The San Diego Padres have not made many additions to their big league roster this offseason and now one of the additions they did make will miss four weeks with an injury. Korean infielder Sung-Mun Song was signed by the Padres and was expected to compete for an infield utility role that would allow him to move around the infield to spell other infielders. Song was also expected to provide manager Craig Stammen with some roster flexibility and he still might. First, Song will have to recover from an oblique injury that will cause him to miss four weeks. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball also believes this injury will cause him to miss the World Baseball Classic and added that he is already planning on rehabbing with the San Diego medical staff in Arizona.
Padres News:
The injury to Song underscored the slow offseason the Padres have had. There have been five players added to the major league roster with one of those being Song. The other major addition was Michael King, but the Friar Faithful have been disappointed in the lack of activity from San Diego.
The most notable teams that missed out on signing free agents Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette were the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Blue Jays. One of those teams may pivot to free agent Cody Bellinger or will the New York Mets still try to add Bellinger even after adding Bichette?
There was speculation that the Arizona Diamondbacks may reverse course and consider trades for second baseman Ketel Marte after saying he was no longer available, but Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen announced that is not the case.
After the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Tucker there was speculation they may be interested in trading outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. Reports state that it is unlikely.
The Florida Panthers ended their season-long road trip with a strong effort on Saturday night in Washington D.C.
Both the Panthers and Washington Capitals are in need of every point they can get, each sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Despite falling behind and trailing at the game’s halfway point, Florida dug in and scored four straight goals to conquer the Capitals 5-2 and head home with an even 3-3-0 record on the roadie.
The Cats got off to a good start on Saturday, as the only goal of the opening period came off the stick of a Panther.
Holding the puck behind Logan Thompson’s net, Sam Bennett attempted a wrap-around that was stopped, but the rebound tricked out to the top of the crease, where A.J. Greer was waiting to slam it home with 6:37 to go in the first period.
Back-to-back goals by Caps blueliner Jakob Chychrun, his 16th and 17th of the year, would energize the crowd and propel the home team into the lead, but it wouldn’t last very long.
Just 96 seconds later, with Florida cycling in the Washington end of the ice, Carter Verhaeghe threw the puck toward the net and it hit Bennett, who was causing a screen in front. He controlled the puck and, while falling down, fired a shot past Thompson to knot the score at two.
Later in the period, with Florida on the game’s first power play, Uvis Balinskis played catch at the blue line with Anton Lundell, with the defenseman eventually taking a one-timer that found its way past a screened Thompson to send Florida into the third period with a 3-2 lead.
Florida clamped down during the final frame, holding the Capitals to a single shot on goal during the first half of the period, and six total shots during the third despite Washington trying to come from behind.
A pair of empty net goals by Lundell and Verhaeghe cemented the gritty victory for the Panthers.
Photo caption: Jan 17, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) celebrates wth Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) after their game against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
The New Orleans Pelicans look to make it two straight wins over the Houston Rockets when they meet in an NBA Southwest Division matchup at the Toyota Center.
Tonight’s matchup features plenty of talented offensive players, and my Pelicans vs. Rockets predictions expect a high-scoring affair.
Read on for my NBA picks for Saturday, January 18.
Pelicans vs Rockets prediction
Pelicans vs Rockets best bet: Over 229.5 (-110)
The Houston Rockets finally snapped their shooting slump by hitting 42.9% from three against Minnesota, a sharp rebound after a brutal 24.6% stretch from downtown.
Houston’s newfound offensive confidence should carry over tonight against a New Orleans Pelicans defense that struggles to contain the perimeter and protect the paint consistently.
New Orleans’ issues aren’t on the offensive end. When healthy, the Pelicans play fast and loose, pushing tempo and creating scoring opportunities on both sides of the ball.
That pace, combined with Houston’s improving shot quality, points toward a high-scoring environment in Space City.
Pelicans vs Rockets same-game parlay
Kevin Durant and Trey Murphy III are going to enjoy playing in tonight's projected fast-paced game environment.
Durant has scored 26 or more points in six of his previous seven, while Murphy III has cleared 21 points in seven consecutive games.
Pelicans vs Rockets SGP
Over 230.5
Kevin Durant Over 25.5 points
Trey Murphy III Over 20.5 points
Our "from downtown" SGP: Splish splash
Jordan Poole has knocked down at least two triples in five straight games while Durant averages five dimes across his previous 10 contests.
Pelicans vs Rockets SGP
Over 230.5
Kevin Durant Over 25.5 points
Trey Murphy III Over 20.5 points
Kevin Durant Over 4.5 assists
Jordan Poole Over 1.5 threes
Pelicans vs Rockets odds
Spread: Pelicans +12.5 | Rockets -12.5
Moneyline: Pelicans +491 | Rockets -752
Over/Under: Over 230.5 | Under 230.5
Pelicans vs Rockets betting trend to know
The New Orleans Pelicans have hit the Game Total Over in 22 of their last 35 away games (+7.70 Units / 20% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Pelicans vs. Rockets.
How to watch Pelicans vs Rockets
Location
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Date
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Tip-off
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
Pelicans+, Space City HN
Pelicans vs Rockets latest injuries
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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
The Atlanta Hawks returned home to State Farm Arena on Saturday night but did not return to winning ways as they suffered a 132-106 defeat to the Boston Celtics in their first meeting of four this season. Jaylen Brown ignited for 41 points, while Sam Hauser added 30 points. For the Hawks, Onyeka Okongwu scored a team-high 21 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18 points.
The Hawks entered the contest without primary defender Dyson Daniels — missing the game due to a right ankle sprain — while Zaccharie Risacher (left knee, bone contusion) and Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) continue to remain sidelined. In Daniels’ place, CJ McCollum got the nod for his first start in front of the Atlanta-faithful.
The first quarter was defined by an 18-point effort by Jaylen Brown, shooting 7-of-13 in the first quarter (only Luka Doncic has attempted more field goals in a first quarter this season with 14). That said, the Hawks — while briefly falling behind by double-digits — only trailed by seven points at the end of the first quarter, with Okongwu and Alexander-Walker both scoring eight points in the opening frame.
Then came, similar to the recent Lakers game, what turned out to be the decisive second quarter. The Celtics outscored the Hawks 52-28, running the lead not just back to double digits, nor stopping at 20 points, but ran all the way to 31 points heading into the locker room.
While another strong, 11-point quarter from Brown didn’t help the Hawks’ situation (taking Brown’s first half tally to 29 points), Sam Hauser hitting six threes and scoring 18 points in the second quarter alone was more damaging in the quarter. Anfernee Simons scored 11 points off the bench in the second quarter and did a great job of helping the Celtics extend and build their lead while Brown was on the bench — possibly the most impressive element of the Celtics’ run in the second quarter. While the Celtics shot 76% in the second quarter and hit 11 threes (14 in total in the first half), the Hawks shot 36% in the quarter and 37% for the entire game.
