SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 26: Cole Young #2 of the Seattle Mariners fields the ball against the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park on September 26, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hello everyone and happy Thursday!
Here’s everything you may have missed from the baseball world yesterday.
MLB Postseason scores…
The Dodgers are just one game away from being swept in the NLCS following a 6-2 Brewers victory powered by a trio of homers.
In Mariners news…
David Laurila at Fangraphs spoke to Mariners prospect Boston Smith, who was acquired by the team in the Luis Castillo trade and is now playing in the Arizona Fall League.
It’s official: Joe Espada will not be returning as Astros manager in 2027, leaving the door wide open for him to take the role with the Mariners should they choose him.
Despite their massive success this season, the Rays are having trouble filling seats at the Trop. Sam Blum at The Athletic has the story.
While many teams are slashing their scouting departments, the Mets are expanding theirs, reports Will Sammon at The Athletic.
Mexico City, Mexico - April 26: José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones stand for the national anthem before Game 2 of the MLB World Tour Mexico City Series between the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium on Sunday, April 26, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
For the past few months, over most of the baseball season, MLB has aired commercials educating the public on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations. The message has repeatedly outlined that fans are losing out due to the lack of parity among the teams while touting a salary cap and floor as the solution.
If the fans are outraged by the players’ refusal to consider a salary cap/floor, MLB believes it will hold a negotiating advantage.
For its part, the MLBPA contends that a cap and floor are not needed and that it is a ploy by the owners to limit player salaries and benefits. All of the proposals made by MLB up to this point in the negotiating process are contingent on the players accepting the cap and floor as the baseline.
Baseball is broken
There is no doubt the economics of baseball are broken. The playing field is far from level when a few teams can spend up to five times as much on payroll as the teams at the bottom.
It is not acceptable for some owners to use their teams as a cash cow to line their own pockets while never believably attempting to win.
Obviously, this system needs to be fixed. But is a cap and floor going to fix it?
Is there a parity problem in baseball, or is it just the excesses of out-of-control billionaire ownership groups that try to buy championships instead of competing more traditionally?
What is parity in this market?
The last small-market team to win the World Series was the Kansas City Royals in 2015. Over the past 10 years, top-10-payroll-ranked teams have taken the prize. Lower-market teams have competed but not gone all the way.
In 2026, three of the four teams remaining in the playoffs are in the bottom 11 in payroll, with the lowest payroll in baseball belonging to the Cleveland Guardians.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are ranked second, a few million behind the New York Mets for the top spot.
The Dodgers’ payroll is $340.6 million, with another $180.8 million in luxury tax (payroll tracker). Their luxury tax penalty is more than the payrolls of the other three playoff teams. Combined, the Milwaukee Brewers ($143.7 million), Tampa Bay Rays ($98.5 million), and Cleveland Guardians ($74.4 million) total $316.6 million, less than the Dodgers ‘ regular-season payroll.
We don’t know how this season’s playoffs will turn out. At this point, it looks unlikely that the Dodgers will achieve their coveted three-peat for the World Series.
Whoever wins, the point is that MLB doesn’t have a parity problem in the realm of team success. The Guardians and Brewers have been winning for a while now, despite not getting the top prize… yet.
MLB has a Dodgers problem
Smaller market teams can compete. They just have to work harder to achieve success. They have to maximize financial deals, have a smart administrative team making decisions, and their baseball operations have to draft and develop well.
The Dodgers don’t have to do any of those things. With their huge TV deal, merchandising income from their popularity and their superstar players, as well as the huge market they play in, the money is pouring in. They are the poster child for lack of parity.
The Dodgers can make mistakes, have endless injuries, overpay for underperforming players, and still win the NL West every season. No other team in baseball can do what they do. The Mets spend more money and are still a bad team. The organization is a mess and is wasting its advantage.
The real problem is that the Dodgers start every season with an advantage no other team can come close to achieving. They can outspend and outbid most every team in MLB for any player they want. Everyone else can only get a player if the Dodgers don’t want them.
MLB supports the chosen few
Major League Baseball supports the Dodgers in their process. The league makes a lot of money with what the Dodgers are doing. Their justification is that everyone benefits financially because of the luxury tax. The league’s contention is that the real problem is the underspending teams that refuse to try. Those are the teams ruining baseball.
Many of us remember when the Padres were pursuing Yankees free agent Aaron Judge. Offering him a huge contract, the Padres lost out to the Yankees, and Judge returned to the fold. MLB made it clear that they would not have approved that deal anyway. It wasn’t sustainable for a small-market team already committed to multiple big contracts. Peter Seidler got his hand slapped.
Where the Padres stand in this situation
Former owner Peter Seidler spent money when he didn’t really have it to spend. He was determined to turn the Padres into a winning organization and believed that the financials would work out when the success began.
Signing long and lucrative contracts with players who couldn’t possibly fulfill those contracts will hamstring this team for years to come. Aging players drag a team down; especially a team like the Padres, who now have to fill out their roster with a fixed payroll that begins at over $100 million with those guaranteed contracts.
New controlling owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones have taken over at a tenuous time in baseball. They are saying all the right things about being motivated to fulfill Peter Seidler’s legacy. What happens this offseason may not indicate their intentions.
This offseason could be hampered by the CBA negotiations, a lockout, and a delay to Spring Training and the season. Depending on how all that plays out, the ownership group might or might not get an opportunity to show what they want to accomplish.
The Padres have figured out a way to maximize profits in their limited media market. Fan attendance and enthusiasm help, and so does maximizing the use of Petco Park for non-baseball events. Merchandising is also a help, as two Padres players rank in the top 20 (Fernando Tatis Jr. No. 5, Jackson Merrill No. 18) for jersey sales in MLB.
The Friars finished 2026 with a payroll of $224,019,413 and will pay $8,280,316 in luxury taxes.
They ended up with the fifth-highest payroll in baseball. MLB points to the Padres as the poster child for what can happen when an organization makes a real effort to win in a limited market. But all of the Friar Faithful know that we can never hope to compete with the Dodgers for a division title the way things stand. Not when they have their resources and ability to overcome any and all hurdles.
That means a Wild Card berth is the likely route to the playoffs. A much longer and more difficult road to travel.
The owners need to work for real parity
The goal of the CBA negotiations should be to level the playing field by limiting organizations that can overspend above what any other team can. A cap and floor might do that, but current teams would have to be grandfathered into whatever is agreed to, as there are contracts that can’t be changed. It would only prevent future abuses of the system.
The road ahead for baseball is fraught with financial uncertainty. The unprecedented popularity of the Friars in San Diego is based on their success. Any agreement reached has to support teams in smaller markets so that they can compete with the big market behemoths. Not enough is being done currently to guarantee that outcome.
