Category: Baseball

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal won his second straight American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, joining elite company after another spectacular season in which the left-hander helped propel Detroit to a playoff berth.

The 28-year-old Skubal became the 12th player to win baseball’s top pitching honor in consecutive years, joining a group that includes Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.

Jacob deGrom was the previous pitcher to win consecutive Cy Youngs, pulling off the feat with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019. Martinez was the last American League pitcher to do it, in 1999 and 2000.

Skubal posted a 13-6 record with an American League-leading 2.21 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings for the Tigers during the regular season, then went 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three playoff starts for Detroit, which was eliminated by Seattle in the Division Series.

Skubal received 26 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The other four went to runner-up Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox. Crochet led the American League in innings (205 1/3) and strikeouts (255). Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros came in third.

A year after taking a massive step forward by winning the pitching Triple Crown in the American League on his way to being a unanimous Cy Young Award winner, Skubal backed it up by serving as the anchor for the Tigers during a volatile season in which Detroit squandered a 15 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and was caught by Cleveland down the stretch.

The Tigers got a bit of revenge in the wild-card round, beating the division-champion Guardians in three games thanks in large part to a 14-strikeout gem by Skubal in the series opener.

Skubal’s historic run comes with him set to enter free agency after the 2026 season. Considering the massive contract Skubal could command on the open market, it’s uncertain whether he’ll stay with the Tigers beyond next season.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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The Oklahoma City Spark are one of two teams that have been added to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

Another new team, the Cascade, will join the defending champion Talons, Bandits, Blaze and Volts to round out the six-team league for the 2026 season, the league announced Wednesday.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said the move for the Spark further establishes Oklahoma City as a softball hotbed. The city hosts the annual Women’s College World Series and will be the site for the sport during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“The AUSL is putting the right pieces in place to represent the next evolution of professional softball, and the Spark have worked hard to build that foundation in OKC,” Holt said in a statement. “It makes sense for OKC, this team and this league to come together to take professional softball to the next level. I commend everyone involved for getting us to this day, and I’m excited to see where it leads.”

The Spark are the only team attached to a city so far. The league used a touring model in its first season this year, but will be city based next year.

Spark leadership will remain with the team. Founder Tina Floyd will be the team’s executive director. Destinee McElroy will be the chief operating officer. Amber Flores will remain head coach and former Oregon State head coach and UCLA assistant Kirk Walker will be the general manager. Walker was associate coach for the Talons last season.

The Spark, who operated independently last season, have existed for three years. Floyd said she’s been looking for this kind of fit since she started the team.

“We both align,” she said. “Our mission, our core values and what we want for these athletes is in complete alignment, and that’s something that I’ve been searching for these three years that we have played — to make sure that our ladies are playing a professional game with people that are in it for the right reasons.”

Floyd said the Spark likely will draw heavily from nearby college programs. The powerhouse Oklahoma and Oklahoma State college programs play within roughly an hour of downtown Oklahoma City.

While the Spark name will not change, the contracts of those who played for the team last season will expire, so there will be a new roster. Current players will be eligible for the AUSL’s allocation draft on Dec. 1. The expansion draft will be the same day.

AUSL commissioner Kim Ng, who took on that role in April of this year, believes the expansion is another step towards the goal of helping Team USA bring home Olympic gold.

“These players, not only will they be playing against just incredible quality, but now they’ll be getting all of these repetitions prior to ’28, and Team USA will be able to build off of that,” she said. “So we’re incredibly excited.”

In March, Major League Baseball made a “strategic investment” north of 20% in Athletes Unlimited. “This is something we’re really excited about,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told The Associated Press. “We studied the space hard. We think it’s a real opportunity and we’re excited to be involved.”

Manfred stated that MLB’s “goal is to get a softball league into the same position of stability that the WNBA has found,” per The Athletic. Expansion of the league would seemingly play a key role in achieving that goal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Want a potent, left-handed hitter with postseason experience who’s also great with the glove? If so, then you’re in luck, because outfielder Kyle Tucker is a free agent.