Let’s take a look at the many breakdowns that contributed to give the Celtics their game-defining 52-point quarter.
Hauser’s shooting last night was fantastic (even though he got greedy at the end of the game trying to chase a Celtics record, finishing with the highest number of threes attempted by any player in the NBA so far this season with 21) but the Hawks made his life so much easier than it needed to be. It started with Hauser easily shedding Mo Gueye and rising into an open three:
Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was not pleased following this shot, and it’s not hard to understand why — limiting Hauser’s effectiveness from three would be among the top items of any scouting report playing the Celtics. Getting an open three-point shot like this would absolutely be on the Hawks’ margin of error that they cannot afford, and for Gueye to allow this one was only the start.
Gueye would be at fault again for the next three the Celtics hit. On a screen for Simons by Derrick White, Gueye tries to get back to Simons. Corey Kispert is locked onto the switch on the screen and communicates to Gueye that he doesn’t need to get back to Simons and to go with White. It takes far too long for Gueye to get this sorted, and by the time he does Simons has swung the ball to White, Alexander-Walker has to step up, leaving Baylor Scheierman in the corner for an open three:
While the Hawks would probably be OK with Scheierman shooting a three instead of White or Simons, the process is the problem and a breakdown that could have easily been avoided.
After a missed layup by Alexander-Walker (a decent drive, just leaving the ball offline), the Celtics come in transition and the Hawks get themselves matched up just fine — it’s the screen from Hauser and Neemias Queta that causes the issue. The screen from Queta puts Luke Kennard behind Hauser, and Okongwu is apt to the threat of Hauser from three and steps up to prevent any chance of Hauser springing into the three, but at the cost of Queta rolling to the basket. Gueye makes a better read of the play this time, and steps up to White, whose quick pass inside to Queta leads to the make on the Queta flip:
This is liveable if you’re the Hawks: you’ve prevented the Hauser three, met White on the perimeter, and you take your chances with a shot like that from Queta (even from close range). The right reads were made, and Queta made the shot; fair enough — it was well run by the Celtics. It did restore Boston’s double-digit lead, and prompting the Atlanta timeout.
Three free throws from Kispert after the timeout looked to be followed by a stop, as the lob to Queta is offline, and the loose ball falls to Gueye. However, he fails to protect the ball on the rebound, and Queta strips him and dunks:
Gueye’s rough stretch continued immediately, as Kispert does well to find the cutting Gueye, whose reverse layup is missed and ends up on the floor (the reaction from Snyder is worth noting), and as Scheierman explores his options, the Celtics have a man advantage as Gueye tracks back but by the time he does it’s too late. White has received the ball and hit the three-pointer to cap off a very tough sequence for the Hawks:
A missed shot by Jalen Johnson (who didn’t have the jumper on his side last night) followed by a step-back jumper from Simons put the Celtics up 14 points, and Johnson would again find his impact limited as he’s pressured by Hauser, and Scheierman doubles from behind to poke the ball away from Johnson to force the turnover. Simons then pulls up and drains the three over Kispert and the Celtics take a 17-point lead and force another Atlanta timeout:
After those Kispert free throws, the Celtic lead was seven points. Just over a minute later it had ballooned to 17 points — all without Jaylen Brown on the court. Considering Brown’s dominance in the first quarter, this felt like a massively missed opportunity for the Hawks, and now they were really in trouble.
Vit Krejci’s three out of the timeout is cancelled out by another pull-up three from Simons, and the Hawks just aren’t getting the scoring they need from Jalen Johnson, who found opportunities inside the paint limited and his drives limited by some excellent Celtic defense (whose perimeter defense was excellent). On this play, Johnson tries to take it into the chest of White, but with Luka Garza behind White waiting, Johnson tries to flip up a shot instead and it falls short:
Hauser returns for his second three, shooting over McCollum after the screen, and all of a sudden, the Celtics have a 20-point lead. The Hawks hit back with back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 14 points.
CJ McCollum had a very rough first half, shooting 2-of-10 from the field, and got caught with a turnover out of bounds before air-balling a three, off of which he gets his hand in for a strip on Brown…only to see the Celtics recover possession, and now the Hawks are everywhere defensively. Johnson is now guarding nobody, Krejci has to step up and leave his man, Asa Newell doesn’t get the shout that Hauser is now open in the short-corner, and Johnson’s attempts to get over to him are in vain, as Hauser hits another open three:
For his next three, Hauser in the corner guarded by Johnson, who has one eye on the ball and the paint, and it feels as though he’s daydreaming as he’s following Hauser, and is ultimately a step slow as Hauser steps up to the Queta screen, and this Okongwu doesn’t/isn’t able to step up to meet Hauser on the screen and the three is made:
Now, it’s Brown’s time to get going again. After free throws on the Okongwu foul — followed by an Okongwu three — Brown targets his matchup with Krejci and is just too strong for him, taking the ball to the rim and finishing with ease:
I don’t blame Krejci for anything there; Brown is just too strong in this spot. It’s really, really poor from Johnson to offer no help for Krejci when he’s right there in a position to do so. It’s not as though Johnson is looking at anyone else — and his man in transition here is Queta, who is not going to be stretching the floor.
Brown’s strength versus Krejci is reinforced moments later — following a missed McCollum floater and Okongwu three — as he gets to the rim, Krejci tries to hold him back as he goes up, and Brown powers and adjusts to finish, plus the foul:
Again, the action returns to Sam Hauser. Johnson begins the possession guarding Hauser, but when the slip from Queta comes, Johnson switches to the rolling Queta. Okongwu tracks back to Queta but this has all left Hauser open, and he hits another open three:
Krejci gets bumped initially here, and that’s likely why Okongwu stays with White as Queta rolls. Johnson makes the right read to switch — it starts with Okongwu, who doesn’t know until he turns to see Johnson with Queta and it’s too late to get to Hauser.
A miss from McCollum and a mid-range jumper from Brown extends the lead to 31 points to compound a miserable first half for the Atlanta Hawks.
“They were too comfortable” said CJ McCollum of the second quarter. “We’ve got to be more physical at the point of contact…”
The Hawks were recently faced with a similar deficit against the Lakers, and while they were able to make a comeback, of sorts, to cut the lead to 11, there was no such comeback to be had on Saturday. The Celtics quickly extended their lead coming out of the locker room, ran the lead to as high as 43, and consistently kept the lead between 35 and 40 points for the majority of the second half. The lowest the Boston lead dipped in the second half was at the very end, long into garbage time, at its final resting place of 26 points (which is generous for the Hawks as a final margin of defeat).
Postgame, Quin Snyder was left a lot to reflect on when asked about the factors that contribute to the Hawks’ efforts last night. These ranged from the number of games played recently, a lack of urgency and execution, and of course Boston’s 52-point quarter.
