It’s now confirmed that, despite not making the team out of camp, Jacob Fowler will start for the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators. In a weird twist of fate, Fowler will play the game he probably would have played had he not been sent back down to the Laval Rocket. While the youngster had a good training camp, veteran Samuel Montembeault bounced back from a dreadful season, forcing the organization to keep him as the backup.
Unfortunately for the Becancour native, however, he sustained an injury at practice on Wednesday, which ruled him out for Thursday’s tilt. Habs VP of communications Chantal Machabee told the media the netminder would meet with doctors Thursday night, and the team will provide an update after that.
Fowler has played two games in the AHL this season and shone brightly, allowing only three goals in 120 minutes, for a 1.53 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. Last season, the Florida native played 17 games with the Canadiens and posted a 9-6-2 record, a 2.43 GAA, and a .908 SV.
The goaltender won’t be the only one making his debut, as Adam Engstrom will enter the lineup, and Jayden Struble will be scratched. The Swede will likely join the third pairing alongside Arber Xhekaj. Don’t read too much into the fact that Struble is the one making way; coach Martin St-Louis said he was coming out of the lineup because someone had to make room for Engstrom. After the youngster sat the first three games, it made sense to let him back on the ice.
St-Louis didn’t give an update on what his lines will look like, but it stands to reason that Zachary Bolduc should get a chance in the top six after Kirby Dach failed to impress in his audition to fill in for Ivan Demidov on Tuesday. Oliver Kapanen did not take part in the optional skate, and there was no new information on his health, suggesting Florian Xhekaj will be in the lineup for a second game in a row.
During this off-season, former Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson reunited with the Vegas Golden Knights on a one-year, $1,638,330 contract in free agency. This was after he had 13 goals and 31 points in 78 games split between the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames last season.
Now, after a pretty quiet 2025-26 campaign, the former Sabres forward is having a strong start to his second stint with the Golden Knights.
In four games so far this season with Vegas, Olofsson has recorded four goals and one assist. This included the former Sabres forward scoring two goals in the Golden Knights' recent contest against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 6.
With numbers like these, it is clear that Olofsson is impressing early on with Vegas. If the former Sabres forward keeps this kind of scoring up, he would end up being a very good value signing for the Golden Knights.
Olofsson was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Sabres, 181st overall. In 314 games over six seasons with the Sabres from 2018-19 to 2023-24, he posted 90 goals, 92 assists, and 182 points. This included him scoring a career-high 28 goals and posting 40 points in 75 games for Buffalo in 2022-23.
Former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jonas Johansson got a brief return to the NHL this week.
Johansson was recalled by the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday after starting goaltender Linus Ullmark left Monday’s game with an undisclosed injury. The 31-year-old spent the night on Ottawa’s bench as Samuel Ersson made 31 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
His stay in the NHL didn’t last long. Johansson was reassigned to AHL Belleville on Wednesday, suggesting Ullmark’s injury may not be as serious as initially feared. At the very least, Ullmark appears likely to back up Ersson when Ottawa faces the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, with a return to the crease also possible.
Star defenseman Cale Makar following a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on October 3.
For Johansson, it was a quick trip back to the NHL after putting together a solid start to the season in Belleville. He is 1-1 with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in two appearances.
Johansson is no stranger to the NHL, though his results at the highest level have been inconsistent. He spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, going 32-23-10 with a 3.26 goals-against average and a save percentage below .900 during that span.
Before his time in Tampa Bay, Johansson spent parts of three seasons with the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He went 10-3-2 in 15 NHL appearances with Colorado, posting a 2.63 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
The Avalanche originally acquired Johansson after he was drafted 61st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Draft. He also spent time in the Sabres organization before eventually finding his way to Colorado.
Johansson’s latest NHL stint may have lasted only one game, but for a goaltender trying to work his way back into the league, even a short recall is a reminder that opportunities can come quickly.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 07: Manager Dave Roberts celebrates defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Wednesday’s win was also the 72nd career postseason win for Roberts, surpassing Tony La Russa for second-most in MLB history.
“It’s special,” Roberts said on Monday night in Atlanta. “I have a lot of respect for Tony and the managers that have done what I’m doing; they’ve done it for a long time.”
Roberts is now a dozen wins behind Joe Torre for the most postseason wins ever.
Roberts has done all this in 11 seasons at the helm of the Dodgers, and his 11th season isn’t finished yet. Torre managed a total of 29 seasons in the majors, though 76 of his 84 postseason wins came in his dozen years with the New York Yankees.
Modern managers have more opportunities to amass postseason wins, with both the wild card round and Division Series. Plus, League Championship Series before 1985 were only best-of-5 instead of best-of-7, making in harder for earlier managers to pile up the October victories. So here is every MLB manager with at least 30 postseason wins, broken down by series.
