Category: Sports News

After the Mets traded Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien last offseason, it was immediately apparent that a big reason why the deal was made was because it allowed New York to extricate itself from the final two years of Nimmo's contract.

Nimmo's deal runs through 2030, with Semien's ending after the 2028 season.

While Nimmo was still an above average offensive player at the time of the trade, his defense had regressed in a big way. It continued to trend down in 2026, with Nimmo in the 12th percentile in OAA, via Baseball Savant. 

Meanwhile, trading Nimmo allowed the Mets to shift Juan Soto to left field, use Carson Benge in right field, and promote prospect A.J. Ewing from Triple-A on May 12 -- with Ewing quickly becoming the regular center fielder and key contributor on both sides of the ball.

The hope with Semien, who had just won a Gold Glove award at second base for the Rangers in 2025, was that he would provide stellar up-the-middle defense while possibly rebounding at the plate.

Neither of those things happened, and the Mets are now facing an early crossroads with Semien, who is owed $26 million in 2027 and $20 million in 2028 (with a payroll hit of $24 million annually for luxury tax purposes).

Given the developing situation with Semien, who should New York's second baseman be in 2027? Let's break down the likely options...

Marcus Semien

Semien's offensive struggles worsened in 2026, as he went from being a bit below average (93 OPS+ in 2025) to one of the least productive everyday players in the sport (74 OPS+).

His last average or better season with the bat came in 2024, when he had 23 homers and a 103 OPS+ in his age-33 season. 

More alarming than Semien's offensive futility were his difficulties defensively.

A hip issue he played through early in the season might have impacted things, but the overall numbers were ugly, with Semien in the fifth percentile in OAA (worth -9).

Given Semien's prowess as an elite defensive second baseman from 2021 through 2025, there should be at least some hope he can recapture that form. But even if he does, the offensive issues could do him in.

Asked during his end-of-season news conference at Citi Field whether he was ready to declare Semien the Mets' starting second baseman in 2027, president of baseball operations David Stearns was non-committal, potentially foreshadowing a quick changing of the guard.

Brett Baty

In the same news conference where he addressed Semien's shaky hold on the position, Stearns talked up Baty.

"I think Brett showed us for the last four-to-six weeks of the season what his ceiling looks like," Stearns noted. "And as I said, we need him to get to that ceiling more consistently."

About that hot finish Stearns was referencing: Baty slashed .352/.427/.592 (1.018 OPS) in 82 plate appearances over his final 30 games of the season. Overall in 2026, Baty hit just .236/.309/.371 (.681 OPS) in 143 games, which was a step back from the career-best .748 OPS he put up in 2025.

While Baty has upside with the bat and provides versatility defensively, he has a career .671 OPS (.91 OPS+) in parts of five big league seasons. So the time to find consistency would be now.

If Baty can't turn the corner offensively as a starter, his best fit could be as a super utility player who can handle third base, second base, first base, and both corner outfield spots.

Jefferson Rojas

The Mets were able to pry Rojas from the Cubs in the trade deadline deal that sent Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor to Chicago, and the 21-year-old shot straight to the top of SNY's top 30 Mets prospects list.

After joining the Mets organization, Rojas caught fire, smacking nine homers and posting a .929 OPS in 29 games for Double-A Binghamton before a late-season promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. In 29 plate appearances over six games with Syracuse, Rojas hit .308/.345/.692 -- homering in his first three games at the level.

Rojas can play third base in addition to second base, so he could be an answer for the Mets at the hot corner in the unlikely event Bo Bichette doesn't opt in to his contract for 2027, which would pay him $42 million.

If Bichette opts in as expected, Rojas should be in pole position to take over as the starting second baseman sooner rather than later.

Mitch Voit

Rojas isn't the only top Mets infield prospect who is getting close to the majors.

Voit, who put up a very respectable .745 OPS in 76 games for A-level Brooklyn while playing his home games in a really tough environment for hitters, erupted after being promoted to Binghamton, hitting .347/.430/.517 in 29 games.

Entering his age-22 season in 2027, Voit will likely start the year back with the Rumble Ponies. But he should be knocking on the door soon enough.

