the Cardinals. He was moved to Milwaukee at the deadline, and the underlying data seemed to catch up to him. May found more strikeouts with the Brewers, but whether in St. Louis or Milwaukee, May got hit hard, and the once great strength in preventing barrels and home runs turned into a weakness.

May found a cutter in Boston that he carried over into 2026, and much like Gavin Williams in 2025, it took his struggles to stay in the zone and muffled them a bit, giving him a glove side offering to hunt in the zone more. Combine that with a significant raise in arm angle from 21-degrees to 35-degrees, and May saw his 4-seam zone rate go from 47.9% up to 52.4%, and the stuff was significantly better.

May has simplified his arsenal too much in Milwaukee, and it’s been to the detriment of his sweeper. In 2-strike counts with St. Louis, May was going to his sweeper 42.3% of the time, inducing a 29.4% whiff rate and 17.7% put-away rate, above league average for sweepers. His sweeper usage in 2-strike counts dwindled to under 23% with Milwaukee, his put-away rate dropped to 10.9%, and his overall whiff rate in 2-strike counts among all pitches fell to 22.8% from 24.5%.

May fits well in Cleveland because of exactly that. Cleveland helped Gavin Williams both find and then rekindle his sweeper. Tanner Bibee developed a sweeper in this organization (that he should also throw more), Colin Holderman saw a career rejuvenation, largely because he found his sweeper again.

This is a top heavy pitching market, and Cleveland can’t wade in the pool with the bigger sharks. May could be the top end of what they’re hunting for.

Milwaukee declined May’s mutual option is $20-million, making him an outright free agent.

PastTheEyeTest Projected Dustin May contract: 2 years, $34 million — Possible Player Option
Realism Meter: 7/10

— CHC RHP Matthew Boyd

The first of a couple old friends that we’ll talk about here, Boyd has been a named possibly linked to the Guardians in the early stages of the offseason. Boyd flies in the face of the ‘improved stuff’ that we’re after, but his pedigree in recent years since returning from injury and the success he briefly had in Cleveland make this an easy fit. That being said, I’m skeptical. Boyd possesses a capable 4-seam/slider combo that handles lefties well, and then he flips it to 4-seam/changeup to right-handed batters, but the fastball got hit and hit hard, and he arguably should’ve been hit harder. Boyd surrendered a .455 SLG to the heater, but his .514 xSLG was among the worst marks from a starting pitcher in 2026. The rest of his arsenal combined yielded just a .349 xSLG.

If Boyd came back, I’d look for him to implement his sinker a lot more against lefties. He all but disowned the offering in Chicago, and it put a lot of pressure on his fastball to batters of either handedness. Boyd also threw a higher rate of same-handed changeups in his eight starts in Cleveland in ‘24. Sometimes you have to let a junkyard dog have fun with the junk. As Boyd ages, his ability to locate and tunnel from his lower slot and release point will only continue to amplify his success, and for a back end arm, he would be ideal and not terribly expensive.

PastTheEyeTest Projected Contract: 1 year, $12 million
Realism Meter: 7/10

— TOR RHP Shane Bieber

Now we’re cooking. Bieber has made just 20 starts over the last three regular seasons. The once the prince that was promised needs to come home and anchor the middle to back end of a rotation that badly needs his experience. For Guardians fans, if you want to see what Braylon Doughty can become, just watch here. Injuries have plagued Bieber from 2022 on, and in looking for a fresh reboot to the winding down of a career, Cleveland provides him with something nobody else in the league can: a familiar backdrop to the best years of his career.

Bieber’s fastball just hasn’t been the same in five years, but the velocity has returned to his post-2020 Cy Young season. The knuckle-curve and slider still carry a solid to strong contingent of secondaries, and the new changeup he began to use in 2024 before a torn UCL ended his season was excellent in 2026, running a .319 xwOBA and .135 average against. In terms of bang for your buck, anticipating Bieber bouncing back going into a season fully healthy for the first time in years is one of the stronger bets you can make this offseason. Should you expect him to lead a rotation anymore? No, that ship has long sailed, but SP4-5 stability in the form of this kind of pedigree and out-getting ability is hard to find for the price he’ll net.

PastTheEyeTest Projected Contract: 1 year, $8 million
Realism Meter: 10/10

Up next, we’ll get to a couple relievers. The Guardians’ bullpen had a similar problem the rotation had in 2026. Outside of the big time leverage arms, they struggled to get any consistency or outs from them, especially in the postseason. The emergence of Daniel Espino in October was huge, but consistency and lack of a repertoire still loom as major concerns. Matt Festa is a rubber arm, useful for getting length from the bullpen when arms are burned for a day or not needed, but he was counted on for a total 1.2 innings in the postseason. Franco Aleman is a wild card both on and off the field, Shawn Armstrong is a likely free agent, and Craig Yoho should never be asked for more than middle relief in a clean inning.

That leaves a substantial gap for innings and roles. As much as I’ve defended Festa, he’s in arbitration, is likely going to get $1.5-1.7 million, and for a reliever they don’t see fit for October, that baton of long relief role should be passed along. Justin Campbell, I’m looking at you. Beyond that, I’m eyeing one more right-handed reliever and one more left-handed reliever, likely on one-year deals, who can deepen a strong but thin ‘pen.

— RHP Jonathan Loáisiga

Loáisiga was a target acquisition of mine last offseason, and while that didn’t come to fruition, Colin Holderman did, Loáisiga returned to form in Arizona, and all was right in the world. Now, with a chance to acquire another hard-throwing low release reliever, the Guardians should jump all over it. What makes Loáisiga different than Holderman is that while he creates less swing and miss, his pure stuff and his ability to tunnel his changeup and sinker make him among the very hardest relievers in baseball to square up whereas Holderman’s repertoire is so distinctly split between his sinker and his sweeper/curveball, that it’s harder for him to sequence.

Loáisiga’s dominance saw him throwing his sinker less than almost ever before and throwing his four-seam and especially his changeup the most he has in his career. His changeup is uniquely disgusting, and its ability to work off the sinker makes it even more devastating. Its 32% whiff rate was the highest off all his pitches, generates a higher, near 1800 RPM spin rate (something Cleveland loves), and ran an 84.8 mph average exit velocity. It’s not every day you see a pitcher separate their changeup velocity and average exit velocity by over 6 mph, but Loáisiga’s power change does exactly that.

Loáisiga will also likely be on the cheaper side of things, despite his strong 2026. Injuries have ravaged his career, and extending a 2-year deal would benefit both sides.

PastTheEyeTest Projected Contract: 1 year, $7 million or 2 years, $10 million
Realism Meter: 8/10

— LHP JoJo Romero

Another name that the Guardians had been attached to in trade talks in the past, Romero serves to be almost a left-handed version of Holderman from a slightly lower slot, and in adding a lefty of this quality to the bullpen, Sabrowski gets to assume the true back end role he maintained throughout the postseason. Simply put, Romero should be a priority. Romero’s funky low release height creates unnatural eye lines for the hitter, and it leads to weak contact across the board against his sweeper and changeup.

