Category: Baseball

Lessons Learned from ALCS Game 1 & 2

1. This team had a long break heading into the ALCS, and looked rusty for it. It’s a consequence of being this good, but sweeping the Yankees meant the team essentially got a week away from baseball, and then the lineup — driven by the pitcher — featured short side platoon starters. Now with two games under their belt, look for the Rays offense to settle back in on Thursday on the road in Cleveland.
2. Losing Game 1 is proper kick in the butt for the Rays in a best-of-seven. The Guardians scored all seven of their runs in the final four innings of Game 1, handing the Rays their first postseason loss. Now it’s on the Rays to play up to the moment. Cash framed the winning streak ending as potentially useful motivation, and I agree! Even a top seed needs to stay locked in. Also, you know what other team lost ALCS Game 1? The 2008 Rays!
3. You need a little luck to be great. Junior Caminero benefitted from a walk the Guardians did not challenge that could have wildly changed Game 2. In a scoreless fourth, the Rays forced action with speed and contact on two outs. Chandler Simpson beat out an infield single, then José Ramírez’s fielding error on Ben Williamson’s grounder (the ball skipping through his legs on the turf) allowed the first run in Caminero. Liam Hicks immediately followed with a two-run single for a 3-0 lead—all three runs unearned. This very Rays-y small-ball inning showed how they punish defensive slips, but it never happens without that walk.
4. Bryan Baker is an all-time great Rays closer. With his save in Game 2, the All-Star Baker now owns the franchise record for playoff saves, and is the first player in MLB history to allow 0 hits and earn the save in four consecutive playoff appearances (h/t Greg Harvey).
5. Fastball Freddy firing on all cylinders. In Game 2, Peralta dialed in the Rays adjustments to his delivery and rode the adrenaline to a spectacular six inning performance, including a fastball up to 99.4 mph (averaging 96.9 mph, two mph above normal), and ripping it 71% of his 99 pitches thrown. Other than a couple curveballs, the rest was changeups, and strikeout inducing ones at that. It was an unfavorable matchup for the Guardians offense, to say the least.

Bonus: Attendance issues are back, and it certainly had something to do with prices. After much chatter online about the Rays not selling out, it was 35k instead of 42k in Game 1, and only 32k in Game 2. Those margins could have been filled if a weekday price for the 300 level in the cavernous Tropicana Field was $80 instead of $180, so there must be some sort of floor leading to strange pricing between MLB and the Rays. I can’t help but wonder if the energy behind the team’s all out media blitz to sell seats to marginal fans would be better directed at core fans who buy multiple tickets by offering discounts or clearer prices.

Before we begin looking ahead to 2027, OTM is looking back at 2026, highlighting some of the biggest, strangest, and most memorable moments that defined a memorable season. Today, we look back at a moment that is already defining the career of a young star.

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On August 31, 2026, Payton Tolle hugged a grown man. In the midst of a still-gestating career, the hug is already what defines Tolle as both a ballplayer and a man. It even broke containment and made it onto The Today Show.

Hugs aren’t anything new in baseball. Hell, homoeroticism in general isn’t anything new in baseball, which, ironically, is frequently in the case in subcultures that are otherwise outwardly homophobic. But this hug was different. It happened on the field. It happened between two opponents who had never in their lives spoken to each other. It happened as part of the game play itself, with the hug doubling as a tag-out. And in a sport where being a red-ass is point of pride, it happened with a big, goofy smile.

“The hug thing, I can go back to high school,” Tolle later said. “I used to hug the opposing coach in high school basketball whenever we would do the high-five lines… I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna make this uncomfortable. I’m gonna give him a nice hug.’ Most guys started to embrace it, but there were some that were like, ‘No, no, no.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m getting a hug here, man. I’m not running away from you until I get this.’”

Tolle’s ability to blow a fastball by just about anyone in the game is what’s going to make him a star. But his ability to embrace what so many other athletes find uncomfortable is what’s going to make him beloved.

Playing baseball in Boston is not like playing baseball anywhere else. It is genuinely important for Red Sox players — and for Red Sox stars in particular — to be comfortable with fame, if not to actively court it. Not every player is. When David Wells came to Boston for two years in the twilight of his career, he seemed like a good fit for the city. He was an established star with a big personality and a no-fucks-given attitude, and he’d already thrived in Yankees Universe, which presents its own kind of cauldron in the media capital of the world.

But Wells, as it turned out, hated his time in Boston, complaining that it was impossible for him to go anywhere without being asked to pose for a picture. In New York, even a personality as big as his was granted the blessing of anonymity outside the ballpark. He was just another celebrity in a city filled with them, a city that was home to literally millions of people who didn’t even know what Derek Jeter looked like, let alone David Wells.

It’s different in Boston. If you play for the Red Sox, you always play for the Red Sox, even as you go to the hardware store or try to grab a beer at the bar. You are one of the 26 most important people in the city, whether you asked to be or not. Players like Nomar, Mo Vaughn, and David Price struggled to handle this; David Ortiz, Pedro, and Dustin Pedroia thrived on it.

Payton Tolle is going to thrive on it. We already know this. This isn’t just because Payton Tolle is comfortable with fame; it’s because Payton Tolle is comfortable being Payton Tolle. He talks openly and genuinely about his emotions, about his faith, about the heart-breaking, life-defining death of his mother. He is not afraid to cry on camera, he’s not afraid to look vulnerable, he’s not afraid to subtly imply that a rival player is an overly intense asshole (though, somehow, he manages to do it entirely without judgement).

Tolle doesn’t seek the spotlight the way that others like Curt Schilling or Kevin Millar did. But he also doesn’t hide from it. And, more importantly, he doesn’t let it change him. That rare strength of personality is going to prove incredibly valuable as he grows into his inevitable role as Boston’s favorite son.

