Garrett Crochet just lost a bit of control over his future.
Thanks to a unique provision in his contract, Crochet, who has been on the injured list for most of the season and last pitched for Boston on April 25, had an interesting clause activated by the team that takes away his 2030 opt-out in his contract.
Crochet has spent 120 consecutive days on the IL, which triggers a clause that voids his 2030 opt-out, with his salary set at $30 million for his age-32 season.
Garrett Crochet lost some serious control over his future in a bizarre contract stipulation. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
No one knows what baseball will look like in 2030 and if there will be a salary cap in the major leagues, but $30 million is certainly a bargain by today’s standards for Crochet’s services.
Crochet was the league’s fourth-most valuable pitcher according to WAR via FanGraphs from 2024-25, though he’s spent most of 2026 injured while the Red Sox have surged in the second half.
Assuming MLB does not add a salary cap as owners battle players in CBA negotiations with a potential work stoppage looming, Crochet may have just missed out on a massive raise on his contract.
Many expect impending Dodgers free agent Tarik Skubal to sign a huge contract this offseason, although the same collective bargaining uncertainty still exists.
Crochet is owed just $45 million in 2031 and 2032, making this deal a complete bargain for Boston.
Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and his wife Linda sit in the front row with fans. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
The Red Sox acquired Crochet in a December 2024 trade with the White Sox for prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez.
Crochet had an incredible first season in Boston, posting a career-best 2.59 ERA with 18 wins as the Red Sox’s unquestioned ace and workhorse starting pitcher.
While he battled injuries this season, he is expected to return, though given where we are in the season, he will likely take on a bullpen role rather than take time to build up to a starting pitcher’s workload.
The Red Sox sit 3.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL wild-card race with a 71-59 record entering Monday’s slate.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 16: Carson Benge #3 of the New York Mets in action against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on August 16, 2026 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Nationals 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome back to Monday Stat Party, a weekly series showcasing some of the most curious and nostalgia-inducing statistical developments from the past week of Mets baseball. What unites each entry is the sense of intrigue which they aim to spark, and the unbridled love of the game’s anomalies from which they arise. Without further ado, let the stat party begin.
MONDAY
Carson Benge became the fourth player since 1997 to record a solo assist at home plate on consecutive batters, after Brian Hunter (May 18, 1998), Gary Sheffield (April 25, 2001), and Rocco Baldelli (August 12, 2004). (source: Sarah Langs on X)
Carson Benge became the first Mets outfielder with two outfield assists to the catcher in the same inning. (source: Sarah Langs on X)
Since being eliminated by San Diego in the 2022 Wild Card Series, including a 7-1 Game 1 loss, the Mets have now won seven of their last eight series openers against the Padres.
TUESDAY
Prior to Tuesday night, the Padres were the only National League team to never have a right-handed batter deliver a multi-homer performance at Citi Field. Tatis became the first Padre to accomplish the feat, and just the second Padre with a multi-homer game at Citi Field after Ryan Schimpf on August 12, 2016.
Zac Thornton’s 14 whiffs marked his most in a game out of his nine career starts, while his seven strikeouts were tied for his most in a game.
WEDNESDAY
With his fourth-inning homer, Carson Benge became the second Met with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases in their rookie season, joining Darryl Strawberry (26 homers, 19 stolen bases) in 1984.
Nate Lavender became the seventh Mets rookie to earn a win this season, along with Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, Jonah Tong, Chayce McDermott, Jonathan Pintaro, and Jefry Yan. That gives them the most rookies on a team to earn a win this season. It also ties them for the third-most in franchise history, behind 1995 (9) and 1983 (8).
FRIDAY
Brett Baty’s 114.0-mph double in the fourth inning off Sean Burke marks the third-hardest-hit ball of Baty’s career, and the fourth-hardest-hit ball by a Met this season.
SATURDAY
Christian Scott struck out five or more batters for an 11th consecutive outing. He is one of only seven MLB pitchers with an active streak that long, along with Dylan Cease (31), Jacob Misiorowksi (24), Jesús Luzardo (13), Gerrit Cole (12), Tarik Skubal (12), and Gavin Williams (11).
Luis Torrens hit his sixth homer in 10 games for the first time in his career, becoming the first Mets catcher with six or more homers in a 10-game span since Francisco Alvarez from July 4-19, 2023. Prior to this 10-game span, Torrens had only clubbed 10 homers over 204 games with the Mets.
SUNDAY
Luis Robert Jr.’s fourth-inning single registered a 114.6 mph exit velocity. Despite only playing in 52 games so far this season, Robert now leads the Mets with eight batted balls of 110+ mph, overtaking Brett Baty and Juan Soto, who are tied for second place with seven apiece.
Nolan McLean recorded his 17th start of six or more innings pitched this season, tied for seventh-most in the Majors. That total is already tied for fourth-most by a Met in a season since 2020, trailing Chris Bassitt (23 in 2022), Max Scherzer (19 in 2022), and Luis Severino (18 in 2024).
Over his last 10 starts, McLean has tallied 59.1 innings pitchedwhile posting a 1.97 ERA. Over the last 10 seasons, the only other Mets pitchers to tally 59+ IP with an ERA below 2.00 in a 10-game span are Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Max Scherzer.
The White Sox became the second interleague opponent to walk-off the Mets twice in one season, after the Twins did so in 2004 with walk-off hits from Michael Cuddyer and Mike Ryan.
After being walked off by the Cubs on April 19 and being walked off twice by the White Sox in this series, the Mets were walked off three times in one state for the first time since 2021, when they suffered two walk-off defeats to the Marlins and one to the Rays.