Admittedly, I bounced around either Romero or Gregory Soto, and while I think Soto is better, I have a hard time believing the Guardians would ever spend over $10-million on a reliever. It firmly got a 0/10 in terms of realistic outcome where as Romero ranked much higher.

The Guardians need a third lefty in the bullpen. Tim Herrin really came into his own towards the back half of 2026, and alleviating pressure on Herrin while letting Sabrowski kick more towards the true high leverage spots he’s needed for provides almost unmatched depth around the league.

PastTheEyeTest Projected Contract: 1 year, $7 million or 2 years, $10 million
Realism Meter: 8/10

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Again, a huge shoutout to PastTheEyeTest for the graphics and contract calculations. Don’t forget to follow them on Twitter @PastTheEyeTest! We will be back next week for the always fun, always successful Guardians free agent hitters breakdown.

Good morning, Purple Row!

Here’s what’s going on with the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball.

Rockies News & Links

A Minor Trade That Could Pay Major Dividends for Tigers | SI.com

Brennan Bernardino was one of the Rockies’ more reliable relievers in 2026, posting a 2.81 ERA across 64 innings. Alvin Garcia suggests the Tigers could target the veteran left-hander in a trade involving a pitching prospect. With Bernardino approaching his 35th birthday, it’s certainly worth considering what Colorado could get in return. But he’s affordable, under team control, and coming off a strong season. The Rockies shouldn’t be in any hurry to move him unless Detroit is willing to offer something worthwhile.

What Does Future Hold for Freeland With Rockies? | Roundtable Sports

Kyle Freeland’s future in Colorado is becoming an interesting question as the Rockies look to rebuild their pitching staff. The Denver native is coming off a difficult 2026 season, finishing 4-12 with a 6.65 ERA. Joe Rutland examines whether Freeland’s experience and connection to the organization are enough to justify keeping him around. With the Rockies needing significant improvements to their rotation, it’s fair to wonder where the veteran left-hander fits into their plans beyond 2027.

Arizona Fall League Update

Friday’s Arizona Fall League games were rained out, but the Salt River Rafters had an eventful week.

The Rafters opened the week with a 1-0 loss to Glendale on Monday before shutting out Scottsdale 4-0 on Wednesday. Three Rockies pitching prospects contributed to the shutout. Sean Sullivan allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings, striking out three. Stu Flesland added three scoreless frames, while Fidel Ulloa pitched a perfect ninth. Jared Thomas also reached base four times with a hit, three walks and two stolen bases.

Things went considerably worse Thursday, as Salt River was hammered 21-5 by Mesa. Thomas went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while Jack O’Dowd collected two doubles and drove in three runs. Konner Eaton provided one of the few bright spots on the mound, allowing two hits over two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Fans can watch AFL games for free on MLB.com.

Around MLB

Just How Good Was Cooper Pratt in the World Series? | FanGraphs

Cooper Pratt certainly made the most of his first trip to the World Series. The 22-year-old rookie hit .421 with seven RBI in Milwaukee’s five-game victory over Tampa Bay, putting together one of the best World Series performances by a rookie in baseball history. Matthew Roberson takes a closer look at just how impressive Pratt’s performance was, including a 0.62 Win Probability Added that ranks third all-time among position players 22 or younger. Not bad for a guy who was playing high school baseball just three years ago.

Here are the teams in search of new managers, GMs | MLB.com

With the World Series in the books, the offseason is underway, and several teams are still sorting out their leadership. The Astros hired Randy Flores as their new general manager on Friday, while the Mariners, Angels, and Astros are searching for new managers. MLB.com has a running list of the latest front-office and managerial changes, including candidates being considered for the remaining openings. It’s a useful way to keep track of the movement around baseball as teams prepare for 2027.

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Chaim Bloom and company are not expected to shop at the top of the free-agent market this offseason. But Bloom is bound to beckon a bargain-basement, battle-tested big-leaguer to bolster the beleaguered bullpen. So who’s the target? Here’s where I think he looks.

There are 82 potential free-agent relievers, according to the FanGraphs RosterResource page. Some of these pitchers have club options or other contract clauses that could keep them from entering the market, but it is a good pool to start with. To identify potential diamonds in the rough, I pulled each player’s statistics for the past three seasons. Really what I am looking for is a pitcher coming off a mediocre-to-bad season who has posted exceptional metrics in a somewhat recent season. The metrics I chose to focus on were K%, fastball velocity, Chase%, Whiff%, and Stuff+. These attributes, at various levels, would seem to be the primary drivers behind last offseason’s Dustin May and Ryne Stanek signings. 

With this dataset and these metrics, I sifted through the three-season leaderboard of each statistic. As you would expect, the top of the leaderboards was littered with seasons from the higher-end free agents. Adrian Morejon posted three of the top four Stuff+ seasons. Alex Vesia had three of the top ten strikeout seasons. Gregory Soto ranks as one of the hardest throwers over the past three seasons. These gentlemen, along with David Bednar, Raisel Iglesias, and Sean Newcomb, are all coming off excellent seasons and certainly do not qualify as under-the-radar. When I set the filters to pitchers who accrued 0.5 WAR or less in 2026, some interesting names started to pop up. Here are the four that I think are most likely to be on Bloom’s radar. 

Bryan Abreu, RHP, 30 (Astros)

2026: 62.2 IP, 29.9 K%, 15.3 BB%, 1.29 HR/9, -0.3 WAR 

Abreu has posted some of the highest highs of any current free-agent reliever over the last three seasons. His 35.5% strikeout rate in 2025 ranked first in our sample and was well earned with a 99th-percentile Whiff% (41.2%).

Abreu is coming off a terrible season where his ERA jumped from 2.28 to 3.73, his walks ballooned, and his fastball velocity dropped from 97.2 mph to 95.7 mph. He righted the ship over the season’s final three months, posting a 2.02 ERA and an xFIP of 3.39. That finish alone may take him out of the pure bounceback-candidate market.

At his best, Abreu pitched almost exclusively with his excellent four-seam fastball and slider. In his down 2026, his fastball maintained a similar movement profile, but the lost velocity made it much more hittable. Abreu threw his slider at the exact same velocity but lost over an inch of drop and an inch-and-a-half of horizontal break. 

He might be a bit of a stretch for an under-the-radar signing, but if the Cardinals feel like they can get Abreu back to his 2025 form, he would be an excellent value. Even coming off a down season, he could get $10M+, but he arguably has more upside than any relief pitcher on the market, outside of Morejon. 

Hunter Harvey, RHP, 32 (Cubs)

2026: 4.0 IP, 22.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 4.50 HR/9, -0.2 WAR

Harvey makes the list based on the exceptional stuff he flashed in 2024, when he showed elite velocity, averaging 98 mph on his fastball.

