Sep 22, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Quinn Mathews (60) and Cooper Hjerpe (56) walk on the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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.
Oli Marmol this afternoon did not push back much on the idea that Quinn Mathews exits this season in much the same place Michael McGreevy exited last season. That is to say, if not an incumbent in the rotation entering spring, just a whisper short. Team feels he's earned that.
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.
I think the #STLCards already know who their next Kyle Leahy is
The usage trend for Gordon Graceffo is near identical to Leahy's before his move to the rotation pic.twitter.com/7Vypv6cPE3
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!
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.
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 11: Garrett Crochet #35 of the Boston Red Sox talks to the media prior to the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday, September 11, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joe Sullivan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
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
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.
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.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: Ronny Mauricio #0 of the New York Mets celebrates a solo home run in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Meet the Mets
In the penultimate game of a season to forget, the Mets had themselves a satisfying 7-1 victory over the Nationals. Jonah Tong pitched five innings of one-run ball while striking out nine, and the Amazins slugged three homers—including two from Ronny Mauricio, one from both sides of the plate.
“He’s been great, probably my favorite manager to play for,” said Bo Bichette about Andy Green. The installment of Green as the permanent manager may play a role in Bichette’s decision whether to opt out, writes Max Goodman of NJ.com.
The Phillies, hanging onto their playoff lives, got pummeled by the Rays 12-1 at Citizens Bank Park. However, the Diamondbacks remained one game behind Philadelphia by losing to the Padres 10-7 in a wild back-and-forth affair in San Diego. By winning, the Padres secured the No. 4 seed in the NL and will host the Cubs in the Wild Card Series. Meanwhile, the Phillies’ postseason hopes come down to the season’s final day. If either the Phillies win or the Diamondbacks lose, the Phillies will hold onto the final Wild Card spot in the NL. If the Diamondbacks win and the Phillies lose today, the Diamondbacks will snatch the last playoff berth from the Phillies.
The Texas Rangers placed third baseman Josh Jung on the 10-day injured list with a broken right hand yesterday with two games remaining in the regular season. He was hit in the hand by Twins starter Joe Ryan in yesterday’s game.
With an 11-5 victory over the Royals yesterday, the Guardians clinched the AL Central—their third straight division title.
In a historic moment, Christian Yelich was named captain of the Brewers.
Well folks, the final game of the 2026 regular-season schedule has finally arrived.
On Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates will face off at Comerica Park for the final time this year, officially marking the end of summer for Major League Baseball fans. The good guys have already won the first two games against their designated interleague rivals and are looking to complete the sweep in front of the home crowd.
For Detroit, right-hander River Ryan will make his second start wearing the Olde English D, while fellow righty Jared Jones makes the 21st of his sophomore campaign. The latter has had a spectacular September, posting a 1.08 ERA and 0.78 FIP over his last four games stretching across 25 innings, allowing 12 hits and four walks while striking out an eye-popping 35 batters en route to three personal wins; his team lost the fourth.
Take a look below at how they match up as we prepare to say goodbye to the current campaign.
Detroit Tigers (76-85) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (81-80)
Time (ET): 3:10 p.m. ET Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:Bucs Dugout Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 162: RHP River Ryan (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Jared Jones (5-6, 3.87 ERA)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Blake Snell #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the first inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants on September 26, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After a long marathon to the finish line, the Dodgers wrap up their regular season Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants, looking to win their 100th game for the first time since 2023.
On the penultimate game of the season, Blake Snell wrapped up his final tune-up on Saturday, tossing four shutout innings while striking out three and not allowing a walk in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win over the Giants. It was Snell’s first start since exiting early against the Cincinnati Reds on September 16, but Saturday proved that Snell is ready for October, with added extra time being a an added bonus for the left-hander.
There were some issues that only limited Snell to less than half of Saturday’s contest, but he is looking forward to at least a week’s worth of rest to perfect his craft heading into October, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“Really encouraged by it, and just happy to get my legs underneath and get going and completely move past the groin,” Snell said. “I mean, it felt great today, and the velo was good. And was inconsistent — I’ve got to figure my body out a little more, but I got a week to do so, and I’m really looking forward to that.”
Shohei Ohtani has performed decently over his four games since being activated off the injured list, but the team is optimistic that the best is yet to come, per Mirjam Swanson of the Los Angeles Times.
“I hope that’s a sign of things to come,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Even … taking the first slider from Robbie Ray [on Wednesday] for a ball got him into a good count. Whereas the last couple weeks, [it was] really hair on fire, swinging and chasing. It’s a hard way to make a living that way, right?”
Both Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott are lock-ins for the postseason bullpen, with the former hoping to revamp his ferocity out of the bullpen and the latter looking to make his first big statement with the Dodgers in the postseason, per Dylan Hernandez of the California Post.
Per Scott: “October is about winning every single game. It really doesn’t matter what roles you get asked to do. Just go out there and do it.”
Devin Carter is a second-generation NBA player. His father, Anthony Carter, was a basketball journeyman who put together a thirteen-year career in the NBA playing for six different teams. Anthony got into coaching right after retirement, moving through the G-League, with stops in Austin, Sacramento and finally Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where his work as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat-affiliated Skyforce got him a promotion to the parent organization as a player development coach. He’s now with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Devin grew up on the move along with his family, starting his high school career in Greenwood Village, Colorado on the outskirts of Denver, before transferring to Doral Academy Prep in Doral Florida, when his family relocated to Florida following his father’s hiring as a player development coach with the Heat.
Doral Prep is located in the Miami-Dade metro, and is publicly funded. It is not, contrary to what its name may suggest, a private basketball factory. In fact, Devin Carter is the school’s only notable basketball alum. Carter joined the team the year after they won a state basketball championship, and was an early contributor.
