Category: Sports News

The season’s been dead for less than 12 hours, but it’s always good to start reflecting on the year that was when the emotions are fresh, because you’ll probably never feel this strongly about the details of 2026 ever again.

So with that, we’ve got a simple question today: How do you feel about the 2026 Red Sox as a whole? It’s a more complicated question than usual at September’s end given the enormous highs and lows and the uncertainty of what will happen next, but we’ve got plenty of time to ponder it now that we don’t know when Red Sox baseball will be returning next.

For me, the 2026 season is a failure, and a big one! Third place for the third year in a row, failure to win at least 90 games for the fifth year in a row, and failure to bring playoff baseball back to Fenway Park for five years and counting. The season was salvaged from being an even bigger disaster by that remarkable 32-5 summer stretch, but when it ended, the September Red Sox once again became the April, May and most of June Red Sox. They had an offense that wasn’t good enough, a slate full of boring and uninspiring games, and a complete inability to execute in key spots.

But what are your emotions right now? Use this space to let us and the rest of the OTM community know. We’ll be here with you all offseason (however long that lasts into 2027), so make yourself comfortable, and as always, be good to one another.

The playoffs have only just begun, but we have already seen former Washington Nationals make an impact. While the Nats missed the postseason for the 7th straight season, there are a lot of familiar faces to watch. There are players who have not been on the Nats for a long time, but there are also guys who were on the 2026 team.

One of those recent Nats is Luis Garcia Jr., who had a huge night in his first career playoff start. Garcia opened the scoring for the Yankees in the bottom of the 4th inning with a towering solo home run to right field. He got all of a Sonny Gray sweeper and knew it right off the bat.

LUIS GARCIA JR. STARTS THE SCORING FOR THE YANKEES!

His first postseason hit leaves the ballpark 🗽 pic.twitter.com/VG6n29qWDx

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 1, 2026

It would not surprise me if Garcia has a big postseason. In October, you see more velocity and nastier stuff. However, Garcia has never had any issues hitting velocity. He also has a flair for the dramatic. I am happy to see Garcia get a taste of playoff baseball, though I wish he could have done it in DC. There is a chance Garcia becomes a Yankees cult hero this October.

With Garcia’s Yankees eliminating the Red Sox, Curtis Mead will not get a chance to play in October. He was actually added to the roster yesterday after Roman Anthony’s injury. Mead did not get into the game though. After a monster year with the Nats, Mead got hurt in his first game with the Red Sox. We will see what he can do next year because that Mead for Early trade is fascinating.

The other 2026 National who is playing in October is Foster Griffin. We have not gotten to see him yet because the Guardians got a bye. I am curious to see what kind of role Griffin plays for Cleveland in October. He was not as sharp after the trade, but I still think he could be their game 3 starter behind Parker Messick and Gavin Williams.

Yesterday, Griffin’s Guardians learned who they will be playing in the ALDS. The White Sox knocked off the Astros with two convincing wins. There is actually a Nats connection on this White Sox team. Erick Fedde was a first rounder by the Nats back in 2014, but did not have a ton of success in DC.

For most of his career, Fedde has struggled. However, it seems like he turns into a different pitcher when he puts on a White Sox uniform. After going to Korea for a year, Fedde came back with the White Sox and had a phenomenal first half. He was actually part of a three team trade at the 2024 deadline which led to the White Sox acquiring Miguel Vargas, one of their best players.

Fedde was not as good after the trade to the Cardinals. In fact, he got released in 2025 and pitched for 3 different teams. This offseason, he returned to Chicago and pitched to a solid 3.83 ERA in 141 innings. Yesterday, Fedde got the last out of the White Sox first playoff series win since 2005 and was fired up in his playoff debut. While he was on the 2019 Nats, he never actually pitched in the playoffs. Now he is getting his shot.

POP-A-SHOT CHAMP ERICK FEDDE SENDS THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX TO THE ALDS IN HIS POSTSEASON DEBUT pic.twitter.com/XcPHOv9hix

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 1, 2026

As we all know, the Phillies core group is littered with former Nats. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper have been at the top of the Phillies lineup together for years now. Of course, all of those guys spent time in DC. With Harper’s exit from DC and the divisional rivalry, I do not suppose many Nats fans will be rooting for them though.

It looked like Nats fans were going to get a successful hate watch. After the Phillies dropped game one, they were on the verge of elimination yesterday. I know a lot of Nats fans chuckled when Bryce Harper misplayed a ball in the outfield, leading to the Braves taking the lead.

As we know, Bryce has a flair for the dramatic though. In the top of the 8th, Harper tied the game after going back to back with Kyle Schwarber. It was a true postseason moment and it honestly made me miss October baseball in DC.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper combined for 865 feet of home run as the @Phillies battled back with two big blasts

(MLBStats x @googlecloud) pic.twitter.com/QVMtu6UgMp

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 30, 2026

I do not want to be writing this kind of story next year. Hopefully the Nats will be able to knock the Phillies or Braves off their perch and make a playoff run of their own next season. Watching that series, I see two flawed teams who have aging or stale cores. They have enough talent to make a run, but I think the Nats have a window to strike these next couple of years. 

Nationals Park in October is a truly elite atmosphere. I would do anything to get that back. With the way Paul Toboni is building things, I have faith that the Nats can get back to October sooner rather than later. Hopefully I am writing about current Nationals being heroes in the playoffs in 2027, not former ones.

