Category: Sports News

Scott Hennessey, manager of the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets, on Saturday was named Pacific Coast League manager of the year after leading the team to the best record in the league and the PCL championship, the team’s second in four years.

Oklahoma City completed its season on Saturday night with a 10-inning victory over International League champion Rochester in the Triple-A championship game.

This is the 20th year in the Dodgers organization for Hennessey, who was an amateur scout beginning in 2007 before moving into player development 10 years later. After seven seasons managing Double-A Tulsa, Hennessey has been at the helm in Oklahoma City the last two seasons. He also won a Texas League championship with Tulsa in 2018.

Before Hennessey, the last Dodgers minor league manager to win manager of the year in the PCL was Damon Berryhill in 2015, in the club’s first year affiliated with Oklahoma City.

Three Dodgers minor league skippers won manager of the year at their levels this season — Hennessey in Triple-A, Eric Wedge for Double-A Tulsa, and Jair Fernandez for High-A Great Lakes.

PCL All-Stars

The Dodgers’ bid at an MVP at all four full-season levels ended when Colorado Rockies outfielder Zac Veen was named PCL MVP after hitting .327/.402/.635 with a 145 wRC+, 24 home runs and 65 extra-base hits in 100 games for Albuquerque.

James Tibbs III was an MVP candidate himself, and settled for an All-Star designation after hitting .287/.409/.532 with a 140 wRC+, 30 home runs, 65 extra-base hits, and 108 walks in 141 games. Tibbs led the PCL in walks, total bases (278), and extra-base hits (tied with Veen), and was second in the league in home runs, runs scored (109), and RBI (107).

Christian Romero also was named an All-Star starting pitcher with a 4.06 ERA in 135 1/3 innings, with 115 strikeouts and 49 walks in his 30 games, including 22 starts.

The other Oklahoma City All-Star was reliever Seth Halvorsen, who was acquired by the Dodgers from the Rockies in July. Halvorsen on the season in Triple-A had a 1.32 ERA and eight games in 26 games with 37 strikeouts and 11 walks in 27 1/3 innings. In 10 games with the Comets, Halvorsen had five saves and only allowed one unearned run in 9 2/3 innings, with 13 strikeouts and four walks.

Team News

D-backs going down to the wire, needing win and help on final day

https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/diamondbacks-go-into-final-day-of-regular-season-with-playoff-hopes

Diamondbacks can’t capitalize on Phillies’ loss. Big final day on tap

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2026/09/26/diamondbacks-at-padres-live-updates-game-score-playoffs-latest/91938888007/

What did Diamondbacks’ bullpen game failure mean for their playoff chances?

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/diamondbacks-bullpen-game-disaster-may-cost-them-playoff-spot-again

Why did the Diamondbacks pinch hit for Gabriel Moreno?

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/why-did-the-diamondbacks-pinch-hit-for-gabriel-moreno

D-backs Waste Playoff Opportunity in Bullpen Game Meltdown vs Padres

https://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/d-backs-waste-playoff-opportunity-bullpen-game-meltdown-padres

Other Baseball

Day for the ages: Verlander’s final start, incredible father-daughter moment AND a walk-off HR!https://www.mlb.com/news/justin-verlander-final-mlb-start?t=final-week-coverage

AL West up for grabs: Here’s how Astros or Rangers can win it in Game 162https://www.mlb.com/news/al-playoff-picture-in-final-week-2026-season

Here’s what’s at stake on the final day of the season
https://www.mlb.com/news/top-things-at-stake-final-week-2026-mlb-season

‘We expect to win championships’: 4 players who keyed another Triple-A crown for the Dodgershttps://www.mlb.com/milb/news/dodgers-triple-a-affiliate-oklahoma-city-wins-2026-national-championship?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/september-27

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/September_27

The banana contains 75% water.

Bananas are rich in nutrients and are a good source of electrolytes. Ideally, a person should eat at least one banana a day. 

Chicken meat is not a main ingredient of chicken nuggets.

The main ingredients for a typical chicken nugget is fat, epithelium, bone, and connective tissue. Sounds appetizing!

A classic violin is made with 70 different pieces of wood.

