LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on during the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Imagine losing by seven to your division rival only to see them bring in, the following game, their best hitter and pitcher of the past two seasons, both of them championship-winning campaigns. Well, that’s exactly the situation the Padres find themselves in, facing a Dodgers team that’s one win away from securing a top-2 seed and a bye straight into the NLDS—a Dodgers team with Shohei Ohtani on his way back from the injured list and Yoshinobu Yamamoto putting the finishing touch on yet another splendiferous campaign.
Rewind one year in the calendar and try to imagine a scenario in which it’d be reasonable to claim Yoshinobu Yamamoto might have a hard time as the following act to a bullpen game. Because that’s where we’re at as Yamamoto readies to face a Padres lineup that was shut out by the Dodgers’ bullpen—perhaps one final dominant performance from this unit in the regular season that has flourished despite some major setbacks.
Shutting out any offense isn’t an easy task; doing it against one that had scored seven or more runs in each of their past five games—regardless of the quality of pitching they faced during that period—is all the more impressive from this team’s bullpen. The bar has been set very high, but Yamamoto would not have it any other way, coming off three straight outings completing seven innings and also with a brilliant track record against the Padres this season—a team that, after tonight’s game, he’ll have faced more than any other (4 starts) in the 2026 campaign, so far holding them to just three runs in 20 innings.
As far as Ohtani’s return, instead of focusing on how the lineup will look with the reigning back-to-back NL MVP and who bats where, now is the time to enjoy Mookie Betts’ glorious September form—particularly how it helps relieve some pressure from Ohtani and other star hitters on the team. Speaking of great form, Betts has two homers in just 12 career at-bats against tonight’s Padres starter, Robbie Ray.
The San Francisco Giants' social media team accidentally posted a video with a nude player in the background of the clubhouse, which was deleted shortly thereafter.
The video was highlighting the postgame return to the clubhouse for Bo Davidson, who made his MLB debut on Monday night, becoming the first Giants player to record a hit, steal a base and score a run in their first game.
But when the door to the locker room opened for Davidson to enter, an unknowing teammate was briefly caught unclothed on video. The player dashed to cover up and get out of the shot, but the Giants deleted the video about 15 minutes after it was posted, according to multiple reports.
Under rookie manager Tony Vitello, San Francisco is missing the playoffs for the fifth season in a row and has failed to put together a winning record since 2021.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed a couple of defensemen on waivers on Wednesday. The minor-league blueliners include Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis, who were placed on the wire, according to PuckPedia.
This can be viewed as the first batch of roster cuts, in terms of personnel to make the NHL lineup. McWard and Mermis have been waived because Toronto is trimming the roster as the 2026-27 campaign approaches.
Since joining the NHL in 2022-23 as an undrafted player, McWard has only played a total of nine NHL games. Last year, he made just one appearance with the New York Islanders and 63 games with the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL.
As for Mermis, he has several more NHL games under his belt, featuring a total of 89 across parts of nine seasons in the league. In the past two years, he played 14 games for Toronto, scoring one goal last season in 11 contests.
Last year, Mermis played a key role in the Toronto Marlies taking home the AHL's Calder Cup. He featured in all 24 playoff games for the Marlies and recorded 10 assists.
Toronto signed Mermis back in July 2024. In the 2024-25 season, they lost him on waivers to the Utah Mammoth, but claimed him back later in the year.
Both Mermis and McWard have been paired together in Group 2 of the Maple Leafs' training camp so far. They are anticipated to be the third pairing with the Marlies, based on how they lined up in the lead-up days to the regular season.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Mar 23, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers play-by-play announcer Bill Macdonald (left) and analyst Stu Lantz during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In some of the biggest news of the offseason for the Lakers, Stu Lantz will be returning to broadcasts for the 2026-27 Lakers’ season.
On Wednesdays, Spectrum SportsNet announced its team for games this season, including the return of Billy Macdonald and Stu Lantz. After missing the back end of last season, Lantz will return for his 41st season with the team to call home games.