The man the San Diego Padres fanbase dubbed “Dairy Bonds” stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Padres leading 2-1 after the Chicago Cubs scored a run in the top of the inning. Xander Bogaerts hit a one-out double off Cubs starter Kevin Gausman and that knocked the right-hander out of the game. Chicago called on right-hander Daniel Palencia and he got the second out of the inning with a strikeout of Ethan Salas. Austin Hays was scheduled to hit, but San Diego manager Craig Stammen called on Gavin Sheets to pinch-hit and he delivered a two-out, two-run home run that was crushed deep into the right field bleachers to give the Padres a three-run lead en route to a 4-1 win and a series sweep at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

The home run from Sheets caused the fans to erupt and seemed to deflate the Cubs, who struggled on offense throughout the two-game series. Nick Pivetta started the game much like Michael King in the Game 1 win on Tuesday night. Pivetta struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman. Pivetta then got Michael Busch to groundout to get the San Diego offense to the plate.

There were no first-inning dramatics for the Padres in Game 2, but they did break open the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. San Diego was unable to add to its lead until the Sheets home run in the fourth and did not score after, but the four runs were all that were needed by the Padres.

Pivetta pitched into the fourth inning, but allowed a run after a single, a walk and a single and Stammen went to the bullpen for Bradgley Rodriguez. The rookie reliever struck out the first batter he faced, then hit the next batter, but left the bases loaded when he got Dansby Swanson to fly out to Jackson Merrill in center field.

The bullpen took over the game after the fourth. Rodriguez returned to the mound and pitched a scoreless fifth inning and Jason Adam pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Adrian Morejon pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning before Mason Miller came in for the save to close out the game and the series which allowed the Padres to get the win and advance to the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

San Diego will be off Thursday and Friday and will open the NLDS in Milwaukee at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Padres News:

• Joe Musgrove did not disappoint in his return to the Padres, and his one inning of work seemed like a performance pulled from a movie.

• This is the third consecutive season the Padres have made the postseason and Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ballfeels like something is different this time around.

• Ethan Salas started Game 2 for the Padres and became the youngest player ever to catch a postseason game.

• Dennis Lin of The Athletic recapped the memorable moments from San Diego’s Game 1 win over Chicago.

• Former Padres utility man Tyler Wade announced his retirement from MLB.

• As good as the play was on the field, the fans and the stadium took center stage for San Diego in the Wild Card Series.

Baseball News:

• The Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros and got a series win for the first time since 2005.

• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves in extra innings and forced a decisive Game 3.

The New York Yankees knocked off the Boston Red Sox to advance to the second round of the MLB playoffs.

This is a prove-it offseason for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Following a slow collapse in 2025 that resulted in New York being eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season, the club spun out of control early in 2026 and never recovered.

That the failures of the 2026 Mets came after an offseason of drastic change engineered by Stearns has put even more pressure on him to right the ship this offseason.

Speaking in July, owner Steve Cohendiscussed the future of Stearns, who is about to enter the fourth year of the five-year deal he signed before the 2023-24 offseason. While Cohen said the Mets are going to "live that contract out," he added the caveat that there are "no guarantees."

On the day after the season ended, Stearns was reflective and accountable, explaining that he simply had too many misses last offseason and that he's going to learn from it.

Put everything together and it seems fair to believe that Stearns might be more aggressive than usual this offseason, which would likely mean stepping out of his comfort zone of pragmatism and risk mitigation. 

As Stearns looks to take a 74-88 team and turn it into a group of players who can return to the playoffs in 2027, here's a step-by-step plan forward...

Add two starting pitchers, including an ace

Reading between the lines, the Mets might view their starting rotation like this heading into the offseason:

Nolan McLean is a lock, and Christian Scott should be close to a lock. Beyond that, things are up in the air.

It's easy to see Zac Thornton breaking camp as the No. 5 starter, but it's also possible he opens the year in Triple-A Syracuse as incredibly valuable depth. If Thornton meets his goal of adding two-to-three miles per hour to his fastball this offseason, though, it could be hard to justify keeping him down. 

As far as Jonah Tong, manager Andy Green made it pretty clear toward the end of the season that the young right-hander has to pitch himself into the Mets' plans. That means it will be a surprise if he doesn't begin the season in the minors.

Sean Manaea, who is coming off an up-and-down season, is owed $25 million in 2027 in what is the final season of the three-year deal he signed ahead of the 2025 campaign. So it's fair to believe he'll be in the rotation from the jump if he's healthy.

No matter what, the plan should be to add two legitimate rotation pieces this offseason.

One of them should be Tarik Skubal, and here's why.

As far as the other arm, the Mets could turn to a short-term, relatively low cost free agent like Tyler Mahle. It could also make sense to call a team like the Mariners, who could possibly be open to trading from their relative excess of starting pitching.

Go external at first base

During his end-of-season news conference, Stearns talked up Jared Young and Brett Baty as first base options, but also said the plan was to look externally for help. That's a wise idea.

While Young had an impressive campaign in 2026, he does not hit for enough power to profile as the regular first baseman. He also struggles against left-handed pitching.

Baty, who is not a natural first baseman, finished this past season strong but has yet to find consistency during parts of five years in the majors.

