Category: Baseball

The Red Sox just can’t help themselves. Ever since they traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers for peanuts in 2020, the organization has become a magnet for public drama. It stems from their wide-ranging incoherence and inability to have a feel for when to implement high-profile decisions.

This past weekend, the Red Sox struck both of those tones when chief baseball officer Craig Breslow fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff. The dismissals came hours after the Red Sox clobbered the Baltimore Orioles in a 17-1 win on Saturday at Camden Yards. Yes, the Red Sox had a disappointing 10-17 start, but this was bad timing. The team’s punchy offensive output behind their ace’s strong shutout outing that afternoon had created, at the very least, optimism. The clubhouse finally saw a formula that could help get them out of the AL East basement. 

Despite all that, principal owner John Henry, CEO Sam Kennedy and Breslow traveled to Baltimore to deliver the news in person. It was simply the latest episode of the discordance between their stated goals and expectations — being competitive and winning a world championship — and their actual, volatile actions that have caused, as usual, an uproar.

Let’s dive into what’s next for the Red Sox after Cora’s stunning dismissal. 

What’s next for Craig Breslow and ownership?

Breslow is under the microscope, facing pressure to prove that his swift and unexpected moves were the right thing to do for the organization — both this season and long-term. It’s clear that he’s in a weird place, on an island, after Kennedy in Sunday’s press conference indicated that Cora’s firing was Breslow’s decision, rather than a joint resolution from the entire ownership and front office group.

But that’s nothing new around Fenway. Henry, who has remained silent with the media and Red Sox players since the dismissals, routinely sidesteps responsibility. Even though Henry was physically present in Sunday’s team meeting with players, he just stood there and didn’t actually say anything. The Red Sox owner has created an unstable and dysfunctional environment that forces everyone working for him to perform frantically and chaotically under pressure. 

Breslow is in the hot seat, and he knows it. Now, it’s in question whether he’ll even make it past July. The Red Sox have to show signs of turning it around quickly, otherwise they’ll be sellers at the trade deadline. (And there is no indication that this team is equipped with the tools to make a comeback.) Breslow’s lack of job security is the foundation that led to these significant firings. 

History is certainly not on Breslow’s side. This is his third season as Boston’s chief baseball officer, and all three predecessors (Chaim Bloom, Dave Dombrowski and Ben Cherington) were fired by the Red Sox ownership group within their first four years. Anticipating that his days are numbered, it sure looks like Breslow made the dramatic change of firing Cora and a handful of coaches as a last-gasp attempt to save himself, believing a shake-up will create a higher chance of the roster succeeding. 

But, take a look at the problems within that Red Sox roster, and it’s clear that the manager and coaches were not the problem. The team’s disappointing start is a direct result of inadequate roster construction.

What’s next for the Red Sox?

A mere 27 games into the season, Red Sox players are tasked with adjusting on-the-fly to new interim manager Chad Tracy and several coaches in different roles. While they do that, they also have to overcome their roster-construction flaws and win games, because Breslow waited until the season barely started to enforce significant changes, even though he could’ve done all this in the offseason. 

So, naturally, players are angry. There is really no one to turn to in the clubhouse, which is youth-led and lacks veteran leadership. That the 21-year-old outfielder Roman Anthony was the first player to face the cameras in the wake of Cora’s firing was an organizational failure. He was a rookie just last year, but now he’s being asked to be the leader of the team. It’s the result of the Red Sox failing to re-sign third baseman Alex Bregman in the offseason, despite knowing that he had a strong influence on the field and in the clubhouse as the chief vet that younger talents looked up to.

Speaking of failures, Breslow didn’t do enough this past winter to fortify an inexperienced roster that’s dependent on young talent like Anthony and Marcelo Mayer to take steps forward. After failing to sign Bregman or land a power bat like Pete Alonso, Breslow changed his messaging and said he’s focused on run prevention. But the additions of southpaw Ranger Suarez and veteran Sonny Gray (currently injured with a hamstring strain) haven’t helped, and ace Garrett Crochet has uncharacteristically struggled in three of his six starts so far this season. 

Entering Monday, Boston’s 4.96 starting pitching ERA is ranked 27th in MLB. The Red Sox lineup has a below-average wRC+ of 84, which is ranked 28th. Their power is nonexistent, and unless Anthony can single-handedly morph into David Ortiz, Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx overnight, there’s little reason to believe their slugging problems will improve this season. 

In the competitive AL East, the Red Sox are seven games behind the first-place Yankees — so far removed from the team that forced New York to Game 3 of the Wild Card series last October. If Boston starts playing better, it could work its way into a pennant race come September thanks to MLB’s expanded playoff format that accommodates mediocre teams. But competing for an early playoff exit is the bare minimum. That’s not what fans are told to expect, but it’s routinely what actually happens.

What’s next for Alex Cora?

Cora was in the second year of a three-year, $21.75 million contract extension when he was fired by the Red Sox. In order for Cora to be picked up by another organization, that team will have to rip up his current contract and sign a new one. So Cora, of course, will only agree to that if the new contract pays him more than the current one. It’s unlikely that will happen, but he still has some options.

There are currently two high-profile landing spots for Cora that could see him managing again this season, and both teams are performing worse than the Red Sox. The Phillies and Mets are tied for the worst record (9-19) in baseball. Both of their managers — Rob Thomson and Carlos Mendoza, respectively — are in the hot seat. It’s tough to envision David Stearns, New York’s president of baseball operations, making Mendoza the scapegoat and firing him this early into the season. 

But Dave Dombrowski, Philly’s P.O.B.O., fired former Phillies manager Joe Girardi mid-season in 2022, then Thomson took over and instantly catapulted the team to its first World Series appearance in 11 years. Cora is said to have a strong relationship with Dombrowski ever since the longtime baseball executive hired Cora to be the Red Sox manager in Oct. 2017. In his first year as skipper, Cora led the Red Sox to a 108-54 record in the regular season before they won the 2018 World Series. 

Boston’s shoddy roster construction is not Cora’s fault, but it’s not like the shrewd skipper hasn’t made mistakes, either. The Rafael Devers situation in Boston was a poor reflection on Cora, who failed to talk to the slugger about playing first base last year. Devers immediately switched from designated hitter to first after he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. Cora was also investigated by MLB for helping mastermind the Astros’ 2017 electronic sign-stealing scandal. He was suspended for the entire 2020 season, which led to him briefly parting ways with the Red Sox before rejoining as their manager in 2021.

