Worldwide Sports News

As the hot stove begins to warm up, Alex Anthopoulos quickly shut down Ronald Acuña Jr. trade rumors. He said the star outfielder will not be traded and there have been no calls involving an Acuña Jr. trade.

2027 is the final guaranteed year of Acuña’s contract with the Atlanta Braves. His deal includes a club option for 2028.

More Braves News:

Walt Weiss finished runner-up in the NL Manager of the Year race. Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers won his third consecutive Manager of the Year award.

Our 2026 player review series continues with Anthony Molina. 

MLB News:

The Detroit Tigers signed reliever Emilio Pagán to a one-year, $11M deal. 

The San Diego Padres agreed to a one-year, $1.85M deal with right-hander Ryan Weiss. The contract includes a team option for 2028.

Max Fried of the New York Yankees underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow. He is expected to be ready by Spring Training. 

Bob Boone, father of Aaron and Bret Boone, passed away at 78.

Is Manager of the Year the dumbest award in baseball?

I think it is.

For starters, no one cares about it. I mean no one. Can you name a single winner of the Manager of the Year Award of the past 10 years? Don’t even think about lying to me, you obviously cannot. And that’s a good thing. Baseball is a player’s game. This isn’t college hoops, where the ego-puffing men performatively screaming on the sideline are bigger stars than the players themselves. Baseball managers aren’t stars at all. They’re just kind of there. To belabor the sky metaphor, baseball managers are clouds, at best.

And because baseball is a player’s game — one that’s decided on the field instead of in the pages of a playbook — almost no one on the outside is even capable of evaluating the job a manager does. Managers don’t have elaborate styles of play they bring from one team to another. They don’t spend days designing defensive schemes that befuddle more talented teams. Their job is mostly to keep the clubhouse happy and pull a pitcher at the right moment. That’s just about it.

And because the job is so hard to evaluate from the outside, voting usually follows a predictable pattern: voters just give it to the manager of the team that had a better season than anyone expected. They do this despite the fact that we all know that, every single season, there will be flukey teams who get a little magic fairy dust sprinkled on them and make a surprising playoff run. That’s just how baseball works and, more often than not, those teams go right on back to being mediocre-to-bad the next season. So, e.g., we give the 2023 NL Manager of the Year to Skip Schumaker. After all, the 2022 Marlins only won 69 games, so Schumaker guiding the same team to 84 wins the next season obviously means he did an amazing job, right? Of course — just please try to ignore the fact that he must have forgotten how to manage the next year, because the same team with the same manager subsequently went 62-100 the very next season.

All of this is to say: I don’t really care that Chad Tracy didn’t win the American League Manager of the Year last night. He finished third, behind winner Will Venable of the White Sox and runner-up Kevin Cash of the Rays. Did either Venable or Cash truly do a better job than Tracy? No one knows. What they do know is that the Red Sox were predicted to make the playoffs before the season started, while the White Sox and Rays were not. Ergo, those managers must have done a great job.

But does anyone actually think that either Veneble or Cash had a harder job than Tracy had on the day he reported to Fenway Camden Yards for the first time? Would literally any manager in baseball have traded places with Tracy that day, as he took over a team that appeared dead in the water and replaced a popular World Series-winning manager, knowing he was likely to be fired himself at the end of the season? And, as for Venable, would anyone be surprised if his White Sox finish under .500 again in 2027? And, if they do, will any of the voters who deemed him the best manager in the American League in 2026 perhaps wonder if they made the wrong call?

No, they will not. You know why? Because they won’t ever think about the 2026 Manager of the Year Award ever again, because, as we established up top, literally no one cares about this award. At all.

So, congrats to Will Venable. My condolences to Chad Tracy. Now please, for the love of god, can Craig Breslow do something interesting so we have something real to talk about?

The race for the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes has begun, and the Dodgers are once again in the mix for the best free agent talent on the market.

While the left-hander will be stripped of his title as the reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner over the coming days, he is the ultimate envy of any team that can afford his services. In their pursuit of re-signing the team’s Game 1 starter of the postseason, the Dodgers will be meeting with Skubal, yet the details surrounding when and where the meeting will take place have yet to be disclosed, notes Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“We’ve been in touch with his camp, and our expectation is we’ll meet at some point,” [Brandon] Gomes told reporters, including MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas.

The Dodgers are competing with teams such as the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres in the hunt for Skubal, and the Mets have already scheduled a meeting with Skubal for next week, per Jorge Castillo of ESPN. Castillo notes that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns declined to comment on their pursuit of Skubal.

LAS VEGAS — The New York Mets are scheduled to meet with left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal, the prize of this offseason’s free agent class, next week in California, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

No player in the history of Major League Baseball has been handed a nine-figure salary for one year of service, but Dylan Hernandez of the California Post makes an outlandish proposal for the Dodgers to offer Skubal a one-year deal for $100 million.

