Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brandon Woodruff Won’t Be On Brewers’ NLCS Roster

By | at

Brandon Woodruff has yet to take part in the Brewers’ postseason run, as the lat strain the veteran righty suffered in September kept him off Milwaukee’s NLDS roster.  That absence will now stretch into the NL Championship Series, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes that Woodruff has yet to start even playing catch, so he naturally won’t be ready in time for the start of the NLDS on Monday.

With his throwing work still not underway, Woodruff would have to make a lot of progress in a pretty short window of time to receive consideration for a possible World Series roster slot.  If the Brewers defeat the Dodgers in the NLCS, Game 1 of the World Series falls on October 24, giving Woodruff just 12 days to get ramped up enough to pitch even in a relief capacity.

Asked if a return was possible, Woodruff said “I’m not ready to answer that question yet.  I’ve been trying to get ready.  Each day is better and better for me.  I don’t know what tomorrow looks like, but these past 2-3 weeks have been good for me and we’ll see what happens.  It’s too early to make a call on anything.”

Woodruff last pitched on September 17, when he threw a strong start (five IP, one earned run on two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts) in the Brewers’ 9-2 win over the Angels.  The performance continued Woodruff’s quality results in his comeback season, as the right-hander recorded a 3.20 ERA, 32.3% strikeout rate, and 5.4% walk rate across 12 starts and 64 2/3 innings.

These would be outstanding numbers for any pitcher, but it was a particular triumph for Woodruff considering his many injury battles.  Shoulder surgery cost him the entirety of the 2024 season and an ankle issue delayed the start of his 2025 campaign, but Woodruff returned not just healthy, but displaying the kind of form that made him a two-time All-Star.  Unfortunately, Woodruff’s dream return and a surefire role in Milwaukee’ s postseason rotation was spoiled by his lat strain.

With Woodruff still out, Freddy Peralta may be the only Brewers pitcher guaranteed to work as a traditional starter in the NLCS.  Quinn Priester, Jose Quintana, and Chad Patrick could all get starts, or potentially be pseudo-starters in a bulk pitcher capacity, if the Brew Crew again deploy a high-leverage reliever as an opener against Los Angeles.

Mariners Add Bryan Woo, Miles Mastrobuoni To ALCS Roster

By | at

The Mariners announced the 26 players who will be part of their American League Championship Series roster against the Blue Jays.  After using a complement of 14 pitchers and 12 position players against the Tigers in the ALDS, the M’s will use an even 13 pitchers and 13 position players to navigate their series with Toronto.  The full list…

Catchers: Harry Ford, Mitch Garver, Cal Raleigh
Infielders: J.P. Crawford, Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco, Leo Rivas, Eugenio Suarez
Outfielders: Randy Arozarena, Dominic Canzone, Victor Robles, Julio Rodriguez
Utility player: Miles Mastrobuoni
Left-handed pitchers: Caleb Ferguson, Gabe Speier
Right-handed pitchers: Eduard Bazardo, Matt Brash, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Emerson Hancock, Luke Jackson, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Andres Munoz, Carlos Vargas, Bryan Woo

The biggest story is Woo’s return, as the right-hander hasn’t pitched since suffering pectoral tightness in a start against the Astros on September 19.  Woo’s ramp-up work didn’t quite allow him to be ready for Seattle’s ALDS roster, but president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said on Friday after the Mariners’ Game 5 clinch that Woo would likely be part of the roster against Toronto.

Dipoto specified that Woo wouldn’t be available until closer to midway through the series, which would seemingly line him up for a start in Game 4.  Because Gilbert and Castillo were both needed in the 15-inning finale against Detroit, the Mariners’ rotation plans over the first two ALCS games in Toronto are very much up in the air.  Miller will start Game 1 on short rest and it can be assumed that Kirby will start Game 3 on regular rest, but it remains to be seen if Castillo and/or Gilbert will be involved in Game 2, and in what capacity.

Woo takes the roster spot of rookie infielder Ben Williamson, who didn’t see any action in the ALDS (and hasn’t played in a big league game since July 30).  Williamson’s inclusion on the ALDS roster was largely as a hedge against Josh Naylor potentially missing time on paternity leave, so the Mariners wouldn’t be left short-handed in terms of infield depth.  As it happened, Naylor played in all five games against Detroit and was still able to welcome his first child into the world.

