Worldwide Sports News

Congratulations to the Quad Cities River Bandits on an undefeated postseason run, ending woth a 2026 Midwest League Championship!

Blake Mitchell had the go-ahead blast for Quad Cities, giving them the lead late against the Dayton Dragons.

Royals President of Business Operations Brooks Sherman talked about some of the public’s concerns regarding funding for a downtown baseball and mixed-use development.

“Whether there is a vote or not for us, for this Royals stadium, that’s not up to us,” Sherman said. “We’re following the city’s process for an economic development project.”

Sherman pointed to elected leaders who have voted in favor of the project.

“We do have elected leaders who have overwhelmingly voted in favor of this project,” he said.

When asked whether a public vote would change the Royals’ position or its approach to the deal, Sherman again said the decision was not up to the team.

ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle named the biggest success and disappointment for all 30 MLB teams, and both facets for the Kansas City Royals should be familiar to fans.

Biggest success: The Royals aren’t far away from having a contention-level lineup in place. It starts with the progress made by young hitters Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. Caglianone has become of the game’s more dangerous hitters even as he still has plenty of room to refine his pitch recognition. Jensen, a year from now, might be viewed as the AL’s best catcher. The Royals can reasonably bank on 2027 bounce-backs from injury-plagued Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino, who had a down season after driving in 113 runs in 2025. Bobby Witt Jr. is the linchpin and the cornerstone player of the franchise. It didn’t quite come together in 2026, but the Royals’ offense isn’t far away.

Biggest disappointment: Even if the rotation had stayed healthy and the offense had come together, this season would have come apart because of a yawning chasm of a bullpen. On paper, it shouldn’t have been so bad. Then closer Carlos Estevez was hurt in spring training and got into just one regular-season game. Matt Strahm was a proven leverage lefty who collapsed this season. Lucas Erceg wound up in the minors. The group finishing the season in the Kansas City bullpen is completely different — and better — than the one that began it. Some of these things were hard to foresee, but if there is one area for the front office to examine, it’s here. Was there enough depth? Were the Royals too slow to cycle through different pitchers in different options? Building bullpens is tough, but things should never get as bad as they were for the Royals as they fell out of contention during the first half.

FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens looks at how the cutter has revitalized Royals pitcher Noah Cameron’s arsenal in 2026.

It seems to me that Cameron is instead creating deception with his changeup via horizontal separation. He pounds the low-away corner against righties, where the unexpected amount of horizontal movement plays at its best. Instead of making batters pick high vs. low, which they expect to do against someone with his release point (and against someone with the rest of his arsenal, which is very vertical), he makes them pick inside vs. outside the zone horizontally. He furthers the bind by tossing a ton of cutters to righties. If you’ll recall from earlier, his cutter and changeup live on a similar east/west plane; the low-away changeup and inside-edge cutter look very similar out of his hand. His changeup has accounted for 93 whiffs against righties this year; his cutter is the only other offering to hit even half of that amount.

As Corbin Young noted earlier this year, this increased focus on sliders, cutters, and changeups is an all-year trend for Cameron. He’s set a new monthly high in cutter usage in each of the past three months. Meanwhile, he’s down to around 20% four-seamers in the second half of the season, by far a career low. The cutter/slider and cutter/changeup pairings are ascendant, and they’re working so well for him that he’s cutting down on so-so fastballs to fit in more of the bendy stuff.

The Royals are once again in the bottom five of The Athletic’s latest power ranking, but there is no denying Johnny Flores Jr.‘s pick for the team’s best thing to happen this season.

A mid-season call-up in 2025, Caglianone had one of the worst debuts you could imagine, posting minus-1.6 fWAR in just 62 games. Of the 1,470 players to qualify, Caglianone had the second-worst season in 2025.

However, from the World Baseball Classic in March through the 2026 campaign, Caglianone has turned the conversation around. He’s posted 2.3 fWAR, with a 125 wRC+. Though strikeouts and swing-and-miss continue to be a concern, Caglianone’s batted-ball data ranks at or near the top in nearly every category — the hallmark of a slugger that can help extend a lineup alongside Bobby Witt Jr.

While it’s been a lost season in Kansas City, it’s been everything but that for the former No. 6 pick.

Baseball America’s Josh Norris breaks down the Surprise Saguaros’ roster for the fall, with plenty of Royals prospect power.

The clear highlight of Surprise’s roster is Zion Rose, the sixth overall pick from the 2026 draft who joins Jac Caglianone as recent Royals first-rounders who’ve spent part of their first pro seasons in the AFL. The Louisville slugger spent all of his official minor league time at High-A Quad Cities, where he hit his first professional home run and posted a .727 OPS over 19 games. Ranked by BA as the No. 23 prospect available in the 2026 class, Rose has a chance to be an above-average hitter with average defense and plus speed.

Rose’s fellow Royals on the Saguaros include righthander Justin Lamkin, who was on an upward trajectory this summer before an injury shelved him for the rest of the year. If he can show the same form from the regular year, he’ll jump right back into the Top 100 conversation this winter. Infielder Austin Charles is another rejuvenated Royal. After a tough 2025, he showed signs of life this season at High-A Quad Cities, where he smacked seven home runs in 45 games while striking out less than 20% of the time. 

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden analyzes the current labor proposals ahead of MLB’s upcoming CBA expiration.

The current CBA works best for the owners, the biggest-market teams who have smart front offices, the highest-paid players and the agents who represent them. However, it really doesn’t work well for the teams in the bottom half of the league in revenue, first-year players and other players who are not-yet-arbitration (or free-agent) eligible, players who reach free agency in their 30s, and the bullpen and bench depth players who get shuttled back and forth to the minors all season.

