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Welcome to the 2026-27 edition of Smash or Pass, in which we examine potential free agent and trade targets to determine whether the Red Sox should pursue them and what it would take to land them. Today, we start off with a Japanese import who’s helped the Cubs for the past few years with his pop from the right side of the plate.

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I feel like the top priority for the Red Sox this winter (and probably spring…and maybe the summer…man this lockout is gonna suck) is pretty clear. The pitching staff is quite strong with a lot of guys already under team control for the foreseeable future, the steady defense is headlined by a trio of Gold Glovers, and the offense can get on base at a solid clip—their collective .319 OBP was good for 12th in baseball, so not too bad. But by that same logic, a team playing half of its games at Fenway Park posting just the 20th-best team slugging percentage (.397) and the fifth-least amount of homers (163) means that the area for improvement is pretty obvious. I know we need some pop, you know we need some pop, everyone knows we need some pop.

Enter Seiya Suzuki: a guy who’s probably not gonna hit 40+ homers for you, but a guy who just might be the ideal answer in a free agency class that leaves much to be desired.

Who is he and where does he come from?

He’s Seiya Suzuki (like I just said), a 32-year-old MLB vet who came to the bigs by way of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in his home country of Japan. After spending close to a decade in the NPB, Suzuki signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2022 MLB season.

Is he any good?

Yeah, I’d say so!

After posting a respectable .262/.336/.433 triple slash line over close to 400 at-bats in his rookie season, Suzuki has had four straight campaigns with at least 20 home runs, at least 70 runs batted in, and an OPS of at least .800. In three of those years—including 2026—his OPS eclipsed .840. The one exception in that stretch was, ironically, the one season where he hit more than 30 homers (2025). FanGraphs shows that Suzuki boasts the 17th-best WRC+ (128) since the start of the 2022 season, ahead of guys such as Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Ramirez, and Ketel Marte.

Suzuki’s put up these numbers despite the fact that he’s played half of his games at Wrigley Field. The Friendly Confines is a venue that’s graded out as the 22nd-friendliest place to hitters over the last three seasons per Savant and a park featuring a left field foul pole that’s an ungodly 355 feet away from righties trying to hit the ball to their pull side, the single deepest foul pole in the game. In case you need any more convincing, his career OPS on the road (.828) is 10 points higher than his OPS at home (.818) in spite of the fact that his OBP in both instances is exactly the same (.351).

And another thing worth mentioning: his 14 defensive runs saved in 2026 per Fielding Bible was also within the top 20 across baseball.

So, yeah. I like Seiya a lot. Spoiler alert, I suppose.

TL;DR, just give me his 2026 stats

Y’know, you ask it like this every year and you never consider how rude it sounds, but whatever. I won’t get worked up about it.

In 634 plate appearance this season, Suzuki put up a .270/.368/.473 triple slash for a .841 OPS. He hit 26 homers and 31 doubles en route to driving in 86 runs. He struck out just over 24% of the time (29th percentile across MLB) and he walked close to 13% of the time (91st percentile).

Why would he be a good fit for the Red Sox?

Imagine Suzuki’s consistent production from the right-handed batter’s box at Fenway Park, a place with a left field pole 45 feet closer to the plate and with a giant fucking wall at that part of the field. Need I say more?

Seriously though, the calculus should be pretty straightforward here. I hate to post spray chart slop, but look at Seiya’s spray charts from the last two years overlaid at Wrigley Field.

Just imagine those charts with Fenway overlaid instead of Wrigley (or, figure out a way how to do it since I couldn’t, lmao) and try telling me that he wouldn’t fit right in. The team needs some juice in the lineup to slot around guys like Willson Contreras, Roman Anthony, Adley Rutschman, Wilyer Abreu, and (hopefully) Curtis Mead. Suzuki works as either your primary DH or a guy you can cycle in at the corner outfield spots from time to time.

And if you believe the strides Suzuki’s made on defense are real, then that latter point—the one about how he can rotate into the outfield mix—only lends more credence to the idea of bringing him to Boston. We know Roman’s dealt with injury issues as of late, as has Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu (although Wilyer effectively played a full season in 2026). Health is something that any baseball club has to consider, of course, but wouldn’t you want your best possible nine to be ready to go for October? We saw in the Bronx what a lineup running on fumes could look like, and the year before that half of the organization was in the hospital. Bringing in Seiya Suzuki would allow manager Chad Tracy to get guys off of their feet a bit more often without sacrificing much during neither the top nor bottom half of innings.

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit for the Red Sox?

I have to be honest: I can’t think of a real firm reason why Seiya Suzuki wouldn’t work out for the Red Sox. Any point that I try thinking of has something to explain the concern away. Maybe you’ll think of something that I haven’t, but I think I’m pretty much sold on this dude.

The first point I tried to challenge myself with is the fact that the lineup would be pretty right-handed heavy. I like the idea of having those guys broken up, especially when you consider that most pitchers are righties. Suzuki would join Contreras, Mead, Trevor Story/maybe Franklin Arias, Caleb Durbin, and Ceddy as full-time right-handed hitters if he were to sign. Even at Fenway Park, that on the surface gave me pause.

However, Seiya’s not a guy who gets eaten up by right-handed pitchers.