The soon-to-be 29-year-old Tucker is among the best all-around players in the sport. He has a long, powerful swing from the left side, seldom strikes out and is a terrific right fielder.

After acquiring him from the Houston Astros last fall, one figures that the Chicago Cubs will try to keep Tucker in the Windy City. At the same time, Tucker will likely have a dozen, if not more, teams trying to lock him down on a long-term deal. Here are three best fits for Tucker should he depart Chicago.

Cleveland needs power wherever it can get it, and Tucker would be a substantial pickup for its sake.

At the moment, the Guardians’ outfield rotation is choppy. Steven Kwan is a steady, Gold Glover in left field, but Lane Thomas is a free agent; Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry are coming off injury-plagued seasons; Angel Martinez has had his moments but still hit just .224 last season. Tucker would provide Cleveland with its new everyday right fielder, likely moving former first-rounder Chase DeLauter to center field when he’s a full-time member of the Guardians’ roster.

With the bat, Tucker would add an elite hitter to an offense that was last in MLB in hits (1,199), 29th in on-base percentage (.296), tied for 28th in slugging percentage (.373) and 28th outright in runs (643) last season. Moreover, Tucker would give manager Stephen Vogt somebody who can do major damage in his lineup outside of Jose Ramirez. Tucker’s a proven, well-rounded hitter with reputable plate discipline who’s battle-tested in postseason play. He’s precisely what Cleveland needs.

The hindrance in Cleveland’s way of potentially signing Tucker? The Guardians, who have been in the bottom-third of MLB in payroll in each of the last five years, have never dished out a nine-figure contract that begins with the No. 2, with a five-year, $124 million extension given to the previously mentioned Ramirez in 2022 being the largest total contract in franchise history.

A team that’s been more than willing to throw nine-figure contracts at players? The Rangers – e.g. Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom and Marcus Semien – who would benefit greatly from Tucker’s theoretical arrival.

The Rangers’ offense needs help across the board, as they were 26th in slugging percentage (.381), 24th in hits (1,275) and 22nd in runs (684) last season. Left fielder Wyatt Langford is coming into his own, but Adolis Garcia‘s offensive production has dipped over the past two years, and Texas received scattered production from its outfield rotation in 2025.

Tucker would provide an element of stability and arguably give new manager Skip Schumaker his new best all-around player. deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter, among others, headlined a Texas starting rotation that posted the best ERA in baseball last season (3.41). With a mere mid-level offensive attack, the Rangers can contend with the Seattle Mariners and Astros for the American League West.

Now, Tucker’s arrival would likely mean that Garcia would have to move from right field to center field, but the latter has 130 MLB starts at the position under his belt and the opportunity to add a proven hitter of Tucker’s caliber is difficult for Texas to pass up on.

Tucker could lift Texas back into playoff contention. There’s just a team that’s more desperate than the Rangers.

On June 15, the Giants acquired star third baseman Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. Six weeks later, they were sellers at the MLB trade deadline. In other words, San Francisco has flip-flopped on a dime of late, but it has shown more willingness to operate as a contender than a rebuilding team, also exemplified by giving Willy Adames a $182 million contract last offseason. Tucker should be the next major addition to the Giants’ depth chart.

Outside of Heliot Ramos, who has become one of the faces of San Francisco’s operation, the Giants’ outfield is severely lacking in production. Tucker would take over in right field, with Ramos in left, Jung Hoo Lee in center and Drew Gilbert, a 2022 first-round pick who was acquired as part of San Francisco’s return from the New York Mets for reliever Tyler Rogers, as the team’s fourth outfielder.

Throw Tucker in a lineup that includes Devers, Adames and Matt Chapman and the Giants have something cooking in the batter’s box. They’ve already gone down the rabbit hole of making substantial investments in the aforementioned hitters; they might as well keep going.