To be perfectly if not prematurely frank, I am already a little bit worried about Roman Anthony’s ability to handle the Boston spotlight. Anthony is already bristling and what he perceives to be unfair criticism over how he handled his injury this year. He has already pushed back against whispers that his nightlife is getting in the way of his baseball. I agree with him in both respects. Anthony has been unfairly burdened with the weight of expectations, and then unfairly criticized when his body prevented him from immediately meeting those expectations. But whether the criticism that is so often leveled at Red Sox stars is unfair or not is, unfortunately, immaterial for Anthony and Tolle. It is there and they need to accept that it’s there in order to thrive.

At this incredibly early stage of Anthony’s career, I am by no means passing judgment on whether he is going to be able to do that. But it is obvious that he didn’t have much fun this year. By the end of the season he looked like a man who was trying to shut out the rest of the world. He looked like a man who wanted to go home. He looked like a man who needed a hug.

Luckily, he knows where to find one.

The last thing anyone will remember before MLB embarks on a potentially generation-defining labor war will be the 2026 World Series. The winner will enjoy a longer-than-normal celebratory honeymoon, since the beginning of the 2027 season will almost certainly be locked out, and they will perhaps even benefit from the easiest title defense in the history of the sport, should the full season be lost in the yelling.

But first, we need a winner, and the Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers still stand as perhaps the last four teams to play MLB baseball until 2028. Bluntly, World Series results are what got us in this mess in the first place, with the Dodgers seemingly trading for, or signing every fun player in the league, and winning the last two titles. The specter of a third in a row is a large part of why MLB owners think they can impose a salary cap on their players, a feat achieved in the modern era only by the NHL in 2005. 

To oversimplify the debate in two sentences: MLB owners believe a salary cap, which would limit and floor spending on players and exists in the NHL, NBA and NFL, would ensure better competitive balance, improve their product, and skyrocket franchise valuations and revenue. The MLB Players Association believes that a salary cap murders their unchecked leverage to negotiate the kinds of ludicrous contracts like the 15-year, $765 million deal that Juan Soto signed, as well as axing the earning potential of the next generation of players. 

In short, we’re talking about who controls the flow of money. The owners’ argument that a salary cap will massively increase TV revenue and franchise valuations is true, and eventually that money will reach the players. But a cap also permanently limits players’ ability to access that money, while the MLBPA has essentially held for its entire existence that it will accept a salary cap only when the forces of hell march on earth and Jupiter turns into a pinecone. So how will the World Series affect all of this?

It’s rare that a labor dispute is prosecuted almost entirely in the court of public opinion, but MLB’s upcoming lockout will be that kind of party. MLB has already launched a pro-salary cap PR campaign, and both sides will have to reckon with the fact that everyone will remember the World Series the whole time this negotiation is going on. 

Intuitively, one would say that anyone but the Dodgers winning — or, with the Dodgers currently down 2-0 to the Brewers, without Los Angeles even in the World Series — should destroy the owners’ argument that MLB has a competitive balance problem. Cleveland, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay all spend nothing on players. They are small markets which have looked New York, Boston and Los Angeles in the eye and said “lol, nice try.” But that interpretation is a miscalculation.

MLB owners are not dawdling buffoons who wagered their entire salary cap case on the Dodgers three-peating. That would be stupid, and these are not stupid people; these are shrewd, ruthless business operators, who understand that the amount of money they stand to gain from a salary cap is so overwhelming that they will endure a year of vilification from fans if it comes to that. I don’t believe Cleveland, Milwaukee or Tampa Bay winning it all saves us from a long lockout— in fact, I think it makes it more likely. The MLBPA will have something clear to point to as to why a cap is unnecessary, and many fans will probably agree with them; but believe me when I say the owners have the stomach for this. Do you?

Should the Dodgers win, I actually think it reduces our chances of a protracted lockout if for no other reason than how strong it makes the owners’ case that MLB needs a salary cap now and no, we can’t wait, look what the Dodgers are doing. I personally could care less if the Dodgers three-peat, and the MLB Postseason is honestly a rather-idiotic carnival game that distills literal millions of data points over a 162-game season into a crapshoot where anything can happen. Are the Guardians and Rays successful because MLB doesn’t need a salary cap and is super fair, or are they successful because the playoffs are just random? Nothing they did all year tells me either team is actually that good, so I’d lean the latter.  

The great irony of this whole discussion is it doesn’t matter. In reality, the World Series result does not change anything about MLB’s need for a salary cap. Owners will hold firm on the need for one no matter what, and the MLBPA will continue to say they’d rather go play cricket — the World Series winner just changes the air around the negotiating table, not whether we need the thing in the first place. 

So do we need a salary cap? I’ve gone back and forth on this all year, and after a full season of thinking landed exactly here: a salary cap would definitely improve Major League Baseball if we could just snap our fingers and get one. Equality of results, like, say the Rays winning, is not the same thing as competitive balance, and part of the issue with giga-payroll teams like the Dodgers is they choke out fans of small markets from getting to watch their favorite players. It was monumentally stupid that Detroit Tigers fans knew that they couldn’t keep Tarik Skubal, and monumentally stupider that Pittsburgh Pirates fans are just counting down the days until they have to trade Paul Skenes. That’s not a healthy environment, and fans of smaller market teams should be allowed to be excited about the future. 

But I’ve decided that a salary cap does not improve MLB enough to be remotely worth what it’s going to take to get it. The main beneficiaries of a cap are, simply, billionaires, and I’m not going to pound the pavement canvassing for the interests of the 0.1 percent. Spending on players is only one facet of success in Major League Baseball, and competent scouting, analytics, development and front office operations are another — ask Arte Moreno and the Los Angeles Angels how well simply buying players and ignoring infrastructure worked for Mike Trout’s career. World Series winner agnostic, the ensuing fight to get a cap could do more damage to baseball than it would improve it. So I kindly ask everyone around me… who seem to be sharpening pitchforks… to please calm the hell down.

LOS ANGELES — The Brewers bullpen might be the biggest separating factor through two games of the National League Championship Series, with Milwaukee relievers combining for 9 2/3 scoreless innings thus far in the series.