Miscellaneous Mets stat of the week:
Only six Mets players have recorded a base hit, walk, hit-by-pitch, and reached on error in the same game, with Asdrúbal Cabrera being the only Met to do it twice (April 15, 2016, in Cleveland, and May 3, 2017, in Atlanta). Cabrera is one of only 41 players to accomplish the odd feat twice in his career, a list including 13 Hall of Famers as well as near-certain future HOFer Albert Pujols.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 02: Elias Diaz #35 of the Texas Rangers throws to third base in the third inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on August 02, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ahead of the 2022 season MLB expanded the playoffs to include an additional Wild Card slot, now including three Wild Card teams in both leagues. The move came a decade after MLB introduced the Wild Card Game, pitting two Wild Card teams against each other in a one-game event with the winner moving on to the LDS.
The thought process behind the third bid, at least the one presented to the public, was simple enough. Having another team completing to make the playoffs would make the final stretch of the regular season more exciting and inclusive to a deeper group of teams. It would also allow another team the chance at a World Series run.
To be fair, the expanded playoff has delivered on those two promises. Every year since the decision has seen tight races in the final days before the end of the season, often with the spot not locked in until the last day or two. Additionally, a third Wild Card team has twice reached the World Series, both in 2022 with the Phillies and 2023 with the Diamondbacks. In both those cases, the team held onto the final playoff bid by only one game in the final standings. It’s hard to say that it had been anything other than a success.
But this season is showing the other side of the coin. For the most part, the National League has had a typical year with good but seemingly not great teams fighting down the stretch. The Cubs currently hold the top Wild Card spot and have had it for most of the year. The Phillies are red hot and right on their heels in the second Wild Card slot. The Padres have used a strong second-half of the season to climb into the third seed, with the Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Cardinals still in contention. In theory those teams are all good enough to make a run. But the top teams in the N.L. have sat almost head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league with both the Brewers and Dodgers expected to win around 100 games. The season has felt like a race for next best.
Who will be the third N.L. Wild Card team?
The American League is a much bigger mess. A lot of that is due to relative mediocrity at the top, resulting in what could be a sub-.500 team making the postseason. The three best team sin the A.L. all come from the East, the White Sox lead the central and would normally be considered the weakest of division winners. But the West really screws everything up. The Astros and Rangers are tied for first place despite being a game under .500, resulting in the final Wild Card spot being held by a team that has lost more games than its won. The Guardians have the same record, tied for the final playoff spot, with the Blue Jays, Twins, and last place Orioles still within a couple of games. Even the Detroit Tigers, who tried desperately to sell at the deadline, are one hot week away from being in the playoffs.
Who will be the third A.L. Wild Card team?
With the general feeling of “meh” at best competing for the final spot in both leagues, it’s easy to feel down on the expansion. Add to that the growing feeling that teams are trying to be just good enough to be in contention down the stretch and keep fans interested without having to do the expensive work of building a real winner.
The tradeoff is basically more high-intensity baseball in September vs. a better quality of team in the playoffs.
Maybe this is a one-off blip, or maybe it’s a sign of things to come. So did baseball do the right thing with playoff expansion, or is this watered-down version of the playoffs not worth it in the end?
Has MLB playoff expansion been good for the game?
Be on the lookout later this week for results to these questions and the rest of SB Nation’s Reacts surveys.
In North America, the hockey season is almost here, with NHL training camps and preseason schedules set to begin in the coming weeks.
Overseas in Europe, though, some leagues are already underway, and one of them, the Czech Extraliga, features a familiar face to Detroit Red Wings fans in defenseman and Michigan native Luke Witkowski.
In a video that circulated widely online, the now 36-year-old defender and part-time right winger was seen tossing around and physically overpowering an opposing player during a game for his new club, HC Kometa Brno, a moment that showed he hasn't lost a step in the physicality department even at his age. Plenty of fans online noted that his brand of grit would be a welcome sight back in Hockeytown.
Witkowski has spent the past several seasons playing overseas after being drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He appeared in just 66 games over four seasons with the Bolts, recording seven points and a minus-five rating while spending most of that time in the minors.
In fact, the bulk of Witkowski's North American pro career was spent in the AHL, where he built a reputation as a steady stay-at-home defenseman, posting 61 points and a plus-36 rating across 346 games.
The Holland, Michigan native returned to his home state for the 2017-18 season after serving as captain of Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He went on to play 65 games over the next two seasons with his home-state Red Wings, recording six points and a minus-six rating in what stood as the longest NHL stretch of his career, mostly as a seventh defenseman.
He built a reputation as a physical presence who dropped the gloves regularly when he was in the lineup, and the biggest moment of his NHL career came in a brawl with Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames, one that ultimately landed him a ten-game suspension.
He bounced back to Tampa Bay before returning to Detroit's organization for the 2021-22 season, spending most of that year with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL, where he posted seven points and a plus-six rating in 44 games.
That stint didn't last long, though, as Witkowski moved to the St. Louis Blues' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, before the 2022-23 season became his last in North America. From there, Witkowski headed overseas, first to Finland, where he won a league championship with Tappara Tampere, before spending the past two seasons in Sweden.
This offseason, he signed with HC Kometa Brno in the Czech Extraliga, bringing his physical, veteran presence to a new league, one where, as the viral clip showed, he's already making his grit known.
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Possession numbers, the intense physicality and the pure rhythm of games all felt noticeably new as the season began
There has been something oddly narcotic and moreish about the drip‑drip of fresh Pep Guardiola content either side of the start of the new Premier League season. Eras come and go. Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact. But four‑part Amazon Prime documentaries make angels of us all.
So we have continued to feast on the Pep-at-City visuals: dead jeopardy, reheated beefs, the uplifting team talks of a departed manager to the departed players of a departed team, and moments that often feel far more gripping than the daily churn of what we must, out of habit, call the real world.
The Carolina Hurricanes have barely finished celebrating their Stanley Cup win before attention shifted to next season, with sportsbooks already posting early odds for 2026-27.
As is always the case with markets this far out, some numbers track with expectations while others are bound to raise eyebrows around the league. This time, it's happening with the Winnipeg Jets. After missing the playoffs for just the second time in the last nine seasons, the sportsbooks are already counting them out, drawing much of the skepticism.
