Fountains Up -- A Kansas City Royals Franchise

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ROYALS HEADLINES
Lugo, Lorenzen headed to IL; Royals take two-of-three from Jays

By artoodeetoo
09/22/2025

9/19 -- Late rally propels Royals victory: In what was an absolutely wild late-inning ride for both teams, the Royals came out on top in a football-like score of 12-10, using an eight-run eighth to pull off the win. They seemed destined to win comfortably for the third straight game, holding a 4-1 lead heading into the seventh. The Blue Jays would get a single tally in that inning, with Angel Zerpa allowing Daulton Varsho to score on Tyler Heineman's single.

But Toronto struck for five runs one inning later, turning that three-run advantage into a three-run deficit. Zerpa, who has been pitching well as of late, was tagged for four earned runs in just one total inning of work. He was able to get all three outs in the seventh in relief of John Schreiber, but was tagged for four straight hits leading off the eighth that chased him from the contest.

All four of them would come around to score, with one of them allowed by Lucas Erceg on Davis Schneider's homerun. Erceg also struggled, as he walked a pair of hitters sandwiched around a strikeout and a flyout after the homerun, eventually leading to Steven Cruz getting the final out of the inning.

Kansas City led off the eighth with back-to-back doubles from Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia to pull to within two, but the rally appeared to fizzle out when Jac Caglianone struck out, followed by a flyout from Adam Frazier. But Carter Jensen stepped up and had one of the biggest hits of the season for any Royals player, a two-run homerun off Braydon Fisher that tied the game at seven and sent the crowd into a frenzy. It was also his first MLB homerun.

"The adrenaline was just over-the-top at that point," he said after the game. "I felt like I was flying around the bases even in a homerun trot. The crowd was going nuts; I still can't get over that it was that situation I hit my first big-league homerun."

That hit sent the Royals' offense into overdrive as the next four hitters all reached base safely, with Toronto reliever Louie Varland unable to record an out. After allowing three additional runs in his short appearance, Varland was replaced by Yimi Garcia, who also allowed the first two hitters to reach via single and a walk, bringing in another run. Caglianone came up for the second time in the inning, and laced a single to center to score Pasquantino. But Varsho had other ideas, snuffing out the huge rally by throwing out Garcia at third base to finally stop the bleeding.

Toronto made things interesting in the ninth. With the Royals now up five, Quatraro stayed with Cruz to finish the game, but the big righty ran into trouble immediately as Bo Bichette doubled, followed by a Vlad Guerrero Jr homerun to pull the Jays to within three. Carlos Estevez was then called in for the save; and despite giving up a one-out solo homerun to Schneider, worked around that for his 36th save.

"It was a playoff-type atmosphere in the stadium tonight," Quatraro said. "It's the kind of energy that you feel in playoff games, and it really feels like we're in the postseason right now even though it's not official yet. Right before Carter's homerun, I really felt we needed a spark, and that hit was the match that lit the fire. I'm just glad we held on and kept the winning going."

Lost in all the late-inning hoopla was that the Royals had to use seven pitchers in the win, with starter Seth Lugo and reliever Michael Lorenzen both having their outings cut short due to elbow and forearm problems. Quatraro couldn't offer a definitive update after the game, but noted that "we'll know more tomorrow". Lugo went just one inning before being lifted for Bailey Falter, and Quatraro also mentioned that he planned on Lorenzen finishing out the sixth inning before he was taken out with one down in that frame.

Despite the win, the Royals remain four back of the Rangers for the final wildcard spot, and are still one game behind the Mariners despite taking two-of-three from them earlier in the week.

9/20 -- Royals place two pitchers on the IL: Even if the Royals make the postseason, they'll have to go through at least the wildcard round without two of their better pitchers this season.

After just one inning of last night's 12-10 win over Toronto, Seth Lugo left with elbow pain per manager Matt Quatraro. Michael Lorenzen, who was the second relief pitcher after Bailey Falter's 2 1/3 innings of work, also left after two innings with what was termed as an elbow issue.

Both were placed on the 15-day injured list, effectively ending their 2025 regular seasons. They would also miss the wildcard round, and potentially the ALDS should they get in the postseason and make it that far.

"That's just been the story of the season," Quatraro said on his morning conference call with reporters. "Our pitching has been pretty solid this season, but just haven't been able to keep them all in the rotation at the same time like last season. Health was a big reason for our success last season, and we've managed to stay in the race this year despite guys going in and out of the active roster."

Ryan Bergert, who has been effective as a starter with the Royals in his few stints since coming over from the Padres along with Stephen Kolek at the deadline, was re-called and will assume Lugo's spot in the rotation. Luinder Avila was also re-called for his second go-round with the Royals this season, and should fill the long relief role that Lorenzen vacated.

Despite the loss of Lugo, the threesome of Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, and rookie Noah Cameron is still as good as any trio that any other AL team can trot out, so they should still give the Royals a fighting chance in a best-of series.

9/20 -- Royals win big on Fan Appreciation Day: They did all of their damage in one inning, but it was a big inning offensively as they rode an eight-run third all the way to the end, posting an 8-1 win over the Blue Jays to secure a winning series and final homestand.

It was Fan Appreciation Day at the stadium (and a sellout crowd), as the home finale is tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 as they will close out the home portion of their schedule before embarking on their final road trip of the season, which is a West Coast swing that begins Tuesday at the Angels before finishing up in Sacramento with the Athletics.

"We hope to end the season here at the stadium with another win tomorrow," said shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who was 1-for-4 with an RBI in the win. "The fans have been great all season, whether or not we make the postseason, so we appreciate their support all year long."

Randal Grichuk capped off the eight-run frame with a grand slam; his second slam since coming over via trade from the Diamondbacks, and his third four-RBI game of the season (all with the Royals). Witt, Maikel Garcia, Jorge Mateo, and Vinnie Pasquantino all collected RBI hits in that inning, as well.

Making what is likely his penultimate start of the season, Cole Ragans was fantastic through seven innings, his only blemish being a leadoff homerun in the seventh from Daulton Varsho. He scattered just three hits and walked only one while fanning six. Hunter Harvey picked up the ball from there, tossing a pair of scoreless innings with a couple of strikeouts in relief.

"After the bullpen game from yesterday, it was nice to not have to rely on them again tonight," skipper Matt Quatraro said, relieved. "Cole looked real strong tonight, all of his pitches had bite and the velocity seems to be there, even from eighty to ninety pitches on. Hunter also looked great, so we're happy with that."

The win ties the Royals with the Mariners in the wildcard race, but they both still sit behind the Rangers for the third and final spot with seven games to go.

9/21 -- Bergert, Royals drop hard-fought finale: Despite a tremendous effort from starter Ryan Bergert, the Royals couldn't overcome the red-hot hand of Kevin Gausman, who held the Royals to just one run over eight innings in handing Kansas City a 2-1 defeat. With Texas' loss to the Marlins, the Royals are still just three games back, but will need a lot of help and to likely win five or all six of their remaining games to have a shot at the postseason.

Bergert went 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven while scattering just five hits and three walks. He left down 1-0 with one out in the seventh, with Hunter Harvey pitching for the second straight night and tossing a scoreless inning, although his outing bled over into the eighth before Angel Zerpa replaced him with one out.

After four straight games of the Royals scoring eight runs or more, which is a new season best, the bats fell silent as the only run the Royals could muster was a run scored off a double play in the ninth inning. Kyle isbel led off the inning with a double, but was held at third on DJ LeMahieu's sharp single to center with Daulton Varsho making an excellent play on the ball.

Adam Frazier grounded into a 6-4-3 twin killing; and Carter Jensen flew out to Varsho in center to end the game and ease some nervous Jays fans' minds, as the wildcard race is beginning to tighten up a bit, even for the leaders.

Making what is likely his penultimate start of the season, Cole Ragans was fantastic through seven innings, his only blemish being a leadoff homerun in the seventh from Daulton Varsho. He scattered just three hits and walked only one while fanning six. Hunter Harvey picked up the ball from there, tossing a pair of scoreless innings with a couple of strikeouts in relief.

"After the bullpen game from yesterday, it was nice to not have to rely on them again tonight," skipper Matt Quatraro said, relieved. "Cole looked real strong tonight, all of his pitches had bite and the velocity seems to be there, even from eighty to ninety pitches on. Hunter also looked great, so we're happy with that."

The win ties the Royals with the Mariners in the wildcard race, but they both still sit behind the Rangers for the third and final spot with seven games to go.

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Betts could miss postseason after ankle injury; Royals' pitchers head to IL

By MLB.com staff
09/22/2025

9/19 -- Betts to be placed on IL; will likely miss postseason: After being day-to-day for the last few days, the Dodgers have made the decision to shut Mookie Betts down for at least the rest of the regular season. It's also possible that he could miss the entirety of the postseason, but that depends on how far they advance.

"Several MRI's were performed, and it was a little bit more serious than we originally thought," said skipper Dave Roberts. "At first, we thought it might just be a simple ankle sprain or a high ankle sprain, but there are actually multiple torn ligaments in his right ankle, and he's going to need a minor procedure to have those corrected. It's roughly a three-to-five week timetable for a return, depending on the recovery."

He's set to have the procedure done in L.A. tomorrow; and if the Dodgers make the World Series, it's possible that he could return then per Roberts. However, it is far from a certainty, and the near 33-year-old Betts is in the midst of his worst offensive season of his career (106 OPS+).

Rookie Alex Freeland was re-called to take his spot on the roster; although Miguel Rojas is expected to get the majority of the reps at shortstop going forward. Freeland, a third-round pick in 2022, has enjoyed some success with the Dodgers in a small sample size, hitting .286/.415/.405 in fifty-three plate appearances with the team this season.

9/20 -- K.C. to place two pitchers on the IL: Even if the Royals make the postseason, they'll have to go through at least the wildcard round without two of their better pitchers this season.

After just one inning of last night's 12-10 win over Toronto, Seth Lugo left with elbow pain per manager Matt Quatraro. Michael Lorenzen, who was the second relief pitcher after Bailey Falter's 2 1/3 innings of work, also left after two innings with what was termed as an elbow issue.

Both were placed on the 15-day injured list, effectively ending their 2025 regular seasons. They would also miss the wildcard round, and potentially the ALDS should they get in the postseason and advance that far.

"That's just been the story of the season," Quatraro said on his morning conference call with reporters. "Our pitching has been pretty solid this season, but just haven't been able to keep them all in the rotation at the same time like last season. Health was a big reason for our success last season, and we've managed to stay in the race this year despite guys going in and out of the active roster, so that's a credit to our depth."

Ryan Bergert, who has been effective as a starter with the Royals in his few stints since coming over from the Padres along with Stephen Kolek at the deadline, was re-called and will assume Lugo's spot in the rotation. Luinder Avila was also re-called for his second go-round with the Royals this season, and should fill the long relief role that Lorenzen vacated.

Despite the loss of Lugo, the threesome of Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, and rookie Noah Cameron is still as good as any trio that any other AL team can trot out, so they should still give the Royals a fighting chance in a best-of series.

9/21 -- Athletics announce Bleday extension: Despite posting below-average offensive seasons in two of the last three years, the Athletics have decided to buy out the three years of outfielder JJ Bleday's arbitration year plus a free agency season. The extension was announced on the team's socials, but no terms were given.

The Athletic's (no relation!) Ken Rosenthal's later reporting confirmed it was a four-year deal that is worth roughly $35 million with no signing bonuses or incentives to speak of. He'll earn $3.56 million next season, and will basically earn double that in 2027. In 2028 and 2029, however, it's just an additional $3 million or so per year, with the rate in 2028 at $10.5 million, and then $13.9 million for what would be his first year of free agency eligibility.

FanGraphs had Bleday's projected 2026 salary at $4.5 million, so it's a slight win for them salary-wise next year, but after that it is likely going to be an overpay, especially if he has a second straight below-average offensive year in '26. He's also dealt with multiple injuries this season, resulting in several rehab trips to the minors.

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ROYALS HEADLINES
Royals drop two-of-three to the Halos, officially eliminated from the postseason

By artoodeetoo
09/26/2025

9/23 -- Ynoa, Halos hold Royals scoreless: For the first time since July 22nd, the Royals failed to put up any runs on the scoreboard as three different Angels pitchers combined to hold the Royals off the scoreboard in a 2-0 loss.

Kansas City threatened in the top of the eighth, getting their first two men on in scoring position with two out against starter Huascar Ynoa. However, Ynoa was able to get both Mike Yastrzemski and Bobby Witt Jr before reliever Jose Quijada retired pinch hitter Randal Grichuk to get out of the inning unscathed.

"Just didn't give ourselves much of a chance to do anything," said manager Matt Quatraro. "We didn't get a runner past second base until the fourth inning, and only had men in scoring position in three different innings, and they were all with one or two outs. It really lowers your margin for error in these kinds of games, especially when the pitching really came to play."

