Category: Baseball

When the Mets’ 2026 season began, some fans were more confident than others in the potential of the roster that David Stearns built for the season. Among our contributors, though, nobody was predicting that the team would be this bad. The fact that it’s Memorial Day and we’re looking at trade chips is wild, but here we are.

On Friday morning, the Mets woke up in fourth place in the National League East, having won their series finale against the Nationals the day before while the Marlins lost to the Braves. With a three-game series in Miami starting that night, they had the opportunity to stay ahead of Miami with a series win. They were swept by the Marlins instead, returned to the cellar in the division, and they’re 22-31 and trailing Miami by two-and-a-half games.

It sure seems like the team should prioritize player development rather than pretend a comeback season is in the cards, and to their credit, the Mets have started calling up players from the minors to give them major league experience. It would be surprising to see them fully admit that they are sellers this early in the season, but with pitchers being their best trade chips and the tendency for pitchers to get hurt, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start making moves now rather than at the trade deadline.

The best trade chips

Freddy Peralta: The 29-year-old was one of the Mets’ biggest additions over the winter, and while he hasn’t replicated his sub-3.00 ERA from his career year in 2025, he’s been his usual self. That’s a pitcher who rarely goes much longer than five innings, carries an ERA somewhere in the mid-to-upper threes, and takes his turn in the rotation every time.

He isn’t an ace, as he ranks 34th among 71 qualified starting pitchers in ERA and 45th in FIP, but he’d be useful to a team that has a need in its rotation and a deep bullpen. You’d have to figure the Mets would get at least a decent return, especially if they were to trade him soon, in spite of the fact that Peralta will hit free agency after the season. It doesn’t hurt that he’s on an $8 million salary this year, either.

Brooks Raley: Since joining the Mets ahead of the 2023 season, the 37-year-old left-handed reliever has a 2.26 ERA that ranks fourth in baseball among relievers who’ve thrown at least 100 innings. Yes, he missed a huge chunk of the 2024 and 2025 seasons because of Tommy John surgery, but he looks even better right now than he did in his very good 2022 season with the Rays and in the 2023 season with the Mets.

Like Peralta, Raley is a rental who’s on an affordable contract, having signed a two-year, $6.25 million deal while he was in the midst of Tommy John recovery ahead of the 2025 season. His 1.35 ERA and 2.93 FIP in 20.0 innings this season should make him appealing to a contender.

Potentially appealing options

David Peterson: Mets fans might be over the David Peterson experience, but the lefty has started to turn things around after an abysmal start to his age-30 season. Since the first outing that saw him work with an opener ahead of him, he has a 4.08 ERA in 28.2 innings of work. That stretch included one traditional start that went terribly, but his most recent outing was a traditional start that went well. Nobody’s likely to treat him like the All-Star pitcher that he was last year thanks to a great first half, but with free agency looming at the end of this season, Peterson could be appealing to a contender, especially if he strings together a few more encouraging outings.

Luke Weaver: Signed to a two-year, $22 million deal ahead of this season, Weaver would be a bit of an unorthodox trade chip, but the 32-year-old is looking nearly identical to the very good reliever he was with the Yankees in 2024 and 2025. In The Bronx, he had a 3.21 ERA and a 3.58 FIP over the course of those two seasons, and he has a 3.22 ERA and a 3.40 FIP in 22.1 innings thus far with the Mets. Sure, trading him would weaken the Mets’ bullpen for 2027, but if another organization were willing to send the Mets a real prospect to get Weaver now, it shouldn’t be too challenging to find a similar reliever in free agency this winter.

Huascar Brazobán: A versatile reliever who’s been incredibly helpful to the Mets this season, the 36-year-old would be an intriguing trade chip. He’s under team control through the end of the 2029 season, and he’s having the best year of his career thus far by ERA and FIP. Late-breakout relievers are fun players to root for, and it would be a bit of a bummer to see him pitching elsewhere for the next few years, especially if he’s anywhere near as good as his current 1.73 ERA. But if the Mets decided this was a good time to sell high, it would be understandable.

Some long shots

The question here is really whether or not another team sees something in a player who’s objectively been bad that they think they can fix. Marcus Semien looks like he’s toast at the plate, but maybe the glove-first sales pitch that was given to Mets fans at the time the team traded Brandon Nimmo for him can work on another team—if the Mets eat all or the vast majority of the final three years of the seven-year, $175 million deal he signed with the Rangers.

Mark Vientos and Brett Baty are both in their age-26 season, and neither one has done anything to indicate they can replicate the lone two-win season each of them had in the past. Vientos was worth 2.9 fWAR in 2024 as he hit 27 home runs with a 132 wRC+ and had his best defensive season at third base. Since then, however, he has a 95 wRC+, and he’s been worth -0.3 fWAR so far this season thanks to his struggles both at the plate and in the field.

Baty’s success is more recent, as he was worth 2.3 fWAR last year, and he only made 432 plate appearances to get to that point. A small part of the reason for that playing time was the fact that he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse early in the season, but he was much better after that brief demotion. Still, he’s sporting a 92 wRC+ so far this year and has been worth just 0.2 fWAR.

These are shots in the dark at best, and if any of these three players can be traded, the Mets could benefit from clearing up some of an infield logjam that’s had square pegs for round holes for too long, a problem exacerbated by the deliberate decisions the front office made between the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

The Phillies are headed out west this week to take on the Padres and the Dodgers. They aren’t exactly playing the greatest baseball right now at the plate, so playing two teams as good as them isn’t promising. However, the Phillies have at times risen to their competition on the west coast, particularly when playing these two teams.

