A growing number of executives believe that the 2027 Major League Baseball season will begin around Memorial Day weekend next year considering that if 60 or more games are cancelled next season, players will miss about four paychecks and national TV contracts would be extended through 2029.
The collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, with the league demanding a hard salary cap and that idea being an absolute non-starter for the players.
The 2021-22 lockout was the longest in history at 99 days, but the two sides agreed on a deal that preserved a full 162-game season.
– While manager Dan Wilson will be blamed for the Seattle Mariners’ embarrassing season and is expected to pay the price by being fired as early as Monday, Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners’ president of baseball operations, is under heavy scrutiny.
Dipoto doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy of being fired, but critics point out that the Mariners have reached the postseason just twice in his 11-year tenure, and veteran catcher Cal Raleigh went public about the Mariners’ cultural woes .
“I think it was a collective failure, unfortunately,’’ Raleigh told reporters. “It’s going to take a lot of people having some self-reflection, myself included, on the direction of where we’re heading, what we want to be, and who we want to be as a team. What is our team identity? I don’t feel like there was one this year….’’
The Mariners have plenty of disgruntled employees, with everyone from assistant GMs to equipment managers to strength and conditioning coaches being fired in recent years. And if the Mariners don’t reach the postseason next year, those fingers will be pointed directly at Dipoto.
– Former Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who guided the Rangers to back-to-back pennants, pulled himself out of consideration for the Athletics’ GM vacancy for family reasons. Daniels, who has two kids in college and one in high school, was flattered by the opportunity, but enjoys his job as a senior advisor in baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays.
– The easy solution to avoid another Alex Bregman incident (suffering facial fractures when hit by a foul ball getting ready to hit), MLB executives say, is for the hitter in the on-deck circle to stand on the same side the batter is hitting. So, if Bregman had been standing on the other side of the field from left-handed hitting Michael Busch, the accident could have been prevented.
– The World Baseball Classic took a massive hit this week when 2025 Cy Young winner Paul Skenes blamed his participation in this year’s WBC for his massive struggles, with San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb also suffering his worst season.
Skenes threw 75 pitches at 95-mph or faster during the WBC, topping out at 99.7-mph. He didn’t reach that velocity the entire season, with his fastball down 2-mph from his rookie season in 2024.
“It definitely affected the year,” Skenes told reporters. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m the only one.”
The WBC is scheduled to resume in 2030, two years after the Olympics, but GMs are hoping that MLB could change the format to have at least the final rounds played during the All-Star break, to avoid the rash of pitching injuries when arms simply aren’t ready in March.
– Dave Dombrowski, Phillies president of baseball operations, preaches the importance of veteran clubhouse leadership, believing it’s essential for teams with postseason aspirations.
“I think veteran leadership is extremely important," Dombrowski tells USA TODAY Sports. “Not everybody necessarily agrees with this, but veteran leadership on what it takes to win."
Dombrowski has leaders Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in Philadelphia, had Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts in Boston, Victor Martinez, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in Detroit, and insists they wouldn’t have won the 1997 World Series without Darren Daulton and Craig Counsell in Florida.
– What a storybook ending to Justin Verlander’s Hall of Fame career, not only showing flashes of his greatness in his final outing, but having his 7-year-old daughter wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad's name and number, running to the mound to hug him after being lifted from the game. Verlander stood on the mound sobbing.
“That hit me,’’ Verlander said, “like a ton of bricks."
– San Diego Padres catcher Ethan Salas, 20 years, 116 days, who was not old enough to drink during the Padres’ clinching celebration, so the Padres gave him a bucket containing apple cider, baby bottles and a tiny jersey with a letterboard that read: BABY’S FIRST CLINCHMAS.
Salas will be the youngest catcher in baseball history to participate in the postseason.
– Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin raised some eyebrows when he criticized the Reds’ front office in his final broadcast, which drew strong support from former Reds All-Star MVP Joey Votto
“I think these last three weeks of baseball playing against some of the better teams that are going to be going to the postseason really illustrate how far we are behind at this big-league level," Larkin said. “Change has to happen. This city deserves better than that, and I know every player down there feels that. But something has to give. We have to get better because we are so, so far behind.’’