Making his second start since being called up, Stephen Kolek was solid once again, as he pitched five scoreless innings on just two hits, with seven strikeouts to just one walk in taking the loss. Steven Cruz replaced him, but faced just one batter before leaving with lower back discomfort, as the pitching staff is rapidly deteriorating as the season winds down.

If Cruz goes on the injured list, it will be for the second time this season. The Royals only have two other healthy pitchers on the 40-man roster, with Kyle Wright and Eric Cerantola both on the Triple-A Omaha roster; but with their season now over, it's unlikely they would risk injury to either one in what are extremely likely amounting to be meaningless games the rest of the week. That goes especially for Wright, given his lengthy injury history.

The Royals and Guardians' playoff hopes are hanging by a thread, needing to likely win out and then help from either Houston or Texas losing out. The Astros need just one win over their final five games to get in and clinch the AL West.

9/24 -- Cruz to the IL; Royals re-call Massey: As expected, the Royals are placing right-hander Steven Cruz on the injured list with a lower back strain, effectively ending his season. They opted not to call up another pitcher, as instead they are going with Michael Massey to take his spot and give the Royals an extra lefty bat for the final handful of games this season.

Massey has battled injuries and inconsistency this season; but with the Omaha season over, will likely want to get him more at-bats as the season comes to a close later this week. Meanwhile, Cruz has really struggled over his last few appearances, allowing seven earned runs over his 1 1/3 innings (three appearances), including his one batter faced last night.

"With some right-handers coming up the rest of the week, I think we can find Mike some at-bats and keep him going," said manager Matt Quatraro in his morning conference call with reporters. "He's been swinging the bat really well down there, so we want to keep the good mogo going."

9/24 -- Royals hang on to even series: Los Angeles made things interesting in the ninth, but Carlos Estevez held on despite loading the bases to pick up his 37th save as the Royals held on for a 5-3 win over the Angels, evening their series at one win each. The victory also clinches at least a tie in the season series, as the Royals won two of three at Kauffman Stadium against the Angels earlier in the month.

An error by Jonathan India in left field led to the Angels' first run, a sac fly from Nolan Schanuel. The two teams then traded blows, with Bobby Witt Jr socking his 23rd homerun of the season in the third inning, a two-run blast. Los Angeles then re-took the lead in the fifth with an RBI single from Mike Trout. Jorge Soler had homered against Michael Wacha to lead off the inning to tie the game at two each.

The Royals re-tied the game on a Vinnie Pasquantino double in the sixth, and then they received the go-ahead blow from an unlikely source -- they took a two-run lead in the seventh on a two-run shot from Jorge Mateo, and the bullpen held tight the rest of the way to seal the victory.

"One of the biggest hits of the year," said manager Matt Quatraro. "We were able to get key hits in key situations, and the bullpen came in after the homerun and really locked things down, although Carlos did run into a bit of trouble there, but got the job done."

The Royals need just two wins over the final four games to clinch a winning record for the second straight season, which would make 2024 and 2025 the first back-to-back winning seasons since the 2014 and 2015 World Series seasons.

9/25 -- Royals drop rubber match to Halos thanks to old friend: It was a see-saw battle through the first nine innings, with the two sides exchanging lead changes once each in the late innings. However, a name that is familiar to a lot of Royals fans played a spoiler role, hitting a walk-off grand slam in the 10th to send the Royals out of the stadium in defeat by an 8-4 score.

With Carlos Estevez on the mound for the 10th, the Angels managed to load the bases with two outs against him. Former Royal and current franchise homerun record co-holder Jorge Soler took a full-count fastball from the Royals' All-Star closer and parked it about 440 feet away in left-center field. The loss all but ensures the Royals are out of the postseason, as they were officially eliminated with the defeat.

"Either you potentially walk in the winning run, or you take your chances with the defense behind you," manager Matt Quatraro said. "It sound sacreligious to say, but I would honestly have rather lost this way than giving up the free run with a walk."

The Angels got on the board first with a two-run single against Noah Cameron, who finished off his 2025 campaign with a solid outing. It wasn't a quality start, but he did have the Royals in position to win with four earned runs over 6 1/3 innings, striking out six with three walks. Despite finishing with a 9-7 record, a 0.99 WHIP and 2.90 ERA, with the strong AL rookie class this season, it will likely leave him well short of winning that honor.

"Coming into the season, he was a guy that was on our radar for this season, but he really blew away all of our expectations," said manager Matt Quatraro. "He became one of the guys we called and and relied on every fifth day to give us a chance to win, and he did that."

His thirteen quality starts led all MLB rookie starters, and his 4.6 rWAR was also tops amongst rookie pitchers. He finished second to the Yankees' Will Warren in strikeouts amongst qualified rookies, and his 0.99 WHIP mark would have led all rookie pitchers (and seventh in the entire league!) had he pitched another 16 1/3 innings (must have 1 IP per team game played).

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Cubs' pitching depth takes a hit; Nats' Beeter takes LOA

By MLB.com staff
09/26/2025

9/23 -- Nats' Beeter placed on restricted list; takes personal leave: Washington pitcher Clayton Beeter has voluntarily left the team and will be taking an indefinite leave of absence, per manager Miguel Cairo. He's been placed on the restricted list for personal leave.

Cairo declined to go into specifics on the reasoning behind Beeter's upcoming absence, but noted that there are "things going on" in his life that are bigger than baseball, and needs to take some time away to address them.

"There are some things that are more important than baseball, that's for sure," Cairo said to reporters when asked about his situation. "I can't say too much about it, but we're not expecting him to be back for quite a while, and we've prepared to move forward without him for the time being."

A second-round pick out of Texas Tech by the Dodgers in the 2020 draft, Beeter was traded to the Yankees in 2022 for Joey Gallo, and then traded this past July from the Yankees to the Nats in the Amed Rosario deal. He has been successful at each minor league stop he's been at, but as a big leaguer has not lived up to the lofty second-round designation with a 6.31 ERA in 25 2/3 MLB innings, spread across two teams.

9/24 -- Strider K's fifteen in win over Washington: In what has been a lost season for the Braves, they still get to go out every fifth day or so and watch one of the best pitchers in baseball do his thing. In a 9-2 win over the Nationals, Spencer Strider struck out fifteen hitters without a walk, the second time he's done that in his career.

The first time was on September 1st, 2022 when he struck out sixteen Rockies hitters without a walk in a 3-0 win over Colorado that day, going eight innings before giving way to Kenley Jansen for the save.

Injuries have limited Strider to just seventeen starts this season; and in fact, was listed as day-to-day by manager Brian Snitker the day after the performance with minor hamstring tightness. However, with the end of the season on the horizon, he'll just stick around for the final few games as he's not scheduled to start until the season finale on Sunday against the Pirates, in which he'll be matched up against the Bucs' second-best starter in Mitch Keller most likely.

"All indications are that he'll be ready to go on Sunday," manager Brian Snitker explained in his early morning press conference call. "I know that he'll get with the training staff today, and get him stretched out and throwing a light session today."

9/25 -- Soroka back to the IL: For the second time since coming over from the Nationals, Michael Soroka is headed back to the 15-day injured list, putting his playoff status in doubt as the Cubs look to have locked in the top wildcard spot in the standings. It's not likely he would have been in the rotation, as the top three of Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, and Ben Brown appear to have that on lockdown in a short three-game series.

He, however, would have likely been pegged as a long relief or swing pitcher, along with fellow veterans Aaron Civale and Jameson Taillon, now it appears that both of them will serve as long-relief types on a shortened pitching staff. There's also the chance he may have been left off the wildcard roster entirely due to his performance, posting a 5.03 ERA in thirty-four innings.

Porter Hodge was re-called from Triple-A Iowa, giving him a potential opportunity to pitch in the postseason as the regular season winds down. Hodge hasn't been effective out of the bullpen for the Cubs, however, as he has just a 7.66 ERA in 24 2/3 innings (twenty-seven appearances).

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Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Royals finish with winning record; head into offseason with some uncertainty

By artoodeetoo
09/29/2025

[9/26 -- Roster moves made ahead of final 2025 series: With the Royals' postseason fate all but assured, they announced the release of three veterans in infielders DJ LeMahieu and Jorge Mateo, along with veteran catcher Luke Maile. LeMahieu was a minor league signing back in mid-August, while Mateo was a waiver wire pickup just prior to the September 1st deadline, making him postseason-eligible.

Maile was in the midst of his second stint with the Royals this season, having been designated off the roster earlier in the season, only to be brought back once Freddy Fermin was traded to the Padres. The move also frees up three 40-man roster slots, which at least two of those that will likely be filled by Kris Bubic and Alec Marsh, as the latter has missed the entirety of the 2025 season.

James McArthur, another contributing pitcher from the 2024 season who missed all of the year, could also fill the other spot; but he's arbitration-eligible and could be in line for a non-tender. Jonathan Bowlan and Tyler Tolbert, also both on the 60-day currently, seem much more likely to be possibilities for that final 40-man slot.

Outfielders Dairon Blanco and John Rave were re-called from Triple-A, along with utilty player Nick Loftin to fill out the bench. While Massey and Rave have had multiple stints with varying levels of success with the Royals this season, Blanco hasn't been with the parent club since the end of May. He has just eight plate appearances and three steals in five tries this season, both far cries from last season in which he stole thirty-one bases in just eighty-eight games, mainly as a reserve and spot starter.

Despite his lack of extra-base power and average on-base skills, Blanco has managed to maintain a better-than-league-average offensive profile (104 OPS+) in his MLB career to-date. Manager Matt Quatraro also noted that he's been playing through several nagging injuries this season, but has managed to stay off the injured list minus a short stint on the 7-day IL in the minors. He also has strong Triple-A numbers (115 OPS+), so it stands to reason he's an excellent depth piece going forward that still has an option year left after this one.

9/26 -- Ragans reaches milestone in Royals' loss: Despite missing much of the season due to injury, Cole Ragans reached a season milestone in the Royals' 4-1 loss to the Athletics, falling to .500 on the season at 80-80. His strikeout of Zack Gelof in the seventh inning pushed him to the 100-strikeout mark for the 2025 season, which is an impressive feat despite making only fourteen starts, pitching just seventy-three innings.

"It really wasn't the intention to try and get him to that point, as that's how it just worked out," said pitching coach Brian Sweeney of Ragans, who took questions from reporters while Matt Quatraro attended to a brief personal matter. "It just so happened that he was turning the lineup over for the third time and he was over a hundred pitches at that point. But it's a great milestone for him to get to despite missing so much time, and it's a testament to his talent."

Ragans' one-hundred strikeouts through seventy-three innings would have put him on a faster pace than last year, in which he fanned 29.2% of his hitters faced last season. This season, he was on a 31.7% pace, which over a full season would be 242 strikeouts. That mark would have tied him with Zack Greinke for the second-most in a season all-time in team history.

However, homeruns were a problem for Ragans, especially in the latter half of the season. In each of his last eight starts, which includes three rehab appearances in the minors, Ragans allowed eight homeruns. That might not seem like a ton, but most of his outings, including his rehab starts, were shortened to three or four innings. Over 39 2/3 innings since May 31st, Ragans' HR/9 number was nearly 2.0.

"We're hoping next season after a full offseason program and further recovery, he'll be the same guy that he's been the last few yeras," said Sweeney later on. "He's also been hurt by some bad luck this season, so perhaps the worm will turn back the other way some, as well."

As far as the game itself, the Athletics took a 2-0 lead after five innings, but the Royals only had one baserunner reach second base through the first six innings against Luis Severino, and that runner (Carter Jensen) doubled and had to be pulled with what was termed as a shoulder injury. He's listed as day-to-day. He was replaced by Dairon Blanco, who moved to the outfield, while Salvador Perez moved behind the plate from first base, while Jac Caglianone came in to play first base from the outfield.

"Severino was tough out there, keeping the ball down and getting guys to hit into weak contact," manager Matt Quatraro said, returning from his brief personal matter later on in the press conference. "Carter's double, he really squared that one up, but that was the only big contact that I remember, regardless of it was a hit or not. That's tough to do and still win games."

9/27 -- Melendez re-called; Rave optioned: With Carter Jensen (shoulder) being listed as day-to-day, the Royals have re-called MJ Melendez from the minors to serve as an emergency catcher in case Jensen is unable to go at any time over the final two games.

With Luke Maile on the way out in recent days, the Royals are down a backup catcher. They also had other pure catching options in the minors with veteran Ali Sanchez and youngster Luca Tresh, but opted for another lefty bat.