They will have to offer Skubal enough money to forfeit the security of a longer deal. What about $100 million to pitch for them next year? Perhaps a player option or two after that? If nine figures for one season of baseball sounds expensive, consider the cost of not retaining Skubal.

Former Dodgers shortstop and 2020 World Series MVP Corey Seager could be finding greener pastures for 2027 and beyond, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Texas Rangers intend on trading Seager this offseason.

The Rangers, though, intend to explore moving Seager at the general managers’ meetings, according to people briefed on their intentions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

I have written a couple of articles regarding the bad bullpen of 2026, one focused on how good bullpens really do have a lot of correlation to winning teams, and the other about how the 2026 bullpen was one of the worst 21st century Cardinals bullpens. Now I would like to look at some options in free agency that St Louis could possibly go after in order to bolster the bad bullpen.

Aware that it is quite possible that the Cardinals will do absolutely nothing this offseason when it comes to free agency, I still think they should spend a little bit to stabilize the bullpen issue. The Cardinals rarely let their bullpen stink for long, so maybe they’ll actually sign a guy or two. There are many options on the market this offseason when it comes to relievers! If a reliever seems just really bad and not an option, I won’t mention them. I will however mention good options we probably won’t afford.

• Jason Adam: part of the amazing Padres bullpen, he is now available via free agency. He is a right handed FIP beater that had a 2.26 ERA and 3.77 xERA last season. The ugly FIPs make him look like replacement level fodder, but maybe there’s something there for the Cardinals. He might not be too expensive. While he’s always been an overperformer on FIP, there may be some concern about his 2026 season, as his FIP rates went even higher than usual. Still, his ERA works for me, and the xERA isn’t alarming. He is pretty old, however! Might be a risky signing. probably about $10 mil
• Tyler Alexander: the 32 year old lefty free agent from the Texas Rangers had a 3.33 xERA and 3.10 FIP in 2026. Seems like a good pickup to me! I’m unfamiliar with the player, but he seems like an option for the Cardinals. probably a $2 to $3 million one year deal
• David Bednar: 32 year old right handed pitcher will probably not be available to us, but it sure would be nice to have him with his career 3.03 ERA and 2.96 FIP. he probably gonna get paid
• Brock Burke: a 30 year old left handed pither from the Angels excellent bullpen posted a 2.30 ERA, 3.65 xERA, and 3.76 FIP. His career stats aren’t bad either. I definitely would not be opposed to this signing, except he walked too many batters in 2026. A career 3.14 BB/9 is good enough for me though.probably will get a multi year deal averaging around $4 million a year
• Andrew Chafin: the 36 year old lefty looks even more like Kenny Powers than Ryne Stanek did, and Chafin had much better run rates of 2.41 ERA and 3.46 FIP. However, he did walk more batters than Stanek did in 2026, and the past few years he’s been ballooning his career walk rate. I think I’d pass on Chafin.
• Taylor Clarke: the 33 year old righty seems like he wouldn’t be too expensive, but his rate stats are kind of all over the place in 2026 with a 2.96 ERA, 4.41 xERA, 3.85 FIP, and 4.28 xFIP. His career stats are not very good, so I think I’d pass, but maybe there’s something there, too. Hard to say. $3 to $4 millionone year
• Dietrich Enns: the 35 year old lefty has pitched in Korea for a significant part of his career, and was signed by Baltimore in 2026 where he had a major walk issue. He might be worth a look at though, with career rate stats of 3.86 ERA, 3.37 xERA, 3.57 FIP, and 4.14 xFIP. probably dirt cheap
• Kevin Ginkel: 32-year-old righty with a 4.12 ERA in 2026 might be available for a good deal, which I would accept given his career 3.59 xERA and 3.47 FIP. multi-year averaging $6 million, pass if not a good deal
• Brusdar Graterol: did a double take at that name! Sign this man just for that name, what what. That’s peculiar even for a baseball name! He’s only 28, throws right handed, and possesses a career 2.78 ERA, 3.06 xERA, 3.20 FIP, a 3.58 xFIP, and a 1.98 BB/9! Sign him, Bloom. probably dirt cheap
• Raisel Iglesias: 32 year old right handed reliever with a career 2.87 ERA, 3.12 xERA, 3.20 FIP, and 3.34 xFIP. Do it, Chaim! Too costly, however. Just kidding, Bloom!
• Pierce Johnson: a 35 year old righty coming from Atlanta with a declined mutual option is coming off a down season, but his career stats are 3.90 ERA, 3.85 xERA, 3.85 FIP, and 3.93 xFIP. Not bad. But maybe nothing to mess with unless he’s dirt cheap. Pass. could be gotten for a one year deal for $4 million or less, but probably a little overpriced
• Jakob Junis: another mid 30s pitcher with a declined option, Junis is a good example of a bullpen guy you probably can’t guess about how good they’ll be next season. Jakob may have figured something out though, his rate stats have been good over the last few years, ignoring his xERA. RHP probably 1 year around $3.5million
• Tyler Kinley: 35 year old righty with rate stats all over the place in his career, the definition of bullpen volatility. Not sure if they’ll see something with him, but I think I’d pass because the walk rate is definitely a concern. probably too costly
• Andrew Kittredge: Kitt is still a good reliever at age 36. The righty now is at 3.44 ERA, 3.66 xERA, 3.74 FIP, and 3.52 xFIP over the course of his career, and he was still good last year. He will probably get paid more than he’s actually worth, but if the price is right he would be a lot of fun to bring back. probably affordablebut tough to say
• Jonathan Loáisiga: a 32 year old right handed reliever with a career 3.30 ERA, 3.31 xERA, 3.65 FIP, and 3.71 xFIP. Seems like a no-brainer if the price is right! most likely way too expensive
• A.J. Minter: another lefty! Minter will surely be seeking a few years, but he’d probably be worth it with a career 3.15 ERA, 3.22 xERA, 3.04 FIP, and 3.55 xFIP! Somehow he keeps those babips against low. too expensive in all likelihood
• Adrian Morejon: the 27 year old left handed pitcher will be a tough sign for any team with a 2.33 xERA and 2.37 FIP in 2026, and a career 3.26 ERA. absolutely no way
• Steven Okert: 35 year old LHP who is coming off a career should confuse teams somewhat, but his career 3.41 ERA is no joke, and a career 3.83 FIP ain’t bad. Wouldn’t be bad pickup if he’s not too pricey. more than likely will be a multi year deal out of the Dewitt’s price point
• Emilio Pagan: the 35 year old RHP is a pretty damn good pitcher with a career 3.38 xERA! wants multiple years around $10 million a year, hard pass
• Evan Phillips: a 32 year old RHP with a career 3.37 ERA and 3.40 FIP will not be an easy sign. $9 million
• A.J. Puk: a 31 year old LHP with a 3.38 ERA and 4.51 FIP in 2026, and a career 3.15 xERA would be nice! probably dirt cheap
• JoJo Romero: still just 30 years old, the lefty might just come back to the birds and possesses a career 3.51 ERA and 3.86 FIP. JoJo has always been a FIP beater but he also outperforms his xERA consistently. Escape artist. Last season, he left over 80% of runners on base. mlbtraderumors projects a 2 year $13 million contractbut maybe he will be a little less pricey
• Joe Ross: the 32 year old righty has a career 3.58 ERA and 3.75 FIP. probably anaffordablemillion-dollar contract
• Ryan Thompson: the 34 year old righty has an incredibly consistent set of career stats: 3.67 ERA, 3.61 xERA, 3.64 FIP, and 3.76 xFIP. His year to year stats fluctuate quite a lot though! Not sure. His peak seasons are really good though. not cheap, not expensive, reliable
• Alex Vesia: a 30 year old lefty with excellent stats: 2.87 ERA, 3 xERA, 3.5 FIP, and 3.95 xFIP. He would be fine at Busch III! He will probably get a pretty damn good contract, though. way too expensive
• Ryan Yarbrough: the 34 year old lefty had a really good 2026 with a 3.69 ERA and 3.45 FIP. His career rate stats are all over 4.0 however. Seems too risky, unless he ends up signing for a good deal to try and duplicate his 2026. LHP probably could be had for around $3 million

