Category: Baseball

Today’s Reflections

YAY! Cleveland made the ALCS and won Game 1! Go Cleveland!

(This is SO HARD to say, but) YAY! The Brewers won! They beat the Dodgers twice, the Evil Empire, Part II!

GO Brewers! (ouch)

There’s an article below that describes a major change to baseball that is being tested in the AFL — Forcing outfielders to lineup in a particular spot prior to each pitch. This is to promote more extra-base hits. AWESOME!

Why not just eliminate singles — make every hit to the outfield an automatic double!Just think, PCA can set the MLB doubles and triples records by August!

This is stupid. Way back when, when infielders extremely overloaded the hitter’s power side — that was hurting baseball as nearly every ball hit in that direction was an automatic out. It was damaging the game.

Much differently, outfielders cover a much larger area and make adjustments by more that whether the hitters are dominant to one field. For each individual hitter, scouting and spray charts determine if the outfielder needs to move more to the power side, or less. If they need to move deeper, or shallower. It is detailed, studied analysis, not a “Here’s a LH batter — everybody move to the second base side.”

Instead, MLB wants to put a ball and chain on outfielders. Which is surprising, because while I disagree, a large number of people think that snaring a home run over an eight-foot fence is the most exciting play in baseball. If it was a 10-foot fence, sure, that would be really impressive. (I almost went into a diatribe of what I think are more exciting plays, but I digress).

Why not control outfielders like you do video games? Have a coach with a joystick control how effective an outfielder’s play is. (I better be careful — someone may be watching).

Bottom line — the extreme infield shift hurt baseball. Constricting outfielders to certain spots of the field is fixing something that doesn’t need fixing. We have way too many ERAs that are at or above 5.00 already. Is this a “fix” to dominant pitchers like the Miz — while he’s striking out 14 a game, allow almost every ball hit to the outfield will fall for a hit. That would improve baseball!

Bullhockeypucks! Looks like I’ll head out to a AFL game soon (I was going to, anyway). Read the story — more interesting points than I have room to write about. 🙂

I appreciate your reading.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

The Change MLB is Considering That Would Damage Baseball:

• Matthew Nethercott (Diamond Centric): MLB Experimenting With Another Major Rule Change That Could Transform the Game. “The Arizona Fall League is testing restrictions on defensive positioning that could dramatically alter how teams approach outfield defense.”

Commending a Take, and then a reconsideration on that take:

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Hope to Add New Breaking Ball to Edward Cabrera’s Arsenal. “Despite knowing they had much more work to do with Cabrera, he was essentially a car driving on a donut spare over those last few games.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Additional Thoughts on Edward Cabrera’s Blister Issues, Pitch Tweaks. “I wondered whether my initial analysis of Edward Cabrera‘s blister issues and new breaking ball had been missing a key concept.”

Free Agents/Trades/Predictions:

• Doug Schwamb (Chicago Cubs): One Cubs Player Likely to Be in Trade Rumors This Winter (And Who Might Be a Target). “The Chicago Cubs need to look at all avenues to fix their starting pitching problems.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Way-too-early prediction for Cubs’ starting rotation at the start of the 2027 season. “Too early for predictions?”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): The Cubs’ Top Needs Heading Into the 2026 Offseason. “If the Cubs wish to make a deeper playoff run, they have a few key areas to address.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs’ outfield need shouldn’t tempt them into Jarren Duran trade if Red Sox squeeze him out. “He was Ian Happ except for not having the walks to hold up his offensive value.”
• Doug Schwamb (Chicago Cubs On SI): One Dream Cubs Free Agent Target Who Can Solve One of Their Biggest Problems. “The Chicago Cubs badly need starting pitching, and they have the money to go after one of the best names on the market.”

Assorted Stories:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A 2026 Chicago Cubs Draft Report Card a Few Months Later. “We hope the Cubs did very well on their pitching selections, but it’s gonna take a minute to know for sure.“
• Brandon Glick (Cubbies Crib): Cubs prospect Josiah Hartshorn gets MLB Pipeline recognition that surprises absolutely nobody. “A well-deserved coronation.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Atheletic {$}): The Cubs hope to put Edward Cabrera’s blister issues, poor season in the past. “2026 was a disaster.”

Food For Thought:

Granville Henry “Stick” McGhee (March 23, 1918 – August 15, 1961) was an American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee“. McGhee grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. He received his nickname when he was a child. He used a stick to push a wagon carrying his older brother Brownie McGhee, who had contracted polio. Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshman year he dropped out of high school and worked with his father at the Eastman Kodak subsidiary. In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, and then to New York City. He entered the military in 1942, and when he was discharged in 1946, he settled in New York.

In the military, McGhee often played his guitar. One of the songs he performed was “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee”, one of the earliest prototypical rock-and-roll songs. Cover versions were recorded by Wynonie Harris, Lionel Hampton, Big John Greer, Johnny Burnette, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Mike Bloomfield‘s Electric Flag. McGhee continued to make records for Atlantic and created popular songs, but his music career overall was not successful. He recorded a number of rock-and-roll songs, such a “Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice”, “Head Happy with Wine”, and “Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter”. However, he was unable to make money from his records. He retired from the music industry in 1960.^[5] He became ill shortly afterward and died in August 1961 of lung cancer.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Good morning, Purple Row!

The MLB offseason is all about trade rumors in a typical year, but with a looming lockout and an anticipated busy November, chatter is picking up.

And the Colorado Rockie getting attention is catcher Hunter Goodman. (Hey, 41 home runs and three years of team control have that effect.) Remember all that speculation we did prior to the trade deadline? Let’s get ready to do it all again.

There were questions as to whether the Rockies should have made that move last summer, but given that Goodman’s trade value has only increased, Paul DePodesta’s decision to wait seems like a savvy move. But get ready for the speculation to increase.

November should be a busy (and interesting) month.

In today’s Rockpile, look for an interview I conducted with Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer 10 days ago.

In the meantime, here’s what’s happening today.

