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For the first time in Milwaukee Brewers history, they have a team captain. The Brewers on Saturday announced that Christian Yelich would be their captain and wear a C on the front of his uniform. Since joining the Brewers via a trade from the Miami Marlins before the 2018 season, the 34-year-old has produced on and off the field. Early on, it was a lot on the field, becoming the fourth player (fifth time) in Brewers history to win an MVP, taking the NL honor in his debut season with the Crew. Yelich followed that up with a better 2019, but a fractured kneecap in August sidelined him for the remainder of the season. That would be the first of a handful of injuries, mainly dealing with his back, that Yelich dealt with, with his offensive production not necessarily matching the nine-year, $215 million contract he signed in 2020. But he made up for whatever downswing in his stats with his leadership. Yelich has been a three-time All-Star with the Brewers, a three-time NL Silver Slugger and a two-time NL batting champion during his nine seasons in Milwaukee. He won an NL Gold Glove with the Marlins. The announcement was made to the team during a meeting before Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Yelich also made sure to have the approval of Brewers legend Robin Yount, the Hall of Famer and two-time AL MVP. View the full article

Following his latest struggles and postgame admission, the San Diego Padres are giving Casey Mize some time to get right. The right-handed starter was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a sprained right ankle. In a big piece of good news, first baseman Gavin Sheets was activated off the 10-day IL and right-hander Griffin Canning was called up from the Arizona Complex League. Also, left-hander Kyle Hart was optioned to the ACL. Meanwhile, right-hander Alek Jacob, who was designated for assignment three days ago, cleared waivers and was outrighted to the ACL. Mize gave up seven runs in four innings during Friday's 11-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He originally injured the ankle as he returned to the Padres' dugout after the second inning of his Aug. 22 start vs. the Minnesota Twins. He stumbled down the dugout stairs, but came out for the third inning, lasting only two more outs. Since then, Mize has surrendered 28 runs (23 earned) over 26⅔ innings. He said after Friday's game that the right ankle was still sore and affecting his mechanics. Mize, who has a 7.46 ERA in 10 starts since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 3, will be ineligible for the NL Wild Card Series and, if the Padres advance, the NL Division Series. Sheets is back after dealing with plantar fasciitis. He is hitting fifth for Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He went on the 10-day IL on Aug. 30, but has been working out recently at the Padres' complex in Peoria, Ariz. He is likely to have a bench role during the initial stages of the postseason. He has a .211/.313/.388 slash line with 16 homers and 46 RBIs in 123 games. Canning, who has been effective out of the bullpen, had been optioned to the ACL two days ago and was able to come back up so quickly due to Mize going on the IL. Hart's move is likely just to give him rest before the postseason. The Padres can clinch the No. 1 NL wild-card seed with a win in either of their last two games. View the full article

On Friday night, the Kansas City Royals acknowledged and celebrated the award winners in their Minor League system. That included not just players but also scouts and coaches. Overall, the Royals' farm system showed progress this season. Even though the system still isn't highly ranked, many prospects took positive steps forward this year, a sign the development and scouting team is improving under Royals President of Baseball Operations JJ Picollo. Six of those success stories were present and recognized on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. In this post, I'll break down the four position-player prospects who earned awards from the Royals organization for their strong seasons, and what Royals fans can expect from them in 2027 and beyond. Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year: Abel Gonzalez, OF, Quad Cities Gonzalez won his second Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year Award, as he won the honor a year ago with the Columbia Fireflies. The 20-year-old stole 67 bases with an 84% success rate and also scored 91 runs with the River Bandits this year. In addition to being an excellent baserunner, Gonzalez is a solid center fielder. He made only three errors this year and is known for his strong range and ability to cover the outfield gaps. At a minimum, he has shown the speed and fielding tools to succeed at the Major League level. The big question for Gonzalez going forward is the bat. Gonzalez hit .262 with a .672 OPS and did have a 10.2% BB%. However, he struck out 25.4% and showed contact concerns this past year, as evidenced by a 78% Z-Contact%, which ranked in the 29th percentile. Scouts have been optimistic that Gonzalez can grow into his power, and he did hit two more home runs than a year ago. That said, he hit only one last year, and his .052 ISO was just one point higher than his 2025 ISO in Columbia. At 20, Gonzalez still has time to develop, and the tools and talent are there to become a big-league regular. The swing is a bit ugly-looking, though I wonder if that's partly due to his tall frame and long limbs. Gonzalez will matriculate to Double-A next year, and how his contact skills and power fare in the Texas League will determine whether the Royals should take him seriously as a prospect. Frank White Defensive Player of the Year: Carson Roccaforte, OF, Northwest Arkansas/Omaha Roccaforte is clearly the best defensive player in the Royals organization. He won the Frank White Award for a third straight season. Roccaforte is clearly good enough to be a late-innings outfielder for the Royals right now, even with Kyle Isbel and Tyler Tolbert on the active roster. While Roccaforte's defense was once again stellar, his offense in Northwest Arkansas and Omaha this year caught the attention of Royals fans. In 622 combined plate appearances with the Naturals and Storm Chasers, Roccaforte hit .257 with a .857 OPS. That included 35 home runs and 32 stolen bases. The former Louisiana-Lafayette product not only posted slugging marks of .500 or more in both Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, but also had a hard-hit rate in the 78th percentile, a LA Sweet-Spot% in the 94th percentile, and a Pull Air% in the 100th percentile. Roccaforte impressed fans all year long with majestic bombs, including this one in Springfield, shortly before his promotion to Omaha. Roccaforte is a candidate to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason, and Mike Gillespie on here broke down that possibility in a recent post. That said, his situation isn't easy. While he can handle the Majors defensively and is a strong (though not elite) baserunner, his contact ability is a huge red flag. In Omaha, he had a K% in the 8th percentile and a whiff% in the 4th percentile. Furthermore, Roccaforte amplified those numbers with a poor O-Swing%, as it ranked in the 23rd percentile. There's no question that Roccaforte can do damage when he connects with the ball. But will he make enough contact at the Major League level? That concern likely explains why he hasn't been promoted, even with the Royals having a down year. Kansas City will likely add Roccaforte to the 40-man roster this offseason. However, the opportunity he gets in 2027 will likely depend on how his contact and plate discipline develop and fare in Spring Training. Alex Gordon Heart and Hustle Award: Josh Hammond, SS, Columbia Hammond is our No. 3 prospect at Royals Keep, behind pitchers Kendry Chourio and David Shields. Even though 2026 was his first professional season and he was 19 years old, Hammond held his own in Low-A Columbia. In 110 games and 487 plate appearances, Hammond hit .286 with a .743 OPS. He also hit five home runs, stole 25 bases on 30 attempts, and scored 69 runs. His power stagnated a bit over the season, suggesting Hammond may have been fatigued in his first exposure to pro ball. That said, he continued to provide stellar defense, baserunning, and contact ability with the Fireflies, which is why he earned the Alex Gordon Award. Hammond has been a riser among many Royals prospect experts, and MLB Pipeline ranks him No. 67 on its Top-100 list. While he isn't a flashy tools guy, he's incredibly polished and mature for his age, and he's the kind of player who can lead a team in all areas of the game. It seemed like he focused more on hitting for average this year, opting for line drives to all fields rather than trying to sit on balls to pull for home runs (his Pull Air% ranked in the 24th percentile). Once he gets strong and he gets more comfortable at the plate, it wouldn't be surprising to see him as a 20+ HR threat. His raw power is a 40 grade now, but TJ Stats gives him 55 potential (ranking him No. 81 overall). He is still at least a couple of years away from making his MLB debut. However, Hammond showed strong progress in 2026 and could really break out in 2027, especially if the power tool clicks in High-A ball. George Brett Hitter of the Year and Mike Sweeney Award Winner: Brett Squires, 1B/OF, Northwest Arkansas and Omaha Squires won two awards: the George Brett Award, which goes to the best hitter in the Royals farm system, and the Mike Sweeney Award, which goes to the player who did the most community service in the Royals' organization. To be honest, no hitter was more deserving than Squires, who absolutely mashed with the Naturals and Storm Chasers this season. In 555 plate appearances between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, Squires hit .277 with a .900 OPS. He launched 31 home runs, drove in 103 runs, stole 24 bases on 25 attempts, and scored 78 runs. In Omaha (more detailed Statcast percentiles), he ranked in the 77th percentile in Pull Air%, the 82nd percentile in wOBA, the 93rd percentile in Barrel%, the 79th percentile in Hard Hit%, and the 84th percentile in 90th EV. In terms of contact quality, few hitters in the Royals' farm system were better than Squires this year. That said, like Roccaforte, Squires' issue is MAKING contact. His whiff% ranked in the 4th percentile, his K% in the 20th percentile, his BB% in the 24th percentile, and his O-Swing% in the 20th percentile. This kind of approach can work against lackluster pitching in Triple-A. Against MLB hitters? It can be less successful, as CJ Alexander and Drew Waters have demonstrated in the past. Another problem is that nearly all of Squires' value is tied to his bat. If he's not hitting, he'll be a negative-value player on the roster. That likely explains why he hasn't gotten a shot this year, even though the Royals' offense could've used his bat at various points in the season. The Squires will be Rule 5 Draft-eligible this offseason, so it'll be interesting to see whether the Royals add him to the 40-man roster to protect him. If he goes unprotected, he would likely be selected if the Rule 5 Draft happens (it could be canceled due to a likely work stoppage). However, Squires doesn't have a clear spot on the roster, especially with Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez at first base and Jac Caglianone in right field. View the full article