“I think there’s a number of factors,” said Snyder. “We’re coming back from a pretty good stretch of games. We talked about it before the game (about) finding some juice. We didn’t have that. When we talk about that, it manifests itself in competitiveness or urgency, whether it be up at the point of the screen, in execution, or someone makes a three, or not running hard enough where we get spacing and can get to the rim. We didn’t run at all offensively. At the beginning of the game we didn’t have good possession, we took contested, mid-range shots without moving the ball. That’s not who we are, that’s not how we play. I think our commitment to some of those things offensively was lacking, especially early. We’ve started finding a little of that. Part of it for us right now is we’re integrating a couple of new guys on the fly. That’s something we need to be aware of. Usually when you do that there are stretches that are like this where you can see those things. Either players collectively don’t quite understand what we’re doing, it’s not habitual, and that interaction, we’ve got to find that on the fly.
“As that’s going on, we can’t give up a 52-point quarter. That may be all I should say. Our competitive focus on the defensive end during that stretch in particular is not where it needs to go. That results in all kinds of breakdowns, executions and they made us pay for that. I think it’s important for us to understand that this is a process, to the extent that we’re really focused on the things that we know when we do make us successful, that happens quicker. You see it happen during the course of the game at various times. It just has to happen more. That wasn’t the case tonight obviously…”
Snyder went on to explain the various difficulties and challenges the Celtics present on the court. We saw some of these unfold in the second quarter: from losing shooters because others had to step up and rotate, dunks from Queta from the threat of the roll man, Brown getting to the rim, Snyder expounded on all of these elements the Celtics bring to the table.
“If there’s three things in a given possession: if they’re running pick-and-roll and you’re not far up, Simons hits a three,” explained Snyder. “If you’re trapping and you don’t trap, Jaylen Brown goes by you and puts you in the rim. If you’re trapping and doing the right thing and there’s a roller going and you don’t rotate, it’s a dunk. If you bung-bung-bung, take away that, don’t rotate to the corner, it’s a three. We had all that in all those situations. The thing that has to happen is when they run a certain play consecutive times, that’s where your level has to go up. We have to deny the ball to take them out of the play. We didn’t have that grit that we needed. Whatever coverages and all those things — nothing is going to work if we don’t have that urgency and focus … we have a small margin. We’re not going to be perfect, but we have to try to be.”
When referencing plays that were ran consecutive times with success, it’s hard not to think of all those threes Hauser made and the rinse-and-repeat nature of them. They were really poorly defended at times, and it’s plays like this I believe Snyder is referring to.
Not having Dyson Daniels available to help guard Brown was difficult for the Hawks. Brown scored 41 points in three quarters, and while his usage and shot volume is high (shooting 14-of-30 from the field), he was still efficient and proficient at getting to the line (11-of-12).
“We weren’t being physical,” said Okongwu when asked about Jaylen Brown. “We were messing up our coverages…”
It’s difficult to say that anyone played well in this spot for the Hawks. Through three quarters — before extended garbage time — only Okongwu shot higher than 50% from the field. Jalen Johnson really struggled in this game, 4-of-14 from the field for 11 points. Johnson had difficulties breaking the Celtics’ defense down off the dribble, and with the Celtics scoring so often the rebounds and transition opportunities Johnson thrives on were limited.
More than anything at the moment, Johnson looked tired and leggy — his jumpers were quite short last night, usually indicative of a player fighting fatigue. McCollum, similarly, shot 4-of-14 from the field, while Alexander-Walker (6-of-16) did not fare much better. The less said about Mo Gueye’s game — particularly his second quarter — the better. Meanwhile, Corey Kispert had a solid 16 points in what was the only positive performance off the bench.
Vit Krecji’s recent struggles have continued: 1-of-6 shooting for Vit in 18 minutes, limited by foul trouble. I’ll hold my hands up: I thought Krejci would fare better than Risacher in the starting lineup. …I was wrong! Krejci has also, somehow, ended up playing the same 18 to 22-minute rotation as Risacher did previously since going to the starting lineup…which was usually less minutes than when Krejci was coming off the bench.
I don’t understand Snyder’s rotation at times. We saw more minutes for Keaton Wallace in the first half in a lineup that fell completely flat, and for some inexplicable reason in a 40-point blowout, Johnson and Okongwu both played half of the fourth quarter, while Alexander-Walker played over four minutes… It is a 40-point blowout and it’s pretty clear the Hawks are tired. Baffling from Snyder there.
I don’t want to take too much away from the Celtics’ performance — they were excellent from start to finish. The Hawks obviously played their part in Sam Hauser igniting just leaving him open/losing track of him, but Hauser hit shots, hit more difficult shots, and completely torched Atlanta.
Brown was excellent and picked his spots really well in the second quarter to drive home the great work that Hauser, Derrick White, and Simons had done while he was on the bench. The Celtics worked hard and moved well defensively; it was difficult for the Hawks to get inside and break down the defense. Boston’s bigs really did a good job of shifting — Queta and Luka Garza I thought was really good in this department too. Jordan Walsh was strong defensively, and Hugo Gonzalez (a player I really liked ahead of the draft for a team exactly like Boston) provided a great spark off the bench.
From the Hawks’ side of things, I’d burn the tape from this game if I knew I’d have to inevitably sit through and analyze this game, because it was a very rough watch in the second quarter. Some of it can be attributed to a lack of practice and opportunity to get the new guys better integrated (this was asked and discussed postgame with Snyder, McCollum, and Kispert), and coming off of a road trip, sure, the first game back can be difficult. But these are not adequate enough excuses to be down 30 points in the first half, concede a 52-point quarter, and fall 40 points behind, and the players would be the first to admit that.
Snyder does see the positives and is taking a more optimistic view of the situation, but reinforces the ‘habitual’ principles that are not always being followed.
“I don’t want to get into ‘the sky is falling,’” said Snyder. “We played well against Golden State and won. We played a Laker team that played one of their best games, we were right there against Portland and had a horrible stretch and lost the game. Tonight, we were bad. This adversity is something we’ve got to use. Formulaically, that’s the good thing. There are things that we know if we do, we’ll be better. That means running, that means playing with the pass, that means getting in the paint and having our eyes out. All those things that when we’re playing well and we’re efficient, offensively, that’s what we’re doing. And the same thing defensively. Those are thing that we all agree on are absolutes that we have to do consistently to be good. We’ve got to commit to that because some of them aren’t habitual right now.”
The Hawks (20-24) are back in action on Monday afternoon for their annual MLK Day game, facing a Milwaukee Bucks team (17-24) who are gunning for the final play-in spot that the Hawks currently possess.
Newcastle struggled to find a way through a determined Wolves team, who remain unbeaten in 2026
1 min: Sandro Tonali takes the ball deep as Newcastle attempt to pass their way through. Harvey Barnes gets an early touch from a Woltemade layoff. Good energy from the home fans. How long will that last?
Here’s Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining, with the Led Zep medley you will always hear in pre-match at Molineux.