Dodgers relievers were a strength of the team, and given the current health of the staff this might be the deepest postseason bullpen the team has had in recent years. During the postseason, the LA bullpen has a 3.13 ERA with 27 strikeouts and eight unintentional walks in 23 innings. In the NLCS, Dodgers relievers have allowed four runs in 8 1/3 innings but also have 15 strikeouts.

Dodgers batters have just two hits in 30 at-bats plus three walks against Brewers relievers in the series, unable to do anything late in the game. In Game 1, Los Angeles scored its only run in the second inning, and in Game 2 they didn’t score after the fifth.

Aaron Ashby has pitched multiple innings in each game so far, totaling 3 2/3 innings. Abner Uribe was the other Brewer to pitch both games in Milwaukee, including four outs in Game 2, and he has four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.

Asked what his plan was for the back end of the bullpen, including closer Trevor Megill, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said on Tuesday’s off day at Dodger Stadium, “Keep throwing them out there. They can rest next year.”

After a beat, Murphy added, “Familiarity to a team is a thing. You have to be conscious of that too. We’re not going to go forward without other people stepping up. Some other people have to step up.”

So far the Brewers have used six pitchers in relief, including starting pitcher Dustin May for an inning in Game 2. The active pitchers Milwaukee hasn’t used yet — aside from Game 3 starter Robert Gasser — are right-handers Antonio Senzatela and Chad Patrick, plus left-handers Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison.

Here’s a look at the Brewers relievers who have pitched, along with the Dodgers batters they faced.

	Megill	Ashby (L)	Uribe	Hall (L)	Romero (L)	May
Betts	G1	G1	G2			G2
Freeman (L)		G1, G2		G1		G2
Smith		G1, G2	G1		G2
Ohtani (L)		G1, G2	G1		G2
Teoscar		G1, G2	G1			G2
Muncy (L)	G1		G1		G2
Pages	G1		G1, G2
Tucker (L)	G1	G1	G2
Edman (S)			G2
Kiké		G1
Rojas		G2
De Paula (L)	G1

“I think the best solution is to catch a good lead and keep those guys in the pen. But with that, you’ve just got to find a way to stack some good at-bats and find a way to get some outfield grass,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “They’re all different, Uribe to Ashby to [DL] Hall to Megill, they’re all different. So I can’t really answer one specific answer. You’ve just got to compete against those guys. They’re very good.”

On the Dodgers side, they’ve used eight of their nine relievers already with only closer Edwin Díaz having not appeared in the series. This gets back to the Dodgers rarely leading at all in this NLCS, and never late, at least so far.

	Scott (L)	Vesia (L)	Phillips	Sasaki	Stewart	Henriquez	Bubic (L)	Wrobleski (L)
Chourio			G1	G2	G2	G2
Turang (L)	G1				G2*	G2	G2
Contreras	G1*				G2	G2	G2
Bauers (L)	G1, G2	G1					G2	G2
Vaughn	G1*	G1
Mitchell (L)	G1, G2	G1, G2					G2	G2
Pratt			G1	G2	G2	G2
Lara (S)			G1
Ortiz			G1
Yelich (L)	G2						G2	G2
Frelick (L)				G2	G2	G2
Hamilton (L)				G2	G2	G2

The asterisks above in the table of Dodgers relievers are for intentional walks, when a pitcher “faced” a batter but didn’t really face the batter. William Contreras and Andrew Vaughn were intentionally walked with Tanner Scott on the mound in Game 1, and Brice Turang was intentionally walked with Brock Stewart pitching in Game 2.

With at least two and potentially three days in a row at Dodger Stadium, let’s see how the relievers are used over the next three games, and if any familiarity creeps into any results.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers had a historic year in 2026 with standout performances and a big time playoff push. Let’s take a look.

Woodpeckers 2026 Record: 71-58 (CAROLINA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS)

The Woodpeckers got off to a rough start going 3-12 over their first 15 games. They finished April going 10-14. In May, the Woodpeckers went 13-14. They turned things around in June going 14-10. They went 14-8 in July, finishing the first half of the season strong. They dominated the month of August going 20-6 as they took over first place in their division. They lost five in a row in September but went into the Carolina League playoffs.

They beat the Fredericksburg Nationals 2-0 in the three game series outscoring the Nats 12-3. In the Championship series, the Woodpeckers took on Charleston and had two dominant wins winning 14-4 and then 7-4 in the Championship game as they were crowned Carolina League Champions for the first time in team history.

Here are the team leaders (min 300 PA or 50 IP):

TEAM LEADERS
Hits – Kevin Alvarez (101)
2B – Kevin Alvarez(26)
3B – Anthony Huezo (4)
HR – Arturo Flores (17)
RBI – Arturo Flores(58)
BA – Josh Wakefield (.270)
SB – Josh Wakefield(37)
OPS – Xavier Neyens (.911)
wRC+ – Xavier Neyens (154)

IP – Aubrey Smith (90.0)
W – Ryan Mathiesen (8)
SV – Brandon Cassedy (4)
SO – Javier Perez (103)
ERA – Nick Potter (2.11)

NOTABLES

Kevin Alvarez, OF
Alvarez, the Astros top international signing in 2025, had a big year for the Woodpeckers. The 18-year-old played in 99 games and hit .261 with a team leading 26 doubles, 11 home runs and 17 stolen bases. He showed great bat to ball skills while spraying the ball to all fields. He was a main stay in the Woodpeckers lineup.

Nick Potter, RHP
Potter was drafted in 2025 and after being a college closer, the Astros converted him to starter. In Fayetteville, the right-hander dominated posting a 2.11 ERA while racking up 70 strikeouts over 59.2 innings. The Astros built him up throughout the season but he showed enough to really fly up the top 30 rankings.

Xavier Neyens, INF
Neyens was the Astros first round pick in 2025 and he had a big year as a teenager too. He started the year in Single-A and hit .240 with 14 home runs, 16 stolen bases and a ridiculous 79 walks in 68 games. He led the team in OPS (.911) and wRC+ (154). Neyens would finish the season in High-A Asheville.

