Author: Rowan Kavner Deesha Thosar

<!–>

Baseball is back! 

Historic performances in 2024 generated record increases in viewership and MLB’s highest attendance in seven years. It all culminated in a classic and unforgettable World Series between the Yankees and the Dodgers. But while the sports’ two most storied franchises entertained us in late October, there were several other fascinating developments throughout the year and across the league.

That list includes a pair of pitchers recording triple crown seasons, another posting one of the best rookie campaigns ever, and the consummation of the largest contract in sports history.

Here’s a look back at the 10 biggest MLB storylines of 2024:

1. A hobbled Freddie Freeman comes through with iconic Fall Classic

There were two lasting memories of the 2024 World Series: the Yankees‘ calamitous fifth inning in the deciding Game 5 and the iconic blast off the bat of a hobbled Freddie Freeman in Game 1. Freeman was unable to play in two of the Dodgers‘ final three games of the NLCS due to a lingering ankle injury and was also battling broken rib cartilage. He was held without an extra-base hit through the Dodgers’ first two postseason series, but the time off before the Fall Classic allowed him to find his power again. The Dodgers were down to their last out in Game 1 when Freeman conjured memories of Kirk Gibson as he launched the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. Freeman would go on to homer in each of the next three games as well, giving the series MVP a major-league record six straight World Series games with a home run dating back to the Braves‘ 2021 championship run. — Rowan Kavner

2. Even without pitching, MVP Shohei Ohtani keeps making history 

There’s enough material from Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers to create an entire top-10 list of his achievements alone, so we’ll just take the whole thing here. Unable to pitch in the first year of his $700 million deal, Ohtani tried to find a way to make more of an impact as an offensive juggernaut with his speed and did it to unprecedented and awe-inspiring levels. He became the fastest player ever to reach 40 homers and 40 steals in a season, and he got there with a walk-off grand slam. Then he became the first 50/50 player in MLB history, hitting the milestone in one of the all-time great single-game performances (6-for-6, 3 HR, 2 2B, 2 SB, 10 RBI). In his first taste of the postseason, Ohtani won a World Series in his first year with the Dodgers and then was crowned the first league MVP who served strictly as a DH. — Kavner

3. The return of the Bronx Bombers

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto produced historic numbers we hadn’t seen in 93 years in their lone season playing in pinstripes together. Their combined oWAR of 19.6 became the highest for a tandem in baseball since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig recorded 20.0 for the 1931 Yankees. Judge and Soto also combined for 99 home runs and finished in the top three in AL MVP voting, with Judge bringing the trophy home for the second time in his career. The two titans took the Yankees to the World Series; Soto’s 10th-inning pennant-winning home run off Hunter Gaddis was the ultimate highlight of their October, while Judge’s record 223 OPS+ during the regular season set the foundation for the Yankees’ championship run. We didn’t know at the time that Game 5 of the Fall Classic would be the last time they played together. Since Soto switched boroughs in free agency this December, it already makes the spectacle of Judge-Soto that much more nostalgic. For a single season, they were an iconic duo. But in the grand scheme of baseball’s history, they’re just a blip. Oh, but what a year it was. — Deesha Thosar

4. MLB’s homecoming at Rickwood Field

Major League Baseball’s decision to celebrate the historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala. this summer became an unforgettable tribute to the Negro Leagues and Willie Mays, who died the day before the event kicked off. Mays’ presence was felt at the nation’s oldest professional ballpark, where the Hall of Famer’s legacy began and veterans of the Negro Leagues returned in wheelchairs and high spirits as the Cardinals edged the Giants. Mays’ son, Michael, told the crowd: “Let him hear you!”, before a series of “Willie! Willie!” chants enveloped the field. From issues of race and segregation, to a meeting point for families and communities, to a birthplace of some of the sport’s most talented athletes of all time, Rickwood Field is a relic that will always hold a special place in baseball’s long and complicated history. While the event was held over a few days, the celebration of the beloved ballpark was a sentimental and unforgettable chapter of the 2024 season. — Thosar

5. Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes even better than advertised

