NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 08: Manager, Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees and Joe Girardi talk before the game against the Athletics at Yankee Stadium on April 8, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Although several fans may have a contrasting opinion, former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi gave Aaron Boone praise for his managerial duties throughout the season.
Another season came and went without the Yankees securing their 28th World Series title, and the majority of fans are just about fed up. It’s gotten to the point where they’re actively calling for the jobs of both Boone and general manager Brian Cashman after getting swept by the Rays in a three-game ALDS, their first such dusting in a best-of-five since 1980.
During a recent appearance on a podcast with MLB insiders Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, Girardi defended his successor’s decision-making this season and even went as far to say that this year was a highlight in Boone’s managerial career.
“I think you could argue this was his best year of managing,” Girardi told Sherman and Heyman. “I think he got the most out of this team during the course of the season, with all they had to deal with and the way they won games. He had to flip the way they won games. They had to win games from a pitching standpoint, different from the past, when they would win just by out-slugging people. He couldn’t do that this year, and I think he ran the bullpen extremely well and got the most out of those guys.”
Girardi went on to indicate that the Yankees’ offense was one of the main factors holding them back, and that it wasn’t Boone’s fault. His point, as much as fans may disagree, is that the players need to be held accountable for their performances and need to hold themselves to a higher standard. Even without Aaron Judge for 96 games and the entire playoffs, there were enough players in that locker room with résumés that should have led to better numbers. They posted a .230/.297/.394 triple slash in 102 games from the time of Judge’s first IL stint onward, good for only a 93 wRC+, sixth-worst in baseball.
“It’s really hard to me to judge a manager unless he does something egregious, and I can’t say he did anything that was truly egregious. It’s a short series and these guys didn’t hit. It’s not like you were facing a team that won 81 games, you were facing the best team in the American League during the course of the season. You were facing some really good starting pitching, and again, offensively, I thought they were challenged the whole year. Without Aaron Judge, they’re a different offensive club.”
Some would classify putting Trent Grisham in the leadoff spot in an elimination game as egregious, but others may consider that a bit hyperbolic.
This marks Boone’s 17th season as Yankee skipper, with one pennant and one World Series appearance to show for it. Fans are calling for a change, but according to Girardi, it doesn’t have to be at the top step of the dugout. Girardi also stated that if the opportunity arose, he would consider returning to a managerial role in the league.
Dec 13, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; A replica of the Gold Glove Award is on display in the trade show on the convention floor during the MLB winter meetings at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Major League Baseball announced its finalists for the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards on Wednesday. Neither Manny Machado nor Fernando Tatis Jr. were nominated despite both having excellent defensive seasons. Ty France and Freddie Fermin got the nod.
Machado gets robbed
Third baseman Manny Machado, 34, finished the 2026 regular season with a +12 Outs Above Average in the National League. It was the top rating of any third baseman in the NL. After making 16 errors in 2025, Machado made three errors in 2026 and had his highest OAA since 2023.
The three finalists are Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs) with a +9 OAA, Javier Sanoja (Miami Marlins) with a +6 OAA and Max Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers) with a -1 OAA.
Fielding Run Value is a stat used by analysts to put a value on a player’s overall defensive performance by calculating how many runs they save or cost their team compared to an average player.
Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson leads all of baseball’s corner infielders with a +12 FRV, followed by Ty France with a +10 FRV and then Machado with an +8 FRV. Bregman is tied with multiple other players at +7 FRV.
Apparently, analytics don’t weigh heavily with these finalists.
Tatis Jr. sacrifices for the team
Fernando Tatis Jr. is the recipient of two Gold Glove and two Platinum Glove Awards over the past three seasons as a right fielder in the National League. During the 2026 season, Tatis started 104 games in right field. He also started 50 games at second base. Some could argue he would not be a candidate for the Gold Glove because he was essentially a utility player.
But the nominating committee gave third baseman Javier Sanoja a nomination as a finalist despite playing multiple positions for the Marlins during the season.
Carson Benge, right fielder for the New York Mets, had a +1 OAA while Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs had a +5 OAA, and Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks had a +10 OAA.
Tatis ended with a +4 OAA.
Tatis comes in behind all three in FRV, finishing with a +3 rating just behind Carroll at +4 FRV. Both Benge at +8 FRV and Suzuki at +8 FRV are tied at the top for corner outfielders.
Splitting time between two positions seems to have cost Tatis a chance at another Gold Glove nomination.
Jackson Merrill loses out again
Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill finished 2026 with a +7 OAA for his position, losing out as a finalist. Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs leads all of baseball with a +26 OAA. The other two finalists are Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves with a +14 OAA and Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a +9 OAA.
Ty France and Freddie Fermin make the final list
Padres first baseman Ty France led in almost all defensive categories for first basemen through the season. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson came on strong as the season developed and finished with a +12 OAA to France’s +7 OAA. Olson also had a +12 FRV compared to France’s +10 FRV. The third nominee was TJ Rumfield for the Colorado Rockies.
Catcher Freddie Fermin joined Gabriel Moreno of the D-backs and Luis Torrens of the Mets as nominees for 2026.
Fermin excels in defensive metrics, accumulating a +9 FRV, while Moreno has +7 FRV and Torrens has a +10 FRV. Catchers aren’t assigned OAA ratings, as those are just for position players and reflect range as part of the assessment.
Fermin also finished with a +10 in blocks above average and +6 in caught stealing above average. His 1.88 pop time ranks in the 86th percentile.
Awards are given on Sunday, November 1
The winners will be announced on Nov. 1 and broadcast on ESPN.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 26: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers hits an RBI double against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Target Field on September 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Morning, all!
The Rangers’ outfielders were a collective bust in 2026, with Evan Carter showing elite defense in center field and superlatively poor performance at the plate and Wyatt Langford continuing a downward trend.
Four Rangers were named finalists forthe Gold Glove award.
The Brewers have taken a 3-0 lead in the NLCS and are within spitting difference of their first World Series appearance in 44 years.
After another early postseason exit, Brian Cashman and the Yankees' front office have the offseason to figure out how the club can get over the hump and capture a World Series title for the first time since 2009.
It won't be easy.
Every year following their last title has been tough for Cashman and the Yanks to find the right combination of players and coaches to be the last team standing. And after being swept by the Rays in the ALDS, this is an especially crucial offseason. Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole aren't getting any younger, and there are no guarantees that the starting rotation -- which was among the best in the majors this season -- can replicate that success next year.