That the San Diego Padres spent much of the first half of 2026 trapped in such dire offensive straits is sort of a mystery given how the team was assembled on paper. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill are excellent headliners; Xander Bogaerts & Jake Cronenworth are capable secondary bats (albeit on increasingly tough-to-explain long-term deals); Gavin Sheets, Ty France, and Ramón Laureano are all tertiary threats. That's a group that, in theory, should have led the team out of the gate. Yet, the Padres spent almost all of the first half of the season stagnant on offense. Even as the team got off to a decent start and was in first place in the National League West in the middle of April, they finished the month well into the bottom half of the league in terms of their offensive production. That was nothing compared to the woeful output that awaited them in May. That month, the Padres were a bottom-three team in all of Major League Baseball in their fWAR accrued by position players (exactly 0.0). By wRC+, a purely offensive metric, they sat at 74 which indicated the collective as a well-below average unit ahead of only Colorado & Detroit. They hit just .200 for the month (30th), reached base at a .276 clip (also 30th), and were slugging .340 (29th). That absence of production came alongside a 24.5 percent strikeout rate that was the third-highest in the sport. All told, the Padres spent the first half as one of the league's worst offensive teams. Their statistical output ranked as follows: Runs (379): 30th Batting Average (.226): 30th On-Base Percentage (.302): 30th Slugging Percentage (.370): 29th K% (22.8): 20th BB (9.1): 13th ISO (.144): 25th wRC+ (90): 28th Even with strikeout and walk rates closer to the middle of the pack, there was simply no production to speak of. And no one player was immune to it. Only two players—Tatis & France—were above the average threshold by wRC+ in the first half at 102 & 124, respectively. Most notable among the disappointments was Merrill and his wRC+ of 76. As the trade deadline grew closer, though, the Padres started to find their groove. Tatis has been one of the best players in baseball over the last couple of month, Merrill has sorted himself, and France has sustained his surprising production. That's left the Padres looking like this in the second half: Runs (324): 3rd Batting Average (.268): 1st On-Base Percentage (.340): 3rd Slugging Percentage (.435): 2nd K% (19.9): 6th BB% (9.0): 11th ISO (.167): 6th wRC+ (118): 2nd It's not just that the Padres have been better in the second half of the year. They've been, outright, one of the best offensive teams in baseball. Tatis' reemergence as a superstar has been a driver of that turnaround, to be sure. But it's not on his shoulders alone. France has been even better. Merrill is carrying a 155 wRC+. Each of Machado & Bogaerts have managed to scratch and claw toward positive production. Even Jake Cronenworth has heated up over the last week. The output is coming from everywhere. While it's not only the offense that has taken the Padres from potential sellers to playoff entrants, it has been the offense serving as the leader of the hottest stretch of play we've seen from them all season. Given the questions that still persist in the rotation and the overworked state of the bullpen, that will have to continue into October in order for the Friars to make a deep run. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins will have one of their most important bullpen pieces unavailable for the final two games of the season, but they are getting a key piece of their future back on Saturday. The Twins activated shortstop Kaelen Culpepper from the injured list Saturday while placing veteran reliever Jeff Hoffman on the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation. Minnesota acquired Hoffman from the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of the August 3rd Trade Deadline, hoping the 2024 All-Star could provide another reliable option in the late innings. He has done exactly that since arriving, posting a 2.50 ERA with 27 strikeouts across 18 innings for the Twins. Hoffman last pitched Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants, earning his first save with Minnesota in a 3-2 victory. The right-hander allowed one run while walking two and hitting a batter in his lone inning of work. It was an unusual blemish for a pitcher who had not allowed a run in his previous 11 appearances, covering 9 1/3 innings. Now, Hoffman will have to watch the final two games from the sidelines. His absence leaves the Twins without one of their most dependable bullpen arms, but the timing also gives the organization a chance to get Culpepper back on the field. The 23-year-old shortstop landed on the 10-day IL after suffering a mild left hamstring strain against the New York Yankees. Culpepper tweaked the hamstring in the sixth inning while running out a ground ball, with an MRI the following morning confirming the strain. Minnesota recalled infielder Ben Ross from Triple-A St. Paul when Culpepper went on the IL. Culpepper has given the Twins plenty of reasons to want an extended look at him. He has hit .275/.333/.404 across 31 games, with three home runs, five doubles and 11 RBIs. While the offensive numbers are still developing, his defensive work at shortstop has been particularly encouraging. Culpepper has looked comfortable at a premium position and has graded out as an above-average defender up the middle. That matters as the Twins continue looking toward a younger core for 2027 and beyond. There isn't much left to accomplish in the standings for Minnesota, but these final games still provide an opportunity to evaluate pieces of the roster. Hoffman won't be part of that evaluation because of his forearm issue, but Culpepper will. And after spending nearly two weeks on the injured list, getting Culpepper back on the field for the final weekend gives the Twins one more opportunity to see what they have in a player who could be an important part of their next roster. View the full article

As the Minnesota Twins look toward next season, their bullpen is beginning to present more questions than answers. Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gómez both have shown stretches of great play this season, but their recent struggles have raised concerns about whether the Twins can rely on either pitcher for a significant bullpen role in 2027. Those struggles could influence how aggressively the Twins look to add to the bullpen, whether through free agency or the trade market. The bullpen was a topic of conversation for much of the past offseason. The Twins didn’t spend a lot to make it significantly better, adding only veteran Taylor Rogers on a major-league deal. The bullpen was still lacking at the deadline, which led to the acquisitions of Jeff Hoffman and A.J. Minter. While Hoffman will be back, relief pitching remains a topic of conversation heading into 2027 for a team that carries forward strong starting pitching depth and a relatively well-set position player group. On the relief side, the biggest question will be whether the Twins can count on Morris and Gómez in higher leverage roles, and those questions are extremely valid. Morris, a fourth-round pick by the Twins in 2022, made his debut earlier this season and pitched well up until the end of July, earning a 3.12 ERA (2.92 FIP) in 52 innings over that span. He stuck out 23.4% of the batters he faced while walking 7.3% of batters. Those numbers have flipped since the calendar turned to August, as Morris has a 6.97 ERA (3.68 FIP) in 20 ⅔ innings since then. The 25-year-old has a diminished strikeout rate, 17.3%, and a heightened walk rate, 11.2%, during this period. Morris’ strong point is his fastball, worth 9 runs so far this year. However, his breaking and off-speed pitches have both been bad, worth -1 and -2 run respectively, so that will be something that needs to be addressed to turn around his performance. Gómez, on the other hand, was not good for the Rays, pitching to a 6.23 ERA (7.25 FIP) in 17 ⅓ innings before being designated for assignment. The Twins acquired him for cash considerations on May 7th, and from that day until the end of July, Gómez was arguably the best reliever in the Twins bullpen, emerging as the primary closer. He posted a 1.67 ERA (3.09 FIP) in 32 ⅓ innings, converting every save attempt. The 26-year-old was striking out 24.1% of the batters he faced, which is encouraging but a walk rate of 11.3% allowed for a lot of baserunners in the middle months of the season. Since August 1st, his ERA rocketed up to 7.71 (4.14 FIP). Gómez is still striking out a ton of batters as his strikeout rate remained the same. However, he was already issuing a lot of free passes, and his walk rate has climbed significantly, up to 17.7%, leading to him being demoted the bullpen pecking order. A key weakness of Gómez’s arsenal, unlike Morris, is his fastball; it is currently worth -4 runs and his most used pitch, with opposing hitters slugging .450 off it this season. With both Gómez and Morris struggling to maintain their earlier success, the Twins may have to reconsider where the two fit into their bullpen hierarchy going forward. How much should the Twins let these last two months impact their bullpen planning? For starters, it should mean bumping these two down the hierarchy of relievers, at least for the start of the 2027 season. Both players have shined at points, but their inconsistencies down the stretch can’t go unnoticed. Hoffman should be the bullpen’s highest-leverage arm in 2027, and with the pending departures of Minter and Rogers the Twins should add at least one high-end arm via free agency. David Bednar, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Bryan Abreu could be right-handed options the Twins look to sign, especially Abreu, given their rumored interest at the trade deadline. If the Twins are looking to replace the left-handedness lost in Rogers and Minter specifically, they could take a look at old friend Steven Okert, Gregory Soto, or Brock Burke. Of course, at that point they could also just resign Minter. He has been very solid for the Twins, putting together a 2.49 ERA (4.39 FIP) in 21 ⅔ innings for Minnesota so far. While it's smart to ratchet down their role leverage, Morris and Gómez can absolutely be important pieces of the Twins in 2027. What matters is what version of these players are going to show up. For Morris, the Twins will need to see if he can find a more reliable secondary pitch. For Gómez, the biggest focus will be limiting the free passes and figuring out how to get more out of his fastball, which has been a challenge for him in previous stops. There's a reason he's already pitched for five different teams in the majors at age 26. Neither pitcher should be written off because of two difficult months, especially considering how effective they were beforehand. However, the Twins cannot enter 2027 assuming that either Morris or Gómez will automatically return to viability is a closer or setup man. If both can make necessary adjustments, they could give the Twins two important internal, late-inning options for the bullpen. Regardless, Minnesota will need to make an addition or two this offseason to prevent the bullpen from persisting as the question mark it has been since the 2025 trade deadline. View the full article