Still, Cora has a 620-541 managerial record, and his résumé makes him an immediate candidate for future openings. He’s all but guaranteed a second act, somewhere.

Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist 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.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Alex Cora didn’t assemble the Red Sox team that ranks tied for last in home runs, 27th in OPS, 23rd in scoring and 20th in team ERA, but he nonetheless paid the price for the club’s early-season ineptitude.

Clearly, there are a lot of problems right now for a Boston team that expects to contend in 2026. The Red Sox are certainly not alone in that regard (see: Mets, Phillies, Astros, Blue Jays, Royals), but they are the first to make sweeping changes. 

Less than a month into the season, Cora is already out. 

As we wait to see which manager might be next, and as Boston tries to claw its way out of the doldrums, we’ll use this week’s power rankings to identify at least one area of concern for every team.

They’ve allowed the fifth-most runs and scored the fifth-fewest runs in MLB, so take your pick at which issue stands out most. We’ll focus here on the late-game pitching; the White Sox have blown nine saves — second-most in MLB — and have a 5.58 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in the seventh inning or later, both of which rank in the bottom four in MLB. 

Just when it seemed like a series win against the Twins might jumpstart the slumping group, the Mets then went and got swept by the Rockies, scoring four runs over three games. That…can’t happen. Their offense ranks last in MLB in runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging. Yikes. 

The Phillies finally ended their losing skid at 10 games this weekend, but they still lost the series in Atlanta. The offense is a problem — they’ve scored the third-fewest runs in MLB — but the bigger and more surprising issue is a starting rotation that has allowed the most hits and runs in the sport. Their MLB-worst minus-54 run differential is…almost unfathomable. 

Maybe a sweep of the Angels will get them on track. Bobby Witt Jr. is finally getting going. He hit his first home run of the year on Sunday, but Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez still have batting averages that start with a “1.” The bigger issue? The bullpen is 3-8 with a 5.75 ERA, the second-worst mark in MLB. 

The Rockies already have more wins before the end of April than they had by the end of May last year. Their bullpen has performed surprisingly well, logging a 3.61 ERA that ranks eighth in MLB; the starting rotation, however, ranks 27th in WHIP and 28th in batting average against. Don’t be surprised if that group’s 4.60 ERA continues to climb; Colorado starters have the highest expected ERA in MLB. 

The team can hit; It just can’t stop anyone else from hitting. The Nationals rank third in runs scored…and 29th in runs allowed. They’ve allowed the most home runs and committed the most errors in MLB. 

Their starters rank 29th in ERA. Their bullpen ranks 30th in ERA. Hunter Brown and Josh Hader — among many injured Astros — can’t get back soon enough. 

After a commendable start to the year, the Angels have now lost seven of their last eight games. One of the team’s biggest problems last year still persists: The Angels have the most strikeouts and highest whiff rate in MLB. 

As previously mentioned, the offense is concerning. The Red Sox rank 27th in OPS and 28th in slugging and are tied for last in home runs, even after plating 17 runs on Saturday. The bigger surprise about the team’s dismal start, though? The starting rotation ranks 27th in ERA. 

The Twins (Brooks Lee, 111 wRC+) and Mets (Francisco Alvarez, 117) are the only teams who have just one qualified hitter batting above league average. As a team, Minnesota’s offense ranks 24th in wRC+ over the last two weeks. The bullpen, decimated at last year’s deadline, ranks 23rd in ERA on the season. 

The Marlins have the third-most errors in MLB and rank 29th in defensive runs saved.  

The Giants have the lowest walk rate in MLB and just 19 home runs on the year, tied for the fewest in MLB. That’s a tough offensive recipe for success, though the team has been performing much better lately. 

The most obvious flaw is the team’s health. Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios are due back shortly, but fellow starters Shane Bieber, Cody Ponce and Bowden Francis are also on the IL, as are George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes and Anthony Santander. Those position player absences hit the hardest: the Blue Jays have the fourth-fewest runs scored and the highest chase rate in MLB. 

The five starters who’ve thrown the most innings for the Orioles this year all ERAs over 4.00. Baltimore needs to hit to its potential to mask the issues on the mound. 

Their pitchers have the lowest strikeout rate and worst K-BB% in MLB. They’ve thrown 182 strikeouts as a team; every other team has at least 200. 

Brandon Nimmo has given the Rangers everything they could’ve asked for, and a leap forward from Josh Jung has provided a boost. But questions loom about a Texas offense that ranks 22nd in on-base percentage and 20th in OPS. 

The Mariners have the second-highest whiff rate and fourth-most strikeouts in baseball. Those issues can be mitigated by their ability to power away, but their slugging (21st in MLB) has been limited to this point. Cal Raleigh’s heating up, though. 

As is often the case, the Guardians offense lacks the pop you’d expect from a contender. They have the second-lowest hard-hit rate in MLB and rank 19th in OPS and 20th in slugging; those rankings, however, represent significant improvements from last year’s playoff team. They’re also 21st in bullpen ERA, though I’m more confident that number will improve.  

The Aaron Civale signing has helped, but that wasn’t going to be enough to fix a rotation that ranked 27th in ERA last year. This year, A’s starters rank 26th in ERA. The team’s bullpen, however, has been much better than expected, and the A’s are in first place despite their offense not yet playing to its potential. 

The Brewers rank 29th in slugging percentage and last in expected slugging percentage. It doesn’t help that Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn are all injured. 

Over the last week, the Tigers’ bullpen has a 6.99 ERA. On the year, Detroit relievers rank 19th in ERA and 23rd in strikeout rate. The bats are heating up, though, and Spencer Torkelson’s suddenly on a home-run tear after a slow start.

Michael Soroka and Eduardo Rodriguez have both pitched well, but the rest of the pitching staff has not. The usual problem persists, as D-backs starters and relievers both rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in ERA. The offense, however, — led by uhh…34-year-old veteran Ildemaro Vargas?! — is getting it done. (Seriously, if you haven’t yet, take a look at what Vargas is doing.)

The Rays’ bullpen ranks 27th in ERA, and their offense has the lowest hard-hit rate in MLB. But the lineup’s contact-heavy approach has worked to this point: Tampa Bay, with the highest zone contact rate and fifth-highest batting average in MLB, has the second-most wins in the American League. 

Over the last week, the Pirates have the lowest on-base percentage and slugging percentage in MLB. For the year, they’re now down to a bottom-10 OPS. Is that a sign of things to come after the hot start? 

