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Let’s say there is a scenario in which the Phillies had an offer on the table to improve their moribund offense. That incoming player was a guaranteed 3-4 WAR player at a position of need – third base, outfield, pick your poison. The only catch is that there had to be something of value going back to the trading team, and that something of value was from a position they did not want to move from.

Would you trade one of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez or Jesus Luzardo in order to get a piece for the offense that improved it substantially?

There needs to be some creativity this offseason to get the Phillies back into a position where they are fighting for a World Series title. Maybe this is the creativity that is required.

No, this isn’t a post that was delayed four months.

That Atlanta Braves have begun their off-season roster machinations with the team’s transaction page showing that utilityman Luke Williams has been designated for assignment while left-handed reliever Danny Young has been selected to the roster.

This follows a slew of transactions on October 8 to activate players from the IL and recall players on the 40-man roster.

Williams has seen action with the big league team since being acquired by Atlanta in 2023, but only appeared in two games this season – walking in his only plate appearance – although he was on the team’s Wild Card Series roster. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Young appeared in 16 games with Atlanta this past season after seeing action nine times across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. After a solid start as a low-leverage option in the bullpen, he allowed nine runs in his final four appearances with Atlanta and was designated for assignment in mid-August.

With a lockout likely by December, there may be a small window for trade and free agent activities after the World Series.

Off the field, owners and players are digging in for what promises to be a painful and shameful labor dispute. But before we get to that, we still have some action to settle on the field. Specifically, an NLCS matchup that almost perfectly prepares us the imminent conflict.

Yes, in classic baseball fashion, the sport has once again found a way mirror the issue of the day. Namely: Does MLB need a salary cap?

In one corner, we have the Dodgers and their Pacific rim empire. They have all of the money, all of the stars, and are gunning to become the first three-peat champions of this century. Just as importantly, a large segment of MLB fans from coast to coast believe the only reason they’re this close to a three-peat is because they have all of the money and all of the stars. This means — whether these beliefs are true or not — the Dodgers also might hold the keys the owners need to sell a salary cap to the fans.

That may sound crazy at first glance, but if the Dodgers don’t win, we instantly morph into an entirely different landscape. Consider the following:

1) The three American League teams to enter the season with the lowest payrolls were the Guardians, White Sox and Rays. They are now the last three teams standing on AL side of the board. (In other words, you’re guaranteed to have at least one small market / low payroll team in the World Series.) 

2) The Mets spent over $350 million this year and finished in last place. (In a vacuum, a strong case that Dodger level spending isn’t necessarily an automatic ticket to success.)

3) The Brewers play in Milwaukee, which is MLB’s smallest market.

Could the stakes be any higher for the owners and players in terms of how the upcoming winter work stoppage is going to play with the general public? If the Brewers win, you’re guaranteed an all small market/low payroll World Series. Any rational argument for a salary cap is dead on arrival (although the owners will still be trying like hell to implement one). In short, the owners could be picking the worst possible year to make their case for a cap.

But if the Dodgers win, the owners can and will sell the following narrative to a receptive and captive audience: “It’s not fair! The big bad billionaire behemoths are blowing everybody out of the water.” In short, a third straight Dodger World Series win would make the owners’ case for a cap in the name of maintaining competitive balance — Even though we know the real reason is they just want more money.

I’m of course oversimplifying things, but those two scenarios are very different worlds. Right or wrong, the outcome of Brewers vs. Dodgers will change the public perception on this issue, and which side the public puts more pressure on during the stoppage matters.

Make no mistake, a lockout is coming no matter what. Both sides are going to draw a line in the sand and retreat to their trench. However, whether that happens in a world where the Dodger dynasty is at the peak of its power or in a world where two small market teams prove you can win on limited resources might tip the scales. It’s basically the difference between starting a war on a sunny day or starting a war trying to invade Russia on the first day of winter.

The background conditions will play a huge roll in the upcoming negotiations, and while fans have no seat at the table, it looks like the baseball gods will get to decide which way the wind is blowing when the owners and players fully engage in their pissing match.