It's been a tough year for MJ, who has gone just 5-for-58 this season (.086) with the Royals, hitting a pair of homeruns and a double. However, he is still putting up strong numbers in Triple-A, as he has an OPS of .893 in Omaha, which comes out to a 125 OPS+ at that level.

"Carter is day-to-day, so if Salvy gets hurt, at least we have someone back there who can handle the duties and knows most of these pitchers pretty well," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Hopefully, we won't have to use him in that capacity, but he's there just in case."

[b]9/27 -- Isbel, Blanco power Royals win: With the Royals now squarely out of the playoff hunt, a couple of unlikely sources provided the bulk of the offensive production as they took a 9-2 victory over the Athletics. Kyle Isbel went 4-for-4 with a season-high four RBI and a walk; while fellow outfielder Dairon Blanco, who was called up after the Royals released three veteran players prior to the start of the series, went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI, also a season and career-high.

They were also backed up by a strong start from rookie Ryan Bergert, who didn't allow a run over 5 1/3 innings to pick up his second win as a Royal. He scattered just three hits and three walks, fanning six.

"This was a great win to get us to at least .500 for the season, depending on tomorrow," said manager Matt Quatraro. "I think the key is now to finish strong and get that win tomorrow to get us over .500 for the season. It's not what we originally wanted out of this season, but it would be a huge lift to go into 2026 coming off a winning season."

The offense knocked Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs out with two out in the third, tagging him for six earned runs. Former Royal Aaron Brooks, who made a handful of appearances in their 2024 and 2025 World Series runs, didn't fare much better with three earned runs over a pair of innings.

Maikel Garcia collected three hits in the win, scoring a pair of runs in the process. Jonathan India also scored twice, while Vinnie Pasquantino collected a pair of hits in the decisive victory.

9/28 -- Season ends on winning note: The Royals may not be going to the postseason, but they secured a winning record for the second straight season with a 4-2 win in ten innings over the Athletics, headlined by seven innings of two-run ball from Stephen Kolek. The Royals broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 10th with Maikel Garcia's two-run homerun, his 17th of the season.

Carlos Estevez pitched a scoreless 10th for his 38th save of the year; as he finishes the season in second place for the most saves in the AL, second to only Josh Hader and his forty-four saves. Angel Zerpa moved to 5-2 on the season with a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one.

"Good way to end the season on a high note," said manager Matt Quatraro, wrapping up his third season as the team's skipper. "Let's be honest, it's not the way we envisioned ending our season, but there's a lot of positives to take away, and of course some things that we need to fix and work on in the offseason and hopefully come back and get back to the postseason in 2026."

One of those positive developments is Garcia, who finished ranked in the top three in most major offensive categories amongst qualifying AL third basemen, including average (.288, 2nd), OBP (.346, 2nd), slugging (.463, 3rd), OPS (.809, 2nd), fWAR (4.4, 2nd), at-bats (591, 3rd), hits (169, 2nd), runs scores (81, 2nd), doubles (42, 1st), triples (5, 1st), steals (28, 2nd), and walks (55, 2nd).

He's also a likely contender for the Gold Glove at third base in the American League, as he's the leader in UZR (+12), and is in the top three in DRS at +13.

Another positive is that the Royals appear to have established more pitching depth than originally thought heading into the season. The acquisitions of Kolek and Ryan Bergert from the Padres also help that, but even with mainstays like Seth Lugo, Michael Lorenzen, Cole Ragans, and Kris Bubic all missing some extended periods of time at different points in the season, the Royals still managed to the second-best starters' ERA (3.57), and also the second-best team ERA in the AL (3.58).

In most other seasons, Noah Cameron would be a top two or three contender for the AL Rookie of the Year, but it was a very deep and talented rookie class in the AL this season with players like Nick Kurtz, Roman Anthony, Cam Smith, and Carlos Narvaez all playing major roles on their respective teams. Instead, he finished second on the team in wins (9, tied with Michael Wacha), and posted a 2.90 ERA as a rookie, which is a Royals' rookie record.

His 0.99 WHIP also would have finished fifth in the entire league had he pitched another 16 1/3 innings to reach enough innings to qualify as a starting pitcher.

"It's a real credit to Brian (Sweeney) and his staff that he has working under him," Quatraro said of his pitching coach. "He's also been a big reason why we've been able to re-sign Michael (Wacha) and Seth (Lugo) to extensions, because they believe so heavily in what we're doing on the pitching side of things."

Kansas City now enters the offseason with some things to build on, but also some uncertainty. Salvador Perez has a team option of $13.5 million for 2026, but do they scrap that in favor of an extension? Will they pursue the big outfield bat that they've talked about seemingly for years? Do they decide to overhaul the hitting coaching staff, or decide to part ways with Alec Zumwalt entirely?

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Yankees, Mariners to get key contributors back ahead of postseason

By MLB.com staff
09/29/2025

9/26 -- Royals release three ahead of final series: With the Royals' postseason fate all but assured, they announced the release of three veterans in infielders DJ LeMahieu and Jorge Mateo, along with veteran catcher Luke Maile. LeMahieu was a minor league signing back in mid-August, while Mateo was a waiver wire pickup just prior to the September 1st deadline, making him postseason-eligible.

Maile was in the midst of his second stint with the Royals this season, having been designated off the roster earlier in the season, only to be brought back once Freddy Fermin was traded to the Padres. The move also frees up three 40-man roster slots, which at least two of those that will likely be filled by Kris Bubic and Alec Marsh, as the latter has missed the entirety of the 2025 season.

James McArthur, another contributing pitcher from the 2024 season who missed all of the year, could also fill the other spot; but he's arbitration-eligible and could be in line for a non-tender. Jonathan Bowlan and Tyler Tolbert, also both on the 60-day currently, seem much more likely to be possibilities for that final 40-man slot.

Outfielders Dairon Blanco and John Rave were re-called from Triple-A, along with second baseman Michael Massey to fill out the bench. While Massey and Rave have had multiple stints with varying levels of success with the Royals this season, Blanco hasn't been with the parent club since the end of May. He has just eight plate appearances and three steals in five tries this season, both far cries from last season in which he stole thirty-one bases in just eighty-eight games, mainly as a reserve and spot starter.

Despite his lack of extra-base power and average on-base skills, Blanco has managed to maintain a better-than-league-average offensive profile (104 OPS+) in his MLB career to-date. Manager Matt Quatraro also noted that he's been playing through several nagging injuries this season, but has managed to stay off the injured list minus a short stint on the 7-day IL in the minors. He also has strong Triple-A numbers (115 OPS+), so it stands to reason he's an excellent depth piece going forward that still has an option year left after this one.

9/27 -- Yankees activate McMahon, Cabrera ahead of postseason: New York appears to be getting healthier at the right time, as they expect to have both infielders Ryan McMahon and Oswaldo Cabrera in time for the Wildcard series next week. The Yankees are currently locked into the top wildcard position, and will likely get their intra-divisional rival Toronto in that series.

Acquired from the Rockies prior to the deadline, McMahon has solidified the third base spot in the Bronx, putting up a .790 OPS (122 OPS+) in 172 plate appearances since coming over from Colorado. He's played and started in forty-seven games, all at third base for the Bombers.

They'll also get reserve infielder Oswaldo Cabrera back as well from the injured list, but he was optioned to Triple-A upon his return, so it seems unlikely that he'll be on the postseason roster. Cebrera has been out since early May with a fractured ankle, suffered upon a slide into home plate on May 12th against the Mariners.

He was taken off the field in an ambulance, where they were able to stabilize his injured leg. He underwent surgery six days later; and then went on the 60-day injured list. Manager Aaron Boone noted that the option was more about potential lingering effects of the injury, and less about being passed up by other players.

"We're thrilled that he's coming back, but what I'm aware of is that there is still a little concern with the ankle from the team docs," he said. "They think he could play on it if needed, but they stressed that another week or two would really help him, so we made the decision to option him and let him continue to get some light work in as he recovers."

9/28 -- Mariners to activate Garver, designate Taveras: The Mariners welcomed veteran backup catcher Mitch Garver back from the injured list, as it is expected that they'll option youngster Harry Ford back to Triple-A Tacoma to trim the roster to twenty-six for the postseason, as the Mariners have clinched at least a wildcard spot.

To make room on the 40-man, they designated outfielder Leody Tavares for assignment. Seattle also had to place Luke Raley (hamstring) on the injured list, meaning he'll be out for at least through the wildcard series. Dominic Canzone was re-called to replace him on the active roster.

Ford, only twenty-two and their 2021 first-round pick, played in just five games (three starts), going 2-for-10 (.200) with three RBI and a couple of walks, doing all of his damage on Thursday in a win over the Dodgers. Garver has played sparingly in September, making just three starts in relief of mainstay Cal Raleigh and going 2-for-9 (.222) with a walk and a couple of strikeouts before going on the IL with ankle and hamstring soreness.

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Managing stalwarts Melvin, Bochy will not return for 2026

By MLB.com staff
09/29/2025

MLB'S BLACK MONDAY COMMENCES: On Monday, six different teams saw either their manager or front office executive receive a pink slip; or in a few cases, step down after less-than-ideal seasons. There are also several franchises that will need to make decisions on interim managers as they head into the 2026 season.

The most surprising decisions were from the Giants and Rangers, who announced that Bob Melvin and Bruce Bochy would not be returning next season, respectively. San Francisco had triggered Melvin's 2026 option prior to this season, but another season without a playoff berth seemed to seal his fate. The fact that Melvin was let go after the Bochy news fueled speculation that a reunion in San Francisco was possible for the revered manager who won three titles there, but Buster Posey ruled that out rather quickly (and bluntly, I might add).

The Rangers' epic collapse also probably was the biggest reason for Bochy's ouster, but they appear to be zeroing in on naming Rangers senior advisor Skip Schumaker as their next manager. Schumaker last managed in 2024, as the Marlins dugout boss for their 100-loss outfit that year. He then resigned, taking the Rangers' position alongside ops chief Chris Young.

Other managers who will not be returning in 2026 are the Twins' Rocco Baldelli, the Angels' Ron Washington, and the Braves' Brian Snitker. Snitker actually had the option to return next season as the manager, but instead is going to step into a front office role. Baldelli and Washington were not asked to return; and in Washington's case, is likely to retire -- again. Bench coach Walt Weiss is considered the front-runner in Atlanta, as they like to have managers with Braves' ties. Weiss has that in spades, as a former player under Bobby Cox and several years as a coach.

Colorado, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Washington have to decide on their interim managers; although the Pirates are reportedly nearing a deal to make interim Don Kelly the full-time skipper. Colorado fired Bud Black after going just 7-33 to begin the season, and Warren Schaeffer wasn't much better as he went 39-83 the rest of the way.

Schaeffer's fate also won't rest in the hands of Bill Schmidt, as he stepped down as the team's top personnel executive, leaving owner Dick Monfort to search for a new baseball operations head. That person will likely be tabbed to select a new manager, although Monfort has insisted that Schaeffer will be in the running.

The Nationals just hired Paul Toboni away from the Red Sox as their new front office chief, succeeding interim Mike DeBartolo, who was placed there after Mike Rizzo was fired along with then-manager Dave Martinez. The 35-year-old is one of the youngest execs in the league, and he'll be tasked with turning around a moribund franchise that hasn't had a winning season since they won it all in 2019.

His first big decision will likely be whether or not to keep interim manager Miguel Cairo on as their permanent skipper; and then what to do with DeBartolo, who is a Nationals lifer. On the other hand, Baltimore doesn't have to worry about the front office like the Rox and Nats do, but they will still have a decision to make on Tony Mansolino, who went 51-68 as the interim manager in place of Brandon Hyde, who led the Orioles to back-to-back postseason berths in 2023 and 2024.

It's too early to suss out a ton of potential candidates for these open positions, but it seems likely that Melvin and Baldelli have a shot to land somewhere for the 2026 season. Albert Pujols is apparently Arte Moreno's favorite for the open position for the Angels, which means that is pretty likely to happen even if Perry Minasian doesn't quite agree.

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Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

THREE THINGS THE ROYALS SHOULD DO BEFORE FREE AGENCY
Plus, a bonus thing they should do

By artoodeetoo
10/01/2025

Overhaul the team's hitting philosophy: This one appears to be on the way to being realized as JJ Picollo made some interesting remarks in his post-season press conference, held along with manager Matt Quatraro on Tuesday.

“We’ve got to make some decisions on the hitting side,” Picollo said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “What I will say is, Alec Zumwalt is going to be our hitting coach. How do we support Alec in a way that allows him to have the most success with the roster that we have?

"Those decisions haven’t been made yet. We still have to work through that," he would go on to say. "It might just be tweaking our staff. How do we tweak the staff? What don’t we have? What can we do, from an analyst standpoint, from a holistic standpoint, to try to help our offense improve?

