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This four-game tilt against the Rays in the penultimate series of the season had the chance to be a blockbuster showdown to decide the division. However, the Yankees losing two out of three to the Diamondbacks removed a lot of the jeopardy from this series, New York now needing to sweep just to avoid being eliminated from the AL East title race and depending on a very unlikely collapse from Tampa in their final series of the season to keep the divisional door the slightest bit ajar. All the same, this could be a preview of a prospective ALCS showdown, so I expect both teams to come out firing. The first game of today’s doubleheader is a makeup of the rainout from May 23rd.

Carlos Rodón finds himself in the unexpected position of being on the postseason rotation bubble. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried are seemingly locks which would pit Rodón against Gerrit Cole for that final spot if they roll out a three-man rotation. It almost comes down to a style choice at that point — Rodón walks almost three times as many batters as Cole, but surrenders about half as many home runs per nine. He’s a good choice to start a game against the Rays — in six starts against Tampa with the Yankees, Rodón has a 3.69 ERA and 31.3-percent strikeout rate in 31.2 innings. In 15 starts this season, Rodón is 6-3 with a 2.95 ERA (142 ERA+), 3.69 FIP, and 83 strikeouts in 76.1 innings.

The Rays have a maddening habit of transforming other teams’ castoffs into rotation stars. This season’s example is longtime journeyman Nick Martinez, who had pitched as a swingman the previous four years in San Diego and Cincinnati. Martinez owns the lowest walk rate (3.5-percent) of any qualified starter, using deception and precise command to induce soft contact. He’s technically got a six-pitch mix but usually sticks with sinker, changeup, cutter, and four-seamer. In 29 starts, Martinez is 15-4 with a 2.94 ERA (142 ERA+), 3.98 FIP, and 101 strikeouts in 171.1 innings.

This is more or less the Yankees’ go-to lineup for the rest of the regular season with Aaron Judge on the IL. Heliot Ramos and Spencer Jones are both going to get a lot of run out in the outfield, so it was encouraging to see them both hit home runs against the former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes in their last game. José Caballero gets the start over Ryan McMahon at third and sounded eager to make an impact against the team that traded him to the Yankees at last year’s deadline.

The Rays have their three-headed slugging monster atop lineup and then stack the bottom two-thirds with speed. Junior Caminero is third in MLB with 41 home runs giving him back-to-back 40-HR seasons. Chandler Simpson is MLB’s stolen base leader with 46 and third in batting average at .309, but is the only qualified hitter in baseball without a home run this season.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Rays.TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM (TB)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

The final week of the regular season is upon us and the Mariners have one last chance to throw some chaos into the AL West race with a two game series against the Astros. This season has been supremely disappointing, and the team has been frustrating to watch, but these are the last Mariner games we’ll see until next year — and the looming labor lockout by the owners could extend that hiatus even further. Enjoy them.

The Astros were just swept by the Braves this past weekend, dropping them from first place in the division. They’re just a game behind the Rangers and hold the tiebreaker if the two teams should finish with matching records. Between the injuries and ineffectiveness across the pitching staff, the offense — and more specifically, Yordan Alvarez — had been carrying the team through the summer. Unfortunately, the team has scored more than four runs in a single game just once over their last 10 games. It’s a terrible time for a slump. 

Yordan Alvarez’s shot at winning the AL Triple Crown looks pretty slim right now. A late season slump, spurred on by a nagging ankle injury, has dropped him to second in the AL in home runs and RBIs. He’d have to have a monster week to have any hope of catching Pete Alonso for the RBI lead; Alvarez trails Alonso by six right now. The other batter who is swinging the bat well right now is Jeremy Peña; he has posted just an 89 wRC+ in September, but he collected 10 hits and three home runs last week. The rest of the lineup is really struggling; Jose Altuve (96 wRC+ in September), Cam Smith (60), Daulton Varsho (42), and Christian Walker (17) are all mired in slumps this month.