Javier Perez, RHP
Perez was a choice of mine for breakout prospect and he did just that in Fayetteville. The 22-year-old led the team in strikeouts as he racked up 103 over 89.1 innings. He was dominant for a while and hit a snag mid way through but still finished with a 4.23 ERA while showing some of the best command in the Astros system.

Anthony Huezo, OF
Huezo was also on my list for breakout prospect and he may have been one of the biggest breakouts in baseball. Drafted back in 2023, he had a huge season. He played in 71 games for the Woodpeckers and had 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 30 stolen bases and a .856 OPS. He finished the year strong in Asheville posting a 20 HR/40 SB season.

Jagger Beck, RHP
Beck was signed as an undrafted free agent out of high school following the 2024 draft and was one of the best pitchers in the system in 2026. The 19-year-old posted a 2.80 ERA with 102 strikeouts over 86.2 innings for the Woodpeckers. He showcased a mid 90s fastball and elite breaking ball. He also flew up the rankings this season.

Josh Wakefield, OF
Wakefield had a couple injuries but when he was on the field, the outfielder was great. He played in 73 games for the Woodpckers and led the team in batting average (.270) and stolen bases (37). He also added 12 doubles and 4 home runs while posting strong walk and strikeout percentages too.

Arturo Flores, C
Flores was signed in September 2024 and had a historic season for the Woodpeckers. Not only did he lead the team with 17 home runs, that number also set a new franchise record. Flores also drove in 58 runs while posting a .817 OPS over 84 games. A good season for the 20-year-old catcher.

As things stand right now, Joe Girardi is the answer to a trivia question that haunts millions of Yankees fans… “who is the manager of the last World Series-winning Yankees team?” I doubt any of us old enough to remember the ’09 team could have imagined this eventuality in our wildest nightmares.

For Girardi’s part, he has three distinct Acts to his Yankees career, each of which would earn him a spot on our birthday series. The sum of the parts is toweringly important. As a player, manager, and broadcaster, he’s been an integral part of Yankee history for more than a quarter-century. Joe, wishing you a happy birthday is, in fact, “what we want.”

Name: Joe Girardi
Born: October 14, 1964 (Peoria, IL)
Yankees Tenure: 1996-99 (player); 2008-17 (manager); 2007, 2024-present (broadcaster)

Act I – Dynasty Veteran

Joe Girardi debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1989. A few years later, the nascent Colorado Rockies selected him in the Expansion Draft and he headed to the Mile High City. In November, 1995, Colorado dealt him to the Bronx in exchange for Mike DeJean.

Girardi started 124 games for the ’96 Yankees and, speed merchant that he was, stole a career-high 13 bags in pinstripes that season. He also happened to be behind the dish on May 14, 1996, the day Dwight “Doc” Gooden achieved baseball immortality with a no-hitter. For a detailed recap of that day, check this out. Afterward, Gooden remarked: “Joe Girardi is the best catcher I’ve ever thrown to.”

Girardi wasn’t done generating signature moments that season, either. Months later, in the chill air of October, he faced Hall of Famer Greg Maddux in the third inning of a scoreless Game 6 of the World Series. His triple to center field broke the scoreless draw, and he later came around to score the second of three Yankee runs in the inning. It was the only RBI of his playoff career and it catalyzed the inning that won the Yankees their first Fall Classic since 1978.

But wait. There’s more. In a reduced role, Girardi was with the Yankees for their ’98 and ’99 World Series wins, giving him three championship rings as a player. He wasn’t done catching baseball history, either. On July 18, 1999, encased in the tools of ignorance, Girardi shepherded future broadcast booth peer David Cone through a perfect game. It was the third perfecto in the incredible history of the Yankees.

Joe Girardi could have parted paths with the Yankees forever after 1999 and he still would have been an indelible part of franchise lore.

Act II – World Series Champion Manager

Imagine trying to follow in the footsteps of Joe Torre, who won four World Series in New York. Just a tad daunting. Girardi actually worked for Torre first, serving as the legendary manager’s bench coach in 2005 before being hired as manager of the Florida Marlins for the 2006 season.

Girardi lasted one season on the job before being fired, then winning NL Manager of the Year (seriously, the Marlins being a disgrace organization is a tradition best counted in decades). He spent 2007 working with the YES Network before being hired to replace Torre after the ’07 season ended ignominiously in a swarm of midges.

Though the Yankees missed the playoffs in 2008, the next season they charged back to the top of the baseball world. Girardi shepherded a star-studded cast that included CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, AJ Burnett, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Canó, Mark Teixeira, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Nick Swisher, among others, to 103 regular season wins.

In October, the Yanks dispatched the Twins and Angels before facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Six games later, Girardi’s club ended an unimaginable (at the time) eight-year championship drought, vanquishing the Phils.

Girardi and the Yanks never reached the top of the mountain again while he was manager. But ye gods, did they overachieve by wide margins. Girardi’s clubs regularly outperformed their Pythagorean expectations (+.040 win % in 2013, .041 in 2014, .034 in 2016). For those of us old enough to remember… those 2013 Yankee lineups were something else.

Taking the “Baby Bombers” to Game 7 of the ALCS against the infamous 2017 Houston Astros was not enough to save Girardi’s job, however, and the Yankees let him walk in favor of Aaron Boone. I remember being floored by the move. There was a ton of chatter about Girardi’s job security, but 2017 Kevin was sure that advancing to within a game of the World Series with a club no one expected to be there was enough to bring him back. 2017 Kevin was wrong.

Even if Joe Girardi had never played a game in pinstripes, his tenure as skipper would assure his place in franchise history.

Act III – Brilliant Broadcaster

Girardi spent several years working for the Cubs, and for MLB, as a broadcaster after leaving the Yankees, as well as managing the Phillies. But he came home prior to the 2024 season, joining the YES Network as an analyst. Since then, he’s been a fixture, lending his exceptional baseball IQ to Yankee broadcasts. I’ll argue the best three-man booth imaginable is Girardi, Cone, and Michael Kay.

As of now, this is the weakest Act of his Yankee career. But it might just be starting. Hopefully, we’ll be lucky enough to have Girardi in the booth for years to come.

