Worldwide Sports News

The Tampa Bay Rays are ready to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series as they have announced their roster of 26 players for the Fall Classic.

The roster is identical to what they rolled out when they swept the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, as they have swapped top prospect Brody Hopkins for southpaw Garrett Cleavinger.

Although Brody Hopkins was on the Rays roster for the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Kevin Cash never found the correct moment to utilize Hopkins’ tantalizing arm as his command issues make him a liability in close games.

The Brewers roster of position players consists of six left-handed hitters, so Kevin Cash opted to have another southpaw in the bullpen, joining Steven Matz and Ian Seymour.

During the 2025 campaign, Cleavinger at times was the best reliever in the Rays bullpen but the 32-year old southpaw has dealt with injuries in 2026 and poor performance while on the active roster. He finished the regular season with a 4.79 ERA | 4.12 FIP with a 29.8 K% & 12.2 BB% over 41.1 IP. Cleavinger last pitched on September 4th, he was placed on the Injured List following that outing with left forearm tightness; Cleavinger has not pitched since that performance.

The rest of the Rays roster remains the same.

PITCHERS (12): RHP Bryan Baker, LHP Cam Booser, LHP Garrett Cleavinger, RHP Griffin Jax, RHP Kevin Kelly, RHP Nick Martinez, LHP Steven Matz, RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Drew Rasmussen, LHP Ian Seymour, RHP Cole Sulser, RHP Tyler Wells

CATCHERS (2): Nick Fortes, Liam Hicks

INFIELDERS (7): Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz, Jorge Mateo, Richie Palacios, Taylor Walls, Ben Williamson

OUTFIELDERS (5): Jonny DeLuca, Victor Mesa Jr., Cedric Mullins, Chandler Simpson, Ryan Vilade

33 Years Ago Today

I vividly remember that moment. Whether the Blue Jays won or lost, I felt confident we’d be okay. With Pat Hentgen lined up to start game 7 after his impressive outing in game 3, there was reassurance. Still, I’m grateful for how it all turned out. Even after countless viewings, Joe Carter’s ability to keep that ball fair continues to amaze me.

A few years back, I had the chance to interview Hentgen and finally ask him a question that had always been on my mind:

I remember thinking when Joe Carter came to bat in game 6, “Oh well, even if we don’t win, you would be pitching the next day.” All would be good. Do you ever think about that you could have been pitching game 7?

Oh, of course. That whole day is like, I was charting the game, and I could tell you those numbers were starting to get a little scribbly towards the end there. We were down by 2 going into the 9th. You know Joe pulls those balls all year long and pulls them foul. So when he hit that ball, I was in the corner of the dugout. I’ll never forget it. I had my back to left field. I had my back to the foul pole. When he hit it, I remember just thinking, ‘Stay fair, stay fair’, because I felt it was hard enough hit to go out. And it just stayed fair that day for whatever reason.

But yeah, I thought about how it would have went down. And how you play 174 games or whatever, and it comes down to one game. It would have been pretty exciting, I’ll tell you. I know one thing in those situations: managers never let the starting pitcher get in any trouble. The minute I would have had some trouble going, we’d have had Harry Wholestaff in there. Every guy would have been available.

Thankfully, we never needed that seventh game.

Game 6 got off to a fast start, with the Jays putting up three runs in the first inning.

Devon White worked a one-out walk and raced home on Paul Molitor’s triple. Molitor then scored on a sacrifice fly by Carter.

John Olerud followed with a double, coming around to score on Roberto Alomar’s single.

• The Phillies scored once in the fourth, but the Jays answered in the bottom half: Alomar doubled, advanced on a Tony Fernandez groundout, and scored on an Ed Sprague sac fly. Another run came in the fifth thanks to a Molitor solo home run.

The seventh inning brought trouble. Dave Stewart, after 120 pitches, allowed a walk, a single, and a three-run homer to Lenny Dykstra. Cito Gaston, in his first stint managing the Jays, was slow to pull him from the game.

