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Astros Sign Nate Pearson

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October 21: Houston officially announced their one-year deal with Pearson on Tuesday. According to The Associated Press, the deal includes $150K in incentives. He’d earn $50K for reaching 50 innings and $50K apiece at 20 and 25 starts.

October 17: The Astros are in agreement with right-hander Nate Pearson on a one-year, $1.35MM guarantee, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Pearson, a client of Excel Sports Management, is expected to work as a starter. The deal also includes performance bonuses.

Pearson will get the opportunity to pitch out of the rotation for the first time since his brief MLB debut in 2020. The hard-throwing righty made four starts as a rookie with Toronto. He’s made 118 appearances over the past five seasons, and all but two have been out of the bullpen. Pearson spent the last season and a half with the Cubs. He came to Chicago in 2024 via a midseason trade from Toronto.

Pearson made 11 appearances with the Cubs this past season. He broke camp with the team, but gave up 10 earned runs over his first 8 2/3 innings and soon found himself back at Triple-A. Pearson made it back up for a weekend in June, only to be hammered for five earned runs in his lone appearance. His final stint with the big-league club would be two solid outings in August, when he tossed four scoreless innings. In total, Pearson posted a 9.20 ERA across 14 2/3 MLB innings, including an untenable 7:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Chicago released Pearson during the final week of the regular season.

A major-league agreement for Pearson might seem surprising given his recent output at the highest level, but his results were much better at Triple-A Iowa. Pearson recorded a 2.22 ERA with a stellar 30.6% K% across 38 minor-league outings. Free passes remained a problem (12.9% walk rate), but Triple-A batters hit just .170 against Pearson.

Houston is likely betting on pedigree here. Pearson was a first-round selection for Toronto back in 2017. His development was delayed by a broken arm and an oblique injury in 2018, but he broke through with a tremendous 2019 season in the minors. Pearson tossed 101 2/3 innings across three levels, notching a 2.30 ERA with a 30.7% strikeout rate over 25 starts. He entered the 2020 campaign as a top 10 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

Pearson made five appearances with the Blue Jays in the shortened 2020 season before an elbow injury cut his year short. Injuries would continue to derail him moving forward. A litany of health issues capped Pearson at 45 2/3 innings in 2021 and 30 2/3 frames in 2022. He stayed healthy for 2023 and 2024, working exclusively as a reliever with the Blue Jays before being dealt to Chicago.

Houston has some uncertainty in the rotation heading into 2026. Framber Valdez is a free agent. The club lost Ronel Blanco, Luis Garcia, and Brandon Walter to Tommy John surgery. Spencer Arrighetti’s season ended prematurely due to elbow concerns. Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. were healthy to close the season, but have dealt with injuries of their own. Jason Alexander went from depth option to rotation mainstay after getting scooped up as a waiver claim. Hunter Brown is the only rock-solid member of the staff at the moment. Pearson comes with plenty of his own question marks, but the risk is minimal. He could return to a bullpen role if starting doesn’t work out.

Image courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images.

Previewing The 2025-26 Free Agent Class: Corner Outfield

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A number of teams (and their fanbases) have already turned their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so it’s worth taking a look at the players who’ll be available at each position.

We’re moving to the outfield corners, where there are a couple of strong everyday guys but then a huge drop-off to the lower tiers. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.

Previous entries in this series: catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, center field

Top of the Class

Tucker isn’t going into free agency with the ideal amount of momentum. His 2024 season was truncated by a shin fracture. His 2025 campaign was dragged down by a finger fracture and a calf strain. He missed some time and didn’t perform up to expectations in the last few months before hitting the open market.

Regardless, he’s head and shoulders above everyone else listed here. Even with the recent hiccups, he’s been one of the best players in baseball for a few years now. Dating back to the start of 2020, he has a combined .276/.362/.513 batting line and 141 wRC+. He has stolen 113 bases in that time and generally been given strong grades for his defense. FanGraphs has credited him with 25.2 wins above replacement in that stretch, a mark that puts him behind only ten position players.