Yes, he’s generally been better against lefties when he’s at the plate, but he’s no slouch when he’s at a platoon disadvantage. Seiya’s slugged over .450 against righties in each of the last two seasons, and he was actually a reverse splits guy in 2024 as his .854 OPS against RHPs outpaced his .829 mark against LPHs. In just over 2,100 plate appearance against RHPs, his career OPS is .808. That’s quite good, and CBO Craig Breslow should not be scared off by that righty-righty dynamic.

His hard hit rate took a dip in 2026—from almost 49% in 2025 to about 39%—but the bat speed was still the same as it was last year. I’m not freaked out by that.

Does he have any injury concerns, considering he missed the start of 2026 with a sprain in his knee? Well, he still was very productive, so I’m not worried about that either.

Maybe Suzuki’s tendency to strikeout gives you the creeps—he’s never had a strikeout rate lower than 22.3%. However, the fact that he still produces mixed with the fact that his walk rate has also grown every single year since he made his MLB debut is enough solace for me to ignore the Ks. It’s a weaker free agency class; if you’re gonna be scared off by someone who strikes out a bit more than the average bear while giving you an OPS that starts with an 8, maybe you don’t deserve nice things.

Perhaps you’re worried about how Suzuki’s contract will age? I dunno, man, I can’t get too tied up in that. We’re the Boston Red Sox and we’ve already got a lot of the core locked in, some of whom are still on pre-arb deals. Story’s money will be off the books in a year, as will Masataka Yoshida’s. I won’t even try to speculate about what the new CBA will mean for the team’s payroll, but I don’t think Suzuki’s hypothetical deal (more on that in a moment) should hinder us from trying to win a very winnable American League pennant.

Besides: the world might not be here in five years time. The fog is coming.

What would it take to get him?

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN projects that Seiya Suzuki will fetch a four-year contract worth $90 million in total, or $22.5 million per year. The Athletic’s Keith Law thinks he’ll get a five-year deal worth just under $30 million a season. FanGraphs’ crowd sourced contract projections, for what it’s worth, has Suzuki primed to ink a $96 million deal over the course of four years.

If those are any indications, Suzuki is probably going to be signing something like a four or five year deal with an average annual value of around $25 million.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Cubs did extend the roughly $23 million qualifying offer to Suzuki. If the Red Sox sign Seiya, Chicago will be getting draft pick compensation for their troubles.

Show me a cool highlight.

What’s the magic word? I let the TL;DR thing slide earlier.

*sigh* Please show me a cool highlight.

That’s more like it.

How about this big homer he hit against Korea at the Tokyo Dome during this year’s World Baseball Classic?

Smash or pass?

In the words of Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker…

Probably the easiest smash for me this winter. I’m scared about how much I like the idea of adding Seiya Suzuki to this lineup. He’s a feasible guy to sign and he’d immediately improve the offense while providing some defensive cover as well. The competition to sign him may be steep given that this free agent class isn’t too strong, but I believe this is a guy you stick your neck out for. Go get it done, Craig.

Diamondbacks News

Q&A with D-backs president Hall on 2026 finish, future priorities by Steve Gilbert [DBacks.com]

Since the run to the World Series in 2023, the team has come within a game or two of making the playoffs the past few seasons while ownership has stretched the budget to try and get back. How do you expect the payroll to look in the coming season?

Hall: I do not think we need to spend at that level to win and believe it will come down. I realize I said the same before last season and we obviously increased, but with so many young players, we should be able to better manage a Major League budget without sacrificing our competitiveness. In fact, we would only do so if we thought we would improve our results as well.

Diamondbacks Bring Back Outfield Prospect On New Deal by Alex D’Agostino [SI]

Arizona is re-signing outfielder A.J. Vukovich, the Aces officially announced on Sunday.

Vukovich had spent the last six seasons in the Diamondbacks’ system, after he was drafted 119th overall in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft. 

He began to tap into his power swing in the 2023 season, slugging .485 for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. He hit 24 home runs that season, albeit in an extremely offense-focused Texas League environment. That helped him end up at No. 14 on Arizona’s top 30 prospect rankings at the time.

Around the League

Tigers’ all-around star and Reds’ throwback slugger named Rookies of the Year by Manny Randhawa [MLB]

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has named Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle the 2026 American League Rookie of the Year, and Reds infielder Sal Stewart the 2026 National League Rookie of the Year. 

Pedro Martinez appeals for MLB resolution, reflects on effects of 1994 strike [ESPN]

“I feel for the fans, and I know when it’s good, and it’s good, baseball is good right now,” Martinez said Saturday, according to the Boston Herald. “So stop the crap around and get something done and don’t lock out baseball for the fans.”

In Boston for the Pedro Martinez Foundation’s 10th annual gala, Martinez said that “honestly speaking, I’m pissed” as he appealed to both players and owners to find a solution.

“Please, for the fans, both sides, figure it out, a good way to get it done, and do not lock out baseball,” Martinez said.

2027 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Candidate: Joe Maddon by Jay Jaffe [FanGraphs]

Joe Maddon was the right manager at the right time more than once. A former minor league catcher who never reached the majors as a player, and who spent over three decades in various capacities within the Angels’ organization, Maddon didn’t get his first major league managerial job until he was 52 years old. As part of a new regime that took over a Tampa Bay team that had never won more than 70 games in the franchise’s eight-year history, Maddon clicked with a cutting-edge front office and helped mold a young squad into an American League powerhouse seemingly overnight. The Devil Rays won 66 games in 2007, Maddon’s second season, then — after a nominal exorcism that made them the Rays — 97 games and the AL pennant in ’08 before losing to the Phillies in the World Series. 

