The Columbus Blue Jackets have 40 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #40. No active players currently wear the #40.
Let's take a look.
Bill Bowler - 2000-01 - Bowler was undrafted out of Toronto, CA.
Bowler played a total of 9 games for the Jackets during their inaugural season and had two points. He spent most of that year with the Syracuse Crunch and totaled 79 points in 72 games. In 2002, he spent one season in Germany before retiring.
Bowler has worked for the Windsor Spitfires as the VP of Hockey Operations and General Manager since 2019.
Brad Moran - 2001-04 - Moran was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 7th round of the 1998 NHL Draft.
The Jackets signed Moran as a free agent in 2000. He only played in 5 games as a Blue Jacket and had 2 points. He spent most of his time playing for the AHL Syracuse Crunch. In his final year with the Crunch in 2004-05, he played in 80 games and had 72 points.
Moran left for a second stint in Europe in 2011 and played the last six years of his career there. He would retire after playing two seasons in the EIHL in 2017.
Moran would be the GM and HC of the Calgary Canucks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2018 to 2025. For the 25-26 season, Moran is signed on to be the Asst. Coach of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen.
Duvie Westcott - 2001-08 - Westcott was undrafted and signed by the CBJ in 2001.
Wescott played in 201 games for the Blue Jackets from 2001 to 2008. He scored 11 goals and totaled 56 points. Wescott was described as "a gritty defenseman with a solid all-around game. Has good passing ability and power play skills."
After playing for Columbus, Wescott went to Europe and played the next seven seasons in the KHL, DEL, and Swiss National League. He retired in 2015.
Fred Brathwaite - 2003-04 - Brathwaite was undrafted out of Ottawa, Canada.
Brathwaite played in 21 games for the Jackets in the 2003-04 season. He went 4-11-1 with an .897 SV %. After his year in Columbus, he bounced back and forth between North America and Europe. He didn't play from 2012 to 2020. He was hired by the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights as their goaltending coach in 2020, where he remains. At age 48, he dressed as a backup for Henderson when Logan Thompson was unavailable.
Jaroslav Balaštík - 2005-07 - Balaštík was drafted in the 6th round of the 2002 NHL Draft by Columbus.
Jaroslav Balaštík played in 74 career games for the CBJ. He scored 13 goals and totaled 24 points during his tenure. After his time with Columbus, he returned to his home country of Czechia, where he would play until 2015.
Jared Boll - 2007-16 - Boll was drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 NHL Draft.
Boll played in 518 games for the CBJ and totaled 62 points. He is #1 all-time in CBJ history with 1,195 PIMs and has 154 fights to his name.
Jared Boll was a big man in his playing days. Standing 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, there weren’t too many who would willingly step up to Boll. He was an old-school enforcer who would not hesitate to stand up for his teammates and take one on the chin if necessary. In his career, he fought the St Louis Blues more than any other team. He had four seasons where he had fight totals over 20, and there were a few seasons that were 15+. His most common opponent was Krys Bach (5), and he fought the likes of Paul Bissonnette (4), George Parros (4), and Clayton Stoner. Boll is the best enforcer the CBJ has ever had.
After retiring from the Anaheim Ducks, Boll returned to Columbus, where he is now an assistant coach.
Daniil Tarasov - 2021-25 - Tarasov was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 NHL Draft.
Tarasov started 61 games for Columbus during his tenure, going 19-34-6 with a SV% of .898. Used primarily as a backup, Tarasov's time in Columbus was generally looked at as a failure, but it was mainly due to injuries.
Unfortunately for Tarasov, he was stuck behind Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzļikins for a few years. While Merzļikins was struggling, he had every opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and take off, but he did not do that.
Last season, everything kind of came unglued for the young Russian. He was benched in favor of Jet Greaves on several occasions and even had to be sent to Cleveland on a conditioning assignment. Things were not going well. He ended last season with a SV% of .881.
On 26 June 2025, Tarasov was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft. The book on Daniil Tarasov in Columbus was finally over.
In 2026, Tarasov signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.
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SEATTLE — To begin this recap of Friday night’s 6-5 Cubs 10-inning loss to the Mariners, I thought it would be appropriate to give you this fact from BCB’s JohnW53, because this is the primary reason the Cubs lost this game:
The Cubs’ 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position was their worst with one hit this season. They were 1 for 15 in a 4-3 loss to the Pirates at home on April 11. They were 0 for 13 in a 6-0 loss at Texas on May 9.
One for sixteen. Eleven runners left on base. The Cubs had 12 hits and smacked four home runs. You’d think that would produce more than five runs.
It did not, and this game wound up in the “L” column.
As you can see, that ball just barely made it over the right-field wall, and on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. More from John:
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s homer was his second leading off a game on the road and the Cubs’ 117th since 1910, first year for which baseball-reference.com has searchable play-level data.
Alfonso Soriano did it 12 times as a Cub; Dexter Fowler, seven; Ian Happ, Brian McRae and Rick Monday, five. Soriano hit 20 as the first Cub to bat in a game (eight at home).
PCA now has done that five times, tying for sixth most with Michael Busch, Eddie Miksis, Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes, Kyle Schwarber and Eric Young Sr. McRae had seven; Happ, eight, Fowler, 11; and Monday, 12.
It was also PCA’s seventh leadoff home run of the season. The Cubs’ franchise record for such things is 12, set by Alfonso Soriano in 2007.
So the game is four batters old and the Cubs lead 3-0. This is good!
After the first four Mariners were retired by Matthew Boyd, things turned not good. Josh Naylor singled and Taylor Ward walked.
That brought up Cal Raleigh, who after hitting 60 home runs in 2025 is suffering through an injury-plagued, awful year in which he entered this game batting just .156 and over his last 14 games was 4-for-38 with 14 strikeouts.
No matter. Look where Boyd left his first pitch to Raleigh:
Well. That’s what you call a mistake pitch, all right, and even a MLB hitter in a horrid slump will hit that a long way, and Raleigh did, for a three-run homer tying the game.
The Mariners were not done in that inning, either. Cole Young singled and when Brock Rodden flied to left, moved up to second. That’s not something you see too often, that kind of tag-up, and it paid off for the Mariners when Brendan Donovan singled him in to give Seattle a 4-3 lead.