It’s kind of amazing considering they lead the NL Central, but the Reds have the lowest batting average overall (.213) and batting average with runners in scoring position (.197) in MLB. 

The Cubs had already lost standout starter Cade Horton when star closer Daniel Palencia went down with a lat strain — no matter, they still rattled off 10 straight wins before seeing the streak snapped this weekend in Los Angeles. They’re on the rise, but the pitching depth is a concern given the injuries. 

Depth, both in the rotation and the field, is the team’s biggest concern. Clearly, A.J. Preller agreed, which is why the Padres just signed free agent starter Lucas Giolito. Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Griffin Canning are all on the shelf, and while Randy Vasquez has been terrific (2-0, 1.88 ERA), the group gets thin after Michael King. Offensively, the Padres rank 23rd in OPS, yet they’ve won 16 of their last 20 games. 

The Yankees rank fifth in OPS, but Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and the heart of the order is doing most of the damage. The depth of the lineup has left some to be desired. The Yankees’ Nos. 7-9 hitters rank 24th in batting average and 16th in OPS. Trent Grisham’s hitting .160, and Austin Wells (81 wRC+), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (81) and Ryan McMahon (66) have been well below league-average hitters. 

To this point, the Braves have admirably withstood a litany of injuries, particularly in their rotation. Their biggest issue might be outfield depth. A bounceback start to the season from Michael Harris II has been huge, but as a group, Atlanta’s outfielders have hit below league average. Ronald Acuña Jr. has yet to get going, Mike Yastrzemski has been the team’s worst hitter, and Jurickson Profar’s PED suspension could wind up being costly.

Their big signings, and many of their top stars, have yet to get going. Edwin Díaz has a 10.50 ERA and then underwent an elbow procedure. Kyle Tucker has been a below-league average hitter. So has Teoscar Hernández. Mookie Betts was hitting .179 before hurting his oblique. Will Smith has a .729 OPS. Freddie Freeman’s 118 OPS+ would be his lowest mark in a season in 14 years…and yet the Dodgers are 19-9 with the highest OPS in MLB. 

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

As the cliché goes: Parlays are a bookmaker’s best friend. 

And there’s an ocean of losing bets to prove it.

For every leg a bettor adds, the chance of winning significantly diminishes. And winning millions? Well, that never happens.

Except on the extremely rare occasion when it does, as it did Friday night for a Hard Rock Bet customer who turned 30 bucks into nearly $2 million.

More on that monster payday, along with how 10 cents became $3,500 and other notable wagers, as we recap the week that was in sports betting.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

Home Run Derby

At 7:04 a.m. ET Friday, a Floridian playing on Hard Rock Bet’s mobile app decided to string together six players to hit at least one home run apiece, in Friday night’s MLB games.

A couple of players were usual suspects: the Phillies’ Bryce Harper (+475) and the A’s Nick Kurtz (+325). The rest of the ticket:

• Riley Greene +475 (Tigers)
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. +550 (Yankees)
• Jesus Sanchez +700 (Blue Jays)
• Coby Mayo +800 (Orioles)

Add up all those odds, and you’ve got a lottery-style number of +6576031. In slightly more digestible terms, that equates to just beyond 65760/1. 

A 1-in-65,760 chance.

Yet it happened.

Kurtz homered to lead off the first inning against the Rangers. Sanchez also went yard in the first inning against the Blue Jays. Greene’s homer was in the second inning against the Tigers, and Chisholm went deep in the fourth inning against the Astros.

The biggest sweats: Harper and Mayo homering in the fifth inning, vs. the Braves and Red Sox, respectively.

And that, incredibly, is how a modest $30.11 becomes $1.98 million. 

When the massive windfall ticket was reported on X on Saturday, there were skeptics all over the replies, screaming that the bet was fake.

It got to the point where Hard Rock Bet’s own post on the win got a Community Note.

By Sunday morning, that Community Note was gone. The wager was absolutely legit, as Hard Rock Bet Senior Vice President, Sportsbook Neil Walsh enthusiastically acknowledged.

“We’re jazzed up over this slip. It’s one of the highest-odds parlays that we’ve ever paid out — with only six legs — and the smallest-ever stake that’s minted a million-dollar payout,” Walsh said. “We’ve handled some massive winners, but this one knocked it out of the park.

“It’s an all-timer. Send this ticket to Cooperstown.”

Big Dollars on a Dime

Parlays on home-run hitters seem to be the preference at the moment. And to bettors’ credit, they’re often keeping the wager size quite reasonable, as pretty much all of us should when it comes to parlays.

In one case last week, a FanDuel Sportsbook customer utilized just about the smallest bet possible, 10 cents. And in fact, it was a bonus bet — so basically, a 10-cent free ride.

I’m not sure how one even acquires a 10-cent bonus bet. But if you have one, crafting a seven-leg long-shot parlay isn’t a bad idea at all.

The ticket included two same-game parlays, which comprised five of the seven legs. That helped hike the odds out to a hefty +3548119, or just beyond 35481/1.

Yet all seven legs got there, turning one thin dime — and a free one at that — into $3,548.12. That’s an ROI that anyone can appreciate.

Six-Figure Feast

To be clear, making 21-leg parlay bets is an excellent way to separate you from your money. Even making three- or four-leg parlays regularly will have the same effect.

So just understand that before punching in more and more legs.

Last Wednesday, a Fanatics Sportsbook customer just kept pressing the button, ultimately stringing together 21 legs across a bundle of sports: European basketball and soccer, MLB, NHL and a dozen outcomes tied to the NBA.

Almost every leg was a favorite on the $500 ticket. Many selections were huge favorites, including Magic forward Franz Wagner -1300 to score 11 or more points vs. the Pistons in Game 2 of an NBA playoff series.

By late evening, Wagner’s output was all that remained. And he barely got there.

Wagner hit two free throws with 8:05 remaining, for his 11th and 12th points of the game, and he scored no more after that.

But that’s all it took to complete the parlay, for a huge win of $362,070 (total payout $362,570). Not the most orthodox way to earn such money. As they say, though, it’s sometimes better to be lucky than good.

Laser Beam

Among the MLB offerings from FanDuel this season is the Laser Beam. It involves wagering on a player to hit a home run with an exit velocity of 110 mph or more.

On Wednesday’s slate, a bettor put $5 on a three-leg parlay of the A’s Nick Kurtz (+700), the White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami (+1900) and the Orioles’ Coby Mayo (+5000) to hit high-velocity homers.

The odds: +815900, or 8159/1.