Massive expectations followed Paul Skenes after the Pirates made the LSU national champion the top overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He somehow managed to exceed them. Ten months after he was drafted, Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11. His first 11 big-league starts were so extraordinary that he earned the start in the All-Star Game, becoming the first player ever to go from the No. 1 overall pick to an All-Star the following year. The rest of his season was similarly overpowering. He finished the year with a 1.96 ERA, which was the lowest mark for any rookie with at least 20 starts in the live-ball era and the lowest mark of any big-league pitcher in 2024 with at least 130 innings pitched. Skenes, who struck out 170 batters in 133 innings, was named Rookie of the Year and finished third in Cy Young voting. — Kavner

6. Cy Youngs are triple crown winners

From 2012 to 2023, the only pitcher to win a triple crown (leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts) was Shane Bieber during the shortened 2020 season. Then came Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal, who this year became the first tandem triple-crown winners since Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander in 2011. Sale and Skubal, both left-handed pitchers who’ve persisted after Tommy John surgery, posted eerily similar totals — Sale went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in his first year in Atlanta, while Skubal was 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in Detroit — though their paths to award-winning seasons were vastly different. Sale had finished in the top five in Cy Young voting every year from 2013 to 2018 before being limited by injury over the past four years in Boston. The 35-year-old finally won the award in a bounce-back season in Year 14. Skubal, meanwhile, is still an ascending star. The 28-year-old won the AL Cy Young Award unanimously after helping lift the Tigers to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. — Kavner

7. Mets‘ late-inning magic

Whether it was Pete Alonso’s go-ahead ninth-inning home run off closer Devin Williams, or Francisco Lindor’s game-winning grand slam against the Phillies that sent the Mets to the NLCS, it was a fairy-tale season full of humor, whimsy and joy for the Amazins. Their late-inning heroics became a staple of their deep postseason run, which included an MLB record four consecutive postseason games in which the team with the lead entering the eighth inning lost. After putting together an expensive and disappointing roster in 2023, the Mets with tempered expectations battled their way all the way to a NLCS Game 6 against the Dodgers, when their capacity for comebacks finally ran out. But a season that featured a glove being thrown into the stands, a goofy McDonalds character, a banger of a Latin pop song performed by their infielder, and a special team culture that overcame setback after setback made for an internal belief that the Mets were always going to fight to stay in the game. When the curtain finally dropped, baseball was left to appreciate a truly remarkable season from the Mets. — Thosar

8. Witt, Henderson, De La Cruz headline golden era of young shortstops

If you want to get excited about the future of the sport, just look at the shortstop position. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz all ranked in the top 10 in wins above replacement in 2024, and all three are under the age of 25. Witt and Henderson finished second and fourth in American League MVP voting, respectively, while De La Cruz finished eighth in the National League. Witt orchestrated one of the greatest all-around seasons from a shortstop ever and won the AL batting crown with a .332 batting average. Henderson had 28 homers before the All-Star break. De La Cruz had 45 steals and 15 homers in his first 91 games, and there are plenty more young talents behind them. C.J. Abrams, 24, was an All-Star and finished with a 20/30 season. Ezequial Tovar, 23, earned down-ballot MVP votes after leading the NL with 45 doubles. The position is in a spectacular place looking forward. — Kavner

9. Central time in the American League

Sure, we thought either the Tigers or the Royals could have a solid season in 2024, but even as late into the year as the trade deadline, nobody expected both teams to make the playoffs. Detroit traded away four of its best players, including Jack Flaherty, in July and fell to a 55-63 record on Aug. 10 with only 44 games left in the season. Then, behind ace Tarik Skubal, they just kept winning. The Tigers went from fourth to second place in the AL Central in the final week of the regular season, defeated the Orioles in the wild-card round, and advanced to the ALDS for the first time in 10 years while ending the longest postseason drought in baseball.

The Royals, who also just finished a long rebuild, relied on their mix of youth and veteran leadership to surge into the playoffs for the first time since their 2015 championship run. Kansas City fell to the eventual AL champion Yankees in the ALDS, but its future looks promising with AL MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. on the books until at least 2030. The Guardians, meanwhile, finished with the second-best record in the American League and required late-inning heroics from the Yankees to be eliminated in the ALCS. Detroit, Kansas City and Cleveland combined to win four playoff series — no division won more — while the Twins also finished above .500, making the AL Central the only division to boast four teams with a winning record. The rise of the AL Central arrived ahead of schedule, but we’re definitely here for it. — Thosar

10. The $765 million man

The biggest contract in professional sports — an unprecedented moment in the history of MLB — looks a little something like $765 million paid to Juan Soto over the next 15 years. As if the contract wasn’t mind-boggling on its own, the generational slugger stunned the world when he traded his Yankees cap for a Mets jersey, ending what was the first head-to-head battle between the two New York teams for a free agent under the Steve Cohen era. It was a distinguishing moment in baseball that will be discussed, analyzed and scrutinized for decades to come.

