DiamondCentric

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Blue Jays are "expected" to meet with Tarik Skubal next week in California. Heyman lists the Mets, Dodgers, and Padres among the other clubs that are currently preparing to meet with the top free agent on the market. Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Over the last four years, he has produced a 2.47 ERA in 103 starts, striking out 31.1% of his opponents. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 2024 and '25. In a weak free agent class, Skubal stands head and shoulders above everyone else. He is widely expected to sign a record-breaking contract for a starting pitcher. The Blue Jays are one of a handful of teams that could realistically pay his asking price, but fans in Toronto might not be ready to get their hopes up. The Jays have been burned by the top-ranked free agents in each of the last three offseasons. View the full article

A week ago, following the results of the US midterm elections, Anthony Santander shared a pair of videos to his personal Instagram account for his 85k+ followers. These videos were Islamophobic and taken down before they timed out, suggesting that someone in Santander’s camp got word to him to consider what an idiot he looked like. The videos were shared from a pair of right-wing accounts and were the kind of things you might expect your least favourite and most ignorant uncle to bring up at Thanksgiving dinner. For most of us, of course, our bigoted relatives don’t have much of a platform or play for the local major league sports team. First off, I can’t understand how stupid you would have to be to share anything controversial as an MLB player. I wouldn’t excuse it from a dumb, recently drafted rookie in the minors, but if I squint, I can see how an inexperienced child, without proper media training, might slip up on their social media. Santander is a 32-year-old man. He has presumably traveled the world, experienced different cultures and works in a city where almost one in 10 people are Muslim. He should have also taken part in *at a minimum* some level of “don’t be a f***ing idiot” training (I don’t know what MLB or the Blue Jays call their official seminar). In MLB’s Annual Programming Calendar, they have something called a Player Transition Program for international players that are placed on a domestic roster for the first time. It covers things like “learning English and new customs, community building and development, mental wellness, prohibited substances, sports betting, healthy relationships, social media, financial responsibility and more.” (The emphasis is mine.) I don’t know if this program was available for Santander when he signed as an international free agent in 2011, but I do know that I can get to the current MLB Social Media Policy with two easy mouse clicks from that page, where point No. 7 in the Prohibited Conduct section is: 7. Displaying or transmitting Content that is derogatory or insensitive to individuals based on race, color, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, age, disability, or religion, including, but not limited to, slurs, jokes, stereotypes or other inappropriate remarks. There is no question that Santander’s posts were in violation of this policy. Again, I cannot fathom the lack of intelligence it would take to risk sharing or posting something on social media like that as a public figure. I am sure there are many athletes who hold views I would disagree with at best and find morally abhorrent at worst – maybe even some of my favourite players. That’s the unfortunate pact we have to make with them and ourselves at times. If the players keep their mouths shut, we can extend the benefit of the doubt that they’re decent human beings that happen to be great at a sport we love. Maybe that’s overly cynical of me, but in Santander’s case, he has removed all doubt. The policy concludes with this note on enforcement: "A Major League Player who violates this policy may be subject to discipline for just cause by either his Club or the Commissioner." “MAY be subject to discipline” leaves a lot of gray area for cowardly clubs to shrug off any responsibility. In a statement provided by a club spokesperson, the Blue Jays said: "Baseball is for everyone, and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark. Individual comments do not represent our organization's values and beliefs." That reads to me as about the weakest possible response the club could have made. Maybe they are hoping that with this happening during the offseason, they can sweep it under the rug and it will be forgotten by the time next season rolls around. Again, that is a cowardly approach and one that you might expect from an organization that has never had to deal with this type of controversy before. The Jays, of course, had a very similar controversy in recent memory. In fact, this same front office was in charge when Anthony Bass (I can’t believe we’re still talking about Bass in 2026) made a series of anti-LGBTQ posts on his Instagram account in 2023. That happened during the season, and the front office’s initial reaction was to hide Bass from media availability and then, a few days later, brought him out to issue a ‘sorry if anyone was offended’ non-apology. The Jays then doubled down on Bass and lined him up to catch the opening pitch of the upcoming Pride Night game. The whole Bass saga lasted two weeks and involved a series of bizarre and contradictory apologies and statements to the media before it finally met its inevitable conclusion. Prior to that Pride Night game arriving on the schedule, the Jays released Bass in what GM Ross Atkins called “a baseball decision.” A baseball decision. In 2023, Bass put up a -0.1 bWAR with the Jays. That makes for a pretty easy case to release a guy. In 2026, Santander put up a 0.0 bWAR (because he didn’t play), which was an improvement on his -1.0 in 2025. Bass was on a one-year, team-optioned $3 million contract, while Santander has three years remaining on a $92.5 million guaranteed contract, so not exactly apples to apples. If you wanted to be extremely generous to Bass, you could point to his two previous seasons with the Jays where he posted positive bWAR numbers and argue that he had earned some level of trust from the organization. Santander doesn’t have that here. In fact, if the Jays came out and said they were using this incident to void Santander’s contract (there’s gotta be a general ‘public accountability’ clause in there, right?) and were willing to use the approximately $55 million remaining on it to fight any potential legal battle, they would be heralded as heroes. Instead, they have chosen silence and inaction. I’m just so baffled by the whole thing. That Santander would share those posts in the first place is surprising, but can be explained by one idiot being an idiot. That the organization seems to have taken no lessons from previous cases and is once again fumbling a public-facing controversy is less excusable. In reporting by Ben Nicholson-Smith from the GM Meetings, Ross Atkins has expanded slightly on the initial club spokesperson's statement. Atkins claims to not have the words to describe his disappointment. He also confirmed that he had spoken with Santander and suggested that the player address his comments. So far, there has been no comment from Santander. When pressed by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi for specifics of what the organization plans for Santander, Atkins offered a weak "We’ll continue to work with him and hope that he can learn." It is worth noting that these comments from Atkins and reporting from Sportsnet took a full week to happen, and this was the best they came up with. The "hope that he can learn" might as well be 'thoughts and prayers' for all the good it is worth. View the full article

A week ago, following the results of the US midterm elections, Anthony Santander shared a pair of videos to his personal Instagram account for his 85k+ followers. These videos were Islamophobic and taken down before they timed out, suggesting that someone in Santander’s camp got word to him to consider what an idiot he looked like. The videos were shared from a pair of right-wing accounts and were the kind of things you might expect your least favourite and most ignorant uncle to bring up at Thanksgiving dinner. For most of us, of course, our bigoted relatives don’t have much of a platform or play for the local major league sports team. First off, I can’t understand how stupid you would have to be to share anything controversial as an MLB player. I wouldn’t excuse it from a dumb, recently drafted rookie in the minors, but if I squint, I can see how an inexperienced child, without proper media training, might slip up on their social media. Santander is a 32-year-old man. He has presumably traveled the world, experienced different cultures and works in a city where almost one in 10 people are Muslim. He should have also taken part in *at a minimum* some level of “don’t be a f***ing idiot” training (I don’t know what MLB or the Blue Jays call their official seminar). In MLB’s Annual Programming Calendar, they have something called a Player Transition Program for international players that are placed on a domestic roster for the first time. It covers things like “learning English and new customs, community building and development, mental wellness, prohibited substances, sports betting, healthy relationships, social media, financial responsibility and more.” (The emphasis is mine.) I don’t know if this program was available for Santander when he signed as an international free agent in 2011, but I do know that I can get to the current MLB Social Media Policy with two easy mouse clicks from that page, where point No. 7 in the Prohibited Conduct section is: 7. Displaying or transmitting Content that is derogatory or insensitive to individuals based on race, color, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, age, disability, or religion, including, but not limited to, slurs, jokes, stereotypes or other inappropriate remarks. There is no question that Santander’s posts were in violation of this policy. Again, I cannot fathom the lack of intelligence it would take to risk sharing or posting something on social media like that as a public figure. I am sure there are many athletes who hold views I would disagree with at best and find morally abhorrent at worst – maybe even some of my favourite players. That’s the unfortunate pact we have to make with them and ourselves at times. If the players keep their mouths shut, we can extend the benefit of the doubt that they’re decent human beings that happen to be great at a sport we love. Maybe that’s overly cynical of me, but in Santander’s case, he has removed all doubt. The policy concludes with this note on enforcement: "A Major League Player who violates this policy may be subject to discipline for just cause by either his Club or the Commissioner." “MAY be subject to discipline” leaves a lot of gray area for cowardly clubs to shrug off any responsibility. In a statement provided by a club spokesperson, the Blue Jays said: "Baseball is for everyone, and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark. Individual comments do not represent our organization's values and beliefs." That reads to me as about the weakest possible response the club could have made. Maybe they are hoping that with this happening during the offseason, they can sweep it under the rug and it will be forgotten by the time next season rolls around. Again, that is a cowardly approach and one that you might expect from an organization that has never had to deal with this type of controversy before. The Jays, of course, had a very similar controversy in recent memory. In fact, this same front office was in charge when Anthony Bass (I can’t believe we’re still talking about Bass in 2026) made a series of anti-LGBTQ posts on his Instagram account in 2023. That happened during the season, and the front office’s initial reaction was to hide Bass from media availability and then, a few days later, brought him out to issue a ‘sorry if anyone was offended’ non-apology. The Jays then doubled down on Bass and lined him up to catch the opening pitch of the upcoming Pride Night game. The whole Bass saga lasted two weeks and involved a series of bizarre and contradictory apologies and statements to the media before it finally met its inevitable conclusion. Prior to that Pride Night game arriving on the schedule, the Jays released Bass in what GM Ross Atkins called “a baseball decision.” A baseball decision. In 2023, Bass put up a -0.1 bWAR with the Jays. That makes for a pretty easy case to release a guy. In 2026, Santander put up a 0.0 bWAR (because he didn’t play), which was an improvement on his -1.0 in 2025. Bass was on a one-year, team-optioned $3 million contract, while Santander has three years remaining on a $92.5 million guaranteed contract, so not exactly apples to apples. If you wanted to be extremely generous to Bass, you could point to his two previous seasons with the Jays where he posted positive bWAR numbers and argue that he had earned some level of trust from the organization. Santander doesn’t have that here. In fact, if the Jays came out and said they were using this incident to void Santander’s contract (there’s gotta be a general ‘public accountability’ clause in there, right?) and were willing to use the approximately $55 million remaining on it to fight any potential legal battle, they would be heralded as heroes. Instead, they have chosen silence and inaction. I’m just so baffled by the whole thing. That Santander would share those posts in the first place is surprising, but can be explained by one idiot being an idiot. That the organization seems to have taken no lessons from previous cases and is once again fumbling a public-facing controversy is less excusable. In reporting by Ben Nicholson-Smith from the GM Meetings, Ross Atkins has expanded slightly on the initial club spokesperson's statement. Atkins claims to not have the words to describe his disappointment. He also confirmed that he had spoken with Santander and suggested that the player address his comments. So far, there has been no comment from Santander. When pressed by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi for specifics of what the organization plans for Santander, Atkins offered a weak "We’ll continue to work with him and hope that he can learn." It is worth noting that these comments from Atkins and reporting from Sportsnet took a full week to happen, and this was the best they came up with. The "hope that he can learn" might as well be 'thoughts and prayers' for all the good it is worth. View the full article