Ian Happ and Tyrone Taylor have very different offensive splits, but their strengths could complement each other perfectly. The Cubs may have an ideal left-field platoon for October. View the full article

Kody Clemens has put together the best offensive season of his career, but his defense at second base has been a different story. Could a position swap with Royce Lewis help the Twins get the most out of both players? View the full article

The San Diego Padres are officially in the postseason! Randy Holt and Steve Drumwright were popping bottles as they reviewed the week that led to the Friars earning a spot in the playoffs for a franchise-record third consecutive year, the journey the Padres took to get to this point and then discussed some of the key issues they face before the postseason, including who will be in the rotation and who will make the roster. The only thing left on the Padres' checklist entering this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks is what seed they will have. Randy and Steve discuss those scenarios, including the very real possibility that Petco Park will host a Wild Card Series next week. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/padres-mission-podcast/id1896922834 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033xclmydmbLmEp0exYuYz Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-padres-mission-podcast-336930560 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@padresmission View the full article

The guys recap the Brewers' first 100-win season, how Dustin May and Shane Drohan will factor into the playoff pitching plans, and more. 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

As banged up and inconsistent as the Twins’ starting rotation was throughout the 2026 season, plenty of reasons remain for optimism as we turn the page toward 2027. Joe Ryan and Pablo López should both be back in the rotation next season, and assuming both are healthy, that gives the Twins a strong foundation at the top. Taj Bradley also just racked up 205 strikeouts this season, making him one of just 11 pitchers across Major League Baseball to reach that mark. He figures to be a very strong No. 3 option moving forward. Then there’s Mick Abel, Connor Prielipp and Zebby Matthews, all of whom have flashed at different points and could emerge as quality starting options during the 2027 season. Finally, there’s Dean Kremer and Bailey Ober. Or, perhaps more accurately, Dean Kremer or Bailey Ober. The two pitchers are in very similar positions heading into the offseason. Both will be in their final year of team control in 2027, and both figure to be back-end rotation options at similar prices. The two are scheduled to start the final two games of the season tonight and tomorrow. That leads to an interesting question: Which pitcher, if either, should the Twins keep around next season? While I think it’s entirely possible that neither pitcher is back in Minnesota next year, if I had to choose between the two, I’d keep Kremer and bid farewell to Ober. Let’s do a little side-by-side comparison, and we’ll start with the basics. It’s worth emphasizing that his sample is much smaller than Ober’s, as Kremer has thrown just 47 ⅓ innings in Minnesota compared to Ober’s 126. Still, the difference is notable across the board. Kremer currently has a 3.80 ERA and 3.81 FIP in his time with the Twins compared 4.21 and 4.52 for Ober. Kremer has given up hits and homers at a lower rate as a result of giving up less hard contact. Neither guy strikes out a ton of hitters, but Kremer is at least staying relatively close to one per inning whereas Ober has fallen far below that. Again, Kremer has done this over a much smaller sample, so there’s certainly some caution that needs to be exercised when looking at those numbers. But there’s another important piece of the puzzle here: The Twins have made some slight mechanical adjustments to Kremer, and so far, those tweaks appear to have worked. The biggest change has been raising his arm angle slightly. That's helped his fastball run up in the zone more consistently, while allowing his secondary pitches to dive down more effectively. That might sound like a relatively minor adjustment, but it's had a noticeable impact. Ober has one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball. His ability to stay afloat in spite of this is impressive, but gives him a razor-thin margin for error. Kremer has been able to generate more chases out of the zone, and when hitters do chase, they’re making less contact. That gives his entire arsenal a better chance to play, because his fastball is doing a better job of setting up everything else. And while we all know and love Ober’s electric 88 MPH fastball, it just doesn’t set up the rest of his arsenal in quite the same way Kremer’s fastball does. That becomes especially evident when looking at the swing-and-miss numbers. Kremer is generating whiffs on 28.7% of all swings, which puts him in the top quarter of all major league pitchers. Ober, meanwhile, is getting whiffs on just 20% of swings, putting him in the bottom tenth of the league. That’s a significant difference for two pitchers who are likely competing for essentially the same role in the rotation. The one area where both pitchers have struggled is keeping the ball on the ground. Neither has been particularly effective at generating ground balls, but even there, Kremer holds a slight advantage. And that’s especially important when talking about Ober. It’s no secret that the long ball has been an issue for him throughout his career. His massive 6-foot-9 frame and more than seven feet of extension toward the plate make him one of the most unique pitchers in baseball, but those physical advantages haven’t been enough to consistently prevent opposing hitters from doing damage. And again, any small further loss of velo or stuff at age 31 could lead him into unusable territory. One thing Ober has going for him is a history of demonstrating greater upside. For multiple years, he was one of the Twins' best starters bordering on frontline caliber. Coming into the 2024 season, he was being talked about as a potential dark horse Cy Young candidate, combining his extension and command with an excellent changeup that made him incredibly difficult to square up. But sadly that version of Ober may be gone for good. At this point, the Twins have several young pitchers who could take over the back end of the rotation, and while Kremer isn't as exciting of a name as someone like Abel or Prielipp, he's shown enough since arriving in Minnesota to make me think there’s still something there. Maybe the Twins ultimately decide they don’t want either pitcher back in 2027. With both entering their final year of team control, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the organization explore other options. But if the choice comes down to Kremer or Ober, I’m keeping Kremer. The mechanical changes have already produced encouraging results, his underlying numbers have been better, and his fastball appears to be setting up the rest of his arsenal more effectively. Ober deserves credit for what he’s accomplished in Minnesota, and it’s a shame to see a pitcher who once looked like such an intriguing long-term piece reach this point. But sometimes a fresh start is best for both sides. If I’m the Twins, I’m keeping Dean Kremer and letting Bailey Ober start fresh with a new team next season. View the full article

Players always say that the game speeds up on them when the MLB postseason rolls around. Now imagine what it does for managers, who have to be looking three steps ahead, whether it is regarding the bullpen, a pinch-hitter, a pinch-runner or some other situation where a split-second decision can make the difference in winning or losing a playoff game. In other words, where is your trust level for first-year manager Craig Stammen as he prepares to take the San Diego Padres into the postseason? There is reason to be a little wary of Stammen and his decision-making entering the biggest games of the season. And it all has to do with how he handles pitchers. All you have to do is look back a couple weeks ago when the Friars hosted the Washington Nationals on Sept. 9. Veteran right-handed starter Walker Buehler had given up a leadoff homer and a bases-loaded RBI single to trail 2-0 in the top of the third inning. After getting a pop-out for the first out, Stammen walked out with the intention of removing Buehler. As he continued his path to the mound, he changed his mind. But Buehler's fate was already sealed. Pitching coach Ruben Niebla had already made a trip out to counsel Buehler. Stammen chatted with Buehler, who was miffed that the manager was out there in the first place, then walked to the back of the mound as Stammen headed back to the dugout. That is when the umpires stepped in and, since it was the second mound visit, required a new pitcher be brought into the game. Now, it all worked out for Stammen and the Padres that day. The bullpen allowed just one hit and no runs over the final 5⅔ innings in what would be a 9-2 victory over the Nationals, the fifth straight win in what would be an eight-game winning streak. Stammen fessed up in his postgame press conference to forgetting Niebla's visit. Perhaps he knew before he went out to make the change, but it escaped him as he went over that choice as he approached Buehler on the mound. That is also the reason why Niebla didn't stop Stammen. The decision had been made. It can be brushed off considering the result, but it also has to raise the concern level for Stammen's split-second decision-making as big moments approach in a postseason game. There have been other moments during the season where Stammen has discussed his thought process behind a pitching decision where he leaned toward trusting a pitcher when the better move was to bring in another arm. That's very understandable considering Stammen was a reliever during his career; as a pitcher, you always want to be trusted to do the job in a certain situation. Perhaps the only times that Stammen hasn't hesitated was when the decision involved superstar closer Mason Miller. When in doubt, even with trusted left-hander Adrian Morejon on the mound, Stammen will go to Miller to secure the victory. Now, that can be the right move at any opportunity in the postseason, but it can lead to overuse in the regular season of certain relievers, while not allowing other relievers to build confidence in those situations. Now, the Padres are making a third straight trip to the postseason, the first time that has happened in the franchise's 58 seasons, eyeing a third consecutive 90-win season after having just four previously. Stammen deserves credit for getting the Friars this far. But Morejon, right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez, and Miller have pitched in the most games of any Padres reliever. Morejon has blown past his previous career high for innings and Miller just recently did, while Rodriguez is in his first full MLB season. Now, those three will be shouldering the load, especially if this team advances deep into October. Stammen's choice in Sept. 19 game vs. the Miami Marlins for Miller to come in for a five-out save after Morejon had issued back-to-back walks in the eighth inning was surprising. Miller got out of the jam with runners on the corners by striking out the first two batters he faced. But in the ninth, the closer missed his spot on a 1-0 four-seamer to Griffin Conine, with the Marlins pinch-hitter taking him deep and tying the game. This was the Ethan Salas walk-off game, so again, it worked out. Would the eighth and ninth have gone differently if Morejon had faced another batter or two in the eighth and Miller began the ninth? We will never know. But the extra work that Miller has had to put in—willingly put in, too—could come back to haunt Stammen and the Padres in the postseason. Stammen will rightfully go to Miller early in a postseason game (two innings max). You just hope that his previous workload doesn't diminish what he can do in these important games. View the full article

The Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching pipeline flows like a rushing river. There aren’t many teams in baseball who have been better at developing young pitchers. Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson are two of the latest and most prominent examples. Both have electric stuff that overwhelms batters and misses bats, making it pretty easy to see why the Brewers are so excited about their futures—and their present, for that matter. Robert Gasser doesn’t stand out in the same way. He doesn’t have incredible swing-and-miss stuff or an upper-90s fastball. He isn’t going to make hitters look completely helpless. But he’s gonna throw the kitchen sink at you, and if you think you’ve figured him out, there’s probably something hiding in the garbage disposal. Despite having merely average velocity, Gasser’s quality of contact metrics are excellent. Opponents' hard-hit rate and average exit velocity both rank in the 85th percentile or better among all major-league pitchers. It starts with the sweeper. It's been Gasser’s most-used pitch throughout his major-league career, and it’s easy to understand why when you watch it come out of his hand. With his low arm angle and how far away from his body he lets the ball go, it looks like a left-handed hitter is about to get decapitated by the pitch, before it suddenly moves away. It has a Stuff+ grade of 122, with 100 being league average. Moral of the story: It’s nasty. That’s a big reason why Gasser has been throwing his sinker nearly 30% of the time against left-handed hitters. If a hitter is sitting on a pitch that starts at them and veers away, only to get something that starts over the plate and runs in on them, squaring it up becomes pretty much impossible. Those are the pitches in Gasser’s arsenal that hitters are struggling to handle the most. But it doesn’t stop there. Gasser’s four-seam fastball only averages around 93 MPH, but it's actually been his biggest swing-and-miss pitch this season. Throwing from so low a slot, he generates ample arm-side run on the pitch, while giving it a completely different shape than his sinker. That four-seamer also comes surprisingly close to his sweeper in terms of Stuff+, checking in at 114. Hitters are getting underneath it consistently, because they have to respect the sinker and its much different movement. The average four-seamer induces a swing that barely clips the bottom part of the ball or misses underneath it 45% of the time; Gasser's makes that 55%. Despite the four-seamer being his second-most frequently thrown pitch, Gasser has allowed just two home runs on it all season. That’s a pretty strong profile for a pitch that doesn’t even crack 95 mph. Then there’s the cutter. Many pitchers in modern baseball (and particularly in Milwaukee) have embraced the three-fastball mix, pairing a sinker and four-seamer with a cutter. Gasser is one of them, and his cutter might be the perfect complement to everything else he throws. Because hitters have to respect his four-seamer and sinker (as well as the sweeper, moving in the opposite direction), his cutter gives them another movement pattern to worry about. It moves to the glove side a foot more than the four-seamer and more like 18 inches more than the sinker, and it drops about 8 inches more than the four-seamer—all while coming in around 88 MPH, much firmer than the 81-MPH sweeper. That combination makes it very challenging to identify out of his hand. Unlike his sweeper, four-seamer and sinker, Gasser isn’t really using his cutter as a put-away pitch. But when a pitcher can use a pitch to set everything else up and keep hitters off balance as effectively as Gasser has, it doesn’t necessarily need to be. It’s a darn good fourth pitch. It also gives him options. Here's a glimpse of how, thanks to FanGraphs's nifty Paired Pitches visualization tool. If you think of Gasser's four-seamer as the pitch off which he's working (it's his most-used one against righties) and assume that its target is the top of the zone in the middle of the plate, this is how his other pitches play off of it. The sinker keeps a batter honest; they have to respect the outside edge. But Gasser's ability to beat those hitters comes on the pitches that move in on them. The cutter is the one he can use against a disciplined hitter who has the outside half well-covered. The sweeper is the one he can throw at overly aggressive ones who are looking for the four-seamer or the cutter, to get a chase on a pitch ticketed for their back foot. Then there’s the changeup, which is technically Gasser’s fifth pitch. He’s throwing it roughly 10% of the time, and according to Stuff+, it’s actually his worst offering, with a grade of just 83. That number feels a little misleading. He throws a firm changeup, averaging only about 4 MPH slower than his fastballs, but it serves its purpose. He’s getting plenty of hitters out in front of it, which is exactly what you want from a changeup. There have been times when the pitch catches too much of the plate and hitters are able to square it up. But when Gasser locates it, it’s gross. He technically has a slider in the arsenal, too, but he’s thrown it just 10 times all season. I wouldn’t expect that pitch to factor much into his playoff pitch mix, especially when he already has five legitimate offerings to work with. As the playoffs draw closer, it seems increasingly likely that Gasser will be Milwaukee’s Game 3 starter in the NLDS, taking the mound in what could be an elimination game for whichever team he faces. That’s a pretty important spot for a pitcher who doesn’t have the traditional profile of an ace, but when he's locating, Gasser has enough options to pitch at nearly that level. None of it necessarily jumps off the page on its own. Put it all together, though, and you get a pitcher who can make hitters uncomfortable in just about every possible way. The Brewers have become very good at developing young pitching, and Gasser might be one of the best examples of why. He may not have the same kind of eye-popping arsenal as Misiorowski or Henderson, but there’s a lot more to pitching than throwing hard. Sometimes, you just need to throw the kitchen sink at them. View the full article

The New York Mets have officially missed the playoffs for the second straight year, a highly disappointing outcome after the organization invested so much time, energy, and money in the roster. Whether they were the right investments remains up for debate, and the evidence—a 73-86 record heading into the final weekend of the season—is revealing for those making the calls in the front office. Making things worse for the 2026 Mets (but somehow better for the organization in 2027 and beyond) is the fact that they have not one, but two legitimate NL Rookie of the Year candidates in pitcher Nolan McLean and outfielder Carson Benge. It’s bad for obvious reasons: the Mets had a young foundational piece both in the rotation and the batting order/outfield, yet they're destined for last place in the NL East. That means things went really south around the rest of the roster. However, the Mets of tomorrow will have the chance to build around these two young stars, plus established veterans Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto and other interesting pieces such as A.J. Ewing, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Christian Scott, Zach Thornton, and Nate Lavender. Back to the NL ROY talk, Sal Stewart’s September slump is making it increasingly likely that one of McLean or Benge might end up with the prestigious piece of hardware on their trophy cabinet. The Reds slugger might still be the favorite, but he is hitting .263/.301/.303 with a 66 wRC+ this month and is at .266/.333/.465 with 32 home runs, 110 RBI, 85 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, 2.2 fWAR, and a 115 wRC+ for the season as a whole. Have McLean or Benge done enough to leapfrog Stewart or St. Louis Cardinals infielder J.J. Wetherholt for the award? Carson Benge's Case for NL Rookie of the Year Benge impacts games on an everyday basis, and he has done an excellent job both on offense and on defense. The stats, as always, don’t lie and paint a full picture of the rookie’s enormous contributions to the 2026 Mets despite an ugly start. Heading into the final series against the Nationals, Benge is hitting .274/.338/.419 with 20 round-trippers, 22 stolen bases, 83 runs scored, a 112 wRC+, and 3.7 fWAR. Unlike Stewart, he is getting it done with the bat and on the field. Wetherholt, the other favorite for the award, is a phenomenal defender, but his 103 wRC+ is rather middling in comparison with the rest of the candidates, including Benge. He has a higher fWAR (4.6), but fewer homers (17) and steals (14) than the Mets' star. In more than 1,300 innings between left, center, and (mostly) right field, Benge has +6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and +7 Fielding Run Value (FRV). He also has 10 outfield assists, tied for fifth in MLB and third in the National League. Benge can do it all, as he contributes in every department. Nolan McLean's Case for NL Rookie of the Year There’s a difference between being a good, young, up-and-coming lineup anchor growing up and developing among a solid group of veteran hitters and a pitcher becoming a staff ace while being rookie-eligible. In cases like these, the hurler should always get the nod because becoming a frontline starter isn’t an easy task. That’s what McLean is for the Mets: an ace. In a rotation that had Clay Holmes, Freddy Peralta, Christian Scott, and Zach Thornton at different points of the season, he managed to stand out to the point that he currently has a 3.5 fWAR and a 3.16 ERA in 179.2 innings. He leads New York in all three stats. McLean has struck out 194 batters. Only five National League pitchers have more: Jacob Misiorowski, Jesus Luzardo, Christopher Sanchez, Chris Sale, and Cade Cavalli. That’s it. After the talented right-hander posted a 2.06 ERA in 48 innings in his first taste of MLB baseball last year, some people had doubts about his ability to dominate for 30+ starts, and while McLean didn’t maintain an ERA in the low-2.00s, he did pitch like a No. 1 over a much larger sample in 2026. Who Will Win The NL ROY Award? A few weeks ago, Stewart looked like the overwhelming favorite to lift the individual trophy. That’s not the case anymore, though, and while he might still be the frontrunner in the race given his lofty totals, Wetherholt’s defensive prowess gives him a fighting chance. As for our two emerging stars here in New York, the stats and the circumstances both say they deserve to be closer to the other two in the race. Perhaps voters give us all a surprise in a few weeks. View the full article