Lantz has long become one of the mainstays of Lakers games and his absence was felt at the end of last season. The news of him returning this year should be met with pretty unanimous excitement across the fanbase.
Danny Green, who stepped in for multiple games last year, will call road games in Stu’s place. While clearly new to the role, Green was a good substitute last season and it’s nice to see him get the chance to call more games this season.
Mike Trudell will also return as the team’s sideline reporter and will share the duties with newcomer Roqui Theus.
Roqui Theus is the daughter of former NBA coach, All-Star and broadcaster Reggie Theus.
Roqui Theus played college hoops at UC Irvine before starting her broadcasting career. https://t.co/nDXnoNOwmW
In the studio, Sasha Vujacic will also be a new addition, joining the regulars of host Chris McGee and fellow analysts James Worthy, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Green. Mike Bresnahan and Allie Clifton will also contribute in-studio as well.
Backstage: Lakers will also return for its 15th season with the first episode premiering on Oct. 23 after the team’s second game of the season against the Clippers.
The countdown to October means different things across Major League Baseball.
Some teams are battling for division titles, playoff berths and postseason seeding. Others have already been eliminated from contention and turned their attention toward the offseason. With just days left in the regular season, there's still room on the bench for a few more clubs to join them.
Here's every MLB team that has been mathematically eliminated from the 2026 postseason race.
The Seattle Mariners have been eliminated from wild-card contention but are not yet mathematically eliminated from winning the AL West. The Mariners hold the tiebreaker over the Houston Astros but lose the tiebreaker to the Texas Rangers. Seattle is five games behind Texas and Houston with five to play, giving it an elimination number of 1.
The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays have an elimination number of 1 in the AL wild card race. The two AL East rivals continue a three-game series at Camden Yards with a doubleheader on Wednesday.
After their second preseason game and reaching the halfway point of training camp, the Philadelphia Flyers have made a few more cuts as their final roster begins to take shape.
Several notable prospects, like Brek Liske and Maksim Sokolovskii, for example, were sent back to junior hockey as part of the first round of cuts.
Now, it is time for some veterans and newcomers to join them, as the Flyers have clearly established which players are battling for ice time and a roster spot.
On Wednesday, it was revealed by PuckPedia that the Flyers had placed six veterans on waivers: defenseman Cam Dineen, and forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Nolan Foote, Carl Grundstrom, Jack Studnicka, and Danila Klimovich.
Of the six, Grundstrom is the biggest surprise given that he has practiced in an NHL-facing role throughout training camp, but the Flyers could also be making this move now for the sake of roster flexibility going forward.
Should Grundstrom clear waivers now, he will not have to clear waivers again until he plays in 10 regular season games or spends 30 days on the NHL roster, whichever comes first.
This would give the Flyers insurance in case Denver Barkey (lower-body) is not back by the time the regular season starts, or in the event Nikita Grebenkin (upper-body) is not yet ready for game action.
Remember, Grebenkin has not played a competitive game since March, has yet to appear in a preseason game, and spent the early portion of training camp in a yellow non-contact jersey.
Now is the time for Grebenkin to begin ramping up, though runway is short with the regular season opener just one week away now.
As for the other players, it is clear they will just be depth options over the course of the season.
Studnicka had some moments, but that was about it from the rest of the group. Klimovich was at fault for one of the Boston Bruins' goals in Tuesday night's loss.
The remaining forwards competing for roster spots on the Flyers currently include Grundstrom, Jacob Gaucher, Jett Luchanko, Cole Knuble, Grebenkin, and Riley Thompson.
The San Jose Sharks are continuing to trim down their training camp roster as we've now passed the midway point of preseason. While the majority of cuts were unsurprising, there is one that stood out a bit more than the rest.
Ethan Cardwell was one of three players placed on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to the American Hockey League, along with Tye Felhaber and Libor Hajek. Cardwell has the highest chance of being claimed of the three, as he could potentially fill a fourth line role at the NHL level for a team with a shortage of quality depth. Given his usage in preseason, it seemed that he was in contention for an NHL job this time around, but it appears that management has seen enough.