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: one of the Brewers’ most valuable relievers is probably going to be traded heading into his final year of club control. It happened with Devin Williams, it happened with Josh Hader (technically, he was traded a little earlier, but you get the idea). It looks like it will soon happen to Trevor Megill. Milwaukee’s closer is one of the most sought-after trade targets this offseason, and according to Bob Nightengale, he’ll probably be moved before the season starts. This may come off as surprising, given both his individual success and the team’s recent World Series triumph, but the situation actually makes considerable sense for both parties involved. The Brewers already have several candidates to take over the closing role, with Abner Uribe as the frontrunner. MLB Trade Rumors projects Megill to earn $8 million in arbitration, a considerable amount for a reliever, especially in Milwaukee. Had he received that amount last year, he would’ve been the fourth-highest-paid player on the roster. The Brewers can afford that better now, having won the Series, and they have support from ownership to spend more in 2027, but not even the transformative experience of what the players, fans and team all mean to one another has induced the team to change its mindset heading into the winter. "Look, I think we want to try to not deviate too far from what got us here," Matt Arnold said Tuesday at the annual GM Meetings in Las Vegas, "but I think at the same time, we've also been given a ton of support by our ownership to do things, and I expect that to continue. We got here in a certain way that was very disciplined, and I would expect that to continue." That sounds like an executive who will keep doing what he's done, and try not to change his lifestyle just because he finally won the lottery. The Brewers Way is to trade a player in Megill's situation. The Brewers Way will continue to dominate their decisions. Whoever ends up acquiring Megill gets one of the best bullpen arms in the business. Since 2024, he has accumulated more fWAR (5.0) than all right-handed relievers except for Jhoan Duran (6.1), Cade Smith (8.0), and Mason Miller (8.2). His stellar two-pitch arsenal has led to elite strikeout, whiff, and chase rates, exceptional qualities for anyone taking the mound in high-leverage situations. But who could end up picking up Megill in the offseason—and more importantly, what could the Brewers get in return? New York Yankees David Bednar was stellar for the Yankees after being traded from Pittsburgh in 2025, posting a 2.39 ERA and 45 saves over 94 innings. Now, however, he's a free agent, and the Yankees don't have an obvious closer-in-waiting. When it wasn’t Bednar finishing games, it was a combination of Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn, and Tim Hill, all of whom have also become free agents. A perennial contender, the Yankees will undoubtedly seek reinforcement for the bullpen, and the most important role in the relief unit will be a particularly difficult one to fill. The team’s attempt at building a “super bullpen” at the 2025 trade deadline had disastrous results, and even the last player Milwaukee sent to the Bronx (Williams) struggled during his time in the pinstripes. Nonetheless, Megill has proven his ability to perform in big moments and handle business the way he feels best—an important characteristic to possess in a large media market like New York. If he does end up being traded to the Yankees, he’d be a great fit. In return for Williams, the Brewers received Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin. In a hypothetical deal for Megill, a similar exchange of major-league players could go down. One of the biggest gaps in Milwaukee’s roster is the hole in the lineup left by Jake Bauers. It could be filled by Luis García Jr. García was a solid hitter at first base in 2026. He posted a 125 OPS+ with a .521 slugging percentage across 543 plate appearances. His offensive output did slow down considerably after departing the Nationals, but he still posted a respectable 102 OPS+ for the Yankees. Broadly, he fills a power need for the Crew’s lineup, but crucially, his platoon splits allow him to work well with someone like Andrew Vaughn. As a left-handed hitter, he had an .864 OPS against right-handed pitchers and had just 87 plate appearances against southpaws. This makes him a natural complement to Vaughn, who has excelled against left-handed pitching. It could get complicated financially, since he’s projected to earn $11 million in arbitration this year—more than Vaughn and Bauers made combined last year. However, depending on New York’s urgency to swap out some excess depth at first base for one of the best closers available, cash considerations (which were also included in the Williams trade) aren’t totally out of the question and could offset the cost. Detroit Tigers The Tigers have officially turned the page toward the future after trading Tarik Skubal. The organization seems like they’re ready to put a shaky 2026 behind them and hit the ground running once again in 2027. In addition to Kevin McGonigle, the newly acquired River Ryan and Zyhir Hope add to a controllable core of players that could be what Detroit needs to gain ground in the AL Central. Following the departure of Kenley Jansen, the Tigers would love a new closer. They agreed to a one-year deal with free agent Emilio Pagán Tuesday night, but Pagán isn't so reliable as to foreclose a further addition, even one who would push him into a setup role. Coming up with a return package for the Tigers is a little tricky, since much of what Detroit has to offer and would be willing to part with would deliver future value. As a team on the outside looking in, there are few areas on their roster that could be pared down without having a negative effect on their playoff odds, so a prospect haul is a more likely payment for one year of Megill. Lefty hurler Kash Mayfield (now the Tigers' No. 7 prospect) was the Padres’ first-round pick in 2024 and has had two strong years in the minor leagues, most recently pitching to a 3.54 ERA and 4.13 FIP across 53 ⅓ innings with High-A Fort Wayne. He was part of the deal that sent Casey Mize to the Padres, but hasn’t yet pitched for his new organization due to injury. Outfielder Cris Rodriguez (No. 12 in the Tigers system) has had a solid start to his professional career, despite being just 18 years old. He spent most of last year in the Complex League, but played eight games in Single-A and had outstanding results. Cumulatively, he posted a 123 wRC+ across 230 plate appearances in 2026 and has plenty of time to continue developing. Catcher Michael Oliveto (No. 22) is a left-handed hitter who brings considerable power. Though scouts remark that his overall hitting approach needs work and his defensive skill set behind the dish is even further away from being big league-ready, he’ll still be just 20 years old by the time next season rolls around. The Brewers have a solid track record of instilling good habits for catchers coming up through their system, and Oliveto could be another name on that list of successes. Minnesota Twins The past several years haven’t been kind to the Twins. The 2023 campaign marked the franchise’s first playoff win since 2004, and just when it seemed like things would start turning around for the better, they’ve returned to the bottom of the AL Central and have missed the postseason for the past three years. However, despite what their record may suggest, the core of the team is actually quite solid. Taj Bradley had a breakout season, and with Joe Ryan and Pablo López returning from injury next season, the rotation is looking in good shape with Dean Kremer in the fourth spot. The coming year could also see surges from Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins, two of the team’s top prospects, with a possible debut from Marek Houston, as well. Losing Ryan Jeffers won’t be good for the lineup, but assuming the young crop of prospects can make up for the difference and the front office patches up the roster’s other holes, the Twins could be an unexpected contender in need of a closer. Yoendrys Gómez received the bulk of the save opportunities last year, and though serviceable, he would be better suited for a medium-leverage role. Like Detroit, Minnesota doesn’t have quite enough excess big-league depth to spare. There were rumors that the organization was willing to trade Byron Buxton at the trade deadline, but those were quickly shut down by the front office. Thus, if the Brewers were to explore sending Megill back to the team from which they acquired him, they’d have to expect prospects in return. Catcher Khadim Diaw (the Twins' No. 9 prospect), a 23-year-old with no relation to NBA legend Boris Diaw, is an intriguing option. Khadim Diaw split time evenly between High-A and Double-A last year, hitting to a 130 wRC+ over 476 minor-league plate appearances. Preferring a more well-rounded hitting approach over prioritizing power, he slashed .306/.417/.452 and kept his strikeout rate just under 15% while having a walk rate of just under 12%. Scouts have praised his defensive abilities behind the dish, but others think that his athletic package is better suited for somewhere in the outfield. If Diaw is too old a prospect for the Brewers’ liking, they could also explore Carson Tinney (No. 10 prospect in the Twins org), a second-round pick in 2026 out of the University of Texas. Tinney had an impressive college career, and added compelling numbers in the 105 plate appearances he made in Single-A after being drafted, hitting to a 143 wRC+ with eight homers and a 21.9% walk rate. It’s way too early to know what will become of him, but with 60-grade power and arm strength and a few consecutive years of success, it’s an exciting trajectory for the 21-year-old. To sweeten the deal, another player to take a look at could be righthander Adrian Bohorquez (No. 18). He made a total of 18 starts and pitched to a 3.02 ERA and 3.92 FIP over 59 ⅔ innings last year. His numbers in High-A were decent, but he had a really strong four-start stretch after being promoted to Double-A, posting an ERA of 1.06 with an improved walk rate of 10.1%. Assuming he avoids the injured list in 2027 and gets the free passes under control, he could be an underrated arm at the very back of the Brewers’ rotation. View the full article

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: one of the Brewers’ most valuable relievers is probably going to be traded heading into his final year of club control. It happened with Devin Williams, it happened with Josh Hader (technically, he was traded a little earlier, but you get the idea). It looks like it will soon happen to Trevor Megill. Milwaukee’s closer is one of the most sought-after trade targets this offseason, and according to Bob Nightengale, he’ll probably be moved before the season starts. This may come off as surprising, given both his individual success and the team’s recent World Series triumph, but the situation actually makes considerable sense for both parties involved. The Brewers already have several candidates to take over the closing role, with Abner Uribe as the frontrunner. MLB Trade Rumors projects Megill to earn $8 million in arbitration, a considerable amount for a reliever, especially in Milwaukee. Had he received that amount last year, he would’ve been the fourth-highest-paid player on the roster. The Brewers can afford that better now, having won the Series, and they have support from ownership to spend more in 2027, but not even the transformative experience of what the players, fans and team all mean to one another has induced the team to change its mindset heading into the winter. "Look, I think we want to try to not deviate too far from what got us here," Matt Arnold said Tuesday at the annual GM Meetings in Las Vegas, "but I think at the same time, we've also been given a ton of support by our ownership to do things, and I expect that to continue. We got here in a certain way that was very disciplined, and I would expect that to continue." That sounds like an executive who will keep doing what he's done, and try not to change his lifestyle just because he finally won the lottery. The Brewers Way is to trade a player in Megill's situation. The Brewers Way will continue to dominate their decisions. Whoever ends up acquiring Megill gets one of the best bullpen arms in the business. Since 2024, he has accumulated more fWAR (5.0) than all right-handed relievers except for Jhoan Duran (6.1), Cade Smith (8.0), and Mason Miller (8.2). His stellar two-pitch arsenal has led to elite strikeout, whiff, and chase rates, exceptional qualities for anyone taking the mound in high-leverage situations. But who could end up picking up Megill in the offseason—and more importantly, what could the Brewers get in return? New York Yankees David Bednar was stellar for the Yankees after being traded from Pittsburgh in 2025, posting a 2.39 ERA and 45 saves over 94 innings. Now, however, he's a free agent, and the Yankees don't have an obvious closer-in-waiting. When it wasn’t Bednar finishing games, it was a combination of Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn, and Tim Hill, all of whom have also become free agents. A perennial contender, the Yankees will undoubtedly seek reinforcement for the bullpen, and the most important role in the relief unit will be a particularly difficult one to fill. The team’s attempt at building a “super bullpen” at the 2025 trade deadline had disastrous results, and even the last player Milwaukee sent to the Bronx (Williams) struggled during his time in the pinstripes. Nonetheless, Megill has proven his ability to perform in big moments and handle business the way he feels best—an important characteristic to possess in a large media market like New York. If he does end up being traded to the Yankees, he’d be a great fit. In return for Williams, the Brewers received Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin. In a hypothetical deal for Megill, a similar exchange of major-league players could go down. One of the biggest gaps in Milwaukee’s roster is the hole in the lineup left by Jake Bauers. It could be filled by Luis García Jr. García was a solid hitter at first base in 2026. He posted a 125 OPS+ with a .521 slugging percentage across 543 plate appearances. His offensive output did slow down considerably after departing the Nationals, but he still posted a respectable 102 OPS+ for the Yankees. Broadly, he fills a power need for the Crew’s lineup, but crucially, his platoon splits allow him to work well with someone like Andrew Vaughn. As a left-handed hitter, he had an .864 OPS against right-handed pitchers and had just 87 plate appearances against southpaws. This makes him a natural complement to Vaughn, who has excelled against left-handed pitching. It could get complicated financially, since he’s projected to earn $11 million in arbitration this year—more than Vaughn and Bauers made combined last year. However, depending on New York’s urgency to swap out some excess depth at first base for one of the best closers available, cash considerations (which were also included in the Williams trade) aren’t totally out of the question and could offset the cost. Detroit Tigers The Tigers have officially turned the page toward the future after trading Tarik Skubal. The organization seems like they’re ready to put a shaky 2026 behind them and hit the ground running once again in 2027. In addition to Kevin McGonigle, the newly acquired River Ryan and Zyhir Hope add to a controllable core of players that could be what Detroit needs to gain ground in the AL Central. Following the departure of Kenley Jansen, the Tigers would love a new closer. They agreed to a one-year deal with free agent Emilio Pagán Tuesday night, but Pagán isn't so reliable as to foreclose a further addition, even one who would push him into a setup role. Coming up with a return package for the Tigers is a little tricky, since much of what Detroit has to offer and would be willing to part with would deliver future value. As a team on the outside looking in, there are few areas on their roster that could be pared down without having a negative effect on their playoff odds, so a prospect haul is a more likely payment for one year of Megill. Lefty hurler Kash Mayfield (now the Tigers' No. 7 prospect) was the Padres’ first-round pick in 2024 and has had two strong years in the minor leagues, most recently pitching to a 3.54 ERA and 4.13 FIP across 53 ⅓ innings with High-A Fort Wayne. He was part of the deal that sent Casey Mize to the Padres, but hasn’t yet pitched for his new organization due to injury. Outfielder Cris Rodriguez (No. 12 in the Tigers system) has had a solid start to his professional career, despite being just 18 years old. He spent most of last year in the Complex League, but played eight games in Single-A and had outstanding results. Cumulatively, he posted a 123 wRC+ across 230 plate appearances in 2026 and has plenty of time to continue developing. Catcher Michael Oliveto (No. 22) is a left-handed hitter who brings considerable power. Though scouts remark that his overall hitting approach needs work and his defensive skill set behind the dish is even further away from being big league-ready, he’ll still be just 20 years old by the time next season rolls around. The Brewers have a solid track record of instilling good habits for catchers coming up through their system, and Oliveto could be another name on that list of successes. Minnesota Twins The past several years haven’t been kind to the Twins. The 2023 campaign marked the franchise’s first playoff win since 2004, and just when it seemed like things would start turning around for the better, they’ve returned to the bottom of the AL Central and have missed the postseason for the past three years. However, despite what their record may suggest, the core of the team is actually quite solid. Taj Bradley had a breakout season, and with Joe Ryan and Pablo López returning from injury next season, the rotation is looking in good shape with Dean Kremer in the fourth spot. The coming year could also see surges from Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins, two of the team’s top prospects, with a possible debut from Marek Houston, as well. Losing Ryan Jeffers won’t be good for the lineup, but assuming the young crop of prospects can make up for the difference and the front office patches up the roster’s other holes, the Twins could be an unexpected contender in need of a closer. Yoendrys Gómez received the bulk of the save opportunities last year, and though serviceable, he would be better suited for a medium-leverage role. Like Detroit, Minnesota doesn’t have quite enough excess big-league depth to spare. There were rumors that the organization was willing to trade Byron Buxton at the trade deadline, but those were quickly shut down by the front office. Thus, if the Brewers were to explore sending Megill back to the team from which they acquired him, they’d have to expect prospects in return. Catcher Khadim Diaw (the Twins' No. 9 prospect), a 23-year-old with no relation to NBA legend Boris Diaw, is an intriguing option. Khadim Diaw split time evenly between High-A and Double-A last year, hitting to a 130 wRC+ over 476 minor-league plate appearances. Preferring a more well-rounded hitting approach over prioritizing power, he slashed .306/.417/.452 and kept his strikeout rate just under 15% while having a walk rate of just under 12%. Scouts have praised his defensive abilities behind the dish, but others think that his athletic package is better suited for somewhere in the outfield. If Diaw is too old a prospect for the Brewers’ liking, they could also explore Carson Tinney (No. 10 prospect in the Twins org), a second-round pick in 2026 out of the University of Texas. Tinney had an impressive college career, and added compelling numbers in the 105 plate appearances he made in Single-A after being drafted, hitting to a 143 wRC+ with eight homers and a 21.9% walk rate. It’s way too early to know what will become of him, but with 60-grade power and arm strength and a few consecutive years of success, it’s an exciting trajectory for the 21-year-old. To sweeten the deal, another player to take a look at could be righthander Adrian Bohorquez (No. 18). He made a total of 18 starts and pitched to a 3.02 ERA and 3.92 FIP over 59 ⅔ innings last year. His numbers in High-A were decent, but he had a really strong four-start stretch after being promoted to Double-A, posting an ERA of 1.06 with an improved walk rate of 10.1%. Assuming he avoids the injured list in 2027 and gets the free passes under control, he could be an underrated arm at the very back of the Brewers’ rotation. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins have an interesting roster-building challenge ahead of them. There are reasons to believe the organization is building something exciting, but not every part of the roster is developing at the same pace. A new group of young hitters is beginning to establish itself at the big-league level. Several of those players could become important pieces of the next competitive Twins team. However, the starting rotation features four established arms who are only under team control for one more season. Those two groups are operating on completely different timelines. The Twins need to decide whether they should prioritize developing their young core, maximizing their current pitching assets, or trying to bring everything together for a 2027 playoff push. A Young Hitting Core Is Taking Shape Minnesota's position-player outlook looks much different than it did a couple of seasons ago. The organization has transitioned toward a younger group, and several former top prospects are starting to get opportunities at the highest level. Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee have already shown that they can be productive big-league hitters. Keaschall rebounded from a difficult start to become one of the team's most productive offensive players over the final five months of the season and finished with a 123 wRC+. Lee enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, finishing with 24 home runs and a 101 wRC+. He also provided Gold Glove-caliber defense after moving to third base. Those two offer some stability for a group that still has plenty of unanswered questions. Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez represent the next wave of talent. All three received opportunities in the majors late in the 2026 season, giving fans an early glimpse of what the future might look like. Jenkins struggled initially before finishing strong, collecting 15 hits in his final 10 games. Culpepper made a positive impression with a .274 batting average and eight extra-base hits in 33 games. Rodriguez also provided an exciting introduction, hitting a home run in his first major-league at-bat and showing off his defensive ability. The talent is undeniable, but these players are still learning what it takes to succeed against major-league pitching. Some will need more time to adjust, while others might establish themselves as everyday contributors relatively quickly. The Twins have a foundation worth building around, but they cannot assume every young player will immediately become a star. The Starting Rotation Is Approaching a Crossroads While the position-player group is entering an important development stage, Minnesota's starting rotation faces an entirely different situation. Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Dean Kremer, and Bailey Ober are all scheduled to reach free agency following the 2027 season. That gives the Twins one more year of team control over four established major-league starters. There's plenty of potential value in keeping those arms together for another season. Ryan has established himself as a frontline starter, López should return after missing the entire 2026 campaign following elbow surgery, and Kremer delivered encouraging returns after arriving from Baltimore. Ober has experienced some struggles, but he remains an experienced rotation option. The organization also has younger pitching options like Taj Bradley, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews, and Mick Abel. That group lends the organization enviable rotation depth, although it's hardly guaranteed that every young arm will develop into a dependable starter. The Twins have a decision to make before those four veteran starters get a chance to walk away in free agency. Ober is a non-tender candidate but could be kept if the Twins look to trade another starter. Trading one could bring back valuable pieces, but keeping all four would give Minnesota a much better chance to compete in the immediate future. What Does This Mean for the Roster? The Twins have two obvious paths, and both come with significant risks. One option is to trade starting pitching this offseason and focus on building a competitive roster for 2028 and beyond. Minnesota could acquire young, controllable position players while moving pitchers who might not be part of the next winning team. However, that strategy creates another problem. How long can the organization continue asking fans to wait for the young hitters to develop? Trading established pitching would make it harder to compete in 2027, especially if the younger arms aren't ready to carry the rotation. The other option is to go all-in on 2027. Minnesota could retain its starting pitching, increase payroll, and surround its young hitters with established major-league talent. The hope would be that Keaschall, Lee, Jenkins, Culpepper, and Rodriguez take another step forward, together. That approach is certainly appealing, but it requires some faith. There's no guarantee that all five hitters develop into the players the organization envisions. Building an entire season's expectations around their development could leave the roster with some significant holes. Jeremy Zoll sees that risk, but believes the group is better bulwarked against it than it might first appear. "I think when we look at the young core of position players, I think they have [an] incredible talent level and ceiling and like, yes, [Culpepper, Jenkins and Rodríguez] just made their debuts," he said to reporters Monday. "You also have guys like Luke Keaschall, who just finished his first full season and now it'll be [his] second full season, Brooks Lee, a little bit further along.
So I think there's maybe more of a blend there than, yes, it skews younger, but I also think that'll be a valuable development opportunity for them in real time." Perhaps the best approach falls somewhere in the middle. The Twins should explore trading one starting pitcher if the return improves the major-league roster or provides a controllable position player who can help soon. However, they shouldn't sacrifice the entire rotation simply because some contracts are approaching their expiration dates. A Roster-Building Challenge The Twins' young hitters need time to develop, while their established starting pitchers are running out of time under team control. Those opposing forces don't necessarily have to work against each other. Minnesota has an opportunity to build a competitive roster for 2027 while continuing to establish its foundation for the future. The winter will reveal which timeline matters most to the organization. The Twins have young players worth getting excited about, but excitement needs to turn into production. At the same time, the front office cannot afford to let valuable pitching assets disappear without considering what they could bring back. Zoll put it succinctly. "I also think we need to do everything we can to build the most complete team possible [in 2027]," he said. That's likely to mean being "creative and opportunistic," but it doesn't set the team's young hitters and its more experienced starters directly at odds. The goal shouldn't simply be to build a team for the future or squeeze one more season out of the current rotation. It should be finding a way to make both timelines work together. Twins leadership understands that. Now, they have to execute on their understanding. What path will the Twins follow this offseason? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins have an interesting roster-building challenge ahead of them. There are reasons to believe the organization is building something exciting, but not every part of the roster is developing at the same pace. A new group of young hitters is beginning to establish itself at the big-league level. Several of those players could become important pieces of the next competitive Twins team. However, the starting rotation features four established arms who are only under team control for one more season. Those two groups are operating on completely different timelines. The Twins need to decide whether they should prioritize developing their young core, maximizing their current pitching assets, or trying to bring everything together for a 2027 playoff push. A Young Hitting Core Is Taking Shape Minnesota's position-player outlook looks much different than it did a couple of seasons ago. The organization has transitioned toward a younger group, and several former top prospects are starting to get opportunities at the highest level. Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee have already shown that they can be productive big-league hitters. Keaschall rebounded from a difficult start to become one of the team's most productive offensive players over the final five months of the season and finished with a 123 wRC+. Lee enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, finishing with 24 home runs and a 101 wRC+. He also provided Gold Glove-caliber defense after moving to third base. Those two offer some stability for a group that still has plenty of unanswered questions. Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez represent the next wave of talent. All three received opportunities in the majors late in the 2026 season, giving fans an early glimpse of what the future might look like. Jenkins struggled initially before finishing strong, collecting 15 hits in his final 10 games. Culpepper made a positive impression with a .274 batting average and eight extra-base hits in 33 games. Rodriguez also provided an exciting introduction, hitting a home run in his first major-league at-bat and showing off his defensive ability. The talent is undeniable, but these players are still learning what it takes to succeed against major-league pitching. Some will need more time to adjust, while others might establish themselves as everyday contributors relatively quickly. The Twins have a foundation worth building around, but they cannot assume every young player will immediately become a star. The Starting Rotation Is Approaching a Crossroads While the position-player group is entering an important development stage, Minnesota's starting rotation faces an entirely different situation. Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Dean Kremer, and Bailey Ober are all scheduled to reach free agency following the 2027 season. That gives the Twins one more year of team control over four established major-league starters. There's plenty of potential value in keeping those arms together for another season. Ryan has established himself as a frontline starter, López should return after missing the entire 2026 campaign following elbow surgery, and Kremer delivered encouraging returns after arriving from Baltimore. Ober has experienced some struggles, but he remains an experienced rotation option. The organization also has younger pitching options like Taj Bradley, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews, and Mick Abel. That group lends the organization enviable rotation depth, although it's hardly guaranteed that every young arm will develop into a dependable starter. The Twins have a decision to make before those four veteran starters get a chance to walk away in free agency. Ober is a non-tender candidate but could be kept if the Twins look to trade another starter. Trading one could bring back valuable pieces, but keeping all four would give Minnesota a much better chance to compete in the immediate future. What Does This Mean for the Roster? The Twins have two obvious paths, and both come with significant risks. One option is to trade starting pitching this offseason and focus on building a competitive roster for 2028 and beyond. Minnesota could acquire young, controllable position players while moving pitchers who might not be part of the next winning team. However, that strategy creates another problem. How long can the organization continue asking fans to wait for the young hitters to develop? Trading established pitching would make it harder to compete in 2027, especially if the younger arms aren't ready to carry the rotation. The other option is to go all-in on 2027. Minnesota could retain its starting pitching, increase payroll, and surround its young hitters with established major-league talent. The hope would be that Keaschall, Lee, Jenkins, Culpepper, and Rodriguez take another step forward, together. That approach is certainly appealing, but it requires some faith. There's no guarantee that all five hitters develop into the players the organization envisions. Building an entire season's expectations around their development could leave the roster with some significant holes. Jeremy Zoll sees that risk, but believes the group is better bulwarked against it than it might first appear. "I think when we look at the young core of position players, I think they have [an] incredible talent level and ceiling and like, yes, [Culpepper, Jenkins and Rodríguez] just made their debuts," he said to reporters Monday. "You also have guys like Luke Keaschall, who just finished his first full season and now it'll be [his] second full season, Brooks Lee, a little bit further along.
So I think there's maybe more of a blend there than, yes, it skews younger, but I also think that'll be a valuable development opportunity for them in real time." Perhaps the best approach falls somewhere in the middle. The Twins should explore trading one starting pitcher if the return improves the major-league roster or provides a controllable position player who can help soon. However, they shouldn't sacrifice the entire rotation simply because some contracts are approaching their expiration dates. A Roster-Building Challenge The Twins' young hitters need time to develop, while their established starting pitchers are running out of time under team control. Those opposing forces don't necessarily have to work against each other. Minnesota has an opportunity to build a competitive roster for 2027 while continuing to establish its foundation for the future. The winter will reveal which timeline matters most to the organization. The Twins have young players worth getting excited about, but excitement needs to turn into production. At the same time, the front office cannot afford to let valuable pitching assets disappear without considering what they could bring back. Zoll put it succinctly. "I also think we need to do everything we can to build the most complete team possible [in 2027]," he said. That's likely to mean being "creative and opportunistic," but it doesn't set the team's young hitters and its more experienced starters directly at odds. The goal shouldn't simply be to build a team for the future or squeeze one more season out of the current rotation. It should be finding a way to make both timelines work together. Twins leadership understands that. Now, they have to execute on their understanding. What path will the Twins follow this offseason? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