The injuries may create a bit of uncertainty but his record is otherwise very solid, well-rounded and consistent. For teams looking for a clear and immediate corner outfield upgrade, he’s the obvious choice. Big spenders like the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays, Angels, Rangers and Giants have outfield questions and could push the bidding up. Re-signing with the Cubs would be out of character for that club but they clearly love him, since they gave up a lot to get him a year ago. A dark-horse team like the Mariners, Orioles, Tigers or Rays could also be possible. He will receive and reject a qualifying offer from the Cubs and will therefore be attached to the associated penalties, though that will be a small consideration for a player like this.

Everyday Regulars

It has already been reported that Bellinger will be opting out of his deal, which should come as no surprise. He’ll take a $5MM buyout instead of next year’s $25MM salary, leaving $20MM on the table. That’s an easy decision, as he should be able to top that handily. His previous trips to free agency haven’t yielded the desired long-term deal, but he should be in a better spot this time around. His dismal 2021 and 2022 seasons now seem like distant memories. That’s also true of his 2019 MVP form, but he has settled in as a solid everyday player.

With the Yankees this year, Bellinger hit 29 home runs. He only struck out 13.7% of the time, and he stole 13 bases. His defense was passable in center but above-average in the corners. He slashed .272/.334/.480 for a 125 wRC+. FanGraphs gave him 4.9 fWAR for the season.

There are some questions under the hood. The offense might not be totally sustainable. His batted ball metrics are relatively pedestrian, and he likely benefitted from the short porch at Yankee Stadium. All of this year’s homers were to the pull side. He slashed .302/.365/.544 at home but .241/.301/.414 on the road. He probably won’t be considered an everyday center fielder since he hasn’t done that since 2022. Still, he’s the best corner outfield option apart from Tucker, and there’s a big drop to the next tier. Bellinger won’t receive a QO because he’s already received one in his career and is therefore ineligible. He should get a strong multi-year deal.

After Tucker and Bellinger, there’s a clear drop. Guys like Trent Grisham, Cedric Mullins and Harrison Bader may get consideration for corner jobs but the center field market is also not strong, so they can probably find up-the-middle gigs.

That leaves Yaz as arguably the best solid regular after Tucker and Bellinger. He’s been a decent player for years now. He’s not a superstar but has generally been above-average at the plate and in the field. He’s had five straight seasons with a wRC+ between 99 and 111. He has produced between 3 and 9 Defensive Runs Saved in each of those seasons while Outs Above Average has had him a bit closer to par. FanGraphs has given him between 1.5 and 2.4 WAR in each of those five campaigns.

Despite that track record of reliably decent production, his earning power won’t be huge. A late bloomer, he didn’t break out until his age-28 season. He’s now reaching free agency for the first time just after his 35th birthday. He’ll probably be limited to one-year offers, but a two-year pact isn’t totally out of the question.

Platoon/Bounceback Bats

Andujar just wrapped up a good season between the Athletics and Reds. He slashed .318/.352/.470 for a 125 wRC+. Most of that damage came against southpaws. The righty bat slashed .290/.331/.429 for a 108 wRC+ against righties but .389/.409/.578 and a 171 wRC+ against lefties. His 2024 production was even more lopsided, with a 192 wRC+ with the platoon advantage and 82 without. In addition to the outfield corners, he also played first and third base this year, so he should find a home somewhere as a lefty masher with some defensive versatility.

Last winter, the Dodgers gave Conforto $17MM on a one-year deal, but it didn’t work out. He hit .199/.305/.333 and was left off the club’s playoff roster. The track record is still decent enough that he could find some club willing to take a bounceback flier. He oddly had reverse splits in 2025, but his career splits are traditional. The lefty swinger has a .249/.351/.460 line and 121 wRC+ against righties in his career and a .233/.318/.391 line and 98 wRC+ against southpaws.