Seattle’s other change comes on the bench, with one left-handed utilityman in Mastrobuoni replacing another in Luke Raley.  Mastrobuoni doesn’t have Raley’s offensive upside, but brings more to the table in pure versatility.  Raley can play first base and all three outfield positions, but Mastrobuoni saw work at both corner outfield slots and at first base in 2025, as well as time as a second and third baseman.  Essentially, Mastrobuoni’s inclusion allows the Mariners to replace Raley and Williamson in one fell swoop.  Raley came off the bench in four games of the ALDS, with one hit-by-pitch over six plate appearances.

Blue Jays Add Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer To ALCS Roster; Bo Bichette Not Included

By | at

The Blue Jays have announced the 26 players who will be part of their American League Championship Series roster against the Mariners.  As in the ALDS, the Jays will be using 13 pitchers and 13 position players, though a couple of new arms will be joining the pitching staff.  The full list…

Catchers: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
Infielders: Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Andres Gimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Outfielders: Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, George Springer, Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho
Left-handed pitchers: Mason Fluharty, Eric Lauer, Brendon Little
Right-handed pitchers: Chris Bassitt, Shane Bieber, Seranthony Dominguez, Braydon Fisher, Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman, Yariel Rodriguez, Max Scherzer, Louis Varland, Trey Yesavage

Beginning with the most notable omission from the roster, Bo Bichette remains unavailable, as the shortstop has yet to fully recover from a left knee sprain that has kept him out of action since September 6.  Bichette didn’t start any running work until this past Wednesday, but a move to a bit more high-intensity running on the bases yesterday didn’t yield much progress.  Bichette clearly looked to be in discomfort following even this brief session, which created doubt that he would indeed be healthy enough to be activated.

Since Bichette has been able to take batting practice and face live hitting, there had been some speculation that the Jays might use Bichette just in a DH role or even as a pinch-hitting specialist.  Even that limited capacity would involve Bichette having to run in some form if he ended up getting hits, of course, and yesterday’s footage implies that Bichette’s knee is still far from 100 percent.

Technically, the Jays could still activate Bichette at some point during the ALCS if another injury arose.  But the far likelier scenario is that Bichette won’t see any action until the World Series should Toronto advance, and it remains unclear if even 12 more days of rest and rehab will be enough for Bichette to return at all during the Jays’ postseason run.

By this point the Blue Jays have gotten used to playing without Bichette to some extent.  Gimenez has settled in as the glove-first option at shortstop, and the Jays were will able to both win the AL East and defeat the Yankees in the ALDS without Bichette available.  That said, obviously Toronto’s roster is better with Bichette than without, and the Jays figure to miss his bat against the Mariners’ deep pitching staff.

Speaking of rotations, Bassitt and Scherzer return after being left out of the ALCS picture.  Scherzer was omitted since manager John Schneider felt the veteran didn’t match up well against the Yankees in particular, while Bassitt wasn’t fully recovered from a bout of back tightness that sent him to the 15-day injured list on September 19.  The Jays felt they could navigate the five-game ALDS with only three starters (Gausman, Yesavage, Bieber) on the roster, and that proved to be the case, as the relief corps stepped up with a big bullpen-game performance in the clinching Game 4.

Gausman is set to start Game 1, and in all likelihood rookie sensation Yesavage will start Game 2 and Bieber will go in Game 3.  Still, Gausman is the only announced starter to date, so the Blue Jays might still yet creative with their exact deployment of their starters.  Not all five starters will actually start, of course, leaving some question with how Bassitt or Scherzer will be used.  Bassitt has a little more career experience as a reliever, yet Scherzer struggled so much down the stretch that that recent form is a bigger factor for the Jays than Scherzer’s distinguished postseason track record.

Bassitt and Scherzer will be taking the places of relievers Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl.  Nance was inching his way into higher-leverage work after delivering a 1.99 ERA over 30 1/3 innings in the regular season, but he didn’t look sharp in posting a 13.50 ERA over 1 1/3 innings in the ALDS.  Bruihl was charged for two earned runs in his lone one-third of an inning of ALDS work, and the southpaw was something of a 26th man for much of Toronto’s season, as he logged 13 2/3 innings with a 5.27 ERA.

Poll: Who Will Win The League Championship Series?

By | at

The postseason field has been narrowed down to four teams, in mostly chalk fashion.  Each member of the final four is a division winner, and three of the clubs received first-round byes.  The Dodgers were the only club who had to advance through the wild card round, and the reigning World Series champs aren’t exactly underdogs.  In fact, all of the Brewers, Mariners, and Blue Jays had a lot more questions to answer about their playoff readiness given a recent lack of postseason success, yet all three teams were up to the task in winning their League Championship Series matchups.