There are no handcuffs on A.J. Preller this offseason, or at least none that have thus far been made public. The San Diego Padres’ president of baseball operations is entering his first offseason unencumbered by the team’s debt, a mandate to slash payroll or any other financial barriers. Welcome to the Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones regime. They are, as they have said many times in the last three months, "all in." Thanks to their purchase of the Padres, the books are clean and all the accounting columns have been zeroed out. But that is what you should get when you fork out $3.9 billion for an MLB franchise, still a record until the Los Angeles Angels' $4 billion transaction becomes official. Now, that doesn’t erase any other mistakes that are still on the books. Maybe some of that gets resolved this weird offseason we are just entering. But no matter what happens to the players already in tow, it's clear that the Friars aren't going to just helplessly watch the rest of the league improve; a lone report Monday may have put the Padres squarely in the middle of how this offseason transpires across MLB. The Padres, having made the postseason a franchise-record three consecutive times and in five in the last seven years, are swimming in Tarik Skubal’s pool. While the news should bring a dose of excitement to the Friar Faithful, it also shouldn’t be surprising. Twice in the last three seasons, the Padres might have been the best team in the NL at the right time of the year (October). Twice, their season ended before reaching the World Series, much less winning it. Skubal would be a huge step toward taking that next step. The Padres’ starting rotation is pretty barren at the moment. Joe Musgrove, Randy Vasquez, then maybe JP Sears comprise the group. Yu Darvish? Total wild card. None in their current condition would be a Game 3 starter in any postseason series, much less a Game 1 opener. Musgrove maybe, but he has to prove he is fully healthy. He pitched five innings this year, two in an exhibition game and three in the postseason with outcomes in hand. Vasquez was good in 2026, but not front-end-of-the-rotation good. Sears has appeared in 13 MLB games since being the "other" pitcher who came over from the A’s in the Mason Miller blockbuster at the 2025 trade deadline. If the Padres can land Skubal, that would be the first step—a major one at that—in rebuilding the rotation on a long-term basis, not just for 2027. No more relying on veterans looking for a landing spot on cheap one-year deals or minor-league contracts. We saw how that went this year with German Marquez, Walker Buehler, Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito. The promise was there, but the performance didn’t follow. Skubal could be the first die cast if he signs quickly. That won’t be cheap, either. The soon-to-be 30-year-old who won the 2024 and 2025 AL Cy Young Awards with the Detroit Tigers, then became a mercenary and joined the failed effort by the Los Angeles Dodgers to win a third straight World Series, is by far the best player available in free agency. His price tag will be eight or nine years with an average annual value of at least $45 million, which would be the largest for a pitcher. That means eight years, $360 million or nine years, $405 million as a likely launching point in negotiations. Considering the hardball Skubal played with the Tigers in last offseason’s arbitration case, opt-outs are probably not in the equation unless he wants one after, say, three years, while deferrals could be in play. Skubal is represented by Scott Boras, who has included deferrals in some mega-deals (Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman) though not in others (Juan Soto). The competition has already thinned out. The Chicago Cubs, nearly as desperate for starters as the Padres, won’t be coming after Skubal. The New York Yankees probably aren’t in as they already have two well-paid starters in Gerrit Cole and Max Fried and another who is club-controlled through 2031 in Cam Schlittler, plus two position players making at least $40 million next year in Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. The New York Mets were a mess this season and need more work than just bringing in Skubal to be a contender, though they can't be counted out. That leaves the Dodgers among the big-spending contenders, with nods to the Mets and Braves. Skubal is a West Coast guy, too, having been born in Northern California before growing up in Arizona and and attending college in Seattle. The southpaw seems a little much for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ tastes and the Seattle Mariners are stacked with starters. The Houston Astros are loathe to spend big, but the Texas Rangers aren't. Adding Skubal could make bringing back Michael King to the rotation a stronger possibility, at least from a team-building standpoint (though certainly not financial). If you invest in Skubal, you need to give him a supporting cast in the rotation. King turned into the Padres’ ace in the second half of the season and might only cost between $25 million and $28 million AAV for four years. Then, maybe you could sign old friend Nick Martinez for a couple seasons at $20 million max. Suddenly, you have Skubal, King and Martinez as your top three, with Musgrove, Vasquez and perhaps another signing in the back half, not to mention a potential reunion with Nick Pivetta. After all, we saw how much depth the Padres needed in their rotation this year, utilizing 11 true starters. Put that together with an offense that still needs a little fortification and the Padres—losers to the Dodgers in a five-game NL Division Series in 2024, then a four-game NLDS this year to the Milwaukee Brewers—might not be thinking of themselves as the team that gave the eventual World Series champs their toughest battle of the postseason. First, though, they need to win over Skubal. View the full article