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 14: Mitchell Robinson #4 of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on October 14, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
When the Celtics first signed Mitchell Robinson back in July, it was met with a lot of excitement. He played an integral role with the New York Knicks as a rim protector for 8 seasons and even helped them win a championship in 2026.
The part of the signing I was most excited about was the possibility of watching him run the pick and roll with Jayson Tatum. With Tatum’s ability to get down hill alongside Robinson’s big body in the paint, it felt like a match made in heaven just waiting to be realized. In the Celtics 114-93 Preseason Win over the Charlotte Hornets, we saw the dream I manifested and it was glorious. Robinson finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 5-5 shooting from the field.
Lobs to Rob
Robinson was dominating in the paint early, scoring the first 6 points of the game for Boston. Much like we used to see with former Celtics center Robert Williams, the new age “Lob to Rob” was a factor and the chemistry between Robinson and Tatum was on full display.
On their first possession together, Tatum drove to the lane with relative ease and found Robinson who slipped back door to throw down a monstrous slam. On the next possession we saw Robinson set a pick for Tatum so he could receive a pass from Paul George at the top of the key. Then a spinning Tatum found Robinson underneath the basket again for an easy layup. We saw the pair link up again in the third quarter when Tatum recieved the ball in the midrange area where the Hornets assumed he was taking a shot. Little did they know, he had a seven foot behemoth rolling to the basket to throw down another thunderous slam.
Out of the five baskets Mitchell Robinson had in the game, four of them came by the alley-oop. Having an established center like Robinson who can be a big body in the paint to grab offensive boards and roll to the rim like he does, gives the Celtics offense another dimension that they didn’t have in previous years. Not only do you have to defend Boston from beyond the arc, they have a big man down low that can hurt you at the rim as well. It has been a joy to watch so far.
On the NBC Sports Boston postgame, Abby Chin ask Robinson about his two-man game with Tatum, he seemed exciting, saying, “I’ve never seen those from him before when we were playing against him. To be his teammate and he can throw them, I think we’re going to build a great connection.”
Double Big Lineup
Another new feature we saw in the Celtics offense was the addition of a double big lineup with both Robinson and Neemias Queta on the court together. Boston experimented with this kind of lineup last season slightly with Nikola Vucevic but it didn’t work out well. This was different however, with Queta at the power forward we saw him handle the ball more and drive to the basket. The double screen actions with both bigs on the court caused tons of confusion for the Hornets defense and even resulted in the highlight of the night with a big slam by Queta in the fourth quarter.
NEEMIAS QUETA THROWS IT DOWN! Look at Hugo Gonzalez's reaction on the bench 😂 pic.twitter.com/CrZCfqZJep
When asked about the double big lineups post game, Joe Mazzulla said, “Just kind of wanted to get you know get some game reps in it, so we could have it on the dome to see, you know, what we want to work on if it’s something that we have to do before the regular season starts.”
He also praised Mitchell Robinson a lot when asked about the Celtics chemistry. “I mean Mitch is one of the smartest players.” Mazzulla said glowingly, “…I think we can throw him in the mix and he can just pick it up. He’s been around great coaches, great players, so he knows the game. He’s been playing for nine years, and he’s smart.”
Joe Mazzulla on the Celtics Chemistry and he talked highly on Mitchell Robinson saying:
“Mitch is one of the smartest players been around. His ability to process information is ability to understand.” pic.twitter.com/mQgBG4hLhc
It was cool to see Joe go out of his way to praise Robinson like that. Ever since Media Day it has felt like these two have had a special connection. Mazzulla loves what Mitch can provide on the court and Robinson loves being coached by Joe. If this keeps up, we might seeing the start of “Big Country” becoming a star in Boston, and I for one can’t wait to see it play out.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves on the brink of elimination and are watching their World Series hopes come to an end.
As Bill Shakin of the L.A. Times details, pretty much all of the moves that manager Dave Roberts made in Game 3 came back to bite him in the patookus. From non-pitching changes to wasting bench players, nothing worked to help the Dodgers keep their short-lived lead.
Despite being down 3-0, the players and Roberts continue to say there is room for optimism. Roberts, famously, was part of the Red Sox team that came back from being down 3-0 to the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. As Jim Alexander of the OC Register covers, Roberts doesn’t think he’ll turn to those stories to motivate his team now.
“Absolutely not,” he said with a laugh. “Then I’ll lose them. I don’t know if some of those guys even know I played. No, absolutely not.”
The team continues to say all the right things, that they believe in Game 4 starter Tyler Glasnow, and themselves.
“Everybody in the team is very confident in his ability and the stuff that’s coming out of his hand and doing his job,” (Tarik) Skubal said of Glasnow.
“I feel great about Glas,” utility man Kiké Hernández added. “He’s got some of the best stuff in the game. I feel like our pitchers have given us a chance every day to win a game, and we just haven’t hit. So we just got to hit.”
Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times covers those quotes and more optimistic thoughts from the team here.
Another reason to maybe have some hope is that Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, two players who have not been able to contribute much at all this postseason had their best nights at the plate so far. Ohtani got on base three times, and Smith had an RBI double that brought in the Dodgers’ only runs of the night.
Game 4 is at Dodgers Stadium Thursday evening, to be determined if it’s the last game there for a long time.
To end with a fun little nugget to maybe make you smile, Max Muncy has been named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at third base, and Manny Machado has not. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic covers all those details here.
Dec 13, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; A replica of the Gold Glove Award is on display in the trade show on the convention floor during the MLB winter meetings at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Major League Baseball announced its finalists for the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards on Wednesday. Neither Manny Machado nor Fernando Tatis Jr. were nominated despite both having excellent defensive seasons. Ty France and Freddie Fermin got the nod.
Machado gets robbed
Third baseman Manny Machado, 34, finished the 2026 regular season with a +12 Outs Above Average in the National League. It was the top rating of any third baseman in the NL. After making 16 errors in 2025, Machado made three errors in 2026 and had his highest OAA since 2023.
The three finalists are Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs) with a +9 OAA, Javier Sanoja (Miami Marlins) with a +6 OAA and Max Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers) with a -1 OAA.
Fielding Run Value is a stat used by analysts to put a value on a player’s overall defensive performance by calculating how many runs they save or cost their team compared to an average player.
Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson leads all of baseball’s corner infielders with a +12 FRV, followed by Ty France with a +10 FRV and then Machado with an +8 FRV. Bregman is tied with multiple other players at +7 FRV.
Apparently, analytics don’t weigh heavily with these finalists.