SACRAMENTO, CA – JANUARY 3: Assistant Coach Anthony Carter of the Memphis Grizzlies and Devin Carter #22 of the Sacramento Kings look on prior to the game on January 3, 2025 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
As a 16-year-old junior, he made a mark at the A-Rod Classic in December 2018, when Doral Academy won the tournament by beating The Rock 46-45, with Carter scoring a whopping 32 of the team’s 46 points. He was also named the tournament MVP. A week later, he led Doral with 37 of the team’s 60 points in a 60-48 win over Miami Springs. In February he scored 30 of 49 for Doral as they beat Belen in the state tournament for their 52nd consecutive win. His stats that year, 25.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game, led to him receiving honors as Florida’s Player of the Year for his school’s classification.
Carter had been recruited by the University of South Carolina, whose coach was good friends with Jorge Fernandez, the boys’ basketball coach at Doral Prep, but he had drawn little interest from other major programs, and had not signed a letter of intent during the early signing period of his senior year. Devin was, nonetheless, enjoying a stellar season when he suffered a shoulder injury in February of 2020. Carter’s scoring average had jumped from 25.7 points per game to 28.8 in his senior campaign to go along with 8.7 rebounds per game.
In an effort to build his skills and draw interest on the college front, Carter opted to take a post-graduate year at the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The Brewster Academy is a small school located in rural New Hampshire near Lake Winnipesaukee and the Maine border, about a hundred miles north of Boston. The academy dates back to 1820 and offers instruction to students from grades nine through 12, as well as offering post-graduate instruction, typically for individuals looking to raise their athletic profile.
Tuition along with room and board for a year of post-graduate instruction at Brewster is an eye-watering $80,800. In exchange for that, students get access to a 50,000 square foot athletic facility with a 200-meter indoor track. Its most notable basketball alum is Donovan Mitchell.
Coming out of Brewster, Carter had jumped into the top-100 recruit lists at ESPN, Rivals.com, and 247Sports.com.
Ultimately, Carter enrolled at South Carolina, the school that had shown the earliest interest in his game. He was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team in 2021-22. He played in 30 of the team’s 32 games, drawing seven starts and averaging 9 points and 3.8 rebounds. When Frank Martin, who had recruited Carter, was fired after his freshman season, Devin entered the transfer portal and landed at Providence.
ASHEVILLE, NC – NOVEMBER 14: South Carolina Gamecocks guard Devin Carter (23) draws contact from Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard Josh Anderson (4)while driving to the lane during the South Carolina Gamecocks versus the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers game in the Asheville Championship on November 14, 2021 at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
With the Friars, Carter leaped into a starting role. Over the next two seasons he started all 66 of the Friars’ games. As a sophomore, he was an All-Big East honorable mention, and was named All-District 1 by the USBWA. He averaged 13 points per game and 4.9 rebounds. He also averaged 1.8 steals per game, and 1.1 blocks per game as the Friars drew an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, losing to Kentucky in the first round.
At the end of his sophomore season, Carter’s coach at Providence, Ed Cooley, jumped ship for a job at Georgetown, meaning that Carter would enter his junior year playing for his third coach in as many years.
As a junior, his scoring average jumped to 19.7 points per game, and rebounds jumped to 8.7 per game. His defensive game blossomed, as he was named a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, as well as being named the Big East’s Player of the Year, and making the AP’s All-Big East First Team, the Big East’s All-Tournament Team, and the NABC All-District 5 First Team.
Mar 2, 2024; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Providence Friars guard Devin Carter (22) shoots during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
After collecting these awards, Carter declared for the draft, where he projected to be a low-mid lottery pick.
Despite being relatively old at age 22, Carter’s athleticism and defense were praised. One mock draft called him “Marcus Smart Lite.” Former CelticsBlogger Kevin O’Connor ranked him the #5 prospect in the draft, with a “shades of Jrue Holiday” remark.
An article on NBA.com projected him as going to the Jazz with the number 10 pick with a few drafts placing him in the 11th spot and going to the Chicago Bulls.
Ultimately, Carter went to the Kings with the 13th pick.
SACRAMENTO, CA – APRIL 10: Devin Carter #22 of the Sacramento Kings drives to the basket during the game against the Golden State Warriors on April 10, 2026 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The move was a somewhat baffling one, as the Kings were well-stocked with backcourt players, and, indeed, despite being considered ready to contribute based on his age and college experience, Carter appeared in just 36 games for the Kings, averaging 11 minutes per game, and generally failing to find a place with the team.
Carter appeared in 38 games in his second year with Sacramento, while drawing 12 spot starts. His minutes per game jumped to 18.4, and his two-point shooting percentage jumped to 51.1%, although his three-point shooting dipped to 26.3%. He had a couple stand-out games as a second-year player, notching 24 points in a victory over the rather hapless Pacers, and then 29 points and 9 rebounds against a Golden State team that was actually trying to win games last season.
In an indication of his poor fit with Sacramento, or perhaps the team’s inability to figure out what to do with him, his third-year option was picked up by the team before the start of his second year, but at the conclusion of that year, he was traded to Atlanta in exchange for the draft rights to Alpha Kaba. Less than two months after being acquired by the Hawks, he was waived by the team.
Despite a relatively unimpressive showing with Sacramento, he may be a good fit with a much better Boston team.
For starters, he seems to be in sync with Joe Mazzulla when it comes to expectations from young players. Joe has said that his primary focus for players with little pro experience are “can you play defense, can you execute a defensive system, and can you rebound?”
At the NBA draft combine, Carter prioritized one thing: “defense — it’s going to get you on the court.” He said that his priority is defense, adding, “I especially don’t like my man to score.” Devin also made rebounding a point of emphasis in his final season in college. “My sophomore year my coaches were telling me I could rebound, my freshman year my coaches were telling me I could rebound, my junior year, I actually committed to crashing the rebound every shot.” The result was a 3.8 rebound per game jump.
After being drafted, Carter told reporters, “I’m going to dive on the floor, take charges, anything we need to do to win.” He also emphasized his willingness to do “all the dirty work” needed to win. At his introductory press conference, he hit the right notes again, saying, he was going to bring “toughness, grittiness, and a will to win” to the court.