The Sharks reassigned five forwards: Andre Gasseau, Samuel Huo, Donovan Houle, Anthony Vincent, and Carson Wetsch. Four defensemen were also sent to join the Barracuda: Roland McKeown, Mack Oliphant, Leo Sahlin-Wallenius, and Phillip Sinn. Last but not least, goaltender Matt Davis was also reassigned to the AHL.
With the Sharks' training camp roster currently sitting at 36 players, we're going to see quite a few more cuts in the coming days, with the next batch likely coming after tomorrow night's game against the Anaheim Ducks.
On Tuesday night, the San Jose Sharks were back on the SAP Center's ice for the first time since April as they hosted the Vegas Golden Knights for their first home preseason game of the 2026-27 season.
In the opening moments, Dmitri Orlov showed some signs of summer rust as he gave the Golden Knights a prime scoring chance with a turnover in the neutral zone. On the other end of spectrum, Ethan Cardwell continued to show why he is in the battle for an NHL job as he had a phenomenal first shift starting with maintaining possession in the defensive zone and ended with a shot on goal.
A broken stick gave the Sharks' fourth line a decent chance roughly five minutes into the game, as the Golden Knights' pass was off line and landed directly on the blade of Patrick Giles, although nothing came of it.
Alex Wennberg caught a puck up high on his birthday, causing a whistle with 12:59 remaining in the first. Nolan Allan then went on to make his presence felt with a huge old-school body check on Alexander Holtz.
In the middle of the period, the combination of Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov seemed to be thriving, as they were generating some solid changes in transition. Patrick Giles on the other hand had a dangerous giveaway behind the Sharks' net, but he immediately made up for it with a massive hit just a second later.
Luca Cagnoni almost connected with Misa for a deflection in front of the net at one stage but it bounced off the post, then moments later, the young defenseman hit the pipe on his own shot.
After 20 minutes of play, the score remained deadlocked at 0-0 but the Sharks had generated some quality scoring chances.
Collin Graf appeared to have an equipment issue right off the draw to start the second period, causing the Sharks' lines to be jumbled for a bit while he got his skate blades replaced on the bench.
The Sharks somehow didn't score a goal with 11:36 remaining in the middle frame. A sprawled out Carter Hart was able to deny a backhand chance by Stenberg, that should've found the back of the net. A minute later, Yaroslav Askarov had a bit of showmanship himself, raising his glove up in the face of Jonas Rondbjerg after a glove save.
The second period seemed to fly by with few specific notable moments. Luca Cagnoni and the aforementioned Askarov were definitely the standouts of the period, as Askarov appeared to have much more confidence. Cagnoni also had quite a bit of confidence and was timing his pinches from the blue line perfectly and helping generate offense from the blue line, even if the Sharks had yet to score in the "Power Bite Farewell Tour."
Michael Misa finally broke the deadlock, and officially got the previously mentioned Farewell Tour underway, when he scored a power play goal 4:16 into the third period. The power play had generated quite a few chances, but one finally made its way past Hart. The Sharks' lead didn't last long though, as Alex Holtz tied it up for the Golden Knights four minutes later.
Cagnoni got outmuscled heavily in front of his own net around the midway point of the period by Jakub Demek. Given Demek's seven-inch height advantage and 32 pounds on Cagnoni, it's not unexpected, but does show one of the Sharks' defenseman's biggest flaws. With his stature, he's going to be pushed around fairly regularly by bigger opposition and there's obviously nothing that can really be done about that.
Tyler Toffoli and Igor Chernyshov had an opportunity to restore the Sharks' lead on a nice give-and-go passing play, but despite Hart being out of position, Toffoli got the shot off too late and put it in the side of the net rather than scoring.
The game remained tied throughout the rest of the third period and went into overtime. Despite quite a few chances for both sides, neither team scored in the 3-on-3 period and the game went to a shootout.
The Sharks ultimately went on to fall in the shootout, losing to the Golden Knights 2-1.