There are no handcuffs on A.J. Preller this offseason, or at least none that have thus far been made public. The San Diego Padres’ president of baseball operations is entering his first offseason unencumbered by the team’s debt, a mandate to slash payroll or any other financial barriers. Welcome to the Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones regime. They are, as they have said many times in the last three months, "all in." Thanks to their purchase of the Padres, the books are clean and all the accounting columns have been zeroed out. But that is what you should get when you fork out $3.9 billion for an MLB franchise, still a record until the Los Angeles Angels' $4 billion transaction becomes official. Now, that doesn’t erase any other mistakes that are still on the books. Maybe some of that gets resolved this weird offseason we are just entering. But no matter what happens to the players already in tow, it's clear that the Friars aren't going to just helplessly watch the rest of the league improve; a lone report Monday may have put the Padres squarely in the middle of how this offseason transpires across MLB. The Padres, having made the postseason a franchise-record three consecutive times and in five in the last seven years, are swimming in Tarik Skubal’s pool. While the news should bring a dose of excitement to the Friar Faithful, it also shouldn’t be surprising. Twice in the last three seasons, the Padres might have been the best team in the NL at the right time of the year (October). Twice, their season ended before reaching the World Series, much less winning it. Skubal would be a huge step toward taking that next step. The Padres’ starting rotation is pretty barren at the moment. Joe Musgrove, Randy Vasquez, then maybe JP Sears comprise the group. Yu Darvish? Total wild card. None in their current condition would be a Game 3 starter in any postseason series, much less a Game 1 opener. Musgrove maybe, but he has to prove he is fully healthy. He pitched five innings this year, two in an exhibition game and three in the postseason with outcomes in hand. Vasquez was good in 2026, but not front-end-of-the-rotation good. Sears has appeared in 13 MLB games since being the "other" pitcher who came over from the A’s in the Mason Miller blockbuster at the 2025 trade deadline. If the Padres can land Skubal, that would be the first step—a major one at that—in rebuilding the rotation on a long-term basis, not just for 2027. No more relying on veterans looking for a landing spot on cheap one-year deals or minor-league contracts. We saw how that went this year with German Marquez, Walker Buehler, Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito. The promise was there, but the performance didn’t follow. Skubal could be the first die cast if he signs quickly. That won’t be cheap, either. The soon-to-be 30-year-old who won the 2024 and 2025 AL Cy Young Awards with the Detroit Tigers, then became a mercenary and joined the failed effort by the Los Angeles Dodgers to win a third straight World Series, is by far the best player available in free agency. His price tag will be eight or nine years with an average annual value of at least $45 million, which would be the largest for a pitcher. That means eight years, $360 million or nine years, $405 million as a likely launching point in negotiations. Considering the hardball Skubal played with the Tigers in last offseason’s arbitration case, opt-outs are probably not in the equation unless he wants one after, say, three years, while deferrals could be in play. Skubal is represented by Scott Boras, who has included deferrals in some mega-deals (Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman) though not in others (Juan Soto). The competition has already thinned out. The Chicago Cubs, nearly as desperate for starters as the Padres, won’t be coming after Skubal. The New York Yankees probably aren’t in as they already have two well-paid starters in Gerrit Cole and Max Fried and another who is club-controlled through 2031 in Cam Schlittler, plus two position players making at least $40 million next year in Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. The New York Mets were a mess this season and need more work than just bringing in Skubal to be a contender, though they can't be counted out. That leaves the Dodgers among the big-spending contenders, with nods to the Mets and Braves. Skubal is a West Coast guy, too, having been born in Northern California before growing up in Arizona and and attending college in Seattle. The southpaw seems a little much for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ tastes and the Seattle Mariners are stacked with starters. The Houston Astros are loathe to spend big, but the Texas Rangers aren't. Adding Skubal could make bringing back Michael King to the rotation a stronger possibility, at least from a team-building standpoint (though certainly not financial). If you invest in Skubal, you need to give him a supporting cast in the rotation. King turned into the Padres’ ace in the second half of the season and might only cost between $25 million and $28 million AAV for four years. Then, maybe you could sign old friend Nick Martinez for a couple seasons at $20 million max. Suddenly, you have Skubal, King and Martinez as your top three, with Musgrove, Vasquez and perhaps another signing in the back half, not to mention a potential reunion with Nick Pivetta. After all, we saw how much depth the Padres needed in their rotation this year, utilizing 11 true starters. Put that together with an offense that still needs a little fortification and the Padres—losers to the Dodgers in a five-game NL Division Series in 2024, then a four-game NLDS this year to the Milwaukee Brewers—might not be thinking of themselves as the team that gave the eventual World Series champs their toughest battle of the postseason. First, though, they need to win over Skubal. View the full article

Josiah Hartshorn’s rise is a reminder that elite prospects don’t always come from the top of the draft. With an advanced approach at the plate, impressive versatility, and plenty of room to grow, the Cubs have found themselves a potential star. View the full article

Josiah Hartshorn’s rise is a reminder that elite prospects don’t always come from the top of the draft. With an advanced approach at the plate, impressive versatility, and plenty of room to grow, the Cubs have found themselves a potential star. View the full article

Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins news and rumors and prepare you for what lies ahead. Tuesday's show was hosted by Ely Sussman and featured panelist Kevin Barral. This podcast is brought to you by Jet Ski Rentals of South Florida—offering Miami’s best jet ski and boat adventures. With six jet ski locations and over 120 boats, there’s something for every style and every budget. They’re reservation-based only. To inquire, call 305-990-2192, or check them out online at SFJetskiRentals.com. Make sure to use promo code FISHONFIRST to receive 10% off your next booking. You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. In case you missed it, Ely's annual "offseason blueprint" exercise included three major league free agent signings, six trades and two contract extensions. View the full article

Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins news and rumors and prepare you for what lies ahead. Tuesday's show was hosted by Ely Sussman and featured panelist Kevin Barral. This podcast is brought to you by Jet Ski Rentals of South Florida—offering Miami’s best jet ski and boat adventures. With six jet ski locations and over 120 boats, there’s something for every style and every budget. They’re reservation-based only. To inquire, call 305-990-2192, or check them out online at SFJetskiRentals.com. Make sure to use promo code FISHONFIRST to receive 10% off your next booking. You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. In case you missed it, Ely's annual "offseason blueprint" exercise included three major league free agent signings, six trades and two contract extensions. View the full article

Regardless of the injuries, the worst problem the Kansas City Royals’ starting rotation faced in 2026 was the lack of stability. Injuries took pitchers like Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, and Luinder Avila out of action, players who were expected to contribute enough to sustain the rotation over the long term. That did not happen, and the disaster unfolded again to the point that the Royals had to use 13 different starting pitchers for the second consecutive year. The difference was that only three of them managed to pitch at least 100 innings: Michael Wacha (200 ⅔ innings), Seth Lugo (172 ⅓), and Noah Cameron (170 ⅓). They carried the main weight of the rotation, accumulating 64% of the innings, and that will be the main reason why the Royals will need to look for at least a couple of arms to strengthen their starting staff. The last time Kansas City went through a similar situation was in 2023, when it had just three pitchers who were able to record 100 or more innings, although on that occasion it was forced to use 23 different starters. The season that could represent the standard of success the Royals need to repeat was 2024, when they had just nine starters who combined to pitch 911 innings, the highest total accumulated over the last six seasons. Five of them exceeded 100 innings and accumulated a combined 17.3 fWAR, with a 3.90 xFIP and 76 quality starts. They were led by Cole Ragans (5.0 fWAR), the best version of Seth Lugo’s career (4.8), Michael Wacha (3.4), and Brady Singer (2.6). Although his xFIP has increased slightly every year since that 2024 season, Wacha has been the only consistent pitcher over these last two seasons, so Ragans’ injury history and Lugo’s decline in performance continue to raise questions about the future. That said, let’s analyze the four ideal arms that could strengthen the Royals’ starting rotation, most of them as attainable options in the free-agent market. Nick Martinez, RHP DiamondCentric Free Agent Ranking: #13 Martinez is coming off a very productive 2026 season, after pitching 180 innings and finishing with a 3.10 ERA, a 3.96 FIP, and 2.9 fWAR, numbers that led him to become one of the main pillars of the Tampa Bay Rays’ starting rotation. His profile could provide experience, durability, command, and the ability to absorb a significant number of innings, precisely the biggest shortcoming the Royals’ starters have faced over the last three seasons. Martinez does not rely on a high strikeout rate -- his K% was 15.1% and finished in the 4th percentile in the league, but his command compensated for his limited ability to generate swings and misses frequently. In addition, he finished in the 92nd percentile in Pitching, with a +17 Run Value, the third-best among pitchers available in the free-agent market, surpassed only by Tarik Skubal (23) and Michael King (19). Of course, uncertainty always remains about how much of his great 2026 season he will be able to repeat in the future, as he will turn 36 in 2027, something that will probably limit the possibility of getting a long-term contract. The Blueprint tool predicts that Martinez could cost around $28 million for a couple of seasons. Foster Griffin, LHP DiamondCentric Free Agent Ranking: #16 Griffin’s story is well known to the Royals, as he began his career by making his debut with them at 24 years old during the difficult 2020 season, shortened by the pandemic. He pitched just one and two-thirds innings, faced six batters, did not allow any hits, and ended up getting the win. The following year, Griffin was unable to pitch after undergoing Tommy John surgery for a tear in the ligament of his left elbow, so he did not have an opportunity to return until 2022. However, he faced problems as a reliever that led him to be left out of the organization’s plans. Griffin did not give up, and in 2023 he preferred to go to Japan rather than continue pitching in the Minor Leagues. He signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants, worked hard, and managed to stabilize himself after earning a spot as a starter. During that process, he made an interesting change to his repertoire, adding three key pitches: the sinker, a sweeper, and a splitter. That transformation made him a pitcher less vulnerable to hard contact and led him to finish with a 2.57 ERA over three seasons in the NPB. The dominance he experienced in Japan opened the door for Griffin to return to MLB in 2026 with the Washington Nationals. He finished with a surprising 12-3 record and a 3.06 ERA in his first 22 starts, before being traded to the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline. There are two key things about Griffin that I loved and that I believe would fit perfectly as a solution to the Royals’ problems: his ability to provide deep starts and a very good 3.76 xFIP, considering that he does not base his dominance on generating swings and misses or on a high strikeout rate. Griffin has the ability to throw strikes in his favor, with great command that allows him to stay in the zone and generate ground balls at a high frequency. That formula led him to secure at least five innings in 27 of his 31 starts, and he completed at least six in 15 of them. In 2026, his fastball finished in the 95th percentile -- the +16 Run Value is the best among left-handed starters currently available in free agency -- and his offspeed in the 78th. However, what is most surprising is the combination of some of his 2026 statistics, which were not far from those recorded by high-impact pitchers like Tarik Skubal. Griffin allowed a 37.0% Hard Hit%, a 3.2% home run rate, and a 6.2% BB%, while Skubal allowed a 34.8% Hard Hit%, 2.3% HR%, and had a 4.4% BB rate. The big difference was in strikeouts and in the ability of an elite pitcher like Skubal to prevent runs. That is why I believe that if Griffin pitches for a team with a better defense like the Royals, his expected statistics could take an interesting turn. For much of the season, that was a problem when he pitched for the Nationals, who finished with -9 Fielding Run Value and -15 in Range in 2026. When he pitched for the Guardians, some of those deficiencies were resolved, and the best example could be seen in the postseason, when Griffin finished with a 3.48 ERA in 10 ⅓ innings, with 15 strikeouts, no walks, and just four runs allowed. I think a contract of $32-35 million for a couple of seasons would be fine for the Royals, assuming Griffin will be on trial in his second year back in MLB. If he maintains his consistency, perhaps the door could open to exploring a third year. Michael Soroka, RHP Diamond Centric Free Agent Ranking: #18 Let’s start with what could generate the biggest concerns among teams interested in Soroka, who had a great bounce-back season in 2026. The main concern is his history, as Soroka accumulated just 215 1/3 innings between 2020 and 2025. That is why his 116-inning season in 2026 has been his biggest workload since his breakout season at 21 years old, when he recorded 4.0 fWAR and pitched 174 2/3 innings with the Atlanta Braves in 2019. Therefore, it is clear that any offer for Soroka should take that history into account, although that does not take away from the value of his projections and what he has once again shown as a starter. Soroka finished in the 91st percentile in Pitching in 2026, and his changeup was the only pitch that could not exceed the 50th percentile. Although his Whiff% finished in the 32nd percentile and we know how important it is to avoid contact, he reached the 84th percentile in Chase% and managed to avoid some hard contact by finishing in the 81st percentile in Hard Hit%. That said, what could concern me the most is Soroka’s projected 4.13 xFIP for 2027, especially if he loses a little more control over contact. Although his strikeout rate dropped from 9.49 K/9 to 8.84 this year, Soroka achieved a better balance between his walk and home run rates, landing close to the 2019 standards with just 2.25 BB/9 and 0.78 HR/9. For Kansas City, he could be an interesting bet through a two-year contract worth between $25-28 million, with an AAV of around $13 million. A one-year offer close to $15 million would also make sense if the market does not guarantee him multiple years. Casey Mize, RHP Diamond Centric Free Agent Ranking: #34 After a dominant start that took him to his first All-Star Game with the Detroit Tigers in the first half of the season, Mize collapsed in the second half after arriving in San Diego at the trade deadline. The improvements in his command, the increase in his strikeout rate, and the reduction in walks fell apart along with the dominance he had shown in his first 16 starts, when he recorded a 2.70 ERA and a 3.76 xFIP in 86 ⅔ innings. With the Padres, Mize made his debut allowing eight runs in 3 ⅓ innings on August 5 against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. He then pitched two consecutive quality starts, which included six scoreless innings in a 5-0 Padres victory in Cleveland. However, in his next seven starts, he was punished mercilessly, recording an 8.49 FIP in 29 ⅓ innings. Part of that disaster was not worse because the bullpen and offense managed to rescue four of those seven inconsistent starts, in which Mize ended up allowing 11 home runs, practically the same number of strikeouts he recorded. METRIC DETROIT PERCENTILE SAN DIEGO PERCENTILE PERCENTILE xwOBA Allowed 0.274 88 0.366 23 65 K% 24.9% 74 12.0% 13 61 BB% 5.6% 86 9.1% 53 33 Whiff% 27.8% 74 14.8% 9 65 Z-Contact% 80.2% 81 91.8% 10 71 Barrel% 5.9% 65 9.9% 21 44 Hard-Hit% 36.0% 74 44.4% 27 47 Average Exit Velocity 87.9 mph 54 89.7 mph 25 29 As you can see in this table, the improvements in run prevention, contact control, and the generation of swings and misses completely fell apart with the Padres. Mize went from the 88th to the 23rd percentile in xwOBA allowed, dropped 71 percentiles in contact control within the strike zone, while his strikeout rate plummeted by almost 50% and his walk and Barrel% rates grew by more than 60%. So the concern about which version of Mize we will see in 2027 is inevitable. Another factor that creates uncertainty heading into free agency is his injury history. Mize underwent Tommy John surgery that practically made him miss 2022 and 2023, and he has accumulated five consecutive seasons with time on the injured list. In 2026, he dealt with adductor discomfort and finished the season with the Padres on the injured list due to a right ankle sprain, an injury he suffered in August and that limited him again during the final month of the season. According to FanGraphs, Mize is projected to pitch 140 innings with a 4.40 xFIP and 1.7 fWAR in 2027, a performance that would fall below his version with Detroit, where he accumulated 2.9 fWAR before the trade to San Diego, but that offers a very different recovery outlook from the one left by his terrible stint with the Padres. Even so, for Kansas City, he could be a great acquisition for the middle of the rotation and, according to the Blueprint tool, could be an attainable option for around $14 million. That is why an offer of between $28-30 million for a couple of seasons would not be bad at all. View the full article