Let’s not talk about Arizona and San Francisco.

So, what are your expectations while they are out west? Do you see the team getting up for the games and playing/hitting better, or will it be a slow, painful, tiresome watch? At least in San Diego, they should have the pitching advantage most games and the Padres are probably a worse offensive team than the Phillies. In Los Angeles, well, at least they’re going to have Zack Wheeler throwing in one game.

We’ve reached the point where I feel like I’m part of the problem. Not as far as the on the field product of course. What is happening there belongs to this team and this front office. But I feel like a very small part of some of your fandom. Right now I feel about like I told you that it was okay to cross the street and you were hit by a car while crossing the street. For what little it’s worth, I’m blindsided too.

I’ve used the story of Lucy moving the football so many times in the past. But I think almost always, it was a story about an individual game. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a whole season was Lucy moving the football. A few days ago, I was reminded for the first time of the 2021 Cubs. But even there, as I said it, I thought it was just a shadow of a memory. Even when that season was going good, it wasn’t going as good as this season was when it was going good.

It feels completely in possible that the 2o-3 stretch that is literally the best stretch of Cubs baseball any of us have ever experienced was literally fools gold. Even as I type it, it’s impossible to comprehend. The gold standard of recent Cub teams, the 2016 team, had a stretch of nine losses in 10 games as part of a 5-15 stretch. So there is precedent for a good Cub team going through this. But at this point, we are further back than square one. Whereas that team had clear championship aspirations and all kinds of good will built up, this one has used up all of its currency.

I’m not one really for histrionics or hyperbole. Obviously, there are more than 100 games left in this season. If the season ended right now, this team would hold the last wild card spot. They are obviously very much alive for that pursuit. I still think that this team likely ends up there. But, I am 100 percent a realist. I would not have entertained a world in which this team was a seller at the deadline this year and I’m seeing that as a very real possibility right now. I knew that the injuries to the pitching staff had completely undermined what this front office was trying to do. But I thought there was enough depth to survive it, even if it diminished the upside for this team.

It is no longer out of the question that this team is a seller. Stunning. This team has now lost seven games in row in which the Fangraphs Cub schedule win probability showed the Cubs favored to win. That by itself is staggering. They are headed on a road trip now where the initial impression is that they lose five of seven. Edward Cabrera is lost to them for this road trip. Losing five or more games doesn’t seem insane. If that happens, this team comes home out of the Wild Card position. I’m not sure it can perpetuate the consistent winning baseball to overcome a scrum to land in one of those Wild Card positions at this point.

I seriously can’t remember a quicker rise and fall in the years of my baseball fandom. I could draw some comparisons to the Bears teams of the late 80’s. But this is just flabbergasting. Suddenly, I hope that in a few weeks I look back and laugh about the last Sunday in May when I jumped ship prematurely. How did we get here?

Three Positives:

• Michael Busch had a single, a two-run homer and drew a walk.
• Pedro Ramirez got his first big league start and marked it with a double, an RBI, a run scored and even drew a walk.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had three walks and a sacrifice fly. He drove in one and scored another.

Game 53,May 24: Astros 8, Cubs 5 (29-24)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Carson Kelly (.130). 2-4, R
• Hero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.111). 0-1, 3 BB, SF, RBI, R
• Sidekick: Michael Busch (.064). 2-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI, R

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Shōta Imanaga (-.520). 6 IP, 26 BF, 7 H, BB, 7 ER, 6 K, HBP (L 4-5)
• Goat: Michael Conforto (-.118). 0-4
• Kid: Seiya Suzuki (-.094). 0-4

WPA Play of the Game: The Cubs were leading by one when Jeremy Peña singled with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. Two runs scored and the Astros would go on to score five. (.253)

Cubs Play of the Game: Pedro Ramirez batted with runners on the corners, the Cubs down one in the second with one out. He doubled and a run scored to tie the game, on the way to three runs for the Cubs. (.129)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 52 Winner: Colin Rea received 66 of 90 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Michael Busch +17
• Michael Conforto/Nico Hoerner +12
• Trent Thornton +7.5
• Shōta Imanaga +7
• Ryan Rolison -8
• Phil Maton -9
• Matt Shaw -10
• Dansby Swanson -11
• Seiya Suzuki -22.5

Current Win Pace: 88.64 wins

Up Next: The Cubs travel to Pittsburgh for four games, starting with a Memorial Day afternoon game. The Pirates won Sunday and are 27-26. Ben Brown (1-2, 2.09, 38.2 IP) has started two of the last three games that the Cubs have won. That despite the fact that he lost to the Brewers in his start, allowing three runs in five innings. He battled in that one and has looked great as a starter. No pressure, but this team really needs Ben to step up in this spot.

The opposition is 27-year-old Carmen Mlodzinski (4-3, 3.96, 50 IP). The competitive balance pick of the Pirates in the 2020 draft (30th overall) out of South Carolina has won his last two starts, beating the Cardinals and Rockies. He’s had three very good starts in a row after three rough ones over the last two weeks of April and first week of May. Back on April 10, he held the Cubs scoreless over 5.1 innings in Chicago.

It doesn’t get much better after this. Find a way. Stop the skid.

A very low-effort question for when folks should probably be anywhere else but here… especially given the off-day, even if it is a U.S. federal holiday and all.