Going into the last round 11 points clear, the bowler Olly Hannon-Dalby is confident the favourites can clinch the title
Olly Hannon‑Dalby, 6ft 7in of medium‑fast heritage craft, has just come out of training at Edgbaston. The last round of County Championship cricket is about to start and slow‑burn Warwickshire are nailed-on favourites. Hannon‑Dalby tries to pinpoint what has made the team tick this summer.
“Our bowling has massive depth,” he says. “Ethan Bamber has had an outstanding year with 60 wickets, and then Chris Woakes has been around the majority of the season. To be able to throw an English legend the ball every now and then is unbelievable – and his demeanour when he plays, how he carries himself is amazing. In fact our depth in general is great, everyone has played and contributed.”
In what will likely be his last regular season start for the Atlanta Braves this season, Chris Sale will be facing off against Andrew Abbott and the Cincinnati Reds.
Chris Sale is not the front runner for the Cy Young award, but will most certainly get some second and third place votes with his 2.18 ERA, 30.3 percent strikeout rate, and league leading strikeout to walk ratio of 6.13. Sale also leads the NL is best HR rate of 0.5 per nine innings, and best walk rate in the NL of 4.9 percent.
Side note, Chris Sale has the best career strikeout to walk ratio of all-time. Sale has also pitched 157.0 innings thus far this season, which is hurting his Cy Young chances to guys like Jacob Misiorowski. It could be argued that he has passed his fellow competitor Cristopher Sánchez, but Sánchez has a whopping 200.0 IP which is second in MLB behind Sandy Alcantara.
The Braves got a scare yesterday when Ronald Acuña fouled a ball off his shin, but luckily all the tests came back negative. The Braves have already clinched the division so a loss to the Reds yesterday was not a huge deal except the chances of a playoff bye are quickly fading. The offense looked bad again, so hopefully they can catch a spark again before the playoffs take off.
No Braves player has faced Abbott more than five at-bats. Ha-Seong Kim has a HR in his four at-bats and Ozzie Albies has a .600 average. Michael Harris has struggled to an OPS of .400 in his five at-bats, and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski are hitless in their three at-bats. Austin Riley is also hitless in five at-bats.
It is hard to make any type of prediction on such a limited history, but we can look at Abbott’s numbers and see his 4.70 ERA is approximately eleven percent below average and his 1.472 WHIP is the worst of his four year career. This season he has struggled with walks giving up 4.2 per nine innings. The Braves need to be patient this even and take advantage of his weakness. It is no secret that the Braves struggle in the walk department. Their 7.7 percent is the third worst in MLB. To be fair, they strike out at a lower rate than the average team this season, but walks get runners on base to knock in.
The Reds are in the bottom six in RP ERA this season. The Braves have feasted on RPs all season long. The key to the game tonight seems to be be patient against Abbott because he gives up a lot of walks. Get to the bullpen, and strike. Chris Sale should keep the runs low to make this a pretty easy win on paper. The question is how many players will be resting today, especially with a high likelihood that Acuña will be letting his leg heal.
Isaac Howard played more than 17 minutes for the Edmonton Oilers against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night and finished the night with no shots in a 2-1 overtime win.
But hey, wasn't it just a few days ago that Mike Babcock was saying he didn't particularly like Howard's game?
Howard has spent training camp trying to carve out a spot on this roster having already played a year in Bakersfield. He has talked about improving the details, becoming a more mature player and taking his offseason training seriously. One preseason game drew criticism from his new coach, and another gave him very little opportunity to show the offensive game that got him here.
Maybe everyone can relax a little bit.
“It was just a gritty game. There wasn't a ton of chances either way. I think we just stuck with it,” Howard said. “I didn't think there was a ton going on that game. It was just a simple game.”
That's preseason hockey sometimes.
