Aug 9, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jack Weisenburger (82) looks on in the dugout before making his major league debut in the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Mets are making a change in their bullpen ahead of their series in the Bronx, recalling Jack Weisenburger and sending Chris Devenski back to Triple-A Syracuse.
Weisenburger appeared in three games for the Mets in August, tossing four and a third innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out four. In 18 games for Syracuse (13 starts), Weisenburger has a 6.68 ERA over 62 innings pitched, with 53 strikeouts to 34 walks and eight home runs allowed.
Devenski split time between the Mets and Pirates organizations this season, and in six appearances for the Mets was more or less fine until his last appearance against the Marlins, where he was responsible for five of the runs in the Mets’ wild 15-14 dub on Wednesday. The 35 year old veteran has a 13.50 ERA for the Mets this season, and an 11.74 ERA across both clubs in the majors.
With a little more than a week left in the Triple-A season and Syracuse two and a half games out of a playoff spot, Devenski will have plenty of opportunity for some innings before, potentially, rejoining the Mets if the need arises.
The second half of the Subway Series with the Yankees starts tonight at 7:05pm on PIX11 with Nolan McLean facing off against Carlos Rodón.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 8: Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts from the dugout during the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium on September 8, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Granted, the team traded for Tarik Skubal, which would not have been my choice, even though he’s been fine since arriving in Los Angeles. I would have gone after Cincinnati Reds’ hurler Hunter Greene and maybe checked in with the New York Mets on someone like Sean Maenea as a low-risk, innings-eater acquisition from an organization going nowhere fast.
Greene is already hurt and likely down for next year, and Maenea hasn’t produced anything that Charlie Barnes or Landon Knack couldn’t already do, which goes to show that sometimes even the best of us get it hilariously wrong.
The Dodgers have had some of the worst outfield play in the majors this year.
They have a glut of quality outfield prospects. At the trade deadline, one would have expected the Dodgers to offload someone like Ryan Ward or Alex Call for a lottery prospect to free up room for someone like James Tibbs III, Josue De Paula, or Zach Erhard to get an extended look to see if they could either contribute and/or shake up what was a moribund offense.
Nothing happened. Life moved on. The corner outfield play remained bad.
When the rosters expanded on September 1, considering the status quo, it would not be out of the question to think that maybe an outfielder was being called up to essentially audition for a postseason role.
The Dodgers instead recalled Dalton Rushing from the injured list, a catcher who physically and literally could not play the position due to an arm injury, and infielder Alex Freeland, the first half of the ultimately demoted Freeland/Kim platoon. This platoon was both offensively disappointing and ultimately demoted once Tommy Edman came back from injury.
Rushing has since returned to the injured list as he can neither hit nor catch, and he has been replaced by Eliézer Alfonzo.
It’s a weird feeling to have part of the season turn on a single play. With reporting indicating that the Dodgers were going to call up Tibbs when the rosters expanded, I initially did not pay attention to this home run that Hernández hit in Detroit.
“We didn’t bring up an outfielder. That’s part of the bet on Teo, that he can right the ship,” manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday. “That’s kind of where we’re at.”
“Last year, I used it before I had the injury. That’s the way I was hitting,” said Hernandez, who got off to an excellent start in 2025. “Then when I came back, I was doing the same thing but I was feeling it (in his injured leg) so that’s why I stopped. This year when I got my hamstring issue, I had to get rid of it because it was putting so much pressure on the hamstring.
In nine games since the end of the Detroit series, as of the start of play on September 11, Hernández has an otherworldly slash line of .500/.579/.750, going 16 for 32 with 3 2B, 3B, and an HR. He also has 12 RBI, 2 SB, and equal walks and strikeouts (6).
Against anyone other than the Reds, that triple would be a second home run.
Things have gone so well that Hernández credibly had an inside-the-park home run chance. With apologies to the Reds’ broadcast crew, it was not disbelief from Dodgers fans that Teoscar was gunned down at home; it was general annoyance about the send in the first place.
His hamstring has only finally healed, people; let’s not break the man before October even starts!
While there is a credible argument that the Dodgers could use help in the outfield, if not from Ehrhard or Tibbs III, then maybe Josue De Paula, who will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Per Owen Riley and Maxfield Lane of Down on the Farm:
De Paula is too good for Double-A; he’s doing everything right with no red flags and very impressive contact metrics for a guy who is also blasting home runs at a 30+ per season pace. You won’t convince me that the Dodgers lineup looks better with Enrique Hernandez in it against LHP than it would with De Paula. This potential addition grades out top half, but not right at the top, for me, since it is only really relevant in the playoffs. Isolate to just October, though, and I do think De Paula has the potential to be a difference maker—a high-risk, high-reward play.
While De Paula gets settled in as the most anticipated prospect since Cody Bellinger in 2017, one might wonder, while Hernández is having a resurgence, how about the other part of the outfield tandem that has been struggling?
Checking in on the Tinkerbell Gambit
Let’s check in on how Kyle Tucker has fared since our last article. It’s been about three weeks since the Dodgers faithful channeled their inner Tinkerbell (à la the Phillies and Kyle Tucker in 2023) to will the struggling slugger out of his offensive tailspin in 2026.
As of the start of play on September 11:
18 games, 10 for 58, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 SB, 11 BB, 7 K, .172/.300/.310, 70 OPS+ for this stretch, 90 OPS+ on the year
How did it get worse?!? He was fine on the road and awful at home; the gambit seems to have backfired. It’s like ruining two perfectly good jackets.
Tucker’s bWAR had dipped into the negative for the year before having a multi-hit game and hitting a home run off a position player in the Wednesday finale. The slash before the finale was .132/.277/.208, with an 38 OPS+ for this period.