That’s where the game stayed until the bottom of the fifth, despite the Cubs having RISP in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and in each of those innings that situation happened with fewer than two out. They couldn’t score in any of them, and Seattle extended their lead when Nico Hoerner allowed Rodden to reach on a throwing error leading off the fifth. He was balked to second by Boyd, and that call got Craig Counsell tossed [VIDEO].
As you can see in the clip, Boyd asked plate umpire Brennan Miller for an explanation of the balk, which was not only his first of the year, but first in his two years as a Cub, and only the third called on a Cubs pitcher this year. And the expression on Boyd’s face after the balk call kind of sums up this game. Also — happy birthday, Craig Counsell, your birthday gift is being ejected! It was the fifth ejection for Counsell this year, tied for the most in a season in his 12-year managing career.
Anyway, that was important because it put Rodden in scoring position, where a single by Randy Arozarena scored him to make it 5-3. The Mariners were 4-for-7 with RISP in this game and… sigh.
Boyd’s outing wasn’t awful — six innings, five runs (four earned) — but it wasn’t really that good, either. Daniel Palencia, just returned from the injured list, threw a 1-2-3 seventh with a pair of strikeouts, so that’s good. Here’s his K of Arozarena [VIDEO].
Happ has started to hit recently, a bit. Over his last 12 games: .286/.348/.548 (12-for-42) with three home runs. One of Happ’s late-season hot streaks would be quite welcome right now.
After that homer, again the Cubs put runners in scoring position. Hoerner singled and Pedro Ramirez walked. Nobody out. Great scoring chance, right?
Not so much. Michael Conforto popped up. Carson Kelly grounded out, with the runners advancing. That prompted the Mariners to intentionally pass PCA and face Seiya Suzuki. Good opportunity, but… Suzuki struck out [VIDEO].
Colin Rea threw a scoreless eighth and so the Cubs had one last chance in the ninth.
But the Cubs could not score again in the ninth, and Jacob Webb entered to attempt to preserve the tie for extras, which he did. That was Webb’s 24th consecutive scoreless appearance dating to the second game of the doubleheader against the Mets June 24 — a stretch of 24.2 innings in which he’s posted a WHIP of 0.932 and has 25 strikeouts.
The Cubs could not score in the top of the 10th and so that left the bottom of the inning to Javier Assad — oh, wait, no, because Assad had been optioned to Triple-A Iowa earlier in the day to make room for the activation of Palencia. Instead, Ryan Zeferjahn was given the 10th.
Victor Robles sacrificed the placed runner, Arozarena, to third. Zeferjahn got Julio Rodriguez to hit a comebacker. Okay, two out, runner on third. The Cubs opted to intentionally pass Josh Naylor to pitch to Leo Rivas, a backup infielder who’d entered the game as a pinch runner and remained as the DH.
This was the right call. Rivas entered the game batting .130 and had been 3 for his last 40 with 14 strikeouts.
Sigh. Rivas lined a single to center, game over. The loss dropped the Cubs to 19-14 in one-run games and 11-7 in extra-inning games. The 18 games in extras are the most for any MLB team this year. Also (Bluesky link):
And not only the four home runs, but all those baserunners and 1-for-16 with RISP… this game should never have even gotten to the 10th inning, the Cubs should have scored far more than five runs in regulation and won easily.
But they did not. The loss dropped the Cubs six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, and perhaps more importantly, the Cubs’ lead over the Phillies for the first wild card spot is now just three games, as the Phillies have won seven straight. So it would be pretty important, I’d think, to turn things around and win the next two games of this series.
Which will be particularly interesting to watch Saturday, as the Mariners are calling up their top prospect and MLB’s top pitching prospect (fifth overall per MLB Pipeline), left-hander Kade Anderson, to start Saturday’s game. The Cubs will counter with David Peterson. Game time Saturday is 6:15 p.m. CT and Fox-TV (regional — coverage map). A reminder that if you subscribe to MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings, you can watch this game via those services even if it’s not on the Fox affiliate in your market. In the Chicago local market this game will be on WPWR-Ch. 50 because WFLD-Ch. 32, Fox-TV’s primary channel, is carrying the Bears preseason game.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 20: Didier Fuentes #72 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates ending the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on August 20, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
He has a point. I’ve been referring to him as Didi but I’m saying Dee Dee, the Spanish pronunciation. It used to be Bobby Cox’s deal to call the player’s name and tack on a -y. Maybe we can do better. His play deserves, nay demands a proper nickname. After all, watch this in case you were at work on Thursday.
Fuentes came into the game after Grant Holmes was allowed to start the seventh inning. He arrives with two on and no out. He steals the soul of Braden Montgomery, and then brushed off Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth. The bullpen was a monster Thursday, that’s for sure. Just look at this slider.
Very solid. Not earth-shattering, but very good. But pair it with this split fingered fastball.
My. Word. This is not even a strike. It is so good Braden didn’t bother with a challenge. But it looked so similar to the slider in the first pitch of the at-bat. He wasn’t going to be fooled again, only he was fooled in an entirely different way. Take these and add a four seam fastball that can touch 100, and the Braves have something very special.
So does Didier Fuentes need a nickname? Honestly, I don’t think we can legally allow a reliever like this to operate without one. What’s “Destroyer of Souls” in Spanish? Google says Fuentes translates to “sources” or “fountain”. Come thou Fount of Every Fastball? Help me out here.
Aug 9, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez (61) on the bench against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Phillies are blessed to have three ace-type pitchers atop their starting rotation. Having Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and Zack Wheeler should make everyone feel a little better about their playoff chances, so long as they a) get there, and b) hit.
Focusing in more on Luzardo and Sanchez, they each possess a pitcher that is considered among the game’s elite, Luzardo and his sweeper, Sanchez and his changeup. Which one is better?