Manager
Postseason wins
World Series
LCS
Division Series
Wild Card
Joe Torre
84
21
29
34
Dave Roberts
72
16
24
27
5
Tony La Russa
71
13
34
24
Bobby Cox
67
11
30
26
Dusty Baker
57
9
21
25
2
Bruce Bochy
57
16
20
17
4
Terry Francona
44
11
15
16
2
Jim Leyland
44
5
16
23
Casey Stengel
37
37
A.J. Hinch
36
7
9
15
5
Sparky Anderson
34
16
18
Joe Maddon
32
5
9
16
2
Tommy Lasorda
31
12
16
3
Joe McCarthy
30
30
All of Casey Stengel’s 37 wins came in the World Series, and the same for Joe McCarthy’s 30 wins in the Fall Classic.
If we look at a more modern era, since the League Championship Series has been around since 1969, here are the most postseason wins in just the World Series and LCS combined:
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 07: Los Angeles shortstop Mookie Betts (50) reacts following the conclusion of the NLDS game 4 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on October 7th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Guardians 9, White Sox 3 (BOX SCORE) (CHW leads 2-1)
Jo Adell struck out three times in game 1 of this series, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. He had a mammoth game on Wednesday, driving in three runs with a triple and showing exactly why the Guardians went and got him at the deadline. His three-bagger along with another three-bagger from Jose Ramirez kept the Guardians out in front and extended their season by at least one more game as the White Sox look to put it away at home tonight at 8:00.
It truly was great seeing Chris Sale deal for at least the first portion of his outing Tuesday, even until Playoff Kiké Hernandez emerged and took him out of the park. On Wednesday, the Braves sure looked like they were going to make this series even more interesting with a run in the first inning, as they also put the pressure on Tyler Glasnow with walks and got to the bullpen in the fifth. Their own Tyler (Mahle) pitched 6 1/3 solid innings, but then Andy Pages put the game – and the series – away in the seventh. I keep seeing “this lockout going to hit hard if the Dodgers win the Series again” and I honestly think people saying that are kind of right.
Happy Yankees elimination day to you and yours. There are 2009 reasons to love the result of this series, but you also can’t help but wonder how good the Red Sox would have done against this dynamic Tampa pitching staff. Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa. Jr., though, did what the Sox couldn’t; they took Max Fried out of the short porch twice. And speaking of that short outfield, Anthony Volpe hit a routine pop fly… I mean, a double straight into a fan’s hands with two men on. The crowd erupted, as they thought the game had become a tie on a play that started with the Yankees’ win probability at just 24%. That was not the case, as it was ruled fan interference (and was likely going to come about six inches short of the wall anyway) and Spencer Jones would unceremoniously strike out in the next at-bat and leave Volpe stranded. Another postseason . Cue Big Papi:
Even though seeing Xander Boegarts, Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler play in postseason ball was fun, I like this Brewers team that just finds ways to beat teams. That Misiorowski outing against the Dodgers is going to be appointment viewing. Jackson Chourio has struggled in October but his single to score Garrett Mitchell made a big difference. Aaron Ashby, who feels like he’s linked to the Red Sox due to how many rumor wires I’ve had to read in the last decade that involve him, coming out of the pen and pitching three hitless propelled the Brewers to an NLCS berth. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position Wednesday, but the win didn’t need to be flashy.
Cadillac driver rode between Malaysia and Singapore
Bottas says four-day trip helped him acclimatise
Valtteri Bottas has revealed the details of an incident-packed 418km bike ride including encounters with snakes, being chased by dogs and the eerie atmosphere of riding through the jungle at night as the Cadillac driver cycled between Malaysia and Singapore this week.
The 37-year-old is a keen cyclist and after a suggestion from his girlfriend, the Australian Olympic cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, he decided to take on the challenge of riding from the last round in Sepang near Kuala Lumpur to this weekend’s grand prix on the street circuit in Singapore, under his own steam.
It may sound like one of the made-up crazy facts, but cheese rolling is an actual sport in England. Citizens would gather at the top of an incline, send cheese wheels rolling down, and then run along with their cheese. The festival is held annually in Gloucester.
The Aztecs invented popcorn.
Originally, they used this as an ornament and was used in headdresses. This ornament would be used as a way to praise their god Tlaloc, the god of maize and fertility.
The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head.
Praying mantises are the only known insects able to rotate their heads from side to side.
The player he is now drove in the runs that sank the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night and sent the Dodgers on their way to a 4-1 victory in Game 4 of their National League Division Series.
“Tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Andy picked us up huge with a big hit.”