You can obviously ignore the 2026 stat line, but Harvey also pitched only 10.2 innings in 2025 while dealing with shoulder and adductor strains. Despite the lost season, the Cubs gave him $6M guaranteed last offseason, only to see him go down in April with triceps inflammation, suffer a stress reaction in his triceps/shoulder area in May, and never return. Harvey and the Cubs have an $8M mutual option with a $1M buyout, but I would assume the buyout is a foregone conclusion. 

The Cardinals seem to have an ability to get and keep pitchers healthy, so Harvey could be an interesting match. He will surely be available for a couple million bucks. His career ERA, FIP, and xFIP are all below 3.50, so the upside is clearly there.

Caleb Thielbar, LHP, 40 (Cubs)

2026: 50.0 IP, 28.3 K%, 8.5 BB%, 1.98 HR/9, -0.2 WAR

Thielbar makes this list based on his exceptional 35.8% chase rate in 2026. This ranks as the eighth-best Chase% in our sample behind Andrew Kittredge (x3), David Bednar, Adrian Morejon, Raisel Iglesias, and Kevin Ginkel. 

Thielbar may seem boring, but chase rates like this don’t grow on trees. There are other encouraging markers, too. His rough year was driven by a HR/FB rate of 16.4%, well above his 9.3% career average. He also averaged a career-high 93.4 mph on his fastball. 

Thielbar received a $4.5M contract coming off a 1.1 WAR season last year, so he would surely be available for $2-$3M this offseason, assuming his mutual option with the Cubs is declined. 

Matt Strahm, LHP, 35 (Royals)

2026: 35.2 IP, 18.6 K%, 8.7 BB%, 3.03 HR/9, -1.3 WAR

Strahm is on this list because he has posted fastball Stuff+ metrics that rival any of the free agents except Morejon. 

Strahm had a nightmarish 2026 season with the Royals, giving up 12 home runs in 35.2 innings and sporting a 7.32 ERA. Part of the poor performance was likely tied to trying to pitch through a knee injury that he finally had surgery on in September. 

From 2023 to 2025, Strahm was one of the best relievers in baseball, tying Mason Miller for the sixth-most relief pitcher WAR over that time period. His last contract included only $7.5M guaranteed despite coming off a 2-WAR season. After a disastrous 2026, Strahm is the perfect low-risk bounceback candidate, if his services can be acquired on the cheap. 

Final Thoughts

After looking at the free-agent pool a bit more closely, I am convinced Ryne Stanek will be coming back. He possesses one of the best fastballs on the market and has had stretches where he showed the ability to miss bats. It might not be the most exciting move, but he does have high-octane stuff. The Cardinals will undoubtedly decline his option and explore a cheaper deal, but I am prepared for his return. 

Regardless of what happens with Stanek, the trade market, or the waiver wire, I would like to see the Cardinals take a free-agent flier or two. At the premium end, Abreu makes a lot of sense. If he bounces back to 2025 form, he would meaningfully improve the team’s playoff chances or provide a valuable trade chip. If they choose to go to the lower end, Hunter Harvey is a suspiciously good match. He does not have the historical results of Strahm, but he possesses the high velocity that the Cardinals covet. Harvey looks like a higher-risk, higher-upside version of Stanek to me. None of these potential signings would make national headlines, but every once in a while, they are the difference between the playoffs and sitting at home come October. 

Happy Halloween Birdland!

It is a scary time for Major League Baseball. The World Series is in the rearview, and what lurks around the corner is yet another lockout. The month of November will be the last flurry of action we get until a new CBA is agreement to. When that actually happens is unclear, and it will likely rob us of what are usually the most interesting time of the baseball offseason.

This week, a bunch of teams and players made (or are in the process of making) decisions on contract options. That includes the Orioles.

We learned on Thursday that Ryan Helsley would be opting in to his $14 million player option for 2027. This was no surprise as injuries limited the 32-year-old to just 17 games in 2026. He wasn’t going to get any more money on the market. So instead he takes a nice salary and will hope to bounce back next year. The Orioles will be hoping the same. If healthy, the Orioles could have themselves an exciting back-end of their bullpen between Helsley and Félix Bautista, but there is a lot to sort out there.

It was reported that same day that the Orioles were “expected” to decline the $20 million club option on Luis Robert Jr. Again, this will shock no one. Robert was brought in from the Mets as a last-ditch effort to solve the team’s outfield issues and sneak them into the playoffs. He ended up appearing in three games before an IL stint ended his season. The Orioles would probably be open to a return for Robert. They need outfielders, and he has upside that would be tough to find elsewhere in this market. But the salary is a problem. The delay is likely due to talks between the two sides on a possible negotiation on that.

On Friday, word came down that the Orioles declined their half of a $25 million mutual option for Zach Eflin in 2027. Eflin made one start for the O’s in ‘26 before needing Tommy John surgery. He remained around the club all season long, and seems like a great clubhouse presence. The salary was just too much, particularly for a guy that is likely to be rehabbing well into next season.

And most recently, it was reported that the O’s and outfielder Rece Hinds agreed to a one-year major league contract for the 2027 season. Hinds will make just a touch more than the league minimum. Hinds did not play well in his brief call-up for the O’s at the end of this season, but his minor league numbers are interesting, and the team is in no position to ignore any outfield options that they think could help them in the future.

Teams have until November 2 to make the final decision on contract options as well as whether or not they will make qualifying offers to any free agents. Along with Robert, Ryan Mountcastle is another player with an option for 2027 that is yet to be determined one way or the other. Trevor Rogers is a free agent that the O’s are likely to give a qualifying offer.

Links

Jon Meoli: Coby Mayo’s history of offseason improvements bodes well for the Orioles | The Baltimore Banner
Mayo was a true force in the lineup by the end of the season. Now the Orioles just need to figure out what to do with him moving forward. Third base probably isn’t his long-term home, especially if Jordan Westburg is ready go near the start of the season. Pete Alonso has first base locked down for the forseeable future. DH needs to be a flexible spot for Samuel Basallo to move in and out of. So, where does Mayo go? I would like to see him in right field. Hopefully someone with the Orioles feels similarly.

Another look at Orioles’ 40-man roster, checking where Rogers slots among free agents, Denoyer back in organization | Roch Kubatko
One prediction thinks Trevor Rogers will land a three-year, $64 million contract this offseason. That seems like a pretty good deal to me. I would guess he gets more, and if he doesn’t then the Orioles should be all over a reunion.