MLB would argue they’re trying to remedy these issues, starting with the proposal of a salary floor and cap. Under a floor-and-cap system, small-market teams would be forced to carry a minimum payroll, which would bring them closer to the biggest spending teams, who would be capped on what they can spend. The NBA, NHL and NFL currently have floor-and-cap systems.

Sports Illustrated’s Brian Sparks checks the stock for Royals players heading into the Houston Astros series.

Outfielder Jac Caglianone is one of the premium players to hunt for in the 2026 Topps Update, dropping Oct. 14.

MLB Trade Rumors updates its Super Two cutoff estimate as the 2026 season winds down.

One of the Atlanta Braves’ largest shareholders believes the franchise should be sold after a pair of record-setting team sales on the West Coast.

The New York Mets packed Citi Field Monday not for the home team, but for the one that got away, Baltimore Orioles’ Pete Alonso.

ESPN’s Jorge Castillo marks Roberto Clemente Day by looking at the dwindling number of Puerto Rican-born major leaguers.

From domination to dormancy, Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Edwin Diaz is in danger of not making the team’s postseason roster.

Former MLB slugger Yasiel Puig is still awaiting sentencing after a jury found him guilty of obstruction of justice and making false statements to investigators in February.

The Cincinnati Reds are expected to retain their front office leadership following a down 2026 season, and that brings comfort to veteran manager Terry Francona.

Former MLB closer and now Washington Nationals assistant pitching coach Sean Doolittle chats with FanGraphs about pitching and the organization.

NFL players prefer playing on grass compared to turf. In other news, fork found in kitchen.

Seth Keysor analyzes a dominant team debut for Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III.

NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL and their respective player associations sent a letter to gambling regulators regarding “protections for players and staff who face threats and harassment from sports bettors.”

Coming back to the PGA Tour is going to be hard for many LIV golfers after the latter filed for bankruptcy last week.

The Chicago Blackhawks make 21-year-old Connor Bedard their second-youngest captain in franchise history.

Here is where a $16.4 million infusion into Kansas City’s Housing Trust Fund is going to.

The Park at Forest Green neighborhood used homeowner association funds to save their ash trees from a devastating pest.

Today’s song of the day is I’m in a Hurry by Alabama.

The San Francisco Giants wrap up this three-game road series against the St. Louis Cardinals later this morning.

As of the time this is being written, the Giants are once again going with the element of surprise (aka haven’t announced a starting pitcher yet.) But you can check down in the comments for more up to date information.

Whoever it ends up being will face off against Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who enters this morning’s game with a 5.53 ERA, 4.71 FIP with 146 strikeouts to 52 walks in 143.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Cardinals’ 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday, in which he allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks in four and a third innings.

Game #153

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

When: 10:15 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Tuesday was Roberto Clemente Day in MLB, celebrating one of the most outstanding humans to ever play baseball, and annually it is used as an opportunity to honor both Latin players and also the humanitarian and charitable efforts of players on every team by nominating a candidate for the season’s Roberto Clemente Award. It’s a good day to remember all the good that Clemente did, but also all the good he continues to inspire.

We will also look at some more controversial topics, like whether or not it’s time for the Braves to consider selling the team, or if it’s time for Shohei Ohtani to give up pitching for good. Plus, is Gerrit Cole putting too much blame on the ABS system for his pitching woes?

There’s all that and more below, so let’s get right into it!

• Dan Szymborski wonders if Gavin Williams is a legit ace.
• Arizona Fall League rosters have been revealed. (MLB)
• A look at some other players who have managed to have a 10 WAR season. (MLB)
• Ryan Phillips thinks it’s time that Shohei Ohtani give up pitching for good.
• Evan Drellich explains why one Braves’ investor thinks now is the time to sell the team. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• On Roberto Clemente Day, Jorge Castillo takes a deep dive into the declining numbers of Puerto Rican players in MLB.
• Aaron Judge got his first home run after his return from the IL, and helped the Yankees clinch a postseason berth. (AP)
• Jim Bowden assesses what is and isn’t fair in the CBA negotiations from the perspective of a former exec. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• This is a crazy at-bat.

• David Laurila talks to the delightful Sean Doolittle about pitching.
• Does height really matter? In baseball it sure does, and Davy Andrews explains why.
• With 14 straight, the Dodgers have tied the record for consecutive playoff clinches. Story by Sonja Chen.
• Andy Demetra shares the story of a banned minor leaguer who changed his name to sneak back into the majors.
• Terry Francona seemed relieved by reports that there would be no major changes in the Reds’ front office. (AP)
• Tom Verducci explains why Gerrit Cole can’t blame the ABS for his pitching woes.
• Pete Alonso was touched by the crowd’s welcome in his return to Citi Field. (AP)
• Tyler Kepner bemoans the Mets’ loss of Alonso and their inability to replace him. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Your 2026 Roberto Clemente Award nominees.

• Jay Jaffe checks in on the Cy Young races and the leading candidates for both leagues.
• Jared Greenspan also checks in on the likely (and possibly unanimous) Cy Young winners.
• Ben Clemens talks to Noah Cameron about how his worst pitch actually made him better.
• Kiri Oler checks in on how the San Francisco Firebells are dominating the WPBL postseason.
• Ian Browne looks at what the return of Garrett Crochet could mean for the Red Sox.
• Karl Rasmussen rounds up some milestones that could be set in the final weeks of the season.
• David Purdum looks at the rising threat of angry bettors as sports betting continues to grow.
• The biggest success and disappointment on each MLB team. Story by Bradford Doolittle.
• Sam Blum revisits Yasiel Puig’s conviction and wonders why he has yet to be sentenced. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• A good reminder on Roberto Clemente Day.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.