Rockies news & links

• New York Yankees must trade for 41-HR superstar catcher amid rumors | Heavy Sports — In the wake of the Yankees disappointing postseason performance, Michael DeRosa argues, they need to make changes, and one of them should be acquiring Hunter Goodman. Hey, TJ Rumfield worked out pretty well. What are you offering, Brian Cashman?
• Ranking the top 25 MLB trade chips for 2026-27 offseason | Bleacher Report — Goodman comes in at #5. “After a fourth straight 100-loss season, nothing should be off the table as the Rockies explore ways to improve,” Joel Reuter writes. “The asking price will be high given his remaining control, but he might be the most impactful power bat on the market.“
• Career-best season by Rockies infielder solidifies right move last offseason | si.com — Maddy Dickens points to the career season and positional versatility of Willi Castro, arguing that he was an good signing on the part of the Rockies front office.
• Paul DePodesta discusses rockies’ pitching struggles | MLB Trade Rumors — Last week, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta spoke with media about issues with the starting rotation. Connor Byrne looks at the numbers supporting that assertion.
• I’m going to start dropping in an occasional podcast given the contracted Rockies coverage we’re seeing. So here are Ryan Spilborghs and Troy Renck discussing the playoffs as recent negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA.

Around MLB

• Clutch Guardians Come from Behind to Take ALCS Game 1 | Covering the Corner — José Ramírez is inevitable (complimentary).
• Come On Back From the Ledge for a Spell: William Contreras Would Not Let Brewers Lose Game 2 | Brewer Fanatic — Matthew Trueblood analyzes what William Contreras has brought to the Brewers this postseason.
• Each team’s penalty for signing a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent | MLB Trade Rumors — This year, a qualifying offer is worth $23.15 million. The Rockies are a revenue-sharing team, so should they sign a free agent who has received a QO, it would mean forfeiting their third-highest selection in the 2027 draft. (There’s no way they’ll do that.)
• Where could Jazz Chisholm Jr. land in free agency? | MLB.com — No, the Rockies aren’t on the list, but I always enjoy free-agent speculation. Mark Feinsand lays out some possibilities.

This week on the internet

TJ Rumfield was selected for the second team, which is good!

Musical interlude

And since I alluded to Fleetwood Mac in the headline, I thought I’d follow through with an absolute banger that has stood the test of time.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

While it still hurts that the Yankees aren’t out there playing, you better soak the rest of the playoffs in. We only have, at most, three more days with more than one game, and we’re only guaranteed one more. Before you know it, we have only the World Series and then the long, cold winter and offseason.

However, there’s still some baseball left to go, and it’s important baseball at that. Let’s check in on how the action played out on Monday night.

National League Championship Series Game 2

Milwaukee Brewers 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
(Brewers lead series 2-0)

William Contreras had three hits and drove in three runs, leading the Brewers to a win and a two-game lead over the reigning two-time champs.

Through much of the game, the teams kept trading runs and the lead back and forth. The Dodgers held 1-0 and 4-3 leads, while the Brewers took a 3-2 edge at one point. In the bottom of the fifth, Contreras struck with a game-tying home run and Milwaukee took control of the game after that.

An inning after his homer, Contreras hit a go-ahead single. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers got in on the action in the ninth, each recording RBI hits to help Milwaukee put the game away.

A large part of the reason they were able to do that is that the Brewers’ bullpen completely shutdown the Dodgers. After putting up four runs in four innings off starter Logan Henderson, LA not only didn’t score against Milwaukee’s bullpen, they didn’t manage a baserunner over the final five innings.

Another key for Milwaukee was that they knocked out Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto after just 2.2 innings. After dominating last postseason, Yamamoto had to leave this game early after laboring for 75 pitches in less than three frames. Bauers did some damage, drawing a walk after 12 pitches, immediately before a big hit by Christian Yelich.

American League Championship Series Game 1

Cleveland Guardians 7, Tampa Bay Rays 3
(Guardians lead series 1-0)

The Guardians proved that it is possible to record more than one hit off Drew Rasmussen, as they drew first blood in the ALCS with a win on the road in the Trop.

The Rays got out to a very quick start. Junior Caminero and Johnny DeLuca each recorded RBI singles in the first inning, as Tampa Bay started with a 2-0 lead. However, those would be their last runs for quite a while, as Cleveland worked their way back into the game.

Rasmussen continued his run of shutout innings from the ALDS, but the Guardians eventually broke through. In the sixth, Chase DeLauter got him for a homer to get Cleveland on the board. An inning later, Patrick Bailey led off the frame with another home run, also knocking Rasmussen out of the game.

After slugging out their first two runs, the Guardians eventually got the lead thanks to their customary “Guardsball.” After José Ramírez got the eighth inning started with a single, DeLauter came up with a big double to set things up. Nathaniel Lowe then popped in a single to score both runners and give Cleveland their first lead of the day.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cedric Mullins led off with a home run to get one of those runs back. However, the Guardians only added to their lead further in the ninth. Ramírez and Jo Adell each came up with RBI hits as Cleveland put up three runs to take a commanding lead. The bottom of the ninth then took just seven pitches as the Guardians closed out the win.

The Guardians managed to steal game one of the ALCS, meaning they just have to split the remaining six games to go to the World Series.

They can feel free to go an easier route if they want, of course.

Jake had your recap here. Just take it one day at a time, boys. Tonight at 8pm is the next game to try to win.

Zack Meisel wrote about Nathaniel Lowe and his journey after the game.

The Brewers beat the Dodgers to take a 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

It’s pumpkin spice season. Do you think the Phanatic likes pumpkin spice? Given that he’s green, he’s probably more of a matcha guy.

On to the links.

Phillies news

Mark your calendars: here are the important dates for the offseason.

Aidan Miller is feeling good in the Fall League.

MLB news

How did Junior Caminero end up in Tampa Bay?

And how were the Championship Series teams built?

Jackson Chourio: very good at baseball. ($)

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

Both the ALCS and NLCS are underway, and we’re one step closer to an all-Central division World Series as both the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians were winners yesterday. The Brewers’ 7-4 win over the Dodgers gave them a 2-0 series lead as the teams travel to Los Angeles today. It’s a delightful outcome for the majority of baseball fans, who are exhausted by the idea of a Dodgers World Series three-peat. The 103-win Brewers are showing why they were the best team in baseball this season, and they’re halfway toward getting revenge on L.A. for last year’s NLCS sweep.

The more surprising result came in the ALCS opener, where the Guardians (85-77 in the regular season) stole a win on the road from the heavily favored Rays (98-64). Things seemed to be going as planned for the Rays when they pounced for two runs in the first and handed the lead to their ace, Drew Rasmussen, who tossed five scoreless innings. But the Guardians turned the tables and stunned the Tropicana Field crowd by scoring seven times in the final four innings, including a pair of solo homers off Rasmussen to tie the game and a five-run explosion against the bullpen.