Happy birthday, Joe Girardi. 17 years and counting without a World Series championship is “not what you want.” But you won three titles as a player and managed the most recent champions in franchise history. Your cred is unmatched. Happy birthday, Joe.

One of the Phillies’ main goals over last offseason was to build better pitching depth, particularly in their bullpen. Besides their major acquisitions of Brad Keller and Jonathan Bowlan, the team acquired numerous depth options either via trade or free agent signing in order to try and lengthen their bullpen.

Zach Pop was one of those depth acquisitions, as he was signed to a major league deal in late December and was thrown into the competition for two available spots in spring training. Pop was likely given an inside track though, as he was out of minor league options and therefore could not be sent to Triple-A without clearing waivers. He was indeed given one of those spots on the roster, but he didn’t stay there long.

2026 stats: 7 games, 7.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, 3 walks

What went right

Pop impressed in the spring, showcasing a heavy sinker that limited hard contact. When Orion Kerkering suffered a hamstring strain early in camp, the path was essentially cleared for Pop to make the roster. He made his Phillies debut on Opening Day and pitched a scoreless inning in relief in the 5-3 win. His second appearance didn’t go as well, as Pop was charged with two runs in an 8-3 loss a few days later.

He got on a bit of a roll after the opening series though, as Pop then had four straight scoreless appearances out of the bullpen with just one hit and one walk allowed. He was then used as an opener on April 12th when scheduled starter Andrew Painter suffered a migraine and allowed one run in two innings before Painter was able to enter as the quasi-bulk reliever.

What went wrong

That would prove to be Pop’s last appearance with the Phillies, as he was placed on the injured list on April 13th with a calf strain. He was not activated until May 30th but was designated for assignment in the same transaction as Kerkering had returned from his injury already and the Phillies opted to not keep Pop in their bullpen. He ultimately cleared waivers but elected free agency rather than accepting an assignment to Lehigh Valley. Pop then latched on with his former team the Miami Marlins on a minor league deal signed on June 12th and went on to appear in 26 minor league games for the Marlins with a 3.60 ERA but never made it back to the majors in 2026.

Final grade: D+

Pop is somewhat hard to grade, as he was effective when he was on the field but did not pitch much for the Phillies, therefore rendering his impact on the season very minimal. His injury torpedoed his chances of making a lasting impression and the team had already moved in another direction by the time he was healthy again. And yet, it’s hard not to look back in retrospect and see where the Phillies could have used someone like Pop later in the season when their bullpen was gassed.

LOS ANGELES — In the moment, the focus is on Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is mired in one of the worst slumps of his career, he’s clearly been diminished by knee and biceps injuries, but insists he’s close to figuring things out mechanically, and will remain in the lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

But sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. Even though Ohtani has no home runs and one run batted in over his last 24-plus games and 110 plate appearances, he still had a very good season at the plate overall.

To that end, Ohtani was voted by his peers among the top three finishes for two MLB Players Choice Awards, the MLB Players Association announced on Wednesday.

Ohtani will finish in the top three for major league Player of the Year, along with Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Álvarez and Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Ohtani is also in the top three for National League Outstanding Player, along with Armstrong and Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber.

Ohtani this season hit .275/.377/.512 with a 139 wRC+, 30 home runs, 81 walks, 89 runs scored, and 81 RBI in 135 games this season, third in the National League in OPS, fifth in slugging percentage, and sixth in on-base percentage and wRC+.

But he also added a 1.79 ERA an 2.73 xERA in 14 pitching starts, with 95 strikeouts and 26 walks in 85 2/3 innings. Combining hitting and pitching, Ohtani’s 6.6 FanGraphs WAR was tied with Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski for second in the NL, and was tied for fourth in the majors.

Ohtani won the Player of the Year Award once from his fellow players, in 2021 while with the Angels. He’s won three Outstanding Player Awards in his league, two with the Angels (2021, 2023) and one with the Dodgers (2024). He’s been a top-three finisher for both awards in each of the last six seasons.

The winners of the 2026 MLB Players Choice Awards will be announced during the week of October 26.

Stephen Stills once sang, “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.”

Dave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies are heeding that advice.

The Phillies pursued former Red Sox manager Alex Cora to take over as the team’s manager, both early in the 2026 season, after they fired Rob Thomson, and then after the Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs earlier this month. Cora, however, declined both times.

The Phillies named bench coach Don Mattingly the interim manager after firing Thomson, and the Phillies had a big turnaround under him, going 79-55 with Mattingly at the helm. However, they stumbled to the finish line, going 10-14 in September and barely holding off the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot, then lost to the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card series. Once their season ended, the Phillies’ preference was to replace Mattingly with Cora, per reports.

However, once Cora passed, the Phillies opted to stick with who they had, and have now announced that Mattingly is returning on a two year deal.

2027 will be Mattingly’s 14th season as a manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-15, then the Miami Marlins from 2016-22. He has a 968-1005 career record as a manager, with the seven seasons with the Marlins dragging his record down — he won more games (446) in five seasons with the Dodgers than he had in seven seasons with Miami (443).

The Phillies have been in “win now” mode since signing Bryce Harper prior to the 2019 season. After hovering around .500 from 2019-21, Philadelphia made it to the World Series in 2022, falling to the Houston Astros in six games. Since then, Philadelphia’s fortunes have slowly gone backwards, as they lost in the 2023 NLCS to the D-Backs in seven games, fell in the NLDS round in both 2024 and 2025, and then got knocked out this year in the Wild Card round.

There was a lot going on in Anthony Volpe’s 2026 season. 

From beginning the year recovering from offseason shoulder surgery to two demotions to Triple-A to watching the Yankees make George Lombard Jr. the new shortstop of the present and future.

Volpe started learning new spots on the diamond. He played some second base and even showed up at third. In the postseason, he started twice over Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second and nearly had the most impactful Yankee hit -- his Game 3 fan-interference RBI double that was oh-so-close to being a tying home run might’ve changed the ALDS against the Rays.

Where does Volpe go from here? The Yanks clearly still consider him valuable – throwaways don’t get October starts – and they’ll likely have an opening at second base he could fill.