It's not quite the news that Royals fans wanted to hear, but the fact that the front office clearly identifies a problem is step one, and to me is a pretty clear indication that there will be a staff shake-up on the hitting side. Bringing in Brian Sweeney a few years ago from Cleveland has completely changed the outlook on the team's pitching development, especially with young pitchers who reach the majors from the Royals' system. The Guardians are a team you'd like to emulate when it comes to the pitching side of things.

Now they need to do that on the hitting side. If they truly plan to keep Zumwalt on as the lead hitting coach. Bring in voices from outside the organization, or heck, bring back Kevin Seitzer in some sort of advisory role. Teams that develop young hitting well, like the Cardinals, Yankees, and Rays would be good organizations to draw from. It can't be just promote Drew Saylor to be Zumwalt's right-hand man. It just can't.

Extend either Vinnie Pasquantino or Maikel Garcia to long-term deals: Or, both to be honest.

We finally had the chance to see a full season from Vinnie, and he puts up big numbers on his way to a 100-RBI season while hitting twenty-eight homers and doubles each. In a way, he's become the Robin to Bobby Witt Jr's Batman as one of the more fan-favorite names on the team, and likely becomes the team's 'jovial' player once Salvador Perez hangs up the gear.

I'd put the chances that Vinnie gets extended at better than 50/50 at this point. I'm less bullish on Garcia since he's coming off a career year after several seasons of beloe-average production, but a strong start to 2026 could get him an extension early in the season. I would put it at about a 10-20% chance prior to free agency, but you never know.

You might say, why not Perez? Well, he has a $13.5 million team option that is hanging out there. There is talk the Royals are entertaining ripping up that final year, but I don't think the organization is going to be as generous as they were with the previous extension.

To Dayton Moore's credit, it worked out fabulously, but this is a different front office with different leadership. I'd put money on an extension at some point, but my guess is that it will be close to spring training, and by then he'll be bound to the option year.

Provide an update (any update!) on the new stadium situation: This doesn't have to do with the day-to-day operations of the team, but in a solo interview with MLB.com's Rogers yesterday, owner John Sherman didn't make any comments or provide updates on how the new stadium situation. Whether that was by design, if the question wasn't asked, or if it was answered in such a way that the editor scrapped it, who knows.

The self-imposed July deadline to provide updates has long since passed, and there hasn't been anything meaningful since the spring. The 2031 season is still well down the road, but it's not so far that you can't at least visualize what a downtown (or even quasi-suburban) stadium may look like. I don't think it will happen (at least not in the imposed timeframe set forth in this piece), but I think the fans are owed some sort of update, and it has to be sooner rather than later.

The lease on the K runs out after the 2030 season, which is just five more years including the upcoming season next year. Most stadiums take three-to-four years to construct, so something is going to have to come to fruition in the next 12-18 months at a minimum

Additionally, Sherman also made some interesting comments in the interview regarding payroll, but that might be saved and better explained in a separate piece later in the month as free agency draws closer.

BONUS: Get Jac Caglianone some additional help: I think a pretty integral part of whether or not the Royals in 2026 are merely a decent team or a playoff-caliber team that can make a deep run is the development of Jac Caglianone. Not the whole reason, but a big one. This ties into the original point above regarding the team's hitting philosophy, but Jac deserves his own bit because of his immense potential and importance as a high pick who advanced quickly through the minors.

There were some real signs of life during his post-IL time with the Royals. He said that he had a chance to really look deeper at his at-bats while on the injured list, and came back with some ideas for Zumwalt on how to tweak his approach. He did tail off in the last week of the season, as he was just 1-for-12 with five strikeouts on the West Coast road trip.

Despite that, he still finished with an .818 OPS for September (129 OPS+), and hit .270 for the months of August and September with an OBP of .375. Yes, some of that OBP number was fueled by a half-dozen HBP's, but that didn't seem to affect his wOBA or xOBA that much, with slightly lower marks of .369 or .365, respectively, in that stretch.

On the other hand, you'd like to see a little bit better than a .478 SLG, but again, massive improvements over pre-IL Jac. To finish right at a .200 BA has to be a pretty big mental boost after the poor start he got off to, especially in terms of a very low BABIP amongst high exit velo's.

This, along with the development of Pasquantino and Garcia are the big reasons why Zumwalt isn't looking for work right now (to me), and really points more to a lack of talent around the big four of Garcia, Pasquantino, WItt, and Perez. Caglianone stepping up to be a middle-of-the-order hitter would be a huge development, but a big part of that will be how he works in the offseason. There's already talk that he may be working with the aforementioned Kevin Seitzer this offseason, and quite possibly with Driveline, as well.

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MLB WILDCARD MATCHUPS & PITCHING PROBABLES
Tigers, Red Sox with byes in AL; Brewers, Dodgers top two seeds in NL


NEW YORK METS (90-72) VS PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (91-71)

GAME 1 R Clay Holmes (13-6, 3.40) vs L Cristopher Sanchez (11-6, 2.90)
GAME 2 L Sean Manaea (3-4, 3.63) vs L Ranger Suarez (14-7, 3.11)
GAME 3 R Kodai Senga (13-6, 2.47) vs L Jesus Luzardo (13-6, 3.98)

SAN DIEGO PADRES (91-71) VS CHICAGO CUBS (94-68)

GAME 1 R Nick Pivetta (16-7, 2.82) vs L Shota Imanaga (10-8, 3.94)
GAME 2 R Dylan Cease (6-14, 4.66) vs L Matthew Boyd (17-6, 2.56)
GAME 3 R Michael King (9-3, 2.53) vs R Jameson Taillon (10-8, 4.46)

HOUSTON ASTROS (86-76) VS SEATTLE MARINERS (86-76)

GAME 1 R Hunter Brown (13-9, 2.90) vs R Logan Gilbert (12-5, 2.71)
GAME 2 R Luis Garcia (1-3, 2.53) vs R Bryan Woo (12-12, 3.35)
GAME 3 L Framber Valdez (17-8, 2.55) vs R George Kirby (9-7, 3.44)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (87-75) VS NEW YORK YANKEES (90-72)

GAME 1 R Shane Bieber (2-3, 6.09) vs L Max Fried (16-7, 2.66)
GAME 2 R Jose Berrios (11-7, 3.96 vs R Kenta Maeda (4-2, 4.67)
GAME 3 R Kevin Gausman (11-12, 3.60) vs L Carlos Rodon (15-10, 3.21)

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Divisional series matchups now set

By MLB.com staff
10/04/2025

9/30 -- Mets, Cubs victories kick off Wildcard round: Tyrone Taylor's 10th-inning solo homerun gave the Mets a 1-0 advantage in their series, and Shota Imanaga shut the Padres down over seven innings of work as the Mets and Cubs kicked off the postseason with a couple of thrilling victories.

Taylor pushed the Mets over the Phillies by a 4-3 score with his leadoff solo homerun (remember, no 'ghost' runners in the postseason) in the top of the inning before Ryan Helsley picked up the save in the bottom of the inning. New York now just needs a win on Wednesday to clinch the series and move on to the NLDS.

Making his first postseason start after appearing out of the bullpen with the Yankees in 2021, Clay Holmes allowed three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight with just a pair of walks. Gregory Soto got the final two outs of the seventh before Edwin Diaz pitched two innings, allowing a run with three strikeouts.

Meanwhile, the Cubs jumped all over the Padres in the first few innings, taking a 6-1 lead after five innings. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-out, two-run homerun in the first, while Michael Busch padded the Cubs' lead with a two-run shot of his own, both coming against Nick Pivetta. The latter dinger chased Pivetta from the game after four-plus innings of work.

San Diego would get an RBI single from Yoan Moncada in the seventh to cut the lead to four, before Jake Cronenworth's solo shot in the ninth would draw them even closer. But Daniel Palencia bore down and got the final out to give the Cubs the 1-0 series advantage and the chance to clinch tomorrow.

10/1 -- Both NL Wildcard series head to third game: Both the Phillies and Padres forced Game 3's in their respective series, as Philadelphia forced a third game on the strength of a couple of homeruns, one each from Max Kepler and rookie Aidan Miller, who is playing third base while Alec Bohm is still out with an oblique injury.

Kepler's homerun was the deciding factor, as he broke a 3-3 tie with his one-out solo homerun. Philadelphia used just a pair of pitchers in the game, with Ranger Suarez going 7 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Matt Strahm came in with two outs in the eighth, and worked the ninth for the save.

In the other game, down 2-0 heading into the ninth and needing a huge rally, San Diego managed exactly that with four runs in the inning and then holding on for dear life in the bottom of the inning to force a third game with a 4-2 win. Xander Bogaerts' two-run double tied the game at two before Freddy Fermin broke the tie two batters later with a two-run two-bagger of his own.

Mason Miller worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for the save, striking out a pair of Cubs hitters along the way.

10/1 -- Mariners, Yankees take early AL Wildcard advantage: Eugenio Suarez homered in his first two at-bats, and Logan Gilbert held the Astros to just one run over seven innings as Seattle took the first game of their series with Houston by a 3-1 score. Suarez accounted for all three Mariners runs with a solo homerun in the first, followed by a two-run shot in the third.

That's all that Gilbert would need, as he breezed through seven innings before giving way to closer Andres Munoz for the two-inning save. Munoz was dominant in his two frames of work, striking out five without walking a batter or giving up a hit. He also threw just twenty-four pitches, leaving him available for the potential series-clinching game on Wednesday.

Carlos Correa's RBI single in the fourth was the only run that Houston could come up with. Making his first postseason start, Hunter Brown was tagged for eleven hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out five with no walks for Houston.

In the nightcap on the AL side, the Yankees scored four runs in a flurry of offense in the fifth inning, with Trent Grisham leading off the inning with a solo shot. Two singles later, Austin Wells hit a three-run homerun to put the Bombers up four. That's all they would need as they took a 4-0 win to go up 1-0 in their series with the Blue Jays.

With just eighty-nine pitches, Max Fried allowed just four hits over seven shutout innings, but was pulled after giving up two hits to lead off the eighth. David Bednar came on for the save in the eighth, getting out of the jam in that inning and pitching a scoreless ninth.

Aside from the top three hitters in their order, going 4-for-12 in the game, the rest of the Toronto lineup went just 1-for-19 with six strikeouts and a walk. Andres Gimenez was the only hitter to collect more than one hit, going 2-for-4. Vlad Guerrero Jr's fourth-inning double was the only extra base hit in the game for the Jays.

10/2 -- Toronto forces Game 3; other Wildcard series come to a close: A nailbiter throughout on Wednesday, the Blue Jays held just a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the ninth. But they put up three runs in that inning to put the game out of reach, eventually taking a 6-2 victory in the Bronx.

Daulton Varsho cranked a solo homerun to kick the scoring off in the second inning against Carlos Rodon. New York's defense betrayed them in this game, as errors by Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells in the fifth and seventh innings directly led to single Blue Jays' runs.

The Yankees finally dented the scoreboard in the seventh with an RBI double from Jazz Chisholm, but the Jays' big inning in the ninth rendered the Yanks' rally in the ninth moot. With the Toronto win, they'll go to a third game on Thursday night for the right to move on to the ALDS against the Red Sox.

The other three Divisional Series matchups are now set, with the Mariners and Detroit Tigers set to face off beginning on October 5th. On the NL ledger, the Cubs and top-seeded Brewers will face off on one side of the bracket, while the Dodgers and Phillies will square off on the other side.

Seattle swept the Astros in two games after taking a 5-3 victory on Wednesday night, scoring all five of their runs in the second inning. Chicago advanced to face the Brewers after a 6-5 win over the Padres in the rubber match of their Wildcard series, while Philadelphia held on for a 2-1 win over the Mets to bounce them from the postseason.

10/3 -- Pirates agree to extension with outfielder: When the Pirates teased "BIG NEWS" on their Twitter account, many thought the team might be announcing an extension with Paul Skenes, or that they were hiring a new manager. However, it was a pretty solid consolation prize as it was announced that they were signing outfielder Oneil Cruz to a five-year extension.

Cruz will earn a $2 million signing bonus on top of his $68 million base salary earned over the next five seasons. He'll make $4 million next year, $8 million in 2027; and after $12 million in 2028, the salaries really jump from there, nearly doubling in 2029 and 2030.

The Pirates will be buying out two years of free agency at $22 million per year, giving him the highest yearly salary in team history at that point. The AAV of $14 million slightly exceeds the AAV of Bryan Reynolds' record-setting contract extension, which was at about $13.8 million when he signed his extension prior to the 2023 season.

10/3 -- Gausman, Blue Jays cruise to victory; will advance to ALDS: Behind seven strong innings from Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays won by a 5-3 score, taking two-of-three from the Yankees to advance to the ALDS against another divisional foe in the Boston Red Sox. The ALDS and NLDS series are now set with the Blue Jays' win.