By Statcast, Luzardo has the best sweeper in the game among qualified pitchers, a +19 run value on the pitch. Sanchez ranks second among those that have thrown a qualified changeup, coming in with a +12 on his particular pitch. Head over to Fangraphs, by Stuff+, Sanchez’s 123 is second for changeups. They do not rank sweepers there, instead calling Luzardo’s a sweeper and that Stuff+ comes in at 122, seventh in the game. So, there’s some disagreement there about which is better.
SARASOTA, FL - MARCH 20: Kyson Witherspoon #50 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides vs. Nashville Sounds (Brewers) — POSTPONED
This game was canceled due to wet grounds and will be made up as part of a Saturday doubleheader.
A 2-1 Baysox lead disappeared after a three-run top of the eighth for Richmond, with reliever Ryan Long coughing up an Earl Weaver special to Giants prospect Lisbel Diaz. Before that, starter Patrick Reilly had his most successful outing since returning from Tommy John surgery, holding the Flying Squirrels to one run in five solid innings. He walked three and struck out six.
The Chesapeake lineup managed only five hits in this game. Wehiwa Aloy was the only batter with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4 with a double. The red-hot Aron Estrada was held hitless but contributed a sac fly and a walk.
High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 1, Frederick Keys 0 — Game 1, F/7
The Keys and Blue Rocks played to a scoreless tie until Wilmington walked it off in the bottom of the seventh (remember, doubleheader games in the minors are only seven innings). But you certainly can’t pin the loss on starter Kyson Witherspoon, who was absolutely brilliant in his third start since joining the organization in the Adley Rutschman trade. The right-hander pitched five hitless, scoreless innings, racking up eight strikeouts and walking three. It was the first hitless outing of his career and the second scoreless.
Unfortunately, Witherspoon got no help from the Keys offense, which had only three hits, all singles. Fellow Rutschman trade acquisition Enddy Azocar had one of them. The Keys drew six walks but went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Reliever Bradley Brehmer continued the Keys’ no-hit bid in the sixth inning, but in the seventh, he gave up a double and a Jacob Walsh walkoff single.
High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks 2, Frederick Keys 1 — Game 2, F/7
In a makeup of Thursday’s rainout, Wilmington completed the doubleheader sweep with another low-offense, one-run victory. This time the Keys got only two hits, and all told, they went just 5-for-43 in the doubleheader. Not great! Again they had plenty of baserunners, thanks to seven walks, but they squandered nearly every scoring opportunity. They took another 0-fer with RISP and their only run scored on a double play.
Stephen Still (not the guy from Buffalo Springfield) struck out eight batters in four innings, but he gave up two runs, and on this night that was enough for him to be saddled with the loss. Once again it was Jacob Walsh who did all the damage with a two-run single. Walsh drove in all three of the Blue Rocks’ runs in the twin bill.
Offense continued to be nonexistent for Orioles affiliates on this night. The Shorebirds were blanked by Crawdads pitchers Moises Morales, who worked six innings for the win, and Jake “Shrimp on the” Barbee, who earned a three-inning save. The Shorebirds actually didn’t have a problem getting hits — collecting eight in all — but couldn’t push a single one of them home. It didn’t help that all eight hits were singles, giving them very few chances with runners in scoring position. They also didn’t have any walks.
But there’s good news: Esteban Mejia had another solid (abbreviated) outing. He delivered 3.1 scoreless innings, struck out five, and — most promisingly — walked only one. The Shorebirds seem to be limiting Mejia to 2-3 inning outings to help him work out his season-long control problems, and it’s worked out well three times in a row. Reliever Brandon Downer gave up three runs, but righty Andrew Herbert tossed three scoreless.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber has landed among the best right-shot defensemen in NHL 27.
EA Sports gave Faber an 88 overall rating, placing him seventh on its list of the game's 10 highest-rated right defensemen.
Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar leads the group with a 95 overall rating. Edmonton's Evan Bouchard follows at 91, while Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy, Moritz Seider and Noah Dobson were each given an 89.
Faber comes in directly behind that group at 88 overall and is tied with Erik Karlsson and Ryan Pulock. New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce rounds out the top 10 at 87.
The rating continues Faber's rapid rise into the upper echelon of NHL defensemen.
Since entering the league with Minnesota, Faber has established himself as a major piece of the Wild's blue line and has been trusted with significant minutes and difficult matchups.
Now, Minnesota's defense features two players EA Sports considers among the best at their respective positions. Faber is seventh among right defensemen, while Quinn Hughes received a 95 overall rating and ranks second among left defensemen.
That gives the Wild one of the more impressive top-end defensive combinations in NHL 27.
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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 21: Willson Contreras #40 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Fenway Park on August 21, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees had a tense affair to open their homestand against the Blue Jays, as Cam Schlittler wasn’t on his A-game and the offense got a couple across early before shutting down. Despite this, their Cy Young candidate managed to fight through and give them six innings of one-run ball and the crooked number they put up in the second would be enough to survive as they won their fifth straight game and continued to put pressure on their AL rivals to match them.
Tampa Bay Rays (76-52) 3, Baltimore Orioles (62-67) 5
After getting swept by the Yankees, the Orioles turned around and scrapped with the top team in the AL. Though the O’s were up 1-0 in the second inning, it looked like the Rays were going to keep them at bay with a three-run frame started by a Junior Caminero double and capped off by a Kenny piper two-run shot. However, that was all the offense the Rays would muster, and the Orioles were far from out of it.
Baltimore’s comeback started right away in the bottom of the second with a Dylan Beavers solo shot, but a couple of one-two-three innings afterwards kept the score in Tampa’s favor. Freddy Peralta started off the fifth by plunking Coby Mayo though, and from there the wheels fell off. Colton Cowser singled and a throwing error brought the runners both into scoring position. After a strikeout brought in the first out, Jackson Holliday lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game at three. Now an out away from escaping, Peralta faced Pete Alonso and gave him a 2-2 fastball low but down the middle. The Polar Bear punished it, driving the ball 443 feet to left.