Winnipeg enters the summer with some of the least favorable odds in the entire Western Conference, listed at +15000 to win the Stanley Cup, tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the 25th-best odds in the league, a number that places them firmly outside the group of teams sportsbooks view as legitimate contenders.
The Jets find themselves just inside the top ten for odds to win the West at +5000, behind teams like the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks but ahead of the likes of the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators.
The Central Division is routinely producing Cup contenders, and next season is no different, with the Jets' journey back to reclaiming the division title appearing to be an uphill battle. Winnipeg is listed at +3000 odds, ranking fifth in the division behind the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars, and surprisingly behind the Utah Mammoth as well.
Winnipeg also sits at +17500 to win the Presidents' Trophy, tied for the seventh-worst odds in the entire league, a surprising number given the Jets took home that very award just two seasons ago.
There is at least one line that offers a nod to hockey's homeland, one where Winnipeg benefits collectively rather than individually. The market pricing a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup sits at +425, making it likely the best way to back the Jets or any of the other Canadian clubs, like the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers, who could join Winnipeg in the chase to bring the Cup back home.
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LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 19: The sneakers worn by T.J. Bickerstaff #49 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during the 2025 NBA Summer League game on July 19, 2025 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The NHL appears headed for more expansion. In an exclusive interview with David Alter of The Hockey News, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that the league's newest franchise could "be able to begin play as early as the 2029-30 season." While the exact destination has not yet been determined, Daly listed Houston as the priority market and Austin as an alternative.
With a new franchise on the way, the NHL will be preparing for another expansion draft. While the expansion draft is still a few years away, it is never too early to look at which players might be protected in the process. Here is what the Vancouver Canucks protected list could look like.
Before diving in, here is a quick reminder of the 2021 expansion draft rules as per the NHL:
NHL teams can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie
All players with no movement clauses at the time of the draft, and who decline to waive those clauses, must be protected and will be counted toward their team's applicable protection limits.
All first- and second-year professionals, and all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection and will not be counted toward protection limits.
In addition, all NHL teams must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the draft:
One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a team elects to make a restricted free agent goalie available to meet this requirement, that goalie must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team's protected list.
Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be used to satisfy a team's player exposure requirements unless approval is received from the NHL. Such players also may be deemed exempt from selection.
Based on the rules of the last expansion draft and Vancouver's current contract situation, the only player who needs protection is center Elias Pettersson. This is because he has a no-movement clause for the 2029-30 season. The only way around exposing Pettersson if he is still with the team is if the Swedish center waives his no-movement clause.
As for the most likely candidates to be protected, they are all currently part of the young core. This includes Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, defenceman Elias Pettersson, Marco Rossi, Braeden Cootes, Liam Öhgren and Nikita Tolopilo. None of these players are currently signed for the 2029-30 season, but they are projected to be part of the roster.
Shifting to the experienced players, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Hronek, and Kevin Lankinen are all signed for the 2029-30 campaign but have no-trade clauses. The big debate is whether the organization elects to protect Boeser or Hronek. While both are key members of the team, Hronek is the more likely of the two to be protected.
Based on the projected roster and current contracts, Vancouver will most likely use eight skaters and one goaltender. Once again, this list assumes the same rules as the 2021 expansion draft. Below is the potential protected list.
Projected Vancouver Canucks 2029 Expansion Draft Protected List:
Forwards:
Elias Pettersson Marco Rossi Braeden Cootes Liam Öhgren
Defenceman:
Filip Hronek Zeev Buium Tom Willander Elias Pettersson
Goaltender:
Nikita Tolopilo
Dec 27, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium (24) watches defenseman Tom Willander (5) stick check San Jose Sharks forward Adam Gaudette (81) in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 26: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball over Collin Gillespie #12 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center on February 26, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 113-110. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Suns fans and fans across the country.
The Phoenix Suns find themselves in an interesting position within the Pacific Division this upcoming season because it might actually be up for grabs. Phoenix is a team that should perform well within the context of the division, even if the oddsmakers don’t necessarily agree.
And make no mistake about it, odds are about the only place divisions really matter anymore. Once upon a time, they meant much more. Now, it’s about where you finish in the conference standings, while division records only come into play once you start digging deep into the recesses of tiebreakers.
Still, when you look at the teams around Phoenix, you can make a legitimate case that the Suns could finish atop the division. But will they?
Let’s take a look at what the Pacific Division looks like heading into the 2026–27 season.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are completely revamped, and LeBron James, Dillon Brooks’s nemesis, is no longer with the organization. He went East, and in doing so vacated $52.6 million in salary. General manager Rob Pelinka did his best to use that space to fill the gaps.
The Lakers acquired Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz and will pay him $30.1 million. Yikes. They also added Matisse Thybulle, Quentin Grimes, Kevon Looney, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Yeah, they went ham in free agency once LeBron left the City of Angels.
But the question is whether they actually got better. This was a team that finished as the fourth seed last season, won the Pacific Division, and went 53–29. So while the roster looks dramatically different, the real question is whether all of those changes actually improved a team that was already very good.
Golden State Warriors
We are entering the twilight years of the Golden State Warriors. It has been a hell of a run. Four championships came out of the Stephen Curry era, and they helped change the landscape of the NBA. But alas, all good things eventually come to an end.
General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. didn’t make many splashes this offseason. In fact, Golden State did practically nothing. Pat Spencer and Quinten Post are gone, replaced by rookie Yaxel Lendenborg and LaJae Jones. Draymond Green flirted with the idea of taking less money so LeBron James could join the team by the Bay, which ultimately didn’t happen. Instead, Green signed a one-year, $27.7 million contract to go alongside Stephen Curry’s $62.6 million and Jimmy Butler’s $56.8 million. All three will be unrestricted free agents next summer, and that is $147.1 million committed to three players with an average age of 37.