For Scott Boras, too, this was a peculiar year that ended on the highest of notes when he helped Soto sign the massive contract. The year began with his top free agents remaining unsigned deep into the offseason, eventually agreeing to low-priced deals when spring training and even the regular season had already started. Perhaps because of the late start, most of those players suffered injuries or had disappointing seasons, and Boras entered this winter facing skepticism on whether the super agent could still deliver huge contracts. In the end, we got our answer in the form of three quarters of a billion dollars. — Thosar

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

–>

---

---

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

<!–>

We’re more than two weeks into MLB free agency, and not one major deal has been struck. That means the action is coming. 

There will be a ton of it, as several nine-figure contracts will be negotiated in the coming weeks. None will be bigger, of course, than Juan Soto’s. But how big will it be? And for how long? And with whom? 

Accordingly, FOX Sports MLB experts Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar weigh in on Soto, as well as a trio of aces and what teams will likely be the most active this winter in our latest roundtable.

1. There was a report that Alex Bregman is seeking a deal close to Manny Machado’s 11-year, $350 million extension. What is the max deal you’d offer Bregman if you were a GM, and what team should be most aggressive in signing him?

Thosar: Well, Bregman vying to get close to Machado’s extension is overshooting just a little bit. I think he lands a deal in the AAV range of $26-28 million, and if he wants a long-term deal that’s going to eclipse the $200 million mark, then a seven-year deal for $200 million should be achievable for the longtime Astros third baseman. That’s as high as I’d go because Bregman would be 37 by the end of that deal, he already has a lot of mileage underneath him since his 2016 MLB debut, and there was one big concern this year with his walk rate, which was slashed in half in a huge departure from his career norm. Though I can’t imagine Bregman in another uniform besides Houston, the Phillies would be significantly upgraded with the third baseman replacing Alec Bohm. The Phillies are desperate to win the World Series with their tight-knit group before some core players depart for free agency, and adding Bregman to the mix would immediately make them one of the favorites to win it all.

Kavner: Bregman might not be the MVP candidate he was five years ago, but he is still a consistently well-above-average hitter who brings elite defense, rarely whiffs or strikes out and is good for around 20-25 homers a year. His hard-hit rate was actually the highest of his career last season, though it has to be at least a little concerning that the 30-year-old’s walk rate suddenly plummeted, that he chased a bit more than usual, and that he outperformed his expected stats in 2024.

There would be a lot of factors determining the max I’d offer, including the team I’m managing and the payroll I’m working with. If I were making decisions, I’d love to possess the financial freedom to add and extend players that A.J. Preller had when he gave Machado that extension prior to Peter Seidler’s passing. The reality is few GMs (including Preller now) can run the bill up so freely. While Bregman should easily exceed the six-year, $151 million extension that Matt Chapman received in San Francisco, I’d be stunned if he got anything close to Machado’s $350 million extension. The max I’d go is around eight years in the $220-225 million range. The Astros are the obvious team to watch, but the Tigers and Mariners should also be aggressive here.

2. Would you rather have Corbin Burnes for seven years, $250M, Blake Snell for five years, $180M or Max Fried for five years, $150M?

Kavner: If they were all getting paid the same I’d go Burnes — there’s a reason he will get the biggest contract of the trio — but at these numbers, I’d take Snell. Burnes is coming off another terrific season, but his descending strikeout rate would frighten me some when I’m offering upwards of $250 million. What I’d choose, though, would depend a bit on my team/roster construction. If I were a team on the fringes of the playoff picture just trying to contend, I’d probably go Fried for his consistency. But his inability to miss bats could cause problems in October (he has a career 3.07 regular season ERA; 5.10 in the postseason), and I’d need more information about the forearm issue that limited him this year. If I’m already a playoff contender looking for a final piece that can help me win a World Series, I’m taking Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who just posted the highest strikeout rate (34.7%) and lowest hard-hit rate (28.7%) of his career. If he’s healthy and looking right in October, there aren’t many people on Earth who can rival his stuff.