Trevor Rogers held things down once his team got him the lead back, lasting seven innings without any more incidents, and Andrew Kittredge and Rico Garcia pitched through the eighth and ninth without incident. Tampa’s loss coupled with the Yankees’ win cuts the deficit in the AL East to just three games after the little hot streak that New York has built, and getting help from the team you just beat has got to feel great.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (69-59) 6, San Francisco Giants (52-76) 4: Rafael Devers was traded away in an early midseason move last year, and though he played against his former team quite quickly afterwards that was out in San Fran. This was his trip back to Fenway since the deal, and there was a decent mix of cheering and boos for the former star of the team. Unfortunately for him, the Giants lost his potential revenge homecoming as Logan Webb fell apart in the third inning. Willson Contreras launched a three-run homer with two outs to give Boston the lead, Webb gave up a couple of singles to continue the rally, and then he completely lost the zone sandwiching a walk to Andruw Monasterio around a pair of hit by pitches to push across two more runs. The five spot was enough to survive the Giants’ comeback attempt, though Devers managed to get something for himself as he ripped a solo homer in the fourth inning.
Chicago White Sox (67-61) 6, New York Mets (58-71) 4: The Mets were cruising in this game, up 4-0 after five thanks to a Brett Baty two-run shot and a Bo Bichette solo homer, but the White Sox woke up in the sixth facing Sean Manaea. A trio of homers from Miguel Vargas, Randal Grichuk, and Colson Montgomery tied the game up at four, and that score held until the ninth when Jefry Yan entered to try and bring it to extras. Yan walked Montgomery on six pitches, though he thought he’d gotten him to strikeout twice and did his signature hop off the mound each time. Montgomery got bunted over to second and advanced to third on a groundout bringing Jake Rogers up down to their last out. Rogers got a hold of an 0-1 fastball and drove it just over the reach of center fielder A.J. Ewing for the walk-off two-run blast.
Those of you who have been around the site for a number of years may remember when our own Jake Devin coined the AL Central Rock Fight title for when we had to cover the division’s many inept but still contending teams. With the way that the third Wild Card has developed this year with multiple teams under .500 competing for it, perhaps its time for a reprisal. We’ll give each of these teams a short summary while they try to scramble out of the muck, and if anyone out West wants to pull away with their division a bit they would be welcomed out of the fracas as well.
Houston Astros (65-64) 4, Athletics (49-80) 0: Let’s start with the Astros, who have been flirting with .500 for a while but have pulled their head above water with this win. Hayden Wesneski gave the ‘Stros five one-hit innings and the bullpen carried his work over, four relievers combining to allow two base hits the rest of the way. A pair of RBI doubles from Yordan Alvarez as well as an Isaac Paredes RBI double and a Christian Walker sac fly were more than enough to give Houston the lead, handing the A’s their league-worst 80th loss.
Texas Rangers (64-65) 2, Los Angeles Angels (51-78) 1 (10 innings): A scoreless game through nine was finally broken up by the Manfred runner, Denzer Guzman leading off the top of the 10th with an RBI double (just the third hit all game for the Angels). The Rangers’ similarly inept offense responded in the bottom half with an RBI double from Wyatt Langford, and then after an intentional walk Ezequiel Duran singled through the left side to walk it off for Texas.
Minnesota Twins (63-66) 2, San Diego Padres (69-60) 6: The Padres jumped ahead 2-0 after a Ty France two-run blast in the first, but coughed that up in the fourth when Kody Clemens tripled in a pair. The home run was the last hit Minnesota would get all game, as Randy Vasquez buckled down for seven strong innings and the Padres rallied for four runs in the fifth on a procession of four singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly.
Cleveland Guardians (63-66) 9, Colorado Rockies (50-78) 1: The Rockies briefly held a 1-0 lead after Willi Castro knocked a run across in the first, but it was all Cleveland from there. Petey Halpin tied it up with a solo shot in the third, Travis Bazzana gave them the lead with a two-run single in the fourth, and Patrick Bailey put it out of reach with his three-run homer in the seventh inning.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 26: Reynaldo López #40 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 26, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Atlanta Braves right-hander Reynaldo López is ramping back up and is set to make a rehab start with Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. López landed on the injured list on July 30 with inflammation in his left knee; fortunately, his MRI did not reveal any structural damage.
The hurler has had a subpar year for Atlanta. Through 24 games, he’s recorded four wins and posted a 3.64 ERA. He’s fanned 66 through 71.2 innings.
If all goes well, López could soon rejoin Atlanta’s pitching staff and provide a boost down the stretch. Sunday’s outing should give the Braves a better idea of how close he is to returning.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Franklin Arias #19 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the 2026 All-Star Futures Game Presented by Nike at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The WooSox didn’t get much offense in Syracuse (Mets AAA) and, as a result, got walked off with two outs. But it shouldn’t have even gotten to that point since they were getting outhit 11-3, so there’s some people on the squad we need to tip our caps to. Blake Wehunt didnt’ quite make it five innings but kept all but one run off the board despite allowing seven total baserunners. Allen Castro drove a late run in to make this a tie game in the 9th, and Franklin Arias and Romy Gonzalez hit doubles; Arias’ scored a pair of runs.
Don’t look now, but Arias already has 22 RBIs since his call up to Triple-A a month ago, and his total in 2026 sits at 74. That’s a good season by any account, but keep in mind that Arias batted first for a lot of his time in Double-A so that total might be even higher if he wasn’t hitting so many solo shots to start the game. That he’s consistently been the youngest at his level and hasn’t gone more than three days before finding a groove are very, very good signs going forward (as in, after the lockout, in this writer’s humble opinion.) Still, Arias is slashing .291/.357/.488(!) in a sample size that is growing bigger and bigger against guys who are getting better and better. And maybe, just maybe, it was all part of Breslow’s plan to waltz straight from the Trevor Story (0-4, 2 K’s on Friday) contract into Franklin Arias mowing down big league pitching. (And it was just how he drew it up, even down to Andruw Monasterio playing so well this year, right?)
Yes, it was Roman Anthony rehab night against the Fightin Phils (Phillies AA.) Yes, he drove in a run, his third in as many games. Devin Futrell also had a good night on the mound and shoved through six innings even after allowing a first-run home run, displaying a line that could have been plenty enough to take a decision win with a bit more pop at the plate: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
But the real story of the night – aside from Anthony getting closer to beign back with the big league club just in time to be one of the team’s “September call-ups” – has got to be how good Justin Gonzales has looked in general this year, but especially since his promotion to Double-A. He hit a triple and his OPS stands at over 1. These are numbers that folks made a big deal out of when Arias started the season hot this year, and there’s reason to believe that it’s time to pay attention to the outfielder, who won’t turn 20 until New Years Eve.