This season, Tucker has looked bad at the plate, to those who follow baseball and those who do not.
Anecdotally, when my non-sports watching sister and my causal fan mother both indepedently comment on separate occasions some version of “why is that man flailing like that?” when watching Tucker, something has gone awry.
There’s a deeper conversation that needs to be had here if there is no improvement before the regular season ends. I think this situation has gotten to the point where it’s not a question about playing time or being on the playoff roster. This situation is only exacerbated by Ohtani’s stint on the injured list, which shall not end until the last week of the regular season.
You may see one of the biggest single-season free-agent flops in baseball history, by definition.
I see a career inflection point that feels vaguely reminiscent of another now-former Dodger who was a nice story until he wasn’t: Joey Gallo. Gallo arrived after the inflection point, and the damage was done in the Bronx, but this comparison and analysis is one for another day.
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 14: Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Friday, June 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Just over a week after starting off a four-game square-off in Philadelphia, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are going to do it again — this time in Cobb County, as Friday’s matchup will serve as the series opener for this weekend’s three-game divisional showdown.
Chris Sale will be returning to the mound to get this thin going and this’ll be his sixth-consecutive start against a team in Postseason position. Over the five starts and across the 33 innings that Sale has pitched during this span, he’s put up an ERA of 2.18 and a FIP of 1.55 against some stiff competition. He’s certainly been coming up huge for the Braves here in the home stretch and Atlanta’s going to need him to really come up big once more if they’re going to get this series off to the best possible start.
What’s interesting about this go-around is that this’ll be the fourth time that the Braves have sent Sale out there to face the Phillies. So far, the results have been pretty good for Sale — the Phillies were only able to get one run off of him across the 13 innings he tossed against them in two starts in April and then Sale left last Thursday’s game with the lead after he only gave up two runs in six innings against Philadelphia. The Phillies will surely be hoping that the fourth time is the charm but with the way that Sale has been locked in lately, it would still be a bit of a shock if this was the moment where the wheels came off.
As far as individual matchups go, the ones to keep an eye on would probably be Sale vs. Alec Bohm (.333 average and .821 OPS with one homer in 21 at-bats), Trea Turner (.318 average, .830 OPS in 22 at-bats) and of course, Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber has only hit .227 against Sale but he’s sporting an .883 OPS and that’s because Schwarber has homered twice off of Sale so far. In fact, Schwarber has been on a bit of a binge lately as he’s homered in four of his past six games — three of those came against the Braves, mind you. It’s no secret that he’ll be swinging for the fences each time he’s up so hopefully Sale will figure out a way to keep him in the park on this particular night.
Meanwhile, the Phillies will be countering with Aaron Nola and let me tell you, it has brought me no pleasure to see the renaissance run that this guy has been on recently. Starting with his outing on July 28, Nola has made eight starts, thrown 46.2 innings and produced an ERA of 2.31 with a FIP of 3.93. The last time he gave up more than two runs in an outing was August 3 against the Nationals and they could only muster up three runs in six innings against the guy.
He certainly made life hard for the Braves last week, as he tossed seven innings and only gave up one run in a game that the Braves had to rally late (after he had exited the game) in order to win. Hopefully they’ll be able to do some real damage against Nola before he leaves this game. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see something similar to what happened when Nola last pitched at Truist Park, which is when Atlanta tagged him for six runs across 4.2 innings back on April 26 (which, coincidentally, was the last time Sale saw the Phillies here in Cobb County). The adjustments that Nola has made since August could make that scenario unlikely but it’s baseball and the Braves have been known to do some cool stuff in Truist Park so who knows what’s going to happen?
Either way, it’s abundantly clear that the Braves have an opportunity to start lunging for the finish line as far as the NL East race is concerned. Both teams lost their midweek series to American League divisional leaders so the four-game lead that the Braves left Philadelphia with has remained the same. The pressure is on the Phillies to start getting results, since the Braves simply have to maintain their pace in order to throw another blue flag up there on the light tower outside of right-center field. With that being said, there’s no need for the Braves to “simply maintain” when they can just go out there and grab it for themselves, which a win tonight (and a series win in general) would go a long way for Atlanta when it comes to accomplishing that goal.
Whatever challenges Atlanta may face from Aaron Nola, they’ll have Chris Sale going and hopefully he’ll be able to do the trick once again against the Phillies. A low-scoring, nervy affair is definitely possible but hopefully the home advantage will be enough to carry the Braves to victory on this particular night. We’ll see what happens, folks!
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 07: Members of the Boston Red Sox celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on Monday, September 7, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Natalie Reid/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
On April 25, the Red Sox were 10-17, tied with the Royals for the second-worst record in the American League. Boston management shocked the baseball world by firing popular championship-winning manager Alex Cora and replacing him with minor league manager Chad Tracy.
Since then, the Red Sox have gone 70-50, the second-best team in the AL over that time. They have climbed back into the pennant race, sitting comfortably in the #2 Wild Card spot. It has been one of the best turnaround in recent history, and Tracy will likely get support for Manager of the Year.
Kansas City Royals (65-82) vs. Boston Red Sox (80-67) at Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Red Sox: 4.44 runs scored/game (17th), 3.88 runs allowed/game (5th)
The Red Sox have been hit by injuries to Triston Casas, Willson Contreras, Curtis Mead, and Masataka Yoshida, and Roman Anthony and Trevor Story only recently returned to action. Jarred Duran has had a rough season – he has the third-worst wRC+ of qualified hitters, and Adley Rustchman has hit just .188 since being acquired from the Orioles. But the Red Sox have gotten offense from some surprising places like utility players Mickey Gasper, Nick Sogard, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Andruw Monasterio.