Regardless of the injuries, the worst problem the Kansas City Royals’ starting rotation faced in 2026 was the lack of stability. Injuries took pitchers like Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, and Luinder Avila out of action, players who were expected to contribute enough to sustain the rotation over the long term. That did not happen, and the disaster unfolded again to the point that the Royals had to use 13 different starting pitchers for the second consecutive year. The difference was that only three of them managed to pitch at least 100 innings: Michael Wacha (200 ⅔ innings), Seth Lugo (172 ⅓), and Noah Cameron (170 ⅓). They carried the main weight of the rotation, accumulating 64% of the innings, and that will be the main reason why the Royals will need to look for at least a couple of arms to strengthen their starting staff. The last time Kansas City went through a similar situation was in 2023, when it had just three pitchers who were able to record 100 or more innings, although on that occasion it was forced to use 23 different starters. The season that could represent the standard of success the Royals need to repeat was 2024, when they had just nine starters who combined to pitch 911 innings, the highest total accumulated over the last six seasons. Five of them exceeded 100 innings and accumulated a combined 17.3 fWAR, with a 3.90 xFIP and 76 quality starts. They were led by Cole Ragans (5.0 fWAR), the best version of Seth Lugo’s career (4.8), Michael Wacha (3.4), and Brady Singer (2.6). Although his xFIP has increased slightly every year since that 2024 season, Wacha has been the only consistent pitcher over these last two seasons, so Ragans’ injury history and Lugo’s decline in performance continue to raise questions about the future. That said, let’s analyze the four ideal arms that could strengthen the Royals’ starting rotation, most of them as attainable options in the free-agent market. Nick Martinez, RHP DiamondCentric Free Agent Ranking: #13 Martinez is coming off a very productive 2026 season, after pitching 180 innings and finishing with a 3.10 ERA, a 3.96 FIP, and 2.9 fWAR, numbers that led him to become one of the main pillars of the Tampa Bay Rays’ starting rotation. His profile could provide experience, durability, command, and the ability to absorb a significant number of innings, precisely the biggest shortcoming the Royals’ starters have faced over the last three seasons. Martinez does not rely on a high strikeout rate -- his K% was 15.1% and finished in the 4th percentile in the league, but his command compensated for his limited ability to generate swings and misses frequently. In addition, he finished in the 92nd percentile in Pitching, with a +17 Run Value, the third-best among pitchers available in the free-agent market, surpassed only by Tarik Skubal (23) and Michael King (19). Of course, uncertainty always remains about how much of his great 2026 season he will be able to repeat in the future, as he will turn 36 in 2027, something that will probably limit the possibility of getting a long-term contract. The Blueprint tool predicts that Martinez could cost around $28 million for a couple of seasons. Foster Griffin, LHP DiamondCentric Free Agent Ranking: #16 Griffin’s story is well known to the Royals, as he began his career by making his debut with them at 24 years old during the difficult 2020 season, shortened by the pandemic. He pitched just one and two-thirds innings, faced six batters, did not allow any hits, and ended up getting the win. The following year, Griffin was unable to pitch after undergoing Tommy John surgery for a tear in the ligament of his left elbow, so he did not have an opportunity to return until 2022. However, he faced problems as a reliever that led him to be left out of the organization’s plans. Griffin did not give up, and in 2023 he preferred to go to Japan rather than continue pitching in the Minor Leagues. He signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants, worked hard, and managed to stabilize himself after earning a spot as a starter. During that process, he made an interesting change to his repertoire, adding three key pitches: the sinker, a sweeper, and a splitter. That transformation made him a pitcher less vulnerable to hard contact and led him to finish with a 2.57 ERA over three seasons in the NPB. The dominance he experienced in Japan opened the door for Griffin to return to MLB in 2026 with the Washington Nationals. He finished with a surprising 12-3 record and a 3.06 ERA in his first 22 starts, before being traded to the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline. There are two key things about Griffin that I loved and that I believe would fit perfectly as a solution to the Royals’ problems: his ability to provide deep starts and a very good 3.76 xFIP, considering that he does not base his dominance on generating swings and misses or on a high strikeout rate. Griffin has the ability to throw strikes in his favor, with great command that allows him to stay in the zone and generate ground balls at a high frequency. That formula led him to secure at least five innings in 27 of his 31 starts, and he completed at least six in 15 of them. In 2026, his fastball finished in the 95th percentile -- the +16 Run Value is the best among left-handed starters currently available in free agency -- and his offspeed in the 78th. However, what is most surprising is the combination of some of his 2026 statistics, which were not far from those recorded by high-impact pitchers like Tarik Skubal. Griffin allowed a 37.0% Hard Hit%, a 3.2% home run rate, and a 6.2% BB%, while Skubal allowed a 34.8% Hard Hit%, 2.3% HR%, and had a 4.4% BB rate. The big difference was in strikeouts and in the ability of an elite pitcher like Skubal to prevent runs. That is why I believe that if Griffin pitches for a team with a better defense like the Royals, his expected statistics could take an interesting turn. For much of the season, that was a problem when he pitched for the Nationals, who finished with -9 Fielding Run Value and -15 in Range in 2026. When he pitched for the Guardians, some of those deficiencies were resolved, and the best example could be seen in the postseason, when Griffin finished with a 3.48 ERA in 10 ⅓ innings, with 15 strikeouts, no walks, and just four runs allowed. I think a contract of $32-35 million for a couple of seasons would be fine for the Royals, assuming Griffin will be on trial in his second year back in MLB. If he maintains his consistency, perhaps the door could open to exploring a third year. Michael Soroka, RHP Diamond Centric Free Agent Ranking: #18 Let’s start with what could generate the biggest concerns among teams interested in Soroka, who had a great bounce-back season in 2026. The main concern is his history, as Soroka accumulated just 215 1/3 innings between 2020 and 2025. That is why his 116-inning season in 2026 has been his biggest workload since his breakout season at 21 years old, when he recorded 4.0 fWAR and pitched 174 2/3 innings with the Atlanta Braves in 2019. Therefore, it is clear that any offer for Soroka should take that history into account, although that does not take away from the value of his projections and what he has once again shown as a starter. Soroka finished in the 91st percentile in Pitching in 2026, and his changeup was the only pitch that could not exceed the 50th percentile. Although his Whiff% finished in the 32nd percentile and we know how important it is to avoid contact, he reached the 84th percentile in Chase% and managed to avoid some hard contact by finishing in the 81st percentile in Hard Hit%. That said, what could concern me the most is Soroka’s projected 4.13 xFIP for 2027, especially if he loses a little more control over contact. Although his strikeout rate dropped from 9.49 K/9 to 8.84 this year, Soroka achieved a better balance between his walk and home run rates, landing close to the 2019 standards with just 2.25 BB/9 and 0.78 HR/9. For Kansas City, he could be an interesting bet through a two-year contract worth between $25-28 million, with an AAV of around $13 million. A one-year offer close to $15 million would also make sense if the market does not guarantee him multiple years. Casey Mize, RHP Diamond Centric Free Agent Ranking: #34 After a dominant start that took him to his first All-Star Game with the Detroit Tigers in the first half of the season, Mize collapsed in the second half after arriving in San Diego at the trade deadline. The improvements in his command, the increase in his strikeout rate, and the reduction in walks fell apart along with the dominance he had shown in his first 16 starts, when he recorded a 2.70 ERA and a 3.76 xFIP in 86 ⅔ innings. With the Padres, Mize made his debut allowing eight runs in 3 ⅓ innings on August 5 against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. He then pitched two consecutive quality starts, which included six scoreless innings in a 5-0 Padres victory in Cleveland. However, in his next seven starts, he was punished mercilessly, recording an 8.49 FIP in 29 ⅓ innings. Part of that disaster was not worse because the bullpen and offense managed to rescue four of those seven inconsistent starts, in which Mize ended up allowing 11 home runs, practically the same number of strikeouts he recorded. METRIC DETROIT PERCENTILE SAN DIEGO PERCENTILE PERCENTILE xwOBA Allowed 0.274 88 0.366 23 65 K% 24.9% 74 12.0% 13 61 BB% 5.6% 86 9.1% 53 33 Whiff% 27.8% 74 14.8% 9 65 Z-Contact% 80.2% 81 91.8% 10 71 Barrel% 5.9% 65 9.9% 21 44 Hard-Hit% 36.0% 74 44.4% 27 47 Average Exit Velocity 87.9 mph 54 89.7 mph 25 29 As you can see in this table, the improvements in run prevention, contact control, and the generation of swings and misses completely fell apart with the Padres. Mize went from the 88th to the 23rd percentile in xwOBA allowed, dropped 71 percentiles in contact control within the strike zone, while his strikeout rate plummeted by almost 50% and his walk and Barrel% rates grew by more than 60%. So the concern about which version of Mize we will see in 2027 is inevitable. Another factor that creates uncertainty heading into free agency is his injury history. Mize underwent Tommy John surgery that practically made him miss 2022 and 2023, and he has accumulated five consecutive seasons with time on the injured list. In 2026, he dealt with adductor discomfort and finished the season with the Padres on the injured list due to a right ankle sprain, an injury he suffered in August and that limited him again during the final month of the season. According to FanGraphs, Mize is projected to pitch 140 innings with a 4.40 xFIP and 1.7 fWAR in 2027, a performance that would fall below his version with Detroit, where he accumulated 2.9 fWAR before the trade to San Diego, but that offers a very different recovery outlook from the one left by his terrible stint with the Padres. Even so, for Kansas City, he could be a great acquisition for the middle of the rotation and, according to the Blueprint tool, could be an attainable option for around $14 million. That is why an offer of between $28-30 million for a couple of seasons would not be bad at all. View the full article

Let’s just call it as it is: It's been two and a half seasons since Royce Lewis was a good major leaguer. On June 22, 2024, Lewis woke up with a .996 career OPS (about 75% better than average) over 346 plate appearances. Since that day, Lewis has a .653 OPS (20% below average) in 1,171 trips to the plate. He has been a well-below-average hitter for more than three times as long as he was an exceptional hitter. He’s had stretches in which he’s returned to form, including a 32-game (injury-interrupted) stretch in 2025 with an OPS over .900 between May 30th and July 28th, or a stretch between mid-May and early September in 2026 in which he sustained an OPS over .750 for 81 games. But the highs haven’t been high enough, and the lows have been too low for the Twins to count on Lewis as an impact hitter. And this places both Lewis and the Twins in an awkward spot. Although Lewis is estimated by MLB Trade Rumors to command a modest $5.1 million in his second year of arbitration, his lack of production and the team’s current construction make it difficult to justify keeping Lewis in Minnesota in 2027. Even if Lewis believes his more well-compensated teammates are on the chopping block ahead of him, he may have already played his last game for the Twins. So, let’s talk about how Lewis fits on the 2027 squad. Lewis the Starter Lewis played a career-high 125 games in the majors this season (plus an additional 15 in the minors). He lost the third base job to Brooks Lee, but he saw nearly everyday playing time after being recalled from Triple-A in June, playing 94 of the team’s final 97 games. He primarily played first base, but appeared 16 times at second base and nine times at third. If the Twins were to run back the 2026 infield in 2027, Lewis would be the top candidate to start at first base on Opening Day, with Kody Clemens slotted in at second. Maybe they’d swap positions. But either way, the Twins probably didn’t have a serious offseason if that’s the case. For someone who hadn’t played the position before, Lewis adapted well to playing first base, but he’s no Gold Glover there. Nor was he any better than average at second base. He didn’t hit like even an average first baseman, even after returning from Triple-A. Lewis slashed .245/.295/.409 in those final 94 games. Given the Twins’ current roster (and barring Ryan Jeffers accepting the QO), adding a plus hitter at first or second base is the most straightforward way to upgrade the lineup. Even an anticlimactic addition like Gleyber Torres would be a substantial improvement over Lewis based on OPS alone (.727 last year for Torres compared to .667 for Lewis). It’s hard to justify Lewis filling an everyday role at first or second next season. Lewis the Reserve If Lewis shouldn’t be an everyday player, he could fit into a bench role. Or, perhaps, he could be fit into a bench role, whether it makes sense or not. The Twins have done a poor job in recent seasons constructing a bench with real utility. Gone are the halcyon days of Willi Castro, Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, and Michael A. Taylor. Since 2024, the Twins bench has been made of spare parts, filled with redundant, superfluous, or incapable players who met the Walmart greeter standard: they were warm bodies. Carrying Lewis in a bench role would continue this pattern. Valuable bench players have roles or specialties. Maybe they’re a pinch-running asset, maybe they’re a platoon partner, maybe they can play a difficult-to-defend position like shortstop, center field, or catcher. But they have a real use case. Lewis doesn’t do one thing that lends itself to such a role. He hasn’t played shortstop since playing one inning there in 2023, so the Twins would either need to carry a second bench infielder or stomach Lee being the primary backup shortstop—a difficult proposition, given his struggles there before sliding to third. Although Lewis plays a fine first, second, and third, he’s not good enough at any of those spots to justify being a defensive replacement. Nor has he played any outfield since tearing his ACL in 2022 while playing center field. Lewis bats right-handed and could be a platoon candidate with an infielder like Clemens, who has historically struggled against lefties (career .627 OPS, 20% below league average). However, Lewis hasn’t demolished lefties in his career, with a .747 lifetime OPS against southpaws, just 8% better than league average. For context, that’s right in line with Austin Martin’s .745 OPS against lefties. Lewis has been a below-average hitter against lefties overall during the past two seasons. He simply doesn’t hit well enough to be a platoon partner. He has been a good baserunner over the last year or so, making good decisions on the basepaths and going 28-for-31 as a base stealer over the past two seasons, but he doesn’t have the blazing speed you’d want from a dedicated pinch-runner. So, overall, Lewis has a middling-at-best bat that doesn’t offer a real platoon advantage. He has defensive flexibility, but you don’t love him at any position, and he doesn’t play shortstop. He runs well, but not enough to be a basepaths weapon. He does a bit of everything, just not terribly well. There is a role like that. You’re more likely to see it from a fourth outfielder than a fifth infielder, but there are plenty of guys around the league who are just a half-step worse than a traditional everyday player but can give several players a day off a week. Think 2019 Marwin Gonzalez, if Lewis was willing and able to play the corner outfield spots as well (which is questionable). But Gonzalez was a better hitter and fielder than Lewis has been over the last three seasons. It seems the more thought that goes into Lewis on the 2027 roster, the more it feels like we’re trying to find a way to make Lewis useful to the team, rather than including him because he’s actually useful. Really, the only way that he makes sense as an addition is if there's a real chance he can get closer to the player he was in his first 80 or so games, and it's quite easy to be skeptical of that. It's probably easier to be skeptical than optimistic there. Especially if Lewis is unable to play in the outfield, the Twins would need to flank him on the bench with a shortstop, a catcher, and probably another outfielder (likely Alan Roden or Emmanuel Rodríguez). Lewis would be the team’s primary bench platoon bat, and he’d probably play three or four times a week, giving players days off at the three non-shortstop spots with questionable production. It really seems like there’s a better way to build a roster than to shoehorn Lewis into one of the valuable 13 hitter spots. His admittedly modest $5.1 million estimated salary can probably be spent more efficiently at that. View the full article