Greenville: PPD in 3rd, Make-Up Today
I will not jinx the Drive into saying they might be able to sleepwalk into a win Saturday following a rain delay in which they had a lead. The last time I did that, they sweated out a 7-run performance in the remaining innings and gutted a win out by the skin of their teeth. What I will say is that it’s looking good in the third against Winston-Salem (White Sox High-A.) “First” pitch of the double-header is today at 4:30.
I think it may be time to have a look at Franklin Primera at the High-A level until the season ends. The 19-year-old catcher is hitting .344/.484/.536 in 35 games, which is a decisively small sample size, but he’s got it at the plate. He added two more hits off the Warbirds (Brewers A) staff Friday in the DH slot as the other guy on the club catching, Adonys Guzman, also went 2-for-4 with a home run. The RidgeYaks were fighting an uphill battle all night, though, as they found themselves down 7-0 after two. They were able to make the deficit two, but that’s as close as it got.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 22: (L-R) Kyle Tucker #23, Andy Pages #44, and Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers stand in the outfield during a pitching change in the sixth inning during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 22, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Among the 122 major league outfielders with at least 200 plate appearances entering Friday, Teoscar Hernández (.250/.313/.401, 97 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR) and Kyle Tucker (.232/.327/.368, 95 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR) ranked 87thand 94th, respectively in FanGraphs WAR.
With the Dodgers getting such little production offensively and defensively from the corner outfield this season, calling up one of their many productive minor league outfielders seems more and more appealing by the day.
The fine folks at FanGraphs introduced a new feature this week: the count progression tool. “This tool isn’t meant to completely explain shifts in walk and strikeout rates,” wrote Ben Clemens, “but I think it’s a great way to help investigate the ways the game is changing.”
DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 21: Klay Thompson #31 of the Dallas Mavericks handles the ball against the Los Angeles Clippers during the game at American Airlines Center on March 21, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Klay Thompson was ultimately reduced to a status ill-fitting with his Hall of Fame career. At the end, Thompson became an asset that the Mavericks couldn’t get anything for.
But the primary reason the Mavericks found it so difficult to find a trade partner in a deal for Thompson, which would have reportedly been the team’s preference, is, you guessed it. The NBA salary cap. To those familiar with cap-related intricacies, that’s obvious, but let’s go over the confluence of salary cap factors that contributed to the Mavs finally throwing their hands in the air and letting Thompson get away and go to Miami in return for a big wad of nothing.
Why would the Mavericks buy Thompson out?
On an expiring deal and with still with at least a little something still in the tank, you’d think Thompson would still hold at least some minute shard of value on the trade market. But going into his 14th season, he was never going to be a piece of any team’s long-term build. He was only ever going to attract attention from teams who felt like they were one player away from contending or competing for something meaningful.
The final year of his deal with the Mavericks was worth $17.5 million. Just two months before the start of the season, the number of teams that fit that bill is relatively small. The number of teams that fit that bill and also have enough cap space to absorb $17.5 million in exchange for what they view as Thompson’s worth is even smaller. The kinds of teams that would have an interest in Thompson would also, by definition, already be approaching the cap or the first apron hard cap.
Enter the Miami Heat. Murmurs centered on the idea of forward Nikola Jovic being packaged in a creative way and coming back to Dallas were just that. Even though the youngster makes similar money to Thompson, the Heat would never have done a deal sending Jovic to Dallas, especially after emptying the cupboard of most of their young talent in trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason.
But wishcasting creative trade scenarios misses the most obvious point here. With Thompson on the roster, the Mavericks were at 16 players with guaranteed contracts. You can’t ride into the season with 16 on the roster. Sending Thompson out and getting one player back was never really an option for Dallas.
An NBA team usually only buys a player out if it’s the last available option. We had reached that point here.
You mean they couldn’t get anything for him?
Not in terms of players coming back, no. So, ok. What about the ever-popular four-team Stretch Armstrong trade machine idea you just cooked up in your NBA Galaxy Brain? That would require finding that many teams interested in participating, each with something to gain and each with the cap room to make the Galaxy Brain deal work.
We’ve already established that the number of teams with wiggle room in late August under the highly restrictive cap system the NBA employs is a very small one.
Not even like a second-round draft pick?
Count me among the many who would have taken even one solitary future second-round draft pick to get off of Thompson’s contract, but doing one player for one draft pick is just as impossible, as it would require the team taking Thompson to have $17.5 million to work with under whatever rung of salary cap hell it was willing to exist in.
Again, a team looking to contend in 2026-27 by definition probably does not have $17.5 million of loose change to spare in late August. They have spent it all to field a team that the front office thinks is a winner. And, again, bringing more teams into the equation makes it less possible, not more, at this point.
Mavericks’ salary cap implications for 2026-27
Before buying Thompson out of the last year of his deal, the Mavericks sat roughly $2.2 million under the luxury tax line, which is set at $200 million and change. If Thompson signs the two-year, $13-million deal reported by multiple outlets, Dallas’ salary on the books for the 2026-27 season would decrease further between $3.9 million and $6.5 million. Thompson cannot be officially signed until Sunday, 48 hours after the buyout is completed.
They would still be operating over the soft cap of $164.961 million, but under both aprons and under the luxury tax, just as they were before the buyout. It’s a convoluted way of saying that the move really doesn’t do a whole lot other than put at least $3.9 million back into the pockets of the Adelson-Dumont Regime. Which, when you think about it, isn’t that what basketball is all about? It couldn’t have happened to a better bunch of folks, am I right?
The Mavericks put themselves in this position by assembling all sorts of questionable assets during Nico Harrison’s tenure as general manager and by being unable to dump all of what needed to be dumped. Getting nothing of value and liking it in exchange for a player like Thompson is one of the remnants of that calculus.