All three players delivered lasers, and the customer’s five bucks turned into $40,800.

The Name Game

Doing parlays for fun, rather than expecting a huge hit, is a good way to go. A pair of FanDuel customers did just that on Sunday.

One bettor decided to base a $25 three-leg wager on athletes named Nathan:

• Reds first baseman Nathan Lowe to homer
• Cardinals outfielder Nathan Church to homer
• Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon to score a goal

The odds of all three events happening were +11630, or just beyond 116/1. All three indeed delivered, turning $25 into $2,932.65.

The other bettor banked on Sunday being the Lord’s Day. 

The customer wagered accordingly on the Blue Jays’ Jesus Sanchez, the Astros’ Christian Walker and the Cardinals’ Nathan Church to homer.

All three players went yard. At odds of +23714 (about 237/1), a five-dollar bill became $1,190.70. 

Divine intervention.

50 Cents To $500

Finally, during Sunday night’s Celtics vs. 76ers Game 4, Fanatics offered live Over/Under points scored props on 13 players. One customer decided: Why not put all 13 into a live same-game parlay?

The bettor wagered the extremely responsible sum of 50 cents, at odds of +100000, or 1000/1.

All 13 legs came through, turning those two quarters into $500. Not a bad couple of hours worth of work.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Baseball is back.

Here are the odds for the 2026 World Series at DraftKings Sportsbook as of April 27.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

2026 World Series odds

Dodgers: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Yankees: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Mariners: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Braves: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Cubs: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total)
Tigers: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)
Blue Jays: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Rangers: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Phillies: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Orioles: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Brewers: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Mets: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Red Sox: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Padres: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Astros: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Pirates: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Reds: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Guardians: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Royals: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Rays: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Diamondbacks: +6500 (bet $10 to win $660 total)
Athletics: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Giants: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Twins: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marlins: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Cardinals: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Angels: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
White Sox: +40000 (bet $10 to win $4,010 total)
Rockies: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Nationals: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)

At the end of last season, the Dodgers became the first back-to-back World Series champs since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000. In addition, L.A. won its third championship in the past six years.

As for this season? L.A. has picked up right where it left off. 

As of April 27, the Dodgers are atop the AL West and have the second-best record in the National League (19-9), just one win behind the Braves (20-9). They have the highest run differential in baseball (+67), alongside the highest team batting average (.278), most home runs (45), most quality starts (18), second-most RBIs (151) and second-most hits (264). 

While L.A. is atop the oddsboard, the Braves are not far behind, with the season they’re having. They have the best record in baseball, as well as the lowest team ERA (3.13), most RBIs (161) and second-highest batting average (.274).

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

Less than 24 hours after the Boston Red Sox shockingly fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff, infielder Trevor Story said the club’s path forward feels unclear.

“I mean obviously, it’s kind of up in the air what the true direction is,” the two-time All-Star said on Sunday morning before a series finale against the Baltimore Orioles. “Those are conversations that need to be had. They’ll be had today and onward going forward, too.”

The Red Sox officially dismissed Cora on Saturday evening after a 10-17 start to his eighth season guiding the club, including an embarrassing three-game sweep at home to the New York Yankees earlier this week.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow explained the first in-season firing of a Boston manager since 2001 by suggesting it showed commitment to the current season.

“It really comes down to the belief we have in the players, and the belief we have in the group to accomplish what we set out to accomplish,” Breslow said Sunday. “By acting today, it gives us 135 games ahead of us, almost a full season’s worth of run, to take advantage of this fresh start.”

[Red Sox: Alex Cora, Members of Coaching Staff Fired Amid Poor Start]

But Story, in the fifth season of a six-year, $140-million deal, is an exception on a young roster that has traded away stars like Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers in the years since Cora guided Boston to a 2018 World Series title in his first season.

The Red Sox have reached only two postseasons since, and only one since Story’s arrival when they made a wild-card appearance in 2025.

“I came here to win and I came here to be successful,” said the 33-year-old Story, who is among the Boston batters struggling with a .198 average, two homers and 17 RBIs. “And we had a flash of that last year. We’re looking to build on that. Obviously not off to a great start. But yeah, some of the direction needs to be cleared up, in my opinion.”

Breslow and interim manager Chad Tracy spoke with the team for roughly eight minutes in a Sunday morning gathering that also included owner John Henry and team president Sam Kennedy, according to reliever Garrett Whitlock. Players did not talk during the meeting.

“They spoke. Yeah, they spoke,” Story said. “There just has to be more conversations had. I wouldn’t say it was satisfactory.”

To reporters, Breslow and Kennedy indicated this was a decision driven by baseball operations after the club had performed particularly poorly on offense.

[Last Night in Baseball: Resurgent Braves Get to 20 Wins First]

Despite a 17-1 win over Baltimore Saturday that halted a four-game slide, the Red Sox batters entered Sunday slashing .233/.312/.354 collectively and ranked in the bottom quarter of MLB in most key metrics.

“Ultimately, responsibility for the performance on the field, it falls on me as the leader of baseball operations,” Breslow said. “But so, too, does the responsibility for doing everything I can and the organization can to find solutions. And right now we feel like this change, these changes were warranted.”

Kennedy said Breslow has “made several bold decisions and recommendations.”

“And this was one of them and we fully support it.,” he said.

Henry remained in Baltimore Sunday but did not address the media.

“I think it’s evident by his presence here that this was a collaborative decision (with Henry),” Kennedy said.

Tracy makes his MLB managerial debut after six seasons guiding Triple-A Worcester. The son of longtime manager Jim Tracy, he recognized the delicate dynamics of his opportunity.

“I’m toeing that line of sitting here with all of you in this moment, but also acknowledge the relationship with some of the people that are no longer here was strong,” Tracy said. “And you also know that that’s, in a lot of ways, that’s how some of the players feel as well. So, excited, right? But also honoring the people that were before me that were mentors to me.”

Story praised Tracy’s “baseball mind,” but was clearly still emotional about Cora’s firing.

“He had our backs every single day,” Story said. “He was very truthful with players and took bullets for us and did everything you can ask for and more as a manager. I just can’t express how thankful I am to have played for him. Yeah, I’ve got a love for that guy.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from the weekend in Major League Baseball:

Braves first to 20 wins

The NL East might be a mess in plenty of ways, but not for the Braves. Atlanta, which struggled with injuries and effectiveness from the start last summer, won the weekend series against the Phillies, with the last of those victories making the Braves the first team in MLB this season to reach 20 wins. Philadelphia, meanwhile, moved up into a tie for last place in the NL East despite dropping two of three to Atlanta, because the Mets were even worse this weekend. More on that in a bit, though.