The best-of-five series over, Pages walked around the visiting clubhouse at Truist Field in a commemorative gray shirt that was soaked with cheap sparkling wine and beer. A pair of goggles covered his forehead.
“Special,” he said. “Special.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andy Pages speaks to the media during a press conference after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
The journey here started a year ago, when Pages batted just .078 in the postseason. By Game 5 of the World Series, he was on the bench.
But Pages said he considers that World Series to be a wonderful memory, and not just because he made a game-saving catch in Game 7 as a defensive replacement.
“Because we won,” he said.
And rather than sulk over not starting the last three games of the World Series, Pages decided to use his failures to guide his training.
To be the kind of player who could be trusted in big games, Pages figured, he had to become a more selective hitter.
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) hits a two-run RBI-single during the seventh inning in Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Colin Hubbard
Improving his eye by stepping in against an artificial pitching machine called a Trajekt Arc, Pages made his first All-Star team this year.
A broken hand in late August nearly derailed his season, but Pages did what he could to remain sharp. Before he was able to swing a bat again, Pages was stepping in against the Trajekt Arc again.
Pages returned for the final week of the regular season and batted .333, which is why what happened next was shocking.
In the first two games of the NLDS, Pages was a combined 0-for-7. What was worse than the numbers was how he looked. He looked lost. He looked desperate.
At this point, manager Dave Roberts acknowledged he was concerned.
However, Roberts said, “This is one of those things where I’m gonna continue to give Andy leash. I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team.”
Pages rewarded Roberts with a two-hit performance in the Dodgers’ Game 3 win.
In Game 4, Pages stepped into the batter’s box with the game on the line.
Seventh inning. Two outs. Bases loaded. Game tied, 1-1. Fireballer Ryan Suarez on the mound.
Pages worked a full count.
Suarez threw him a 99.7-mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and Pages banged it up the middle.
Two runs scored, and the Dodgers were suddenly ahead, 3-1.
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) celebrates after hitting a two-run RBI-single during the seventh inning in Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
“I was waiting for that moment,” Pages said. “I prepared a long time for that moment, and thanks to God I was able to get the result.”
He prepared for the moment. He dreamed of the moment.
But he didn’t try to visualize it.
“I think that when you think too much about something, it doesn’t happen,” he said. “You have to let things happen.”
Did he ever.
Redemption, evolution, call it whatever you want.
Pages finally had his October moment in the batter’s box.
This season is shaping up to be the most interesting Rookie of the Year race in a long time. The intense debate about who should have been the top pick in last June's NBA Draft now carries over to the Rookie of the Year race.
Will No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa in Washington win? Darryn Peterson in Utah? Cameron Boozer in Memphis? Or could we see Caleb Wilson in Chicago, Darius Acuff Jr. in Sacramento or Brayden Burries in Milwaukee rise up and grab the award? It's going to be a fascinating race, and we asked a panel of NBCSports.com writers to make their predictions. Here they are, but first, here are the current Rookie of the Year betting odds, via DraftKings:
Cameron Boozer +300 Darryn Peterson +330 Caleb Wilson +350 AJ Dybantsa +425 Darius Acuff +1200
NBA 2026-27 Rookie of the Year
Kurt Helin, NBC lead NBA writer: Darryn Peterson, Utah Jazz
Darryn Peterson won me over at Summer League. It wasn't simply his explosive athleticism — something not displayed enough at Kansas for a variety of reasons — or his confidence. It was the variety in his game and the mental adjustments he was making — he figures things out quickly, and that processing speed will suit him in his NBA career.
There are good reasons to pick Cameron Boozer to win this award: He has the most polished game of the top rookies and, more importantly, he's going to have opportunities with the ball in his hands in Memphis. A lot of what I like about Peterson you also can see in AJ Dybantsa, but will he get enough opportunities on a team with Trae Young and contract-year Anthony Davis? The argument against Peterson also is the opportunity one, but I think his fit between Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George is more natural, and Peterson is going to get his chances. In a close race, the fact Peterson isn't just putting up numbers but should be doing so in meaningful games for a Jazz team ready to be back in the playoffs will put him over the top.
Raphielle Johnson, NBC Sports Fantasy basketball lead analyst: Caleb Wilson, Chicago Bulls
Win-loss record rarely comes into the equation when evaluating Rookie of the Year options, as the early favorites are drafted to poorly performing teams. Individually, Wilson is in a position to flourish immediately. Sharing the court with Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis should give the former North Carolina forward ample opportunities to attack defenses in transition, and he didn't get to show his full skill set in college. AJ Dybantsa has some vets to share the offensive opportunities with in Washington, while Darryn Peterson isn't guaranteed to start immediately in Utah. Memphis' Cameron Boozer may be Wilson's biggest threat in the ROY race, and Sacramento's Darius Acuff Jr. is also in a spot to take on a prominent role immediately.