So, the White Sox have in Jose Urquidy the equivalent of the Cubs’ Javier Assad. For example:
August 19th, Urquidy, planned reliever in the third inning for an opener: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K.
June 6th, Assad, emergency reliever in the second inning for a Jameson Taillon implosion: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Not taking anything away from Urquidy; just thought it was an interesting comparison.
The Cubs’ couldn’t solve Urquidy Wednesday, or the other two White Sox relievers, as they were held to two hits and were victims of 10 strikeouts. That was the game.
The Cubs won the series, so we can look back on these interesting tidbits and very mildly chuckle, because in recent weeks, a stymied offense has been a rarity. But with all the big bats in the Cubs’ line-up and bench? Tyrone Taylor was the dominating Cubs hitter of the game after beating out stunning infield single, followed by a screeching double to left field!
Clay Holmes did well, holding the White Sox to a run, six hits and two walks over 5.1 innings pitched. The bullpen did get a good combined performance by Caleb Thielbar, Trent Thorton and Aaron Civale, pitching scoreless ball over three innings, allowing just one hit, but did walk four. It was the second breakdown in three games by Ryan Rolison that makes me wonder if he has passed his run of peak performance. He surrendered two runs by allowing consecutively a walk, a double and a two-RBI double in 0.2 IP.
And I’d be remiss in failing to mention the solid infield defense by the Cubs. Twelve of Holmes’ 14 balls in play were ground balls. Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner had notable plays among several other good ones from the team.
The Cubs received their second day off in 11 days Thursday as they traveled to Seattle.
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Sam Caulder (North Side Baseball): Michael Busch is Slumping Again, But This Time, It’s Different. “Michael Busch’s numbers may not be as ugly as they were during his disastrous April, but his current slump comes with a couple of troubling developments.”
Andrew Wright (Yardbarker): Javier Assad’s role versatility has been invaluable for the Cubs. “The surplus of (starting pitching) depth has led to frequent roster moves and role changes that have often affected no one player more than right-hander Javier Assad.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Cubs Prospect Jaxon Wiggins is Currently Pitching Very Well in Relief, You Say? “An elbow injury got him early in the year, kept him out for months, and when he finally returned, he was not finding success. The Iowa Cubs moved Wiggins into the bullpen a few appearances ago, and he has thrown three strong single-inning outings since.”
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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.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MAY 21: Blas Castaño #63 of the Colorado Rockies talks to pitching coach Alon Leichman #77 and Hunter Goodman #15 during the seventh inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 21, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies need pitching. That is obvious in 2026, and the picture does not get much clearer looking toward 2027.
There is no wave of top pitching prospects waiting to fill the void, either. And the need goes beyond the rotation.
The Rockies have already had 27 different players make at least one relief appearance this season. Colorado does not just need another starter or two. It needs more and better pitching almost everywhere.
How the Rockies fill those holes is almost impossible to predict. Some additions will come through free agency, others through trades, the draft or from within the organization.
But finding pitchers is only part of the problem.
The larger question is what the Rockies are actually trying to build once those pitchers get here.
That echoed what Tanner Gordon described during spring training, when pitchers were experimenting with new pitches and shapes while pitching coach Alon Leichman emphasized filling up the strike zone and staying on the attack.
Five months later, the staff is beginning to resemble that description.
The staff is changing how it pitches
Across the staff as a whole, one of the clearest changes has been how much less dependent Colorado has become on the four-seam fastball.
Four-seamers accounted for 41.4% of all Rockies pitches in 2025. In 2026, that figure has fallen to 28.9%.
Pitch Type
2025 Usage %
2026 Usage %
Change (pp)
Four-seam
41.4
28.9
-12.5
Cutter
3.9
12.2
+8.3
Splitter
1.0
3.5
+2.5
Sinker
7.6
14.4
+6.8
Changeup
10.2
10.7
+0.5
Slider
21.0
21.5
+0.5
Curveball
14.9
8.7
-6.2
The four-seamer itself was not necessarily the problem.
The monopoly was.
Slider and changeup usage is almost unchanged from last season. Instead, cutter usage has climbed from 3.9% to 12.2%, sinkers have nearly doubled from 7.6% to 14.4% and splitters have also become a larger part of the mix.
The four-seamer has not disappeared. It simply accounts for far less of the staff’s overall pitch mix.
At the team level, that is what DePodesta’s “different looks” and “different pitch mixes” can look like in practice.
Look at the individual parts
Freeland offers a useful baseline. His results have often been uneven, but over more than 1,300 major-league innings, all with Colorado, he has generally remained on the positive side of the WAR ledger, averaging 2.5 bWAR per 162 games.
In 2026, he is throwing six pitches with no offering accounting for much more than a quarter of his usage:
Freeland is not an ideal to build around, but his longevity suggests strike throwing, sequencing and changing looks can make ordinary raw stuff viable in this environment.
The rest of the rotation shows how differently that idea can be applied.
Tomoyuki Sugano may be the clearest example of a true mix-and-match approach. He is using seven pitches in 2026, with his splitter, four-seamer and sinker each accounting for roughly 20% of his usage, while his arsenal stretches from a mid-90s fastball down to a curveball around 80 mph.
Ryan Feltner also works with six pitches, but with a more balanced hierarchy. His four-seamer and slider lead the mix, while his changeup has been his most effective pitch by run value. The fastball has not produced especially good results on its own, but the broader mix gives him multiple velocity bands to work through.
Gabriel Hughes takes a different route. He still throws his four-seamer more than half the time, but complements it with five secondary pitches and nearly seven feet of extension. His repertoire is deep even if the usage is not especially balanced.
Chase Dollander was another variation before undergoing elbow surgery. His nearly 99 mph four-seamer remained the centerpiece and produced strong results, while Colorado continued building around it, including a sweeper added to his arsenal this season.
Quintana fit the experiment as well. His five-pitch mix did not feature one offering above 30% usage, relying more on changing speeds and shapes than overpowering hitters.
Lorenzen might be the clearest reminder that none of this guarantees success. He threw seven different pitches, but could never get enough of them working together consistently and Colorado eventually moved on.
The commonality is not that every Rockies starter pitches the same way. It is almost the opposite. Colorado has assembled a group with broad arsenals that can create different looks in very different ways.