Along with Rojas and Voit, Émilien Pitre -- whom the Mets acquired from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta trade -- could be another second base option in the near future.

The 24-year-old Pitre doesn't hit for much power, but he has gotten on base at a prolific rate in three minor league seasons, with a .389 OBP. Pitre's OBP across three levels for the Rays and Mets in 2026 (he finished the season with Syracuse) was .420.

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Using spring training (whenever that is, given the uncertainty surrounding the CBA) to see how Semien looks makes sense. And it wouldn't be illogical to give Semien a shot when the bell rings to show his 2026 was an aberration.

But if Semien looks similar to the player he was this past season, the Mets should be quickly prepared to turn to Rojas as the starter at second base. And given Stearns' comments about the situation at the end of the season, that seems to be a likely scenario.

Huascar Brazobán’s Mets tenure was undeniably a highly successful one. Acquired for a pittance at the 2024 deadline from the Marlins ($10 for you if you can name the prospect the Mets gave up in that deal without looking it up), the 36-year-old posted 135.2 innings of 3.45 ERA ball in Queens. He was a good soldier, too, functioning as a setup guy, an opener, a multi-inning fireman, and even an up-and-down option at times as the Mets’ bullpen went through several iterations during his tenure.

The first half of Brazobán’s 2026 was arguably the best performance of his major league career, with 52.2 innings of 2.56 ERA ball. There was even a shiny 2.75 xERA underlying that performance, which might suggest that this was somewhat sustainable. That mark could even an argument to hold Brazobán beyond the deadline given that he remains under team control until 2030the trade deadline.

In reality, this was a mirage. Brazobán, like countless relievers before him and countess after him, was succeeding on a unsustainable stretch of favorable contact suppression numbers. His K-BB% remained below average at 12.6%, his stuff pedestrian, and the top-line figures more dependent on a .206 BABIP in New York than an actual breakout at age 36. With this information in mind, the Mets made the prudent decision to sell high at the deadline, shipping Brazobán out to the south side of Chicago.

Brazobán then posted a 4.40 ERA (7.24 xERA) down the stretch, missing time with a lat injury. Yes, the White Sox will have him under control for multiple seasons, but that’s hardly the help they were looking for as they looked to make a deep playoff push. Meanwhile, the prospects the Mets got back are already paying dividends. Gabe Davis was widely regarded as a promising-but-poorly-optimized arm in the Chicago system (he had an ERA over 8 this season), then posted a 2.53 ERA in Binghamton while doing stuff like this every time he took the ball. Zach Franklin probably has better present stuff than Brazobán right now, and the odds he’s the better major league arm in 2027 are much closer to even than you’d think. Both Davis and Franklin are likely to be 2027 contributors.

If this story sounds nearly identical to that of Brooks Raley, you’d be right. The Mets did quite a good job of maximizing their veteran bullpen arms in the first half, then did an even better job of selling high and picking up solid prospects in return. We should all have some doubts about the Mets’ front office at this point, but this particular maneuver is one they’re executing better than just about anyone else right now. Hang your hat on what you can.

Meet the Mets

Mets relief prospect Ryan Lambert is off to a strong start in the Arizona Fall League.

Around the National League East

Washington Nationals CFO Ted Towne is leaving the organization to become CFO of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, per a report from the Washington Business Journal. Chief Revenue Office Chris Zaber and vice president of events at Nationals Park Jonathan Stahl are also departing the Nationals’ front office.

Around Major League Baseball

The Rays defeated the Guardians 3-1 in Cleveland in Game 5 of the ALCS to go ahead in the series three games to two. Rays ace Drew Rasmussen held Cleveland to just one run on four hits in seven innings with strong defense behind him helping him out. Freddy Peralta will now take the mound for the Rays in Game 6 with a chance to help punch their ticket to the World Series.

Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz, who got three hits in support of last night’s victory, certainly thinks the Rays are going to do just that. “We’re going to win tomorrow,” he said.

If the Rays do advance to the World Series, they will match up against the Brewers, guaranteeing that whoever wins will be a first-time champion. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio wants it very badly for a fanbase and a community that has been waiting a long time.