The two sides exchanged goose eggs through the first two innings, with Gausman and the well-traveled Kenta Maeda matching wits. Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the third thanks to RBI hits from Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk; and from there the Blue Jays never trailed. The Yankees would counter with a run in the bottom of the third on Austin Wells' solo homerun, but the Jays would always seemingly have a counter to keep New York at bay.

Maeda came back out for the fifth inning, but a walk and a hit finally chased him from the game in favor of Jonathan Loaisiga. The Yanks' bullpen held fast until the eighth inning, when the Jays struck for a pair of runs that included a solo homerun from Addison Barger.

The relatively quick playoff exit for the Yankees again has fueled speculation about manager Aaron Boone's job, but both GM Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family have both come out and said that Boone will return in 2026. He's actually signed through the 2027 season, and will make $5 million next season, while earning $5.5 million the following year.

"I don't pay attention to that (stuff)," he said. "It's a tough way to end the season, and it's well short of our goal...but we're already looking forward to next year and getting back here."

[3Bplay]

Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Perez, Royals begin extension talks; long-time coach and manager to retire

By artoodeetoo
10/04/2025

10/1 -- Royals' top pitching prospect to miss 2-to-3 months of baseball activities: Ben Kudrna, who was the team's second-round pick in the 2021 draft and a top-five prospect throughout the organization, is likely to miss the next several months of baseball activities after experiencing shoulder inflammation after his final start of the season back on the 19th of September in which he pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run baseball in a 6-4 win over Louisville.

Kudrna apparently had the option to undergo surgery with a 10-to-12 month recovery timetable, or rest and rehab without going under the knife. The second option, however, would require him to miss the next several months to allow the shoulder to heal on its own, while surgery would allow him to begin throwing sooner and getting additional work in over the offseason with the stipulation that he wouldn't be ready until mid-to-late 2026.

The 22-year-old reportedly chose the non-surgical option, meaning he should be ready either at the start of the season or soon after, but will have to forego any baseball-related activities for at least the next several months.

"Fortunately, the severity of the inflammation was not serious enough to require surgery, so the team doctors were able to give him a choice as to what he wanted to do," said GM JJ Picollo in a recent interview. "With someone as competitive as he is, I don't think he wanted to miss out on a chance to pitch in the spring and show his stuff. Surgery would take that completely off the table."

Split between Double and Triple-A in 2025, Kudrna was solid with a 4.36 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning over twenty-three starts (117 2/3 innings of work). The ERA seems to be a little inflated, but posted FIP and SIERA marks of 3.94 and 3.66, respectively, combined between the two levels.

10/2 -- Royals, Perez have 'had discussions' on extension: Arguably the biggest piece of news prior to free agency for the Royals is what to do with veteran mainstay Salvador Perez, who is due a $13.5 million team option for 2026. However, the Royals and Perez appear to have mutual interest in scrapping the option year in favor of an extension, but would rather do it sooner than later, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, to beat the clock on the option decision.

They'll have roughly a month to get something done, as they'll have a decision to make in early November on the team option. After that, he'd have to play on the option and then negotiate an extension while on the option year. If the Royals exercise the option, it will save them some money most likely, but could hurt the relationship between the two sides.

JJ Picollo has mentioned that Perez 'will be a Royal' in 2026, but didn't say how, pointing out that they do have the option year. However, Perez would really be doing a disservice betting on himself going into his age-36 season without trying to get some additional security in hand. A rough year could leave him at the mercy of the free agent market, as the Royals would likely have their answer(s) regarding the catcher spot going forward and could let him walk, especially with Carter Jensen now with the Royals and top prospect Blake Mitchell close behind.

Perez crossed the 1,000-RBI mark this past season, joining George Brett and Hal McRae as the third Royal to surpass that milestone. He's also just three homeruns short of 300 for his career, also needing just twenty-one to pass Brett as the Royals' all-time homerun king. He'd also become the ninth primary catcher in league history to hit 300 or more homeruns, with all but one (Lance Parrish) going into Cooperstown at some point.

"Salvador Perez is synonymous with Royals baseball, he is the guy that everyone thinks of nationally when it comes to Kansas City baseball and he's just so well-respected and admired around the league," manager Matt Quatraro said in the team's post-season press conference a few days ago. "I mean, you talk about George Brett, Frank White, Amos Otis, here with the Royals. You talk about Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and Travis Kelce, if you're talking football. Tom Watson, the great PGA Tour golfer, is from here. Sal belongs up there, for sure. People come to see guys like Bobby Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino play, but Sal is the glue that binds it all together. He's seen a lot of winning, and he's seen some tough times, so he's really the perfect guy to be the ambassador for Royals baseball around the league."

10/3 -- Omaha's Jirschele calls it a career: One of the longest-tenured coaches in the history of the franchise at any level, Mike Jirschele has decided to officially retire from baseball. The 66-year-old is stepping away from the game as Omaha's all-time winningest manager with 1,214 wins, and also collected over 1,600 wins as a minor league manager in his career, covering High-A and Double-A, as well as Triple-A.

He spent all of his post-playing career with the Royals' organization in various coaching and development roles, covering nearly 40 years. A fifth-round pick of the Rangers back in 1977, Jirschele had a standing offer to play quarterback at Wisconsin, but turned it down to sign with Texas. He retired from playing after the 1989 season having never reached the majors, but had several stints in Triple-A.

"He's a titan of this organization, and someone I'm proud to call a friend as well as a colleague," Royals GM JJ Picollo said in a statement. "We wish Mike the best as he moves on to a new chapter of his life, but we sure hope that he's not a complete stranger. Whoever replaces him has some massive shoes to fill."

But what he's most going to be rather infamously known for is holding Alex Gordon at third base in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series against San Francisco in the bottom of the ninth. In 2019, he had an interview with then-Royals beat writer Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com, and explained his decision much further in detail in that piece.

"When Alex (Gordon) came up, I was just thinking about the situation -- we were down 3-2, one out left," he started to explain to Flanagan. "I was just hoping we could get something going, anything. I also was hoping Alex or the next guy up, Salvy, could maybe pop one out of the park. They were both capable. And Salvy already had taken Madison Bumgarner deep earlier in the series."

Multiple screenshots and videos showed that Gordon likely had no chance to score, given that shortstop Brandon Crawford, a Gold Glove-winning shortstop, handled the relay throw from the outfield about as well as you could have. And Gordon, who was not a runner already on base, but was the batter on the play, was running out of steam, per Jirschele.

"We all knew Crawford had an above-average arm and above-average accuracy. I was really hoping for a bad throw, even though Gordo was really starting to run out of gas," he said later on. "Those were my reads, and I’m just praying for any kind of a bad throw. Well, the throw comes into Crawford on one hop, but he fields it perfectly."

"Now I’m watching to see if he fumbles the exchange at all. But he didn’t. Gordo had just gotten to third base and Crawford had made the exchange cleanly and he was only about 25-to-30 feet past the infield. I knew then we had no chance, so I held Gordo up. With that much of an accurate arm, I never thought twice about sending him. He would have had no chance."

Picollo said that they'll start a "league-wide" search, but the Royals have largely promoted from within in the minor league ranks for much of their history, and that is not expected to change. Some internal candidates that make sense would be current Omaha pitching coach Dane Johnson, Dominican League Ventura manager Ramon Martinez, and Double-A NW Arkansas manager Brooks Conrad.

It's also an opportunity for someone like current third base coach Vance Wilson to manage his own dugout and get some experience as the main decision-maker, but reports are that he could be a managerial candidate with some of the open positions at the MLB level.

10/4 -- John Sherman talks payroll, roster building: The Royals will likely enter the 2025-26 offseason with almost $170 million in obligations, but that means that every arbitration-eligible player will sign for their Fangraphs estimate, and that all under-contract players return for the following season, which almost never happens.

Controlling owner John Sherman has said that payroll is generally fluid, but has always leaned on his top personnel executive in JJ Picollo to 'make his case' for a player or players that he and his staff feel will make the team better.

"JJ and I are constantly having discussions on players that we think could help our club next year," he said in an interview with MLB.com's Anne Rogers. "Would we like to be competitive at a lower payroll? Sure, but sometimes that's just not the reality if you want to field a winning team."

The Royals under Sherman's ownership have not been afraid to spend, especially to attract and retain players. Winning and competing for playoff berths also helps, along with having one of the best pitching minds in baseball in Brian Sweeney as pitching coach. They have signed Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to not one, but two contracts each, along with extensions for Bobby Witt Jr and Cole Ragans. They appear to have some mutual interest in negotiating an extension for long-time franchise mainstay Salvador Perez, but nothing has come on that front yet.

The trades that Picollo has made with Sherman's blessing, especially the Ragans deal and this past July, have already been huge wins for the organization. Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert look like pitchers that could stick in the rotation; and they received some nice contributions from Mike Yastrzemski, Randal Grichuk, and Adam Frazier.

"We're really proud of what we've done in a short time with the staff that we have," he went on to say. "We're not satisfied yet for sure, and there's room for improvement, but I'm pleased that things are trending upward in a lot of aspects around the organization."

Rogers went on to ask about the hitting struggles, and while Sherman largely demurred on the topic, he did admit that they "need additional help" in that regard.

"I'll let JJ and his staff speak on the personnel side, but yes, there were times that we struggled to string together much offense," he said. "Part of that is having a lot of young players on the roster, but some of it also was just some regression by veteran players who played really, really well last year in 2024. The key is to ensure that you limit your weak spots down the lineup and keep the pressure off some of the more veteran players."

[3Bplay]

MLB DIVISIONAL MATCHUPS
Dodgers seek 4th LCS since 2000; Mariners look to return for first time since 2001

LOS ANGELES DODGERS VS PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

GAME 1 R Aaron Nola (3-11, 5.33) vs R Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-11, 2.84)
GAME 2 L Ranger Suarez (14-7, 3.11) vs L Blake Snell (4-2, 2.34)
GAME 3 R Tyler Glasnow (4-3, 3.84) vs L Cristopher Sanchez (11-6, 2.90)
GAME 4 L Clayton Kershaw (9-3, 4.02) vs L Jesus Luzardo (13-6, 3.98) (if nec.)
GAME 5 R Aaron Nola (3-11, 5.33) vs R Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-11, 2.84) (if nec.)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS VS CHICAGO CUBS

GAME 1 R Ben Brown (9-9, 4.56) vs L Aaron Ashby (4-1, 1.75)
GAME 2 L Shota Imanaga (10-8, 3.94) vs L Jose Quintana (11-7, 3.56)
GAME 3 R Jacob Misiorowski (6-4, 2.76) vs L Matthew Boyd (17-6, 2.56)
GAME 4 R Quinn Priester (11-3, 3.49) vs R Jameson Taillon (10-8, 4.46) (if nec.)
GAME 5 R Ben Brown (9-9, 4.56) vs L Aaron Ashby (4-1, 1.75) (if nec.)

SEATTLE MARINERS VS DETROIT TIGERS

GAME 1 R Bryan Woo (12-12, 3.35) vs L Tarik Skubal (16-4, 2.17)
GAME 2 R Logan Gilbert (12-5, 2.71) vs R Reese Olson (4-4, 3.15)
GAME 3 R Jack Flaherty (11-15, 4.03) vs R Luis Castillo (11-10, 3.41)
GAME 4 R Casey Mize (13-8, 3.42) vs R George Kirby (9-7, 3.44) (if nec.)
GAME 5 R Bryan Woo (12-12, 3.35) vs L Tarik Skubal (16-4, 2.17) (if nec.)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS V BOSTON RED SOX

GAME 1 R Chris Bassitt (12-11, 4.14) vs L Garrett Crochet (21-5, 2.18)
GAME 2 R Shane Bieber (2-3, 6.09) vs R Lucas Giolito (11-7, 4.52)
GAME 3 R Jordan Hicks (5-7, 5.40) vs R Jose Berrios (11-7, 3.97)
GAME 4 R Brayan Bello (12-7, 3.34) vs R Kevin Gausman (11-12, 3.60) (if nec.)
GAME 5 R Chris Bassitt (12-11, 4.14) vs L Garrett Crochet (21-5, 2.18) (if nec.)

[3Bplay]

DIVISIONAL SERIES RECAP
Postseason down to the final four

By MLB.com staff
10/11/2025

Dodgers advance in walkoff: Max Muncy's double to score Will Smith from first base against Jhoan Duran in the bottom of the ninth pushed the Dodgers to their fourth NLCS since 2020, as they took a 4-3 decision to win the NLDS over the Phillies. The two teams split their first four games, each winning one on the road and at home in alternating fashion, setting up the Game 5 showdown at Chavez Ravine.