Associated with class and elegance, the earliest version of a violin emerged in the1500s in Italy. The first known creator of the violin was Andrea Amati. He had been commissioned by the Medici family to create an instrument like a lute, but easier to play. 

The Mariners won last night. I didn’t watch it. I haven’t watched them in a while. They let me down this year. It’s not the first time they’ve done that, but it’s definitely the worst. I’ve seen that writing on the wall before, and I didn’t watch these last few games because I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t want to.

But I’ll be watching today. I’ll be watching for the guys on the field, who tried this year, even if the results don’t show it. I’ll be watching and listening for Rick, whose career ends a little sooner than he might’ve liked, but no less the sweeter. And I’ll be watching for myself. They hurt me, but they could only do that because I love them. I’ll be watching because I want to.

Logan Gilbert takes the mound, and Rick takes the mic one last time in game 162 at 12:10 PST. Go Mariners.

In Mariners news…

• Kade Anderson exited early from last night’s game after taking 104 mph off his pitching arm, but thankfully it appears the contact missed any bone as x-rays came back negative and he just has some bruising.
• It has been an incredible season for custom chest protectors, and Cal has one more for us this weekend.

• Josh Naylor made history last night!

• Julio opened up about his season, his concussion, and what he wishes he’d done differently.
• The Seattle Chapter of the BBWAA announced their award recipients on Friday. Randy Arozarena was named the team MVP, Logan Gilbert earned Most Valuable Pitcher, and Cal Raleigh took home the Larry Stone Good Guy Award.

Around the league…

• Justin Verlander’s career brought a lot of misery to Mariners fans over the years, but it is important to watch this clip and remember that this is what it’s all about. Congrats JV on a hell of a career.

• Much of the focus was on the end of Justin Verlander’s career, but he wasn’t the only pitcher in this game who was pitching for the last time. Kirby Yates took the start opposite Verlander for the first time in his 12 year career, throwing 1.2 innings as his last act before calling it a career. This made yesterday only the third time in MLB history that both starting pitchers were pitching in the regular season for the last time.
• The Phillies need to win to guarantee a playoff appearance and they are bringing in reinforcements. Jesús Luzardo is being activated before today’s game and will be available out of the bullpen against the Rays.
• The Brewers voted to make Christian Yelich the franchise’s first ever official team captain yesterday, an honor Yelich said he would only accept if Robin Yount gave his blessing, which he emphatically gave.

Nick’s pick…

• If I was the guy in this photo, I’d get it blown up onto a 12’x15’ canvas and hang three of them in different rooms in my house. You wouldn’t be able to tell me a damn thing ever.

We’ve done it, folks – Game 162 is here. 

To call it a weird year is an understatement. So what does that make us if we’ve followed along so faithfully?

Unlike some other teams fighting for their lives down to the wire, the Braves have been getting some fresh air and exercise in relatively stress-free fashion in their tune-ups versus Cincinnati and Miami. 

This afternoon’s series and season finale against the Fish is at 3:10 pm ET, along with another matchup of interest in AZ-SD. I have no doubt you all will be tuned into that as well as CHC-BOS / TB-PHI (weather permitting) at 3:05 pm ET. Only one team can save their season and punch their ticket to Truist Park – will it be Arizona or Philly?

While that chaos abounds, the Braves’ main priority is getting through the day fully intact and healthy. A victory this afternoon for a series win and their 95th of the season is honestly a nice-to-have. 

JR Ritchie (1-4, 4.79 ERA), coming off his solid start against the Reds, will get the ball for Atlanta. In that outing, he went five innings, gave up four hits and one earned run on a solo homer. He walked three and struck out eight. This was much more aligned with what we’d hoped to see from the rookie following his return to the big club on September 15. He’d been on a dominant run in Triple-A, but struggled against the Cubs to the tune of six earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched. He’ll be looking to bolster his case for the Wild Card roster this afternoon. 

The Miami Marlins gave Ritchie a loss back in May. He was tagged for six runs (five earned) in four innings and Aaron Bummer (remember him?) gave up another six earned runs in the 12-0 blowout. Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez lead the team in ABs against Ritchie with three. Edwards, Joe Mack, and Kyle Stowers each have a hit off him in their limited experience. 