New GM Banner learning the Oriole way from club legend Ripken | Orioles.com
Including prominent former players in a team’s decision-making seems like a reasonable consideration. They shouldn’t necessarily be deferred to, but their input has value. It has been nice to see Cal at so many games the last few years after it seemed like the club was keeping him at a distance for the 20 years before that. Seems like the new GM is happy to keep him in the loop.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Tony Kemp turns 35 today. He played in five games for the Orioles in 2024, serving as a seat warmer at second base prior to Jackson Holliday’s initial call-up.
• Yamaico Navarro is 39 years old. The utilityman appeared in eight games for the 2013 Orioles.
• David Delucci is 53 today. His MLB career spanned 13 seasons, which all began with a 17-game stint in the Orioles outfield during the 1997 season. He was then selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of the expansion draft ahead of the 1998 season.
• Tim Byrdak turns 53. The southpaw worked out of the Orioles bullpen for parts of two seasons between 2005 and ‘06.
• Steve Trachsel is 56 years old. He made his way to Baltimore late in his 16-season MLB career. The right-handed starter signed with the O’s two offseasons in a row, prior to the 2007 season and then again before 2008.
• Matt Nokes is 63 today. He was a backup catcher for the Orioles during the 1995 season.
• Mike Smith is also 63 years old. He tossed 23 total MLB innings, all of them came with the Orioles between the 1989 and ‘90 seasons.
• The late Dave McNally (b. 1942, d. 2002) was born on this day. The lefty is an Orioles legend, spending almost his entire career with the club from 1962 through ‘74. He made three all-star teams, won 20 games four times, including an AL-leading 24 in ‘70, and helped the club to two World Series championships. He was one of the earliest inductees to the team’s Hall of Fame, taking his spot in 1978, only the second season in which the team honored former players.

This day in O’s history

1979 – Mike Flanagan, who led the league with 23 wins, is named AL Cy Young. The lefty earns all but two first-place votes, finishing ahead of two Yankees hurlers, Tommy John and Ron Guidry.

Meet the Mets

There are some interesting trade targets the Mets could decide to pursue this offseason.

Teruaki Sato is one of the more intriguing free agents for the Mets and other teams to consider in free agency this winter.

Around the National League East

The Braves have reportedly signed Anthony Calderon, a 17-year-old catcher from Cuba.

The Good Phight examined some lessons that the Phillies could learn from the champions.

In entirely unsurprising news, the Marlins have exercised their 2027 option for Sandy Alcántara.

The Nationals are losing their director of hitting, as CJ Gillman is heading to Seattle to be the Mariners’ new hitting coach.

Around Major League Baseball

The Brewers took to the streets of Milwaukee to celebrate their championship.

The Brew Crew finally got a World Series victory. Are there more to come for their core?

A number of players across the league saw their options either picked up or declined as we prepare to enter free agency.

Another interesting pitching option is entering the free agent market, as 2026 NPB ERA-leader Kaima Taira will be posted by the Saitama Seibu Lions.

The Astros have chosen longtime Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores to serve as their new general manager.

The Diamondbacks have a new pitching coach: former Padres pitching coach Ben Fritz.

Clint Hurdle is departing the Rockies organization after more than two decades in Colorado.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane discussed the latest Mets-related happenings with the offseason approaching on the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.

This Date in Mets History

Tom Seaver won Cy Young Award number two for his legendary career on this date in 1973.

Today is Halloween and you wonder if the Phillies have been playing a trick on us all. Maybe they have allowed the Dodgers to go on their dynastic run, the Brewers to ascend to the top of the mountain all as a trick on us to pretend like there are issues preventing them from winning a World Series.

Yeah, I’ll go with that.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Newly appointed hitting coach Peter Fatse talked about getting the offense back to where it was in the past.
• The time is here for the Phillies to dip into the Japanese market and finally land that particular plane.
• A lockout is coming to the game. It’s probably going to be a long one ($).

MLB news:

• Would you be surprised to find out that the Milwaukee Brewers sit atop the 2027 way too early power rankings?
• The first thing the Diamondbacks need to do is figure out if they’re going to trade Ketel Marte. The second thing is to add more pitching.
• This is a long and comprehensive list of trade candidates, but here you go: here’s a list of trade candidates for the offseason.

In 1969, Major League Baseball expanded from 20 to 24 teams, adding franchises in Montreal, San Diego, Kansas City, and Seattle. The Seattle Pilots went 64-98 that year and finished last in the American League West. They were also poorly run by a man, Dewey Soriano, who barely had the cash to purchase the team in the first place. They played in a poorly maintained stadium and struggled at the gate. After just a year, the plug was pulled, and Soriano got in touch with a car salesman in Milwaukee. His name was Allan H. “Bud” Selig.

The Milwaukee Brewers played their first season in 1970 and went 65-97. The team’s star was its 29-year-old third baseman, Tommy Harper. A year earlier, he’d stolen 73 bases for the Pilots, a mark that still stands as a franchise record. In 1970, he hit .296 with 31 homers, 35 doubles, and 38 steals. 56 years later, it’s probably the best season ever by a Brewer third baseman. He became the first Brewer ever to make it to an MVP ballot.

A few days into the 1971 season, Milwaukee traded for a slugger named John Briggs, who was the team’s most reliable source of offense over the next four-and-a-half years. Also that season, a journeyman reliever named Ken Sanders operated as the team’s relief ace for the second straight season, and led the majors in appearances and saves.

After the season, the team made a trade that brought back the first real star of the franchise. George Scott was a good player in Boston; by the end of the 1971 season, he’d already won three Gold Gloves and had received MVP votes twice. But Boston jumped at a package headlined by Harper, and “Boomer” became the new Milwaukee first baseman. From 1972-76, Scott played virtually every game the Brewers played; he won five straight Gold Gloves, and he finished as high as eighth in MVP voting when, in 1975, he led the AL in homers, RBI, and total bases.

In 1973, the Brewers acquired a new guy at the hot corner. Don Money had been dreadful at the plate in 1971 and 1972, and the Phillies packaged him in a deal that got them, among others, Sanders. In 1976 he became the franchise’s first multi-time All-Star, and when he retired after his 11-year run with the Brewers, he’d made four All-Star games and compiled almost 1,200 hits.

During the 1974 season, a new player joined Money and Scott in the infield, an impossibly young shortstop from Southern California. He was a little aloof and didn’t always seem to like playing baseball. He was talented, but it would take a while for the kid to figure out how to channel those talents. His name was Robin Yount. For a little while, he’d get to play with another Milwaukee baseball legend when Henry Aaron returned to the city and hit his 755th and final home run in 1976 as a member of the Brewers.

A couple of years later, another talented infielder debuted alongside Yount, a hitting savant and ultra-speedster who finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1978. Paul Molitor ended up playing in Milwaukee for 15 years in a career that ended with well over 3,000 hits and a ticket to Cooperstown.

The same year that Molitor debuted, the Brewers, for the first time, won more games than they lost. It was the 10th year of the franchise.

That young team kept acquiring talent. In 1976, in an echo of the trade they’d made years earlier, Scott was sent back to Boston for another young first baseman. Cecil Cooper spent the next 11 years in Milwaukee, won a couple of Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, had three top-five MVP finishes, and hit almost 350 doubles and over 200 homers as a Brewer. Sal Bando, a veteran of the dynastic Oakland Athletics of the early 1970s, joined up in 1977 as the franchise’s first major free agent splash. A gruff center fielder named Gorman Thomas was nearly given away but miraculously reacquired just before his breakout. A young Puerto Rican outfielder named Sixto Lezcano had a three-year run that stands with just about any such stretch in team history. A year after leading the AL in RBI with the Twins, Larry Hisle had one last hurrah as a Brewer in 1978, when he finished third in MVP voting. That same year, the Brewers traded for Ben Oglivie, a scrawny outfielder with surprising pop.