Now Golden State finds itself in a position where it will once again rely heavily on the legs of a 38-year-old Stephen Curry to remain productive. Because Jimmy Butler? He probably won’t return until the calendar says 2027 after suffering a season-ending ACL tear on January 20, 2026. That injury takes time to recover from, and with Butler turning 37 in September, it’s going to be a long road back.
So the question becomes pretty simple. How good can this team be without him?
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are a team that appears to be in flux after completely changing course midway through last offseason. James Harden is gone. Ivica Zubac is gone. And, in theory, Kawhi Leonard will eventually be gone as well.
They added Rui Hachimura in free agency, re-signed Bradley Beal, and lost veterans in John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic. This is a team leaning much more heavily into its youth after the lottery balls finally fell in its favor.
The Clippers selected Keaton Wagler fifth overall, and when you combine that youth with the speed of Darius Garland, they can absolutely give teams problems if they aren’t ready to get into a track meet. Defensively, though, there’s still plenty to be desired. This is a team in the middle of a revamp, and because of that, I have a hard time realistically seeing them finish atop the Pacific Division standings.
One of the biggest factors surrounding the Clippers this season is the instability of what the future might hold. Kawhi Leonard should be gone in theory, yes, but he isn’t yet. The Aspiration scandal continues to hang over the organization, and there still hasn’t been any real resolution.
Holding one of the league’s richest owners accountable is clearly something the NBA is struggling with, and that’s a bad look for both the league and the team. When that kind of uncertainty and disruption is hanging over an organization, it becomes much harder to see a clear path toward success on the floor.
Sacramento Kings
And then there are the Kings, who experienced postseason bliss four years ago after missing the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons. What have they done since? Not much. Their big free agent signing was Jonathan Mogbo. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
They also bought out DeMar DeRozan, who now finds himself with the Denver Nuggets, and they’re clearly leaning more into youth after drafting Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh overall pick and Alex Karaban with the 29th pick.
For a team that won only 22 games last season, though, it’s hard to say they improved in any meaningful way. Maybe an injection of youth helps around the edges, but that’s about it.
Phoenix Suns
Nestled between all of this are the Phoenix Suns, a team that won 45 games last season and finished second in the Pacific Division standings.
You know the moves. There weren’t many of them. Phoenix re-signed Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, and Jordan Goodwin this offseason. They added Luke Kennard and Pat Spencer in free agency, and the only notable outgoing players came in the Miles Bridges deal, where the Suns added a starter while giving up two sharpshooters.
Compared to the movement around the rest of the division, Phoenix has leaned heavily into continuity.
Now that we’ve looked at the landscape of the Pacific Division, the question becomes pretty simple. Where do you see the Phoenix Suns finishing at the end of the season?
There are obviously too many variables at this point of the year to make any prediction with certainty, but based on where these teams currently stand, where does Phoenix fit? Are they the best team in the Pacific? The worst? Somewhere in the middle?
Cast your vote in the poll below, then head to the comments and let us know where you have the Suns finishing and why.
WILLIAMSPORT, PA - AUGUST 23: Members of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves shake hands at home plate after the 2026 Little League Classic presented by New York Life between the Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field on Sunday, August 23, 2026 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country.
Welcome back to another Reacts Survey! In this week’s survey, we’re asking fans which team they would feel safest about facing in the playoffs.
While there’s obviously no such thing as a “safe” matchup in the postseason, we’re curious to see which team fans feel the safest about facing come a playoff series, and we’re providing a few options in the Dodgers, Braves, Cubs, Phillies, and Padres.
The Dodgers, who are the biggest threat to Milwaukee for the NL’s best record at 80-51 entering Monday, are understandably the favorite to return to the World Series, as L.A. has won each of the last two years and they’ve only gotten better, at least on paper. The Brewers have had some success against the Dodgers in the regular season this year, though, winning four of seven, including three of four in Los Angeles in August.
The Braves, at 76-55, are currently atop the NL East and sit with the third-best record in the NL, which means as it stands, they would take on the last Wild Card team in the opening round of the postseason. The Brewers have split their season set with Atlanta, going 3-3 with both teams taking two of three at home (though the last of Milwaukee’s “home games” was an Atlanta win at the Little League Classic in Pennsylvania).
The Cubs, at 75-56, are still in play to win the NL Central, though they sit six games behind Milwaukee and currently own the best record in the Wild Card race. The Brewers are 4-2 against Chicago this year, sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley in May before dropping two of three in Milwaukee at the end of June. The two squads still have two series to go, with a four-game set in Chicago to begin September before a three-game set in Milwaukee beginning on Labor Day.
The Phillies, at 73-58, are currently rolling through a nine-game winning streak that has put them right back into the mix for both the top Wild Card spot and the NL East race. After a dismal 9-19 start under Rob Thomson, the team fired Thomson before naming Don Mattingly the interim manager, and Mattingly has proceeded to lead them to a 64-39 record. The Brewers took two of three against Philadelphia in Milwaukee back in June, and the two teams will face off in Philadelphia for three games right before the end of the regular season in late September.
Finally, the Padres, at 71-60, are currently fighting for the last NL Wild Card spot, as they sit in that position now but are just two games ahead of the 69-62 D-backs and four games ahead of the 67-64 Marlins. Despite having the worst record of the teams listed here, the Padres have had the most success against Milwaukee, as they swept the Crew in San Diego in early August after dropping two of three against Milwaukee in May, meaning they’re 4-2 against the Brewers overall.
So, who would you feel safest about facing? Weigh in below and stay tuned for results later this week!
Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson’s stock has risen over the last few seasons, propelling Team USA to a gold medal at the 2025 World Championships with an overtime goal, being part of Team USA’s Olympic gold medal victory in Milano-Cortina in February, and being a big part of helping the Sabres snap their 15-year playoff drought, leading the club with 81 points last season, winning the Atlantic Division, and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In NHL Network’s annual ranking of the league’s best centers, Thompson finished 19th in the top 20. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini, Leon Draisaitl, and Aleksander Barkov were the top five. Former Sabre captain Jack Eichel was ranked sixth, and Atlantic Division rivals Auston Matthews (8th), Nick Suzuki (9th), Tim Stutzle (13th), Brayden Point (17th), and Dylan Larkin (20th) were also on the list.
Who will step up to score more with Alex Tuch gone?
“(Thompson) reminds me of [Mario] Lemieux,” NHL Network’s EJ Hradek said. “He’s a big, long player that can play with skill and can drag that puck in and can shoot it from a lot of different places, holding the stick at different angles, so just a terrific player.”
The former St. Louis Blues first rounder was acquired in the Ryan O’Reilly trade in 2018 and after three seasons of struggling with injury, has become one of the NHL’s most consistent scorers. After notching 38 goals in 2021-22, the Sabres signed the Arizona native to a seven-year, $50 million contract, which in retrospect has been one of the best decisions the organization has made. Thompson has followed that year up with 160 goals over the last four seasons, including a career-high 47 in 2022-23.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 06: Justin Topa #48 of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on May 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the wake of the Giancarlo Stanton and Ryan Weathers news from over the weekend, the Yankees are pivoting to take a minor gamble on one of their new additions.
Joel Sherman reported on Monday that veteran right-hander Justin Topa is getting called up to the majors merely 10 days after signing a minor-league deal with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts over two innings in his last outing against the Charlotte Knights and is finishing August with a 1.13 ERA.
SWB holds on, winning 5-2.
Bellinger goes 0-3 with a K. HRs by Hardman, Escarra, and Volpe.
Alexander Cornielle walked five but was effective in 5.1. Justin Topa K’d two in his best outing with the RailRiders.
While pitching hasn’t necessarily been the main concern for this team heading into September, the Yankees are moving quickly to fill an anticipated opening after Weathers hit the IL on Sunday and the news was confirmed on Saturday of Stanton injuring his left calf while on a rehab assignment. Despite Sherman’s announcement, the Yankees haven’t officially confirmed details of the transaction. They have, however, already optioned Brendan Beck, who took Weathers’ roster spot on Sunday to serve as an extra relief option in case of emergency. (He did not pitch.)
Prior to signing a minor-league deal with the RailRiders, Topa recorded an 8.05 ERA through 19 innings pitched for the Twins this season, though his sinker at least helped him to a 54.4-percent groundball rate; perhaps the Yankees think they can work with him. He signed minor-league contracts with both the Blue Jays and Royals since being released from Minnesota in May and presumably hasn’t had enough time to unpack his bags in one place.
A seven-year veteran, Topa is also a New York product, born and raised in Binghamton, and going to college at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus. He debuted with the Brewers in 2020 and remained there until getting dealt to the Mariners in 2023. Topa was then flipped to the Twins in the Jorge Polanco deal the following offseason and spent the next couple years there before this season’s sojourn.
Not so much to write home about, but the Yankees apparently have enough confidence to give him a shot, at least in the short term.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 19: Jim Jarvis #74 of the Atlanta Braves forces out Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins on a double play hit by Josh Bell #56 during the third inning at Target Field on August 19, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“What are the Braves doing at shortstop?” Kind of the recently-eternal question, after the Swanson swan song, Orlando Arcia’s one decent season, and then The Issues since. Seriously, from 2024-2026, the Braves are not only dead last in shortstop fWAR (1.3 in 1673 PAs), but they’re so far down that even the 29th-place team, the Rockies (always the Rockies) has more than double the Braves’ shortstop production (2.7). While Braves’ shortstops have been good defensively (seventh in defensive value in that span, thanks Nick Allen!), they haven’t hit at all, with a 64 wRC+ putting them in their own sad tier, well below the Guardians, Rockies, and Rays, whose shortstop wRC+s over the past three seasons are hanging out in the low-to-mid 70s.
Jim Jarvis, de facto starting shortstop against right-handers for a fair while now, is the latest contributor to this value-bleed, and is now going away.
The #Braves today recalled OF Brewer Hicklen to Atlanta and optioned INF Jim Jarvis to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Jarvis was a fun story, and presented as a fun guy. Acquired as a non-return for Rafael Montero last year, he fared well in Atlanta’s minor league system. He then got a decent run in Atlanta in July, and put together a 111 wRC+. It wasn’t at all supported by his inputs, but even those inputs were decent (.336 wOBA, .308 xwOBA).
But then the calendar turned to August, and Jarvis languished. In 42 August PAs, he has a -36 wRC+ (yes that’s a negative sign) and a .208 xwOBA. Sure, he’s underhitting his xwOBA by nearly .100, but a .208 xwOBA is… really bad. Put this together with shortstop defense that was above-average but not awesome thanks to some goofs on simple plays, and you have Jim Jarvis, 124 major league PAs, a 56 wRC+, and -0.1 fWAR.
So, the Braves will now probably give Mauricio Dubon a longer run at shortstop. There’s an outside chance that Ha-Seong Kim finally gets some playing time, but I guess that depends on the extent to which the Braves care that their recent slump has put a sizable dent in their division odds. If they do, then nah, Kim’s proposition is too risky. If they don’t, well, that’ll be kind of funny for all sorts of reasons. For whatever it’s worth, Dubon is also running up on like eight weeks with a combined xwOBA under .300, but it’s in the .280ish, guy-having-a-bad-time range, rather than the Jarvis desolation of approaching .200.
