His scheduled start Saturday for triple-A Oklahoma City in a Pacific Coast League playoff game is part of a design to prepare him to pitch for the Dodgers in October.
Sheehan has pitched his way into consideration for a spot on the playoff roster.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan (No. 80) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Sunday. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The game was the third Sheehan pitched this month for the Dodgers. His numbers in those three games: 17 innings pitched, one run allowed, 24 strikeouts, three walks.
“I’ve loved the version we’ve seen of Emmet the last three outings,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s been fantastic.”
Sent down to Oklahoma City in early August, Sheehan returned to the major leagues earlier this month with a slightly modified arsenal that has significantly improved his results. He’s thrown his curveball more, and his increased inability to change speeds has made his fastball play up even when he’s not touching 97 mph with it.
“I think that obviously there’s a 97 that plays better, but 94–95 commanded still misses bats,” Roberts said. “So I think that’s something that, that’s one part of it. The other part of it is holding the velocity. And so, for me, the last three or four since he’s been back here, he’s held those 94s and 95s for the, call it, 85 pitches.”
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said, “I’ve loved the version we’ve seen of Emmet the last three outings.” IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
With the Dodgers expecting to start Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tarik Skubal and Tyler Glasnow in the postseason, the team has started the process of moving Sheehan into a relief role by having Jack Dreyer pitch an inning as opener Sunday. Sheehan was down in triple-A over the last week but a roster spot for him was opened up because Skubal went on the bereavement list.
Sheehan entered the game in the second inning and pitched into the seventh. He gave up only one hit and one walk; he struck out nine.
He said he has made it a point to feel “free and easy” with his delivery.
“Instead of saying, ‘I need 97 [mph] here,’ it’s more like, ‘If I hit my spot, he’s not going to hit it,’” Sheehan said.
What it means
The teams with the two-best records in each league will earn a first-round bye and the Dodgers are close to wrapping up one of those spots. With their win over the Giants, the Dodgers maintained a four-game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the National League’s No. 2 seed. Both teams have only six games remaining in the regular season.
Who’s hot
Left-hander Kris Bubic, who was acquired from the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline, replaced Sheehan in the seventh inning and registered the final two outs of the inning. Bubic struck out Scott Bandura, only for Shay Whitcomb to reach base on a throwing error by Max Muncy.
No problem: Bubic forced Grant McCray to fly out to left field.
Bubic has pitched 2 ⅔ innings in three appearances for the Dodgers over the last week, and he still hasn’t allowed a run. He has struck out four.
Roberts said he’s also pitched his way into consideration for a spot on the playoff roster.
“It’s nothing overpowering, but there’s just funky swings, soft contact,” Roberts said. “I see him as a neutral pitcher, gets left and right out, and I like those converted starters because he knows how to navigate lineups.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tommy Edman gestures as he scores after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of the Giants vs. Dodgers game. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Who’s Not
For today, this section should be renamed “Who Wasn’t Hot.”
The label certainly applied to Tommy Edman, who was two for his last 42 before his sixth-inning at-bat: That’s when Edman jumped on an inside cutter from Carson Seymour and launched it into the visiting bullpen behind the right-field wall.
Edman’s home run tied the game at 1–1.
Up next
The Dodgers have a day off Monday. They will resume play Tuesday when they host the San Diego Padres, who will send No. 1 starter Michael King (12-9, 3.03 ERA) to the mound. The Dodgers won’t have a traditional starter, as Roberts said the team is planning for a bullpen game.
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The Colorado Avalanche gave Alan Roach plenty of reasons to yell into his microphone Sunday night.
Roach, the longtime public-address announcer at Ball Arena, was back behind the mic for the first time this season, and the Avalanche made sure he had plenty of work to do. Colorado scored four times over the final two periods to pull away from the Utah Mammoth for a 4-1 preseason victory at Ball Arena.
Beckett Hamilton and Taylor Makar scored in their preseason NHL debuts, while Gavin Brindley and Brock Nelson also found the back of the net. Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Brindley and T.J. Hughes each recorded an assist.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all seven shots he faced before giving way to Ilya Nabokov, who made 16 saves on 17 shots. in his preseason NHL debut.
Colorado dictated the pace of much of the opening period but couldn't find the net. That all changed in the second period.
What Happened
The Avalanche broke through at 8:54 of the second period.
Hamilton finished from the right side of the crease after Necas knocked down a pass from Mammoth defenseman Maveric Lamoureux and quickly turned the broken play into a scoring chance.
Utah answered late in the period when Yegor Borikov scored from the doorstep at 15:27, sending the game into the second intermission tied 1-1.
The stalemate did not last very long.
Brindley put Colorado back in front just 1:52 into the third period, finishing off a two-on-one rush with Kadri.
Then came an unusual decision in a preseason game: Utah challenged the goal for offsides. The challenge failed, and the resulting delay of game put the Avalanche on the power play. Colorado wasted no time making the Mammoth pay.
Lehkonen found Nelson in the high slot, and Nelson buried a one-timer at 2:27 to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.
Makar then put the game away late in the third.
Brindley chipped the puck out of the neutral zone, sending Makar in on a partial breakaway. Makar finished the opportunity at 17:27, giving the Avalanche their fourth and final goal of the night.
Not a bad way for the Avalanche to get the season started.
Next Up
Colorado will head north for its second preseason game Monday night, facing the Winnipeg Jets at 6 p.m. MT. The game can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio 950 AM.
BALTIMORE (AP) — William Contreras homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers earned their franchise-record 98th victory by beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep.
Cooper Pratt drove in two for Milwaukee (98-58), which owns the best record in the majors and surpassed the 97 victories it had last season. The Brewers have already clinched their fourth consecutive NL Central title.
The Orioles managed four hits and were shut out for the second consecutive game. Baltimore fell five games behind the Chicago White Sox for the AL’s third wild card and has six games remaining.
Milwaukee starter Jacob Misiorowski yielded a hit and struck out four in three innings in a planned abbreviated outing. The right-hander, who leads the majors in ERA (1.86) and strikeouts (247), moved into second place on the Brewers’ single-season strikeouts list. Ben Sheets had 264 in 2004.
The Brewers manufactured a run in the second inning against Baltimore starter Brandon Young (9-5) when Jake Bauers walked, advanced on a grounder and scored on Pratt’s two-out single to left.
Contreras smacked Young’s sinker 403 feet to left to lead off the fourth for his 18th homer.
Pratt added an RBI single in the seventh against Orioles reliever Félix Bautista, who completed his comeback from shoulder surgery. He had not pitched in the majors since July 20, 2025.
DL Hall (4-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings for Milwaukee. Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his 29th save.
The Brewers’ Jackson Chourio stole two bases to give him 21 for the year. He joined Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. as the only players with 20 homers and 20 steals in three consecutive seasons to open a career.
Young allowed two runs and struck out a career-high nine in six innings.
Up next
Milwaukee is off Monday. RHP Dustin May (7-9, 4.61 ERA) faces Philadelphia as the Brewers open their last road series Tuesday. Baltimore’s final homestand continues Monday as RHP Shane Baz (6-5, 4.11 ERA) starts against Toronto.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: William Contreras #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 20, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the first time since 2023, the Brewers have pitched back-to-back shutouts as they completed a sweep of the Orioles and reached a franchise-record 98 wins with a 3-0 victory Sunday night.
Orioles starter Brandon Young dominated in the first, setting Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras down in order with three strikeouts. Jacob Misiorowski responded with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first, including one strikeout.