Prior to getting into the meat of this week’s post, I wanted to add two disclaimers that many of you will probably deem unnecessary but for my own psyche, I am going to do it anyway.
The entirety of the article is assuming that JoJo Romero is going to be traded before the regular season. Yes, I know what assuming can do, but I believe at this point Chaim Bloom has shown his understanding of the current situation and is doing his due diligence before accepting a deal. After “panicking” for the inactivity, I am back on solid ground and ready for Chaim Time to continue.
Like Chaim, I also understand this is a rebuild. There have been a few comments in a couple previous articles pointing out that my desires for the team are not realistic during a rebuild. I am a fan first and still believe in the current talent, although it is lacking, of the majority of the roster, new decision makers, and Oli Marmol (insert jeers). While I know winning is not priority, I still crave competitive baseball with players getting their opportunity for proving themselves. I cannot support what the White Sox and Rockies had done, losing 100+ games on purpose, but if the Cardinals can hover 15 or less games under .500, I still anticipate plenty of fun and exciting games.
And with that, the main attraction.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Chaim Bloom are officially full speed ahead in the rebuild after trading Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks. With that necessary deal being done, it sounds like things are heating up around Brendan Donovan, but I will put his future in St. Louis at a true toss up. Even with the major league team having talent stripped from the roster, I believe there is still plenty to be excited about or storylines to follow.
The bullpen of any team is always one for conversation, but those talks differ depending on the contending status of each team. For the Cardinals, their current reliever set up would be cause for concern for teams with playoff hopes, but in St. Louis, this alignment means opportunity abound across the board. Assuming JoJo Romero is dealt to one of those postseason hopefuls, reliever Matt Svanson’s role is one that will be one to keep an eye on this season.
Matt Svanson could be the closer of the future or Kyle Leahy 2.0
Matt Svanson was acquired by John Mozeliak at the 2023 trade deadline for Paul DeJong, which surely Cardinals Twitter took kindly to and would never once call it “another dumpster dive by Mo.” Svanson had put together a nice season at the time of the trade, but did so as a 24-year-old in High-A. He demonstrated quality strikeout and walk abilities while allowing less than a base runner per inning, leading to the Cardinals to push him right to Double-A Springfield when he arrived to his new organization.
Svanson took well to his new team and level over 15 games, putting up a 3.00 ERA while still keeping his command and punchout stuff in his small sample. That momentum pushed into the 2024 season when Svanson really took off and became an interesting name to focus on for the future. Over 53 games, spanning 63.2 innings, Svanson took over the closer role for Springfield, closing 27 games with a 2.69 ERA. His peripherals took a hit, though, with his K/BB rate heading in the wrong direction, leading to a 3.93 FIP. That led to Svanson heading to the Arizona Fall League, where he was able to get his command back in order while playing in a lower stress environment against younger hitters.
Moving then to 2025, Svanson received an invite to major league Spring Training, but only received three innings of work before spending the rest of camp on the minor league side of things. He started the regular season in Memphis, but received his first promotion to the big league on April 16. Despite fine results in a mediocre bullpen, Svanson rode the Memphis shuttle multiple times during the season’s first half, totaling 26 innings over 17 games with a 3.12 ERA and showcasing his previous quality command and strikeout stuff.
The second half unlocked an even better version of the reliever with Svanson becoming a trusted part of the bullpen. After the All-Star break, Svanson pitched in 22 games and covered 34.1 innings of relief work while pitching in different situations. In those games, he put up a 1.05 ERA and a near 33% strikeout rate with opposing hitters totaling a .227 slugging percentage against him. For the year, the nearly-27-year-old went 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA (2.72 FIP) and a 29.1% K-rate.
Manager Oli Marmol was tasked with figuring out the best way to use a bullpen full of untested youngsters and that created opportunity to pitch in every inning except for the first two this season. As the Cardinals look into their best set up to win them however many games they do, the bullpen alignment figures to be a major part of whatever team success occurs this year. While he was called upon in any situation, Svanson’s strong first half made him a go-to guy later in the game. In his last 15 appearances, 13 of them came in the 6th inning or later. Over Svanson’s 39 games, 11 of them came when he had 0 or 1 day of rest, while 23 of his appearances were two days’ rest or less.
That usage did not hurt Svanson’s overall efficiency, as he had a stronger second half than first. After the All-Star Break, he had a minuscule 1.05 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 34.1 innings of work. Svanson grabbed his second win of the season with two innings of scoreless work and then followed it up one day later with his first career hold. The fact that Svanson was able to maintain his workload while also increase his strikeout stuff after the break, ramping it up to a 32.1% K-rate after July.
When determining what Svanson’s best role is for the future, I looked at FanGraphs’ split that breaks appearances down into low-, medium-, and high-leverage situations. In his 60.1 innings, 42.1 were what were considered low-leverage spots, and that is where Svanson thrived (as to be expected when this was the bulk of his work). He held hitters to a .132 batting average, compared to a .217 average in 13.2 medium-leverage innings, and a .250 average in a small 4.1 frame sample size in high-leverage spots.
For next season, the Cardinals figure to have an opening in every meaningful role, with Romero being the player with the most closing experience and Kyle Leahy being moved to the rotation. For the 2026 Cardinals, winning is unfortunately not priority number one, so that closer role may be one that the team is not as eager to fill at this moment. Ryne Stanek could be someone that the Cardinals turn to for a temporary option in the ninth inning, but they could also turn to Svanson after he has shown the ability to handle the role in Springfield. That could provide long-term stability for the backend of the Cardinals’ bullpen, but betting on extended effectiveness for relievers is always a tough gamble.
Another factor that the coaching staff will have to take into account is how often Svanson would throw if he were to be a closer. The Cardinals are currently projected to win around 73.5 games next year, meaning there may not be a lot of save opportunities for whoever the Cardinals deem the ninth inning guy. Because of that, Svanson may best be utilized in the vacant Kyle Leahy role and be that guy who can pitch at any spot in the game. Leahy did that last season, making at least one appearance in every inning, including his spot start at the end of the year. In term’s of FanGraphs’ leverage meter, Leahy threw 52.1 of his 88 innings in medium- or high-leverage spots. He became the guy that Marmol could call on most everyday (36 of his 62 appearances came with two days of rest of less) when the team need to get out of a jam.
In order to maximize Svanson’s value for this season, I would like to see him be that firefighter that Leahy turned into last year. Working against him, though, would be his groundball rate, which came in at 43% last season right around league average. If the Cardinals want to find a guy who can get a double play in a big spot, Svanson may have to use his sinker in a different way in order to get those grounders.
Regardless of where Svanson ends up out of Spring Training, the Cardinals have to be thrilled with what he has shown thus far. With a 97mph fastball and above-average breaking stuff, Svanson could stabilize that relief corps until a more solidified role for his future comes up.