There it is, an extensive or is that exhaustive rundown of possible bullpen options for the Cardinals. I would hope they could afford at least one! That bullpen could use some help, even if it’s just a little. The market has a ton of good lefties and a variety of good right handed pitchers.

While I understand the Cardinals are “hurting” financially and times is dangerous, I believe the 26 pitchers listed above could and would help the team at least somewhat. Cardinals fans at least deserve a decent bullpen if they are expected to tune in to every game and/or show up to buy tickets, merch, and overpriced food and drink. If they have a bad bullpen again, people will be headed for the exits early, and viewership will be down.

Considering the tight bank of the current incarnation of the Dewitts, and the happy farm developer Chaim Bloom, I would suggest they sign one off this shortlist just to keep the fans happy (ish):

• Tyler Alexander (LHP)
• Taylor Clarke (RHP)
• Jakob Junis (RHP)
• Andrew Kittredge (RHP)
• JoJo Romero (LHP)
• Joe Ross (RHP)
• Ryan Yarbrough (LHP)

Which one of those 7 would you sign?

I would also suggest the Cardinals sign a bargain-bin gamble relief pitcher from the following:

• Dietrich Enns (LHP)
• Brusdar Graterol (RHP)
• A.J. Puk (LHP)

I think if they unexpectedly wanted to sign a long-term reliever contract, Ryan Thompson wouldn’t totally baffle me on a three-year deal. But you wouldn’t really know what to expect year to year. Would only do it if they think they know why he’s been consistently inconsistent (*or is that the other way around?).

