Yankees GMBrian Cashman didn't delve deep into what the club might do this offseason when it comes to reshaping the roster.
But he was open about a number of the players who are already there.
Cashman, speaking at Yankee Stadium during the team's end-of-season news conference, said he's comfortable with Ryan McMahon as the everyday third baseman, but noted that could change.
Regarding Jasson Dominguez, he said he views him as the potential regular left fielder.
At the end of Thursday's news conference, Cashman weighed in on top outfield prospect Spencer Jones, who split the 2025 season between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
"I think he's put himself in the conversation," Cashman said when asked if Jones could be on the Opening Day roster in 2026.
"I think how it plays out depends on how our winter plays out," Cashman added. "He'll certainly come to spring training, and he's earned -- without a doubt -- the look, and the competition.
"But again, it all depends on how many opportunities exist based on the decisions that come our way this winter. But he's put himself in the position to be considered a potential everyday major leaguer in 2026, but we'll see."
Jones, 24, has massive power. But his strikeout rate in four minor league seasons has been alarming.
In 116 games this past season, Jones slashed .274/.362/.571 with 35 home runs and 179 strikeouts. Jones was red hot for about a month after getting promoted to Triple-A on June 27. But he cooled off as the summer went on, slashing just .209/.295/.368 with six homers over his last 48 games.
In 2024 for Somerset, he hit .259/.336/.452 with 17 home runs over 124 games, striking out 200 times.
If Jones is on New York's Opening Day roster in 2026, it's fair to believe he'll be in center field, flanked by Aaron Judge in right and Dominguez in left.
NEW YORK — Yankees star Aaron Judge won’t need surgery on his elbow but shortstop Anthony Volpe and left-hander Carlos Rodón had operations and could miss opening day.
Judge’s throwing was limited after he hurt the flexor tendon in his right elbow in July. Manager Aaron Boone said an MRI after the team was eliminated showed “no surgery is going to be needed.”
Volpe had surgery with Dr. Christopher Ahmad to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. Boone said he can start hitting in four months but can’t dive on it for six months.
Rodón was operated on by Dr. Neal ElAttrache to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur. He has eight weeks of no throwing and the start of his season could be delayed by a couple of weeks, Boone said.
Boone said Giancarlo Stanton does not need surgery on his elbows and Gerrit Cole, returning from Tommy John surgery in March, will throw lightly off a mound and could be available not far after opening day.
He also said bullpen coach Mike Harkey and first base/infield coach Travis Chapman won’t return for 2026 and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler won’t return in that role.
Judge hurt his elbow making a throw at Toronto on July 22. The 33-year-old came back on Aug. 5 from a 10-day stint on the injured list caused by the strained flexor tendon in his right elbow and gingerly threw upon his outfield return on Sept. 5. He built up arm strength and made a 90.2 mph throw from right field in the Division Series opener.
Judge led the major leagues with a .331 average and 1.145 OPS, hitting 53 homers with 114 RBIs and 124 walks. He hit .500 with one homer, seven RBIs and four walks in the postseason as the Yankees were eliminated by Toronto in an AL Division Series.
Volpe hurt the shoulder on May 3 in an unsuccessful attempt for a backhand stab on Christopher Morel’s eighth-inning single, which sparked a two-run rally in Tampa Bay’s 3-2 win. He returned to the lineup two days later but struggled for much of the season.
Volpe, 24, had a cortisone shot during the All-Star break and a second one on Sept. 10, three days after aggravating the shoulder while making a diving stop on Isiah Kiner-Falefa in a 4-3 win over Toronto. Volpe hit .212 with 19 homers and a career-high 72 RBIs and then .192 with one homer, two RBIs and 16 strikeouts in seven postseason games. He went 1 for 15 with 11 strikeouts in the AL Division Series, making out in his last 13 at-bats.
In the field, Volpe made a career-high 19 errors, tied for third-most among major league shortstops.
Rodón, who turns 33 in December, was 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA.
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe had a difficult 2025 season, but how much of the 24-year-old’s struggles can be connected to the torn labrum injury suffered in May seems to be up for interpretation.
Both manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman spoke to members of the media on Thursday, and Volpe’s shoulder injury, which he initially suffered in May when diving for a groundball, was a hot topic.
Thanks in part to multiple cortisone shots, Volpe was able to play through the injury while only missing a handful of games (he played in 153 of the Yankees’ 162 regular-season contests). But he posted an OPS of just .663 at the plate, while committing 19 errors, the second most in the American League.
Boone on Thursday downplayed the impact of Volpe’s torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, saying that while Volpe would aggravate the injury here and there by fielding his position, “for the overwhelming majority of the year, it was not affecting his play.”