Which is really the question itself. It’s a holiday, which usually means MLB has a full slate of games, often afternoon games. Yet, MLB does not have a full slate of games, with four teams off. The Braves are one of those four. Last year, on Memorial Day, MLB had six teams off, and the Braves were one of those. Basically, for scheduling purposes, MLB doesn’t treat Memorial Day as a special occasion, but just a semi-regular Monday that includes some travel days. I say semi-regular because while there are more day games, it’s not overwhelmingly day games. Labor Day this year is similar, with a handful of teams off, though there are more day games. (Juneteenth is on a Friday and the Fourth of July is on a Saturday, so hard to talk about other holiday schedules this year.)

Anyway, does it strike you as odd that MLB didn’t make a concerted effort to have a full slate on a federal holiday? Or, that the Braves have somehow been off two Memorial Days in a row?

Amongst a roster of underperforming hitters, Tyler O’Neill‘s poor season has managed to stand out. Brought in prior to the 2025 campaign to be a veteran power threat, the now-30-year-old has spent most of his Orioles stint either on the IL or scuffling at the plate. For an Orioles team that needs to do whatever it can to win games, it’s tough to justify a place in the lineup for the high-priced outfielder.

As of this writing, O’Neill is in the midst of an 0-for-16 stretch that has brought his season batting line down to .146/.262/.225 with two home runs, seven RBI, 12 walks, and 25 strikeouts. His 47 wRC+ is the worst on the team, and is down near the bottom of the entire league.

The first month of the season wasn’t great for O’Neill. He had a .640 OPS and went on the IL for a bit. But that was world’s better than the .360 OPS he has so far in May.

And forget about him being a viable option against left-handed pitching. That has been a disaster as well with O’Neill hitting .051./.140/.051 against southpaws this season. But he has been decent against righties (.220/.350/.710), so maybe there is a path for him as a reverse splits option? The Orioles don’t seem to think so. They pinch hit him for Colton Cowser on Sunday evening to face a lefty out of Detroit’s bullpen. O’Neill struck out.

Now, in analyzing O’Neill this year you have to consider his health. He went on the IL in mid-April with a concussion, suffered after fainting while “extremely dehydrated” on an off day. Prior to the concussion, O’Neill owned a respectable, albeit underwhelming, line of .241/.353/.345 (.698 OPS). Since being activated on April 25, he is hitting .100/.217/.167. It may not be as simple as saying that the concussion is why O’Neill has performed so poorly, but it probably hasn’t helped.

We do know that the effects of a concussion can linger. Heston Kjerstad suffered a concussion in July of 2024. It took months for him to even get back on the field, and it seemed like he was still dealing with the effects for much of 2025, though the Orioles were not transparent about the specifics of Kjerstad’s health. Back in 2023, a bout with vertigo cost Ryan Mountcastle a month of games, and he needed more than two weeks of minor league rehab in order to get back to game shape. Vertigo and concussions are not the same diagnosis, but they can be related.

There has not been reporting that indicates O’Neill is still battling his concussion in any way. But we do know it is his second concussion as a big leaguer, the other coming back in 2023. Usually your brain needs longer to recovery from subsequent injuries. And while he did miss more than two weeks of action, he did not go down to the minors for any rehab games. It would be normal and understandable if he was still trying to get himself right.

Now, we must also admit that O’Neill’s first season in Baltimore was disappointing too. He hit .199/.292/.392 a season ago and played in just 54 games due to multiple IL stints. Those injuries were neck inflammation, left shoulder impingement, and right wrist inflammation.

And it’s not as if O’Neill has been the most dependable player in his career. He’s been worth -0.6 bWAR this season, was worth -0.6 bWAR last year, and accumulated just 0.3 bWAR in 2023. He was solid for Boston in 2024, producing 2.9 bWAR, which earned him his current contract with the Orioles. Right now, that looks like an anomaly that the Orioles bought high on, and it is entirely possible that he just isn’t very good anymore.

That contract pays O’Neill $16.5 million per year for three years. It runs through the end of 2027. According to Spotrac, he is the third-highest paid player on the Orioles roster after Pete Alonso ($31 million) and Chris Bassitt ($18.5 million).

The combination of a big salary and poor results has fans clamoring for O’Neill to be released. That ire is understandable, but unless O’Neill is also a locker room liability (it doesn’t seem that he is), it probably isn’t happening in-season.

The Orioles other outfield options aren’t great. Dylan Beavers has no timeframe for his return from a right oblique strain he suffered a couple of weeks ago. Those tend to linger. Tommy Pham, now 38 years old, was signed to a minor league deal last week. That feels like an indictment of their confidence in the likes of Ryan Noda, Johnathan Rodriguez, or Jud Fabian to come up an fill the need. Reed Trimble is back on the IL for the second time this season and has played just three games at Triple-A in 2026. Kjerstad is rehabbing in Norfolk, but has just a .630 OPS down there, though he feels like the most logical replacement.

Right now, the Orioles must just feel like O’Neill’s potential to rebound and be at least close to league average is better that what most other internal options can provide. That isn’t a crazy perspective to take, even if you may disagree with the conclusion. Also, releasing O’Neill is final. If you let him go, he won’t be coming back. Whereas other members of the big league squad with minor league options could be yo-yo’ed back and forth without anything being lost.

O’Neill’s long-term standing with the organization does feel shaky though. Two consecutive, injury-riddled, poor seasons feels like the type of player to get the boot next offseason. Waiting until the winter to pull the trigger on such a move is just easier. It would give the team time to sort out their plans on the grass, and they would also only be swallowing one season of dead salary rather than a year and a half. That sounds trivial, but teams often care about the optics and financials of these moves.