Maddon led the Rays — a team that generally ranked near the bottom of the league in both attendance and payroll — to the playoffs four times in a six-season span from 2008–13, winning AL Manager of the Year honors twice. With his horn-rimmed glasses, his varied interests beyond baseball, and his understanding of statistical analysis, he emerged as an icon, a hip and literate nerd who could lead the game’s Davids into battle with Goliaths, or just recommend a nice merlot.

Best Fits For A Ketel Marte Trade by Anthony Franco [MLB Trade Rumors]

Teams are expected to lay the foundation for their offseason trade talks as the GM Meetings get underway. Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is one of the biggest names available. The Snakes have more or less acknowledged that they’ll listen to offers on the three-time All-Star, who has clearly frustrated many within the organization by failing to show up for certain games over the years.

Marte has full control over his destiny, as he secured no-trade protection by reaching 10 years of service time (the last five of which have come in Arizona). He’s signed for another five years at a total of $87.5MM, covering ages 33-37. Marte is only making a $12MM salary next year, though, and $3MM of that is deferred.

That’s a fine salary even if he only repeats his league average .249/.316/.432 showing this year. If he bounces back some or all of the way to the player he was before, arguably the best second baseman in the sport, it’s a bargain for the on-field production. There’ll surely be teams that have trepidations about Marte’s work habits, and some might take him off their target list altogether, but the D-Backs should get some kind of interest given the star offensive upside he’s shown at his best.

Yesterday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that the Phillies are interested in free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim. Salisbury noted that the Phillies are targeting Kim as insurance for the shortstop position if Trea Turner’s defense does not meet Dave Dombrowski’s challenge to improve that the Phillies president issued at the start of the offseason.

Kim, who has played shortstop, second base, and third base in his career, signed a one year, $20M deal with the Braves last offseason but played in just 51 games due to a torn tendon in his finger suffered after he slipped on ice in South Korea before the season. When he did return to action, Kim had the worst season of his six-year career and was one of if not the worst hitter in MLB, as his .116 AVG and .356 OPS both ranked 416th out of 416 hitters with at least Kim’s 147 plate appearances as a qualifier. His usual reliable defense that earned him the Gold Glove for utility players in 2023 also took a step back. albeit in the obvious small sample size of 47 games.

Despite this, there is some logic behind the Phillies supposed interest. As Salisbury states in the article, the Phillies do indeed require some sort of back-up plan for shortstop if they choose to move Turner off of the position at some point mid-season in 2027. Even if Turner suddenly rebounds defensively, the Phillies currently do not have a third baseman or a utility infielder under contract, as both Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa are free agents. Kim could serve as an insurance plan for both of those positions as well in the event the Phillies do not retain either. Prospect Aidan Miller is widely expected to play third base for the Phillies at some point in the near future, but the Phillies still need someone to occupy the spot in the meantime even if it’s only for half of a season.

Kim has shown in the past that he can be a very valuable player, as he averaged 3.8 WAR per season during his first four seasons in MLB with the San Diego Padres while serving in a super utility role. For perspective, Bryce Harper led all Phillies position players with 3.1 WAR in 2026. However, Kim hasn’t been that player since 2024, as his 2025 was also disappointing, as he played in just 48 games thanks to shoulder surgery he underwent near the end of the 2024 season.

If the Phillies were to sign Kim, they would be betting that the now 31-year-old can regain his form from before his injuries. At the very least, they would be betting that Kim can be a serviceable utility player in the likely event that Sosa leaves for a bigger role elsewhere. So, do you think the Phillies should sign Ha-Seong Kim? What type of contract would you offer him if so? What role do you envision him in?

Good morning.

With the GM meetings underway, Kennedi Landry writes about the work cut out for Chris Young and gang this winter with plenty of areas to address in free agency.

At The Athletic, Chad Jennings writes about how teams could attempt to mirror the Rangers from the last time a lockout loomed by jumping early into free agency this month.

MLB Trade Rumor’s Anthony Franco checks out where the teams — including the Rangers — would stack up in the hunt to acquire mercurial D-Backs infielder Ketel Marte this winter.

And, though the Rangers had no candidates for the recently named Rookie of the Year award, the MLB Pipeline team notes that the long awaited arrival of Sebastian Walcott could give them a contender for 2027.

Have a nice day!

Kevin McGonigle in the AL was a no-brainer, so no point in throwing that question out there. But the NL, well… Sal Stewart won, and my question, in its basic form, is whether you would’ve helped or hurt that cause if you were one of the voters.

To me, it was a relatively easy vote for JJ Wetherholt and I don’t think Stewart even had a particularly good season, so my answer is a very easy “no.” If you want a different, much longer examination, Ben Clemens did it here over a month ago. Any specific vote aside, Stewart just didn’t really hit that well considering his home park, and I think arguments beyond his counting stat have to rely on his leverage/men on base splits, which aren’t very compelling to me for this type of award.