Grichuk didn’t have a great campaign in 2025, hitting just .228/.273/.401. Even against lefties, he had a subpar .227/.273/.430 slash and 89 wRC+. However, he’s just one year removed from posting a .319/.386/.528 line and 152 wRC+ against southpaws. Even on the heels of that strong showing, he was only able to secure a $5MM guarantee to return to the Diamondbacks, so he should be even more affordable this time.

For his career, the righty-swinging Hays has a .282/.340/.479 line against lefties and .253/.301/.416 otherwise, leading to respective wRC+ tallies of 124 and 97. This year was even more extreme, with a .319/.400/.549 line and 155 wRC+ against southpaws and a .249/.286/.422 line and 88 wRC+ without the platoon advantage. Beyond the offense, Hays is considered a strong defender but has been fairly injury prone in the past two seasons.

Kepler signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Phillies last offseason. He thought he was going to be an everyday player, but the Phils mostly shielded him from lefties. He was only sent up to face a southpaw 76 times this year and didn’t fare well. He also didn’t hit righties, turning in a .216/.305/.399 line and 93 wRC+. However, his career numbers are better, with a .240/.324/.446 line and 107 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. He’s solid with the glove, but his rough season at the plate should give him less earning power compared to a year ago.

Marte had a good season at the plate, slashing .270/.335/.410 for a 112 wRC+, but mostly as a designated hitter. The Mets only put him out on the grass for 65 innings. Given his age and injury history, he probably can’t be counted on for much more than that going forward.

Refsnyder is turning 35 in March but he just keeps hitting lefties. For his career, he has a .281/.383/.443 line and 129 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. In 2025, he was even better, putting up a .302/.399/.560 line and 159 wRC+ against southpaws. There was previously some suggestion he was flirting with retirement, but he plans to play in 2026.

Slater has generally been solid against lefties in his career, but his past two seasons have been rough. Overall, he hit .212/.299/.314 for a 77 wRC+ during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That included some league-average production against southpaws in 2025, but injuries limited him to just 65 games on the year. His career .267/.357/.430 line and 119 wRC+ against lefties will get him some interest, but his recent struggles and injuries will tamp down his earning power.

Thomas is coming off an injury-marred season. He only appeared in 39 games. He underwent surgery to address his plantar fasciitis in September, a procedure that comes with a recovery timeline of three to four months. He’s not too far removed from a 28-homer season in 2023, but even at his best, he did most of his damage against lefties. He has a career .292/.359/.500 line and 135 wRC+ versus southpaws and a .220/.287/.383 line and 84 wRC+ when facing righties. In addition to his bat, he can steal bases and play a passable center field, but his health situation clouds his status somewhat.

Winker’s a good hitter but his health comes and goes. He only played 61 games in 2023 due to back problems. He bounced back in 2024, showing enough that the Mets gave him $7.5MM on a one-year deal for 2025. However, oblique and back issues limited him to just 26 contests this past year. His track record enough to get him interest, but he’s never been a good defender and the injuries keep pushing him more firmly towards full-time designated hitter status.

Depth Types

Options/Opt-Outs

Gurriel can opt out of his deal, walking away from the one year and $18MM guarantee he’s still owed. He won’t do it though. He suffered a torn right ACL in September. The surgery comes with a recovery timeline of nine to ten months, putting him out of action through at least the first half of 2026.

The Padres can retain Laureano for 2026 via a $6.5MM club option. That’s a bargain, considering he just hit .281/.342/.512 for a 138 wRC+ and was credited with three wins above replacement by FanGraphs. The Padres have ongoing financial issues but should pick up the option without much thought. Even if they don’t want to pay Laureano themselves, he’d have plenty of trade value (though it’s likely he’s their regular left fielder next year).

O’Neill can opt out of his deal, walking away from the two years and $33MM he is still owed. But injuries limited him to 54 games and a dismal .199/.292/.392 showing in 2025, so it would be silly of him to trigger that opt-out.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Franmil Reyes Re-Signs With NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters On One-Year Deal

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Former big leaguer Franmil Reyes has re-signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan).  Reyes’ agent has posted on X that it’s a one-year contract, so he will be a free agent after the 2026 season.