Jay Croucher, NBC Sports Lead Betting Analyst: Cameron Boozer, Memphis Grizzlies
Boozer projects as the most "pro-ready" of the top picks and also the one with the most immediate path to usage. AJ Dybantsa and Darren Peterson step into teams with established high-usage veterans. Boozer has no such blocker - he should fill up the stat sheet and be a positive impact from the start.
No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer showed off his skillset in front of the @memgrizz faithful tonight!
Drew Dinsick, NBC Sports betting analyst: Darryn Peterson, Utah Jazz
This award is typically a proxy for volume, and there are reasonable concerns that Peterson may have a more limited role for the Jazz than his competitors. However, the Jazz are built to compete now and will likely have a top-10 offense, one in which Peterson won't be the focal point for opposing defenses. His skill set is a perfect complement to breakout point guard Keyonte George, and preseason press makes clear he has already won over his coach and veteran teammates like Jusuf Nurkić and Lauri Markkanen. I expect he'll earn a spot in the closing five for a team in the playoff hunt. That should be enough to take him over the top against his rivals in Memphis, Chicago and Washington, whose teams will play far fewer meaningful games in the spring.
This could be one of the most exciting races for Rookie of the Year in recent history. Obviously the top four picks are the favorites, though there are some others that could start and have an outside chance, such as Mikel Brown Jr., Darius Acuff Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg. AJ Dybantsa was the top pick and should be a fluid scorer from day one, but there is a lot of competition for shots and touches in Washington. Darryn Peterson may run into the same issue in Utah. Caleb Wilson should make a two-way impact immediately and be a productive play finisher for Chicago, but usage concerns could pop up there as well.
To me, Boozer is the safest pick to win the award, but it isn't simply because there aren't other strong candidates. There is a real chance the offense runs through Boozer from day one, and he should be more efficient than the other top rookies. We've seen some spectacular rookies in recent years, and Boozer should be next in line. Again, it should be an exciting race with how talented this class is. Whoever ends up winning the award will have to impact the game in a multitude of ways and have a spectacular season. Boozer is the best choice.
This could be the last MLB season with a “qualifying offer,” as it’s termed in the labor agreement between owners and players. It’s possible an entirely new system will be created.
Until then, the current labor agreement runs through Dec. 1 and so qualifying offers will be made, and accepted or rejected, under that agreement.
We now know the amount of this year’s QO:
I reported last week that the qualifying number for this offseason would be about $23.1M. For those who want more exact, a source told me: $23.15M.
That’s up 5.1 percent from last year’s figure of $22.025 million.
Last year, 13 free agents were given a qualifying offer. Four of them accepted the offer: Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres, Brandon Woodruff and Shōta Imanaga. The Imanaga acceptance was said to have surprised the Cubs front office, but in the end, Imanaga produced reasonably well for the $22.025 million, making 32 starts, posting a 3.77 ERA and 1.096 WHIP, and 2.0 bWAR. The 35 home runs he allowed were a problem, of course, and whether Imanaga returns to the Cubs remains to be seen. He cannot get another QO, as a player can get only one.
There are three Cubs who might get qualifying offers this year, so let’s look at each of them.
The first is obvious. Seiya Suzuki has been an outstanding player for the Cubs for five seasons and had another productive year in 2026, batting .270/.368/.473 with 26 home runs and a career high 5.1 bWAR. His right field defense was improved both by the numbers and by the eye test.
Suzuki will get a QO and almost certainly reject it to test the open market. There have been reports that the Cubs aren’t likely to re-sign him, which would be a mistake. They should do everything possible to keep him.
Ian Happ, who’s also been a productive Cub for many years, will get a QO as well. Happ’s 2026 season wasn’t quite as good as his previous years, with a slash line of .218/.326/.412 with 24 home runs and 2.9 bWAR. The .218 figure was a career low. He did continue to play good defense and likely wins another Gold Glove, but the batting line was that low largely because he just stopped hitting left-handers. He batted just .145/.217/.267 in 144 PA against RHP and by season’s end, was being platooned.
The Cubs will still likely give Happ a QO. It’s not that much more than the $20 million he made in 2026. And he just might take it, trying to rebuild his value before hitting free agency again next winter — possibly under a new FA system.
The only other Cub who might rate a QO is Matthew Boyd. Boyd was injured for much of 2026, making only 22 starts, but was reasonably productive for much of the time he was healthy. His year was only worth 1.0 bWAR and he’ll turn 36 in February, so he probably should not be given a QO, in my view. There’s also a mutual option for $15 million for Boyd or a $2 million buyout, and the Cubs will almost certainly pay the buyout.