As the calendar turns to September, every Major League Baseball team deals with fatigue. Pitchers are pushing past their workload caps, arms are heavy, and the grueling 162-game slate takes its toll. But in Colorado, the September decline is hitting differently.

There isn’t just one simple thing to point the finger at for the team’s struggles over the last few weeks. Hitting has cratered in the clutch, and the defense hasn’t been up to standard. One of the constant question marks for the Rockies has been the approach to pitching this season. It’s still a mystery to understand exactly what they are trying to build on the mound, but the performance has been inconsistent at best throughout the season.

Rockies’ pitching has run into a proverbial brick wall of late and has been a significant factor as to why 100 losses have become an unescapable reality. Over the past few weeks, the pitching staff hasn’t just shown signs of fatigue—the bottom has completely fallen out. What was already a thin, heavily-taxed unit has cratered down the stretch, turning late-season games into painful endurance tests for the bullpen and starting rotation alike.

The Rockies, unsurprisingly, have the highest team ERA in the league this season at 5.59, just ahead of the Athletics, who play in a Triple-A ballpark and spent a horrid week in Las Vegas early in the season. The team has a 6.13 ERA from the starting pitchers, worst in baseball, while the bullpen has been solid for most of the season, albeit with an inflated 4.97 ERA, which is the fourth-highest in the league.

As the season winds down, let’s take a look at where things stand and why the Rockies are struggling so badly on the mound.

The starters

Let’s start with the starting rotation.

The rotation has been a struggle for the Rockies all season between injuries and lackluster performances. After a promising start to the year with a 4.60 ERA in April, the Rockies haven’t posted a rotation ERA under five since, including four months with an ERA over six.

September has been brutal, to the tune of a 6.47 ERA, which is the third-highest in baseball. There isn’t anything new as to why the rotation is struggling. They have allowed the sixth-most runs (43) on the third-most hits (71) while ranking 18th in strikeouts (51). They have also thrown the 10th-fewest innings (57.0).

Pitches fill up the strike zone, but the Rockies are generally in the middle of the pack when it comes to contact rates. It’s often death by a thousand cuts as the team deals with an abundance of traffic, foul balls, and elevated pitch counts.

The first time through the order, the Rockies’ rotation has a 5.56 ERA in September. Digging down further, the Rockies have a 3.75 ERA in the first inning that inflates to a 10.50 ERA in the second inning and a 9.00 ERA in the third. Despite an excellent ERA in the fourth, the team struggles in the fifth inning as well.

Rockies starter constantly laboring through four or five innings while digging a hole the team has a hard time getting out of isn’t a recipe for success. Two solid innings mean nothing when the surrounding ones are so catastrophic. Opposing teams are slashing .305/.355/.502 against the rotation in September and have faced just 256 total batters, one of the lower totals across the league. That would be a positive number by itself it wasn’t coupled with the other stats.

Aside from Mason Adams, the Rockies rotation hasn’t had much to celebrate this month and has to be one of the major points of focus in the offseason, heading into 2027.

The bullpen

Throughout the season, the bullpen has been one of the strong points for the Rockies. Tasked with taking on a heavy workload because of the failings of the rotation, they have thrown 609 total innings, the sixth-most in baseball.

They haven’t been without their bumps in the road; May and June were rough as the bullpen had an ERA over six those two months, but they have otherwise been solid overall.

Well, until September happened.

September has been the worst month for the bullpen by far.

Holding a 7.66 ERA, the Rockies’ arm barn trails only a historically bad Washington Nationals bullpen this month. They have thrown just 47 innings this month, good for 17th in the league, while allowing the most runs (42).

The inability to prevent runs has been most detrimental for the Rockies as a whole. It seems at time that the starting pitchers and offense at least keep the game close, or even work with a lead, only to see the bullpen immediately give things away.

In Detroit, Adams had a strong start through five innings, leaving the game with a 1-1 tie. The Rockies bullpen proceeded to give up four runs in the sixth inning and the team went on to lose 6-2. On Monday, the Rockies battled back and forth with the San Diego Padres, but ultimately fell 8-7 after the bullpen gave up runs in the seventh and eighth to put the game just out of reach 8-7.

A major issue for the pen has been the surge in walks as the Rockies have issued 30, third-most in baseball. Meanwhile, they have 41 strikeouts and opponents are .278/.378/.492 with eight home runs and 12 doubles. The abundance of traffic given up by the bullpen has led to devastating mistakes that have put too many games out of reach. The bleeding hasn’t been stopped, or they simply open up the wound.

Perhaps fatigue could be the reason for the bullpen’s struggles. Perhaps it could be overexposure. Perhaps it could be a lack of talent. Or perhaps, it’s all of the above. Either way, the way the bullpen has fallen flat in the final month of the season has been a major disappointment after everything they had accomplished this season.

Going forward

I hope that the new pitching minds at 20th and Blake have learned some valuable lessons this season about pitching in Colorado. It’s definitely frustrating to see everything collapse at once down the final stretch, but good teams have to be able to compete for all 162 games. There is plenty of talent and potential along with promising developments, but the Rockies have to find a way to win in the margins of pitching and take the next step forward to being a competent and competitive team.

September has proven the team still has a long way to go in that department.

On the Farm

Triple-A: Salt Lake Bees 7, Albuquerque Isotopes 5 (F/10)

The Albuquerque Isotopes took an early 4-1 lead in the second inning, but ended up falling 7-5 in extra-innings of the opener of their final series of the year. Edouard Julien hit a two-run double in the bottom of the second inning, followed by a two-run home run by Chad Stevens to take the lead. However, the offense couldn’t add on until Charlie Condon contributed an RBI single in the seventh inning. Unfortunately, due to costly errors, Parker Mushinski ended up giving up four runs on the top of the eighth to tie the game 5-5. Evan Shawver eventually took over the 10th inning, giving up a double and a triple to put the Bees up by two. The Isotopes threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but couldn’t score any more runs.