It is easy to see why the Fighters wanted to lock Reyes up, as he has provided some big pop over his two NPB seasons.  Reyes has hit .282/.347/.535 with 57 home runs over 899 plate appearances with the Kitahiroshima-based club, helping carry the Fighters to second-place finishes in the Pacific League in each of the last two seasons.  The Fighters’ 240 home runs over the last two seasons is the most of any NPB team, with Reyes’ power bat leading the way.

This slugging ability was evident over most of Reyes’ six Major League seasons, as he posted 108 big flies and a .264/.310/.464 slash line over 2078 PA with the Padres, Guardians, Cubs, and Royals from 2018-23.  Unfortunately for Reyes, his production suddenly cratered in 2022, leading Cleveland to option him to Triple-A and then designate him for assignment that summer.  Subsequent stints with the Cubs, Royals, and (on a minor league contract) Nationals didn’t see Reyes regain his stroke, so he opted to head overseas following the 2023 season.

MLBTR’s post initially indicated that Reyes signed a multi-year contract. We apologize for the error.

The Ultimate Daily Sports Trivia Experience! (Sponsored)

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Introducing The Winfield Game

What is it?

Sharing a name with the only player ever to be drafted in the first round of the MLB, NBA, and NFL drafts. The Winfield Game is a daily challenge to name that day’s current or former NBA
All-Star, MLB All-Star, or NFL Pro Bowl player in as few guesses as possible. Each guess will provide clues to that day’s player and will help inform your next guess.

In the example below, the player started their game with Rich Hill. Using the clues provided from Rich Hill – we know the answer: 1) played their most games in the 2000s (green capsule)
and also played in the 2010s, 2) played for the Yankees and Dodgers – though neither was the team for which they played their most games (no green capsule), and the player was not a pitcher as no position match is shown. That led the player to guess Bobby Abreu, which provided several more clues, including a position match and we know the answer won a Gold Glove.

Use hints (optionally) — if the puzzle hasn’t been solved after 5 guesses, users can opt for a hint (at the cost of counting as a guess). Hints might reveal a team, decade, or achievement clue
the user doesn’t yet have.

Results Page — after the user completes the game (or fails), their score is shown along with that day’s average score. In addition, there is a lifetime average score leaderboard. And there is a full
archive of all previous games as well!

Secrets of the game:

Like any puzzle, there is a strategy involved. For baseball lovers here are some fun initial guesses to make based on the categories that will give the best chance to win!

Players to Play in Four or more Decades:

  • Jamie Moyer: Pitched from 1986 to 2012 and was an all-star 1x in 2003 (at 40 years old!)
  • Omar Vizquel: Played from 1989 to 2012 and was a 3x all-star. He also won 11 gold gloves which is only helpful if the guess for the day is a MLB player
  • Rickey Henderson: Played from 1979 to 2003
  • Ken Griffey Jr.: Played from 1989 to 2010
  • Nolan Ryan: Played from 1966 to 1993

Henderson, Griffey Jr., and Ryan will check additional boxes if the player of the day has won an MVP award (Henderson and Griffey Jr.), as well as in their respective sport’s Hall of Fame.

BONUS: The only all-star MLB player to appear in FIVE decades is Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso (1949-1980).

Players to Play for Multiple Franchises:

Additionally, the game rewards guesses of players who played for many franchises. These players give the best shot at matching a team or metro area with the answer. Here are a few MLB players that could be valuable guesses.

  • Edwin Jackson: Pitched from 2003 to 2019 and appeared for an MLB record 14 teams.. The teams are: Dodgers, Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals,
    Cubs, Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, A’s, and Blue Jays. So a nice mix of cities represented that have other major sports teams
  • Mike Morgan: Pitched from 1978 to 2002 and made 1x All-Star in 1991. Bonus points that he also picks up four decades too! Morgan played for the A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays,
    Mariners, Orioles, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Twins, Rangers, and Diamondbacks)
  • Fernando Rodney: Pitched from 2002 to 2019 and made 3x All-Star teams. While he played seven years in Detroit he also appeared for Angels, Rays, Mariners, Cubs, Padres,
    Marlins, D-backs, Twins, A’s and Nationals

While the game of course will let player’s guess non-All Stars, unfortunately, Rich Hill would not be recommended here as he never made an All-Star team. He did appear for 14 MLB teams,
a record.