There aren’t any other Cubs pending free agents who would rate a QO. Some are ineligible because they received one in the past (Imanaga) or were traded during the year (Clay Holmes, David Peterson, among others). As a reminder, teams have until five days after the World Series ends to extend a QO, and players then have about 10 days (the date will be officially set later) to decide whether or not to accept.
Of Suzuki, Happ and Boyd, who would you give a qualifying offer?
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 05: Mitch Garver #18 of the Seattle Mariners hits a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park on July 05, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This site discussion was sparked by a couple of posts on BlueSky by Mike Petriello and Céspedes Family BBQ. Mike pointed out that this year’s .206/.286/.341 hitting line in the playoffs is, while atrocious, somehow not the worst postseason hitting line by OPS in the divisional era – it’s 5th after some truly wretched seasons of hitting in the 70’s and 80’s.
CFBBQ posted some recent close historical comps to the this year’s postseason slash line, featuring none other than Your 2024 Mitch Garver (.172/.286/.341). Is this good?
Lookout Landing staffers met to discuss whether this something that merits action from MLB, and what steps could be taken to remedy the balance of the modern game. -NV
Ezra: Maybe they should move the mound back a little bit.
John: I genuinely think so, and I think they should shrink the allowed glove sizes significantly. It’s a much less visible change, but is something they’ve done before on a couple occasions and has a positive impact without being quite as obvious from a viewing perspective.
Ezra: Interesting, I’ve never heard that before but I’d be intrigued to see that implemented.
John: For pitchers, I do think there’s merit to a slightly larger glove so they can’t have their pitches tipped, but also…I kinda think that’s fine.
Here’s an article on it being a big issue during the early 90s and the positive impact it had that kinda got washed out (or at least became impossible track) due to the rise of steroids. In 2016, MLB allowed an expansion in glove size from 12 to 13 inches, which is, as far as I know, still the rule. Going down to 11 or 12 incheas would be really beneficial and also allow truly elite athletes to shine even more in the field.
Ezra: Since I saw the rise and fall of Tim Anderson I’ve come around more on moving the mound back. Bat speed is so important to being a good hitter these days, and all it takes is a little bit of skill deprecation and your career could be over, whereas for pitchers, Tommy John isn’t the death sentence or crapshoot it used to be, throw as hard as you want, sit for a few months and potentially come back throwing harder. I know it’s not that simple, but I feel like ya’ll get what I’m saying.
Nick: In that vein, I’ve heard that moving the mound back actually made breaking stuff even harder to hit, with another foot to move.
John: I’ve heard people make that case, I remember Kyle Boddy saying it. I think there’s some logic to it, but I think the tradeoff is if that were the case, curveballs would be nastier than sliders, and we’ve just spent like 15 years seing sliders take over for big breaking curveballs. And firmer changeups taking over for bigger breaking ones. Now, there are sweepers and splitters that’ve come into some vogue and use, but to me that’s agian more just natural ebb and flow, and reduced effective velocity is ultimately a help for everything.
Nick: That’s a good point. But, counter-counterpoint, sliders taking over for curveballs may not indicate that less movement+more velocity is inherently better, but something else about pitch shape and arsenal construction strategy. Plus, with an extra foot to move, the hard slider gets the benefit of a more difficult-to-hit shape while also benefitting from the extra velo. I’ be curious to see if lowering the mound again isn’t more effective.
John: I could see it being the case, but I think more time to make the decision on the swing and to calibrate the flight path is going to always be easier for a hitter.
Note: The Atlantic League tested a 61’6” mound in 2021. Any effects were of little note.
Ezra: I don’t think MLB will change anything though, because it’s the home runs that sell tickets and as long as they got guys going 30-30, 20-40, 50-50, or hitting 60+ they’re probably not going to are.
John: I think that this doesn’t inherently damage homers. Teams aren’t gonna put the lid back on understanding homers are exponentially better than other hits mathematically, but making it more viable to have a high average is what makes the game more compelling (specifically the ball being interestingly in play more).
Nick: I agree, the surge in homers has way less to do with selling tickets and way more to do with MoneyBall.
Ezra: Yeah, I think the image of having multiple .300+ hitters on the All-Star Team could be really valuable in terms of raising interest among the more dedicated fans.
John: I honestly think beyond just highly dedicated fans, it’s a valuable showcase of the sport’s variety that draws people in. It’s fun to watch hits and steals, and correspondingly, great defense (or bad defense get exposed!).