Not to mention the looming lockout that could impact things.
But it's not all doom and gloom in Yankeeland. The aforementioned rotation is still strong, with youngsters like Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers giving the team depth. Young prospects like George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones made splashes in the big leagues and look to be ready for a full season in pinstripes, and Anthony Volpe seemingly revived his career -- at least for the moment -- and could be a key piece for the 2027 team.
Given the expected lockout, the Yankees will have to enact their plan for the offseason rather quickly. While there are many holes and details to iron out, here's what the Yankees' top priorities this offseason should be...
The Yankees can go one of three ways with regard to their manager.
First, the Yankees could move on from Boone after nine seasons of winning baseball that consistently fell short of the ultimate goal of a World Series. Boone would leave with one of the best records in team history, but it's become increasingly obvious that a new voice is needed in the locker room. And while he's not the one making errors on the field or not hitting in the postseason, someone needs to bear the responsibility and that often falls on the manager.
The Yankees could also let Boone manage the final year of his contract and figure it out after the 2027 season. This feels like the way New York is going to go. As SNY contributor Anthony McCarron writes, the lockout puts the organization in a weird spot. With a potential truncated offseason and spring training, it may be best for Boone, who knows the players and the way the team works, to be in place.
If this is what the Yanks do, Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner need to come out and say it instead of letting the rumors swirl about the fate of Boone.
Oct 3, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone calls the bullpen in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The Yankees could also just give Boone a multi-year extension. While fans would be beside themselves, this is a real possibility.
Boone has an impressive 790-565 regular season record, and has missed the postseason just once in his nine seasons.
However the Yanks approach the Boone situation, some clarity would go a long way.
4. Get a right-handed catcher
One of the Yankees' biggest needs at this past trade deadline was a right-handed catcher to platoon with Austin Wells.
Cashman did not achieve this goal. Instead, the Yanks kept Ali Sanchez as the backup, while hoping Wells' bat would wake up from its year-long slumber. And while Wells' offensive numbers trended up at the end of the season and in the postseason, it was a missed opportunity for this team. Perhaps the Twins and Rockies were asking for too much in a potential deal for Ryan Jeffers or Hunter Goodman, but this offseason offers up more possibilities for Cashman.
Jeffers and Tyler Stephenson, who was also reportedly on the Yankees' radar, are free agents. The market for right-handed catchers is pretty shallow, so grabbing one of the obvious upgrades to the catcher position via trade or free agency needs to be a priority.
3. Bring back the bullpen core
Every year, the Yankees find ways to create a formidable bullpen with relative no-names, journeymen, and farm arms. In 2026, Cashman created one of the better bullpens with David Bednar anchoring, along with former starter Paul Blackburn, Fernando Cruz, and Brent Headrick.
Cruz ended the season on the IL with an elbow injury and Headrick is the only other reliever among the above who is under contract for 2027. That needs to change.
Bednar and Blackburn should be back. Both were great and proved they could handle New York and the postseason. Other free agent bullpen arms include Ryan Yarbrough and Tim Hill, with midseason additions Michael Fulmer and John Schreiber also heading to free agency.
Cashman rarely ponies up money for bullpen arms, but this should be the year he bucks that trend. Bringing back Bednar and Blackburn should be a priority, especially if the Yankees want to experiment using former starters like Warren, Weathers, or Luis Gil in the 'pen, or utilize Carlos Lagrange.
2. Get younger with more contact
It feels like it's said every offseason, but the Yankees need to get younger and more athletic. And while they have made strides over the years by bringing in Jazz Chisholm Jr. and promoting youngsters like Volpe, Lombard, and Jones, they need to do more.
For whatever reason, the Yanks cannot overcome mental mistakes in the field and on the bases and it could be attributed to age. Trent Grisham's defense in center regressed the last two seasons, while the usually sure-handed Ryan McMahon had his struggles defensively at the end of the season. And that's not to mention Chisholm seemingly not having his head in the game.
Oct 3, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) looks on after striking out in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Grisham and Chisholm are not guaranteed to return, as they'll be free agents, which should open up possibilities for other younger options. Volpe could win the second base job if Chisholm doesn't return, while Jones should replace Grisham in the outfield.
Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario, handy bench veterans, are also free agents. It's hard to imagine them returning with the way the roster is currently constructed. Their departure could also lead the Yankees to bring in more contact-focused bats to limit the offensive lulls that we saw in the regular season and in the playoffs.
But the roster crunch could also be handled with one more move...
It's been a long time coming, but Stanton's time with the Yankees could be coming to an end.
Stanton is owed $15 million in 2027 and the team has a club option for 2028, which they certainly won't exercise, and it opens up the Yankees to designate the slugger for assignment ahead of the upcoming season.
Sure, eating the money isn't ideal, but they did it with DJ LeMahieu back in 2025. They owed him more money ($22 million) when the move was made, so the template is there, and while Stanton has proven to be a leader in the locker room and productive at the plate (when he's out there), his injury history and age are making it hard to justify him taking up a roster spot moving forward.
Ben Rice has excelled as the full-time DH, and adding Luis Garcia Jr. at the trade deadline gives the team a first base option. If the Yankees want their best lineup, Stanton is not a part of it.
It also gives the team a way to use Judge as a DH here and there.
However you slice it, New York is better off without Stanton on the roster in 2027 -- a harsh reality that puts the former MVP's nine-year career in pinstripes in jeopardy.
Jul 29, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly (8) looks on from inside the dugout against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The season may not be technically over, but the Phillies have been in their offseason for two weeks. They have delayed their end of season press conference until today, with it now coming on the heels of the team making Don Mattingly their permanent manager. Manager was the first domino to fall for an offseason with much on the agenda, and the team’s choice has not exactly inspired the fan base’s belief in Dave Dombrowski and the front office’s ability to improve the roster or just inject some life into the franchise overall.
In any case, there is still much to be done with the team on the field. The Phillies need to at minimum fix an offense that was among the worst in the league. Doing so will be easier said than done, as they do not have much in the way of trade ammunition and the free agent market is extremely light on impact bats. They need to rebuild a bullpen that collapsed in the second half of the season partially due to their now permanent manager’s heavy handedness in management. Finally, it would behoove the Phillies to also try and find ways to improve their defense, as they ranked near the bottom there as well and featured some of the worst defenders at any position in the sport.