Play Today!

Make sure to check out The Winfield Game daily and share with friends for ultimate bragging rights.

This is a sponsored post from The Winfield Game.

Padres Interview Brian Esposito For Managerial Job

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The Padres’ managerial search has reached the interview stage, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports that the club spoke with bench coach Brian Esposito on Monday.  The 46-year-old Esposito is the first candidate known to have an interview in the books with the Padres, though the team may have already sat down with other internal candidates like pitching coach Ruben Niebla or special assistant Mark Loretta.  As far as external candidates, Albert Pujols is set to interview with San Diego on Wednesday, as the future Hall-of-Famer continues to explore his first foray into managing at the MLB level.

Esposito is technically a former teammate of Pujols, as one of Esposito’s three career Major League games as a player came with the 2007 Cardinals.  That cup of coffee in St. Louis and two games with the 2010 Astros comprised the big league portion of Esposito’s 13-year playing career (2000-12) that was otherwise spent in the minors with seven different organizations.

After hanging up his glove, Esposito went on to manage at multiple levels of the Pirates’ farm system, including a five-year run as the skipper with Triple-A Indianapolis.  Beginning with the 2022 season, Esposito joined the Padres first as a minor league manager, then as a catching coach and game strategy assistant on the big league staff in 2023-24.  The Padres didn’t have a formal bench coach in 2024 (Mike Shildt’s first season as manager), but Esposito was promoted to the job prior to last season.

Unless he gets the manager’s job himself, Esposito’s status could be up in the air heading into 2026, along with the rest of the San Diego coaching staff.  Naturally a new skipper will get some say in assembling his own staff, and for the bench coach role in particular, a manager usually prefers to assign that role to a long-time colleague.  Esposito’s chances of remaining as bench coach could be improved if a familiar face like Niebla or Loretta gets the job, though since both would be first-time MLB managers, they could prefer to have a more seasoned voice or a former ex-skipper as their top lieutenant.

Hiring Esposito would be a way for San Diego to maintain some continuity in the dugout.  The Padres are coming off consecutive trips to the playoffs and didn’t think they’d be making a managerial search at all, prior to Shildt’s surprising resignation.  Bringing in an entirely new face like Pujols might be more of a shake-up than the Padres would necessarily want to make, which could be why the early stages of the team’s search has largely been centered around familiar names.  Beyond Esposito, Niebla, and Loretta, former Padres bench coach Ryan Flaherty and ex-Padres catcher Nick Hundley have been linked to the job (though Hundley recently turned down the Giants’ managerial job due to family concerns).

Another known Padres figure has expressed interest, as longtime broadcaster and former big league catcher Carlos Hernandez tells Lin that he would like to be considered for the manager’s position or possibly a coaching role.  Hernandez’s 10-year MLB playing career includes parts of three seasons in San Diego (1997-2000), and his post-playing endeavors included managing in the Mexican League and Venezuelan Winter League, as well as stints as a catching coordinator with the Padres and Diamondbacks.  For the last 14 years, Hernandez has been calling Padres’ TV and radio broadcasts as a Spanish-language announcer.

Braves Sign Austin Nola To Minors Contract

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The Braves have signed catcher Austin Nola to a minor league deal, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.  The contract contains an invitation to Atlanta’s big league spring camp.

Nola appeared in 345 MLB games with the Padres and Mariners from 2019-2023, posting some very solid numbers at the plate before his production tailed off badly by the 2023 campaign.  Nola spent the 2024 season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate without getting any more playing time in the Show, and he moved on to sign a minor league deal with the Rockies last winter.