“I personally think now, starting to lean more into, that yes, it was affecting him, because ultimately he had to have surgery,” said the Yankees GM, noting that “the clean-up was more severe" than the MRI had shown. “None of that was ever on the table in season, but I think all things can be true. Was it bothering him to a level that was getting to a height of concern for us? In season, the answer is no. Why is that? The player says it wasn’t bothering him at that point. His physical testing was coming back strong. We did an MRI that showed some old stuff in there.“
Cashman later added: “I think the injury probably contributed to the performance season that he would up having more than we would have thought based on our intimate involvement with him and our medical staff and how that played out. The facts are the facts; he had to have a surgery that’s going to take him down.”
Where Boone and Cashman are on the same page is Volpe’s timeline for recovery. According to Boone, Volpe will go four months without swinging, and six months without being able to dive and land on that left shoulder.
So when the Yankees take the field against San Francisco for Opening Night on March 25, Volpe will not be at shortstop.
“He’s not going to be ready for spring training, which therefore will put him out to start the season. He’ll be on the IL and be ready sometime in April, and maybe worst-case scenario, May. But he’s going to get a late start just because of that,” Cashman said.
Volpe won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2023, when he won the starting job out of spring training. But with a career OPS of .662 and 52 errors over his first three seasons, it’s fair to wonder what the future holds for Volpe and the Yankees.
“I believe in the player, still. I think we believe in the player,” Cashman said. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t play with, on any level, all aspects of roster assessments. He’s 24 years old. I don’t think New York’s stage is too big for him, I just think he’s still finding his way. The age is something that there’s a lot of value to reminding yourself about.”
“This is something that you can play with and play though,” said Boone, “but the finality of getting it fixed now hopefully frees him up to hopefully go dive on it the way he’s going to dive on it, and go make those next level of plays that Anthony Volpe makes. And then hopefully, because you are fixing something that is hurt on the body, that hopefully it does help performance, too, go to another level.”
Fans cheer before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Tuesday. (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
What began as banter between fans during a contentious playoff game took a darker turn when a woman threatened to call ICE on a Southern California man during Tuesday’s National League Championship game between the Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
The exchange began when Dodgers fan Ricardo Fosado trash-talked nearby Brewers fans moments after third baseman Max Muncy clobbered a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning to give visiting Los Angeles a 3-1 lead.
One fan, identified by Milwaukee media as an attorney named Shannon Kobylarczyk, responded by threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Fosado.
“You know what?” she asked a nearby fan. “Let’s call ICE.”
“ICE is not going to do anything to me,” said Fosado, who noted he was a war veteran and a U.S. citizen. “Good luck.”
On the video, the woman then uses a derogatory term to question Fosado's masculinity, remarking, “real men drink beer.” Fosado was instead enjoying a fruity alcoholic beverage.
Fosado then told Kobylarczyk one last time to call ICE before calling her an idiot, punctuating the remark with an expletive.
An email to Fosado was not immediately returned Thursday.
Fosado told Milwaukee television station WISN 12 News that the incident “just shows the level where a person's heart is and how she really feels as a human being.”
The station also confirmed that Kobylarczyk’s employment with the Milwaukee-based staffing firm Manpower had ended.
Kobylarczyk also reportedly stepped down from the board of Wisconsin’s Make-a-Wish chapter.
Fosado did not escape unscathed, however. He said he and a friend were ejected from the game shortly after the exchange.
The Dodgers ended up winning the game 5-1 and led the best-of-seven series, 2-0. The series now shifts to Dodger Stadium, with the first pitch of Game 3 is scheduled for 3:08 p.m. Thursday.
LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts has found a way around the Los Angeles Dodgers’ struggling relievers. Barely use ‘em.
The defending World Series champions have relied on their starting pitching to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Brewers in their best-of-seven NL Championship Series.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell tossed eight scoreless innings to go with 10 strikeouts before rookie Roki Sasaki and Blake Treinen tamped down a late Brewers rally in closing out Game 1.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a three-hitter in the first postseason complete game by a Dodgers pitcher since Jose Lima threw a five-hit shutout in the 2004 NL Division Series against St. Louis in Game 2.
“I’ll take as many as we can get,” Roberts said, laughing when asked how many complete games his staff can deliver. “They’re doing their part by attacking, being efficient and putting themselves in a position to do that.”
Snell and Yamamoto combined to allow one run on four hits over 17 of 18 innings in Milwaukee.
Now, here come Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.
Glasnow starts Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani is set to go in Game 4.
The Dodgers’ rotation struggled earlier in the season with injuries and slumps, but it’s clicking now.
“It’s perfect timing,” Glasnow said. “The vibe is really good in the clubhouse. Everyone is feeling great. It’s just a good time to get hot, for sure.”
Glasnow allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in Game 4 of the NLDS against Philadelphia, when the Dodgers finished off the best-of-five series.