JR will be opposed by Janson Junk (6-9, 4.31 ERA). Junk is 1-2 with a 7.62 ERA in the Braves against his career, with both losses coming this season. He was charged with eight earned runs in five innings and two earned runs in three innings in May and August, respectively. He has not gone longer than six innings since August 12. 

The only Brave that doesn’t have a hit off Junk is Mike Yastrzemski, who’s 0-for-8. Michael Harris II has struggled, owning a .143 average and .286 OPS against him. Otherwise, everyone else owns an OPS of .800 or higher against Junk. For everyone clamoring for the bats to get hot right before the postseason, this could be a great chance to build on yesterday’s nice offensive performance. 

It’s a nice Sunday for a fish fry finale. One more game before the gauntlet begins.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 27, 3:10 p.m. ET

Location: loanDepot Park, Miami, FL

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, Los Bravos

The San Diego Padres took full advantage of their opportunity to seize home field advantage in the National League Wild Card Series, with a 10-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park on Sunday. After missing out on their first opportunity to secure their postseason position with a series-opening loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, they took control early in Game 2 and removed any doubt that they would indeed be the No. 4 seed. The first-round playoff matchup will be played in front of the Friar Faithful rather than in front of the ivy-lined outfield of Wrigley Field.

San Diego jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Arizona responded with runs in the second and third innings and took a 2-1 lead. The Padres scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to regain the lead at 3-2 but the Diamondbacks immediately responded with two runs in the top of the fourth inning and took a one-run lead at 4-3. San Diego removed the thought of losing the game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a commanding 10-4 lead.

Manny Machado powered the scoring outburst for the Padres with a one-out three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning that landed in the Petco Porch and gave San Diego a 6-4 lead. Xander Bogaerts followed suit and hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Padres a 7-4 lead. A double, a single and a groundout later in the inning made the score 8-4. Jake Cronenworth capped the scoring for San Diego in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out two-run single on a changeup that he hit back through the middle of the infield to put the Padres up 10-4.

The power arms at the back of the San Diego bullpen made appearances in what was likely their final tuneup before the postseason. Adrian Morejon pitched a scoreless inning, but Mason Miller came in for the top of the ninth inning in a non-save situation and surrendered three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

With their postseason place secured, the Padres can take the final game of the season as an opportunity to rest starters and use long-relief arms like Randy Vasquez and Griffin Canning to get through the game. Every day players like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill will likely get the day off their feet or have limited time on the field as they prepare to take on the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs.

San Diego will play the final game of the regular season today against Arizona at 12:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball completed her recap of the San Diego minor league system.

• The Padres had a successful week, which included a series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a postseason berth.

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune believes this could be the year that San Diego wins it all.

• Gavin Sheets made his return to the Padres’ lineup and Casey Mize was placed on the 15-Day IL.

• Former Padres closer and MLB veteran Kirby Yates announced his retirement.

Baseball News:

• The Cleveland Guardians clinched the AL Central title.

• The Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers will decide the winner of the AL West in the final game of the season.

• The Philadelphia Phillies were routed by the Tampa Bay Rays and will need to win their final game of the regular season to reach the playoffs.

• Justin Verlander walked off the mound for the final time in his MLB career with his daughter as a member of the Detroit Tigers.

The 2019 Yankees are my second favorite squad in recent-ish memory (after 2017), in large part because of the sheer number of surprise performances from unlikely players – Gio Urshela! Mike Tauchman! Cameron Maybin! – that buoyed the team. David Hale isn’t the first name that comes to mind when you think about that year, but it’s worth remembering his contributions to that 103-win team, and noting the circuitous path he took to arrive there.

David Edward Hale
Born: September 27, 1987 (Atlanta, GA)
Yankees Tenure: 2018, 2019-20

As a high schooler, Hale was originally an infielder before turning to pitching in his senior year. His performance on the mound attracted MLB scouts, but the right-hander chose to play at Princeton University following graduation, having committed to the college before his senior year. Over three seasons in collegiate baseball, Hale went 7-9 with a 4.74 ERA across 127.1 innings. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but apparently scouts saw enough in him to rank him as the Ivy League’s top pitching prospect prior to his junior year. The Atlanta Braves concurred, and selected Hale 87th overall in the third round of the 2009 draft.