The 1979 Brewers won 95 games, but something was missing, and in 1980 the team took a step back. After the season, the Brewers were involved in one of the most momentous trades in team history: they sent Lezcano and others to the Cardinals and acquired a mustachioed reliever named Rollie Fingers, a star catcher named Ted Simmons, and a blue-collar righty (and future movie star), Pete Vuckovich. In the next two seasons, two of them would win Cy Youngs, and though it took some time, two of them would end up in the Hall of Fame.

In the strike-shortened 1981 season, the Brewers broke into the postseason for the first time on the back of a historic relief season for Fingers, who won not just the Cy Young but the MVP. They took the Yankees to a decisive Game 5, but couldn’t get past Reggie Jackson and the Bronx Bombers.

Then, 1982. The Brewers had one of the great offenses in the history of baseball. Yount, the guy who took some time to figure things out in the ’70s, ascended and had one of the best seasons ever by a shortstop. He received 27 of 28 MVP votes. Four players hit at least 29 home runs. The team won its first playoff series when, in the bottom of the seventh inning of the decisive Game 5 of the ALCS, Cooper knocked in Charlie Moore and Fond du Lac native Jim Ganter to flip a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Milwaukee won the pennant.

In the World Series, they faced the Cardinals, the same team they’d gotten Fingers, Simmons, and Vuckovich from a little over a year earlier. They took a 3-2 lead to St. Louis, but it wasn’t meant to be.

It would be 44 years before the Brewers made it back.

Fans watched Yount and Molitor build Hall-of-Fame careers. They watched Juan Nieves throw a no-hitter. They watched Rob Deer and Dale Sveum hit dramatic home runs. They watched an exciting young team of upstarts win 92 games in 1992, led by rookies Pat Listach and Cal Eldred.

They watched in sadness when Molitor left as a free agent after that season, feeling undervalued, and then had to watch him win World Series MVP with a different team. They watched with elation as Yount, still with the Brewers 20 years after his debut, hit a soft liner into right field for his 3,000th hit.

There were lean years. 12 straight losing seasons, when fans were left to find silver linings with players like Greg Vaughn, Jeff Cirillo, John Jaha, Dave Nilsson, Fernando Viña, Jeromy Burnitz, Geoff Jenkins, Carlos Lee, and Richie Sexson — the totemic players of my youth. Fans were left to pin their hopes on guys like Marc Newfield, Jeff D’Amico, and José Capellan. The Brewers were represented at the All-Star Game by Ricky Bones, Kevin Seitzer, Bob Wickman, José Hernández, and Dan Kolb. Fans found amusement in quirky relievers like Mike Fetters and Derrick Turnbow, and in rare individual triumphs like Chad Moeller’s cycle. The team switched leagues and built a new stadium.

Finally, in the new millennium, reasons for optimism became more frequent. An affable kid from Mississippi, fresh off a triumph in the Olympics, made the All-Star Game as a 22-year-old rookie. Three years later, Ben Sheets had what was the best season anyone had ever seen from a Brewer starting pitcher.

A new scouting director, Jack Zduriencik, was having success behind the scenes. He snagged a tall, under-the-radar outfielder in 2000. The next year, his second-round selection was used on a handsome shortstop. In 2002, Zduriencik used his first pick on the burly son of a two-time MVP runner-up. A year later, he used the No. 2 overall pick on a dynamic infielder with an impossibly quick bat. Two years later, the first-round selection was a smooth Florida kid who seemed to make good contact on everything.

By 2005, the results were starting to show on the field. For the first time since 1992, the Brewers didn’t have a losing record. Two years later, they won more games than they lost for the first time in 14 years. In 2008, the team — built around the aforementioned draft picks Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Ryan Braun, respectively — found itself with an opportunity to reach the postseason for the first time in a generation. To shore up their chances, they made a bold move at the trade deadline for a reigning Cy Young winner. In just a few months with the team, CC Sabathia etched his name into Brewers lore and led the team back to the playoffs, with an assist from a Braun home run that made this writer kick a full cup of soda across my college house’s living room.

Three years later, after the addition of another former Cy Young winner, Zack Greinke, that core (with Hardy swapped out for team legend Yuniesky Betancourt) coalesced into a potent, dangerous team. Braun won the MVP. Fielder finished third. Milwaukee won its division, and a postseason series, for the first time since 1982. The eccentric Nyjer Morgan and his alter-ego, Tony Plush, gave a new generation of Brewers fans a core postseason memory.

But those same Cardinals who’d dashed Milwaukee’s hopes in 1982 stood in the way again, and the 2011 team’s run ended in the NLCS.

The next few years weren’t easy. The Greinke trade didn’t really work out. Braun fell from grace. Fielder left as a free agent. And while there were bright moments, competent teams, and outstanding individual performances by players like Carlos Gómez, Jonathan Lucroy, and even Jonathan Villar, the franchise needed another jolt to get itself to the next step in its journey.

The jolt came on January 25, 2018, a day I remember well. First, the Brewers sent four prospects to Miami for a 26-year-old outfielder who’d had a solid four-year run with the Marlins as a slick-fielding doubles hitter who could steal bases and pop a few homers. Later that same day, they handed the largest free-agent contract in team history to one of the players they’d sent out for Greinke years earlier. With Lorenzo Cain playing league-best-level defense in center field and Christian Yelich ascending to best-player-in-the-league status, the 2018 Brewers won 96 games, a team record, and made it all the way to Game 7 of the NLCS.

But, in an ending that would repeat itself multiple times over the next decade, the Brewers could not get past the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers. Over the next seven years, the Brewers played excellent baseball. Led by players who’ve already moved on like Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Josh Hader, Willy Adames, and Devin Williams, Milwaukee became a regular-season machine, with five division titles and seven postseason appearances in eight years from 2018-2025. It was a sustained run of success that had never been seen in the history of the franchise, but they just couldn’t seem to get over the hump in the postseason. A bad bounce. A tough catch. A bad inning from a star closer. The greatest player of all time. Something always stood in their way.

In 2026, things changed. The Brewers didn’t just beat their old wins record; they demolished it, with six more wins (103) than their previous record, set just a year earlier. The man who started it all became captain. A lanky young pitcher created a new understanding of what it meant to be a flamethrower. A slick-fielding second baseman became one of the best all-around players in the league. A pitbull of a catcher led on the field and flipped a switch when he needed to. A journeyman former top prospect found his zen. A whole group of young position players, led by the winning smile of a 22-year-old Venezuelan superstar, took the Brewers to heights the franchise had not previously seen.