The league’s stance on the salary cap took a big hit when the Brewers swept the Dodgers in the NLCS, writes David Lennon of Newsday.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Lukas Vlahos took a look back at Brooks Raley’s 2026 season, in which he was part of a bullpen that was one of the few bright spots of the 2026 Mets, but struggled after being traded to the Phillies despite being the same pitcher, indicating a regression the Mets perhaps saw coming.

This Date in Mets History

October 19 is not a good day in Mets history. It marked the end of the line in the NLCS for both the 1999 Mets and the 2006 Mets. Even the eventual World Champion 1986 Mets lost on this date in Game 2 of the World Series.

While the offseason has started for 27 of 30 MLB teams, not much news is out there as teams can only currently focus on business with players on their roster. And though he is under contract, one player the Braves will need to focus on is Jurickson Profar. As reported over the past few days, Profar will play winter ball in Venezuela in the coming months. This is important as it is the first baseball Profar will have played since before the 2026 season started. It will be interesting to see what the team decides to do with Profar before the 2027 arrives.

MLB News

The Rays were able to win in their usual small ball fashion on Sunday, and now are one win away from the World Series as they lead the Guardians 3-2 in the ALCS.

Former Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was reportedly a candidate for the Mariners managerial position. However, Mendoza joined the Phillies as their new third base coach over the weekend.

Waking up on a Monday morning knowing we’ll know the full World Series matchup. The Tampa Bay Rays return home up three games to two on the Cleveland Guardians, with Game 6 on Monday night at Tropicana Field. Game 1 of the World Series is Friday night in Milwaukee.

Here are a few Dodgers-related and Dodgers-adjacent stories to start your morning.

Brent Maguire at MLB.com wrote about a few statistics from the last two National League Championship Series, in which the 2025 Dodgers and 2026 Brewers matched a few numbers exactly beyond just winning all four games.

A jersey worn by Shohei Ohtani during the Dodgers’ season-opening Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs in 2025 was sold at auction on Saturday for just over $2 million. Larry Holder at The Athletic has more.

The Savannah Bananas last week announced their 2027 schedule, which includes a game on Saturday, April 24 at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are scheduled that day to be on the road, facing the Washington Nationals.

Then again, with the lockout coming on December 1, the actual start of the 2027 season is still in many ways to be determined, depending on how long it takes for major league owners and players to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.

That uncertainty was reminded to me when reading the Dodgers’ offseason primer from Beth Harris at Associated Press, which included, “A work stoppage would give Ohtani extra time to heal, although during such time the Dodgers would be cut off from communicating with any player, leaving Ohtani to rehab either from possible surgery or from his injuries on his own.” Emphasis mine.

Happy Monday, everyone! We could know as soon as tonight who will be heading to the World Series against the Brewers, or whether we’ll get a nail-biter Game 7 in the ALCS. Today we’ll check in on how the Rays have managed to turn things around when they needed it the most, and how pitcher Drew Rasmussen came in clutch precisely when his team needed him. We round things up with some postseason chatter as well as some offseason and free agency overview. Plus, the Tigers have added a new member to their coaching staff, and it’s a reunion of sorts for A.J. Hinch from his Astros days.

Let’s get right into it.

Detroit Tigers News

• Happy Willie Horton Day!

• Bros supporting bros.

• A new addition to the Tigers coaching staff.

MLB News

• Looking at how the Brewers swept the Dodgers to stamp their ticket to the World Series.
• A look at a fairly weak free agent class this offseason.
• Checking in on how the Rays managed to dig their way back in the ALCS.
• The Rays are heading home, one game away from heading to the World Series.
• How Drew Rasmussen helped carry his team to another essential win.
• Three storylines to watch in ALCS Game 6 tonight.
• Assessing Bo Bichette’s opt-in option for the coming season.
• The Rays figured out their winning formula just in the nick of time.
• What comes next for the Dodgers after being swept in the NLCS?
• Trea Turner is on notice to improve at shortstop or get moved.
• Notes from Arizona Fall League. ($)
• How Guardians fans lost out thanks to Mother Nature. ($)
• Comparing collapsing dynasties from the Yankees to the Dodgers. ($)
• This is very cool now, but who the heck would have spent $1000 on this back in 2014?