Tatis Jr. sacrifices for the team
Fernando Tatis Jr. is the recipient of two Gold Glove and two Platinum Glove Awards over the past three seasons as a right fielder in the National League. During the 2026 season, Tatis started 104 games in right field. He also started 50 games at second base. Some could argue he would not be a candidate for the Gold Glove because he was essentially a utility player.
But the nominating committee gave third baseman Javier Sanoja a nomination as a finalist despite playing multiple positions for the Marlins during the season.
Carson Benge, right fielder for the New York Mets, had a +1 OAA while Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs had a +5 OAA, and Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks had a +10 OAA.
Tatis ended with a +4 OAA.
Tatis comes in behind all three in FRV, finishing with a +3 rating just behind Carroll at +4 FRV. Both Benge at +8 FRV and Suzuki at +8 FRV are tied at the top for corner outfielders.
Splitting time between two positions seems to have cost Tatis a chance at another Gold Glove nomination.
Jackson Merrill loses out again
Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill finished 2026 with a +7 OAA for his position, losing out as a finalist. Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs leads all of baseball with a +26 OAA. The other two finalists are Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves with a +14 OAA and Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a +9 OAA.
Ty France and Freddie Fermin make the final list
Padres first baseman Ty France led in almost all defensive categories for first basemen through the season. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson came on strong as the season developed and finished with a +12 OAA to France’s +7 OAA. Olson also had a +12 FRV compared to France’s +10 FRV. The third nominee was TJ Rumfield for the Colorado Rockies.
Catcher Freddie Fermin joined Gabriel Moreno of the D-backs and Luis Torrens of the Mets as nominees for 2026.
Fermin excels in defensive metrics, accumulating a +9 FRV, while Moreno has +7 FRV and Torrens has a +10 FRV. Catchers aren’t assigned OAA ratings, as those are just for position players and reflect range as part of the assessment.
Fermin also finished with a +10 in blocks above average and +6 in caught stealing above average. His 1.88 pop time ranks in the 86th percentile.
Awards are given on Sunday, November 1
The winners will be announced on Nov. 1 and broadcast on ESPN.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 08: Manager, Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees and Joe Girardi talk before the game against the Athletics at Yankee Stadium on April 8, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Although several fans may have a contrasting opinion, former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi gave Aaron Boone praise for his managerial duties throughout the season.
Another season came and went without the Yankees securing their 28th World Series title, and the majority of fans are just about fed up. It’s gotten to the point where they’re actively calling for the jobs of both Boone and general manager Brian Cashman after getting swept by the Rays in a three-game ALDS, their first such dusting in a best-of-five since 1980.
During a recent appearance on a podcast with MLB insiders Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, Girardi defended his successor’s decision-making this season and even went as far to say that this year was a highlight in Boone’s managerial career.
“I think you could argue this was his best year of managing,” Girardi told Sherman and Heyman. “I think he got the most out of this team during the course of the season, with all they had to deal with and the way they won games. He had to flip the way they won games. They had to win games from a pitching standpoint, different from the past, when they would win just by out-slugging people. He couldn’t do that this year, and I think he ran the bullpen extremely well and got the most out of those guys.”
Girardi went on to indicate that the Yankees’ offense was one of the main factors holding them back, and that it wasn’t Boone’s fault. His point, as much as fans may disagree, is that the players need to be held accountable for their performances and need to hold themselves to a higher standard. Even without Aaron Judge for 96 games and the entire playoffs, there were enough players in that locker room with résumés that should have led to better numbers. They posted a .230/.297/.394 triple slash in 102 games from the time of Judge’s first IL stint onward, good for only a 93 wRC+, sixth-worst in baseball.
“It’s really hard to me to judge a manager unless he does something egregious, and I can’t say he did anything that was truly egregious. It’s a short series and these guys didn’t hit. It’s not like you were facing a team that won 81 games, you were facing the best team in the American League during the course of the season. You were facing some really good starting pitching, and again, offensively, I thought they were challenged the whole year. Without Aaron Judge, they’re a different offensive club.”
Some would classify putting Trent Grisham in the leadoff spot in an elimination game as egregious, but others may consider that a bit hyperbolic.
This marks Boone’s 17th season as Yankee skipper, with one pennant and one World Series appearance to show for it. Fans are calling for a change, but according to Girardi, it doesn’t have to be at the top step of the dugout. Girardi also stated that if the opportunity arose, he would consider returning to a managerial role in the league.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 26: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers hits an RBI double against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Target Field on September 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Morning, all!
The Rangers’ outfielders were a collective bust in 2026, with Evan Carter showing elite defense in center field and superlatively poor performance at the plate and Wyatt Langford continuing a downward trend.
Four Rangers were named finalists forthe Gold Glove award.
The Brewers have taken a 3-0 lead in the NLCS and are within spitting difference of their first World Series appearance in 44 years.
After another early postseason exit, Brian Cashman and the Yankees' front office have the offseason to figure out how the club can get over the hump and capture a World Series title for the first time since 2009.
It won't be easy.
Every year following their last title has been tough for Cashman and the Yanks to find the right combination of players and coaches to be the last team standing. And after being swept by the Rays in the ALDS, this is an especially crucial offseason. Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole aren't getting any younger, and there are no guarantees that the starting rotation -- which was among the best in the majors this season -- can replicate that success next year.
Not to mention the looming lockout that could impact things.
But it's not all doom and gloom in Yankeeland. The aforementioned rotation is still strong, with youngsters like Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers giving the team depth. Young prospects like George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones made splashes in the big leagues and look to be ready for a full season in pinstripes, and Anthony Volpe seemingly revived his career -- at least for the moment -- and could be a key piece for the 2027 team.
Given the expected lockout, the Yankees will have to enact their plan for the offseason rather quickly. While there are many holes and details to iron out, here's what the Yankees' top priorities this offseason should be...
The Yankees can go one of three ways with regard to their manager.
First, the Yankees could move on from Boone after nine seasons of winning baseball that consistently fell short of the ultimate goal of a World Series. Boone would leave with one of the best records in team history, but it's become increasingly obvious that a new voice is needed in the locker room. And while he's not the one making errors on the field or not hitting in the postseason, someone needs to bear the responsibility and that often falls on the manager.
The Yankees could also let Boone manage the final year of his contract and figure it out after the 2027 season. This feels like the way New York is going to go. As SNY contributor Anthony McCarron writes, the lockout puts the organization in a weird spot. With a potential truncated offseason and spring training, it may be best for Boone, who knows the players and the way the team works, to be in place.
If this is what the Yanks do, Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner need to come out and say it instead of letting the rumors swirl about the fate of Boone.
Oct 3, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone calls the bullpen in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The Yankees could also just give Boone a multi-year extension. While fans would be beside themselves, this is a real possibility.