Double-A:Reading Fightin Phils 21, Hartford Yard Goats 4

It was a forgettable night for the Hartford Yard Goats as they kicked off their playoff series with a devastating 21-4 loss. Connor Staine made the start and threw a scoreless first inning, and the Yard Goats then took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Unfortunately, things went downhill after that; Staine gave up six runs on six hits without recording an out in the second inning.

He was replaced by Bryson Hammer, who recorded two outs but gave up another six runs on three hits with three walks. Fisher Jameson then tossed 2.1 innings, but allowed another four runs on six hits. After a few scoreless outings from other relievers, Nathan Blasick was tagged for another five runs, three earned, in the seventh inning. The pitching staff gave up 16 hits while walking 12 and striking out six. Oddly enough, they only gave up one home run.

Offensively, Cole Messina led the way with two hits, but Braylen Wimmer’s double was the only extra-base hit. The Yard Goats drew seven walks against 10 strikeouts, but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Rockies Reacts Survey: How many walks will TJ Rumfield take by the end of 2026?

Affected by Altitude Episode 225: The Proverbial Wall | Rocky Mountain Rooftop

This week, Evan Lang and I discuss the struggles of the Rockies’ offense and defense over the last week. We then talk about the excellent play of Adael Amador since his call-up.

Here are the 2026 Arizona Fall League rosters | MLB.com

The Rockies will be represented by eight players and two staff members on the Salt River Rafters squad in the Arizona Fall League.

The prospects behind Double-A Hartford’s playoff run | MLB.com

Thomas Harding gives a rundown of the prospects that helped propel the Yard Goats to the playoffs.

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

In his 11 years in the big leagues, Sean Manaea has never experienced a scene like the one that unfolded at Citi Field on Tuesday night.

The home team, in this case Manaea’s Mets, nursed a one-run lead in the ninth.

An opponent, ex-Met fan favorite and current Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso, tied the game with a solo home run, in this case the 300th of his career.

And the home faithful cheered as if Alonso still donned the blue and orange, seemingly not caring one bit about what that hit meant for their favorite team.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for him, I love him to death, but as a team, as the 2026 Mets, I know we have definitely underperformed. But the guys in here work their ass off every single day. To have that kind of reaction to an opposing player — it could be anybody — is crazy to me,” Manaea said after the Mets’ 7-5 loss in 11 innings. “I’ve got nothing but respect for Pete, but I’ve never seen anything like that before. I know the guys in here, we are grinding our butts off and stuff like that happens. I’ve never seen anything like that, kinda crazy.”

Former fan favorites usually receive warm welcomes when they return to their former locale but Alonso’s return has deviated quite far from the norm.

Mets fans have cheered Alonso wildly like he’s the only thing that mattered, home team be damned.

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Perhaps some of it is pent-up frustration that the Mets did not retain him, although they did make offers he rejected over the years.

Some of the emotions certainly tie to the team missing the playoffs in back-to-back years despite lofty ambitions and huge payrolls, and there are certainly those who are letting out their frustration with beleaguered president of baseball operations David Stearns after his attempt to replace Alonso with Jorge Polanco completely backfired.

It’s created — as Manaea said — a “crazy” environment at Citi Field that will conclude Wednesday night in the series finale.

In Monday’s 2-1 loss, Mets fans booed when young starter Jonah Tong walked Alonso in the third inning.

Plenty of patrons also headed for the exits after Alonso’s final at-bat in the eighth inning — despite it being a one-run game.

On Tuesday, the crowd roared — and we do mean roared — when Kodai Senga hung an 82-mph forkball and Alonso absolutely crushed it into the left-field stands to tie the game at 3-3.

The long ball marked the 124th of Alonso’s at Citi Field, and even one broadcaster noted how “that’s what the fans came to see.”

Fans chanted “Pete Alonso” and he even received a curtain call, which, ya know, is usually reserved for when the home stars perform something magical.

Those chants later turned into rounds of “Fire Stearns.”

“Pete’s not here,” said Manaea, who exited with with a lead after throwing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball but ultimately received a no-decision thanks to Alonso. “The powers that be — whatever that may be — he’s just not here. I know everybody loves him. He’s the man. But he’s not here. 

“To see the reaction from the fans like that, I don’t know — it’s just different.” 

Alonso appreciated the positive reaction he received from Mets fans while achieving the personal milestone.

“Everyone in the dugout was saying, ‘Go out there,’ and they were right,” Alonso said of his curtain call.

“I appreciate all the support. Especially all the years I’ve been here, all the life I’ve lived here. Obviously appreciate that, and it’s a two-way street.” 

While Manaea made it clear that the fan reaction is a bit bothersome, he stressed that in no way did his views on the subject reflect on the Polar Bear himself.

“I played with Pete for a couple of years. I know how much he means to this organization, to this city. He’s an exceptional player and I love him as a player, as a teammate, he’s one of the greats,” Manaea said.

“And unfortunately he’s not on the Mets anymore and congrats to him, 300 home runs, super happy for him. It’s just crazy how things kinda unfolded.

the St Louis Cardinals are 20th in total pitching productivity by fWAR. Right around where the Diamondbacks are at. Overall, the Cardinals pitching staff has a .299 BABIP against. So they’re not just hapless and unlucky. They might be hapless though. I’m looking at you, bullpen.

Yes, the Cardinals bullpen has been among the worst in 2026. Surprise, surprise. They are 26th in MLB with .3 fWAR. The worst bullpen of the bullpens that are not negative WAR. Of which, there are only 4 teams that have dumpster fire bullpens. The Cardinals is looking like a dumpster dive, by WAR at least.