The Dodgers have carefully managed Ohtani’s innings this season — his first pitching since he had a second elbow surgery in December 2023 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander twice pitched into the seventh in the regular season.
“The century mark isn’t like a ceiling on pitches. Yeah, I think it’s just kind of contingent on how he’s throwing,” Roberts said. “He’s waited for this moment, and I think with the rest that he’s got going into that game, he’s going to be ready to go.”
Ohtani was impressed with Snell and Yamamoto pitching deep into their starts and he’s eager to do the same.
“That would be great,” he said through a translator. “But my number one priority is making sure I’m putting up zeros no matter what and making sure we’re the team that scores first.”
The Brewers have lost their last nine road playoff games since 2018, and will need to win at least two of the next three games in Los Angeles to force the series back to Wisconsin. They swept a three-game series at Dodger Stadium in July.
Milwaukee had not yet announced its Game 3 starter. Manager Pat Murphy said the pitching plans were “under construction.” Left-hander José Quintana expects to see action, whether he starts or an opener is used ahead of him.
“I think we pitched better than we played, our defense,” Quintana said. “We stay positive for the game tomorrow. We need to show really good baseball and win one ballgame at a time. Tomorrow we expect to get the first win.”
Jumpstarting Ohtani
A relatively quiet Dodger Stadium got jolted with a blast of Ohtani’s walk-up song, “Feeling Good.”
The three-time MVP walked to the batting cage as Clayton Kershaw and other teammates hooted and hollered at him. Ohtani went through five rounds of hitting in an attempt to regain his stroke amidst a postseason offensive skid. He hit the metal roof of the right-field pavilion on one left-handed cut.
The two-way superstar is 2 for 25 with no extra-base hits in the NL Division Series and NLCS. He hit a career-high 55 home runs during the regular season.
Still, the Dodgers have won seven of eight postseason games with Ohtani contributing very little offensively.
“The contribution is not just by batting average,” Roberts said. “Certainly him being in the lineup, posting, I think getting the walks, allowing for Mookie (Betts) to have opportunities to drive runs in, that’s contribution. The first two games in Milwaukee his at-bats have been fantastic. That’s what I’ve been looking for. That’s what I’m counting on.”
Murphy dismissed any suggestion that Ohtani is struggling at the plate.
“He’s dangerous,” he said, “and we pitch him as tough and as careful as we can pitch him, and we bring a matchup in anytime we can.”
Murphy’s Dodger connection
Murphy brought along his 10-year-old son, Austin, when he spoke to the media.
He said the boy’s middle name, Lynn, is a tribute to Bob Welch, the retired Dodgers pitcher born Robert Lynn Welch who was a friend of Murphy’s until his death in 2014 at age 57.
Austin sat quietly and yawned once until he was asked what the Brewers need to do to get back in the series. “Just stick with it and keep battling through it,” he said, sounding a lot like his dad.
The kid was just getting warmed up.
Leaning into the microphone like an old pro, he said, “The guys respond back really good. Started the season 0-4. Those games were not good. But then they responded with the best record in baseball, so I believe they can do it.”
SEATTLE — The Toronto Blue Jays are expecting Max Scherzer to be himself when he starts Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against Seattle.
His excitable, feisty self.
“I love it. This is what you play for,” Scherzer said. “You want to have the ball in this situation, you want to be pitching in the postseason.”
The 41-year-old Scherzer hasn’t pitched in a game since his last regular-season start on Sept. 24 against Boston. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is making his 26th postseason start and 31st appearance.
Scherzer and fellow right-hander Chris Bassitt were added to Toronto’s ALCS roster after they missed the Division Series against the Yankees. Bassitt pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in a relief appearance during a10-3 loss to the Mariners.
“I expect Max to be Max,” Bassitt said, “in the aspect of just go out there and execute at a very, very high level.”
Scherzer is 0-3 over his last eight postseason starts since the 2019 World Series. He went 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in his final six starts of the 2025 season.
Scherzer admitted his pitching was not up to his standards toward the end of the season, and that he took time to get his body right. Manager John Schneider said neck pain limited Scherzer at the end of the season. The eight-time All-Star also didn’t pitch between March 29 and June 25 because of right thumb inflammation.
Scherzer, who finalized a one-year, $15.5 million contract with Toronto in February, went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts this year — his 18th in the major leagues.
“I don’t want to sit here and go backwards and blame injuries for any way I pitched,” Scherzer said. “When I take the mound, I take the mound, and I have the attitude (that) I’m going to win no matter what.”
The Blue Jays beat the Mariners 13-4 in Game 3 after dropping the first two games of the ALCS at home. They need to win at least two of three in Seattle to send the best-of-seven series back to Toronto.
“We’re a great team,” Scherzer said before the Blue Jays’ win in Game 3. “I’ve seen it over and over throughout this year, the number of times we responded in so many different ways. We had so many comeback wins. We’ve played great ball.