The early part of Nola’s 2025 campaign was spent battling injuries, but he played well enough at Triple-A to earn a selection to Colorado’s active roster.  Nola didn’t fare nearly as well, hitting .184/.225/.211 over 41 plate appearances and 14 games with the Rox before being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster in August.  He elected free agency rather than accept that outright assignment, so Nola has had a bit of extra time to line up his next stop.

Atlanta is set at the MLB level with Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy as their catchers, but Chuckie Robinson is the only other backstop in the system with any big league experience.  Nola can provide some depth for the Braves in camp, and could even chip in as a reserve first baseman.  Now entering his age-36 season, time may be running out for Nola to re-establish himself as even a backup in the majors, but a good showing in Spring Training could win him a Triple-A job with the Braves or perhaps a look elsewhere with a team with a less stable catching situation.

Poll: Who Will Win The World Series?

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This year’s World Series teams are officially set.  The Blue Jays managed to come back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in the ALCS to defeat the Mariners in Game 7 last night, thanks to a three-run homer from George Springer. Toronto is now poised to face the Dodgers after L.A. swept the Brewers out of the NLCS on the back of perhaps the greatest single-game performance of all time from Shohei Ohtani in Game 4. How do the Jays and Dodgers match up against each other?

It’s hard not to see the Dodgers as the titan in this series. They have MLB’s largest payroll and a roster littered with superstars. They’re gunning for their third championship in the past six seasons and have been to the Fall Classic five times in the past decade. On top of that, they’ve been utterly dominant this postseason with a combined 9-1 record against the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers. A rotation featuring Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow is among the most frightening in the league and is firing on all cylinders at the moment.

Given that combination of postseason experience, October dominance, and an All-Star rotation, it might seem hard to imagine Toronto being able to put up much of a fight against Los Angeles. After all, this is just the Jays’ third trip to the World Series in team history, and they’ve had to battle every step of the way to get here. They won the AL East off of a tiebreaker, and went to four games against the Yankees in the ALDS before spending their entire series against the Mariners on the back foot. While Kevin Gausman is one of the more reliable veterans in the game and Trey Yesavage has been a standout as a rookie this October, a rotation featuring that duo, 41-year-old Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber’s first handful of starts post-Tommy John surgery doesn’t exactly inspire the same sort of confidence as L.A.’s quartet.

While some of those concerns are certainly valid, the Jays have several factors working in their favor as well as they try to bring home their first championship since 1993. They’ll have homefield advantage due to winning 94 games in the regular season, while the Dodgers won “only” 93 games. Toronto also has a powerful offense that may give the Dodgers’ pitching staff all they can handle.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been baseball’s best hitter this postseason with an utterly absurd .442/.510/.930 slash line and six home runs over 51 playoff plate appearances.  Ohtani’s 143 wRC+ leads the Dodgers this postseason, but the Jays have four hitters ahead of him on the leaderboard: Guerrero, Ernie Clement, Springer, and Addison Barger. Springer in particular is a postseason standout who already has a World Series MVP award in his trophy case from the last time he faced the Dodgers in October.  While Los Angeles has more than its share of prominent bats, Freddie Freeman (105 wRC+) has actually been slightly cold this October, and regular season standout Will Smith (89 wRC+) hasn’t looked the same while playing through a hairline fracture in his hand.

Speaking of injuries, the Blue Jays have made their deep playoff run without the services of star shortstop Bo Bichette, who is expected back in the lineup for the World Series. After a tough 2024 season, Bichette enjoyed a return to form this year, hitting .311/.357/.483 in 139 games with 18 homers and 44 doubles. Smith’s lackluster performance only serves to underscore the fact that Bichette may not perform at quite that level if he’s less than 100% healthy, but even a diminished version of Bichette should be able to boost Toronto’s lineup.

While the Dodgers have a big advantage in the rotation and the Blue Jays certainly have the hotter lineup, the relief battle may be a draw. Both teams had below-average bullpens this year during the regular season even after signing star closers (Jeff Hoffman in Toronto, Tanner Scott in Los Angeles) to hefty deals this past winter.