There’s a common saying in the sports world: defense wins championships. And even in what’s been a down offensive year for him, Ian Happ has displayed no shortage of defensive prowess. As a matter of fact, this has been Happ’s best defensive season ever. His 81st percentile fielding run value is the highest mark he’s ever posted, and he’s been a quality defender in left field in terms of his range. He may not have a rocket launcher attached to his right arm, but he knows how to make the most with what he's got, as shown by his elite 97th percentile arm value. That’s actually a higher mark than Pete Crow-Armstrong, just to put that into some context. Because of Happ’s defense in left field, as well as his ability to hit from both sides of the plate, he has a textbook profile for an everyday role in the postseason. But I’m going to argue he should not have one for the Cubs this year. As I mentioned, it’s been a down year offensively for Happ, by his standards. He’s hitting just .221 with a .745 OPS, which certainly isn’t bad by any means, but a far cry from what we're used to. And with a 104 OPS+, he’s still an above league-average hitter. But that’s not really where the problem lies. It comes down to the massive difference in his splits. As a left-handed hitter against right-handed pitchers, Happ is hitting .242 with an .815 OPS; 46 of his 54 extra-base hits have come from the left side of the plate, and his walk rate as a lefty is all the way up at 14.4%. That’s something you’ll take all day long. The problem is what he’s doing on the other side. As a right-handed hitter against left-handed pitchers, Happ has been, to put it bluntly, completely dreadful. He’s hitting just .148 with an OPS below .500, and he’s striking out in 35% of his plate appearances from the right side. He has a 127 wRC+ as a left-handed hitter this season. As a right-handed hitter, that number is 39. That might as well be two completely different players, and in no world should Happ be starting against left-handed pitchers in the playoffs when the matchups matter the most. Fortunately for the Cubs, they made a move at the trade deadline for a guy who can help solve that problem. Tyrone Taylor, whom Chicago acquired alongside Clay Holmes, has only logged 75 plate appearances since joining the team in early August. That’s going to need to change once the playoffs roll around. Taylor is hitting .308 against left-handed pitching with an OPS north of .900, giving the Cubs exactly what they need when a tough southpaw takes the mound. And it’s not like the Cubs would be sacrificing much defensively by making the switch—Taylor has been maybe slightly worse than Happ in left field, but not enough to truly feel the difference. Happ’s defense is still a major strength, but Taylor is still more than capable of holding his own out there. Happ is at his best when he’s hitting left-handed against righties. Taylor, meanwhile, has been at his best against lefties. That should, in theory, make the decision pretty simple. The Cubs, no matter who they face off against, are going to see quality left-handed pitching in the postseason. Chris Sale, Cristopher Sánchez, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Jesús Luzardo are just a few of the potential names this team could see depending on how the playoff matchups shake out. And frankly, there’s no reason for Happ to be in the starting lineup in those matchups. If one of those names is on the mound, put Taylor in left field. Even if it’s a left-handed reliever coming into the game late, I’d much rather see Taylor come off the bench in a pinch-hit situation, and then take over in left the following inning. Neither Happ nor Taylor has a particularly strong playoff track record, which makes playing the matchups even more important. This isn’t a situation where one player has years of postseason dominance that demands an everyday role. Instead, the Cubs have two outfielders who complement each other extremely well. Having already soft-launched this platoon throughout most of September, it's clearly a plan worth investing in once the playoffs roll around. View the full article

Was there anything the Miami Marlins could have realistically done this summer to make them a contender this October? Probably not. Not after giving up every inch of ground they gained thanks to that franchise worst twelve-game losing streak. Not after the San Diego Padres remembered they had one of the most talented rosters in baseball. Not after former Marlins manager Don Mattingly reminded the Philadelphia Phillies of the same thing. And yet...it's hard to shake the sense that the Marlins could have done more at the trade deadline. That they left opportunities on the table. In short, that they completely punted on the chance to make the playoffs for the third time in the Bruce Sherman era. Would they have been a long shot to do so? Absolutely. Would it have been a breath of fresh air for the team to make the attempt? You bet. Keeping the band together was enough in 2025. However, this 2026 club flashed more talent while also being in more dire need of a boost. Especially when you factor in how unstoppable Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez were looking at the time and the tantalizing prospect of putting them in a playoff series. Twelve-game losing streak or not, this really seemed like a squad that had earned more faith than the front office demonstrated in it come deadline time. Unfortunately, there's also no denying what a mistake it would have been to really push the chips in. This team wasn't ready, and the primary reason for that was lack of depth. When depth is your biggest issue, at least until baseball gets that salary cap, teams like Miami can't go crazy selling off young talent for rental pieces. Plus, once Tariq Skubal went, it's not as if there were a ton of available options worth the price tag. The Marlins weren't even one piece away from a title when they were firing on all cylinders, and were in far worse shape when August arrived. Being responsible made sense, and if we're all being honest with ourselves, it isn't exactly hard to see the wisdom in the uber-frugal approach Miami ultimately took. Which is all fine. Pragmatic, savvy, smart stuff from the Marlins front office, which continues to be a breath of fresh air in its own right. On one condition though: That that same smart front office do everything they can to build on this foundation in 2027. Sign free agents, and good ones. No dealing multiple pieces away from the MLB roster for pieces that might help three years from now. Spend the money on the field that wasn't spent there last winter. Past years have seen the Marlins fill holes by creating new ones, and just betting the ranch on the 90% outcome happening. That has to change. For again, the big issue this season was depth. After a few months of covering that up with smoke and mirrors, the Marlins ran out of bodies and gas. Of course, at a couple positions, the tricks never worked at all. Far too much time was given to Christopher Morel and Leo Jimenez to make it work. Far too often when Miami played platoon games and pulled pitchers down the stretch, they did so with players that simply weren't capable of consistently delivering the desired outcome. Those moves are clearly going to be part of how the Marlins operate, and that too is fine, pragmatic, savvy, smart stuff. Yet the talent level of Miami's bench and bullpen must be much higher next time around to make that work, and the easiest way to do that is to inject talent into the MLB roster without needing to take talent away from it. Basically, for three offseasons in a row, the Marlins have made it too easy for fans to argue that the team made the big league roster worse during the offseason, not better. That can't happen again, not now that there are real expectations associated with this group. Otherwise, the Marlins just wasted a chance for a month of much more meaningful baseball, and all the goodwill and memories that come with that. View the full article