I try very hard to fight back against apathy. In politics, the economy, media, the world begs for your apathy. Don’t make a fuss, let it all just happen. It’s all going According to Plan. The state apparatus depends on your apathy. Do not give them that gift.

And yet, not quite 48 hours after the Yankees once again lost in the ALDS, lost to a team seeded higher than them, lost to a team that is just so fundamentally annoying that thinking about them raises my blood pressure a point or two…I don’t feel much at all.

I’ve always tried to hedge my reactions to bad sports news. The Don LeGreca-style rants make for good radio and some of the longer, more unhinged comments we get here are fun to scroll past, but at the end of the day I consume baseball for my own entertainment. Letting yourself get mad over something you say you enjoy while having 0 control over it hasn’t made a whole lot of sense to me. Let sports lift you up, not press you down.

And true to form, I’m not mad about the 2026 Yankees. I’m beige. The Yankees dogwalked the Red Sox last week only to find themselves canine-ized by the Rays, swept out of the ALDS in what’s actually a worse result than last year. (They lasted a whole four games against the Blue Jays!) Aaron Boone put the worst leadoff hitter in baseball atop the lineup, telling us that he liked the potential for action on the basepaths ahead of the only batter who showed up in the series, and that leadoff hitter went 0-for-5 as the team died—with him as the final out—because of course he did.

I don’t quite know why I’m so numb to all of this. The Yankees won 93 games, the second-best record in the AL, without the game’s best player, while actively rehabbing three pitchers in their starting rotation, while Austin Wells was locked in the trunk of a car for four months, while shortstop was an open question until the season’s final few weeks. It should be kind of remarkable that they were even in the dance in the first place?

But the AL was so bad, the table so uncompetitive, that the Yankees didn’t really outrun the other guy being chased by the bear. There was no bear at all. The team wasn’t good enough to chase down the Rays, dooming themselves to an additional two playoff games while the Rays got to rest, prepare, and welcome the Yankees to the Trop for the start of the series. The same offense we’d seen sleepwalk through the year for weeks at a time showed themselves, they lost, and I don’t really care.

Supposedly at the staff level the organization is starting to pick at itself like an under-stimulated pet bird. This annual tradition of “just be good enough to make it before 26 people who should be among the best in the world at what they do collectively forget what their jobs are” might finally be sinking in. At the top level though we’ll be told not to worry, There is A Plan, these guys are having good at bats actually, it’s right in front of us.

Congratulations to the New York Yankees. You’ve managed to accomplish something my government and AI companies haven’t. Sure, man, whatever you say, I shrug my shoulders and I walk down the street.

Meet the Mets

Teruaki Sato, NPB’s first Triple Crown winner since Munetaka Murakami, could make the jump to MLB next season, and he’s been linked to the Mets.

Around the National League East

Todd Zolecki listed five pressing questions facing the Phillies ahead of this offseason.

The Braves have made tweaks to their 40-man roster, adding a lefty pitcher and designating an infielder for assignment.

Around Major League Baseball

Jackson Chourio’s postseason statistics put him in some rarefied air at only 22 years old.

Gavin Williams will start the decisive ALDS Game 5 for the Guardians, just two days after closing out Game 4.

Sean Burke will get the ball first for the White Sox in Game 5 against the Guardians, with the rest of the pitching plan less defined.

Colton Cowser believes he can return to form for the Orioles in 2027.

Matthew Roberson of FanGraphs listed the ten best Division Series of all time.

The Dodgers have chosen Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start the first two games against the Brewers in the NLCS.

The latest MLB proposal for the new CBA would slightly shorten the season, and it could be prioritizing quality over quantity with it.

The Brewers went out with a whimper against the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS, but this year it could be very different.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Steve Sypa reviewed the 2026 Syracuse Mets’ season.

This Date in Mets History

65 years ago, the Mets picked the foundational pieces of their first team in the expansion draft.

