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The Milwaukee Brewers adopted the slogan “Win Our Way” as they approached clinching a spot in the postseason. That has a lot to do with the players they run out there on a daily basis. But now that strategy comes under bigger scrutiny as the Brewers face the Tampa Bay Rays on MLB’s greatest stage, the World Series. Specific matchups are going to be key in a seven-game series that is expected to be decided by the slimmest of advantages. Down the stretch, the Brewers settled into a pretty routine lineup vs. right-handers and changes against left-handers, which manager Pat Murphy has continued through the first two rounds of the postseason. The Tampa Bay Rays are very similar, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering the similarities between the teams. But the Rays have been a little more on-the-fly with how manager Kevin Cash fills out his lineup card. With Game 1 set for Friday, let’s take a look at each of the lineups and what we might see as games progress. Brewers Lineup Expected Rays rotation: RHP Nick Martinez, RHP Drew Rasmussen, RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Griffin Jax Jackson Chourio, LF (RH) Brice Turang, 2B (LH) William Contreras, C (RH) Jake Bauers, 1B (LH) Christian Yelich, DH (LH) Garrett Mitchell, CF (LH) Cooper Pratt, SS (RH) Sal Frelick, RF (LH) David Hamilton, 3B (LH) This is the typical lineup against a right-handed starter and the way the Crew will roll for pretty much every game with no left-handers likely to be a true starter. Don’t expect that lineup to last to the end of the game. The platoons against left-handers happen at designated hitter, where Andrew Vaughn could supplant Yelich, while switch-hitter Luis Lara would get the start over Frelick in right field and Joey Ortiz gets the nod over Hamilton at third. Ian Seymour is the only potential true left-handed starter for the Rays, but he has come out of the bullpen all season. Rays Lineup Expected Brewers rotation: RHP Jacob Misiorowski, RHP Logan Henderson, LHP Robert Gasser, bullpen game Jonathan Aranda, 1B (RH) Yandy Diaz, DH (RH) Liam Hicks, C (LH) Junior Caminero, 3B (RH) Chandler Simpson, LF (RH) Victor Mesa Jr., RF (LH) Jonny DeLuca, CF (RH) Richie Palacios, 2B (LH) Taylor Walls, SS (S) The Rays platoon at second with Ben Williamson and Jorge Mateo as the right-handed options, with Williamson getting more of the time even with Mateo coming over in mid-August after being released by Atlanta. All three played second in one of the AL Championship Series games. Mesa might be swapped out when Brewers left-hander Robert Gasser starts in favor of Ryan Vilade. Hicks, a left-handed hitter, is likely to get most of the starts at catcher, although Nic Fortes, a right-handed hitter, will pop in on occasion. Hicks has also bounced around in the lineup, hitting everywhere from third through eighth when starting in the postseason. Cedric Mullins will sometimes come in for defensive purposes to play center, with DeLuca moving to right and sending Mesa to the bench. What Are The Key Matchups? As you might expect with the Brewers having a rotation filled with rookies or others with minimal MLB experience, there is not much of a track record between Rays hitters and Brewers starters. In fact, between Misiorowski, Henderson and Gasser, there have been a grand total of 28 at-bats between that trio and the players expected to be on the Rays’ World Series roster. Of those, 22 came in the April 1 game—the second series of the season—in Misiorowski’s second start of the season. Ten Rays who are on the roster got to see the Miz either two or three times. Simpson reached twice vs. Misiorowski, on a bunt single and a walk. Caminero is 5-for-18 vs. current Brewers pitchers, including 2-for-3 against right-handed reliever Antonio Senzatela. Diaz, the Rays’ other big bat, is 9-for-24 with homers off Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison. A good chunk of that was done against right-hander Dustin May (3-for-3) and Harrison (3-for-5), but Diaz is also 2-for-4 vs. left-hander JoJo Romero. Aranda is 2-for-2 against Senzatela, both doubles, so that might not be a matchup you see at all. Simpson has gone 6-for-18, including 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles when paired with right-hander Chad Patrick. Hicks faced the Brewers the most this season due to his tenure with the Miami Marlins. He went 7-for-23, including 5-for-24 vs. NLCS Crew pitchers (subtract Brandon Woodruff, add Senzatela). Brewers closer Trevor Megill has given up four hits in 11 at-bats to this group of Rays hitters with Mullins going 2-for-2 with a double. Left-handed reliever Aaron Ashby has kept the Rays at 4-for-16, with Caminero and DeLuca going 1-for-2. Right-hander Abner Uribe has pretty much shut down the Rays, who have gone 1-for-14. Romero, the other big lefty out of the Brewers' bullpen, has held those not named Diaz (2-for-4) to 2-for-12. After Caminero and Aranda, as mentioned above, Senzatela has kept the other Rays to 2-for-16. Meanwhile, there is a slightly bigger history of Brewers hitters facing these Rays pitchers. That could also make Game 1 more interesting. There are a handful of Brewers who have had success vs. Martinez, who got the Game 1 nod when Rasmussen needed an extra day of rest. Mitchell (4-for-12, two doubles), Frelick (4-for-13, double, four RBIs), Contreras (4-for-18, double, two homers, four RBIs), Yelich (5-for-19, double, homer) and Turang (4-for-16, two doubles, homer) will provide a stiff opening challenge. Rasmussen, the former Brewers prospect dealt away for shortstop Willy Adames, has seen Bauers go 3-for-8 with a walk, while Contreras is 2-for-5 with a homer and a walk. Yelich and Turang have homers as their lone hit in four plate appearances vs. Rasmussen. Peralta was knocked around pretty good by the Brewers when he returned to American Family Field for his lone game against the Brewers, but the Rays have been notable changes to get him more on the level he was at with the Crew. Pratt went 3-for-3 with a homer to highlight the seven runs in 5⅓ innings on July 20. It will also be interesting to see if Vaughn starts against Peralta as he is 5-for-11 in his career against him. Jax has faced the Brewers most often of the four starters, but all seven of those appearances came out of the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen. Those short outings have resulted in a pretty balanced 10-for-24 show by the Brewers, with Yelich having the most time against Jax, going 2-for-6. Contreras is 2-for-4, while six other Brewers on the roster have one hit in a maximum of four plate appearances. Against Rays relievers, right-handed closer Bryan Baker, who tied for the MLB lead with 41 saves, has limited the Brewers to 1-for-6, all before this season and during his time with the Baltimore Orioles, with Chourio getting that knock. Right-hander Kevin Kelly has kept the Crew at 2-for-8, with backup catcher Gary Sanchez going 1-for-2, the same as Bauers. Against right-hander Tyler Wells, the Brewers are just 3-for-17, with Sanchez homering in five at-bats. Cam Booser, one of likely three left-handers in the Rays’ bullpen, has yielded four hits in eight at-bats, with lefty-hitting Bauers going 2-for-2 with a double. Another Rays lefty, Seymour, has kept the Crew in check at 1-for-7, with Yelich getting the lone hit. View the full article

While the arbitration process could change a bit in the negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement, the system will be the same this offseason. For the San Diego Padres, that means eight (and possibly nine) players will go through arbitration. There aren't too many tough decisions to be made, thankfully, though that can't be said for the rest of the Friars' roster. Here is who is up for arbitration and what they are projected to make, courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors. Decisions on non-tendering players aren't due until late November, with some players cutting deals before then to return. 1B Gavin Sheets, $6.5 million The 30-year-old is going through arbitration for the final time. His season finished on the downside as he dealt with a painful left foot injury and with Ty France taking over the starting role at first base. Sheets had a .212/.313/.397 slash line with 17 homers and 48 RBIs over 125 games (419 plate appearances). The left-handed slugger was a big part of the Padres' early season success, including the two-homer game April 10 vs. the Colorado Rockies in which he hit a three-run walk-off homer. He also hit five homers each in May and June. But then the power disappeared, as Sheets didn't hit a homer in July and only three the rest of the season. He entered 2026 coming off his most productive season, his first with the Padres, putting up a .252/.317/.429 slash line and career highs of 19 homers and 71 RBIs. He did go deep in the NL Wild Card Series, but started just one of six postseason games. Prediction: It is expected that France will return to be the primary first baseman in 2027. That deal could actually be done already with president of baseball operations A.J. Preller just waiting for the World Series to conclude to announce it. Sheets can also play left field and is perhaps best-suited as a regular designated hitter. The question for the Padres is do they want to invest $6.5 million into bringing Sheets back? There could be another team out there that would take on Sheets and his relatively big price tag based on his production, which could net a wild-card prospect or another useful player. The Padres can spend this money elsewhere. If not traded, Sheets will be non-tendered. C Luis Campusano, $1.7 million C Freddy Fermin, $2.6 million These two have related cases, so I will combine them. Campusano just turned 28 and is entering his final year of club control. He proved himself worthy of time behind the plate and was good at the plate, slashing .265/.363/.433 with eight homers and 30 RBIs in 125 games (419 plate appearances). He had a tremendous July with a .326/.456/.413 slash line in just 46 plate appearances with a homer and five RBIs. His defensive highlight was in the September series against the New York Yankees where he threw out three runners in a single game. Fermin is 31 years old and was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline to bolster the Friars' offense at the position. But he has produced a .217/.276/.323 slash line with six homers and 38 RBIs in 138 games (404 plate appearances), including .203/.274/.315 this year with four homers and 24 RBIs. Fermin is known for his defense and he lived up to that standard by becoming a candidate to win his first Gold Glove this year. Campusano started 51 games at catcher and Fermin 74. Both missed a good chunk of time with injuries, Campusano with a fractured left big toe and Fermin with a concussion and then a bruised head. Prediction: I don't think the Padres would have run it back with this duo next season, but it was certainly possible. Following the promotion of No. 1 prospect Ethan Salas to begin September, though, the handwriting is now on the wall that the 20-year-old will be the primary catcher entering 2027 (justifiably so based on what he flashed in September and then in the postseason). There is no way the Padres carry three catchers next year as they did following Salas' promotion with the extra roster spots available. You can do rock-paper-scissors to figure out who of Campusano and Fermin will stay. The other will have a trade market and that could be what decides who is a Padre in 2027. The preference is probably to for Campusano, the Padres' second-round pick in 2017, to stick around, but his hitting could be a lure for another team that can live with the defense he plays. Fermin is fine when paired with a catcher who can hit, which is what Salas is expected to do. Salas can also pick up defensive pointers from Fermin. It really is a tossup as to who is traded, but my guess is Fermin is shipped out. RHP Mason Miller, $8.1 million The 28-year-old was already one of the best closers in MLB, then he put up numbers you might only see in a video game this season. He tied for third in MLB in saves with 38 while finishing an NL-high 57 games. He had a 1.17 FIP (1.67 ERA). He had by far the most strikeouts of any reliever with 129, especially when you consider No. 2 on the list was 17 behind and threw 17 more innings. That made for a fantastic 47.4% strikeout rate, which was somehow below the 54.2% rate he had with the Padres in 2025. Miller is in arbitration for the second time as a Super 2 player (more on that at the end) and has three years remaining of club control. Prediction: There are already rumors of other teams wanting to pursue Miller via trade. That shouldn't happen, at least not yet. Miller is elite and the value he brings even at $8.1 million is more of a bargain than any other closer who has signed a big free-agent contract. RHP Bryan Hoeing, $800,000 The 30-year-old right-handed reliever missed the entire season after having surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow in spring training. That followed a right shoulder issue that limited him to 18 games in 2025 after coming over from the Miami Marlins at the 2024 trade deadline. He is likely to be ready for Opening Day. This will be Hoeing's first foray into arbitration. When healthy in 2024-25, he was very good, notching a 3.28 FIP (2.34 ERA) with a 6.5% walk rate and 19.5% strikeout rate. Prediction: Coming back at what is basically a league-minimum deal is optimal for the Padres, regardless of his major injuries the last two years. Unless there is something in his medical report the Friars don't like, Hoeing is worth keeping, especially with three years of control remaining. LHP JP Sears, $2.8 million We will make this simple. The 30-year-old left-handed starter has made just 13 appearances for the Padres since coming over with Miller from the A's at the 2025 trade deadline. While he had a couple good starts this year, it was nothing to sway the front office into keeping him, even at this relatively low price. Prediction: Freeing up $2.8 million to spend on players who will actually be on the MLB roster is the way to go here. Sorry, JP, but you will have to find a new home. Perhaps Preller can deal him to a team that will actually use Sears with regularity. RHP Jeremiah Estrada, $1.3 million The newly turned 28-year-old right-handed reliever, in arbitration for the first time, became an afterthought this season due to three stints on the injured list due to right elbow, right knee and right shoulder ailments that limited him to 33 appearances and 31 innings. He had a 3.04 FIP (3.48 ERA) with a high 12.7% walk rate and a nice 30.2% strikeout rate. Prediction: There's no reason to think that Estrada won't be back. He was on track in his recovery from his right shoulder injury, to the point that he would have been in consideration to join the roster for the NL Championship Series had the Padres advanced. That means he should be good to go for spring training. RHP Jhony Brito, $800,000 The 29-year-old right-hander returned from an internal brace procedure and flexor tendon surgery on his right elbow in May for a rehab assignment. He got three call-ups, but all were brief stays, logging nine innings over five relief appearances. In the minors, he had a 2.97 ERA in 19 games, all but one as a starter. He walked 16 and struck out 46 in 69⅔ innings. This is Brito's first year in arbitration. Prediction: Brito will be a bullpen candidate next year and borderline rotation option, perhaps a right-handed version of Kyle Hart. The price is a smidge above the MLB minimum, so that isn't a concern for a team that needs every ounce of pitching depth it can muster. RHP Randy Vasquez, TBD The soon-to-be 28-year-old is a borderline candidate to be a Super 2 player. What is a Super 2? That is any player that ranks in the top 22% of service time between their second and third year. Super 2 players get an extra year of arbitration eligibility in their six years of club control. For most, club control is three years of suppressed salaries near the MLB minimum and then three years of the arbitration process. Super 2s become eligible for arbitration before their third MLB season instead of their fourth. For Vasquez, he sits at two years, 129 days of service time. MLB Trade Rumors projected that the cutoff for Super 2 this year would be two years, 130 days. That projection was also done with numbers through the end of July, so its likely to vary based on how many players came up to make their MLB debut after that. A year ago, the Super 2 cutoff was two years, 140 days and it has been as low as two years, 115 days in a recent season (2019). Vasquez is not on most arbitration projections because of that. Vasquez was a key part of the Padres' pitching staff this season, primarily as a starter, but also later in the season in relief. He made 23 starts and nine relief appearances, posting a career-high 140⅔ innings. Vasquez had a 4.24 FIP (3.90 ERA) with a good 6.3% walk rate and substandard 14.8% strikeout rate. Prediction: Vasquez will enter the offseason as a back-end rotation candidate, so there is no worry about being non-tendered or traded away just to save money. His salary won't jump much this year whether or not he reaches arbitration, but it will represent a nice increase for him. View the full article