Who’s hot:
Trevor Story is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with five doubles in ten games since coming off the Injured List.
Carter Jensen won American League Player of the Week and is batting .292/.434/.708 with seven home runs and 16 walks in his last 19 games.
Who’s not:
Caleb Durbin has just one extra base hit in his last 20 games and is hitting .188/.325/.203 over that time.
Kyle Isbel is hitting .156/.208/.178 in his last 14 games.
Interesting matchups
Wilyer Abreu is a career .300 hitter (3-for-10) with a home run and two walks against Seth Lugo
Salvador Perez struggles against Sonny Gray, hitting .167/.189/.222 in 37 career plate appearances with just two extra base hits and no walks.
Seth Lugo has a 6.19 ERA in 14 road starts this year.
Sonny Gray is 10-2 with a 1.74 ERA in 14 career starts against the Royals.
Randy Dobnak has a 2.54 ERA since joining the Royals, the 7th-lowest ERA in the American League since the start of July.
Lefties have a wOBA of .334 against Ranger Suarez, the fifth-highest against any left-handed starting pitcher.
Noah Cameron has 1.7 rWAR since July 24, the fifth-most among any starting pitcher.
Payton Tolle is second among all rookie pitchers with 3.7 rWAR
The Red Sox have the second-fewest blown saves in baseball and their 3.14 bullpen ERA is second-best. Former Royals closer Aroldis Chapman has a 32.3 percent strikeout rate, ninth-highest among relievers. Erik Miller, acquired mid-season from the Giants, is fifth at 35.1 percent, but his 14 percent walk rate is fifth-highest. Brayan Bello has a 2.03 ERA in 14 games since moving to the bullpen.
The Dodgers are on the cusp of qualifying for the postseason tournament, where they will attempt to successfully defend their championship for the second year in a row. Shocking, I know.
It would have been a far more unexpected story had the Dodgers somehow bungled their way to an early trip to Cancun. But imagine spending that much money just to be terrible?
Picking a preferred opponent is some bad baseball juju. The Dodgers will ultimately need to best all comers if they wish to pull off the first threepeat in National League history. The Dodgers likely have the mindset of bring it on, without caring who they play.
The drama in the National League is largely limited to what seed the Dodgers will end up with and who ends up with the sixth seed in the National League between the perpetually disappointing San Diego Padres and the scrappy, underfunded Arizona Diamondbacks.
If pressed, I would predict that the Diamondbacks prevail with the sixth seed, in defiance of what ESPN predicts, because the Diamondbacks lack a history of being perpetually disappointing when yoked with the burden of expectations.
While the Miami Marlins are technically alive in this chase, in the same way that someone is only mostly dead after an unfortunate encounter with “The Machine” in The Princess Bride, the Dodgers can effectively end the Fishes’ season in Miami.
The Dodgers in Miami in September; nothing interesting has ever happened with that quirk of the schedule.
SB Nation asked its readership who the Dodgers would prefer to face to start the tournament, as the team largely controls its own destiny through its creampuff finale of a schedule. We asked whether you preferred the Dodgers as the top seed or the second seed.
The readership overwhelmingly agreed with this essay: ride the second seed to glory.
If the Dodgers end up with the NL’s top seed, they would face the winner of the current projected matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
Considering how the Cubs play in 2026, with likely Most Valuable Player Pete Crow-Armstrong, as either world beaters or clowns who have somehow never touched a baseball before, and the city of Philadelphia salivating over avenging Kerkering’s Blunder from last year, which requires another look, I have just one thing to say:
Have fun dealing with that portion of the bracket, Milwaukee!
Personally, Brewers/Cubs 2: Electric Boogaloo would pop like the sequel everyone in Cream City needed and likely have the same result, which I am absolutely fine with. However, based on the events of the past week, an interesting wrinkle has become possible, but for right now, we will operate under the current projection.
The drama just writes itself. Can the Dodgers avenge 2021? Can the Diamondbacks shock the world again as they did in 2023? Does the baseball world really need Dodgers/Padres 4: The Revenge?!?
In order, hopefully: Yes; I hope not; And, heavens no!
Let the Dodgers rest up and deal with a likely exhausted portion of the bracket before a return trip to the NLCS, as that path seems like the best route for success.
The worst-case scenario is if the Dodgers have to deal with either the Diamondbacks/Padres for a three-game series in Los Angeles, only to turn around and have to fly to Atlanta, assuming the Diamondbacks/Padres are vanquished, which is no guarantee.
I knew the 2025 Cincinnati Reds, and neither of these squads will lay down like last year’s Reds.
Unless they do, because baseball. Time will tell either way.
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 15: Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro (33) makes a pitching change during an MLB baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels played on August 15, 2026 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Kansas City Royals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Earlier this week, we asked you whether manager Matt Quatraro could be looking for another job this offseason:
I was actually quite gratified by the results. The majority of you, 53%, voted that Q shouldn’t and wouldn’t be fired. Only 8% of you thought he might be fired, whether he deserved it or not. That means a whopping 92% understand that he’s not going anywhere.
I have to say I’m a touch disappointed by the 38% who felt that Q wouldn’t be fired but should be. I understand that baseball managers are essentially hired to be fired. It’s really almost impossible to say whether they are good at their jobs, especially for us fans. Sure, we can point to decisions they make that we disagree with, but just because we disagree doesn’t make us right.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve screamed at my TV that such-and-such reliever should have been used instead, only to find out later that said reliever was unavailable for some reason that I hadn’t known when the decision was being made. And I’m certain that number is dwarfed by the times a player wasn’t used when I would have used them for reasons we still don’t know, but that made the choice obvious to the manager.