It was a particularly rough night for two former Orioles relievers, Tyler Wells and Cole Sulser, who combined to cough up five runs in the Rays defeat. Wells, making his first appearance of the postseason — and his first in exactly a month, after he missed much of September with forearm tightness — was tagged for a single and a double in a tie game in the eighth. Both runs scored after he left the game, saddling him with the loss. Later, Sulser, trying to keep it a one-run deficit in the ninth, instead let the Guardians put the game out of reach with a three-run rally in which he gave up two singles, a walk, a wild pitch, and a balk.

Wells and Sulser struggled, but you could question manager Kevin Cash’s choices to bring them into the game at all. Was it wise for Wells, who’d had a month-long layoff from the mound, to make his return in as high-pressure a situation as a tied playoff game in the eighth? And why use Sulser, who had a -0.3 WAR in the regular season, instead of All-Star closer Bryan Baker (another former Oriole) in the ninth? Yes, the Rays were losing, but it was only a one-run game. If Baker had shut down Cleveland in the top of the ninth, Tampa Bay might’ve had a real chance to tie the score in the bottom half. I guess now we’ll never know. But in happier former Oriole news, Cedric Mullins smashed a left-on-left homer in the eighth that kept the Rays close, at least for a little while.

The Rays will look to even the series tonight, with Freddy Peralta taking the mound against Guardians ace Parker Messick. Will there be more bullpen shenanigans this time around?

Links

Do you think Albernaz should have publicly criticized Oriole players? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

Purely my speculation, but I don’t think the Orioles’ beat crew are the biggest fans of Albernaz. Rich Dubroff states that it was “not a good look” for Albernaz to air out his criticisms of players in the media.

Vance Honeycutt and other O’s prospects are off to good starts in the AFL – Steve Melewski

Honeycutt is continuing to rake in the AFL, and he credits his turnaround to consulting with a private hitting instructor in Gaithersburg. Not exactly a rousing endorsement for the Orioles’ development staff.

Jon Meoli: The Orioles’ prospect contingent in the Arizona Fall League is more consequential than ever – The Baltimore Banner

The performances of some of the Orioles’ AFL players might decide whether they join the 40-man roster or get left out in the cold, writes Meoli. No pressure!

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Hayden Penn (42) and the late lefty Ron Moeller (b. 1938, d. 2009).

The O’s have played five postseason games on this date in history:

• In 1970, the Orioles took an insurmountable three-games-to-none lead in the World Series against the Reds, winning a 9-3 rout in Game 3 in front of a crowd of 51,773 at Memorial Stadium. Orioles starter Dave McNally truly did it all. Not only did he pitch a complete game victory, but he also hit a game-breaking grand slam in the bottom of the sixth. McNally was the second (and final) pitcher in postseason history to hit a grand slam (and the other one was done by his Orioles teammate, Mike Cuellar, 10 days earlier in the ALCS). Former Reds superstar Frank Robinson burned his former team with a dinger of his own.
• In 1971, the Orioles and Pirates played the first nighttime World Series game in history. The O’s lost, so we don’t need to discuss it further.
• In 1979, the Orioles took a 3-1 series lead over the Pirates in the World Series with a 9-6 win in Pittsburgh. Trailing 6-3 in the eighth, the O’s erupted for a six-run inning. Pinch-hitter John Lowenstein drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double, and two batters later, pinch-hitter Terry Crowley did the same. Even relief pitcher Tim Stoddard joined in on the fun with an RBI single, and Stoddard also finished the game with three scoreless innings on the mound.
• In 1996, the Orioles lost the ALCS to the Yankees with a 6-4 defeat in Game 5. Bleh.
• And in 1997, the O’s stayed alive in the ALCS with a 4-2 victory in Game 5 in Cleveland. Geronimo Berroa’s two-run single in the third provided the game’s only runs for the first eight innings, and Eric Davis added some much-needed insurance with a home run in the ninth. Orioles pitchers Scott Kamieniecki and Jimmy Key held Cleveland’s powerful offense scoreless for eight innings before closer Randy Myers survived a two-run scare in the ninth.

A cursory glance at the numbers over the past two seasons will tell you that William Contreras is still a good major-league catcher, but that he’s taken a little step back. After he was the league’s best catcher in 2024 at age 26 (he made First Team All-MLB and finished fifth in NL MVP voting), one could find a way to be disappointed with his two follow-up seasons; his OPS+ dropped from 130 in ‘24 to 111 in ‘25 to 108 in ‘26. Maybe he was hurt, maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was being overused, maybe he wasn’t. But the numbers were declining earlier than you’d expect them to.

But those following the Brewers know how valuable he’s been to the team. While Christian Yelich is universally acknowledged as the team’s leader and Jake Bauers has had a couple of important leadership moments this season, Contreras brings a different dimension to this team: swagger, confidence, soul. Even during the moments when his offense has struggled—he went through a brutal slump this season, in which he hit just .159/.248/.506 for six weeks between the beginning of July and mid-August—he still brought that dimension to the team.

Well, his offense is back. Since his OPS bottomed out at .702 on August 14, Contreras hit .321/.384/.557 over the regular season’s last six weeks—in 33 games in that stretch, Contreras had 10 doubles, seven homers, and more than an RBI per game (35). More importantly, he’s kept it rolling in the postseason. Against the Padres, Contreras went 6-for-16 (.375) with two solo homers. He was 0-for-3 with a walk in Game 1 on Sunday, and followed that up with a monster game on Monday in which he was 3-for-4 with a massive solo homer and a pair of RBI singles. All three of Contreras’s run-scoring hits either tied the game or gave the Brewers the lead, which makes him just the fourth player ever to have three such hits in a postseason game.

Should we look at them all? Let’s look at them all. First, a first-inning RBI knock to tie up the game after the Dodgers got out to an early lead:

Next was an absolute blast, a 436-foot missile off the scoreboard that tied the game at four in the bottom of the fifth:

An inning later, Contreras bat-flipped on an RBI single that gave the Brewers a 5-4 lead which they did not relinquish:

The result is that the Brewers are headed to Los Angeles with a 2-0 lead in the NLCS, as good a position as they could possibly be in. There have been several games this postseason—even games that the Brewers won, like the first game against the Dodgers and game 4 of the NLDS against the Padres—where there was plenty of traffic and plenty of hard-hit balls, but the big hits just weren’t falling. On Monday, Contreras made those hits fall.