Step by step, we're navigating together the final several hours before Game 1 of the 2026 World Series. Yesterday, I identified 15 things that will contribute to the outcome of this series. Today, I'll supply 12 more. It's time to talk matchups, matchups, matchups, y'all. 16. The Rays' (Faltering) Platoons One thing you must know about Kevin Cash's lineup is that the three hitters at the top are essentially locked into place (Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero), but after that, things get much more messy. At various points this year, the team has platooned at as many as four spots: Catcher: Liam Hicks (L), Nick Fortes (R) Second Base: Richie Palacios (L), Ben Williamson and/or Jorge Mateo (R) Center Field: Johnny DeLuca (R), Cedric Mullins (L) Right Field: Victor Mesa Jr. (L), Ryan Vilade (R) At the moment, though, I would only call one of those four platoons intact—and even it is showing some fissures. Hicks, who often bats cleanup for them against right-handed starters, started eight of their nine AL playoff games, appeared in all nine, and played the whole game in seven. Fortes is strictly a backup at this point, but given the Brewers' stable of left-handed pitching options, we'll see him at least occasionally during the series. DeLuca is the starting center fielder now, too—which just happened within the last few weeks. Mullins made 122 starts in center, but is now confined to occasional duty as a defensive sub or pinch-runner. Sem Miller's terrific preview of the World Series through the lens of small things that might matter mentioned that Mullins is maybe the best bunter in the game, but he might not take a plate appearance the whole series. Mesa, too, has become a de facto full-timer, as Joe Sheehan observed in his own preview of the Series earlier this week. When he hit a crucial left-on-left homer against Max Fried in the ALDS, Cash (it would seem) decided to simply trust the more talented half of his right-field timeshare, and the results support that decision. The only place where something like a real platoon persists is at second, with Palacios (22 plate appearances) coming to bat exactly twice as often as Williamson (11) during the ALDS and ALCS. Even there, some clutch at-bats from Palacios—most notably, a two-run double and a late single against a pair of lefty relievers in the pennant-clinching game—seems to both imply that Cash is already leaning toward Palacios more and suggest that he'll do so during this series. For what it's worth, my stripping-down of hitters to the matchups in which they faced markedly above-average pitchers (introduced in an earlier part of this preview) suggest that Cash is mostly right to move out of platoon mode and hand the job to individuals here. He's giving a markedly better player a chance to thrive, in all but one case. Here are those platoon arrangements again, with their expected weighted on-base averages (xwOBA) against this subset of pitchers this year: Hicks: .281, Fortes: .215 Palacios: .295, Williamson: .276 DeLuca: .250, Mullins: .264 Vilade: .199 Mesa didn't get enough playing time against those pitchers to appear in my query, but we can safely guess he's better against them than Vilade. The aforementioned homer against Fried was practically more than Vilade has done against good pitching all year. The only perplexing choice is the sudden pivot toward DeLuca. Mullins is a veteran with a solid reputation in the clubhouse. He was the starter almost right up to the end of the regular season. After an abysmal April, he put up a respectable .685 OPS the rest of the way, and as the number above indicates, he hangs in there against good pitching. If you clip out the middle of his season and look only from August 1 on, he did have a .599 OPS, but I'm not sure that benching Mullins is the right call. If this series goes on a while, Cash might just find his way back to his lefty-hitting center fielder at a key moment. 17. How to Get Out Mesa and Palacios One way of thinking about a playoff series against a lineup like this one is by mentally accepting that Díaz, Aranda and Caminero are going to "get theirs". They'll hit for some power; they'll create some runs. In all likelihood, it's when you buckle and allow the rest of the lineup to hurt you that you'll get into trouble, so it's essential to have a plan to prevent that. Mesa and Palacios are two linchpins of the Tampa attack about whom we've talked very little so far; let's remedy that. The plan is pretty simple against each, too: keep the ball away from them. Both hitters like to cut the plate in half and hunt hittable pitches on the inner portion, or even off it. Trying a back-foot breaking ball to Mesa is a bad idea. Even a left-on-left sinker isn't a very good plan, unless it's a vicious one that really gets into his kitchen. Mesa will chase the sinker off the inside edge, but he's capable of pulling his hands in and getting hits even on those pitches. WnhBQU5fV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0FRVUFYVklFQlZRQURBY0tWQUFIQ1ZkUUFBQldWZ1FBVkFFRFVnWlVDVkFEVWxCVA==.mp4 Someone with the power and movement of DL Hall or Aaron Ashby can probably punish that chase better, but even Robert Gasser is not as good a matchup for Mesa as he might first seem; there's too much danger of leaving a pitch over the inner half. No, to get him out, work away: fastball away from a righty, then changeup fading even farther away. Breaking stuff away from a lefty, maybe the one sinker in off the plate to keep him honest, then go back away. The good news here: Mesa will swing underneath the four-seamer. Even when on time for it, he's underneath it at an above-average rate, so if Jacob Misiorowski's fastball has its hop back in Game 1, he can live above the barrel. That's not true of Palacios. He has an extremely flat swing and can get on top of the four-seamer from a righty pretty reliably. Misiorowski can get him out with the fastball up and away and a stolen strike or two on a backdoor curveball, but he should avoid throwing a slider or cutter coming in on him. The rest of the Crew (especially southpaws) need to hammer away at him on the outer edge, but once he's set up for it, he's much more jammable inside than Mesa is, especially with average-or-better velocity. 18. The Joey Ortiz-David Hamilton Question Let's turn our attention to the closest thing to a true platoon the Brewers have run this year: David Hamilton and Joey Ortiz, at third base. First, we should note that Ortiz (.251 xwOBA) was much better against above-average pitchers than Hamilton (.220); that matters. As we've discussed already, Hamilton has been the better defender against bunts, but Ortiz is the better (or at least more reliable) defender, overall. Ordinarily, this would tip in Ortiz's favor. However, there are four key things working for Hamilton: Ortiz might just not be healthy. He was dealing with three different injuries by the end of the regular season, and his performance in October says he's not 100 percent. Along those lines: Ortiz has been atrocious at the plate this month, looking much more like the guy who was so lost he lost his job earlier this year than like the one who turned things around so impressively in midsummer. Hamilton, by contrast, has been a dynamic offensive weapon. The Rays bunt a lot, so that aspect of the two players' defense will be more important than in a typical matchup. The Rays' starters will all be right-handed, unless they improbably give the ball to Ian Seymour in Game 4. They also don't defend the running game well, which opens the door for the speedy Hamilton to cause some havoc. According to Bluesky user Sandy Kazmir's matchup matrix for the series, Ortiz projects better even against the right-handed Rays than Hamilton does. On the strength of that data; the aforementioned data point about hitting high-quality pitchers; and a general sense that Ortiz is due to heal up and break out a bit, I would lean toward Ortiz in the early games of this series. One bonus, if Pat Murphy goes that way: with Ortiz in the lineup, the Brewers would have great balance (four righties, five lefties) against the righty Rays starters. They'd also have Hamilton available to pinch-run (or pinch-hit for Ortiz) later in the contest. We're heading into the home stretch now. It's less than 12 hours until first pitch. Join the conversation about the Series below, or in our game thread, which will get going early and go all night. View the full article

Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. Before you were born, the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in the same NFL division, the NFC Central. Yes, Tampa is nowhere near the central United States, but New Orleans played in the NFC West. The Seventies were different. You could smoke literally anywhere--restaurants, hospitals, kindergarten. During this time, these two very disparate cities shared one common trait: They were inept at football. Real stinkeroos. The Packers were so bad they played half their home games at Milwaukee County Stadium, because there is no earthly reason to go to Green Bay, Wisconsin if the football team sucks except to push the outer limits of one's alcoholism. Is nail polish a digestif? Only one way to find out. The Buccaneers played in creamsicle-colored uniforms* and lost every game they played in their inaugural 1976 season. Bucs head coach John McKay, when asked about his team's execution, said he'd be in favor of it**. *These uniforms are actually incredible, but if your airline keeps flying planes into mountains, your cool logo kinda pops in the wreckage. **NFL head coaches used to be interesting. In fact, the franchises were so wretched, ESPN's late, great Pete Axthelm referred to their twice-yearly matchups as The Bay of Pigs. The games usually lived down to the honor. Time, being a butthole, marched on. Green Bay got consecutive Hall of Fame quarterbacks with dust bunnies where their souls should've been. Tampa moved to the NFC Southeast, their defense getting better as their uniforms got worse. Both teams won a couple Super Bowls. Milwaukee County Stadium got torn down. Pete Axthelm died. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half decades, the Bay of Pigs passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it gave us a World Series. I am absolutely delighted by the Milwaukee Brewers/Tampa Bay Devil Rays matchup (they'll always be the Devil Rays, do not correct me on this). The former have a stacked lineup and an ace who looks like they turned a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man into a real boy who can throw 105mph. The latter play in an absolute dump, spend $45 on payroll, and win 91 games every year. Perhaps most importantly, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox are watching from home. But some of us, who remember the Time Before, hear "Tampa Bay heads north to Milwaukee" and thrill to a time, long since forgotten but younger than yesterday, when those words meant a 12-9 rock fight on the cold County Stadium dirt. No touchdowns. Four Chester Marcol field goals. Frozen vomit on metal bleachers. My prediction: Brewers in 7, and the MVP gets a free membership to Gorman Thomas's 8-track club. Long live The Bay of Pigs. View the full article

Well, you already know how great the kid is. Carter Jensen finished the season among the American League rookie leaders in doubles (1st, 35), extra-base hits (1st, 64), RBIs (2nd, 81), home runs (3rd, 27), slugging percentage (3rd, .467), walks (3rd, 65), total bases (3rd, 246), hits (5th, 126), and OPS (5th, .790). He hit 27 home runs in 149 games, surpassing Bob Hamelin (24 HR in 1994) to establish the Royals rookie home run record, and led all Royals with 81 RBIs, becoming the third Kansas City rookie to lead the team in that category, joining Bobby Witt Jr. in 2022 (80) and Hamelin in 1994 (65). His 81 RBIs were the third-highest total in a rookie season in Royals history, behind Carlos Beltran’s 108 in 1999 and Kevin Seitzer’s 83 in 1987. The power he unleashed at the plate took him to another level, but what I want to analyze here is Jensen’s legitimate impact as a power hitter and how much he can improve in the future. So there are two things to start with here. First, one of the most interesting trends Jensen unleashed alongside his power was finishing in the 86th percentile in Average Exit Velocity, the 85th in Barrel%, and the 77th in Batting Run Value. It was his 84th-percentile Chase% rating combined with plate discipline that led him to finish in the 73rd percentile in BB%. It is not what you often expect from a hitter who is just 23 years old, especially considering this was a continuation of an initial 69-plate-appearance sample last year. And, well, it actually was, but now that Jensen has been able to extend his plate discipline across 603 trips to the plate, some of our doubts have been answered. Second, how Jensen adjusted to bounce back after a slow start in which he hit just seven home runs and posted a .368 slugging percentage over his first 59 games. He changed part of his mechanics over the rest of the way, starting in July. Jensen adjusted his stance in the batter’s box, moving 2.1 inches closer to the plate, moving 1.2 inches forward in the box, and increasing his stance angle from 6° to 19°, adopting a more open stance. These changes coincided with his offensive resurgence over the rest of the way, as he hit 20 home runs and produced a 136 wRC+ in 388 plate appearances over the rest of the way. So, after a first half of the season with a 97 wRC+, Jensen propelled himself forward and ultimately unleashed his power after the All-Star break, raising his ISO from .184 to .289 and his walk rate from 9.0% to 13.2% to produce a 141 wRC+. He was named American League Player of the Month for September and became the first catcher in Royals history to receive that monthly recognition, an award established in 1974. He led the Major Leagues in September in doubles (10), extra-base hits (19), slugging percentage (.787), and OPS (1.194). His 63 total bases led the American League, and his eight home runs tied for second in that league. Jensen quickly established himself as a fastball destroyer, producing 17 of his 27 home runs against three types of fastballs, 10 against four-seamers, five against cutters, and two against sinkers. That was not the end of the story, as 33 of his 64 extra-base hits also came against fastballs, accounting for 51.6%. Although Jensen recorded a positive Run Value of 1 against four-seam fastballs, he struck out in 36.3% of his 182 at-bats and finished with just a .156 xBA. He also struggled at the plate against sliders and sweepers, finishing with negative values of -2 and -5, respectively. So his power was also limited against some breaking balls and off-speed pitches, although the biggest problem was in some of the locations where Jensen was pitched. Let’s look at the heat map of his home runs. As you can see here, Jensen rarely got a pitch that wasn’t middle-middle or near the lower, inside part of the zone. He hit only two of his home runs on pitches in the upper third of the strike zone, and just one on a high pitch outside the zone. In other words, he was a destroyer of command mistakes or, in other cases, pitches that tried to challenge him by attempting to get through the middle of the plate. That said, let’s now look at the map of the zones where Jensen had the highest whiff percentages against right-handed and left-handed pitchers. Well, let’s keep in mind before we begin that Jensen had an interesting split against lefties. He posted a higher BABIP against them (.330 compared to .279 against righties), but his power production was much lower, with his slugging falling from .507 to .368. Let’s move on and take a look at the pair of charts, which include every pitch Jensen has seen in his first two seasons. On the left is Jensen’s chart against left-handed pitchers, and you can see how he missed most often inside the zone when they pitched to the edges, especially on high pitches. And then, although many of the percentages outside the zone came on pitches in a smaller proportion, he also regularly had problems with pitches away. On the right, the story changes a little, as Jensen posted a 127 wRC+ and had a better BB/K ratio of 0.44 compared to 0.26 against lefties. If you look closely, you’ll see that against right-handers, Jensen’s swings and misses decreased against pitches on the outer edges and in the lower zones, and you already know how he destroyed the pitches he could take advantage of in the middle. The big question I ask myself here is how Jensen will adjust when the league starts pitching to him much more effectively on the corners and in the upper third of the strike zone, trying to limit so many vulnerable pitches in the middle of the plate, especially fastballs. Will he continue to maintain his approach without trying to chase too much? Will he give up a little of his 23.1 Pull/AIR%? Or will he keep looking for ways to crush pitches instead of prioritizing contact a little more? Personally, I would like the Royals to take much greater advantage of his power, perhaps by using him in another lineup spot where he can get more at-bats with runners on base, but I also love the idea of seeing him step up to the plate as the leadoff hitter, bringing the feeling that the game could start with a home run. View the full article