Now, names like Jackson Chourio, Jacob Misiorowski, and William Contreras, Jake Bauers and Cooper Pratt and Aaron Ashby, Brice Turang and Trevor Megill and Robert Gasser and everyone else have etched their names into the history of this franchise in the same way that guys like George Scott, Jim Gantner, Cecil Cooper, Jim Slaton, and Geoff Jenkins did before them. Yes, this team did something that no Brewers team has ever done, and for that they’ll be remembered forever. But this journey was 57 years in the making, years of joy and heartbreak, of angst and elation.

It’s a fun exercise to ask a die-hard Brewers fan who their favorite player was when they were a kid. Yes, you’ll get a lot of Robin Younts, a lot of Ryan Brauns. But you’ll also get Yovani Gallardo, or John Axford, or Ellie Rodriguez, or Davey May, or Casey McGehee, or Brady Clark. They’re all part of the same fabric, part of what makes this game, and fandom in general, beautiful.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: ($) With the Yankees needing an upgrade at third base and the picking potentially slim, some have linked them to Teruaki Sato. The 27-year-old won the Triple Crown in Japan’s Central League last year and would provide a clear offensive upgrade. Kirschner throws cold water on the notion, noting that, like Munetaka Murakami, Sato’s defensive limitations could make him a better fit at first base. In a mailbag format, Kirschner also advocates for the Yankees cutting ties with Giancarlo Stanton and seeking competition for Spencer Jones in center.

New York Post | Dan Martin: Another Japanese star, Kaima Taira, is set to be posted by the NPB’s Seibu Lions. The 5-foot-8 right-hander, who led his league with a 1.36 ERA as a starter last season, may project better as a reliever in the MLB. The Yankees have scouted Taira in the past and could make a play for his services. Any player looking to make the leap from Japan would need to factor in the impending lockout, which would necessitate their signing with a team by December 1st unless they are willing to wait until the labor dispute runs its course. (This happened to Seiya Suzuki during the last lockout.)

MLPBA: The MLB Players Association announced the recipients of its Players Choice Awards Wednesday. Former Yankees pitching great David Cone received the Curt Flood Award, an honor which commemorates its namesake’s principled stand against the reserve clause which ended his playing career but helped bring about free agency. Cone, a longtime labor advocate who met Flood and served as American League player representative during the 1994-95 strike, called the award “the greatest honor of my baseball life.” Cam Schlittler was also honored with the AL Outstanding Pitcher, presaging his likely selection for the AL Cy Young.

You don’t want to trade from your talented core of position players. You only have so much money to throw around to free agents who don’t exactly list West Sacramento as their first choice. Starting pitching is at a premium.

So how exactly does a smaller budget team add to a position player core with a SP while roughly 37 other teams are aiming to do the same?

Some names have come up repeatedly, such as Clay Holmes, whose extreme ground ball tendencies would be a terrific fit. We’ll see how much the A’s are willing to open their pocketbooks for a desirable free agent SP — they did it once with Luis Severino and got mixed results. Perhaps more likely is a trade for a SP whose warts make him attainable but whose stuff makes him a potential steal.

Here are a couple “out of the box” possibilities for how Smith and the A’s could “zag” in their quest to compete in 2027…

Brayan Bello

One of the reasons his name tops the list is that he is on the Red Sox and Smith has a working relationship with his former club. This has already been evidenced in Smith’s first deal, a relatively minor one to acquire the versatile defender and speedster Nate Eaton.

Bello’s 2026 season started rougher than even a Jeffrey Springs outing in West Sacramento. Bello pitched himself right out of the rotation with a first half that produced a 6.06 ERA with 11 HR amongst a ghastly 80 hits in 65.1 IP.

However, in the second half Bello righted the ship and then some, albeit out of the bullpen. Not only did he post a stellar 2.12 ERA in 51 IP, he surrendered just 1 HR.

Why might Bello be a “hidden treasure” for the A’s to target?

1. With a career fastball velocity of 95.7 MPH (95.8 MPH in 2026), a slider, and a plus changeup, Bello’s stuff has always been in the “front of the rotation” category when he can harness it.

2. Bello has a heavy sinker that gets a lot of ground balls (52.6% career), which is a great fit for the A’s right now and probably in Las Vegas.

3. Due to his recent struggles, questions around his suitability to start rather than relieve, and his contract ($49.5M over 4 years from 2026-29 with a $1M buyout for 2030), the prospect/player capital required to acquire Bello should be low.

4. If Bello is a solid mid-rotation SP he’s a steal at around $12M/year and gives the A’s a quality pitcher for 4 seasons. Even as a key “plus reliever” he would be valuable.

Drew Rasmussen

Hey, aim high. Rasmussen is a true #1 SP when he’s healthy, just the kind of pitcher the A’s would love to add. Normally he would be completely out of the question, but circumstances put him into the conversation for a team like the A’s.

1. There has been considerable buzz that the Rays will move Rasmussen because his 2027 salary rose to $20M when several incentives kicked in and he is only under contract for one more season. The Rays, like Billy Beane’s A’s, tend to make decisions less on emotion and more on good business, and moving Rasmussen to cash in on his value appears to be the way the Rays are thinking — at least according to pundits who claim to be in the know.

2. The A’s don’t have to play “red-headed step child” in a sweepstakes for Rasmussen like they do with free agents. The two teams have a trading history, recently with Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez coming to the A’s, and if the A’s are the team making the offer which makes the most sense to Tampa Bay there’s no reason a deal can’t be made. Tampa Bay also happens to be the other team with whom Smith has a history.

3. Because he has only one year left on his contract, and because he is now owed $20M, the haul needed to acquire him is not quite what his stats might suggest off the cuff. That being said, he’s good enough that the return won’t exactly be cheap.

Are there win-win deals for either of those potential trades and if so what might a swap look like? Or are there other targets more likely to come to pass you want to put out there for consideration?

It’s hard to dabble in the free agent market for a top end SP because they tend to be prohibitively expensive, looking for destinations and World Series aspirations the A’s just can’t boast along side their peers right now. So I’m more expecting a trade to bolster the rotation. The question is, can the A’s find a worthy SP going that route? Perhaps soon we’ll learn what Smith thinks the answer is.

As the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their World Series championship, Andrew Friedman and Co. are gearing up for an offseason that carries a lot of uncertainty for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

LA fell short in its bid for a historic three-peat and, despite the ongoing federal investigations surrounding Dodgers owner Mark Walter that has led to the sale of several of the Guggenheim majority partner's pro sports franchises (such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Chelsea FC), Friedman has said he's under no impression that he'll have any less resources.

"It's been business as usual for us," Friedman said at the Dodgers' end of year press conference.

But "business as usual" can only mean so much entering an offseason that could potentially reshape the business of baseball.

The league's collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Dec. 1. The 30 MLB and the MLB Players Association haven't gotten any closer to agreeing to terms before that deadline, with the owners' push to implement a salary cap a major point of contention, making a lockout seem all but certain.