It hasn’t always been easy for Contreras in the postseason. He’s had his moments—he homered twice in the NLDS victory over the Cubs last season, for instance. But coming into tonight Contreras was a .241/.308/.410 lifetime postseason hitter (compared to .272/.354/.442 in the regular season), and while he had four homers he had only seven RBI in 91 plate appearances and was a negative Win Probablity Added player in the playoffs.

I suspect the WPA numbers will look much better once they’re updated.

There is no shortage of heroes through the Brewers’ first six postseason games; Aaron Ashby has been the most impressive member of a bullpen that has been, almost literally, unhittable, and they set a postseason record by throwing five perfect innings on Monday. Jake Bauers and Yelich both had big moments in game 2. Brice Turang has been huge so far in the NLCS. David Hamilton had one of his best games as a Brewer when it mattered most.

But Contreras is the reason why they won game 2, and he was a huge part of the reason why they defeated the Padres. He’s on one right now, and when he does that he is more than willing to let the whole team jump on. We’ll see how long he can keep carrying the team, but right now, Wild Bill is this group’s major driving force.

As we inch closer and closer to the offseason, the more we try to pick apart what the roster picture looks like as of right now and how that picture could be manipulated before opening day to give the Cardinals their best chance to win in 2027. Perhaps I’ve been too gullible in believing them when they say they expect Nathan Church to open 2027 as the starting center fielder. But the devil’s advocate of that stance is that they’re being extremely transparent in their approach to the offseason, and they truly believe that they don’t need to commit any substantial resources to the position. The latter of those two viewpoints has drawn the ire of a majority of the readers, which led me to create this piece today that will explore outside additions that are both realistic and have the capacity to overachieve what the incumbent might be capable of.

The question of “Could the Cardinals upgrade in center field?” is one that is easy to answer. Could they? Yes, fairly easily. Will they? TBD. We can argue about the who of it all day long, but unless they choose to take action, it’s all a moot point.

Nathan Church in 2027 slashed .247/.290/.364 -> .654 OPS; his .288 wOBA was actually higher than his .283 xwOBA, which means that, for as underwhelming as his offense was, it actually slightly outproduced what his expected production was. Further evidenced by his 81 wRC+ and his 0.7 fWAR. His +2 OAA and 90.8 MPH were both above-average rated defensive outputs, and his 28.5 MPH sprint speed rated in the 81st percentile in baseball according to Baseball Savant. Those are replacement-level stats, and I came into the season viewing Church as a 4th outfielder long-term, and his performance did not move me off that stance.

The Cardinals have pieces in their pipeline they’re excited about long-term: Tai Peete, Josiah Ragsdale, and Trevor Condon, who might eventually force the issue. Peete and Ragsdale likely will start the season in Triple-A Memphis, and if they get off to hot starts, they could be realistic options by June/July. Condon, who was just drafted 13th overall as a prepster, is likely 3-4 years away from knocking on that big league door.

The other name worth mentioning here is 2023 1st-round pick Chase Davis, who primarily plays CF and has not quite been what the Cardinals had expected when they drafted him. He parallels a lot of what Nathan Church does: a really solid defender in CF, flashes occasional power, and they go about their at-bats a little differently, with church swinging early and often; Davis is far more passive, somewhat like what some fans’ frustrations were surrounding Lars Nootbaar and his patience bordering on passivity. Davis is R5 eligible this offseason, so the Cardinals will be forced to make a decision on him. Might he instead be part of a package to get an established CF, or do they protect him and continue to throw numbers at the position and see who sticks?

I identified a few options that might intrigue you based on your current belief in the internal options. If you believe that Ragsdale/Peete are solutions, perhaps a 1-year short-term stopgap might be your best bet. If you aren’t sold on those guys and you think that Trevor Condon is the more likely future CF, perhaps a medium-term guy with years of control might be better. And perhaps if you think prospects are overrated and waiting for them to ascend is just a foolish waste of time, then young MLB-experienced long-term pieces are what might appeal to you the most.

I’ll try to provide a little something for everyone and put the onus on you, the reader, to decide what path you like the most. None of these players project to be stars, face of the franchise, or organizational direction-altering players, but guys who could factor in as everyday contributors/fringe all-star caliber depending on upside. We’ll work from short-term (most likely) to long-term.

SHORT TERM PLACEHOLDERS

CF/LF Steven Kwan – ARB 3 (1 year /11.5 million projected salary)

Kwan is the ideal 9-hole hitter in modern baseball. The subsequent 2nd lead-off hitter in a lineup as it turns over and rolls back into the top of the lineup. Kwan has no power, but that’s okay because he does everything else so exceptionally well that he still makes an impact. For fans who love throwback-style hitters who don’t strike out, put the ball in play, use their speed to manufacture hits, and can play above-average defense and steal bases. This guy is a “whiteyball” fan’s dream. .282/.382/.349 -> .731 OPS, Kwan was 15th in the AL in hits and 7th in the AL in walks. He only struck out 62 times this season and has never done so more than 75 times in a season in his career. He produced 3.8 fWAR and is a 2x All-Star in ’24 and ‘25 and has won 4 consecutive Gold Gloves. So, why would Cleveland trade him? He’s entering his final season of Salary Arbitration, and at 11.5 million, that’s a little pricey, especially when they have 12 other arb-eligible players and a team that routinely carries a bottom-10 payroll in baseball. They also have guys like Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, and Daniel Schneeman who can cover CF. It might cost the Cardinals some future value, but of the short-term options, he would be the best of the bunch.

CF Trent Grisham – FA

After a 2025 season in which Grisham hit 34 home runs and earned the qualifying offer, he followed it up with a performance that saw him hit .211/.308/. 395 -> .703 OPS and still managed to blast 18 home runs into the New York sky. The underlying data suggests that there wasn’t a marked difference between what he did in 2025 and what he produced in 2026. He produced a .311 wOBA that was 26 points below his .337 xWOBA and still managed a slug that was nearly .400 and an OPS that was 50 points higher than Nathan Church in 2026. Grisham produced 0.7 fWAR this season, and his defense has taken significant steps back since he went to New York, producing -5 OAA, which is a complete 180 from his 2023 in SD when he produced a +6 and was one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. I’m not totally sure what to make of that, given that he is still only 29 years old, so it shouldn’t be age-related decline. Perhaps an indictment of the Yankees’ coaching staff? A 1-year flier on a guy looking to bump his value back up, and to work with an excellent outfield coach in Jon Jay, could help him look to cash in during the 2028 offseason after all of the CBA hubbub is behind the league.