So, what can be done in the meantime? The Orioles need to put their best foot forward. This version of O’Neill does not provide that, at least not on a regular basis. But releasing him right now seems unlikely. If it’s possible, a return to the IL followed by a week or two in Norfolk could be best for everyone. It would relieve some pressure on O’Neill and give the Orioles room to bring up someone else that might have a chance to be a net positive in the short term.

Good morning.

Shawn McFarland writes that with Josh Jung the latest infirmed, the Texas Rangers were forced to get creative with their lineup in Sunday’s finale. That creative lineup struck out 16 times and the Rangers were nearly perfecto’d as they were swept by the worst team in baseball.

MLB dot com’s Jack Janes writes that the Rangers got a good outing from MacKenzie Gore only to score the fewest runs in the series.

McFarland writes that a discouraging 3-6 road trip against the three worst teams in baseball ended in appropriately depressing fashion with a walk-off error.

MLB dot com’s Courtney Hollmon notes that things could have been worse as Jung’s shoulder issue doesn’t appear to be serious.

McFarland writes that in Texas’ never-ending quest to get their actual full lineup back, Wyatt Langford has shown improvement in his rehab while Corey Seager has hit a snag.

And, the folks at ESPN check in on the standings filled with bad teams and disappointments as we’ve reached the season’s one-third mark on Memorial Day.

Have a nice day!

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NL Central rivals collide this afternoon as the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers begin a three-game set at American Family Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET. 

With Jacob Misiorowski on the hill, my Cardinals vs. Brewers predictions are targeting Milwaukee to take the series opener. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Monday, May 25. 

Who will win Cardinals vs Brewers today: Brewers moneyline (-210)

The Milwaukee Brewers send their ace to the hill this afternoon in Jacob Misiorowski, who sports an impressive 1.89 ERA and a 4-2 record. He has been absolutely lights out this month, throwing four straight scoreless outings. 

Misiorowski's ERA is 2.04 at home, and he's historically had success against the St. Louis Cardinals, though the sample size is small. Across 33 at-bats, they're hitting just .212 off the right-hander.

On the other side, the Brew Crew will face left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who has given up four earned runs in back-to-back starts. 

Overall, he has a 4.70 ERA, and Liberatore's ERA is above four on the road. Milwaukee has a 16-11 record at American Family Field, and it's won three of its last four meetings with St. Louis at home. 

COVERS INTEL: Misiorowski has posted a career-best 2.12 FIP this season through 10 appearances. 

Cardinals vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-105)

While Liberatore has had his struggles lately, there have been a few solid starts for him over the last month as well.

Before surrendering four earned on the road to the Athletics, he only allowed two earned in each of his previous two starts away from St. Louis, and the Brewers aren't exactly coming in hot, scoring four runs against the Dodgers across Saturday and Sunday. 

Misiorowski's case here is clear. He rarely gives up runs, and the Cardinals offense is inconsistent. They're losers of three of four, and St. Louis scored only eight runs combined in those defeats. 

Two of the last four meetings have also cashed the Over.

Cardinals vs Brewers odds

• Moneyline: Cardinals +122 | Brewers -163
• Run line: Cardinals +1.5 (-120) | Brewers -1.5 (+120)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-118) | Under 7.5 (-104)

Cardinals vs Brewers trend

Six of Milwaukee's last 10 games have cashed the Under in total runs. Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Brewers.

How to watch Cardinals vs Brewers and game info

Cardinals vs Brewers latest injuries

Cardinals vs Brewers weather

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Angels 2, Rangers 1

• I will take the blame for this one.
• You see, on the Yahoo sports app on my phone on Sunday there was a blurb about the Rangers/Angels game that said “Don’t expect a lot of scoring in this duel between two lefty aces.”
• I screenshotted it and posted it, saying that the two “lefty aces” were MacKenzie Gore and Reid Detmers. Much hilarity, right?
• And so what happens? Reid Detmers goes out and carves up the Rangers. After a 1-2-3 first, he allows a leadoff homer in the second to Jake Burger, then retires the next 21 batters he faces in a row.
• Detmers strikes out 14 batters while retiring 24 of 25 batters faced. It is one of teh most dominante performances of the season.
• And MacKenzie Gore, meanwhile, also allows just one hit and one run. He does it in six innings, though, and only strikes out seven while walking two batters.
• See what happens? I make jokes, and the universe decides to mock me.
• Now, you may think that I’m not so important that the universe would go out of its way to make this happen just to mock me. And that is a reasonable point.
• However, what if I am that important? Or what if my consciousness is breaking off into the particularly strand of universes that involves being mocked? Have you thought of that?
• The ninth inning also seemed designed to mock Rangers fans in general, should we wish to take a particularly solipsistic view of the universe.
• Two outs in the ninth, and the Rangers get their second baserunner of the game. They follow it up with their third and fourth baserunners of the game, bringing up Jake Burger, with the bases loaded, the person responsible for their one run of the game. Jake Burger, in position to give the Rangers the lead.
• And he strikes out.
• Then the bottom of the ninth, Gavin Collyer…
• I will say, as an aside, the decision to use Gavin Collyer in that situation was surprising to me. Collyer was just called up, and had pitched the day before for Round Rock.
• Collyer strikes out a batter, gives up a single, hits a batter…
• Collyer, I will note, has now hit four batters on the season. That’s a lot for someone who has faced just 57 major league batters. Nathan Eovaldi has hit 5 batters this year, and no one else on the team has hit more than two.
• Collyer does his job and gets a weak roller right to Justin Foscue. Foscue, who had spoken the day before about feeling bad for getting picked off yet again on Saturday and letting the team down, has an easy 4-3 double play ahead of him.
• He steps on second, bobbles the transition of the ball from his glove to his throwing hand, then rushing the throw, putting it into the dirt. Jake Burger doesn’t scoop it. Pinch runner Donovan Walton scores from second. The Angels walk it off.
• How does one, as a fan, even react to a loss like that?
• I don’t know the answer to that.
• MacKenzie Gore maxed out at 96.7 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.6 mph. Jakob Junis hit 93.1 mph with his sinker. Gavin Collyer’s fastball touched 97.2 mph.
• Jake Burger had a 101.9 mph fly out and a 101.1 mph home run. Justin Foscue had a 101.4 mph fly out. Sam Haggerty had a 100.0 mph ground out.
• Hopefully things will go better at home.