Atlanta came out swinging on Sunday, with right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. leading off the bottom of the first with a single, followed by catcher Drake Baldwin getting his own on a liner to right. That brought up first baseman Matt Olson, who made it clear with one swing that the Braves were aiming to make up for their extra-inning collapse the day before.

That was Olson’s eighth long ball of the season, and you’ll note that it wasn’t like it was on a mistake pitch or anything of the sort: he hit a 93.5 mph four-seam fastball that was located well inside the zone 399 feet to right field to put the Braves up 3-0. Atlanta would score another three runs in the second inning to go up 6-0 — left fielder Mauricio Dubon opened that frame with a triple and the Braves were off from there — and Philadelphia could only scrape together a pair of runs against Atlanta’s bullpen, both in the eighth. Before then, Chris Sale dominated.

Sale picked up career win 150 by allowing just one hit and no runs over six innings, while striking out nine and walking a pair. The lefty also had this look-what-I-found falling grab on the mound to help his own cause.

Sale now has a 2.45 ERA across two-plus seasons and 56 games with the Braves. Pretty good for a guy who started that stretch when he was already 35.

Torkelson homers in fifth-straight game

Spencer Torkelson has hit 31 homers two of the last three seasons, so his starting 2026 out by just not going yard for the first 23 games was a bit concerning. Well, as concerning as anything can be over the first 23 games, anyway. It’s a long season, and the Tigers’ first baseman is doing his best to make up for lost time and get everything looking all normal again in the span of the last week.

Torkelson hit another home run on Sunday when Detroit took on the Reds, the fifth game in a row that he’s gone deep, and tied the Tigers’ franchise record in the process.

He crushed that one, too, as it went 421 feet with an exit velocity of 107.3 mph; that’ll happen sometimes when a pitch is left up in the zone, whether it’s going 95 mph or not.

Torkelson has now gone from not having any homers at all in 2026 to being on pace for 39, or, more than he has ever hit before in a single season. Patience really is a virtue when it comes to April stats. If Torkelson can hit a dinger again in the Tigers’ next game to bring this to six games — Detroit faces the Braves on Tuesday in Atlanta — then he’ll move into much rarer air (but not the rarest) for MLB’s historic home run streaks.

Mets swept by the Rockies

The Rockies aren’t as bad as they were a year ago, so this statement doesn’t necessarily have the dramatic power it would in 2025. However, the Mets also aren’t as good as they were a year ago, and New York wasn’t exactly a powerhouse in a year where they limped to the finish line and finished 13 games out of first in the NL East. New York is now 9-19, tied for last place in the NL East with the similarly floundering Phillies, while the Rockies are 13-16. Hey, it took Colorado until June 12 to win their 13th game last season; this spring’s last-place record is one that the Rockies will take at this point. But yeah, it also makes this whole thing tougher to swallow for Mets’ fans.

Also making it worse? Two of the losses in this sweep came on the same day, as Saturday’s game had been rained out and rescheduled for a Sunday doubleheader. New York’s pitching was looking good, as it gave up just six combined runs across the doubleheader, but the offense was… not. The Mets were shut out in the first contest, and managed a single run in the second. It takes seven seconds in the below video to show you more Rockies runs than New York managed all day.

Friday wasn’t much better, either, with Colorado winning 4-3. A 10-run weekend from the Rockies is the kind of thing you would expect to mean that they were the ones getting swept, but no. Colorado pitching limited the Mets to four runs across three games. Now that’s a sentence to say a few times to see if it makes any more intuitive sense the more you repeat it.

The Rockies are doing pretty alright, though; their run differential is just -11, which is huge when you remember that it was just last season that Colorado posted the worst run differential of the last 125 years, at -424, 79 runs worse than the next-worst team. It will take time for the Rockies to fully heal from the damage the previous regime(s) inflicted upon them, but early returns are looking promising in terms of this actually looking like a professional baseball team.

Dodgers end Cubs streak

The Dodgers were scuffling a little — for the Dodgers, anyway — while the Cubs were thriving, so this clash was one to look forward to when the weekend kicked off. And Chicago made good on the initial promise on Friday, too, winning that opening contest 6-4 to extend their winning streak to 10 games. The next day, the Dodgers happened.

The Cubs struck first, going up 2-0 in the first three innings, but Los Angeles tied it up in the bottom of the third before losing the lead in the top of the fourth, but responded by dropping six runs on Chicago an inning later. 

Second baseman Alex Freeland tied things up again with a double to score shortstop Hyeseong Kim, then first baseman Freddie Freeman singled Freeland home. Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez would open things up some more with a two-run single later in the inning…

…then catcher Dalton Rushing and center fielder Andy Pages would both single home another run each to make it 8-3, Dodgers. The Cubs would not go down quietly — catcher Miguel Amaya hit a solo homer to cut the lead to four in the very next half-inning, and then Chicago loaded the bases in the sixth. However, that larger threat was squashed when reliever Will Klein managed to get out of the situation unscathed, with the Cubs unable to score there or again in the game.

The Dodgers would then go on the attack again in the bottom of that inning, driving in another four runs to make it 12-4, which would end up being the final score. Streak snapped, but still, that was a real run by the Cubs there.

Los Angeles would best Chicago on Sunday, too, and since Shohei Ohtani had been in a bit of a funk for a while — even, at times, during his on-base streak — here he is hitting a home run on a day in which he went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

The Dodgers are half-a-game up on the Padres in the NL West at present — San Diego played just two games over the weekend thanks to traveling to Mexico City for their series against Arizona — while the Cubs sit a game behind the Reds, despite Cincinnati losing on Sunday as well.

PCA’s bat is a mess right now, but that glove…

The less said about Pete Crow-Armstrong’s bat at the moment, the better. His glove, though? That does not go through slumps that date back to last year’s All-Star break. Look at the way he contorts his body here to stay with the changing trajectory of the ball.

Not your average robbery at the wall, that’s for sure. And to put a finer point on it: despite PCA posting a .613 OPS with one homer this season, he’s been worth a win above replacement already thanks to that absurd defensive ability.

