We were unable to defend our Championship and our rotation is getting even older and we need to try to shore up the defense.
Our owner is thrilled with the playoffs but still wants me to cut payroll. Here are his goals for me...win another title, cut payroll to 130M, increase profit to 20M, build a regular contender by 2031.
My owner has contradictory desires and it has already cost us. We dumped All-Star Eloy Jimenez when he could have helped us defend the title because he was going to be too costly. This is counterproductive.
So I have decided this...I will go for the Championship goals because they make sense and I will not make attempts to cut payroll if it hurts our competitiveness. If I get fired. I get fired.
Fan Loyalty has increased to Average. This is great news.
Budget set at 160M
Jose Quintana (35M) offered us a 15M pay cut if we bring back Eloy Jimenez
SP Corey Kluber (age 39) did not meet his vesting option.
Arbitration
Not offering QO to Corey Kluber, Tomas Nido, Danny Salazar, or A.J. Ramos (Nido was the last original Mist, other than Flexen who wasn't here the whole time. Nido has been great but he wants to start now and we are comitted to Marrero)
Signed 1B/OF/DH Blake Billinger to long term deal avoid arbitration. It starts out cheap (8M) but is pricey later (22M).
Awards- Silver Slugger 3B Twig Macia
- Cy Young Award- SP Edwin Diaz
Team Transactions
Traded SP Ian Swann to Braves for two way player Triston Casas.
Casas led the NL in wins with 20 and ERA with 2.20. He also won the Silver Slugger for P with an average over .300 and 8HR. We will try him at DH on his days off.
Traded minor SP Jon Coulson to Angels for RP Doug Peters and minor C Sergio Castro
We signed RF Eloy Jimenez to a 7 year deal 19M per. He was asking for 30M per when we traded him to Detroit at the trade deadline. Jose Quintana offered to take a pay cut to help us sign him, however that may only prove helpful for a year or two. The fans are elated. The owner must think I'm ignoring him, because I am. We forfeit a 1st round pick to the Tigers for this signing but we already got their top 2 prospects when we traded him.
We signed C Nick Cuiffo to a minor league deal with Spring invite
We traded LHP Pat Newberry, RHP Diarlin Jimenez, RHP Steve Hoisington, and 2B Omari Dunnock to Padres for RHP Logan Lombana (NL Holds Leader). Lombana will be our stopper.
Added SP Jorge Alaniz, LF Nick Bitzko, LF Andy Weiss on 40 man roster to protect them from Rule 5 draft.
We re-signed C Tomas Nido and offered him open competition to start. Nido is the sole original Mist.
League Transactions- BAL signed SP Jameson Taillon
- POR signed RF Eloy Jimenez
- NYM signed SP Michael Fullmer
- BOS signed C Franciscio Mejia
- TOR signed SS Franklin Barreto
- CHA signed SP Jared Cosart
- TOR signed SP Chris Devenksi
- LAD signed SP Sean Reid-Foley
- LAD signed C Erik Ostberg
- PIT signed SP Dallas Keuchel
- BOS signed CF Blake Rutherford
- LAA signed SP Robert Stephenson
- NYY signed CF Byron Buxton
- NYM signed SP Jharel Cotton
- SF signed C Max Pentecost
- PIT signed SP Corey Kluber
Mist players Jim Peters and Aydan Nauss set to star in a series of promotional commercials for the team. Commercials feature Nauss pranking Peters all around Portland.
Hall of Fame
1B Albert Pujols & 1B Miguel Cabrera
Fan interest heading into Spring is 100%. Bringing back Jimenez and Nido and acquiring Casas has the city talking Mist.
All our starters except LF (Billinger/Thum) are ranked in top 10 at their position. Our bullpen is underrated in our estimation.
Pre-Season Projections have us at 105 wins with 8 of the top 10 offensive players and 3 of the top 10 pitchers in the AL. (Gimenez, Jimenez, Macia, Situ, Espinoza, Billinger, Peters, Diaz, Quintana, Casas)
Spring Training
Very little drama this year. We are no nonsense focused on winning the World Series. The 5th starter in the rotation and starting catcher are the only real competitions.