Danny Cox came on and struggled, giving up three hits, a walk, and two runs while recording just one out. Al Leiter got the final two outs of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth despite a Dykstra walk and stolen base. Duane Ward handled the ninth efficiently.

The final frame was set up perfectly. The top of the order came to bat: Rickey Henderson walked, Devon White drove a deep fly out, and Molitor singled, putting the tying run on second. That’s when the unforgettable happened—Mitch Williams, my all-time favourite reliever, took the mound.

Henderson later said he tried to distract Williams from second base, forcing him to pitch out of the stretch and lose a bit off his fastball. With Rickey representing the tying run, Williams’ attention was split—understandably so. Carter, meanwhile, was always a threat to bring in a run with a sac fly.

Molitor was named series MVP after slashing .500/.571/1.000 with 10 runs, 8 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 home runs. Alomar wasn’t far behind, hitting .480/.519/.640 with 5 runs and 6 RBI. Fernandez drove in 9 runs with a .333/.423/.381 line. Ward contributed 2 saves and a win—the clincher in Game 6.

And then there’s Joe Carter. He finished with a .280/.250/.560 slash line and 8 RBI, three of which were pivotal. Interestingly, his 3 sacrifice flies dropped his OBP below his batting average—something I’ve always found odd.

It was truly one of the greatest moments in World Series history, and probably the most significant in Blue Jays lore.

Beyond the home run itself, Tom Cheek’s legendary call made it even more iconic.

I’ll never tire of watching that play.

On the cusp of a World Series crown, a former Yankees phenom turned flameout is not ruling out a return to where it all started.

Catcher/designated hitter Gary Sanchez, a member of the 2026 National League champion Brewers, is preparing to face his one-time AL East foe, the Rays, in the World Series in search of his first career championship.

At 33, the well-traveled slugger has been with six different organizations in the five years since his Yankees career unceremoniously ended in 2022 with a trade to the Twins.

But once the World Series wraps up, “El Gary” — who has spoken fondly of his at-times tumultuous career in the Bronx — is not ruling anything out.

“I’m still playing, and you never know,” Sanchez said in an interview with Jomboy Media’s JoezMcfly. “I’m a free agent [this offseason] and life takes many turns. You never know.”

A highly touted prospect in the Yankees’ system, Sanchez took the Yankees and MLB by storm in 2016, going on a torrid stretch over the last two months that nearly earned him Rookie of the Year honors.

Among his exploits, Sanchez earned Player of the Month honors for August and became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 11 career homers.

He followed that up by establishing himself as one of the team’s most feared hitters, posting a pair of 30-plus home run seasons and making two All-Star teams from 2017-2019.

“You know, I had my best years in the big leagues with the Yankees,” Sanchez said. “Many fans will remember me for a long time, and I set records for the franchise too.

“I will be mentioned for a long time and it’s the team I played with the longest, so thank you for all the support.”

However, defense, hustle and ability to make consistent contact made Sanchez a polarizing figure in New York, cutting into his playing time and, ultimately, his Yankees tenure.

Since his departure, Sanchez has settled into a role as a right-handed power bat off the bench, making stops with the Twins, Mets, Padres, Orioles and now the Brewers for a second stint.

In 86 games this season, Sanchez slashed .209/.349/.422 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs.

His lone postseason at-bat resulted in a crucial walk, setting up Jackson Chourio’s walk-off single in Game 2 of the NLDS.

Sanchez’s once-suspect defense has seen improvement since leaving left New York, but he appeared behind the plate for 43 games this season while splitting the rest of his time between DH and first base.

The Yankees were reportedly in the market for a right-handed catcher this past season but ultimately did not make a trade, instead rolling with veteran Ali Sanchez down the stretch.

Entering an offseason that is likely to see a lockout, predicting any moves is difficult, but Sanchez appears more than open to a second act in the Big Apple.

Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Riley K. Adams and he’s from San Diego, where, as a 13-year-old, he conducted experiments on alternative methods for the eradication of pampas grass, an invasive species. When he’s not presenting at the California State Science Fair, he spends his time as a Quad-A catcher, first in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, then with the Nationals. The Red Sox signed the free agent to a minor league deal yesterday.

Is he any good?

Adams is 30 years old but has played in only 263 MLB games. So it’s safe to say that, no, he has not proven himself capable of sticking on a big league roster. At the plate, he struggles to make contact big time, posting a career strikeout rate of 32.5%. Only two qualified hitters in all of baseball had a higher strikeout rate than that last year and one of them, Colson Montgomery, just set the all-time record for most strikeouts in a single season. It’s really, really hard to make it in the big leagues when you whiff that much. And in Adams’s case, it doesn’t help that he’s not known to be particularly special with the glove; he’s relatively adept at controlling the running game, but grades out as a poor framer.

But what Adams does have is a very quick bat and some serious power. During his last stint in the big leagues, which came with the Washington Nationals in 2025, Adams popped 8 dongs in just 286 plate appearances. That’s not quite what Mickey Gasper did this year, when he went crazy with 10 in 225, but it’s not all that far off. And like Mikey, Adams is a terror against AAA pitching; he put up a .273/.389/.506 slash line with 16 homers in 82 AAA games this past season.

Tl;dr, just show me the stats.

263 career games, .211/.287/.354, 21 HR, 38 2B, 66 BB, 276 K, 80 OPS+

Show me a cool highlight.

When I said he has serious power, I meant it. Here he is launching a ball completely out of the park during a spring training game:

And here he is showing off his arm:

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

Tipping his cap and saying “I think my work here is done” after once again saving the backyard of a home in La Jolla, California from the ravages of pampas grass using his pioneering dry ice removal method.

What’s his role on the 2027 Red Sox?

This is a depth signing. In all likelihood he’ll have the same role on the ‘27 Sox as Jason Delay had on the ‘26 Sox, which is to say, no role at all. But having said that, there is something to like in that bat, and the Red Sox have a very recent history of getting gold out of 30-year-old journeyman catchers with power. That doesn’t mean you should expect him to do what Mickey Gasper did this year — you should never expect to see that ever again , actually — but it does mean that you should keep an eye on him.

It would be unfair to blame Taijuan Walker for the 9-19 start and the firing of Rob Thomson, who was released after five miserable performances in the middle of the 10-game losing streak.

However, it is not unfair to use Taijuan Walker as a symbol of their biggest problem in 2026: failing to roster enough depth across the entire organization to overcome even minor injuries. They missed Zack Wheeler for 26 games to start the season and knew it was happening the entire offseason. Their starting pitching depth began and ended with Taijuan Walker during that time.

They did not face many significant rotation injuries the entire season. The starting rotation of Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter made 146 starts of a possible 162 during the season. There were only two instances where a rotation injury came into play, to begin with Wheeler, and the end of the year with Jesus Luzardo. Both were clear disasters.

2026 stats: 5 games, 4 starts, 22.2 innings, 9.13 ERA, 14.8% K%, 9.6% BB%, -0.5 fWAR

What went right

Taijuan Walker pitched five games with the Phillies and they lost four of them. If you can read, you can see that they didn’t lose every single game he appeared in.

On April 11, Walker pitched five innings of two run ball with and recorded six strikeouts against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A perfectly solid outing for a number five starter, that is moving to the bullpen when their ace returns. They Phillies used five other pitchers to get through the game, including Orion Kerkering and Brad Keller, who did not last with the team the entire season for completely unrelated reasons.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper homered off Brandon Pfaadt, leading to a 4-3 win after Jhoan Duran closed out the ninth.

That one outing would end up mattering. If Walker put together one more stinker in a Phillies loss, both the Phillies and Diamondbacks would end up with the same record at 87-75. The Phillies do not make the playoffs and don’t have the privilege of getting body slammed by the Atlanta Braves in October to end the season.