As I remind you every year, you shouldn't care at all about Gold Gloves. The process by which those awards are handed out makes them as meaningless as they often are maddening. They don't accurately reflect and reward the talent of big-leaguers, because they're voted on by managers and coaches who don't pay the right kind of attention to be good at evaluating defensive performance throughout the league. There's now a statistical element involved, to address some of the especially glaring errors made by that disinterested electorate in the past, but the process is still lousy and the results are often wrong. They also manufacture needless, vapid news cycles each fall by announcing "finalists" for the awards. In reality, the voting has already been done at that point, and no final round takes place pitting top vote-getters against each other. It's just a way to force people to talk about something an extra time or two—a cheap outrage machine. No, instead, you should care about the Fielding Bible Awards. No longer are they a mere piece of internet stuntwork by a startup. For 20 years, now, Sports Info Solutions has been seeking the votes of actual experts who agree to pay close attention to what's happening on the field, then giving out an award (just one at each position for the whole majors, rather than hewing to the obsolete notion that the American and National Leagues are truly distinct) for the best work at each spot. These are the awards that actually tell you who stands out among big-league defenders; these are the ones worth your time. This season, the Cubs took home three Fielding Bible Awards, for the first time ever. In fairness, the awards have expanded a bit over the years, making that more possible. SIS created a Multi-Position category in 2014; the Defensive Player of the Year in 2023; and the Defensive Team of the Year in 2025. Still, the three wins affirmed the brilliance that characterized the team's whole season, defensively. Alex Bregman won at third base. Pete Crow-Armstrong lost out on the center field award (more on that shortly), but won Defensive POY, and the team won Defensive Team of the Year, defending their crown after taking the inaugural version of that award in 2025. It's hard to convey how impressive Bregman's win is. To be crowned the best defensive third baseman in baseball at age 32 is extremely hard, in this day and age. The only player in the history of this award to win it at a more advanced age was Adrián Beltré, in 2012; he was 33. Pedro Feliz also won at age 32, in 2007. The league is getting younger at key defensive positions almost all the time, beginning to nudge even third basemen down the defensive spectrum by the time they hit their mid-30s. That looks unlikely to happen with Bregman—and with Dansby Swanson, who's the same age but played a plus defensive shortstop again in 2026. The left side of the Chicago infield was impressively ageless this year. Swanson and Nico Hoerner each finished sixth in the balloting at their own positions, which marks a noticeable decline. Swanson won the award at shortstop in 2023; Hoerner won it last year. They're both plus defenders, but that each slipped a bit on the leaderboard this year is fair. It's one good reminder that the team might not be quite as dominant with the gloves next year, as Bregman and Swanson turn 33 and Hoerner heads into his 30s. Another is that both Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki finished third in the voting at their outfield corners—another well-measured result, in each case, but not great news, since both will be free agents at the end of the World Series (and are past 30, making it unlikely that they age well defensively even if the Cubs re-sign them). If any one person should receive the Cubs' Team of the Year trophy, it might be Quintin Berry. The third-base coach and outfield instructor turned Suzuki's career around with the help he gave him on reading swings and getting good jumps in the outfield. He was also good at positioning the Cubs' outfielders, and it's under his tutelage that Crow-Armstrong has blossomed into the Defensive Player of the Year. Crow-Armstrong and Boston's Ceddanne Rafaela finished in such a dead heat for the center field award that not even looking at 1st-5th vote distributions separated them. The award went to Rafaela on a statistical tiebreaker, and that was a reasonable result. He applied his arm better than Crow-Armstrong did in 2026, and as the year went on, Crow-Armstrong slipped ever-so-slightly in the field, from an all-time jaw-dropper of a player to merely excellent. However, in the DPOY voting, he came out on top. Voters for that award probably weren't any less attuned to Rafaela's brilliance, but having players from other positions to consider tilted the dynamic just enough for Crow-Armstrong to win a much-deserved honor. While their pitching staff was atrocious and their offense came up short when they needed it most, the Cubs' defense was the best in baseball. They did everything well. Shota Imanaga even finished second in Fielding Bible Award balloting at pitcher, thanks in large part to his mastery in stopping opponents from running against him. With Bregman, Swanson and Hoerner hitting age-related inflection points; Happ, Suzuki, Imanaga, Carson Kelly and Matthew Boyd all headed for the open market; and much more being asked of Crow-Armstrong on offense, don't count on Chicago winning a third straight Defensive Team of the Year Award in 2027. In fact, they could slip back significantly on that front. That underscores the stakes of the offseason ahead, but this trio of trophies—for the impeccably professional Bregman, the sensational Crow-Armstrong and the well-oiled machine that was this team defense, for a second year in a row—is a well-deserved reward for an important achievement. It's a good reminder that while this season ended in deeply disappointing fashion, it was far from an unmitigated failure. View the full article

There are a few spots on the Twins’ roster that have some pretty large question marks heading into next season, and first base is certainly one of them. Minnesota has a few players capable of handling the position, including Kody Clemens, Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini. However, Clemens spent much of the second half of the season at second base, Caratini could be taking over as the primary catcher if Ryan Jeffers leaves in free agency, and Lewis has some performance concerns of his own. With that in mind, I think veteran first baseman Nathaniel Lowe could be an intriguing addition for the Twins this offseason. Lowe has spent time with six different teams over the course of his eight-year major league career, including four different clubs in just the last two seasons. That might raise some red flags at first glance, but there’s still plenty to like about what he brings to the table, particularly against right-handed pitching. Lowe finished the 2026 season with a .252/.317/.444 slash line and a .761 OPS, which is a respectable showing for a first baseman. He had posted an .820 OPS with the Cincinnati Reds before being moved to the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline, but his production took a hit following the move. Even with his struggles in Cleveland, though, his underlying numbers suggest he was a better hitter than his final batting line would indicate. His expected batting average was .268, 16 points higher than his actual mark. That strong mark placed him in the 80th percentile among major league hitters. Lowe also finished above league average in hard-hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity, while his chase and whiff rates both ranked in the 65th percentile. It wasn’t an overly flashy season, but Lowe was a quality hitter who could provide some stability to a Twins lineup that needs it. More importantly, his splits suggest Minnesota could get the most out of his bat by using him in a platoon role. As a left-handed hitter, Lowe has consistently been much more effective against right-handed pitching than against southpaws. In 380 plate appearances against righties this season, he posted an .822 OPS. In his 49 plate appearances against left-handers, however, that figure plummeted to a putrid .297. Those numbers make it pretty clear that Lowe shouldn't be an everyday option regardless of the matchup. His defense also isn't good enough to make up for his offensive shortcomings against left-handed pitching, which is where the Twins could get creative with their roster construction. By bringing Lowe aboard as their primary first baseman, Minnesota could establish a platoon with Lewis. Lowe would handle the bulk of the starts against right-handed pitchers, while Lewis could get opportunities at first base when a lefty takes the mound. That arrangement could make sense for both players. While Lewis has struggled against right-handed pitching, posting a 77 wRC+, he was actually a productive hitter against lefties. His .738 OPS and 104 wRC+ against southpaws suggest he could be a valuable option in those matchups. Of course, that doesn't mean Lewis would be relegated to a short-side platoon role at first base for the entire season. He could still see time at second base and designated hitter, depending on how the rest of the roster comes together. However, having Lowe available would give Derek Shelton more flexibility to put his players in positions to succeed rather than forcing Lewis into an everyday role at first. It might not be the flashiest move the Twins make this offseason, but it's one that could address a legitimate weakness on the roster. First base became a significant problem for Minnesota in the second half of the season, and while Lowe isn't going to provide Gold Glove-caliber defense, his bat would be a meaningful upgrade. Just as importantly, the Twins wouldn't have to commit to an everyday role at the position. They could lean on Lowe against right-handed pitching, give Lewis favorable matchups against lefties, and use the designated hitter spot to keep both bats involved when it makes sense. There could also be a financial incentive to pursue Lowe. With a salary floor likely on the horizon, Minnesota will need to increase its payroll, and adding an established major league hitter would be one way to do that without necessarily making a major long-term commitment. The Twins have plenty of areas to address this winter, and first base might not be the most pressing need on the roster. Still, Lowe could offer a relatively straightforward solution to a position that lacked consistent production down the stretch. If Minnesota is looking for an affordable veteran who can improve the lineup while giving Shelton more matchup flexibility, he's certainly a name worth considering. View the full article

Injuries and underperformance thinned the back of the Brewers' starting rotation down the stretch, but they still had enough depth to navigate playoff series. Nonetheless, with Kyle Harrison and Dustin May falling from stalwarts to question marks, winning Jacob Misiorowski's postseason starts became even more crucial for setting the tone in the Division Series and the Championship Series. The same is true now, as Misiorowski prepares to pitch in the opener of the World Series. The Brewers have won both of Misiorowski's October starts, but not because he carried them to victories. He's been fine in both outings, but each was a far cry from his dominant regular-season form, when he was the best pitcher in baseball. Misiorowski failed to complete five innings in both starts, and after leading qualified starters in strikeout-minus-walk rate in the regular season, he's been middle-of-the-pack among playoff starters. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3Boverflow%3A%20hidden%3Bpadding%3A%202px%203px%202px%203px%3Bvertical-align%3A%20bottom%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> Split ERA xERA CHEESE K-BB% Regular Season 1.80 2.12 2.35 31.3% Postseason 3.24 3.92 3.04 18.9% "Long story [short], he's taken on a lot of responsibility as a young [24]-year-old kid," Pat Murphy said. "I think it's been a lot for him." Misiorowski's fastball has been the culprit for the downturn. In the regular season, it induced whiffs on 40.2% of swings. This October, that number is down to 16.1%. It's gone from the game's best swing-and-miss four-seamer to below average at missing bats. The fastball wasn't going to overpower Misiorowski's first two opponents as it did most teams. Both the Padres and Dodgers were great fastball-hitting lineups this season. When Misiorowski faced the Dodgers in August, they only whiffed on 22.6% of swings against his heater. In the playoffs, both teams targeted the fastball and refused to let it beat them. They took shorter swings, which put them more on time and on plane with the ball. For the most part, they still didn't square it up, but they combined to foul off 40 Misiorowski fastballs, the second-most against any pitcher this October. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3Boverflow%3A%20hidden%3Bpadding%3A%202px%203px%202px%203px%3Bvertical-align%3A%20bottom%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3Boverflow%3A%20hidden%3Bpadding%3A%202px%203px%202px%203px%3Bvertical-align%3A%20bottom%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> Split Bat Speed Swing Length Late% On Time% Under% Regular Season 71.2 6.7 36% 64% 61% Postseason 70.4 6.5 24% 76% 56% "The Padres and Dodgers both had a good approach of just fouling stuff off," Misiorowski said. "I bet Tampa Bay is going to do pretty much the same thing." "They're obviously looking at an area," Murphy said. "They're trying to exploit everything. He's exposed, like all these guys get at some point." Misiorowski isn't at his best, either. No pitcher would admit to it ahead of the biggest start of his life, but he's probably feeling the effects of a career-high in innings. "It's all about Miz and his health and his mental state, and it's not easy," Murphy said. "It's not easy what he's going through. This kid is way over what people would call his innings limit." He's maintained triple-digit velocity into October, but Misiorowski's been physically out of sync in both starts, causing him to spray more fastballs and fall into non-competitive counts. That also alters how his ball moves. If Misiorowski's delivery is off, it's harder for him to get his hand behind the ball and work through it to create backspin. That backspin gives it extreme, deceptive carry from his low arm slot and leaves hitters swinging underneath the ball. The induced vertical break of Misiorowski's fastball dipped at the end of September. In his NLCS start, it fell to 13.7 inches, 1.6 inches below his regular-season average. Non-competitive locations, working behind in counts, and a tick less carry open the door for great hitters to hunt and spoil a great fastball, even if it's still not very hittable. That's how the Padres and Dodgers made Misiorowski grind for most outs in his first two playoff starts. "He hasn't been as crisp," Murphy said. Still, Misiorowski believes he found the feeling he wants during the middle innings of his second start. "I feel good," he said. "I feel like the first one might have been a little under what I expected, but the second one was pretty much right where I wanted to be. I think I finally figured it out in Game 2 of not getting off my end goal and doing what I need to do to succeed and not trying to play their game." His game remains to fire lots of fastballs. Even with diminished movement and control, Misiorowski's velocity and extension still make it a great pitch. It should play much better against the Rays than against the Padres and Dodgers, too. The latter two were among the best in baseball at handling velocity this year, but Tampa Bay was one of the worst offenses against pitches thrown 98 mph or above. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dtd%20%7Bborder%3A%201px%20solid%20%23cccccc%3Boverflow%3A%20hidden%3Bpadding%3A%202px%203px%202px%203px%3Bvertical-align%3A%20bottom%3B%7Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> Team RV/100 WOBA xwOBA Parents -0.34 (4th) .300 (7th) .299 (5th) Dodgers -0.23 (2nd) .298 (8th) .305 (2nd) Rays -2.11 (29th) 234 (29th) .224 (30th) Even when he struggled, Misiorowski and the Brewers got through his first two outings by doubling down on his fastball, throwing it 67% of the time through his two starts. That won't change on Friday, nor should it. Hitters have chipped away at his heater, but they still haven't solved it. Misiorowski can still compete without his best fastball. If he rediscovers it for one more outing, it will boost the Brewers' chances at clinching the first championship in franchise history. "I think I've just got to stick to my strengths and pound the zone," Misiorowski said. View the full article