Let’s just call it as it is: It's been two and a half seasons since Royce Lewis was a good major leaguer. On June 22, 2024, Lewis woke up with a .996 career OPS (about 75% better than average) over 346 plate appearances. Since that day, Lewis has a .653 OPS (20% below average) in 1,171 trips to the plate. He has been a well-below-average hitter for more than three times as long as he was an exceptional hitter. He’s had stretches in which he’s returned to form, including a 32-game (injury-interrupted) stretch in 2025 with an OPS over .900 between May 30th and July 28th, or a stretch between mid-May and early September in 2026 in which he sustained an OPS over .750 for 81 games. But the highs haven’t been high enough, and the lows have been too low for the Twins to count on Lewis as an impact hitter. And this places both Lewis and the Twins in an awkward spot. Although Lewis is estimated by MLB Trade Rumors to command a modest $5.1 million in his second year of arbitration, his lack of production and the team’s current construction make it difficult to justify keeping Lewis in Minnesota in 2027. Even if Lewis believes his more well-compensated teammates are on the chopping block ahead of him, he may have already played his last game for the Twins. So, let’s talk about how Lewis fits on the 2027 squad. Lewis the Starter Lewis played a career-high 125 games in the majors this season (plus an additional 15 in the minors). He lost the third base job to Brooks Lee, but he saw nearly everyday playing time after being recalled from Triple-A in June, playing 94 of the team’s final 97 games. He primarily played first base, but appeared 16 times at second base and nine times at third. If the Twins were to run back the 2026 infield in 2027, Lewis would be the top candidate to start at first base on Opening Day, with Kody Clemens slotted in at second. Maybe they’d swap positions. But either way, the Twins probably didn’t have a serious offseason if that’s the case. For someone who hadn’t played the position before, Lewis adapted well to playing first base, but he’s no Gold Glover there. Nor was he any better than average at second base. He didn’t hit like even an average first baseman, even after returning from Triple-A. Lewis slashed .245/.295/.409 in those final 94 games. Given the Twins’ current roster (and barring Ryan Jeffers accepting the QO), adding a plus hitter at first or second base is the most straightforward way to upgrade the lineup. Even an anticlimactic addition like Gleyber Torres would be a substantial improvement over Lewis based on OPS alone (.727 last year for Torres compared to .667 for Lewis). It’s hard to justify Lewis filling an everyday role at first or second next season. Lewis the Reserve If Lewis shouldn’t be an everyday player, he could fit into a bench role. Or, perhaps, he could be fit into a bench role, whether it makes sense or not. The Twins have done a poor job in recent seasons constructing a bench with real utility. Gone are the halcyon days of Willi Castro, Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, and Michael A. Taylor. Since 2024, the Twins bench has been made of spare parts, filled with redundant, superfluous, or incapable players who met the Walmart greeter standard: they were warm bodies. Carrying Lewis in a bench role would continue this pattern. Valuable bench players have roles or specialties. Maybe they’re a pinch-running asset, maybe they’re a platoon partner, maybe they can play a difficult-to-defend position like shortstop, center field, or catcher. But they have a real use case. Lewis doesn’t do one thing that lends itself to such a role. He hasn’t played shortstop since playing one inning there in 2023, so the Twins would either need to carry a second bench infielder or stomach Lee being the primary backup shortstop—a difficult proposition, given his struggles there before sliding to third. Although Lewis plays a fine first, second, and third, he’s not good enough at any of those spots to justify being a defensive replacement. Nor has he played any outfield since tearing his ACL in 2022 while playing center field. Lewis bats right-handed and could be a platoon candidate with an infielder like Clemens, who has historically struggled against lefties (career .627 OPS, 20% below league average). However, Lewis hasn’t demolished lefties in his career, with a .747 lifetime OPS against southpaws, just 8% better than league average. For context, that’s right in line with Austin Martin’s .745 OPS against lefties. Lewis has been a below-average hitter against lefties overall during the past two seasons. He simply doesn’t hit well enough to be a platoon partner. He has been a good baserunner over the last year or so, making good decisions on the basepaths and going 28-for-31 as a base stealer over the past two seasons, but he doesn’t have the blazing speed you’d want from a dedicated pinch-runner. So, overall, Lewis has a middling-at-best bat that doesn’t offer a real platoon advantage. He has defensive flexibility, but you don’t love him at any position, and he doesn’t play shortstop. He runs well, but not enough to be a basepaths weapon. He does a bit of everything, just not terribly well. There is a role like that. You’re more likely to see it from a fourth outfielder than a fifth infielder, but there are plenty of guys around the league who are just a half-step worse than a traditional everyday player but can give several players a day off a week. Think 2019 Marwin Gonzalez, if Lewis was willing and able to play the corner outfield spots as well (which is questionable). But Gonzalez was a better hitter and fielder than Lewis has been over the last three seasons. It seems the more thought that goes into Lewis on the 2027 roster, the more it feels like we’re trying to find a way to make Lewis useful to the team, rather than including him because he’s actually useful. Really, the only way that he makes sense as an addition is if there's a real chance he can get closer to the player he was in his first 80 or so games, and it's quite easy to be skeptical of that. It's probably easier to be skeptical than optimistic there. Especially if Lewis is unable to play in the outfield, the Twins would need to flank him on the bench with a shortstop, a catcher, and probably another outfielder (likely Alan Roden or Emmanuel Rodríguez). Lewis would be the team’s primary bench platoon bat, and he’d probably play three or four times a week, giving players days off at the three non-shortstop spots with questionable production. It really seems like there’s a better way to build a roster than to shoehorn Lewis into one of the valuable 13 hitter spots. His admittedly modest $5.1 million estimated salary can probably be spent more efficiently at that. View the full article

For the third season in a row, the Baseball Writers Association of America named Pat Murphy the National League Manager of the Year. Murphy became the first manager to win the award in three consecutive seasons and the 10th manager to win at least three times. It wasn't surprising. Murphy led a Brewers team that once again outperformed external expectations, this time with the greatest season in franchise history. Milwaukee won a franchise-best 103 games in the regular season, then breezed to its first World Series title with an 11-2 postseason. "With his 'win tonight' approach, Pat Murphy led our club to another historic season and the first World Series championship in franchise history," president of baseball operations and general manager Matt Arnold said in a statement. "His leadership has played a tremendous role in our success, and this third consecutive Manager of the Year Award is a well-deserved recognition of everything he means to our organization." Of the honors bestowed during baseball's award season, Manager of the Year may be the least precise. It's effectively the Outperforming External Expectations Award, and the manager is merely a fraction of that equation. A mediocre manager with a great roster and coaching staff will win games, and a great manager with poor personnel around him will lose games. Murphy knows that. Each time he's won the award, he has quickly redirected the spotlight to those around him. "The last three clubs that we've had, they've all been different, but there's a common theme between them and what they stand for," Murphy said. "Some of those players and some of those coaches deserve a lot of credit, so I'm not going to take too much time to reflect on myself." In Murphy's case, though, the threepeat reflects his success in unifying a large, diverse group of people around a common goal. Whether he'll admit it or not, he has imparted his character onto those three Brewers teams, and it's been integral to their success. Fittingly, Murphy accepted the award from a hospital bed the day after undergoing right hip replacement surgery. Between hip and back issues, he managed through debilitating pain without missing a game. Under Murphy's aggressive management style, the Brewers, too, powered through adversity, scratching and clawing until the final out of the World Series. Murphy establishes and enforces strict standards. His players bought in, meeting those standards while regularly repeating his mantras and analogies in the clubhouse. "One of the things that stuck out for me this year is that you do have to have a belief system," Murphy said. "We can all worry about bad outcomes, but can you train your brain? That's the thing. Can you train your brain to stay in that 'win tonight' attitude and not waste time worrying about things that you might not be able to control and have that belief?" That belief was the missing component during the Brewers' previous playoff runs. Jake Bauers acknowledged last month that they felt overmatched in last year's NLCS, when the Dodgers swept them in four games. This time, the Brewers expected to win the World Series, and they refused to relent until they hoisted the Commissioner's Trophy at Tropicana Field. Murphy was part of that turnaround. Before this year's rematch with the Dodgers, he reflected on his ill-fated attempt the previous October to motivate his players by painting them as underdogs. He dropped that messaging after it inadvertently laid the groundwork for the sweep. "I'm sorry I played that underdog card," Murphy said. "I probably shouldn't have played that and used that as an excuse for why we didn't play well. No, I don't care who the underdog is. I don't care who the favorite is. It's about getting in the ring and fighting it out. That's what it's about. We've proven during the season once again that we can win baseball games." The Brewers kept winning until there were no more games. Along the way, Murphy learned to place greater trust in their young core. "One of the big things is you have to trust your players, no matter how young," he said. "You have to trust Cooper Pratt. You have to trust him. When he senses you trust him, he's going to play better." Murphy has also adapted to an evolving coaching staff, learning to trust his colleagues and consolidate information from several baseball minds with different perspectives and approaches. "I'm not easy to work for, and it's probably designed that way," Murphy said. "It's really a continual exercise in taking their information, letting them know what you want, having them add their creativity in the way they coach, trying to find both strengths and weaknesses in what they do, and then trying to dissect what's the best way, what are the best job descriptions to help them help our team and help our players." Murphy is not the sole engine of the Brewers' success. It's a group effort that spans all levels of the organization. But he's become the face of the best team in baseball and sets the tone for them every day. A third straight Manager of the Year Award is well-deserved recognition. "The couple weeks have been, again, something to be really thankful for," he said. View the full article

For the third season in a row, the Baseball Writers Association of America named Pat Murphy the National League Manager of the Year. Murphy became the first manager to win the award in three consecutive seasons and the 10th manager to win at least three times. It wasn't surprising. Murphy led a Brewers team that once again outperformed external expectations, this time with the greatest season in franchise history. Milwaukee won a franchise-best 103 games in the regular season, then breezed to its first World Series title with an 11-2 postseason. "With his 'win tonight' approach, Pat Murphy led our club to another historic season and the first World Series championship in franchise history," president of baseball operations and general manager Matt Arnold said in a statement. "His leadership has played a tremendous role in our success, and this third consecutive Manager of the Year Award is a well-deserved recognition of everything he means to our organization." Of the honors bestowed during baseball's award season, Manager of the Year may be the least precise. It's effectively the Outperforming External Expectations Award, and the manager is merely a fraction of that equation. A mediocre manager with a great roster and coaching staff will win games, and a great manager with poor personnel around him will lose games. Murphy knows that. Each time he's won the award, he has quickly redirected the spotlight to those around him. "The last three clubs that we've had, they've all been different, but there's a common theme between them and what they stand for," Murphy said. "Some of those players and some of those coaches deserve a lot of credit, so I'm not going to take too much time to reflect on myself." In Murphy's case, though, the threepeat reflects his success in unifying a large, diverse group of people around a common goal. Whether he'll admit it or not, he has imparted his character onto those three Brewers teams, and it's been integral to their success. Fittingly, Murphy accepted the award from a hospital bed the day after undergoing right hip replacement surgery. Between hip and back issues, he managed through debilitating pain without missing a game. Under Murphy's aggressive management style, the Brewers, too, powered through adversity, scratching and clawing until the final out of the World Series. Murphy establishes and enforces strict standards. His players bought in, meeting those standards while regularly repeating his mantras and analogies in the clubhouse. "One of the things that stuck out for me this year is that you do have to have a belief system," Murphy said. "We can all worry about bad outcomes, but can you train your brain? That's the thing. Can you train your brain to stay in that 'win tonight' attitude and not waste time worrying about things that you might not be able to control and have that belief?" That belief was the missing component during the Brewers' previous playoff runs. Jake Bauers acknowledged last month that they felt overmatched in last year's NLCS, when the Dodgers swept them in four games. This time, the Brewers expected to win the World Series, and they refused to relent until they hoisted the Commissioner's Trophy at Tropicana Field. Murphy was part of that turnaround. Before this year's rematch with the Dodgers, he reflected on his ill-fated attempt the previous October to motivate his players by painting them as underdogs. He dropped that messaging after it inadvertently laid the groundwork for the sweep. "I'm sorry I played that underdog card," Murphy said. "I probably shouldn't have played that and used that as an excuse for why we didn't play well. No, I don't care who the underdog is. I don't care who the favorite is. It's about getting in the ring and fighting it out. That's what it's about. We've proven during the season once again that we can win baseball games." The Brewers kept winning until there were no more games. Along the way, Murphy learned to place greater trust in their young core. "One of the big things is you have to trust your players, no matter how young," he said. "You have to trust Cooper Pratt. You have to trust him. When he senses you trust him, he's going to play better." Murphy has also adapted to an evolving coaching staff, learning to trust his colleagues and consolidate information from several baseball minds with different perspectives and approaches. "I'm not easy to work for, and it's probably designed that way," Murphy said. "It's really a continual exercise in taking their information, letting them know what you want, having them add their creativity in the way they coach, trying to find both strengths and weaknesses in what they do, and then trying to dissect what's the best way, what are the best job descriptions to help them help our team and help our players." Murphy is not the sole engine of the Brewers' success. It's a group effort that spans all levels of the organization. But he's become the face of the best team in baseball and sets the tone for them every day. A third straight Manager of the Year Award is well-deserved recognition. "The couple weeks have been, again, something to be really thankful for," he said. View the full article