March 3- SS Andres Gimenez out 4 weeks with oblique strain. Opens door for Thum to claim leadoff duties as a DH or LF while benefitting Steve Cacchio at SS.
April 2- RP Koda Glover suffered a herniated disc- out 1 week, will miss opening day.
2026 Opening Day Roster
Manager: Auggie Alguacil
1- Edwin Diaz
2- Tristan Casas
3- Jose Quintana
4- Henler DeJesus
5- Aydan Nauss
CL- Zi-yang Fen
SU- Gabe Carrig
ST- Logan Lombana
LH- Jon Ortega
LH- Randy Rosario
RH- Stephen Keller
RH- Koda Glover
C Elih Marrero
C Tomas Nido
1B Li-ben Situ
2B Lief Espinoza
3B Twig Macia
SS Andres Gimenez
IF Steve Cacchio
LF Blake Billinger
CF Jim Peters
RF Eloy Jimenez
OF Carlos J. Ventrua
DH K.L. Thum
DH Jose Altuve
Top 200 Prospects
System Rank 1st- last year 6th
1. SP Kennan Rainville 1 AAA
2. SP Dan Beck 5. AAA
3. LF Kevin Bortnick 17 A
4. LF Nick Bitsko 66. AA
5. SP Jorge Alaniz 75 AAA
6. LF Andy Weiss 109 AAA
Our owner expects us to win it all.
2026 Regular Season
APRIL
16 LF Blake Billinger has a strained back and will be DTD for 1-2 weeks.
17 Waived RP Stephen Keller and designated him for assignment in AAA
Called up RP Doug Peters
24 RP Stephen Keller cleared waivers
28 SP/DH Tristan Casas tweaked his back and will need a week off. We are discussing internally the risk of having him play DH on his days off. It might become a needs based thing instead of an exploited luxury.
Bullpen is overextended.
SP Rob Kaminsky called up for relief help and spot start
RP Lincoln Henzman called up for relief help
RP Gabe Carrig and RP Logan Lombana both re-assigned to AAA (simply because they have options)
Record- 12-7
AL Pitcher of the Month- SP Henler De Jesus
MAY
4 OF Carlos J. Ventura waived and designated for assignment, OF Christian Robinson called up from AAA
9 2B Luis Espinoza hit 3 HR's in a single game versus Mariners
11 OF Carlos J. Ventura cleared waivers and was assigned to AAA
23 SP Aydan Nauss re-assigned to AAA, RP Rob Kaminsky to join rotation, RP Logan Lombana re-called from AAA (he was down longer than we expected)
Record: 31-15
JUNE
2 1B Li-ben Situ suspended by MLB for 5 games for brawling
Record: 50-23
JULY
2 RP Lincoln Henzman re-assigned to AAA, RP Gabe Carrig re-called from AAA
5 CF Juan Miramontes signed as a international free agent from DR. 6M bonus. (17 years old)
7 Manager Jose 'Auggie' Alguacil signed a 5 year extension
Assistant GM Jeff Kingston signed a 4 year extension
Pitching Coach Santos Hernandez signed a 2 year extension
Hitting Coach Mark McGwire signed a 2 year extension
de los Santos is fuming at me for our current budget. If I don't fix that and we don't win I could be in trouble but we are winning. It's frustrating that Eloy Jimenez (major investment) is underperforming
13 SP Rob Kaminksy tossed a shut out vs Oakland
15 All-Star teams announced. 11 Mist selected, 8 as starters!
Starters- SP Quintana, C Marrero, 1B/SP Casas, SS Gimenez, 3B Macia, CF Peters, RFJimenez, DH Espinoza
Reserves- SP De Jesus, SP Diaz, CL Fen
22 RP Jon Ortega waived and designated for assignment, RP Leith Gilberds called up from AAA
23 Traded RP Jon Ortega to Giants for (AAA) SP Joe Schaefer
29 We traded 2B Lief Espinoza, RP Logan Lombana, (A) SP Alpha Osagie, (A) SS Steve Morrisey to Orioles for All-Star Esteban Serrano, (AA) 3B Danny Fenlon, and 7M cash.