As you can see, if you wanted to bring back an old but really good bullpen arm, Kittredge is not a bad plan. Nor is Romero. But you probably can’t have both. The benefit of going back to Kitt is that there are a lot of left-handed options this offseason. Romero is younger and a more worthy investment, though, and there are plenty of righties to choose from. Romero + Graterol could be a heck of a deal!

2000 Music

In the year, 2000, in the year, TWO THOUSANDDDD

If you are looking to revisit Y2K, you’re in the right place! I have a lot of really cool albums for you to listen to. I will be sharing them over the coming weeks. To start out, here are some of my top rated bigger name picks:

• godspeed you black emperor! ‘Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antenna To Heaven’ underground punk rock orchestra’s magnum opus #postrock #canada
• Radiohead – ‘Kid A’ still no other album like it in other band’s or Radiohead’s catalog. A capture in time!
• yo la tengo – ‘And then nothing turned itself inside out’ mellow alt rock not quite shoegaze but not quite anything else… space rock, alternative, mellow cool
• Queens of the Stone Age – ‘Rated R’ top-notch soundtrack to your favorite bender weekend! #rocknroll
• Ween – ‘White Pepper’ Dean and Gene Ween at the top of their game! #altrock #psychedelicpunk

The year 2000 has so many really really good albums that I’m going to review Y2K in many installments! I see no other way! And maybe less albums will be easier to digest if you want to keep up. Check ‘em out, and thanks for reading! Let me know if my bullpen suggestions make sense.

Good morning, Purple Row!

Here’s what’s going on with the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball.

Rockies News & Links

Rockies GM Byrnes: Colorado ‘ready to be busy’ in uncertain offseason | The Denver Gazette

Kevin Henry is down in Las Vegas at the GM meetings and caught up with Josh Byrnes. The Rockies GM mainly talked about the team being ready to be busy over the next few weeks before the expected lockout.

Rockies Overlooked in 80 Free Agent Predictions Despite New Resources | Rockies on SI

Despite some financial freedom and many obvious needs, Laura Lambert laments the fact that Sports Illustrated’s free agent predictions didn’t include the Rockies at all.

’27 Rookie of the Year candidates — one from each team | MLB.com

Charlie Condon (No. 2 PuRP) is listed as the Rockies’ best option for a Rookie of the Year candidate next season, and if he can tap into his power and be productive, that may get him some buzz.

Affected by Altitude Episode 232: The Katz Out of the Bag | Rocky Mountain Rooftop

This week, Evan Lang and I discuss the news that came out from DNVR about the disconnect that led to Alon Leichman’s dismissal. We also dive into the hiring of Ethan Katz before rounding things out with some Arizona Fall League talk!

Around MLB

Bob Boone, champ with 1980 Phils and father of Aaron and Bret, dies at 78 | MLB.com

Baseball lost another one of its storied players with the passing of Bob Boone. Regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of his generation, Boone won seven Gold Gloves and had four All-Star Game selections over his 19-year career.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy wins unprecedented third consecutive Manager of the Year | Brew Crew Ball

Was there really any doubt that Pat Murphy wouldn’t win another Manager of the Year award? After leading the Brewers to the best record in baseball (and subsequently a World Series victory), Murphy becomes the first manager in MLB history to win three times in a row.

Will to win: Venable named AL Manager of the Year | South Side Sox

Meanwhile, Will Venable won Manager of the Year for the American League. Venable guided the White Sox to a playoff appearance, breaking a streak of three consecutive 100-loss seasons for Chicago, returning to the postseason for the first time since 2021.

MLB rumors: Mets to meet with Tarik Skubal, Rangers’ Corey Seager plan, plus Blue Jays, Cubs, Red Sox, more | CBS Sports

Mike Axisa has a nice roundup of rumors from the day. Among the news is that the Mets and Padres are interested in Tarik Skubal; both Chicago teams want to add starting pitchers, and the Red Sox are quite ready to make a commitment to Trevor Story at shortstop next season.

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

Happy Wednesday, everyone. MLB Awards season is in full swing. Kevin McGonigle netted the Rookie of the Year Award for the AL, to no one’s surprise, though there is the question of the two voters who gave him a second-place selection…. side-eyeing them. Then on Tuesday night we got the Manager of the Year Awards, and Pat Murphy three-peted, not a shock. We’ve also got some hot stove rumors to get into, specifically about Tarik Skubal and which teams are showing the most interest in the ace.

So let’s get right into it.

Detroit Tigers News

• Is Kevin McGonigle’s stellar rookie season just the beginning?
• Those who watched McGonigle’s rise to greatness know exactly what it took to get him there. ($)
• All aboard the hype train.

• Got an eye on 2036 already.

• Skip gets in on the action.

• Watch the moment McGonigle realizes he’s won.