Anyway, are you here to make a spirited defense of Stewart, or… not?

Meet the Mets

Carson Benge finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting—runner-up to Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, whose massive home run and RBI totals beat out Benge’s more well-rounded case.

The Mets had two other players receive votes for NL Rookie of the Year; Nolan McLean finished fourth and A.J. Ewing came in ninth.

“I do favor the Mets at this point,” said Jon Heyman on MLB Network yesterday regarding the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, which is heating up with the Dodgers facing financial constraints that may limit their ability to re-sign this off-season’s top free agent.

Anthony DiComo takes a look at what the Mets might address at the GM meetings this week alongside their pursuit of Skubal.

“I think the Mets are going to be looking to make some trades for starting pitching,” said SNY MLB insider Chelsea Janes, reporting from the GM meetings in Vegas. “I don’t expect them to go full free agency.”

The Dodgers claimed infielder Christian Cairo off waivers from the Mets, who had signed him prior to the 40-man roster deadline and then designated him for assignment. They did the same with infielder Kyren Paris, but he cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.

Around the National League East

Per reporting by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Braves have “no interest” in trading Ronald Acuña Jr.

The Phillies have reportedly shown interest in shortstop Ha-Seong Kim as insurance at the position in case they decide to have Trea Turner, who has not excelled defensively, play elsewhere on the diamond.

With left-handed pitching at the top of their wish list, Adrian Morejon, Alex Vesia, and Sean Newcomb are top free agent targets for the Miami Marlins.

Though the Nationals will be focused on pitching, Sam Sallick of Federal Baseball thinks Paul Toboni might try to make a move to add a bat as well.

Around Major League Baseball

Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle won the American League Rookie of the Year honor decisively, with Parker Messick and Payton Tolle rounding out the top three. With injury holding him back at the end of the season, early-season NL favorite JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals came in third behind Stewart and Benge.

Brent Maguire of MLB.com ran down six storylines to watch during Awards Week this week.

The GM meetings kick off this week in Las Vegas and normally one would not necessarily expect there to be a flurry of activity, but with a looming lockout, this year is different.

One team who will be active is the Cubs, who are looking to address their starting rotation, which is their biggest priority this off-season. Though that makes them a great candidate for the Skubal sweepstakes on paper, they “appear unlikely to enter the bidding war,” for Skubal, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. However, it is expected that Chicago will check in on pretty much every other free agent starter.

Speculation is growing that the Rangers may be shopping the expensive trio of Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi in an attempt to shed payroll. But it won’t necessarily be a simple feat; both deGrom and Eovaldi have full no-trade clauses and Seager has a partial no-trade clause and is owed $150 million over the next five years.

Per reporting from Jon Heyman, the Yankees are not necessarily looking to sign a second baseman, even with the departure of Jazz Chisolm in free agency. The club may look to upgrade at third base instead.

Speaking of notable Yankees departures in free agency, Max Ralph of MLB.com explores who may be the Yankees’ closer next year in the absence of now free agent David Bednar.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Thomas Henderson wrote about the fascinating NL Rookie of the Year race, representing a battle of more traditional counting stats against more analytical triumphs and how Carson Benge’s case combined the resumes of the run-producing Sal Stewart and the defensive skills of JJ Wetherholt.

This Date in Mets History

Former Mets GM Omar Minaya turns 68 today.

As another offseason begins, the Braves have multiple needs to address to truly return to the being a true World Series contender. It is abundantly clear that more quality needs to be added to the Braves offense. However, reliable depth also needs to be added to the Braves rotation. A big reason for this is the significant injuries that have occurred to several young arms in the organization over the past few years. Grant McAuley dives more into the current state of the Braves internal options for the 2027 rotation.

Braves News

Ivan looks at whether or not this year’s GM meetings could be different than most years with the lockout looming.

Mark Bowman looks a few of the bigger Braves storylines heading into the GM Meetings.

MLB News

Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers and Sal Stewart of the Reds were voted the AL and NL Rookies of the Year. Didier Fuentes received a few 5th place votes in the final results.

A very merry Tuesday to all of you who celebrate. We have 22 days left of regular Hot Stove baseball until the owners lock out the players, so be sure to open up your lockout advent calendar for today.

• Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic raised quite a stir when he reported yesterday that the Cubs are unlikely to pursue free agent pitcher Tarik Skubal this winter. (sub. req.)
• That makes sense as the Cubs have a lot of holes to fill and have never shown a willingness to go to the top of the free agent market. On the other hand, sources out of Los Angeles are saying that the Dodgers, Mets and Cubs are showing the “strongest interest” in Skubal. So shrug.
• Vinnie Duber writes that while Skubal would be nice, the Cubs have many different options to solve their starting rotation issues.
• Another bit of bad news reported by Sharma is that pitcher Ben Brown has still not been cleared to begin throwing and could be looking at surgery.
• Sharma also reported that the Cubs are looking strongly at Saitama Seibu Lions pitcher Kaima Taira from NPB. Brett Taylor has more on the diminutive Japanese right-hander.