If Bo Bichette opts in (which seems to be the likeliest outcome), the Mets will be set at third base, shortstop, and all three outfield spots, making first base perhaps the most sensible spot to try to upgrade.

The pickings are slim in free agency, with Ty France a decent choice. But he's entering his age-32 season and will be coming off a career year that could jack his price up.

If the Mets want to go bold, a pursuit of Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato makes sense.

Sato, who will be entering his age-28 season, had a career-best 1.012 OPS this year for the Hanshin Tigers while smacking 37 homers and 39 doubles in 136 games. There is serious swing-and-miss in Sato's game -- he struck out 156 times this season. But if the Mets feel like his bat will translate well in the majors, he could be a lethal option in the middle of New York's lineup.

In a world where the Mets don't go big at first base, it would make sense to instead add a free agent DH option, with Seiya Suzuki standing out.

Go internal at second base

Despite Marcus Semien being set to make $24 million toward the luxury tax payroll each of the next two seasons, he is not a lock to enter 2027 as the starting second baseman.

That's because Semien's offensive slide continued in 2026 and his defense fell off dramatically, creating a potentially untenable situation.

Aside from Semien, the Mets could theoretically turn to Baty at second base. But the long-term plan there is likely one of New York's highly thought of prospects -- Jefferson Rojas, Mitch Voit, or Émilien Pitre.

All three players could possibly make their big league debut in 2027, and Rojas and Voit have serious upside.

Depending on how Semien plays, it's easy to envision one of the Mets' prospects grabbing the second base job during the first half of the season and never looking back.

Aim high for a free agent reliever

Despite dealing two relievers during their trade deadline sell-off who were under team control beyond 2026 (Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban), the Mets' bullpen is in decent shape.

As things currently stand, the depth chart looks something like this:

Devin Williams
Kodai Senga
Nate Lavender
Daniel Duarte
Dedniel Núñez
Tobias Myers
Austin Warren
Jefry Yan

Williams is coming off a bumpy season, and might be best suited for a setup role. Meanwhile, Senga showed that his fastball-ghost fork combination can play up in relief, but it's impossible to know if a bullpen role would work for him over a full season given his meticulous routines and past health issues.

So the Mets should be aiming to find a closer this offseason.

Fortunately for them, the electric Adrian Morejon is set to be on the free agent market. Morejon, who will be entering his age-28 season, has a four-seamer and two-seamer that both averaged near 100 mph in 2026, and graded out in the 90th percentile or better in in 10 of 12 key metrics tracked by Baseball Savant.

As is the case with Skubal, Stearns would likely have to come out of his comfort zone to land Morejon, who should command a deal of at least four years.

Adding the trio of Skubal, Sato, and Morejon this offseason would be pricey, but the Mets would do so knowing that there will be lots of money coming off the books after 2027. Specifically, Manaea ($25 million), Jorge Polanco ($20 million), and Senga ($15 million) are entering the final year of their respective deals. If Bichette opts out (either this offseason or next), it would free up an additional $42 million.  

Be selectively bold via trade

Following the Mets' moves at the trade deadline, Stearns was open about the possibility that some of the prospects acquired in those trades could be flipped in deals sooner rather than later.

The Mets shouldn't be actively seeking to move on from any specific prospects. However, if one of their infield prospects can be a headliner in a deal for a difference-maker, they shouldn't hesitate.

Depending on how the starting rotation is addressed, the Mets could also potentially use one of their close-to-the-majors pitching prospects in a trade.

Despite all of the things that have gone wrong for the Orioles these last two seasons, one player stands out as a resounding success. Trevor Rogers came to Baltimore in a 2024 trade with the Marlins that, at the time, left many fans scratching their heads. Now, as he is on the precipice of free agency, most would give anything to keep him around a while longer.

Rogers’ brilliance in 2025 is well documented at this point. By the time he stood on a big league mound for the first time that season, the Orioles campaign had already gone sideways. The team had tumbled down the standings, and their manager had been canned. But that didn’t stop him from being, arguably, the best pitcher in the league from late May through the end of the year. Across 18 starts he compiled 1.81 ERA over 109.2 innings, even earning some down-ballot Cy Young consideration.

That performance earned Rogers the designation of Orioles Opening Day starter and de facto “staff ace” going into the 2026 season, ahead of a healthy Kyle Bradish and the recently acquired and extended Shane Baz. The hope was that this trio would lead the O’s back to the postseason, where they would be a tough matchup for any offense.

Obviously, the postseason part of the outlook never materialized. And there was certainly room for improvement from Rogers, which will be discussed. But in general, the big, lanky lefty was pretty darn good again for this Orioles team.

Rogers’ top line numbers for the season are pedestrian. Over 169.2 innings he had a 4.03 ERA, 101 ERA+ and went 10-11 across 30 starts. His bWAR for the year sat at just 2.2. Not bad. Not great.

But digging deeper reveals that Rogers’ struggles were almost entirely confined to a six-week span of the season. From April 14 through May 29, he had a 10.01 ERA over 29.2 innings and seven starts. In that span he struck out 14 while walking 13 and allowing eight home runs. He also had an IL stint in that time that ran from April 26 through May 11 for the flu. It’s reasonable to wonder how that sickness had been impacting him in the starts leading up to the IL stay, and then how long it took for him to truly feel like he was 100%.