Zach Agnos offers a developing version out of the bullpen.
Agnos has carried the largest relief workload on the staff at 63.2 innings while expanding from essentially four pitches in 2025 to six in 2026. His four-seamer has been hit hard, while the sweeper, slider and splitter have generated considerably more swing-and-miss.
On May 21 at Arizona, Agnos threw five scoreless innings of one-hit baseball with the cutter, sweeper and splitter carrying much of the workload. Five days later, the Dodgers could focus more heavily on the hard stuff when his secondary pitches stopped consistently threatening the zone.
Throwing strikes is not the same as commanding pitches.
When enough of Agnos’ repertoire is competitive around the zone, hitters have to account for several different problems. When they can eliminate parts of it, six pitches become three very quickly.
Adding is only half the job
Having more options does not mean every option has to stay.
Tanner Gordon is a clean example because the experimentation was explicit from the beginning. In spring training, he talked about working on a new one-seam/two-seam fastball, refining his slider and cutter and experimenting with a second changeup shape.
His four-seam usage fell substantially in 2026, while the cutter and sinker became much larger pieces and his velocity increased. Before being traded at the deadline, Senzatela had a 3.61 ERA in 52.1 innings after posting a 6.65 ERA over 130.0 innings in 2025.
Pitch Type
2025 Usage %
2026 Usage %
Change (pp)
Four-seam
56.9
37.5
-19.4
Cutter
1.8
30.6
+28.8
Sinker
0.5
14.0
+13.5
Curveball
14.8
9.5
-5.3
Changeup
7.9
6.0
-1.9
Slider
18.0
2.4
-15.6
That does not prove the arsenal changes caused the better results. But Senzatela returned looking like a substantially different pitcher, produced better results and ultimately brought back an arm and a flyer at the deadline.
He has more than seven feet of extension, a fastball averaging better than 96 mph and a changeup nearly 13 mph slower. Hitters have to account for both the velocity and an unusually deep release point.
The player Colorado traded to acquire Frasso makes the bet even more interesting.
Seth Halvorsen gave the Rockies elite velocity, averaging nearly 99 mph with his four-seamer, plus a swing-and-miss slider. Colorado sent him to Los Angeles for Frasso and outfielder Landyn Vidourek.
Frasso does not throw quite as hard, but he brings exceptional extension and a changeup that gives hitters a much different speed and shape to account for alongside the fastball.
Command remains a problem, but the acquisition is still revealing. The Rockies were not simply looking for the hardest fastball available.
Juan Mejía provides another version. In 2025, he was essentially a two-pitch reliever, throwing a premium-velocity four-seamer and sweeper almost exclusively. Those two pitches still dominate his arsenal in 2026, but Colorado has begun experimenting around them with a sinker, changeup and slider in smaller doses.
Mejía does not get much extension, which may make those additional shapes especially useful around a fastball that still averages about 97 mph. They remain occasional pitches, but the experimentation fits the larger pattern.
An exceptional trait can still be the foundation. The emerging question is what else can be built around it.
What are they actually building?
Colorado needs too many pitchers for every future addition to fit the same pattern.
But enough pitchers have arrived, changed or been moved on from for some common threads to become visible.
There does not appear to be one trait, pitch type or statistical profile Colorado is building toward. What keeps showing up instead is something worth building around, paired with enough credible options to keep hitters from simplifying the at-bat.
Sometimes that starts with velocity. Sometimes it is extension, command, pitch interaction or the shape of the arsenal itself.
So after all of that, has the pitching actually gotten better?
Yes.
Colorado’s staff ERA has fallen from 5.99 in 2025 to 5.51 this season, while its FIP has improved from 5.24 to 4.84. The Rockies are also allowing fewer home runs.
That is meaningful progress.
It is still a bad pitching staff.
There is a huge difference between improving a pitching staff and building a good one.
The question is no longer whether the Rockies have an idea of what they want to build on the mound.
It is whether they can find enough good pitchers to build it with.
The Isotopes had plenty of chances to put this one away before a four-run ninth inning sent them to a 6-4 loss against Las Vegas.
Albuquerque collected 12 hits and five walks but went just 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position, stranded 12 and struck out 14 times. Adael Amador went 2-for-5 with his 20th double, while Tyler Freeman, Chad Stevens, Nic Kent and Bryant Betancourt also had two hits. Charlie Condon reached three times with a single and two walks.
Jake Brooks gave Albuquerque six solid innings and left with a 3-2 lead, allowing two runs on eight hits while throwing 55 of 80 pitches for strikes. Patrick Weigel added 1.2 scoreless innings. TJ Shook recorded the final out of the eighth before Las Vegas opened the ninth with four straight singles. Joey Meneses put the Aviators ahead with a sacrifice fly, and a Shook throwing error helped two more runs score.
Albuquerque pushed across one run in the ninth before falling to 61-63. Shook took the loss.
Hartford opened the doubleheader with a convincing 8-1 win behind a big night from Cole Messina, who went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer, a two-run single and a sacrifice fly to drive in five. GJ Hill added his 16th homer, while Jared Thomas went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Bryson Hammer earned the win with five innings of one-run ball before Davison Palermo closed it out with two scoreless frames.
Hartford was held to just one hit in the second seven-inning game, with Jimmy Obertop’s fifth-inning double accounting for the Yard Goats’ only knock. Hartford went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and struck out nine times.
Cade Denton allowed four runs over four innings, though he struck out five and surrendered just three hits. The loss dropped Hartford to 57-60.
Spokane got contributions throughout the lineup and another strong night from the pitching staff in a 6-1 win over Hillsboro.
Roldy Brito went 2-for-4, scored a run and stole two bases to reach 19 on the season, while Robert Calaz finished 2-for-4 with his 14th double. Lorenzo Carrier drove in three runs, including a two-run single during Spokane’s three-run eighth inning that put the game away.
Jordy Vargas worked 4.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Justin Loer followed with 2.2 scoreless innings and five strikeouts to earn the win, while Seth Clausen retired all five batters he faced and struck out two for the save.