MLB News

• What is Cooper Pratt going to do now?
• The Mets will be meeting with Tarik Skubal, reportedly.
• A 2027 Rookie of the Year candidate for each team.
• What happened to slugging in the postseason?
• How do players feel about a free agency deadline? ($)
• Michael Wacha wasn’t able to resist giving up home runs the way he used to this past season.
• Which 5 teams are on Tarik Skubal watch at the GM Meetings?
• The Dodgers have nabbed Pedro Guerrero from the Marlins to be their new hitting coach.
• Some underappreciated 2026 All-Stars.
• Could the Rangers move Corey Seager this offseason? ($)
• Breaking down the merits of all six Manager of the Year candidates.
• And here are your Manager of the Year winners.
• Recapping all the in-the-zone hit-by-pitches this year.
• Some hot stove updates for the week.
• Adrian Morejon deserves to make bank… just not as a starter.
• Why did the Mariners go with a rookie manager for the next season?
• A Hall of Fame case for Joe Maddon.
• How can the Mets find their way back to contention?
• While the NL Rookie of the Year wasn’t as clear-cut, he was still just as deserving.

• Changes coming for the White Sox.

• RIP to a Phillies great.

LAS VEGAS — A clouded haze hung over the first tentpole event of the MLB offseason, and no, it wasn’t the cigarette and cigar smoke on the casino floor of the ARIA Resort and Casino, where the league’s annual general managers meetings continued Tuesday.

Nobody knows what the sport will look like come Dec. 2, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires and owners are expected to lock out the players until the sides can come to an agreement on a new CBA as the league pushes for a salary cap.

Including the teams’ top executives.

“You can sense the uncertainty,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said following his second day of meetings with players’ agents and other teams’ brass.

The GM meetings rarely offer anything more than an appetizer for the rest of the winter. But the anticipated lockout means there will be no winter meetings, the typical main course. If a new CBA hasn’t been ratified by 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, teams will be barred from making any major-league transactions or even contacting players or their representatives.

In other words, the stove will hardly have time to heat up before the gas gets shut off.

Posey possesses a minority ownership stake in the Giants, in addition to his title as the team’s top baseball official, but said that he would “not [be] a part of any of the bargaining.”

He is more focused on turning around a team that lost 97 games last season. In the next three weeks, he will try to add pitching, pitching and more pitching. The Giants’ 4.34 ERA as a staff ranked 23rd out of 30 teams, while their strikeout-to-walk ratio was fourth from the bottom.

“Obviously the bullpen for us was a big talking point with our struggles last year,” Posey said. “So our focus is going to be trying to improve the rotation.”

With only Logan Webb, Landen Roupp and Adrian Houser in the fold, the Giants are expected to target at least one free-agent starting pitcher. And after going most of last season without a defined closer and their most electric late-inning option, Randy Rodriguez, returning from Tommy John surgery, at least one high-leverage reliever is also on their shopping list.

But can Posey realistically get anything done before hitting the pause button?

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t. I wish I could say definitively, but I can’t.”

The Giants have had about six weeks to evaluate their roster and the upgrades available to them in free agency, which officially kicked off last Monday. They have a list of priorities.

Given the circumstances, those talks could move more aggressively than in other winters.

“Probably, yeah,” Posey said. “But there’s a lot of variables that go into before you get to a final yes or no. … It’s interesting having different conversations. You get some agents that are much more direct with what their expectations are and what their players’ expectations are, versus some [who] are just a little bit more guarded and not going to give you as much.”

When it comes to bullpen help, Posey said his “preference would be more than one.” However, Posey added that the Giants may shy away from free agents with a qualifying offer attached, which would require them to part with a draft pick, potentially limiting their late-inning options.

Eight players received qualifying offers, including arguably the two best relief arms on the market in Adrian Morejon and David Bednar. The Orioles also extended one to Trevor Rogers, one of the starting pitchers who might have piqued the Giants’ interest.

“I think it’s gonna be harder for us” to sign anyone from that group, Posey said.

Posey, a three-time world champion, knows better than anyone that the Giants’ results weren’t up to snuff last season. He’s now on the clock to turn it around for 2027.

And this winter, time only seems to be ticking faster.

“I think we have to be realistic with where we are right now,” Posey said. “I do think we underperformed. … I do think we can contend. I’m also realistic in knowing we lost 97 games last year, and we have to be willing to do some things differently.”

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David Lesky looks at what Kansas City Royals extending outfielder Jac Caglianone could look like, but there is important context outside the numbers.

I don’t think we can pretend there aren’t still holes in Caglianone’s game. We don’t really know where his long-term defensive home will be. The eye test and the metrics showed he was a much-improved right fielder early in the year, but when he shifted to first base for a bit while Vinnie Pasquantino was hurt, he struggled there and then struggled again in the outfield upon his return. Does that suggest the improved defense was a small sample, or that if they left him alone, he’d figure it out? He’s not a bad athlete. He doesn’t have great sprint speed, but his arm is such a weapon that it almost feels like a shame to waste it at first base.