Brewer Hicklen returns to the major league roster after a continued assault on International League pitching. The journeyman outfielder put up a 130 wRC+ at Triple-A Gwinnett before the Braves called him up shortly before the All-Star Break. He hit incredibly well in 23 PAs with a lot of good fortune baked in (.457 wOBA / 192 WRC+, .354 xwOBA), but ended up being sent down as the Braves needed active roster room. (Okay, they didn’t “need” active roster room. They chose to make room for others at Hicklen’s expense.) Since he was optioned, Hicklen has put up a 143 wRC+ at Triple-A. With Lane Thomas in the fold, Hicklen probably won’t start, but… actually I’m not sure exactly how he’s going to get PAs unless an outfielder needs a breather, but he can at least hang out in the dugout now.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Carlos Rodón #55 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on August 23, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome back to our series on the innovations the Yankees pitching department is making with the sinker! They’ve dusted off the pitch from a period of league-wide dormancy and have a renewed focus on disseminating it across as much of their pitching room as are willing to use it. In May, I kicked off the series by looking at the way Cam Schlittler has incorporated the sinker into his arsenal and how that decision helped launch him to the stratospheric heights he is now pitching at. Then in June, I wondered whether the sinker was the solution to Ryan Weathers’ home run woes. Most recently, I investigated how Paul Blackburn’s transition from throwing the cutter to throwing the sinker as his primary fastball helped key his transformation into a bullpen ace.
We return to the starting rotation for our fourth entry in this series. Carlos Rodón’s season has largely been interrupted by injury, but there’s plenty to be encouraged about the times he does take the mound. Recovery from offseason elbow surgery to remove a bone spur cost him the first month-and-a-half of the campaign. Inflammation in that same elbow cost him another month-and-a-half between July and the first half of August. In total, it’s limited him to 11 starts, the 33-year-old lefty pitching to a 3.15 ERA and 3.61 FIP with 58 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. He’s been limited to just four innings in each of his two starts off the most recent IL stint as he builds his pitch count up, but he’s done well to allow just two earned runs across those eight innings.
After such a disappointing debut season in pinstripes, we’ve written extensively over the intervening three years about his transformation as a pitcher. Not content to simply sit around and collect a paycheck, Rodón reinvented himself in 2024 and 2025, going from a power pitcher who only threw four-seamers and sliders to a true pitcher’s pitcher with a legitimate five-pitch arsenal. Over the last two seasons, we focused a lot on the integration of the curveball and changeup into his repertoire, and particularly the effect that mastering the latter pitch has had on him rediscovering his form in the rotation. Starting in the second half of last season and coming into greater focus this year, it appears reintegration of the sinker is the latest step in his evolution as a starting pitcher.
Rodón threw the sinker pretty regularly his first two seasons in the bigs before it took a backseat to his four-seamer in the following two seasons and disappeared completely from 2019 through 2024. The Yankees encouraged him to dust off the pitch following this six year hibernation, and in 2025 he deployed the sinker with a 9.7-percent usage rate. That’s now up to a 14.5-percent usage rate in 2026.
Not only has he increased his usage of the pitch, but it is also a better offering by several raw metrics then when he threw it his first four seasons with the White Sox. From 2015 to 2018, Rodón’s sinker averaged about 21 inches of drop and about 15 inches of arm-side run, making it a league-average sinker by both vertical and horizontal movement vs. average. Between this year and last, his sinker is now exhibiting about 24.5 inches of downward tilt while maintaining the same amount of lateral break, turning it into a well above average pitch by vertical movement vs. average.
He has done this by tapping into the seam-shifted wake effect created when the orientation of the ball’s seams disrupts the laminar air flow across the ball’s surface during flight — the spin rate, spin axis, and active spin on the pitch have remained pretty stable his entire career meaning this increase in downward movement is conferred by a tweak to the positioning of the seams at release. The result is a sinker that exhibits some of the greatest downward deviation in observed movement vs. the movement profile you would expect from the arm angle he throws it out of. The pitch’s observed movement is deviated 30 degrees downward relative the movement you would expect based on its axis of spin, which for a hitter means a pitch that breaks downward more than you would usually anticipate the sinker would when thrown from his arm slot. Contrast this with when he was with the White Sox, and his sinker had zero deviation in observed movement vs. expected spin-based movement.
The main function of his sinker is as a lefty-neutralizing fastball given that the four-seamer doesn’t perform quite as well against same-handed batters. The sinking movement down and in is super effective at keeping the ball off a lefty’s barrel, particularly when thrown to the arm-side edge of the strike zone.
The way this pitch darts in toward the label of Devers’ bat and downward at the last moment is key to generating the inning ending double play ball. Of all the pitches Rodón has thrown at least ten-percent of the time this year, the sinker is the best in terms of expected wOBA (.194), average exit velocity (83.5 mph), hard-hit rate (22.2-percent), and ground ball rate (59.3-percent) and has yet to allow a barrel in 27 batted ball events.
Not only that, the pitch can act as a swing and miss pitch against lefties, especially those who are expecting a four-seamer.
Devers whiffs over the top of this sinker for the strikeout. With the extra downward movement Rodón is able to impart on the pitch, at times it can almost act as hard reverse slider. Traditionally not a chase or swing and miss pitch, Rodón’s sinker has induced impressive marks of a 29.9-percent chase rate and 18.2-percent whiff rate in 2026.
Which brings me to the final facet of the pitch I’d like to talk about — it’s the interaction between Rodón’s four-seamer and sinker that has me most intrigued. Rodón has proven quite adept at tunneling his sinker off his four-seamer. Just check out this overlay against Devers from last year:
Both four-seamer and the sinker that followed it exit Rodón’s hand aimed at a similar spot. Whereas the four-seamer flies pretty straight and stays level on its vertical plane, just look at the way the sinker falls off the path charted by the four-seamer, resulting in two pitches that look almost identical out of the hand landing in two different spots in the zone.
A lot of research that has been done over the last few years in the pitching arena concerns the benefit, especially for starting pitchers, of throwing at least two different types of fastballs. The above overlay illustrates this effect well. Because it is almost impossible for the hitter to distinguish different fastball types based on spin the way you might be able to discern a slider or curveball from a heater, throwing two or more fastballs with divergent movement profiles makes each individual pitch better. Indeed, Rodón’s four-seamer and sinker are performing at their highest level in years, both pitches holding hitters well below the Mendoza line while the four-seamer has its best whiff-rate (25.3-percent) in his Yankees career, and I believe this is down to Rodón throwing his sinker more.