After bouncing between starting and bullpen roles in the Braves’ system, Hale made it to the majors in September 2013. His first start was one to remember. Against an admittedly pitiful Padres lineup, Hale punched out nine batters in five innings, setting a franchise record for most strikeouts in a debut. His second start was successful too, with just one run allowed over six innings of work against the Phillies. That was enough for the Braves to place him on the playoff roster. Unfortunately, Atlanta’s postseason run was short-lived, as they fell to the Dodgers in the NLDS, three games to one. Hale’s sole appearance came in Game 3, facing just one batter to close out a 13-6 loss. Nonetheless, it was quite the successful year for Hale.

However, Hale did not enjoy the same level of success in the following years. In 2014, he posted a 4.31 FIP and nearly as many walks as strikeouts across 87.1 innings, most of them as a reliever. That prompted the Braves to ship him to Colorado in the offseason, where he went 5-5 with a 6.09 ERA in 17 appearances (of which 12 were starts). After giving up three runs in two innings to open the 2016 season, Hale was designated for assignment.

Hale spent the next couple of years as a journeyman, toiling mostly in the minor leagues, going from the Orioles’ system to the Braves’, then the Dodgers’, then the Yankees’, then the Twins’, and then the Yankees’ yet again. After he was DFA’ed by the Yankees in July 2018, Hale decided to try and revive his career on foreign shores, signing a $500,000 deal with the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea for the remainder of the year.

It was a bold move, and it paid off. Hale posted a 4.34 ERA over 12 starts and 66.1 innings for the Eagles. That may not sound impressive, but when accounting for the extremely hitting-friendly environment of the KBO, it actually was. To wit: that year, KBO hitters hit .286/.353/.450 as a league, with pitchers recording a collective 5.17 ERA. In that context, a 4.34 ERA sounds pretty darn good. The Yankees evidently thought so too, as they offered Hale a minor league deal just before spring training in 2019.

Hale’s chance came in late May, when he was called up to the majors following an injury to Nestor Cortes Jr, and I think it’s fair to say he made the most of it. He emerged as one of the Yankees’ most reliable middle relief options, working multiple innings on many occasions. I consider his finest moment to be his July 5 appearance against the Rays at the Trop, where he took the mound in the ninth inning of a 4-4 tie and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, holding the fort down while the Yankees pushed across four runs in the top of the 11th to ultimately win the game. Enjoy this glorious footage from that game of him striking out Willy Adames in the bottom of the 11th:

However, Hale’s season was interrupted by injuries, first by a lumbar spine strain, then a knee injury sustained during his rehab assignment. He returned just before the end of the season, allowing two hits and one earned run in a third of an inning against the Rangers, but was designated for assignment following the Yankees ALDS win against the Twins when Aaron Hicks and CC Sabathia were added to the postseason roster. He finished 2019 with a 3.11 ERA (3.32 FIP) over 20 appearances and 37.2 innings. Not bad for a journeyman reliever with no expectations.

2019 would be the high-water mark for Hale’s career. He returned to the Yankees to start the 2020 season, but was traded to the Phillies in August. After posting a 6.41 ERA over 17 appearances in 2021, he was DFA’ed on June 25th, marking the end of his career. His total stat line reads: 13 wins, 12 losses, 3 saves, and a 4.44 ERA and 1.4 fWAR over 273.2 innings.

David Hale wasn’t a star by any stretch of the imagination, but his career is worth celebrating all the same. He could have easily chosen to hang up his cleats during his 2016-18 journey across various minor league systems. However, with perseverance and a willingness to think outside the box, he resurrected his career in the KBO, then joined the Yankees and contributed to their crazy 2019 run. I can only hope to emulate his tenacity and flexibility in trying to navigate my own life.

Happy Birthday, David. I hope retirement’s treating you well.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

After the game, Connelly Early said the mound is a place of peace for him. For the first time in three months, Early was back in his happy place and on a big league mound. He may be wearing a different uniform now, but the sense of joy he gets by being on the mound has not changed.