Kaima Taira contract projections:

Keith Law (Athletic) – 3y $18m AAV
MLB Trade Rumors – 4y, $18m AAV
Ben Clemens (FanGraphs) – 3y, $16m AAV
Kiley McDaniel (ESPN) – 5 y, $14.5m AAV

5-foot-8, 6.8' extension, 4.9' release height, with a 4S sitting 95.5 mph. 🤤 @MLBNetworkpic.twitter.com/aPW3km4F5p

— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) November 5, 2026

• Doug Schwamb believes the Cubs should bring back free agent pitcher Clay Holmes.

Cubs & RHP Bruno López have agreed to 2-year minor-league deal with invite to MLB spring training, source tells Tribune.

López, 24, spent last 7 years in Cardinals’ system. Dominican Republic native features fastball that sits 98-99 mph.

— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) November 10, 2026

• Brett Taylor has more on López as well. In short, the guy throws in the upper-nineties although his control is poor, he missed all of 2026 and he only has six innings above rookie ball. But the Cubs have two years to straighten him out now.
• Matthew Trueblood asks if the Cubs should pursue free agent first baseman Ty France? I’d rather they get Beat France, but that’s just me.
• Baseball America has released their top ten Cubs prospects for 2027. (sub. req.)
• Casey Drottar has every Cubs player ever to win the Most Valuable Player Award.
• Jordan Bastian looks back at the best games that Pete Crow-Armstrong had in 2026.
• Jay Jaffe takes a look at the Hall of Fame case for former Cubs manager Joe Maddon.
• And Jim Callis has a profile of Cubs minor league Harrison Feinberg, who is making his professional debut in the Arizona Fall League after going undrafted this past July.

Food for thought:

There’s a real crisis in this country in that men don’t read anymore. That’s not entirely true, men do read some non-fiction books, usually about politics, war or history. Reading non-fiction is good. But so is reading fiction. Young men and boys, especially, have fled from reading fiction. This creates a vicious circle, as publishers are less apt to publish fiction geared towards men, because female-oriented fiction is more profitable. This causes even fewer men to read and the cycle repeats itself.

If you don’t believe me, just go to your local Barnes & Noble and look at the new fiction books. You’ll find very few male authors and a lot of books written by women with female protagonists. It’s not anti-male discrimination. It’s just capitalism.

Now there’s no reason that men can’t read a book written by or about women. Anyone familiar with my movie picks knows that I love crime fiction/hardboiled noir. And a ton of that these days is written by women for women. I do read some of the stuff written for women—I found Out by Natsuo Kirino to be excellent, for a recent example. But sometimes you want to read something that’s written mostly for you and that gets me turning to the classics of the past—Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett or Mickey Spillane. I’ve seen several Mike Hammer movies, but I’m just starting to read Spillane. Some of what Spillane wrote was clearly sexist and racist: it was a product of white men of the early fifties. But it’s also the literary version of a “guy movie” with tough guys and lots of action.

I guess my point here is that everyone should read more and they should read more from all sorts of points of view. Read books by both men and women. Read books by both Americans and from other cultures. If that happens, we’ll get a better variety at Barnes & Noble.

Finally, guitarist Richard Lloyd of Television died at 75 on Saturday. If you don’t know Television, they were one of the bands who played the legendary New York Club CBGBs in the mid-1970s. The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads and Patti Smith Group went on to big fame. Others like Television, the Dead Boys and Richard Hell and the Voidoids went on to become cult heroes. But Television’s two albums before breaking up: Marquee Moon (1977) and Adventure (1978) are considered classics by anyone who has listened to them. Unlike a lot of the punk bands of the era, Television were generally quite talented musicians and Lloyd was a very good guitarist. Unlike a lot of those punk bands, Television had longer songs with long instrumental jams and dueling guitarists in Verlaine and Lloyd. I went back to my old Trouser Press Record Guide and they wrote “A tendency to ‘jam’ onstage caused detractors (and, paradoxically, British fans) to refer to them as the Grateful Dead of punk.” I always found that description funny.

Lead singer Tom Verlaine passed away in 2023 and bassist Fred Smith died earlier this year. The aforementioned Richard Hell, who left the band before their first recording contract, is still with us, as is drummer Billy Ficca, who would go on to be the drummer for The Waitresses after Television.

Here is the title track of Marquee Moon. I picked it because it features Lloyd’s guitar playing prominently. Also because it’s awesome. But most of Television is.

Good morning, baseball fans!

As we continue looking back at the 2026 San Francisco Giants, today I thought we would take a look at another compilation that the team’s social media team put together. This time of the best defensive plays of the season.

So grab your coffee, settle in, and enjoy!

What was your favorite defensive play of the 2026 season?

R1: Walter Johnson

R2: Goose Goslin

In what may constitute a slight upset, the more slugger-ish Goose Goslin took down the more singles-and-speed Sam Rice to claim the “first sequel” of greatest Washington Senators.

In the immortal words of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell—“talk to me, Goose!”:

Up next: A shortstop and a skipper—all in one!

Round 3

• Sam Rice (1915-1933): 2,889 H, 479 2B, 183 3B, 346 SB, .323 BA, .804 OPS, 113 OPS+, 54.1 bWAR. An outfielder who hit left-handed but threw right-handed, Rice was the ultimate speed-and-contact player for the Senators. After a stint in the U.S. Navy and a stop with the Petersburg Goobers of the Virginia League, he twice led the league in hits, once in stolen bases, and once in three-baggers. His career hit total—2,987—remains the closest to 3k of any retired player without reaching that milestone, a fact that may have kept him out of the HOF until the Veteran’s Committee voted him aboard in 1963. Perhaps best known for a controversial catch in the 1925 World Series.