Only the Yankees have reached the World Series more times than the Dodgers, who are vying for the franchise’s 23rd trip to the Fall Classic.  Los Angeles is the defending champion aiming for its third ring in six seasons, against three teams with much less of a postseason resume.  The Blue Jays are a perfect 2-0 in the club’s only two World Series appearances, but they last reached the Series in 1993.  The Brewers’ lone Series appearance was so long ago (in 1982) that the club was still in the American League, and Milwaukee fell to the Cardinals in a seven-game nail-biter.  The Mariners can get a big albatross off their backs just by winning the AL pennant, as Seattle is the only team in Major League Baseball to have never reached a World Series.

The ALCS between the Mariners and Blue Jays carries some added historical import since the two teams both joined MLB in 1977.  The only previous playoff series between the two expansion cousins took place in 2022, when Seattle swept Toronto in two games in the best-of-three wild card series, and made an epic comeback from an 8-1 run deficit to capture a 10-9 win in Game 2.  That crushing loss was part of the 0-6 playoff record the Jays carried during the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. era, before Toronto broke out with a dominant win over the Yankees in this year’s ALDS.

Blue Jays hitters erupted for 34 runs and a collective .338/.373/.601 slash line over the four games against New York.  While that level of an explosion came as a surprise, Toronto led the league in both batting average and OBP this season, while also finishing near the top of the table in runs and OPS.  Seattle’s season-long numbers weren’t quite as impressive, yet the club has been one of baseball’s best offensive teams since Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez were acquired at the trade deadline.  Led by these two big bats, Julio Rodriguez, Jorge Polanco, and the all-around brilliance of MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ powerful lineup will provide the Jays’ pitching staff with a huge challenge.

In terms of run prevention, the Blue Jays have a significant edge on defense.  Toronto had a collective +51 Defensive Runs Saves and +14 Outs Above Average in the regular season, in comparison to Seattle’s +9 DRS and -30 OAA.  This could potentially help the Jays counter the Mariners’ deeper rotation, as with Bryan Woo expected to return from injury in the ALCS, all five of the M’s regular starters will be available in some capacity.  How exactly those starters will be deployed is still a matter of debate, as George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Luis Castillo all had to pitch during Seattle’s 15-inning marathon with the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS.

The Blue Jays held a 4-2 edge in the season series with the Mariners this year, and have the homefield advantage as the AL’s top seed.  That is a significant point for a Jays team that is 56-27 at Rogers Centre during the regular season and playoffs, plus the Mariners’ road record is only 40-43.  Turning to the National League, the Brewers and Dodgers each had identical 52-29 home records in the regular season, and Milwaukee was an impressive 45-36 away from home, while the Dodgers were only 41-40 on the road.

The other eye-opening statistic is Milwaukee’s perfect 6-0 record in head-to-head play against Los Angeles this season.  As daunting as the Dodgers’ star-studded roster may be, the Brewers have had their number in 2025, and will now have to try and do it again in the postseason.  L.A. has won the only two prior postseason series between the two franchises, including a seven-game win in the 2018 NLCS.

That 2018 season marked the last time the Brew Crew won a playoff series until their five-game win over the Cubs in this year’s NLDS.  The series as a whole was a demonstration of the kind of quality pitching and timely hitting that the Brewers have enjoyed all season.  A relative lack of power is basically the only flaw for a lineup that posted tremendous numbers, but Andrew Vaughn’s career turn-around since being acquired by the Brewers in June has added a new dimension to the offense.

A pair of shaky starts from Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester at Wrigley Field could be red flags for the Brewers against L.A.  Peralta pitched well enough in Game 1 that his Game 4 performance might just be a hiccup, yet if Priester can’t get on track, the Brewers will have to lean even harder on a bullpen that has already logged a lot of innings in the NLDS.  Milwaukee is as creative as any team in getting the most out of its pitching staff, so expect plenty of unconventional pitcher usage as the Brewers will try to keep the Dodgers at bay.

After a somewhat underwhelming regular season by their high standards, the Dodgers may have flipped the switch for October, sweeping the Reds in the wild card series and then dispatching the Phillies in a four-game NLDS.  Even with several stars (Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and an injury-diminished Will Smith) yet to get rolling at the plate, the Dodgers have been aided by a red-hot Mookie Betts and contributions from up and down their seasoned lineup.