The AFL hosted its Fall Stars Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, with the Home Run Derby on Saturday and the Fall Stars Game on Sunday. Brooks Bryan participated in the Home Run Derby and advanced to the semifinal, but fell short of making the championship. However, he made noise with a 450-foot home run in the first round. In Sunday's game, Zion Rose, Angeibel Gomez, and Justin Lamkin represented the Kansas City Royals. Rose went 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts. One of those strikeouts came against Nationals pitcher Jarlin Susana, who buckled Rose on an 88 MPH sweeper after throwing a 103 MPH fastball on the previous pitch. As for Gomez, he went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in his Fall Stars debut. He replaced Rose in this contest. On the mound, Lamkin held his own in his inning of work, retiring the side in seven pitches. While he didn't strike anyone out, he flooded the strike zone (71.4% zone rate) and generated a good number of chases (50% chase rate). That said, as is typical for many of his outings this fall, the TJ Stuff+ metrics didn't impress. He posted a 93 overall TJ Stuff+, with all his pitches profiling as subpar. Even though he hasn't been a stuff monster this fall, Lamkin is showing the polish and command that made him such an intriguing prospect last year with Quad Cities and Northwest Arkansas before he got injured. If he stays healthy, he could be a candidate for a Major League promotion at some point in 2027, especially if his stuff improves. So how did Royals prospects fare in the Fall League beyond the Fall Stars festivities? Let's take a look at how the hitters and pitchers fared over the past seven days in this latest edition of Fall League Recap. Rose is Named AFL Hitter of the Week Hitting stats from November 3rd to November 10th Rose, OF: 7 AB, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 SB, .286 AVG, and .929 OPS. Bryan, C: 9 AB, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, .333 AVG, and .733 OPS. Gomez, OF: 6 AB, 2 BB, K, CS, .167 AVG, and .542 OPS. Austin Charles, 3B/SS: 3 K, .167 AVG, and .334 OPS. Rose went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run in Tuesday's 10-2 win by Surprise. However, before the Fall Stars weekend, the former Louisville product had a monster week with the Saguaros. In Week Five, he led the league in slugging percentage, OPS, and RBI. Rose also hit .429 and collected 12 total bases during that stretch. Rose continues to show he may be one of baseball's more underrated prospects right now. While some Royals fans (including myself) were surprised that Kansas City drafted Rose at No. 6, he's done nothing but impress since making his pro debut. He helped Quad Cities win a Midwest League title; he's been one of the best hitting prospects in the AFL, and he's quickly rising in many prospect Top-100 lists. Lucas "The Prospect Professor" of Prospects Live recently ranked Rose No. 68 in his Top-100 Prospects who haven't made their MLB debut. I think Rose will debut in Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2027, but he could make his MLB debut sometime after the All-Star Break. His projection feels very similar to Jac Caglianone in 2025, though I hope he has a smoother transition than Cags, who struggled in 2025 (50 TJ Bat+) before breaking out last year (127 TJ Bat+). Bryan, Gomez, and Charles had quieter weeks. Bryan hit for a high average (.333), but he didn't really produce much power (.333 slugging; no extra-base hits). He must've been saving it for the Home Run Derby. Gomez struggled, likely due to fatigue. He hit .167 with a .542 OPS in Week 5. However, reports on him were encouraging, especially regarding batted-ball quality. He also walked twice, struck out once, and posted a .375 OBP. So he's at least showing patience at the plate when the batted balls aren't falling for hits. It's been a tough fall for Charles, and Week 5 was no different. He only had one hit and posted a .334 OPS in 6 at-bats. He's pulling and launching the ball well this fall, but he's not getting much exit velocity on his batted balls, and he's swinging and missing a lot, as shown in the Statcast Percentile data below. I still have some hope for Charles' outlook, but based on how this AFL campaign has gone, he'll need more time and seasoning in Double-A in 2027. Arronde Thrives in Latest Outing Against Scottsdale Pitching Stats from November 3rd to November 10th Frank Mozzicato, LHP: 1 G, 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA, and 0.75 WHIP. Felix Arronde, RHP: 1 G, 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 HB, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.00 ERA, and 0.33 WHIP. Josh Hansell, RHP: 2 G, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 HB, 2 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA, and 1.50 WHIP. Lamkin, LHP: 1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 9.00 ERA, and 3.00 WHIP. Arronde pitched on Tuesday and produced his best outing of the fall. The No. 16 prospect at Royals Keep allowed only one hit and one earned run in three innings of work against Scottsdale. He also didn't walk a batter and struck out five batters. When looking at clips from his performance, he was absolutely dealing, fooling hitters with his four-pitch repertoire. When looking at the TJ Stuff+ data, Arronde's stuff profiled well overall, as evidenced by his 100 TJ Stuff+. He also produced a 101 TJ Stuff+ on the four-seamer (57 grade) and 103 TJ Stuff+ on the sinker (66 grade). His cutter profiled decently with a 99 TJ Stuff+ and 51 grade. Only the curveball graded below average, with an 87 TJ Stuff+ and a 29 grade. In terms of results, there was a lot to be happy about with Arronde on Tuesday, as he produced above-average marks in zone rate, chase rate, whiff rate, and xwOBACON. I'm not sure about Arronde's upside as a starting pitcher, and last year was a struggle for him at Double-A Northwest Arkansas (6.49 ERA, 6.25 FIP, and 7.6% K-BB% in 105.1 IP). However, I think he could thrive in a move to the bullpen, where his four-pitch mix (especially his four-seamer and sinker) can play up more. There's a lot of Luinder Avila in Arronde's profile, and I wonder if the Royals will transition Arronde to the bullpen as a long reliever this spring in Surprise. Another pitcher who struggled in Double-A Northwest Arkansas but had a solid recent week was Mozzicato, who struck out three and allowed no runs in 1.1 IP. Mozzicato's stuff profiled EXTREMELY WELL in his November 5th outing, as he produced a 105 overall TJ Stuff+ with all three of his pitches grading at 57 or higher, as shown below. Against Scottsdale, the former 1st-round pick also generated a 36.4% whiff rate and 0.000 xwOBACON. The chase rate was subpar (20%), and he did struggle with consistency in the strike zone (40% zone rate), especially with his four-seamer (31.3% zone rate). That said, I'm feeling as optimistic as ever with Mozzicato, as the stuff is there to be a decent middle reliever. The lefty could be a candidate to have a breakout in 2027, much like Beck Way did a season ago. Lamkin wasn't sharp in his November 4th outing against Glendale, but he made up for it with a strong performance in the Fall Stars game. As for Hansell, he's been one of Surprise's best volume relievers, as he had two outings this past week and has a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 IP this fall with the Saguaros. Hansell has struggled with finding the zone at times (13th percentile zone rate), and he has given up a lot of hard contact as well (15th percentile hard-hit rate). That said, the fastball velocity (85th percentile), extension (83rd percentile), and groundball rate (64.7%) have all been excellent. It's also interesting to see Hansell's repertoire and how it fares on a stuff end. His four-seamer and curveball have been mediocre, with 93 and 94 TJ Stuff+ marks, respectively. However, his other three pitches have above-average TJ Stuff+ marks. Below is a look at his complete TJ Stuff+ summary, which goes deeper into his pitches. The more I look at Hansell's AFL profile, the more encouraged I am about his outlook. The extension has been strong, and the whiff rate has been encouraging. There's a profile that the Royals Pitching Development team can work with. Could he refine his pitch mix a bit and maybe develop more shape with his four-seam fastball this offseason and next spring? If so, he could be a bullpen candidate for the Royals in September of 2027 or Opening Day in 2028. View the full article

The AFL hosted its Fall Stars Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, with the Home Run Derby on Saturday and the Fall Stars Game on Sunday. Brooks Bryan participated in the Home Run Derby and advanced to the semifinal, but fell short of making the championship. However, he made noise with a 450-foot home run in the first round. In Sunday's game, Zion Rose, Angeibel Gomez, and Justin Lamkin represented the Kansas City Royals. Rose went 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts. One of those strikeouts came against Nationals pitcher Jarlin Susana, who buckled Rose on an 88 MPH sweeper after throwing a 103 MPH fastball on the previous pitch. As for Gomez, he went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in his Fall Stars debut. He replaced Rose in this contest. On the mound, Lamkin held his own in his inning of work, retiring the side in seven pitches. While he didn't strike anyone out, he flooded the strike zone (71.4% zone rate) and generated a good number of chases (50% chase rate). That said, as is typical for many of his outings this fall, the TJ Stuff+ metrics didn't impress. He posted a 93 overall TJ Stuff+, with all his pitches profiling as subpar. Even though he hasn't been a stuff monster this fall, Lamkin is showing the polish and command that made him such an intriguing prospect last year with Quad Cities and Northwest Arkansas before he got injured. If he stays healthy, he could be a candidate for a Major League promotion at some point in 2027, especially if his stuff improves. So how did Royals prospects fare in the Fall League beyond the Fall Stars festivities? Let's take a look at how the hitters and pitchers fared over the past seven days in this latest edition of Fall League Recap. Rose is Named AFL Hitter of the Week Hitting stats from November 3rd to November 10th Rose, OF: 7 AB, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 SB, .286 AVG, and .929 OPS. Bryan, C: 9 AB, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, .333 AVG, and .733 OPS. Gomez, OF: 6 AB, 2 BB, K, CS, .167 AVG, and .542 OPS. Austin Charles, 3B/SS: 3 K, .167 AVG, and .334 OPS. Rose went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run in Tuesday's 10-2 win by Surprise. However, before the Fall Stars weekend, the former Louisville product had a monster week with the Saguaros. In Week Five, he led the league in slugging percentage, OPS, and RBI. Rose also hit .429 and collected 12 total bases during that stretch. Rose continues to show he may be one of baseball's more underrated prospects right now. While some Royals fans (including myself) were surprised that Kansas City drafted Rose at No. 6, he's done nothing but impress since making his pro debut. He helped Quad Cities win a Midwest League title; he's been one of the best hitting prospects in the AFL, and he's quickly rising in many prospect Top-100 lists. Lucas "The Prospect Professor" of Prospects Live recently ranked Rose No. 68 in his Top-100 Prospects who haven't made their MLB debut. I think Rose will debut in Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2027, but he could make his MLB debut sometime after the All-Star Break. His projection feels very similar to Jac Caglianone in 2025, though I hope he has a smoother transition than Cags, who struggled in 2025 (50 TJ Bat+) before breaking out last year (127 TJ Bat+). Bryan, Gomez, and Charles had quieter weeks. Bryan hit for a high average (.333), but he didn't really produce much power (.333 slugging; no extra-base hits). He must've been saving it for the Home Run Derby. Gomez struggled, likely due to fatigue. He hit .167 with a .542 OPS in Week 5. However, reports on him were encouraging, especially regarding batted-ball quality. He also walked twice, struck out once, and posted a .375 OBP. So he's at least showing patience at the plate when the batted balls aren't falling for hits. It's been a tough fall for Charles, and Week 5 was no different. He only had one hit and posted a .334 OPS in 6 at-bats. He's pulling and launching the ball well this fall, but he's not getting much exit velocity on his batted balls, and he's swinging and missing a lot, as shown in the Statcast Percentile data below. I still have some hope for Charles' outlook, but based on how this AFL campaign has gone, he'll need more time and seasoning in Double-A in 2027. Arronde Thrives in Latest Outing Against Scottsdale Pitching Stats from November 3rd to November 10th Frank Mozzicato, LHP: 1 G, 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA, and 0.75 WHIP. Felix Arronde, RHP: 1 G, 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 HB, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.00 ERA, and 0.33 WHIP. Josh Hansell, RHP: 2 G, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 HB, 2 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA, and 1.50 WHIP. Lamkin, LHP: 1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 9.00 ERA, and 3.00 WHIP. Arronde pitched on Tuesday and produced his best outing of the fall. The No. 16 prospect at Royals Keep allowed only one hit and one earned run in three innings of work against Scottsdale. He also didn't walk a batter and struck out five batters. When looking at clips from his performance, he was absolutely dealing, fooling hitters with his four-pitch repertoire. When looking at the TJ Stuff+ data, Arronde's stuff profiled well overall, as evidenced by his 100 TJ Stuff+. He also produced a 101 TJ Stuff+ on the four-seamer (57 grade) and 103 TJ Stuff+ on the sinker (66 grade). His cutter profiled decently with a 99 TJ Stuff+ and 51 grade. Only the curveball graded below average, with an 87 TJ Stuff+ and a 29 grade. In terms of results, there was a lot to be happy about with Arronde on Tuesday, as he produced above-average marks in zone rate, chase rate, whiff rate, and xwOBACON. I'm not sure about Arronde's upside as a starting pitcher, and last year was a struggle for him at Double-A Northwest Arkansas (6.49 ERA, 6.25 FIP, and 7.6% K-BB% in 105.1 IP). However, I think he could thrive in a move to the bullpen, where his four-pitch mix (especially his four-seamer and sinker) can play up more. There's a lot of Luinder Avila in Arronde's profile, and I wonder if the Royals will transition Arronde to the bullpen as a long reliever this spring in Surprise. Another pitcher who struggled in Double-A Northwest Arkansas but had a solid recent week was Mozzicato, who struck out three and allowed no runs in 1.1 IP. Mozzicato's stuff profiled EXTREMELY WELL in his November 5th outing, as he produced a 105 overall TJ Stuff+ with all three of his pitches grading at 57 or higher, as shown below. Against Scottsdale, the former 1st-round pick also generated a 36.4% whiff rate and 0.000 xwOBACON. The chase rate was subpar (20%), and he did struggle with consistency in the strike zone (40% zone rate), especially with his four-seamer (31.3% zone rate). That said, I'm feeling as optimistic as ever with Mozzicato, as the stuff is there to be a decent middle reliever. The lefty could be a candidate to have a breakout in 2027, much like Beck Way did a season ago. Lamkin wasn't sharp in his November 4th outing against Glendale, but he made up for it with a strong performance in the Fall Stars game. As for Hansell, he's been one of Surprise's best volume relievers, as he had two outings this past week and has a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 IP this fall with the Saguaros. Hansell has struggled with finding the zone at times (13th percentile zone rate), and he has given up a lot of hard contact as well (15th percentile hard-hit rate). That said, the fastball velocity (85th percentile), extension (83rd percentile), and groundball rate (64.7%) have all been excellent. It's also interesting to see Hansell's repertoire and how it fares on a stuff end. His four-seamer and curveball have been mediocre, with 93 and 94 TJ Stuff+ marks, respectively. However, his other three pitches have above-average TJ Stuff+ marks. Below is a look at his complete TJ Stuff+ summary, which goes deeper into his pitches. The more I look at Hansell's AFL profile, the more encouraged I am about his outlook. The extension has been strong, and the whiff rate has been encouraging. There's a profile that the Royals Pitching Development team can work with. Could he refine his pitch mix a bit and maybe develop more shape with his four-seam fastball this offseason and next spring? If so, he could be a bullpen candidate for the Royals in September of 2027 or Opening Day in 2028. View the full article