And that’s before even taking into account the elephant in the room that is the looming lockout that threatens to at best wipe out some of the offseason and at worst take out some of the 2027 season in addition to completely revamping the financial systems of the sport.
Because of all this, it’s not necessarily being a pessimist if you are worried about how this Phillies offseason will go. That does not mean that reasons to be optimistic do not exist, but we will discuss those tomorrow. Today we’ll start with the bad news and try to envision what would constitute a poor offseason in your mind. So, what is your worst-case scenario for this offseason?
With the 2026 season fully behind us, I decided to take a look at all of the top prospects who are likely to contribute to the major league roster next season. From the franchise cornerstones to the middle relievers, these are all of the prospects that I think could provide significant value to the Twins in 2027.
The Stars
We got a glimpse of what long-time No. 1 prospect Walker Jenkins can do in the big leagues, and after struggling for his first couple weeks, Jenkins finished the season on an absolute tear. Over his final 10 games, he slashed .385/.400/.615 for a 186 wRC+ and just a 7.5% strikeout rate. With an all-around elite skillset, Jenkins should be in the Opening Day lineup and has a chance to be one of the Twins most productive players in 2027.
Emmanuel Rodriguez finally got his chance with the Twins in September, and while he struggled some with swing decisions and ran a 33.3% strikeout rate, his batted ball data and advance metrics were phenomenal in the small sample size. E-Rod’s elite power gives him a limitless ceiling, and he has flashed some big impact in the outfield as well. Now out of options, the Twins will be forced to keep him on the major league roster in 2027, and he is capable of providing some major thump to the middle of the lineup.
While the stats and batted ball data were nothing special for Kaelen Culpepper in his first 33 major league games, he looks like he can be an impact player on offense and in the field next season. Culpepper has excellent bat speed but struggled to square the ball up and generate high-end exit velocities. He also has extreme chase issues, running a 42.8% O-Swing in his first major league stint. Still, the glove looked sharp, and he has all the raw talent needed to be an impactful hitter.
Marek Houston is on track to begin next season in Triple-A with anticipation for a 2027 debut. He looked the part in Double-A, slashing .301/.379/.450 in 60 games while playing exceptional defense at shortstop. The Twins cannot wait to add his speed and defense to the major league squad, and there is increasing hope that his bat can provide some real impact.
Starters
There is a lot to like about the direction the Twins rotation is headed in 2027. They just hired Brian Reith out of the Rays organization to be their new pitching coach, and the staff is set to be headlined by the veteran trio of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Taj Bradley. Connor Prielipp has shown frontline potential and looks to build off his promising rookie campaign, and Zebby Matthews finally looked like the pitcher we hoped he would become over his final 7 starts. The Twins also have control over Dean Kremer and Bailey Ober if they want them, both of whom were quality back-end starters this year. As injuries undoubtably occur, the Twins have a nice assortment of replacements waiting at the top of the farm system.
Of all the pitching prospects in the Twins system, Kendry Rojas is sure to be one of the top contributors to the Twins staff in 2027. While he nibbled too much and struggled with walks this year, he showed an impressive feel for location along with mid-rotation stuff. If he can improve his stuff even more next year and lengthen his outings, Rojas can firmly fit into the Twins rotation. Otherwise, he is a fun lefty bullpen arm.
Now two years into his pro career, Ryan Gallagher struggled in Triple-A this summer, but he possesses all of the tools needed to be a quality innings eater in the Twins rotation. Strike-throwing has been inconsistent and he could use some added fastball velocity, but if we see some improvements going into 2027, Gallagher will fit nicely as a 7th or 8th starter option.
Riley Quick still has a ways to go in his development, but with improved command, his electric stuff could absolutely push him into the Twins rotation in 2027. Quick was terrorized by walks and homers this season, but elite strikeout and whiff rates were able to keep his numbers afloat. There is potential for a huge breakout next year if he can stay health and be more of a pitcher than a thrower.
Righty flamethrower Adrian Bohorquez has struggled with injuries and is only 4 starts into his Double-A tenure, but he is developing well, and his overpowering stuff may force him into the majors one way or another in 2027. The big question with Bohorquez is if he can consistently get lefties out. He was dominant against righties in 2026, allowing just a .194 SLG with a 32.1% strikeout rate but a .344 SLG with a 23.1% strikeout rate against lefites. The back end of the bullpen may be a better fit if he can’t find a put-away pitch for left-handed hitters.
Eli Jones had his season end in late May due to injury, but he was pitching well in his first taste of Double-A, and he projects well as a back-end strike-thrower. Jones had a velo spike into the mid-90s this year, and with further stuff development, he has a chance to provide some innings to the Twins rotation in 2027.
Role Players
Its impossible to not get caught up in the excitement of prospects like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, but the Twins need to get production out their second-tier prospects as well. These guys maybe don’t quite have the ceiling or the polish of a high-end prospect, but there is potential for significant value with them in the right role.
After struggling to hit the ball in Double-A the last two years, Ben Ross had an unlikely breakout in 2026, posting a 108 wRC+ in Triple-A and making his MLB debut in September. While Ross lacks true bat talent, his elite swing decisions allow him to put together good at-bats. Defensively, he can play anywhere in the infield or outfield at a high level and is a plus runner. There is a lot to like about keeping Ben Ross on the roster as a bench utility defender and pinch runner.
Hendry Mendez struggled a bit down the stretch as he dealt with injuries, but he still finished the season with a 107 wRC+ in 78 games at Triple-A, and he has one of the most impressive offensive skillsets in the system. With plus contact skills, violent bat speed, and elite swing decisions, the only thing holding Mendez back at the plate is his extreme ground ball rates. While he is a poor outfield defender and will be better suited at DH, he profiles as an on-base machine with some big upside if he can elevate the ball more.
We got mixed results out of Brandon Winokur’s bat this year as he pushed into Double-A. He totaled 21 homers and 30 stolen bags with average offensive production across 127 games. His defense has continued to develop nicely as Winokur has the athleticism and arm to be a plus defender at third base and center field. There is plus raw power in the tank, and if he can maintain his 79% zone contact rate while improving his swing decisions, there is some big slug potential. 2027 will be a very interesting year for Brandon Winokur as he pushes close to the majors.
Khadim Diaw is one of the most well-rounded prospects in the Twins system and has also been one of the most productive since he joined the organization in 2024. He lacks raw power, but plus contact skills and an extremely patient approach make Diaw an on-base machine. He also possesses an intriguing catcher/outfield defensive profile that would give the Twins some valuable versatility. It’s unclear exactly how high the offensive ceiling is or if he will end up playing any catcher at the major league level, but he is set to begin 2027 in Triple-A with a good chance of debuting at some point next summer.