“If you’re not scoring,” he said at the press conference, “if you’re not doing anything else, you can at least guard and take that personally.”
“You want to give the coach a reason to play you, and every coach wants somebody who plays defense.”
Carter seems to be one of those players that needs the right situation and the right coaches to thrive. In two partial seasons with the Kings, his VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) was -.1 both years, and as the ‘replacement player’ in VORP is not a league-average player, his raw and advanced numbers suggest that he’s a bust.
But remember that Neemias Queta’s VORP at Sacramento was -.1 and 0 during his two years there, and that jumped to a 2.4 VORP with Boston last season. Queta’s BPM (Box Score Plus/Minus), which uses a league average player as a baseline, was -4.8 at Sacramento, as compared to a -2.8 BPM for Carter.
Given that the Carter prides himself on his defense, and that the Celtics have a top-notch player development staff and, apparently, far more patience than the Kings, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to project Devin as a potentially valuable contributor down the road.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 22: Jalen Green #4 of the Phoenix Suns drives to the basket during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Round 1 Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 22, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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 2026 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Every day, we’ll take a closer look at another member of the 2026-27 Phoenix Suns, examining what they bring to the roster and what their role could mean for the season ahead as we count down to training camp and the preseason.
Jalen Green
Guard, 6’4”, 186 pounds, 24 years old, 6th season
There are make-or-break seasons, and then there is what Jalen Green is facing with the Phoenix Suns this upcoming year. He has reached an inflection point in his career, one where the 24-year-old must prove why he is compensated as the second-highest-paid player on the team.
He possesses so many intangibles as a player. He exudes athleticism and possesses a quick-twitch explosiveness that is difficult to replicate. He’s bubbly, energetic, and appears to be a stellar teammate with an infectious energy. Yet in the world of price versus value paid, there is plenty left to be desired. And when you factor in that his skill set ultimately duplicates some of what the Suns already have in their highest-paid player, Devin Booker, you begin to wonder how Green’s existence in Phoenix can truly become productive enough to match the value of his contract.
Because it isn’t simply that he’s making $36.3 million this season. It’s that the role he’s being asked to play doesn’t necessarily align with what this team needs from a player making that much money, especially on a roster already carrying dead cap. Green was brought to Phoenix to make the math work in the Kevin Durant trade. And while there are plenty of positive characteristics surrounding him as both a player and a person, consistency continues to elude him. Efficiency continues to be a challenge.
This season? Evaluation becomes the word synonymous with Jalen Green. His financial future with the Suns will be directly linked to what he does while under that microscope. Can he live up to the contract? Can he fit next to Devin Booker in a way that allows both players to thrive on both ends of the floor?
Because if he can’t, the organization will need to make subsequent decisions. And those decisions, in and of themselves, are complex.
Last Season
GP
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
STL
FG%
3PT%
FT%
OFFRTG
DEFRTG
+/- (TOTAL)
32
25.9
17.8
3.6
2.8
1.1
42.2%
31.3%
74.7%
114.2
113.5
+33
What can you really say about Jalen Green’s first season in Phoenix? We entered the year excited about the potential he brought, but a hamstring injury derailed his season and delayed our opportunity to truly experience what he could be with the Suns.
Green made his debut in Phoenix’s ninth game of the season in early November and immediately showed us why there was so much excitement, scoring 29 points while going 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Two nights later, he injured his hamstring. We wouldn’t see him again until late January.
From there, his season became a story of inconsistency. In his first 13 games back, Green shot 24.4% from beyond the arc and 35.1% from the field. Those numbers eventually stabilized, and he delivered some game-saving performances in the Play-In, scoring 26 points and making 8 three-pointers against the Warriors, but ultimately, last season felt like a lost year for Jalen Green. He started too late and had a difficult time catching up to a team that was already in midseason form.
Green appeared in 32 games, with the Suns going 17–15 in those games. So, a season in which Phoenix hoped to evaluate what he could become alongside Devin Booker in the backcourt ultimately didn’t answer many, if any, of the questions we had before the season began.
Contract and Roster Context
Green has two years remaining on his deal, and he’ll make $36.3 million this upcoming season, with a $36 million player option waiting for him next year. That makes him the second-highest-paid player on the Suns and, per Salary Swish, he is the 52nd highest-paid player in the NBA. He also becomes extension-eligible on October 1, meaning we are only days away from the window opening for Phoenix to potentially extend him.
The assumption is that it won’t happen immediately. Instead, the Suns will use this season to evaluate Green and determine whether his contributions align with both their short-term goals and the franchise’s long-term direction.
What He Brings
Upside, right? That’s what we’re all holding onto and what we’re hoping will eventually come to fruition. I’m sure someone out there still has his PSA-graded Panini prizm autographed rookie card displayed on their desk, hoping that it will jump in value.
Green possesses elite athleticism and a unique ability to blow by defenders and get to the rim at will, finishing with either hand. He puts pressure on the rim and can make an offense significantly more dynamic when he gets on a heater. He led the team with 17.0 drives per game during the brief postseason last April, and was second behind Devin Booker with 13.6 during his muted regular season. Amongst all guards last season, Green was in the 83rd percentile in drives, the highest of his career.
That is his superpower. And when you consider that his explosiveness was compromised for much of last season as he dealt with hamstring issues, it’s rather impressive that he still managed to put as much pressure on opposing defenses as he did. He could’ve returned from injury and opted to take it easy, avoiding explosive plays and limiting his attacks on the basket. Instead, he attacked the rim more frequently than at any other point in his career.
At Media Day last year, Jalen Green noted that he had been working on his midrange “in between game a lot more”. And while we had a relatively small sample size due to the number of games he played, that work certainly appeared to pay off, as his midrange game became one of his strengths. After grading out with a D- in midrange shot-making efficiency during the 2024–25 season, according to B-Ball Index, Green improved to an A- in 2025–26.