• Ah yes, those philanthropic billionaires.

• An old friend came to visit the Guardians.

• I’m not crying, you’re crying.

If the Cardinals want to compete next season, it would be wise to shore up their positions of weakness. The bullpen is a clear weakness, but it’s also the part of the team I would probably focus on last personally. An argument for the best closer in baseball is Bryan Baker of the Tampa Bay Rays, a 31-year-old with 3 career saves entering this season. Baker was drafted by the Rockies, traded as the player to be named later in a package for a year and a month of Seung Hwan Oh, selected off waivers by the Orioles a few years later, and finally traded for a draft pick last deadline. Meanwhile, Edwin Diaz got paid $17 million to allow nearly a run per inning in his 21 appearances for the Dodgers. Neither of these are unusual stories for relievers.

So most of my offseason talk will be focused on finding someone for either third base, center field, or starting pitcher. There is a very big, unfortunate issue with this however: the free agent market at those positions kind of suck. It’s why my very first free agent profile was focused on someone who has barely played 3B (JP Crawford). Any true 3B upgrade will either have to come via trade or someone at a different position. Which brings me to today’s post.

In theory, anybody who plays second base can play third base. And while that is literally true, the two positions require different strengths so they are likely not going provide the same quality of defense. But the truth of the matter is that the 2B market is significantly stronger than the 3B market. At the very least entertaining the better second basemen on the market is worth exploring to improve 3B. You could also move JJ Wetherholt to 3B, but I am opposed to that, so I would make it clear to these free agents that they would have to play 3B. It’d be an easier argument because Wetherholt is indeed better defensively than every other 2B. So if for no other reason than to eliminate them as real targets, let’s look at the 2B who might make sense at 3B.

Brandon Lowe

2026 Stats: .260/.331/.493, 9.5 BB%, 28.8 K%, .233 ISO, .319 BABIP, 121 wRC+, 4.9 fWAR

Expected Deal: 4 years, $70 million

The Tampa Bay Rays are one win away from the World Series. They also, at least as of now, made an extremely bad trade involving Brandon Lowe. They traded one season of Lowe, getting paid $11.5 million, 5 seasons of Mason Montgomery (2.2 fWAR out of the bullpen), and Jake Magnum (who isn’t very good) for 25-year-old Jacob Melton (who missed most of 2026 to injury and never saw the majors) and Anderson Brito, a mediocre prospect who only pitched in 8 games in 2026 at a level he had already pitched before (and he was worse at that level in 2026).

With all that said, Brandon Lowe has more warning signs than a radiation plant. He will most likely receive a qualified offer, and that is not a good start. In his previous four seasons prior to 2026, he averaged under 2 WAR per season. He was randomly great at defense after a career of not being very good defensively. The first year of his deal will be at 32-years-old. And he has never played an inning of 3B at pro ball. Also his arm is 11th percentile according to Statcast, though 2B hold back more than 3B as we will soon see.

The arm is the big one because frankly, a career of being not great defensively is actually a very good argument for someone to move to 3B. But I wanted to take a one-year game on Crawford defensively, and you would likely be taking a 3-4 year gamble on Lowe (his QO could very much hurt his market to an extreme degree though). On the positive side, his power wouldn’t be that terribly affected by Busch. He hit 35 homers for the Pirates. It would have been 32 at Busch.

But unfortunately, I have even more warning signs. For as good of a season as he had, there are so many reasons to not sign this guy. My last warning sign is that his offense looked to be on the luckier side. He had his highest K% since 2019 and he had his highest BABIP also since 2019. That’s not a great combo. His xwOBA was .331, which was his lowest since 2022 in his injury-shortened season. His actual wOBA was .354.

I’m going to be completely honest. I think I would avoid Lowe even if the Cardinals had a hole at 2B. A 32-year-old who probably didn’t actually get better last season but saw a career year saddled with a QO? And we have to move him to 3B, a position he hasn’t played professionally, and he has a weak arm?