Now that the Boston Red Sox have the opportunity to strengthen their bullpen via free agency, acquiring left-hander Steven Okert would be one of my favorite moves this winter. That would further improve the bullpen’s left-handed profile alongside Erik Miller and Aroldis Chapman as its main pieces. Over the last two seasons, Okert recorded the fourth-highest fWAR (2.7) among left-handed relievers, surpassed only by Adrian Morejón (5.1), undoubtedly the top reliever available in free agency, Chapman (4.2) and Josh Hader (3.0). Recently, my colleague Nick John offered a look at how Okert would fit into the Red Sox bullpen, so I have been thinking about a second-hand alternative if the team cannot acquire him. In that hypothetical context, I think 32-year-old A.J. Minter would be an interesting option as a solid middle reliever, without standing out among the most expensive relievers on the free-agent market. Minter began the 2026 season with the New York Mets and then moved on to reinforce the Twins’ bullpen at the trade deadline, completing 48 relief appearances, his highest workload since making 70 relief appearances for the Atlanta Braves in 2023. Between 2024 and 2025, he missed a large part of both seasons due to injuries to his left hip, which required surgery in 2024, and his left latissimus dorsi muscle, a tear of which ended his 2025 season. So, his return this year was still limited by his recovery, but Minter managed to make adjustments and showed improvements, especially in his control, reducing his walk rate from 11.4% (2025) to 4.3% (2026). His streaks, sometimes prolonged, of losing command have followed him throughout his career, but in his most recent qualified seasons, between 2021 and 2023, he continued to demonstrate his ability to strike out batters, generate whiffs and avoid hard contact, finishing in at least the 89th, 96th and 85th percentiles in consecutive years. This season, Minter finished with the highest xFIP (4.08) of his career in seasons in which he has pitched at least 40 innings. The most concerning point in that regard is that his strikeouts have declined slightly: his whiff rate dropped from his historical average of 30.7% to 23.4%, while his home run-to-fly ball rate jumped to 13.6%, well above his historical mark of 8.7%. Despite Minter increasing his fastball’s average velocity from 92.9 to 94.0 mph when he moved to Minnesota, the home run rate also rose from 11.4% with the Mets to 16.1%. Of course, when inning samples are so short, any bad stretch can distort the results, and Minter was no exception. The southpaw began the season without allowing home runs to the first 50 batters he faced, an impressive stretch in which he also did not allow any runs in his first 14 innings with the Mets. Of the nine home runs he allowed all season, five came in a span of 12 relief appearances between July 3 and August 5, precisely when the trade deadline was approaching. In those 12 games, the Mets finished with a 2-10 record, while he recorded a 5.56 ERA and a puzzling 7.60 FIP in his matchups against 52 opponents. Fortunately for him, most of the home runs he allowed were solo shots and, after getting past that slump, he managed to stabilize a little more. Although he allowed another four home runs the rest of the way, he finished with a 1-0 record in his last 21 relief appearances, with one save in three opportunities, nine holds and a 2.70 ERA. The overall results were not bad, since in 37 of his 48 relief appearances Minter did not allow any runs and in 20 of them he held his opponents hitless. His 2.38 ERA was the the fourth-lowest among left-handed relievers with at least 50 innings pitched since 2025, and he prevented 73% of inherited runners from scoring in the 15 situations he faced. Therefore, there are still reasons that make me think he can be useful in a bullpen like the Red Sox’s, where he would not be the centerpiece or the pitcher expected to handle a high volume of work, but would instead be tasked with shutting down left-handed batters in key moments. View the full article

It isn't quite an empty slate to work with, but the Jays front office has plenty to consider this offseason. The club enters the winter with one of the American League's best defensive foundations, but another season of inconsistent offence means Ross Atkins and company still have several important holes to fill. Run prevention was never the issue last season. Their pitchers generated enough quality starts to remain competitive on most nights, and their defence consistently turned difficult balls into outs. The problem was that too often they needed to be nearly perfect to win games. Fresh off some expected roster moves, including opting out of the Myles Straw contract and activating a slew of players from the 60-day injured list, the front office is working the phones to fill some voids before an expected labour stoppage puts major transactions on hold. Shoring up the starting rotation, adding an infielder, adding an outfielder and deciding what to do at DH. It isn't a small list and, given the uncertainty surrounding a work stoppage, there may be some hesitation in aggressively assembling the 2027 roster right away. There has already been plenty of talk surrounding a reunion with Kevin Gausman. It would make sense if he's willing to accept a shorter-term deal, perhaps bolstered by performance bonuses. Something similar to the option Shane Bieber picked up last offseason, but with incentives resembling those Max Scherzer negotiated into his contract. During the 2026 season, Gausman threw 177.2 innings and struck out 184 batters while posting a 3.74 FIP, numbers that suggest he remains more effective than his traditional ERA might indicate. Gausman remains an effective workhorse who can comfortably slot into the middle of the rotation and ease some of the pressure on Trey Yesavage and the club's younger arms. Unlike many of last year's starters, he managed to avoid injury. He remains capable of dominant stretches, but would benefit from a little more offensive support. The talk of Tarik Skubal feels more like a pipe dream. The team's multi-year commitment to Dylan Cease all but removes the possibility of adding another marquee starter, barring a major move during a late-season playoff push. Even if the Jays add another starter, the larger challenge remains scoring runs. Regardless of who makes up the rotation, offensive production needs to improve. Some new blood in the infield and outfield will need to step up. A full season of Brett Bateman will be fun to watch, and the return of Addison Barger might help ignite the offence, but the infield still needs a sure-handed defender who can also contribute consistently at the plate. Kazuma Okamoto was really the only bright spot in the infield last season. Much of the criticism among fans was aimed at Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but Andrés Giménez continued to underperform offensively while Ernie Clement's bat went quiet during the second half. Josh Smith will most likely be given some opportunities after showing signs of a lively bat following his arrival from Texas. Luis Urías and Lenyn Sosa are both free agents, while Davis Schneider continued to slide down manager John Schneider's list of trusted hitters. Can Sean Keys or Charles McAdoo bring their minor league success to the major league level? Keep in mind the Jays won the American League Team Gold Glove Award for the best overall defence in the league in 2026, their third such honour in four seasons. Whoever gets added to the roster not only needs to improve the offence but also needs to fit the club's defensive identity. That balancing act may ultimately define this offseason more than any single player acquisition. Throughout the 2026 season, the Jays found themselves near the bottom of the league in several key offensive categories. Strong pitching performances were often wasted because the lineup simply couldn't generate enough support. Only eight players on the roster finished the season with a wRC+ at or above league average (100). The statistic is designed to measure a player's total value at the plate. That group included Luis Urías (122), Jonatan Clase (153), Kazuma Okamoto (133), Alejandro Kirk (114), Nathan Lukes (102), Brett Bateman (138) and George Springer (105). Jesús Sánchez posted a 105 wRC+ before his departure. Giménez smoothly transitioned to shortstop, but his offensive production remains inconsistent. The team needs more than a .244 batting average, .291 on-base percentage and .359 slugging percentage from an everyday player. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked near the bottom of MLB in average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage and several expected offensive metrics. The Jays took a risk when they acquired him and took on his sizable contract, and the move has only partially paid off so far. Giménez doesn't need to hit like Elly De La Cruz or Mookie Betts, but lifting his slugging percentage closer to .400 would go a long way toward making him a more impactful player. His contributions, along with Clement's, are vital, especially if Guerrero continues to fall short of the MVP-calibre standards he established earlier in his career. Delving into Diamondcentric's top 35 trade candidates, there are a few intriguing options for the Jays. If the front office can work out a deal for a player such as CJ Abrams, Jeremy Peña or Zach Neto, it could take some of the pressure off Giménez, Clement and potentially Guerrero as well. Those names feel considerably more realistic than a blockbuster pursuit of Gunnar Henderson, though the Orioles have shown they aren't entirely opposed to trading within the division. Meanwhile, a healthy Barger has the potential to become a difference-maker. The Blue Jays have long believed in his power potential and positional flexibility. If he can stay on the field for 140-plus games, he could effectively function as an external acquisition without Toronto spending a dollar in free agency. The same can be said for Bateman, who will hope to play his first full season in 2027. The Blue Jays would love to add a power bat. They already paid for one when they signed Anthony Santander. His injury-plagued tenure, combined with his recent activity on social media, might spell the end of his time in Toronto. Teams rarely eat contracts of that size, and there has been no public declaration either way from the organization, so perhaps the club will give him one more opportunity. An outfielder, who could serve as DH as well, with some pop would certainly be welcome next season. DiamondCentric lists Oneil Cruz and Garrett Mitchell as potential trade candidates. Their salaries would be easier to absorb than a reunion with Teoscar Hernández. Steven Kwan has also been rumoured as a possible fit. He doesn't provide much power, but he aligns well with the Jays' contact-first philosophy. The Blue Jays are closer to contention than many frustrated fans might realize. Their defence remains intact heading into next season. Their pitching foundation, both in the rotation and bullpen, is strong. Several young players also possess legitimate breakout potential. The challenge for the front office isn't rebuilding the roster. It's finding enough offence to support an already strong pitching staff and elite defence. If they can accomplish that, the Blue Jays may be much closer to contention than many people think. View the full article

When it comes to consistency, Raisel Iglesias has been one of the best closers of his generation. He is not a reliever who impresses with powerful raw stuff—since 2021, he has not ranked above the 73rd percentile in fastball velocity—but he has a lethal combination of changeup, sinker, and slider that has allowed him to remain among the elite at generating swings and misses and strikeouts. Iglesias’ changeup ranked in the 80th percentile in the league in 2026 in run value, recovering from a drop to 29th place in 2025. This shows that, when his command remains consistent and his best weapon is in play, he can still be a reliable closer. In fact, no pitcher has recorded more saves than him since 2023, accumulating 130 in 146 opportunities (89.0%), a percentage that has only been surpassed by Josh Hader (92.4%) and Jhoan Duran (89.1%). Iglesias has accumulated at least 30 saves in six of his ten MLB seasons since becoming a closer with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017, including two of the last three in 2024 and 2026 as the closer for the Atlanta Braves. Part of that stability is precisely what the New York Mets bullpen needed in 2026. Although it was not as disastrous as in 2025, when they finished with the lowest save percentage of this decade (59.7%), the Mets clearly need some help in the late innings of games. Another key point that we cannot overlook is that New York recorded just 49 save opportunities throughout the 2026 season, the lowest mark for a full season since the 51 in 2002, when this statistic began being recorded in the official MLB databases. This can be interpreted in several ways, since there will not be many save opportunities if the collective does not function and, especially, the offense is not capable of providing enough leads. If you can't score and you can't prevent the opponent from scoring runs, it is very difficult for you to generate more save opportunities—which is exactly why the Mets need to make the most of the ones they get. These trends further reinforce the need for the Mets to be aggressive in free agency to try to solve their bullpen problems, which lost several impact arms when Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, and A.J. Minter were traded at the deadline. Added to that loss is the inconsistency of Devin Williams, who has been another major disappointment, as he has not been able to return to the level he previously displayed with the Milwaukee Brewers. Although Williams was placed on the injured list on August 10 after suffering a right shoulder strain, which opened an opportunity for Kodai Senga as a closer, his season-ending stretch once again raised many doubts. He finished with a 5.11 ERA and four saves in six opportunities during his final 13 appearances of the season. So, for the Mets, Iglesias’ proven consistency could provide a boost to bring stability back to the bullpen. MLB Trade Rumors has his value pegged at $17 million over one year, which is the going rate for a high-quality closer. Paying him and Williams a combined $34 million next year is an unsavory concept, but as far as high-leverage relievers go, Iglesias is probably going to be the most affordable of the bunch. View the full article

When it comes to consistency, Raisel Iglesias has been one of the best closers of his generation. He is not a reliever who impresses with powerful raw stuff—since 2021, he has not ranked above the 73rd percentile in fastball velocity—but he has a lethal combination of changeup, sinker, and slider that has allowed him to remain among the elite at generating swings and misses and strikeouts. Iglesias’ changeup ranked in the 80th percentile in the league in 2026 in run value, recovering from a drop to 29th place in 2025. This shows that, when his command remains consistent and his best weapon is in play, he can still be a reliable closer. In fact, no pitcher has recorded more saves than him since 2023, accumulating 130 in 146 opportunities (89.0%), a percentage that has only been surpassed by Josh Hader (92.4%) and Jhoan Duran (89.1%). Iglesias has accumulated at least 30 saves in six of his ten MLB seasons since becoming a closer with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017, including two of the last three in 2024 and 2026 as the closer for the Atlanta Braves. Part of that stability is precisely what the New York Mets bullpen needed in 2026. Although it was not as disastrous as in 2025, when they finished with the lowest save percentage of this decade (59.7%), the Mets clearly need some help in the late innings of games. Another key point that we cannot overlook is that New York recorded just 49 save opportunities throughout the 2026 season, the lowest mark for a full season since the 51 in 2002, when this statistic began being recorded in the official MLB databases. This can be interpreted in several ways, since there will not be many save opportunities if the collective does not function and, especially, the offense is not capable of providing enough leads. If you can't score and you can't prevent the opponent from scoring runs, it is very difficult for you to generate more save opportunities—which is exactly why the Mets need to make the most of the ones they get. These trends further reinforce the need for the Mets to be aggressive in free agency to try to solve their bullpen problems, which lost several impact arms when Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, and A.J. Minter were traded at the deadline. Added to that loss is the inconsistency of Devin Williams, who has been another major disappointment, as he has not been able to return to the level he previously displayed with the Milwaukee Brewers. Although Williams was placed on the injured list on August 10 after suffering a right shoulder strain, which opened an opportunity for Kodai Senga as a closer, his season-ending stretch once again raised many doubts. He finished with a 5.11 ERA and four saves in six opportunities during his final 13 appearances of the season. So, for the Mets, Iglesias’ proven consistency could provide a boost to bring stability back to the bullpen. MLB Trade Rumors has his value pegged at $17 million over one year, which is the going rate for a high-quality closer. Paying him and Williams a combined $34 million next year is an unsavory concept, but as far as high-leverage relievers go, Iglesias is probably going to be the most affordable of the bunch. View the full article