Sure, he might not be the greatest defender or the most consistent shooter, but there’s no doubt that he cares. You can see it in real time. Green wears his emotions on his sleeve, whether a possession goes wrong, he misses a shot, or he blows a defensive assignment. His frustration is visible because he holds himself accountable.
You want players like that on your team. Players who care about their performance and recognize when they’ve made mistakes. Of course, you’d also like those players to reach a point where they don’t have to be visibly upset so often because they’ve developed the consistency and awareness to prevent those mistakes from happening in the first place.
What Needs to Improve
Efficiency and consistency remain the two biggest challenges in Jalen Green’s game. While he possesses a plethora of ways to put the ball in the basket, we’ve yet to see him do so efficiently or consistently throughout his career.
He’s a career 33.9% shooter from beyond the arc on 7.4 attempts per game. That’s a clear area of opportunity, and one that should theoretically present itself this season. With Booker and Green by his side, he should see his fair share of open three-point opportunities. But he needs to improve upon the 30.1% he shot when wide open last season (on 2.3 attempts per game), with defenders 6 or more feet away. He needs the chart below to start trending upward rather than downward.
He can get downhill with incredible quickness and get to the rim almost at will. The problem is what happens once he gets there. He isn’t always consistent finishing around the basket. He is a career 53.9% shooter inside 8 feet. For context, all guards in the NBA combined last season for 57.7% inside 8 feet. Green shot 54.3%.
In this season of evaluation, Green needs to demonstrate improvement in both areas for the Suns to feel comfortable either offering him an extension or keeping him rather than shopping him next offseason in hopes of getting something of value in return. Because if neither of those improvements occurs, how much value will he realistically have on the trade market?
And if neither happens, we’ll spend the entire season talking about it. We’ll ponder options at the trade deadline, explore the possibility of using his contract as a catalyst to make moves, and if nothing materializes, we’ll pick the conversation right back up when the season ends. That creates additional noise around a player who is already trying to establish the consistency and efficiency his game desperately needs. And that noise could ultimately affect the very things the Suns are evaluating.
The last thing you want is a $36 million player getting inside his own head, but given the circumstances, it’s a realistic possibility.
Prediction
I believe the Suns organization is going to give Green an opportunity to play more on ball, doing what it can to determine whether he fits next to Devin Booker in a traditional distributor capacity. They’ll hand him the reins of facilitation more frequently because that’s an aspect of his game he needs to improve if Phoenix wants to maximize this roster and solidify the rotations around Booker. And ultimately? I don’t think it’s going to work.
I think we’ll see a shift throughout the season toward Booker playing more on the ball and assuming the primary facilitation responsibilities. We’ll be told it’s a fluid situation, and to some extent, it will be. Booker will never be a traditional point guard who operates with the ball in his hands 100% of the time. But I believe we’ll gradually notice that the responsibility of setting up his teammates falls more frequently on Booker than Green.
In a perfect world, that’s exactly where Green could serve his purpose. He crosses the timeline with the ball in his hands and initiates the offense. And I’m not talking about making one pass and heading to the corner. I’m talking about reading the defense, identifying the best way to generate a quality possession, and making it happen. That cerebral aspect of the game that a facilitator and distributor needs to possess.
I think Green is going to have a solid offensive season when it comes to counting stats with numbers that, at first glance, people will use to defend his value to the team. But when you dig a little deeper and consistently watch the games, I believe we’ll find that much of that production was achieved inefficiently. And as a result, I expect the rumblings to continue, with the fan base spending plenty of time firing up the trade machine throughout the season.
I hope I’m wrong, because it would be so much easier if Green became the player who lived up to the upside that warranted the contract he received. It would be amazing if the Suns had a functional backcourt in Green and Booker that didn’t require constant handholding or overanalysis. They simply went out, got the job done, and allowed the organization to focus more of its attention on developing the players coming up behind them.
Because ultimately, I like the idea of Jalen Green. I’d love to have a player on this team who can operate the way he does with his athleticism. It’s a unique skill set that adds complexity to the offense, giving opposing defenses another element they have to account for and ultimately opening things up for everybody else. Add to that the fact that I like the personality Green brings to the team. You can tell he’s a hard worker, somebody who cares about his craft and genuinely wants to get better.
But as he enters a season in which he’ll turn 25 years old, upside remains his greatest strength, and we’re approaching the point where upside alone will no longer be acceptable. Because eventually, you become who you are as a player. And there’s a very real possibility that Green becomes a D’Angelo Russell type of player. Somebody who entered the league with tremendous promise, was given plenty of opportunities to fulfill that potential, and ultimately became a player capable of exploding for 30 points on any given night, although rarely with the efficiency you’d like to see. That’s the outcome I’m hoping Green can avoid.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 08: A general view of the empty stadium before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park on September 08, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
Today is the final day of the San Francisco Giants’ 2026 season. So today I would like to do something similar to what we did yesterday and pick our favorite highlight of the season, strictly based on memory.
And as I mentioned yesterday, the time will come for real evaluations and player reviews and further introspection. But this is not that time. This is the time to remember the season that was and pick the moment that stands out most to you as the highlight of the year.
I know, the pickings were a bit slim but the season was not devoid of highlights. I would know, I wrote about them every week! There were grand slams, walk-offs, splash hits, well-pitched games, and many other moments worth remembering.
I think my pick has to be the April 25th 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins. I can’t narrow it down further than that, because the whole game was my highlight of the year.
And I will admit that I am extremely biased because I was at this game in the best seats I’ve ever had in my life. I brought my best friend with me and it was her very first in-person game and we could not have asked for a better one. The weather was great, we celebrated Brandon Belt, and the Giants remembered that they were allowed to score runs and not also give them all back. It was about as picture perfect of a baseball game as one could ask for and we had an absolute blast.