MEDIUM TERM PLAYERS WITH UPSIDE

OF Colton Cowser ARB 1 (1 year/2.2 million projected salary)

After an impressive breakout 2024 season, Cowser has followed it up with back-to-back underachieving seasons in Baltimore. Slashing .226/.317/.370 -> .687 OPS. On the one hand, that’s pretty underwhelming, and the 30% K rate and lack of consistently squaring up the ball (17.5%) does give some pause. Considering his .144 ISO, he still produced slightly above-average power, produced an 11.7 BB%, which was 81st percentile, and was credited with a +10 OAA, which means he can really go get the baseball. Cowser is Nathan Church with power potential, and that’s something that shouldn’t be overlooked. It seems as though Cowser would benefit from a change of scenery, where in Baltimore the outfield picture is very crowded, and in St. Louis he could be given every opportunity to take hold of an everyday OF job. Would the Orioles entertain a Cowser for Gorman swap and engage in a challenge trade? Maybe. Gorman could serve as quite the complement for Coby Mayo and Pete Alonso.

CF Jake McCarthy ARB 2 (1 year/4.6 million projected salary)

Jake McCarthy showed what he can do when given a chance to play every day after leaving the complex outfield picture in Arizona. Slashing .291/.334/.475 -> en route to an .809 OPS and 2.7 fWAR. He is a real spark plug of an offensive piece and can cause havoc on the bases at the big league level in the way that fans had hoped Victor Scott would provide. He stole 32 bases and ran at 30.0 ft/s, which is in the 98th percentile. Paying for guys’ career years coming out of Coors Field will generally cause fans and analysts to pause, but when you consider that what he produced was just a continuation of what he showed in AZ, he was able to recreate what he did in ‘24 and exceeded it because of volume, not necessarily because of ballpark factor alone, which should reconcile some of those concerns, and you also consider what kind of havoc he was able to create in their 3-game series in St. Louis in August. Perhaps on days the offense struggles to get going, as it did at times in ‘26, a spark plug like McCarthy to wake the guys up a little might be something worth investing a couple of resources in.

LONG TERM INVESTMENTS

CF Jakob Marsee – Pre-Arb

2026 wasn’t quite the encore to the 2025 cup of coffee that Marsee obtained in 2025 when he slashed .292/.363/.478 -> .841 OPS in 234 PA. In 2026, his first full season, Marsee slashed .231/.348/.359 -> .707 OPS and produced 2.5 fWAR. A lot of the power and impact Marsee showed in 2025 didn’t carry over to 2026 due to multiple injuries suffered throughout the season; to Marsee’s credit, he continued to post and do what he could to help his team win. A quality this Cardinals organization finds endearing, perhaps to the players’ detriment, Marsee had UCL surgery on his left elbow (non-throwing) arm this month and is expected to have a 6-month recovery timetable that should put him on track for a May return in 2027; considering potential labor strife that might eat up all of April, he theorhetically, could be available for most of the season. The Cardinals would likely have to include multiple young players to pry Marsee away from Miami, though they’ve never been known to be a particularly difficult organization to pry players away from.

CF Drew Gilbert – Pre-Arb

2026 was Gilbert’s first real taste of big league baseball, and he showed really well in his opportunities. Slashing .238/.330/.394 -> .724 OPS and produced 1.7 fWAR. After being drafted by the Houston Astros and traded multiple times to the New York Mets and now the San Francisco Giants, Gilbert is no stranger to being moved around, and he could find a long-term home in St. Louis. Defensively, he was a +4 OAA and displayed an above-average throwing arm, more of an average runner in terms of sprint speed, and underlying metrics in terms of whiff%, chase%, and BB% are all positive indicators, as well as the ability to display some sneaky raw pop, producing a max EV of 110. The Giants have more young SS than they know what to do with, which could lead to one of them finding their way to CF long term, and that follows a modern philosophy of roster building, which could then theoretically make Gilbert gettable for the right price after a disaster of a 2026 season as a team; they should be open to anything.

The Cardinals don’t have many glaring holes on their roster from an offensive perspective heading into 2027, but one of the more persistent ones that continued to frustrate fans throughout the season was the play of Nathan Church in CF. Your perception of where you think the Cardinals are in their build will likely lead you to which of these plausible options could be the right answer. The Cardinals could argue their belief in Nathan Church to be capable of playing on par with some of the names listed above, and thus they don’t see a great need to make a change in CF at the start of the 2027 season. I’m somewhat indifferent on the topic, as I can see the rationale for both sides. Though I will always lean towards the direction of the higher upside just because I believe that the more high-upside players you can obtain, the greater the likelihood you are to be successful in a 162-game marathon season. I’d like to know your thoughts on the article, if there was someone presented you hadn’t really thought of, or if there’s someone you really have your eye on you think would be a perfect fit.

-Thanks for reading

They’re down, but no way are they out.

Just ask the vanquished foes of past postseasons how difficult it is to bury the Los Angeles Dodgers. They might have a few cautionary words for the Milwaukee Brewers, who were opportunistic and practically perfect from the mound in grabbing a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven National League Championship Series.

Now, the Dodgers are going home, which should help. Yet they will need to clean up a lot – and try something new – to prevent the Brewers from celebrating their first World Series trip since 1982 at Chavez Ravine.

With that, three turnarounds the Dodgers will need to get back in this NLCS:

It’s all on Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow

In losing both Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s starts, the Dodgers not only forfeited a significant advantage, but put themselves in a hole. Against the odds, Blake Snell must dig them out of it.

His Game 2 NLDS start against Atlanta – 3 ⅔ innings, five walks, setting the stage for a Dodgers loss that momentarily jeopardized their season – simply can’t be repeated or L.A. will again be back on the brink. Snell was brilliant last postseason, never better than his eight-inning, one-hit, 10-strikeout performance at Milwaukee in the NLCS, showing that despite health woes, Snell got right just in time.

He looked to be on track to pull off that trick again this year. And then, the clunker in the NLDS. The Brewers will take a 3-0 lead if he’s that shaky in Game 3.