Nick: I’ve seen more than enough of bad defense being exposed this year, personally.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Stomper, the Athletics mascot, thanks fans during the final game of the season against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park on September 27, 2026 in Sacramento, California. The Astros clinched the American League West title. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Earlier this year I took a look at two positive examples of teams that had been in the Colorado Rockies position and seemed to have turned things around. The Miami Marlins turned a 100-loss team in 2024 into an almost .500 squad in each of the last two seasons while the Chicago White Sox have taken their team to the playoffs just two seasons after losing 121 games in a single season.
Coming into the season, the Athletics looked like they were perhaps on a similar upwards trajectory. Coming off an abysmal 50-112 record in 2024, the A’s had won more games in each of the past two season. They had what looked like a young core of exciting hitters and a shiny new ballpark being built in Las Vegas. It appeared as though the franchise was on the upswing.
Instead, the Athletics fortunes took a dive back into the same lowly tier of teams that the Rockies currently occupy and lost 98 games.
As important as it is to diagnose what has caused teams to have success and emulate them, it’s equally as important to consider the circumstances that have led other teams to continued failure.
So, which portions of the Athletics troubles can the Rockies learn from?
Don’t abandon your fanbase
First, we have to get the obvious factor out of the way since it has little bearing currently on the Rockies. The largest factor looming over the Athletics organization is unique to their franchise.
Owner John Fisher chose to move the team away from Oakland, its home for decades, after failing to secure a sweetheart deal with the local government. This has left the team in a transitory period for the past two seasons where they have been playing in a minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento.
In theory, they only need to stay there for one more season until they move to their currently under construction, new ballpark in Las Vegas.
This doesn’t change the fact that they have sacrificed all good will they had with the people who had previously attended their games. Fisher cut off decades of attachment from the people of Oakland in order to move somewhere that he wouldn’t need to pay as much of the construction costs for a new stadium.
Ultimately, this transitional period may come to pass, and the team’s new roots in Las Vegas could eventually prove strong. It is, however, a wild gamble that has had clear negative effects on the team in the short term before even considering the emotional cost to the people of the Bay Area.
Beyond the players, the lack of seating at the small ballpark has meant that their attendance numbers have been dramatically lower than all other teams for the past two seasons.
These are not factors that directly result in wins and losses on the field, but they are certainly additional hurdles to overcome in attempting to put together a winning roster. This has been, and remains, an entirely self-inflicted problem.
That being said, the Rockies attendance has started to dip over the past few seasons. After ranking ninth in all of Major League Baseball as recently as 2021, the Rockies have slipped in the attendance rankings every season since. In 2026 they ranked 18th in the league.
They have a long way to go to reach the utter lack of fan support that John Fisher A’s currently have, but they should be careful not to take that for granted in the long term.
Don’t underestimate the importance of depth
In 2025, the Athletics lineup was one of the most exciting in baseball:
Veteran slugger Brent Rooker played all 162 games and hit 30 home runs for the third straight season.
Catcher Shea Langeliers proved that his breakout 2024 wasn’t a fluke by hitting 31 home runs of his own.
Tyler Soderstrom finally made good on his prospect pedigree with a 120 wRC+ while learning a position entirely new to him.
Rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson hit the ground running and was both second in the Major League batting title and American League Rookie of the Year races.
Second, that is, to the A’s other rookie star Nick Kurtz.
The fourth overall pick in 2024 (one after the Rockies selected Charlie Condon), Kurtz rocketed through the minor leagues and made his debut at the end of April the following season. In his rookie season, Kurtz was not only unanimously voted Rookie of the Year but also his .290/.383/.619 slash line earned him American League MVP votes.
2025 @officialBBWAA AL Rookie of the Year Award finalists:
With all five of these players and bounce-back candidate Lawrence Butler under team control through at least 2028, the A’s had an offensive core to envy at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
So what happened in 2026? Injuries exposed a lack of depth.
Every player named above other than Butler spent at least some time on the injured list in 2025. To make it worse, Langeliers was the only one of these players to avoid an elongated stay on the 60-day injured list.
Without a consistent showing from this offensive core, the rest of the team’s faults were on full display. Their lack of pitching talent could not be papered over by mashing home runs the way the front office had drawn it up. A lack of major league baseline talent available in their depth chart was exposed as soon as the their core started going down.
Essentially, they had no fallback options to keep them afloat.
For the 2026 A’s, the plan was to let the exciting lineup core mash and hope that would be enough. As soon as a couple of the key players went down, there was no one else on the team to keep it from sinking back to a nearly 100-loss season.
The Rockies roster is a bit different than the Athletics was heading into last season.
The Rockies have managed to cultivate someexiciting potential core offensive players in Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfield, and Cole Carrigg, but they don’t yet have anyone that will factor into the MVP race. The Rockies have not been able to cultivate nearly the ceiling that the Athletics did over the past two seasons.