Conclusion: Avoid

Luis Arraez

2026: .310/.345/.419, 5.2 BB%, 4.3 K%, .109 ISO, .311 BABIP, 110 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR

Expected Contract: I don’t think I can even guess, I have no idea

The great big mystery of Arraez is how does the league value Arraez? Coming off a 0.9 fWAR season, Arraez signed for $1 year, $12 million. That is honestly more than most 0.9 WAR players will get, maybe all of them, so I’m not necessarily taking it as a given that the league doesn’t value Arraez like anti-stats people like to say. He will be 30-years-old and will likely get a multi-year deal.

With that said, his offense did not really get that much better, he was a significantly better player because he was suddenly great at defense. I have not looked into why, but unlike Lowe who was generally below average before 2026, Arraez was straight up awful defensively. Even with genuine improvements, it’s very hard to buy into his 2026 level of defense. You just don’t really see that kind of jump defensively, ever, and if it was hitting that did it, everyone would be similarly skeptical. When a sudden jump happens, you don’t assume the same level, you go somewhere in between where he used to be and his career year.

Arraez has played 3B, although very little, and like 2B and like 1B, he was awful defensively. I don’t think his arm is an issue. It’s 25th percentile, but I think he has more in the tank. When he last played significant innings at 3B, he threw it four miles per hour harder at 3B than when he played at 2B. And his arm at 2B this past season was very similar to how hard he threw at 2B in the year he also played 3B. He was actually dead average the year he played 400 innings at 3B, for some reason he was -7 OAA in 40 innings the very next season and nobody’s tried him at 3B since.

His bat is more reliable, although not near as good as the batting average people think. He doesn’t walk and he has no power, so he’s an above average hitter, but definitely not elite. He also hits into a lot of double plays. He hit into 15 double plays last season and has averaged just about that in the last four seasons. He somehow hit into 18 double plays when he batted .354.

As I said in the beginning, I don’t really know how the league values him. My interest in him is entirely dependent on his next contract. Is he valued like an All-Star, because I’d definitely avoid that contract. Like the 1 WAR player he was in 2024 and 2025? That means short-term and that’s more interesting.

Conclusion: Probably not

Jazz Chisholm

2026: .231/.321/.399, 10.5 BB%, 29.5 K%, .168 ISO, .301 BABIP, 98 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR

Expected Contract: 4 years, $80 million

Chisholm is kind of the opposite of our first two choices. His 2026 season stats are him coming off a down season and he’s very likely good on defense, despite his blunders. His numbers at 3B are a bit of a mixed bag – he was very good in 2024 and not good in 2025, and then the Yankees stopped playing him at 3B. He’s similar to Arraez in that he threw it harder at 3B than he does at 2B and most of his 9th percentile arm is related to that fact. He threw it 85.6 mph at 3B last year, 78.5 mph at 2B. So he must be really having his fair share of lobbing it over at 2B. It’s not really possible to lob it over at 3B (despite it looking like that’s what Matt Carpenter did).

We also saw in the 2026 playoffs that he likes to play hero ball and will likely continue to do so given his postgame comments, and I can see how that could potentially affect you more at 3B than 2B when you simply have more opportunities to make errors from trying to land on a top ten list. Couple that with the high standard he sets at 2B and the 3B version of Chisholm is probably a worse player than the 2B version.

On top of that, he had a down year with the bat. His xwOBA was a career low .294 and his 98 wRC+ was only a little bit better than his career low his rookie season. His power took a huge dip despite the bandbox he got to play in. Like his offensive stats are concerning.

Of course he’ll be 29 and the reporting is indicating he will not receive a qualified offer. They didn’t actually want Trent Grisham and he accepted, and I don’t think they want to repeat that risk. And Chisholm is firmly in his prime years so a bounceback offensively wouldn’t be the craziest thing. Chisholm would be a bit of a swing and it doesn’t seem like he’d be a fan favorite, but at least by value…. I mean he makes sense.