With the injuries mounting in the rotation to Rodón’s fellow southpaws Max Fried and Ryan Weathers (though both with encouraging prognoses), Rodón’s continued build up from his latest injury setback becomes all the more critical. The Yankees need him healthy and firing on all cylinders if they are going to mount a challenge for the division much less make a deep postseason run. With the sinker representing his latest evolution as a starting pitcher, I feel he is well equipped to reach the heights he hit last season.
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring in the sixth inning of a baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, June 19, 2023, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Reds won, 5-4. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
“Aren’t the Reds kinda-sorta good every year and on the fringe of contention?“ I wondered, before finally examining this year’s team. They’re 42-58 after a 20-11 start. Reminiscent of last year’s Giants, I’d say. But, technically, aren’t the Reds supposed to have a lot more talent on the roster? First and foremost, there’s Elly De La Cruz, a player who’s the envy of every other franchise? Isn’t that Chase Burns having a pretty great season on the mound? Both true, but they haven’t been enough to make the team competitive.
The Reds’ lineup is dead last in the sport in terms of value (6.5 fWAR), thanks to a line of .227/.307/.392 (88 wRC+ — also 30th in MLB). You might be thinking, “Wait, don’t they play in a bandbox called The Great American Ballpark?” And you’d be right. It’s one of the best parks for hitting. That ought to underscore just how poor the team’s lineup is. They’ve scored 14 more runs than the Giants (537 to 523 — 25th and 27th in MLB, respectively), but that’s not saying much. But, they are also the best at the ABS challenge system? They’ve won 57% of their challenges (82 of 144) at the plate and 68% (108/159) in the field. The Giants are bad at everything. But the Reds’ hitting woes didn’t necessarily have to sink them.
Their pitching has been bad, too.
Their team fWAR of 9.0 is 22nd in MLB. They’re just ahead of your San Francisco Giants (8.7), which is a real surprise, because I figured the Giants would be even closer to the bottom. Since, you know, again, they’re bad at everything. But the Reds’ team ERA of 4.52 is hardly good. Their 4.73 xERA trails only the Rockies (5.22), Nationals (4.84), Dbacks and Royals (4.75). How is a team staff with some real talent about as good as the Rockies’?
I guess the secret is that after Chase Burns (and the seemingly perma-injured Hunter Greene), there’s not much talent there. Everyone on the staff outside of Burns and Green and reliever Luis May have FIPs of 4 or more. That’s awful. That’s dreadful, and it might not be entirely tied to the talent itself.
In one of their recent SB Nation Reacts polls, 47% of Reds fans (via our Reds sister site Red Reporter) laid blame for the season at the feet of the front office. Their site manager, Wick Terrell, summarizes it well:
They’re the ones that not only sent a Top 10 organizational prospect to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ke’Bryan Hayes and his chronically bad back, they’re also the ones that decided to take on the full $36 million still owed to him despite their perpetually tight budgets. They’re also the ones that sunk all their bullpen cash into Pierce Johnson, Caleb Ferguson, and Brock Burke, and the ones who threw Eugenio Suarez $15 million for his immediate decline.
They’re the ones who have seen the products of the 2022 Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray trades simply not materialize at all. They’re also the ones who couldn’t get Elly De La Cruz under long-term contract, officially putting the future of the franchise on short-term notice every day.
My only quibble from the outside looking in is that Pierce Johnson, Caleb Ferguson, and Brock Burke might’ve been huge upgrades to the Giants’ bullpen this season (lol).
So the Reds haven’t maximized their limited resources and have struggled mightily despite having some interesting talent, a fun ballpark for hitting, and a three Wild Card system.
They’ll be hosted by one of the most disappointing teams in the history of its own franchise, a continuation of a decade of failure (sorry, 2021 — you flukes still lost to the Dodgers), and a team that has no answers for what happened and is simply operating on faith that things will just magically get better. That a franchise that has struggled to develop prospects since moving from New York to San Francisco will be able to do so in a way that takes the team from abject losers (not just from a pro athlete standpoint, but from a moral character POV, too) to somewhat consistent fringe contenders. It’s a team that only fans could love hosting a team whose fans are starting to frustrate beyond reason.
No, but seriously, what’s going on with the Reds? Why aren’t they better?
Series Overview
Who: San Francisco Giants (52-78) vs. Cincinnati Reds (62-69) Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California When: Monday & Tuesday at 6:45pm PT, Wednesday at 12:45pm PT National broadcasts: None.
Projected starters Friday: TBD vs. Chase Burns (RHP 14-2, 2.51 ERA) Saturday: TBD vs. Brady Singer (RHP 5-11, 4.72 ERA) Sunday: TBD vs. Nick Lodolo (LHP 3-3, 5.04 ERA)
Players to watch
Reds (besides Elly De La Cruz)
JJ Bleday: It looked like Bleday’s career was bound for a year or two in the minors or overseas play but the Reds took a chance (?) and have gotten 21 HR and a .779 OPS out of the #4 overall pick from the 2019 draft who couldn’t hack it on the A’s. The 28-year old was signed to a 1-year, $1.4 million deal and has crushed right-handed pitching most of the season (.234/.349/.467 — .816 OPS). I say “most” because since the All-Star break (now 36 games for him), he’s hitting just .186/.303/.347. He has also been bad on the road all year (.908 home OPS vs. .660 road OPS). He’s just 11-for-his-last-60 which includes 9 road games out of 17 total. But drill down a bit more and he’s 8-for-his-last-27 with a double, a triple, and a homer. He’s also struck out 11 times in 30 PA and walked just 3 times, so, it’s possible he’s being a bit more aggressive at the plate to hit out of this post-break slump. Or, you know, he’s turning into a pumpkin.