On Wednesday night, Jarren Duran stole second in the bottom of the eighth, marking his 20th stolen base of the season and his second time joining the elite 20 home run, 20 stolen bases club. [He hit his 20th home run on September 7.] But... Jarren Duran? Elite club in 2026? Something isn't right here. A 20-20 season is a historic milestone. You’d expect a player who gets there to be a solid hitter. The kind of guy who instills fear in pitchers, not some dude whose kryptonite is an elevated fastball. Through 147 games this season, Duran has mustered a measly .207/.265/.364 slash line with a 27.5% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate, a 69 wRC+, and 0.5 fWAR. Red Sox fans are well aware of Duran’s nosedive since his previous 20/20 season in 2024, but how bad is this one compared to every other 20/20 season in baseball’s live-ball era? Let’s take a look. Where Jarren Duran's 20-20 Season Ranks All-Time Through September 25, 2026, 524 baseball players have achieved 20/20 seasons. The power/speed combo is becoming less rare in the modern game; 2025 saw a record total of 24 players who achieved 20/20 seasons. Duran was the 16th player to join the 20/20 club this year (Carson Benge has since joined him). There’s still a weekend of baseball to be played before the postseason is underway, and Trea Turner (19 HRs, 21 SBs) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (19 HRs, 41 SBs) are on the verge of breaking into the club. [Back in February, Chisholm Jr. boldly proclaimed that he would be the second member of the elusive 50/50 club. There's always next year.] Since 1920, players in the 20/20 club recorded an average .284/.362/.505 slash line. Turkey Stearns, one of the most prolific hitters in the Negro leagues, posted the highest average (.383) and OPS (1.174) in 1926. Barry Bonds’ 1996 season saw the highest OBP (.461). Larry Walker’s 1997 NL MVP campaign marked the highest slugging percentage (.720). On the extreme end of homers, Ken Griffey Jr. clubbed 56 in 1998. Those guys sit in the upper echelons of the 20/20 club. Now, we pivot to the basement. Last year, Oneil Cruz batted to a tune of .200, so Duran’s .207 mark is safe, but his .265 on-base percentage, .364 slugging percentage, and .629 on-base plus slugging percentage are ranked dead last. Previously, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe’s .666 OPS was the lowest in a 20/20 season. Duran undercut Volpe by 37 points of OPS, which is a sizable gap for a record low. Like I said earlier, the season isn't quite over yet. With Ceddanne Rafaela dealing with lingering hamstring tightness, Duran will likely see more playing time as the Red Sox gear up for the postseason as the team rests Rafaela ahead of the AL Wild Card series. At the very least, Duran's 20/20 season is a unique selling point if chief baseball officer Craig Breslow attempts to trade him in the offseason. Also, in Duran's defense, he has been up on the upswing with an .841 OPS in his last seven games. Watching him score from second on Andruw Monasterio's single on Tuesday night was absolutely exhilarating. It was the Red Sox's lone run of the game, and it reminded us of the dynamic player that Duran can be -- when he actually gets on base. It's not exactly the kind of history we wanted to celebrate in 2026, but by all accounts, it looks like we’ve just witnessed the worst 20-20 season in the live-ball era. View the full article

The Minnesota Twins are going to have plenty of questions to answer this offseason. Who plays first base? What happens at shortstop? Will Royce Lewis be back? When will Byron Buxton return from injury? Which young players are ready to become everyday contributors? There is another question that could have an impact on all of those decisions. How does Minnesota become a better defensive team? Twins manager Derek Shelton was asked about the team's defense during a recent episode of Inside Twins. The conversation touched on Brooks Lee's transition to third base, the defensive development of several young players and what the Twins need to do moving forward. Shelton's answer was direct. “I think that's really important as we move forward that, you know, we have to be more defensive minded.” That sounds simple. It is not. The Twins have several young players who could help them get there. They also have several positions where the club could make significant improvements during the offseason. Brooks Lee Changed the Defense Lee's move from shortstop to third base was not an easy conversation. Lee had spent much of his professional career at shortstop. Like most players who grow up playing the position, he wanted to remain there. Shelton acknowledged that reality while explaining why the Twins ultimately made the decision to move him. “If you look at a full season there, I think he wins a Gold Glove,” Shelton said. “I really do with, you know, if you want to talk about [defensive metrics], how it goes, I understand that he was frustrated when he moved. I mean, every player that plays centerfield or play shortstop, that's where they think they are.” The important part of Shelton's explanation was that the move was not made simply because someone in the organization told him Lee should play third. Shelton wanted to see it himself. “I do think in the conversations, going back to what we talked about earlier in terms of communication, and this is one of the things I told Brooksie when we talked about it, it's like, there had to be enough equity of me watching you play short, us having conversations to have the conversation about you moving to third,” Shelton said. “If we come into spring training and I take someone else's opinion, someone else's thought process and just say, hey, we're moving there, I'm not developing a good relationship with the player.” Lee's move has now become one of the more important defensive developments on the roster. Shelton believes it has changed the Twins. “I think in the way he's played there, he's kind of changed how our defense has been. And we're going to trend towards being more defensive. We have to be. It's an area of growth for us going through.” That last sentence is the one worth remembering. The Twins are not simply looking for a couple of players who can make highlight-reel plays. Shelton is describing a broader organizational direction. The roster needs to become more defensive. The Young Players Are Already Helping The timing of the Twins' defensive evolution could work in their favor. Some of the team's youngest players have shown encouraging signs since reaching the majors. Emmanuel Rodriguez is a particularly interesting example. Rodriguez entered the organization with an offensive reputation, but Shelton has been impressed by what he has seen in the outfield. “Really good. I mean, I was talking to Grady [Sizemore] about it last night. I don't remember the explosiveness that in spring training, the first step quickness, the ability to get after it,” Shelton said. “It's really been impressive.” That athleticism gives the Twins another option as they build the next version of their outfield. Shelton also pointed toward Luke Keaschall, who has made progress defensively, as well as Walker Jenkins. The Twins do not necessarily need nine Gold Glove-caliber defenders. They need to stop giving away outs and runs because the overall defensive structure is inadequate. There are several spots where that can happen. Here’s a look at each position and who will fit there for 2027. Catcher: Victor Caratini Catcher is an obvious place where Minnesota could look for improvement. Caratini has provided value as a blocker and has generally received positive marks for his overall receiving ability. His throwing game has been a different story. His average pop time to second base has been around 2.04 seconds in 2026, placing him toward the bottom half of MLB catchers. That does not mean Caratini cannot be part of the roster. It does mean the Twins could look for a catcher who gives their pitching staff more defensive support, particularly when it comes to controlling the running game. If Shelton wants the team to become more defensive minded, catcher is one position where an offseason addition could immediately help. First Base: Still to Be Determined First base is another position where defense could factor into the offseason decision. The Twins have room for an impact bat there, but whoever occupies the position also needs to provide competent defense. Lewis remains an option, particularly if Minnesota believes first base can help simplify his defensive responsibilities. But there is also a case for moving in a different direction after several difficult seasons for the former first-round pick. The first-base decision will likely be driven primarily by offense. It should not be made without considering defense. Second Base: Kody Clemens or Royce Lewis Second base could become a platoon situation involving Clemens and Lewis. Clemens has shown versatility by playing multiple positions, but his defensive work at second base has been inconsistent in 2026. His Statcast numbers currently show negative value at the position, including a -4 Outs Above Average mark at second. That does not necessarily eliminate him from consideration. It does, however, make second base another position where the Twins could improve if they find a player who can provide more consistent defense. If the organization is serious about becoming more defensive minded, those small decisions across the diamond will matter. Third Base: Brooks Lee Third base looks much more settled. Lee has made the position his own (6 OAA) after spending much of the season transitioning away from shortstop. Shelton went as far as saying Lee could win a Gold Glove with a full season at third base. That is a significant endorsement from a manager who watched Lee struggle through the transition before finding his footing. It also gives the Twins something they have not always had in recent seasons: a young player who can potentially provide both offensive production and high-level defense at a premium position. If Lee continues progressing at third, the Twins can cross one defensive question off their offseason list. Shortstop: Kaelen Culpepper Shortstop may be the most interesting position on the entire roster. Culpepper should get the opportunity to open 2027 as the starting shortstop. That does not mean the organization has to make a permanent decision on him immediately. Culpepper can use the first half of next season to show whether he can handle the position every day. Behind him is Marek Houston, who is moving closer to the major leagues and could eventually force another decision. If Culpepper sticks at shortstop, Minnesota's defensive alignment becomes much easier to construct. If he does not, the Twins may have to determine whether he belongs further down the defensive spectrum. That is one reason the next six months could be so important for him. Outfield: Byron Buxton, Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall The outfield might provide Minnesota's clearest path toward becoming more athletic defensively. Shelton has made it clear that when Byron Buxton is healthy enough to play, he is going to play center field. That creates an important ripple effect. Walker Jenkins has shown that he can handle center. Rodriguez has looked increasingly comfortable there as well. Keaschall can continue developing in a corner outfield position with more repetitions. Jenkins and Rodriguez give the Twins additional options if Buxton is unavailable, while Keaschall's defensive development could determine how much flexibility the team has with its alignment. That is a pretty good starting point for an organization trying to change its defensive identity. What Does "More Defensive Minded" Actually Mean? This is where Shelton's comments become more interesting. The Twins do not need to suddenly turn into a team built exclusively around defense. They still need offense. They still need starting pitching. They still need bullpen depth. But defense can no longer be an afterthought. Lee's move to third base is one example of the organization finding a better defensive fit. Rodriguez's athleticism gives the club another option in center field. Jenkins can cover ground. Culpepper has an opportunity to establish himself at shortstop. Those players could form the foundation of a better defensive club. The front office will have to fill in the gaps. That means evaluating catcher. It means figuring out first base. It means determining whether Clemens and Lewis can handle second base well enough. It means continuing to develop Keaschall in the outfield. And it means making sure the players brought in from outside the organization fit the same philosophy. Shelton is now saying the club needs to become more defensive minded. That cannot just be something said during a September podcast. It has to become part of how the roster is built. The good news is that Minnesota may already have several pieces of that transition in place. Now the Twins have to figure out what comes next. If Shelton's vision becomes reality, the 2027 Twins should look noticeably different when they take the field. How can the Twins improve defensively for 2027? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Throughout the years, many Major League Baseball players have played with heavy hearts following the death of loved ones or friends. Rarely, however, do entire clubs have to deal with the loss of a teammate. That was the situation for the Miami Marlins on this day 10 years ago. One day after the tragic death of José Fernández, the Marlins took the field against the New York Mets. On an emotional night, Dee Strange-Gordon set the tone with an emotional lead-off home run in a 7-3 win for Miami. With every member of the Marlins wearing Fernández’s initials "JDF" and his jersey No. 16 on their caps, Adam Conley was able to work a scoreless top of the first for Miami on Sept. 26, 2016. That set the stage for an emotional Strange-Gordon to lead off the bottom of the inning. A left-handed bat wearing Fernández’s jersey for the evening, Strange-Gordon opened by mimicking Fernández’s batting stance while standing in the right-handed batter’s box. After taking the first pitch for a ball, the Miami second baseman moved back to the other side of the plate. In 155 team games that season, Strange-Gordon had not homered, but he took Bartolo Colón’s 2-0 pitch over the right-field wall for a lead-off home run. Teary-eyed, Strange-Gordon rounded the bases as the Marlins went ahead to stay. It was the first of a season-high four hits for the evening for the Miami second baseman. That would be the only run of the inning for Miami but the Fish continued to tack on over the next two innings. After Conley worked a 1-2-3 second, the Marlins scored four runs in the second. Miami opened the bottom of the second with four straight hits. After J.T. Realmuto’s RBI infield single scored Giancarlo Stanton to make it 2-0, Justin Bour scored on an Adeiny Hechavarría ground-rule double. A sacrifice bunt from Conley plated the third run of the inning before Strange-Gordon drove in his second run in as many innings with an RBI single. In the third, Bour’s RBI triple scored Christian Yelich, chased Colón and extended the lead to 6-0. Bour later scored on an RBI single from Hechavarría. After three shutout innings from Conley and a 1-2-3 fourth from Mike Dunn, the Mets broke up the shutout in the fifth on Asdrúbal Cabrera’s two-run double. Lucas Duda capped the scoring for New York with an RBI single in the eighth. In addition to Strange-Gordon’s four knocks, Bour was 3-for-3 for Miami. Hechavarría added two hits. Cabrera had two of the seven hits for the Mets. Following the contest, the Marlins placed their hats on the mound to honor the memory of the late Fernández. It capped an emotional night that took place on this day a decade ago. View the full article