Boone has an impressive 790-565 regular season record, and has missed the postseason just once in his nine seasons.
However the Yanks approach the Boone situation, some clarity would go a long way.
4. Get a right-handed catcher
One of the Yankees' biggest needs at this past trade deadline was a right-handed catcher to platoon with Austin Wells.
Cashman did not achieve this goal. Instead, the Yanks kept Ali Sanchez as the backup, while hoping Wells' bat would wake up from its year-long slumber. And while Wells' offensive numbers trended up at the end of the season and in the postseason, it was a missed opportunity for this team. Perhaps the Twins and Rockies were asking for too much in a potential deal for Ryan Jeffers or Hunter Goodman, but this offseason offers up more possibilities for Cashman.
Jeffers and Tyler Stephenson, who was also reportedly on the Yankees' radar, are free agents. The market for right-handed catchers is pretty shallow, so grabbing one of the obvious upgrades to the catcher position via trade or free agency needs to be a priority.
3. Bring back the bullpen core
Every year, the Yankees find ways to create a formidable bullpen with relative no-names, journeymen, and farm arms. In 2026, Cashman created one of the better bullpens with David Bednar anchoring, along with former starter Paul Blackburn, Fernando Cruz, and Brent Headrick.
Cruz ended the season on the IL with an elbow injury and Headrick is the only other reliever among the above who is under contract for 2027. That needs to change.
Bednar and Blackburn should be back. Both were great and proved they could handle New York and the postseason. Other free agent bullpen arms include Ryan Yarbrough and Tim Hill, with midseason additions Michael Fulmer and John Schreiber also heading to free agency.
Cashman rarely ponies up money for bullpen arms, but this should be the year he bucks that trend. Bringing back Bednar and Blackburn should be a priority, especially if the Yankees want to experiment using former starters like Warren, Weathers, or Luis Gil in the 'pen, or utilize Carlos Lagrange.
2. Get younger with more contact
It feels like it's said every offseason, but the Yankees need to get younger and more athletic. And while they have made strides over the years by bringing in Jazz Chisholm Jr. and promoting youngsters like Volpe, Lombard, and Jones, they need to do more.
For whatever reason, the Yanks cannot overcome mental mistakes in the field and on the bases and it could be attributed to age. Trent Grisham's defense in center regressed the last two seasons, while the usually sure-handed Ryan McMahon had his struggles defensively at the end of the season. And that's not to mention Chisholm seemingly not having his head in the game.
Oct 3, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) looks on after striking out in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Grisham and Chisholm are not guaranteed to return, as they'll be free agents, which should open up possibilities for other younger options. Volpe could win the second base job if Chisholm doesn't return, while Jones should replace Grisham in the outfield.
Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario, handy bench veterans, are also free agents. It's hard to imagine them returning with the way the roster is currently constructed. Their departure could also lead the Yankees to bring in more contact-focused bats to limit the offensive lulls that we saw in the regular season and in the playoffs.
But the roster crunch could also be handled with one more move...
It's been a long time coming, but Stanton's time with the Yankees could be coming to an end.
Stanton is owed $15 million in 2027 and the team has a club option for 2028, which they certainly won't exercise, and it opens up the Yankees to designate the slugger for assignment ahead of the upcoming season.
Sure, eating the money isn't ideal, but they did it with DJ LeMahieu back in 2025. They owed him more money ($22 million) when the move was made, so the template is there, and while Stanton has proven to be a leader in the locker room and productive at the plate (when he's out there), his injury history and age are making it hard to justify him taking up a roster spot moving forward.
Ben Rice has excelled as the full-time DH, and adding Luis Garcia Jr. at the trade deadline gives the team a first base option. If the Yankees want their best lineup, Stanton is not a part of it.
It also gives the team a way to use Judge as a DH here and there.
However you slice it, New York is better off without Stanton on the roster in 2027 -- a harsh reality that puts the former MVP's nine-year career in pinstripes in jeopardy.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 5: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball against Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks in the first quarter during the preseason game at Xfinity Mobile Arena on October 5, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Knicks 120-97. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
About a month ago, I wrote about whether the Philadelphia 76ers could climb atop the Philly sport hierarchy. With the Sixers’ regular season starting next week, that possibility is looking increasingly realistic.
The Phillies exited the playoffs with a whimper yet again, the Eagles’ season is circling the drain, and the Flyers may never win a game. Sports fans in the city are beginning to view the Sixers as a lifeline to pull them out of this morass of disappointment. Counting on the Sixers for happiness? Now that’s a dangerous game.
But vibes have been sky-high through training camp and the preseason. Team chemistry seems off the charts and everyone is saying the right things about sacrifice and achieving greater goals together. The only bummer thus far has been Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending Achilles tear. So I don’t relish the idea of bringing this up, but I feel like it bears mentioning: the Sixers could get off to a slow start.
Let’s start with the schedule. In their first 10 games, the Sixers play the Knicks, Cavaliers and Pistons twice each, with two back-to-backs. Those were three of the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference last season. It’s not the easiest way to kick off a new campaign.
We should also remember that this starting group has played exactly one half of basketball together thus far, the first 24 minutes against Brooklyn in which Philadelphia entered halftime ahead by just two points. The offense looked dynamite, a choose-your-own adventure of despair for the opposition. However, the defense might take some time to gel, as all the new pieces hone their on-court communication and Joel Embiid (hopefully) gradually knocks the rust off in live game action. With the glaring acknowledgment that “It’s Just Preseason,” and the reality of many regulars being rested liberally in these games, we should still note that the Sixers are 1-2, and got smoked by Boston and lost a close one to Brooklyn.
So yes, the Sixers won’t be playing Rayan Rupert and Duke Miles on opening night at the Garden, but is it realistic to expect everything to come together in an instant for the main group against the defending champs on their banner ceremony? Or could there be a bit of a learning curve and some bumps along the road as these guys feel each other out? When Embiid is sitting out a back-to-back and Adem Bona gets in early foul trouble and the Sixers are forced to play 30-plus minutes with small lineups of Dean Wade or Jabari Walker at the five, the hoopla of this past offseason might feel a long way away.
If there is a slow start, though, my advice would be not to panic. To paraphrase LeBron James, he didn’t leave his family to lose in the second round, but he also didn’t leave his family to make sure the Sixers go 8-2 in their first 10 games. This season will be a marathon, not a sprint. What’s of paramount importance is keeping everyone healthy and experimenting with lineup combinations and building chemistry so that this group is peaking in the spring, not early November. So I know with everything else happening in Philly sports right now, a lot of hopes are being piled on the Sixers at the moment. No matter what happens, stay the course, and don’t let those hopes be dashed in just a couple weeks’ time.