MLB free agency is rapidly approaching, and for a team like the New York Mets, it can’t come soon enough. After a disappointing 2026 season, this is an organization that figures to be busy over the coming months, and one of their biggest areas of need is the starting rotation. New York got strong seasons from guys like Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement in this group. If the Mets want to get back into contention next year, adding some quality arms to the rotation should be near the top of their offseason checklist. With that in mind, here are three starting pitchers New York should look to target in free agency. Shota Imanaga Imanaga accepted the qualifying offer from the Chicago Cubs this past year at roughly $22 million. Before that, though, Chicago declined a three-year, $57.75 million club option that would have kept him under contract through 2028. That decision could make him an interesting name to watch this winter, depending on how the Cubs approach his future. He finished the 2026 season with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP across 174 1/3 innings. He also recorded 174 strikeouts compared to just 37 walks, showing an ability to work deep into games while limiting free passes. When he’s on, he's capable of being dominant. He recorded 14 quality starts this season, and his six-pitch mix gives him a strong foundation to build on. He ranked in the 82nd percentile or better in chase rate, whiff rate, and walk rate, all of which sometimes coalesce to form torrid hot streaks on the mound. The biggest concern with Imanaga is his inability to consistently keep the ball on the ground. That has contributed to a career home run rate of 1.7 per nine innings, which can become a problem when he isn't locating his pitches as effectively. Still, he feels like a relatively safe option for the Mets. He has the track record to provide quality innings near the middle of the rotation, with the ability to pitch like a frontline starter when everything is working. If New York can land him on a reasonable contract, he'd be a solid addition to this group. Foster Griffin It was somewhat of a tale of two halves for Griffin this season. He was excellent with the Washington Nationals during the first half, posting a 3.06 ERA across 129 1/3 innings while earning his first All-Star Game appearance. However, things took a turn following his trade deadline acquisition by Cleveland. His ERA climbed to 5.19 with the Guardians, his strikeout rate declined, and his walk rate increased. It's fair to wonder whether that second-half performance should give teams some pause, but I still think he's someone the Mets should take a look at this winter. Griffin's skill set has a lot in common with Imanaga's. He's not going to overpower hitters with velocity, but he has a deep arsenal, featuring seven different pitches, and a similar arm slot. That gives him plenty of ways to attack hitters without having to rely on one dominant offering. Like Imanaga, he does a good job of pounding the strike zone and getting hitters to chase pitches outside of it. Another encouraging part of Griffin's profile is his ability to limit hard contact. His hard-hit rate and average exit velocity were both better than league average this season, and he did a nice job of keeping the ball on the ground. Those are important qualities for a pitcher who doesn't necessarily have the stuff to consistently overpower hitters. After spending the previous three years pitching in Japan, Griffin reinvented himself this season and showed that he could be a legitimate major-league starter. His second-half struggles are worth considering, but there's enough in his profile to believe he can be a useful addition to New York's rotation. Brandon Woodruff I know that floating another former David Stearns player with a long track record of not being available isn't going to go over well, but allow me to explain why Woodruff fits if the money is right. Of course, he comes with some added risk because of his injury history. He's been limited to just 110 innings since the start of the 2024 season due to recurring shoulder issues, and he hasn't been healthy for the second half of the season or the postseason for Milwaukee. That's obviously a significant concern for any team considering signing him. The Mets can't afford to add another question mark to their rotation without carefully weighing the potential upside. That upside is the key; when healthy, he's been great. Woodruff has finished with an ERA of 3.20 or lower and an expected ERA of 2.88 or lower in each of the last two seasons, albeit over a limited number of innings. Those numbers show just how effective he can be when he's available. Like Imanaga and Griffin, Woodruff doesn't walk many hitters, gets plenty of chases outside the strike zone, and has a deep arsenal to work with. However, he's even better than the two left-handers at generating soft contact, giving him another way to limit damage when hitters put the ball in play. Even with his velocity declining, Woodruff has still been able to post strikeout rates hovering around 30%. Arm injuries be damned, he remains wildly effective when he can pitch through the pain. Woodruff's track record is hard to ignore, and he feels like someone who could make a real difference in this rotation. Given his recent injury history, New York might also be able to land him without paying top dollar. For a Mets team looking to bounce back in 2027, that could be a risk worth taking. View the full article

For as good as the Boston Red Sox’s pitching staff was this year, their offense wasn’t quite on the same level. The team allowed the third-fewest runs in baseball, but they ranked just 23rd in runs scored. If the Red Sox want to get past the Wild Card Round in 2027, their offense needs an upgrade. Which is why I think impending free agent second baseman Brandon Lowe is the perfect guy for them to target this winter. Lowe is one of the best power hitters in the sport, especially for a position that typically doesn’t produce much power. He’s hit 66 home runs over the last two seasons combined, and there’s no denying his offensive prowess. Among all primary second basemen this season, Lowe led the way with 35 homers, 66 extra-base hits and an .824 OPS. That kind of production is something Boston desperately needs. Only four teams across the league hit fewer than the Red Sox’s 163 home runs in 2026. Home runs aren’t everything, but for an offense that finished 23rd in runs scored, adding Lowe’s bat to the middle of the lineup is an easy way to improve that number. And it doesn’t hurt that Lowe was also one of the best defenders in baseball this year. He finished in the 98th percentile for Outs Above Average with +15, along with +13 Defensive Runs Saved. Those metrics evaluate defense differently and can sometimes offer mixed opinions on a player’s performance. In Lowe’s case, however, both agree that he was an elite defender at the keystone. It’s worth noting that this season was an outlier defensively. Lowe has historically been a fairly poor defender at second base, so it would be foolish to assume he’ll maintain this level of play indefinitely. Still, you don’t go from a poor defender to an elite one by accident. Pittsburgh seemingly figured something out with him this past year, and it’s reasonable to expect Lowe to remain a solid defender even if he doesn’t quite replicate his 2026 performance. If the Red Sox were to sign Lowe, the next question would be how to configure their lineup. The Red Sox traded for Curtis Mead at the deadline, presumably with the intention of him being their everyday second baseman. It hasn’t been his primary position throughout his career, as he’s spent more time at the corner infield spots, but his lone game with the organization last season came at second base. Personally, I think the best approach would be to put Lowe at second and make Mead the primary third baseman. Caleb Durbin’s quality of contact last year ranked among the worst in baseball, and his underlying numbers suggest his .710 OPS should have been significantly lower. The Sox love Durbin’s glove at third base, though, which complicates things. What's probably the most likely scenario is that Lowe would serve as the primary designated hitter. Mead would probably remain the everyday second baseman, leaving few opportunities for Lowe to play the field on a regular basis. That would diminish some of his value following his breakout defensive season, but it’s not as though he’d be stuck at DH every day. Players need days off, and injuries are inevitable over a 162-game season. Lowe’s glove is, or at least was, too good to leave off the field entirely. He could give Boston some defensive flexibility while allowing manager Chad Tracy to keep his regulars fresh throughout the season. So, what would a contract for Lowe look like? The second base market has climbed in recent years, but Lowe will turn 33 next season. That makes a lengthy deal less likely and could push negotiations toward a shorter contract with a higher annual salary. Jorge Polanco signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Mets this past offseason, which feels like a reasonable baseline for Lowe. That contract obviously aged horrendously, but the structure makes sense. Polanco was also brought in to serve as New York’s primary designated hitter, a role Lowe could fill in Boston. Lowe might command a little more annually (or an extra year or two), particularly coming off a season in which he hit 35 home runs and played elite defense at second base. Still, a deal in that general range feels feasible, and the opportunity to join a team looking to make a deep run in October could make Boston an appealing destination. View the full article

After an injury-filled 2025 campaign that limited him to just 73 1/3 innings, Michael King returned to form in 2026. For a San Diego Padres pitching staff that entered the season with plenty of unknowns, getting that kind of performance was nothing short of a godsend. King finished the regular season with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP across 185 innings, recording 159 strikeouts and 70 walks. While he didn't quite match his elite 2024 numbers, he didn't need to. King was the ace the Padres needed, and he looked every bit the part during the postseason. His Wild Card Series start against the Chicago Cubs was nothing short of brilliant; the right-hander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before finishing with seven scoreless frames against what had been the best offense in baseball throughout the regular season. He followed that performance with another strong outing against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, allowing just one run across five innings. King even made a relief appearance in Game 3, throwing two more scoreless innings just two days after his start to keep the Friars' season alive for one more day. In short, King was excellent when San Diego needed him most. But while his results were impressive, some of the underlying numbers suggest there could be a few areas of concern moving forward. Let's start with the positives, because there were plenty of them. King was excellent at limiting hard contact, finishing in the 86th percentile or better among major-league pitchers in both hard-hit rate and average exit velocity allowed. He also continued to keep the ball on the ground, an area where he has consistently excelled throughout his career. However, there were some warning signs beneath the surface. King's expected ERA (xERA) and Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) both landed in the low-to-mid 4.00s, well above his actual 3.21 ERA. While those metrics don't tell the entire story of a pitcher's season, the gap suggests King may have benefited from some favorable results. His strikeout numbers were another area of concern, as his strikeout rate dropped to 21% in 2026, placing him in the 38th percentile among major-league pitchers. It was also the lowest mark of his career. Likewise, his 24.5% whiff rate was his lowest since 2020. That's certainly a notable decline for a pitcher who has demonstrated the ability to miss bats at a much higher rate in the past. And considering his primary pitch actually improved in several important areas, the drop-off becomes even more bewildering. King's sinker performed better than it had in the past in terms of both velocity and movement. He also generated more whiffs with the pitch than he did in 2025. As such, much of the concern centered around his secondary pitches. He leaned heavily on his changeup as his primary secondary offering, much like he did during his breakout 2024 campaign. The difference was that the pitch wasn't nearly as effective this time around. Its spin rate dropped by nearly 200 RPM, and hitters made more hard contact against it. Even with a slightly flatter arm angle, the changeup didn't have the same amount of run. That limited its effectiveness, particularly when paired with his sinker. The sweeper was also a victim in this regard, lacking its usual break and playing flatter than it had in the past. As a result, opposing hitters had more success against it, further limiting his ability to consistently generate swings and misses with his secondary offerings. If he can regain some of the movement on his changeup and sweeper, there's reason to believe he can get back to missing bats at a higher rate. Still, the underlying numbers suggest his 2026 ERA might not tell the entire story. Of course, all of this is the backdrop to one of the biggest storylines hanging over the Padres' heads right now: King's future in San Diego. The right-hander has an opt-out in his contract ahead of the 2027 season and is reportedly likely to exercise it in search of a new deal. Given his production over the last few years, that decision wouldn't come as much of a surprise. Following the Padres' elimination, King spoke about what the organization and city have meant to him. "This is where we started a family," King said. "We started our foundation here. San Diego's been incredible for me, and it's all the way across the country from home. But now I feel like I have a second home on the West Coast, so it's been awesome. And yeah, I hope to continue." Those comments make it clear that King has developed a strong connection to San Diego, even if his next contract ultimately takes him elsewhere. Regardless of what the underlying metrics suggest, King has been a rock-solid presence in the Padres' rotation over the last few years. After dealing with injuries in 2025, he returned to provide 185 innings of quality production in 2026 before delivering some of his best work when the stakes were highest. He's shown that he can handle a substantial workload, limit hard contact, and give his team a chance to win against some of the best offenses in baseball. Whether he remains in San Diego or finds a new home in free agency, King has the ability to serve as a true frontline option for a contending team. View the full article