His first three starts of the year were impressive. He tossed seven shutout innings on Opening Day against the Twins, and then allowed four runs total over his next two outings, which spanned 12 innings. Then came the aforementioned slump. The month of May saw his walk rate spike to 9.2%, his strikeout rate fall to 12.6%, and just about every other metrics you could imagine trended in the wrong direction.

Starting in June through the end of the season, however, Rogers was back to being nearly as good as he was for all of 2025. He tossed 121 innings and made 20 starts in the final four months of the season, pitching to a 2.90 ERA/2.89 FIP over that time with 119 strikeouts, 21 walks, and 11 home runs allowed. He saw batters swing and miss more often month to month, peaking at 28.2% in the month of September. He walked fewer and fewer, giving up free passes just 1.7% of the time in the season’s final month. And gave up weaker and weaker contact, once again reaching his best mark right at the end of the season.

So, what happened? Most noticeable was a change in velocity. Rogers added three ticks to his fastball as the season wore on, from an average of 90.5 mph in April to 93.4 mph in September. Much of that improvement was seen early on, from April to May, but he even added one mph from May through the end of the season.

Other characteristics of his pitches saw improvement throughout the year as well. That includes spin rate. Each of his offerings added spin from the April/May timeframe through the end of the season.

Perhaps because of the added velocity and spin, Rogers felt more confident and got more aggressive throughout the season. In April, just 44.2% of his pitches were in the strike zone. That number crept up throughout the year, peaking at 56.4% in July but staying right about there and finishing at 55.3% in September.

It’s a formula that seems simple on paper. Throw harder. Be more deceptive. Pound the strike zone. But it only works if the pitcher has the right kind of “stuff” to keep opposing hitters off balance. Rogers, when he is on his game, is capable of doing just that.

That is why back in early August, it seemed like Rogers would be one of the most logical Orioles players to get traded at the deadline. The team had failed to live up to expectations again, and had admitted as much when they moved on from Adley Rutschman and Tyler Wells, two players under team control for 2027. They also dealt Taylor Ward, a pending free agent. So it stood to reason that Rogers, a left-handed starter worthy of pitching postseason innings and out of contract in just a few months, would be an easy one to move, and it’s possible that the Orioles would have gotten a decent haul in return.

But the hours ticked away. Rumors connecting him to other teams were almost non-existent. And when the deadline passed, he remained in Baltimore. Rogers himself was surprised, saying at the time “Honestly, I was waiting for the call.” Yeah, join the club, Trevor.

Why exactly the Orioles made that decision remains unclear. Mike Elias has said several times, including at his season-ending press conference, that the team “would love for [Rogers] to stay,” which is the same thing he said about Rutschman just weeks before sending him to a division rival.

Now, it should be said that holding onto Rogers did help the Orioles stay in mathematical contention for a playoff spot right up until the final week of the season. Without him, the final few weeks of the season would have been less interesting. But it would have been more consistent with the team’s overall approach to the deadline to trade Rogers for prospects and then seek him back out in free agency if they love him so much. Instead, they likely have to settle for draft pick compensation if/when he signs elsewhere.

Rogers has been reciprocal in his appreciation of the franchise. He said in late September that he “would love to be back here.” Back in July he said that “[The Orioles] are going to be number one on my list. Whether they’ve heard it or not heard it, they know how much I like it here.”

That is all very nice to hear, and it seems genuine. But what most often happens in these situations is that the player signs with the team that offers the most money. The Orioles were aggressive last offseason, signing Pete Alonso to a big contract and reportedly pushing the Phillies to best their offer to Kyle Schwarber before that. Starting pitching has been something that Elias has preferred to trade for, while free agent arms tend to settle for one-year deals in Baltimore. Pushing to re-sign Rogers would be a deviation of their norms, though it is easy enough to argue that the front office is due for a different approach anyway. And it does seem as though the Orioles were serious about re-signing Corbin Burnes ahead of the 2025 season, though they were never particularly close to a reunion there.

Speculation about what sort of deal Rogers can expect this offseason is difficult at this point. Some of the biggest spenders are still playing games right now, and the ongoing labor discussions add an opacity to what is possible. Last offseason saw 30-year-old Ranger Suárez ink a five-year, $130 million deal with Boston while 32-year-old Framber Valdez got three years, $115 million from the Tigers. Rogers, who will play the entire 2027 season as a 29-year-old, lacks the track record of those two, but is younger and has been great lately, so it is possible ends up in that same neighborhood.

This was an important season for Rogers. Hitting the open market after one solid season is nice, but it looks even better as a follow-up to his 2025 campaign. On top of that, the 169.2 innings he threw were a career high, and it seemed like he was getting stronger as the year went on. The offseason ahead is an uncertain one for everyone associated with Major League Baseball, but regardless Rogers has set himself up to get a nice deal heading into the 2027 campaign, and if he does it will mean the Orioles have a massive void to fill.

Last week, I released my 2026 Twins Minor League Awards, so go check that out if you haven’t! This week, I am continuing to recognize the top performers in the Twins organization with an all-system team, building a roster of the top minor league performers in the Twins system this season.

In order to qualify for a certain position, the player must have played at least a third of their games at the position this season. Players must still have prospect status and be under the age of 27.