Thosar: Max Fried. He shouldn’t hesitate to sign that proposed deal, particularly since he was earning half that amount this year in his All-Star season. Alongside Snell, Fried is the only left-handed ace in this year’s starting pitching class. But executives shouldn’t let the glamour of Snell’s two Cy Young awards get in the way of their decision-making. Fried is a year younger than Snell and more consistent than him, too. Fried, a World Series champion, is the only pitcher in the past five seasons to log over 600 innings and an ERA+ over 150 in the regular season. In the end, I think some of his forearm issues (and his attachment to a qualifying offer, thus resulting in costing whoever signs him a draft pick) will put some ice on his market. He seems likelier to sign a deal with an AAV in the range of $26-28 million.

3. A few weeks back, both of you expected Juan Soto to ultimately re-sign with the Yankees this offseason. How confident are you in that prediction now and what is your best guess for the terms of his deal?

Thosar: I still think the Yankees will ultimately sign Soto, but it’s going to be a tight race between both New York teams. Even though Hal Steinbrenner’s comments at the owners’ meetings in Manhattan on Wednesday were pretty underwhelming and seemed to lack extreme confidence that Soto would end up back in the Bronx, the Yankees owner also indicated that his sole priority this offseason is making sure the slugger returns, and I think he just might do whatever it takes to make sure that it happens. I think Cohen is going to drive the price up, so something like $707 million over 15 years might get the deal done for Soto and the Yankees. But they just can’t let Soto slip away, particularly after he catapulted them to the World Series, and I continue to think they won’t make that mistake.

Kavner: Less! If I were a Yankees fan, I would feel a little queasy after hearing Hal Steinbrenner say “no idea” and “we’ll be in the mix” when asked about his confidence in retaining Soto following their meeting with the soon-to-be-very-rich free agent. I do still expect one of the two New York teams is the ultimate destination, but it feels at least a little more likely now that Steve Cohen’s Mets or another AL East club outbids the Yankees. I think Soto surpasses the $600 million mark but doesn’t get to $700M. Let’s say 14 years, $644 million.

4. Would the Yankees be better off landing Soto on a megadeal, or adding a frontline starter plus two other All-Star bats?

Kavner: Soto. He’s in a different stratosphere from anyone else on the market, and what he provides to the Yankees lineup can’t be overstated. Just look at 2023, when they didn’t have Soto and were an 82-win team with a bottom-10 offense. In 2024 with Soto, they reached the World Series as a 94-win team with a top-three offense. Sure, there were other factors involved, but none bigger than Soto, who gave the Yankees the best 1-2 punch in the sport. He completely transformed the group, and there’s no way to replicate that kind of production.

Thosar: I don’t see why the Yankees, the most lucrative franchise in MLB, should be limited after signing Soto to staying put and putting a cap on their spending. Based on Steinbrenner expressing this week that Soto had questions about the Yankees’ player development system and long-term commitment to winning, the team knows it has work to do this winter to make sure their holes are filled with elite talent. Aaron Judge, before signing his long-term contract two years ago, also wanted confirmation from Steinbrenner that the club’s annual initiative is to win the World Series. So, it’s ultimately in their best interests to land Soto, and then add at least another mid-level starter and an All-Star bat to, at the very least, replace Anthony Rizzo at first.

5. Which playoff team from each league do you project will make the biggest upgrades to their current rosters this offseason? Which non-playoff teams will do the same?

Thosar: The Orioles are on the verge of losing their ace (Corbin Burnes) and home-run leader (Anthony Santander) if they don’t spend the big bucks and keep their top players in Baltimore, so I’m expecting them to make big upgrades not only to fill those holes, but also because this is the first full offseason they can flex their financial might under the new ownership group led by billionaire David Rubenstein. The Mets also have a lot of work to do this winter just to build a starting rotation, and they’re, of course, at the center of conversation with Soto. I’m expecting the Mets, in classic Steve Cohen style, to make at least one big splash this offseason, if not multiple. 