If a cap were to be introduced in 2027, the Dodgers and their $384.7 million luxury tax payroll would be among the clubs most affected. But regardless of where the chips may fall a month from now, Friedman plans to be aggressive in improving the roster to prepare for another run in 2027.

"It's about us being as prepared as we can be, depending on what opportunities pop up and when, to be able to pounce," he said. "But we feel good about our jumping off point of where we are."

Here's what that may look like this winter:

Dodgers pending free agents

The Dodgers have eight players set to hit free agency, not counting the now-retired Miguel Rojas. Several fee agents have been stalwarts through the team's World Series runs this decade, such as Alex Vesia, Kiké Hernández, Blake Treinen and Evan Phillips. There is no bigger name available this winter, however, than Tarik Skubal. The Dodgers paid a steep price to acquire the back-to-back Cy Young winner from the Detroit Tigers at this year's trade deadline, but his future in LA is up in the air.

Skubal is expected to become one of the highest-paid pitchers of all time on the open market. The Dodgers have shown a willingness to let rentals, such as Yu Darvish, Max Scherzer and Manny Machado, walk over the years, and Skubal might not be an exception.

"I can't say enough good things about the impact he made in such a short period of time," Friedman said. "We have a tremendous amount of respect for him on and off the field and for us, he's put himself in this position to go out and be a free agent. ... He and his family get to make a choice over where they want to spend the next X number of years and, obviously, we wish them nothing but the best."

Outside of Skubal, the other top arms available in free agency include Freddy Peralta, Michael King and maybe Sonny Gray if the Red Sox decline his $30 million option. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Arraez, Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki headline the position player side, but none appear to be clear fits within the Dodgers' lineup.

Here's a full list of every Dodgers free agent:

• Tarik Skubal, LHP
• Evan Phillips, RHP
• Kiké Hernández, UTIL
• Alex Vesia, LHP
• Kris Bubic, LHP
• Blake Treinen, RHP
• Brusdar Graterol, RHP
• Eric Lauer, LHP

Dodgers trade candidates

The other biggest question facing the Dodgers this offseason is where Josue De Paula fits. The 21-year-old thrived in his two weeks in the big leagues filling in for Shohei Ohtani at DH, enough so that he earned a spot on the postseason roster as a lefty bat off the bench. His poise, confidence and command of the strike zone have shown to be MLB-ready, in a small sample size, but his glove still has room for improvement.

Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes applauded De Paula's jump defensively from 2025 to '26, and they fully expect him to take a similar leap entering 2027.

"We've all seen what he's capable of in the box, which is incredibly exciting," Gomes said. "With that being said, we already have a very talented core group already here. So, it's finding those opportunities but also making sure that throughout this offseason and coming into spring that he continues to improve and gets to that bar and gets to be an above average defender."

If De Paula does take that next step over the winter, Teoscar Hernández could be a candidate to be moved entering the final year of his contract.

And don't discount the Dodgers' willingness to trade some of their top prospects for more firepower that can help them right now. While Friedman acknowledged the importance of the farm system in helping the Dodgers transition from an aging roster, many of those top prospects play the same position, which might lead to limited opportunities for development. Four of their six prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 − De Paula, Eduardo Quintero, Mike Sirota and Charles Davalan − are all outfielders.

Friedman isn't too worried about that. He's noticed things usually "sort themselves out" when it comes to the farm system. Guys change positions, get injured, fall off − or get traded − all the time in the minor leagues.

There's some sorting around the front office will have to do, but this wave of young talent is what keeps Friedman hopeful the Dodgers will be able to avoid "falling off a cliff," the way most veteran teams eventually do.

"That is why we have poured so much energy and focus into our farm system," he said. "… We couldn't feel more bullish on the position player core group, from A-ball through Triple-A that are coming, and obviously we've traded away a lot of really talented players also.

"… We feel really good about our future outlook."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Los Angeles Dodgers offseason outlook: Free agents, trade candidates

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros hired St. Louis Cardinals executive Randy Flores as general manager Friday.

Flores replaces Dana Brown, who was let go in August with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. The Astros also need to hire a manager this offseason — Joe Espada’s contract was not renewed after the AL West champions were swept by the Chicago White Sox in their wild-card series.

The 51-year-old Flores becomes the 15th general manager in franchise history. He had been serving as St. Louis’ assistant general manager of amateur and pro acquisition.

The former major league pitcher joined the Cardinals’ front office as director of scouting in 2015 and spent eight seasons (2019-26) as an assistant GM with the club.

“Randy has had a huge impact on the Cardinals over the last 10 seasons,” Astros owner Jim Crane said in a statement. “Throughout the entire interview process we’ve been thoroughly impressed with Randy and his background in scouting and player acquisition. We’re happy to welcome Randy and his family to the Astros and we can’t wait to get to work on bringing another championship to Houston.”

Flores will be formally introduced by the Astros in a news conference Monday morning at Daikin Park.

“I am excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity,” Flores said. “The Astros have a long winning tradition under Jim Crane and I look forward to contributing to the success. I want to thank the Cardinals organization for the opportunities and support that made this next chapter possible. My family and I are excited to make Houston home.”

The Astros cut ties with Brown on Aug. 24. Three assistant general managers and Hall of Famer and special adviser Jeff Bagwell took over his responsibilities for the remainder of the season while Crane sought a replacement.

Houston went 81-81 to win the AL West for the fifth time in six years, becoming the first big league club without a winning record to reach the playoffs in a non-shortened season.

Flores pitched in the majors for eight seasons from 2002-10, going 11-5 with a 4.61 ERA and four saves. The left-hander made 347 relief appearances and three starts for Texas, Colorado, St. Louis and Minnesota.

Randy Flores found Tommy Edman in the sixth round and Lars Nootbaar in the eighth for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Houston Astros are hoping he can find them a manager and another championship.

On Friday, the Astros announced that they hired Flores, a former big leaguer and the Cardinals' current assistant general manager and scouting director, as their new GM. That ends a search that started in August when Dana Brown was pushed out.

The first job on Flores' desk is filling the hole in the dugout. Houston let manager Joe Espada go on Oct. 14.

Flores, 51, takes over a team that won the American League West at 81-81. No team had ever reached the postseason in a full season with a lower winning percentage. Then the Chicago White Sox swept the Astros out of the wild-card round at Daikin Park, their ninth straight home playoff loss.

Like Brown, Flores came up on the scouting side of the game. He has run the Cardinals' drafts since 2025 and became assistant GM in 2018. Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Dylan Carlson and Brendan Donovan were all his picks. So was Zac Gallen, who turned into an All-Star after St. Louis traded him.

Flores wasn't the name everyone expected. Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine was reported as Houston's top target, but he had just signed an extension in Milwaukee. Former Nationals GM Mike Rizzo interviewed last week. White Sox assistant GM Josh Barfield and Houston's assistant GMs Charles Cook and Gavin Dickey were also in the mix.