While we continue to enjoy the few days of a break between the Division Series and National League Championship Series, we do know that the Dodgers will start Tarik Skubal on the mound in Game 1 in Milwaukee on Sunday, followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 on Monday afternoon.

Here are a few other postseason notes, as we wait for Saturday night’s finale of the Division Series, with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians deciding their ALDS vying for a shot at the Tampa Bay Rays.

A gaggle of writers at The Athletic offered their thoughts and predictions for the NLCS. Among them was Dennis Lin picking the Brewers to win:

“The Brewers will be fresher than they were a year ago, when the Dodgers swept an exhausted team. In this rematch, Milwaukee will also feature the sport’s most disciplined offense, the hardest-throwing pitching staff and, after Wednesday’s smothering of the Padres, the belief they can win big games on the road.”

Lin referred to the Brewers in NLDS Game 4 at Petco Park, which snapped a record 12 straight postseason road losses, a streak that spanned seven different series. Wednesday’s win in San Diego was the first Brewers postseason road win since Game 3 of the 2018 NLCS at Dodger Stadium. Half of the dozen consecutive road losses for Milwaukee came in Los Angeles.

Links

• Scoring has been down this postseason, with both teams scoring at least four runs in only one of 24 games thus far (Game 4 of Guardians-White Sox on Thursday). Bradley Woodrum at Baseball Prospectus looked at the reasons behind the low scoring and the numbers behind the “magical fourth run.”
• Major League Baseball this week proposed a 154-game regular season plus expanding the Division Series to best-of-7 beginning in 2029, part of its collective bargaining with the MLB Players Association. Jen Ramos-Eisen at their Left on Base newsletter wrote about the proposal and the MLBPA response.
• Former Dodgers center fielder Jim Wynn — the Toy Cannon — was among 10 excellent players Joe Posnanski wrote about at his Joe Blogs newsletter who didn’t receive a single Hall of Fame vote.

Today’s Reflections

There are a few known and lesser-known Cubs prospects in this entry of Cub Tracks.

Go, Clevelanders!!! The Guardians are one game from advancing to the ALCS. We owe the fans of Cleveland for 2016, when they became the organization with the WS longest drought. Go Everyone Associated with Cleveland!

Iron Mike (RIP):

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Lockout on Everyone’s Mind:

• Matthew Nethercott (Diamond Centric): Here’s Why MLB Owners Will Avoid A Lengthy 2027 Lockout. “Baseball’s looming labor dispute could threaten the 2027 season, but a little-discussed provision involving MLB’s television contracts may give owners a powerful incentive to reach an agreement.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): MLB Has Reportedly Issued a Lengthy Memo on How Teams Are to Handle the Upcoming Lockout. “The gist, of course, is that all operations of the baseball operations involving the 40-man roster have to cease.”
• Matthew Nethercott (Diamond Centric): MLB Owners Propose Major Changes to Regular Season & Postseason Format. “A 154-game regular season, seven-game Division Series and a new system allowing teams to select playoff opponents are among the proposed changes tied to a salary cap agreement.”

Minors/Pipeline:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): MLB Pipeline Names Its Cubs Prospects of the Year. “Ayers’ breakout year certainly deserves the nod, but so does that of Josiah Hartshorn and his incredible pro debut. My guess was that we would see various platforms go in either direction.”
• Jim Callis (MLB.com): Age is but a number for Cubs’ Cabada, the second-youngest player in the Fall League. “One of the most gifted young hitters in the Cubs system, Juan Cabada was ready for the challenges that awaited him when he made his U.S. debut this year.”
• Cory Sparks (North Side Baseball): Cubs Farmhand Miguel Useche is Surging, Against All Odds. “From independent ball to Double-A, Miguel Useche has already come a long way. Can he complete an improbable journey to the big leagues?”