Position Players

Catcher: Khadim Diaw (A+, AA)

476 PA | .306/.417/.452 | 130 wRC+ | 9 HR | 14 SB

First Base:JP Smith II (A, A+)

443 PA | .235/.359/.450 | 112 wRC+ | 22 HR | 8 SB

Second Base: Ramiro Dominguez (A, A+)

450 PA | .239/.351/.413 | 105 wRC+ | 12 HR | 27 SB

Third Base:Brandon Winokur (A+, AA)

575 PA | .252/.337/.427 | 96 wRC+ | 21 HR | 30 SB

Shortstop: Marek Houston (A+, AA)

554 PA | .312/.392/.455 | 120 wRC+ | 12 HR | 50 SB

Outfield: Walker Jenkins (A, A+, AAA, MLB)

324 PA | .323/.417/.559 | 151 wRC+ | 14 HR | 17 SB

Outfield: Luis Fragoza (FCL, A, A+)

339 PA | .313/.408/.542 | 148 wRC+ | 14 HR | 24 SB

Outfield: Caden Kendle (FCL, A+, AA)

349 PA | .330/.407/.572 | 146 wRC+ | 16 HR | 19 SB

Utility: Ben Ross (AA, AAA, MLB)

502 PA | .273/.379/.500 | 125 wRC+ | 20 HR | 20 SB

Many of these guys were talked about constantly throughout the season, but I wanted to highlight 19-year-old Ramiro Dominguez, who was able to hang in Single-A this season after successful rookie ball campaigns in 2024 and 2025. He is a smaller guy at 5’9” who runs well and covers a lot of ground with sound infield defense. There is limited raw power, but Dominguez combines above-average contact rates with elite AirPull rates, allowing him to hit 12 homers and 26 doubles this season as a teenager.

While all of the outfielders played under 100 games, their complete dominance at the plate was impossible to ignore. They are all at different stages of their careers, with Luis Fragoza putting his name on the map in Single-A, Caden Kendle breaking out in Double-A, and Walker Jenkins making the majors and continuing to look like the elite prospect he was drafted as. There was less offensive production from the infield group, but they provide a lot of value in the speed and defense departments. Khadim Diaw continues to look like a big league prospect with potential for a fun catcher/outfield utility profile and a steady, reliable bat.

Pitchers

Starting Pitcher: RHP Merit Jones (A, A+)

112.1 IP | 4.17 ERA | 4.54 FIP | 117 K, 43 BB

Starting Pitcher: RHP Riley Quick (A, A+, AA)

81.2 IP | 4.74 ERA | 4.94 FIP | 110 K, 48 BB

Starting Pitcher: RHP Adrian Bohorquez (FCL, A+, AA)

59.2 IP | 3.02 ERA | 3.92 FIP | 69 K, 32 BB

Starting Pitcher: RHP Justin Mitrovich (A, A+)

73.2 IP | 3.42 ERA | 3.39 FIP | 83 K, 37 BB

Starting Pitcher: RHP Reed Moring (A, A+)

83.0 IP | 3.58 ERA | 4.10 FIP | 86 K, 28 BB

Relief Pitcher: RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto (A+, AA, AAA)

70.0 IP | 3.73 ERA | 3.62 FIP | 95 K, 26 BB

Relief Pitcher: RHP Michael Hilker (A, A+)

64.1 IP | 2.86 ERA | 4.08 FIP | 73 K, 27 BB

Relief Pitcher: RHP Mitch Mueller (A, A+, AA)

62.2 IP | 4.45 ERA | 4.00 FIP | 79 K, 22 BB

The pitching side of the organization lacked big names as some of the top arms spent most of the season in the majors, while others dealt with injuries. Merit Jones wasn’t talked about much, but he put together a rock solid season on huge volume in his first year as a pro. He led the system in innings pitched at 112.1 and racked up 107 strikeouts, and he is a fastball away from having legitimate MLB starter stuff. Justin Mitrovich and Reed Moring showed plenty of promise in their first professional season, both possessing an intriguing mix of stuff and pitchability. Riley Quick and Adrian Bohorquez have work to do in the command department, but they both showed off some of the most dominant stuff in the organization.

On the reliever side, Paulshawn Pasqualotto was one of the most dominant pitchers in the org, striking out 32.9% of batters. Michael Hilker’s outlier fastball with elite carry in the low 90s carried him to a 2.75 ERA in Single-A. Mitch Mueller ran out of gas in the final weeks, but he previously looked unhittable at High-A and Double-A in his first year of full-season ball. None of these guys came into the pros with expectations, but they are building successful professional careers and all have a real chance to make it to the majors.

Ahhh, late September. There’s really nothing like it. The kids are back at school, the Browns aren’t dead yet (sometimes), Tom Hamilton’s voice gives me the chills much like the end of summer breeze does and I’m a week away from dusting off my Fall collection of hoodies and jeans (even though I’ll be ready for sleeves and then get hammered with 85 for a week straight and I sweat my tail off one last time before the season changes). A tradition like no other!

In recent years, we’ve added a tradition to this time of year. A heightened defense system and need for historical accuracy. It hasn’t really come from us though, has it? No this tradition comes from our neighbors. Some right across Lake Eerie, many much further North, but more recently, a thirsty crowd 350 miles West.

Brayan Rocchio has hit CLE’s 103rd walk-off home run in the Progressive Field/Jacobs Field era. 📊

CLE has 11 more walk-off HR than any MLB team since 1994 (Athletics, 92).