In a way, Taijuan Walker is a massive part in the Phillies making the postseason. Think about it.

What went wrong

On a Wednesday night in Wrigley Field, Rob Thomson and the Phillies came up with a full-proof plan to fix Taijuan Walker. An opener.

Kyle Backhus would open against the top of the Chicago Cubs order, which included Nico Hoerner, Alex Bregman, and Seiya Suzuki in the top four. Walker would come in for bulk relief and the Phillies would pull off a crazy concept of winning a baseball game in April.

The Phillies lost this game 7-2, falling to 8-16 and were on the brink of firing Rob Thomson. Backhus surrendered a run in the first, Walker gave up five in bulk relief, and Alan Rangel came in to finish the final three innings to preserve the rest of the bullpen.

The Backhus-Walker-Rangel game is the lowest point in the losing streak. There is nothing else. How in the world did the Phillies think this was a strategy to deploy in a Major League Baseball regular-season game? How?

Just a complete failure from everyone, whoever you want to blame. It’s on them.

I will never forget the Backhus-Walker-Rangel game. Neither should you.

Final grade: F

This grade is not even as much about Taijuan Walker and how things went. As I stated earlier, he was a big part in the Phillies making the postseason.

This is on the organization for not providing enough pitching depth. They hung onto Walker for 22.2 innings because they had no other viable plan if a starting pitcher got hurt. It’s an organizational F. It’s more of an F on Dave Dombrowski and the entire Phillies organism than it is on Taijuan Walker.

Before he was Birdie, William Cree was a little man with a big right arm and impressive speed. Born about an hour south of Pittsburgh, like many players of his day, the old-timer had a unique path to the majors, including playing under a fake name to preserve his eligibility.

William Franklin “Birdie” Cree
Born: October 23, 1882 (Khedive, PA)
Died: November 7, 1942 (Sunbury, PA)
Yankees Tenure: 1908-15

After finishing school in Pennsylvania, Cree attended Southwestern State Normal School, where he played football and baseball while earning his teaching credentials. After graduating in 1903, Cree started teaching in the public school system while continuing to play baseball and football. His athletic prowess earned him a scholarship offer from Penn State.

In the fall of 1904, just three days into his Nittany Lion football career, Cree dislocated his collarbone and was out for the season. However, he was healthy and ready for baseball the following spring. After collecting several extra-base hits, the nickname Birdie was born.

Cree actually used a variation of that nickname for his secret identity, presenting himself as Bill Burde, to play amateur baseball for some spending money while still in school. Following the 1907 season, Burde was purchased by Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics.

The team left him with his amateur club for the start of the 1908 season and they moved him to center field. Before the season was over, Detroit acquired Cree the outfielder, not Burde the shortstop, from the Athletics and then promptly traded him to the New York Highlanders.

In September of 1908, Cree made his major league debut. He appeared in 21 games the rest of the way, batting .269 with two triples. The Highlanders finished the year in eighth place with a 51-103-1 record.

At age 26, in 1909, Cree played his first full season of professional baseball. The Highlanders moved him all over the field as he saw time at all three outfield spots, both middle infield positions, and even made one appearance at third base. Cree hit his first home run, which also happened to be the first home run hit out of legendary Shibe Park in Philadelphia by a right-handed batter. The team improved overall but still finished below .500.

The 1910 season was Cree’s breakthrough campaign. The team finished second in the American League with an 88-63-5 record, in part due to Cree’s improvement. His average increased by more than 20 points to .287, while he hit 16 triples and tied for the team lead with four home runs.

For an encore, Cree followed up his breakthrough season with what ended up being his best campaign. In 1911, Cree ranked in the top five in the American League in several categories and had one of the best seasons in club history by a non-superstar player. His batting average was .348, while he slugged .513 on 181 hits. That included 22 triples, 30 doubles, and 48 stolen bases. His production was good for a 5.6 WAR and a 152 OPS+.