Conclusion: If you can get him for a good deal, frankly, I might take that swing

Gleyber Torres

2026: .260/.364/.363, 13.6 BB%, 19.3 K%, .103 ISO, .314 BABIP, 109 wRC+, 1 fWAR

Expected Contract: 3 years, $50 million

Torres is an interesting case, because he has not played 3B since 2018 and he has a grand total of less than 200 innings there in his entire pro career. But he’s also a former SS who has spent his fair share of time on the left side of the infield. Of course, he was bad defensively there and had to move to 2B. He has also been bad there. It’s clear range is not his thing which means there’s some theoretical upside to him defensively at 3B. Like he sets a low enough standard at 2B that I’m not real sure his defense would actually be worse at 3B. And like the others, once he moved from SS to 2B, his arm strength magically got weak. So I feel like his arm wouldn’t be an issue.

He also will 100 percent not have the qualified offer saddled on him. He already accepted it for the 2026 season and can’t get it again. He’ll be 30. He is fairly consistent as an above average hitter. And his batting profile is walk-heavy, not a ton of strikeouts, not reliant on power at all, so a move to Busch shouldn’t really hurt him. I’d actually be very curious on what kind of deal he would get, coming off a down year.

Conclusion: I’d be very tempted if less than my proposed contract

I could talk myself into Jazz Chisholm or Gleybar Torres. I assume the Cardinals have a much better way of figuring out how each player’s defense would translate at 3B. It’s entirely possible them at 3B is just a nonstarter. Kind of an important part of this whole process. So the estimates would have to work out, the contract would have to work out, they’d have to be willing to play 3B, I wouldn’t say any of these are likely.

Good morning.

• The Rays beat the Guardians yesterday to take a three-games-to-two lead in the American League Championship Series. Here are some takeaways from Game 5.
• Mike Axisa has some winners and losers from Game 5.
• Jake Rill looks at how Nick Martinez has served as the Rays ace this October.
• Rays slugger Yandy Díaz announced that the Rays will win tonight’s Game 6 and advance to the World Series.
• Assuming Díaz is correct, the Rays will take on the National League Champions Milwaukee Brewers. Eric Longenhagen has a review of the NL Championship Series.
• Jack Bauers has ten things you should know about the Brewers.
• Bradford Doolittle goes inside the night the Brewers clinched their first World Series since 1982.
• Sarah Langs has seven “feats” that defined their October success.
• Jayson Stark writes that with the Brewers win, the “gamers” beat the Hall of Famers. (The Athletic sub. req.) Stark also tries to put the Brewers win in historic context and has the kinds of obscure facts that we’ve come to expect out of Stark.

• Mike Petriello examines if any of the current Brewers have a chance at being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• Michael Baumann profiles Brewers catcher William Contreras.
• Adam McCalvy profiles the “believers” who saw the Brewers through from worst to first.
• Steve Megargee examines how the Brewers built a pennant winner.
• McCavly also reports on the customized champagne bottles that bore the names of former Brewers from previous playoff teams.
• Zach Sweet asks if the Brewers should want to play the Rays or the Guardians in the World Series. (Hint: It’s the Guardians.)
• The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks have moved up the time of their home opener so as not to conflict with Game 1 of the World Series.
• Paul Casella and Brian Murphy examine whether or not the extra rest is good or bad for the Brewers going into the World Series.
• In 2015, the Brewers sold “Timeless Tickets” for $1,000 for any future game. Brewers fans are now trying to cash them in for World Series tickets.
• Paul Casella has four takeaways from the Brewers sweep of the Dodgers.
• Buster Olney details how the Dodgers reacted to the end of their dynasty.
• The Dodgers just admitted that they were outplayed by Milwaukee.
• Mike Axisa has some thoughts about what’s next for the Dodgers.
• Sonja Chen has some roster questions for the Dodgers this winter.
• The Dodgers Shohei Ohtani says he plans to pitch again next season. Jack Baer is skeptical that that is a good idea.
• Dayn Perry asks is the Dodgers’ Dynasty over?
• Tyler Kepner covered the end of the Yankees dynasty. He has some thoughts about what the Dodgers can expect if it’s really over. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jared Bailey looks at the end of “three-peats” in North American sports.
• Mike Axisa has some candidates to be the next MLB superteam.
• Dodgers veteran utility player Miguel Rojas announced his retirement after 13 seasons. Courtney Hollmon reports.
• Sam Blum profiles retired pitcher Jamey Wright, who is the only player to play for all four of the Dodgers, Brewers, Rays and Cleveland. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Bryan Hoch has five burning questions for the Yankees.
• Phillies team president Dave Dombrowski told shortstop Trea Turner that he needs to improve his defense or he’ll be moved off of shortstop next year.
• And finally, Nate Hudson does a deep investigative dive into the story behind some mostly-overlooked concrete murals at Dodger Stadium.