Relievers
The Twins bullpen is looking closer to average now with Jeff Hoffman, Andrew Morris, Yoendrys Gomez, and Kody Funderburk all locked in for 2027 along with a handful of other solid arms. There is an intriguing group of relievers in the upper minors with clear concerns but impressive stuff that could thrust them into the Twins bullpen next season. Don’t forget about David Festa or Matt Canterino either!
It was an interesting season for longtime top prospect Marco Raya this year. After a rough start, he caught fire in May and made his MLB debut in June, but only threw 6 innings before an injury put him on the IL for two weeks. He came back and struggled a bit, but finished the season by running a 1.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 6 walks over his last 17.1 innings in Triple-A. His 5.32 season ERA is not pretty, but out of 276 pitchers with at least 50 innings at Triple-A, Raya ranked 16th in xFIP and 22nd in K-BB%. With a mid-90s fastball and a trio of devastating secondaries that generate whiffs against both righties and lefties, Marco Raya has the stuff to be an electric bullpen arm if he can put it all together.
A 2027 debut for 8th round pick Thomas Burns is very aggressive but it’s possible. There are significant concerns with his command and strike-throwing ability, but he joined the organization immediately having some of the best stuff in the entire system. He has an outlier fastball in the upper 90s with elite carry. His cutter and changeup are both big whiff pitches as well if he can command them. I don’t think a 2027 debut is likely for Thomas Burns, especially in the Twins organization, but he has legitimate closer potential if the Twins can get him to throw enough strikes. The hope is that he will move through the system very quickly.
C.J. Culpepper got middling results in Triple-A this year after making a move to the bullpen. As an east-west pitcher with limited whiff, Culpepper succeeds by generating lots of weak ground contact, similar to Kody Funderburk. He finished the season with a 4.71 ERA and 5.09 FIP in 57.1 Triple-A innings, striking out 58 and walking 34. While Culpepper can be an effective middle reliever for the Twins in 2027, we need to see some strike-throwing improvements to really make the groundballer profile work.
2025 Indy ball signing Ruddy Gomez has had a two-year stretch that we cannot ignore. His devastating slider has carried him all the way from rookie ball to Triple-A in two seasons, where he ran a 3.00 ERA and 2.99 FIP in Double-A this season, and looked pretty good in his short stint in St. Paul to finish the season. His slider has dominated at every level, and if Gomez can improve the shape on his mid-90s fastball, we are almost surely looking at a big league reliever and a 2027 debut.
The 2027 campaign of Alejandro Hidalgo is one that I am particularly interested in. Getting excited about a guy who holds a 6.75 ERA in Triple-A this season and a 5.80 ERA in his minor league career seems weird, but Hidalgo has posted elite strikeout numbers with respectable strike-throwing. Home runs have been a devastating issue, but he could be a couple minor tweaks away from being a big league reliever at just 23 years old.
Maybe There’s Something There?
I was ready to give up on Kala’i Rosario, who returned to Double-A for a third season this year and saw his strikeout rate spike up to 31% while his overall production dropped significantly from last year. Naturally, he found a spark in Triple-A at the end of August and finished the season by slashing .315/.322/.674 for a 146 wRC+ over his last 22 games. The plus power was on full display and he was making quality swing decisions while running a manageable 79% zone contact rate. He is playable in a corner outfield spot and has a little bit of speed. The projection is questionable, though, as he hits righties better than lefties and is a pull-happy hitter that doesn’t do any damage on the outer half of the plate. At his current state he will be taken advantage of in the majors, but at 24 years old with impressive raw power and a history of production, I won’t give up just yet.
After a huge 2025 campaign driven by immense batted ball luck, Gabriel Gonzalez came back down to Earth in 2026, running a 91 wRC+ in 114 games at Triple-A. He can hit for contact and has shown tangible improvement in his plate approach, but the lack of raw power and defensive value will make it tough for Gonzalez to find a role at the major league level.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Shane Baz #34 of the Baltimore Orioles in action during the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 15, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There are plenty of things the Orioles could have done differently to improve their record last season. They could have played better defense or struck out less. But there’s one simple thing that would have ensured more victories. They could have scored some runs when Shane Baz was on the mound.
Baltimore’s front office went out and got Shane Baz before the season. Baz was under contract with another team in the division, and the Rays did not exactly thrust him onto the trade block. Mike Elias identified Baz as a pitcher that he wanted in the 2026 rotation, and he overwhelmed the Rays with an attractive bunch of prospects.
Baltimore sent Slater de Brun, Caden Bodine, Michael Forret, Austin Overn, and a competitive balance pick to the Rays in exchange for the former first round pick. Forret has since made his way back to the organization, while de Brun traveled to Tampa after arriving in Baltimore via compensation for the Bryan Baker trade.
Bodine vaulted up prospect lists after a strong 2026 campaign, and Overn currently sits inside Tampa Bay’s Top 10 according to MLB Pipeline. The Orioles sent Tyler Wells to the Rays to reacquire Forret, and a first round pick is a first round pick.
The Orioles, to their credit, did what a team should do after investing that much prospect capital to acquire one player. They signed Baz to a five-year extension worth $68 million dollars.
Baz went on to post a 6-15 record with the Orioles. Those numbers make the deal sound like a total disaster, but that was hardly the case. Baltimore provided Baz some of the worst run support of any pitcher in the majors last year.
Baz finished 2026 with a 4.11 ERA and 3.62 FIP while giving his new team a chance to win almost every night. Unfortunately, the team rarely took advantage of the opportunity. Baz kept his head up and said all the right things after several disappointing efforts, but the team rarely picked up their new teammate.
Mike Elias lauded Baz as a player with Cy Young potential at the time of the deal, but he clarified that the 27-year-old would need time to get to that point. Baz missed all of 2023 and a majority of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.87 ERA over 166.1 innings in 2025. The season marked the first time that the former top prospect had eclipsed 80 innings in his career.
Baz took a giant step forward with 180 innings over 31 starts. The Orioles may eventually regret parting with such a wealth of talent in exchange for Baz, but it’s difficult not to call his first season in Baltimore a success. The optics would be incredibly different if Baz delivered the same quality of production, but the Orioles were the team competing for a chance to go to the World Series right now.