As for Glasnow, he was good in his first playoff assignment, giving up just one run yet only recording 13 outs. But he must go deeper this time. Yamamoto’s 2 ⅔-inning start in Game 2 creates a problem for the Dodgers that was originally supposed to a Brewer conundrum: Too many relievers forced to face too many batters too many times.

The Dodgers need quality from Glasnow. They also need length.

We’ve weirdly gotten used to seeing Shohei Ohtani look mortal over the last several weeks.

But Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

None of us saw him unraveling, certainly not Will Smith.

The Dodgers’ struggling catcher — now one for 23 this postseason at the plate — could have altered the course of Monday’s NLCS Game 2 disaster if he hadn’t kept both of his team’s ABS challenges in his pocket.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' three-peat dreams are on life support as the deflated heroes return home

But once the Milwaukee Brewers got going, unimpeded, there was no looking back. They outclassed the two-time defending World Series champions, winning 7-4, and lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 as it heads back to L.A.

The Dodgers have learned to lean on Yamamoto. But this time, the 28-year-old right-hander lasted only 2⅔ innings — as long as his scoreless, 34-pitch relief appearance in Game 7 of the World Series last year, but with a vastly different outcome.

In that span Monday, Yamamoto made 75 pitches and gave up three runs on four hits. This time, he really could have used even a little bit of help from his friends — at the plate, where the Dodgers got only three hits, and behind it.

Yamamoto would’ve benefited from fielders with enough foots peed to track down pop fouls (two of which fell to extend at-bats), and from a catcher with a sense of urgency to stop the bleeding before they needed a tourniquet.

But Smith said he assumed Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ ace of the aces and last year’s World Series MVP, had everything under control. Smith assumed those challenges would better serve the team in the later innings.

Read more:Dodgers will consider sitting Shohei Ohtani after offense struggles in Game 2 NLCS loss

But Smith also failed to respect how dangerous and dug-in the Brewers are. Didn’t appreciate that the time to stop Milwaukee is now or forever hold your peace.

The Dodgers not only left Milwaukee with both challenges remaining (both Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker successfully challenged strike calls), but the Brewers’ Brice Turang got the benefit of a first-inning double and third-inning walk when those at-bats instead should have ended in strikeouts.

“It was kind of early in the game. We kind of had him on the ropes,” Smith said of Turang. “I figured we could get him out there. The walk one was a bummer. But it happens. It’s baseball.”

A successful challenge and strikeout would have saved a run in the first inning, because Turang came right around to score on William Contreras’ single.

A second successful challenge and strikeout — and Yamamoto seemed to want to challenge, pointing to his head — would have helped the Dodgers evade the waking nightmare of the third inning.

Yamamoto made 36 pitches and got only two outs in the inning, a taxing tally that included, two batters after Turang, a 12-pitch walk to Jake Bauers, which was a career high for both pitcher and hitter. Yamamoto exited with the Dodgers trailing, 3-2.

“I thought about [challenging],” Yamamoto said, through an interpreter, of his sixth pitch to Turang, which appeared to catch the corner. “But that was too fine a line on the strike zone. So I just didn’t know.”

The Dodgers’ steadiest pitcher and coolest cat actually seemed miffed on the mound when Smith didn’t challenge — as shocking a sight as his early exit.

Yamamoto’s performance was a gut punch and a psyche-rattling blow for the Dodgers. A parachute not opening. An emergency call going unanswered.

The Dodgers’ starting pitching is what we expected would give them a real shot at a three-peat, despite them going 36-36 against .500 or better ballclubs this season.

Instead, the Brewers got to Tarik Skubal, last year’s American League Cy Young winner, in Game 1. And in Game 2, they got to Yamamoto, who had the second-best WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched, .087) in the big leagues this season behind only Brewers star Jacob Misiorowski.

Yamamoto held hitters to a .182 batting average, third-best in baseball.

He came into Monday’s game having earned the win and given up one run or none in each of his last five postseason appearances, tied with Curt Schilling (1993-2001) for the longest such streak in history, per OptaSTATS.

Read more:In the NLCS, the Dodgers are seeing what money can’t buy: a bullpen such as Milwaukee’s

And Yamamoto had Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy raving about his diverse pitching arsenal — “He can cut you, he can sink you” — only for his Brewers to remind us Yamamoto bleeds and that there are days when his splitter doesn’t cut it.

“He’s a human being too,” Betts said. “I think everyone is so used to him being a robot that if he didn’t go eight innings with no hits or whatever then it wasn’t Yamamoto. It shows that he’s a human being and playoff baseball is hard.”

“Our job now,” third baseman Max Muncy said, “is to win several games and give him another chance because I know that next time out he’s going to dominate.”

It’s only right that the Dodgers retain faith in Yamamoto, but they should have learned that they shouldn’t have too much — sometimes he could use a challenge too.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Tarik Skubal, the crown jewel of the trade deadline. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the biggest of big-game pitchers in two countries.

The Dodgers mapped out their National League Championship Series rotation before they even started the division series: Skubal in Game 1, Yamamoto in Game 2, and the World Series on deck.

You can call it logic or you can call it hubris, but reality bites.

The Milwaukee Brewers dumped the Dodgers in the first two games of the NLCS, and now the Dodgers might not need to map out a World Series rotation. If the Dodgers lose the next two games, Skubal and Yamamoto each have already made their final start this season.

Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, Dodger Nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

Read more:Dodgers Debate NLCS Game 2: Did the Dodgers forget how to hit?

“It’s certainly a challenge,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Some aces are portrayed as more equal than others. For two months, the Dodgers have talked about their four aces, but the headliners have been Skubal and Yamamoto, even with Snell a two-time Cy Young winner.

Glasnow stood at his locker late Monday night and pronounced himself “very excited” for the challenge. He’ll start Game 4, following Snell‘s start in Game 3.

“We’re down two, but none of us have lost the faith,” he said. “We’re a confident group of people. We’re ready to go.”

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' three-peat dreams are on life support as the deflated heroes return home

In fairness, the Dodgers cannot win on pitching alone.

Yamamoto’s performance was catastrophic. He got as many outs as he did pitching in relief in Game 7 of last year’s World Series, but he threw more than twice as many pitches. He pitched back-to-back complete games last October, but the Dodgers needed seven relievers behind him on Monday.

“He’s a human being too,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said. “I think everyone is so used to him being a robot that if he didn’t go eight innings with no hits or whatever, then it wasn’t Yamamoto.”

Skubal’s performance in Game 1 was satisfactory, but neither him nor Yamamoto would have had much chance of winning with whatever passes for offense among the Dodgers this October.