Sal Stewart: He might not beat out JJ Wetherholt for NL Rookie of the Year, but it also might be pretty close. The 22-year old has 27 homers in 568 plate appearances to go with a line of .263/.336/.472 (.808). That’s also a 114 wRC+, which is less than Bryce Eldridge’s 119 wRC+ — so, ha! Take that, Eno Sarris? Eldridge seems to be handling the ups and downs of a big league season pretty well, I’d say, and so I wonder if his .252/.346/.435 season line would look better, worse, or about the same if the PA totals were similar. I do wonder if the diehardest Giants fans out there would hold fast to their “all Giants prospects are better than other teams’ prospects” if they saw Sal Stewart’s 98 RBI. As a rookie? I mean, c’mon. There’s no question who has been better this season between Sal Stewart and Bryce Eldridge, right? Also, Oracle Park’s favorability towards right-handed pull hitters would seem to set up this rookie slugger to have a great series. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to watch him slug it out against the hometown rook as Bryce Eldridge will miss it due to bereavement leave.
Chase Burns: Admittedly, with a seven-year gap between the Reds drafting Hunter Greene and Chase Burns, there’s not a case to be made that they have been extremely fortunate to draft aces with first round picks recently. That’s essentially luck. Then again, I wonder how many teams have gotten so much value out of first round picks. Just this century: Jeremy Sowers (2001), Homer Bailey (2004), Jay Bruce (2005), Drew Stubbs (2006), Todd Frazier (2007), Devin Mesoraco (2007), Yonder Alonso (2008), Brad Boxberger (2009), Mike Leake (2009), Yasmani Grandal (2010), Robert Stephenson (2011), Jeese Winker (2012), Michael Lorenzen (2013), Tyler Stephenson (2015), Hunter Greene (2017), Jonathan India (2018), Nick Lodolo (2019), Matt McLain (2021), Sal Stewart (2022), Rhett Lowder (2023), and Chase Burns (2024).
That’s great.
The Giants had a moment in time like that, too. Noah Lowry (2001), Brad Hennessey (2001), Matt Cain (2002), David Aardsma (2003), Tim Lincecum (2006), Madison Bumgarner (2007), Buster Posey (2008), Connor Gillaspie (2008), Zack Wheeler (2009), Gary Brown (2010), Kyle Crick (2011), Joe Panik (2011), Chris Stratton (2012), Christian Arroyo (2013), Phil Bickford (2015), Heliot Ramos (2017), Joey Bart (2018), Patrick Bailey (2020), Bryce Eldridge (2023).
But about Burns specifically, the Reds are 18-6 in his starts this season. When asked about his approach, Burns revealed himself to be a mindless throwing machine.
Like I said, just fill up the zone. I’m not trying to be too perfect. Line it up. Try to let them put it in play. I’m not a big in, out, up, and down guy. I’m kind of just throw it down the middle and let it eat. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I think it’s been working so far.
The power of being young. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and he has the physical talents that don’t yet require him to know any better. His four-seamer averaged 97.6 mph (thrown 56.4%) and his slider, which he throws 38.4% of the time spins at 2,771 rpm. It’s elite stuff. He has a changeup to keep hitters honest (5% of the time it’s thrown, 34.1% whiff rate) but he’s simply dominating with two pitches.
Now, as a team, the Giants are +1 in run value vs. the 4-seam fastball, but that’s based on 24 players who’ve seen the pitch at least 10 times and is only positive because 7 of the 24 have done well against the pitch. So.
Okay, but real quick about Elly De La Cruz. The 24-year old shortstop is having the best season of his career at the plate (.817 OPS in 502 PA), but he’s in a bit of a slump, too. Over the past 30 days, just a .712 OPS with only 6 stolen bases in 8 attempts. Since August 7th, he’s hitting just .182/.267/.318 (.585).
Giants
Rafael Devers: I think what a player does when nobody watches and nobody cares matters quite a lot when evaluating them. Nobody cares about the Giants and Rafael Devers is going to spend the rest of his career in an anonymous situation. He’s not going to be a Hall of Famer, he likely won’t make an All-Star game, and he probably won’t see the playoffs again. Is that the universe punishing him for not handling the Red Sox’s clear mismanagement of him with an unreasonable amount of grace? Or, is he simply not that great of a player?
He was a career 127 wRC+ hitter heading into this season. He’s at 116 through 130 games. Over the past calendar month, he’s hit .240/.347/.470 (126 wRC+) which looks good, but since August 7th, when the reality of the team’s post-trade deadline, post-relevance situation really sunk in, he’s down to .185/.302/.426 over his last 63. Going all the way back to the start of those 30 games, the Giants were 6-7 through August 6th, and 4-11 since.
Willy Adames: Lingering injuries might prevent him from having a hot end to his 2026, but he’s coming perilously close to posting his career worst and it’ll be hard to separate that from the Giants having one of their worst seasons ever.
Jung Hoo Lee: The Giants are 5-15 in August, 5-14 when Jung Hoo Lee has played. He’s hit just .234/.268/.390 in the month. He’s made just 11 challenges at the ABS all season (5/11) and seems like a player who should do it more. But the 45% success rate seems to have made him shy. Defensively, he’s — at best — unremarkable, and frequently fails the eye test. He’s too young to be considered a total bust, but this season has gone a long way towards cementing him as a fourth outfielder on a good team and a below average starter on a second division squad.
These are three presumably key players if the Giants hope to have a turnaround in the next couple of years, and all they’ve really done this season is give weight to the idea that the Giants are simply the farm upstate where retired dogs go to live out their days.
Prediction time
To answer my closing question above — Why aren’t the Reds better? — I’m sure we’ll be seeing their very best in this three-game series. Sure, they’re -50 in run differential on the road but they’re 30-33, record-wise. They’re 7-8 at Oracle post-COVID