What do you even want me to say at this point, respectfully?

Before I get on my soap box and complain for however-many words, let me just quickly say that I appreciate the fact that you’re here. It’s a holiday Monday, you could’ve done anything else with your long weekend, and yet you decided to read the upset ramblings of a man who is really pissed off with his shitty baseball team. For that, I thank you. Isn’t that the American Dream, what I’m living out right now?

Tongue-in-cheek comments aside: I’m exhausted, folks. Not with the writing—I’ll be here on OTM until the bitter end—but with the watching. Forgive me for the stream of consciousness this week, but I don’t know what else to do.

The 2026 Boston Red Sox are a chore to watch. I don’t really remember the last time I’ve ever felt that way in my life. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that way, actually, now that I think about it. I was in high school in 2012; I still had that youthful spunk where I wanted to watch my team. I was still probably riding enough of a high after 2013 to ensure that the following two season weren’t a monotonous watch. Even the non-‘21-and-‘25 teams in the 2020’s weren’t this miserable to sit through at this point in the season, at least for me (your mileage may vary).

After a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, the Sox are dangerously close to being 10 games under .500, as if avoiding that label would be any fucking consolation prize for a team that was getting AL pennant shouts two months ago (and I’m guilty of that too! I had Seattle winning the pennant over us! Not that the Seattle prediction is going well, but my goodness!). This team is a joke. They are, simply put, pathetic. I’m not sure how in depth I can go with that as my basis right now.

Perhaps this is just my own personal reckoning with the situation, but doesn’t this feel like the right time for it? The unofficial date to begin worrying about your team has always been Memorial Day. We’re there now, and I think the season’s just about over already. There’s no generational prospect coming up through the minors to help us. The coaching staff has already been cleaned out. The money is being allocated by FSG in some capacity, for all the ownership group’s faults, yet here we are. The roster construction is still a mess and it will continue to be a mess for the immediate future.

To quote a wise sheriff…

If there’s a way out of this mess, I can’t personally see it. I try to be as optimistic as possible, but I do not see a path to 270 electoral votes this year. I’d love to eat these words in a few months, but I don’t believe in this group. I’ve seen enough. I’ll keep watching because I’m a sicko. I’ll keep writing about this team because I love writing and I love the Red Sox and I love this lil’ gig I’ve been blessed with getting. But I sure as hell do not love this iteration of the team, man. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about what needs to happen to right the ship (I don’t want to be rash, but I’m becoming more and more of a #BreslowOut guy as the days go on, slowly but surely), but as for right now: I think the prospects we had in late March about this team contending in October are just about done and dusted.

If you’re a consistent reader, you know that I like to dive into the developments that have happened over the course of the week in the MMBB, whether they’re good or bad. That practice will continue for the rest of the season. I’ll try to be as optimistic as possible moving forward in 2026, but just know that I’m probably harboring a sense of dread alongside any positive words I have until I’m given a reason by the team to feel otherwise. Why waste my time by thinking things could be getting better this season when I’m talking about any consistent trends that Jarren Duran might’ve had at the plate this week? The last time I did that, he sucked for another week-and-change. I did the same with Marcelo Mayer before then, and it’s been even worse for him. I could talk until I’m blue in the face about the positive trends being made by a Payton Tolle or a Sonny Gray or a, dare I say, Brayan Bello when he’s being preceded by an opener.

Doesn’t matter, dude. We suck shit.

All of those positive trends could be true in a vacuum, but I don’t think they’re gonna ultimately matter this year—short of something extraordinary happening. The pitching’s been pretty solid overall, the defense has been stellar, and I’ve tried finding the positives in an underwhelming lineup. All of that together has gotten us eight games below an even .500. We’re a laughing stock in the league; a banter club, if you follow the Premier League. We’ve got Buster Olney saying we’ve got to abort the Caleb Durbin experiment. The question of “What the fuck are we doing in the front office” is a legitimate one at this stage. To get even more existential, another great question is “What is the plan moving forward?”

We’ve got nothing going for us on a consistent basis. Even after a sweep in Kansas City, the team goes and shits their pants yet again at home. The only time I’ve ever given true credence to the idea of momentum not being a thing has been with watching this collection of guys representing the Red Sox, because I haven’t seen an ounce of it this year. What is there to look forward to for the last four months of the year?

I guess I’ve gotta answer that question for myself. Maybe you do as well.

Again: I’ll be here for y’all. I’ll talk about positive and negative trends as I see ‘em, because I like talking ball. I love this team, I love this sport, and I love talking about both the team as well as the sport.