The amazing run peaked and he started to come back down to earth in 1912. That season, Cree still slashed a very respectable .332/.409/.453 but was limited to only 50 games after battling a severe cold to start the year and then getting his wrist broken on a hit by pitch at the end of June. Sadly, Cree was never the same after this injury. 

With the wrist injury lingering, Cree battled through the 1913 season. His average dropped to .272, but he still managed to hit 32 extra-base hits in 145 games. This year was the first in which the club was officially known as the Yankees, giving Cree the distinction of having played under both names.

Rocky is the only way to describe Cree’s 1914 season. Arriving overweight and out of shape, Cree was released and briefly played for Baltimore in the International League before the Yankees bought him back. Finishing off the year, Cree hit .309 in 77 games with a 2.9 WAR.

Cree couldn’t lose the weight he had added and then suffered another injury during spring training in 1915. In what would be his final professional season, Cree slashed .214/.353/.276 in 74 games, opting for retirement after the season rather than going down a level into the minors. Cree ended his career having played parts of eight different seasons professionally all with New York. His final career slash line was .292/.368/.398 and a 125 OPS+.

In retirement, Cree worked in banking and took up several leisure activities, such as golf and tennis. He even appeared at a few Old-Timers’ Days as well. But in November 1942, Cree succumbed to an illness just a couple weeks after turning 60.

Happy birthday, Birdie!

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m incredibly excited for this World Series. The Rays and Brewers are both really fun teams, and while neither was the one I was rooting for when the postseason began, they’ve both won my heart to some degree with the way they handled their business so far this October. Ever since the two teams won their spots in the upcoming World Series, I’ve been thinking about how similar they are to each other and to the Royals, and what changes the Royals should be making to be more like them.

Starting pitching matters

There has been a lot of conversation surrounding the playoffs this year about how starting pitchers might be a dying breed. After all, starters have been pitching fewer and fewer innings for years. Then you get to this postseason and the White Sox made it all the way to ALDS Game 5 while using only one pitcher as a starter. The Guardians made it to Game 6 of the ALCS while using only two.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence, however, that the two World Series teams were among the ones who were willing to throw a starting pitcher every single game, even if he wasn’t necessarily the best pitcher available to them. The White Sox raced out to a 2-0 lead in the ALDS on the backs of their relievers but couldn’t keep it going forever. The Guardians decided they’d rather use their exceptionally effective relievers than allow Tanner Bibee to start a single playoff game, and it burned them in the ALCS when all of their relievers were worn out and overexposed. The Padres entered the postseason with the best bullpen in the majors, but they blew two games against the Brewers because they simply didn’t feel confident in any of their starters except Michael King.

The 2014 Royals showed that an elite bullpen performance could get you really far in the playoffs, but one aspect people slept on was that the Royals had competent, though not elite, starting pitching to keep things close for five-plus innings and prevent their relievers from being overworked or overexposed. Who knows how Game 7 of the 2014 World Series might have gone if the Royals had thought to just throw a true bullpen game, but they only got that far because they didn’t try it earlier.

This is actually something people have been discussing since at least 2024, though for some reason teams don’t seem to have taken it into account yet. That article discusses how overusing relievers can have a similar penalty to starters the third time through; ironically, the realization of the “third-time-through-the-order penalty” is what led teams to use their relievers like this in the first place. It sure seems like they’ve swung too hard in the other direction, though. I tend to think letting Tanner Bibee start Game 6 of the ALCS would have led to better results for the Guardians than asking all their best relievers to go out there not just for the third time in the series, but for the third time in three days, likely increasing the familiarity effect.

The lesson from this postseason isn’t “starting pitchers are irrelevant.” Instead, it is “you’d better have and use four competent starters or even the best bullpen will blow up in your face when they have to cover that many innings against the same team.”