That isn’t to say that Matt Quatraro can’t be wrong, or that I haven’t disagreed with him or questioned his choices. I’m a baseball fan; of course I have. But I will say Matt Quatraro makes choices I can’t comprehend far less frequently than most MLB managers. Sure, it would make sense to replace him if you thought you could do better, but I just don’t know how you’d accomplish that feat. Even modern “legends” like Terry Francona and Bruce Bochy aren’t infallible. Given that, I’m content to keep the guy who at least doesn’t give me obvious concerns about the clubhouse.
And, just because I can’t help myself, let me address some of the biggest complaints about Q that I’ve seen over and over.
He isn’t fiery enough!
That kind of manager is dying out in the modern day; the only especially fiery manager I can think of is Aaron Boone, and no one likes him. If MLB players couldn’t self-motivate without a fiery manager, they wouldn’t have made it to MLB.
He makes the wrong calls with the bullpen!
There were zero right calls to make with this year’s bullpen. Daniel Lynch IV wasn’t even a good call. This is highlighted by the last two weeks in August, when, really, he couldn’t make a bad call. Mostly, a manager’s bullpen choices come down to whether they work or not, and that mostly comes down to the quality of arms that have been brought in for him to call on.
He always wants his lineup to go L-R-L-R!
I might dig into this a little this offseason, but anecdotally, he’s far from the only manager who prefers this. If you put a bunch of righties or lefties in a row, you’re making the opposing manager’s job much easier when he calls to his own bullpen.
He bats Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez too high in the lineup! (Also, he plays Isaac Collins too often!)
I will say the Vinnie and Salvy things have also driven me nuts, too. But also, to a degree, he can only build the lineups with the guys he’s got. I’m not sure how much more sense it makes to bat Nick Loftin or John Rave in the four-spot.
Having knocked down all of your strawmen, I hereby grant myself an exemption from arguing with you all in the comments. Have a great weekend!
Mar 4, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula against Team Mexico during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Blake Snell may be in the middle of a dominant run of form—quickly settling in after his return—but all eyes will be on Josue De Paula as the Dodgers’ top prospect makes his MLB debut this Friday against the Marlins. Chosen as the primary option to temporarily replace Shohei Ohtani as this team’s starting designated hitter, Josue De Paula—whose path to playing time has been blocked for quite a while—gets his opportunity, coming off a magnificent campaign in Double-A.
Looking back at recent seasons, various factors have made it so that the most exciting Dodger debuts have come from outside the organization. Seeing Tarik Skubal take the mound for the Dodgers for the first time in Wrigley was the most recent of the moments, but there’s always a special element when we’re talking about someone who has been developed in-house.
Even without Shohei Ohtani for basically a week’s worth of games, the Dodgers’ offense has been producing at a high level without their best hitter—inevitably, that takes some pressure off De Paula. In the end, it almost doesn’t matter what type of pressure is placed upon the youngster—the key to his success will be in how he handles the internal pressure of being asked to perform in the short term. De Paula, more than anyone else, is fully aware of the limited number of opportunities available to him, almost regardless of his skill set and what that means moving forward.
For now, though, the mindset for De Paula and the fans should be similar: to enjoy this rare moment as much as possible. The fact that the offense has been performing well—including coming off a 14-run output in a blowout win over the Reds—certainly affects how this call-up can be perceived. Lastly, if you want to read a bit more about the type of player De Paula is and what we should expect from him, Eric Stephen has covered that here.
The night Shohei Ohtani’s injury problems first became prevalent this season, that was how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described his initial concern level with the two-way star.
Months later, of course, the circumstances have ominously flipped.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Roberts said. “I think that we tried to kick the can as much as we could.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Dodgers Mismanagement
Indeed, the saga dates all the way back to a mid-June series in Pittsburgh; when, a night after making a two-way start, Ohtani was pulled from the team’s subsequent game early with swelling in his left knee.
At every step along the way since then, there has been a common pattern of decisions that simply haven’t panned out.
Granted, at most points, there were few obvious answers about what to do in a given moment. And on several occasions, the club did dial down the four-time MVP’s workload amid his ongoing left knee and, later, right arm issues.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after fouling a ball off his foot during the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Monday, September 7, 2026. Getty Images
But the team certainly didn’t think it was barreling toward this place either –– where Ohtani is going on the IL after looking physically diminished at the plate in recent weeks, and still feeling pain even after multiple days out of the starting lineup.
“Anyone can do [look back], and say, ‘What could you have done better or different?’ Absolutely,” manager Dave Roberts conceded this week. “That’s something going forward we’re gonna look at. But it’s certainly not a blame game thing.”
Blame game or not, however, Ohtani’s IL stint does bring about a moment of reflection.
Thus, the California Post retraced the timeline of his injury problems this season, to recount exactly how his health drifted so far off course that it is now threatening to impact his play the rest of the year.
June 10: After 10 dominant outings to begin his season as a pitcher (6-2 record, 0.74 ERA), Ohtani suffered his first relative clunker on the mound in Pittsburgh. He gave up four runs (three earned) in 6 ⅔ innings. He also quietly dealt with flaws in his pitching mechanics, with too much force being absorbed by his front landing leg. He would later point to that as the initial cause of his knee injury. But in the moment, there was no sign anything was amiss with his health.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani speaks with first base coach Chris Woodward at first base in the first inning of an MLB game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock
June 11: That would change the next night, when for the fifth time this season Ohtani DH’d the day immediately after a pitching start.
The Dodgers rested Ohtani the following day, but never seriously seemed to consider the IL, after medical imaging produced “no findings” of further damage. Instead, once the swelling in Ohtani’s knee went down, and the player reported to the team that he felt “great,” they reinserted him in the lineup two games later –– when, in his first at-bat back, he hit a leadoff home run.