Sal Stewart is on fire

The Reds ranked just 21st in homers in 2025, easily one of the areas that kept them from being more of a danger both in the regular season and in the postseason. Today’s MLB is one of big innings, and those are harder to come by if you can’t get a big swing to make them happen. An injury to star shortstop Elly De La Cruz that sapped his power didn’t help, but the lack of sluggers elsewhere in the lineup was a problem. That was part of the appeal of bringing Eugenio Suarez back to DH: even if he couldn’t produce the third 49-homer campaign of his career, this is a player with six seasons of at least 30 homers on his resume; the Reds had zero players with 30 bombs in 2025.

Suarez has hit just three to start and is currently on the IL, but luckily, other Reds have stepped up. Rookie first baseman Sal Stewart is the most significant of those, as his five-RBI day on Saturday against the Tigers reminded.

Stewart went 3-for-5 with a walk, a run, a first-inning homer — his ninth long ball of the year — and two singles to go with the five RBIs. He’s now batting .291/.385/.602 on the season while leading the majors with 29 RBIs; the additional homer and now six additional RBIs make an already impressive graphic from the weekend that much more so.

De La Cruz is looking great, too, and hit his own ninth homer of the year on Saturday to help the Reds to a W.

He’s now at .274/.349/.558; if Cincinnati can get top-tier production from both De La Cruz and Stewart, and Suarez comes back to fulfill the purpose the organization had in mind for them when he was signed, this team’s lineup looks a whole lot different than last year’s just based on that.

Royals come from behind to walk off Angels

The Angels were up 6-0 on the Royals after the second inning, but that’s not a safe lead in this league, not by a long shot. Kansas City scored once in the fifth and twice each in the sixth and seventh, with Los Angeles picking up just one run after its early outbursts, considerably narrowing the gap. In the ninth, the Angels scored one more to make it 8-5, but all that ended up doing was ensuring that the Royals couldn’t win outright in regulation.

What’s amazing about Kansas City managing to pop off for three runs in the bottom of the ninth and force extras is that it all happened with two outs. Center fielder Lane Thomas and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. both started the inning by making an out. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino would follow with a triple, though, then DH Salvador Perez would single him home to make it 8-6.

The Angels would put in a new pitcher, Drew Pomeranz, but things didn’t go well for him, either. Down to their last out, down by two with a runner on, right fielder Jac Caglianone — who had entered earlier as a pinch-hitter and stuck in right afterward — hit a two-run homer that was upheld after a challenge.

The Angels would get a run back in the top of the 10th thanks to a passed ball by Royals’ catcher Carter Jensen, but Kansas City was still ready to hit when their turn came up. Joey Lucchesi came on in relief of Pomeranz, and, like in the previous inning, the Angels got the first two outs. Third baseman Maikel Garcia drew a walk, though, putting the winning run on base, and then Lane Thomas called game.

The Royals came from behind to sweep the Angels, which is huge for Kansas City considering that even after the three-straight wins, they’re in last place in the AL Central. They are also just 3.5 games back, though, so this was a case of filling in a hole instead of digging it deeper. The Angels are just 3.5 out of first, too, but despite the numbers being the same that feels a little worse after this weekend. Emotionally, anyway — it’s still April, you’ll recall.

Now there’s a pickoff

The Padres blew a 7-2 lead against the Diamondbacks in the second of the two-game Mexico Series, ending it with a split. What you need your attention drawn to, though, is this pickoff by reliever Ryan Thompson. He never actually goes toward the plate, and manages to turn while looking as if he’s mid-motion, allowing for him to then throw to second and catch Fernando Tatis Jr. in a rundown.

That serves as a pretty good metaphor for how the Padres did from that point forward in the game, though. They had a huge lead, and then they just gave it away.

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Bryce Harper had four RBIs, including a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies snapped their 10-game losing streak with an 8-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler made his 2026 debut and looked strong, giving up two runs and three hits over five innings. The right-hander returned from thoracic outlet decompression surgery after a blood clot was discovered in his pitching shoulder last season.

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After the start was delayed 56 minutes because of rain, Wheeler struck out six, walked three and left with a 3-2 lead. Harper had two hits and scored twice for the Phillies, who hadn’t won since April 13.

Brad Keller (1-0) tossed 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Kyle Backhus got Michael Harris II to ground out with two runners aboard to end it.

Ozzie Albies was 3 for 5 with an RBI and Harris went 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the Braves, who had won nine of 10.

Tyler Kinley (3-1) walked Trea Turner to open the 10th, and Jose Suarez walked Kyle Schwarber to load the bases before Harper’s two-run single gave Philadelphia a 6-4 lead. Two batters later, Brandon Marsh tacked on a two-run single to make it 8-4.

Braves starter Bryce Elder lasted seven innings, giving up three runs and six hits while striking out two and walking one. He exited with a 4-3 lead.

Schwarber led off the Philadelphia eighth with a triple to center field over the head of Eli White and scored on a sacrifice fly by Harper that tied it at 4.

Braves LHP Chris Sale (4-1, 2.79 ERA) faces RHP Aaron Nola (1-2, 5.06) in the finale of the three-game series Sunday.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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Roki Sasaki earned his second major league victory and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied with six runs in the fourth inning to beat the Cubs 12-4 on Saturday night, snapping Chicago’s 10-game winning streak.

Shohei Ohtani ended an 0-for-12 skid with a single in the first and then swiped second for just his second stolen base of the year. He had one of the Dodgers’ 14 hits as Los Angeles set a season high for runs at home.

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Sasaki (1-2) gave up four runs — three on solo homers by Seiya Suzuki, Moises Ballesteros and Miguel Amaya — and seven hits with a career-high 99 pitches on his bobblehead night. The Japanese right-hander struck out five in his fifth career start, pitching into the sixth inning for the first time this year. He went 1-1 as a rookie last season before working as the closer during the Dodgers’ run to their second straight World Series championship.

The Dodgers scored 10 or more runs for the fourth time this season. After scoring six in the fourth inning, they tacked on four more in the sixth. Andy Pages had a two-run double off reliever Javier Assad and later scored on a wild pitch by Vince Velasquez, who was called up Friday.

Max Muncy hit a tying two-run homer in the third for the Dodgers, who had lost five of seven. Their bullpen blew a four-run lead in a 6-4 loss in the series opener Friday that dropped them out of the NL West lead for the first time this season.

The Cubs took their last lead, 3-2, on Ballesteros’ two-strike homer off Sasaki in the fourth.

The Dodgers went ahead for good by playing small ball in the bottom of the inning.

Alex Freeland tied the game at 3 with an RBI double. Freddie Freeman’s RBI single chased Cubs starter Colin Rea (3-1). Teoscar Hernandez had a two-run single and Dalton Rushing and Pages had RBI singles — all with two outs — to open an 8-3 lead.