Hopefully, you've been following along a while here. I won't waste your time on undue recapitulation. We're previewing the 2026 World Series through the lens of 27 seemingly small things that might get big, fast. Here's the middle batch (of nine). If you'd like to work your way back to the beginning, go here. This time, we're going to focus on weak points when the ball is in play. Where are there hits (or errors) to be found, on a field filled with talented defenders no matter which side is batting? 13. Find the Guys Who Don't Want the Ball. How do you pierce the armor that is the Rays' league-best defense on balls in play? It's simpler than it sounds—just not easier. If you want to put pressure on Tampa Bay, there are three ways to do it: Hit ground balls that force rushed throws. They're not perfect—no one is—but the Rays' throwing infielders are solid. Taylor Walls is the star of the operation and the fixture in the firmament, but Junior Caminero is fine, too. Richie Palacios, Ben Williamson and Jorge Mato take turns playing second base, and they're all cromulent, at a position where the Rays' defensive positioning plans make it easy to survive without being superb. There's a weak link in the chain, though. Jonathan Aranda is the worst first baseman in the league at scooping low throws that come in ankle-high or on a short hop. "Have a speedy runner hit a ball that forces an infielder to move their feet and make a low throw" isn't a strategy, but that play is a weakness for the Rays, and it's hardly inconceivable that we'll see it happen during this Series. It might even happen several times, or just once, but at a truly pivotal moment. Make Chandler Simpson throw the ball. I've already recommended Sam Miller's excellent preview of little things that might matter in this series, but I'll renew that recommendation now. (In fact, if you don't subscribe to Sam's Substack already, do it; do it now.) In it, he notes the way Simpson's arm falls short of being good in two different ways. One is obvious: sometimes, he just doesn't throw the ball hard enough. At other times, though, the trouble manifests because (in order to throw it hard enough) he takes a long time to get rid of the ball. There will be chances to take an extra base on Simpson's arm, if Brewers hitters can just make him move to collect the ball. That goes to another, subtler and more fraught way to find value by testing him, too: his routes. Simpson is exceptionally fast (see the 4th-inning entry), and can make up for pretty much any mistake in the outfield—which is a lucky thing for him, because he makes a lot of them. At Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, this is a relatively minor issue. The ball either hits a wall, flies ove it, or is in the air long enough for Simpson to make up for a misstep and run it down. That won't always be true at Uecker Field in Milwaukee, though. The left-field corner is 27 feet deeper (342 feet, not 315) and the wall higher than in Florida. To exploit Simpson's weak arm, the Brewers have to find grass against him, and he's very good coming in on the ball. Hitting it over his head is both possible and profitable, though—especially at home. Get the ball to Griffin Jax. This is mean. This is bullying. I am a dog with a bone about this, and if Griffin Jax ever takes exception and reams me out about it, I will completely understand. That man can't field his position, though. He's dreadful. The Rays pitchers, as a whole, are not good fielders, but Jax is the biggest culprit and best target. Pitchers talk about flipping a mental switch between the difficult and very distinct jobs of winding up and delivering a pitch, versus pouncing on a batted ball and getting it to the proper base. Jax's switch is on a bad wire, and every time he tries to flip it, there's a real chance of electrocution. He'll botch picking up easy grounders at times; he'll throw balls down the right-field line at others. If at all possible (without making it obvious, and thereby easing his mental lane-switch), the Brewers should put the ball in Jax's hands when they need to break an inning open. 14. Starting Points and Destinations: The Brewers' Outfield Misadventures Unfortunately for the Crew, Simpson isn't the only outfielder in this series who has a somewhat weak arm and takes some bad routes on fly balls. That's all been true of Sal Frelick this season, too. In fairness to Frelick, he clearly played much of the season through an injury he suffered quite early, but the fact is that he's been out of position, headed the wrong direction and/or too tentative to make some of the plays the team needed throughout the year. Much of the same could be said, early in the campaign, of Garrett Mitchell. It didn't catch headlines the same way the same dynamic did with Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz, but when Luis Lara was promoted to the majors in June, it seemed to light a fire under Mitchell and Frelick. Neither of those guys really need a fire lit under them; neither does Ortiz. But the arrival of Lara sent them a clear message: if needed, the rookie will take your job. It's good to be safe and to avoid injury, but (as Frelick himself said) you shouldn't be fresh in September (or October). Both Frelick and Mitchell were better, by the defensive numbers, in the second half. Mitchell seems to have completely cleaned up his game, and attacks opportunities to make catches or important throws with confidence and ferocity. Frelick is a bit less impressive, yet, and it'll be interesting to see how Pat Murphy divvies up playing time in right field throughout the series. Lara is clearly the superior defender, but Frelick is very much a part of the fabric of the team—and a player that important to the team's psyche is hard to take off the field. In left field, meanwhile, Jackson Chourio has traced an even brighter streak across the late summer and early fall than Mitchell; he's a newly elite defender there. 15. Keep It in Front of You We've already talked at length about the running game, in terms of preventing stolen bases. There's another dimension to a catcher's work on that front, though, and it might be a source of game-tilting chaos during this series. Both William Contreras and Liam Hicks are poor blockers of errant pitches. These two staffs are, in different ways, hard to catch, but a good catcher has to find ways to smother even a buried changeup or a total misfire of a fastball. Hicks isn't good at that, and never has been. Contreras used to be, but it's been a glaring weakness in his defensive game this year—especially in October. As we discussed in the 4th inning post, the Rays allow few runners to even get into position to benefit from wild pitches or passed balls. That's slightly (but importantly) less true of the Brewers, which means that of the two starting backstops, the greater pressure in this series falls on Contreras. The Crew needs him to keep double plays in order and give hurlers like Logan Henderson and DL Hall the confidence to throw pitches that might bounce. If he doesn't, sudden rallies might develop for Tampa Bay. No five and dive here. Four more strong frames coming in the morning. Follow along, and in the meantime, let us know what little things you're looking for as the first Brewers World Series of the internet age gets underway. View the full article

Here is the best of Dillon Lewis' season with the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, with some bonus clips from the Arizona Fall League.View the full article

The Minnesota Twins entered the 2026 season knowing their bullpen would be a weakness, and the front office did little to address that problem after last year's trade deadline fire sale. They felt the effects of that decision throughout the season, leaving another offseason with plenty of work to do. While the bullpen is in a better place than it was a year ago, there are still some significant holes to fill. Tom Pohlad and the front office have another opportunity to address those needs this winter. If the Twins want to compete in 2027, adding some reliable late-inning arms should be near the top of their offseason checklist. With that in mind, here are three relief pitchers the Twins should target in free agency. LHP Alex Vesia Vesia will probably be the most expensive option on this list, but with Taylor Rogers and A.J. Minter both set to become free agents, the Twins could use another reliable left-handed option in the bullpen. He’s established himself as a dependable reliever with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his 2026 numbers suggest he could be a significant addition to Minnesota's relief corps. He finished the season with a 2.64 ERA and 74 strikeouts over 58 innings. Those are impressive numbers on their own, but the underlying data makes his performance even more appealing. Both his whiff rate and strikeout rate ranked in the 95th percentile or better, while his hard-hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity were all within the top quarter of the league. Vesia consistently missed bats while limiting the quality of contact when hitters did put the ball in play. One of the more interesting aspects of Vesia's arsenal is his delivery. He throws almost straight over the top, with a 69° arm angle that helps his four-seam fastball generate a lot of run up in the strike zone. That fastball also helps his secondary pitches play up. Neither his slider nor his changeup has an especially impressive movement profile, but both pitches generate plenty of whiffs because hitters have to respect the fastball. Vesia figures to be one of the better relief pitchers available this winter, and his price tag will likely reflect that. The Twins have other needs to address, but if they're willing to spend on the bullpen, he would be a significant upgrade. RHP Bryan Abreu The Twins almost acquired Abreu at the trade deadline. Minnesota and the Houston Astros reportedly had a deal in place that would have sent Trevor Larnach to Houston in exchange for Abreu. The trade ultimately fell through, but perhaps his destiny was always to wind up in Minnesota. He had a somewhat disappointing 2026 campaign by his standards, finishing with a 3.73 ERA after averaging a 2.27 mark over the previous four seasons. However, there's still plenty to like about his underlying numbers, and one down year shouldn't erase what he's accomplished throughout his career. Both his whiff rate and strikeout rate ranked in the 91st percentile or higher, while all three of his pitches generate sharp vertical movement. His stuff remains good enough to miss bats at an elite rate, which is exactly what the Twins need from someone who could handle high-leverage situations. The biggest concern, with both Abreu and Vesia, is command. Abreu finished the season with a walk rate north of 15%, while Vesia also walked more than 13% of the hitters he faced. That's a problem for a Twins bullpen that already has too many relievers who struggle to consistently throw strikes. Still, Abreu's walk rate was comfortably the worst of his career, so there's reason to believe he can improve in that area. His track record gives the Twins a legitimate reason to expect a bounce-back season in 2027 and beyond. Coming off a down year, he could also be more affordable than he would’ve been after another dominant season. He comes with some risk, but the upside is difficult to ignore. If the Twins want an established late-inning arm without paying the absolute top of the market, he would be an intriguing target. RHP Kevin Ginkel Ginkel has spent his entire major league career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and his results over the past couple of seasons probably don't inspire much confidence at first glance. He finished with a 7.36 ERA in 2025 before posting a 4.12 mark this year. However, there's more to his recent performance than those numbers suggest. He dealt with recurring shoulder issues in 2025 that limited him to just 25 2/3 innings. Despite his struggles, he finished with a 3.64 FIP, suggesting he pitched considerably better than his ERA indicated. The underlying numbers were encouraging again in 2026. Ginkel ranked in the 77th percentile or better in both strikeout rate and whiff rate, while his chase rate landed in the 94th percentile. He continued to generate swings and misses, and hitters had a difficult time laying off pitches outside the strike zone. Unlike Vesia and Abreu, Ginkel also did a much better job limiting walks. He's finished with a walk rate of 6.2% or better in each of his last two healthy seasons, which would be a welcome addition to a bullpen that needs more reliable command. Ginkel is essentially a two-pitch pitcher, relying primarily on his slider and four-seam fastball. He doesn’t have as deep an arsenal as some other options on the market, but his stuff has been effective enough to make the combination work. Given his inconsistent results over the past two seasons, the Twins probably wouldn't need to pay top dollar to bring him aboard. There's some risk involved, especially considering his fairly recent shoulder problems, but his underlying numbers suggest there's still something worth pursuing. Vesia offers the most reliable production, Abreu brings high-end strikeout stuff, and Ginkel could be a more affordable option with the potential to outperform his recent results. If the Twins can land the right combination of those profiles, their bullpen could look considerably different in 2027. View the full article

We're cruising through our nine-part World Series preview, digging deeper than a one-piece, 30,000-foot overview could go. Hopefully, you've gotten a chance to review Parts 1, 2 and 3 already, but if you're a bit behind, no problem. We're just getting into the middle innings. Catch up, then come on back and buckle up. It's time to go fast. 10. Showdown: Chandler Simpson vs. Jacob Misiorowski As compelling as the matchup between the Brewers' flamethrowing ace and the game's fastest swinger is, an even more interesting one might lurk further down the lineup card. Believe it or not, no batter is on time for the fastball more often than the slow-swinging but fleet-footed Chandler Simpson. What does that mean? Essentially this: Simpson is always in motion, and though he's not maximizing his bat speed with a slappy swing and jailbreak move with his lower half, he's starting early enough to catch up to most pitchers' heaters. Of course, it's one thing to be on time for most fastballs, and another to be on time for Misiorowski's. Because Misiorowski throws hard with pretty much everything, though, he doesn't induce hitters to swing late as often as you would guess, given the sheer velocity of his fastball and the exceptional extension that makes that heat play up. He gets more of his value, instead, from getting batters to swing under the ball. They commit themselves to being early, but the only way they can hold enough in reserve to do anything at all with the rest of his arsenal while starting that early and moving as fast as they can is to flatten their swings. He throws it, therefore, right over the barrel. That (probably) won't work with Simpson. In addition to being on time for 90% of the four-seam fastballs he sees from right-handed pitchers (a rate bested only by JJ Bleday), Simpson gets on plane with about 80% of the heaters on which he's on time. The average, in that regard, is just 61%; Simpson is well above average both at being on time and at getting on top of the rising heater when he is. When these two saw each other in early April, they wrestled to a draw. Simpson walked in his first at-bat, and didn't swing at all until the third pitch of his second. When he did, he hit it straight into the ground, but he reached on an infield single. The third time up, in the sixth inning, Misiorowski got the last laugh, with two whiffs (one on a fastball; one on a slider) before a weak pop-up on a 1-2 offering. That wasn't the final form of Misiorowski, either. He was throwing just 98-99 by the end of that start. On the other hand, nor was it the best version of Simpson, who has become increasingly pesky over time and took over the ALCS at some points with his speed's terroristic effects on the usually sturdy Guardians. Though Simpson is unlikely to strike a telling blow against Misiorowski, if he comes up with a chance to do damage by merely extending an inning or bringing home a runner already in scoring position, it'll be a tense at-bat. Say Simpson gets on base. That would be when the real fun begins. As we've discussed recently, Misiorowski is all but impossible to steal against. His pickoff move isn't exceptional, but he pays attention to runners. For such a hard thrower, he's quick to the plate. He also gets so many whiffs that teams and runners are reluctant to test him. All that taken together, he thwarts the running game very well. Simpson, though, is exceptionally aggressive. He stole 46 bases this season. He was also caught 14 times. He took daring leads, enough to force three balks via pitchers exceeding their allowed number of disengagements within an at-bat. He tries to drive you crazy over there. He's not exceptional at getting good leads and clean jumps, but he won't be as intimidated by Misiorowski as other runners have been. 11. Work for Your Leads, Get Good Reads: Running on the Rays Here's the quicksheet on the Rays' strategy for preventing stolen bases: stop runners from getting on base in the first place. That's it; that's their whole plan. According to Baseball Reference, opponents had only 1,979 stolen base opportunities (plate appearances with a runner on first or second and the next base open) against them this year, fewest in the majors. The Brewers allowed the fourth-fewest such opportunities, at 2,114. To give you an idea of how disparate these clubs are in terms of actually slowing down the opponents on the bases, though, the Rays allowed 60 more steals than Milwaukee did, and caught only three more would-be thieves. Liam Hicks and Nick Fortes each have below-average raw arm strength. Fortes, at least, is accurate, and his exchange is quick—but Hicks is their primary backstop since they acquired him at the trade deadline. The team also has a collection of (especially) second basemen who struggle with receiving throws and quickly applying tags. Richie Palacios, in particular, doesn't get into good positions in front of the base, doesn't let the ball travel the way he should, and ends up unable to get the ball to an incoming runner as soon as he should with some regularity. SzRCamFfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0F3VldCZ0JWVkFZQUNWSldWd0FIQUZKVUFBQU5WQUFBQmxRSFZGSUhDQVpUQWdNRA==.mp4 They make you work for it. Teams have run very successfully on Drew Rasmussen and Griffin Jax this year, but that's because neither has a good pickoff move and neither is quick to the plate—not because they're inattentive. They'll hold the ball for varied lengths on consecutive pitches. They'll change the height of their leg kick from one pitch to the next. (Reliever Kevin Kelly is especially apt to pull that trick.) And Game 1 starter Nick Martinez, an exceptionally athletic hurler, does have quick feet and a good move to first. They don't give away bases for free. ckRsNEtfWGw0TUFRPT1fQTFkWFhGQUVWd0VBQ0FGUVhnQUhDQU5UQUFOWEJWY0FDMTFVQndWVVZBcFhBUU5m.mp4 However, with diligent work and patience, you can find the right opportunities and run against this team. Clubs succeeded at it all year. The Yankees went 3-for-3 in the ALDS, and although José Ramírez got too antsy and was caught twice during the ALCS, the Guardians stole three bases, too. The Brewers have to be a bit conservative, at first. They have to wait for their chances, rather than forcing the issue. The chances will eventually be there, though, and when the right runners are on base, Milwaukee needs the courage to go. 12. The One Strong Aspect of the Brewers' First-Base Defense Neither team is quite at the end of the spectrum, but the Rays are one of the worst teams in the league at stopping runners once they reach base, while the Brewers are one of the best. One piece of that skill at scuppering steals on the part of Brewers pitchers, however, has surprisingly little to do with the pitchers; William Contreras (an excellent and intimidating thrower, to be sure); or even the good tag work of Brice Turang and Cooper Pratt when covering second. Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers are, for different reasons, poor receivers of throws across the infield on grounders. Nor are either, at this point in their careers, good fielders in terms of range and playmaking around the bag. First base is a weak point in the otherwise stout Milwaukee defense. There's one important exception, though: TzA0OW9fWGw0TUFRPT1fVkFCV0JnY0hBRlFBVzFNREF3QUhCQTRDQUFBTkFRVUFVMXhUQXdVQ0JBSUFWZ3BW.mp4 He had a regrettable whiff on a pickoff throw earlier this postseason, but most of the time, Bauers has been superb at the snag-and-tag when a hurler throws over to him. That has yielded a few extra outs already this year, and it helps the Brewers staff keep runners close, even when it doesn't erase a runner. Bauers is a good athlete for that position (although that's a bit less true than it was, say, two years ago), and this is one place where it shows up. If the Brewers catch a Rays runner leaning and steal an out at a pivotal point during this series, Bauers is likely to be the key to the play. Four innings in, and there's still plenty of meat on the bone. Come on back later tonight for the fifth frame, and join our community so you can jump into these conversations—plus our game threads and forums in days and weeks to come. View the full article