You can’t really mince words, the bullpen has been that bad this year. FIP and xFIP like the bullpen best, but as far as ERA and xERA go, it’s kind of unacceptable. While you cannot really blame the poor performance on overusage completely, the bullpen has been used quite a bit this season.

567.2 IP at the time of this writing means the 12th most used bullpen. Not bad, but they needed to be good this year if that’s the responsibility level. Maybe they didn’t need the most lights out bullpen *which only can be attempted to be predicted by the richest teams* but the team needed a good ‘pen at least.

They did not get a good bullpen. Nope. Not really.

What are the main weaknesses of this bullpen? They don’t leave men on base. The bullpen has the 3rd worst LOB% in MLB. So if our starters leave guys on, or other relievers, they have a much better chance of scoring than almost every other team. Why is that? The Cardinals bullpen is at 4.22 BB/9 on the season. The bullpen is 5th worst by xERA, and 7th worst in MLB by ERA. I don’t like these types of bullpen situations. The sabermetric stats aren’t much better. The bullpen just walks too many batters and isn’t too adept at getting out of it, or at limiting damage.

Five relievers make up the core of the 2026 bullpen. We have leaned on these arms the most and you have seen them pitch many times by now. Between these five arms, 328.2 innings were pitched.

• Gordon Graceffo 73 IP 2.71 ERA / 4.02 FIP | 6.53/4.07 K/BB ratio (1.6)
• Justin Bruihl 72.2 IP 3.59 ERA / 3.96 FIP | 6.44/3.34 K/BB ratio (1.92)
• George Soriano 64 IP 4.36 ERA / 4.90 FIP | 8.86/4.78 K/BB ratio (1.85)
• Riley O’Brien 60 IP 4.20 ERA / 3.82 FIP | 9/4.05 K/BB ratio (2.22)
• Ryne Stanek 59 IP 4.27 ERA / 4.56 FIP | 9.46/4.42 K/BB ratio (2.14)

At the end of the day, our best reliever was indeed Riley O’Brien. Ryne Stanek wasn’t completely awful. Justin Bruihl walked fewer batters than our other guys and was perhaps our most underrated reliever. Graceffo shouldered most of the load despite being a fringe candidate for the team, starting the season at AAA.

In case you were wondering, Graceffo and Bruihl are among the top 15 most used relievers in MLB in 2026. Thank you for your service, gentlemen.

Questionable usage totals: Soriano and Stanek have combined for -.5 fWAR. Surely we could’ve done better, somehow.

Something to ponder: Quinn Mathews has already surpassed Hunter Dobbins, Gordon Graceffo, and Riley O’Brien in WAR value! That is a positive takeaway on the season. Those three were all .4 fWAR guys in different ways arrive at the same total. What is Quinn doing well? Limiting the walks with a K percentage north of 20% in over 30 IP.

Ugly xFIPs: Mautz, Bruihl, Svanson, Graceffo, Soriano, Mathews… all prime candidates for future home run victims, maybe. I could see it, except perhaps Bruihl and Mathews being able to get away with giving up only a few home runs. I hope! Probably too early to quote Mathews xFIP, but it’s perhaps something to mention while we praise his success. To be fair.

Probably better than his statline: Luis Gastelum has a high BABIP against at .307, which considering his stuff seems a little high, especially when bringing in his 3.22 xFIP. He will be fine.

Unsung bullpen heroes? Ryan Fernandez and JoJo Romero were pretty good this season. Hjerpe and Winquest seem fine. Svanson, as bad as he seemed, was replacement level, not one of the negative WAR players. Hunter Dobbins was the bridge between the bullpen and the rotation. Best wishes on a full recovery and return.

Perhaps what stands out the most about the 2026 bullpen is that there is no lynchpin reliever. No one is locking down the bullpen with 1+ WAR performance or anything even close to that. The 2025 bullpen was quite good and effective with over 5 WAR. Kyle Leahy, Matt Svanson, and Phil Maton were are very good last season. In 2024 we had 2.3 fWAR Helsley. 2023 had Helsley and Romero over 1 fWAR. The 2026 bullpen doesn’t really have an anchor outside of Riley O’Brien’s save total.

MLB teams giving playing time to below league average hitters

Another subject to talk about is how many players in this new era are below average hitters getting ample playing time. The Blue Jays have several hitters in their lineup that are below league average. The Yankees are fielding some below average hitters too, getting lots of playing time. Zach McKinstry, third baseman of the Tigers, makes Masyn Winn look like a good hitter. The Angels have a few guys that can’t hit for league average playing every day. Cam Smith of the Astros has played 140 games at 89 wRC+ with mediocre defense. Full time Rangers outfielder Evan Carter bats at 78 wRC+ providing more value on defense than on offense.

The Braves Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley are below league average hitters playing full time on a winning team. The Phillies play a few below league average hitters every day and are going to the playoffs. Ildemaro Vargas is a full time player for the Diamondbacks and is barely above replacement level. I have plenty more examples of this.

Is it just me, or does it seem pretty normal for MLB teams to be fielding below average hitters full time? There are just not enough good hitters to go around I guess. This should assuage some of the concerns about our lineup.

1996 Heavy Metal Edition

I have 1997 (non-metal) almost ready for next week, but I cannot skip over my passion for heavy metal. It began with a box of Columbia House CDs, Metal Maniacs magazine, Headbangers Ball, and plenty of friends into heavy metal when I was growing up. The box of CDs and my friends were my intro, Headbangers Ball brought it to the mainstream, and Metal Maniacs was my connection to the underground despite living in the country at the time.