On the surface, it might feel like Nate George and Enddy Azocar are an unlikely pairing for our prospect review series. And it’s true, their 2026 seasons had very different trajectories. But they are both talented outfielders who weren’t heralded signings when they joined pro ball in 2024. They are both above-average defenders, which is always exciting after watching the Orioles’ current defense. And they both played for the High-A Frederick Keys, though not at the same time.

These two had almost opposite arcs over the course of the season. George’s year was highly anticipated after he shot up the prospect lists with his 2025 performance. Azocar, however, struggled in 2025 and was looking to get into the top prospect discussion (spoiler: he did). Now the two sit back-to-back on the Orioles prospect list at MLB Pipeline; Azocar is #6 and George is #7.

Nate George

At the end of 2025, Nate George was a star on the rise. The Orioles drafted him in the 16th round of the 2024 draft. By the end of the next season, everyone was taking notice. He was awarded the team’s Minor League Prospect of the Year in 2025, was named a top 100 prospect by Baseball America, and was at the top of Orioles’ prospect lists.

He did so by spending his 19th year laying waste to the Florida Coast League and Low-A, then finishing off the season with a .380 OBP in 21 games with the high-A Aberdeen IronBirds. His full 2025 numbers: .336/.413/.483 with 50 stolen bases. He is also an above-average fielder with a ton of speed, making him perhaps even more enticing than Enrique Bradfield, Jr., who has the defense but struggles offensively.

When the 2026 minor league rosters were announced, the High-A Frederick Keys had an enviable lineup. George joined fellow prospects Ike Irish and Wehiwa Aloy to make a formidable threesome. But it didn’t last long.

George was off to a pretty good start when, after 20 games, he was put on the injured list with a non-baseball-related medical condition. George was hitting .293/.372/.366 with 15 SB when he left the team. He did not play for the rest of the year.

There have been no real updates on George since he was removed from the active roster at the beginning of May. It hurts for a prospect to lose so much development time, but more than that, I think we can agree that we just hope he’s doing ok as a person. I expect we’ll get news of some sort as we approach spring training.

Enddy Azocar

The same year that Nate George was drafted #489 overall, the Boston Red Sox signed Enddy Azocar out of Venezuela for just $40,000. Azocar made his professional debut that year in the Dominican Summer League, then started strong in 2025 in the Florida Coast League. After just 14 games, the Red Sox promoted him to low-A Salem.

Unlike George, Azocar struggled in low-A. Over 71 games he failed to get on base (.273 OBP) and failed to hit for power (.315 SLG). He was young for the league, about 2.5 years younger than the average player. It was a struggle he apparently learned from, because 2026 was much different.

Azocar began 2026 with the same team he finished 2025 with, the low-A Salem Red Sox. Same team, but he appeared to be a different player. He started strong at the plate, OPS’ing .868 in May and .907 in April. His power jumped up, too. By the end of May, Azocar had seven home runs. He hit only six in all of 2025.

His improved numbers earned him a promotion to high-A, and he stumbled against the higher competition. June was his worst month of the season, but he adjusted. In July, he hit eight home runs and OPS’d 1.046 in 19 games.

On August 3rd, Azocar was traded to the Orioles in the package that sent Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox. He debuted with the Frederick Keys the next day and made a very good first impression. Azocar had three hits in his organizational debut and 10 hits over his first five games. He finished out the year with the Keys and hit .327/.372/.529 in 25 games.