So should Volpe, superseded at short by Lombard, stay or go? Here’s a look: 

WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP VOLPE

Volpe, who doesn’t even turn 26 until April, isn’t a free agent until 2029, so he remains under team control after making $3.475 million this year. He could be an easy answer for the Yankees at second base in 2027 since Chisholm is a free agent.

He’s had one 20-homer, 20-steal season in his career and holds that potential. In the wake of a demotion that had to sting, Volpe put up a .906 OPS in 37 games at Triple-A, hit 11 home runs and returned to have some impact.

While it’s clear some Yankees fans have Volpe fatigue, it was also apparent that the way he processed his weird season impressed in Yankeeland. He was cheered during the playoffs, where he was 3-for-7 and one of the best offensive performers in pinstripes.

And the clubhouse was clearly watching his reaction to being demoted. He got serious praise from Aaron Judge following the Yanks’ elimination: “To handle that type of adversity, not only from the game, not playing your best, and then hearing it from fans, hearing from everybody and then for him to go down to Triple-A, work on what he needed to and then come up here with a bang like he did, it just speaks volumes to his character.”

Judge also said: “If we were going to go win a World Series, we needed Anthony Volpe on the team.”

Might be worth hanging on to a guy who feels this deeply, too: “It’s been four too many times having this taste in your mouth,” Volpe said after the disappointment of Game 3. “And, at this point, I don’t even think ‘motivated’ is the right word because I think it’s just ‘(ticked) off’ and that’s how I feel. Just channeling that in the right way.

“You want to have the parade. You want to do all this stuff that you grind, and you work so hard for and when you don’t come through and you put every single thing you possibly feel like you can into it and then come up short, you obviously got to do a lot of soul searching.”

WHY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LET VOLPE GO

The former first-round pick has not lived up to the outsized hype that accompanied his arrival in the big leagues, even though it was unfair to think he – or anyone – was going to be Derek Jeter, the sequel.

 

Volpe had a .658 OPS in 70 games in the majors last year, right around his career norm, though his .245 average and .321 on-base would be career bests if he carried them over a full season. In his three full seasons, he has struck out at least 150 times. He owns a Gold Glove, but he’s also had a season in which he tied for the AL lead in errors at short.

The Yanks have clung to his potential in recent years and Volpe sometimes seems to have the talent to push his results further. But aside from glimpses, it hasn’t happened. Would both sides benefit from a fresh start elsewhere if the Yankees found an enticing trade partner?

Perhaps the Yankees could enhance their contact profile by signing free agent Luis Arraez to play second. Or ink Brandon Lowe for his lefty power bat, which produced 35 homers for the Pirates.

VERDICT

Stay.

It’s worth keeping Volpe to see if he can compete for the second base job. In his three full major league seasons, he averaged 17 homers and 23 steals. He’s had some moments in the postseason, too. World Series grand slam, anyone?

At worst, Volpe is a speedy utility player. MLB teams crave depth. Lombard, as impressive as he is, has only 47 games of experience in the majors, including five postseason starts. He’s 21. If he experiences some wobbles next year, it might be wise to have Volpe and José Caballero as options at short.

If Volpe continues his development at third, maybe he’s a right-handed option there. Ryan McMahon, who has one more year left at $16 million, only had a .509 OPS against lefties.

Don Mattingly was named the Philadelphia Phillies' full-time manager Wednesday, Oct. 14, signing a two-year contract after two weeks of uncertainty following the club's elimination from the playoffs, club president Dave Dombrowski announced.

The 65-year-old Mattingly took over in April when the team fired manager Rob Thomson after Philadelphia lost 10 of its first 19 games to open the season.

Mattingly then led Philadelphia to a 79-55 record as the interim manager. The Phillies eventually made the postseason, where they were eliminated by the Atlanta Braves in the wild card round.

The Phillies reached out to former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora in both April and earlier this month, but both times Cora decided to turn them down.

Before taking over as manager, Mattingly was under contract as the team's bench coach through the 2027 season. Mattingly's son, Preston, is the Phillies' vice president and general manager.

Mattingly will take the reins when the owners and players agree to a new collective bargaining agreement, as the current one expires Dec. 1.

Gabe Lacques contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillies name Don Mattingly their full-time manager

If you watched any Nationals baseball in 2026, you would know that the bullpen was not good. The unit actually set records for their ineptitude, with the 2026 Nats blowing more saves than any team in history. That does not mean there were not any bright spots in the ‘pen. 

I am going to take a look at Erik Tolman and Jack Sinclair, two unheralded arms who were impressive down the stretch. By the end of the season, those two were Blake Butera’s most trusted arms. That tells you a lot about the state of the bullpen, but it is also a credit to Sinclair and Tolman.

Entering 2026, both of these guys were little more than organizational depth. Sinclair posted a 5.95 ERA in AAA as a 26 year old. Tolman spent the first half of 2025 bullying A ball hitters as a 26 year old, before posting a 5.97 ERA in 28.2 Double-A innings. Somehow, these two were the Nats high leverage arms at the end of the season.

Both Sinclair and Tolman took massive leaps in the Nats new player development infrastructure. They each added over 3 MPH of fastball velocity between 2025 and 2026. That new found heat made them relevant arms in the Nats organization. 

Multiple Nats are on this list. Both Erik Tolman and Jack Sinclair added 3+ MPH on their fastballs. Rode that extra heat to the big leagues https://t.co/ACavLPxymf

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) October 1, 2026

Even with the extra velocity, neither of them put up great numbers in AAA. Tolman posted an ERA over 5 in Rochester because of his control issues. Despite striking out more than 12 batters per 9 innings in the minors, Tolman ran into trouble because he walked 23 batters in 31 innings. 

Even if the results were not great, Tolman had nasty stuff, so the Nats decided to give him a shot. It did not take long to see that the Nats had something with Tolman. After running through so many soft tossing lefties, it was refreshing to see a southpaw that averaged 97 MPH on his fastball. Tolman also showed off his nasty changeup and solid slider.