“Yes, we lost two games. Yes, obviously these are must-win games. We all understand what’s at stake.”
SEATTLE — George Kirby was in the strike zone — perhaps too much.
The Toronto Blue Jays had 18 hits, including five home runs, all within the first three pitches of an at-bat in a 13-4 rout of the Seattle Mariners that pulled them to 2-1 in the AL Championship Series.
Eight of those hits came off Kirby, who hadn’t yielded that many hits in a start since Sept. 3.
“I’m never going to stray away from what I do well, and that’s get ahead and be in the zone,” Kirby said. “And they had a lot of comfortable at-bats tonight.”
Kirby gave up a tying, two-run homer to Andrés Giménez in a five-run third on an inside fastball and two-run double to Daulton Varsho on an up fastball.
George Springer homered on a sinker in the fourth and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a slider in the fifth.
Alejandro Kirk added an opposite-field, three-run homer to right off a fastball from left-hander Caleb Ferguson in the sixth as the Blue Jays joined Tampa Bay in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series as the only teams to homer in four straight postseason innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Addison Barger connected in the ninth on a Luke Jackson fastball.
“When a lineup starts combining hits together like they were, it gets contagious,” Ferguson said. “Guys go up there and just get the best swings off. So, a lot of times it goes your way, and tonight it went theirs.”
Toronto had four runs and eight hits as Seattle swept the first two games in Canada.
“I wasn’t really executing when they got the guys on base,” Kirby said. “They’re really aggressive when that happens.”
Seattle’s pitchers were sixth in the AL with a 3.87 ERA and had a 3.29 ERA in the Division Series against Detroit. Ferguson expressed confidence they quickly will return to form.
“If there’s one thing we’ve done since I’ve been here,” Ferguson said, “we bounce back together well as a team and we respond well when we kind of get smacked in the face a little bit.”
Judge had a follow-up MRI on his right elbow after the season, and it was determined that he does not need surgery to repair the flexor strain he dealt with this past season.
The injury kept Judge out for a brief period spanning the end of July and beginning of August, and it hampered him in the field for the last two months of the season.
Judge initially returned as a DH before again manning right field. But while he was able to play his regular outfield position, Judge was unable to throw with the kind of authority he's accustomed to. This led opposing teams to challenge his arm more than usual.
With Judge not in need of surgery, the expectation is that he will be without restrictions next season when it comes to throwing from the outfield.
Fall air, empty seats at Citizens Bank Park and one final media session. Dave Dombrowski and Rob Thomson met with reporters Thursday to reflect on the Phillies’ 96-win NLDS-exit season and preview an offseason of evaluation and adjustment.
The Phillies don’t sound like a team planning an overhaul. A bench coach will be hired. The outfield will have a new look. Bryce Harper is locked in at first, J.T. Realmuto’s value still resonates, and a wave of young talent is nearing the doorstep.
The message from both Dombrowski and Thomson? Their belief in this roster hasn’t wavered — but the focus now is on taking the next step to make a deep October run in 2026.
Here are five key takeaways from their remarks.
1. After Phils commit to Thomson, a new bench coach is coming as continuity remains crucial
Just two days after the Phillies extended Rob Thomson through 2026, Dombrowski emphasized that stability remains one of the club’s greatest strengths. “We believe in Rob and his staff,” he said. “They’ve helped establish a winning culture here.”
Still, one change is on the way. Mike Calitri will transition into a new role — Major League field coordinator — and the team will look externally for a new bench coach.
“It was Dave’s idea,” Thomson said. “But I thought it was a good one — another set of eyes, a different perspective.”
Beyond that, the infrastructure remains intact — a signal that both the front office and clubhouse trust the same core group that’s guided the Phillies to four straight postseason appearances.
2. The outfield and the youth could shape the offseason
For the second straight winter, Dombrowski pointed to the outfield as a possible area of change. With Harrison Bader’s mutual option, the possibility of a Nick Castellanos trade and Max Kepler’s free agency, the club could blend veteran stability with younger energy.
“Our infield is pretty well solidified,” Dombrowski said. “The outfield is a logical area that you would look at.”
Thomson agreed that some balance might be needed offensively too. “We’re awfully left-handed,” he admitted.
With lefty-swinging Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger among the headline free-agent outfielders, Philadelphia may instead lean on its in-house youth — including right-handed utility man Otto Kemp.
“I really liked the at-bats. He uses the entire field. He’s got a lot of thump,” Thomson said of Kemp. “He’s grounded — mentally and emotionally. I like him being an everyday player.”
Dombrowski also mentioned top prospects Justin Crawford, Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller as possible spring contributors — though not all will be Opening Day ready. Thomson echoed that enthusiasm: “I love young players because they bring energy — and the fan base loves watching them have success.”