In addition, the Dodgers will look to win their third World Series in that same stretch, becoming just the second team since 1995 to win at least three Fall Classics in six years, with the Yankees winning four in five years from 1996 through 2000 as the standard-bearer in that regard.

It was a strange series with respect to some of the games' final outcomes, as the games were either massive blowouts or one-run nailbiters. Los Angeles won the series despite a minus-2 run differential in the five games, and with horrific bullpen performances from some of their more reliable arms. Going into the NLCS against the Brewers (more on them later), it's certainly something to watch.

Smith took the series MVP honors, going 10-for-22 (.454) in the series with three doubles and two homeruns, including a homerun in the decisive Game 5.

Brewers take easier path: Milwaukee dispatched the Cubs in quicker fashion than the Dodgers did the Phillies, winning over Chicago in four games. After a 16-3 defeat in Game 1, the Brewers won three straight, including both games in Chicago, to reach only their second LCS since 1982.

At that time, however, they were in the American League. They ended up losing the World Series to St. Louis that year, now in the same division as the Cardinals.

It's also a rematch of the 2018 NLCS in which the Brewers pushed the top-seeded Dodgers to the limit before eventually prevailing in the seventh game and going on to drop the World Series in 2018 to the Boston Red Sox.

Jackson Chourio went 10-for-20 (.500) with a couple of homeruns to win the MVP honors, but teammate Caleb Durbin was also MVP-worthy, going 7-for-14 (.500) with a couple of doubles and steals each. It was another odd series where the advancing team was outscored by the team that is now sitting at home, with the Brewers getting outscored 29-to-21 (minus-8) in the four-game set.

Seattle, Toronto will play for World Series bid: Both of the teams on the American League side have a lot less recent history at this point in the postseason, with the Blue Jays last appearing in the ALCS in 2015 when they lost to the Kansas City Royals, who went on to win the whole thing over the Mets that year. Meanwhile, the Mariners haven't been this far since the 2000 and 2001 seasons, losing both times to the Yankees.

Seattle still hasn't won a World Series in their history, with the Brewers being the other of the remaining teams still alive in the postseason. Toronto went back-to-back in 1992 and 1993, but has not been back since.

The Mariners beat the heavily-favored Tigers three-games-to-one, dropping the first game by a 9-0 score to Tarik Skubal, but managed to win the next three games to avoid having to face Skubal again in what would have been the deciding fifth game. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays and Red Sox were pushed to the full five games, with Toronto taking the fifth game in dramatic fashion as Braydon Fisher put the Red Sox out with the tying run at the plate in the ninth, winning 3-1 last night.

Nathan Lukes won the MVP for their series, going 7-for-17 (.358) with a double and a homerun. Cal Raleigh won MVP honors in the other series, hitting a pair of homeruns with seven RBI.

[3Bplay]

Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Royals appear to make option decision; Murdock to retire

By artoodeetoo
10/11/2025

10/7 -- Report: Royals not expected to exercise option on starting pitcher: MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers was the first to report this, but was later picked up by larger outlets such as The Athletic and ESPN's Jeff Passan, that the Royals are not expected to exercise their end of Michael Lorenzen's $12 million mutual option.

Generally, teams decline their end of the mutual option if they first receive an indication that the player also intends to decline their part of the option, which was covered in Rogers' piece for MLB.com.

It's not a big surprise, as the Royals have some cheaper, additional depth in their rotation now with the additions of both Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert; along with pitchers like Kris Bubic and Alec Marsh returning from lengthy stints on the injured list for 2026. Still, Lorenzen posted a solid 2025 in going 6-8 with a 4.08 ERA in twenty-five total appearances, with twenty-three of those being starts.

His FIP and SIERA also closely tracked with his actual numbers, posting a 4.16 FIP and 3.89 SIERA. His work in 2025 came out to a 1.5 bWAR (Baseball Prospectus) and a 1.9 fWAR (Fangraphs) mark.

There is always the chance the Royals hope to bring him back on a cheaper deal, but heading into his age-34 season it's unlikely he'll accept anything close to the $5.5 million base he played on this season. In fact, Fangraphs is now projecting him to sign a two-year, $20 million deal this offseason. At that rate, he'd be the third-highest paid starting pitcher on the roster, only behind Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.

However, he wouldn't even be one of the best five starting pitchers going forward, which now includes youngster Noah Cameron. He'd be an incredibly expensive non-closer relief pitcher, and the Royals are already paying Carlos Estevez north of $10 million in 2026.

10/8 -- Former Royals farmhand calls it a career: Once thought of as a potential contributor at the major league level, right-hander Noah Murdock has decided to retire after his age-27 season. He was a seventh-round pick out of Virginia in the 2019 draft, and was a teammate of current Royals pitcher and 2018 draftee Daniel Lynch IV with the Cavaliers.

He announced the decision on Twitter, saying that "I've given a lot of my life and time to this game, but it's time to step away and move on to the next chapter".

Murdock actually reached the major leagues this season, but with a different organization. He was taken in the Rule 5 draft from the Royals by the Athletics this past offseason, logging seventeen innings with twenty-one strikeouts.

However, he was tagged for twenty-five earned runs and walked twenty hitters in his short stint before getting released back to the Royals in early May. He was assigned to Triple-A, and struggled to a 6.00 ERA in twenty-one innings over seventeen appearances.

[3Bplay]

MLB LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUPS
Dodgers seek fifth World Series berth since 2017; Mariners vie for first in franchise history

LOS ANGELES DODGERS VS MILWAUKEE BREWERS

GAME 1 L Blake Snell (0-1, 3.60) vs L Jose Quintana (0-0, 5.40)
GAME 2 R Shohei Ohtani (0-1, 16.20) vs R Chad Patrick (1-0, 3.00)
GAME 3 R Jacob Misiorowski (1-0, 4.26) vs R Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 2.77)
GAME 4 R Quinn Priester (0-0, 16.20) vs R Tyler Glasnow (1-0, 0.00)
GAME 5 L Jose Quintana (0-0, 5.40) vs L Blake Snell (0-1, 3.60) (if nec.)
GAME 6 R Shohei Ohtani (0-1, 16.20) vs R Chad Patrick (1-0, 3.00) (if nec.)
GAME 7 R Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 2.77) vs R Jacob Misiorowski (1-0, 4.26) (if nec.)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS VS SEATTLE MARINERS

GAME 1 R Chris Bassitt (0-0, 3.86) vs R Logan Gilbert (2-0, 1.93)
GAME 2 R Kevin Gausman (2-0, 1.93) vs R Bryan Woo (0-1, 6.75)
GAME 3 R George Kirby (2-0, 3.95) vs R Shane Bieber (2-1, 2.66)
GAME 4 R Luis Castillo (0-0, 1.17) vs R Jose Berrios (1-1, 1.98)
GAME 5 R Logan Gilbert (2-0, 1.93) vs R Chris Bassitt (0-0, 3.86) (if nec.)
GAME 6 R Kevin Gausman (2-0, 1.93) vs R Bryan Woo (0-1, 6.75) (if nec.)
GAME 7 R Shane Bieber (2-1, 2.66) vs R George Kirby (2-0, 3.95) (if nec.)

[3Bplay]

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RECAP
Dodgers, Blue Jays set to battle for it all

By MLB.com staff
10/22/2025

Los Angeles rolls; Blue Jays and Mariners play out the string: Well, we're finally down to the last two teams.

While the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners were locked into a tight, competitive series that went the full seven games, the eventual winner of that series in the Blue Jays will face a rested Dodgers squad that steamrolled over the Brewers with a +21 run differential in a four-game sweep. They were plus-21 in run differential; and pitched a pair of shutouts, one in Game 1 and the other in Game 4.

But will the longer layoff affect the Dodgers? There isn't any conclusive evidence that a longer layoff affects those teams more heading into the World Series, but there are two examples of this happening. The 1981 Yankees and 2007 Rockies are the only two teams in modern baseball history to win their respective league pennant, but go on to lose the World Series to a team that played five games or more in their respective league championship.

The ALCS by contrast was tight and much more entertaining, with both teams holding serve at home through the first four games and neither team winning by more than two runs. Seattle finally broke through with a road win at the Rogers Centre in Game 5, but the Blue Jays responded with a pair of two-run victories in Seattle for Games 6 and 7.

At any rate, the Dodgers look like the more complete team of the two -- excellent starting pitching, a lineup without many holes and a deep bench, and they do have a solid back end of the bullpen. They also get Mookie Betts back for the World Series, which will be a massive boost. However, they do have a soft underbelly in their middle relief. It wasn't as apparent in the Brewers' series because they were so bad offensively, but the Phillies' elite offense really took advantage of their mediocre middle relief.

They did get Roki Sasaki back for the NLCS, and was solid in tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. The back end of the bullpen is also good with Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia, but at times they have struggled to get there as the Dodgers' middle relief corps in the Philadelphia series for the NLDS posted an ERA of over 10.00.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays will be without Shane Bieber for the World Series, as he was ruled out with an ankle injury that he suffered making a play on a groundball during the Seattle series. Despite a subpar regular season, Bieber has been one of the better starters in all of the postseason with a 2.17 ERA and a 2-1 record in five starts.

His replacement on the roster, Bowdwn Francis, hasn't pitched since September 28th and finished the season with a 4.99 ERA. To deal with the Dodgers' lefty-heavy lineup with stalwarts like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy, the Nlue Jays also jettisoned righty relievers Ryan Burr and Austin Voth for Mason Fluharty and Brendon Little, a pair of southpaws to add to Eric Lauer's presence.

Francis isn't slated to pitch until Game 4, but in a do-or-die situation could easily be pre-empted by projected Game 1 starter Chris Bassitt on short rest, who has pitched well despite an 0-2 postseason mark. Jose Berrios is expected to start the second game with Kevin Gausman in Game 3. The Dodgers are expected to go with the Japanese duo of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ohtani in Games 1 and 2, respectively, with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow for the next two.

[3Bplay]

MLB NEWS WIRE
Managerial hot stove heats up

By MLB.com staff
10/22/2025

10/12 -- Padres join teams in looking for new dugout boss: After a 184-140 record over two seasons and a pair of playoff bids with the Padres, Mike Shildt is stepping away from the game as he announced his retirement. His retirement makes the Padres the 9th team since the beginning of the season to turn over their manager (which includes interim skippers during the season), roughly 30% of the league.

While most of the baseball world was surprised by the announcement, it was apparently not a surprise to the Padres' brass, as Shildt informed the Seidler family, Padres president Erik Greupner, and baseball ops chief AJ Preller that he needed time to decide if he wanted to remain as manager, and they reportedly gave him "all the time" needed to make a decision.

The opening remark in the statement was "retiring as manager of the San Diego Padres", which left some room for interpretation, but the rest of the letter made quite clear that he was stepping away from baseball entirely.

"The grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically, and emotionally," he said in his prepared statement that was posted on all of the Padres' social media accounts. "While it has always been about serving others, it's time I take care of myself and exit on my terms."

Shildt, 57, never played professional baseball, getting right into coaching and scouting after wrapping up his playing career at UNC-Asheville. After a handful of years as an assistant coach in the high school ranks, he became an assistant at UNC-Charlotte (now just Charlotte) before taking a job with Major League Baseball as an associate scout in the early 2000's.

The Cardinals hired him as a regional scout in 2003; and in 2006, was named as a full-time assistant coach in the minors. He held various assistant and managerial roles in the minors through 2016, when he was added to the Cardinals' coaching staff for the 2017 season. He held down the third-base coaching role in the interim before being named as the team's bench coach for the 2018 season.

Shildt would find himself in the big seat on July 14th, 2018, when the Cardinals terminated Mike Matheny as the manager, and Shildt would go on to post a 41-28 record as the interim skipper that season. Through 2021, he compiled a 252-199 record as the Cards' manager before leaving due to "philosophical differences" with the organization.

He would spend just a few short months working as a consultant for MLB before the Padres named him to their staff for the 2022 season. He spent that year in a quality control role before Shildt worked his way up to the managerial seat for the 2024 season after Bob Melvin left to manage the Giants.

Who are the candidates at this point? It's difficult to imagine the Padres not making their first call to Bruce Bochy, who won nearly one-thousand games as the Padres' manager from 1995 through 2006. But does he even still want to manage at 70? Others that could make sense are Guardians assistant Craig Albernaz, Dodgers pitching coach and San Diego native Mark Prior, and current pitching coach Ruben Niebla.

10/13 -- Mets' Alonso expected to decline option; test free agency: The first big domino for free agency appears to have fallen, as it's been reported by multiple outlets that Pete Alonso plans to opt out of the final year of his contract and enter free agency this offseason.

Alonso, who ended the season on the injured list after suffering a high ankle sprain at the end of August, still managed to post a .918 OPS in 2025, his best mark since his rookie season (.948) in which he hit fifty-three homeruns and unanimously won the Rookie of the Year award in the NL that year.