Free Agents/Arbitration:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Ranking the Cubs’ Contract Option Decisions, from Easiest to Toughest. “Eight members of the Cubs have options in their contract for 2027. Most of them will be declined, in one way or another, but for the team, the decisions break in each direction—and, mostly, they figure to be pretty easy.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs may have already ruled themselves out of Randy Arozarena sweepstakes without saying it. “We can rule this one out.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): How Cubs Should Handle Their 11 Arbitration-Eligible Players This Fall. “The Cubs won’t have to fork over big money for their fistful of arbitration-eligible players this offseason. That’s the good news. The bad news is, they’d really love to have to pay some of them more.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): The Qualifying Offer Number For Post-2026 Free Agents is Out. “This year’s Qualifying Offer figure matters quite a bit to the Chicago Cubs, on both sides of the ledger. Lots to consider.”
• Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs get great free agent prediction on fan favorite 131 OPS+ outfielder. “This prediction for the Cubs would be a great offseason result.”
• Conor Liguouri (Sporting News): Why Cubs are perfect landing spot for Padres $17 million ace . “This makes too much sense for the Cubs.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs could take first step toward Ian Happ reunion with looming qualifying offer decision. “An ideal outcome.”

Assorted Stories:

• Carson Wolf (Just Baseball): Where the Cubs Stand After an Abrupt End to the 2026 Season. “The Cubs’ 2026 season ended abruptly after entering the postseason with World Series aspirations. Now, several questions need answers this offseason.”
• Doug Schwamb (Chicago Cubs): The Chicago Cubs Need to Focus A Lot More on Their Farm System. “A common theme emerged when MLB.com released its farm system rankings in August: The top-3 farm systems are playoff contenders.”
• North Side Baseball: Forum Friday: Cubs Pre-Offseason Mega Thread, Non-Cub Playoff Chit-Chat. “The week’s best Cubs conversations, from the human-moderated North Side Baseball forums.”
• Elias Shuster (Chicago Cubs On SI): 2 Cubs Players Who Will Likely See a Huge Uptick in Playing Time in 2027. “The Chicago Cubs could see a couple of lineup regulars depart this offseason, opening room for two younger players.”
• Rich Eberwein (Cubbies Crib): Cubs have a Dansby Swanson problem that’s only going to get worse. “With Dansby Swanson’s bat hitting career lows in 2026, the Chicago Cubs must address a growing concern in their lineup.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Nico Hoerner on What the Cubs Can Take Away from a Two-Game Wild Card Sweep. “Among the topics about which I most wanted to hear is the dichotomy between the playoffs being THE PLAYOFFS, and also being just two games. How much can a player take away from something like that?

Food For Thought:

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was an American blues and blues-rock band from Chicago. Formed in the summer of 1963, the group originally featured eponymous vocalist and harmonicistPaul Butterfield, guitarist Elvin Bishop, bassist Jerome Arnold, and drummer Sam Lay.^[1] The band added guitarist Mike Bloomfield and keyboardist Mark Naftalin before recording their self-titled debut album, which was released in October 1965. The founding sextet were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, along with Billy Davenport, their drummer on their second album, East-West.

In the early 1960s, Butterfield met aspiring blues guitarist Elvin Bishop. Bishop recalled:

He [Butterfield] was playing more guitar than harp when I first met him. But in about six months he became serious about the harp, and he seemed to get about as good as he got in that six months. He was just a natural genius. This was in 1960 or 1961. By this time Butter had been hanging out in the ghetto for a couple of years, and he was part of the scene and getting accepted.

Eventually, Butterfield, on vocals and harmonica, and Bishop, accompanying him on guitar, were offered a regular gig at Big John’s, a folk club in the Old Town district on Chicago’s near North Side. With this booking, they persuaded bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay (both from Howlin’ Wolf’s touring band) to form a group with them in 1963. Their engagement at the club was highly successful and brought the group to the attention of record producer Paul A. Rothchild.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

Good morning, Rockies fans!

Major League Baseball is apparently interested in giving us a little less baseball.

On Thursday, MLB unveiled its latest proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement, including a reduction of the regular season from 162 games to 154 beginning in 2029. The 154-game schedule was once baseball’s standard, before the American League expanded to 162 games in 1961 and the National League followed in 1962.