The Reds’ response?
The ownership group announced that GM Nick Krall and his staff are returning for 2027.
– It’s hard to believe that with more than 125 years of co-existence, this will be only the fourth postseason that the Cubs and White Sox have played in together, and they clinched their postseason berths just two minutes apart on Thursday.
– Miami Marlins Gold Glove infielder Javier Sanoja has had a surreal year. It began when he scored the winning run for Venezuela in their WBC championship game, and continued through the season, hitting .294, including a league-leading .339 since Aug. 1. He’s also the only National League position player to play in 10 or more games at five different positions this season (22 games at second, 117 at third, 10 at shortstop, 10 in left field and 14 in right field).
The highlight, though, Sanoja tells USA TODAY Sports, will always be winning the gold medal for his country.
“It meant so much for our country, and our people who are such big fans of the game," Sanoja said. “Every city I go, someone in the stands is congratulating me for the championship. It fills me with a lot of emotion. It’s a night I’ll never forget as long as I live."
– There’s just something about September that brings out the best in the Guardians. They have won eight of their last nine games entering Saturday, and are 83-48 in September since the 2022 season_second-best in the AL behind only the Yankees.
– The Chicago White Sox, who grabbed Luis Castillo at the trade deadline, need to find a way to fix him in 2027 or else they just wasted $20 million. He was an albatross on their staff since his acquisition, going 1-2 with an 8.42 ERA in nine appearances.
– You can expect Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle to be a key to their hopes of defeating the Yankees in the wild-card round. Tolle now only has a 2.44 ERA in his last eight starts, but he has given up just one run and four hits in 13 innings with 18 strikeouts in his two starts against the Yankees this year.
– The Guardians are the first team to reach the postseason without a single qualifying player hitting .300 or hitting 20 homers or driving in 75 runs or stealing 40 bases, according to OptaSTATS.
– Randal Grichuk, who was released by the Yankees and signed a $1.25 million contract, has been an absolute godsend for the White Sox.
Grichuk signed with the White Sox on May 4 after Austin Hays suffered a left calf strain, and has hit .304 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs for the Sox, slashing .400/.408/.733 with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs in his last 15 games entering Saturday.
“He’s obviously responded to the opportunity here, taking advantage of it,” White Sox manager Will Venable told reporters. “He’s been as good as anybody in this league offensively.”
– Former Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo, who led his franchise to its 2001 World Series title, was not part of the 25-year reunion celebration last week but plans to have his own dinner party for the team and staff in November.
– If the Pittsburgh Pirates want to be taken seriously, they do everything possible to bring back Brandon Lowe, who’s a free agent this winter. Lowe has hit 33 home runs, the most by a Pirates’ player since Josh Bell in 2019, with his 19 homers at PNC Park the most in the ballpark’s history.
– The Yankees cringe watching Ezequiel Durán with the Texas Rangers. They traded him at the 2021 trade deadline for outfielder Joey Gallo.
– This is the Astros’ worst season since 2014. ... and yet may win the AL West with a losing record.
– The Arizona Diamondbacks can’t thank the St. Louis Cardinals enough for giving them Nolan Arenado this winter. The Diamondbacks not only had the Cardinals pay all but $11 million of the remaining $42 million that Arenado is owed, but Arenado has carried the D-backs’ offense, hitting a team-leading 30 homers with 85 RBI and a .803 OPS, his best season since 2022. Arenado joins Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Mike Schmidt as the only third basemen in MLB history to have eight 30-homer seasons.
And the D-backs got Arenado for the mere cost of mid-level prospect Jack Martinez.
He saved the D-backs season.
– How much does Aaron Judge mean to the Yankees? The Yankees hit just .227 and ranked 26th in runs per game without Judge in the lineup this season.