Probable Pitchers 

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

For a pitcher with such a long history against the Mariners, it’s been nearly three years since Cristian Javier has pitched against them (his last outing against Seattle came on September 26, 2023). He blew out his elbow early in 2024 and missed most of last year recovering from the resultant Tommy John surgery. At his peak, he leaned heavily on a backspinning four-seamer and a slow sweeper as his primary weapons, essentially acting as a two-pitch pitcher. After his surgery, he’s expanded his repertoire a bit to include a changeup and a cutter. He’s bounced between the rotation and the bullpen throughout this year but it looks like he’s finally found his groove down the stretch; over his last six outings (five starts, one bulk relief appearance) he’s running a 3.77 ERA and a 3.72 FIP.

The Astros promoted Ethan Pecko in mid-August to take the place of Tatsuya Imai in the rotation. He was the team’s fourth ranked prospect on their preseason list and looked serviceable with a 4.25 FIP in 17 appearances in Triple-A before his debut. His best pitch is his four-seam fastball which has given minor league batters fits when he’s able to locate it at the top of the zone. He has five other pitches in his repertoire but most of his secondary pitches look average at best. He’s got decent command and uses his wide arsenal to keep batters guessing. It’s a back-of-the-rotation profile, but that’s exactly what the Astros have needed this summer. The Astros have used an opener in front of Pecko the last two times his turn has come up in the rotation — I’d expect them to do the same on Wednesday.

The Big Picture:

While the Mariners try to keep the Astros from gaining any ground in the AL West, the Rangers are hosting the Mets.

Is this remotely surprising? Chad Tracy and the Red Sox have agreed to a three-year deal that will make him the team’s 49th full-time manager, hopefully at least through the 2029 season. At the same time, Red Sox ownership has exercised the 2029 and 2030 options it held on Craig Breslow’s contract, giving him the big chair for at least four more seasons. Given the way this season has played out, the Tracy deal in particular was a foregone conclusion. But you certainly wouldn’t have said that back in June, and the fact that Breslow is being extended today instead of fired is evidence of the team’s remarkable turnaround.

“Craig and Chad are two exceptionally talented leaders who have earned these opportunities in very different ways,” said Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy. “Over the last three years, we have watched Craig bring clarity, discipline, and conviction to the work of building our baseball operation. Chad was asked to step into a difficult situation with little notice, but the trust he immediately commanded at the major league level was earned through years of work across our organization. What this team has accomplished over the past several months has been historic. Results matter greatly in this business, but so do judgment, character, and the ability to bring out the best in others. Craig and Chad have demonstrated all of those qualities, and they have earned our confidence in leading us forward.” (MLB.com)

FSG appears to be hoping to finally achieve some continuity in the front office and dugout with this move, which is something they’ve struggled to find in recent years. “Since Francona and Epstein ended their successful run together in 2011, the Red Sox have had eight manager/baseball operations head combinations, including Ron Roenicke’s one-year stint alongside Bloom in between Cora stints in 2020. The longest of those pairings — the ill-fated Bloom-Cora marriage — lasted fewer than three years during Cora’s second stint, from the start of 2021 to September 2023.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

But Tracy and Breslow still have some work to do this year, because the Red Sox offense is seriously scuffling right now. As a team, the Sox are barely hitting above the Mendoza Line over their last 11 games, while averaging fewer than 3 runs scored. Part of that is due to the absence of some key pieces, like Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela, but lineup mainstays like Wilyer Abreu and Adley Rutschman are fighting slumps, too. “Just got to stay with it,” Chad Tracy said after Sunday’s loss. “Obviously we’ve got to hit and score runs. But we’re getting our way back to health, and we’ll get there.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