The Oilers and Jets combined for 41 shots, of which Howard had none, and Viljami Marjala ultimately scored the overtime winner. Howard did, however, spend the night playing with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
“When you're used to playing in a different league and you have the puck all the time — then you get out here and you never get the puck — for young guys, it can be frustrating,” Babcock said. “Then you try to do too much instead of just doing your job and check it back. You're going to get a chance, then you’ve got to make it count.
Let's be real here, Howard is 22 years old and committed to being a full-time NHL player. Every now and then, he's going to have games Babcock likes, games he doesn't like and probably a few where there isn't enough happening to have much of an opinion either way.
That's why taking individual preseason performances too seriously gets a little silly.
Howard didn't lose his chance to play in the NHL when Babcock said he didn't like his first preseason game, nor did he secure one Tuesday night either. Babcock's comments about Howard have largely centred around that process of getting to know your players and where they are best suited to play within your lineup.
Howard can shoot, score, make plays with the puck, and he's more mature about the defensive side of his game as well. Zach Hyman said during camp that nobody around the Oilers is particularly concerned about those parts of his game, with the focus instead going toward his physical play, forechecking and the details required to play in the NHL.
Preseason creates too much noise every September, probably because of the size of camp when it starts compared to when it ends and the expectations fans have for every player. A young player has a bad night and suddenly his roster chances are questioned. He plays well two nights later and everyone starts pencilling him into the opening-night lineup.
Howard's camp hasn't really changed that much.
He came into it with an opportunity to make the Oilers, and he still has one. Babcock has found parts of his game he wants improved, Howard has acknowledged the details he needs to work on, and Edmonton still has time before it has to make a final decision.
The Oilers plan to dress a largely AHL lineup Thursday in Vancouver before using something close to their opening-night roster Saturday against Calgary. Howard will get his answer soon enough.
Until then, one preseason game is still one preseason game, even when the head coach doesn't particularly like it.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
It sounds like fans will have to wait a while longer. But that doesn’t mean there should be concern that two sides will reach a deal.
“I don’t want there to be no drama. No talking points. This team should be competitive and go win,” Curry said about his unsettled contract extension situation, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
Stephen Curry lights the Empire State Building in New York City. The event was held in honor of KPMG Leadership Development Day, in partnership with the Underrated Golf Tour presented by KPMG. Flint / SplashNews.com
Curry can sign a two-year, $136.7 million extension that would keep him with Golden State through the 2028-29 season. He’s slated to make $62.5 million this season, in what’s the final season of the 4-year, $215.35 million maximum veteran extension he signed in August 2021.
“It’s going to happen at the right time, once I have all the information I need to make the decision that is right,” Curry added of his contract. “The team’s been great having that conversation back and forth. If I don’t sign, it won’t affect me in terms of my play or carrying that weight. But I’ll make the decision when I’m ready.”
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry reacts on the court during the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“We’re in a very interesting situation. All the different salary cap conditions of whether I sign for a max or less or whatever it is, I want to be on a competitive team. I want to have an opportunity to have some flexibility because we haven’t had that in years past, the recent past,” Curry added.
“This team should have flexibility to make necessary moves if things happen. Those are always just the considerations. For me, information and patience is key. It’s just a very unique situation all the way around based on where we’ve been the last four years, where I’m at in my career, what our team looks like this year and the absolute desperation to win. Trying to balance all that.”
Curry is making it very clear that he wants to play for a winner, and sounds like he’s willing to take less money to make that a reality.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors reacts on the bench during the second half of a game against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Joey Ortiz #3 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates his two run home run with William Contreras #24, to take a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, during the second inning at Dodger Stadium on August 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers have both clinched playoff spots, and both are currently on pace to be the top seed in their respective leagues. They have done it despite each having a lower payroll than the Royals. The Brewers spent $145.6 million – less than half what the last place Mets spent – while the Rays had the third-lowest payroll in baseball at $96 million.
Whether those financial limitations will limit their postseason success remains to be seen. But there is no question the Royals should be looking at what both teams have accomplished during the regular season. After two modest winning seasons, the Royals have regressed badly into a last place finish. Tampa Bay and Milwaukee have shown that it is possible to win a lot of games without spending like a large-market team, a model the Royals should try to emulate.