Jake Bauers became the first runner to reach as he led off the second with a walk, moving up to second base on a groundout by Christian Yelich. With two outs, Cooper Pratt put Milwaukee on the board, hitting a liner to left that allowed Bauers to score, giving the Crew an early 1-0 lead.
Misiorowski had another 1-2-3 frame in the second with another strikeout, and Garrett Mitchell’s leadoff single went for naught in the third before Misiorowski finished up his shortened outing with two more strikeouts and just one hit allowed, a two-out single by Carlos Narváez.
With a 1-0 lead entering the fourth, Contreras quickly doubled the deficit, crushing his 18th homer of the year to leadoff the inning.
Antonio Senzatela entered to replace Miz in the fourth, allowing a two-out infield single to Coby Mayo before being removed for the lefty JoJo Romero, who induced a flyout to end the inning.
Milwaukee had another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, and Romero remained in for the fifth, allowing a one-out single but getting a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning unscathed.
In the sixth, Chourio led off with a walk before stealing his 20th base of the season (initially ruled an out, then overturned upon review). Chourio’s steal makes him the first player in MLB history to have three 20-homer-20-steal seasons before age 23, and just the third player — joining Julio Rodríguez and Bobby Witt Jr. — with three straight 20-20 seasons to begin their careers.
On the next pitch, however, Chourio inexplicably ran on a chopper to third, as Mayo turned an easy 5-3 double play with the tag.
Romero stayed in to get one more out to begin the bottom of the sixth before being lifted for Chad Patrick. Patrick got Pete Alonso to ground out but then lost his command, hitting Gunnar Henderson, walking Mayo on four pitches (including two wild pitches to advance Henderson to third), and doing the same with Samuel Basallo to load the bases for Jeremiah Jackson. The moment was anticlimactic for the home squad, though, as Jackson hit a soft grounder to first, helping Patrick escape the jam and extending Baltimore’s scoreless streak to 16 innings.
Looking for insurance, the Brewers would have to do so against the towering, 6’8” Félix Bautista, who was making his first appearance since last July as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Bauers promptly greeted him with a double into right-center, and he’d go on to score again as Pratt hit another RBI single. After swiping second and third base, Bautista walked Mitchell, and he exited to make way for left-hander Grant Wolfram, who set down Sal Frelick to end the inning.
Staked to a 3-0 lead, Pat Murphy turned to struggling Kyle Harrison, who once again ran into trouble, allowing a single and a walk around a lineout (on a ball that Mitchell needed to dive for) before being replaced by DL Hall. Hall got out of the jam quickly, needing five pitches to get two flyouts and sending this one to the eighth.
Chourio singled and stole second in the eighth before a walk by Contreras, but Bauers grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to allow Wolfram to get out of it.
Hall struck out a pair in a scoreless bottom half of the eighth, and neither team did much of anything in the ninth, as Pratt walked but stayed on first and Trevor Megill set the Orioles down in order, completing the sweep and giving Milwaukee a franchise-record 98 wins on the season.
With Miz going just three innings, Hall was awarded the win for his 1 2/3 innings of work, striking out a pair and allowing no baserunners, while Megill picked up his 29th save after blowing the save on Friday night. Pratt led the offense with two RBI singles and a walk, while Contreras had the solo homer and Bauers scored the other two runs, reaching three times via two walks and a double.
At 98-58 on the year, Milwaukee still has six chances to reach the 100-win threshold, as they’ll get an off day on Monday before a three-game set with the Phillies in Philadelphia. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 5:40 p.m., with Dustin May set to toe the rubber opposite Zack Wheeler. See you then.
A scary scene unfolded in the fourth inning of the Cubs’ 9-1 blowout win over the Reds on Sunday when Alex Bregman took a foul ball to the face, forcing him to leave the game.
The foul ball came off the bat of teammate Michael Busch, who had checked his swing and sent the ball speeding toward Bregman standing in the grass several feet in front of the on-deck circle.
Bregman was taken to an area hospital to undergo X-rays and CT scans.
Alex Bregman was struck in the face by a foul ball while in the on-deck circle.
He was helped down the dugout steps with a towel to his face and was forced to exit the game. pic.twitter.com/ACj2a2ZEgT
The foul struck Bregman on his left cheekbone under his eye and left a cut, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune.
A photo Bregman posted to his Instagram Story seemed to confirm that as well, with the Cubs third baseman showing bruising around his eye and padding up his nose to stop bleeding.
Alex Bregman posted to his Instagram Stories. Alex Bregman/InstagramChicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (3) walks off the field after getting hit by a foul ball in the fourth inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“Thanks for all the messages yall. I’ll be back,” Bregman wrote.
Counsell expects that Bregman will fly back to Chicago on the team plane.
“I knew it hit him somewhere in the face, the Cubs manager said. “It’s just an unfortunate accident, terrible accident. Hoping and praying he’s OK.”
“He’s pretty swollen. … I don’t know anything more than that right now.”
Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (3) runs off the field after getting hit by a foul ball in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Counsell appeared to be focused on the health of his player more than the impact it could have on the Cubs’ playoff hopes, but the freak accident comes at a crucial point for the team. Chicago sits atop the NL wild card standings with just six games left in the regular season.
“We’ve got to get good results at the hospital, that’s what’s first,” Counsell said. “He got hit in the face, so you’re worried about general well-being first. If we get a good report, then we’ll move to the next step. I want to get a good report first.”
AMARILLO, TX - SEPTEMBER 12: Wellington Aracena #40 of the Amarillo Sod Poodles pitches during the game between the San Antonio Missions and the Amarillo Sod Poodles at Hodgetown on Saturday, September 12, 2026 in Amarillo, Texas. (Photo by Elisa Chavez/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Introduction
Continuing with the deep dive into the more interesting Diamondbacks pitching prospects, we’ll be looking at two sets of very different pitchers.
Background: The Diamondbacks signed Junior Ciprian out of the Dominican Republic in August of 2023, for a signing bonus of only $20,000. Ciprian was older than the norm for prospects out of the Dominican Republic, only signing a few months after his 18th birthday, and then he didn’t break into stateside ball until 2025. Long story short, his development is probably further behind than where you’d expect a pitcher of his age and background to be.
Ciprian’s time in the Dominican Summer League consisted of just 3.0 innings in 2023 and 25 innings in 2024, so we’re gonna jump ahead to 2025. Ciprian started out the year in the Arizona Complex league, where he’d pitch 39 innings with a 4.62 era, along with a rather ugly 6.14 FIP and 5.82 xFIP. The ERA was slightly above league average with a 94 ERA-, and as expected, a well below average 121 FIP. He’d then get promoted to Single A Visalia, where he’d appear in 5 more games, 15⅔ innings total, with a 3.45 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 4.73 xFIP.
Ciprian would return to Visalia to start the 2026 season, and he’d out up 71⅔ innings pitched with a 2.76 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 5.19 xFIP. 51 ERA- and 83 FIP-. That would earn Ciprian a promotion to High-A Hillsboro, and he’d pitch 32⅔ innings with a 4.68 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 5.65 xFIP, 95 ERA-, and 90 FIP-.