Less than a week later, he wouldn’t even have his next pitching start delayed.
“I think I can continue playing … without any uncertainty,” Ohtani said in Japanese on June 12. “I think I should be able to recover [as a pitcher] adequately while making adjustments.”
June 17: Pitching for the first time since his knee injury, Ohtani struggled in a six-inning, four-run start against the Rays. Afterward, he acknowledged that he still wasn’t 100%, while Roberts echoed that his knee problem wasn’t “completely behind us.”
Yet, the right-hander threw 91 pitches in the outing, despite also battling a blister that left his fingers bloodied. And though he didn’t start the game as DH, he came off the bench to pinch-hit.
“Things like this happen over the course of a season,” Ohtani said in Japanese of his ailments after the victory, in an effort to calm external worries. “I think it was big to be able to win under those conditions.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner in the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski
July 3: Ohtani made what would turn out to be his final appearance on the mound this season in a six-inning, three-run, nine-strikeout start against the San Diego Padres –– looking almost back to his normal self before, in the seventh inning, he was suddenly pinch-hit for after feeling tightness in his right biceps.
That prompted the biggest revelation of the night, with Ohtani saying afterward he had quietly dealt with a similar problem about a month prior.
Roberts later conceded he hadn’t even been aware of that episode, though insisted that was only because it “was so benign.” This time, both Ohtani and the team expected that to be the case again.
July 10: The first sign Ohtani’s situation was worse than he and the team had let on came in an unexpected club announcement a few days before the All-Star Game.
The Dodgers said Ohtani would be skipping his final pitching start of the first half, as well as all Midsummer Classic festivities. Instead, he was set to get treatment on his knee during the break, in the form of a lubricant injection that was hoped to resolve the issue.
Still, the Dodgers did not put Ohtani on the IL, maintaining a belief his injuries only impacted his pitching. Initially, their hope was even for him to resume his two-way role once the second half of the season began.
“We all know with where we’re at, who he is as a player, if there’s opportunities to be extra cautious and mindful, it’s just prudent,” Roberts said, before later insisting: “Nothing is gonna come in front of being healthy for October.”
July 22: For the first time since his knee injection, Ohtani attempted a pitching ramp-up with a 31-throw bullpen session in Philadelphia. It would be short-lived.
Though the immediate reports on his bullpen were positive, Ohtani experienced what Roberts said was “regression” with his knee in the days that followed. It shut him down from throwing again. It forced the Dodgers to re-evaluate his pitching plan.
“We’re not going to move forward until he feels 100% confident, we feel 100% confident that we should do it,” Roberts said. “So right now we didn’t do it.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani takes part in a bullpen session before a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski
July 28: Amid his repeated pitching setbacks, Ohtani also stumbled into a midseason slump at the plate. One potential reason, as he revealed in late July, was that, in addition to his knee injury, his right arm still didn’t feel right.
In the same press scrum where Ohtani made that revelation, he also indicated his pain level with both issues might not get back to zero before the end of the season.
But instead, after a day off on July 30, Ohtani went on to start at DH in each of the team’s next 30 games.
August 28: Just as Ohtani’s hitting rebounded in the early weeks of August, the Dodgers decided to let him try ramping up once more as a pitcher again. At first, it went OK, with Ohtani reporting no issues following a couple bullpen sessions. But then, discomfort in both his knee and arm returned after a live session against hitters on Aug. 28. It continued to linger in a subsequent bullpen on Aug. 28.
At that point, the Dodgers scratched Ohtani from his tentatively scheduled return to the mound two days later.
They halted his throwing activities for the third different time this year.
“His value offensively is hugely important,” Roberts said. “So if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze.”
The only problem: Ohtani’s swing had already seemingly been affected by that point, with the slugger mired in the early stages of what would become a homer-less 6-for-49 slump.
Yet, the team still wasn’t planning to pull the plug on Ohtani’s pitching, despite him running out of time to get fully stretched out. As president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on the first day of September: “I think anything he can do is very additive and very helpful.”
President of Baseball Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers Andrew Friedman is seen on the field before a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, May 17, 2024. Getty Images
Sept. 2: The very next night, Ohtani reached the tipping point, when he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts while showing visible pain with his arm. That finally forced the Dodgers to give him his first extended break of the season, holding him out of their next four games.
Ohtani returned to action Monday only for his arm pain to persist in an 0-for-3 showing. However, Ohtani evidently didn’t alert the team to his latest discomfort until the following evening, according to Roberts, after he’d been removed from the lineup again in a form of load management.
Thus, at long last, the Dodgers finally opted to place Ohtani on the IL –– making one last delayed decision with which even Roberts voiced some regret.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts celebrates with designated hitter Shohei Ohtani after he scored in the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 22, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It’s not the absolute worst-case scenario for the Dodgers, who remain hopeful Ohtani will be a productive member of their lineup for their World Series three-peat push. There’s no guarantee that, regardless of what they did, he would find himself back at full strength by now, either.
Still, his current circumstances couldn’t be much further from ideal.
In a year the Dodgers and Ohtani thought they could manage his injuries and preserve his everyday two-way role, they instead might’ve pushed too hard –– and left too little time –– for him to feel right by the time October begins.
“It’s, I guess, under the thing of, ‘you don’t know until you know,’ and it’s important to kind of learn from experiences,” Roberts said this week while reflecting back on the team’s handling of Ohtani this season. “I think it’s good for all of us to kind of appreciate that he’s not supernatural, as much as we think he might be at times.”