The Dodgers are batting .193, the lowest of any of the nine postseason entrants to play at least three games. The on-base percentages, compared: .363 for the Brewers, .263 for the Dodgers.

On Monday, the Dodgers had three hits. So did the Milwaukee catcher.

From the No. 2 through the No. 7 spots in the batting order, the Dodgers went 0 for 20.

The star attraction and current cleanup batter, Shohei Ohtani, is compromised by injuries. He is batting .150 this postseason, with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts in 20 at-bats. The Dodgers are not committed to starting him in Game 3.

“Everybody knows he is struggling right now,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “They’re being careful the same way as if he was doing an MVP season. It’s not like he has been getting pitches to hit.

“It’s going be even tougher, especially when you are in a slump like that, to come through, because they are not going to let you get hot.”

The absence of hitting puts the pressure squarely on the shoulders of Snell and Glasnow. The last thing a starting pitcher needs is to worry that he might get no more than a run or two of support and, well, here we are.

In his lone start in the NLDS, Snell lasted 3 2/3 innings and walked five.

“You need Snell to go out there and give us some length,” Roberts said, “give us a typical Blake Snell outing and let us deploy guys with a lead.

“I know Blake has a bad taste in his mouth from that last outing against the Braves. So you’re going to see a locked-in, focused Snell.”

In his lone start in the NLDS, Glasnow lasted 4 2/3 innings and walked five.

The Dodgers started this NLCS with Skubal and Yamamoto, lost both games, and now?

“Now we’ve got Blake and Glasnow,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “Still a pretty good scenario we’re in. We’ve just [got] to get better on Wednesday.”

Hernández pronounced the state of his team as “still good,” even as Snell and Glasnow can determine the fate of the season.

Read more:Dodgers will consider sitting Shohei Ohtani after offense struggles in Game 2 NLCS loss

“If you put them on any other team, they’re going to be No. 1,” Hernández said. “We’ve got a lot of trust in those guys and our team. I think we’re going to be OK.”

Maybe. No team since the 1923 New York Yankees has been swept by a postseason opponent one year and beaten that same opponent the next October, and those Yankees had Babe Ruth.

In the seventh inning of games here in Milwaukee, after “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the Brewers and their fans sing the “Beer Barrel Polka,” better known as “Roll Out the Barrel.”

The line that stood out: “We’ve got the blues on the run.”

The Brewers certainly do. It will be up to Snell and Glasnow to stop them.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

We got double-LCS action on Monday and both games delivered, the Dodgers and Brewers exchanging haymakers before Milwaukee walked away with a 2-0 series lead and the Guardians pouring it on late against the Rays to take Game 1 on the road. The NL teams will take a break as the series shifts over to Los Angeles, but the defending champs have to feel like they’re on the ropes at least a little after taking two clean shots to the face with their best pitchers on the mound. Meanwhile, Cleveland taking the opener with Drew Rasmussen pitching into the seventh inning is as good a sign as they could ask for to compete against the AL’s top team. Both matchups should give us plenty to be excited for as baseball fans, even if the best Yankees fans can hope for is schadenfreude at this point.

It’s relatively quiet day on our front, as we’ll have a couple things going up in the morning for you to check out. Matt has a double-feature, first going more in-depth on those two playoff results before diving into Charlie Silvera’s playing career on his birthday. In-between, Michael will attempt to rank the top moments of this strange and silly season the Yankees played.

Today’s Playoff Matchups:

American League Championship Series Game 2

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians
(RHP Freddy Peralta vs. LHP Parker Messick)

Time: 8:00 p.m. EST

TV: TBS/HBO Max/truTV

Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL

Questions/Prompts:

1. Is Shohei Ohtani too much of a liability at the plate to play right now? Are the Dodgers doomed if he doesn’t get it together?

2. Does Cleveland stealing Game 1 on the road from the Rays make them favored to win the series now?

The 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates experienced an up-and-down relationship with their catching rotation.

Three catchers made a significant impact on a club that finished 82-80, the team’s best record since 2018. All three will likely return in 2027, if there is a season, to patrol the Pirates’ backstop.

Pittsburgh received a mix bag of production depending on the player, and there remain questions for each to answer and prove.

Henry Davis

The No. 1 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Henry Davis is currently one of the biggest busts in franchise history. A career -1.0 WAR player, Davis has struggled at the plate after being drafted for his bat. An offense-first catcher at Louisville whose knock was defense, the opposite is true in the majors. 

Davis slashed .172/.272/.313 with a .585 OPS in 256 at-bats. He set career highs in home runs (10) and RBIs (38) but his batting average would have ranked worst in baseball if he met the necessary qualifications.

His defense makes him a positive WAR play and has become one of the best in the National League behind the plate, earning the trust of multiple Pirates pitchers. Davis threw out 17 of 37 (45.9%) of attempted base stealers this season, the best in all of baseball.

Davis caught a career-high 744.2 innings and recorded a .995 fielding percentage. He recorded eight defensive runs saved but did allow six passed balls in 95 games. 

If Davis could hit around .230 or even .215 and drive in around 50 runs, the Pirates would play him more often and trust him. The lack of contact with a 22.1% square up rate and 32.3% chase rate, hampers the bottom of the Pirates’ lineup. 

Tasked as Paul Skenes’ personal catcher for all but one start, Davis must improve at the plate if he is going to stay in the big leagues. His worth ethic and mentality are all there, but it hasn’t all come together. 

Rafael Flores Jr.

The biggest surprise in the catcher unit, Rafael Flores Jr. has the best power potential of the three. Flores Jr. crushed six doubles and 11 home runs in 148 at-bats. Seven of the 12 home runs came over his last 30 games. 

In 47 games, Flores Jr. slashed .264/.331/.527 with an .858 OPS. He showed a patient approach at the plate, walking 15 times compared to 45 strikeouts. Flores Jr. drove in 25 runs during his first extended season in the major leagues. 

Defense remains an issue for Flores Jr.. Acquired in the David Bednar trade, Flores is a bat-first catcher who needs work behind the plate, but improved during the final weeks. Overall, he ranks in the 19th percentile in blocks above average (-5), 35th in caught stealing above average (-1), 53th in framing (1), and 53rd in pop time (1.94). 