The most impressive part about Tolman was his moxie. He did not panic in big moments, which gave him Blake Butera’s trust. I remember when he was brought in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 8th against the Marlins. Tolman immediately got a strikeout and a double play to end that inning. He came back out for the 9th, and continued to mow down Marlins hitters to get his first save.

Erik Tolman first MLB save pic.twitter.com/ycnTBwouwf

— Kev (@klwoodjr) September 1, 2026

That was the moment that sold me on Tolman. Part of the reason Tolman never panics is because of what he has been through. He was almost forced to retire due to two Tommy John’s and a devastating knee injury which also caused nerve damage. When Tolman is on the mound, he has to wear an ankle brace for stability. I wrote a story about this and went into real detail. 

For the season, Tolman had a 2.93 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Despite throwing the ball in the zone at an above average clip, Tolman still struggled with walks in the big leagues. He walked 13.4% of hitters, and free passes will always be an issue for him. With that in mind, I do not think Tolman is a closer or even a set up man, but he has good enough stuff to be an effective lefty out of the bullpen. 

The other reliever that emerged down the stretch was Jack Sinclair. Like Tolman, Sinclair was solid but not spectacular in the minors. In 52 AAA outings, Sinclair posted an ERA of 4.03. Sinclair’s 28% strikeout rate was impressive, but he also walked over 12% of hitters in Rochester. 

Despite his up and down season, the Nats gave Sinclair a shot due to his big time stuff and the lack of options. Sinclair made the most of his opportunities, posting a 2.45 ERA in 11 outings. He mainly used a fastball-sweeper combination to keep hitters off balance.

Sinclair threw the sweeper 43% of the time, and it is easy to see why. The pitch has a ton of movement and held hitters to an .071 average against. His sweeper also generated whiffs at a 29% clip. Those whiffs are crucial because none of his other pitches had a whiff rate above 12.5%.

start the k counter on jack sinclair 🙂‍↕️ pic.twitter.com/ph1BV7R0IX

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 5, 2026

Right now, Sinclair throws his 4-seamer more than his sinker. However, I think the sinker is better. It compliments his sweeper quite well, with the sweeper breaking away from hitters and the sinker running into them. That is a formula that has proven to work.

Despite the strong surface level numbers, I still want to see more from Sinclair. He only struck out 17.4% of hitters and did not generate many whiffs. His walk rate was a solid 8.7%, but I think there are red flags here as well. Sinclair is in the zone less often than Tolman and gets less chase as well. He also had walk issues in the minors too.

With his mid to upper 90’s fastball and a nasty sweeper, I think Sinclair can be a big league arm. However, I have my doubts about him being a real difference maker. He has good stuff, but it is not standout stuff. There are a lot of relievers with 95-98 MPH fastballs and good sweepers to go with them. However, Sinclair is still more promising than most of the arms the Nats threw out.

I do not think Sinclair or Tolman are lock down arms, which is why I still think the Nats need to find a closer. However, they looked like big leaguers, which is very impressive. Before the season, these two were afterthoughts, but now they both have an inside track towards a roster spot in 2027.

Tarik Skubal will be the top free agent on the market when it opens five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Count Mets left-hander Zac Thornton among those hoping Skubal lands in Queens.

"I talk to [Nolan McLean] all the time about it, and he had some good talks with Skubal when they were in the WBC together," Thornton told Mike Puma of The New York Post. "It would be awesome to bounce ideas, especially coming from another left-handed pitcher. Sean [Manaea] and I talk a lot, just about being lefties — there are not many around here, so it would be awesome to have another powerhouse left-handed pitcher around here."

The Mets' starting pitching group includes McLean, Christian Scott, Manaea, and Thornton.

Kodai Senga's role in 2027 is to-be-determined after he finished this season in a late-inning relief role, but a return to the rotation would be curious considering how he performed as a starter in 2026.

Meanwhile, the Mets have tasked Jonah Tong with forcing himself into the conversation. 

Speaking at his end-of-season news conference, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearnswas unambiguous when it came to the offseason plan for the rotation.

"I do think it is necessary for us to add to our rotation," Stearns said. "We can do that in a variety of different ways. We've talked about this plenty before -- you'd always love to add to the top of your rotation, any team would love to do that -- over the long term, what we need to do is develop pitchers at the top of our rotation, and I think we are proving we can do that, and we'll continue to do that."

It's possible Skubal receives the largest contract ever for a starting pitcher in terms of both average annual value and total value. If so, a deal for him could conceivably land around $350 million for eight years.

One plus for any team that signs Skubal is that he won't be attached to a qualifying offer since he was traded from the Tigers to the Dodgers midseason, making him ineligible for one. 

It has never been Stearns' modus operandi to strongly pursue starting pitchers who receive megadeals.

An exception was New York's serious push to ink Yoshinobu Yamamoto, when the Mets extended a 12-year offer for $325 million before the Dodgers matched it. But Yamamoto was about to begin his age-25 season, making his free agency unique. Skubal will be entering his age-30 season in 2027.

While Skubal is significantly older than Yamamoto was at the time of his free agency, he is coming off back-to-back Cy Young awards and has some of the filthiest stuff in baseball.

And with the Mets having a glaring need at the top of their rotation and a substantial amount of money coming off their books after next season, a Skubal pursuit feels logical. 

On October 3, my hometown of Lincoln, Kansas, hosted what they called a Vintage Baseball Game. The game took place at the West Diamond and featured the Wichita Cowtown Team against the Lincoln County Sod Busters.

The game was played under 1860s rules, with the pitcher throwing underhand. The uniforms were vintage 1800s wool, which was hot and scratchy on a warm October afternoon. There was a large crowd in attendance, and the game was interrupted twice by women, dressed in period clothing, protesting voting rights. Each player was given an 1800s-era nickname, which added to the cool factor.

The game was notable because two of my former classmates and teammates played for the local squad. Max “Wimpy” Wallace was a terrific high school athlete, a state-caliber sprinter, and good enough on the gridiron to garner a scholarship, yet he went to Kansas State to play baseball. Max, hardly a wimp, still looks like he’s about 25.