When the Cubs were eliminated from this year’s postseason, I decided I wanted another team to root for, just to remain invested in October baseball in 2026, in part because after this year’s World Series, we don’t know when we’re going to see Major League Baseball again.
For me, the choice was easy: The Cleveland Guardians. Let’s talk about the Guardians while we await their afternoon Game 3 against the Rays, which begins at 12 noon CT (game thread will post at 11:30 a.m. CT).
The reason I’ve picked the Guardians should be obvious — their 77-year World Series drought. As Cubs fans, we absolutely understand long droughts.
Guardians history parallels Cubs history in many ways, too. For one thing, the teams both won exactly two World Series before 1950.
From the beginning of their American League franchise in 1901, the Cleveland Indians were consistent contenders for much of that time, but won the World Series only twice, in 1920 and 1948. This despite having two of the greatest players of the pre-Live Ball Era on their team, Napoleon Lajoie and Tris Speaker. They never even won an AL pennant with Lajoie on the team, and it can be argued that their 1920 pennant was a bit of an accident because the White Sox, who were later learned to have thrown the 1919 World Series, did their best to do the same in the 1920 AL pennant race. You can read more about that here.
Cleveland defeated Brooklyn in the 1920 World Series, their first such title.
Then they went through a two-decade stretch of sort-of contending, finishing with 15 winning seasons between 1921 and 1940, but never winning a pennant. They led the AL through much of 1940 but the Tigers overtook them in September and won by one game.
The team muddled through much of the 1940s, finally breaking through and winning 97 games in 1948, defeating the Braves in the World Series. They appeared to have a pretty good team at that point. They won 90 or more games four of the next five years, but could not break past Yankees dominance until 1954, when they blazed through the regular season with a then-AL record 111 wins.
The Giants swept that Indians team in the World Series and after 1959, when they finished five games behind the White Sox, a long period of poor play began. (Does that sound familiar?) Apart from the strike-interrupted 1981 season, the Cleveland franchise would not finish closer than 11 games out of first place until 1995, when their good young core led by Manny Ramirez and Kenny Lofton went 100-44 and got back to the World Series, where they were dispatched four games to two by the Braves.
This version of the Indians was very good. Including 1995, they made the postseason six of the next seven years and got back to the World Series in 1997, where they lost in soul-crushing fashion. They led the Marlins in Game 7 2-1 with one out in the ninth when Miami tied the game on a sacrifice fly by… Craig Counsell. In the bottom of the 11th, the Marlins walked it off and the winning run was scored by… Craig Counsell.
Including this year, Cleveland, now the Guardians, has been in the postseason eight of the last 11 seasons. You obviously know what happened in 2016. That was joy for us and again, the crushing of souls for Cleveland fans.
This year’s Guardians have a “won’t quit” vibe around them, led by one of MLB’s most underappreciated superstars, José Ramírez (though it was his error that helped lead to three unearned runs for the Rays in ALCS Game 2). They’re fun to root for and with a 77-year drought on the line… I’m hoping they can end it this year.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Shane Baz #34 of the Baltimore Orioles in action during the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 15, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There are plenty of things the Orioles could have done differently to improve their record last season. They could have played better defense or struck out less. But there’s one simple thing that would have ensured more victories. They could have scored some runs when Shane Baz was on the mound.
Baltimore’s front office went out and got Shane Baz before the season. Baz was under contract with another team in the division, and the Rays did not exactly thrust him onto the trade block. Mike Elias identified Baz as a pitcher that he wanted in the 2026 rotation, and he overwhelmed the Rays with an attractive bunch of prospects.
Baltimore sent Slater de Brun, Caden Bodine, Michael Forret, Austin Overn, and a competitive balance pick to the Rays in exchange for the former first round pick. Forret has since made his way back to the organization, while de Brun traveled to Tampa after arriving in Baltimore via compensation for the Bryan Baker trade.
Bodine vaulted up prospect lists after a strong 2026 campaign, and Overn currently sits inside Tampa Bay’s Top 10 according to MLB Pipeline. The Orioles sent Tyler Wells to the Rays to reacquire Forret, and a first round pick is a first round pick.
The Orioles, to their credit, did what a team should do after investing that much prospect capital to acquire one player. They signed Baz to a five-year extension worth $68 million dollars.
Baz went on to post a 6-15 record with the Orioles. Those numbers make the deal sound like a total disaster, but that was hardly the case. Baltimore provided Baz some of the worst run support of any pitcher in the majors last year.
Baz finished 2026 with a 4.11 ERA and 3.62 FIP while giving his new team a chance to win almost every night. Unfortunately, the team rarely took advantage of the opportunity. Baz kept his head up and said all the right things after several disappointing efforts, but the team rarely picked up their new teammate.
Mike Elias lauded Baz as a player with Cy Young potential at the time of the deal, but he clarified that the 27-year-old would need time to get to that point. Baz missed all of 2023 and a majority of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.87 ERA over 166.1 innings in 2025. The season marked the first time that the former top prospect had eclipsed 80 innings in his career.
Baz took a giant step forward with 180 innings over 31 starts. The Orioles may eventually regret parting with such a wealth of talent in exchange for Baz, but it’s difficult not to call his first season in Baltimore a success. The optics would be incredibly different if Baz delivered the same quality of production, but the Orioles were the team competing for a chance to go to the World Series right now.
Baz controlled what he could control, but he also found himself in odd situations. He was on the mound for the infamous “not out of the baseline” play, and he often struggled to strand runners after silly mistakes by Baltimore’s defense. Of the 92 runs he allowed in 2026, only 82 were earned.
The Orioles will look for Baz to take another step forward in 2027. Kyle Bradish earned a similar—albeit pricier—five-year extension, but Trevor Rogers is a free agent. Brandon Young will return after a surprising 2026, and the organization features several talented young pitching prospects, but the Birds will look to Bradish and Baz to lead this rotation in 2027 and beyond.
Baz took a comebacker off his elbow in a mid-September start against the Mets. He appeared to dodge any type of significant injury, but the Orioles shut him down for the final two weeks with the postseason fully out of reach. After delivering a full workload in 2026, Baz should enter next season without any type of innings restriction.
Baz’s 3.4 WAR in 2026 trailed only Pete Alonso, Rogers, and Gunnar Henderson, and there appears to be more meat on the bone. The lack of run support feels like an anomaly, which should free up Baz for more happy endings in 2027.
With the 2026 season fully behind us, I decided to take a look at all of the top prospects who are likely to contribute to the major league roster next season. From the franchise cornerstones to the middle relievers, these are all of the prospects that I think could provide significant value to the Twins in 2027.