But his positional ambiguity certainly makes him a tougher case when looking at comps. I’ll tell you right now that Caglianone’s team will want to market him as a right fielder while the Royals would save money if they viewed him as a first baseman. Since this would be a negotiation between team and player, I don’t think it’ll get to a point where they need to present that, but the numbers are different for a corner outfielder vs. a first baseman.

Baseball America ranks Royals prospect Zion Rose as the hottest AFL prospect over the past week. Rose was also named AFL Hitter of the Week for his performance.

It’s always exciting when recent first-round picks or international signings make early-career appearances in the Arizona Fall League. The Royals have provided prospect hounds following the Fall League with a double dose, thanks to Angeibel Gomez and Zion Rose. The latter had his best week of the AFL season, as he reached base 12 times in 20 plate appearances and stole six bases without being caught. Rose has stood out for his ability to get on base and put pressure on the defense with his speed. He’s struggled against velocity at times in AFL play but, overall, he’s been highly productive, hitting .328/.494/.517 with two home runs in 15 games. Rose ranks sixth in on-base percentage, eighth in OPS and fifth in steals. In many ways, those marks perfectly encapsulate Rose’s strengths as a player.

MLB.com names pitcher Lucas Braun as Kansas City’s 2027 Rookie of the Year candidate.

Braun’s stuff is never going to wow anyone, but he’s spent the past three years at the upper levels and is ready for a shot. He scuffled a bit after getting dealt from the Braves to the Royals at the Trade Deadline, but he’s been a very durable starter, topping 140 IP twice in the last two years (over 130 IP this past season) and could be a very solid inning-eating back-end starter in 2027.

Royals Keep’s Brian Shrum argues southpaw Gregory Soto would be a good free agent fit.

When hitters did manage to put the ball in play against him, they struggled to lift it, as shown by Soto’s 46.1% ground-ball rate. The Royals have a highly capable defensive infield backed by Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey and Vinnie Pasquantino, who are all built to maximize a ground-ball pitcher’s effectiveness. Putting a heavy sinker lefty in front of Kansas City’s talented defensive infield is a great recipe for quick, efficient outs.

While premier closing pitchers and late-inning bullpen arms demand high-dollar contracts, Soto sits in a sweet spot as an impactful yet realistic target. Soto will likely fetch a multi-year contract somewhere in the range of $8-$10 million per season this winter. If the Royals want the opposite of what happened to them last season with the bullpen, making Soto an offer would be a step in the right direction.

FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens looks at what changed around Royals starter Michael Wacha as the home runs spiked in 2026.

The point I was trying to make isn’t the specific values; it’s that the biggest change in Wacha’s home run suppression was not his home park but the change in contact allowed relative to what you’d expect from the shape and location of his pitches.

There’s no reason to expect anyone to be as good at this skill as Wacha was in 2024 and 2025. For example, he wasn’t nearly that good at the skill in the previous years of his career, when his xbotHR and actual home runs allowed were roughly equal. So if you’re forecasting how many homers Wacha will allow next year, you probably shouldn’t ascribe some kind of outlier contact suppression value. And in fact, Steamer projects him for 28 homers allowed in 2027, and it projected him for 26 this year. Maybe I was wracking my brain for reasons Wacha was beating the odds when the real reason was just random variation and short-term swings that don’t stick in the long run; both my breakdown and Steamer’s projections sure seem to think that way, at least.

Kings of Kauffman’s Matthew Swigonski argues the Royals should feel some déjà vu right now.

“Our outfield hasn’t been as productive as we needed it to be over the last two or three years,” Picollo said ahead of the 2025 GM Meetings. “We’re back at it again, trying to figure things out.”

Well, a year later and Picollo and the Royals find themselves in the same position. The team’s outfield graded out as one of the weakest aspects of the entire roster this year. Outside of Jac Caglianone, the Royals’ outfield offered the team very little in terms of offensive production throughout the 2026 season. That doesn’t mean that Picollo didn’t try to make changes last offseason. He just didn’t make the right changes.

Lance Brozdowski makes the case for former Royals pitcher Kris Bubic landing with the Tampa Bay Rays on a two-year deal worth $28 million.

His changeup has elite vertical separation from his four-seamer and doesn’t sacrifice zone rate in doing so. In 2025, it had a 39% whiff rate and a 68% ground-ball rate. He mixes that with an ability to create depth at velocity on his breaking balls. He’s throwing both his sweeper and short slider ~1 mph harder than the average for a lefty starter and generating 2-4” more drop. Neither of those pitches has performed as well as the underlying shapes indicate, but they’re both good offerings.