Roki Sasaki’s emergence as the club’s seeming first choice at closer has been huge for Los Angeles, and perhaps addresses the team’s biggest weakness.  If Sasaki is now a high-leverage option late in games and the excellent L.A. starting rotation remains in form, the Brewers have a pretty narrow window to strike against the rest of the struggling Dodger bullpen.

Seven Players Elect Free Agency

By | at

Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Bryan Woo Expected To Be Part Of Mariners’ ALCS Roster

By | at

After an epic 15-inning win over the Tigers in Game Five of the ALDS, the Mariners are advancing to their first AL Championship Series since 2001.  The club’s hard-worked pitching staff will likely be getting some major reinforcements, as M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude) that right-hander Bryan Woo is expected to added to the Mariners’ roster for the next round.

Woo probably won’t pitch until closer to the midpoint of the series, Dipoto said.  This means Woo is being lined up for a start when the ALCS shifts to Seattle for Games 3-4 and (if necessary) 5.  It also leaves open the question of who exactly will be starting for the Mariners in the first two games in Toronto, as the M’s used starters Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo out of the bullpen during last night’s 15-inning marathon.  Gilbert threw 34 pitches over two innings of relief, and Castillo threw 15 pitches over 1 1/3 frames.

Dipoto told Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 radio last night that “probably Bryce [Miller] and friends” would be the plan for Game 1, “but for a couple of days we may have to be creative…simply because so many guys had to pitch in today.”  Miller would be working on three days’ rest if he started Game 1, so as Dipoto implied, the bullpen may be leaned on again in what would probably be a limited start for the righty.  Castillo is probably the favorite to go in Game 2 with Gilbert’s availability also a question, and in theory, this could line up Gilbert for Game 3, George Kirby in Game 4, and Woo in Game if the M’s chose to deploy their full rotation.  This assumes that Woo will be used in a normal starting capacity, and holding him off until the middle of the series would give the right-hander more time to fully ramp up.

Woo posted a 2.94 ERA over 186 2/3 innings during the regular season, but he developed pectoral tightness in a start on September 19 that forced him out of the game after five shutout innings.  Woo hasn’t pitched since, though he wasn’t placed on the 15-day injured list, and he was able to throw a bullpen session and a simulated inning prior to the start of the ALDS.  Jude wrote prior to Game 5 that Woo threw close to 30 pitches during a bullpen session on Friday, and “appeared to be throwing at roughly 75 percent effort” before kicking things up “closer to 100 percent” for the final few pitches of the session.

Seattle and Toronto don’t have to reveal their ALCS rosters until tomorrow, so we’ll get the final word then on Woo’s involvement and whose spot he’ll be taking on the 26-man.  The move to a seven-game series likely means the Mariners will carry an extra pitcher after using 14 position players and 12 pitchers in the ALDS, so a rookie like Ben Williamson or Harry Ford could be the odd man out.

Cardinals Have Received Trade Interest In Catching Depth

By | at

“Other teams have asked about” the many catchers in the Cardinals organization, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote as part of a lengthy chat with readers.  No specific names are mentioned, yet since youngsters Jimmy Crooks, and Leonardo Bernal seem pretty untouchable at the moment, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, and Yohel Pozo are the likelier trade candidates, to varying degrees.

While the focus of the Cards’ offseason will be moving veteran talent and creating opportunities for young players, the wide-ranging nature of this rebuild means that president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is likely to explore every possible avenue for upgrading the roster.  Given this youth movement, it is safe to assume that Bernal and Crooks aren’t going anywhere, unless Bloom swings a relatively rare prospect-for-prospect type of swap.  The Cardinals could conceivably package one of their own prospects along with a higher-priced veteran (i.e. Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray) to convince a rival club to take on more salary, yet dealing a well-regarded prospect just to save money isn’t happening unless the other team also offers a good prospect package that can more broadly address the Cards’ needs.

MLB Pipeline ranks Bernal as the 92nd-best prospect in baseball, and the fourth-best prospect in the St. Louis farm system.  As Goold notes, the Cardinals will have to add him to the 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, so Bernal’s inclusion would give the Cards five backstops on their 40-man.  Goold suggests that Pozo will be the odd man out, perhaps designated for assignment and then re-signed by the Cardinals to a minor league contract.  Such a move would allow St. Louis to free up a 40-man spot and keep Pozo all at once, though a trade or waiver claim is a possibility in that scenario.