On the flipside, the Rockies front office has made it a point since they were installed last offseason to “raise the floor” of the roster. The additions of players like Willi Castro, Mickey Moniak, Troy Johnston, and Connor Norby are the sort of depth moves that the Athletics failed to make.
While the front office looks to find more upside, they would be wise to also continue adding even more complementary pieces lest they fall into the same trap as the 2026 A’s.
Spend some money
Many of the 2026 Athletics roster problems could have easily been solved in the offseason had they been willing to do one thing: Spend money on free agents.
The team entered last offseason having had their pitching staff put up the 22nd worst fWAR in the Majors despite having employed Mason Miller for the first half of the season.
How did they address this obvious roster weakness? They signed notable aces Aaron Civale, Mark Leiter Jr., and Scott Barlow all for a total of less than $10 million.
That’s not to take anything away from those specific players — a team can never have enough competent big leaguers. (See the first section about not having enough depth.) If the team had already been fielding an expensive roster, simply supplementing it with small deals around the edges like those is both understandable and commendable.
The A’s, on the other hand, only spent a total of $95 million dollars on their 2026 payroll.
With the fifth-lowest payroll commitments in the league, the Athletics decided that the best way to bolster their feeble pitching staff was to sign a handful of depth arms and hope that their small collection of highly touted prospects would be able to make the leap sooner rather than later.
It wasn’t an impossible plan. All of the Athletics most highly rated pitching prospects (Gage Jump, Kade Morris, Jamie Arnold, Wei-En Lin, and Braden Nett) started the season in Double-A or higher.
The future core of their rotation was on the cusp of the majors, so why spend money on high-priced free agents just to block those young players?
Pitching prospects, as it turns out, are not guaranteed to remain healthy, much less live up to their potential. Jump and Morris both made their Major League debuts in 2026, but neither managed an ERA below 5.47. Arnold only just made it to Triple-A to end the season. Lin and Nett both missed significant time to injury. (Lin is still out recovering from Tommy John surgery.)
All told, the youthful wave of reinforcements to an abysmal pitching staff failed to materialize fast enough to matter for the 2026 season.
Had they simply spent money to bring in a handful of short-term stopgaps via free agency, perhaps their team as a whole could have weathered the injuries on the lineup side a bit more. Given that their division was won by the .500 Houston Astros, they would not have needed much to become legitimate contenders.
Instead, they sat on their hands during the winter and continued their modus operandi of moving forward with the cheaper internal options.
The Rockies, heading into this offseason, face a similar choice, albeit within a different specific context. They can either pump money into addressing an abysmal starting rotation, or they can play around with some marginal upgrades and wait for a wave of pitching prospects.
The problem for the Rockies is that they really don’t have an identifiable wave of pitching talent in the minor league system anywhere near what the A’s had coming into 2026. Ensuring that Chase Dollander has a spot in the rotation when his arm is healthy is not reason enough to avoid bringing in outside talent.
While the 2026 Athletics and the 2027 Rockies aren’t exact mirrors of one another, there are enough similarities to learn from.
Ultimately, the Athletics rise to prominence was stymied by ownership level decisions that hamstrung their front office. For the Rockies to avoid taking a similar step backwards it is on ownership to not settle for good enough. They should instead continue to empower the front office to make whatever moves they believe will improve the team and not take half measures.
TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 27: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks to the dugout under the CN Tower before playing against the Cincinnati Reds in their MLB game at Rogers Centre on September 27, 2026 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Thurday.
We only get one playoff game today, the Guardians and White Sox play game four. White Sox are up two games to one. It is an 8:00 Eastern start.
The Rays beat out the Yankees in three games. Yay Rays.
The Dodgers beat out the Braves in four games. You disappointed me Braves.
The Brewers beat out the Padres in four games. Please, Brewers, beat the Dodgers.
We have a couple of days left in the Haiku voting. Get your votes in.
But the symbolism was hard to ignore. Boone has spent his entire Yankees existence coming up short in October, and here he had inadvertently planted his main attraction in an Aaron Judge-less cast 37 feet away from a potential Hollywood ending.
The complaint is that Boone had Ben Rice batting second and then he was one batter away from hitting at the end of the game, when he would have been the tying run. I’m a bigger fan of blaming the players than the manager.
Aaron Judge said:
“He puts us in the right position to succeed,” Judge maintained, “especially in a season like this where I am banged up missing 100 games.” Judge mentioned all the other injuries Boone had to work around and said, “He’s definitely had our back and is the guy.”
Judge turns 35 near the start of next season (if there is a start to next season). He spent most of this season injured. And he doesn’t have a World Series ring. I’m ok with him never getting one.