Minnesota's bullpen took a hit late in the 2026 season when Jeff Hoffman landed on the injured list, and the veteran reliever is now addressing the issue with an offseason procedure. Aaron Gleeman reported on the latest episode of Gleeman and the Geek that Hoffman is undergoing a minor elbow cleanup procedure, likely related to bone spurs or bone chips. Although any procedure involving a pitcher's throwing arm is worth monitoring, the early indications suggest the injury is not a significant concern for the Twins as they prepare for the 2027 season. Hoffman Shut Down Late in the Season At the end of September, Minnesota placed Hoffman on the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation. The move came after the reliever acknowledged that he was not recovering between outings as well as he would have liked. Hoffman struggled in his final appearance during the Twins' last road trip, pitching in San Francisco. Rather than continue pushing through the discomfort, he and the organization decided it was best to shut him down for the remainder of the season. At the time, Hoffman expressed little concern about the injury. He believed rest would help resolve the problem and expected to follow a normal offseason schedule. He also indicated that there were no issues involving the elbow joint or ligaments, providing some reassurance about the nature of the injury. The reported cleanup procedure appears consistent with Hoffman's earlier comments. Bone spurs or loose bone fragments can create discomfort and interfere with a pitcher's recovery, making a minor procedure a reasonable step toward getting him ready for another season. The exact details of the procedure have not been fully outlined, however, so the Twins will have to evaluate his recovery before determining whether any adjustments to his offseason throwing program are necessary. A Valuable Bullpen Addition Minnesota acquired Hoffman from the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of the August 3 trade deadline, hoping the 2024 All-Star could provide another reliable option in high-leverage situations. The right-hander delivered on that expectation during his limited time with the club. Hoffman posted a 2.50 ERA and struck out 27 batters across 18 innings with Minnesota. Those numbers represented an encouraging return from a pitcher brought in to help stabilize the late innings during the second half of the season. His performance also gives the Twins a reason to feel optimistic about their bullpen heading into 2027. Relief pitching can be unpredictable, and Minnesota will need multiple dependable options if it hopes to improve its postseason chances. Hoffman demonstrated that he could handle important situations and miss bats against major league hitters. The late-season injury interrupted that progress, but the initial reports do not suggest that the Twins should expect a lengthy absence extending into next season. What It Means for 2027 Hoffman is under contract with Minnesota for 2027 and projects to be one of the team's top relievers. With the organization looking to build a more competitive roster, retaining dependable bullpen arms will be an important part of the offseason plan. The Twins still have plenty of questions to answer about their overall relief corps. Hoffman's presence gives them a potential foundation, provided he returns to full strength and performs near the level he showed after the trade. For now, the reported elbow cleanup appears to be more of an offseason maintenance issue than a major setback. Minnesota will undoubtedly monitor Hoffman's recovery, but his expectation of a normal offseason offers some encouragement. The Twins acquired Hoffman to strengthen their bullpen for the stretch run and beyond. If the procedure allows him to enter spring training without lingering discomfort, he should remain an important piece of the team's plans for 2027. View the full article

Jack and Spencer preview the World Series matchup between the Brewers and Rays. Discussed in this episode are William Contreras, Jacob Misiorowski, Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta, Aaron Ashby, and Trevor Megill. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View the full article

Mitch Garver has decided to call it a career after parts of 10 seasons in Major League Baseball. The former Minnesota Twins catcher spent time with the Twins, Texas Rangers, and Seattle Mariners, finishing his career with 110 home runs and a reputation as an offensive threat when healthy. His retirement closes the book on a career that included an award-winning season in Minnesota and a World Series championship in Texas. The Twins selected Garver in the ninth round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of the University of New Mexico. He consistently hit well in the minor leagues, but questions surrounded his ability to handle the defensive responsibilities of catching at the major league level. By the end of 2016, Minnesota had seen enough potential to add him to its 40-man roster and protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Garver debuted with the Twins in 2017 but struggled to produce at the plate. He hit .196/.288/.348 without a home run in 52 plate appearances. The following season offered a glimpse of what was to come, as he launched seven home runs and posted a .268/.335/.414 slash line. Garver's breakout season arrived in 2019. As part of Minnesota's famous Bomba Squad, he hit 31 home runs in just 93 games and 359 plate appearances. His .273/.365/.630 line was good for a 155 wRC+, meaning he produced offensively at a rate 55% better than league average. He also earned a Silver Slugger Award, recognizing him as one of the American League's top offensive catchers. The 2019 season is remembered for its historic home run totals and the baseball used throughout the league. Still, Garver's production was impressive regardless of the environment. Catchers rarely deliver the same offensive output as players at other positions, making his power particularly valuable to Minnesota's lineup. Unfortunately, staying on the field became a recurring challenge. An intercostal strain limited Garver to 23 games during the shortened 2020 season, and he struggled offensively when available. Injuries again restricted his playing time in 2021, but he remained productive, hitting 13 home runs with a .256/.358/.517 slash line and a 139 wRC+ in 243 plate appearances. The emergence of Ryan Jeffers gave Minnesota another catching option and made Garver expendable before the 2022 season. The Twins traded him to Texas in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez. The following day, Minnesota sent Kiner-Falefa, Josh Donaldson, and Ben Rortvedt to the New York Yankees for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela. Garver's time in Texas provided another career highlight. He became part of the Rangers' 2023 World Series championship team, hitting .270/.370/.500 in 87 games during the regular season. He then signed a two-year, $24 million contract with Seattle before the 2024 season, but his offensive production declined. The Mariners released him in August 2026, and he later signed a minor league contract with the Yankees without appearing in another major league game. Garver finishes his career with a .229/.325/.432 slash line and 110 home runs. He collected 497 hits, scored 301 runs, and drove in 324. FanGraphs credited him with eight wins above replacement, while Baseball-Reference lists approximately 10.0 WAR. His career earnings totaled just under $35 million. Garver's career never followed a straight path. Injuries interrupted promising seasons, and his defensive limitations sometimes complicated his role. However, his offensive peak with the Twins remains memorable, particularly during the historic 2019 campaign. He leaves the game with a Silver Slugger Award, a World Series ring, and a place in the story of one of Minnesota's most entertaining teams. View the full article

Piece by piece, like a manager wading through the 27 outs it takes to win a ball game, we're getting you ready and bringing you right up to first pitch of the 2026 World Series. If you missed the introduction and first inning or the second, please check them out. Now, though, we turn to what's next. 7. The Rasmussen Dilemma Ostensibly, the Rays will give the ball to ace Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 Friday. That's five days after he started Game 5 of the ALCS on Sunday, so the default expectation would be that he'd climb the hill on four days' rest. Yet, as Ken Rosenthal wrote at The Athletic Thursday, the Rays seem to have seriously considered holding him back for Game 2. To create any meaningful chance that a World Series could end without your ace pitching twice seems ludicrous, but it's less so than it seems. During the regular season, Rasmussen had his turn skipped in the rotation twice—once in April, and again around the All-Star break. That was one mechanism by which the Rays kept the innings count under control for a pitcher who has had three major elbow surgeries and had never before pitched this much in one year. Another is this: of his 28 starts on something like regular rest, only seven were on four days. Rasmussen pitched 18 times on five days' rest and thrice on six days', meaning that four days is practically short rest for him at this stage of his career. This isn't some radical departure from modern norms, or the Rays pushing boundaries; the Brewers did much the same with Jacob Misiorowski this year. In addition to putting Rasmussen on a standard schedule (for him) in his first start, shifting him to Game 2 would put him on five days' rest for Game 6: the off day as the Series moves from Milwaukee to St. Petersburg; the three games played there; and the off days as it the whole party comes back to Wisconsin. Of course, there's no guarantee that the Series makes it to five or six games, but it's significantly more likely to go at least five than to stretch to six, so the stakes of this call are high. Rasmussen's velocity was fine during the ALCS, and he dominated the Guardians in Game 5, but there was just enough erosion in his movement (particularly on the sinker and changeup) in his last two starts to raise some worry about fatigue. It's easy to understand why the Rays are at least considering sliding him back, but doing so would be a massive risk. 8. Here Comes the Crowd It didn't feel like the crowd at The Ueck materially affected things in the NLCS, and even against the Padres, there were only a few odd moments (during the team's winning rally in the bottom of the ninth of Game 2, for instance) when they became a factor. That could and should change in this series, against a team with a bit less experience in the noisy cauldrons of opposing ballparks in October. One reason Rosenthal cited for the Rays considering moving Rasmussen back to Game 2 (and starting Nick Martinez in Game 1) is that it would allow Tampa to use Freddy Peralta at home for Game 3, rather than at his old stomping grounds. Peralta himself was stomped the last time he visited, with the Mets in mid-July, and the Milwaukee crowd is going to be intimidating during this set. That should break something the Brewers' way. They not only have home-field advantage in the Series, but will have the bigger advantage of the two teams based on playing at home, when they do. The Rays are fairly well-built for Tropicana Field, but the crowd there will be peppered with Brewers fans and much less hostile to the visitors than the one at The Ueck will be to the Rays. If Peralta does pitch in Milwaukee, he might throw a Misiorowski-caliber fastball or two, given how well the Rays have trained him to fly down the mound and the velocity he's tapped into as a result. However, it feels like that matchup would be bad for him, anyway. Brewers fans well remember how Peralta wobbled under the pressure of a harsh Wrigley Field crowd last October. They might not be as ruthless to an old friend as Cubs fans were to a familiar foe, but they'll know they can get to him. When Peralta tries to do too much, bad things tend to happen, even if the velocity readings become increasingly impressive. In general, the Milwaukee crowd will be a factor in the series; the mania around the team and throughout the state will find its way between the white lines. 9. Hit Me: Get to 21, and Maybe Keep Going Some difficult matchups lie ahead for the Brewers pitching staff, against a Rays lineup that has been surprisingly formidable lately. Their top three hitters are known commodities, but they can also get dangerous contributions from several platoon arrangements further down, and if Pat Murphy tries to avoid bad matchups through aggressive, early bullpen moves, he'll pay a price late in the series, be it due to matchup fatigue or sheer tiredness on the part of individual hurlers. He needs length from his starters—the one thing he hasn't gotten from his team over the first two rounds of the postseason. For Misiorowski and Logan Henderson, the key number is 21. If they get through the top trio (Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero) a third time in each start, they'll take pressure off the bullpen, both within their own games and across the series. Understanding that whatever they get from starters in Games 3 and 4 will be gravy, the Brewers need a plan to avoid having Díaz, Aranda and Caminero take 12 or 13 plate appearances each against relievers over the first four games. Rays fan and saber-savvy social media maven Sandy Kazmir (that, at least, being their nom de Bluesky) put together a handy-dandy matchup summary for the series, with expected weighted on-base averages for every combination of batter and pitcher from the two teams' League Championship Series rosters. These are based on regressed platoon splits and simple estimates, but they're a valuable tool for spotting good and bad matchups, from either perspective. The splashes of red at the top of the Rays hitters' boards are a good reminder that with Díaz and Caminero batting right-handed and usually mashing lefties, some of the Brewers' best arms (Aaron Ashby, DL Hall and Robert Gasser, especially) will be a bit harder to leverage than they were against the Dodgers. The Rays have several platoon options they can use to punish Murphy if the wrong pitcher gets locked into the game at a key moment, too. Finding the right pocket to deploy certain relievers is one important challenge; keeping those relievers from having to pitch every night is an equally essential one. If Misiorowski and Henderson can at least take a third trip through the top of a top-heavy lineup, they'll make Murphy's job much easier for the balance of the series. If either or both is chased early due to a high pitch count or a crooked number on the scoreboard, the Brewers might be in trouble in a way that reaches beyond the game in question. That was just the first trip through the lineup card. Much more lies ahead. Check back in later today for the fourth installment in this series. In the meantime, sign up as a member of our community. It's free, and gives you the right to comment and post in our forums, whether right after reading an article or during the games and the offseason ahead. View the full article