New York was just bounced from the postseason by the Phillies, who are down 1-0 after taking a 13-1 loss to open the series last night. Manager Carlos Mendoza took a lot of heat for the Mets' late-season collapse that prevented them from winning the division, and it was bad enough that both Steve Cohen and player personnel director David Stearns both unequivocally stated that Mendoza would return in 2026.

"Carlos will be back in 2026, and we anticipate him being the manager here for a long time," Stearns said in a recent interview with ESPN. "While we had a disappointing finish, there were still many good things to take away from this season."

Losing Alonso would take a big chunk of their offensive firepower away; and while the Mets' brass have a lot of confidence in Mark Vientos' talent, he's coming off a very poor 2025 after a standout 2024. Alonso declining the option doesn't mean he's not willing to return to the Mets, but not at the $20 million price tag.

"If there's a player that the Mets want, chances are they will have the financial wherewithal to get him," said one unnamed NL executive. "There will be some competition in the end, but I expect that he'll be back with the Mets with a new deal."

One thing that isn't in the Mets' favor is that he's already received a qualifying offer in the past, so teams will be unencumbered in trying to sign him to a long-term contract without fear of losing a draft pick or two. The immediate top suitors for him would be the crosstown Yankees and the Red Sox, but the Giants are also a team that might be involved.

10/13 -- Angels, Suzuki agree to contract: Well, the Albert Pujols speculation didn't last long in Los Angeles, as they have finalized a contract to make former MLB catcher Kurt Suzuki their next manager. It's the second vacancy to be filled, with the Rangers hiring former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker about a week ago.

Pujols is a candidate for several open managerial roles, including Baltimore, San Diego, and Washington. He's considered to be the front-runner for the Orioles' job, but the Padres and Nationals have also shown interest in the former Angel, Dodger, and Cardinals' star.

Despite not being considered for the Angels' role anymore, his personal services contract will not exactly go away -- in fact, he is having the remainder of his ten-year, $1 million-per-year 'personal services' contract paid out prior to taking any job.

Both owner Arte Moreno and player personnel head Perry Minasian were wanting to hire internally for the open role, with former players Suzuki and Torii Hunter the other two candidates and consultants in the front office to Minasian. Hunter is also under consideration for the open Twins' role, but mentioned shortly before the season's end that he was "waiting for the right opportunity".

10/14 -- Royals sign infielder to extension: First broken by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and later confirmed by MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, and Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Royals have solidified the left side of their infield for years to come, extending All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia to a seven-year, $87 million extension.

His new deal is guaranteed for five years beginning in 2026, as the Royals are buying out all of his arbitration years plus a year of free agency. He has player options on the final two years, both worth $18 million apiece. He set career highs in nearly every offensive category this year, and is also a newly-named finalist for both the Silver Slugger (utility) and Gold Glove (third base).

He could also earn up to an extra $2 million in incentives per season, with plate appearance escalators worth $200,000 per 100 PA up to 500. He also has a per-year $1 million All-Star bonus.

While he has mainly played third base the last two years, the Royals' brass are reportedly considering a move to second base for Garcia. Second base is a bit of blind spot at both the major league and minor league levels, and with one of their cornerstone players now in the fold for the foreseeable future, a move there would make sense if they can find a suitable replacement in the offseason.

GM JJ Picollo and the Royals' front office are allegedly very high on 2025 first-round pick Josh Hammond, a third baseman, who they think could be a 'fast-riser' in the system and reach the majors within a few years, and could look for a stopgap at third. There's not a lot in the free agent market at the position, but some veterans such as Yoan Moncada or Willi Castro could be options; or a trade for someone like Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals, who could look to unload the final two years of his deal.

If he opts out of his Red Sox contract, Alex Bregman has also been floated as a potential free agent target for the Royals, but would likely be the most expensive option in terms of either prospect capital or actual dollars. Despite an injury-plagued year that limited him to just 108 games, Bregman still managed to hit twenty-four homeruns and twenty-nine doubles, posting a 146 OPS+, the third-best mark of his career.

10/17 -- Rays could make infielders available to trade: Tampa Bay, always looking to improve via trade, are reportedly going to listen to offers for infielders Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe. The 31-year-old Lowe is only guaranteed through this season, but holds a very affordable $11.5 million team option for 2026 that they will likely exercise and then potentially leverage in a deal.

Diaz, on the other hand, has a fully guaranteed $12 million salary for 2026. He also won the league's hit title, collecting a league-best 184 hits on the season. He finished in the top five in the AL batting race at .293. The last three seasons, however, have seen him become one of the best right-handed contact bats in the league, and his power metrics (launch angle, exit velo) have jumped since the beginning of 2023.

Since the beginning of 2023, he has ninety-five doubles and sixty-seven homeruns with a 134 OPS+, tops on the Rays in that period of time.

With top prospects in first baseman Xavier Isaac and infielder Carson Williams on the cusp of the majors, the Rays could be looking to sell expiring contracts to make room for younger, cheaper players that could be ready for a larger role in the majors, something they've always done in the past. They typically do this with pitchers, namely Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin, if we're talking recently.

Lowe missed about a month just past the All-Star break with some ankle issues, but still managed to post a 119 OPS+ with twenty-six homeruns and seventeen doubles.

10/19 -- Yankees, Volpe agree to five-year extension: Coming off his best offensive season since breaking into the majors, Anthony Volpe is now under contract for the next five seasons. It's a relatively modest deal by Yankees' standards, but will still get paid nearly $25 million in sum over the final two years of the deal, which are his first two free agent-eligible seasons.

In all, it's a five-year deal worth nearly $40 million, and there weren't any incentives to speak of until the 2029 and 2030 seasons, where he'll get an additional $500,000 per All-Star bid. It's also fully-guaranteed with no opt-outs or team options.

"We're thrilled that we could get something done for him," said Hal Steinbrenner in a statement. "Anthony had his best season as a Yankee last year, and we're excited to see him continue to grow as a player and a person in pinstripes for the foreseeable future."

The 2023 Gold Glove winner set a new career-best in doubles (29) and tied his career homerun mark (21), but did so in about a hundred fewer at-bats than his rookie season. He's the second young AL infielder this week to get a long-term extension, joining third baseman Maikel Garcia of the Royals who signed a seven-year extension just a handful of days ago.

10/20 -- Pujols emerges as front-runner for Padres' job: Along with Craig Albernaz of the Guardians, the Padres have narrowed their search in just over a week to both he and Albert Pujols. Pujols has been a part of FOX Sports' coverage of the postseason, but has notably missed some time as he's been jetting around the country, interviewing for the open positions with the Orioles and Angels, as well as the Padres.

After going 184-140 in just two seasons, Mike Shildt stepped aside from San Diego at just fifty-seven to take a break after posting that the "job was taking a physical and mental toll" on him.

Albernaz is also a favorite for the Orioles' open spot, along with Pujols and former Pirates manager Derek Shelton. Baltimore ousted Brandon Hyde after a 15-28 start, and recently decided to part ways with interim Tony Mansolino despite an improvement on Hyde's dismal 2025 beginning.

Director of baseball operations/vice president AJ Preller is leading the search for the new manager, along with team president/CEO Erik Gruepner. Reportedly, pitching coach Ruben Niebla is not a candidate for the job, but would like to stay in San Diego if not hired elsewhere by another organization. Niebla is also a candidate for the open Nationals position, but was recently dropped as a candidate by the Orioles and Twins.

Current bench coach Brian Esposito was also nixed as a candidate in an update earlier in the week, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that was later picked up and confirmed by ESPN and Baseball America.

10/21 -- Giants to hire Vitello from the college ranks: San Francisco has made baseball history with the hiring of Tony Vitello from the University of Tennessee as their new skipper, as he's the first manager in MLB history to go straight from the college ranks to managing an MLB team without any previous MLB coaching experience.

He replaces Bob Melvin, who was ousted despite having his 2026 option picked up shortly after the All-Star break. He'll also be one of the highest-paid managers in the league at $3.5 million per year through at least 2029, and has an option for 2030.

Posey called Vitello, 47, "one of the brightest, most innovative, and most respected coaches in college baseball," and also noted that his "commitment to developing players stood out." That will be crucial for the Giants moving forward, along with other Vitello traits.

"His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization," Posey wrote in his statement announcing the hire. "We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring along with the memories to be made, as we focus on the future of Giants baseball."

There also wasn't any indication that there were any other targets besides Vitello. He immediately ruled out a reunion between the organization and Bruce Bochy, who won three titles with the Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Others like Skip Schumaker, Brandon Hyde, and even Albert Pujols were not even considered.

Vitello joins a Giants outfit that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2021 when they lost to the Dodgers in five games in the NLDS. Before that, their last foray into the postseason was 2016, two years after their last World Series championship. Prior to Tennessee, the St. Louis native and former Missouri Tiger standout coached at Arkansas and Missouri before joining up with the Vols in 2017.

With Vitello's hiring, the number of vacancies has shrunk to six -- Washington, Baltimore, San Diego, Minnesota, Atlanta, and Colorado. The Rockies still haven't made a decision on interim Warren Schaeffer, but they want to have a replacement for Bill Schmidt in place before hiring a new dugout boss.

[3Bplay]

Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Garcia extends contract; Perez extension update

By artoodeetoo
10/22/2025

10/14 -- Royals sign infielder to extension: First broken by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and later confirmed by MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, and Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Royals have solidified the left side of their infield for years to come, extending All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia to a seven-year, $87 million extension.

His new deal is guaranteed for five years beginning in 2026, as the Royals are buying out all of his arbitration years plus a year of free agency. He has player options on the final two years, both worth $18 million apiece. He set career highs in nearly every offensive category, and is also a newly-named finalist for both the Silver Slugger (utility) and Gold Glove (third base).

He could also earn up to an extra $2 million in incentives per season, with plate appearance escalators worth $200,000 per 100 PA up to 500. He also has a per-year $1 million All-Star bonus.

While he has mainly played third base the last two years, the Royals' brass are reportedly considering a move to second base for Garcia. Second base is a bit of a hole at both the major league and minor league levels, and with one of their cornerstone players now in the fold for the foreseeable future, a move there would make sense.

GM JJ Picollo and the Royals' front office are allegedly very high on 2025 first-round pick Josh Hammond, a third baseman, who they think could be a 'fast-riser' in the system and reach the majors within a few years, and could look for a stopgap at third. There's not a lot in the free agent market at the position, but some veterans such as Yoan Moncada or Willi Castro could be options; or a trade for someone like Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals, who could look to unload the final two years of his deal.

10/16 -- Royals' top prospect 'off-limits' in potential offseason deals: If there's one thing about JJ Picollo, is that he's pretty brutally honest. When asked about what players he would be willing to move over the offseason, he mentioned that minor-league catcher Blake Mitchell is 'off-limits', and that any deal involving him is a non-starter.

While making your top prospect unavailable in trade talks is not unheard of, it's not common to call them out by name in an interview, even in a small-time setting such as on the radio show he was on. Mitchell is the kind of prospect that could help net a big-name return in the trade market, and pre-emptively making him unavailable may lessen the options and leverage that you have.

That is, of course, if you think he's the future behind the plate and are treating him as such. Carter Jensen, another catching prospect and Kansas City-area native, is currently slated as the other backstop to join Salvador Perez on next year's Opening Day roster, but there's talk that he may eventually end up at another position. Especially if he can develop with the bat, of course.

While Jensen is no slouch as a defender behind the plate, Mitchell is generally regarded as one of the best young catching prospects from a defensive standpoint from the last few drafts; and despite some rawness with the bat, he has shown good pop from the left side. Picollo didn't outright say it, but he alluded to Jensen getting some work at other positions next spring, saying that we 'encourage all of our young players to learn more positions", and that Jensen wasn't an exception to that.

"Blake is an ultra-talented player who has had some tough luck with injuries, but he's worked hard to get back on the field and we're seeing some encouraging signs from him even in his limited time," he said of the Royals' number-one prospect. "As far as our plans for him next year, it's likely he's going to go back down to High-A for a rehab stint of sorts before going back to Double-A, if all goes well. We have a good number of our pitching prospects that are in that range right now, and it's important for him to get a good rapport with them."

And he's right. Pitchers such as Frank Mozzicato, Hunter Owen, Henry Williams, and potentially others like 2025 draftees Michael Lombardi and Justin Lamkin along with 2024 picks Drew Beam and AJ Causey could also find their way to Double-A in 2026.

10/18 -- Royals reach tentative agreement with 2026 international prospect: 16-year-old Javier Vital, a right-handed pitcher out of the Dominican Republic, has reportedly committed to terms with the Royals on a signing bonus for the upcoming signing period.