Shi Davidi wrote about Kazuma Okamoto and how big a star he is in Japan. I can attest to that. I wore a Blue Jays cap in Japan and people wanted to talk about him all the time (expect for when they wanted to talk about how we lost the World Series to the Dodgers.
The story suggests that Okamoto will make it easier for the Jays to sign other Japanese players. I’m not sure that is true, but ok. I’d imagine Japanese players will sign with the team that offers them the best deal, like anyone else.
The Jays do have some questions to answer before next season:
Is Ernie Clement an MLB second baseman, or do they need to find someone else?
Do they count on Anthony Santander to play outfield next year?
Is Spencer Miles a starter or reliever?
Is Ricky Tiedeman a starter or reliever? Likely reliever I’d guess.
Do they want to sign a full time DH, or do they want to use the spot to rest players?
And, of course, can Vlad be Vlad again?
Do they take Myles Straw’s option? That’s an easy one, no. Do they try to sign him again?
The Jays, and all the other teams, will be wondering what the salary cap (or tax, or whatever they call it) will look like next year?
After spending seven years as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James departed in free agency this summer and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a veteran minimum contract worth $7.9 million total over two seasons. For the last 1.5 years of his tenure with the Lakers, James shared the court alongside Luka Dončić. They appeared in 72 regular-season games together and Los Angeles posted a 47-25 record in those contests.
When James left the Lakers, he contacted Dončić, who expressed his gratitude for their abbreviated stint together donning the purple and gold.
“And I reached out to him. Thank you for everything,” Dončić said. “Obviously, it was amazing being his teammate. Learned so many things”
Luka says Lebron reached out to him when he left. Adds that there was no pressure knowing he was the face of the Lakers but an honor.
“And I reached out to him. Thank you for everything. Obviously it was amazing being his teammate. Learned so many things”… pic.twitter.com/iNZjvlv1Xt
James’ exit makes Dončić the official face of the franchise. Los Angeles significantly overhauled the roster this offseason by signing a bevy of complementary archetypes for him and retaining his co-star in the backcourt, Austin Reaves. Despite now leading the NBA’s most renowned organization, Dončić doesn’t see the responsibility as newfound weight on his shoulders and said it never suddenly hit him at any point that he is the face of this franchise.
“Obviously, they’re gonna say it’s a lot more pressure,” Dončić said. “But it’s not really pressure, it’s an honor.”
Watching James and Dončić join forces for 1.5 seasons was a fascinating experience. James is the greatest men’s basketball player of all time while Dončić is one of the most revered prospects in modern history and among the league’s top players currently. Both are splendidly gifted playmakers who can spoon-feed teammates the easiest of shots.
Yet for all their collective passing feel and general talent, they didn’t always mesh on the court. Their synergy often fluctuated night to night or week to week and it never seemed like they enjoyed a lengthy runway of harmonic hoops together. Much of that was due to external factors.
They both missed some time, which cut into their opportunities to assimilate, and the unexpected nature of the Dončić trade threw the Lakers’ roster into serious flux over the past 1.5 years. It always felt mismatched and jumbled, with Dončić, James and Reaves covering up for a lot of flaws elsewhere to propel Los Angeles to 50-plus wins both seasons.
Regardless, their shared tenure as Lakers was cool to watch as a basketball fan and it’s nice to hear their relationship seems to be on good terms.
Getting swept at home had the Yankees devastated in the clubhouse.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone described a dejected group Wednesday night after losing 4-3 in Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium to complete a sweep at the hands of the Rays.
“The ending is terrible,” a solemn Boone said after the game. “There’s no easy way. It’s a broken clubhouse. What you go through as a team, as a family over the last eight, nine months getting ready for this. It’s just the worst.”
The manager also put Trent Grisham in the leadoff spot despite being ice-cold with the bat over the last month.
Grisham went 0-for-5 in the decisive Game 3, and 0-for-11 in the ALDS, and was nursing an injury for much of September.
The final out of the game wound up being a Grisham strikeout with Jazz Chisholm Jr. stranded on second base representing the tying run.
They enter the offseason with loads of decisions to make, including Chisholm Jr., who is due to be a free agent this offseason.
The Bronx Bombers will need to replace his production as his season ended uncomfortably, with him being benched to start Game 3 before he took over for Jose Caballero.
Aaron Boone described the Yankees clubhouse as broken after the ALDS loss to the Rays. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“No comment. Next.” Chisholm Jr. said when asked how it felt to be benched.
The Rays move on to the ALCS to face the White Sox and Guardians for the right to face the winner of Dodgers vs. Brewers/Padres in the World Series.
Meanwhile, general manager Brian Cashman has a lot of work to do, though baseball also has its own problems as the sport deals with a potential lockout.