3. Bryce Harper’s position is settled but he awaits a bounce-back 2026
After two seasons at first base, there’s no question where Harper will play. “Bryce is a first baseman at this time,” Dombrowski said. “And he’s a really good first baseman.”
Harper, however, wasn’t quite himself offensively. He hit .268 with 27 home runs — solid by most standards but not quite his MVP self. Thomson believes that’s about to change.
“I think he’s highly motivated to have the best season of his career next year,” Thomson said. “I just want him to be himself and not try to do too much … and really focus on hitting the ball the other way.”
The Phillies seem confident Harper’s third full year post–Tommy John surgery will bring out the best version of him that we’ve seen in a while.
4. The importance of J.T. Realmuto remains clear
Both Dombrowski and Thomson praised Realmuto’s leadership and preparation — a reminder of how valued the veteran catcher is as he enters free agency.
“He’s the most prepared catcher I’ve ever been around,” Thomson said.
At the same time, Thomson made a point to highlight Rafael Marchán, who impressed in limited work behind the plate. “Unbelievable … that’s one of the toughest jobs you can have, and he did a phenomenal job.”
Marchán tallied 22 hits in his limited plate appearances, but Phillies fans will long remember his three-run, go-ahead homer at Dodger Stadium in September to help Philadelphia win the regular-season series against L.A.
With Realmuto in free agency and the importance of his role handling the Phils’ rotation, the organization faces a significant decision: whether to bring back the catcher who’s started 685 games over seven seasons in red pinstripes.
5. No panic, just perspective after another postseason exit
Dombrowski and Thomson didn’t sound like they were searching for a reset button. Their tone was actually quite steady.
“We won 96 games and fought the Dodgers tooth and nail,” Thomson said. “That series could’ve gone either way. I liked our at-bats a lot better than last postseason.”
Dombrowski echoing that same sentiment, “It’s a fine line,” he said. “A pitch missing by a couple inches that gives up a three-run homer … a missed call the umpire apologized for immediately.”
The Phillies’ October run also came without Zack Wheeler, sidelined by a season-ending blood clot, showing how difficult it is to win without one of baseball’s most reliable arms.
The pain was evident, but the newly extended Phillies skipper emphasized moving on to the next challenge. “Every time we get knocked out, it hurts to the core,” Thomson said. “I’ll wear this until the first day of spring training — then I’ve got to turn the page.”
After dominating performances from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the first two games of the National League Championship series, the Dodgers and the Brewers have flown west for at least Games 3 and 4 at Chavez Ravine with Los Angeles in control of the series leading two games to none.
Pat Murphy is undecided or at least has yet to announce who his starting pitcher will be tonight. The Dodgers will send Tyler Glasnow to the bump.
Snell and Yamamoto combined in Games 1 and 2 to pitch 17 innings, giving up just one run, four hits, and one home run while striking out 17 Milwaukee Brewers. The consecutive starts of at least eight innings in a postseason series by Snell and Yamamoto were the first since Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum did it for the San Francisco Giants in the 2010 World Series.
Obviously, the Brewers need to find a way to get their offense on track if they are to climb back into this series. They have just five hits and have scored just two runs through two games. Jackson Chourio is the sparkplug for the Brewers' offense. He did go yard against Yamamoto to lead off Game 2, but he is just 1-7 in the series after going 8-18 against the Cubs in the Division series. The obvious statement is Milwaukee needs Chourio and his mates to reach base early and often tonight before Glasnow can gain his footing.
Lets dive into Game 3 of the NLCS matchup between the Brewers and the Dodgers and find a sweat or two.
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Game details & how to watch Brewers at Dodgers - NLCS Game 3
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Time: 6:08PM EST
Site: Dodger Stadium
City: Los Angeles, CA
Network/Streaming: TBS
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Odds for the Brewers at the Dodgers - NLCS Game 3
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Brewers (+163), Dodgers (-201)
Spread: Dodgers -1.5 (+104)
Total: 7.5 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Brewers at Dodgers - NLCS Game 3
Pitching matchup for October 16, 2025: TBD vs. Tyler Glasnow
Brewers: TBD Pitching has not been the issue for the Brewers as Milwaukee hurlers have allowed seven runs over the first two games of the NLCS
Dodgers: Tyler Glasnow (4-3, 3.19 ERA) Last outing: 10/9 vs. Philadelphia - 6IP, 0ER, 2H, 3BB, 8Ks Glasnow has yet to allow a run in 7.2 innings of work in his first two postseason appearances this season
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Brewers at Dodgers - NLCS Game 3
Christian Yelich is 0-13 over the last 4 games of the playoffs
William Contreras is 0-7 in this series and 1-16 over the last 4 games of the playoffs
Shohei Ohtani is 1-16 over his last 4 games and 2-25 over his last 6
Teoscar Hernandez is 10-34 in the playoffs this season including 4 HRs
Freddie Freeman is 3-10 in this series
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s Game 3 between the Brewers and the Dodgers
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s game between the Brewers and the Dodgers:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
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After longtime closer Clay Holmes left in free agency to become a starter with the Mets, the Yankees needed bullpen help and found it with the trade for Brewers All-Star closer Devin Williams.