MIAMI, FL - The 2026 season saw Eury Pérez enter uncharted territory and Friday night was his crowning achievement. Pérez became the seventh pitcher in Miami Marlins history to toss a one-hit shutout in what was the first complete game of his major league career. "Felt like through three or four innings that he was going to get deep into this one," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. He was able to really get anything over the plate, full mix was there and the efficiency at which he was getting outs. He was throwing strikes for a lot of pitches and they were aggressive. He was able to create a lot of soft contact and get some early outs. He was getting into the seventh/eighth inning averaging around 11 pitches an inning. It's hard to be much better than that...Really proud and happy for Eury to finish up this way this year." Pérez held the Atlanta Braves hitless through the first five innings before Sean Murphy singled to begin the sixth. The "Baby Goat" went on to retire 11 straight to finish the game. Going into this start, the message for Pérez was simple: "Go out there and have fun." Just three days earlier, Pérez made his first career relief appearance in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs and struck out the side. That moment not only stayed in his mind, but carried momentum into his final start of the season. "What Daniel (Moskos) told me was that it was a lot of fun just to see me as a reliever over in Chicago, and to do the same thing here, which is just have fun," Pérez said via interpreter. "Even though there were some difficulties this month, I'm very happy that this was a good outing to end the season." The right-handed flamethrower recorded eight strikeouts, his highest total in what has been a rocky month of September. Pérez generated 17 whiffs and of his eight strikeouts, seven of them were swinging strikeouts. Despite throwing his sweeper just 13% of the time, it generated three strikeouts, the most of any pitch. His fastball was averaging 98.0 mph and topped out at 99.3 mph. Pérez finished the 2026 season posting a 3.91 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 9.62 K/9 and 3.85 BB/9, setting career-bests with 30 appearances and 159 innings pitched. "Looking at the ERA, I don't know if it tells the full picture of how Eury has grown as a as a starting pitcher," McCullough said. "We've seen a stretch where Eury was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and I think one that we're very confident that he's capable of putting together stretches like that, a complete season of really high-end performance. We've seen Eury struggle to find the strike zone with enough consistency, controlling the run game and through all of that, Eury has learned a lot about himself, too. How to better manage himself within outings, limit damage, stay in the moment and put behind what has happened and still go out there and finish an outing strong." Going into 2027, he is eligible for arbitration for the first time. The Marlins and Pérez's representatives at CAA Sports previously had contract extension conversations, but those didn't go anywhere. Getting a deal done this coming offseason will prove to be even more difficult for the team now that the 23-year-old has a mostly healthy MLB season under his belt. Catching Pérez's complete game was rookie Joe Mack, who also hit the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. It marked his 14th home run of the season to break up the scoreless tie. Mack is now slashing .234/.282/.403/.685 with 52 RBI and an 86 wRC+ in 105 games played, production that should earn him consideration for down-ballot National League Rookie of the Year votes. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Heriberto Hernandez extended the lead with an RBI single and Griffin Conine hit his 18th home run of the season, making it 3-0. For Conine, he now has an .813 OPS in the month of September. "Joe has certainly shown what he's been able to bring to our team defensively this season," McCullough said. "Big home run here tonight, and I think we all know there is a lot of room left in Joe's offensive game to get better, and I think that's the exciting part with Joe. He should be at the top of the class as catchers as far as being able to do things on both sides of the ball, and that's going to require him to continue to make some adjustments and improve on the offensive side." The Marlins now have 79 victories, matching their total from 2025. They will go for their first series win against the Braves this season on Saturday with Jack Ralston starting what should be a bullpen game. First pitch is at 4:10 pm. View the full article

Box Score Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Home Runs: Kody Clemens (27) Top 3 WPA: Luke Keaschall (.200), Royce Lewis (.150), Walker Jenkins (.080) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Though often dramatic, the 2026 Twins have proved that a finality can also be soft in execution. There’s little grand, sweeping movements here: the team can spoil the AL West for the Rangers, but will not sniff the playoffs themselves, lest some sort of time travel shenanigans allows them to flip a handful of prior losses to wins. Alas, such terrible writing only exists in Marvel movies. The real life Twins are screwed. But, at least we get to watch a few more ballgames before football fully takes over. Early matters portended ugly outcomes. The Joe Ryan of new appeared once more. A Brandon Nimmo double and Josh Jung hit by pitch clogged the bases before fans could find their expensive beers and opulent hot dogs. Corey Seager stroked a hanging curve into right to score a run. Somewhere, someone paid entirely too much for nachos they’ll find disappointing. Wyatt Langford corkscrewed a grounder to first hit so slowly that the leading runner Jung raced home safely. The runs looked to support Jacob deGrom, 38, in the regal ace’s inaugural outing on the Target Field mound. The righty’s two Cy Young awards and over 2,000 career strikeouts had not yet come with the aid of Minnesota groundskeeping; the erstwhile veteran evidently found hotdish, fishing, and passive aggression to be anathema. Minnesota fell silently in the first and returned with passion in the second. It was a flurry: Josh Bell walked, and Ryan Jeffers and Walker Jenkins slashed singles to load the bases. Royce Lewis then sent one of deGrom’s signature sliders into center to plate two to tie the game. “A nice rally?” Well, the offensive was far from over. A Ryan Kreidler bunt plated one more—and sent the bunter safely to first—while Luke Keaschall slapped a triple into the right field corner, where it rattled and hummed as Nimmo prodded and investigated before finally throwing the ball in, but not before two more runs could score. A wild pitch ushered Keaschall home as the sixth and final run of the frame. The paralyzing furor halted scoring in the third. The Twins returned for more in the fourth. Kreidler walked before Keaschall notched his second extra-base hit of the evening, this time cracking a double off the walk guarding the bullpens in left-center. Kody Clemens soon guided a single in and out of Nimmo’s glove in right for an eighth run. All the while, Ryan settled. He became the man fans know and love; complete with excellent pitching and interpretive mound antics. Strikeouts looking and swinging were accompanied with his usual flair; perhaps a nodding approval, or acknowledged movement. By the time he walked off the mound, the righty had collected eight strikeouts across six innings, with just the two early earned runs to his name. His season ERA rests at 3.79. Another break begat another Clemens run-scoring hit, this time a two-run shot slashed to left-center in the sixth to give the Twins 10 runs on the day. Following the homer, Kody Funderburk entered the game. His fifth pitch ended in an exquisite catch in left by Emmanuel Rodriguez. Why the lax prose? The video speaks for itself. Funderburk gave way to Tommy Nance, who gave way to Taylor Rogers. Their efficiency mattered little in such a blowout, yet each hurler put forth a scoreless frame. Once more—like so many times in years prior—Rogers earned a 1-2-3 ninth to conclude the game, coaxing a soft flyout from Danny Jansen to secure the win. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Rangers march towards the end with a Saturday afternoon matchup, as Bailey Ober is scheduled to face the intimidating and daunting TBD. First pitch is at 3:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THUR FRI TOT Morris 0 19 23 0 0 42 Rogers 25 0 0 0 8 32 Funderburk 0 13 0 0 19 32 Gomez 0 0 24 0 0 24 Hoffman 0 24 0 0 0 24 Adams 20 0 0 0 0 20 Minter 0 9 7 0 0 16 Nance 0 0 0 0 11 11 View the full article