Trailing 8-4, the Cubs left the bases loaded in the sixth. Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer struck out Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong before Will Klein came in and induced a groundout to the mound by Amaya that ended the threat.

Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (2-1, 2.17 ERA) starts Sunday’s series finale against LHP Justin Wrobleski (3-0, 1.88).

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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Alex Cora’s tenure as manager of the Boston Red Sox is over, and several members of his staff are out of a job, too. 

The Red Sox fired Cora, hitting coach Peter Fatse, bench coach Rámon Vazquez, third base coach Kyle Hudson, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and game-planning coach Jason Varitek amid the team’s 10-17 start to the 2026 season on Saturday, the team announced. While the move came hours after the Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 17-1, they had suffered a 10-3 loss on Friday after getting swept by the New York Yankees.

“Alex Cora led this organization to one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2018, and for that, and the many years that followed, he will always have our deepest gratitude,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said in a statement. “He has had a lasting impact on this team and on this city. He has led on and off the field in so many important ways. These decisions are never easy, but this one is especially difficult given what Alex has meant to the Red Sox since the day he arrived.

“I want to thank Alex, our coaches, and their families for everything they have given to this organization. They have been part of this club in a way that goes beyond the field, and they will always have our respect and gratitude.”

Cora, 50, was in the midst of his second tenure as the team’s manager. He was previously the manager of the Red Sox for two seasons, helping the team win the World Series in 2018 before leaving the team for the 2020 season due to his role in the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal. Cora was re-hired by the Red Sox following the 2020 season. 

Cora’s second tenure as Boston’s manager was a bit bumpy. He helped the Red Sox reach the ALCS in 2021, where they lost to the Houston Astros in six games. But Boston finished in last place in the American League East in the 2022 and 2023 seasons before going 81-81 in 2024. 

The Red Sox were able to make it to the postseason in 2025, going 89-73. However, they lost to the New York Yankees in the wild-card series, falling in three games. 

Even though the Red Sox lost star third baseman Alex Bregman over the offseason, the Red Sox were expected to be among the top teams in the American League in 2026. But they’ve spent the majority of the opening month of the season well below .500 as they’ve underperformed in all facets of the game. They were 26th in runs scored and 24th in ERA entering Saturday.

Boston’s top players haven’t played up to expectations, either. Outfielder Roman Anthony has hit just .225 with a home run as he’s recently battled a back injury. Ace Garrett Crochet had a 7.88 ERA before Saturday’s start against the Orioles, in which he threw six scoreless innings. 

With Anthony and Crochet struggling, FOX Sports MLB writer Rowan Kavner recently attributed Boston’s struggles to its lack of power at the plate and its starting pitching. 

“The Red Sox are last in MLB in slugging percentage, expected slugging percentage and home runs, and they have the lowest OPS in the American League,” Kavner wrote on Thursday. “They’ve been too passive at the plate — they’re 29th in zone swing percentage — and that’s especially been a problem for Roman Anthony, who has the fourth-lowest zone swing % in MLB. Anthony, who hit 42% better than league average as a rookie last year and started for Team USA in the WBC, has been a league average hitter this year and has just one home run and four RBI, and he’s now dealing with back tightness. Jarren Duran, a 2024 All-Star, is slashing .194/.266/.306, all career lows. 

“Boston’s rotation was viewed as one of the deepest in the game this year after adding Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez, and so far it hasn’t performed anywhere close to expectations,” Kavner added. “Red Sox starters rank 26th in ERA and 24th in WHIP and batting average against. Gray has the lowest strikeout rate of his career and is now out with a hamstring strain. Suárez has also seen his strikeout rate decline precipitously, and the master of soft contact is allowing the highest hard-hit rate of his career. Brayan Bello has an ERA over 6.00. Most glaringly, though, Cy Young hopeful Garrett Crochet has a 7.88 ERA through five starts. And to make matters worse, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval, who were on the rehab trail, are both currently shut down.”

The Red Sox sit 7.5 games back of the first-place Yankees as of Saturday afternoon. 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been as advertised out of the gate, and the Chicago Cubs are on a heater, winning each of their last 10 games. In fact, the two teams are in the midst of a three-game series in Los Angeles. Catch Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX.

But what should we take from the two teams’ respective hot starts?

Thanks to injury, 2025 rookie Roki Sasaki has just 54 regular-season innings under his belt as well as another 10.2 in the postseason. While his ERA was sparkling out of the bullpen, he still struck out just six batters and walked five, and similar troubles persist in 2026. How long can the Dodgers stick with Sasaki in the rotation if his control and command issues continue?

Rowan Kavner: They’re intent on letting him work out his issues in the big leagues, despite the control problems that persist. They can survive Sasaki’s volatility when Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow are excelling atop the rotation — combined, that trio has a 1.91 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 18 walks this year — and when Justin Wrobleski is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA as the team’s sixth starter. 

Despite Sasaki’s unseemly 6.11 ERA and 1.87 WHIP, the Dodgers have the best starters’ ERA and WHIP in the National League. Those numbers should get even better when Blake Snell returns sometime next month. 

So, while I think Sasaki should either be in the bullpen or in the minors in a more controlled environment working on his erratic command and the development of his third pitch, it doesn’t sound like that will happen. Even when Snell is activated, the Dodgers, at least right now, are saying Sasaki won’t go to the bullpen. The control issues are concerning and ongoing, but at least holding his velocity in the upper-90s and missing more bats than he did last year. 

With top pitching prospect River Ryan currently on the shelf with a hamstring issue (and with the Dodgers being careful about Ryan’s innings after he missed last year recovering from Tommy John surgery), there aren’t a lot of obvious alternatives knocking down the door at the moment. 

Deesha Thosar: The Dodgers have the type of depth that other executives dream about, making it a no-brainer to let Sasaki work out his troubles and give him a long leash, at that. It’s not like Sasaki is that much of a detriment that he’s throwing the Dodgers’ bullpen out of whack. Though he’s allowed multiple runs in his last three starts, and is having trouble issuing walks, he’s averaging four-plus innings pitched each time out, which is manageable for now. 

In the meantime, Los Angeles can figure out whether Sasaki belongs in the rotation or the bullpen and hope something clicks to let him settle into the former. 

Sasaki’s command issues are a problem, no doubt. That 14.1% walk rate is up from last year. But, in a vacuum, that’s not hurting the club’s chances to compete in October. The only real red flag to watch out for with the young right-hander is any potential dip in velocity. His fastball lives in the upper 90s, and he’s able to repeat his mechanics while still generating swings and misses. 