For the Colorado Rockies, that would mean 77 home games at Coors Field and 77 on the road, instead of 81 each. That, of course, would also make a .500 record 77-77 instead of 81-81.

The number of games isn’t the only proposed change. MLB also wants a scheduled weekly off-day, generally on Mondays, and four doubleheaders against division opponents, further reducing the number of days teams would take the field. The additional rest could benefit Colorado’s pitching staff, although those doubleheaders could create their own challenges.

So, just how important are eight games?

The Rockies have never won the NL West. The closest they have ever come was in 2018, when they finished tied with the Dodgers for first place after 162 games, only to lose Game 163.

After Game 154, Colorado was 84-70 and 1.5 games behind Los Angeles. The Rockies then won seven of their final eight games to force the tiebreaker.

Of course, for a franchise accustomed to looking up at the rest of the division, a shorter season might just mean eight fewer games spent doing so.

Rockies news & links

The Case for the Colorado Rockies Being Aggressive This Offseason | Sports Illustrated

Despite a fourth consecutive 100-loss season, Maddy Dickens believes the Rockies have enough encouraging pieces to justify an aggressive offseason. With Hunter Goodman leading an improving offense and some positive developments in the bullpen, Dickens argues that addressing the starting rotation should be a priority for Paul DePodesta. It’s an optimistic assessment of where Colorado stands heading into 2027.

The Rockies Player Most Likely to Be Traded This Offseason | Sports Illustrated

With Paul DePodesta preparing for his first full offseason leading the Rockies, changes to the roster seem inevitable. Sports Illustrated’s Ben Fisher examines which Colorado player could be on the move as the organization looks toward 2027. The question isn’t simply who might be available, but what kind of return the Rockies could get as they reshape the roster.

Arizona Fall League Position Player Scouting Notebook | FanGraphs

FanGraphs’ Brendan Gawlowski included Rockies prospect Andy Perez in his Arizona Fall League scouting notebook. Perez’s bat-to-ball skills caught his attention, but so did his aggressive approach at the plate. The ability to make contact is there, though improving his swing decisions could go a long way toward determining how much offensive value he ultimately provides.

Rockies No. 10 prospect Jared Thomas’ first AFL homer | MiLB.com

Jared Thomas is making some noise in the Arizona Fall League. The Rockies’ No. 10 prospect launched his first home run for the Salt River Rafters, sending the ball 417 feet. After an injury-interrupted season, Thomas is getting some valuable extra playing time this fall, and this is a pretty good way to make use of it.

Around MLB

Storylines to follow as White Sox, Guards play winner-take-all Game 5 | MLB.com

The White Sox and Guardians have spent all season battling for supremacy in the AL Central, and now it comes down to one game. In their 17 meetings this year, eight have been decided by a single run, including four walk-offs. Will Leitch looks at the biggest storylines heading into Saturday night’s winner-take-all Game 5, including José Ramírez’s resurgence and Chicago’s unconventional pitching strategy.

The 10 Best Division Series of All Time, Ranked | FanGraphs

Following an entertaining Division Series between the Brewers and Padres, Matthew Roberson takes a look back at the best Division Series in MLB history. Since the format became a permanent part of the postseason in 1995, there have been plenty of memorable October moments. Roberson ranks the ten best series, giving baseball fans something to debate while we wait for the next round.

Brewers-Padres Playoff Series Is Setting MLB Velocity Records | Baseball America

J.J. Cooper examines how the Brewers and Padres combined for the hardest-throwing game of the pitch-tracking era, averaging 95.3 mph across all pitches on October 3. It’s an interesting look at how much velocity has increased across baseball.

Mathemadage: Who Gets Game Seven? | FanGraphs

Should a team save its ace for a potential Game 7, or use him earlier to improve its chances of getting there? Ben Clemens examines the math behind postseason pitching decisions and whether teams are better off using their best starters early or saving them for the biggest possible moments.

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