If the offense doesn’t get going and the Sox get bounced in the first round without playing a single game at Fenway, just like they did last year, does that change the ultimate perception of the job Craig Breslow did this year? Perhaps. Of course the perception of the job he’s done has already changed several times over the past few months, which may be a product of his willingness to shake things up mid-season. “I always try to be guided by what I believe to be right and best for the organization,” Breslow said. “Oftentimes, most people in these jobs would say their initial read or inclination of a situation was largely a correct one, but friction and inertia and emotion prevented you from acting on that. Then, you look back and say I wish I would have done whatever it was you were thinking at the time more often than you say that was probably not the right decision, and I wish I hadn’t.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

One of those decisive mid-season moves was the trade of Marcelo Mayer — the man who was once heralded as the future of the Red Sox by the Red Sox themselves — to the San Fransisco Giants for middle reliever Erik Miller. But while the move divided Red Sox fans, his family is thrilled with the trade, as they say Mayer faced undue criticism and even threats from Boston fans. “When his dad found out about the trade to San Francisco, Enrique said he “jumped 10 feet in the air.” ‘I can’t explain how happy we are… Marcelo got a cortisone shot to be ready to come back a month and a half early to help the team in the playoffs and then he gets the rap he doesn’t play in pain? That couldn’t be further from the truth.” (Susan Slusser, San Fransisco Chronicle)

Aaron Judge will almost certainly sit out the New York Yankees' upcoming American League wild-card series due to a calf strain, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Judge missed 75 games this season with a rib fracture and then suffered the calf strain in just his seventh game back Sept. 16 at Minnesota. While the Yankees have fared well enough without him – they head into Tuesday 89-66 and can clinch the No. 1 wild card spot with one more victory – his lineup presence will be greatly missed in the postseason.

The Yankees will likely play the Boston Red Sox for the second consecutive year in an AL wild-card best-of-three that begins Tuesday, Sept. 29.

"We're planning on him not being a part of that," says Boone, who also noted Judge had a platelet-poor plasma injection in the leg.

Aaron Boone met with the media to shed some light on Judge’s injury status ahead of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Rays.

Boone revealed that he suffered a moderate grade right calf strain that landed him on the 10-day injured list, and the Yankees captain received a PPP (platelet-poor plasma) injection as treatment during Monday’s off day. Unfortunately, according to Boone, this means they’re not planning for him to be available for the upcoming Wild Card Series. They haven’t officially ruled him out, however, but his appearance is becoming less likely by the minute.

This is certainly frustrating news, as we’ve all been eagerly awaiting the front office to be less ambiguous on the subject. They’ve been very communicative about several injuries throughout the season, but when it comes to the Yankees captain, everyone seems to be playing the cards very close to their chest.

The postseason roster is expected to be released early next week, and without Judge, I’m anticipating that Yankees fans will be a lot less hopeful for the best and more prepared for the worst.

The Yankees are planning on at least beginning the playoffs without Aaron Judge.

“I’m not expecting it,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday regarding whether the Yankees captain could return for the wild-card series that begins in one week. “But I’m not ruling it out either.”

Judge received a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday to help a calf that he strained on Wednesday.

The strain is “moderate,” Boone revealed for the first time, before the Yankees hosted a doubleheader against the Rays.

Boone again did not disclose how long the Yankees are expecting to be without Judge, who has been out since suffering the calf strain on Wednesday and is not doing much right now for a few days, Boone said, because of the injection.

Judge played seven September games in his return from a rib fracture before the calf setback, and the Yankees are operating as if he will not be back for what is expected to be a postseason date with the Red Sox.

“We’ve played much of the year without him, and for the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job, and so guys are used to it,” Boone said. “Obviously you always want your best player in the mix, but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win and I think that expectation doesn’t change.

“With or without him, we’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game.”

On Saturday, Chris Forbes, the Colorado Rockies senior director of player development, answered questions for Purple Row. He explained organizational changes he’s seen over the course of the last year, players to watch for in the Rockies system, and how he’ll handle a lockout — if there is one.

Below are a few takeaways from that conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

On what last winter was like

Last year we had a big lift in a hiring cycle, one of the bigger ones I’ve ever gone through. It wasn’t just like we were making that shift in the pitching, so we really needed to find the right guys. We really dove in there.