I only picked 10 albums for 1995, but heavy metal had a resurgence in the underground in ‘96 which I would like to write about. So, if you love heavy metal, you might want to check this list out! Jump into my time machine set for 1996.

• Acid Bath – ‘Paegan Terrorism Tactics’ eclectically heavy alterna-metal with that New Orleans sludge sound, genre hopping similar to Mr. Bungle/Faith No More (but more metal focused), and both soulful clean vocals and heavy metal screams to bring words and a human voice to the story. Cover art provided by 90s phenom Dr Jack Kevorkian. You might like this one even if you don’t like metal. It’s heavy stuff though. Those riffs… (New Orleans)
• Fu Manchu – ‘In Search Of’ speaking of riffs, this album has them in bulk. And that tone! Completely fuzzed out. Think Black Sabbath channeled through the spirit of skate punk mixed with a dash of southern California desert magic. (southwest)
• eyehategod – ‘Dopesick’ more Sabbath (and let’s be honest, melvins) worship but through the lens of post-hardcore punk and drenched in the heat of the deep south and poverty. More ultra heavy music from New Orleans circa 1996! I linked to the remastered version because I couldn’t find the whole album on youtube. Anyways, don’t listen to this it is filled with disturbing feedback, tar-black riffs, and suffocating insanity. (NOLA)
• Today is the Day – ‘self-titled’ perhaps the closest thing to Today Is The Day making an industrial album, as they introduced keyboards for a couple albums. This is nothing peculiar for the band, as they were more of an Amphetamine Reptile noise rock band before this, and more of a heavy metal band after. In reality this is probably more of a sludge album with a keyboard. It’s heavy af. And disturbing as hell. (Nashville)
• Neurosis – ‘Through Silver In Blood’ speaking of heavy, this might be the heaviest album on the whole damn list for 1996! What an absolutely stacked year for heavy music. Neurosis used to bring a guy with a film projector to their shows, who would play grainy films of unexplainable atrocities through an old projector. Mixed with the bands ultra-dark heaviness and propensity to start jamming out tribal drum style when they were done playing guitar for a while… you just had to be there, but this album does a really good job of capturing the insane vibe. Very very disturbing. (Oakland)
• Immolation – ‘Here In After’ there is no way to describe this band other than they are most definitely death metal, maybe with some black metal overtones, I guess? They’ve always dialed in their own version of extreme metal, very atonal, very wrong, yet totally controlled chaos. More uneasy listening from another legendary band still going strong today. (NY)
• Red Harvest – ‘Hybreed’ and now we arrive at our industrial metal segment for a couple albums. This band Red Harvest was a cool find! I had no idea this existed, but it’s quite excellent! If you like Ministry, you’ll like this! This album is not quite as extreme as the others, but it’s interesting…. besides industrial metal, you’ll hear some elements of goth rock, nu-metal, soundtrack, and grunge. (Norway)
• Godflesh – ‘Songs of Love and Hate’ maybe the most underrated Godflesh album? If post-hardcore punk, industrial, hiphop, and heavy metal gave birth to an album, this is the blueprint. Sure, Godflesh’s prior album ‘Pure’ had a lot of hip-hop beats, but not to this level. (UK)
• Type O Negative – ‘October Rust’ industrial goth metal mavens released fan favorite October Rust in 1996, their discography is so stacked you cannot really go wrong but a lot of people really love this one. Think of a band fronted by what a vampire would sound like and get ready for Halloween. Dark material, but with a lot of wry humor thrown in to make it all the more fun. (NYC)
• Adremalech – ‘Psychostasia’: you won’t find an underground extreme metal album produced better than this. The mix is perfect, the vocals aren’t as distracting as those of most other death metal bands, and the music is highly advanced both melodically and technically. If you haven’t heard of these guys, they come very highly recommended. I found out about Adramelech years ago through VEB’r Heavy Metal, ironically enough. (Finland)
• Iniquity – ‘Serenadium’ more ultra-heavy sounds of ‘96! Another perfectly mixed death metal album. Not too sterile, but clear enough to hear all the instruments really well. If you are a fan of Gorguts, you need to check these guys out! A new classic for my collection, a hidden gem I had never heard before. (Denmark)
• Sacramentory Abolishment – ‘River of Corticone’ enormous avant-garde death metal riffs, creative and unique drumming, and a singer that sounds like a cross between Donald Duck and Gollum, giving it a cartoony black metal layer. Is that even possible? I have just discovered this album and am extremely impressed, even though it’s really weird even by my standards. What is that name, even? (Canada)
• Angelcorpse – ‘Hammer of Gods’ ludicrously fast, diabolically put together, for once it sounds like the drummer trying to catch up to the guitarist! Phenomenal guitar solos. How have I never heard this before now. Thank you metal gods. This is an all-time classic aggressive underground metal album. \m/ (KC)
• Pan-thy-monium – ‘Khaooohs & Kon-Fus-Ion’ speaking of really weird heavy metal that is actually mixed well, Pan-thy-monium more than qualifies! Apparently, I have been missing out over the years on all these top notch avant garde metal releases hiding in 1996. I could only buy a few CDs here and there back then! Words cannot describe what this band sounds like, but it’s utterly unhinged genius, I can say that. And it riffs. (Sweden)
• The Chasm – ‘From the Lost Years’ classic blackened death metal from Mexico, one of their best albums among a stacked discography… they have always been one of my favorite death metal bands. (Mexico City)
• Cryptopsy – ‘None So Vile’ no list of heavy metal from 1996 would be complete without None So Vile. Wicked brutal technical death metal. My favorite release of theirs. The vocals are just omfg lol. Insane. (Quebec)
• One Eyed God Prophecy – ‘self titled’ perhaps the most obscure, underground sounding album on the list, it is also a pretty good example of a heavy metal/hardcore punk crossover band, bringing in some doom and black metal influence too. Something struck me about the wall of sound guitars, guy screaming like from out of a car trunk, and overall raw vibe of the recording, and the songs are pretty good too. (Quebec)
• Monstrosity – ‘Millennium’ and I leave you with perhaps the most crazy, polished, technically accomplished heavy metal album on the list, represented by crystal clear production and a perfect mix from 1996. Technical death metal at its best. That album cover is something else though! I sure did find a lot of interesting, really good heavy metal albums this week. And realized how good 1996 was among heavy albums I’ve owned for decades.