Police, in a press release, claimed Cruz, the recipient of a $950,000 MLB contract from the Dodgers as a 16-year-old, had “consumed alcoholic beverages prior” to the early-morning crash that occurred on a poorly lit four-lane highway on the Dominican Republic’s southern coast — well beyond the country’s COVID-19 imposed curfew.”
Pirates centerfielder Oneil Cruz (15) tips his hat after hitting a home run during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Prosecutors opened an investigation and sought to hold Cruz in “preventive detention” following the Sept. 21, 2020 deaths of Yohan Saba Mercado, 20, Deby Beato Charles, 20, and Daniela Perez Garcia, 19.
According to ProPrublica, Santo Caraballo, a local businessman with ties to former Red Sox star David Ortiz, “oversaw a campaign to persuade the families of the three victims to accept cash in return for signing documents withdrawing all ‘penal, civil or judicial’ claims against Cruz.”
Caraballo, who counted a legal services firm among his businesses, organized a legal team and began reaching out to victims’ families.
Mercado’s mother told ProPublica that on the day of the funeral, “after all the mourners left the house, a driver showed up holding out a phone. On the line was Cruz’s mother offering condolences — and wanting to negotiate.”
The total paid out to the families was $66,000, per the outlet.
Pirates centerfielder Oneil Cruz (15) high-fives in the dugout after scoring a run against the San Francisco Giants. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Garcia’s mother said she was tricked into signing a deal, partially by her son, who was working with Caraballo.
“Rich people, especially baseball players, like to pay for dead people with money,” she said. “I am poor, but I have honor.”
The Pirates, who acquired Cruz in a 2017 trade, told ProPublica the now 27-year-old outfielder “addressed this matter more than six years ago based on the information available and the outcome of the legal proceedings,” while his lawyer noted the Dominican court “issued an order of dismissal based on the findings, a legally binding decision that was a lawful resolution of this matter.”
Cruz made it to the big leagues in 2021, playing a pair of games for Pittsburgh, becoming a full-time major leaguer in the second half of 2022.
Garrett Crochet is aware that laying out some premature expectations can occasionally backfire.
“Whatever I say to you guys [reporters] and I don’t do it, and I look like a dumbass,” Crochet said from the dugout at Fenway Park on Friday. “And I’ve done that a couple of times.”
With that understanding, Crochet laid out the latest in his efforts to return to the mound, as he spoke after throwing a bullpen session where he increased his intensity and threw some sweepers for the first time in this ramp-up period.
Crochet hasn’t pitched in a game since late April, but his 25-pitch session on Friday represented a step forward. Still, Crochet answered cautiously when asked if he believes it’s realistic for him to be able to pitch in a game before the postseason begins.
“I’m not sure,” Crochet said. “Trending well right now. I have a lot more stuff to tick off. I mean this is my first time throwing sweepers in a bullpen, so it’d be a pretty big leap to put myself in a game mindset right now.”
The next step for Crochet will be another bullpen session next week, likely Tuesday, according to Chad Tracy. The Red Sox’ interim manager said that the team continues to proceed with the intention of not causing any long-term damage for a potential short-term gain.
“I know there’s a lot of excitement seeing him get on a mound, especially on the game mound. The game mound pushes intensity,” Tracy said. “We’re still in check one box at a time, not, ‘Oh, he threw off a mound, let’s rush Garrett back.’ We’re very mindful of what he can bring and also very mindful of what he means for the future. So as long we keep taking steps forward, we’re in a good spot. He took another one today, and we’ll see how he does over the course of next week as well.”
Crochet did say that his shoulder feels “really good” and that he’s now acclimating the rest of his body to the workload of pitching. The 27-year-old also indicated that he’s managing his own expectations as much as anything as he navigates toward a return to the field.
“Going back to that last time I threw the live [BP], I thought I was close, and it’s pretty depressing to see that that didn’t work out and then being fully shut down for a month,” Crochet siad. “I’m just excited to be throwing again, excited that there’s even potential for me to get back out there again. And watching what this team’s done all year long, kind of kicking myself because I just want to contribute. Last year, we felt like we had a good squad, and this year they’re taking another step forward, and I hate that I can’t be a part of it. But it’s been a joy to watch. I’m really proud of those guys, but at the same time, want to be a part of what they’ve put together.”
The two New York teams will partake in pregame ceremonies honoring the NYPD and FDNY, with players from the 2001 Yankees on hand as well.
Each team played a major role in lifting New York – and America – in the wake of the attacks. On Sept. 21, 2001, the Mets hosted the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza hit a dramatic home run that lifted his team to victory in the first game played in New York after 9/11.
The Yankees reached the 2001 World Series, regarded as one of the best in history, and President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch before Game 3, but the team ultimately lost in seven games to the Arizona Diamonndbacks.
"It’s going to be special," Yankees captain Aaron Judge said of Friday's game, as the team visited the 9/11 Monument in Manhattan. "It’s going to be a big day. It’s something that impacted not only a lot of New Yorkers, but the whole world and our whole country."
Here's what to know for Friday at Yankee Stadium:
What time are 9/11 pregame ceremonies at Yankee Stadium?
Fans are asked to be in their seats at 6:30 p.m. for the start of the pregame ceremonies.
Who is throwing first pitch?
The ceremonial first pitches will be thrown by Brielle Saracini, and her husband, Sean McGuire.
Saracini’s father, Victor, was the captain of United Flight 175, which was directed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, where McGuire’s father, Patrick, was working on the 84th floor.
Both Brielle and Sean were 10 years old when they lost their fathers, and the couple met two years later at Camp Better Days, which was established to provide support for children who lost a parent in the tragedy. Brielle and Sean were married on Sept. 9, 2017.
Who will be honored at Yankees vs Mets game on 9/11?