Baz controlled what he could control, but he also found himself in odd situations. He was on the mound for the infamous “not out of the baseline” play, and he often struggled to strand runners after silly mistakes by Baltimore’s defense. Of the 92 runs he allowed in 2026, only 82 were earned.
The Orioles will look for Baz to take another step forward in 2027. Kyle Bradish earned a similar—albeit pricier—five-year extension, but Trevor Rogers is a free agent. Brandon Young will return after a surprising 2026, and the organization features several talented young pitching prospects, but the Birds will look to Bradish and Baz to lead this rotation in 2027 and beyond.
Baz took a comebacker off his elbow in a mid-September start against the Mets. He appeared to dodge any type of significant injury, but the Orioles shut him down for the final two weeks with the postseason fully out of reach. After delivering a full workload in 2026, Baz should enter next season without any type of innings restriction.
Baz’s 3.4 WAR in 2026 trailed only Pete Alonso, Rogers, and Gunnar Henderson, and there appears to be more meat on the bone. The lack of run support feels like an anomaly, which should free up Baz for more happy endings in 2027.
When the Cubs were eliminated from this year’s postseason, I decided I wanted another team to root for, just to remain invested in October baseball in 2026, in part because after this year’s World Series, we don’t know when we’re going to see Major League Baseball again.
For me, the choice was easy: The Cleveland Guardians. Let’s talk about the Guardians while we await their afternoon Game 3 against the Rays, which begins at 12 noon CT (game thread will post at 11:30 a.m. CT).
The reason I’ve picked the Guardians should be obvious — their 77-year World Series drought. As Cubs fans, we absolutely understand long droughts.
Guardians history parallels Cubs history in many ways, too. For one thing, the teams both won exactly two World Series before 1950.
From the beginning of their American League franchise in 1901, the Cleveland Indians were consistent contenders for much of that time, but won the World Series only twice, in 1920 and 1948. This despite having two of the greatest players of the pre-Live Ball Era on their team, Napoleon Lajoie and Tris Speaker. They never even won an AL pennant with Lajoie on the team, and it can be argued that their 1920 pennant was a bit of an accident because the White Sox, who were later learned to have thrown the 1919 World Series, did their best to do the same in the 1920 AL pennant race. You can read more about that here.
Cleveland defeated Brooklyn in the 1920 World Series, their first such title.
Then they went through a two-decade stretch of sort-of contending, finishing with 15 winning seasons between 1921 and 1940, but never winning a pennant. They led the AL through much of 1940 but the Tigers overtook them in September and won by one game.
The team muddled through much of the 1940s, finally breaking through and winning 97 games in 1948, defeating the Braves in the World Series. They appeared to have a pretty good team at that point. They won 90 or more games four of the next five years, but could not break past Yankees dominance until 1954, when they blazed through the regular season with a then-AL record 111 wins.
The Giants swept that Indians team in the World Series and after 1959, when they finished five games behind the White Sox, a long period of poor play began. (Does that sound familiar?) Apart from the strike-interrupted 1981 season, the Cleveland franchise would not finish closer than 11 games out of first place until 1995, when their good young core led by Manny Ramirez and Kenny Lofton went 100-44 and got back to the World Series, where they were dispatched four games to two by the Braves.
This version of the Indians was very good. Including 1995, they made the postseason six of the next seven years and got back to the World Series in 1997, where they lost in soul-crushing fashion. They led the Marlins in Game 7 2-1 with one out in the ninth when Miami tied the game on a sacrifice fly by… Craig Counsell. In the bottom of the 11th, the Marlins walked it off and the winning run was scored by… Craig Counsell.
Including this year, Cleveland, now the Guardians, has been in the postseason eight of the last 11 seasons. You obviously know what happened in 2016. That was joy for us and again, the crushing of souls for Cleveland fans.
This year’s Guardians have a “won’t quit” vibe around them, led by one of MLB’s most underappreciated superstars, José Ramírez (though it was his error that helped lead to three unearned runs for the Rays in ALCS Game 2). They’re fun to root for and with a 77-year drought on the line… I’m hoping they can end it this year.
Jul 6, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) catches the ball for an out against the Atlanta Braves during the fourth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Meet the Mets
Luis Torrens, Carson Benge, and Nolan McLean were all named as Gold Glove finalists, and should any of them win, it would end a 12-year drought since a Met last won the award.
McLean, Benge, and A.J. Ewing all made an impression this season, but the next wave of prospects could be on the way.
Due to expected inclement weather in Cleveland, the start time for Game 3 of the ALCS was moved to 1:00 PM EDT, and Game 4 of NLCS was moved to 8:00 PM EDT.
The Phillies are keeping things the same at the top but there will be some notable changes to other key facets of organizational philosophy.
Longtime hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson are not returning for the 2027 season to be part of new full-time manager’s Don Mattingly staff, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed Thursday during a press conference.
Long, the former Yankees and Mets hitting coach, had two more years on his contract, per The Athletic.
From left, Bryce Harper, hitting coach Kevin Long, assistant hitting coach Rafael Pena, and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies look on from the dugout during the ninth inning against the Padres at Petco Park on Monday, May 25, 2026. Getty Images
“(The decisions were) made in conjunction with Don,” Dombrowski said. “He felt those were two moves he recommended. We discussed it throughly.”
These moves — with at least one being a firing — shows that team brass believes change is needed to two areas that ultimately failed the Phililies this season.
Long joined the Phillies in October 2021 and oversaw some great offensive seasons, but the Phillies ranked 22nd in OPS with a .707 mark this year.
Trea Turner’s notable regression in the fourth year of an 11-season pact notably stood out, and the team’s offense has routinely failed in the playoffs in recent years.
Philadelphia scored nine runs in its three-game wild-card loss to the Braves this year, tallied 15 in a four-game NLDS loss to the Dodgers in 2025 and 12 in another four-game NLDS loss to the Mets in 2024.
Kyle Schwarber pushed for the team to keep Long beyond 2025 before the slugger re-signed with the team last offseason, per NBC Philadelphia, and the assistant reportedly received a three-year pact.
Philadelphia Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson stands in the visitors’ dugout during an MLB baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Athletic reported that the promotion of Luke Murton to assistant general manager for hitting may have factored into the decision to go with a new voice leading the offensive program.
The Phillies also hired Dickerson in October 2021 and he’s exiting after a rough defensive season.