It’s going to take a risk-tolerant team to pay Bubic, but there are several of those in MLB. Teams like the Dodgers and Rays have shown a tendency to embrace variance with past deals. The “what do you get when you win” with Bubic is better than many of the arms priced below $15 million per year. That said, I do think Clemens’ $17 million per year is a bit inflated for a pitcher with his health track record. A 110-inning, 3.50-ERA season with strong peripherals will create surplus value. Anything better could pay off this contract in one season.

An Adalberto Mondesi update? In 2026? The Athletic talked about the former Kansas City infielder, now 31.

Despite last appearing in a game in 2022, infielder Adalberto Mondesí is attempting a comeback. Mondesí, 31, recently started playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. Over the past few years, lower-body injuries played a role in derailing his career.

The San Diego Padres are targeting multiple Japanese-born players as acquisitions via free agency or trade this offseason.

The Atlanta Braves are reportedly not interested in moving Ronald Acuña Jr. this offseason.

The Athletic reports the Los Angeles Angels search for a new head of baseball operations is akin to speed dating as they cast a wide net.

Milwaukee Brewers players recount the wisdom, wit, and humor of their manager Pat Murphy.

The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen looks under the hood of Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle’s Rookie of the Year campaign.

FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski sets the table for ZiPS in 2027, reminding users it “isn’t mathemagical.”

Joe Posnanski looks at the history and meaning behind the 60 feet 6 inches pitching distance.

Where do the Minnesota Vikings go after a horrendous Monday Night Football showing?

The NFL trade deadline is seeing some more juice in recent years.

Sunlife U.S. and the Royals run down another year of Royal Moves, a four-week wellness program designed to help kids embrace health and fitness.

Missouri is struggling with support from hunters to monitor the spread of chronic wasting disease among the state’s white-tailed deer population.

One Iowa farm made an unorthodox shift with the help of The Transfarmation Project.

University of Kansas Athletics continues to not disclose how much they pay their student-athletes, despite multiple challenges or requests for information.

Today’s song of the day is Frostbite by Waylon Wyatt.

My note on today:

As you read this on November 11, 2026, today marks Veterans Day. The day falls on this date each year to remember the end of World War 1, 108 years ago. “The war to end all wars” formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the Armistice of Compiègne. That time period and the people who shaped it feel so far away, but people around the world still recognize Veterans Day or an equivalent holiday to mark the end of this war.

There is a difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day; just remember. Veterans Day recognizes the living and deceased among us who served in wartime or peacetime. I remember in elementary school, there at St. George Elementary, old World War II veterans would come and talk to the class or help us with remembrances in the days leading up to Veterans Day. Like many children, I imagine, I thought those veterans would always be around. I knew World War II was bad, so they could make it through anything. But I think of veterans from that era, including the Korean War, and none are still here. All taken by old age despite dodging the reaper on foreign shores decades before. That feeling has some reality, as of the 15.8 million veterans the U.S. Census Bureau reported back in 2023, only 0.6%, or 94,800, were from World War II.

I remember them so vividly not because of medals or scars or what rank they were. There was a light in their eyes when they spoke about what they could to young ears, trying to paint a grim and deadly scene through PG-rated lenses. To them, I think Charles Dickens’ opening to A Tale of Two Cities is appropriate. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The light I talked about illuminated the parts they may have taken for granted: the brotherhood they never found again, the life purpose that they never quite reached, or the sanity and well-being they had before going into a war-torn setting.

 I wonder if that will ever be me one day. This Veterans Day marks my last of active-duty service, after joining the Navy in January 2015 and separating this month. It is an uncertain time, but one that I am willing to enter and happy to find who Jacob Milham is outside MC1 Milham.

Will I be the one who sits in the diner booth, letting my coffee go cold as I reminisce about my days at Diego Garcia? How will I remember my destroyer days, from earning my sea legs to telling the stories of Sailors from all walks of life? Will I be the plankowner who returns to CVN 79 long after the PCU title is swapped for USS, that of a commissioned vessel? The answer is that I don’t know. But I do know that I ponder this and already know I am not the only one out there who has faced this uncertainty or these questions.

Being able to look on the calendar and see when I will move from one side of the aisle to another, I know this: talk to a veteran you know. Don’t assume anything; don’t expect a star-spangled story that is akin to a Prime Video show. Just ask them what they remember the most from service, and listen. Have a conversation with them. Let that light come back to their eyes for a moment, and you just might learn a thing or two about a thing or two.

To all the veterans out there, may you feel seen, heard, and cared for this Veterans Day. You have come from all walks of life to serve a purpose, while facing adversity and strife both abroad and at home. Reach out to your battle buddies, shipmates, squadmates, and those you served alongside, no matter the setting.

This day can be emotionally charged. If today or ever veterans in your life need help, call 988, then press 1, or text 838255 for free, confidential support 24/7, 365 days a year. You can find more information at https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/.

Good morning.