What is your pick for Highlight of the Year?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants play this final game of the year this afternoon at 12:05 p.m. PT.
That was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad time to drop a doubleheader. The two losses by the scores of 4-3 and 2-0 tells us two things: that unless the Red Sox have weak hitters, the Cubs pitching staff had its strong moments, but there is no way they can carry the team by themselves; and that the Cubs’ offense has collapsed at the worst possible moment.
Clay Holmes didn’t pitch horribly in the opener, but it wasn’t up to the standards we have seen from him since he arrived in Chicago. Keeping his pitch-count down, Holmes threw 78 pitches, 50 for strikes. But he only lasted 4.1 IP, having allowed three runs (two earned), five hits, three walks with three strikeouts. He left the game with two on and the Cubs up, 3-1. Caleb Thielbar did what he does best — promptly gave up a two-RBI single to tie the game at three. After getting the last out in the sixth, Aaron Civale gave up a one-out triple in the seventh, followed by an RBI-double to put Boston up, 4-3. The Cubs went down in order the last two innings for the loss.
David Peterson was fantastic in the nightcap, putting up five innings of shutout ball on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Javier Assad took over and came out very strong — in his opening frame in the sixth, he struck out the side. In the seventh, he retired the Red Sox in order. In the eighth, he gave up a walk.
Ryan Rolison inherited the runner, added a walk himself and gave up a two-run double. Game Over.
Peterson didn’t deserve the no-decision. Assad didn’t deserve the loss. And, hopefully for only one day, the Cubs’ faithful didn’t deserve the display of hitting in the doubleheader. Fourteen runners were left on base over the two games.
Tyrone Taylor had a first-inning RBI-double and Miguel Amaya a two-RBI double in the second for a 3-0 lead in the opener. And that was it for the rest of the two games. Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch (who was 4-for-7 in the two games) and Nico Hoerner each had a pair of singles in the nightcap, which was most of the game’s offense.
The Cubs are no longer in control of their playoff destiny. I hope it’s as soft a landing as possible.
I appreciate your reading.
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Sam Caulder (North Side Baseball): Ian Happ, Tyrone Taylor Are Forming Cubs’ Perfect Playoff Platoon. “The Cubs have two outfielders whose strengths and weaknesses line up almost perfectly. As such, Ian Happ and Tyrone Taylor could form an ideal platoon in the postseason.”
Sam Caulder (North Side Baseball): Is the Cubs’ Bullpen Good Enough for October? “The Cubs have some bullpen arms trending in the right direction as the playoffs approach. Still, Chicago’s late-game pitching doesn’t quite feel where it needs to be with the Wild Card round just days away.”
Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985), known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer. Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas. He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California in 1935, later settling in Oakland. While there, he absorbed the music of T-Bone Walker, who taught Crayton the basics of electric guitar work. Crayton developed his own unique approach.
In 1948, he signed a recording contract with Modern Records. One of his first recordings was the instrumental “Blues After Hours”, which reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart late that year. In 1950, Crayton and his Orchestra performed at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz concert, held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 25. Featured on the same day were Lionel Hampton, Roy Milton’s Orchestra, Dinah Washington, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers, and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance.
It is thought he was the first blues guitarist to use a Fender Stratocaster, playing one given to him by Leo Fender. His opening guitar riff on the 1954 single “Do Unto Others” was “quoted” by John Lennon in the beginning of the B-side single version of “Revolution” released by The Beatles on Apple Records in 1968. Crayton’s album Things I Used to Do was released by Vanguard Records in 1971. He continued to tour and record in the following years.
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“In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know, if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willing to fight and die for that inch because that’s what living is!”
The Cleveland Guardians are Champions of the American League Central once again.
To the Colorado Rockies, thank you.
A team that never quits often finds themselves successful, but it doesn’t happen overnight. A culture, a standard, a lifeblood are cultivated through years of consistent professionalism and leadership. The Cleveland Guardians prove exactly that. Stephen Vogt has become the only manager in the history of a baseball club that’s played professionally since 1901 to lead his team to three straight postseasons to begin their tenure, and even Vogt will tell you that, to a degree, he’s picked up where Terry Francona left off.
2013 sparked a new hope. I was 15 at the time, and this fanbase had just endured eight years of endless hopelessness. Cliff Lee may have won the Cy Young in 2008, but C.C. Sabathia getting traded signified the beginning of the end of a window that opened when I was eight years old. Seeing Sabathia lead the Brewers to the NLDS felt as if I was having my team’s moment stolen from me. Just the year prior, the World Series was mere innings away. I didn’t know it would take six years for my team to even get back to the Postseason.
I had gone from a squeaky little fourth grader to a voice cracking sophomore in that span. Beau Mills, Lonnie Chisenhall, Alex White, and Drew Pomeranz made up Cleveland’s first round picks before I even got to junior high. Needless to say, things were bleak on the Corner. Little did I know, the future of the franchise would change in 2011, thanks to Chris Antonetti and a skinny high school shortstop named Francisco Lindor.
Back to 2013. Terry Francona takes over, and the city of Cleveland never looks back. How could it feel all so simple? Culture is not something that can be defined because no two winning cultures in sports are established the same way. For me, I always defined culture by the faces that created it and what they embodied. Playing sports throughout the years at school meant that I knew it all started with the coach. The buy-in, the consistency, the will to work hard…it all started with the man at the top. That was Tito. By the time I got to high school, my infatuation with statistics turned into a love of data and analytics in the world of baseball, so Chris Antonetti became the face of this new side of a sport I loved to play and now loved to analyze.
2014 came around, and I stared down the barrel of figuring out what to do with my life. College applications to Youngstown State and Kent State and everywhere in between flooded the mailbox, and while the uncertainty of my future loomed, one certainty I could count on was that every fifth day, Corey Kluber was going to go 6+ innings and lock down a win. That was our culture, and we rode it all the way to Kluber’s first of two Cy Young awards. Do you remember where you were on July 30, 2014? I do. A Speedway gas station off Lincoln Way and Genoa, fresh off of open gym. I would get back in my truck and listen to our greatest storyteller, Tom Hamilton, call the last few innings of the greatest pitcher’s duel of all-time: King Felix versus Corey Kluber.