Espinoza has power but is our weakest hitter with Cacchio behind him at the same position. Serrano is an ace we need as Quintana and Diaz get older. We negotiate a team friendly extension with Serrano as he has missed all of this season with an elbow injury. His first game for us is his first game for 2026.
SP Rob Kaminsky refused a demotion to AAA so we traded him to Kansas City for (AAA) RP Zach Warstler
SP Esteban Serrano assigned to MLB
SP Kennan Rainville called up from AAA (for bullpen duty)
IF Orlando Garcia called up from AAA
Record- 65-35
AUGUST
14 SP Esteban Serrano tossed a shut out @ Seattle, OF Christian Robinson re-assigned to AAA, C Nick Cuiffo called up from AAA
18 SS Andres Gimenez suspended 3 games
24 We have reached #1 in the power rankings
C Nick Cuiffo re-assigned to AAA until Sept. (He did great and is now playoff eligible)
OF Christian Robinson re-called from AAA
SP Dan Beck and SP Joe Schaeffer called up from AAA
SP Tristan Casas placed on the 10 day DL
RP Leith Gilberds re-assigned to AAA
25 SP Dan Beck and SP Joe Schaeffer re-assigned to AAA until Sept.
RP Leith Gilberds re-called from AAA
OF Carlos J. Ventura re-called from AAA
Record- 85-43
SEPTEMBER
1 Roster Expansion...SP Dan Beck, SP Aydan Nauss, SP Joe Schaefer, RP Lincoln Henzman, RP Stephen Keller, RP Connor Lillis-White, RP Phil Piper, C Nick Cuiffo, 3B Carlos Jo. McCleary, OF Yeikel Blandin, OF Andy Weiss
2 SP Tristan Casas activated from DL. Rejoins rotation. (Quintana out!)
5 RF Eloy Jimenez herniated disc placed on 10 day DL. Will miss rest of regular season. This will give at bats to Robinson, Ventura, Altuve, and Casas
13 RP Lincoln Henzman placed on DL with shoulder strain. His season is over.
15 LHP Randy Rosario extended 2 years.
25 RP Koda Glover extended 1 year with player option for a second
26 We clinched the AL West Division!
RF Eloy Jimenez activated from DL (Ventura played well and might have earned a Playoff roster spot)
27 RP Doug Peters placed on DL with bicep tendonitis. His season is over.
Record- 100-56
AL Player of the Month- 3B Twig Macia
OCTOBER
2 SP Henler De Jesus tossed a shutout vs Oakland. Li-ben Situ and Eloy Jimenez each hit 2 HR
6 SS Andres Gimenez suspended 3 games by MLB
Record- 106-56
American League Batting Champion- Twig Macia .344
Team Leaders
AVG- Macia (.344), Peters (.303), Situ (.300)
HR- Situ (54), Macia (40), Billinger (37)
RBI- Situ (138), Macia (119), Billinger (108)
ERA- Casas (2.80), DeJesus (3.62), Diaz (3.78)
W- Diaz (15), Casas (14), DeJesus (14)
RBI- Diaz (220), DeJesus (155), Casas (150)
League Leaders
Macia AVG wOBA
Situ HR TB
Gimenez SB
DeJesus WINP
2026 Playoff Roster
Manager: Auggie Alguacil
1- Tristan Casas
2- Henler DeJesus
3- Esteban Serrano
4- Edwin Diaz
CL- Zi-yang Fen
SU- Koda Glover
LH- Randy Rosario
LH- Leith Gilberds
LH- Jose Quintana
RH- Gabe Carrig
RH- Kennan Rainville
RH- Dan Beck
C Elih Marrero
C Tomas Nido
1B Li-ben Situ
2B Steve Cacchio
3B Twig Macia
SS Andres Gimenez
IF Orlando Garcia
LF Blake Billinger
CF Jim Peters
RF Eloy Jimenez
OF Carlos J. Ventura
DH K.L. Thum
DH Jose Altuve
Last season we made some mistakes with the roster heading into the playoffs and defending our 2024 title. This year I am risking my job by not cutting corners with the roster in an effort to win another World Series. Jimenez is back in the fold but the pitching anchors are aging. MVP seasons from Macia and Situ and the young arm acquisition of Serrano, and top prospects Rainville and Beck in the bullpen makes us hopeful.