Philadelphia tied for the league-worst mark by posting minus-51 defensive runs saved (DRS) and ranked in the bottom 10 with minus-15 outs above average (OAA), per Fangraphs.
Don Mattingly (8) of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on from the dugout prior to game two of the National League Wild Card Series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. Getty Images
Turner also endured a massive dip in his defensive metrics, going from plus-2 DRS and plus-10 OAA in 2025 to minus-17 DRS and minus-8 OAA this past year.
The Phillies will also have a new third base coach in 2027 in former Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
Previous handler Anthony Contreras is shifting to a new role, per The Athletic.
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 27: Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Poicollo, Matt Quatraro (33), Bobby Witt Jr. (7) and Seth Lugo (67) pose with their Gold Glove awards for 2024 before an Opening Day MLB game between the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals on March 27, 2025 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The whole Royals infield are finalists for the Gold Glove award.
Perla Paredes, writes about three different Royals prospects that could have an impact in KC in 2027.
Angeibel Gomez’s OPS in the Dominican Summer League caught some attention.
We know we have to take Rookie-level Dominican Summer League stats with a grain of salt, but it’s hard not to get excited about Gomez, especially after seeing him holding his own at age 17 in the Arizona Fall League. Signed for $2.9 million in January, Gomez led qualified Royals prospects at any level in OPS, SLG (.652) and ISO (.292).
David Lesky wrote about what he would do if he was JJ Picollo for a day.
Matthew Swigonski of Kings of Kauffman ranked Bobby Witt Jr’s first five MLB seasons.
Kevin O’Brien, of Royals Keep, gives a recap of Royals Fall League action.
The Brewers came back to beat the Dodgers late last night.
Jake Bauers never gave up, and is now having a career year.
Jackson Chourio, who hit the first pitch of game 3, out of the park, made history doing so.
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 03: A general view of Progressive Field prior to Game One of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday, October 3, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Leigh Bacho/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The 2026 MLB Playoffs continue today with ALCS Game 3 and NLCS Game 4! As ever, I’m writing this before Wednesday’s NLCS game has been played, but if there is any justice in the world, we’ll be looking to see a sweep from the Milwaukee Brewers! (I can try to manifest it, anyway.)
First up today will be the visiting Tampa Bay Rays taking on the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of their series. The series is currently tied at one game a piece. Griffin Jax (RHP) is expected to start for the Rays, facing off against Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams. The game will be at 10:00 a.m. PT, airing on TBS/HBO Max with national radio coverage available on ESPN Radio.
After that, the visiting Brewers will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of their series. As I mentioned, this is being written before Wednesday night’s game, so you’ll know what the series score is by the time this comes out. Milwaukee has not yet announced a starting pitcher for this game, but whoever it ends up being will likely be facing off against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow. This game will begin at 5:00 p.m. PT, airing on Fox Sports 1/Fox One, with national radio coverage available on ESPN Radio.
Regardless of who you’re rooting for in the ALCS, I think we can all agree that it’s another excellent day to Beat L.A.!
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 11: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers is introduced prior to Game One of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Sunday, October 11, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Doubted from the very start, Garrett Mitchell fell from a projected top-10 draft pick to the Milwaukee Brewers at No. 20 during the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
Battling injuries and diabetes, Mitchell has not had the easiest path to the Brewers. Entering his fifth season in a Brewers uniform, the most Mitchell has played in a season was 69 games, and that came in 2024. During that season, he missed the start of the season due to a fractured left hand, specifically a left index finger, that he suffered during spring training.
Mitchell rejoined the team on July 1, when he was an every-day starter for the rest of the season. Brewers fans finally saw what Mitchell’s potential was on a larger slate. Mitchell had a line of .255/.342/.469 and had a memorable moment when he hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against the New York Mets to keep their season alive.
After it looked like things were turning around for Mitchell, he suffered a shoulder injury. He muscled out 25 games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Entering 2026, fans, media, and the front office didn’t know what to expect.
“When you’re looking at our team, maybe the reason we didn’t get picked early on to be as successful in the regular season was because of the unknown about Mitchell,” Manager Pat Murphy said. “He had been injured for four years basically.”
Was Mitchell going to be able to pick back up where he left off a year ago? Would we finally see the fully homegrown outfield roster of Jackson Chourio, Mitchell, and Sal Frelick? Would Mitchell be dealt at the deadline if he gets injured again?
These were all real, genuine questions. When Mitchell hasn’t been healthy enough to take the field, the Brewers have had a revolving door at that position, especially since Lorenzo Cain retired following the 2022 season. Chourio spent the majority of the time in center field last year, with Isaac Collins, Brandon Lockridge, and Blake Perkins making appearances as well. Before that, Joey Wiemer, Tyrone Taylor, and Jonathan Davis. None of those pieces were quite the right fit in center field like Mitchell has been.
During the regular season, Mitchell played in 145 games, which surpassed the amount that he had between the 2022-2025 seasons, which was 141. Never in his playing career, going all the way back to the first collegiate pitching he saw with the Walla Walla Sweets, Mitchell hadn’t played in more than 69 games collectively. To take it a step further, the most games he played in one season with the same team was in 2019 with the UCLA Bruins, as he played in 62.
There’s no doubt that playing center field is one of the harder positions to play on the field, especially when 82 games out of the year you’ve got to navigate the unique dimensions of American Family Field. A day ago, the 2026 Gold Glove finalists were announced, and Mitchell did not find himself on that list. Mitchell had committed three errors all season, which is three fewer than Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was nominated. After a full and healthy 2026, the Brewers finally got what they’ve been waiting for in Mitchell. A no-doubt lockdown defender in center field, right in the middle of two other Gold Glove finalists.
His presence in the postseason has been up-and-down, but he established himself in game four of the National League Division Series against the Padres. With the Brewers leading by two, Manny Machado launched a ball into the San Diego night sky, but on the other end of that ball was Mitchell, stealing away the potential tying blast. Two years prior, Mitchell used his bat to extend the Brewers’ life by one more game; after a flood of injuries, he was right back on the field making an impact in the postseason again.
Despite spending more time on the injured list than on the field, Mitchell hasn’t allowed that to impact his first full healthy season as a Brewer. Making you wonder how much different the last four postseason results could’ve been with a healthy Mitchell.