Kluber had yet to be crowned the ‘Ace’ of the staff despite pitching like one for three months, but Cleveland had traded Justin Masterson earlier in the day to the Cardinals, paving the way to Kluber becoming the head of the rotation, and he never looked back. A fifth inning double from Yan Gomes was the only scoring provided, and Kluber did the rest. Robinson Canó’s 2-out single in the fourth inning provided the Mariners a baserunner. It was the last one they’d get. For 5.1 innings, Corey Kluber painted a masterpiece. A Dustin Ackley groundout to Kip would end it.
A complete game shutout. 85 pitches. Corey Kluber threw the greatest Maddux in history, and he did it in high socks, just like the rest of his teammates, to honor Justin Masterson. That’s culture.
Remember that C.C. Sabathia trade? How could you forget. Remember who we got back in that trade? Michael Brantley made sure you didn’t forget. Brantley’s 2014 was not a season I fully appreciated at the time, but I look back at it now and realize exactly what it embodied. Brantley was the consummate professional at-bat, and by ‘14, he had a few full seasons under his belt. Brantley led by example (all the way to a top-3 MVP finish), and he set the standard for newcomers to reach to be a true contributor to a ball club in need for offense.
The 2014 team didn’t make the postseason, but it felt different. However, by June just the next season, it started feeling like that magic was gone. On June 13, they sat 29-32. They couldn’t score enough runs, and the team felt stuck. By July 14th, the magic was back.
Francisco Lindor rounding first after his first MLB hit, heading for second, and tripping and falling is engrained into my brain forever. We’re 13 years into his career, and I still vividly remember where I was. Perhaps it’s because my family had just graduated televisions to our first ever, state of the art, modern flat screen, and seeing it blown up on a 70-inch screen made it feel as if the dirt was flying at me. Perhaps it was seeing the first glimpse of the smile that would take over the city as he playfully blamed Miguel Cabrera for tripping him, but baseball was fun again from that moment on, and it hasn’t stopped since.
Through 2015, the pieces were falling into place. Kluber, Carrasco, and Danny Salazar fronted the best starting rotation in the AL, and that former skinny first round shortstop was having a rookie campaign for the ages. Lindor finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, and he had more than established himself as a building block for the city and the organization. Outside of Lindor and Brantley, however, the offense didn’t have much punch. To the fans watching every day, new blood was needed, and we were tired of seeing this tiny 5-foot-9 utility guy get everyday chances. Where is Tyler Naquin, dammit?
So, naturally, not a lot of attention was getting paid to an underperforming player on an underperforming team, but if you asked Terry Francona, he’d tell you that 21-year old was one of their best players, and he was on the verge of becoming special. Tito was something else, huh?
That 21-year old with a .478 OPS posted a .775 OPS across his final 50 games. He only had three career home runs heading into August. He hit five across those final 50. If you were paying attention, a breakout was happening, and the only thing that stopped it was the end of the season.
Enter 2016. By the middle of June, the now 22-year old continued to be his hot finish to 2014, becoming an extra-base machine hitting over .300, and he was even hitting towards the top of the order, but finding him everyday at-bats was a struggle sometimes. Needing to find a solution to that problem, the baseball gods called upon the only man capable of solving it: Mike Trout.
On a June 12 game in Anaheim, Trout drilled a hanging Danny Salazar changeup right at third baseman Juan Uribe. Uribe, who was flirting with a .600 OPS at the time but was too shy to go up and say hello, took it right to the…lower body. To Uribe’s credit, he finished out the game, but he wouldn’t play again for nearly a week. Francona, in a bind, had to move some pieces around. Who does he call on? Our scrappy, do-it-all utility player.
10 years later, I’m staring down the barrel of turning 30. I now get to cover the game I love, and it’s all because of that 22-year old stepping in for Juan Uribe at third base in a pinch. That third baseman has now played in more games than anyone in the history of Cleveland’s franchise. Nobody in club history has finished inside the top-5 for MVP more. Only Jim Thome has hit more home runs, only Kenny Lofton has stolen more bases, only Earl Averill has driven in more runs. We all knew about 500 words ago that I’m talking about José Ramírez, and we all know that there is no decade-long run of seven AL Central titles, a shot at a World Series in 2016, The Streak in 2017, or three straight division titles in 2024, 2025, and 2026 without him.
2026 has not been the season that José Ramírez envisioned. A broken hamate bone has led to his worst offensive season as a full-time big leaguer, but his impact has never been felt more. Breakout seasons from Angel Martinez and Brayan Rocchio can largely be contributed to their efforts to improve at the plate, but without José’s leadership every single day, it never happens. Ramírez embodies everything it means to represent the city of Cleveland. He’s done it better than anyone else ever has in this city. Cleveland has seen its football team pack up and leave overnight and LeBron leave twice, but not José. He wound up taking less money to ensure he’d still be here, and now, he’s on the cusp of yet another deep October run because he wants to bring a championship to a city he proudly calls home. That isn’t just culture; he is The Culture.
Sure, Stephen Vogt inherited a great situation, but it’s been far from easy. Between having to glue and paste pitchers together to form a usable pitching staff in 2024, to the Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clasé gambling scandal that nearly sunk 2025, 2026 has almost felt uneventful in comparison, but Vogt has still been faced with enormous obstacles to overcome. Clasé’s absence was still felt early in the season as Cade Smith’s early season struggles left few options to turn to late in games. Offensively, Vogt was given no reinforcement financially, and he was left to rely on rookies Chase DeLauter and eventually Travis Bazzana to fill in and immediately contribute just to get this team back to the postseason. Nobody told him Parker Messick would be vying for the Cy Young.