The other classmate was my good bud Dennis Luck, who went by the nickname Lucky.

The obvious nickname, Cool Hand, went to his younger brother Alan. Alan’s two boys also played: Braden “Big Country” and Austin “Loco.” Braden, living up to his nickname, knocked a couple of balls off the left-center fence.

Dennis was my batterymate during our Midget League years. Yes, that’s what our baseball league was called. Even in these politically correct times, it’s still called the Midget League, and I hope they never change it.

I got thrown into pitching duties when our star pitcher’s mother packed up and left town. Dennis, by default, was the catcher because he was the husky kid. Think Ham Porter from The Sandlot. That would have been Dennis. I struck out 50 batters in 50 innings. I would have had 15–20 more except my wildness had Dennis running to the backstop on many third strikes.

When my arm tired, Dennis pitched, and I moved to catcher. That’s how Dennis went about throwing a meatball to another classmate, Steve Heiser, who hit it out of sight into the rodeo grounds that bordered right field. I walked to the mound and said, “Holy crap, that went a long way.” Borrowing a line from Bull Durham, I remind Dennis every year that the last time I saw something flying that far, it had a meal and a stewardess on it. He replied, “That was a moment in my life that never seems to disappear.” Like that baseball did.

Our Cookie League coach, Lovie Holl, saw Dennis for what he was, nimble of foot with a sure glove, and moved him to the middle infield, where he excelled. Lovie was a helluva coach and a Lincoln institution.

At age 13, I blew out my elbow throwing sliders, which necessitated a move to right field. Every ball I threw back to the infield bounced at least once. Two summers later, my elbow magically healed, and I went back to the mound, several miles per hour slower, and started delivering long home runs of my own.

Our school was pretty much horrible in every men’s sport except track and baseball.

The final score of the Vintage game was 19–18, with the Sod Busters pulling out the victory thanks to Dennis’ two-RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, which drove home the winning runs. In his self-deprecating manner, Dennis said he stretched a couple of doubles into singles. Not bad, since he and Max are both 66, and many of their teammates and opponents were several decades younger.

For one hot Kansas afternoon, it was fun to see two friends turn back the clock. Who says you can’t teach an old ballplayer new tricks? The game was a smashing success, and there is talk about a rematch next fall. Here’s hoping it becomes an annual event.

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Speaking of traditional baseball, I found myself praying to the baseball gods that a San Diego pitcher would man up, channel his inner Bob Gibson, and put a fastball into the ribs of the Brewers’ William Contreras after his Game 3 home run dance-a-thon. My inner Crash Davis was screaming, “Move it, dummy,” while Contreras admired his shot. It took him 30 seconds to make his way around the bases, stopping a couple of times to flex. Contreras is a heck of a player, but I’d enjoy him a lot more without the theatrics.

When it comes to over-the-top crap like this, I love the advice Henry Aaron gave a young Dusty Baker about Bob Gibson.

“Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson, he’ll knock you down. He’d knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him. Don’t stare at him, don’t smile at him, don’t talk to him. He doesn’t like it. If you happen to hit a home run, don’t run too slow, don’t run too fast. If you happen to want to celebrate, get in the tunnel first. And if he hits you, don’t charge the mound, because he’s a Gold Glove boxer.”

Man, I miss those days. I understand this is how the young guys do it nowadays, styling it, representing, whatever the hell they call it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. You kids get the hell off my lawn.

In a similar vein, I had to grimace while watching Cody Bellinger of the Yankees draw a walk. It took him at least 30 seconds to peel off all his protective armor and batting gloves, then put on his fancy oven mitt, then walk to first base.

Okay, Mommy, I’m ready to go to first base now.

I mean, the guy doesn’t have to be Pete Rose going to first (if you watched Pete, you know), but good lord, pick it up a little. I’d be in favor of a rule change that says a baserunner must wear all the armor he wore to the plate.

Aside from that, the Padres-Brewers series was a classic. Too bad one of them had to go home.

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It’s also been fun to see some former Royals in the playoffs. Samad Taylor had a moment with the Padres, collecting a single, then stealing second and eventually scoring on a groundout. That was cool to see.

A guy I thought the Royals gave up on too early, Foster Griffin, pitched well for Cleveland in Game 3 against the White Sox, striking out seven of the 10 batters he faced in a Guardians win.

Chris Getz had his White Sox on the verge of advancing before their epic three-game collapse. Former friends Randall Grichuk, Tommy Pham, and Andrew Benintendi all picked up at-bats for the Sox.

Mike Yastrzemski, Lane Thomas, and even Brewer Hicklen got some airtime for Atlanta.

John Schreiber pitched an inning for New York, and Kris Bubic made an appearance for Los Angeles. I must admit it was weird seeing those guys in different uniforms. I wouldn’t be brokenhearted if J.J. Picollo brought Bubic back, assuming he’s healthy.

Either way, the playoffs are always great to watch, especially now that the Damn Yankees have been sent to bed.

Good morning everyone!

It’s Wednesday and we’ve got some news to report on from around baseball.

MLB Postseason scores…

• The Rays took advantage of an untimely defensive blunder by José Ramírez to secure a 3-1 win, pulling the series even at a game apiece.

In Mariners news…

• The Mariners are reportedly talking to Astros skipper Joe Espada for their managerial opening. Espada’s contract expires at the end of this month, though he has publicly said he’d like to stay in Houston. Adam Jude at The Seattle Times adds that the M’s are hoping to fill the vacancy by Halloween.
• The Mariners appear to be hiring for several Peoria-based jobs in coaching and scouting, if you know anyone who may be interested in applying.

Around the league…

• The Phillies are expected to keep Don Mattingly on as the team’s manager for the 2027 season.
• Jeff Passan at ESPN wrote about how the ALCS and NLCS teams may impact the coming labor dispute.
• Marc Nomandin at Baseball Prospectus analyzed the latest CBA proposal from the league to the players, wondering if there are pieces of it that may appeal to the MLBPA. ($)