There’s a lot to like about the potential Flores showed in September. Following a disappointing August (.212 batting average), Flores hit .313 and got on base at a .361 rate over 67 AB’s. He recorded eight runs batted in and moved up in the lineup, especially against left handers. Pittsburgh will more than likely begin 2027 with Flores as the starting catching and David as his running mate for situational starts.

Endy Rodriguez

One viewed as a potential long-term answer behind the plate, Endy Rodriguez may not play again behind the plate. The 26-year-old switch hitter only played 45 games due to a multitude of factors.

Rodriguez made his season debut on May 14 after beginning the year at Triple-A Indianapolis. He stuck with the club for two months before suffering a left glute strain that kept him out nearly three weeks. Rodriguez suffered a significant left hip injury on August 10 that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. The injury required surgery and Rodriguez is expected to resume baseball activities in seven to nine months.

He seemed to have turned a corner during his third MLB season. Rodriguez slashed .267/.373/.467 with six doubles, seven home runs, and 20 RBIs in 45 games (135 total at-bats). A solid athlete that has played multiple positions, Rodriguez also stole six bags. 

Defense can be a struggle for Rodriguez, who ranks in the 29th percentile in blocks above average (-3) and 24th in caught stealing above average (-2). His pop time is one of the best in baseball (1.89 in the 80th percentile), but the injury may force Rodriguez to play other positions if he is going to continue his career. He has experience at first, second, and the outfield in professional ball.

Remember Us?

Don’t forget about Joey Bart and Shawn Ross. They were the only other catchers that appeared for the Pirates this season. Bart began the year on the Opening Day roster but was traded to the Atlanta Braves on June 18. Bart hit two homers and drove in six over 21 games. Ross only saw five at-bats, but hit a two-run homer on July 26 in the 8-7 win against the Cubs. The Pirates have intriguing options and could add a more established player, but may start Flores after a great end to the season. 

Roundtable | Matthew Schmidt: The Yankees entered the year with many question marks on their bullpen, yet they managed to post the second-best relief pitching ERA in the majors after the Boston Red Sox. However, there could be a massive exodus in free agency: closer David Bednar, Tim Hill, John Schreiber, Ryan Yarbrough, and Paul Blackburn are all set to hit the market when the World Series ends. Schmidt suggests the Yankees might have to get creative putting together the group for next year.

NJ Advance Media | Adam Zagoria: Former Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin, who wore the pinstripes in 2019 and posted a 128 wRC+ and 1.6 fWAR that year, suggested that the Bombers should try to acquire fellow outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. from the Atlanta Braves via trade.

“Do the Yankees move [on] from my guy big G this offseason, and move Aaron Judge to primary DH/RF to keep him healthy and go after Ronald Acuña Jr.?” he wrote on X. “I still believe… and I’ll die on this hill, some players need the pinstripes to bring out the best in them. It may not be the best, but call me crazy… I still think Ronald still has some of that magic in him and would turn up in the Bronx! He’s a showman, and what better stage to perform on.” Acuña played 107 games this year, hitting 20 homers, stealing 21 bases, and posting a 120 wRC+. He had another unsuccessful postseason, though, and was heavily criticized for it.

Newsday | David Lennon: Back in 2016-17, the ‘Baby Bombers’ era represented hope for the future. They couldn’t deliver a World Series title, but Aaron Judge, Gary Sánchez, Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andújar, and even Clint Frazier brought excitement. Well, most of them, at least.

Lennon notes that a new batch of Baby Bombers is blossoming, and this one might stick for a while. “Cam Schlitter (age 25) is going to win the American League Cy Young Award in his second season, Ben Rice (27) should finish among the top five for MVP, George Lombard Jr. (21) is giving off early A-Rod vibes three months in, Spencer Jones (25) is a tailor-made Bronx slugger who improves by the day, and comeback kid Anthony Volpe (25) returned as a cult hero, most likely cementing a spot for the future. Austin Wells (27) and Will Warren (27) deserve honorable mention, too,” he wrote.

There are still many expensive veterans on the Yankees, but the young core is impressive.

SNY | Anthony McCarron: While others compete for the World Series trophy, the Yankees are already gearing up for some key roster decisions. They have multiple impactful free agents to be, one of them being second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. The flamboyant infielder has stated his desire to return to the Bronx, yet McCarron suggests the Yanks should simply move on at this point, saying that he “is a terrific talent and could be good elsewhere, but it feels like his time in pinstripes is over. If they don’t want him back, the Yankees should think long and hard about even extending him the $23-plus million qualifying offer.”

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hasn’t done much at all since returning from the injured list in the final week of the regular season, and his presence in the middle of the batting order has been more symbolic than actually productive.

Now, the team is considering sitting Ohtani as the National League Championship Series moves to Los Angeles, per Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic:

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good,” manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic on Monday, after the Dodgers’ 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2. “He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us. He certainly has earned that conversation and deserves it.

“I’ll have (that conversation) with him tomorrow.”

As someone who has practice in Robertsese, that means Ohtani won’t be starting in Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

Ohtani’s second half has been marred by various maladies. First came the left knee irritation in June, which caused the team to pause his pitch after July 3, and he missed the All-Star Game to get treatment on the knee. As he slowly worked his way back on the pitching side, Ohtani developed a right biceps issue as well, which caused various starts and stops of his pitching program.

By early September it became clearer that Ohtani was affected by the injuries, and he finally landed on the IL with biceps inflammation. How long exactly Ohtani has been dealing with the injuries isn’t clear, but he last homered on August 18 at Coors Field, and has driven in one run in the 110 plate appearances since.

There’s been an open question of how forthcoming Ohtani has been with his injuries as well. Before the NL Division Series, when asked about his injuries, Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, “I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this. I think that process is going to happen during the off-season when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”

There was a time with some hope on September 24, when Ohtani had four hard-hit balls which led to a single and double, but that’s his only extra-base hit in 41 plate appearances since returning fro the IL. In the postseason, the hard contact has all but disappeared. Ohtani has three singles in 20 at-bats plus three walks and seven strikeouts, hitting just .150/.261/.150. His expected numbers, based on his batted-ball data, aren’t much better, just .187/.315/.255.

Roberts at various times in October has mentioned Ohtani clearly isn’t 100 percent. He moved him to second in the order, then to fifth, and has batted Ohtani fourth in the last three games. Now, Ohtani might sit.

Woo and Rosenthal report that Josue De Paula would be “the top candidate” to take over at designated hitter if Ohtani does not start.

We’ll surely find out more about this during media availabilities at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday’s off day.