Tune in next week when I finally get to writing about 1997! I will be talking about albums by bands like Amon Tobin, Squarepusher, Autechre, Company Flow, Cornelius, Portishead, godspeed you black emperor, and KARP!

That’s a bad loss. You can pick any of the multitude of reasons why it’s a bad loss, but it remains.

That’s a bad loss.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The big news from the day prior was Jesus Luzardo heading to the injured list. That’s a big monkeywrench in their plans.
• Aidan Miller will be playing alongside other Phillies prospects in the Arizona Fall League. Good, he needs it.
• How should you be rooting for other teams in these final two weeks of the season? The way the Phillies have played, maybe it won’t matter.

MLB news:

• Joc Pederson has a broken hand, yet he’s trying to stay on the roster and help the Rangers pull off a miracle.
• The Mets have been baseball’s biggest disappointment this year, but they can turn things around this offseason.
• Carlos Correa will not be joining the Astros on their march to October baseball, missing everything with a nagging ankle injury.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/39-30)

SYRACUSE 9, LEHIGH VALLEY 1 (BOX)

The newly promoted Jefferson Rojas immediately introduced himself to the International League, singling in his first at-bat and going yard in his second. He was one of four Mets players to have multi-hit games, along with Ronny Mauricio, Ryan Clifford, and Vidal Brujan, the latter of whom had a three-hit evening. It was a group effort on the pitching side of things, but everyone who got into this game put up zeroes except for Dylan Ross, who allowed a run in his inning of work.

With the win, Syracuse gained a game on the Rochester Red Wings, who lost 9-8 to the Buffalo Bisons, and are 1.5 games back. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders won their game against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6-5 and are a single game behind first place.

·  CF D’Andre Smith: 1-3, 3 R, HR (5), 2 RBI, BB, HBP

·  SS Jefferson Rojas: 2-5, 2 R, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 K

·  3B Ronny Mauricio: 2-5, R, 2B, RBI

·  RF MJ Melendez: 0-2, 3 BB, K

·  DH Vidal Bruján: 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, SB (16)

·  2B Émilien Pitre: 0-5, K

·  1B Billy Amick: 0-3, BB, K

·  LF Ryan Clifford: 2-4, 2 R, 2B

·  C Hayden Senger: 1-4, R, K

·  RHP Saul Garcia: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP

·  REHAB ALERT LHP Cionel Pérez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Ben Simon: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, W (4-4)

·  RHP Garrett Stratton: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

·  RHP Dan Hammer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HBP

ROSTER ALERT: SS Jefferson Rojas assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets optioned SS Christian Cairo to Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets transferred RHP Chris Devenski to the Development List.

ROSTER ALERT: Syracuse Mets transferred 3B Nick Lorusso to the Development List.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent LHP Cionel Pérez on a rehab assignment to Syracuse Mets.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/34-34)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/32-34)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/25-39)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

Rookie: FCL Mets (24-33)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Jefferson Rojas

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Dylan Ross

Ok, so you clinched a postseason berth. Now what?

The Yankees will be in October for the ninth time in the last 10 years, punching their ticket on Monday night in Minnesota. There’s still a very outside shot the team wins the AL East — FanGraphs gives them a 12 percent chance at time of writing — but the smart money is on hosting the Wild Card series in the Bronx, likely against the Red Sox. The defining story of the Yankees in 2026 has been how the team has managed so many players, especially key ones, on the IL while staying competitive, and with several of those players possibly returning, the postseason roster begins to fill up quickly.

We start with the pitching side, where despite what some on the internet may say, Gerrit Cole will be on the postseason roster. The Yankees are not leaving their $36 million man out in the cold despite his last two starts. Indeed, I’m sure priority #1 in Matt Blake’s workshop right now is figuring out how to stop Cole from allowing so many home runs. Depending on the actual seeding and whether the Yankees can run down the Rays atop the division, the team will shuffle its rotation ahead of the season’s final series with Baltimore, and I imagine they’ll set Cam Schlittler up to start Game 1, Max Fried Game 2, and Cole for a potential final contest.

We then think of the bullpen, where I think the Yankees have an understated advantage. Sometimes, you need a guy to wear one, like Bradley Hanner last Saturday facing the Mets. In the postseason, that doesn’t really happen; you can deploy your high-leverage guys early and often, and yank ‘em at the first sign of trouble. The Yankees also have three MLB-caliber starters potentially available to pitch in relief, with Clarke Schmidt expected to be activated this week, Will Warren not necessarily needed in the rotation, and Ryan Weathers likely to be added to the team off the IL before the season ends.

Weathers is the biggest wild card, no pun intended, here as Schmidt has 11 games to get himself used to a relief role, something he’s done in the past. Weathers has come out of the bullpen too, but with less tuneup time, he may end up being the odd man out. I imagine Hanner and John Schreiber will be the current active players dropped for the postseason, opening up those two slots, but it’s just two slots.