Fresno jumped ahead early, but Stockton kept applying pressure throughout the night and pulled away for a 9-4 win.
Daniel Jackson gave the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first, but the Ports answered in the second and then built a 6-1 advantage behind home runs from Drew Burress and Gavin Turley. Fresno made its best push in the sixth when Jack Natili launched a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Stockton answered right back with a run in each of the final three innings to put the game away. Ronny Ugarte finished 2-for-4 with a double, while Landyn Vidourek walked three times.
The loss dropped Fresno to 63-55 and left the Grizzlies two games behind Stockton in the Cal League North second-half playoff race.
Thomas Harding highlights Ezequiel Tovar’s work supporting pediatric healthcare in Colorado and Venezuela. Tovar is donating $1,000 for every double this season while also spending time directly with children and their families.
Wesley Dixon looks at Willi Castro’s strong first season in Colorado and the value of his defensive versatility. Castro has already set a career high with 14 homers while appearing at six different positions.
MLB Pipeline names Charlie Condon as the Rockies prospect it would most like to see called up before season’s end. Condon has 22 homers and a .904 OPS in Triple-A.
Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker tosses his bat after popping out agains the Prates on Friday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
It’s as though Kyle Tucker accidentally became important at work and it ruined his life.
He just so happened to be the best available right fielder on the free agent market at the moment in time that the Dodgers were craving an uptick in right field and another functional bat to further fortify their lineup.
Basically, they wanted just another cog in the machine to help clear a path to a third consecutive World Series championship.
And because money is no object — to the objection of the rest of baseball — instead of offering Tucker a long-term deal with annual pay more in line with his talents, the Dodgers slapped a four-year, $240-million deal on the table.
Dodger Kyle Tucker talks with manager Dave Roberts in the dugout on Aug. 15. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Said, essentially: Hey, guy, how would you like a Major League Baseball record for average annual value — about $57.1 million per year — not to be the man, but to be a guy?
Not to outshine Shohei Ohtani and his starry pals, not to move merch off the field or do huge numbers on it. Just to quietly do what he did the previous season as a Chicago Cub, when he slashed .266/.377/.464 with 22 home runs, 73 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 136 games.
It must have felt like winning the lottery. All the introverted Tucker had to do was be his normal self with the understanding that no one expected him to live up to that Ohtani-type contract, that Juan Soto-esque dough, that Aaron Judge-level cheddar.
It wasn’t that too much was expected of Tucker, it was that only so much was.
That was a weird place to start. And it obviously didn’t help him find his footing as a Dodger, because he still hasn’t gained traction.
“I mean, it’s been a struggle in the sense that I’d like to help our team win and perform better for the guys in the clubhouse and the fans that come to the games,” Tucker said Friday. “In that aspect, I wish I would’ve done better this year. But like I said, we’ve still got a month and a half left and the playoffs coming up, so it’s not over yet.”
We can’t, of course, say “poor Kyle Tucker” as he strains — less stoically now — to figure it out with the postseason closing in.
But we can wonder if it was a poor decision by the Dodgers, with all of their top-flight minor league outfield prospects, to splurge so steeply?
We can ask whether they should have taken into account the mental makeup of a man who they were asking to carry the weight of a contract so unwieldy he should be embarrassed by it — which is how Tucker looks when he does his inhibited version of the hip-lock, arm wiggle-and-wave dance moves all the Dodgers do when they reach base.
Tucker just hasn’t looked like a true blue Dodger yet; he hasn’t been able to cut loose — especially not here in L.A.
Brandon Gomes, Dodgers executive president and general manager, helps new signee Kyle Tucker put on a Dodgers jersey during a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 21. (Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)
After going 0-for-4 in Friday’s 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tucker is hitting .186 with a .552 OPS at Dodger Stadium. He went 0-for-19 in the Dodgers’ last homestand, when even a game off did nothing to unscramble his mind.
Overall, he’s had it rough in the outfield too, where Statcast’s Fielding Run Value (FRV) measuring a player’s overall defensive value has him rated 96th of 97 right fielders this season.
At present, it doesn’t help that Tucker is one of two high-profile Dodger free-agent busts-so-far.
All-Star closer Edwin Díaz has blown four saves while saving just seven games this season in between stints on the injured list — Tucker and Díaz, insult to injury. For the high-high price of a combined $309 million.
Still, the Dodgers are 78-51. They have the second-best record in baseball, with two fewer wins than the Milwaukee Brewers.
And on the road, Tucker has given the Dodgers more of their money’s worth, hitting.272 with a .820 OPS.
So after Wednesday’s two-hit game to close out a sweep in Colorado on Wednesday, Tucker came home and tried the slump-busting tactic of taking batting practice outside on the field Friday for the first as a Dodger.
“Just trying to put up good swings tonight, good at-bats,” he said. “Just trying to move guys over, get guys in, do my part to try to win.”
The crowd participated too Friday, giving Tucker ovations more befitting a hitter on a heater than one on ice each time he stepped to the plate, where he put up a fight all night.
He saw 31 pitches, walked and hit into a 10th-inning fielder’s choice that moved Kiké Hernández to third base before he scored on Tommy Edman’s walk-off single.
Moral victories for $240 million, Alex? That’s not what the Dodgers bargained for.
But they’ll take it.
“I loved his at-bats,” said Roberts after Friday’s victory, picking up where the Dodgers’ crowd left off. “That’s one of the things I’m going to make sure I do, is encourage him.”
Because one magic moment in October will make it all worth it.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - AUGUST 19: Matt Wilkinson #71 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch during the second inning of his Major League debut against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on August 19, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
Another week of San Francisco Giants baseball comes to a close this weekend, so it’s time to make our picks for Player of the Week!
This week, I’m going with a player who made their MLB debut and did pretty well, all things considered. My pick this week is pitcher Matt Wilkinson, who made his debut in the Giants’ 1-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday. Wilkinson allowed just one hit in his two inning start. Is it a small sample size? Absolutely. But two innings of scoreless baseball in your debut is nothing to sneeze at.
Good job, rook!
Who is your pick for this week’s Player of the Week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants continue this three-game series against the Boston Red Sox this afternoon at 4:15 p.m. PT.