DeLauter battled through endless injuries just to get to Cleveland, and he’s on the cusp of posting the highest wRC+ from a Cleveland rookie since integration. Bazzana endured what felt like an endless slump through the dog days of the season, and he turned it into a white hot September with multiple big swings to keep this season alive. Stephen Vogt was given the keys to a luxury car, and he’s only improved upon it despite limited money supplying the help. Vogt has been managing the youngest roster in baseball seemingly every season until now, and he’s proven to be a true leader of men, just ask Austin Hedges.
You cannot attempt to define culture, you can only hope to be able to recognize it when it’s here. The Guardians are back in the Postseason, and the future feels incredibly bright on the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario. I was born into the renaissance of Cleveland baseball in the late 1990s, but I truly believe I have lived through its greatest era, and if not for just the city, for Hammy and José and all the names and faces that helped build this over the last 13 years, let’s win the whole f****n thing.
And that won’t be the only difference from last season because Laviolette, the winningest American-born coach in NHL history, has inherited an aging team in transition, one he and his new staff have immediately tried to put their stamp on.
“The coaching changes brought a lot of excitement,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper said. “It’s new drills, new systems, so it kind of makes everyone turn on their brain and challenge themselves, which is fun for guys at this level.”
Not all of the changes are positive, however.
Kings coach Peter Laviolette stands in the team's locker room at their practice facility in El Segundo in June. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
For the first time in 20 years, the Kings are starting a season without Anze Kopitar, the franchise leader in games, assists and points and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. That has left a big hole on the ice and in the locker room, where Kopitar’s leadership was invaluable.
Also gone are wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jeff Malott, who left as free agents, and center Trevor Lewis, who retired. High-scoring winger Kevin Fiala, meanwhile, will miss the first couple of months, at least, after experiencing a setback in his return from a gruesome leg injury sustained at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
That could hurt Laviolette’s effort to transform the Kings from the defense-first system they’ve been for years into a quicker, more aggressive offensive-style team. The Kings, whose scoring has declined in each of the last four seasons, had just 225 goals in 2025-26, fourth-fewest in the NHL, while the power play converted fewer than 18% of its chances, fifth-lowest in the league.
Two of the key pieces in turning that around will be forwards Adrian Kempe, who led the team in scoring the last three seasons, and Artemi Panarin, who had his best offensive season under Laviolette with the New York Rangers, scoring 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24. The Kings are also counting on young forwards Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere, both 24, to take the next step in their development.
For Laferriere, change has been the main constant in his time in Los Angeles.
Kings right wing Alex Laferriere shoots in front of Philadelphia right wing Travis Konecny on March 19. (Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
“This is going to be my fourth year with my fourth different coach,” said Laferriere, who had career highs in goals (21), points (44) and average TOI (18:18) last season. “It kind of reminds me a little bit of my rookie year. It kind of gives me that fresh slate, just trying to prove myself and try to gain the coach’s belief.”
In the dressing room, the Kings have given Kopitar’s crown to defenseman Drew Doughty, who will take over as captain in his 19th NHL season. At 36, he’s the third-oldest player on one of the NHL’s oldest teams and the last holdover from the 2014 Stanley Cup team.
“I’m not changing anything about myself when it comes to leadership,” he said. “I’ve been a leader on this team for a long, long time and been the loudest voice in the locker room and the guy that people come up to.
“One thing I will change: I always had Kopi as kind of the even-keel guy, where my emotions kind of go up and down. I’m going to be more aware of that and try to keep more of an even-keel.”
Whether a new coach, a new system and a new leader will be enough to get the Kings to the playoffs for a sixth straight season remains to be seen.
Laviolette, a Stanley Cup winner with Carolina two decades ago, has missed the postseason just three times when he’s been behind the bench the whole season. But the makeover he faces with the Kings is shaping up as one of the most challenging of his career, and most of the preseason prognostications have the Kings failing to make the cut.
If Fiala comes back early and healthy and if the team adapts quickly to the change in style, those predictions may prove overly dire. If not, the transition to the Laviolette Era could be more difficult than expected.
And that won’t be the only difference from last season because Laviolette, the winningest American-born coach in NHL history, has inherited an aging team in transition, one he and his new staff have immediately tried to put their stamp on.
“The coaching changes brought a lot of excitement,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper said. “It’s new drills, new systems, so it kind of makes everyone turn on their brain and challenge themselves, which is fun for guys at this level.”
Not all of the changes are positive, however.
Kings coach Peter Laviolette stands in the team's locker room at their practice facility in El Segundo in June. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
For the first time in 20 years, the Kings are starting a season without Anze Kopitar, the franchise leader in games, assists and points and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. That has left a big hole on the ice and in the locker room, where Kopitar’s leadership was invaluable.
Also gone are wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jeff Malott, who left as free agents, and center Trevor Lewis, who retired. High-scoring winger Kevin Fiala, meanwhile, will miss the first couple of months, at least, after experiencing a setback in his return from a gruesome leg injury sustained at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
That could hurt Laviolette’s effort to transform the Kings from the defense-first system they’ve been for years into a quicker, more aggressive offensive-style team. The Kings, whose scoring has declined in each of the last four seasons, had just 225 goals in 2025-26, fourth-fewest in the NHL, while the power play converted fewer than 18% of its chances, fifth-lowest in the league.
Two of the key pieces in turning that around will be forwards Adrian Kempe, who led the team in scoring the last three seasons, and Artemi Panarin, who had his best offensive season under Laviolette with the New York Rangers, scoring 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24. The Kings are also counting on young forwards Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere, both 24, to take the next step in their development.
For Laferriere, change has been the main constant in his time in Los Angeles.
Kings right wing Alex Laferriere shoots in front of Philadelphia right wing Travis Konecny on March 19. (Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
“This is going to be my fourth year with my fourth different coach,” said Laferriere, who had career highs in goals (21), points (44) and average TOI (18:18) last season. “It kind of reminds me a little bit of my rookie year. It kind of gives me that fresh slate, just trying to prove myself and try to gain the coach’s belief.”