2026 Playoffs
2026 WILD CARD ROUND
AL- Baltimore Orioles over Minnesota Twins
NL- Washington Nationals over St.Louis Cardinals
2026 DIVISIONAL SERIES
AL- Portland Mist vs Baltimore Orioles
AL- Kansas City vs Colorado Rockies
NL- San Diego Padres vs Washington Nationals
NL- Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves
ALDS
SS Andres Gimenez will miss the first two games of the series with suspension
HOT- Macia, Jimenez, Cacchio. Peters, Diaz
COLD- Garcia, Rainville
Thum starting at DH, Garcia starting at SS
Game 1- Rocker @ Casas
BAL 10 14 1 W- Senga 1-0
POR 9 10 0 L- Fen 0-1 12 innings
POG- Benintendi 3/5 HR
HR- Situ, Jimenez
INJ- Macia (bruised calf DTD)
Benintendi, Orioles Wallop Mist in Game 1
Altuve starting at 2B, Casas starting at DH
Game 2- Barish @ De Jesus
BAL 4 9 1 L- Allred 1-1
POR 9 11 0 W- Carrig 1-0
POG- Casas 2/4 HR 2 RBI
HR- Casas, Situ (2)
Casas, Mist Wallop Orioles in Game 2
Gimenez returns from suspension, will leadoff at start at SS, Casas at DH
Game 3- Serrano @ Choi
POR 2 7 0 W- Serrano 1-0 Sv- Fen
BAL 1 7 0 L- Gustave 0-1
POG- Serrano 8IP 7H 1R 6K
Serrano Handcuffs Orioles, Mist Seize 2-1 Advantage
Thum to start at DH,
Casas resting to pitch Game 5
Game 4- Diaz @ Eflin
POR 7 11 0 W- Diaz 1-0 H- Carrig, Glover Sv- Fen (2)
BAL 5 7 0 L- Eflin 0-1
POG- Brookes (BAL) 2/3 2 HR 3 RBI
HR- Thum, Jimenez (2)
Almost There: Portland on Cusp of Series Win After 7-5 Victory
Game 5- Casas @ Rocker
POR 11 17 2 W- Casas 1-0
BAL 4 10 0 L- Rocker 0-1
POG- Situ 4/4 2 HR
HR- Billinger, Peters, Situ 2 (4)
Portland Takes Divisional Series
Portland Mist advance to the AL Championship
ALDS MVP- 1B Li-ben Situ
2026 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
AL- Portland Mist vs Kansas City Royals
NL- San Diego Padres vs Atlanta Braves
ALCS- Kansas City Royals vs Portland Mist
HOT- Situ, Cacchio, Peters, Diaz
COLD- Rainville
Altuve to start at DH, Nido at C vs LHP Cassanova
Game 1-Cassanova @ De Jesus
KC 4 11 1 L- Casanova 0-1
BAL 11 14 0 W- De Jesus 1-0
POG- Peters 3/3 2 HR 4 RBI
HR- Peters 2(3)
Peters, Portland Start League Championship Strong with Home Win
Thum to start at DH
Game 2- Bracamontes @ Casas
KC 5 5 0 L- Manning 1-2
BAL 6 9 1 W- Fen 1-1 H- Gilberds, Carrig (2) BS- Glover
POG- Casas 6IP 3H 1R 9K
HR- Macia
Mist Rally Past Royals in 9th to Claim 2-0 Lead
Casas to start at DH
Game 3- Serrano @ Rosenthal
POR 2 7 0 L- Serrano 1-1 (13Ks)
KC 3 6 1 W- Rosenthal 2-0 Sv- Adams
POG- Rosenthal 6IP 4H 1R 7K
HR- Situ (5)
KC Wins at Home to Narrow Series Deficit to 2-1; Mist Waste Serrano's 13Ks
Casas to start at DH
Game 4- Diaz @ Dossett
POR 0 4 1 L- Fen 0-2
KC 1 4 1 W- Adams 1-0
POG- Gossett 7IP 4H 0R 6K (Diaz 7.1IP 3H 0R 8K)
Royals Even with Mist After Walk-Off Win
Altuve to start at DH, Nido at C (vs LHP Cassanova)
Game 5- De Jesus @ Cassanova
POR 3 8 0 W- De Jesus 2-0 H- Glover (2), Rosario, Carrig (3), Fen
KC 2 6 0 L- Casanova 1-2
POG- De Jesus 6.1 IP 4H 1R 3K
HR- Cacchio
Road Win Lifts Portland to 3-2 Lead in ALCS
Thum to start at DH
San Diego Padres won the NLCS and will represent the NL in the World Series
Game 6- Bracamontes @ Casas
KC 1 4 0 L- Manning 1-3
POR 2 11 0 W- Beck 1-0
POG- Casas 6IP 4H 1R 3K
HR- Cacchio (2) <--- 9th inning Walk-off heroics
Cacchio, Portland Takes League Championship
Portland Mist advance to the World Series
ALCS MVP- 2B Steve Cacchio
2026 WORLD SERIES- Portland Mist vs San Diego Padres
HOT- Cacchio, Peters
COLD- Rainville
We would have liked to start Casas in San Diego to get his bat in the lineup but he pitched game 6.