This week’s Club Sportico essay focuses on a recent announcement by the Kansas City Royals, who revealed a potential competitive advantage that’s largely untapped across Major League Baseball.
The Royals on Tuesday announced a new change that the club believes will result in an extra 1.5 wins next season. It wasn’t a free agent signing, a new manager or a new piece of equipment (remember torpedo bats?). Instead it was a shift in engineering. The club is moving in the outfield walls at Kauffman Stadium and lowering the fences by 18” in most places.
In their explanation of the change, Royals executives showed just how much detail went into the planning. Kauffman Stadium is notoriously unfriendly to home run hitters—a product of its cavernous outfield and prevailing wind patterns—and the team recently deputized assistant GM Daniel Mack to study what an adjustment might look like.
Mack assigned a run value to every fly ball hit in Kauffman, then layered on the team’s current roster of hitters and pitchers, its opponents, the wind patterns and even the stadium’s altitude. He then played with distances and fence heights that would not only play around the league average, but also give this current Royals team a statistical advantage.
The result is a layout the team thinks will benefit its hitters—including generational star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.—a lot more than it will harm its pitchers, who had among the lowest fly ball rates of any staff in the majors last season. Welcome to the “Moneywall Era.”
Is this a new trend coming for MLB parks across the U.S.? That’s explored in the back half of the essay. Here is an excerpt ✍️:
So what’s to stop a team from looking at its roster every offseason and making tweaks to its fences? Or more dramatically, what’s to stop a team from putting its outfield wall on tracks and moving it based on who’s in town, which way the wind is blowing, or who’s starting on the mound?
The answer, technically, is nothing (!). MLB’s 191-page rule book is light on guidelines for the dimensions of the outfield. The centerfield wall must be at least 400 feet from the plate, and the rest of the outfield wall must be at least 325 feet. That’s for venues built after 1958, which allows stadiums like Fenway Park to get away with its 302-foot right field fence.
According to someone familiar with the broader league bylaws, MLB has no limit on the number of times you can make changes (more on that later). That said, there are a few reasons you might not see a rush of alterations at ballparks across America. The biggest one—of course—involves money. Construction isn’t cheap, of course, but neither are the tickets that sit right up against the outfield walls.
In addition to helping the team on the field, the Royals’ move will add about 230 seats in Kaufman’s left and right field seating areas. If we assume for a moment that those tickets cost $80 each, that’s an additional $1.5 million in sales annually for the team (before accounting for the extra beer volume). For reference, Royals revenue in 2024 was $320 million.
If there’s any team for whom cost would be irrelevant, it’s the Mets. And billionaire owner Steve Cohen moved Citi Field’s fences in three years ago, but that move wasn’t about on-field play. It allowed the team to build out a new club area with living room-style seats and personal TVs.
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American becomes oldest singles player at tournament
Williams led 0-4 in deciding set before stumbling
Venus Williams set a record just by starting her first-round match at the Australian Open, a testament to her endurance and longevity at the highest level of tennis.
Up two service breaks at 4-0 in the third set on Sunday, she was within sight of victory too. But Olga Danilovic had other ideas, rallying to win six straight games and beat the American 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. Williams served for just shy of 15 minutes in the penultimate game, determined to stay in the match before she finally succumbed to a third break point.
The Orlando Magic look to sweep their two-game Euro set with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies this afternoon from O2 Arena in London.
The Grizzlies could have Ja Morant back in the lineup, but my Grizzlies vs. Magic predictions and NBA picks have Orlando finishing off its European excursion with a win.
Magic vs Grizzlies prediction
Magic vs Grizzlies best bet: Magic -3.5 (-115)
This Orlando Magic frontcourt set the tone against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday, crushing Memphis on the boards (+17) and snagging 19 offensive boards, while converting 16 turnovers into 24 points and dominating the paint 50-38.
Memphis, meanwhile, staggered to its seventh loss in the last nine games, and it's having a hard time defending the basket, allowing 122.1 points per game in those losses.
The good news for the Grizz is that star guard Ja Morant (calf) is listed as probable after missing six straight games. His 19 points and 7.6 assist averages would be much welcomed for a team that’s 21st in scoring at 114.8 points per game.
One thing Morant won’t be able to do is handle all that interior heft for the Magic, who rank in basketball’s Top 5 in points in the paint, averaging 54.2 points.
With the win in Berlin, Orlando improved to 4-2 ATS against Memphis in the last six head-to-head matchups. Even with Morant back in the lineup, I don’t see how the star pairing of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero squanders this opportunity to end their Euro trip with a win.
Magic vs Grizzlies same-game parlay
Paolo Banchero has been on fire of late, including dropping 26 on Memphis last time out and scoring 23+ points in five of his last seven games.
Meanwhile, Franz Wagner played great in his return to the lineup. Forget shaking the rust, he’s picking up right where he left off: not including the game where he got hurt, Wagner had scored at least 18 points in 21 of his previous 23 games played.
If Morant does play, the Grizzlies will be monitoring him closely. I don’t think he’ll get a ton of minutes, which should eat into his production. Also, before getting hurt, Ja had scored 19+ points just three times in his last nine games.
And we’re taking the Under for Wendell Carter’s rebounding line. He's pulled down eight boards just once in his last four games.
Magic vs Grizzlies SGP
Magic -3.5
Paolo Banchero Over 22.5 points
Franz Wagner Over 17.5 points
Ja Morant Under 18.5 points
Wendell Carter Jr. Under 7.5 rebounds
Magic vs Grizzlies odds
Spread: Magic -3.5 | Grizzlies +3.5
Moneyline: Magic -165 | Grizzlies +140
Over/Under: Over 231 | Under 231
Magic vs Grizzlies betting trend to know
The Grizzlies have lost 24 of their last 26 games against teams with a winning record. Find more NBA betting trends for Magic vs. Grizzlies.
How to watch Magic vs Grizzlies
Location
The O2 Arena, London, England
Date
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Tip-off
12:00 p.m. ET
TV
Prime Video
Magic vs Grizzlies latest injuries
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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
With Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette both off the board, Cody Bellinger is still potentially in the cards for both the Mets and Yankees, with the Mets still needing an outfielder and the Yankees needing protection for Aaron Judge in the lineup.
Max Goodman of NJ.com runs down a list of five possible targets for the Mets after the Bo Bichette signing—a list which includes Bellinger.
Travis Sawchik of MLB.com explores the best fit for Framber Valdez between the Mets, Orioles, Giants, and Cubs—all of the teams that have been connected to the top remaining free agent starter—when considering rotation depth, ballpark, and the fact that he is an extreme ground ball pitcher.
Reds star Elly De La Cruz turned down an extension offer from the Reds last spring that would have been the largest contract offer in franchise history, eclipsing Joey Votto’s ten-year, $225 million deal from 2012.
Speaking of the Reds, they are reportedly receiving trade interest in their starting pitchers.