In the dressing room, the Kings have given Kopitar’s crown to defenseman Drew Doughty, who will take over as captain in his 19th NHL season. At 36, he’s the third-oldest player on one of the NHL’s oldest teams and the last holdover from the 2014 Stanley Cup team.
“I’m not changing anything about myself when it comes to leadership,” he said. “I’ve been a leader on this team for a long, long time and been the loudest voice in the locker room and the guy that people come up to.
“One thing I will change: I always had Kopi as kind of the even-keel guy, where my emotions kind of go up and down. I’m going to be more aware of that and try to keep more of an even-keel.”
Whether a new coach, a new system and a new leader will be enough to get the Kings to the playoffs for a sixth straight season remains to be seen.
Laviolette, a Stanley Cup winner with Carolina two decades ago, has missed the postseason just three times when he’s been behind the bench the whole season. But the makeover he faces with the Kings is shaping up as one of the most challenging of his career, and most of the preseason prognostications have the Kings failing to make the cut.
If Fiala comes back early and healthy and if the team adapts quickly to the change in style, those predictions may prove overly dire. If not, the transition to the Laviolette Era could be more difficult than expected.
Ducks star Leo Carlsson controls the puck during a playoff game against the Edmonton Oilers in April. Carlsson signed a five-year, $90-million contract during the offseason. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Joel Quenneville had one mission when he took over as coach of the Ducks last year: get them back to the playoffs.
He did much better than that. The Ducks scored a franchise-record 273 goals, spent much of the season atop the Pacific Division and knocked off the powerful Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights, the eventual conference champions, in the second round.
All of which raises a question for Quenneville and the Ducks coming off a summer of upheaval and turnover: What can they do for an encore?
“Expectations are going to be higher across the board,” said Quenneville, whose team opens the season Friday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights. “That’s healthy. But at the same time, it’s an everyday thing that that challenge is going to be out there.”
Before Quenneville arrived, the Ducks stumbled through a franchise-record seven straight losing seasons. Now many of the players in his locker room are thinking beyond just making the postseason.
“The culture change, we can really feel it,” goaltender Lukas Dostal said. “What we did last year, obviously we want to improve and move even further.
“You don’t play hockey to just think like ‘OK, we want to make the playoffs.’ You want to go as far as possible. So the sky’s the limit. I really trust this team.”
“At the end of the day, you want to win a Stanley Cup,” added new captain Mikael Granlund. “You have to have that one goal. We’re going to do everything we can to be better than last year.”
Many Ducks are certainly going to be better paid than last year. General manager Pat Verbeek had no choice but to overspend on center Leo Carlsson, signing him to a five-year, $90-million contract after the Flyers offered Carlsson the same deal. The 21-year-old, who had a career-high 29 goals and 38 assists last season, is the NHL’s highest-paid player this season.
Verbeek also re-signed restricted free agents Cutter Gauthier, (six years, $81 million) and Pavel Mintyukov (five years, $36 million) and gave center Tim Washe a $9-million contract extension. Gauthier led the team with 41 goals and 69 points last season.
“It’s a sign you’re doing something correctly,” Quenneville said of his players being rewarded. “But at the same time, I don’t think we change too much our demands. They know we work on a meritocracy and the better you do, the more you’re going to play.”
Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov passes against the Utah Mammoth on March 20. (Melissa Majchrzak / Associated Press)
All that spending left the team with nothing to offer veteran winger Chris Kreider, who was released this summer, joining an exodus that included key defensemen John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Olen Zellweger and Jacob Trouba.
The Ducks will also be without forward Troy Terry, who averaged 24 goals over the past five seasons, until well into the winter as he recovers from hip surgery.
As a result, the Ducks start with several new pieces up front and thin experience on the blue line, which isn’t a good look for a team that gave up 288 goals last season, fourth-most in the NHL.
Despite the additions of veterans A.J. Greer, a Stanley Cup winner in Florida who was acquired to add a physical presence in the attack, and Nick Jensen, 36, who was signed to stabilize the defense, the Ducks will once again have one of the youngest rosters in the NHL. But Quenneville has a history of turning young teams into champions. Nineteen years ago he took over a Chicago Blackhawks team that was the youngest in the league and led it to the conference final. A year later that team captured the Stanley Cup, the first of three Quenneville won in Chicago.
For the Ducks to match that, their summer additions will have to add up to more than the subtractions. And the investment Verbeek made in Carlsson, Gauthier and Mintyukov will have to pay off. What’s certain, however, is after last season’s breakthrough, the Ducks won’t be sneaking up on anyone.
“We made it a little harder for ourselves,” Washe said. “We’ve got a little target on our back.”
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 26: Manager Stephen Vogt #12 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates clinching the American League Central Division title after defeating the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guardians have won the AL Central for the 14th time and third straight year.
Zack Meisel had a nice article about the division win, including an interesting note about an advantage the Mets found against them in August as they heard pitch calls through Nathaniel Lowe’s Pitch Com. Meisel also had a more introspective piece on the guys who got the Guardians to this point.
It will be fun to see the hangover lineup today. I would guess Jose, Rocchio and DeLauter get the break today. We will see who else does. Parker Messick will start but I imagine he will throw about three innings.
Thank you, Colorado Rockies, and Ryan Feltner and Hunter Goodman especially. Here is a Rockies’ charity should you wish to express appreciation.
Like the Guardians, the @Rockies have a charitable foundation supporting disadvantaged and at-risk youth.
The AL West race comes down to today. If the Astros beat the A’s, they are in. If they lose and the Rangers also lose to the Twins, they are in. The last NL Wildcard comes down to today. If the Phillies beat the Rays, they are in. If they lose and the Diamondbacks lose to the Padres, they are in. But, the Diamondbacks would be in with a win and a Phillies loss.