Both clubs have also used former rotation pieces in the bullpen to great effect this postseason, with Chris Bassitt (2 2/3 scoreless innings) and Roki Sasaki (eight innings of one-run ball) helping to offer some form of stability on the back-end. Sasaki has even emerged as the Dodgers’ closer throughout the postseason, while Hoffman (7 1/3 innings of one-run ball) has turned things around after a tough second half to dominate in October with a 42.9% strikeout rate so far. Sasaki’s run prevention has been just as impressive, but he’s done so in less dominant fashion with a strikeout rate of just 20.7%.

Who do MLBTR readers think will hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy this year? Will the Dodgers repeat as so many predicted they would this spring, or will the Blue Jays be able to secure their first championship since 1993? Have your say in the poll below:

Orioles Interested In Scott Servais For Managerial Vacancy

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Scott Servais is the latest name to surface in the Orioles’ search for a new manager.  The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the O’s have interest in the former Mariners skipper, but it isn’t known if Servais has been formally interviewed by the team.

Reports also emerged yesterday that the Twins were considering Servais for their own managerial opening.  Minnesota and Baltimore are two of a whopping eight teams that don’t have managers in place for 2026, so it is certainly possible that Servais might also be a candidate with one of those other six clubs (though that number could narrow if the Giants finalize things with front-runner Tony Vitello.)

Interim Orioles manager Tony Mansolino, former Mets manager Luis Rojas, and future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols are the names publicly known to be on Baltimore’s list of candidates.  Cubs bench coach and former Orioles player Ryan Flaherty has also been mentioned in a more speculative fashion.  With Servais now included, it makes for an interesting mix of three candidates with past experience running a big league dugout, an experienced coach in Flaherty who has had “future manager” buzz surrounding him for a while, plus an all-time superstar player in Pujols who has never managed or coached in the majors or minors.

Servais is far and away the most seasoned candidate of the group, as he managed the Mariners for parts of nine seasons from 2016-2024.  Seattle posted winning records in five of Servais’ eight full seasons, and he has a winning record (680-642) as a big league skipper.  Only the 2022 Mariners squad reached the playoffs under Servais’ leadership, however, and the M’s fired Servais in August 2024 when the team was sitting at an even 64-64 record.  The Mariners have since gone 111-85 under new manager Dan Wilson, including an AL West title this season and a playoff run that lasted until Game 7 of the ALCS.

The Opener: World Series, Angels, Hirings

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As we wait for the World Series to begin, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. World Series matchup set:

The Mariners will go another year without making it to the World Series. After leading for most of the game, Seattle righty Eduard Bazardo surrendered a three-run homer to veteran slugger George Springer in the seventh inning that put Toronto ahead 4-3, and they managed to hold onto that lead through scoreless innings by Chris Bassitt and Jeff Hoffman. Now, the Blue Jays are headed to their first World Series since 1993, where they’ll try to stop the Dodgers from being the first team to repeat as World Series champs since the 1998-2000 Yankees. For that series, the club is expected to benefit from the return of Bo Bichette, who told reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) that he’ll “be ready” to play by then.

2. Angels managerial search faces upheaval:

The managerial search in Anaheim once looked to be a fairly simple one, with future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols as the runaway favorite. A few days ago, the Angels broadened the search with plans to interview special assistants Torii Hunter and Kurt Suzuki as well as interest in a number of other possible candidates. Yesterday saw things change much more drastically, as both Pujols and Hunter are now reportedly out of the running. That leaves the search in flux somewhat, as Suzuki is the only candidate known to be interviewing for the job at this point. Former Astros manager Bo Porter, who coached for the Angels the past two seasons, has expressed interest in the job. Past reporting has suggested interest in both former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde on the Angels’ part, though it’s unclear if that interest is mutual and more recent reporting has indicated that the Angels have yet to contact either of them, or any other external candidates they’d be reported as interested in.