A different approach to offense
The Brewers are second in baseball in runs scored while the Rays are eleventh. They have scored runs despite a lack of power. The Rays are tied with the Royals for 22nd in home runs, and the Brewers are dead last. Instead, they score runs the old-fashioned way – by hitting the ball on the ground, getting on base, and stealing bases. Batting average has become a bit passé, but the Brewers and Rays are tied for tops in baseball in that category.
How are they hitting for average in an era where batting averages are near historic lows? First of all, they put the ball in play. While strikeout rates climb, the Rays lead baseball in contact rate at 81.8 percent, while the Brewers are ninth. The Royals are fourth in contact rate, yet don’t score as many runs. Why not?
The Rays and Brewers put the ball on the ground. The Brewers lead baseball in groundball rate at 46.9 percent, the Rays are fifth. The Royals are second-to-last at 39 percent. The Royals moved in the fences, and while it has led to more home runs, the team is not suddenly putting the ball over the fence at a high rate. The Brewers are hitting .260 on ground balls (second-best in baseball), while the Royals are hitting .258, not far behind. But the Brewers have over 300 more plate appearances that have resulted in a ground ball. Meanwhile, the Royals are hitting .203 on fly balls and have the second-most plate appearances that have resulted in a fly ball. If your flyballs aren’t leaving the park, they’re likely not helping much.
The Brewers and Rays also hit for average by using all fields. As the league has increasingly become pull-happy, they have made a habit of going the other way. The Brewers are deliberately letting the ball travel deep before making contact, as measured by their bat orientation, allowing them to slap the ball to the opposite field. They have the lowest flyball pull rate in over a decade. And as Mike Petriello writes, by using all fields, the Brewers make themselves impossible to defend against.
A higher batting average combined with a healthy walk rate gets at what teams need to win – runners on base. The Brewers lead baseball with a .340 on-base percentage and have the highest walk rate at 10.6 percent. They have just one hitter with at least 150 plate appearances with a walk rate under 8 percent (Sal Frelick at 7.8 percent). The Royals have five such hitters (Jac Caglianone, Starling Marte, Michael Massey, Kyle Isbel, and Salvador Perez). The lone Rays starter with a low walk rate is Chandler Simpson, who is hitting .309. The Royals have historically eschewed the ability to get on base as a skill. They have finished in the top half of the league in on-base percentage just twice in the last 20 years, with one of those coming when they won a championship in 2015.
When runners get on base, they wreak havoc on the bases. The Rays and Brewers are both among the top four in baseball in stolen bases. Seven different Brewers players are in double digits in steals.
The Royals have been seemingly chasing more home runs. It makes sense, home runs score runs immediately! But home run hitters are expensive. The philosophy of Moneyball was to zig while others zag. If high-contact, opposite-field, groundball hitters who can run are undervalued and can help score runs, the Royals need to be on that train.
The point isn’t even that this is the approach the Royals should follow. It’s that they need to be ahead of the curve. There are many different ways to score. The Brewers and Rays are showing that taking a different approach than the big-market teams can succeed.
Find gems in other organizations
Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick frequently talked about the “many rivers” that teams must find talent in. Teams that win without high payrolls can’t rely on expensive free agents as their primary means of improving the roster. Instead, the Brewers and Rays are looking for underrated players in other organizations and acquiring them through shrewd trades, minor league free agency, waiver claims, and the Rule 5 draft.
Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn were each first basemen for other teams that had failed to live up to expectations. The Brewers acquired each in separate trades and this year they lead all teams in offensive production from first base. All-Star closer Trevor Megill was acquired from the Twins for a non-prospect. Chad Patrick, a 2.1 rWAR reliever, was acquired from the A’s for journeyman infielder Abraham Toro.
The Rays have been equally shrewd. They grabbed former Cuban outfield prospect Victor Mesa Jr. from the Marlins for a lottery ticket prospect, and he has become a 2.8 rWAR player in just 74 games. Reliever Kevin Kelly was a Rule 5 pick. Starting second baseman Richie Palacios was a journeyman acquired from the Cardinals for veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge.