As for non-playoff teams, the Giants have expressed that they want to spend big for multiple offseasons now, only for major deals to fall through or go haywire. Perhaps this is the year, under new president of baseball operations Buster Posey, they are really, truly aggressive and make big upgrades that pay immediate dividends. In the AL, I think this is the winter the Red Sox return to dominance in some way, shape or form. Whether that means landing Soto or a top starting pitcher, Boston has to go for it with a strong offseason after missing the postseason three years straight.

Kavner: The Mets — for obvious reasons, with Cohen’s checkbook backing a team on the rise — and the Tigers, who currently project to have an $80 million payroll. A couple of years ago, this was a team that operated $50 million higher. Even if Detroit doesn’t go crazy this winter, there should be some leeway to spend here, and the Tigers need to add more pop in the infield and starting pitching if they want to build on last year’s surprise run. Could they get involved in the Alex Bregman sweepstakes? At the least, I could see a situation similar to what the Royals did last winter where they give themselves a more viable path toward sustained success.

For the non-playoff teams, I’ll go with two AL East clubs who have already reportedly had meetings with Soto: the Blue Jays and the Red Sox. There’s little point in taking that meeting if you’re not at least considering spending big for difference-making talent. After failing to reel in Shohei Ohtani last winter and then going through the abomination of the 2024 season, the Blue Jays might be tempted to make some considerable overhauls. And for the Red Sox, another false “full-throttle” offseason can’t happen. It’s time to do what it takes to escape the throes of mediocrity. If we want to add a couple of non-playoff NL teams, I’m looking at the Giants and the Nationals.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

–>

---

---

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

<!–>

MLB postseason history suggests this Yankees-Dodgers matchup is likely over. Yankees-Dodgers World Series history suggests otherwise. 

Playoff teams that have taken a 2-0 lead have won the series 77 of 92 times (84%). But in each of the past two Fall Classics between the Yankees and Dodgers (1978, 1981), and in three of their past five October meetings (1956), the home team won the first two games — only to lose the series. 

So, which history is more likely to repeat itself in the 2024 World Series? FOX Sports MLB experts Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar weigh in on the opening two games in Los Angeles and what might be in store as the series shifts to New York.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

1. What are you expecting from Shohei Ohtani for the rest of this series after he suffered a shoulder subluxation in Game 2?

Kavner: Tough to say until we see that first swing. Dave Roberts struck an encouraging tone when referencing Ohtani’s strength and range of motion, but it’s hard to know until we see it in action. Then again, this is Ohtani we’re talking about, the guy who hit a walk-off grand slam to get to 40/40 and had the greatest single game ever to get to 50/50. Even if he’s limited, his presence alone is important for the Dodgers if he’s able to go. Something tells me he has at least one big swing, one more defining moment in a season full of them, left in him.

Thosar: We still don’t have all the information required to really know how how much he’s recovered since Saturday, but my gut says I would be surprised if there’s a discernible difference from Ohtani at the plate — this is the World Series, and I’m expecting him to give it his all. If there’s a tweak in his mechanics due to the partial shoulder dislocation, that could take a couple of at-bats in order for him to get used to how best to swing without pain. At least in Game 3, I would guess Ohtani won’t be as much of a threat to steal to ensure he doesn’t further injure himself.

2. How much of Aaron Judge’s postseason struggles do you think are mental as opposed to mechanical at this point?

Thosar: His poor swing decisions and how much he was chasing offspeed pitches are a strong indication that Judge is in his head. It’s not like his talent left the building overnight, and though he’s faced tough pitching in the World Series, his star teammates have found a way to break through at some point in the nine-inning game, so that can’t be an excuse. Now that the narrative that he struggles in the playoffs has reached a fever pitch and put all the pressure on Judge to come through big in Game 3, it will be extremely important for him to block out the noise and remind himself he was the best player in the major leagues the previous six months.

Kavner: Probably a combo, but it has to at least be part of the mix. When you’re saying things like, “I’m failing them,” how can it not? Mookie Betts, when he was going through his October rut, talked about how he took hundreds of swings a day and shut off social media for a period. Once he got some production late in the NLDS, he regained his confidence and looked like himself again. Betts, however, strikes out about half as often as Judge. 

That’s the hard part for the Yankees captain, who has struck out in six of his nine at-bats this series and in 13 of his 22 at-bats going back to Game 3 of the ALCS. If there’s any weakness or swing and miss to a player’s game, it will get exploited in the postseason. The good thing for him, there’s still time to rewrite his October story. But it has to happen fast.