MAGIC at the corner of Carnegie & Ontario. 🪄#GuardsBall | @CleGuardianspic.twitter.com/RY4tjf6066

— Luke Potosky (@LukePotosky) July 3, 2026

That’s right, it’s the time of year when the rest of the AL Central starts to whine about the Cleveland Guardians. “Oh they’re so lucky, they play a disgusting brand of baseball, just look at that run differential, BLARGHAGHRHH”. And while I could write an entire article on why the team thats won this division 4 of the last 5 years including 3 straight is probably more “good team” than just lucky every year, I’d rather actually just look at the history of this division. Because one number has been discovered by our Southside friends in their pursuit to “GOTCHA” us…

“1948”

Congratulations! The ultimate trump card! And what does that win him Johnny?!?! A shorter conversation!

Well done White Sox fans. You’ve discovered the fact that Cleveland is currently riding the longest World Series draught in MLB. And YOU, yes you of all fan bases, think it’s the conversation ender. The Ace up the sleeve. The Triple Dog Dare Ya, if you will. If there’s any talk going on, any smack or trash or linguistics if any kind that you don’t like, the fans of the franchise that has won 3 Playoff series in 100 years (thats right, 2005 is quite literally all you have but we will get to that later) and went through an even longer stretch waiting for their’s can just say “1948” and that should do it. We just have to stop talking on the spot because even though none of us have won recently, ours is further back. Forget all the times with a winning record, making the Playoffs or winning the division. To get Cleveland fans, the ONLY thing that matters is Ring culture. From a White Sox Fan!

Sorry, but I just don’t agree. It’s one thing if you’re the defending Champ and you want to talk the talk. Be my guest! You earned it. But the Royals just left the 10 year threshold and the Sox just passed 20. Hardly a position to be in when telling us to kiss the ring, right?

Now, I don’t make the rules on who is allowed to talk what. Recently I’ve seen people suggest you can’t talk if it didn’t happen in your life. There’s definitely some merit to that, but also a lot of weird crossovers. Like, a 22 year old ChiSox fan can talk trash to a 22 year old Angels fan, but the younger 20 year old ChiSox fan can’t talk that to him, especially when the 30 year old Angels fan is about to enter the chat? Not to mention, if this is being done online (where most of the trash talk exists), there’s rarely any rules or curtesy anyway.

So, what logical argument ~should~ you bring to the table when discussing ball with Neanderthals (note, I’m not calling all these fans Neanderthals, just the ones that won’t carry a conversation or argument past four digits)?… How about facts? The stats? The complete history of the AL Central- the one crown the five* of us fight for every summer for 162** games since 1995***?

(***Note, technically the AL Central began in 1994. But since that season was shortened by a Strike we won’t count that- even if all signs were pointing towards a division title (2nd and charging at the time).***)

(**Twice in this span we did not see 162 games thanks to shortened seasons, 144 in 1995 and 60 in 2020, not to mention any season ending with 161 games thanks to rain outs and no reason to make them up**)

(*Also Note: the Tigers joined the division, taking Milwaukee’s place, 3 years after the others, so they will have less chances to win it, and thus, deserve that one note on the record*)

So, Guardians fans, here are 5 other spoons of sugar you can deliver your divisional friends and foes to help their medicine go down.

5- Identifier of Good vs Bad: a .500 record

This is hardly a show stopper or even conversation starter, but it’s a little tidbit that could help slow the roll of a nasty uneducated youngling. Cleveland has gone .500 or better in the AL Central 22 times in the 32 year history, over 2/3 of the time. Chicago is actually the next closest with 16, Minnesota shortly after with 15 (both .500 or better about half the time) while Detroit and Kansas City bring up the rear at 11 and 7, respectively.

Again, this isn’t the Hammer in the argument. But it’s simply a nice reminder that one of these teams gives their fans winning baseball 2 out of every 3 years, and when you play 162 of these a year and just want to follow a team thats competing all summer, thats a great start.

4- When are we awful?

Let’s face it, a big part of the baseball season is just giving us something to watch. I can’t imagine going into a year like, no offense, the Marlins or Rockies do all the time, where you just know you’re gonna be bad. Seriously, I can’t imagine it because the Guardians have never finished last in the division. In fact, they haven’t even finished in 4th since the Manny Acta days. That’s right, Cleveland has the least amount of both 4th and 5th place finishes in the division. Bottoming out in Cleveland is a few games under .500 and finishing in 3rd place while the next wave of young talent gets their feet wet. It’s a great spot to be in and one no one else can relate to.

Last place finishes;

CLE-0

CWS-3

MIN-8

DET-8

KC-13

Fourth place finishes;

CLE-5

DET-5

MIN-6

CWS-7

KC-8

Bottom line here is that in addition to the success, Guardians are rarely giving you a summer not worth watching. Which, ya know, is pretty cool.

3- The 90 Win season

I think this is a SUPER underrated one. Even though there are a few outliers (2000, 2005 and 2019 Tribe alone) 90 wins is typically the breaking point for a really good team, and back when we had 4 Playoff spots, was typically a must-have for October baseball. Now, things have changed a bit, but the 90 win mark is still one I strive for each year, knowing that it’ll typically mean a really good team from start to finish.