At just 19, Azocar was still young for the league he played in. But this time around, he thrived. Between the two orgs, he played well at High-A for 71 games. I expect he’ll start 2027 with the Double-A Chesapeake Baysox.

Azocar has played multiple outfield positions, but on all three teams in 2026 he spent the majority of his time in center field. Per MLB Pipeline, he has good instincts and average range in center, but is much better suited to a corner outfield position. Luckily for him, the Orioles need defensive help at all positions.

George and Azocar are both young, talented outfielders in the Orioles’ system. They had different paths in 2026, but we hope to see them both continue to succeed in 2027.

Chris Higgins at the Star writes about the biggest unanswered questions from the downtown ballpark presentation.

Brooks Sherman, president of real estate and development for the Royals, said on Thursday that master planning for the ballpark district is getting started now as the team looks to hire a master planner. “Right now our focus is on the stadium,” he said.

Sherman said there have been no decisions about any demolitions in Crown Center and that there are great tenants already on site whom officials look to keep and add to.

Jared Bush at Fox4 has more.

“That’s when we begin to look at the entirety of the rest of the district to understand what kind of buildings we would have, an entertainment venue, the retail, the food and beverage and so forth, so there have been no decisions about any destruction on any building.”

Sherman said there are a lot of great tenants at Crown Center, and they want to keep all of them. One of those, just north of 25th Street and the Hallmark-owned Kaleidoscope, is the Sea Life Aquarium. That entity told us to reach out to Hallmark about demolition.

“The development will reimagine Crown Center and revitalize the city’s original live-work-play neighborhood while strengthening our business community and creating new opportunities,” one of the spokespeople for Hallmark said. “We remain in the early phases of planning the district beyond the ballpark. We are committed to maintaining open communication with our tenants and business partners as plans progress.”

Philip Ruo at Royals Keep has thoughts on Randy Dobnak.

Dobnak excelled in limiting hitters to a 3.7% barrel rate and inducing ground balls at a 51.2% rate. While this is a good recipe for limiting home runs and extra-base hits, Dobnak struggled with striking out batters, and batters were too easily able to make contact off him. One of Dobnak’s biggest weaknesses was his inability to miss bats. Hitters made contact on 91% of their swings at pitches in the strike zone (league worst), leaving him heavily reliant on his defense to record outs. His 4.22 FIP, more than a run higher than his ERA, suggests his results could be difficult to sustain.

David Laurila at Fangraphs talks to Tyler Tolbert about his improving bat.

“I’m just continuing to get better,” said Tolbert, whose .246 batting average and .693 OPS while coming up through the Royals system didn’t exactly portend his recent level of success. “Each season you just try to find what works for you, and try to get into a groove. I’ve had good hitting years and I’ve had average hitting years. I don’t really chase numbers, though. I just trust my routine and my process. If you’re focusing on the process, the numbers are going to be the numbers.”

Carter Jensen was at the Chiefs game Sunday.

Former Royals outfielder MJ Melendez elects free agency.

The moves that helped the Brewers build a pennant-winning club.

Garrett Mitchell overcame diabetes to become a standout for the Brewers.

The World Series will feature two teams in the bottom half of the league in spending for the first time since 1991.

Red Sox executive Taylor Smith may be the favorite for the Athletics GM opening.

AJ Preller discusses the Padres’ catching situation.

Shohei Ohtani plans to pitch in 2027.

What is the legacy of Yankees GM Brian Cashman?

Who will be baseball’s next superteam?

Is spending money a shortcut for the Cardinals?

18-year old Japanese pitching prospect Shoki Oda plans to sign with an MLB team.

What will the Yankees do about third base?

Did MLB create a monster with the Dodgers that they now want help slaying?

The Big 12 admits an error at the end of the BYU/Notre Dame game that should have given the Irish one more play.

Chicago and Portland are bidding to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup.

Should competitive yoga become an Olympic event?

Scientists may have figured out how microplastics harm the body.

Nicholas Cage and Antonio Banderas will headline True Detective, season five.

The ten best horror books.

Your song of the day is Suicide with Dream Baby Dream.