• Joe Judge (1915-1932): 2,291 H, 421 2B, 157 3B, 210 SB, .299 BA, .802 OPS, 115 OPS+, 48.3 bWAR. As a batsman, Judge was functional and fleet. But in an era known for shoddy defense with bad baseballs and awkward hand-wear, Judge was a consummate glove-man at the first sack. At retirement, he led the American League in fielding percentage, putouts, assists, total chances, & double plays. The kid from Brooklyn—discovered by his block’s postal worker, who gave young Joe his first glove—preserved Walter Johnson’s only MLB no-hitter with a fantastic snare for the final out in 1920. Ironically, he effectively ended the Big Train’s career in 1927 when he smashed a BP bottle-rocket into the hurler’s shin and broke his ankle. Judge died at the age of 68 in 1963 while shoveling snow outside of his D.C. home.

• Buddy Myer (1925-1927, 1929-1941): 1,828 H, 305 2B, 113 3B, 118 SB, .303 BA, .801 OPS, 109 OPS+, 42.3 bWAR. A college baseball star at Mississippi State, Myer was the Nick Punto of his era—bouncing around multiple infield positions as a proto-utility player. At the plate he was known for a keen eye, with OBPs routinely at .370+ (including five .400+ OBP years). Buddy’s 1935 season was his apex, seeing him take home a batting title (.349), score & drive in 100 runs, and finish 4th in MVP voting to slugger Hank Greenberg. Never one to back down from a challenge, the diminutive (5’10”) Myer once brawled with Ben Chapman (surprise, surprise) when Chapman spiked Myer and hurled antisemitic insults at him—leading to fans charging the field and multiple disorderly conduct arrests.

• Clyde Milan (1907-1922): 2,100 H, 1,004 R, 495 SB, .285 BA, .706 OPS, 109 OPS+, 40.8 bWAR. Before Ty Cobb re-wrote the record books for speed on the base paths, Clyde “Deerfoot” Milan was the gold standard of stolen bases. Twice leading the American League in bags swiped (88 in 1912; 75 in 1913), Milan averaged 40 steals per season over his 16-year MLB career. What Clyde lacked in Dead Ball Era power numbers (17 career round-trippers) he made up for by choking up on the lumber and compiling a .353 career on-base percentage. In 1911-1913 he garnered three consecutive top-9 AL MVP finishes. Milan could man all three OF stations and often led the league in assists, double plays & Range Factor. A high error total speaks as much to Clyde’s ability to even have a chance at suppressing more flying spheres than his contemporaries.

• Joe Cronin (1928-1934): 1,090 H, 242 2B, 72 3B, 51 HR, 577 R, 673 RBI, .304 BA, .842 OPS, 118 OPS+, 37.0 bWAR. Joe Cronin played just seven seasons for the Senators—but he certainly made the most of them. A doubles and triples machine (once leading the league in each), the swaggering shortstop cracked the 100+ RBI mark five times in Washington via his penchant for clutch knocks. Per Connie Mack: “With a man on third and one out, I’d rather have Cronin hitting for me than anybody—and that includes Cobb, Simmons, and the rest of them”. In 1933, he became a player/manager—and in his first year at the helm led the Nats to a pennant (alas, a World Series loss to Bill Terry’s New York Giants). Joe would join the Cooperstown ranks in 1956—then be named American League President in 1959. During his tenure (‘59-‘73), the AL would expand by four markets and shift around four other franchises.

The Orioles have known their plan at catcher every season since Adley Rutschman was drafted first overall in 2019. But now that Rutschman himself has been traded away, there are question marks at the position moving forward. Samuel Basallo will obviously factor into it, though it seems like the team prefers him to spend at least half of his time at DH. That leaves a void behind the plate without a clear solution. Carlos Narváez got first crack at the job in the post-Rutschman era, and it did not go particularly well.

Narváez was part of the return package in the deal that sent Rutschman (and fellow catcher Jake Rogers) to Boston. While more than a “throw in”, Narváez was certainly not the headliner in the haul coming back to Baltimore. That distinction belongs to either Anthony Eyanson or Enddy Azocar, two of the four prospects included in the deal. But Narváez’s inclusion was still important, because it gave the Orioles what seemed to be a viable option behind the plate to at least buy them time to figure out what comes next.

Heading into 2026, Narváez was expected to share the catching role in Boston with Connor Wong in what would be a competent duo with modest upside. Narváez had been quite good in 2025, posting a 100 OPS+ in the box while being a highly-regarded defender behind the dish. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference valued him at 2.8 WAR on the season.

The 2026 season, however, was more of a struggle. Narvaez was OK through May, owning a .220/.298/.321 batting line, though he had just seven extra base hits over 37 games. Even still, his glove was good enough to keep him in the lineup. But that didn’t matter much by the end of June. Narváez slumped badly, hitting .097/.143/.129 on the month. And it was not much better in July, where he put together a .172/.242/.276 slash line.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox surged, going 21-4 in July, and clawing their way back into the playoff race. Narváez was a weak link, and the team sought out an upgrade at the position. They would end up landing one of the biggest fish of the trade season, and they paid a steep price to do it, acquiring Rutschman from the Orioles on August 3. Narváez went in the other direction.