The Stars
We got a glimpse of what long-time No. 1 prospect Walker Jenkins can do in the big leagues, and after struggling for his first couple weeks, Jenkins finished the season on an absolute tear. Over his final 10 games, he slashed .385/.400/.615 for a 186 wRC+ and just a 7.5% strikeout rate. With an all-around elite skillset, Jenkins should be in the Opening Day lineup and has a chance to be one of the Twins most productive players in 2027.
Emmanuel Rodriguez finally got his chance with the Twins in September, and while he struggled some with swing decisions and ran a 33.3% strikeout rate, his batted ball data and advance metrics were phenomenal in the small sample size. E-Rod’s elite power gives him a limitless ceiling, and he has flashed some big impact in the outfield as well. Now out of options, the Twins will be forced to keep him on the major league roster in 2027, and he is capable of providing some major thump to the middle of the lineup.
While the stats and batted ball data were nothing special for Kaelen Culpepper in his first 33 major league games, he looks like he can be an impact player on offense and in the field next season. Culpepper has excellent bat speed but struggled to square the ball up and generate high-end exit velocities. He also has extreme chase issues, running a 42.8% O-Swing in his first major league stint. Still, the glove looked sharp, and he has all the raw talent needed to be an impactful hitter.
Marek Houston is on track to begin next season in Triple-A with anticipation for a 2027 debut. He looked the part in Double-A, slashing .301/.379/.450 in 60 games while playing exceptional defense at shortstop. The Twins cannot wait to add his speed and defense to the major league squad, and there is increasing hope that his bat can provide some real impact.
Starters
There is a lot to like about the direction the Twins rotation is headed in 2027. They just hired Brian Reith out of the Rays organization to be their new pitching coach, and the staff is set to be headlined by the veteran trio of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Taj Bradley. Connor Prielipp has shown frontline potential and looks to build off his promising rookie campaign, and Zebby Matthews finally looked like the pitcher we hoped he would become over his final 7 starts. The Twins also have control over Dean Kremer and Bailey Ober if they want them, both of whom were quality back-end starters this year. As injuries undoubtably occur, the Twins have a nice assortment of replacements waiting at the top of the farm system.
Of all the pitching prospects in the Twins system, Kendry Rojas is sure to be one of the top contributors to the Twins staff in 2027. While he nibbled too much and struggled with walks this year, he showed an impressive feel for location along with mid-rotation stuff. If he can improve his stuff even more next year and lengthen his outings, Rojas can firmly fit into the Twins rotation. Otherwise, he is a fun lefty bullpen arm.
Now two years into his pro career, Ryan Gallagher struggled in Triple-A this summer, but he possesses all of the tools needed to be a quality innings eater in the Twins rotation. Strike-throwing has been inconsistent and he could use some added fastball velocity, but if we see some improvements going into 2027, Gallagher will fit nicely as a 7th or 8th starter option.
Riley Quick still has a ways to go in his development, but with improved command, his electric stuff could absolutely push him into the Twins rotation in 2027. Quick was terrorized by walks and homers this season, but elite strikeout and whiff rates were able to keep his numbers afloat. There is potential for a huge breakout next year if he can stay health and be more of a pitcher than a thrower.
Righty flamethrower Adrian Bohorquez has struggled with injuries and is only 4 starts into his Double-A tenure, but he is developing well, and his overpowering stuff may force him into the majors one way or another in 2027. The big question with Bohorquez is if he can consistently get lefties out. He was dominant against righties in 2026, allowing just a .194 SLG with a 32.1% strikeout rate but a .344 SLG with a 23.1% strikeout rate against lefites. The back end of the bullpen may be a better fit if he can’t find a put-away pitch for left-handed hitters.
Eli Jones had his season end in late May due to injury, but he was pitching well in his first taste of Double-A, and he projects well as a back-end strike-thrower. Jones had a velo spike into the mid-90s this year, and with further stuff development, he has a chance to provide some innings to the Twins rotation in 2027.
Role Players
Its impossible to not get caught up in the excitement of prospects like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, but the Twins need to get production out their second-tier prospects as well. These guys maybe don’t quite have the ceiling or the polish of a high-end prospect, but there is potential for significant value with them in the right role.
After struggling to hit the ball in Double-A the last two years, Ben Ross had an unlikely breakout in 2026, posting a 108 wRC+ in Triple-A and making his MLB debut in September. While Ross lacks true bat talent, his elite swing decisions allow him to put together good at-bats. Defensively, he can play anywhere in the infield or outfield at a high level and is a plus runner. There is a lot to like about keeping Ben Ross on the roster as a bench utility defender and pinch runner.
Hendry Mendez struggled a bit down the stretch as he dealt with injuries, but he still finished the season with a 107 wRC+ in 78 games at Triple-A, and he has one of the most impressive offensive skillsets in the system. With plus contact skills, violent bat speed, and elite swing decisions, the only thing holding Mendez back at the plate is his extreme ground ball rates. While he is a poor outfield defender and will be better suited at DH, he profiles as an on-base machine with some big upside if he can elevate the ball more.
We got mixed results out of Brandon Winokur’s bat this year as he pushed into Double-A. He totaled 21 homers and 30 stolen bags with average offensive production across 127 games. His defense has continued to develop nicely as Winokur has the athleticism and arm to be a plus defender at third base and center field. There is plus raw power in the tank, and if he can maintain his 79% zone contact rate while improving his swing decisions, there is some big slug potential. 2027 will be a very interesting year for Brandon Winokur as he pushes close to the majors.
Khadim Diaw is one of the most well-rounded prospects in the Twins system and has also been one of the most productive since he joined the organization in 2024. He lacks raw power, but plus contact skills and an extremely patient approach make Diaw an on-base machine. He also possesses an intriguing catcher/outfield defensive profile that would give the Twins some valuable versatility. It’s unclear exactly how high the offensive ceiling is or if he will end up playing any catcher at the major league level, but he is set to begin 2027 in Triple-A with a good chance of debuting at some point next summer.
Relievers
The Twins bullpen is looking closer to average now with Jeff Hoffman, Andrew Morris, Yoendrys Gomez, and Kody Funderburk all locked in for 2027 along with a handful of other solid arms. There is an intriguing group of relievers in the upper minors with clear concerns but impressive stuff that could thrust them into the Twins bullpen next season. Don’t forget about David Festa or Matt Canterino either!
It was an interesting season for longtime top prospect Marco Raya this year. After a rough start, he caught fire in May and made his MLB debut in June, but only threw 6 innings before an injury put him on the IL for two weeks. He came back and struggled a bit, but finished the season by running a 1.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 6 walks over his last 17.1 innings in Triple-A. His 5.32 season ERA is not pretty, but out of 276 pitchers with at least 50 innings at Triple-A, Raya ranked 16th in xFIP and 22nd in K-BB%. With a mid-90s fastball and a trio of devastating secondaries that generate whiffs against both righties and lefties, Marco Raya has the stuff to be an electric bullpen arm if he can put it all together.