Or that's what they hoped for.
Williams assumed the role of closer out of spring training but struggled out of the gate. What followed was an up-and-down season where he lost, regained, and lost his job as the team's closer before ultimately finding himself down the stretch.
Through it all, Williams became an important piece to manager Aaron Boone's bullpen. And when the Yankees acquired David Bednar from the Pirates, with him becoming the new closer, Williams excelled as New York's setup man.
The 31-year-old is now set for free agency, and he rebounded just in time to test the market.
Should the Yankees bring him back?
Oct 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game three of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
WHY IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP WILLIAMS
Williams is an elite reliever despite what Yankees fans saw for parts of 2025.
Throughout his seven-year career, Williams won the NL Rookie of the Year award when he posted a minuscule 0.33 ERA across 22 appearances in the shortened 2020 season and went to back-to-back All-Star games when he posted sub-2.00 ERAs in 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, his 2024 started late after he suffered an injury, but he rebounded nicely, pitching to a 1.25 ERA in 22 appearances.
But that was with Milwaukee. How did he do with the Yankees?
Well, not great, but not as bad as many may remember. Yes, he posted a career-worst 4.79 ERA, but that was due to his early blowups. He posted a 9.00 ERA in April and never quite bounced back. Here's Williams' monthly ERA the rest of the season:
May: 4.22
June: 0.93
July: 5.73
August: 4.91
September: 3.72
A roller coaster, to say the least, but Williams regained his form as the regular season came to an end, allowing no runs in his final nine appearances (9.0 IP). In the postseason, he was just as dominant, pitching five shutout innings across four games while striking out four batters. That included shutdown innings in the back-to-back wins in the Wild Card series over the Red Sox, and the 1.1 innings pitched to help complete the improbable comeback in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
Dig into Williams' stats and his stuff is still good. According to Baseball Savant, he had a 37.7 percent whiff rate, which ranked in the 99th percentile, and he was in the 97th percentile in chase percentage. Also, his xBA was .198, putting him in the 96th percentile.
Sep 3, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) gives the ball to manager Aaron Boone during a pitching change in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
WHY IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO LET WILLIAMS GO
While the advanced metrics showed Williams' stuff was still good, how do you explain his on-and-off struggles with the Yankees in 2025?
Perhaps the change from small-market Milwaukee to New York City was too much for him, as we saw with so many other big leaguers. Did the pressure and high expectations from a rabid fanbase, or knowing that he was in a walk year, affect him?
We will likely never know, but those questions should be considered when answering whether the Yankees should want Williams back.
Sure, he seemed to round into form by the end -- which he and Boone deserve a lot of credit for -- but that mercurial nature may not be something the Yankees need right now, especially if he gets off to a bad start next year.
Also, if Bednar is going to be the closer for the foreseeable future, that would make Williams the setup man. He may be looking elsewhere to be a closer, and the money that comes with it.
A bidding war for Williams may not be worth it at this juncture. This past trade deadline not only brought in Bednar, but also Camilo Doval as multi-year relievers. Doval could potentially become the setup man for Bednar, or the Yankees could bring back Luke Weaver and try to rehabilitate him.
There are a lot of options in the bullpen, and a potentially high-priced setup man may not be what they are looking for this offseason.
Apr 25, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) reacts as he walks off the field after being taken out of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
VERDICT
The Yankees' bullpen will look a lot different next season with Williams, Weaver and Tim Hill (club option) potentially leaving in free agency. While Williams proved to be a worthy arm once he figured things out, he may be too expensive -- especially if he's just going to set up Bednar.
The looming cost and uneven performance in his first season in the Bronx should give the Yanks pause. New York has options in the bullpen, and with a robust list of relievers exploring free agency, bringing in some lower-leverage (and lower-cost) options will benefit the Yankees in the long run.
After being held to eight hits and four runs through the first two games of the American League Championship series, the Blue Jays exploded for 18 hits and 13 runs in Game 3 as Toronto walked over Seattle 13-4 to pull to within two games to one in their Best of Seven series.
Max Scherzer is slated to take the mound for Toronto in Game 4 tonight against Luis Castillo for Seattle.
The Jays smashed five home runs in Game 3. George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andres Gimenez, Alejandro Kirk, and Addison Barger each went deep as Toronto mauled George Kirby and three Seattle relievers. Prior to last night's barrage, the Mariners' bullpen had gone 18 straight innings without allowing a run.