Crooks was ranked as the sixth-best Cardinals prospect and outside Pipeline’s league-wide top-100, though he received some top-100 attention from Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs this year.  Crooks also made his MLB debut this season, but did very little at the plate in batting .133/.152/.244 over his first 46 plate appearances in the Show.  He has hit considerably better in the minors (including a .274/.337/.441 slash line in 430 PA in Triple-A), but Crooks is generally viewed as a glove-first type of catcher.

Beyond this duo, the Cardinals also have Rainiel Rodriguez, the 18-year-old who finished the season in high-A ball and who ranks 55th on Pipeline’s top-100 list.  It isn’t hard to view Rodriguez, Bernal, and Crooks within a broad “catcher of the future” category, which naturally creates questions about how the Cards could approach the catchers currently on the big league roster.

It should be noted that none of Herrera, Pages, or Pozo are exactly seasoned vets.  Herrera won’t become arbitration-eligible until next offseason and he is controlled through 2029, while Pages is controlled through 2030.  If Pozo is possibly DFA fodder, that alone could clear up the catching backlog to some extent, but could the Cardinals go a step further and move Herrera or Pages to create playing time for Crooks?

Describing Herrera as a catcher is perhaps a topic of debate unto itself, as he suited up behind the plate in only 14 games this season.  Herrera missed time due a bone bruise in his left knee and then a Grade 2 hamstring strain, plus he was slated for offseason surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow.  These health issues led the Cardinals to make Herrera their primary DH, and he also made a few cameo appearances in left field.

The team’s plan is for Herrera to spend the offseason healing up, and then to return in Spring Training as a viable catcher once again.  There were some questions about Herrera’s long-term ability to stick at catcher even before his injury-plagued 2025 season, but there’s no doubt he can hit.  Herrera batted .284/.373/.464 with 19 home runs over 452 plate appearances this year, and his 137 wRC+ was the 16th-best of any player in the league with at least 450 PA.

Moving such a potent and controllable bat this early in the rebuild process doesn’t seem too likely for Bloom, unless a major asset could be obtained in return.  If the Cardinals still have misgivings about Herrera’s defense, that could leave the door open a crack for a possible trade, yet it is fair to guess that Herrera is pretty far down the list of Bloom’s potential trade chips.

Pages ended up becoming the Cards’ primary catcher in 2025, and his profile is basically the opposite of Herrera.  Pages has hit only .233/.275/.368 over 607 career PA in the majors, but he is a superb defender in every aspect of catching except his blocking work.  This could appeal to clubs looking to improve their glovework behind the plate, though Yadier Molina’s shadow runs long in St. Louis, and the Cardinals themselves have long prioritized having strong catcher defense.

Nationals Retain Mike DeBartolo; Part Ways With Assistant GMs Eddie Longosz, Mark Scialabba

By | at

12:21PM: DeBartolo will be staying on in Washington’s front office, Ghiroli reports in a follow-up.

12:19PM: Assistant general managers Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba won’t be returning to the Nationals in 2026, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports.  These departures are two of what seems to be multiple changes made under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, as Ghiroli writes that “several scouts and members of the team’s staff in Florida” are also on the way out.

It isn’t surprising that Toboni’s hiring has triggered a staff overhaul, as some prominent names left the organization even before Toboni was hired two weeks ago.  Since the start of September, former scouting director Danny Haas and senior director of amateur scouting Brad Ciolek each left the Nats for jobs with the Orioles and Tigers, respectively.  It is fair to wonder exactly how many members of Mike Rizzo’s front office will continue on with the Nationals under Toboni — most prominently, assistant GM and former interim GM Mike DeBartolo’s role with the team remains unclear.

Rizzo himself shook up the front office and player development staffs a few years ago, but Longosz and Scialabba were two of the longtime Washington staffers who stayed put.  Longosz started with the Nats in 2010 and worked as the club’s director of scouting operations for the eight seasons prior to his elevation to the AGM and vice-president role in 2023.  Specifically, Longosz was the assistant general manager of player development and administration.

Scialabba’s ties to the organization stretch back even longer, as he first joined the team in 2006.  Working as the Nationals’ director of minor league operations from 2009-13, Scialabba took over the player development department in 2013 before becoming the assistant GM of player development following the 2019 campaign.