A 2027 debut for 8th round pick Thomas Burns is very aggressive but it’s possible. There are significant concerns with his command and strike-throwing ability, but he joined the organization immediately having some of the best stuff in the entire system. He has an outlier fastball in the upper 90s with elite carry. His cutter and changeup are both big whiff pitches as well if he can command them. I don’t think a 2027 debut is likely for Thomas Burns, especially in the Twins organization, but he has legitimate closer potential if the Twins can get him to throw enough strikes. The hope is that he will move through the system very quickly.
C.J. Culpepper got middling results in Triple-A this year after making a move to the bullpen. As an east-west pitcher with limited whiff, Culpepper succeeds by generating lots of weak ground contact, similar to Kody Funderburk. He finished the season with a 4.71 ERA and 5.09 FIP in 57.1 Triple-A innings, striking out 58 and walking 34. While Culpepper can be an effective middle reliever for the Twins in 2027, we need to see some strike-throwing improvements to really make the groundballer profile work.
2025 Indy ball signing Ruddy Gomez has had a two-year stretch that we cannot ignore. His devastating slider has carried him all the way from rookie ball to Triple-A in two seasons, where he ran a 3.00 ERA and 2.99 FIP in Double-A this season, and looked pretty good in his short stint in St. Paul to finish the season. His slider has dominated at every level, and if Gomez can improve the shape on his mid-90s fastball, we are almost surely looking at a big league reliever and a 2027 debut.
The 2027 campaign of Alejandro Hidalgo is one that I am particularly interested in. Getting excited about a guy who holds a 6.75 ERA in Triple-A this season and a 5.80 ERA in his minor league career seems weird, but Hidalgo has posted elite strikeout numbers with respectable strike-throwing. Home runs have been a devastating issue, but he could be a couple minor tweaks away from being a big league reliever at just 23 years old.
Maybe There’s Something There?
I was ready to give up on Kala’i Rosario, who returned to Double-A for a third season this year and saw his strikeout rate spike up to 31% while his overall production dropped significantly from last year. Naturally, he found a spark in Triple-A at the end of August and finished the season by slashing .315/.322/.674 for a 146 wRC+ over his last 22 games. The plus power was on full display and he was making quality swing decisions while running a manageable 79% zone contact rate. He is playable in a corner outfield spot and has a little bit of speed. The projection is questionable, though, as he hits righties better than lefties and is a pull-happy hitter that doesn’t do any damage on the outer half of the plate. At his current state he will be taken advantage of in the majors, but at 24 years old with impressive raw power and a history of production, I won’t give up just yet.
After a huge 2025 campaign driven by immense batted ball luck, Gabriel Gonzalez came back down to Earth in 2026, running a 91 wRC+ in 114 games at Triple-A. He can hit for contact and has shown tangible improvement in his plate approach, but the lack of raw power and defensive value will make it tough for Gonzalez to find a role at the major league level.
Jul 29, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly (8) looks on from inside the dugout against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The season may not be technically over, but the Phillies have been in their offseason for two weeks. They have delayed their end of season press conference until today, with it now coming on the heels of the team making Don Mattingly their permanent manager. Manager was the first domino to fall for an offseason with much on the agenda, and the team’s choice has not exactly inspired the fan base’s belief in Dave Dombrowski and the front office’s ability to improve the roster or just inject some life into the franchise overall.
In any case, there is still much to be done with the team on the field. The Phillies need to at minimum fix an offense that was among the worst in the league. Doing so will be easier said than done, as they do not have much in the way of trade ammunition and the free agent market is extremely light on impact bats. They need to rebuild a bullpen that collapsed in the second half of the season partially due to their now permanent manager’s heavy handedness in management. Finally, it would behoove the Phillies to also try and find ways to improve their defense, as they ranked near the bottom there as well and featured some of the worst defenders at any position in the sport.
And that’s before even taking into account the elephant in the room that is the looming lockout that threatens to at best wipe out some of the offseason and at worst take out some of the 2027 season in addition to completely revamping the financial systems of the sport.
Because of all this, it’s not necessarily being a pessimist if you are worried about how this Phillies offseason will go. That does not mean that reasons to be optimistic do not exist, but we will discuss those tomorrow. Today we’ll start with the bad news and try to envision what would constitute a poor offseason in your mind. So, what is your worst-case scenario for this offseason?
Three preseason games, three wins, and three beautiful possession-maximized games. The Boston Celtics have now logged 311 offensive possessions (per Cleaning The Glass) as they prepare for the upcoming season. They’ve scored 381 points, winning their games by an average of 23.3 points per game. For reference, that’s 1.22 points per possession.
Against the Charlotte Hornets, Joe Mazzulla’s team faced a different challenge, as Charles Lee had both Naz Reid and Moussa Diabate in the starting lineup, giving them high-level rim protection. Credit to the Hornets, they played hard, but ultimately, the Celtics kept their strong march toward the regular season going.
The Curveballs Played A Role
It’s preseason; quirky rotations, random substitution patterns, and lineups are par for the course. So, when Mazzulla opted to throw out a lineup of Neemias Queta, Mitchell Robinson, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Payton Pritchard, I wasn’t surprised, but I was intrigued, just as I suspect most of you reading this were, too.
There were other curveballs, too. Hugo Gonzalez played only 4 minutes in the first half, losing some of that time to Sam Hauser, who went scoreless in his 9 minutes. Jordan Walsh got the nod as a starter for the second straight game, but only got six minutes of playing time through the first two quarters.
We saw more of the same in the second half, with Hauser getting another nine minutes and Gonzalez playing two-thirds of the fourth quarter.
Joe Mazzulla is gathering information. He’s trying things out, getting film on those possessions and seeing what clicks, what doesn’t, and what could be impactful with some subtle tweaks here and there.
“I have a deep bench, a lot of depth, so I just want to give every look imaginable so that you know we’re able to have a general idea of how we want to attack it defensively and offensively when the season starts,” Mazzulla told the media after the game.
Those curveballs made the Celtics harder to cover. Throwing out three shooters, two of which can penetrate off the bounce, read the floor, and create for themselves and others, along with two lob and rebounding threats in Robinson and Queta, was interesting. It gave the Celtics a genuine presence across all three scoring levels and made Charlotte’s pick-and-roll coverage deal with some uncomfortable situations.