But when Paul (DePodesta) got hired, it was him and I. Now we’re talking about (Warren Schaeffer). Now we’re talking about Alon (Leichman). Now we’re doing these calls, and then we got (Josh Byrnes) on. Then it was Paul and I and JB, and then they settled on Schaeff coming back. Then there was the four of us doing the interviews for the big league staff.

Once we kind of got that in place with (Matt) Daniels and the three new pitching guys up there, it was important to get Owen Cuffe and Geoff Brown and some of the pitching guys down.

Then we started having to fill in the minor-league guys. We let go of five guys last year. I had three other guys like (Scott) Oberg who couldn’t come back, Tony (Wolters) who couldn’t come back, and a guy named Dave Keller, who ultimately stepped away, too.

And then I had three additional guys promoted to big league staffs, and Dino and you know Doug Bernier was our field coordinator last year, and Jordan Pacheco.

So now the hiring goes into “Okay, we’ve really got to focus here.” Then we hired Brett Pill. So now we’re involving Brett Pill in interviewing, like, Pacheco. And then Brett Pill in interviewing a guy that we hired in Triple-A, who’s been fantastic, Matt Schneider. It just went to Google-esque buckets of interviews.

We hired our last guy in April, Gary Templeton Jr. He’s in Fresno. He didn’t get any spring training because you’re trying to do interviews during camp.

Last year was pretty chaotic. I’m looking forward to 2026 being over.

You don’t know how it was going to go.

We needed to make changes. We just didn’t know who we were going to bring in at the time. We were involved in a bigger group with the GM interviews, too, which I think was just Walker (Monfort) and Dick (Montfort) setting up a scenario where we could kind of get to know and ask questions.

So it was pretty busy.

On what changed with the new front office

It actually hasn’t changed much at all as far as the day-to-day stuff.

It’s changed — you navigate how the communication is going to go. What’s my first phone call? On the days where you’re talking with Tommy Tanous, or am I talking to Paul? — just kind of the updates on that. Truly, he’s probably been able to expound some of the stuff we wanted to do.

There’s quite a bit more openness and curiosity. These type of programs where you’re able to challenge kids in a certain way and grow them a certain way and make sure they get individual skill stuff and all of it. So it’s actually probably opened up more because they’re curious guys. I think it’s been pretty positive in that aspect of it.

But it’s kind of the same gig. So the same-late night phone calls or controlled chaos.

On what his week looks like

Mondays are my favorite day because nobody’s playing, except for, typically, the Arizona Complex League team.

I touch base with Dan Meyer, our pitching coordinator, every day. You just double check. What did we see last night? Does he need a day? Just trying to be hyper-aware of who needs (what). Can we unplug it for a couple weeks? Like sending (a player) down to Owen Cuffe here in the performance lab, and being very aware of the innings and how many pitches he threw, and how the leverage innings or the high-intensity innings and how that went.

And then, whether it’s coordinators, depending on where they’re at, or managers.

I travel probably three weeks a month. So in and out of Denver, to the affiliates, just kind of make a rotation.

Certain guys, maybe you prioritize that you’d like to see. Sometimes it’s just touch points with the staff and touch points with players.

And then I think the worst nights I have are the latest nights are when, say, I’m in Hartford we’re done. We’re back in the hotel — because you get to the field at like 12:30 or 1:00, and there’s the game, and then we debrief to the game, post-game stuff. And if the team is playing West, like West Coast, then you’re just kind of waiting that out just in case something happened, or we need to get somebody on a flight.

So during the season, it’s pretty chaotic. The phone rings a lot.

On his impressions of this year’s draft class

I think what was intriguing was kind of the talking through and listening to the strategy that they were putting in place for the draft, and talking about guys, like what they do and how they can do it, and what we needed to work on right away.

“Okay, if we get this guy immediately during mini camp, let’s start putting this in play.”

That was kind of intriguing. We used to have what was called a “30-day Rule” that I had to abide by, and for 30 days, you’re just getting to know the player. Well, now you’re getting another player, but we can actually start making some hay. And I think that was probably the most intriguing thing.

So early on, you look at each one of these guys and certain growth opportunities for them: the work ethic, the personality. I’m starting to see some personality with some of these guys, and that’s been fun. They’re starting to come out.

Like mini camp, they’re all quiet, and I’m not a quiet guy. And then you start to get them out here in the day to day, and obviously we were able to get some guys up to Fresno. Got Lorenzo Carrier up to Spokane, but getting them now back down in the scenario with, really, a finer focus on 45 guys that we have and what they do and how they mix in with us. I think that’s key, too.

So it’s been pretty intriguing because there’s guys like like Logan Reddeman (No. 9 PuRP) through his bullpen today. You’re not going to get (him) on a game mound, but you just see, “Okay, he does this, this, and this.”

You start to get in on the maturity piece, and is he a guy that we can put right into Spokane next year? How do you split up the two priority catchers, which we have both, and they’ve got these massive bucket of strengths, and then the areas that we’re working on them with.

So it’s exciting.

And then, we’re going to get a kid named Tyler Bell (No. 4 PuRP) back. I think that’s gonna be an exciting part.

But there seems to be a lot of depth in what they did in the draft. Some of the pitching, we’re getting to know a little bit more on where to refine, and they’re going in their first off season, which is always kind of a nervous time. Some some college guys can go a little too quick out of the gate, but I think we’ve set up that trust in the communication piece that it’s going to be really regimented between you know Daniels and Dan Meyer and Cuffe and a lot of check-ins with our affiliate guys.

On the possibility of a lockout

I think we’re we’re A, B, and C.

There’s Plan A: status quo. Here’s Plan B if this happens. Here’s Plan C if this happens.

Because you just don’t know. I preach to our players about staying present all the time, and I’ve said that to the staff. “Don’t don’t assume it’s gonna lock out.” I’m not gonna read through all the posturing that these guys do. That’s just not my role. It’s just a “Say what you mean” kind of thing.

And I think you just plan it out the best you can. How does spring training look we go first, if they go later, etc? I don’t know how it’s going to look.

On players to watch for

I think Tyler Bell is really intriguing.

There’s certain guys that are no secret, and that’s where Roldy Brito (No. 3 PuRP). I think because of the year when he went out and what we were dealing with a little inflammation in the knee.

I don’t think Wilder Dalis (No. 10 PuRP) got near enough. He’s a good baseball player. So you’ve got some Latin guys like that.

You got some new guys. You’re going to get Ethan (Holliday) (No. 1 PuRP). You’re going get Antoine Jean (No. 46 PuRP) back — we lost in the second inning with his first start. You’re going to get guys like Daniel Jackson (No. 12 PuRP) out for the first full season, and I love the way he plays already because it’s like a catcher with speed, and it’s almost like a running-back aggressiveness.

And there’s guys that I think have to fit. I always kind of talk about the expectation piece of “How do you weigh (a player)?”

Like somebody asked me about Roc Riggio (No. 13 PuRP), and I said, “I think Roc’s an intriguing player.” As a manager, you want guys like Roc, but you can’t have Roc playing every day. You can’t have Ryan Ritter playing every day. That’s not what first division clubs—they’ve got those guys playing every day. But then you’ve got a guy of that type of pedigree or instinctualness on the baseball field that he can come in and help the team. Or if somebody’s down for two days, you don’t feel like you’re missing that much of a beat.

The year that Jackson Cox (No. 11 PuRP) had, still really under that minor-league rehab umbrella for a while, and then coming up to getting the year in Spokane, and still a young kid.

Jack Mahoney (No. 15 PuRP), we dealt with a couple things with Jack where he had just a little inflammation, and we took the opportunity, “Okay, we’re gonna unplug you. We’re gonna get you down a lab and do some pitch design with Cuffe.” And man, how he navigated the Eastern League after that was just phenomenal.

Those are some guys to be excited about, but the pitching really took a hit.

—

The center fielder for the ACL team, Cristian Arguelles (No. 5 PuRP). I mean, he’s everything that you want out of a young prospect. Because there’s also this persona. I used to say when I back years ago when I was scouting, where you would get there, and you watch guys get off the bus. You see that guy, you’re like, “Ooh, I hope that’s a guy.” That’s how he is. There’s something about him for 18 or 19 years old. He’s obviously very much a guy to be excited about.

Closing thoughts

Chris Forbes is always a terrific interview: He knows the Rockies farm system like few people do, and he understands baseball.

I was struck by the fact that he was a key part of the hiring process when Walker and Dick Monfort were determining the front office staff, and I didn’t really put together how much very fast work went into the Rockies hiring in the offseason.

Also, I am glad I don’t have his job. It’s hard enough for us here in the Mountain Time Zone to keep up with West Coast games. I can’t imagine doing that from Hartford.

And I appreciated the players he told us to watch for. We’ll have more on them in the coming days.

Forbes also discussed the Rockies approach to the Arizona Fall League, so look for that in a future story.

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

As the Mets remade their roster this past offseason, one of the boldest moves was the trade that sent fan favorite Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien.

Even with nearly a full season to digest the deal and the reasoning behind it, there are still those who can't quite comprehend why David Stearns pulled the trigger. And the players' baseline stats this year certainly don't make the trade look good in hindsight.

Nimmo, in his age-33 season, is hitting .260/.325/.407 (.732 OPS, 112 OPS+) with 14 home runs and 34 doubles in 149 games for Texas.

Semien, in his age-36 season, is hitting .219/.285/.341 (.626 OPS, 75 OPS+) with 14 home runs and 14 doubles in 134 games for New York.

While this is the simplest way to evaluate the trade, it's also the incorrect way.

When discussing the Nimmo-Semien trade, it's more important to analyze what factored into it (and what's to come) than what the basic offensive results have been for each player in 2026. 

Additionally, this should not be viewed as a situation where Semien replaced Nimmo. Yes, it was a one-for-one trade, but it was always more about offloading Nimmo's contract than adding Semien.

Was there some hope that Semien -- coming off a Gold Glove award in 2026 -- would improve New York's up-the-middle defense and perhaps be around a league average hitter? Sure. But this was always a longer play that involved the Mets trotting out a younger, more athletic outfield and not having to deal with Nimmo's contract in 2029 and 2030.

With Nimmo out of the picture, the Mets traded for Luis Robert Jr., who was something of a lottery ticket given his injury history. 

That initially allowed them to roll with Juan Soto, Robert, and rookie Carson Bengein the outfield from left to right. 

Unsurprisingly, Robert had an injury-riddled stint in New York before being placed on waivers, paving the way forA.J. Ewing to cement himself as the regular center fielder not just for this season but 2027 and beyond. Ewing has impressed on both sides of the ball, holding his own offensively while displaying elite ability in the outfield. 

It's fair to say Ewing wasn't in the Mets' plans from day one of the 2026 season, but he was on the cusp, which makes the decision to trade Nimmo even more understandable. 

Then there's Benge.

Following a difficult first three weeks at the plate as he got acclimated to the majors, Benge has been phenomenal.

In 129 games since April 23, Benge is slashing .294/.354/.448 (.803 OPS) with 18 homers, 18 doubles, three triples, and 75 runs scored. With his next stolen base, he will become the first Mets rookie ever (and just the 20th rookie in MLB history) to have a season with at least 20 steals and 20 homers.

Defensively, Benge has been just as impactful.

His arm, which he has used to unleash throws home in excess of 100 mph, has graded out in the 99th percentile via Baseball Savant. His arm value is in the 100th percentile. His range has been above average. And as the season has gone on, Benge's ability to nail runners trying to advance has become so notorious that they have started to think twice when rounding bases.

Ewing's defense has also been superb, rating in the 90th percentile when it comes to OAA (Outs Above Average) and the 92nd percentile in arm strength.

In a world with Nimmo still on the Mets, there would not have been room for both Benge and Ewing in the outfield unless Soto shifted to a full-time DH role or to a different position.

Back to Nimmo...

Even though his offensive production this season has been a bit above average, it is nowhere near where it was during his prime, when he was an on-base machine. His power output is also starting to sag.

Meanwhile, Nimmo's outfield defense has continued to regress.

His range this season is in the 21st percentile after being in the 41st percentile in 2025 and 66th percentile in 2024.

The value he provides with his arm is in the 5th percentile, which is the worst of his career.

Semien has not performed well during his first season in Queens, and he might not be long for the starting second base job next season. 

Semien played through a hip injury earlier this season that impacted his defense, so it's fair to believe he'll be solid or better at second base going forward if he remains healthy. But the offense is a serious issue, with his OPS declining steadily over the last four seasons, from 126 to 103 to 93 to 75.

At the offensive level Semien is at right now, it's impossible to justify his regular presence in the lineup going forward. That could lead to a situation where he's shifted to the bench early next season and is perhaps designated for assignment at some point in 2027 or 2028.

As far as Nimmo, who wouldn't have even had a regular spot on this current iteration of the Mets, it might have been close to impossible to DFA him if he remained in New York and things got bad -- as they very well could during the final two years of his deal or even sooner. A homegrown fan favorite in the twilight of his career is a different consideration than Semien, who just arrived after spending the first 13 years of his career elsewhere.

There are obvious reasons why the Mets chose to go down this road. And even with a potentially badly diminished Semien under contract through 2028, it can easily be argued that it's the better contract to have on the books -- when it comes to this specific Mets team and their needs -- than the Nimmo deal that runs through 2030.

Tuesday, the Cubs announced details of ticket sales for potential Wild Card Series games at Wrigley Field next week.

Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. CT, Cubs fans can purchase single game tickets through the public on-sale at www.cubs.com/postseason. There is a limit of four tickets per game for the N.L. Wild Card Series, subject to availability, and tickets will be distributed as mobile tickets via the MLB Ballpark app.

If you are looking to purchase tickets to additional potential 2026 postseason games played at Wrigley Field starting with the N.L. Division Series (NLDS), the “Fly the W” presale opportunity is still open and will close Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 11:59 p.m. CT. All registered fans will continue to be eligible for selection to subsequent opportunities available through this program whether selected in a particular drawing or not.

Of course, we hope there are at least two Wild Card games at Wrigley Field next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Cubs currently sit in the top Wild Card position at 87-69, tied with the Padres. The Phillies are one game behind at 85-70.

What happens if those three teams tie for the three Wild Card spots?

For that, we go to MLB’s tiebreaker rules. The first three-way tiebreaker is the teams’ records against each other. The Cubs win that, as they went 11-1 against the Phillies and Padres this year. Thus this is what would happen:

That means, in a theoretical three-way tie for the three Wild Card spots, the Cubs would earn the No. 4 seed. That, in turn, would give them home-field advantage for each game of the Wild Card Series against the No. 5 seed.

With that settled, this simply turns into a regular, old two-team tie for the final two spots. That comes down to head-to-head record, and here we have another lopsided season series. The Phillies went 6-0 against the Padres, sweeping a pair of three-game series between May 25-June 4.

So it’s actually pretty simple. If the Cubs, Phillies and Padres are all tied after Sunday’s games, the Cubs would host the Phillies and the Padres would be the No. 6 seed and face the Braves, who are the third-seeded division winner.

If there’s only a two-way tie between the Cubs and one of Philadelphia or San Diego, the Cubs win both of those as well.

Thus the Cubs can host those games next week if they just take care of business against the Marlins and Red Sox.