Junior Ciprian is essentially the ideal ’projectability’ type of pitching prospect, who seems to be becoming that pitcher he was projected to be. Ciprian already sports an mighty impressive fastball, that can touch 98-99 AND has 18 inches of vertical break, giving him a plus primary pitch, that is complimented by a high 80s slider with late dive and break. He lacks a true plus third pitch though to go after left-handed batters, so he’s going to need to develop those tertiary pitches to succeed as a starting pitcher at the MLB level. That said, I have very little doubt that he could succeed as a reliever though with just the main two pitches.
Background: The Mets signed him out of the Dominican Republic for just $70,000 as part of their 2022 international draft class. He’d eventually broke out as a prospect in 2025, but was acquired by Baltimore in the Gregory Soto trade at the deadline. The Diamondbacks acquired Aracena in the Blaze Alexander trade back in Jamuary.. Aracena was assigned to High A Hillsboro, whwre he pitched in 19 games, started 16 of them, putting up a 4.83 ERA, a 98 ERA-, 4.09 FIP, 4.55 xFIP and an 84 FIP- in 72⅓ innings. Double A Amarillo and the Texas league didn’t treat him nearly as well in the six games he appeared in he put up a 6.91 ERA, 117 ERA, 5.71 FIP, 5.04 xFIP, and a 102 FIP- in 27⅓ innings pitched.
The biggest issue at both levels has been a high walk rate and poor command at times, with Aracena walking 13.1 percent of batters faced in High-A and 12.7% of batters in Double-A.
Scouting Report: Aracena just might have the best raw stuff of any of the pitchers discussed today; He usually sits in the mid to high 90s with his four-seam fastball, but has topped out at 100+ mph. His low 90s cutter has impressive glove side run that I’d call it a fully developed pitch. His slider generates a lot of swings and misses, with a near 50% whiff rate. He apparently throws a two-seamer and a changeup as well, but they’re used so little they’re a non factor.
Unfortunately, Aracena’s command might be the worst of the four pitchers here, and overall he’s very inconsistent from game to game. He might look unhittable one outing and then the next he can’t find the strike zone. I honestly question giving him an average grade for Control, but on a good day, he does command the strike zone well
Background: Junior Sanchez signed with the D-backs for $50,000 as a 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in January 2023. He’d make his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League the same year and putting up a 2.76 ERA, a 3.84 FIP, and a 4.44 xFIP in 42 ⅓ IP spread across 11 games. Looking at his above average 59 ERA- and 82 FIP- shows just how good he was, especially as a 17 year old and one of the youngest pitchers in the league. Sanchez came stateside and pitched in the Arizona Complex League for all of the 2024 season. He’d pitch 33 ⅓ innings across 13 games with a 3.78 ERA, 4.88 FIP and 4.89 xFIP. 72 ERA- and 91 FIP-.
In 2025, Sanchez would start the year in Single-A Visalia, and in 73⅔ innings he’d put up a 2.32 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 4.19 xFIP, 52 ERA- and an 87 FIP-. He’d then get promoted to Hillsboro. put up 2.40 ERA in 105 innings between Single-A Visalia and High-A Hillsboro, which was the best among D-backs Minor Leaguers (min. 100 IP) and ranked 10th among MiLB hurlers who met that requirement. This year Sanchez return to High A Hillsboro, where pitched in nine games, six as a starter, totalling 41⅓ innings with a 2.61 ERA, 53 Era-, 3.07 FIP, 4.46 xFIP, and a 63 FIP. He struck out 35% of batters he faced, while walking just 6.3%.
If you look at just his 89 ERA- and 98 FIP- for the 72⅓ innings he pitched in AA Amarillo, you’d be forgiven for assuming he didn’t also have an ERA over five. This is the Texas league and a 5.23 ERA, 5.50 FIP, and 4.89 xFIP are above average. His strikeout rate shrunk down 23.8% and his walk rate jumped up to 10.3%.
Scouting Report: At 5-foot-10, Junior Sanchez is an undersized righthander with very little remaining projection in his frame. His delivery is very deceptive, with a short arm action and vertical release, and he hides the ball very well. His average fastball velocity is up, more than the initial scouting reports I came across, but it still only tops out at 94-95 mph on his best day. He an excellent feel for all of his secondary pitches, with the best of them being a high-spin sweeper in the mid 80s. He has advanced feel for it and the pitch results in high chase and whiff rates. Sanchez also has a high-80s cutter and changeup. His changeup has good action and can miss bats, while his cutter is a pitch he can comfortably land in the zone.
Sanchez succeeds in spite of the lack of raw velocity, but the amount of movement he has on all four of his pitches and the command he has over all of them seems to make up for that, at least so far in the minor leagues. The real question is will his arsenal of pitches be enough for him to find success at the MLB level in today’s game, facing batters with better pitch recognition. The drop in strikeout rate and surge in walk rate tells me that he’s might have a hard time repeating his previous success as he faces tougher hitters going forward.
Sanchez has the intelligence, personality and makeup to succeed in spite of the limits on his stuff though, and I wouldn’t bet against him finding success eventually.
Background: As a freshman at Baylor, Mason Marriot was deployed out of the bullpen, but shifted to the starting rotation for his sophomore and junior seasons. Marriot was far from successful though, putting up an awful 7.52 ERA and 6.28 FIP in 58⅔ IP his sophomore season, followed by a slightly-better-but-still-awful 5.94 ERA and 5.09 FIP in 69⅔ IP his junior season. In spite of that, the D’Backs liked him enough to draft Marriot in the 6th round of the 2024 draft, although they signed him for below slot at $241,000.
Marriot got off to a great start to begin his pro career, giving up just a pair of runs on six hits and walk(while striking out 6), in the seven innings he pitched in 2024. (Obviously a small sample size; that works out to a 2.34 ERA, 54 ERA-, 2.78 FIP, 3.84 xFIP, 58 FIP-)
In 2025, he was assigned to high-A Hillsboro, where he continued that hot start in his first four games, giving up just five runs on 13 hits and eight walks, while striking out 25 batters in 19⅔ innings . That works out to a 2.29 ERA, 51 ERA-, 2.13 FIP, 2.91 xFIP, and a 48 FIP-. Unfortunately, after those four games, Marriot suffered a season ending UCL injury, necessitating Tommy John surgery and he wouldn’t pitch again until the middle of 2026 season.
I’ll be blunt, Marriot had some ugly numbers in his three game rehab stint and then predictably struggled after he was promoted to AA Amarillo, but in the six games he pitched in A+ Hillsboro he was very impressive and looked like the pitcher he was prior to the injury. If you look at his just Hillsboro he had a 3.29 ERA with a 1.60 FIP and 2.28 xFIP. In the relatively pitching friendly Northwest League, that results in a still well above average 67 ERA- and very impressive 33 ERA-. If you add in the other two leagues, it adds up to a 5.52 ERA, 96 ERA- along with a 4.87 FIP and an 87 FIP-.
Regardless, the stat that stands out to me the most is his high rate of strikeouts (K/9, SO%) along with relatively low walk rates. In high-a Hillsboro he struck out 37.3% of batters he faced while walking only 5.9% of batters. In AA Amarillo he struck out 25% percent of batters for a 11.37 K/9
I am not really sure if the D-backs intend on keeping Marriott as a starter, and to be honest, considering how limited his innings have been, does he actually qualify as one? He has technically started 15 out of the 19 games he’s played in, but has only pitched 51⅔ innings. While Marriott doesn’t have blow me away velocity, he has the arsenal of pitches to work as a starter.