3. Could hirings be on the way?

With the World Series matchup now set, baseball enters a three-day lull before Game 1 begins on Friday. It’s traditional for teams to hold off on announcing major hires like that of a manager or GM during October until a day when there isn’t a postseason game happening. With several managerial searches ongoing around the league, plus a GM search in Colorado, could one or more clubs look to take advantage of the next few days to officially install a new leader? The Giants have been circling Tony Vitello for days, with a conclusion expected as soon as today, while the Rockies are known to be looking to narrow their GM search this week. It’s also possible that a vacancy with less concrete reporting could be filled in the coming days, particularly from a traditionally tight-lipped franchise like the Braves.

Latest On Bo Bichette

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Before tonight’s ALCS Game Seven, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that shortstop Bo Bichette has been making “significant progress” in recent days, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

Bichette had a great year at the plate but his regular season was unceremoniously ended in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells in early September. Bichette suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and hasn’t played since.

The Jays still managed to make the playoffs without Bichette and have stayed alive in the postseason as well. With each new playoff series, it has been a question of whether Bichette has healed enough to make the roster but he hasn’t been able to do so. If the Jays manage to hold off the Mariners tonight, there will be a few more days for recovery, as the World Series doesn’t begin until Friday.

On the one hand, getting Bichette’s bat back in the lineup to face the Dodgers in the World Series would be a tremendous boost. He hit .311/.357/.483 for a 134 wRC+ this year. On the other hand, it may lead to some tough decisions elsewhere. George Springer is banged up after fouling a ball off his knee. He has still been able to serve as the designated hitter but he wasn’t playing defensively very often this year even before that knee injury.

Between Bichette and Springer, only one of them can be the DH, so someone would have to take the field or sit on the bench if Bichette were back. Additionally, someone would have to be squeezed off the roster. Davis Schneider hasn’t been used much in the ALCS because his platoon role isn’t as needed against a Mariner club with few lefties. The Dodgers have far more southpaws, so he would probably be more useful against that club. If someone like Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Myles Straw were bumped off instead of Schneider, that would cut into the club’s defense, which has been a big part of their success this year.

They could also subtract a pitcher if they feel they have enough depth to get to the finish line with one fewer arm. Chris Bassitt is pitching out of the bullpen and has only been used once in the ALCS, so perhaps it’s possible for the Jays to live without him or one of their other relief arms.

The Jays would love to have to make these tough decisions, as that would mean they are both going to the World Series and have Bichette back in the mix. They obviously have to win tonight’s matchup first. If they can pull it off, then the focus will again turn to whether or not Bichette get back to them.

For Bichette personally, it would obviously be great to get back in there. On top of just wanting to contribute to the team, he is also an impending free agent. Demonstrating his health before the offseason could assuage some fears that clubs may have about him.

His offensive talent is undeniable but he’s never been a strong defender and has had a series of lower body injuries in recent years. Right knee and quad injuries put him on the IL in 2023. Last year, issues with his right calf contributed to the worst season of his career. He bounced back tremendously this year before this ongoing knee saga began. Some clubs will surely question his ability to stick at shortstop in the long term and will naturally have less willingness to invest in him, though playing in the World Series and coming up with some clutch moments could help him claw back some earning power.

One player who won’t be a factor in the World Series is right-hander José Berríos. Per Nicholson-Smith, John Schneider said today that the righty has resumed throwing but his season is done. That’s not especially surprising. He finished the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. Even before that, he had been nudged to the bullpen late in the campaign as the Jays tried to maximize their rotation for the playoffs.

Still, the fact that he has begun throwing is good news for the 2026 rotation. The Jays are set to lose both Bassitt and Max Scherzer to free agency. Shane Bieber will probably follow those two out of town, as he has a $16MM player option he should turn down in favor of a $4MM buyout and a return to free agency. On paper, next year’s likely rotation includes Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Berríos, with guys like Eric Lauer, Bowden Francis, Angel Bastardo, Ricky Tiedemann and others in the mix. The Jays will probably be looking for starting pitching this winter and a serious injury to Berríos would have only added to the need.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

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