No DH
Game 1- Serrano @ Shore
POR 6 7 2 W- Serrano 2-1
SD 2 4 0 L- Shore 2-1
POG- Serrano 6IP 4H 2R 7K
HR- Peters (4), Jimenez (3), Marrero
Road Win Lifts Portland to 1-0 Lead
No DH
Game 2- Diaz @ Marquez
POR 3 9 0 L- Diaz 1-1
SD 4 6 0 W- Newberry 2-0
POG- Haynes pinch hit 2 run go ahead HR
HR- Billinger (3)
INJ- Situ left game in 1st inning after doubling
Haynes, Padres Homer Past Mist to Tie Series Up
Li-ben Situ has a bruised knee and will be playable as it heals (4 days or so).
Situ to start at DH to protect his knee, Casas to start at 1B
Game 3- Adell @ De Jesus
SD 15 17 0 W- Adell 2-1 Sv- Woodruff (4)
POR 2 5 1 L- Rainville 0-1
POG- Haynes 4/5 4 RBI
HR- Billinger (4)
San Diego Tops Portland 15-2, Takes Series Lead
The pitching was so bad in game 3 that KL Thum pitched the 9th inning.
Li-ben Situ will start at 1B vs LHP
Nido at C, Altuve at DH
Game 4- Drohan @ Casas
SD 7 12 0 W- Newberry 3-0 Sv- O'Keefe (4)
POR 5 4 0 L- Carrig 1-1 H- Gilberds (2), Glover (3), Rosario (2)
POG- Macia 2/4 2 solo HR
HR- Macia 2(3), Billinger (5)
Almost There: San Diego on Cusp of Title
Casas only lasted 2 innings and claimed he was fatigued from playing 1B and DH. Really dude?
Game 5- Shore @ Serrano
SD 4 8 0 L- Shore 2-2
POR 6 4 0 W- Serrano 3-1 H- Gilberds (3), Diaz Sv- Fen (3)
POG- Almanzar 2/3 HR 3 RBI
Portland Wins at Home to Narrow Series Deficit to 3-2
We were desperate and had to pitch our Game 6 starter in relief to survive game 5.
Veteran Jose Quintana will start game 6. (Other option was a slightly tired Henler De Jesus or Dan Beck)
Game 6- Quintana @ Marquez
POR 9 12 0 W- Quintana 1-0
SD 1 6 0 L- Marquez 2-1
POG- Billinger 2/5 2 HR 5 RBI
HR- Billinger 2(7), Macia (4), Situ (6), Peters (5), Marrero (2)
Billinger Lights Up Padres as Mist Force Game 7
Possible Game 7 starter Henler De Jesus pitched 2 innings of relief behind Quintana's heroic start
Edwin Diaz will start on short rest. Casas will be available in relief.
Li-ben Situ will be fully healthy in game 7
Game 7- Diaz @ Adell
POR 10 14 0 W- Diaz 2-1
SD 4 8 1 L- Adell 2-2
POG- Situ 4/6 HR 2 RBI
HR- Situ (7), Macia (5)
PORTLAND MIST WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!
MVP- Blake Billinger 17 RBI's in Playoffs