Although he’s had his struggles at the plate this season, he has came in clutch when the Brewers needed it most, specifically last night’s solo home run to follow Jake Bauers go-ahead shot. That brings his postseason totals to five hits, two RBIs, four walks, and 12 strikeouts. The strikeouts have been concerning, yes, but it’s nothing that we haven’t seen from him throughout the season. Mitchell has become the missing piece that the Brewers have needed since the moment he was drafted.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Levi Wells #93 of the Baltimore Orioles throws a pitch against the Houston Astros during the second inningof a spring training game at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 10, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Braxton Bragg, Levi Wells, and Patrick Reilly all lost significant time to injuries in 2025, leaving questions about their development and big league potential. With all three eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter, Baltimore could have some decisions to make about protecting them on the 40-man roster, assuming the draft even takes place amid the ongoing labor uncertainty.
Bragg, an eighth-round selection out of Dallas Baptist University back in 2023, was turning quite a few heads back in 2025. He opened the year with 16.1 scoreless innings at High-A Aberdeen, which earned him a swift promotion to Double-A Chesapeake. While he faced stiffer competition there, it did little to slow him down. Over 42.2 innings there he struck out 59 and had a 2.32 ERA. He was named the Orioles pitcher of the month for May and seemed like a budding star.
Then, the injuries came. In early June, Bragg felt forearm discomfort. He took a 10-day IL stint and then returned before suffering further discomfort. It was announced in July that Bragg had undergone Tommy John surgery, which would cost him the rest of 2025 and all of the 2026 regular season. The latest is that he has returned to the field, playing for the Peoria Javelinas in the ongoing Arizona Fall League. So far he has thrown three scoreless innings this fall.
Wells also dealt with a significant injury this year. Selected in the fourth round of that 2023 draft by the O’s, Wells had been relatively fit until this past May, when he hit the IL with what was reported as “hip discomfort” and then became “core muscle surgery.” Clearly, it was serious as it kept him shelved for the remainder of the season and, unlike the other two mentioned here, he is not on an Arizona Fall League squad.
It’s a shame because Wells may have been on his way to a big league debut this year prior to the injury. He had pitched in five games for Triple-A Norfolk in 2025, and then began 2026 right back there. Over eight games he had a ho-hum 4.50 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 36 innings, but has an arsenal that seems like a fit in any big league bullpen. Instead, he spent most of the summer on the IL and may have to settle for a Baltimore debut sometime in 2027.
Reilly rounds out this injured crew. He was a fifth-round pick of the Pirates in the 2023 draft, but came to Baltimore via a relatively rare prospect-for-prospect swap at the 2024 deadline that sent utility-man Billy Cook the other way. The Vanderbilt product was promoted to Double-A following the trade, and put together a solid two months, compiling a 3.73 ERA, 38 strikeouts, and a .194 batting average against over the final 31.1 innings of the season. He returned to the level to begin 2025, where had a 1.86 ERA over three starts before he suffered the same injury as Bragg.
Reilly needed Tommy John surgery too, went on the IL at the end of April 2025, and finally got back on the field this past June. After rehabbing in the FCL and then High-A, he returned to Double-A on July 21. Across eight starts he tossed 39.2 innings, struck out 55, and had a 3.63 ERA. You can also find him on the Peoria roster this fall. He has allowed one run over three innings in the AZFL this year.
Prospect outlook
Bragg is probably still considered the highest upside prospect in this group. MLB Pipeline ranks him 22nd in the organization, while FanGraphs places him quite a bit higher at 10th. The excitement from FanGraphs seems to be based on their belief that he projects as a backend starter, while they think that Wells and Reilly end up in the bullpen. But they also say that if Bragg had stayed healthy and pitched well throughout 2025, then he “stood a good chance of moving on to [the FanGraphs’] Top 100.” Maybe that can still happen if he returns and once again shows off his sinker, slider, and splitter combo that hitters were flailing against to begin last year.
Wells is probably second of this group due to what should be a relatively straightforward path to a big league role if/when he is healthy. He already has some Triple-A experience under his belt, can hit 100 with his fastball, and also features useful breaking ball options in his curveball and slider. He lacks a changeup, and there are concerns against left-handed hitters. That could limit his ceiling to that of a reliever, but possibly a really good one. Pipeline ranks him 23rd in the Orioles organization, while FanGraphs has him 18th.
Reilly is more of a gamble. Pipeline does not have him listed among their “Top 30” Orioles prospects, and FanGraphs has him the lowest of these three at 20th. He’s described as a “high-octane arm” that features a fastball that sits 93-95 as a starter but can touch 98, which he pairs with a hard cutter and slider along with the occasional splitter. The ceiling for him is thought to be a “five-and-dive starter…More likely, he’ll work as a mid-to-high leverage reliever.”
Moving forward
Considering how much time they have all missed with injury recently, it’s tough to say where they sit in their development at this point. All three of these pitchers have been brought up as starters, but that could change sometime soon. They need to prove they are healthy, that their repertoire is intact, and that they can get hitters out at the upper levels.
Normally, the Orioles would have tough decisions coming with these pitchers. All three of them are Rule 5-eligible this winter, which means the team will need to decide sometime in mid-November whether they will add them to the 40-man roster and protect them, or leave them susceptible to being selected away. But there is a very real chance that the Rule 5 draft does not take place this year due to the ongoing CBA dispute between MLB and the MLBPA. The event was cancelled in 2021, during the last lockout. In that case, the Orioles would be at no risk of losing any of them, regardless of whether they end up on the 40-man roster or not.
Bragg and Reilly are yet to pitch above Double-A. Bragg has 42.2 innings at the level, which all came back in 2025. Reilly worked 9.2 innings before his injury in ‘25, and then came back to toss 39.2 innings there in the second half of this year. The duo is playing in the Fall League to catch up on some development time they may have missed out on. Depending on how things go, they have a chance to begin 2027 in Triple-A.
Wells has already worked 36 innings at Triple-A, and there is the chance that the team converts him to a relief role at some point. So his path to the bigs should be shorter from here. It will all be about when he gets healthy and gets back up to speed. Regardless, if he stays with the organization this winter, he is probably ticketed for a return to Norfolk, where he can build himself up to being a bullpen option in Baltimore sometime in 2027.
At the moment, with a Rule 5 draft unlikely to happen, it seems like all three players will return to the Orioles organization in 2027. And all three have the potential to contribute in Baltimore someday, but their health and progress next season will go a long way toward determining just how realistic that possibility is.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: Jackson Chourio #11 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a Home Run during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Is this finally the year the Brewers exorcise their playoff demons and advance past the Dodgers on the Senior Circuit side of the bracket? Alongside LA, Milwaukee has been the class of the NL regular season for the last decade. However, they have never beaten their postseason final boss during this era, getting eliminated by the Dodgers in seven games in the instant classic 2018 NLCS before getting swept in the 2020 NL Wild Card Series and 2025 NLCS.