Since Alejandro Kirk's rookie campaign in 2021, Blue Jays catchers have averaged just over 5.0 fWAR per year, more than any other team's backstops. This past season was more of the same. Blue Jays catchers produced 4.8 fWAR, the third-most in MLB – despite the fact that Kirk only played in 79 games. That was thanks to a spectacular defensive showing from Brandon Valenzuela. In just over 600 innings, the rookie ranked second among all catchers in FRV and fourth in DRS. So, the Blue Jays will enter 2026 with one of the strongest catching tandems in the sport. Kirk is one of the most well-rounded catchers in the game, and Valenzuela looks like a worthy backup. Yet, as we learned in 2026, having two catchers isn't always enough. That's why I'm starting this year's Depth Check series behind the plate. Starting Catcher: Alejandro Kirk In his worst offensive seasons, Kirk was still an average hitter for his position. At his best, he blends contact skills, plate discipline, and pop into a very productive package. Defensively, he is consistently one of the league's most talented pitch-framers, while his pitch-blocking skills are unparalleled. In 2026, he took to the ABS system naturally, to no surprise. I could easily argue that Kirk is a top-five catcher in baseball. Backup: Brandon Valenzuela If there is any knock on Kirk, it's that he hasn't proven he can consistently handle a heavy workload. The 2025 campaign was the first year in which he started more than 90 games or fielded more than 800 innings. That isn't Kirk's fault; he shared his job with Danny Jansen from 2021-24, and the thumb injury he suffered in 2026 could have happened to anyone. Still, it's worth keeping in mind. Thankfully, Valenzuela's breakout means Kirk's durability is much less of a concern than it could be. Don't get me wrong – the Blue Jays are better off with Kirk's bat in the lineup than Valenzuela's. Kirk uses a sharp eye and great timing to make the most of a slower swing. Valenzuela has yet to show the same skills. However, Valenzuela looked every bit Kirk's equal on the other side of the ball. Valenzuela still needs time to develop in the majors and show us who he really is. That said, I believe in the glove, and I think the Blue Jays do too. I'm more skeptical about his offense, but all things considered, that's low on my list of concerns. When your backup catcher plays Gold Glove-calibre defense, anything he does with the stick is just a bonus. 40-Man Depth Right now, the Blue Jays only have one other catcher on their 40-man roster: 27-year-old Shawn Ross. It's anyone's guess how long they will keep him around – 40-man spots are valuable in November – but for now, he's the third-string catcher. Ross started his pro career with the Pirates and worked his way up their system until he made his MLB debut this past summer. He appeared in two games for Pittsburgh before he was designated for assignment. While he only had one hit in his five trips to the plate, it was a big one. Facing future Blue Jay Jameson Taillon, Ross hit a go-ahead two-run home run, getting his first big league hit, run, RBI, and home run out of the way with one swing. The Mets claimed Ross off waivers in August and subsequently DFA'd him a month later. That's when the Blue Jays swooped in. He caught seven games for Triple-A Buffalo. If I had to guess, I'd say that Ross isn't in the Blue Jays' plans for 2027. It made sense to claim him in September to have some experienced depth around in case of emergency, but he hasn't done enough to hold on to a 40-man roster spot through the offseason. Maybe if he goes unclaimed on waivers, he will return to the Jays on a minor league deal. Rule 5-Eligible Depth The Blue Jays have two catching prospects who will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter: Edward Duran and Jacob Sharp. The Jays acquired Duran from the Marlins in 2022. FanGraphs currently has him ranked as the No. 21 prospect in the organization, with a 40 FV. Before the season, their evaluators praised his framing and arm strength but questioned his bat and other defensive skills. Brendan Gawlowski wrote that he "projects as a solid backup." Unfortunately, the 2026 season was a step backward for Duran. The 22-year-old finished the season with a .605 OPS and 61 wRC+ in 65 games, mostly at High-A Vancouver. He fell off Baseball America's list of the top 30 Blue Jays prospects after their July update, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's lower on the next FanGraphs ranking as well. All of this to say, I would be very surprised if the Blue Jays protected Duran from the Rule 5 draft. He might be ready to debut at some point in 2027, but no other team should be willing to guarantee him a 26-man roster spot. Sharp joined the Jays in 2024. He came over from the Mariners with Jonatan Clase as the return for Yimi García. Now 25, he's about three years older than Duran, and he has more experience at the Double-A level. However, he's never been a ranked prospect. It's highly unlikely he would be selected in the Rule 5 draft, and even if he were, the Jays could stomach that loss. More Minor League Depth Aaron Parker spent the 2026 season with Double-A New Hampshire. He was a three-true-outcomes hitter, knocking 19 homers with a 12.3% walk rate and a 32.3% strikeout rate. It all added up to a 115 wRC+. The 23-year-old is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he's continued to hit well in a handful of games. Parker is a bat-first catcher, which goes against the Blue Jays' MO, but he's probably the closest to MLB-ready of any of the prospects in Toronto's system. We could see him in 2027 if the Jays need an emergency stopgap behind the plate, though I think they're more likely to sign a veteran on a minor league contract to play that role. View the full article

The pitching of the Kansas City Royals was a collective disaster all year, above all because of the problems of a bullpen that never managed to sustain itself. So we have arrived at complicated territory. The Royals lost 44 games in which they had a lead in 2026, one fewer than the Angels (45), who recorded the highest number in the American League. They wasted a lead in 47.3% of their losses (44 of 93), the fifth-highest rate in the American League. In 2025, Kansas City had the best record in the major leagues with a 73-0 record when they came into the ninth inning with a lead, but they lost eight games in that situation in 2026, the third-highest number in the majors. They also suffered 13 losses when they had a lead after the seventh inning, tying for third place in the league, and 10 walk-off losses, tying for the fourth-worst result, one behind the Tigers and Yankees (11 each), who recorded the highest number in the American League. The narrow margins were a problem all year. Really, when you lose a lot of games like that, pitching is not the only culprit, but in the case of the Royals, in pressure situations, pitching found it very difficult to contain their opponents. They finished with 108 of their 162 games decided by three runs or fewer (66.7%), one fewer than the Cleveland Guardians (109), who recorded the highest number in the Major Leagues. It was their highest figure since 2013 (113), and they had a record of just 46-62 (.426) in those games, the fifth-worst record in all of the Majors. Their 62 losses in those conditions were only one fewer than those of the Tigers and Angels (63), who recorded the highest number in MLB. Even so, there were some interesting stories to highlight, especially those of these three pitchers I chose here. 3. Daniel Lynch IV, LHP Daniel completed his sixth major league season in 2026, with a 6-6 record and a 4.08 ERA (39 earned runs in 86 innings) in 56 games, 10 of them as a starter. His 13 holds left him tied with Matt Strahm in second place among Royals relievers, only behind John Schreiber (14). But the big story of his season changed when the team began to use him as a starter. Lynch IV became the first pitcher in Royals history to participate in at least 40 games as a reliever and make at least 10 starts in the same season. He was one of three major league pitchers who reached those figures in 2026, alongside Lake Bachar and Braydon Fisher. Lynch IV began the season in the Royals’ bullpen, where he recorded a 1.96 ERA (10 earned runs in 46 innings) in 46 games. It was the fourth-lowest ERA by a Royals left-hander in his first 46 appearances of a season, behind José Mijares (1.72) in 2012, Tom Burgmeier (1.75) in 1971, and Ron Mahay (1.78) in 2008. He allowed only two home runs in 46.0 innings as a reliever (0.4 HR/9), a figure tied for the sixth-best mark among American League relievers (minimum of 40 games). While the Royals were looking for alternatives to complete a rotation very affected by injuries during the season, Lynch IV moved into the rotation on August 7 against the Cubs. It was his first start since May 27, 2025, against Cincinnati. However, in his 10 starts, he allowed nine home runs in 40 innings (2.0 HR/9), and his FIP was affected, going from 3.06 to 6.17. He did not overcome the pressure of facing the opposing batting order more than once, seeing his K-BB% rate fall from 12.6% to 4.0%. Even so, Lynch IV completed at least five innings in four of his five September starts, including the last one of the year, on September 27 against Cleveland, when he worked 5 ⅓ innings, his highest total in a start during the season. He got consecutive wins on September 9 against Arizona and September 16 in Houston. They were his first wins as a starter since July 18, 2023, against Detroit. Lynch IV limited left-handed hitters to a .165/.223/.248 slash line (20-for-121). Among American League pitchers, his .223 OBP allowed ranked fourth and his .165 batting average allowed ranked sixth (minimum of 100 batters faced). Lynch IV ranked in the 83rd percentile in breakings and the 79th percentile in GB% with 47.8%, and his two main weapons were the sinker and the slider. With the sinker, he recorded +7 Run Value and allowed only a .210 AVG, .300 SLG, and .304 wOBA. Although the slider was not one of the pitches he used the most, he used it only 19.4% of the time and managed to limit his opponents to a .132/.165/.211 slash line (10-for-76). His batting average allowed was tied with San Diego’s Mason Miller as the best in the major leagues against the slider (minimum of 75 at-bats). 2. Noah Cameron, LHP The best of his season is far from his 9-8 record and 4.11 ERA (81 earned runs in 177 ⅓ innings) in 31 appearances, the highest number of his career, 30 of them as a starter. After making his major league debut on April 30, 2025, Cameron was one of four Royals players who made the Opening Day roster for the first time in 2026, alongside Tyler Tolbert, Jac Caglianone, and Carter Jensen. His consistency pitching for a team whose hopes of winning increasingly seemed smaller revealed a lot about Cameron’s ability to compete, as he was one of 15 left-handed pitchers who made at least 30 starts in 2026. His 177 ⅓ innings ranked sixth among left-handers, behind Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez (207 innings). Cameron completed at least eight innings in three starts, all during his last 11 outings. That figure was tied with Cam Schlittler as the highest in the American League and was one behind Sandy Alcantara, Logan Webb, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who led the major leagues with four each. After beginning his career with 43 consecutive starts, Noah pitched as a reliever behind opener Beck Way on July 24 in Detroit. He worked seven innings without allowing a run and struck out eight batters. But beyond that dominance, that game marked a before and after in his campaign. After that performance, Cameron revealed that he had started choosing his own pitches through the PitchCom device. This turned out to be a turning point in his season, recording a 2.58 ERA (22 earned runs in 76 ⅔ innings) in his last 12 games, 11 of them as a starter, after having recorded a 5.27 ERA (59 earned runs in 100 ⅔ innings) in his first 19 starts. Cameron recorded a 3.92 FIP, lower than his 4.11 ERA, a difference of 0.19. Among qualified American League pitchers, that difference between his ERA and his FIP ranked as the tenth-highest—the leader was Jacob deGrom, with 1.09. He achieved it with several quality pitches. His cutter added +8 Run Value, finishing in the 94th percentile in RV/100 pitches, and opponents hit only .156/.200/.270 (19-for-122) against his curveball. That .156 batting average was the best in the American League and the third-best in the majors (minimum of 100 at-bats), only behind Nolan McLean (.130) and Braxton Ashcraft (.135). However, the slider and the sinker were his two weakest pitches, finishing with -5 and -3 Run Value, and a slugging percentage allowed of .490 and .636, respectively. Cameron recorded a streak of 19.0 consecutive innings without allowing runs, the best of his career, from August 16 to 27. He also established a personal record with 48 ⅔ consecutive innings without allowing home runs, from July 19 to August 27. 1. Michael Wacha, RHP This was the problem all the time: Wacha received an average of 3.36 runs of offensive support in his 32 starts, the lowest figure for a starter in the major leagues. It was the second consecutive year in which he had the lowest average offensive run support among starters. Then, when you see Wacha’s dominance and success as a rotation starter, I think you appreciate the effort and consistency even more, offering the opportunity to win almost every day. Among starters with at least 20 starts, only Yoshinobu Yamamoto (22/28, 78.6%), Chris Sale (19/27, 70.4%), Sonny Gray (20/29, 69.0%), and Cristopher Sanchez (22/33, 66.7%) surpassed Wacha (21/32, 65.6%) in quality start percentage. We can see a lot of run prevention and dominance numbers, but baseball is as complicated as it is simple, so often what teams need most is for their starters to be able to get a quality start. Wacha has done that for a long time. He strung together five consecutive quality starts from May 4 to 25, matching the second-longest streak of that kind in his career. His longest streak was seven consecutive starts, from July 26 to August 28, 2015, when he played for St. Louis. He won four consecutive starts from August 17 to September 3, matching the best streak of his career. He was the only Royals pitcher who won four consecutive starts in 2026. Once again, Wacha’s devastating changeup was the main weapon in his arsenal, ranking in the 98th percentile in Run Value with +11, the sixth-best mark in all of the majors. His opponents hit just .188 AVG, with .321 SLG and .225 xwOBA. His fastball (+5 RV) and cutter (+2) helped maintain the balance in his repertoire, but the slider (-2) and the curveball (-6) have once again been exposed. In the last two seasons, although Wacha has thrown the slider and the curveball only 19.3% of the time, both pitches have combined for a negative Run Value of -9, even though they continue to generate his highest whiff rates—29.3% with the slider and 27.8% with the curveball. He made his 300th career start on May 31, 2026, in Texas. He became the tenth active pitcher to reach that figure and the sixth who made his 300th start with Kansas City. He recorded the 1,500th strikeout of his career on June 27 against the White Sox, becoming the 17th active pitcher to reach that mark. View the full article

You can listen by downloading us from: iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, GleemanAndTheGeek.com, or by clicking this link, or by watching/listening below. 0:00 Intro: Gleeman & The Geek, presented by Black Stack Brewing 1:11 Twins offseason preview: where the roster is set and where it needs help 7:46 Twins officials expect to be active early before the Dec. 1 MLB lockout 10:44 New Twins pitching coach Brian Reith replaces Pete Maki 16:59 Jeff Hoffman's elbow cleanup procedure 23:59 The Twins starting rotation for 2027 32:47 Why not just sign a veteran fifth starter? 36:14 Win-now rotation vs. develop-the-kids lineup 40:50 Could the Twins trade a starter? Jeremy Zoll's hint 52:24 The bullpen is the Twins' biggest need again 52:52 Bullpen locks and bullpen maybes 57:12 Losing A.J. Minter and Taylor Rogers; Cole Sands and Anthony Banda non-tender risks 59:09 How much will the Twins invest in their bullpen? 1:14:04 The Twins catcher situation 1:22:20 First base: is Royce Lewis still the answer? 1:26:42 The Twins need an impact middle-of-the-order bat 1:28:18 Is designated hitter an option? 1:32:46 What about the rest of the infield? 1:35:24 The crowded outfield and the real cost of signing an impact corner outfielder 1:41:34 Ranking the Twins' biggest offseason needs 1:47:43 Coming up: Patreon free agent target shows and GM meetings in Las Vegas View the full article