Early’s love for the game is a big reason why he wanted to get back on the mound before the season was over. He was not able to fully build back up, but Connelly Early felt good and was ready to take the mound on a pitch count. 

Overall, the day could not have gone much better for him. Early threw three scoreless innings, only allowing one hit and striking out one batter in the process. He was pounding the strike zone and showed off his full arsenal. Early’s one strikeout came on a nasty sweeper to A.J. Ewing.

One of the best parts about Early is the fact that he has so many weapons. With all the options he has, there should always be at least a couple pitches he can turn to. In this outing, Early said his stuff was “alright”. He thought his shapes were in a good spot, but thought his command left a bit to be desired. Early said he could have worked at the top of the zone with his fastball more effectively. 

Even without elite execution, Early was still able to get through the Mets lineup pretty easily. He did a great job generating soft contact and got whiffs when he needed to. This outing by Early made me really excited to see what he can do next season.

While the command of his changeup was not great today, the pitch popped on stuff models. With a very low spin rate and lots of movement, the pitch is absolutely filthy. If he can command that pitch better next season, I think it can be an elite swing and miss offering.

Moving forward, one of Early’s goals is to stay durable. He mentioned that he has not been able to make it through a full MLB season and that is a goal of his for next year. Blake Butera mentioned that Early could stand to put on a little more muscle and that could help him add velocity.

Despite being fairly established after this year, Early is still just 24 years old. As a young pitcher, there is still plenty of room for growth. That is what makes the organization so excited about Early. They clearly view him as a major piece moving forward. Obviously they would not trade a player like Curtis Mead if they thought otherwise. However, it is also in the way they talk about Early.

When I asked Blake Butera what surprised him about Early after getting to know him, he talked about his maturity and confidence. Butera can just see that confidence in the way Early walks around and interacts with his teammates.

After this season, that confidence is only natural. In his rookie year, Early finished with a 3.33 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 94.1 innings. Despite missing time with injury, this was still a very positive season for the 24 year old.

Getting Early back on the mound was a big positive for the Nats. It would have been tough to wait the whole offseason and potentially longer to see the prize of Paul Toboni’s first deadline. Outings like this show you why Toboni traded a bat like Curtis Mead, who he loved. The best is still yet to come for Early. He may not show much emotion, but he feels a sense of joy and comfort on the mound. Hopefully he can make the Nationals Park mound home for years to come.

Rangers 6, Twins 2

• On Saturday, we got a reminder of what the Rangers can look like when they are playing well.
• Nathan Eovaldi making his first start since early August, giving the Rangers 4.1 with just one run allowed. The bullpen preserving the lead over 4.2 innings. The offense putting up a big inning early, then adding in a couple of homers to pad the lead. The defense making big plays.
• The Rangers kept their playoff hopes alive with the win, have pushed it to the final game of the season. They no longer control their own destiny — that went by the wayside in the loss to the Mets on Tuesday — but they have nonetheless hung in. The last game of the regular season will matter for Texas.
• And I sit here and think of Saturday’s performance, and ask, why couldn’t they have done this a couple more times this year, have played well enough in just a couple more games that would have meant a win instead of a loss, have clinched the division already and soaked the visitor’s clubhouse in Minnesota in champagne and be able to relax and treat Sunday’s game as an exhibition of sorts and prepare for the Wild Card series next week.
• Amusingly, it was Nicky Lopez who got things started in the second inning when the Rangers took the lead. The Twins had scored a run in the bottom of the first, on the heels of Bailey Ober needing just six pitches to set down the Rangers in the top of the first. Jake Burger and Ezequiel Duran went down swinging to start the second. It wasn’t feeling great.
• And then Nicky Lopez doubled, giving the Rangers a runner in scoring position. Danny Jansen singled him home to tie the game. Evan Carter, Alejandro Osuna and Brandon Nimmo followed that up with doubles, and suddenly, it was a 4-1 Ranger lead, fueled by the bottom of the lineup.
• Eovaldi didn’t allow a run after the first, in no small part by a diving catch by Brandon Nimmo on a two out line drive by Kody Clements with two on and two out in the third, a play that, if not made, would have made it a 4-3 game with the Twins still batting.
• Instead, Minnesota’s rally was shut down, and Danny Jansen punctuated that with an upper deck homer into the left field stands.
• Jake Burger added a homer in the fifth, making it 6-1, and the Rangers’ lead was never really threatened after that.
• The win was punctuated by Jacob Latz striking out the side in the ninth, in what I’m hoping wasn’t the last appearance Latz will make in a game this year.
• And so here we are, season on the line, the Rangers — of course — being one game under .500, a mark they’ve seemingly been at for half the season.
• Win, and the Rangers are a .500 team for the season, and give themselves a chance at the postseason.
• Isn’t baseball fun?
• Nathan Eovaldi touched 94.0 mph with his fastball, averaging 93.2 mph. Robert Garcia touched 94.9 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis’s fastball reached 93.9 mph. Tyler Alexander hit 92.6 mph with his sinker. Jacob Latz’s fastball maxed out at 96.7 mph.
• Brandon Nimmo had a 108.2 mph double. Corey Seager had a 106.4 mph single, a 102.5 mph fly out and a 101.6 mph fly out. Alejandro Osuna had a 106.3 mph single and a 103.9 mph line out. Jake Burger had a 105.5 mph home run. Ezequiel Duran had a 102.3 mph single and a 100.9 mph single. Danny Jansen had a 101.4 mph home run. Evan Carter had a 100.3 mph double.
• 161 down. One to go.