Never stop trading

During the ALCS, there was a bit of schadenfreude in the fact that Tampa Bay beat Cleveland with home runs from their two best hitters, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz, two players the Guardians traded to the Rays. According to FanGraphs, the Rays have the most players on their 26-man roster in baseball who were acquired by trade – the National League champion Brewers were third. Even more interesting was that NLCS MVP Jake Bauers was part of the Guardians’ return for Díaz, and the Guardians DFA-traded him away, too.

The Royals could spend more, and they might be a better team. I’d actually argue that if the Rays and Brewers were willing to even spend half of what the Dodgers do, given how great they are at roster-building, they’d be able to have an even more dominant dynasty than LA has enjoyed. But if the Royals won’t spend more money, they need to follow the Brewers’ and Rays’ leads in this way – make lots and lots of trades.

A couple of weeks ago, I evaluated how both the Brewers and Royals front offices had done at getting appropriate value in their transactions. One aspect I didn’t properly consider was the types of transactions each team performed, though. I evaluated a total of 69 transactions for the Brewers, 41 of those were trades. The Royals made 55 transactions, and 3o of those were trades. Those are fairly similar ratios, but of the 30 trades the Royals made, only 15 were made for guys who might possibly help beyond a season or two. The Brewers made 27 such trades, a much higher percentage. I don’t think it is a coincidence that one of the Royals’ best trades in recent years was the deal that sent Freddy Fermin to San Diego for Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. That trade helped them in the moment, but it also improved their team for the future. That’s exactly the kind of trade the Rays and Brewers do all the time that the Royals haven’t gotten the hang of.

Besides being willing to make bigger trades, the Royals should just be making more trades, period. People will act like the Guardians should have held on to Caminero and Díaz, but it’s not like the Rays or Brewers never make trades that send useful players away. After all, Bauers debuted with the Rays. And the Rays’ ALCS MVP, Freddy Peralta, was traded away by the Brewers earlier this year! To say nothing of how both teams have made trades in the past that sent valuable pieces away without getting anything good in return.

The Rays traded All-Star Tristan Peters to the White Sox for cash. They traded José Cabellero to the Yankees for Everson Pereira, then released him. They traded Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez to the Athletics for three minor leaguers you’ve never heard of. The Brewers traded Tyrone Taylor and Adrian Houser for Coleman Crow. Until these playoffs, Corbin Burnes for D.L. Hall and Joey Ortiz wasn’t looking great. Honestly, the Peralta and Durbin trades aren’t looking great, either. But neither team lets the fear of failure stop them from doing more trades and recovering from the missteps.

The trades the Royals have made smack of fear in comparison. The Royals need to be bolder and be willing to be wrong if they ever want to have a chance of being gloriously right.

Good morning, LSB.

Evan Grant writes on two former Rangers executives now in the World Series, Jon Daniel’s as a senior advisor for the Rays and Thad Levine in the same position with the Brewers.

Jeff Wilson says the Rangers would be best served keeping Ezequiel Duran in his super-utility role into next season.

2023 Rangers world champion and ALDS grand slam-hitter Mitch Garver has announced his retirement.

Pipeline lists each team’s top performer from the 2026 draft.

And the World Series starts tonight. If you’re into that.

That’s all for this morning. Happy Friday.

Happy Friday everyone!

The race to crown a first-time champion begins tonight as the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers host the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Fall Classic.

Milwaukee’s hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski will start his team’s first World Series game in 44 years, while the Rays will counter with right-hander Nick Martinez, who is coming off a career-best season. It is fitting that these two teams are the last ones standing, given how much discussion of a salary cap and floor has hovered over MLB this season. Baseball fans, be sure to enjoy this World Series because the threat of an owner-imposed lockout could shut down the sport for an undetermined period.

Moving forward under new president of baseball operations Taylor Smith, the Athletics would be wise to follow the blueprint that the Brewers and Rays have successfully used. By relying on strong scouting and player development along with player acquisitions driven by shrewd use of research and data, these two small-market organizations annually build competitive rosters that often outperform their big-market division rivals.