3. What has surprised you most through two games?

Kavner: How different Freddie Freeman has looked. When he went down at the end of September with his ankle sprain, it was supposed to be a 4-6 week injury, so it might make sense that he has turned a corner a month later. But that timeline was assuming he was resting and rehabbing, not playing through the issue (and often feeling worse off for it). He’s a daunting presence in the Dodgers’ lineup, regardless of the production, but considering how much the ankle had sapped his power for the first two rounds, I didn’t think a week off would be enough to turn him from a singles machine into a home run-mashing difference-maker. His teammates, however, clearly saw a change in that week between the NLCS and World Series. He looks like a completely different player in the World Series. Usually, it’s running that starts to cause him problems (which is why he was so much more limited late in the NLCS). I’ll be curious to see how his ankle holds up the longer this series goes. 

Besides that, the other biggest stunner for me also involved Freeman. I was surprised to see the Yankees turn to starter Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched all month with an elbow issue, in the middle of an inning, in the highest of leverage spots, to face the top of the Dodgers’ order in the 10th inning in Game 1. Obviously, we saw how that turned out.

Thosar: Judge’s complete absence as a legitimate threat has been very surprising. Even if there was a regression, and he wasn’t getting as many base hits, I expected him to at least get on base by drawing his walks against Dodgers starters Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, considering both pitchers should’ve been nervous to pitch to him in the zone. But the more he flailed at the plate, the more comfortable pitchers became pitching to him. By the end of Game 2, he was an automatic out, and I don’t think anyone saw that coming.

4. Do you believe this Series will make it back to Los Angeles?

Thosar: I think the Series is going back to Los Angeles because I don’t think the Yankees will crumble without a fight, and I’m expecting Judge to wake up in the Bronx in front of the home fans. I think the Yankees slugger needed a rest day and a reset more than anything, so after a break from the madness on Sunday, he should return to more of a semblance of himself in more familiar surroundings. There’s a good chance New York wins two of the next three games with three consecutive right-handers starting on the hill, but that fight has to get going Monday with a strong start right out of the gates at home. If the Yankees drop to 0-3, I’m way less confident the Series will go back to L.A.

Kavner: I do, although I also think the Dodgers take one in the Bronx. The Yankees’ biggest advantage in this series was always its rotation. It hasn’t paid off yet, and it was a massive blow for them to lose the Gerrit Cole start, especially considering how well Cole pitched, but their upper hand with starting pitching also had to do with depth. Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil have been better this year than any healthy pitchers the Dodgers have after Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

Then again, bet against Walker Buehler in a big game at your own peril. He displayed some really encouraging signs with the whiffs he was getting his last time out, particularly with his secondary stuff. Still, the Dodgers will have to run a bullpen game in Game 4 without Evan Phillips, and then the Yankees get another Gerrit Cole start. The theme this postseason for the Dodgers has been how their fans have finally gotten to celebrate their October success, the way they couldn’t when the team won in 2020. The Dodgers clinched this year’s NLDS at home, then clinched the NLCS at home. My gut says it’s 3-2 going back to Los Angeles, where they’ll have the chance to finish it at Dodger Stadium again.

5. Do you think the outcome of this series will have any impact on Juan Soto’s free-agent decision? Do you expect him to ultimately sign with the Yankees?

Kavner: Not really. You could come up with narratives either way — that he’d be more willing to stay if they win the World Series, or that he could be motivated to finish the job if they fall just short — but ultimately, money talks. There’s a team across the bridge that has a lot of it, but I would be stunned if the Yankees didn’t find a way to do whatever it takes to keep Soto in pinstripes. They would never hear the end of it.

Thosar: It will be harder for Soto to walk away from the Yankees if they win a championship together, I think. In that same vein, it would be much more difficult for the Yankees to do anything but make a competitive offer to Soto, one that he likely couldn’t refuse, right after possibly winning a title. Ultimately, I expect Soto to sign with the Yankees because he’s been a perfect fit in the Bronx and has excelled in New York — as evidenced by his career highs in home runs, hits, and runs scored. Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman will have to do their part by meeting or getting close to his asking price.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

–>

---

---

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports