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Hoping to get a series split in the final match-up against the San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rockies saw their opponent score seven runs in the top of the second to cruise toward a 9-2 victory. The Rockies are now just three losses away from their fourth consecutive year of 100 losses.

Gordon’s troublesome second inning

The Padres’ offensive aggressiveness claimed another Rockies victim in Tanner Gordon. After a pedestrian top of the first inning in which he allowed a couple of singles and had a couple of strikeouts, Gordon had a 1-0 lead to work with heading into the second inning.

Then the wheels fell off.

Xander Bogaerts led off the inning with a solo home run on the first pitch he saw to tie the game. Gordon then rebounded and struck out Luis Campusano for the first out. The home run must have rattled him, however, as he struggled to find the zone and throw a quality pitch. Jake Cronenworth singled, followed by back-to-back walks from Gordon to load the bases.

Dustin Harris, who has been bothersome in the series, collected a two-run single to make it a 3-1 Padres lead. Manny Machado then drove in the fourth run with a sacrifice fly. With two outs, Ty France singled to put runners on the corners with Jackson Merrill coming up to the plate.

Merrill hit a shallow fly ball to right field that turned into a two-run triple as Zac Veen ran a long way to try to catch it, but the ball hit him in the chest as he slid. On the very next play, Bogaerts hit a line drive to right field that Veen tried to dive for but was nowhere near, resulting in an RBI triple to make it a 7-1 game.

Gordon finally escaped the inning, having thrown 43 pitches in the inning. His 73 pitches through two innings the most thrown by a pitcher in a baseball season. He was also the third starting pitcher to throw at least 70 pitches in the first two innings in 2026, all of them Rockies.

He was able to get through the third inning unscathed after giving up a single and a double in the inning, ending his day after 86 pitches. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Gordon generated 13 swings and misses, but as is typically the case, it’s never in the situation he needs to get the strikeout, and he left far too many hittable pitches in the zone.

“Today, other than having a tough time putting guys away … he had a two-strike count on Taylor with a walk there in the second, and then the two-strike knock to Harris was huge,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “I thought the pitch around of Tatís was fine, but just long counts. His changeup was working early. They took some swings and swung through it some, and then they started taking it. [There were] just foul balls, long at-bats, the pitch count rose tremendously and then some stuff in the field that didn’t go his way.”

Schaeffer also reiterated the area that Gordon needs to improve — putting hitters away after getting ahead in counts — and that they’re working on it.

“He gets ahead better than anybody on a typical basis,” he said. “It’s just finding a way to put hitters away late in counts with two strikes, and that’s where we need to find something.”

Bullpen carries the load

Zach Agnos took over for Gordon in the fourth inning in his mop-up long relief role. He worked three innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts. The two runs came in the fifth inning when Cronenworth led off with a triple, followed by an RBI double for Samad Taylor. Harris collected another RBI single to extend the Padres’ lead to 9-1.

Jaden Hill took the mound for a scoreless seventh, followed by a scoreless eighth from Brennan Bernardino that featured a pair of punchouts. Needing some work, Jordan Romano took over the ninth inning and had two strikeouts against a walk.

King’s court

While the Padres hounded Rockies pitching, the home team couldn’t quite figure out Michael King.

The Rockies put up an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jake McCarthy hit a leadoff triple and came in to score on Connor Norby’s RBI single. Unfortunately, the offense wouldn’t score another run off of King until Kyle Karros hit an RBI single to score Cole Carrigg to make it 9-2. The Rockies threatened to score more in that inning when they loaded the bases with two outs, but a strikeout of Troy Johnston ended the threat.

King cruised through six innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He induced two double-plays and came away with 11 swings and misses. He showcased excellent command of his pitches, particularly the fastball and the slider, to limit the Rockies from doing much of anything.

Similar, but different, offenses

Overall, the difference in the offenses was stark. The Padres had 15 hits and went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They struck out nine times and had just three walks. Five players had at least two hits, three of which had three hits a piece, including Bogaerts, who fell a single shy of the cycle. Bogaerts also became the first player in Padres history to have a triple and a homer in the same inning, and the second MLB player this season behind White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters.

Meanwhile, the Rockies had nine hits while going 2-for-4 with RISP. They also struck out nine times and had just three hits. Two players had multi-hit games while TJ Rumfield managed to extend his on-base streak to a Rockies rookie record-tying 21 games.

The biggest difference was that the Padres had 11 extra-base hits while the Rockies had just one. The ability to get on base is great, but the inability to string together multiple extra-base hits and avoid double-play balls is a hurdle the team has to overcome in the future.

Up next

The Rockies welcome the Seattle Mariners Friday for a three-game series over the weekend. Bryan Woo (12-9, 3.88 ERA) will make the start for Seattle while the Rockies have not yet announced a starter.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm MDT.

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In what has been the “Season of the Rookie” across all of MLB, the Guardians are no different. Today we’re going to look at the 4 main rookies that have seen playing time for the Guardians in 2026, and what we’ve learned about them so far. The players we’re looking at today are Chase DeLauter, Parker Messick, Travis Bazzana, and Angel Genao. We’re going to look at the main thing we’ve seen from them in 2026 and what they can build on as the next step in their development. First, let’s go over what we’ve learned about Chase DeLauter.

Chase DeLauter can hit

I don’t really know how else to say it, but this dude can swing the bat. At the time of writing through 125 games, he has a 130 wRC+ (10th in the AL) and a .815 OPS (11th in the AL). He doesn’t chase outside the zone, he doesn’t swing and miss, and he doesn’t strike out. He takes his walks, and he hits the ball hard. His 3.2 fWAR shows he’s already producing at the level of a player who’d be a fringe All-Star candidate.

The biggest thing I think Chase can build on would be to see if he can find some more home runs. Almost all of his home runs have come off pitches Statcast counts as on the inner third of the plate. His barrel rate on middle and away pitches is considerably higher than on inside pitches, but those barrels are not translating into home runs consistently for him yet. The contact ability and the damage ability are there on middle and away pitches; he just needs to take that one last step to really boost his damage potential.

Parker Messick is a rock in this rotation

In 2026, Parker Messick has put together about as good a Rookie of the Year case that any starting pitcher can have. At the time of writing, he’s thrown 172.1 innings with a 2.51 ERA, 178 Ks, and has put up 4.5 fWAR. In 29 starts, he’s pitched fewer than 5 innings one time and given up more than 3 ERs just 3 times. It’s hard to imagine a more consistently productive season than the one Parker Messick is having.

There’s not really any major area for me to say Parker Messick should try to build on. His fastball velocity was a bit low, but in the later parts of the season it seems like he’s starting to find a little extra when he’s needed it, touching 96-97 in some key spots. I did a bit of digging, and one thing I think he could do to get a little more depth out of his starts on average is attacking the bottom of the order a bit more. This is really splitting hairs, but his BB% against hitters 3-6 in the opposing lineup is 5.2%, but to hitters 7-9 it’s 7.1%. The gap is small, but being able to reduce that down against the worst hitters in opposing lineups could go a long way to getting deeper in games.

Travis Bazzana can be “That Guy”

It’s been a very solid season for Bazz overall. At the time of writing, a 115 wRC+, .756 OPS, 14 HRs, 19 SBs, and 2.6 fWARin 113 games is nothing short of a successful rookie campaign. But the real reason I came to this conclusion is Bazz plays the game with a fierceness and intensity that’s truly infectious for everyone around him and for fans watching. He’s already shown he’s an elite baserunner, and he’s only going to get better at that given who his main tutor is. He has good plate discipline and takes his walks, and right now he’s showing the “That Guy” factor by heating up in the midst of the most important part of the season for the Guards.

The obvious place that needs improvement is his defense. His defense at second this season has been well below league average. If he can’t figure out second base, there’s always the potential he could be moved to the OF, but given he hasn’t shown a ton of arm strength, it may be best to delay those conversations for now. From the offensive side of things, I think just maintaining that consistency in approach and not being afraid to take walks will go a long way for him. During his torrid start in his first 46 games, when he had a 138 wRC+, his BB% was 12.3%. Then he hit the large cold spell of 58 games, with a 64 wRC+, where his BB% dropped to 10.2%. Now, since the start of the Detroit series, he’s back up to a 13.9% BB%. Being able to maintain that consistent BB% when the hits aren’t dropping can do a lot of work minimizing the negative effect of slumps that inevitably happen over a long season.

Angel Genao: The X Factor

I like this classification for Genao because we haven’t really seen that much of him at the big league level yet. There’s a lot to like. He squares the ball up, hits the ball hard, doesn’t chase out of the zone, doesn’t swing and miss, and doesn’t strikeout. He’s got great speed, a good arm, and defensive versatility in the infield. There have been some drawbacks though. His LASS% (Launch Angle Sweet Spot Percent) is so low, it’s one of the worst in the sport at just 20.2%. And his BB% is very low considering how much better his chase and whiff rates are than average.

When trying to decide what he could stand to improve on, these two things stand out the most. He’s got the eye at the plate and has shown the ability to take key walks in some high leverage situations. If he can do that more consistently throughout the game, that would be a big improvement. Likewise, getting more of his hard contact into launch angle ranges that produce high percentile outcomes should help him turn more of that contact into barrel-level damage and line drives into the outfield. 

The 2026 season has taught us a lot about this team, and while they may not look like a contender at the moment, the future is incredibly bright for this roster going forward. I hope none of you get tired of watching exciting baseball, because that looks to be what’s in store in Cleveland for the next several years.

(All photos are from the Guardians official Instagram page)

Mets lineup

Francisco Lindor – SS
Juan Soto – DH
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Jared Young – 1B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Francisco Alvarez – C
Brett Baty – 2B
Nick Morabito – LF

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Phillies lineup

Kyle Schwarber – DH
Trea Turner – SS
Bryce Harper – RF
Luis Arraez – 2B
Alec Bohm – 1B
Bryson Stott – 3B
Brandon Marsh – LF
Justin Crawford – CF
Garrett Stubbs – C

SP: Aaron Nola – RHP

First pitch: 7:15 PM EDT
TV: FOX/FOX ONE
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Andrew Friedman, the Los Angeles Dodgers' president of baseball operations, told reporters in Cincinnati that he expects Shohei Ohtani will return during the club's final nine games of the regular season.

Speaking after the champagne celebration that followed the club's 8-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that clinched the National League West, Friedman said of Ohtani, "I expect him back in the regular season."

The four-time MVP and two-way superstar will not pitch this season due to right biceps and left knee injuries, and he has not been in the Dodgers lineup since Sept. 7, after which he was placed on the 15-day injured list. Ohtani sat out five games before giving that one a go, and he had just six hits in 49 at-bats (.122) with no home runs in his final 61 plate appearances.

Much of that span was spent trying to also return as a pitcher, before a bullpen session on Aug. 28 was cut short. The club is hoping his focus on playing one side of the ball enables his body not only to heal, but hold up as the Dodgers aim for a third consecutive World Series title.

For the season, Ohtani is batting .277 with 30 home runs and a .902 OPS, and will likely cede his two-year reign as NL MVP to the Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong.

As steady as it gets, Aaron Nola's resurgence rolls on against Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

QUEENS, N.Y. — With 10 games remaining and a likely postseason ahead, reliability matters more than ever.

For the last two months, the Phillies have been able to find it in Aaron Nola.

Each time he’s taken the hill lately, Philadelphia has given itself a good chance to win.

Like it did Thursday.

The 33-year-old faced the New York Mets for the 34th time across his 12th big league season. New York has certainly had multiple identities over that span, but Nola looked like he knew each Mets hitter like the back of his hand in the Phillies’ 3-0 victory at Citi Field.

In complete control, Nola worked fast and efficiently. He got ahead, fired first-pitch strikes at an outstanding clip and forced uncomfortable at-bats. Through four innings, he hadn’t allowed a hit and needed only 38 pitches.

You could tell he was in a groove.

But the Phillies, as they have for much of the season, opened the night struggling to provide run support for him.

They had a tough customer on the other side in Nolan McLean. The Phillies haven’t had any level of success against the second-year right-hander, who entered with a 0.47 ERA in three meetings against them.

With the way both pitchers were throwing, whoever scored first was going to grab some serious momentum.

In the fifth, the Phillies loaded the bases after a pair of two-out walks before Bryce Harper put them ahead. Already with two hits against McLean, Harper bounced one to the left side, where Francisco Lindor fielded it and chose the shorter throw to second instead of going across the diamond.

Except Trea Turner was flying into the bag.

Arguably, the extra length of Turner’s sliding mitt made the difference. He was initially called out, but the call was overturned and the Phillies had a 1-0 lead.

It wasn’t loud contact, but it was enough.

That’s all Nola needed.

After a nine-pitch, hitless fifth in which he continued to face the minimum, a scary moment unfolded in Queens.

With Alec Bohm on second, Justin Crawford bounced one to the right side. Mets first baseman Jared Young stayed near the bag and reached for the ball as McLean came over to cover. McLean’s knee struck Young in the head.

Young went face down and lost consciousness as medical personnel rushed onto the field. He was eventually placed on a stretcher and carted off, giving a thumbs-up as he left. The Mets later announced that Young had feeling in his extremities and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

It was difficult to resume after a scene like that.

When play did, Nola didn’t lose his rhythm.

Nick Morabito broke up the no-hit bid with one out in the sixth, putting two runners aboard after Nola had opened the inning with a walk. That brought Francisco Lindor to the plate with a chance to do damage against a club he has hurt plenty of times before.

Nola got him to put the ball on the ground.

Luis Arraez backhanded it, made a strong feed to second and Turner completed the double play with a throw to first.

Whatever energy remained inside Citi Field disappeared.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Nola, who finished seven scoreless innings Thursday and extended his streak to eight consecutive starts allowing two earned runs or fewer.

For 23 straight starts earlier this season, Nola carried an ERA north of five. That came after a 2025 season in which injuries contributed to a 6.01 ERA.

After his 31st start of this season, his ERA is down to 4.49.

And over his last seven starts, Nola owns a 1.66 ERA — fifth-best among 48 qualified starters in that span.

That turnaround could become increasingly important.

There’s a possibility the Phillies could be without Luzardo if they enter a postseason series. That would obviously be less than ideal, but in a three-game Wild Card Series, two victories are all it takes to advance.

Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez would likely be the first two options if the Phillies can line up their rotation after clinching. If they need a third game, the way Nola is throwing right now shouldn’t drain anyone’s confidence in their chances.

October is often about riding the hot hand.

Right now, Nola’s right hand qualifies.

The Phillies gave themselves more breathing room in the seventh without even recording a hit. Turner took two bases on an errant pickoff throw before Arraez lifted a sacrifice fly.

They manufactured another in the eighth. Bryson Stott doubled, Brandon Marsh dropped down a sacrifice bunt and Crawford followed with a sacrifice fly.

It was the first time all season the Phillies had three sacrifice hits in a game.

One blemish in the victory came in the eighth, when Jonathan Bowlan exited with right groin tightness. The reliever has struggled lately, and the Phillies said an update will come later.

Philadelphia’s last two wins haven’t exactly been pretty, but they have been built around what tends to travel this time of year: starting pitching.

Wheeler gave them one. Nola followed with another. Both shutouts.

The Phillies’ magic number is now five, putting them in position to potentially clinch a fifth straight postseason berth before leaving Queens.

Devin Williamspitched a bullpen session at Citi Field on Thursday prior to the Mets' series opener against the Phillies and the closer made it through in one piece.

Interim manager Andy Green said Williams' stuff was "there as anticipated," but now they have to wait to see how he feels physically in the morning before mapping out next steps.

Williams was placed on the IL back on Aug. 10 with a right shoulder strain, and the team has slow-played his return. The right-hander has been throwing off the mound, but this is the first time he's thrown a BP, a good sign that he can appear in a big league game before the end of the regular season.

When it comes to when exactly that will be, Green prefaced that they have to make sure their closer is healthy and that it makes sense for the limited amount of games remaining in the schedule. 

"His heartbeat is to pitch in games as quickly as possible. Ours is to ensure he’s as healthy as possible before he pitches in games," Green said of Williams' potential return date. "We’re trying to reconcile those two things and we need the information from tomorrow and how he feels before we make the next determination."

The next question was whether Williams will take back closing duties from Kodai Senga, who has closed games for the Mets in Williams' stead. Green didn't say one way or another, but explained that the most important part is getting Williams on a mound again.

After the Mets wrap up their home slate this weekend, they'll end the 2026 regular season in Texas and Washington D.C. And while many believed Williams could be ready for the Rangers series, Green said it's likelier we'll see Williams against the Nationals. 

"Given where we’re at, the highest likelihood is…let’s say it’s in Texas. He’ll pitch Tuesday or Wednesday and we’ll try to get him an outing in D.C," Green said. "He’s not going to come back and pitch three out of four baseball games.

"It might be the eighth inning, it might be the seventh inning. If you’re not ahead one of those days, you want to get him on the bump so he can get going again."

Williams has made 42 appearances with the Mets this season, pitching to a 4.66 ERA while striking out 51 batters across 38.2 innings. He's also converted 16 of 19 save opportunities. 

Teams cannot carry players on their 60-day IL during the offseason, so that means the San Francisco Giants are about six weeks out from having a serious roster crunch. Or do they?

There are quite a lot of good players on that 60-day IL and so by sheer math the players on the 40-man who’ve taken their place are more fungible than not. They could always waive players and outright them to the minors or re-sign to an MiLB agreement — and that might be preferrable given the upcoming lockout, when players on the 40-man roster wouldn’t be able to play games in the minors. There’s also the case that with a Rule 5 draft likely, the Giants might want to protect some of their prospects, even if a lockout would prevent them from continuing their development. Still, with 17 dudes on that 60-day IL, is 42.5% of the current 40-man roster really so changeable? Let’s take a look.

I’ll do this using some criteria, too: position, age, contract, and MiLB options remaining. I don’t think I want to use the Giants’ roster page breakdown for positions, though, as they list Bryce Eldridge as Designated Hitter when we know he’s an infielder. Casey Schmitt is one of the outfielders, too. Anyway, let’s get into it, seeing if we can reduce the number of players currently on the IL before looking at the current roster. There are 57 players for 40 spots, and that’s before considering the prospects who’ll need to be added.

We can quickly reduce some of the thinking by listing the obvious keepers: Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Casey Schmitt, Daniel Susac, Randy Rodriguez, Adrian Houser,and Rowan Wick (whom the Giants signed specifically to carry him while he rehabbed from surgery and prepared to return in 2027). That leaves 10 players on the 60-day IL to sort through before getting to the 40-man.

So, let’s start with the easiest problem to solve.

Harrison Bader

Position: OF (8)
2027 age: 33
2027 contract: $13 million
MiLB options: 0

Pros: None.

Cons: That’s a lot of money to simply cut, especially if the lockout ends with the players surrendering to a stupid salary cap. Jim Bowden’s owner-inspired figure is $245.3 million, which would make Bader’s 2027 contract 5.3% of a theoretical cap, which is meaningful. Still, there’s no value in rostering him. The Giants suspended him without pay for some extraordinarily unprofessional behavior and just from the vague descriptions of the accident that further injured him, it sounds like he’s lucky to still have two feet. It seems unlikely he’ll be close to the player the team will need him to be whenever the 2027 gets going — if he’s even able to go at all. Maybe they could claw back some of the salary for cap purposes in a grievance hearing (they’ll almost certainly get it all back in their pockets via an insurance claim), but the team shouldn’t be shy about cutting their losses even if that doesn’t come to pass.

Verdict: Release.

Hayden Birdsong

Position: SP (8)
2027 age: 24
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 2

Pros: There’s a hard-throwing red ass there who has shown flashes of being a good pitcher. He’s still young enough to figure things out, and maybe some consistency in the front office and coaching staff for once in his brief career can help him along. The two options make him very valuable, to the point that he might be tradeable in the 5-day window after the World Series before teams have to activate all of these 60-day IL guys.

Cons: Of course, a lockout won’t help him with that development, and he looked really bad before the injury. It’ll be a long layoff and it’s not as though his skillset can’t be found elsewhere in the sport. With his Tommy John surgery having happened in 2026, he’s not going to be available until near the end of 2027 anyway.

Verdict: Keep. Still, it’s not as though the Athletics or some other team wouldn’t claim him and just let him eat a roster spot all offseason, so there’s enough incentive to keep him, along with the talent upside. He’s one of the Giants’ interesting starting pitching prospects. If pitching development had gone better this season, I wonder just how secure his roster spot would’ve been.

José Buttó

Position: RP (24)
2027 age: 29
2027 contract: TBD – arbitration eligible
MiLB options: 0

Pros: He has the sort of sinker-slider combo the team likes and has a reverse platoon split for his career with righties hitting .249 off him and lefties .192. That’s thanks to an effective changeup (30+% whiff rate 2023-2025). He also has a curve and a sweeper. A real kitchen-sinker who can also provide a little length (15 career starts). He’d be a cheaper version of JT Brubaker. Having missed most of his platform year, he’s unlikely to win an arbitration case for very much more than what he made this season ($800k).

Cons: The blood clot that has effectively knocked him out this season is a fluke injury but it’s still an injury that makes it hard to know who the Giants might get next season. He also didn’t look great after they acquired him at last year’s trade deadline, posting a 4.39 FIP in 20 innings.

Verdict: Keep. It would be logical to retain a veteran reliever who might take the place of another veteran who would cost more (thinking specifically about Brubaker). Still, I think this is the trickiest case to decide.

Matt Gage

Position: RP (24)
2027 age: 34
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 0

Pros: He has been really good against lefties for his career (.200 avg against)

Cons: Sub-average fastball velocity relative to other options, recovering from surgery. No optionality.

Verdict: Release. Maybe they try to sign him to a minor league deal once the lockout situation clears.

Trevor McDonald

Position: SP (8)
2027 age: 26
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 1

Pros: Has been able to handle major league hitters long enough to make an impression. He has certainly pitched his way into being considered a reliever at worst. His slider (38.7% whiff rate in 2026, 36.4% last year) is good.

Cons: Not a starter and would be a shame if the Giants held onto him thinking he might be a #5 or long reliever. He also is in the same realm of Logan Webb and Landen Roupp — sinker slider pitchers who don’t get a lot of strikeouts, but do get a lot of groundballs and limit walks and home runs. There was a thought at some point this season that part of the reason why the pitching was getting hammered had everything to do with the team’s approach — less “not spending money in the bullpen” and more “what if all 13 guys were like Logan Webb?” McDonald being the less good version of Logan Webb or Landen Roupp should make him more expendable heading into the offseason.

Verdict: Try to pass through waivers. Look, he was able to make enough of an impression at the end of last season to get a longer look this season. His injury opened up an opportunity for another player to do the same thing and I think if someone comes along who was better at the end of this season than McDonald was all year (4.26 FIP on a 7.3 K/9), the Giants shouldn’t be too precious.

Joel Peguero

Position: RP (24)
2027 age: 30
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 3

Pros: 100 mph — consistently! Wow!

Cons: Not many strikeouts for all that velo and the player is often injured. He’ll be entering his 30s, too.

Verdict: Release. I’m sure there’s a strong case to be made that he’s the lottery ticket to hold onto here, so maybe I’ll revisit him at the end of this exercise.

Jesus Rodriguez

Position: Uh…
2027 age: 25
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 2

Pros: The team likes his versatility and he’s shown in a small sample (58 MLB PA) some utility with the bat (104 wRC+). He profiles as a high-contact, low-strikeout guy. Maybe another Christian Koss type.

Cons: Hard to think of one. It’s just a matter of how many Christian Koss types the team wants to roster.

Verdict: Keep.

Carson Whisenhunt

Position: SP (8)
2027 age: 26
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 2

Pros: That changeup certainly does get swing and miss. Left-handed pitchers are usually able to find work at the MLB level for far longer than their right-handed counterparts. He’s miscast as a starter (5.90 ERA / 5.99 FIP in 58 MLB IP) but could be really good as a reliever.

Cons: If the team doesn’t view him as a reliever or he doesn’t buy in, then he’s just a hittable guy who sometimes gets swings and misses. I think the Giants are committed to finding out one way or the other and I can’t say they’d be wrong about that.

Verdict: Keep.

Keaton Winn

Position: RP (24)
2027 age: 29
2027 contract: MLB minimum
MiLB options: 1

Pros: So much promise as the next great late inning bullpen arm. A fantastic fastball-splitter combo. Looks like a top reliever like ones you’ll see across the league…

Cons: … if healthy, which he rarely is. I’m not sure another year of Tony Vitello managing his workload will help him out. The Giants have tried kid-gloving and tough-loving him and no matter what, he doesn’t pitch much due to injury.

Verdict: Keep. Though he might be a candidate to be traded in the 5-day window before 60-day ILs must be emptied. Would the Rays want to acquire him and chew the rest of the flesh off his arm?

So, I’ve managed to get to 53 players for 40 spots. When I started this exercise, I anticipated it being a bit easier to simply delete 60-day IL guys, but it’s not! And, my main one might not even be cut because of the money involved. In any case, it’s very easy to see the problem the Giants face. But if we keep going through the 40-man, there are some other opportunities for roster reduction.

The Untouchables…?

After the anti-Pride Day protest, I wrote about the four Giants who drove it and how the United States Justice Department’s active investigation into the Giants as a result of the fallout might make Landen Roupp, Ryan Walker, Sam Hentges, and JT Brubaker effectively invincible when it comes to normal handling. In other wors, the Giants couldn’t cut any of these guys for performance because it would be treated as discrimination for their expression of their deeply held ::wanking motion::

Let’s look at all four.

Landen Roupp

Verdict: Keep. They are desperate for starting pitching going into next season and he hasn’t been bad. Sure, he’s thrown 0.2 innings more than Jacob deGrom and been just 60% as valuable (2.5 fWAR vs. deGrom’s 4.2) but he’s just barely qualified for the ERA title at 155 IP (46th out of 47 qualified, but a professional high mark for him) and has generated more value with that fWAR (31 out of 48) than the likes of George Kirby, Michael Wacha, Foster Griffin, Michael King, Framber Valdez, Shota Imanaga, and Robbie Ray.

JT Brubaker

Brubaker has been effective in a no-leverage role and has helped alienate a segment of the fanbase from the team, but after earning $1.82 million this season, it’s illogical to retain such a fungible player (seriously, 0.1 fWAR in 60.1 IP — a 4.27 FIP) for even 1% of the fan-demanded salary cap. His veteran presence and experience is easily replicated by Jose Butto or other veteran relievers who will be looking for work in the offseason.

Verdict: Release. Even with the There is obviously the potential for some sort of grievance of governmental interference, but it’s going to require a degree of fiction writing to create the bad faith argument to compel a ridiculous enforcement action that my dumb brain can’t conjure at the moment. He and the team have fulfilled their contract and they should be able to walk away from him as a free agent.

Sam Hentges

This is much trickier than the Brubaker situation in that he’s arbitration eligible for 2027 and Zack Minasian has already gone on the record talking about the team’s belief that it takes at least two years after a player’s surgery before they begin to show improvement. Hentges is one of these guys, and he pitched well enough (3.43 FIP in 33 IP) that it’s highly unlikely they’d move on from him — by the way, that FIP is really high despite allowing zero home runs. FIP is a measure of the three true outcomes: walks, home runs, strikeouts. He walks a lot (6.3 per 9) but strikeouts out a lot (9.6 per 9), and doesn’t allow homers (0.7 per 9 for his career). If command is the last thing to lock in after surgery, then he ought to be even better next season. He will cost more in his final year of arbitration, but after all the crowing about how the team didn’t spend on the bullpen this past offseason, it seems as though they now have cover to spend money to retain him.

Verdict: ::sigh:: Keep the team’s resident bible thumper. Lord knows they want one.

Ryan Walker

It’s hard to make an argument to keep him. He’s been bad on the field and bad off the field. He’s first time arbitration eligible and a year or two ago I might’ve thought he was a $3-$4 million guy first time out. He’ll be 31 at the start of next season and I would think that rather than tender him a contract and have to pay him more than the MLB minimum they would non-tender him, but the Justice Department’s open investigation might have an effect. He has 31 career saves in 235.1 MLB innings. He has, technically, had one bad season (2026: -0.5 fWAR). His agent might be able to make the case to investigators that the Giants are depriving him of his livelihood, even if non-tendering arbitration eligible players is standard industry practice.

Verdict: Release. Maybe the Giants will surprise me and agree.

Okay. 50 dudes for 40 slots. It’s crunch time. Let’s take a look at…

Everybody else

Most of these players are not on the 10-day or 15-day IL, but some are. We’ll start with the obvious keepers: Logan Webb, Bryce Eldridge, Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee, Drew Gilbert, Jonah Cox (star eyes emoji), Drew Gilbert, Victor Bericoto, Blade Tidwell, Marcelo Mayer, Matt Wilkinson, Anthony Molina, and Cesar Perdomo.

A quick recap as we head into the second act:

Current 60-day IL players kept: 12
Current 40-man players kept: 15
Players cut (running tally): 6
Players to be judged: 24
40-man spots available: 13

Zach Morgan

Called up but yet to make an appearance, he’s really only on the roster because of a lack of catching depth. Morgan’s role has been the emergency depth piece at every level of the organization. He has a career MiLB OPS of .685 (5 seasons, 1053 PA) so it’s not like the roster spot can’t be upgraded.

Verdict: Pass through waivers. That organization depth seems meaningful enough to keep him in the organization, but not so vital that they need the roster spot. That they see Jesus Rodriguez in a similar role (multi-positional, including backup catcher) but have already given him more playing time despite being from outside the organization originally and 2 years younger underscores the fragility of his situation.

Andrew Knizner

He has been a solid backup catcher the past two seasons now, so you could imagine a scenario where he survives the roster crunch to be the actual backup catcher on the 40-man roster (with Drew Cavanaugh as the third catcher). But at the same time…

Verdict: Release. The Giants currently list five catchers on their 40-man roster and this article makes a modest proposal to reduce that to three: Daniel Susac, Drew Cavanaugh, and Jesus Rodriguez (which is a cheat in that he’s multi-positional). The veteran backup catcher situation is one that can be addressed at any point in the offseason or Spring Training or in-season.

Christian Koss

I’m not sure what else he would have to do to make a stronger case for staying on the roster. He’s blossomed after finally getting some playing time and is slashing .346/.393/.519 here in September.

Verdict: Keep. I’m listing him at this point in the article because there are other players down the list that’ll be compared to him.

Turner Hill

An IF/OF limited to the corners who’s finally making his big league debut at the age of 27 is the kind of thing Septembers in a lost season are made of, and a corner guy who doesn’t hit for power is especially fungible in the grand scheme of things. It’s a credit to the Giants’ minor league season and dip down to get a high average high on base guy at all, though.

Verdict: Pass through waivers.

Grant McCray

He hasn’t been able to make it happen. His MLB line as it stands is .175/.237/.332 in 240 PA (96 G). He’s hitting .155 this season with a 30% strikeout rate. He’ll turn 26 in December, so, it’s not over yet, and with 2 options available, he could plausibly have value to some MLB team out there, but he’s been outplayed by Drew Gilbert; and, with Victor Bericoto and Jonah Cox grabbing attention plus Casey Schmitt moonlighting as an outfielder, it doesn’t make sense for the Giants to continue to roster him. There are more important players to hold onto.

Verdict: Pass through waivers. He is more than likely claimed, but I can’t see a team trading for him, either.

Osleivis Basabe

Do the Giants want to keep Basabe over Christian Koss, Jesus Rodriguez, and the other infielders getting a moment in this final month? And what utility does he have once Casey Schmitt returns? While he had some big moments when nobody was watching, .202/.262/.353 in 131 PA (.209/.268/.335 in 225 MLB PA) doesn’t seem like something you fight for when it comes to a roster crunch.

Verdict: Release.

Scott Bandura

You can take some of the Turner Hill stuff and apply it here, but Bandura found a power stroke in the minors this season (.480ish slug across AA and AAA) and he’s two years younger. Bandura also has the speed, but a better pedigree (drafted by Giants versus undrafted). If you’re choosing between the two and between another left-handed hitting outfielder like McCray (who is already bullied out of CF by Jonah Cox and Drew Gilbert), Bandura probably comes out ahead still. Higher batting average, on base, then the speed and defense.

Verdict: Keep.

Shay Whitcomb

His potential upside is Christian Koss with more power, but he’s had trouble carrying his minor league success (.810 OPS) to the majors. If you’re talking about holding a 40-man spot for a guy who spent some time in the Korean League this season, then you’re talking about a team that’s desperate for talent, which isn’t the case for the Giants — even the 2026 team. They needed some warm bodies and looked around for those who don’t projected to be total embarrassments. Nary a d’Arnaud in the bunch.

Verdict: Release.

Brett Harris

The Other Shay Whitcomb?

Verdict: Release.

Nate Furman

I do tend to believe that front offices are much more inclined to dump guys they didn’t acquire and so Furman coming over in the Alex Cobb trade of 2024 would certainly make him a target; however, he’s been a high average guy in the minors and effectively been the kind of player the team wants going forward so I don’t think that applies in this situation. Also, he doesn’t turn 25 until next July. Even if he has a bad September, I don’t think they’re looking to push him off the roster this offseason.

Verdict: Keep.

Our final act: all those pitchers. Here’s where the count stands:

Current 60-day IL players kept: 12
Current 40-man players kept: 18
Players cut (running tally): 13
Players to be judged: 11
40-man spots available: 10

Tristan Beck

Oft-injured and not really effective (4.47 FIP in two seasons and 70.2 IP since a blood clot derailed his 2024 season). He turned 30 back in June and has spent most of this season unable to pitch in the majors due to injury and ineffectiveness (1.4 WHIP and 4.99 ERA in Triple-A).

Verdict: Release.

Joel Kuhnel

He was a warm body hired to help the team get to the end of the season. His 2.84 ERA in 6.1 innings is nice and he picked up the save in last night’s win over the Cardinals.

Verdict: Release.

Dylan Smith

Next year, he’ll be a 27-year old making the major league minimum who throws 95+ and has a 10.5 K/9. He’ll also have 1 option remaining. This isn’t hard.

Verdict: Keep!

Trent Harris

Dave Flemming and Javier Lopez rained superlatives down on him in last night’s game as well and he has been outstanding since his callup, a 2.33 ERA in 19.1 IP and — a 1.60 FIP — has been one of those in-season finds we expect the Giants to have every season. I’m sure unearthing treasures like this along the way was the plan going into the season, too. I would say he and Dylan Smith qualify.