For The Athletic, Chad Jennings and Stephen J. Nesbitt take a look back through sports history to try to find precedent for the dynasty the Dodgers are currently building.
This Date in Mets History
On this date in 2018, the Mets formally announced the signing of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. It ended up being his last major league season.
Nacho Elvira takes advantage for Dubai Invitational title
Rory McIlroy finishes in tie for third after final-day drama
Shane Lowry blew a one-shot lead on the last hole as Nacho Elvira recovered to claim victory in a dramatic finish to the Dubai Invitational.
Lowry, who had started the final round in a tie for second, two strokes behind the Spaniard, barged into the lead after a birdie on the 15th and appeared to have the title at his mercy. But the Irishman found both bunker and water on the 18th, finishing with a double bogey that shattered his hopes and allowed Elvira, who had struggled early in the round, to duly par the 18th for victory.
The Dodgers have been fairly quiet this offseason compared to the last two, but when they have struck, the bounty has been plentiful.
After bringing back Miguel Rojas for the final season of his big league career, the Dodgers shored up their bullpen by bringing in Edwin Díaz to a three-year deal worth $69 million. After a month of wondering where star free agents like Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger or Bo Bichette would sign, the Dodgers stunned the baseball world by agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal with Tucker, making him the highest paid outfielder per annual average value in baseball history.
Tucker is now slated to be the team’s primary right fielder, sliding Teoscar Hernández back to left field where he primarily played during the 2024 season. Hernández was previously involved in trade rumors during the winter meetings, as the Kansas City Royals expressed interest in him, but the Dodgers are reportedly unlikely to deal him away, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Dodgers are more likely to consider deals for either outfielder Ryan Ward or pitcher Bobby Miller.
Fresh off their stunning signing of free-agent right fielder Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers are expected to keep Teoscar Hernández and move him to left field. As reported previously, Hernández’s name has surfaced in trade conversations. The Dodgers, however, are more likely to explore deals for outfielder Ryan Ward, a career minor leaguer who last season was MVP of the Pacific Coast League at 27, or right-hander Bobby Miller, who has been a disappointment.
Links
Alongside the Dodgers in the sweepstakes for Kyle Tucker were the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets reportedly offered a similar short-term deal for Tucker reported at four years for $220 million that included a $75 million signing bonus with no deferrals, while the Blue Jays were the only team of the three to go for a long-term deal, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeting that the deal was for 10 years for $350 million.
On the surface, Kyle Tucker didn’t have quite the success at home with the Chicago Cubs than he did away from Wrigley Field. In reality, his home and road split divergence was mostly due to a fractured hand that tanked his second half numbers at the plate, but it doesn’t help that Wrigley Field isn’t so friendly to hitters, ranking 26th in park factor. Mike Petriello of MLB.com examines how the move to a more hitter-friendly environment in Dodger Stadium (along with the hopes of him staying healthy) could help Tucker put up similar offensive numbers he had with the Houston Astros.
Chad Jennings and Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic compare the Kyle Tucker signing to other notable moves across sports where a star player joined a defending champion, such as Kevin Durant’s heavily maligned move to join the Golden State Warriors.
Matt Shaw says he has spent a good deal of time in the outfield in college and he’s up for the challenge of being a supersub. I’m not going to discourage him. Nico Hoerner opined that it was a good thing to have a quality player as a sub, and that time off isn’t a Bad Thing. Nico is a ballplayer — right now he’s the face of the Cubs, and that’s the attitude fans want to see.
I think, in the end, that it really was Kyle Tucker’s approach that doomed him in Chicago. He wasn’t seen to be giving it his all. Whether that perception is accurate, I don’t know. But it is real. Ian Happ has suffered some from a similar perception despite his propensity for flinging his body about with abandon.
Anyway. ‘King Kyle’ is planning on winning a ring. The Dodgers have already meatloafed — they’re eyeing a threepeat. That would even them up with the Oakland Athletics (1972-74), and the Yankees (1998-2000), who also have skeins of four (1936-39) and five (1949-53) consecutive wins. The Cubs are among the handful of teams that have repeated.
The Phillies, Mets, the Cubs, and possibly the Brewers will have something to say about that. Others could surprise, but then they would have to. The Blue Jays, Mariners, and possibly the Red Sox will have words.
But it would surprise exactly nobody if the Dodgers won.
Saturday, the Cubs convention was in full swing. We’ll have another stacked playlist. Congratulations to Jon Lester, Jody Davis, and the late Vince Lloyd, who talked to me from the radio and TV quite a bit when I was small. And good luck to Da Bears, who play tonight at Soldier Field.
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I spoke to a #Rockies official this morning who emphatically says that that a report that the club blocked Kris Bryant from attending a #Cubs 2016 World Series reunion "isn't true."
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One hallmark of the AJ Hinch-era Detroit Tigers, especially with Scott Harris in charge, has been flexibility. On a roster without many stars, Hinch’s job has been to maximize the value of each player. This takes different forms for each facet of the game. On the position player side, it usually means defensive versatility – eight Tigers played at least two positions at some point last season – pinch hitting for any potential edge, and a general trend favoring the platoon advantage.
Today, I’m going to take a look at how Hinch attempted to control the game with his offensive strategies. To do so, I’ll be comparing how often he puts his players in the best position to succeed and how well they do once they get into these advantageous situations. Spoiler alert: he’s very good at it.
Let’s start with pinch-hitting. This is the part of a game the manager can most obviously exert his control. The eye test says Hinch loves to pinch hit, often to our collective outrage. Let Kerry Carpenter hit! What do you mean Trey Sweeney is hitting for Javy Baez against a right-handed reliever? Taking a step back, though, shows Hinch frequently used his weapons at the best time and situations. Here’s a table showing both how often teams used pinch-hitters, and also how well they did, sorted by wRC+.
Team Name
PH PAs
PH wRC+
WSN
85
131
MIN
104
129
BAL
92
119
SFG
97
117
ATH
117
109
TOR
156
107
DET
209
106
MIA
162
102
COL
117
102
LAA
101
101
NYY
107
98
STL
77
91
ATL
107
88
LAD
121
84
CHC
111
83
LEAGUE AVERAGE
124
81
NYM
108
80
PIT
105
78
TEX
168
77
SEA
166
74
ARI
128
73
PHI
95
71
KCR
131
68
SDP
148
60
CIN
110
60
MIL
136
56
HOU
123
54
CLE
168
53
BOS
116
49
TBR
101
41
CHW
150
16
Here’s what stands out from that table. Firstly, the Tigers lapped the field in pinch hitting plate appearances. I sorted by success because that’s important too, but Detroit was first in plate appearances for pinch hitters. Their 41-PA lead on Cleveland and Texas is roughly the same as the gap between Cleveland/Texas and Arizona in 12th. Put differently, the Tigers pinch-hit about 80% more than a league average team.