Looking at Marriott’s pitch mix, he shows a natural feel for spin and the ability to command his breaking balls with big movement profiles. Marriott’s fastball is a generic-looking four-seamer that sits in the 94-96 mph, but it is a very hittable pitch. He’s going to need to find a better shape for his fastball if wants to continue finding success as he moves up the ladder of professional baseball.
As far as his secondary pitches go, he has three above-average pitches. The best in the trio of secondaries is a low 80s curveball with a 2700+ RPM spin rate and a heavy two-plane break Marriott also mixes in a mid-80s sweeper and a high-80s changeup, but they’re used much less frequently, although latter is an excellent pitch for keeping the ball on the ground.
Based on watching a couple of his outings and looking at his career fielding statistics he’s a competent above average fielder on the mound.
Conclusions
Of the four pitchers, Junior Ciprian might be one of the safer bets if he continues to develop like he has. Aracena has great stuff and will eventually find success if he can be a little more consistent hitting the strikezone. Junior Sanchez lacks the raw stuff but has everything else. Finally, Mason Marriott is gonna need to be stretched out as a starter; but he has the stuff to he successful as reliever.
Next time we’ll look at the final handful of pitching prospects that have shown potential, but didn’t make the cut here for whatever reason.
DENVER, CO - June 7: Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (2) throws to first base to complete a double play in the eighth inning during a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 7, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies are 57–99.
One more loss will give them their fourth consecutive 100-loss season, and they are almost certainly going to finish with the worst record in baseball.
These are absurd times for the Rockies, so I have devised an appropriately absurd rule to help them out.
The team with the worst record in baseball gets to steal one player from a playoff team.
There are, naturally, some restrictions. We’re freezing the playoff field as it stood before games on Sunday, September 20. The player has to come from one of those 12 teams, cannot be a pending free agent, and you cannot take the player who leads his team in FanGraphs WAR. The Rockies also inherit the player’s existing contract.
No, one player is not suddenly turning the Rockies into a contender. But could one poached superstar at least keep this thing from becoming five consecutive 100-loss seasons?
Here’s the board:
Team
Off limits: fWAR leader
Highest available fWAR
Other players worth considering
Rays
Junior Caminero (5.2)
Drew Rasmussen (4.7)
Jonathan Aranda (3)
Guardians
Parker Messick (4.6)
Steven Kwan (3.4)
Gavin Williams (3.4), Brayan Rocchio (3.3), José Ramírez (2.2)
Rangers
Ezequiel Duran (4.6)
Jacob deGrom (4.2)
Josh Jung (2.9), Wyatt Langford (2.8)
Yankees
Cam Schlittler (6.1)
Ben Rice (4)
Cody Bellinger (3.9), Aaron Judge (2)
Red Sox
Willson Contreras (4.1)
Payton Tolle (4)
Ceddanne Rafaela (3.9), Ranger Suárez (3.7)
White Sox
Miguel Vargas (5)
Chase Meidroth (4)
Tristan Peters (3.9), Sean Burke (3.1)
Brewers
Jacob Misiorowski (6.3)
Brice Turang (5.4)
Jackson Chourio (4), Jake Bauers (3.6)
Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani (6.7)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4.7)
Max Muncy (4.3), Andy Pages (3.9)
Braves
Chris Sale (5.7)
Michael Harris II (4)
Matt Olson (4), Drake Baldwin (3.1)
Cubs
Pete Crow-Armstrong (10.2)
Alex Bregman (5)
Dansby Swanson (3.6)
Padres
Fernando Tatis Jr. (5)
Jackson Merrill (4)
Ty France (3.8), Mason Miller (3.7)
Phillies
Cristopher Sánchez (5.8)
Jesús Luzardo (5.6)
Zack Wheeler (3.5), Bryce Harper (3.4)
For me, the choice comes down to Brice Turang, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Aaron Judge.
Turang is probably the sensible choice.
At 5.4 fWAR, he would easily lead the Rockies, giving them a legitimate top-end player while immediately solving second base for the foreseeable future. He’s 26, hitting .266/.367/.441 with an .808 OPS, and brings value on both sides of the ball with elite range, strong baserunning and a 95th-percentile walk rate.
It would be a very easy way to make the roster better.
But the Rockies really need starting pitching.
Enter Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
He’s 14–8 with a 2.51 ERA, 178 strikeouts and a 0.87 WHIP over 179 innings. His Statcast profile is just as impressive: 100th-percentile pitching run value, 99th-percentile fastball run value, 95th-percentile offspeed run value and a 91st-percentile xERA.
Pitchers are risky, and Yamamoto comes with a lot of money attached. But it’s hard to argue with either the profile or the results, and the addition of the Penner family makes absorbing that contract a lot easier to imagine.
Speaking of high-priced items…
Aaron Judge.
Judge being available is basically a loophole created by our own stupid rule. Injuries have limited him to just 285 plate appearances, which is why he sits at only 2 fWAR, but he’s still hitting .241/.360/.511 with 15 home runs.
And the underlying numbers are still very much Judge: a .396 xwOBA, .569 xSLG, 94.0 mph average exit velocity and a 57.5% hard-hit rate.
It is very hard to look at that and say, “No thanks.”
After all, Aaron Judge is the type of hitter that, if he were playing 81 games a year at Coors Field, I might take out a small loan for season tickets.
Davis Martin got yanked with more left in the tank. | (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images)
If you overlook a four-hour rain delay and miserable fall football weather that lasted throughout the three-hour game, Sunday’s 8-1 crushing of the Detroit Tigers was unqualified joy from first pitch to final out.
In beating Detroit in three of four games, the White Sox remained just one game behind Cleveland heading into a significant matchup advantage in the penultimate series of the season: The Guardians travel to 84-win Boston, Chicago to 67-win Kansas City. Cleveland swept the Athletics over the weekend, widening its lead on the White Sox by a half-game.
Battling the rough conditions of soggy grounds and drizzle, the White Sox grinded out an opening tally after a walk from Colson Montgomery, a fielder’s choice out at second base off the bat of Chase Meidroth, and Meidroth turning a pickoff into a stolen base. Up came Braden Montgomery, who smashed a 102 mph grounder past nonplussed Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson that the soggy field grounded to a halt before it could be picked up:
Or, perhaps you would like the Japanese call of the eventual game-winning RBI?
For a brief time, given the fall mist it appeared that the single run would have to hold up, with a nod to the low-scoring affair just north at Soldier Field this afternoon. But at just about the time the Good Guys accepted the fact that they’d be running around in soggy underwear for a couple more hours, they took their discomfort out on the baseball.
In the fourth inning, the runs came via more grinding: ANOTHER Colson base on balls and a two-out single from Brenton Doyle put runners on the corners. Screamin’ Sam Antonacci stepped to the plate, fresh off of a dogged fly ball pursuit that lured him almost to the infield, and the wild man took a two-strike slider off his toes and onto the scoreboard:
Kyle Teel added an RBI single from there, and the rout was on. One inning later, the White Sox piled on with a two-run shot from Meidroth into the teeth of a wind biting in from left field.
Now, just because this played out as an easy win doesn’t mean there weren’t some head-scratching moves from melting manager Will Venable. Caring not for the fact that his bullpen is absolutely gassed while starter Davis Martin is relatively fresh after a few-week vacation in August, Will trotted out after a Martin K to start the fifth, summoning Hagen Smith for what, at this juncture, was garbage-time work. Smith rose to the unnecessary occasion, you might say, by walking two to hand Detroit a rally. Thankfully, the lefty phenom bounced back with a nail-biting whiff of hot Bengals rookie Hao-Yu Lee and a broken-bat tapper to first from Riley Greene.