But I suppose this is my official declaration that I’m not gonna be fooled by this specific group going forward. I’ve been patient enough thus far; the patience is gone. I’m not holding any reservations for them for the rest of the year, because they don’t deserve those reservations. We’ve crossed the Rubicon, if the Rubicon was filled with poo. Maybe we’re drowning in that Rubicon instead, come to think of it. Either way: I don’t see a way where we could be going back.

I’ll still watch, I’ll still write, I’ll still support, but I don’t believe in this group as things currently stand. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I don’t think I’m alone in this sentiment. What have they done to prove otherwise? I’ve tried putting a spotlight on positive things (and I’m not trying to sound like the end-all-be-all of Sox analysis here, folks; this is just my personal ramblings) and they haven’t amounted to much of anything. I don’t care how bad the American League is. We’re a prime example of that suckiness. How many times can the boy cry wolf? How many times can the Sox blogger cry positive regression?

I dunno, folks. I’m just exhausted with this team already. I think it’ll be a………………………………………..

Song of the Week: “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift

I swear I didn’t go into this aiming for it to be a 1,200+ word set-up to a stupid joke, but if the shoe fits….

Same time and same place next week, folks. Go Sox, I guess. Who gives a fuck anymore?

Last week you might recall that the weekly recap touched on the fact that it’s not every week the White Sox hit 15 home runs. There are also going to be weeks where they only hit four — and this week was one of them. The record of the West Coast trip reflects this lack of long ball, at 2-4. For the first time this month, the South Siders have lost back-to-back series.

The good news is that this is the last trip west this season. The bad news is this small skid back to .500 is happening right before three intradivisional series, and the first time this season that there will be an encounter with a team in the AL Central other than the Kansas City Royals.

Funny enough, the pitching staff’s ERA (4.54) was lower this week than it was when we took a series from the Cubs. However, the pitching still allowed a lot of runs, while the offense hit .202.

The two wins that did occur this week were worth noting.

The first was a 2-1 victory in Seattle. Anthony Kay loaded the bases in the first inning with only one out. This allowed Patrick Wisdom to collect his first RBI of 2026 with a ground out. The game would remain at 1-0 until the top of the ninth inning. Munetaka Murakami led the inning off with a walk. Miguel Vargas was hit by a pitch to put the tying run in scoring position. With one out, Chase Meidroth and Andrew Benintendi hit back-to-back RBI singles:

For the first time all game, the White Sox took the lead. Grant Taylor brought the heat and closed the game out to earn the save and give Chicago the opportunity to take the series.

Kay really bounced back after running into trouble the first. He exited the game after 5 1/3 innings, throwing 57 of his 89 pitches for strikes, striking out five and walking three. In the month of May, Kay has not given up more than two runs and his ERA over four starts is just 2.11. (Over five starts in April, that same ERA was 6.64.) Here’s hoping this momentum continues, because his consistent starting presence is something this rotation needs.

When the Seattle leg of the road trip finished, it was time to head to San Francisco, where the result was exactly the same as it was in Oregon. An off-day on Thursday appeared to be what the doctor ordered when the White Sox exploded for nine runs in the fourth inning, the most runs they’ve scored in a single inning this season and the most without a home run since 2000. The two big scoring plays were doubles by Benintendi and Murakami:

Was it a coincidence the night the White Sox scored their most runs this week was also the night Davis Martin was also pitching? Probably not. The righthander is becoming notorious for winning the day after a South Side loss. Even though Martin would end up giving up a season-high four runs over 5 2/3 innings, he earned his seventh win of the season and help the Pale Hose avoid back-to-back losses:

The rest of the week left something to be desired. The lowlight occurred on Saturday, when the White Sox dropped multiple pop-ups in the sun. Through the top of the fifth, the game was tied … and then the bottom of the inning came around. Instead of me explaining, please enjoy some video evidence:

Later in the inning Mune would lose a Harrison Bader foul ball in the sun. The missed out opened the door for a Rafael Devers grand slam and nail in the coffin. I will not make you suffer through that clip, too. This game also happened to be started by Erik Fedde, who came in after a Bryan Hudson open. The veteran righty lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up eight of San Francisco’s 10 runs. Including Fedde, the bullpen had a 6.66 ERA over 25 innings of work this week.

Other poor pitching performances this week came from rookie starter Noah Schultz. The 6´10´´ starter opened the week in Seattle and closed the road trip out in San Francisco. In total, he worked 9 1/3 innings, gave up nine earned runs, struck out seven, and hit four batters. The positive is he has only walked one batter in the last 43 he has faced. The negative is offenses hitting .297 against the Southpaw.

The White Sox are headed back to 35th and Shields and will be back in action against the Minnesota Twins on Memorial Day at 1:10 p.m. CDT. It is a long flight back, and a short turnaround. I truly hope the plane ride home was one of rest.

Hello folks, hope you’re able to enjoy an off day today.

The Red Sox do not play baseball today, thankfully.

Very simple and plain question for you today: is it over? I think it just might be, but I want to hear more from you.

Be good to each other and go Sox.

Welcome to week 9 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!

1. Milwaukee Brewers (30-20); 4-2 this week; 74.6% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)

The Brewers take over our top spot after a three-game sweep of the Cubs to begin the week. After extending their win streak to four with a series-opening win against the Dodgers on Friday, they dropped the last two games in the series over the weekend.

Jake Bauers, William Contreras, Brice Turang, and Christian Yelich all homered this week, while David Hamilton added a little league homer thanks to an error by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Contreras led the team with 10 hits, followed by Bauers and Jackson Chourio, who had seven each.

Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Logan Henderson made a trio of scoreless starts for Milwaukee, totaling 18 innings with 26 strikeouts in three wins. Grant Anderson, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, Carlos Rodriguez, and Abner Uribe were all scoreless in relief, while Shane Drohan was also solid in cleanup duty, totaling 8 2/3 innings with three runs allowed (two earned) and 12 strikeouts across three relief appearances.

The Brewers now host the Cardinals at home to begin the week before a travel day on Thursday. They’ll head to Houston for the weekend to take on the Astros for three games.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (29-22); 2-3 this week; 31.1% chance to make postseason

The Cardinals went 1-2 as they played host to the Pirates this week before splitting a doubleheader with the Reds on Saturday after Friday night’s game was rained out. They had another rainout on Sunday, giving them just five games this week.

Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker led the offense with a pair of homers each this week, as Walker batted .316/.381/.684 with eight RBIs. Alec Burleson led the squad with eight hits and a .591 OBP, while four others added a homer apiece.

Andre Pallante turned in the best start of the week to pick up a win, going six innings with one run allowed and three strikeouts. Ryan Fernandez, Gordon Graceffo, Matt Pushard, JoJo Romero, George Soriano, and Ryne Stanek all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, combining for 13 innings with 14 strikeouts.

St. Louis now heads to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers for three games in a series of the top two teams in the division. They then return home to host the Cubs next weekend.

3. Chicago Cubs (29-24); 0-6 this week; 54.3% chance to make postseason

The Cubs remain one of the hottest and coldest teams in baseball, as they’ve now lost eight straight and 12 of their last 14 after rattling off a 10-game win streak to begin May. They were swept by both the Brewers and Astros at Wrigley this week, as they were outscored 34-12 in those games. One more week like this and they could slide even further down the rankings.

Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Dansby Swanson each homered this week, but it was overall a very quiet week for the Cub offense. No player had more than four hits, as Busch led the way with nine total bases via his homer, two doubles, and a single, tacking on four walks for a .400 OBP.

While none of Chicago’s starters had a solid week, the bullpen wasn’t completely terrible. Hoby Milner, Daniel Palencia, Ryan Rolison, Jacob Webb, and Ty Blach (who was promptly DFA’d) combined for 10 scoreless innings and nine strikeouts this week.

Chicago has another big week on deck, as they visit a pair of NL Central foes in the Pirates (four games) and Cardinals (three games) without an off day.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates (27-26); 3-3 this week; 45.2% chance to make postseason

The Pirates took two of three in St. Louis over the Cardinals before dropping two of three in Toronto against the Blue Jays, giving them an even 3-3 road trip.

Spencer Horwitz led the offense with two homers, while Oneil Cruz, Henry Davis, Brandon Lowe, and Esmerlyn Valdez added one each. Lowe led the team with eight hits on the week, while rookie Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia had five hits over his first 17 career at-bats. Konnor Griffin scored a team-high seven runs, picking up six hits and a pair of steals.

Braxton Ashcraft and Carmen Mlodzinski both turned in solid starts for Pittsburgh this week. Ashcraft went seven innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts, while Mlodzinski went five scoreless, as both pitchers earned the win. Justin Lawrence and Gregory Soto both tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief, with Soto collecting the team’s only save and striking out four.

Pittsburgh returns to PNC Park this week, as they’ll host the Cubs for four games before welcoming the Twins to town for three games over the weekend.

5. Cincinnati Reds (27-25); 3-2 this week; 14.3% chance to make postseason

The Reds won two of three in Philadelphia to begin the week before splitting Saturday’s doubleheader with the Cardinals.

Nathaniel Lowe and Sal Stewart each homered twice this week, with Elly De La Cruz adding a homer. Stewart tied with Blake Dunn for the team lead with seven hits on the week, while Lowe led the team with six RBIs.

Chase Burns continues to mow down hitters, with nine strikeouts and one run allowed over six innings in a winning performance this week. Andrew Abbott also earned a win in his start, going 5 1/3 innings with two runs allowed (one earned) with three strikeouts. Tejay Antone, Pierce Johnson, and Sam Moll had scoreless weeks for the ‘pen, with Johnson picking up the team’s other win.

Cincinnati has a quick three-game road trip to New York to face the Mets beginning Monday afternoon. After an off day on Thursday, they return home to host the Braves over the weekend.

The Yankees’ weekend series against the Rays had plenty of buildup and ultimately left us with a taste of wanting more, as a postponement on Saturday prevented either team from actually gaining a game on the other in the AL East. All the excitement of Aaron Judge’s walk-off, two-run blast on Sunday would have been so much better had the Yankees gained ground on the Rays, but we’ll take it nonetheless. The turnaround is a fast one as the Yankees travel to the Midwest for a three-game set with the Royals, starting with a Monday afternoon matchup on Memorial Day at Kauffman Stadium.

In the Royals, the Yankees will find a team whose inability to build a competent lineup around Bobby Witt Jr. has been a longstanding issue. This year, the underperformance of the likes of Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino, and the aging Salvador Pérez are all contributing to pedestrian numbers from the offense as a whole, despite having the league leader in hits (Witt).

Monday: Will Warren vs. Michael Wacha (3:40 pm ET)

Recovering well from a blow-up against the Rangers earlier this month, Will Warren hasn’t been able to complete six full innings in each of his last two starts, but he has done enough to earn the win in both of them, moving to a fantastic 6-1 record. For as great as Warren has been for the majority of the season, that record can also be traced to the Yankees’ propensity to score a lot of runs when he is on the mound. Through Warren’s first 10 starts of 2026, the Yankees have averaged a whopping 7.8 runs per game, and in order to carry on that trend, they’ll need to go through the veteran Michael Wacha.

Out of all the responsible parties for the Royals’ subpar record in a weak division, Wacha is certainly not involved, easily their best starting pitcher up to this point. In fact, the Yankees’ offense remembers all too well Wacha’s capabilities, as the right-hander tossed six innings of three-hit ball in the Bronx earlier this season. And that’s to say nothing of his history with New York from his days with the Rays and Red Sox. Let down by his offense, Wacha saw the Royals lose that game, 4-2. And while length has been a minor problem for Warren as of late, Wacha has finished at least seven innings four times this year, including a couple of times in May.

Tuesday: Cam Schlittler vs. TBA (7:40 pm ET)

The Royals currently have just four true starters working their schedule, with this fifth slot last most recently used for a combination of Bailey Falter and Luinder Avila, the former as an opener and the latter as the bulk option. These two last pitched on May 19th as the Royals lost at home to the Red Sox. Despite the defeat, they did alright, particularly Avila, who tossed three scoreless innings before Kansas City’s bullpen faltered late, no pun intended. As much as the lack of depth behind Wacha, that bullpen is also a weakness for the Yankees to explore, with KC ranking 23rd and 26th in bullpen ERA and WHIP, respectively. We don’t yet know for sure if this will be manager Matt Quatraro’s plan for tomorrow as he yet to announce a starter, but it’s a distinct possibility.

Machine-like over the course of the season, the league leader in ERA at 1.50, Cam Schlittler, will face a repeat opponent for the first time in 2026, having been on the winning end of that matchup against Wacha last month. The Yankees seem to be cutting him loose a bit, setting a season-high 106 pitches in each of his previous two starts. One note of interest about Schlittler’s campaign is that five of his six wins have come on the road. During his most recent start away from home, he set a new high for 2026 with nine strikeouts across his 6.2 innings of one-run ball in Queens.

Wednesday: Gerrit Cole vs. Noah Cameron (7:40 pm ET)

There is always a sense of nervousness when a pitcher of Gerrit Cole’s caliber returns from such a lengthy absence. Undergoing a meticulous process for his return with several rehab outings, Cole was ready to go in his return, and apart from the lack of strikeouts as the Rays showed up with an aggressive game plan, the veteran former Cy Young winner did about as great a job as anyone could’ve hoped. Cole’s fastball sat in the 96+ mph range from the first through his last inning, and he’ll look to get a better feel for the secondaries against the Royals.

One of the pleasant surprises of this Royals team a year ago when he finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting, Noah Cameron has not yet been able to replicate his 2025 numbers, currently boasting an ERA closer to 5.00 than his 2025 mark. Cameron’s last start was his best of the year, holding the Mariners to six scoreless, but with no support from an offense that, outside of Bobby Witt Jr., has had minimal action, Cameron still saw his team lose that one by a score of two to nothing.

Meet the Mets

Offensively hopeless, the Mets were swept by the Marlins via walkoff grand slam in a series where the only saving grace was the lack of playoff implications.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

Just because there couldn’t be one good thing about the Mets, Juan Soto was scratched prior to Sunday’s loss with flu-like symptoms.

In another modern miracle, the Mets offense has continued to find ways to be disappointing and lackluster, even with lowered expectations.

Around the National League East

Left with few answers for the Guardians pitching this weekend, the Phillies dipped back below .500 once again following a 3-1 loss to Parker Messick and Cleveland.

Playing a nice and dry game for the first time in what feels like forever, the Nationals and Forest Griffin handed the Braves a 2-1 loss.

Around Major League Baseball

Things have gone pretty terribly for Toronto since the bottom of the ninth inning started in Game Seven of last year’s World Series and losing Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to injury in the same inning might make this the second worst day in that span.

Following his retirement and unretirement, former Dodger Chris Taylor has once again announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. Officially this time…probably.

Corbin Carroll hit a pair of triples and continued to paint baseball’s list of leaders and accolades with his name alongside Lou Gehrig.

In what seems to be a bi-yearly tradition at this point, Reid Detmers had a start that made him look like one of the best pitchers in the entire world.

Charlie Moore, the pennant-winning right fielder for the 1982 Brewers team died over the weekend at 72.

It won’t fix anything here in New York, but Pete Alonso isn’t having the most fun time in Baltimore either.

Esmerlyn Valdez hit the first home run of his career into the stands in Toronto and got the ball back after an intense negotiation between the Pirates bullpen and the child who caught the ball.

This Date in Mets History

Happy birthday to Mets Legends Eric Young Jr., Tall Chris Young, and Scott Hairston.

The Braves offense just could not find its usual groove over the weekend. After an exciting win on Friday. the Braves were shut out Saturday and did not score a run till the ninth on a rainy 2-1 Sunday loss to the Nationals. It was only the Braves second series loss of the season, but is the latest sign that the Braves offense as whole is going through a bit of a tough stretch. Hopefully, Monday’s off-day will be a nice reset before the week ahead.

Braves News

Spencer Schwellenbach has received good news in his injury recover, feels good, and is throwing.

Cade Kuehler continues to impress down on the farm.

Mark Bowman writes on Austin Riley continuing to try and find his usual level of offense.

MLB News

The Braves remain number 1 in the latest mlb.com power rankings.

The Marlins beat the Mets thanks to a clutch Grand Slam.

Both Dylan Cease and Vlad Guerrero Jr. left the Blue Jays game on Sunday, though initial reports are a bit encouraging.