The Royals are amongst a group of seven teams with the largest international bonus pool, as they'll have a little over $8 million to spend this upcoming season. Arizona, Baltimore, Cleveland, Colorado, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis are the other six that also will be able to spend up to that amount.

Contracts cannot be signed and terms cannot be disclosed until January 15th, 2026, but as one of the top sixty-five players in the upcoming international class, Vital is likely to see a bonus in the low seven figures. He's the first known commitment to the Royals' international class.

Vital throws four pitches (four-seamer, two-seamer, curve, changeup), and has the ability to land them all for strikes. He doesn't have the top-end velocity, but throws with plenty of movement and has solid command for his age group.

10/19 -- Royals coach continues to pop up in managerial searches: As with last year when bench coach Paul Hoover popped up in managerial searches, another Royals assistant has become a hot name for this year's managerial search cycle.

Third-base coach Vance Wilson has been a candidate for open spots with the Padres, Twins, Nationals, and Orioles. He was reportedly set for an interview with the Giants before cancelling that one, but could still interview with the Twins and/or Orioles in the coming days per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.

"He's definitely in that next tier of candidates," said one unnamed NL executive in Castrovince's piece. "Working with (Matt) Quatraro, (Paul) Hoover, who were in Tampa; and the success that the Royals have had recently have raised his profile, but he's probably going to need some Plan A-types to fall through to likely have a shot. Still a very good coach and baseball guy, though."

Wilson's boss, manager Matt Quatraro, seemed to agree with this executive.

"Vance is one of the best baseball minds I've been around," Quatraro beamed when asked about Wilson on his weekly radio show. "It'd be a big loss if he went elsewhere, but he deserves a shot to run his own show this year going forward. If he moves on, we'll wish him the best of luck, but we'll definitely welcome him back if it doesn't work for him this time around."

Even if Wilson doesn't get a seat in one of the remaining big chairs around the league, he could still get plucked to be a bench coach for one of the new hires as he's well-thought-of throughout the league. There's also a thought that he could eventually move down to the minors and manage the Storm Chasers after the retirement of Mike Jirschele a few weeks ago.

10/20 -- Discussions on Perez extension continue: With Maikel Garcia's extension now in the rear-view mirror, attention has turned back to whether or not the Royals will reach an agreement with Salvador Perez. Matt Quatraro on his weekly radio show mentioned that while he wasn't privy to all of the details, he said that talks were 'progressing well'.

"JJ would be the better guy to ask here, but all I know is that they feel good about where they're at and things are progressing well," he said. "Both sides want Salvy here, on our end and his camp, too. I feel good they'll get something done, but when, I don't know."

Reportedly, Perez's camp is seeking a four-year deal, but realize that is an unlikely ask. The dollar amount is less important in this negotiation this time around, and also wants to see the organization continue to add talent to try and get back to a World Series.

"He was crushed this year not getting to the postseason," Quatraro went on to add. "There's a competitive fire with that guy underneath all of the smiles and pranks that he likes to pull. He wants to win just as much as anyone on this roster."

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WORLD SERIES RECAP
Dodgers win second straight title, third since 2020

By MLB.com staff
11/02/2025

Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better, as Clayton Kershaw took the ball to start Game 7 last night, and ended up pitching a game for the ages in front of the home crowd one last time as he pitched six scoreless innings as the Dodgers went on to shut the Blue Jays out and win their second straight title, and their third since 2020.

However, Los Angeles had the final two games at home against the plucky Blue Jays, who didn't even win their division on their way to making their first World Series since 1993, which is also the last time they won it with Joe Carter leading the way. Max Muncy was named World Series MVP, getting at least one hit in all seven games, going 10-for-24 (.417) with a homerun and two doubles.

Muncy also had a great postseason overall, going 18-for-51 (.353) with a homerun and five RBI. Of his fifteen games played, he reached base safely in fourteen of them, collecting a hit in thirteen of the fifteen total games he played.

Kershaw, who actually was not slated to start in this series and had not pitched yet even in relief, was pressed into starting duty when Shohei Ohtani was ruled out from both pitching and hitting for the remainder of the series after Game 4 with an elbow strain.

In a pair of appearances in the postseason, he had struggled with eight hits allowed in just two innings of relief work, with three strikeouts and no walks. He had not pitched in a little over two weeks until last night's start, and went out and delivered one of the most memorable performances in recent memory.

"When Dave (manager Roberts) came over last night (after the Game 6 win) and asked, 'Got one more in you?', and I told him I couldn't wait," he said with a chuckle after the game and celebration on the field. "I also told him I'll go as deep as you need me to go, there's no tomorrow for me."

The two teams alternated victories through the first four games before Toronto took the always-critical Game 5. Over 70%% of MLB playoff series' victories eventually go to the Game 5 winner in some fashion, whether it's the clinching Game 5 win or to go up 3-2.

The series was not short of heroics, from Shohei Ohtani's two-out RBI single in the seventh inning of their 5-4 comeback win in Game 1, Teoscar Hernandez's two-out, two-run go-ahead single in the seventh inning of Game 3 (another comeback win), George Springer's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th of Game 4, and finally Kershaw's career finale performance in Game 7.

For Yoshinobu Yamamoto, his bet to sign with the Dodgers back in 2024 has paid off for him handsomely, in both salary and winning. He's now been a major part of two World Series championships in two seasons, and now his countryman-in-common Ohtani has also notched a pair of World Series titles since coming over from the Angels two seasons ago.

Roki Sasaki, another Japanese import, also played a big role in both the NLCS and World Series, allowing just one earned run over 4 2/3 innings of work between the two series.

"The fact that we didn't have the best player on the planet for the final three games and came out on top says a lot about our resiliency," said Roberts about his team's attitude after ruling Ohtani out for the remainder of the series after Game 4.

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Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Royals make coaching changes; Perez signs extension

By 3BPlay
11/02/2025

10/24 -- Royals part ways with minor league coordinator: Kansas City and minor league hitting coordinator Drew Saylor have decided to part ways, per a report from Anne Rogers at MLB.com. Saylor was thought of as a potential assistant to current hitting coach Alec Zumwalt, but that is no longer a possibility after this news.

Soon after expressing confidence in Zumwalt's position just after the regular season ended, the Royals did not renew the contracts of assistant coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon. Now with Saylor gone, that's a big chunk of their hitting program that produced such players as Bobby Witt, Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Nick Pratto, and MJ Melendez.

The latter two have not produced much at the big-league level, but continued to put up solid numbers in Triple-A and have a long track record of excellent production in the minors. However, both Pratto and Melendez could be on the chopping block as the former is set to hit free agency for the first time, and the latter has been talked about as one of the most likely non-tender candidates.

Typically, assistants are not named until later in the offseason, around the time of the Winter Meetings in early to mid-December.

10/26 -- Other MLB teams making note of Royals' pitching surplus: Currently, the Royals legitimately go ten-deep in their rotation; likely just nine since the Royals have already signaled that they don't intend to exercise their end of a mutual option with Michael Lorenzen.

With all of the injuries and uncertainty, they went out and acquired lefty Bailey Falter from the Pirates and right-handers Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert from the Padres at the deadline for not a ton in return, with catcher Freddy Fermin the only semi-big loss.

Throw in the fact that they will likely put both Ben Kudrna and Frank Mozzicato on the 40-man in a few weeks to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, there is sure to be some movement from the major league staff. Falter in particular, because he's arbitration-eligible for only the second time and stands to earn about $4 million in arbitration per Fangraphs.

But there's also the chance that the Royals could part ways with top-line starter Kris Bubic, who made his first All-Star team this season before going down on the 60-day IL with a shoulder ailment. Teams are very likely to inquire about him to check on his medical status, especially teams that are already in playoff contention or feel they can now compete in 2026 (which should include the Royals).

With just one year of control remaining, however, that might limit what the Royals could seek in return. JJ Picollo noted that Bubic, who is now off the injured list, is at 'about 90%' when it comes to being able to pitch in a game today in a recent interview.

"He's been doing some light throwing, simulated games," Picollo said during the post-season press conference a few weeks ago. "Today, I don't think he could pitch a full game, but he could probably go two or three innings at normal intensity. Assuming no setbacks, he'll be ready for Opening Day."

It's less likely that the Royals would trade others, such as Cole Ragans or Noah Cameron, power lefties with multiple years of control. Veterans Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha have bigger deals that would be hard to move, so it also seems unlikely they would be moved without significant salary concessions.

10/28 -- Brewers' Dawson signed to one-year deal as assistant: Brewers assistant hitting coach Connor Dawson has finalized a deal to join the Royals' staff as a hitting coach under Alec Zumwalt, reported by David Lesky of InsideTheCrown, a fan site for the club.

Al LeBoeuf, the hitting coach for the Brewers, took a leave of absence earlier in the season after undergoing major surgery, leaving Dawson as the team's primary hitting coach for the remainder of the season. LeBoeuf is expected to be back for 2026, but now Dawson will get a chance to help out his hometown team as he went to high school at nearby Olathe North, about 20-30 minutes from the stadium.

The team did not renew the contracts of assistants Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon, along with minor league hitting coordinator Drew Saylor. There is talk that Zumwalt could eventually re-take his minor league hitting coordinator role and have Dawson take over the following year (perhaps as soon as 2027), but that's purely speculation at this point.

Carrying an assistant coach for the pitching and hitting coach spots is not unusual, but the Royals had at one time three assistant hitting coaches in Matt Quatraro's first year as the manager.

Vital throws four pitches (four-seamer, two-seamer, curve, changeup), and has the ability to land them all for strikes. He doesn't have the top-end velocity, but throws with plenty of movement and has solid command for his age group.

10/30 -- Royals lose top pitching assistant to the White Sox: As the Royals gain an assistant on the hitting side, they lose an assistant on the pitching side. Zach Bove, the assistant pitching coach to Brian Sweeney, is going to get the chance to head up his own pitching staff under Will Venable on the South side.

KC-area native Connor Dawson is returning home to join the Royals' staff as an assistant hitting coach under Alec Zumwalt. JJ Picollo noted they are looking to add one more assistant to that side, but now they'll have to look for a new assistant pitching coach as well.

Bove worked in the minors under senior pitching performance director Paul Gibson before moving up to the big-league staff under Sweeney. Just thirty-seven, he'll be one of the youngest lead pitching coaches in the entire league.

"Zach really deserves the chance to run his own staff; just wish it wasn't with a division rival, but he'll do some good work there," Quatraro said in his recent weekly sit-down. "My guess is that we'll do a league-wide search to replace him, but I know some of the guys in the minors who I think would do a great job as well."

White Sox VP of baseball operations Chris Getz, a former Royals player himself, has a very good working relationship with JJ Picollo and the Kansas City front office, so it seems logical that he would want to pick the brains of a team that's further along in their rebuild.

"Kansas City under Matt Quatraro and his staff know how to identify coaching talent that can help develop their own players, and it's the right time to bring some fresh ideas into the organization," Getz said in a statement. "Zach Bove fits that mold, and we're excited to have him in Chicago and hope that he can hit the ground running."

10/30 -- It's official! Perez to remain a Royal, signs extension: With a decision looming in a matter of days upon the World Series' conclusion, the Royals and Salvador Perez have hammered out an extension that will keep him in Royal blue for at least the next two seasons.

He signed a two-year, $25 million deal with an undisclosed amount of deferred money and a $7 million signing bonus. The deferred money is set to be paid out in the year following Perez' retirement, leaving open the possibility that he could yet return upon the end of the 2027 season. There weren't any incentives or other options to speak of, so it appears to be a straight-up, fully-guaranteed deal.

It's unclear about how the money is structured in terms of yearly salary, but it's believed that it's split into an equal amount of money each season, those amounts depending on how much of the $25 million is deferred. The new contract also voids the $13.5 million team option.

"I love Kansas City, this city has given so much to me over the last nineteen years and counting," he said in a statement to the fans via his social media accounts. "But there's still much that I want to give back; the fans here are the best and most supportive in baseball, and deserve a consistent winner that competes for championships. I'm going to do my best to help bring that back and keep it here."

Owner John Sherman, vice-president for baseball operations JJ Picollo, and manager Matt Quatraro all released a joint statement saying that "we're beyond thrilled that Salvador has decided to continue to make Kansas City his home for the foreseeable future. We feel deep down that his name is going to be mentioned amongst the greats not only here in Kansas City, but throughout league history."

Despite being in his mid-30's and playing one of the most physically and mentally-demanding positions in all of sports, Perez has continued to stay productive at the plate well into his 30's with twenty-four homeruns, forty-two doubles, and eighty-eight RBI in 2025.

The forty-two doubles smashed his old career high mark, and he sits just twenty-one homeruns away from breaking George Brett's career homerun mark in team history. In addition, he is less than 300 hits away from 2,000. Only seven primary catchers have ever reached that mark.