Huascar Brazobán, Trevor Richards and Luis Castillo held things down well enough to end it, while the White Sox piled on even more in the eighth, as two singles and a walk packed the sacks and another free pass and a sac fly brought two more scores in to arrive at the 8-1 finals.
Another head-scratcher came at the start of the Sox eighth, as Tommy Pham (his suiting up for the White Sox in an of itself, a head-scratcher) slapped a pinch-hit single to start the inning and was replaced on the bases by … injured center fielder Tristan Peters, for some reason pressed into action up five rather than enjoying a full day of rest and off-day Monday to rev up for the final six contests. And sure, why not insert Peters into left field to finish out the game?
But, all’s well that ends, and this one ended 8-1, landing the White Sox one win from their first non-losing season in three years and two wins from their first winning campaign in four.
After Monday’s off-day, it’s three games in Kansas City and three back home to take on the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies. Don’t forget to scoreboard watch the jagbag Guardians tomorrow, as they are ready to be overwhelmed by the Boston Red Sox.
MVP Davis Martin: 4 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K, removed from the game at 70 pitches, 18.1% WPA; he gonna start on three days’ rest from here?
Runners-Up Sam Antonacci: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, SB, 17.1% WPA Braden Montgomery: 2-for-4, RBI, 2B, 8.4% WPA Colson Montgomery: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB Miguel Vargas: 1-for-2, R, 3 BB, K Munetaka Murakami: 0-for-2, RBI, BB, K
Cold Cat Will Venable: Goofy choices in a win, but hey at least it’s a win
Runners-Up Brenton Doyle: 1-for-4, R, K Andrew Benintendi: 0-for-2, K Randal Grichuk: 0-for-2, RBI, SF Hagen Smith: ⅔ IP, 2 BB, K, 8-of-18 strikes Trevor Richards: 2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 20: Troy Melton #52 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on September 20, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On a blustery, wet Sunday evening in Chicago, Troy Melton struggled through a shaky outing and left in the fourth with an apparent injury. The Tigers didn’t swing the bats that well, though they had their chances, but the bullpen crumbled in the middle innings to put this one out of reach. The Tigers lost 8-1, with the White Sox taking three of four in the series.
Troy Melton was looking to get back on track after a little rough stretch on Sunday. After missing the first 10 weeks of the season with elbow trouble, the right-hander was great until late August, but recently looks like he’s running out of gas as he nears 130 total innings on the year. The White Sox sent a reasonably good right-hander in Davis Martin to oppose him. This one was delayed for four hours due to rain, but there was nothing to do but wait as this game had to be completed for its playoff implications. Most of the game was dogged by a steady drizzle that made things tricky for both pitchers.
Martin had an easy time of it in the top of the first. Kevin McGonigle grounded out, Gleyber Torres struck out, and Hao-Yu Lee flew out to right field.
Sam Antonacci burned a challenge as the first White Sox hitter of the game, but he singled to Brett Callahan in right field. Melton got Kyle Teel whiffing on a slider that was tipped into the glove, but first the Sox catcher burned their second challenge and they were out of challenges two batters into the game. Melton blew Vargas away with a good heater, but then clipped Munetaka Murakami with a curveball. So it was first and second with two outs for Andrew Benintendi, who pulled a hot one-hopper to first. Spencer Torkelson knocked it down, collected it, and flipped to Melton to refute the White Sox threat.
Rain was pretty steadily coming down in the top of the second. Riley Greene took a called third strike to start the inning. Eduardo Valencia pulled a sharp groundball single into left field. Max Clark showed bunt and then pulled it back first pitch, taking a curveball for a strike. He fouled off a heater but chopped one to second for a force of Valencia. A 3-2 slider to Torkelson backed up and hit him in the back, and so it was two on, two outs for Callahan. The corner outfielder was hunting a breaking ball as Martin continued to lean on his curve and slider, and he crushed a ball to right field that looked gone off the bat, but the wind and water knocked it down at the wall for the final out.
Melton was spraying it again to start the second inning, walking Colson Montgomery to start the inning. Chase Meidroth bounced into a force at second base. With Braden Montgomery at the plate, Melton spun and tried a pickoff throw but slipped on the muddy mound. Meidroth broke for second and Melton heard his teammates but auto fired to first, allowing Meidroth to reach. Melton was clearly irritated with himself, with the mound, shaking off Valencia repeatedly, and then trying to calm himself down. In a 3-2 count, he hung a slider up and Montgomery pulled a hard grounder past Torkelson for an RBI single. 1-0 White Sox. Brenton Doyle flew out to Clark on a sliding catch for the second out. A first pitch cutter to Antonacci drew a sharp comebacker but Melton snared it and flipped to first to end the inning.
The third started with Martin walking John Peck, turning the Tigers lineup over. McGonigle worked a full count, but swung a bit late at a cutter up and away to strike out. Peck tried to steal second and Teel’s throw was in the dirt, but Meidroth picked it and got the tag down in the nick of time. Torres flew out to end the frame.
Teel flew out to start the bottom of the third, but Melton walked Vargas. He bounced back to punch out Murakami with a good slider in the zone and was doing his best to battle. Benintendi worked a full count, but Melton snapped off a great curveball to whiff him and end the inning. Still 1-0 White Sox.
Martin locked up Lee with a curveball to start the fourth. Greene lifted a high fly to left and the thick, wet air knocked it down right behind the shortstop Montgomery, who didn’t even attempt to make a play. Instead, Antonacci had to run full tilt in toward the dirt and making a diving catch. Valencia lined a single to center and a passed ball got him to second. Clark walked, and so it was up to the bottom of the Tigers’ lineup to even this one up. Torkelson battled into a full count, but took a slider for strike three.
Melton walked Colson Montgomery to open the bottom of the fourth, still struggling to spot his stuff to a degree. Meidroth lined out to Peck for the first out. Brayden Montgomery grounded out to Lee at third, but Torres was late to get to second base and they settled for the out at first. A 2-2 slider to Antonacci was ripped to right field and just died in the wet grass. Both runners scored, and the left fielder cruised into second base. 3-0 White Sox.
Things got worse, as Melton missed with a first pitch sinker to Teel. He looked uncomfortable, and Valencia and Chris Fetter both came out to the mound, and then called for AJ Hinch and the trainers. Melton left the game, and he did shake out his arm a bit two pitches earlier, and seemed to keep extending it as he left the field with the trainer. Nothing to do but hope for the best there as he was no doubt cranking his grips in the rainy conditions. Either way, his season is over.
Tyler Holton made haste to get ready, but immediately gave up a single to Teel that scored Antonacci. 4-0 White Sox. Holton then walked Vargas, bringing Murakami to the dish, but after a long battle, Holton walked him as well. Randal Grichuk entered as a pinch-hitter for Benintendi, and still the steady drizzle continued as he flew out to Clark in center field.
Callahan started the fifth with a solid single into right field. Peck struck out, but that was the end of the day for Martin. Will Venable turned to tough lefty Hagen Smith to tackle McGonigle. Instead, Smith walked McGonigle to put two on for Torres. Smith got ahead of Torres 0-1, but back to back challenges for Torres were correct, making it a 2-1 count, and the Tigers second baseman walked to load the bases. And then Lee struck out and Greene swung first pitch and grounded out to strand everyone. Great work, guys.