Among those being recognized will be members of the NYPD, FDNY, Port Authority Police Department, Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Tuesday’s Promise (formerly known as Tuesday’s Children).
How Yankees will commemorate 9/11 anniversary
Players from the Yankees' 2001 team are scheduled to participate in pregame ceremonies. Current Yankees players will place a wreath beside the 9/11 monument in Monument Park in the afternoon.
Who will sing the national anthem?
The national anthem will be sung by opera tenor James Valenti.
Pregame performances
"God Bless the USA" will be performed by Lee Greenwood, the Grammy-winning country music artist. FDNY Lieutenant William Arce will sing “God Bless America” in the middle of the seventh inning.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 05: Washington Nationals pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At this point of the season, there is not a whole lot for Nationals fans to be excited about. The team we saw for the first few months of the season is now a distant memory. However, fans do get something to be fired up about once every fifth day when Cade Cavalli is on the mound.
A lot of what made the Nats fun has vanished, but Cavalli is just getting better and better. He is just building up steam as the season goes along, which is so comforting to see. Many of the Nats best players tend to run out of steam when August comes around, but Cavalli is only improving.
Since the All-Star break, Cavalli is 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 10 starts. He has struck out 75 hitters and only walked 14 in those 60 innings. This has been by far the best thing to happen to the Nats in the last couple months. Cade Cavalli is turning the corner and becoming an ace.
With the rest of the pitching staff being subpar, it makes you appreciate Cavalli even more. It is so obvious that he has the goods. The ball just jumps out of his hand differently. It is not just the velocity though. The feel for his breaking stuff and the command also stand out. He just makes hitters uncomfortable and stressed in a way nobody else on this staff can.
Despite averaging around 97 MPH, Cavalli’s breaking balls are the true difference makers. Heading into the season, we knew about his curveball. Even last year, it had a unique combination of velocity and true curveball movement. However, he added a sweeper this offseason and as he has gotten more comfortable with the pitch, it has taken his game to the next level.
At 86.4 MPH, his sweeper is nearly 3 ticks harder than the average one. It is a unique pitch, as it gets depth like a curveball but also moves away from hitters. The results have been devastating. Batters are hitting just .108 against the sweeper with a 35.9% whiff rate. It is a similar story with his curveball which has a .193 average against and a 38.9% whiff rate.
Simon Mathews has come under fire this year, and some of the criticism is deserved. However, he has done a really nice job with Cavalli. He is getting better as the year is going on and picking up new tricks. These power curves and sweepers have had a lot of success league wide this season and Cavalli is right in the middle of that movement.
He is throwing more of these breaking balls as the season goes on and throwing them harder. In August, the curve averaged 87.5 MPH and the sweeper was 87.2. We saw those weapons on full display in his dominant start against the Cubs, the best offense in the league. They just had no answers for his power stuff.
With these changes, along with improved command, Cavalli is now a bonafide stud. Even when he struggles early in games like he did in LA, you feel confident that he will find a way to right the ship. His first inning that start was a 30 pitch, 2 run disaster. However, he still found a way to go 6 innings with 8 strikeouts, only allowing those two runs.
Cavalli has also become a true workhorse down the stretch. He has gone at least 6 innings in 12 of his last 14 starts. It would have been 13 if he did not get hit in the leg by a comebacker in his outing against the Marlins.
With this dominant run, Cavalli’s season stats are very impressive. For the year, he is 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 158.2 innings with 185 strikeouts. As we close out this season, Cavalli has a couple milestones he is closing in on. With a few more strong outings, he should reach 200 strikeouts and around 175 innings.
That is such an impressive season for a player in his first full big league campaign. With all the injury troubles he has had, the durability might be the most impressive part. Cavalli is not only handling a full workload, he is getting better as he logs more innings. Even as this season has gone off the rails, the development of Cavalli has been beautiful to watch.
He has also allowed 3 or fewer runs in 28 of his 30 starts this season. That is the best mark in the whole league. Part of that is due to him having a shorter leash earlier in the season. However, it is also a testament to the pure dominance he has shown lately.
Tonight, Cavalli faces the Angels and looks to help the Nats snap a 7 game losing streak. It has been a dark 6 weeks for this team, but Cavalli has proven to be a ray of sunshine. Cade Day is always must see TV, even as the rest of the team struggles mightily. We have not had a pitcher like this since Max Scherzer. Now that we do, I love seeing what a true top of the rotation guy looks like.
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 09: Coby Mayo #16 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning during the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Alyssa Piazza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country.
The Orioles have 15 games to play and it is likely that the absolute minimum record they would need over those games to get into a wild card spot is 11-4. Even this might have them come up short, depending on how the teams ahead of them in the wild card standings finish over their own final stretches of the regular season.
The odds are heavily against the Orioles pulling off this miracle. Anyone who has watched them play this season does not need to see any exact percentage (6.8% on Baseball Reference, 4.3% on FanGraphs) to know this. The team is beset by many problems. You voted last week that the offense was most likely to hold the team back, with bullpen getting a respectable second place. Subsequent events have not done much to contradict that.
In this week’s poll, I was interested to see how close people think that the Orioles are going to get. Will it be a total collapse? A similar treading of water? Will they get just close enough to make every one of the particularly agonizing losses they’ve suffered this year hurt all the more? Here’s how the votes came in for this one:
That’s a majority thinking the Orioles will end up just about where they are now after beating the Guardians in two of three games. That’s put them at three games back. A healthy second place is those who expect a further collapse. It could certainly happen if the O’s flop in their six remaining games against the Blue Jays, games that the Jays need to get themselves past the Guardians and into a wild card spot for themselves.