But their biggest steal came at the expense of another smart organization, the Guardians. Little reported at the time, the Rays acquired a hard-hitting 18-year-old infielder for a promising young pitcher named Tobias Myers. The hitter blossomed with the Rays development team, and now Junior Caminero is an MVP candidate.
There is no silver bullet to finding talent. The advantage comes from being willing and able to look everywhere. You can see the Royals trying to do this in a lost season as they rotate different arms into their bullpen, looking for a solution. But it shouldn’t take a losing season to look for more talent. The Brewers and Rays have built organizations that constantly search for players they believe are undervalued, then rely on their scouting and development departments to figure out what they can do with them. They don’t need every bet to pay off because they keep making bets.
Sell high on players
What is perhaps most surprising about the success of the Brewers and Rays is that it has come after they recently traded away some major parts of their rosters. Last winter, the Brewers traded star pitcher Freddy Peralta, starting third baseman Caleb Durbin, outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears to the Royals. The Rays traded All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielders Josh Lowe and Jake Mangum, and pitcher Shane Baz over the offseason.
The Caleb Durbin trade is perhaps the best example of how the Brewers operate. Milwaukee acquired Durbin from the Yankees in 2024 after selling high on All-Star closer Devin Williams and shipping him to New York. Durbin then had an excellent rookie season, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .256/.326/.404 with 11 home runs, 53 RBI and 18 stolen bases. Rather than becoming attached to a player they had just developed into a valuable major-leaguer, the Brewers traded Durbin to Boston this winter for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan and infielder David Hamilton. Harrison and Drohan are now part of Milwaukee’s pitching staff, while Hamilton has contributed as a versatile infielder. In other words, the Brewers essentially turned one year of Devin Williams into a major-league closer’s replacement, a promising young starting pitcher and additional organizational depth.
Not all of these trades have produced immediate major-league value for either organization. Many of the returns consist of prospects who are still in the minors or players who have made relatively little impact in the majors. The Brewers also sold high on Isaac Collins after one surprisingly good rookie year, but they received Angel Zerpa from the Royals, and he has been hurt most of the year.
And yet the Brewers and Rays haven’t fallen apart. They have continued to win because their organizations are built to absorb the loss of established players, while building for sustainable success over the long term. In recent years, the Rays have traded away Isaac Paredes, Randy Arozarena, and Jason Adam, while the Brewers have traded away Williams and Corbin Burnes. They are constantly adding players, developing them and creating enough depth that they can afford to trade from the major-league roster when the opportunity arises.
Trading players away when their value is at its greatest takes being realistic about future projections and player evaluations of your own team. In finance, the disclaimer is “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” That applies to baseball player performance as well.
Develop a great farm system
The Rays and Brewers also demonstrate why a strong farm system is about more than finding the next superstar. Building depth gives an organization options. Both teams have been able to trade established major leaguers, graduate prospects to the big leagues and use prospects in trades to address major-league needs without exhausting their supply of talent. The Rays traded eight prospects from their Top 30 at the deadline this year to acquire Freddy Peralta, Liam Hicks, and Tyler Wells, yet MLB Pipeline still ranked their farm system second in baseball afterward. The Brewers have graduated several players to the majors this year and traded prospects while still maintaining one of baseball’s deepest systems.
How do they do it? Neither organization relies solely on high draft picks. Milwaukee hasn’t had a top-10 pick since 2017, yet MLB Pipeline ranked its system #1 entering this season. Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski, a fireballer who grew up in the Kansas City area, was selected with the 63rd pick in the 2022 draft and is already a two-time All-Star in just his second year. Cooper Pratt was a sixth-round pick out of high school in 2023, and he is already their starting shortstop. The international scouting department signed star outfielder Jackson Chourio to a $1.8 million bonus when he was just 16 and the organization has been aggressively spending in Latin America. Baseball America writes that it is “hard to find a team that has done as well as the Brewers in Latin America over the last five years” despite avoiding some of the highest price free agents in that market.