We’ll know exactly what the Red Sox postseason roster will look like soon enough. But since half of New England is under water right now and there was no Red Sox game yesterday to discuss, let’s talk about it anyway.

Thanks to the injuries to Willson Contreras and Mickey Gasper, there are an uncomfortable number of question marks in the roster at this point. We don’t even know who the starting first baseman will be.

For this exercise, I’m assuming that Contreras isn’t healthy enough to make the cut. I’m also assuming the Sox carry 14 position players and 12 pitchers, which is what most teams do in the Wild card round.

Let’s take a look.

Catchers

2 Locks: Adley Rutschman, Connor Wong

The Mikey Gasper injury is bad for Red Sox fans and for fans of the poetry of baseball. But for Connor Wong, it may be the thing that got him onto the playoff roster.

Infielders

4 Locks: Caleb Durbin, Trevor Story, Nick Sogard, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Question Marks: Romy Gonzalez, Andruw Monasterio, Curtis Mead, Nate Eaton

With Mickey Gasper having been ruled out and Willson Contreras looking unlikely, the infield bats are suddenly looking pretty weak. And while the importance of defense can be magnified in October, I’m not sure a glove-first infield of Durbin-Story-IKF-Sogard has enough offensive juice in it to take on the Yankees.

Romy Gonzalez has not contributed to this Red Sox season at all. But he’s healthy, he has produced in AAA, and with the Yankees’ tough lefties, he’s needed more than ever. Remarkably, Romy is going to be the primary first baseman this series. And if the 2026 Red Sox have any magic fairy dust left, look for him to be the one sprinkled with it.

I’m expecting Monasterio to make the cut but probably not contribute in any way while Sogard and IKF split duties at second. Nate Eaton’s speed and defensive flexibility make him a mighty tempting option for the last spot on the roster, but he might get passed over in favor of a surprising outfield option.

Outfielders

5: Locks:Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Jaren Duran, Jahmai Jones

Question Marks: Braiden Ward, Nate Eaton

Jones, Anthony, and Duran will cycle through the DH/LF spots.

Does Braiden Ward get the final roster spot and make his MLB debut in the postseason? He’s the closest thing the organization has to a guaranteed stolen base, and as Red Sox fans know, sometimes you really, really need a stolen base in October.

Starting Pitchers

3 Locks: Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez

This is only part of the roster that is written in stone. Thankfully, it’s the most important part of the roster.

Relief Pitchers

6 Locks: Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock,Tyron Guerrero, Brayan Bello, Erik Miller, Greg Weissert

Question Marks: Jake Bennett, Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Jovani Moran, Alec Gamboa, Jedixson Paez, Raymond Burgos

In a short series you don’t need too many arms. The Sox could probably get away with just 8 relievers, but they put 9 relievers on the Wild Card roster last year, so let’s assume they will again this year. That leaves just 3 spots from that group of question marks — and, man, question marks is absolutely the right term to use here.