And in the Central, this is one mark the Guardians OWN over everyone else

90 Win Seasons:

CLE-14

MIN-6

DET-4

CWS-4

KC-1

The Guardians at 14 are just one shy of the rest of the division combined, at 15. They even won 100 games in a season that was shortened to 144 games. This is so uncompetitive in the division, that the only real competition for year-in-year-out top success would be the Yankees and Red Sox in the entire American League. Boston has 1 more such season than the Guardians have at 15; Yankees have the most with 23.

2- Playoff appearances & Series won

This one can be a little tricky, as while Cleveland is yet again dominant in this area, this is where you get into the frustrating part of the conversation.

In the 32 years since having at least 3 divisions Winners and a Wild Card make the Playoffs, the Guardians lead the way with 16 Playoff appearances. They’re also ahead in playoff series wins, suggesting not only do they make the playoffs a lot (literally every other year) but they aren’t having empty runs of in-and-out.

American League Central in the Playoffs

Just in case anyone wants to talk luck pic.twitter.com/xWq54hlpRs

— #TheJAKE (@JakerBrahney) September 30, 2026

Side note- it’s remarkable how the teams with a ring in this division would be the last ones you’d guess mathematically to have one. Credit to the Royals and White Sox, for taking advantage when they did get there. But outside of those very brief windows they have almost no success at all. Like I mentioned earlier, the White Sox 3 series wins all came in 2005, that is, unless they take care of business in Houston tonight…

1- American League Central Titles

Voila, the crowning achievement of the Cleveland Guardians and formerly Indians. They have won this division 14 times when the next closest is Minnesota with 9.

Let's relive the division title just one more time. 😏#GuardsBall | #StandGuardpic.twitter.com/XYm1w8pGNz

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 28, 2026

Finishes by team, in order 1st-5th

Cleveland: 14, 7, 6, 5, 0

Minnesota: 9, 5, 4, 6, 8

Chicago: 4, 11, 7, 7, 3

Detroit: 4, 6, 6, 5, 8

Kansas City: 1, 3, 7, 8, 13

Many will probably laugh at this because winning the division is just step one (sometimes an unnecessary step with the wild card) towards the ultimate goal, but you cannot tell me that these things don’t matter. Did you see the faces of those Guardians popping champagne? It’s been 3 years running of this stuff for some of them and it is still not old at all. They put their bodies on the line and their lives on hold so they can play 162 games a summer. It’s a commitment unlike any other in North American sports and they should be rewarded for being the best at it amongst their rivals. I know the other fanbases enjoy it when they finally get the chance! Even if that’s a ways back…

So what does this all mean? I throw a bunch of meaningless stats out there that would suggest this team has somewhere between 2-4 rings in the last 32 years, and yet, we are still without one in probably all of our lifetimes. Is it fair? No, not really, but that’s sports. All it means to me is that, we get to root for a team that is constantly positioning themselves TO win it. So even though it doesn’t or hasn’t worked out for us yet, we are spoiled to have a team that’s always doing what it takes to get to the Dance, even if we still haven’t taken home the date. And when the day comes when it does happen, it’ll be so much sweeter. Hopefully Tom Hamilton will be on that call as well.

It's been impossible to sleep ! Flashbacks of that David Fry home run keep hitting me like a freight train. INJECT THE HAMMY CALL STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS !!! #ForTheLandpic.twitter.com/IQJs0ftm7o

— Mike (@MIKE_CAVS_UK) October 18, 2024

When the Chicago Cubs began the 2026 season 27-12, a stretch that included two 10-game winning streaks, many of us thought, “Hey — maybe this year can be something special.”

Well. You know what happened after that. A 10-game losing streak. Injuries. Guys not producing. The bullpen imploding multiple times. After 27-12, they were just 62-61 — one game worse than the Marlins over that span. Sheesh.

And then, a Wild Card Series in which the Cubs offense pretty much vanished. That’s the story of Game 2, a 4-1 loss to the Padres that eliminated the Cubs from the 2026 postseason, almost as if they weren’t even there to begin with.

I could end this recap right there, because what more is there to say, really?

Nevertheless, you come here for game recaps and since this was the last Cubs game of 2026, let’s look at what happened.

One pitch into the bottom of the first inning, the Cubs were already ahead of Game 1 because, well, Fernando Tatis Jr. did not hit Kevin Gausman’s first pitch out of the yard. So, progress?

That progress lasted one inning. In the second, Ty France doubled and stopped at third on a single by Jackson Merrill. Xander Bogaerts singled in France, with Merrill stopping at third, where he scored on a sacrifice fly by Ethan Salas. Incidentally, Salas, who won’t turn 21 until next June, became the youngest catcher ever to appear in a MLB postseason game, breaking the record set by Atlanta catcher Bob Didier in 1969.

The 2-0 score is where the game stayed until the top of the fourth, when the Cubs finally broke through onto the board for the first time in this series.

Seiya Suzuki hit a one-out single and Ian Happ walked.

Nico Hoerner’s single up the middle scored Suzuki to make it 2-1 [VIDEO].

So, down by only one run in the fourth inning, with two runners still on base and only one out? Maybe the Cubs offense could get going here?

It was not to be, although after Matt Shaw struck out, Carson Kelly was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Dansby Swanson flied to center to end the inning.

About that single run, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs did not score for the first 12.1 innings of this series.

That is the longest they ever have gone without scoring from the start of a post-season series. They were shut out in Game 1 of three previous series.