When Narváez arrived in Baltimore, he stepped back into an everyday role. Basallo was on the IL at the time, which left Yohel Pozo as the only other active catcher on the roster. It was Narváez’s job for the time being.

The Venezuelan-born backstop brought his ice cold bat with him to Baltimore. Through his first 15 games, he went 3-for-41 with two walks and 14 strikeouts. After that, his production ticked up, but just barely. From August 25 through the end of the season, Narváez hit .139/.244/.167 with one double, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. In his 33 games as an Oriole in 2026, Narváez had one extra-base hit and zero RBI.

While it would be ideal for a team’s major league catcher to be viable as a hitter, it is less important than the work he does on defense. And fortunately that is where Narváez shines.

According to Baseball Savant, Narváez was worth five fielding runs over the entire 2026 season, which ranks him in the 76th percentile of all fielders. His top skill appears to be blocking. He had 13 blocks above average, which is in the 99th percentile. Nine of those 13 came with the Orioles, even though he had half as many block opportunities compared to his time spent with the Red Sox. He also receives plus marks for his pitch framing, and prior to 2026 he had strong numbers in steal prevention as well, though that can be impacted by his battery mate.

MASN’s Roch Kubatko said last month that he expects the Orioles to be “in the market for another catcher with more offensive upside” than Narváez this offseason. That tracks with how the team has explained their plans at the position. Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in August that the “plan with [Basallo] was always to kind of rotate him though and have him catch more like half or fewer than half of the games.” That set-up requires a legitimate primary catcher on the roster to play the lions share of defensive innings. Right now, it does not seem like the Orioles have that person in the organization.

That said, it is still reassuring to have Narváez on the roster. He is a major league caliber defender, will play the entire 2027 season at just 28 years old, and he has minor league options remaining. If the team is able to land an upgrade at the position, they would then have better organizational depth at catcher than they did all of 2026, which required substantial time on the big league roster for Pozo and Sam Huff.

The Orioles do have two interesting catching prospects that could be ready for big league reps sometime in 2027. Creed Willems spent most of 2026 in Norfolk, where had a .254/.347/.414 batting line, but there are questions about his defensive mechanics as a catcher. Ethan Anderson is right behind Willems in terms of development. He just had a cup of coffee in Triple-A last year, but had a big year in Double-A (.271/.363/.518) and could be the better offensive fit in the near-term.

Narváez will factor into the Orioles 2027 catching plans in some way. He has useful skills and offers roster flexibility. But he has already squandered his best chance to prove that he should be trusted as the team’s primary backstop going into the season. Now, if they hope to compete, the O’s will need to look elsewhere.

The Arizona Fall League is underway, and Chicago has seven prospects in the Grand Canyon State. The crew includes Mathias LaCombe, RHP (No. 17); Colby Shelton, INF (No. 23); Nick Altermatt, RHP; Jonathan Clark, RHP; Grant Magill, C; Tommy Vail, LHP and Garrett Wright, RHP.

The team added Vail after Pierce George, RHP (No. 18), suffered an olecranon fracture in his pitching elbow. While it sounds like an awful injury, he is expected to participate in 2027 Spring Training. Anthony DePino, INF (No. 21), was also originally on the Dogs roster, but instead underwent shoulder surgery. He should also be ready for spring.

Caleb Bonemer, 3B/SS/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 27), concluded his fall stint on Oct. 24 after slashing .286/.364/.633 with a .996 OPS in 13 games. Over his 49 at-bats, he hit four doubles, two triples and three homers, with six walks, 12 RBIs and an equal number of Ks. Shelton also appears done for the season, as he’s no longer listed on the Dogs’ roster. He finished hitting .277/.379/.511, with an .890 OPS in 15 games.

The White Sox prospects are suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs (9-17), sharing the dugout with hopefuls from the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Glendale Desert Dogs 10, Mesa Solar Sox 5 (11/3/26)
Vail was the only Chicago prospect to participate in the win. He tossed a hitless, scoreless seventh, retiring the side in order.

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Glendale Desert Dogs 2, Surprise Saguaros 0 (11/4/26)
Magill’s struggles at the plate continue, as he went 0-for-3 with two Ks. Clark earned his first save despite loading the bases in the top of the ninth. Fortunately, he pitched around the traffic and secured the final out.

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Mesa Solar Sox 6, Glendale Desert Dogs 3 (11/5/26)
It’s been a messy fall for LaCombe, and this outing didn’t help. He entered in the top of the seventh and got a ground out before loading the bases on a single and back-to-back walks. A strikeout put him one out from escaping the jam, but a two-run single ended his afternoon. Altermatt took over and got the final out, then returned for the eighth. After retiring the leadoff hitter, he had to work around an error by the second baseman. A single, ground out and double brought home two unearned runs, and a free pass put runners on first and second with two gone. Altermatt finally shut the door on the inning with a grounder.

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Scottsdale Scorpions 1, Glendale Desert Dogs 0 (11/6/26)
Wright did his part to keep this one close, tossing a scoreless frame in the third and surrendering just a hit.