The position player side sees a similar challenge, with it left up to debate whether either Trent Grisham or Giancarlo Stanton returns this year. If I were to bet I’d say Trent does and Big G does not, which stings given Stanton’s history of strong postseason play. We know the Yankees like Grish, and like having him in center, but even if he’s back to 100 percent, I think he has to occupy a fourth outfielder role in the playoffs. Since August 1, Spencer Jones has a 122 wRC+ to Grisham’s 102, and while Jones’ defense hasn’t been great, Grisham has looked like he’s lost a step himself in center this year, and the power upside of Jones in a short series has to get priority.

Then the last question is Jazz Chisholm Jr., currently on the IL with a thumb sprain. Anthony Volpe and George Lombard Jr. have provided a very good vibe in the middle of the infield over the last week or so, but both have been weaker hitters than Jazz in that same Aug 1-present period — albeit Volpe has had just 18 plate appearances in that span. I think Jazz gets the nod over Volpe if the Yankees believe he’s game-ready, and the club has stayed devoted to Amed Rosario, leaving Volpe out in the cold.

We still have a week and a half before the season ends, which is just enough time for someone else to get hurt and an injury timeline to be updated. The key is the Yankees are in the dance, and they get to drop some of the weaker elements of the team while they’re in it.

Good morning Birdland,

Despite their playoff odds fading by the day, these Orioles are still putting up a fight and (occasionally) doing some pretty neat things on the field. Last night’s extra-inning win over the Mets could end up being the most memorable of the entire season.

Pete Alonso, the long-time Met that had a much-publicized departure from the club last winter, has been having a dream homecoming this week. The Citi Field faithful have thrown all of their support behind Alonso, sometimes even booing their own team while giving the first baseman regular standing ovations. Those cheers got particularly loud in the top of the ninth inning, when Alonso hit his 300th career home run to tie the game.

Alonso was pumped, throwing his bat in triumph back towards the Orioles bench. And the Queens crowd was appreciative too. They kept on cheering until Alonso stepped back up from the away team dugout for a curtain call.

That reaction is rare. Usually, a crowd wouldn’t be too happy to see their team blow a ninth-inning lead, and they certainly wouldn’t be praising the guy that hit it. Of course, Alonso in New York is a unique case. That didn’t stop some Mets players from noting the oddity. The reality is that as disappointing as the Orioles have been, the Mets have been even worse. They don’t even have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, and Alonso has had himself a great season in Baltimore. The Mets fan base has acted exactly as you should expect given the situation.

The winning home run came later on, when Coby Mayo smacked an inside-the-park, three-run homer that was made possible when Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing made a valiant effort, but fumbled the catch away on the warning track. Neither of his outfield mates was there to help him, giving Mayo plenty of time to circle the bases despite not hustling right out of the box. Mayo now has 24 home runs and a 112 OPS+ on the season. Pretty good!

The O’s did not gain any ground in the AL wild card standings. Both the Guardians and Rangers won, so they remain three games back with 10 games to play. They will wrap up this series in New York at 7:10 p.m. Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.88 ERA) is facing Robert Stock (1-3, 5.93 ERA).

Links

Baz exits after taking comebacker off elbow, but hopes to avoid IL | Orioles.com
Shane Baz got hit on the right elbow with a 105-mph line drive off in the fifth inning. It clearly did not feel great, and Baz’s one warm-up pitch he took to test out the elbow flew over his catcher’s head. So, we were fearing bad news here. But it sounds like things are relatively OK. X-rays were negative, and Baz himself thinks he should be able to make his next scheduled start, which could be his last of the season.

Orioles announce 2026 Arizona Fall League prospects | Camden Chat
In case you missed it, some pretty big names will be taking part in Arizona Fall League games next month. That makes them worth keeping tabs on.

David Rubenstein says he is making moves to redevelop the area around Oriole Park at Camden Yards | The Baltimore Banner
Nothing surprising here. There have been discussions about redeveloping that area for a long time now. Rubenstein seems to have selected a company to support him in this effort, and there will certainly be more news to come. Anything final is likely years away.

This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
The rotation is getting thin as the end of the season nears. We know Kyle Bradish is done for the year. Baz is dealing with the elbow. The team has not announced starters for the Brewers series yet. It seems likely that at least one of Cade Povich or Trey Gibson comes to Baltimore for those games.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Paul Shuey turns 56 today. The righty returned to the big leagues in 2007 to pitch for the Orioles after spending the two prior years out of affiliated ball. He had previously spent a decade in the majors from 1994 through ‘03.
• Mark Parent is 65 years old. He had two stints in Baltimore that spanned three seasons in total. From 1992 to ‘93, the catcher appeared in 57 games for the O’s, and then he played in 18 more games during the ‘96 season.
• Mickey Tettleton turns 66. He was the Orioles primary catcher and occasional DH from 1988 through ‘90. His 1989 season was his best, when he posted a 150 wRC+, made the all-star team, and won a Silver Slugger award.
• Tim Raines Sr. is 67 today. The Hall of Famer spent 23 seasons in the majors, most of that with the Expos and White Sox. But his four-game stint with the Orioles in 2001 was noteworthy because it allowed him to play in the same lineup as his son, Tim Jr..

This day in O’s history

1985 – The Orioles hit six home run runs to trounce the Tigers, 14-7. Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray, and Fred Lynn hit three straight long balls in the eighth inning alone.

1997 – Jimmy Key finally gets back in the win column at Camden Yards. He had been on an 0-7 run across his previous nine starts. Baltimore beats Cleveland 7-2 to split the double-header.

2012 – The Orioles clinch a winning record for the first time since 1997, beating the Athletics 9-5. Matt Wieters homers twice off of future Orioles pitcher Dan Straily.

2014 – The O’s beat the Blue Jays 8-2 to become champions of the AL East for the first time since 1997.