If the A’s can blend this modern “Moneyball” strategy with what will likely be increased revenue from their new ballpark in Las Vegas, this historic club has the chance to escape last-place purgatory.

However, before the A’s Las Vegas era begins, the team will play one more season at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. Over the past two years, the team’s pitching staff has significantly struggled to keep opponents off the scoreboard.

As a result, the A’s pitching staff, particularly its bullpen, needs a major boost. Upgrades could come from minor league prospects such as Jamie Arnold and Wei-En Lin making their mark in the majors, free-agent signings or trades, or current players such as Jack Perkins and Jacob Lopez taking the next step. This is where Smith’s background in research, data and statistics could make a difference.

In addition to bolstering the A’s roster this offseason, Smith must help manager Mark Kotsay hire several new assistant coaches, including a pitching coach. If the 2027 season happens and the team continues to flounder, that could spell the end of Kotsay’s tenure.

Who do you want to win the World Series? Did Smith’s intro press conference make you more or less excited about the hire? If you were in his shoes, what would you do first to improve the A’s roster?

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics Hire Taylor Smith As Next President of Baseball Operations
• A’s bring in Taylor Smith to run baseball operations
• On New PBO Taylor Smith: What’s In A Number?
• A’s Considering Hiring GM Under Taylor Smith
• Trade Candidate: Shea Langeliers
• The five biggest questions facing the A’s this offseason
• Inside the A’s State-of-the-Art Las Vegas Ballpark
• Pitching prospect Huggins growing his game with the help of this A’s Hall of Famer
• ’Be a sponge’: No. 19 prospect leads A’s Fall League group with do-it-all mentality
• A’s LHP prospect Richardson shows off health and resiliency during Fall League homecoming
• Zack Of All Trades Tries To Get One More Win: In Court
• Important Dates For The Athletics This Offseason
• 12 A’s Players Out of Options Heading Into 2027
• How MLB’s Proposed Changes Would Impact the A’s
• A’s part ways with assistant hitting, quality control coaches
• After an outfield collision left him paralyzed, every gain in rehab is a big win for A’s Ryan Lasko
• Why 2027 Athletics Will Be Completely Different Team
• A’s Las Vegas ballpark cost rises to $2.1B, public funding delayed
• 2026: Year Of The “Didn’t See That Coming!”
• A’s Hoping Luis Severino Chooses to Stay
• Where the A’s Plan to Use Zack Gelof in 2027
• Drafting The Top AL Graduated MLB Prospects From 2026
• Devin Taylor: Athletics 2026 Minor League Player Of The Year
• Athletics 2026 MLB Draft Report Card
• Henry Bolte Is the A’s Next Budding Star
• Determining Athletics’ Offensive MVP for the 2026 Season
• 2027 Infield Landscape Ever Changing
• Get the best of Athletics Nation on the new SB Nation app

MLB News & Interest:

• MLB’s lockout is coming. Before it arrives, baseball insiders expect a free-agent frenzy
• Stephen Vogt back to Guardians in ’27, shuns Mariners rumors
• It’s baseball’s fastest bat vs. fastest arm in the World Series
• This year’s World Series champ will be a 1st-time winner … either way
• Winners of the 2026 Fielding Bible Awards announced
• Each team’s top performer from the 2026 Draft
• Kurt Suzuki out as Angels manager; interim GM John Mozeliak won’t return in 2027
• Mariners Interested In Jason Kanzler For Managerial Vacancy
• Shohei Ohtani won’t need offseason surgery
• Dalton Rushing to undergo surgery
• Red Sox in need of new first and third base coaches
• Boone spurns calls for culture change; Yankees clubhouse remains a ‘strength’
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X

Get to know new Athletics president of baseball operations Taylor Smith.

What moves should Smith make to build on the A’s “really exciting young core”?

The good old days.