Who is Randy Flores?

Flores is a former big-league lefty.

The New York Yankees drafted him in 1997 out of USC, where he won 42 games, a school record. He pitched parts of eight seasons for the Rangers, Rockies, Cardinals and Twins and finished with a 4.61 ERA over 250 innings.

His best stretch came in October 2006. Flores threw 5⅔ scoreless innings in the postseason and the Cardinals won the World Series.

After he retired, he got a master's degree at USC, coached the Trojans' pitchers in 2013 and called college games for ESPN and the Pac-12 Networks. He also started OnDeck Digitial, which filmed amateur players.

The Cardinals hired him to run amateur scouting in August 2015. He drew interest from the Mets in an earlier GM search, and the Angels were linked to him this fall.

Why did the Astros fire Dana Brown?

Officially, they didn't. On Aug. 24, the Astros said they and Brown had "mutually agreed to part ways." His contract was up at the end of the season anyway.

There were reports that the split came after Brown tried to trade reliever Bryan Abreu to the Minnesota Twins for Trevor Larnach, and owner Jim Crane killed the deal.

Brown had been GM since January 2023 and won two division titles. After he left, Crane and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell oversaw baseball operations.

Who will be the Astros' next manager?

Espada went 256-229 in three seasons, with two AL West titles. His teams went 0-4 in the playoffs.

The clock is already running. Free agency opens Monday, and the general managers meetings are the following week in Las Vegas.

The Astros started this season 20-31 and still won their fifth division title in six years. Their ninth playoff trip in 10 seasons lasted two games.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Randy Flores? Astros pick Cardinals executive to fix 81-81 team

The Guardians have declined their option on relievers Shawn Armstrong and Trevor Stephan for 2027, and selected the contract of shortstop Milan Tolentino.

Armstrong had a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings in the playoffs, but a 4.58 ERA during an injury-plagued 2026. I guess it wasn’t worth the extra $6.5M to keep him for 2027 (they owe him a $1.5M payment in any case). Stephan has yet to be able to find his former relief excellence since he had Tommy John, putting up an ERA of 10.44 in the minors last season.

Tolentino is 24 years old and put up only a 102 wRC+ in Columbus for 2026 but he did have an .806 OPS vs RHP and he has a sensational glove. I think he could be a better utility infield option than Daniel Schneemann or Gabriel Arias. He’s a depth piece and this prevents him from becoming a minor-league free agent.

Next up is making decisions on whom to protect from the Rule-5 draft by November 17th and who gets tendered contracts among arbitration-eligible players by November 20th. And, we will see if the Guardians do anything before then.

The Diamondbacks parted ways with pitching coach Brian Kaplan quickly at the end of the season, ending his tenure in the position just shy of two years. But they appear to have wasted no time in getting a replacement, with reports this afternoon that they will be hiring the bullpen coach of the San Diego Padres, Ben Fritz. Dennis Lin of The Athletic first reported the news. Fritz has been with the Padres’ organization since 2015, and took over as bullpen coach in 2020. This has been his seventh season, with some occasional temporary stints as the team’s overall pitching coach.

He was a first-round pick (30th overall) of the Oakland A’s in the 2002 draft, out of California State University, Fresno. However, his progress through their system was derailed by Tommy John surgery which cost him basically the entire 2005 season. He was never quite the same after, his career peaking in 2006 with 17 starts for Triple-A Sacramento, going 6-6 with a 5.83 ERA. Fritz had a brief stint in the Tigers farm system, and a couple of years in indy ball, before hanging up his cleats after the 2010 season, and eventually moving to the coaching side of the game.

It’s reported that he was also considering a job in the Rockies’ major-league staff. Though being a pitching coach at Coors probably ranks alongside snake milker, in terms of overall appeal. It’ll be interesting to see how his experience with the Padres’ bullpen shifts over to Chase Field. Whole the D-backs’ relief corps was much improved over previous seasons, by most metrics beyond Win Probability, they were no better than middle of the pack. The Padres had a bullpen ERA of 3.53, fifth in the majors and more than half a run better than ours. They were better still by other numbers; second in FIP and xFIP, first in xERA, and San Diego’s fWAR of 8.0 was twice that of Arizona.

Of course, a lot depends on what you have to work with. Having Mason Miller in any bullpen is going to be a bit of a help, to put it mildly. But there is definitely room for improvement in Arizona. We could do simply with missing more bats. The D-backs’ relief strikeout rate this year was ahead of only a handful of teams, at 7.85 K/9 IP. The Padres’ bullpen were again in the top quarter, fanning 1.5 more batters per game than us. Fritz will be working with assistant pitching coach Owen Dew and bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda, whom Steve Gilbert reports will be returning in 2027, who also notes this is likely to be the only change to the staff.

It’s interesting to note that, while Torey Lovullo is now among the longest-tenured managers in the majors (behind only Dave Roberts of the Dodgers and Kevin Cash in Tampa Bay), the team has gone through a slew of pitching coaches since Lovullo took over in 2017. Fritz will be the fifth man to occupy the role in that time, with nobody lasting longer than three seasons:

• Mike Butcher: 2017–2019
• Matt Herges: 2020–2021
• Brent Strom: 2022–2024
• Brian Kaplan: 2025–2026
• Ben Fritz: 2026–present

We’ll see if Fritz can work some magic. His “to-do” list will included fixing Merrill Kelly, getting Corbin Burnes back to his old form, and maintaining the bullpen improvements, despite the loss of a number of arms. Then there’s completing the development of prospects such as Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake. All of which suggest Ben is going to be a busy man.

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

A Dwindling Keystone Player

Jake Cronenworth was drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. He ended up being traded to the Padres in the deal that sent Hunter Renfroe and Xavier Edwards to Tampa Bay. Cronenworth made his MLB debut during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and impressed. He took it to another level in 2021 with 21 homers and a .266/.340/.460 slash line. He hasn’t quite been the same since then.

Overall Grade: D-

Cronenworth’s production has steadily declined since 2021. He was solid in ‘22, batting .239 with 17 home runs and a .722 OPS, but the following year was tough. Cronenworth hit just .229 with a .690 OPS in 2023. His power returned a bit in 2024 (17 homers) before regressing again in 2025 and ‘26. That’s made him a solid defensive option but a relatively impotent bat.

He has certainly proven his value as a defensive player. Although his metrics might not suggest it (-3 Fielding Run Value, -5 Outs Above Average), Cronenworth owns an extremely valuable glove. His ability to serve as a utility infielder makes him a wonderful addition on the roster. He could serve a role as a bench player in the future if San Diego is willing to spend on a new second baseman.

The problem is that Cronenworth’s bat is absolutely anemic. Last season was a true down year with a .225 batting average and a .629 OPS. Part of that problem was due to multiple health problems throughout the year. Cronenworth spent a large portion of the season on the IL due to a concussion he sustained early in the year. That still doesn’t quite explain his .144 batting average prior to the injury.