It looked like the Mariners' offense was picking up right where it left off in Game 2 when Julio Rodriguez went yard in the bottom of the first against Shane Bieber but the veteran settled down from there shutting out Seattle over the next five innings. The Jays responded with 11 runs from the third to sixth innings to secure their first win of the series.
Lets dive into Game 4 of the American League Championship series and find a sweat or two.
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Game details & how to watch Blue Jays at Mariners - ALCS Game 4
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Time: 8:33PM EST
Site: T-Mobile Park
City: Seattle, WA
Network/Streaming: FS1
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Odds for the Blue Jays at the Mariners - ALCS Game 4
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Toronto Blue Jays (+114), Seattle Mariners (-138)
Spread: Mariners -1.5 (+152)
Total: 7.5 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Blue Jays at Mariners - ALCS Game 4
Pitching matchup for October 16, 2025: Max Scherzer vs. Luis Castillo
Blue Jays: Max Scherzer (5-5, 5.19 ERA) Last outing: 9/24 vs. Boston - 5IP, 4ER, 10H, 0BB, 5Ks This is Scherzer's first appearance in the 2025 postseason but the 11th year that he will pitch in the postseason
Mariners: Luis Castillo (11-8, 3.54 ERA) Last outing: 10/10 vs. Detroit - 1.1IP, 0ER, 0H, 0BB, 1K Castillo has allowed just 1 hit in six scoreless innings while striking out 4 this postseason
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Blue Jays at Mariners - ALCS Game 4
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 4-18 (.222) in his career against Luis Castillo
George Springer is 5-18 (.278) against Castillo in his career
Alejandro Kirk is 4-8 (.500) in his career against Castillo
As a team, the Mariners are hitting .204 in their collective careers against Max Scherzer
Eugenio Suarez is just 3-19 with 9 strikeouts against Scherzer in his career but 2 of the 3 hits have been HRs
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s ALCS Game 4 between the Blue Jays and the Mariners
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Blue Jays and the Mariners:
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As the National League Championship Series moves to Dodger Stadium on Thursday, the Dodgers are two victories from a return to the World Series.
That is a step toward the goal, not the goal itself, but it nonetheless would make them just the second team in 23 years to win a championship one year and return to the World Series the next.
The other: the 2008-09 Philadelphia Phillies, the team of Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.
The historical record indicates winning the World Series is tough and winning the next is tougher, but Rollins would not concede that.
“I don’t think it was harder than it was the first time,” said Rollins, working the NLCS as an analyst for TNT Sports. “I think the first time was the hardest.
“You haven’t gone there. You haven’t made it to the top and had that success. It was more about motivation: We’re the champs now, we’re just taking another step.”
Recall what Mookie Betts said at the Dodgers’ fan festival last year, after the Dodgers had signed Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow but before they had even reported to spring training: “Every game is going to be the other team’s World Series.”
The Dodgers took everyone’s best shot last year. They collect starting pitchers every year — your veterans, your kids, your waiver claims, your highly paid free agents, and your injured — with the aim that just enough will be healthy and effective come October.
This year, they have so many arms ready that Clayton Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan are relegated to the bullpen. Last year, they had so few that their postseason starters included four openers: Ryan Brasier twice, Michael Kopech and Ben Casparius.
“We did it the hard way last year,” utilityman Kiké Hernández said. “It’s really hard to win without starting pitching, and we found a way to do it.”
The Dodgers signed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki for the rotation last winter, and Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates for the bullpen.
Now? Snell is starting, Sasaki is closing, and Scott and Yates are not on the playoff roster. But, well, that was the plan after winning the World Series.
“Usually, if you’re the last team standing at the end of October, you’ve used a lot of your pitching very aggressively throughout the month to do it,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “And we really didn’t have that.
“Now, our bullpen did, but didn’t have it in the conventional way. So adding some fresh arms, we thought, would be helpful with that.”
The October aces — the starting pitchers that can put their team on their back and carry it through the postseason — are few and far between. Snell, Yamamoto and Glasnow have been aces so far this October, but the Dodgers intend to keep playing for another two weeks.
In 1988, Orel Hershiser threw 300 innings, playoffs included. In 2013, Kershaw threw 259 — more than the combined total of Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani so far this year. Yamamoto has thrown 193 innings.
There is a concern for the Dodgers, just as there always used to be a concern for the Lakers, about the long-term toll of playing another month every year.
For pitchers, however, the workloads for the best starters have gone down even as the number of playoff rounds have gone up. On the other hand, those new rounds are shorter ones, and even the best teams can lose two of three games, or three of five, to be eliminated long before a World Series.
“The playoff format doesn’t lend itself to just getting into the championship series and getting to the World Series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So that in itself makes it more difficult.”