In winning their second of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, the San Diego Padres did something they'd never done in the franchise's history: reach the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. While seeding is still to-be-determined, they'll be one of the National League's three Wild Card clubs in 2026. On the surface, it may not seem like a particularly impressive accomplishment. Three years in the grand scheme of baseball? Not the biggest of potatoes. But the small field of actual playoff teams, even in the era of expanded Wild Card entrants relative to their professional counterparts makes it more of a rarity than one might initially realize. Sure, you have the historic 14-year streaks credited to the Braves and the Dodgers, or the New York Yankees that have done it four, five, six, or 13 times in a row (yes, those all are separate streaks). There are a few prestige organizations that serve as outliers. Generally, though, teams tend to reach their absolute ceiling at four or five. The Red Sox haven't done it more than three times in a row. The Cubs have only done it four times once. The Reds haven't done it more than twice. Those are three of the oldest organizations in the sport. So, three does actually represent an accomplishment in itself, especially for an organization that has only been around since 1969. Which means that there's plenty of merit in the accomplishment itself. At the same time, the Padres' particular set of circumstances allows us to take it one step further and declare that this is their finest work yet across this trio of postseason appearances. The 2024 team won 93 games. That was five games back of the Dodgers and tied for the third-best record in the National League. They had a top-five offense by wRC+ (111) and a top-five pitching staff by fWAR (19.6). That was a team much more fortified than this year's group, with an offense that featured above-average seasons from Jurickson Profar & Luis Arráez in addition to strong years from the core group of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and rookie Jackson Merrill. Last year's squad was not quite as complete. Nevertheless, they won 90 games, secured a Wild Card spot, and were three games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. Their offensive production landed much more middle-of-the-road, but their pitching staff's 3.64 ERA ranked third in all of baseball behind Dylan Cease, a healthy Nick Pivetta, and a bullpen that featured Robert Suárez, Adrian Morejon, and Jason Adam, along with trade-deadline acquisition Mason Miller. Both of those teams featured a fair bit of expectation in their projection. The 2024 team excelled on both sides of the ball, while the 2025 team likely fell short given injuries to Jackson Merrill and some struggles in the starting staff. The depth as a whole, however, was never really in question with either of those groups, and A.J. Preller was comfortable enough with their positioning that he felt comfortable being aggressive at the deadline on both occasions. Which sets this year's roster apart in a couple of different respects. For one, there wasn't a ton of expectation attached to the 2026 Padres. ZiPS, for example, had them finishing in third in the NL West. The 83 wins projected there were the same as ESPN, who had the Padres as the 16th-ranked team in the league before Opening Day. They were also among the teams PECOTA 'disliked' for 2026, with a projection of 82 wins. None of this is surprising considering their circumstances. Having let names like Cease, Arráez, and Ryan O'Hearn depart in free agency, budget constraints forced the Padres into upgrading their roster largely via one-year and non-guaranteed contracts. The lineup was filled out with the likes of Miguel Andujar, Nick Castellanos, and Ty France. While the bullpen remained strong, their rotation featured names like Walker Buehler, Griffin Canning, and Germán Márquez, with Joe Musgrove's timeline in his return from Tommy John surgery remaining unclear from the outset. Many of those moves didn't work. Castellanos struggled and was designated for assignment early. Reserve outfielder Bryce Johnson didn't hang around long, either. Canning & Márquez each lost starting gigs in a wildly depleted rotation. Some, however, panned out beautifully. France has been excellent. Buehler has been a stabilizer as a lock for five innings in a starting role. They've been able to fill in a vacancy in left field courtesy of the likes of Luis Rengifo, Samad Taylor, and Dustin Harris. Also working against the Padres is the fact that they faced a number of injuries. Pivetta was lost early for most of the year. Musgrove still hasn't returned. Jake Cronenworth and Luis Campusano each missed extended time. Ramón Laureano hasn't been seen since May 30th. The upstart Rengifo tore his ACL in August. Andujar & Gavin Sheets each remain out (albeit with imminent returns). They've lost relievers, including Adam & Jeremiah Estrada, to multiple IL stints. Between the construction of the roster and the various injury woes the team faced (to say nothing of the team's offensive struggles that stretched across May & June), it wasn't surprising to see them where they were standings-wise in the days leading up to the trade deadline. On July 27, one week before the deadline, they were 53-53. Five teams were ahead of them in the NL wild card picture. At that particular moment in time, though, a switch was flipped. The offense began to hum a bit. The pitching staff stabilized, which was expected to be further compounded positively by the deadline acquisitions of Robbie Ray & Casey Mize. While there are a number of intricacies that have gone into their success, the Padres boast the league's best record since July 27 at 36-17. The offense has cooked, the pitching has done just enough out of the rotation, and the ever-reliable bullpen has continued to support all of it. There's an unquantifiable element within all of this in Craig Stammen's management. Some of his choices can be measured, including the team's pre-deadline (and more recent) embracing of "pitching chaos." The rest, though, is all about vibes, and it appears that Stammen's maintained a steady presence in a clubhouse that had plenty of reasons to call it good on 2026 well before the calendar actually indicated that the end was near. Considering the lackluster expectations, the half-hearted roster construction wrought by budget issues, and the injuries the team faced along the way, this is perhaps the best work the Padres have done over these last three seasons of postseason baseball. Reaching the playoffs with this particular team in this particular season was already an accomplishment. That the organization has now done it three times in a row, something not remotely as common as we may think, indicates that this is a team in a very good place within the broader context of Major League Baseball. Especially with new ownership now in place. Regardless of whatever long-term contracts may be on the books or whatever other narratives may be attached to the organization, there are few franchises as enviable as the San Diego Padres. Now, they have to make that matter in the playoffs. View the full article

The big storm hitting the northeast has caused MLB to make another change to the weekend schedule, this one being the most dramatic. After rescheduling Sunday's game to part of a Friday doubleheader, MLB announced after Game 1 of that twinbill that Saturday's final game of the series, pending the completion of Friday's doubleheader, will be played at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. All of the games that day will start at 3:05 p.m. While the Red Sox have secured the AL's second wild card and thus the No. 5 seed, the Cubs' position in the postseason is still not clear. After losing the opener Friday 4-3, the Cubs are 1½ games behind the San Diego Padres for the top NL wild card. The Cubs, who already clinched a playoff spot, are also just a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies, who host the Rays in a three-game series. The Padres, who clinched Thursday, are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks in their final regular-season series. The Phillies lead the D'backs by two games for the final berth in the NL playoff field. View the full article

The big storm hitting the northeast has caused MLB to make another change to the weekend schedule, this one being the most dramatic. After rescheduling Sunday's game to part of a Friday doubleheader, MLB announced after Game 1 of that twinbill that Saturday's final game of the series, pending the completion of Friday's doubleheader, will be played at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. All of the games that day will start at 3:05 p.m. While the Red Sox have secured the AL's second wild card and thus the No. 5 seed, the Cubs' position in the postseason is still not clear. After losing the opener Friday 4-3, the Cubs are 1½ games behind the San Diego Padres for the top NL wild card. The Cubs, who already clinched a playoff spot, are also just a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies, who host the Rays in a three-game series. The Padres, who clinched Thursday, are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks in their final regular-season series. The Phillies lead the D'backs by two games for the final berth in the NL playoff field. View the full article

With only a few days left in the regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers are still juggling their roster with players coming back from injury. But the biggest move is one not involving an injury. That would be first baseman Andrew Vaughn going on the 10-day injured list due to an illness retroactive to Tuesday. That date is important as it allows Vaughn to be eligible for the NL Division Series, which begins a week from Saturday. Right-handed reliever Bryse Wilson was activated from the 15-day IL and outfielder Brandon Lockridge was called up from Triple-A Nashville. Right-hander Lyon Richardson was designated for assignment. Also, right-hander Grant Anderson was recalled from his rehab assignment (right biceps inflammation), but remains on the 15-day IL. The minor-league seasons are over, but the Brewers have a stay-ready camp at Triple-A Nashville where Anderson might go. Vaughn has been one of the Brewers' best hitters this season while splitting time at first base with Jake Bauers. Vaughn has a slash line of .306/.390/.444 in 104 games with six homers and 43 RBIs. Lockridge missed a good chunk of the season with a nasty gash on his left knee and has a .273/.345/.313 slash line in 38 games with no homers and 12 RBIs. Wilson has returned from a low back strain and has 2.55 ERA in 12 games with the Brewers over 24⅔ innings. Richardson didn't pitch after coming up Wednesday. View the full article