Ty Madden took over in the bottom half, and promptly gave up a single to Colson Montgomery, and then a two-run shot to left off the bat of Meidroth. He cleaned up the rest of the inning, but it was 6-0 White Sox.
Right-hander Huascar Brazobán entered in the sixth. He got a fly out from Valencia, and Clark popped up on the infield. Torkelson got ahead 2-0 and pulled one into the left field corner for a double, but Callahan grounded out to first.
Teel flew out to start the bottom half. Vargas popped one foul into foul territory near the visitor’s dugout but Torkelson just dropped it. Madden then walked Vargas, balked him to second, and then had his foot slip again, bouncing a wild pitch to get him to third. Murakami grounded one sharply to Torres at second, and Vargas had to hold at third. So it was two outs, man on third with Grichuk up, and he flew out to Clark to end the inning.
Trevor Richards tossed a 1-2-3 top of the seventh.
Callahan made a great diving catch down the right field line to retire Colson Montgomery in the bottom half. Meidroth struck out, but Brayden Montgomery slashed a single to left. Doyle drove a ball hard out to center, but Clark had a really good jump on it and handled it easily.
Richards was still on in the eighth, and he got Lee to fly out to right. Riley Greene followed with a double to right, and Valencia singled up the middle to get Greene to third. Max Clark lifted a sacrifice fly to score Greene to make it a 6-1 game, but after Torkelson walked, Callahan flew out to end the top of the eighth.
Brant Hurter took over in the bottom of the eighth. Tommy Pham hit for Antonacci and singled. He was then lifted for pinch-runner Tristan Peters. Good work if you can get it. A brief calm in the weather in the seventh quickly came to an end as the rain and wind picked up again.
Hurter walked Teel, and Vargas reached on a grounder to third that Lee couldn’t make a play on. Hurter walked Murakami to force in a run. Grichuk lifted a sacrifice fly to score Teel. Colson Montgomery flew out, and Meidroth struck out to end the inning. 8-1 White Sox.
Veteran starter Luis Castillo entered to finish this off in the top of the ninth as Venable was desperately trying to get some of his middle relievers a day off. John Peck popped out, and McGonigle flew out to leave it up to Gleyber Torres. The veteran second baseman fouled off a slew of two-strike pitches before whiffing on a heater to end it.
The Tigers are now eliminated officially from postseason contention. They come home for the final week of the season against the Nationals and then the Pirates. Top prospect River Ryan will make his Tigers debut on Monday night in Comerica Park against the Nationals, with Keider Montero slated to take over after a short outing for Ryan.
PHOENIX — There was no music. Just a smattering of idle clubhouse chatter. The New York Yankees weren’t even in the mood to turn on the big-screen TV on Sunday to check on their fantasy football teams.
The Yankees, who lost 8-4 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, came to grips with reality after their latest loss, and now are faced with the inevitable.
They’re going to have no choice but to watch the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate the AL East title on their home field this week.
The Rays (95-90), who have a six-game lead with six games remaining, need to win just one of the next four scheduled games at Yankee Stadium, including a doubleheader on Tuesday, to celebrate their first AL East title since 2021.
The way the Rays have played all season, they just might be celebrating their first World Series title in October, too.
“You know, it’s tough,’’ Yankees infielder/outfielder Jose Caballero said. “We fight for the whole season, but at the end of the day, we’re already in the postseason. So that’s what we look forward to, and just be better and learn from little mistakes.’’
The Yankees (89-66) have been looking up at the Rays in the standings since June 28, so it’s hardly stunning they didn’t win the division. Yet, they always circled this week on the calendar believing that they could use the four-game series to finally vault ahead of the Rays.
Realistically, it will be nothing more than tune-up games for their best-of-three wild-card series beginning Sept. 29 against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, with the winner playing the powerful Rays in a best-of-five series.
“You got to make sure guys are in a good spot going in, you know …’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But first things first is we’re going to show up Tuesday and try and kick their butts. I mean, simple as that. And then I’ll do what I think is best for the club and for the guys trying to get ready.
“We’ve been through a lot as a team already, and we’ve answered the bell, mostly all of the turns, and looking forward to playing a good week of baseball and building some momentum going into the postseason.’’
If it means limiting Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler and other pitchers in their next starts, they’ll do it. Why pitch their high-leverage relievers in consecutive games? If position players need a day off, they’ll get it. There’s no reason to take any unnecessary risk at this juncture.
The Yankees even shut down reliever Clarke Schmidt when he was warming up in the bullpen to enter the game in the sixth inning on Sunday. He felt tightness in his biceps, so they stopped his warmups, and immediately had him checked out. Everything was fine, but they still will have him see their own doctors on Monday.
“You know, he checked out pretty well afterwards and all of the strength tests,’’ Boone said. “So, I’m hoping it’s not a big deal, but enough to not have him go into the game, so we’ll see what we have there.’’
Schmidt, who just returned Wednesday for the first time in 14 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, called it “precautionary’’ considering his lengthy absence.
“Obviously, given the circumstance coming back from the surgery,’’ Schmidt said, “I don’t want to push through anything. But all of the testing was fine. Nothing with the shoulder. Nothing with the elbow. It was more like a cramping-type feeling. …
“In the previous days, I’ve been feeling very strong, so just kind of very, very minor.’’
The Yankees, who are expected to have infielder Jazz Chisholm (sprained thumb) back Tuesday, and perhaps center fielder Trent Grisham (hamstring strain) before the playoffs, certainly have a bigger concern: the health of Aaron Judge. The Yankees have no idea whether he’ll be able to rejoin the team, but he’ll continue to undergo treatment in hopes he can be back sometime during the postseason.
“The first thing we’re focused on is getting Aaron healthy,’’ Boone said, “and hopefully we can get him back in the mix, in some way, shape or form.’’
In the meantime, the Yankees have a wild-card series to win against Boston, and then, a division series matchup against the Rays.
“Now, it’s a race to the title,’’ Cabrera said. “They [the Rays] play their game and it’s kind of tough to play them playing the way they play. They did a good job during the whole year, and pitching wise as well, so that’s why they lead the American League.
“But at the end of the day, it’s about what we do in the postseason. The 162 first games doesn’t matter. Now, it starts in the postseason.’’
The Yankees have to get past the Red Sox first, of course, but they’d love to take their chances and take down what has been the best team in the American League.
“They’ve put together a great season to this point,’’ Boone said, “and they’ve put themselves in great position. You’ve got to respect the season they had so far.
“Hopefully, we’ll cross paths beyond Tuesday at some point.’’
The Los Angeles Dodgers will head into the playoffs this year considerably more unsettled than usual: Ohtani has problems with his right arm and left knee; the bullpen is a mess; the inconsistent offense has started hitting — but against awful teams. Which makes them like pretty much every other contender.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will head into the playoffs this year considerably more unsettled than usual, as star player Shohei Ohtani has problems with his right arm and left knee. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Every postseason-bound team is banged up or has something wrong, starting with the Dodgers’ potential World Series opponents, the New York Yankees.
The Yankees spent the majority of the summer without Judge, who barely hit in the six games he played after he was activated from the injured list earlier this month. Judge is now back on the IL with a calf strain and the team isn’t making any promises about how much he’ll play in October, if at all.
“We’re going to get him back, or we’re not,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters. “That’s what we’re going to work to do, and we’ll see.”