Just about one in five people who voted believe that the team will either creep closer or somehow make it into a postseason spot.
A couple of representative thoughts from the comments section about this question:
Commenter TimeWillNotDim:
I voted 5+. This team’s weaknesses have been exposed and they’re too legion. If they were going to play consistently good baseball at some point in the season they would have done it by now.
Commenter Ponticar:
I fully expect the Orioles to win four of their next five to make everyone think they have a chance, then drop five of the next six to how they were only kidding.
The Orioles are part of the way there to this second prediction. They just have to win tonight and tomorrow against the Blue Jays. It wouldn’t surprise me either, if they manage to do this. That’s been the way they’ve played all season.
TULSA, OK - AUGUST 22: Josue De Paula #55 of the Tulsa Drillers looks on prior to the game between the Amarillo Sod Poodles and the Tulsa Drillers at ONEOK Field on Saturday, August 22, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Sara Crosley/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
De Paula has been a top-100 prospect before both the 2025 and 2026 seasons, but he’s really broken out this year, hitting .303/.401/.547 with a 145 wRC+ as a 21-year-old in Double-A Tulsa.
He mashed 37 doubles and 27 home runs, both more than double his previous career bests (17 doubles in 2024, 12 home runs in 2025), all while cutting his strikeout rate to 14.8 percent, a career low at his highest level yet.
Dig a bit deeper and it gets even better. De Paula’s in-zone miss rate this year is just under 9%. His overall miss rate is 15%. He has an above-average 22% chase rate, and well above-average 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity.
You very rarely see that kind of well-rounded profile combining extreme contact ability, excellent plate discipline and real power.
De Paula tapped into more power in 2026 by turning his pretty left-handed swing loose more often, and while his chase rate jumped to 22 percent from 14 percent a year ago, that’s still excellent for his age and level. He swung and missed just 15 percent of the time (and only 10 percent of the time against strikes) while producing 90th percentile exit velocities at 104 mph and topping out at 111 mph. Looking at the Major League numbers from this year, that’s similar to a combination of Kevin McGonigle’s bat-to-ball skills and Sal Stewart’s damage.
While I think de Paula is the best offensive prospect in the minors, the main thing keeping him from being the top prospect, full stop, is the defensive/positional value. As he’s filled out he’s gone from stretched in center to stretched in a corner to probably a first baseman. If I was certain he could manage even a 45 glove in a corner spot I’d be amenable to putting him number one, but we don’t know how he handles first base yet, and he might just be a designated hitter. As I mentioned in his Ten Pack from the summer, it’s hard to be one of the best players in baseball as a primary DH unless you hit like Yordan Alvarez. And while that isn’t an impossible marker for de Paula to meet, it’s a very very high-end outcome for the bat even now.
Despite being nearly three years younger than the average Texas Leaguer, De Paula has posted a 90% in-zone contact rate, honing his approach even further this year to balance in-zone aggressiveness with his quality plate discipline. He’s kept the ball off the ground better, lending more pull-side power alongside his continued physical development.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 28: A detailed view of the Under Amour cleats worn by Gunnar Henderson #2 of the Baltimore Orioles during the 10th inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on August 28, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We have a three game series with the Orioles, at Rogers Centre, starting tonight.
The Orioles are two games behind us, and three games out of the last wild card spot.
They have had a rough time of it lately. They are 2-7 in their last nine games. I hope that continues.
They are a good offensive team, 5th in the AL in runs per game, at 4.50 (Jays are second from the bottom at 4.01).
They are 11th in runs allowed per game at 4.68 (Jays are 6th at 4.27).
The scheduled starters are:
Tonight: Chris Bassitt (6-5, 4.96) vs. Max Scherzer (2-7, 6.03). Does kind of make you wonder about how the standings would be if we had re-signed Bassitt instead of Scherzer.
Tomorrow: Kyle Bradish (7-13, 3.91) vs. TBD.
Sunday: Trevor Rogers (10-9, 4.15) vs. TBD (who seems to get overused).
The team has to decide if they want Dylan Cease to have an extra day of rest this time through the rotation. Odd are they will announce who is starting the second and third game as soon as I publish.
The Orioles offense is centered around:
Pete Alonso: Hitting .268/.363/.498 with 34 home runs, 97 RBI, 74 walks and 4.0 bWAR.
Other ‘top WAR’ players:
Gunnar Henderson: .219/.303/.395 with 22 home runs, and leads the league with 647 PA and a 2.4 bWAR.
Colton Cowser: .213/.306/.364 with 13 home runs, and a 2.0 bWAR.
They seem to be using a ‘bullpen by committee’, with no reliever in double figured in saves:
Andrew Kittredge: 3.83 ERA, 9 saves, 5 blown saves. Batters are hitting .282/.320/.431 against him.
Rico Garcia: 3.03, 7 saves, 6 blown, 18 holds. Batters are hitting .180/.254/.338 against him.
Anthony Nunez: 4.02, 3 saves, 7 holds. Batters hitting .208/.305/.340.
Grant Wolfram: Lefty.4.86, 1 save, 12 holds. Lefties hit .281/.354/.382 against him.
Yennier Cano: 3.20, 3 saves, 13 holds. Batters hit .221/.278/.291.
We still don’t have to run the table. Taking two of three would be good. We play them again in our second last series of the season. Hopefully, those games will still mean something to us by then (or maybe we’ll have wrapped up the Wild Card spot) (let me dream please).
I’m going to be missing for most of today. Taking our middle boy (and my name sake) out for a birthday supper. And I have to make dessert. He asked for a dessert I used to make when he lived here. It is nice to know he has fond memories of something I did for him. So, unless there is major news, there likely won’t be much posted today (other than the GameThread).