The left-handed middle relief looks like a potential problem. Jake Bennett got his first taste of bullpen work on Friday and it went down smooth. Given his contributions to the team this year, I think he’ll get the nod. But I’m not sure how the team will use him. He has no experience as a true, one-inning reliever and, since he’ll be called on to start in the next round should they advance, he’ll need to keep his arm stretched out to some degree.

Miller, Gamboa, Moran, and Burgos all have their issues. Miller and Moran have gotten the bulk of the innings, but can we trust either one of them to throw strikes when it counts? If you can’t — and if you’re not sure about using Bennett to get one tough lefty in a tight spot as opposed to throwing multiple innings — then who do you turn to? Maybe there really is a non-romantic need for Garrett Crochet on this roster after all. I’m giving the final three spots to Bennett, Moran, and Crochet. Let’s see what you got in the tank, big man.

As late as Saturday afternoon, the Cubs still had a chance to host Wild Card Series games. Or go to Atlanta to play the Braves.

With the Padres’ win over the Diamondbacks Saturday evening in San Diego, they clinched the top wild card spot over the Cubs. That was San Diego’s 90th win of the year, and the Cubs can now max out at 89 if they win Sunday against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field.

Thus this year’s first postseason series for the Cubs will be a rematch of last year’s series against the Padres, except the venue moves to Petco Park instead of being hosted by the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Cubs won two of three from the Padres in San Diego in April, for whatever that’s worth. Those two wins were the first two of the Cubs’ first 10-game winning streak earlier this year.

So in the end, Sunday’s Cubs/Red Sox game is now meaningless. I would expect the Cubs to rest some regular players and use some relievers who aren’t the high-leverage guys. At the time of this post (8 a.m. CT), neither the Cubs nor the Red Sox had announced a starting pitcher, and it’s possible both teams go with a bullpen game. As always, we await developments.

We got a bit more clarity on some other postseason positioning after Saturday’s games.

In American League games Saturday, the Guardians defeated the Royals and the White Sox lost to the Rockies. Those results clinched the AL Central title for the Guardians and dropped the White Sox into the No. 6 American League seed. Thus Cleveland gets a first-round bye and the White Sox will play the AL West winner on the road.

That winner has yet to be determined. The Astros and Rangers both won Saturday and are tied atop the AL West at 80-81. If they remain tied after Sunday’s games, Houston owns the tiebreaker and will be the AL West champion. Otherwise the team with the better record between Houston and Texas will win that division and host the White Sox in a Wild Card Series. Whoever wins will have the worst record for any division champion in MLB history. This has raised questions about seeding for the postseason, but that’s a topic for another day.

The last undecided Wild Card spot is the No. 6 seed in the National League. The Phillies got blown out by the Rays 12-1 Saturday and are 87-74. As noted above, the Diamondbacks lost to the Padres and are 86-75. If Philadelphia and Arizona are tied at 87-75 after Sunday’s games, the D-backs get the postseason spot because of the second tiebreaker, intradivisional record (they and the Phillies split their season series 3-3). If the Phillies win Sunday, they get the postseason berth. Whoever takes this spot will travel to Atlanta to face the Braves in a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.

None of the Wild Card Series games have starting times yet; I’ll post the full schedule when it’s available, likely this evening.

The St. Louis Cardinals outperformed expectations based on preseason projections but as the season went on, I admit to being disappointed in this season finishing below .500. While it may not have made much difference in the overall standings, the young Cardinals left plenty of meat on the bone in the win column this year. The fWAR numbers tell a different story, but the pitching was the culprit more often than not.

Bullpens are a coin flip the majority of the time, especially in a rebuild, but there seemed to be times the relief corps was treated unfairly. The lack of interest in churning the 12th and 13th pitching spots over to avoid an overworked and seemingly always taxed bullpen. This will likely be addressed in a different way during a contention window, so I am not ready to get too upset over it just yet.