The New York Yankees spent the majority of the summer without Aaron Judge, who barely hit in the six games he played after he was activated from the injured list earlier this month. Getty Images
As the likely No. 2 seed in the National League, the Dodgers are expected to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. They are lined up to take on the No. 3 seed Atlanta Braves or one of the three wild-card teams in the divisional round — potentially the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres or Chicago Cubs.
Every one of their NLDS opponents have their own problems.
With former All-Star Spencer Strider sidelined with elbow problems, the Braves don’t have much starting pitching outside of Chris Sale.
The Braves had a deal in place to acquire Jacob deGrom from the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline, but the two-time Cy Young Award winner invoked the no-trade provision in his contract and blocked the exchange.
DeGrom’s decision might have decided the fate of the Braves, who ended up with Tyler Mahle as their only midseason starting pitching acquisition. Mahle has outpitched expectations since his move from the San Francisco Giants, but he didn’t have a season earned-run average of under four until last week.
If there was a rotation that figured to give the Dodgers trouble, it was the Phillies’, which included two electric left-handers in Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sanchez. But Luzardo is now on the IL with shoulder inflammation and Sanchez has a 4.70 ERA over his last six starts.
The Phillies also have issues in their bullpen, as they have encountered more and more difficulty getting the ball into hands of closer Jhoan Duran. Setup man Jonathan Bowlan has been particularly atrocious this month, posting a 6.75 ERA and allowing runs in five of his seven appearances.
With Mason Miller as their closer, the Padres have one of the best bullpens in baseball. The Padres don’t blow many late-game leads, but can they build one against competent opposition in the postseason?
They have Michael King in their rotation, followed by Nick Pivetta, who has started only seven games this season because of elbow problems; followed by Casey Mize, who has a 6.64 ERA since the Padres acquired him from the Tigers; followed by Robbie Rays, who has a 5.52 ERA since his move from the Giants.
At least the Padres have a No. 1 starter.
The Cubs have the best player in baseball this season in Pete Crow-Armstrong, but they might have to send Clay Holmes to the mound in their postseason opener. Acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Mets, Holmes has a 4.26 ERA in eight starts for the Cubs.
The Cubs have the best player in baseball this season in Pete Crow-Armstrong. AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar
That’s still better than the team’s other trade-deadline prize, Kevin Gausman, who was bad for the Blue Jays and now even worse for the Cubs.
The Cubs could have an even greater problem now: Third baseman Alex Bregman was struck in the face with a foul ball standing in the on-deck circle Sunday. He was sent to a nearby hospital for X-rays and a CT scan, according to multiple reports.
The Brewers have the best record in the major leagues, but they don’t look invincible, either. Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson are their only two starting pitchers with ERAs under four.
Their recent postseason record indicates their teams are also better-suited for the regular season. Case in point: They were swept by the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series last year.
None of this makes the Dodgers’ concerns less real.
The reality is they don’t know what Ohtani will be able to give them in October. They have to keep a close eye on Blake Snell after he departed his most recent start after one inning. And they still have to figure out who they have and don’t have in their bullpen.
But they aren’t alone.
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The Buffalo Sabres are looking to improve on their solid 2025-26 season, in which they finished as the best Atlantic Division team in the regular-season. Buffalo beat the Boston Bruins in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series before they fell to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2. And now, Sabres fans are expecting at least as good a performance.
To that end, here at TheHockeyNews.com, we’re breaking down the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in an second-year online series called “Know Your Enemy”. In each file in the series, we’re analyzing how Buffalo played against each East team, as well as how they’re likely to fare against each team in the East this year. And in this particular file, we’re focusing on the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators suffered a massive blow this summer with the defection of former captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers. Here’s this writer’s view on how the Sabres will perform in their four regular-season showdowns this season:
BUFFALO SABRES VS. OTTAWA SENATORS
NEW SENATORS PLAYERS: William Eklund (LW), Samuel Ersson (G), Andre Burakovsky (LW), Philip Tomasino (RW), Sammy Blais (LW)
2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Senators 1-1-1
2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: November 4 at Buffalo; December 14 at Ottawa; February 26 at Buffalo; March 7 at Ottawa
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? With the expanded 84-game schedule this season, the Sabres now will have four games against the Senators, and those four games are spread out across the regular-season fairly evenly. Three of those games will take place well in advance of this year’s trade deadline, which falls on March 1, 2027. So Buffalo scouts will have a fairly good idea of Ottawa’s lineup, and vice-versa.
That said, with the Senators almost certain to take at least a small step backward without Tkachuk on board, there’s really no excuse for the Sabres not to capitalize on Ottawa’s weaker lineup and pounce on the Sens, right out of the gate.
Buffalo’s first game against the Sens will be in the Sabres’15th game of the season, which gives Sabres coach Lindy Ruff plenty of time to sort out his forward lines and defense pairings. And unless there are major injuries to either or both teams, Buffalo should take it to Ottawa – not with ease, but certainly, with authority.
Like any divisional rivals, there’s no shortage of bad blood between the Senators and Sabres – and there’s also recent trade history between them, including the Josh-Norris-for-Dylan-Cozens blockbuster. The Senators have won the trade to this point in time, as Norris hasn’t stayed healthy enough to prove his value to Buffalo. But certainly, that trade adds another layer to the animus between the two teams.
Regardless, with an extra game against each other this season, the Sens/Sabres rivalry will be supercharged – and these two teams could be squaring off against each other in the first-or-second-round of the 2027 playoffs. That’s why their regular-season games are so important. They want to establish dominance over each other, and whoever does will be on the right track to later-season success.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers gestures to the dugout after hitting a single in the fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field on September 20, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Blue Jays 7, Rangers 2
I regret to inform you that there was no sweep of Toronto this weekend.
Herbie had to remain in hibernation.
I’d be more upset about this game but for the fact that the Rangers had won their last four, and which is good, and the Astros lost as well on Sunday, so the Rangers maintained their one game lead in the American League West.
When you can see the finish line, and you know that you hold your fate in your own hands, that’s reassuring, isn’t it?
I will say that this was, I think, the first time all season I was anxious about the game ahead of time. Like, I spent the morning and early afternoon stressing about this game, as well as the Astros/Braves game, and what might happen.
It turned out my anxiety and stress was well-founded, since Jacob deGrom did not have his good command, couldn’t locate or get swings and misses on his slider, and ended up getting the hook with one out in the fifth, and the Rangers down 3-2, after Kaz Okamoto singled home Brett Bateman, who had reached on a leadoff walk.
It was the second time in the game Bateman scored after a leadoff walk, the first time in the first inning, when Bateman led off the game with a walk and scored on a sac fly.
Robert Garcia threw one pitch and got an inning-ending double play, and so you were feeling that, yeah, its a 3-2 deficit, but there’s time left in the game, and the bats will have opportunities to do something.
As it turned out, it was the Jays bats who had the opportunity to do something.
It seems lately that if Tyler Alexander is going to give up a run in a game, he figures he might as well give up multiple runs. This was the 10th time Alexander has given up at least one earned run since the All Star Break. Only three times was it one and done — this was the 7th time since the Break Alexander has allowed two or more runs in an outing.
Alexander faced just three batters and retired none of them. Chase Silseth came into the game, faced three batters, retired two of them, but gave up a two run double to the third. Adam Macko then replaced Silseth and gave up an RBI single to make it 7-2, and we all pretty much threw in the towel and started following the Astros game more closely at that point, right?