• Awards season has started and Brewers manager Pat Murphy won the National League Award for the third season in a row. That’s a record. White Sox manager Will Venable took home American League honors.
• The Rookie of the Year Awards went out on Monday and Reds first baseman Sal Stewart got the NL nod and Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle won the AL honors.
• The AL award wasn’t controversial, as McGonigle got 28 of 30 first-place votes. Still, Jordan Shusterman explains why he voted for Guardians left-hander Parker Messick.
• Cody Stavenhagen talks to the coaches and others who know McGonigle best about what makes him great. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Mark Sheldon asks if the Reds will sign Stewart to a long-term extension.
• The NL Rookie race had more disagreement, as Stewart got 20 of 30 first-place votes. Andrew Trednnick explains why Mets starter Carson Benge should have won.
• The Athletic’s Keith Law was one of the ten who didn’t vote for Stewart and he explains his vote for Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Matt Kelly ranks every Rookie of the Year winner. He seems to have forgotten Henry Rowengartner.
• Andrew Simon writes that by fWAR’s estimation, at least, 2026 was the best year for rookies ever.
• Michael Baumann notes that Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt had a very good rookie season and earned a long-term extension. But Pratt is not going to be the Brewers long-term shortstop, so what else could he do?
• Mike Axisa predicts the 2027 Rookie of the Year candidates.
• The Cy Young Awards will be handed out today and here’s the case for each of the six candidates.
• Before we get to all the speculation about the Hot Stove market, the Tigers have signed reliever Emilio Pagan to a one-year, $11 million deal. I think that’s the first major league deal of the season. Or at least the first major, major league deal. But not that major.
• Bob Nightengale has five executives to watch and ten players who could get dealt.
• Mark Feinsand has five teams to watch during the General Manager Meetings.
• There is this problem with the trade market, however:

• Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo have various tidbits from the GM Meetings, including the market for free agent Tarik Skubal. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Bob Nightengale argues that if the Dodgers want Skubal back, he’s going back to the Dodgers. And he can’t think of any reason the Dodgers wouldn’t want him back.
• Orioles team president Mike Elias said that the team is very unlikely to trade any of their “core” players. Now define “core players.”
• On the other hand, Ranger team president Chris Young said the Rangers are “open-minded” about trading anyone.
• Ken Rosenthal posits that it would be very difficult—but not impossible—for the Rangers to trade Corey Seager. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Braves team president Alex Anthopolous said Atlanta will not trade star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. There have been lots of rumors that they’d consider it, and he said he doesn’t know who came up with that. It always seemed far-fetched to me as well.
• Michael Baumann thinks that any team should want to sign left-hander Adrián Morejón, but whoever signs him should use him as a multi-inning reliever, not a starter. Or a closer, for that matter.
• Mark Feinsand gets some scouting reports on NPB Triple-Crown winner Teruaki Sato.
• Yankees GM Brian Cashman responded to the criticism of the team coming from fans, the media and even former players.
• Yankees pitcher Max Fried had surgery to remove some bone spurs from his elbow. The team says he should be ready for Spring Training which to tell you the truth, doesn’t tell us much about Fried’s recovery schedule.
• Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said he and the team is disappointed in outfielder Anthony Santander after he shared anti-Muslim social media posts. Atkins said he’s spoke to Santander and told him to address the matter publicly.
• One of the new Padres’ owners said that the Padres are about “inclusion.” But then he added “not in a woke sort of way,” which just means everyone is likely to take offense to his statement. Kurt Badenhausen with the story.
• Jared Greenspan has the best pure skills available on the free-agent market.
• Matthew Roberson has his 2026 Underappreciated All-Stars.
• Ben Clemens dives deep into Royals pitcher Michael Wacha losing his superpower of preventing home runs in 2026. Wacha had kept his fly ball-to-home run ratio quite low over the past few years, until last year.
• Sad news as former All-Star catcher Bob Boone has died at 78. Boone was one of three generations of major leaguer players as his dad Ray and his sons Bret and Aaron were all major leaguers. Our condolences go out to Boone’s friends and family.
• And finally, the United States Postal Service announced that they will issue a Willie Mays stamp in 2027.

Good morning, baseball fans!

With today being a holiday, I thought we could take a look at the behind the scenes footage from Mike Krukow’s final broadcast for the San Francisco Giants.

The 2026 season was hard to watch, quite literally in multiple ways. But there was always one saving grace, as there always has been for the team in my lifetime. And that was the wonderful broadcasts from Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. And eras have to end, even when we don’t want them to. And we had to say goodbye to Mike Krukow on the call at the end of this season. That hurt way more than anything else the organization did to us this year. Because Krukow has always felt like part of the family. Like part of every family that enjoyed Giants baseball broadcasts. We’ve filled our homes with his familiar voice and enjoyed his sense of humor and anecdotes for decades.

So today, let’s watch the behind the scenes of his final broadcast.