The Dodgers have won the World Series one season and returned the next season twice: in 1955-56 and 1965-66, when each league champion advanced directly to the World Series.
In those years, the postseason field was two teams, and four wins won the championship trophy. The field is up to 12 teams now, and the Dodgers will need four rounds and 13 postseason wins to repeat.
“It’s hard getting guys to play their best baseball at the right time and to keep guys playing at a high level for 162 [games] to get to the postseason,” Roberts said, “then to give yourself a chance to win 11 or, this year, 13 games in October.
“What have I learned? I’ve learned that you’ve got to kind of give players grace at points during the season to appreciate the human side — it’s hard to play every game in April like it’s Game 7 — but know when to kind of turn it on.”
On July 3, the Dodgers had built a nine-game lead. On Aug. 13, after the Angels had swept them, the Dodgers fell into second place.
Said Rollins: “August? You’ve got a whole other month. July? It’s hot, let’s get to the All-Star break. In the playoffs, it’s just win the series.”
The Dodgers finished the regular season with the third-best record in the NL, but they have beaten the team with the second-best record (the Philadelphia Phillies) and appear poised to beat the team with the best record (the Brewers). They have won 22 of their last 28 games.
The one concern Friedman said he did not have about building a repeat winner was complacency. He said he always believed the players would be “focused on and driven by legacy, and doing something that’s so incredibly difficult.”
They are already more than halfway there. They need 13 wins. They have seven. Rollins believes they will get the other six.
“I thought, if the Phillies had beaten the Dodgers, no one could stop them,” Rollins said. “And vice versa: If the Dodgers beat the Phillies, no one could stop them.
“If you look at the way the teams match up — power for power, star power, great pitching — they presented basically a mirror image of themselves. Obviously, no one else has Shohei. But the style of game: they can score in many ways, they can bop, they’re clutch. They’ve proven it.”
Watch live 11 a.m. ET Thursday as Phillies President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson address the media for their end of the season press conference.
SEATTLE (AP) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer woke up Toronto’s offense as the Blue Jays hit five home runs to rebound from an early deficit, routing the Seattle Mariners 13-4 Wednesday night and closing to 2-1 in the AL Championship Series.
Julio Rodríguez’s two-run, first-inning homer off Shane Bieber put Seattle ahead and stirred thoughts of a possible sweep in the best-of-seven matchup by a team seeking its first World Series appearance/
Andrés Giménez then sparked the comeback with a tying, two-run homer in a five-run third against George Kirby.
Springer, Guerrero, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger also went deep as the Blue Jays totaled 2,004 feet of homers among 18 hits.
Guerrero had four hits, falling a triple short of the cycle, after going 0 for 7 as the Blue Jays lost the first two games at home.
“No one expected us to win the division, no one expected it us to be here, and I think the guys take that to heart." Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I said it when we left Toronto: I hope we find some slug in the air out here. Maybe we did.”
In the 2-3-2 format, teams that lost the first two games at home and won Game 3 on the road have captured the series three of 11 times.
A crowd of 46,471 at T-Mobile Park for Seattle's first home ALCS game since 2001 saw the teams combine to match the postseason record of eight combined home runs, set by the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2015 NL Division Series and matched by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series.
Giménez hadn’t homered since Aug. 27 before his drive off a fastball from Kirby
“Really big swing to get us going,” Schneider said.
Kirby allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks, taking the loss. All eight hits were during the first three pitches of the at-bat.
“The first couple innings I thought he was dynamite," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “This is a team that’s going to hurt you if you make mistakes on the plate. It looked like there were a couple that they were able to get to.”
Kirby's run-scoring wild pitch put Toronto ahead 3-2 and Daulton Varsho followed with a two-run double.
Springer homered in the fourth, tying Bernie Williams was fourth on the career list with his 22nd postseason homer. Guerrero hit his fourth of the postseason for a 7-2 lead on the first pitch of the fifth.
Kirk added a three-run homer in the sixth and is hitting .413 (19 for 46) with eight RBIs in 14 games at T-Mobile Park.
Bieber, who got the win, pitched shutout ball after the first and wound up allowing four hits in six innings - the longest outing by a Blue Jays starter in seven postseason games.
“Obviously didn’t the start the way he would have wanted to, but that’s pretty much who he is,” Springer said. "He can battle back from anything.”
After the Blue Jays opened a 12-2 lead, Randy Arozarena connected in the eighth against Yariel Rodríguez for his first home run since Sept. 9 and Cal Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, followed three pitches later with his third of the postseason.
Seattle RHP Luis Castillo, who pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief against Detroit in Game 5 of the Division Series, starts Thursday against RHP Max Scherzer. The 41-year-old, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is 0-3 over eight postseason starts since the 2019 World Series opener, and hasn’t started a game since Sept. 24.