Evan Carter did single twice in the final three innings, as did Alejandro Osuna. Wyatt Langford followed up Carter’s one out single in the ninth with a walk, and you started feeling that maybe the Rangers could make the improbable comeback.
That feeling lasted until Corey Seager grounded a 1-2 knuckle-curve to first base for an inning-ending 3-6-1 GIDP.
So yeah, not a great game deGrom, not a great game for Seager. To the extent the Rangers got any offensive activity going, it was from Evan Carter (3 for 4), Alejandro Osuna (2 for 4 subbing in for an ill Brandon Nimmo), Wyatt Langford (1 for 3 with 2 walks), and Jake Burger (a walk and a two run homer). The rest of the lineup was 1 for 20 with a walk.
So you can blame deGrom for being mediocre instead of great, or you can blame the bullpen for letting the game get out of hand, or you can blame the offense for not doing much. And no one could tell you that you’re wrong, whichever option you choose.
Jacob deGrom hit 98.2 mph with his fastball, averaging 96.6 mph. Robert Garcia’s fastball reached 93.4 mph. Tyler Alexander threw one fastball at 92.1 mph. Chase Silseth hit 95.1 mph with his fastball. Adam Macko’s fastball topped out at 96.3 mph.
Mar 2, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Duop Reath (26) dunks during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
First and foremost, I want to start today’s session by saying that I like the acquisition of Duop Reath. It shows that Brian Gregory consistently looks for ways to create competition throughout the roster, and that’s a good thing. Iron sharpens iron, as they say in blacksmith houses.
I like that Reath brings the archetype of a stretch five, something the Suns don’t necessarily have right now, although I believe Khaman Maluach can eventually develop into that kind of player. I also like the potential mentorship aspect with Maluach. Both are Sudanese and have taken their own journeys to reach the NBA. And guess what? Maluach’s developmental timeline got bumped up pretty significantly following the injury to Mark Williams. That comes with added responsibility. Having somebody around, even at the front end of this journey, who can provide some mentorship is an astute way to utilize the roster while helping the young kid navigate what’s ahead.
All of that is good. But everybody needs to drink some settle-down juice when it comes to Duop Reath.
We have to remember who and what he is as a player. He’s 30 years old, so developmentally, his best years are most likely behind him. And truth be told, he really has one transferable NBA skill that everyone seems to be salivating over. He can shoot.
When I say everyone, I’m talking about what I’m seeing on social media. We’re essentially getting tribute videos breaking down the 23 total three-pointers he made last season. People are excited because he chose Phoenix over the Knicks.
We gotta stop this. We can’t fall in love with players simply because they bat their eyes at us. We did that with Bradley Beal, remember? How did that work out? Simply because somebody chooses Phoenix doesn’t mean they instantly need to become a fan favorite or somebody we have undying loyalty to. Of course Reath chose Phoenix. Phoenix has the lower ceiling of those two teams. There’s more opportunity for him here, so why wouldn’t he choose us?
At the end of the day, he’s being brought in to generate competition at the back of the roster. Best-case scenario, he makes the roster. That most likely means the Suns move off either Haywood Highsmith or Jamaree Bouyea, and I’d much rather have either of them. Middle case scenario: Reath takes a two-way contract. That would most likely mean CJ Huntley or Koby Brea is no longer occupying one of those spots. Again, I’d rather have the younger players with more developmental upside. Worst-case scenario, Reath doesn’t make the team. He’s this year’s Jared Butler, the player brought in during training camp who the fan base latches onto before he ultimately fades into the abyss, never to be seen again.
So again, I like the idea of Duop Reath with the Phoenix Suns. What I don’t understand is losing our minds over an unbelievably one-dimensional player. He isn’t a good rebounder for a big. He’s undersized. He can’t defend the perimeter particularly well. He’s average at defending the interior. He isn’t a playmaker or distributor. He can stroke a few three-pointers. That has value. It doesn’t mean we have to be obtuse about everything else. We can recognize what the Suns are trying to accomplish by bringing Reath in. We can respect the process and appreciate the competition it creates. We don’t need to fall in love with him simply because he chose us.
Maybe he shoots his way onto the roster and becomes useful when Phoenix needs to stretch the floor. Maybe his presence helps Maluach navigate an unexpectedly accelerated developmental timeline. Or maybe we forget he was ever here by Christmas. All of those outcomes are possible. Appreciate what Reath could provide, but save the love affair for someone who actually earns it.
The beloved Mets broadcaster struggled to hide his emotions on Sunday as fans at Citi Field paid tribute to him during the final innings of the season’s last home game.
Rose is hanging up his microphone after Sunday’s loss to the Phillies.
Though the game was meaningless for the already-eliminated Mets, it was an emotional one for the longtime radio voice, who got choked up in the ninth inning on air.
Fans recognize an emotional Howie Rose at the end of the game when the New York Mets played the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post
As the radio broadcast returned from commercial break, Rose had to regain composure as the Citi Field PA system played “Hello, Goodbye” by The Beatles in the background.
Rose’s voice cracked as he painted a picture to the radio listeners of what was happening inside the ballpark.
An emotional Howie Rose reacts to Mets fans chanting his name as he begins his final inning: pic.twitter.com/YuB9Pvmvro
“It’s not goodbye as far as I’m concerned,” Rose said. “I’ll still be here for the ceremonies, and I don’t mean the retirement ceremonies, I mean Opening Day and when we have Mets Hall of Fame Day or retire a number or have an Old Timers Day. So I’m stepping away, basically a retirement … and I certainly appreciate your cheers if you’re listening in the ballpark.”
Fans began chanting “Howie Rose” as he spoke on the broadcast, and video showed Rose reaching for tissues.
“[Rangers great] Mark Messier taught me a long time ago, you ever get into a situation where you think you’re going to be emotional, pack some Kleenex,” Rose joked while holding up a pouch of tissues.
A separate video showed the moment Rose came off the air and Mets fans had gathered outside the broadcast booth and cheered a visibly emotional Rose. The Mets players and staff had also come out of the dugout and tipped their caps up towards Rose after the game.
New York Mets players acknowledge announcer Howie Rose after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in New York. AP Photo/Noah K. MurrayFans recognize an emotional Howie Rose at the end of the game when the New York Mets played the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“Next year when we do this, whenever we do it … it’s going to be a party,” he said to fans about the celebration of his career. “It’s going to have such a positive feel to it.”
Howie gives an emotional goodbye to the Mets fans chanting his name in front of his boothpic.twitter.com/PpHMcG3sub
Rose had been the lead radio voice for the Mets since 2006 after stints covering the team as a TV broadcaster and a pregame and postgame host on WFAN.
Tri-state area hockey fans remember Rose from his time as the Rangers radio broadcaster and later the television voice of the Islanders.
Rose has served as the soundtrack for some of the Mets, Rangers and Islanders’ most memorable moments, including Mike Piazza’s home run following the Sep. 11 terror attacks, Stephane Matteau’s game-winning goal for the Rangers over the Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals and John Tavares’ series-clinching goal for the Islanders in 2016 to win them their first playoff series in 23 years.
The New York Mets’ Home Run Apple honors retired sportscaster Howie Rose before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. AP Photo/Noah K. Murray
Rose’s departure from the booth marks the latest staple of New York sports broadcasting to step away.
Yankees voice John Sterling retired in 2024 before his death earlier this year, and legendary Rangers TV voice Sam Rosen retired after the 2024-25 NHL season.