So, now he has to settle in, pitch with confidence and find a balance that lets him thrive, not overthink, on the mound. 

Outfielder Andy Pages took a leap last summer, producing nearly a four-win season for the Dodgers that was overshadowed by their lineup of stars. He’s off to a scorching start in 2026: is this another jump in production, or just a hot April?

Kavner: Pages is prone to these wild swings in which he’s running scorching hot for a few weeks and then ice cold for the next few. Last year, he had a .544 OPS with three extra-base hits through his first 20 games before producing a 1.056 OPS with 11 extra-base hits over his next 20 games. We might be seeing something similar now, but in the opposite order. Pages had a 1.186 OPS with nine extra-base hits through his first 16 games before falling back down to earth over the last week, registering a .500 OPS with no extra-base hits over his last eight games. 

So, no, I don’t expect him to be challenging for the batting crown at season’s end as he’s doing right now, and I do think he’ll have a month or two where he cools off considerably before heating back up again. But I also think this production is at least a bit more sustainable. His hard-hit rate and average exit velocity have skyrocketed from last year, and while he’s still below league average in walk rate, he’s at least shown more of a willingness to take a free pass when it’s given. 

Pages’ tendency to chase will make him vulnerable to ebbs and flows throughout the year, but he’s shown a slight improvement in his selectivity, and I think he could be poised for a career year with an OPS+ well above the 115 mark he finished with last season. 

Thosar: It’s always a positive sign to look at a third-year player’s Baseball Savant page and see flashes of bright red in all the right places. For Pages, those key areas setting him apart from the pack are an elite batting run value, hard-hit rate and expected batting average. Pages’ quality of contact has been excellent so far this season. 

Sure, Pages is likely to cool off some, as his high BABIP suggests he can’t maintain a top-three average in MLB all year. And when he does inevitably experience a dip at the plate, I’d like to see him chase less and walk more so that he can still get on base and be a factor for the Dodgers. 

But the underlying metrics are encouraging and suggest that this season could be the real deal. Pages could actually finish among the top 15 leaders in batting average if he improves his chase rate and  remains consistent with his plate approach. 

The Cubs are looking like a contender as expected despite getting absolutely nothing offensively out of first baseman Michael Busch and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Are you concerned that the struggles of either will be a long-term issue?

Kavner: Yes, although right now I’m almost more confused than concerned about Busch. The declines in hard-hit rate and exit velocity are so steep and dramatic compared to what he was doing last year that I wonder if he’s been playing through something. He has the largest dropoff in average exit velocity (from 92.2 mph last year to 83.4 mph this year) of any qualified hitter in MLB, his bat speed has been slower, and he’s not pulling the ball in the air nearly as often. 

There was a moment last April when his exit velocity was down, so maybe he just needs the weather to warm up to start looking more like himself. The series against the Phillies have been much more encouraging. 

With Crow-Armstrong, the defense and speed provide such a reliable baseline of value, but I don’t know if we can expect him to put together a full season of the first half he had last year — one that would put him in the MVP conversation, as he was trending toward in 2025 before the late-season dropoff — until or unless he gets his whiff and chase rates more under control. 

Going back to the start of last August, he has the third-lowest wRC+ among all qualified hitters. In that time, he has just five home runs and a .563 OPS in more than 300 plate appearances, and his career OPS is down to .714, right around a league-average hitter. He’s still only 24, though, and already has a 30-30 season under his belt, so we know what he can do when he’s in the zone. It’s now a matter of finding a way to sustain what he had. 

Thosar: I’m not as concerned about Busch as I am about Crow-Armstrong as far as plate production. Last season, Busch had a slow start in April and May before he took off in the warmer months. He’s already started to show signs that he’s turning it around, suggesting he could find his groove at the plate even earlier than his hot June last year. There’s no question he’s been a major disappointment for the Cubs to start the season, and his reduced bat speed is something to keep an eye on. But for now, Busch’s track record is working in his favor. 

As far as PCA, he’s starting the season similarly to the way he ended it last year, which is slightly concerning. The outfielder experienced a harsh second-half slump in 2025, with his OPS dropping to a dreadful .446 in 28 August games. In the early going, opposing pitchers are exposing PCA’s rotten plate approach. He’s elite at chasing the ball out of the zone, to the point where it’s actually a mistake for an opposing pitcher to throw him a strike. He’s more likely to swing and miss on balls low and away, and his barrel rate is half of what it was last year. 

PCA will always provide value defensively, and it’s a great sign that the Cubs are winning despite his offensive struggles. It’s too early to panic, but these seem to be lingering issues at the plate for the 24-year-old.

Chicago has received serious production from 22-year-old designated hitter and catcher Moises Ballesteros, after a short but impressive debut in 2025. Expecting an Aaron Judge impression for the season is likely optimistic, but what kind of year do you see the rookie having in ‘26? 

Kavner: The kid can flat-out mash right-handed pitching, possessing a rare combination of bat-to-ball skills, power and the ability to control the zone. He’s also doing a better job of getting the ball in the air, which should lead to more home runs considering his penchant for hard contact. Because the Cubs aren’t exposing him to lefties and are mostly keeping him off the field— there are questions about his defensive abilities behind the plate, and at 5-foot-8 it’s tough to imagine him moving elsewhere full-time — he’s providing the best version of himself without getting overexposed. 

While it might be tough for him to contend for the NL Rookie of the Year Award when he’s barely playing the field, I wouldn’t be surprised if he remains a well above-average hitter the rest of the way with 15-20 homers and staggering rate stats. His bat is legit and impossible to ignore, even if his .400+ BABIP is unsustainable. 

Thosar: Encouragingly, Ballesteros has continued where he left off in his major-league cameo last September, when he recorded a .999 OPS in 46 plate appearances. So far this year, he’s been able to increase his bat speed and hard-hit rate, and as we’ve discussed with other slow-starting hitters, Ballesteros would be forgiven if he struggled to get going in April. 

Instead, there are talks around Wrigleyville of wanting the Cubs to extend this kid. One of the most encouraging signs of his hot start is how well he’s squaring the ball. Ballesteros has slashed his ground-ball rate from 62.2% in 2025 to 38.1% this year. He’s hitting the ball in the air more, with an apparent intent on getting out in front of it. None of these things are flukey. Ballesteros is staking his claim as Chicago’s up-and-coming DH.

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