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NL Fall Stars 7, AL Fall Stars 4 (11/8/26)
Both Bonemer and Clark earned spots on the AL Fall Stars squad, but only Clark saw action in the NL’s win. Bonemer wrapped up his fall stint on Oct. 24, while Clark faced three batters in relief. The righthander stopped the bleeding in the bottom of the eighth, entering with two outs, a runner on second and three runs already across. He struck out Wyatt Sanford to end the inning, then returned for the ninth and needed just one pitch to get a fly out before surrendering a single and getting the hook. His runner eventually scored after a walk, single and throwing error, leaving Clark with an unearned run on one hit over two-thirds of an inning, with no walks and one K.

Hitters
Caleb Bonemer: .286/.364/.633, .996 OPS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 6 BB, 12 RBI, 12 K, 49 ABs
Grant Magill: .156/.222/.188, .410 OPS, 2B, 3 BB, 4 RBI, 14 K, 32 ABs
Colby Shelton: .277/.379/.511, .890 OPS, 3 HR, 2 2B, 8 BB, 17 RBI, 8 K, 47 ABs

Pitchers
Nick Altermatt: 2.57 ERA, 1.571 WHIP, 7 IP, 4 BB, 9 K
Jonathan Clark: 3.24 ERA, 0.840 WHIP, 8 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 13 K
Mathias LaCombe: 8.64 ERA, 2.160 WHIP, 8 1/3 IP, 9 BB, 7 K
Tommy Vail: 3.00 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 3 IP, 1 BB, 4 K
Garrett Wright: 1.17 ERA, 2.478 WHIP, 7 2/3 IP, 7 BB, 10 K

Carter Jensen finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Major League Baseball revealed the final results Monday night. Jensen placed behind winner Kevin McGonigle (Tigers) and received 31 points in the voting. McGonigle led with 204 points, including 28 first-place votes.

Jensen received four third-place votes, nine fourth-place votes and one fifth-place vote.

This season, Jensen produced a special rookie campaign. He hit .239 with 27 home runs (team high) and 81 RBIs (also team high) while finishing with a 3.3 WAR in 149 games.

You can see the full voting results here.

Bobby Witt Jr won the Royals Les Milgram Player of the Year award (as voted by the local KC BBWAA chapter).

Witt, 26, has won the award five consecutive seasons. He ranks second behind Royals Hall of Famer George Brett — who took home the honor eight times in his career.

“Bobby, five times winning the Player of the Year, probably not going to be the last either,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, I mean, just the special talent, the humility, the person. All the things we love about him. You know, from his standpoint, and I’m sure he’ll tell you, he didn’t feel like he had a good year and he’s still an MVP candidate.”

Michael Wacha won the Royals pitcher of the year award and Salvador Perez won the Royals special achievement award.

Wacha earned Pitcher of the Year honors after one of the most durable seasons of his 13-year Major League career.

The 35-year-old right-hander went 9-10 with a 3.32 ERA in 32 starts, recording career highs in starts, innings (200 2/3) and quality starts (21). He led the American League in both innings and quality starts, becoming the third Royal to lead the AL in both categories, according to Elias Sports Bureau, following Bret Saberhagen in 1989 and James Shields in 2013.

A most deserving trio!

Congratulations to Michael, Bobby, and Salvy for earning our 2026 team awards! pic.twitter.com/cw5eWPbgrb

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) November 9, 2026

MLB mothership has 2027 Rookie of the Year candidates for each team.

Royals: Lucas Braun, RHP (No. 16)
Braun’s stuff is never going to wow anyone, but he’s spent the past three years at the upper levels and is ready for a shot. He scuffled a bit after getting dealt from the Braves to the Royals at the Trade Deadline, but he’s been a very durable starter, topping 140 IP twice in the last two years (over 130 IP this past season) and could be a very solid inning-eating back-end starter in 2027.

Kevin O’Brien looked at Trent Grisham as an option in center field.

Sal Stewart won NL Rookie of the Year.

The case for each Manager of the Year candidate.

Old friend alert.

SOURCE-OF Nelson Velazquez🇵🇷 has a deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, pending a physical in Orlando this week. pic.twitter.com/SIedo3KKzX

— Edwin Hernández Jr. (@MOP_KNOWS) November 9, 2026

Michael Baumann at FanGraphs wondered how Cooper Pratt fits into the Brewers’ long-term plans.

CPBL reliever Jyun-Yue Tseng will enter the posting system for MLB free agency.

The White Sox agreed to give a $4M bonus to a 14-year-old from the Dominican Republic.

The KC Current will play against Gotham in the NWSL semifinals on a 5000-seat pitch due to poor field conditions at the original stadium.

Sporting KC fired head coach Rapha Wicky after a dismal season.

Mizzou footbal is big mad about the officiating against Texas.

Mauricio Pochettino, current USMNT coach, is apparently the favored candidate to replace the not-yet-fired (at least as I typed this) Michael Carrick at Manchester United.

The Jaguars made a flurry of trades, highlighted by getting DT Jordan Davis from the Eagles.

Arizona Cardinals QB Gardner Minshew maybe tore his UCL in his throwing arm. Soooo…TJ surgery for a football player? How odd. They may not do surgery.

Jensen Huang, the Nvidia CEO, is in some hot water (different link than Max’s yesterday).

Your song of the day is Electric Guest with Oh Devil.