Verdict: Keep!

Braxton Roxby

Miguel Mendez

Yunior Marte

I’m going to bunch these acquisitions together. These are players acquired by the new front office with options available and the right age to think that they still have upside (on top of not playing in the majors much).

Verdict: Keep.

Seth Lonsway

Duncan Davitt

Verdict: Keep. They’re not cutting these guys. Given the conversation in the comments below, I’m compelled to expound on this a little bit more. Lonsway has been org depth as a starter, essentially, for his entire Giants career, but all the while being occasionally good at minimizing walks, consistently good at limiting home runs, and frequently good at striking hitters out. His K/9 by MiLB season: 11.3, 7.9, 7.8, 8.2, 5.7… now this 5.7 is from his most recent season in the minors (2026) and at the age of 27. But all that signals to me is that the next step is to take him out of the rotation and see if he can swim as a reliever for a while.

Indeed, as a sinker-sweeper guy with a fastball that ranges 92-93, this would seem to be the kind of reliever the Giants have sought out recently. Now, is it the most effective profile? Maybe not, but as a cheaper, younger, optionable Matt Gage replacement? There might be something here, particularly if the strikeout rate gets a bounce from the new relief role.

It’s similar reasoning for Duncan Davitt. Young-ish for a reliever (he turns 27 in 6 days), optionable, and has a career 9.4 K/9 in the minors (449 IP) along with a 2.9 BB/9. The 1.2 HR/9 isn’t great, but it’s not terrible and with the Oracle Park factor, maybe it all works out. I think the Giants could go either way here, and I’m landing on keep if for no other reason than the Giants might want to keep some of their 40-man depth until better options present themselves.

Philip Abner

Reiver Sanmartin

Both have been solid, but I suspect the Giants will either cut 1 and keep the other or cut both of these lefty relievers. Problem is, I can’t figure out which one it should be, nor could I hazard a guess. Abner averages 90 mph with his fastball, but he’s 24 with multiple options. Sanmartin is more of a Matt Gage type. I have to imagine actual performance would matter a little, but at the same time, a roster crunch is a roster crunch.

If the Giants were to move on from both, that would leave a left-handed contingent of Matt Wilkinson, Carson Whisenhunt, Cesar Perdomo, Seth Lonsway, and Sam Hentges. With Whisenhunt likely out for all of 2027, it probably doesn’t make sense to shrink the number of lefty relievers on the roster.

So, having reasoned that all out, I think they stick with Abner, who is younger, has more options, and adds a different look out of the bullpen. Plus, they can feel good knowing that Sanmartin pitched well enough to find a job elsewhere.

Verdict: Keep Abner, cut Sanmartin.

That leaves 2 spots for these final two players. If I had my druthers, the team would cut them both, but…

Carson Seymour

He has done well for himself in transitioning to a reliever, and even though I think he’s a gas can with his penchant for giving up home runs — 14 in 62.2 MLB innings — I suspect the Giants might see a development success in the making a la Trent Harris.

Verdict: Keep (though, should be pass through waivers).

Jason Foley

Somehow, he still has an option remaining? He’s also arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason. Who knows how the system will change in a new CBA, but supposing it stays roughly the same, Foley oughtn’t be projected to get much more than the $2 million the Giants paid him this season. While an arb panel would take into consideration his prior track record (3.18 ERA in 189.1 IP from 2022-2024, +2.7 fWAR), he has been rather pedestrian (+0.1 fWAR, 4.15 ERA) in his platform season, two years removed from surgery.

Although — and this is a big, important note — he has a 3.63 ERA (3.21 FIP) since August 1st. In 16 appearances, he’s struck out 11 (though, walked 8) and allowed 0 home runs in 17.1 IP. I have to imagine those 28 saves he recorded in 2024 loom large for the Giants. Rather than drop Randy Rodriguez into the closer role to start the year, maybe Foley being an option to begin 2027 makes more sense?

Verdict: Keep.

So, there it is. I’ve whittled down 57 players for 40 spots to 40 players for 40 spots. To me, Keaton Winn, Carson Seymour, and Jason Foley look like possible cuts (either via trade during the 5-day window after the World Series or simply DFAing) which would free up 3 spots for prospects who’re Rule 5 eligible, and there’s probably a fourth to be gained from cleaning up some of the infield logjam. The power of DFAing for the purpose of sneaking through waivers shouldn’t be discounted. This might be the one offseason where it’s easier to do that because of all the other teams needing to make 40-man decisions related to both the lockout and Rule 5.

But, if you’ve made it this far, what do you think?

The Phillies travel to New York to begin a four-game series against the Mets on Thursday night.

Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies. The righthander has faced the Mets twice this season, with a 4.09 ERA to show for it.

The Mets will go with Nolan McLean. The second-year righty is 11-9 with a 3.24 ERA on the season.

Game time is 7:15 PM and will be nationally televised by FOX.