That finally looks set to change, the Brewers taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series on a brilliant start from Robert Gasser and home runs from Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, and Garrett Mitchell. With one more win, they’ll not only avenge those losses, but also win their first pennant in 44 years, when Harvey’s Wallbangers led the 1982 Brewers to the AL flag. Only the Pirates and Mariners have waited longer for a World Series berth. Could this be the year at last for dreams of a first Brewers championship to truly ignite?
They have one more win to go. Here’s how they got to the doorstep.
NLCS Game 3
Milwaukee Brewers 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
(Milwaukee leads, 3-0)
There is no better start to the game as a visiting team than a leadoff home run to put the home starter and crowd immediately on the back foot. Chourio said “hold my beer” as he homered on the first pitch of Game 3, ambushing a center-cut four-seamer from Blake Snell and lining it oppo just over the wall in right-center to instantly deflate a raucous crowd at Chavez Ravine who had been desperate to energize their wounded Dodgers. It is already the third postseason leadoff home run in the young career of the Brewers’ star left fielder, Chourio the hero of the NLDS against the Padres with six RBIs in four games.
Gasser typifies a Milwaukee Brewers player — a gamer with plenty of talent but not a name a baseball fan outside of Wisconsin is likely to recognize. He was part of the 2022 deadline trade that sent Josh Hader to San Diego. He debuted in 2024 but missed most of that and the next season to Tommy John surgery. He spent the first month-and-a-half of 2026 at Triple-A but didn’t look back after a mid-May call-up, starting 20 games and posting a 5-5 record, 3.87 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 103 strikeouts and 1.5 fWAR in 109.1 innings.
With the Brewers unsettled on their postseason rotation plans, Gasser allowed one or fewer runs in his final four starts of the regular season to cement his starting role in the playoffs. The 27-year-old lefty held the Padres to a run on three hits in four innings of Game 4 of the NLDS as the Brewers punched their ticket to the next round. Against this backdrop of hitting his stride once the games really started to matter, Gasser pitched possibly the best start of his life last night.
He’s not going to blow you away with velocity, but the unique way he hides the ball until the last moment of his delivery let his mid-90s sinker play up in LA. The Dodgers had no answer for the pitch as Gasser was able to paint both sides of the plate, getting the ball by the dangerous hitters in their lineup as if they collectively were not ready to hit the fastball.
Gasser waltzed through five scoreless innings allowing just three hits and a walk, but cameras curiously spotted handshakes in the dugout between the fifth and sixth innings. Gasser hadn’t had to make a stressful pitch all game and seemed to have plenty in the tank at just 72 pitches, but trainers did appear to be tending to a blister on the ring finger of his pitching hand. Practically every button that Brewers manager Pat Murphy has pushed this season and postseason has worked, seeing the team pace MLB with 103 wins and easily brush aside the Padres in the NLDS before taking a 2-0 lead over the two-time reigning champions, but this one blew up in his face.
Whatever the case, Murphy called on Abner Uribe for the sixth inning and it backfired spectacularly. He walked Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker, and Shohei Ohtani (batting a rare sixth amid his awful slump) to load the bases with one out. Despite a pair of relievers hot in the Milwaukee bullpen, Murphy allowed Uribe to face the struggling Will Smith — 1-for-23 in six games this postseason. Smith ambushed a first pitch sinker right down the pipe, the deep fly ball clanging halfway up the wall in left-center to plate a pair and give the Dodgers their first lead of the series, 2-1.
Murphy belatedly called on flame throwing lefty DL Hall to clean up Uribe’s mess, and he struck out Kiké Hernández and Tommy Edman to strand runners on second and third and limit the damage to the two runs.
Murphy was perhaps vindicated in lifting his starter earlier than it seemed necessary, because we witnessed the flip side of that debate two innings later. It is perhaps fitting that Snell was the starter opposite Gasser in this game —the Rays’ Kevin Cash memorably removed Snell in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the 2020 World Series against the Dodgers despite Snell having struck out nine and not allowed a run on just 73 pitches — Gasser removed with his pitch count at 72.
After the Chourio leadoff blast, Snell was untouchable for six innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out nine as his four-seamer had some extra juice en route to racking up a gaudy 46-percent whiff rate. Dave Roberts allowed his dominating starter to come back out for the seventh, and it is amazing how the tide turned in an instant. He issued a leadoff walk to Andrew Vaughn, but with two lefties due up in Bauers and Mitchell, Roberts stuck with his southpaw starter.
The fatigue was apparent against Bauers, Snell’s misses occurring over the heart of the plate instead of outside of the zone, and the Brewers’ regular season home run leader won the monumental 11-pitch battle by blasting a middle-middle full count four-seamer 412 feet to right to put the Brewers back on top, 3-2. Mitchell then jumped on a 1-0 mistake changeup right down the middle, going back-to-back with Bauers to almost the exact same spot of the ballpark.
It was the first time in Snell’s entire career that he had allowed back-to-back homers to lefties and just the second time that he’d ever allowed two lefty-hitter homers in the same game (let alone inning). He’d allowed one lefty-hitter homer since Juan Soto took him deep for the Yankees in June 2024 in San Francisco.
That fully sucked all of the air out of Dodger Stadium, and the team nor their fans could will the comeback. Milwaukee added a pair of valuable insurance runs in the eighth and ninth. Brice Turang and William Contreras reached in the eighth on consecutive one-out singles to put runners on the corners where a Justin Wrobleski wild pitch allowed Turang to score the Brewers’ fifth run. Rookie Cooper Pratt lined a one-out single in the ninth, stole second, and scored on a Joey Ortiz single to make it 6-2. Hall and closer Trevor Megill combined to pitch a scoreless final 3.2 innings to seal the win and put the Brewers on the brink of sweeping the champions of the last two seasons.
Game 4 is tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 8:00 pm ET. Tyler Glasnow will look to keep the Dodgers’ season alive while Milwaukee has yet to name a starter. The Brewers now have four chances to clinch the series and advance to the Fall Classic, where they will look to win their first ever title as one of five teams to have never won a ring. No expansion team has waited longer. It may finally be the Brew Crew’s year.