– The Rockies are the worst team in baseball once again. They became just the fifth MLB franchise to lose at least 100 games in four consecutive seasons, last done by the expansion New York Mets (1962-65). They looked pathetic in their final homestand getting trounced by the Diamondbacks.
They will go down in history as the first team to post the highest ERA in five consecutive seasons while also losing at least 100 games in four consecutive years.
– Congratulations to Pete Alonso, who became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more home runs in his first season with a team in the National League and the American League, and with 43 homers and 113 RBIs this season, could become the first player ever to lead both leagues in RBI.
– The Yankees are worth at least $12 billion after reaching a deal to sell 16% of the team for $2.6 billion to Apollo Sports Capital (ASC) last month.
– The San Francisco Giants’ embarrassing season comes to a close by becoming the first team in four years to go an entire season without a four-game winning streak.
– In 2024 season, the Mariners’ rotation produced an MLB-leading 92 quality starts. This year, just 66, with a 4.64 ERA the second half.
– Congratulations AL West, you just produced the worst division in history, with the division champion being the first not to have a winning record.
– Tropicana Field is a house of horrors to visiting teams with the Rays going 55-26 at home this season, and will have home-field advantage throughout the AL postseason.
– What’s the difference between hosting a wild-card series and playing on the road?
Try about $4 million.
The home team receives about $3 million in revenue from hosting the first round while the visiting team spends about $1 million with traveling costs.
– The Blue Jays’ offensive ineptitude was alarming this year, scoring the fewest runs in MLB with only rookie Kazuma Okamoto hitting more than 15 home runs this season, and only two players with more than 10.
– Chris Sale produced the fifth-lowest ERA (2.16) at the age of 37 or older in MLB history, trailing only: Justin Verlander (1.75 in 2022), Roger Clemens (1.87 in 2005), Dazzy Vance (2.08 in 1928) and Spud Chandler (2.10 in 1946).
– The Mets not only lost plenty on the field this season, but also at the box office.
The Mets’ attendance was down 14.8% from last season, averaging 33,901 fans a game, going from fifth in attendance to 12th, with their only sellout on opening day.
– The Yankees are expected to start Max Fried in Game 1 and Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler in Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Red Sox, which still allows Schlittler to pitch Games 2 and 5 in a potential ALDS.
– The San Diego Padres were 50-53 on July 23, with only the 11th-best record in the National League.
Now, they are in the postseason, going on a 15-3 run since Sept. 5, and will likely host the NL Wild Card series.
– Outfielder Austin Hays is in his fourth consecutive postseason with four different teams: Baltimore (2023), Philadelphia (2024), Cincinnati (2025), San Diego (2026).
– Diamondbacks starter Corbin Burnes, who signed a six-year, $210 million contract two years ago, will not opt out of the remaining four years and $140 million on his deal after ending his season on the injured list. He pitched just 10.1 innings in three starts this season recovering from Tommy John surgery, yielding a 7.84 ERA.
– Considering that first baseman Ty France may be the Padres’ MVP this season, it wouldn’t surprise a soul if the Padres’ ownership gives him his $200,000 bonus for reaching 500 plate appearances, even if he’s going to fall just shy of the incentive.
– The Padres may have had a losing record against the other NL postseason teams, but no one in baseball had a better record (59-28) against teams with losing records.
– Casey Mize’s free-agent value has severely tumbled with his struggles since joining the Padres at the trade deadline, yielding a 7.46 ERA in 10 starts.
– If the Dodgers and Brewers match up again in the NLCS, they should have a bowling competition with Mookie Betts of the Dodgers and Brice Turang of the Brewers. Each are skilled bowlers who grew up with the game. Betts’ parents each bowled and Turang learned the sport from his grandfather.
– Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara joined late Hall of Famer Phil Niekro (1978) as the only pitchers to lead MLB in innings pitched for a season and save at least one game in the same regular season since saves became an official statistic in 1969.
– Congratulations to Gary Matthews, Ralph Garr, Reggie Smith and Andre Thornton, who were inducted Saturday night into the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why 60 games is magic number in MLB's imminent lockout | Nightengale's Notebook