Fortunately, those weren’t wasted plate appearances. Detroit’s collective wRC+ of 106 ranked 7th overall, but that’s not the whole story. Only one of the six teams ahead of them, Toronto, used an above-average amount of pinch hitters. Essentially, the Tigers pinch hit more than any team and got better results than all but one team who came close to matching their frequency. Teams like Washington might have done a bit better, but by using less than half the plate appearances as Detroit, it impacted far fewer games.
Interestingly, there’s pretty limited connection between overall team quality and pinch-hitting frequency. The Phillies and Yankees are the only top 10 offenses with a far below average number of pinch hitters, while Seattle and Toronto are in the top 10 for both team wRC+ and pinch hitting PAs. There isn’t a painstakingly obvious trend that says good teams should or shouldn’t pinch hit; it’s a personnel decision that Detroit has decided to go against the grain to lean into.
Conventional wisdom says pinch-hitting is generally a poor idea. The “pinch-hit penalty” is pretty widely accepted. Last year, the league-average pinch hitter posted an 81 wRC+ last year, about the same as Matt Vierling or Andy Ibanez. Managers know this, and yet Hinch intentionally embraced pinch-hitting in 2025.
Clearly, Detroit thinks they’ve found an advantage here. With both intentional roster building decisions and Hinch’s generally hands-on managing tendencies, Detroit has created an outlier. It seems likely that Hinch is driving this shift for Detroit, since he’s ultimately responsible for deciding who plays when and where and for preparing his players to impact the game. By making this a fundamental part of his team strategy, players know their role and players on the bench anticipate getting into the game rather than just sitting on the bench until their name is called. It’s a small area to have a large advantage in, but consistently timely results from pinch hitting can skew more games than a typical 200-PA sample would suggest.
Another element of offensive optimization is the platoon advantage. There’s a lot of overlap here with pinch hitting, because most pinch hitters will enter to obtain the platoon advantage, but consistently getting the platoon edge goes far beyond pinch hitting. Here again we see Hinch’s Tigers prioritizing this strategy. Let’s check a similar table as before, but with the platoon advantage replacing pinch hitting.
Team Name
Total Platoon PAs
Platoon wRC+
CHC
3316
122
ATH
2773
120
NYY
3644
119
LAD
3376
118
NYM
3605
117
MIL
3309
116
SEA
3926
116
ARI
4115
115
DET
3630
114
PHI
3227
112
BOS
3365
112
TOR
3256
109
LEAGUE AVERAGE
3327
108
STL
2877
106
ATL
3527
104
SDP
3039
103
WSN
3857
102
BAL
3533
101
MIA
3503
100
TBR
3680
100
SFG
3113
98
MIN
3325
97
CIN
3128
97
CLE
4667
96
CHW
3456
96
HOU
2145
95
TEX
3350
94
LAA
2295
93
PIT
3112
91
KCR
3023
91
COL
2636
81
As with pinch hitting, the Tigers are one of few teams to be in the top-10 for both platoon-advantage PAs and performance. Using the platoon advantage, though, seems like a better understood strategy than pinch hitting, though. Team performance is clustered pretty tightly around average, unlike for pinch hitting. There also seems to be a much stronger relationship between team success and how well they do with the platoon advantage, which makes sense. An ambitious manager can get the platoon advantage in something like 4000 plate appearances, rather than 200 for pinch hitters. This means Hinch stands out less, but still compare favorably to the rest of the league when it comes to leveraging the platoon advantage for his hitters.
Neither of these stats is the end-all, be-all, of course. Both have some flaws or overall codependency with other, more important, variables. It’s difficult to distinguish which managers get the most plate appearances to batters with the platoon advantage from managers who have lots of switch hitters, for starters, and the best offenses get more plate appearances in basically any situation by way of making outs less frequently. Still, it’s better to be good at these than not, and the way Hinch has separated the Tigers from the rest of the pack is particularly notable. It’s particularly crucial for a team with a deep roster of average or better hitters, but little in the way of true star power on the offensive side.
When considering his success with both pinch-hitting and platoons and with the frequently-covered, highly-aggressive baserunning the Tigers have exhibited lately, it’s clear Hinch is doing his best to maximize every player on his roster. For the Tigers to bounce back from a disappointing second half with a similar roster, he’ll need to continue getting more out of his players than anyone expects. Look for continued aggression with the flexible parts of his roster, and hope for continued success, as Detroit tries to win its first division title of the decade.
On Thursday, news broke that Kyle Tucker, the top free agent in this year’s market, signed a four-year, $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tucker’s massive contract — the second-largest by average annual value in MLB history — gets added to a cadre of other gigantic free-agent deals the team is currently paying for:
Shohei Ohtani: 10 years, $700m (through 2034)
Blake Snell: five years, $182m (2031)
Mookie Betts: 12 years, $365m (2032)
Tyler Glasnow: five years, $136.5m (2029)
Yoshinobu Yamaoto: 12 years, $325m (2035)
Freddie Freeman: six years, $162m (2027)
Edwin Díaz: three years, $69m (2028)
Teoscar Hernández: three years, $66m (2028)
Tanner Scott: four years, $72m (2028)
Tommy Edman: five years, $74m (2030)
Will Smith: 10 years, $140m (2033)
In 2026, the Dodgers will also pay Max Muncy $10 million and the nearly unusable Blake Treinen $13.5 million. Spotrac has the Dodgers’ 2026 payroll at $413,597,413, which will add a luxury tax penalty of just over $160 million, which means that the Dodgers will be paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $575 million for their roster in 2026, at least as far as the bookkeeping goes (Ohtani, for example, will get paid $2 million in 2026 to play for the Dodgers and $68 million sometime after he is retired; for luxury tax purposes, his contract counts as about $46 million in 2026). The total amount of money they have committed is over $2 billion.
Frankly, this is absurd.
The second-most expensive roster in baseball is the New York Mets, who come in with a pre-tax payroll of about $360 million. The Phillies and Blue Jays are at $325 million and $312 million, respectively, and five other teams (the Yankees, Red Sox, Padres, Braves, and Cubs) fall between $250 and $300 milliion. As of this moment, half the league has a payroll under $200 million, or less than 47% of the Dodgers’ pre-tax payroll. When you factor in the luxury tax, only the Mets are within even 80% of what the Dodgers are spending. And 22 of the league’s 30 teams would be spending less than half of what the Dodgers are.
The Milwaukee Brewers, with a current estimated total payroll via Spotrac of $155.5 million, will barely spend a quarter of what the Dodgers will, and will spend less on their entire team than the Dodgers will pay in luxury tax. These two teams met in the National League Championship Series last season.