While the Boston Red Sox would rather be focused on preparations for the World Series, they are already making moves to get ready for the 2027 season. The Red Sox have signed catcher Riley Adams to a minor-league contract, according to multiple reports. Adams, 30, is a depth move for the Red Sox, who currently have Adley Rutschman as the starter and Connor Wong as the backup at the major-league level. Adams had been with the Washington Nationals since the 2021 trade deadline when he came over from the Toronto Blue Jays. But Adams, for the first time since that 2021 season, did not play in the majors this season. Instead, he was stuck at Triple-A, where he put up a .273/.389/.506 slash line with 16 homers and 50 RBIs in 82 games. He had been taken off the 40-man roster in January and outrighted to the minors, then became a free agent following the end of the regular season. Players on minor-league contracts and not on the 40-man roster are not affected by the lockout. Adams fits that category. View the full article

The Sporting News has been examining the 140 greatest baseball players of all time through an unconventional lens. Rather than ranking every player on a single list, the publication has divided its selections into 14 positionless rooms, each “representing and articulating a varying archetypes of greatness.” I'm striving to miniaturize that project here at Twins Daily. To learn more about it, check out the first installment of the series. The latest installment examines two careers that leave fans wondering what might have been and two players who burst onto the major league scene with the kind of talent that inspires tremendous expectations. What-Ifs The Sporting News describes its What-ifs room as a collection of players whose legacies were shaped by circumstances beyond their control. These careers leave fans wondering how much more a player could have accomplished if injuries had not intervened, opportunities had been different or a few critical moments had gone another way. The category is not about failure. It is about recognizing greatness while acknowledging the factors that prevented it from reaching its full potential. For the Twins, Byron Buxton and Justin Morneau provide two compelling examples. Both demonstrated the ability to become among the best players in baseball, but injuries interrupted what could have been even more remarkable careers. Byron Buxton Few players have combined the physical tools and on-field production of Buxton. The center fielder possesses elite speed, outstanding defensive instincts and the ability to change a game with one swing. When healthy, he has shown why the Twins made him the second overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. Buxton's defensive peak came in 2017, when he won both a Gold Glove and a Platinum Glove. His speed and range allowed him to cover enormous amounts of ground in center field, while his developing power gave Minnesota another dimension offensively. Although injuries limited him to 140 games that season, it remains an example of what he could accomplish with regular playing time. His offensive development has made the possibilities even more intriguing. In 2021, Buxton hit .306/.358/.647 with 19 home runs in just 61 games. The following season, he launched 28 home runs in 92 games. Those stretches demonstrated that he could be one of the most dangerous offensive players in baseball even when he wasn't available for a full season. The same pattern has continued in recent years. Buxton played 126 games in 2025, providing a glimpse of what a more extended season could look like. In 2026, he produced 25 home runs and an .829 OPS in 93 games before recurring right hip problems sent him to the injured list. That is what makes Buxton such a natural fit for the What-ifs room. His career is not defined by a lack of talent or an inability to produce. He has accumulated All-Star selections, Gold Glove recognition and nearly 200 career home runs. The question has always been how much more he could accomplish if his body allowed him to play consistently. Imagine Buxton playing 145 to 155 games in multiple seasons. What would his home run totals look like? How many additional runs would his defense save? Could he develop into an MVP candidate with a full season of production? Those questions remain central to his legacy. Buxton continues to deliver when he plays, but the Twins and their fans have spent much of his career imagining what might happen if he could stay on the field. Justin Morneau Morneau's career provides another example of a player whose trajectory changed because of circumstances beyond his control. Unlike Buxton, Morneau had already established himself as one of baseball's premier hitters before a devastating injury interrupted his prime. Morneau won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2006 after batting .321 with 34 home runs and 130 RBI. He followed that performance with another excellent season in 2007 before finishing second in MVP voting in 2008. From 2006 through 2009, he was one of the most productive middle-of-the-order hitters in baseball and a central figure in Minnesota's lineup. His 2010 season offered another glimpse of his potential. Morneau was hitting .345 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI through 81 games. His .437 on-base percentage and .618 slugging percentage ranked among the league's best, and he had been selected as the American League's starting first baseman for the All-Star Game. Then came July 7, 2010. While sliding into second base to break up a double play against Toronto, Morneau collided with the knee of Blue Jays infielder John McDonald and suffered a concussion. He missed the rest of the regular season and the postseason, leaving Minnesota without one of its most important hitters during a division-winning campaign. Morneau returned in 2011, but additional concussion symptoms and other injuries kept him from regaining his previous level of consistency. He continued playing for several more seasons, including winning the National League batting title with Colorado in 2014, but his prime years in Minnesota were largely behind him. Morneau deserves recognition for what he accomplished. He was a four-time All-Star, an MVP and one of the defining players of the Twins' competitive teams in the 2000s. Still, it is difficult not to wonder what the rest of his career might have looked like without that concussion. Would he have remained a perennial MVP candidate? Could he have helped Minnesota advance further in the postseason? How many more productive seasons might he have delivered in the middle of the lineup? Those questions place Morneau squarely in the What-ifs category. His accomplishments stand on their own, but the injury that interrupted his 2010 season changed the course of his career and left fans wondering about the production that never came. Prodigies The Sporting News' Prodigies room celebrates players who captured the baseball world's imagination early in their careers. These players arrived in the major leagues with unusual talent, delivered impressive performances at a young age and inspired expectations that they could become something special. Their stories are about the excitement of discovering a young player who appears destined for stardom. The Twins have seen several young players emerge with tremendous promise. Francisco Liriano and Butch Wynegar stand out because of how quickly they established themselves and how much excitement they generated early in their careers. Francisco Liriano When Liriano arrived in Minnesota's rotation in 2006, he looked like a future ace. The left-hander was only 22 years old, but his combination of velocity, movement and a devastating slider made him one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball. Liriano began the season in the bullpen before moving into the rotation in May. The results were extraordinary. He finished the year with a 12-3 record and a 2.16 ERA in 28 appearances, including 16 starts. He struck out 144 batters in 121 innings, earned an All-Star selection and finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting. His 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts were particularly impressive for a pitcher who had not yet completed his first full major league season. At the All-Star break, Liriano was 10-1 with a 1.83 ERA. He appeared capable of joining Johan Santana as one of the American League's dominant left-handed starters. Twins fans had reason to believe they were watching the emergence of another frontline pitcher who could anchor the rotation for years. That dream was interrupted by elbow problems. Liriano made only two starts during the final two months of 2006 before undergoing Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2007 season and much of 2008. He eventually returned to become a productive major league pitcher, recording 112 career victories and earning Comeback Player of the Year honors in both leagues. However, he never quite replicated the dominance he displayed during his remarkable rookie campaign. Liriano fits the Prodigies room because of the excitement surrounding his arrival. He was not simply a promising prospect who needed several seasons to develop. He immediately challenged established major league hitters and looked capable of becoming one of baseball's best pitchers. His career ultimately became a story of perseverance, reinvention and flashes of brilliance. Yet the memories of 2006 remain powerful because they offered Twins fans a glimpse of what Liriano might have become had his arm remained healthy. Butch Wynegar Wynegar arrived in Minnesota with a different kind of promise. The young catcher made his major league debut in April 1976 at just 20 years old, skipping Double-A and Triple-A entirely. By the end of his first season, he had established himself as one of the most exciting young position players in the American League. Wynegar hit .260 with 10 home runs, 69 RBI and a .356 on-base percentage in 149 games as a rookie. His performance earned him an All-Star selection, and he finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Mark Fidrych. The Sporting News also named him its Rookie of the Year. Those accomplishments were especially impressive for a young catcher, a demanding position that requires handling a pitching staff while contributing offensively. Wynegar quickly demonstrated that he could manage both responsibilities, giving Minnesota a promising building block behind the plate. He followed his rookie season with another All-Star selection in 1977. That year, he drove in a career-high 79 runs and continued developing into one of the league's better defensive catchers. At that point, the Twins had every reason to believe they had found a foundational player who could remain behind the plate for years. Wynegar went on to play 13 seasons in the major leagues, finishing with 1,102 hits, 65 home runs, 506 RBI and a .348 on-base percentage. He spent the early portion of his career with Minnesota before being traded to the New York Yankees in May 1982. His career was respectable, but the initial excitement surrounding his arrival never quite translated into the sustained superstardom some anticipated. That does not diminish what Wynegar accomplished. Becoming an All-Star at age 20 while playing such a demanding defensive position is an exceptional achievement. His immediate success captured the imagination of Twins fans and made him one of the most intriguing young players in the league. Wynegar fits the Prodigies category because his story began with such promise. He arrived in the majors before many players his age had reached the upper levels of the minor leagues and immediately performed like an established big leaguer. His career may not have reached every expectation attached to that beginning, but his early accomplishments remain noteworthy. Four Careers, Four Different Paths Buxton, Morneau, Liriano and Wynegar illustrate two different sides of baseball's fascination with potential. Buxton and Morneau established themselves as impact players, but injuries left important questions about how much more they could have accomplished. Liriano and Wynegar generated excitement almost immediately, giving fans reason to believe they were watching the beginning of extraordinary careers. The Sporting News' room concept encourages fans to look beyond traditional rankings and consider how circumstances and expectations shape a player's legacy. In Minnesota, these four careers show why greatness is not always measured solely by accumulated statistics or awards. Sometimes greatness is about what a player achieved despite adversity. Other times, it is about the extraordinary promise that made fans dream about what could come next. What other players fit into the above categories? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

We're not messing around when it comes to previewing the 2026 World Series. The Brewers are trying to do what they've never done before; we need to match that energy. In a previous article, I introduced the idea of this series of posts: We're going to tackle 27 things that you'll be thinking about when the Series is over. Here are the second inning's worth of things—all on a theme. 4. Bunt Against Junior Caminero When He Plays Deep—But Don't Expect That Often Junior Caminero is big, and he's slow, and he's not exceptionally fluid in his movements at third base. His arm is average-ish, and it's sometimes inaccurate. (He had a 77.1% On-Target rate on throws this season, which was 16th-best of 35 qualifying third basemen, but his 29 high or wide throws were three more than any other third baseman had, so when he was off-target, it was often in dangerous ways.) You can bunt against him, any time he's playing deep. No third baseman fielded more bunts than Caminero (26) this year, though, and often, he did it from a very aggressive, very proximate starting position. I watched all 26 plays. You definitely want to test him when he plays behind the bag, but if he senses that a bunt might be coming, he won't be doing so. He still might rush things, as he did on a bunt by none other than David Hamilton back in April: TkFObmJfWGw0TUFRPT1fQndoWEJ3RURCQVVBWGxCWFV3QUhBQVZmQUZnR1UxUUFWMTBBQVZWV0JnRUFBbEFG.mp4 By and large, though, he's an adept fielder of the bunt when he starts in close to the batter. He needs to have a good platform from which to throw and to be comfortable making the play, but once he is, he's good at this play. eUx3NlJfWGw0TUFRPT1fQlFrSFZWQUFWVllBV1FaVVZ3QUhWd1ZSQUZsVFZWUUFVMXhXQmdaUkFnY0RVUUFI.mp4 Again, catch him unaware, and Caminero is fairly helpless against the bunt. He's not mobile enough to make the play against even a decent bunt by a moderately fast hitter. Knowing that, though, the Rays often have him well in on the grass in potential bunt situations. One thing he will not so, unless you really fry his circuitry, is try to get the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt. He didn't do that all season, even when given a couple of excellent chances to do so. It's all about picking spots and knowing situations when bunting toward the slugging third baseman. 5. The Value of Showing Bunt, as the Brewers Understand It During his appearance on the FOX Postgame after the Brewers won Game 4 of the NLCS, Pat Murphy mentioned having talked to David Hamilton about laying down the (seemingly bootless) bunt that ended the top of the third inning in that game. Murphy's promise to Hamilton was that if he did so, he would see better pitches to hit later in the game. The claim sounds dubious at first, but it's not a new concept to the skipper—and there's some validity to it. Over two years ago, I wrote about the "immeasurable" value of showing bunt, as Murphy put it at the time, and how it turned out to be measurable. You really can get the extra meatball, here and there, by showing bunt and throwing off either a pitcher's mental approach or their visual sightlines on the strike zone. It costs a strike, sometimes, but that's a small price to pay if the purchased product is an extra-base hit. It certainly helps that Hamilton is (whatever Murphy might think) a plus bunter, so teams have to respect his bluff more than other batters'. Many batters can derive some value from showing bunt, though. They did it often when they faced Tarik Skubal this season, as they tried to throw him off slightly and steal a two-eyed look at his offerings, to boot. Not every square-around can be measured by whether or not it results in a dribbling little ball in play. 6. Speaking of David Hamilton and Bunts... A recurring and thorny dilemma for the Brewers during this series will be the question of whether to start Hamilton or Joey Ortiz at third base. The considerations there are several and they don't all point a would-be decision-maker in the same direction, but here's one to file away as we unpack everything: The Rays bunt a lot, and Hamilton is far better at fielding bunts than Ortiz is. In his supernal Substack Pebble Hunting, Sam Miller broke down this series in several ways. One of them is all the ways the outcome might be affected by the Rays' brilliant bunters. Sam doesn't mention it, but I thought immediately of the difference that having Hamilton at third might make, relative to Ortiz. The former has been unfortunately erratic all season, but he's much better on bunts than Ortiz is. Ortiz visibly panics at times, and is too slow at others. Hamilton is more sure-handed and better when you take away time for him to think on a given play, and that includes when you force him to race in on a ball and fire in one motion. He'll even cut down a lead runner, when the opportunity arises. Hamilton has also hit better than Ortiz so far this October, though that can change quickly—and, as we''ll soon see, might need to. That might be all the bunting talk for this entire manifold preview—or it might not! Tune in later for more. In the meantime, if you haven't already, register as part of our community and join the discussion about all things World Series. View the full article