Boston’s willingness to get downhill was also a welcome sight, as they navigated some forgettable shooting from deep, which included not one, but two (that I counted) airballs from Paul George.
Ultimately, though, it was the Celtics’ ability to impact shots on the defensive end that gave them an edge in this game. Shutting down driving lanes, forcing tough looks, switching with purpose, and attacking the passing lanes — all of these things added up to a stellar rearguard production, holding Charlotte to 93 points on 75 shots.
From the moment George rotated over from the weak side to blow up this short-roll action from the Hornets, you knew it would be a difficult night for Charlotte’s offense. The Celtics registered 16 steals and 22 deflections, allowing them to control the tempo and dictate the terms of engagement as they looked to shut down the game.
A pattern is forming throughout this preseason: Boston is aggressively attacking the defensive side of the floor, looking to get out and run off mistakes. The Celtics ranked 23rd in the NBA in opponent turnover percentage last season, and if I had to hazard a guess, this will be their most improved area coming into the new campaign because it’s working, and it’s working well.
A Look At The Playbook
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics pushed the pace. They were hunting pitch-ahead passess, and attacking in transition off misses, rebounds and pilfers. Mazzulla’s offense looked different against Charlotte. The team still played at a solid tempo, but it was certainly more half-court based.
There were more off-ball screens, secondary screens, veer actions, and cuts.
One play that really stood out to me was a high split action on the weak side of the ball that got Jayson Tatum moving downhill before ending in a lob pass to Mitchell Robinson.
The play starts with Tatum swinging the rock to the opposite side of the floor on the way up the floor, with George being the recipient. Robinson then sets an off-ball screen for Tatum, which on the surface looks like it’s designed as a quick action to get Tatum cutting toward an impending pass from George.
Tatum, however, delays his cut, waiting for White to get into the play. From there, Tatum and White split cut off each other.
This is where the magic happens.
After the cut, Tatum indeed receives the pass from George. He draws two defenders as a result: one who helps off George, and another who has stepped up to contain the drive (this was Robinson’s man). Hauser’s defender has also shaded over.
The problem for Charlotte is that by having Robinson’s man plant his feet in front of Tatum, Robinson, who began his role immediately after the split cut, is running unimpeded to the rim. Tatum’s defender is in the rearview, but hasn’t closed space quickly enough.
With Tatum’s driving lane closed off, and a jump shot being a poor shot choice, Tatum does what he does best when playing with a rim-runner: puts the ball straight into the lob corridor for Robinson to attack vertically.
Boom!
Bucket.
There’s another wrinkle here, though.
As the action unfolds, White has positioned himself in the weak-side corner. His defender has his back turned, as he watches the play unfold. If Robinson’s roll had been shut down, or he had met resistance as he got to the rim, a skip pass to White would have created a high-quality three-point attempt.
One screen. One cut. Three different scoring options.
In the words of Sidney Dean: It’s pretty. It’s so pretty.
Losing The Rebounding Battle
I don’t think we’ll say this often this season, but last night the Celtics lost the rebounding battle. Charlotte pulled down 43 boards compared to the Celtics 40. OK, it’s marginal, but it’s still an area where the Celtics lost.
It’s worth noting that Boston won the offensive glass, grabbing 9 ORBs to the Hornets’ 7.
Tatum led the team with 8 rebounds, all coming on the defensive glass. He’ll probably hover around that number as his season average, too. However, Charlotte’s double-big rotation caused the Celtics some issues. That’s good information to have, as it’ll allow Mazzulla and the coaching staff to develop counters and game plans for when they find themselves in that position and sending two bigs on the floor doesn’t make sense in the moment.
I’m not worried, though. The Celtics rank first for total rebounds, second for defensive rebounds, and third for offensive rebounds during preseason. With the size and length the Celtics have throughout the roster, coupled with the big man rotation at Mazzulla’s disposal, controlling the glass, at either end of the floor, should not be an issue this season.
This Isn’t The Same Neemy
Queta has been working on his game this summer. You only have to watch his performance last night to see that he’s taken a developmental leap. How big that leap is, will be something we learn as the season gets underway and progresses. Still, there’s a lot of reasons to be excited for his production this year.
A lot will be said about his willingness to take shots from the perimeter. I get it. If he can become somewhat reliable out there, he’ll give Boston a spacing boost and another pick-and-pop option alongside Luka Garza. Yet, it was his activity that really stood out to me. His screening, movement, and decision-making with the rock in his hands.
“I think the best version of Neemy gives us a little bit of playmaking opportunities and being able to make plays off the dribble in the seam,” Mazzulla said. “…That playmaking is an area that we’d like to see Neemi take to a little bit of a different level for sure.”
By now, we’ve all seen this highlight play from Queta. He fakes the hand-off, turns the corner and drives for a poster dunk. There will be times where Queta will need to make a read out of his drive, or to abandon getting downhill in favor of moving the rock. How well he makes those reads, and the pace of that decision-making, will tell us a lot about the type of jump he could take this year.
Whether he starts or comes off the bench this season, Queta’s development will be a genuine swing factor for the Celtics. So, seeing him play so well during preseason, is certainly encouraging.
Paul George’s Shot Will Come
George is now 5-20 from the field over his two preseason games.
Woof.
Outside of scoring the ball, he’s playing great. He’s highly impactful on defense. He’s a willing passer. And his presence, both as a spot-up threat and when on the move, forces defenses to stay locked in.
However, until his shots start to fall at a considerably higher clip, we’re not going to see him at his best. The point of being a two-way threat, is that you impact the games on both sides of the ball. George will get there, though.
Right now, he’s navigating through some growing pains. A whole new offensive and defensive system. Brand new teammates, learning when and where he’s most effective receiving the ball, and of course, vice versa. Oh, and lets not forget that he’s figuring out his new role on the fly.
Preseason isn’t supposed to be polished. It’s not supposed to be pretty. You play these games to get an idea of what needs work, and what does or doesn’t gave the desired outcome. George will continue figuring all this out during the opening weeks, maybe even months, of the upcoming season. His shooting struggles won’t last forever (I hope). It’s then, when he’s close to the best version of himself within his role, that we’ll start to see what the duo of George and Tatum are capable of.
It’s going to take some time, and that means some patience from everyone involved, but when it clicks, it’s going to be so much fun to watch!
Final Thoughts
We’re less than a week away from opening night. Before that, there’s one more preseason game on the docket. Win or lose, it won’t change the fact that this Celtics team has the potential to defy whatever low expectations get put on their shoulders this season.
There’s so much to like about this roster. So, while the offseason was full of controversy, and some are still ruing the loss of Jaylen Brown, i’m choosing to put my green goggles on and look ahead to what has the potential to be a memorable and highly entertaining season.