“We have to be hyper-transactional. We have to always have a pipeline of talent that we can infuse into the big league level. Every offseason brings new faces and I think that getting to know those players, it’s exciting to see them and get them acclimated in camp here.”
Organizational depth creates flexibility. The Brewers and Rays have each been hit by injuries this year. Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester have missed significant time from the Brewers’ rotation, and Chourio and Sal Frelick each missed significant time. The Rays have missed outfielder Gavin Lux and pitchers Shane McClanahan, and Ryan Pepiot. Those injuries are inevitable over the course of a 162-game season. What separates organizations is how well they can absorb them.
The Royals aren’t going to suddenly become the Yankees or Dodgers. Their payroll will always have limitations, and those limitations make it even more important that they maximize the resources they do have. There is no “one secret trick” that will lead to winning. It takes a complete organizational approach, great talent identification, and a willingness to constantly look for ways to improve. This offseason will test whether the Royals can get closer to that approach or whether they will continue to backslide into obscurity.
It raised a few eyebrows when Lonzo Ball went on the Gilbert Arenas Tells All podcast this week and talked about his career in the past tense.
"I felt like I never shortchanged the game. Like I felt like I gave everything I had to hoop, and I felt everything I got in my life is because of hoop," the eldest Ball sibling said. "So I'm grateful to even make it to the league and even be able to play for nine years...
"You see where you're supposed to be, and then you physically can't get there. So it's just like, I don't know. You gotta be comfortable with yourself, to be honest with you, like that's how I am. I feel like, to be honest, I don't think I ever got to my peak."
That may sound like a guy who doesn't expect to play in the NBA again, which became a rumor that suddenly picked up a life of its own on social media, with some accounts saying Ball had retired. Ball quickly pushed back on that — he would love to play again.
I retired? News to me lol cuz I’m still waiting for a call… NBA season long ♂️
Ball, 28, started last season with Cleveland and had the chance to step into a backup point guard role, and through 35 games averaged 4.6 points, 4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, shooting 27.2% from 3. With the Cavaliers trading for James Harden near last season's deadline, they traded him to the Utah Jazz, who waived him.
He has not been picked up on an NBA contract since. That doesn't mean he's not open to one.
Ball, the No. 2 pick of the Lakers in 2017, played a couple of seasons in Los Angeles before being traded to New Orleans as part of the Anthony Davis deal. He spent a couple of years with the Pelicans before a sign-and-trade to Chicago, where he looked like a great fit with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine on a team that started 24-10 — and then the knee injuries hit. It started with a torn meniscus, but that surgery didn't solve the problem and Ball missed all of the next two seasons undergoing a series of surgeries, and eventually underwent a cartilage transplant surgery in 2023 to help fix a "bone-on-bone" knee at that point.
Ball played for Chicago and last season with Cleveland after that major surgery, but he did not stick. He may not get another shot in the NBA, and he sounds good with where he is in life, but that doesn't mean he's giving up entirely.
Sep 2, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; General view outside of Coors Field before the game between the Baltimore Orioles Colorado Rockies. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I figured this would be Max Scherzer’s last MLB start, but the Jays are talking about having him start (on short rest). I don’t see the point. Why would that be an idea? Is it some idea he can pass Justin Verlander for eighth on the all-time strikeout list. Verlander is 10 ahead of Max.
I guess it doesn’t matter, Max will have long rest before his next start. I wonder if he is thinking of another season?
Vlad is out for game one, but apparently might play in game two. Again I don’t see why, give him an extra day.
Well…..cross that out, Vlad is now in the lineup for game one batting second.
Yohendrick Pinango, Chase Lee, CJ Van Eyk and John Klein are all with the team. One or some of them could be active for game two. I’d imagine Pinango would be dependent on Bateman’s status. Van Eyk would be the one who could give them the most innings, so I’d say he’s the most likely to be active for game two.