I’m not really here to talk about how unfair it is that the Brewers could realistically only afford to pay one or two contracts like the 12 that the Dodgers currently have on their roster — and simply could not afford several of them, no matter the circumstances. I’m not really here to bemoan the fact that the Brewers aren’t stretching their budget a little further; while I might have one or two complaints, what, realistically, should they do? The Tuckers, Alex Bregmans, and Bo Bichettes of the world simply are not going to play in Milwaukee. There are enough teams in “more desirable” cities that would merely need to match the Brewers’ offer — which they could, easily, without stressing their overall payroll in the same way that Milwaukee would have to — that those players would simply go somewhere else, no matter how good the Brewers are. Needless to say, Milwaukee is not going to be a destination for a player like Ohtani, no matter how good they are and how much money they could offer.
I don’t blame the players for this. I don’t really even blame the Dodgers for this: they have the money for Tucker even though they don’t really need him. Why not spend it?
No, I’m writing this because, while there are arguments to be made that certain small-market clubs should be spending more money and some mega-wealthy owners should invest more of their own cash into their teams, the simple fact is that baseball has reached an untenable place.
For what it’s worth, I do not believe the Brewers are cheap. They’ve done an excellent job investing in infrastructure and player development, and while they’re in the league’s smallest market, they have a bigger payroll than 11 other teams at the moment. The numbers are a little tricky to track down, but by net worth, Mark Attanasio — while mega wealthy — ranks near the bottom of the league (27th among 30 by most estimates). Frankly, he’s done an excellent job getting results on the field, given the market he’s working in and the resources available to him.
The problem here is that the wealthiest owners in the sport keep getting wealthier. The Dodgers and Blue Jays, for example, are effectively governed not by “owners” but by conglomerates that are worth tens of billions of dollars. How is a team like the Brewers supposed to compete with that?
This will all come to a head after next season, when baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires. It is almost a guarantee that there will be a lockout; whether that extends into the beginning of the 2027 season will be the biggest storyline of next offseason.
But the first battle that will happen in 2027 is not going to be between the owners and the players, but between the owners like Attanasio and the ownership groups like Guggenheim Baseball Management and Rogers Communications. Essentially, what’s going to happen is that most of the teams in the league are going to argue that baseball needs far more revenue sharing and limits on how much money the wealthiest teams can spend. The wealthiest — and most powerful — owners are going to fight tooth and nail to avoid this outcome. (Interestingly, the teams arguing for more revenue sharing, or at least on salary limitations, will likely include the New York Yankees, the traditional “evil empire.”)
We keep hearing about a salary cap and how ownership is going to push for that as a solution to limiting salaries. If they’re smart, the owners will come up with a slyer way of presenting this option; the term ‘salary cap’ is politically charged in baseball labor history and is thus something that the players will probably absolutely refuse under all circumstances.
Ownership should look to the NBA for inspiration, in more than one way. In 2023, the league snuck what was essentially a hard salary cap by the players in the latest CBA, but instead of calling it a “hard cap,” they called it “tax aprons.” The penalties levied on teams for exceeding these aprons, which include severe restrictions on roster flexibility in addition to financial penalties, function essentially as a hard cap. But they didn’t call it that, so players were more open to it, and it seems like the effectiveness of these tax aprons was perhaps underestimated (probably by both sides).
Personally, I’d like to see baseball go to a flexible cap system more like the NBA used prior to the last labor negotiation — I think this type of system can benefit both the best players, who can still make massive amounts of money, and younger players, who reach a version of free agency more quickly (they become restricted free agents after four years) than their counterparts in baseball (unrestricted after six years). The “max contract” system also naturally limits how many huge contracts a single team can have at a time, and the accompanying salary floor required in this system means that every team in the NBA can — and often does — have max contracts. The Cleveland Cavaliers currently have three players on max contracts, more than the Los Angeles Lakers do.
Beyond that, the league can push for more revenue sharing, but I think the roster restrictions will be the key to creating real change. What if, for example, teams who exceed a certain luxury-tax threshold aren’t allowed to trade more than one prospect at a time, making it harder for them to get in on bidding for players available in trades without giving up their most precious assets?
What’s the downside of sticking with the current system? People can complain all they want about how poorer owners should spend more or sell, but the gap is widening. Many fans already believe that the league is unfair. The Dodgers have won three of the last six World Series and keep adding the best players in the league. The worst case is that fan sentiment turns to the point that fans of smaller teams just lose interest. If fans of the Cleveland Guardians or Miami Marlins figure they have absolutely no shot, what’s to keep them interested?
I’ve felt this way at times this offseason. The Brewers, for example, could really have used Bichette, who is, what, like the 85th best player in the league? But at no point did I think it was remotely plausible that the Brewers would sign him, nor did I think it would’ve been the right move, given how it might’ve caused tough financial decisions down the line. He ended up with a contract worth $42 million a year, 75% more than the Brewers have ever paid a player in a single season.
The other thing that I feel has already started to happen is that MLB will evolve into what we already see in European soccer. Take, for example, the Premier League: there are extremely unpopular and convoluted rules in place about who can spend what — in the most basic sense, it’s ostensibly to prevent teams from spending more than they can afford, but it’s an inequitable system that heavily favors the teams who were already rich when the rules went into place. As a result, the same teams consistently dominate the top European leagues. In some cases, like in England, it’s a group of teams — the “Big Six,” as they’re called there. It’s even worse in the other, slightly less popular leagues — Bayern Munich has won the German Bundesliga in 13 of the last 14 years, and just this week set the league record for points at the halfway mark of the season. The last time a team other than Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Atlético Madrid won the Spanish league championship was in 2004.
While the playoff system will ensure that surprises happen in baseball, this isn’t where MLB is headed — it’s where they already are. The Dodgers might not win the league every year, but they will be right there every year, and the smaller-market teams that are left adrift — the Rockies, the Pirates, the Reds, etc. — will just fall further and further behind, only occasionally making leaps into relevancy, crossing their fingers that the chips fall their way just once. It’s where we are right now as Brewers fans.
Milwaukee has done an excellent job keeping pace thus far, but they cannot pull this off forever. The playing field needs to be leveled, at least a little bit, or the league risks losing huge portions of its fanbase. People like to feel like they have a fair shot.
Baseball has never exactly been a league that thrived on competitive balance; between 1936 and 1962, for example, the Yankees won 16 of 27 World Series, including separate stretches of four and five in a row. And one could argue that there’s nothing more quintessentially American than baseball, jazz music, and a rapidly widening wealth gap in which hyper-capitalists dominate those with fewer resources.
But the league and its players need to understand that the Dodgers being this far ahead of the field is not good for the game. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a top dog — that can be good for the game in its own way — but in the last three years, the gap between the top of the league and the bottom of the league has grown from what was already a chasm into the Mariana Trench.
I certainly hope that we don’t miss any games in 2027, spring training or otherwise. I’m not optimistic. People at this level of wealth think that they should never have to settle for anything other than exactly what they want, and we live in an adversarial time. Missing games would be another huge mistake. The best thing is for everyone to admit that something needs to change and come up with reasonable, intelligent solutions that make fans of the poorer teams feel like they have a chance.