In the starting rotation, opportunities were given according to plan it seems. Dustin May was always going to be a trade piece at the deadline to give way to whichever prospect was knocking on the door. Richard Fitts was injured early, so that put Hunter Dobbins in the spot, who was then lost for the year with elbow surgery. Those injuries along with Matthew Liberatore’s poor year in the rotation mean that there are a couple spots up for grabs in 2027.

Quinn Mathews leads the way in the Cardinals’ future rotation competition

As things stand at the end of the 2026 season, next year’s rotation guarantees spots to Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, and Michael McGreevy. Dobbins was the early lock for the fourth spot, but he will be out most or all of next seasons.There has been little update on Fitts, so the final two spots in the rotation need to be figured out.

Quinn Mathews has gotten the biggest opportunity in the season’s final stretch and has taken full advantage. After last night’s five inning start against the Brewers, Mathews finishing his major league season giving up three runs or fewer in eight of his nine starts. In nearly 50 big league innings, we got the full Mathews experience with strikeouts, walks, unhittable stretches, and the longball. According to Jeff Jones, manager Oliver Marmol said that Mathews will be the McGreevy of this season and is penciled into the rotation.

That still keeps a young rotation that has some upside, but currently lacks a true veteran presence. In what is an attempt at a power ranking for the fifth starting spot, I would rank tradable free agent signee as the leader in the clubhouse. In some world, that could become Dustin May again (how fun), but I also hope the Cardinals get someone with a little more long-term potential. The 2027 season could either be really fun or really painful, so getting a veteran outside of the top-five free agents would be a move I would like to see considered.

Younger arms are probably outside of this spot for St. Louis as those pitchers are more expensive and looking for long-term deals that the Cardinals may not be able to offer. Without looking too far into the free agent list or expected contracts, some names that pop up are Shane Bieber, Patrick Sandoval, Michael Soroka, and Griffin Canning. Not a super interesting list, but potentially a better fit for the 2027 version of the Cardinals.

Beyond FATBNL, the Cardinals would probably like to go internal (cheap) and give a reliever a chance at the rotation or give lower-profile Triple-A arms tryout opportunities. For the relieve transition, the obvious candidate is Gordon Graceffo, who has basically followed Kyle Leahy’s career usage to a T. He has been on a starter’s regimen more recently than when Leahy began his shift, so if Graceffo earns the spot, I would be interested to follow his innings restriction in comparison to Leahy’s.

To cheat and stick with the reliever shift, Cooper Hjerpe will also be in consideration, but I believe he is the leading candidate for the Quinn Mathews treatment this year. Hjerpe missed time with injury and struggled with command in the same way that Mathews did last season. Because of that, I could see him very easily being rotation option six for when there is an extended opportunity in the big league staff.

Sticking with the lower profile options, Cade Winquest could also be an option in the same way that Brycen Mautz may figure into the team’s plans. They could enter spring training in a theoretical competition for the rotation but both become larger pieces of the relief corps instead. The reason I stuck with guys in this tier rather than some more upside prospects is because of the 2027 lockout/work stoppage/strike/whatever is on tap. I would think Jurrangelo Cintnje, Ixan Henderson, and Mason Molina will compete in some way once there is clarity on minor league options and 40-man placement.

There is plenty that can change with this list, but hopefully with the offseason approaching, we will not hear any injury news to cloud their availability for 2027. The biggest question mark is probably the lockout, and I refuse to pay much attention until the season is in jeopardy. In my naivety, I will treat my offseason wishes as if the season is to happen on schedule and that is going to figure into my thoughts and preferences.

The pitching will be one of the larger stories and what the team does with Matthew Liberatore will start to clear some pictures. Libby could easily be in the competition as well and he always shows a flash of something right after I personally write him off.

Let me know your pitching wish list for the offseason and who you want to see round out to the rotation. Thanks as always, it was a pleasure riding the 2026 roller coaster with you!

Alright, it really does come down to today. It shouldn’t, but it does. The Phillies’ magic number is down to 1 and they need either a win or an Arizona loss to back into the playoffs, whether you want them to or not.

So what happens?

Let’s make sure we’re like yesterday and keep the profanity down, but where do we see this finishing? Are the Phillies in the playoffs or are they going home? At least they have Zack Wheeler on the mound to finish it out.