In the 1918 World Series vs. the Red Sox and 2015 Division Series vs. the Cardinals, they scored with one out in the second inning of Game 2.

In the 2016 World Series, they scored with one out in the first inning of Game 2.

The one-run deficit did not last long. Gausman struck out Merrill to start the fourth, but Bogaerts then doubled. Craig Counsell opted to bring in Daniel Palencia, who struck out Salas.

Then the Padres sent up Gavin Sheets to bat for Austin Hays. Sheets entered this game with career numbers of .297/.348/.484 with three home runs in 69 plate appearances against the Cubs during the regular season. You could have seen this coming all the way from San Diego to Chicago [VIDEO].

Palencia then hit Jake Cronenworth with a pitch, and the San Diego crowd booed as if that had been intentional; clearly, it was not — Palencia was just struggling with command.

The score might have been worse if not for this nice grab by Pete Crow-Armstrong off Tatis to end the inning [VIDEO].

So at least we got a nice defensive memory from PCA from this series, even as his offense was silent — 0-for-7 with four strikeouts in the series.

That fourth inning was basically it. Palencia, David Peterson and Ryan Zeferjahn held the Padres scoreless the rest of the way, four combined shutout innings with four strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Cubs had just three more baserunners after the fourth. Michael Busch walked with two out in the fifth. Tyrone Taylor, batting for Busch, singled with one out in the eighth but was erased when Suzuki hit into a double play. Nico Hoerner doubled with one out in the ninth but was stranded. The Cubs went 1-for-8 with RISP in this game. If they’d hit in those situations would the result have been any different? I’m thinking probably not.

These two games in San Diego were a hallmark of this team, just as the offensive outbursts that had the 2026 Cubs lead MLB in runs also were. It was a real feast-or-famine season — long stretches where the offense could do no wrong, and others where the hitters just did not show up at all.

Here’s PCA on the season-ending loss [VIDEO].

Here are some postgame remarks from Alex Bregman [VIDEO].

Bregman, whose previous postseason performance was one of the reasons the Cubs signed him, went 0-for-8 in this series with four strikeouts.

Lastly, here are Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks [VIDEO].

Would the result of this series have been any different if the Cubs had won two more regular-season games and had home field? Probably not; it’s clear by watching these two games that the Padres were on a roll, which began over the last three weeks of the regular season and carried over into this series. Further, it’s very likely that weather would have been a major factor. It rained all day and evening in Chicago Wednesday and it’s still raining here early Thursday morning, which could have thrown scheduling for this series into chaos. In the end, this Cubs team just wasn’t good enough to move on, and you know the reasons, mostly pitching — injuries and ineffectiveness from both starters and relievers. The offense was great — until it wasn’t.

More on the offense from John:

In the two games of this series, the Cubs were 8 for 62, a batting average of .129. That is lower than in any of their 22 previous post-season series since 1901.

They batted .140 in the one-game Wild Card loss in 2018 and .145 in their two-game WC loss in 2020.

Other seasons below .200:
.168 in 2017 (10 games)
.181 in 1998 (3 games)
.194 in 2007 (3 games)
.196 in 1906 (6 games)

They batted .233 in 17 games when they won the World Series in 2016.

These are things that Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer will have to address this offseason, and that brings me to the upcoming uncertainty. Normally when a Cubs season ends, I’d tell you the next date we will see a Chicago Cubs team on the field the following year. They are scheduled to take the field Friday, Feb. 19, 2027 against the A’s at Ho Ho Kam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. But with a looming owners’ lockout likely happening when the current MLB/MLBPA collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, there’s no guarantee that the 2027 Spring Training schedule — or regular season schedule — will be played as currently listed.

And so we wait. For developments, as is often said here.

In the meantime, stick around. We’ll have game threads here for all the remaining postseason games, including tonight’s decisive Phillies/Braves Game 3, which will begin at 7 p.m. CT (game thread will post at 6 p.m. CT). And of course, we’ll cover all the MLB offseason labor news and other baseball news here.

As is my custom, I will wrap my last game recap of the year by quoting from the late Commissioner Bart Giamatti’s “The Green Fields of the Mind” — quite appropriate today with the Chicago area weather.

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

The Phillies managed to force a decisive Game 3 in their Wild Card series with the Braves thanks in large part to a Herculean start from Cristopher Sánchez and a downright incredible performance from Andrew Painter out of the bullpen. Thanks to the efforts of those two, the entire Phillies bullpen is likely available for tomorrow’s win or go home Game 3. The use of Painter in relief is also a preview of the type of strategy the Phillies will use today.

Aaron Nola will likely be the Phillies starter, but he won’t be the only one to appear at some point in the game. Zack Wheeler will almost assuredly be available on three days rest and could theoretically even be an option to start, although Nola has never appeared out of the bullpen and Wheeler has postseason experience doing so, making the latter the likely candidate to be used in relief. After those two, the Phillies should have Alex McFarlane and Jhoan Duran available, although the former’s status is uncertain after appearing in both games so far and the length of which the latter can go is unknown after his long appearance in Game 1. They also will have the likes of Tim Mayza and Jonathan Bowlan, although the latter has not pitched since injuring his groin a few weeks ago. They may even have Painter who could possibly face a few batters after throwing 37 pitches yesterday.

There is a path to 27 outs there, but it will call for more creativity like the Phillies showed yesterday. So, how would you deploy the Phillies pitching today in Game 3?