Rockies Assistant GM Zack Rosenthal Resigns

By | at

Rockies VP of baseball operations and assistant general manager Zack Rosenthal has resigned from the organization, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  Rosenthal has been in the assistant GM role since the 2014-15 offseason, and the VP position was added to his portfolio following the 2021 season, after Bill Schmidt was elevated from interim GM to the full-time job.

Schmidt is now out after a disastrous four-year run, as Colorado has won only 231 games since Opening Day 2022.  This year’s squad was simply one of the worst teams in MLB history, with an astonishing 43-119 record and the worst rotation ERA (6.65) and run differential (-424) in baseball’s modern era.  Ownership has already stated that the Rockies’ next front office boss will be someone from outside the organization, which seems like a long overdue step for a club often criticized for being too insular and not in touch with analytical and developments trends are commonplace in the sport.

With this in mind, it isn’t surprising that other longtime front office staffers like Rosenthal are on the way out, as the next top executive will likely have a wide berth to bring in their own personnel.  Since Schmidt’s title was GM rather than president of baseball operations, Rosenthal was his de facto number two, as the Rockies’ only assistant general manager.

Rosenthal told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (multiple links) that he made his own decision to step away.  “I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to stay with one single organization for 20-plus years,” Rosenthal said.  “So many amazing experiences and memories.   My first full-time season was the World Series year [in 2007].  That was magical…I want nothing but success for the Rockies.  This city deserves a team that competes, because there’s nothing like Coors Field in October.”

Starting his baseball career as an account manager with the A’s and as an intern with the Red Sox, Rosenthal arrived in Denver in 2006 as a player development intern.  From there, he became a baseball ops assistant and then the director of baseball operations.  Beyond just the baseball-specific duties, Rosenthal was also the Rockies’ assistant general counsel for much of his time with the club, dealing with legal matters related to front office matters and the team’s business operations.

Astros To Retain Dana Brown, Joe Espada

By | at

Coming off their first non-playoff season since 2016, the Astros will hold off on any major organizational overhauls.  MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports that both general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada will be back with the club in 2026, for Brown’s fourth season and Espada’s third season in their respective roles.

The news isn’t hugely surprising, as Brown said during the Astros’ end-of-season press conference last week that Espada would return, and the GM believed he would also remain in his position.  There has been no indication that team owner Jim Crane is dissatisfied with the job performance of either man, whereas by comparison, there were rumors for months in 2022 that Crane was clashing with ex-GM James Click (Brown’s predecessor).  Sure enough, the Astros parted ways with Click shortly after the 2022 season, despite the fact that Houston had just won the World Series.

Since winning that championship, the Astros’ win totals and finishes have gradually gone in reverse.  Houston won 90 games and the AL West in 2023 but fell just short of another pennant, losing to the Rangers in a seven-game ALCS.  In 2024, the Astros won 89 games and another division crown, but their streak of ALCS appearances was snapped when they were upset and swept by the Tigers in the wild card series.

This season saw the Astros win 87 games, the most of any club that didn’t reach the postseason.  The Tigers were again their nemesis, also winning 87 games and edging out the Astros for the final AL wild card berth due to the tiebreaker advantage (Detroit had a 4-2 record against Houston this year).  Even with the Tigers in full collapse mode for much of September, the Astros came undone in the final stretch, going 3-6 in their last nine games.

In this sense, Brown and Espada are somewhat victims of their own success — naturally, most teams would love to have a three-season run that included two division titles and 265 wins.  For this season in particular, there was also a clear reason for the Astros’ relative struggles, as Houston was absolutely ravaged by injuries.  Only four Astros players had more than 500 plate appearances, and Framber Valdez (192 IP) and Hunter Brown (185 1/3 IP) were the only hurlers to log more than 86 innings pitched.  Within this context, Espada found himself garnering some buzz as a Manager Of The Year candidate before the bottom finally fell out on his injury-riddled club.

It isn’t hard to imagine that the Astros would’ve made the playoffs if their team had been even reasonably healthy.  However, just counting on fewer injuries in 2026 might not be enough, plus the Astros have a big pair of potential holes to fill if Valdez or productive backup catcher Victor Caratini leave in free agency.

Going forward, Brown and Espada are both under contract through at least the 2026 season, though the specific terms of either man’s contract aren’t publicly known.  If 2026 is the last year of their deals, Crane could explore at least a brief extension just to make sure that neither is a lame duck, or the owner might want to see if the Astros can firmly get things turned around before making a further commitment.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top