On that note, the Giants’ division, the NL West, includes the back-to-back World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a perennial playoff contender in the San Diego Padres and the competitive Arizona Diamondbacks; San Francisco is closer in talent to those teams than the Colorado Rockies, who won just 43 games in 2025, and adding Tucker would make it reasonable to place playoff expectations on the Giants in 2026.

The Giants need the star bat, and Tucker presumably wants the bag. This is a match.

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For anyone up in arms wondering how World Series champion Dave Roberts wasn’t even a finalist (again) for Manager of the Year in the National League and how Blue Jays skipper John Schneider didn’t run away with the award in the American League, a reminder is warranted. 

The awards are based solely on the regular season, and votes are cast before the playoffs. Postseason performance does not factor in. 

Again: Postseason performance does not factor in. 

This feels especially important to reiterate when discussing this particular award compared to others voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, considering how subjective it is and how much the postseason can understandably shape fan perception of a manager’s performance. 

Unlike other awards, you can’t look at WAR or OPS or ERA to determine the credentials for the best manager in baseball. In addition, front offices increasingly have a role in decisions on the field, and we can’t possibly know how much one manager is involved over another or all the conversations taking place behind the scenes. 

What we can see, especially in October: Did the game speed up on the manager in the biggest moments? Did he let his starter ride where others might have turned to the bullpen? Did it work out? Did he pick the right relief matchup in the right spot? Did his pinch-hit decision work out? How did gut calls pay off? All of that can separate a good manager from a great one and a great season from a championship one. 

But, as one of the 30 BBWAA members who voted on the AL Manager of the Year Award this year, we only have the first 162 games to make a decision. So we look at wins and losses, and we look at which teams outplayed expectations, and we look at the managers who got the best out of their players and kept the ship afloat through hazardous seas. 

Schneider, who took the Blue Jays from worst to first in the always formidable AL East, had a strong argument to win the award even before guiding the Blue Jays to their first World Series since 1993. 

He would have been my vote a couple of weeks before season’s end, and he would still be a perfectly reasonable choice. 

But Cleveland’s historic finish to the year, during which Vogt kept the belief of a Guardians team that ultimately overcame a 15.5-game deficit — the largest ever to win a division — was enough to sway my vote for AL Manager of the Year. 

My final ballot: 

1. Stephen Vogt, Guardians
2. John Schneider, Blue Jays
3. Dan Wilson, Mariners

That’s how the BBWAA voting ultimately panned out, as well, with Vogt earning 17 of the BBWAA’s 30 first-place votes. Schneider received 10, Wilson got two and Boston’s Alex Cora got one. Cora finished fourth in the voting followed by Detroit’s A.J. Hinch in fifth and Houston’s Joe Espada in sixth. 

The Guardians were more than 15 games out of first place on July 8. By then, starter Luis Ortiz had been placed on administrative leave amid an MLB gambling investigation. Weeks later, Cleveland lost star closer Emmanuel Clase to the same investigation. Neither pitcher would throw another pitch for the Guardians in 2025, and both would later be indicted on charges tied to allegedly rigging pitches. 

At the deadline, no help arrived. 

In fact, Cleveland’s path forward was made even more challenging when the Guardians traded away former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber to Toronto as he approached his return from Tommy John surgery. 

It would have been easy to pack it up. 

The Guardians had a bottom-five payroll and an offense that lacked what appeared to be the requisite star power to mount a stunning comeback. José Ramírez could only do so much to lift an offense that finished the year ranked last in the AL in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. 

Ramírez and first baseman Kyle Manzardo were the only Guardians players who hit above league average on the season. Ramírez and outfielder Steven Kwan were the only Guardians players worth at least 2 WAR. 

Meanwhile, the pitching wasn’t as overpowering as it was the year prior. The bullpen was missing Clase, and the rotation entered September ranked 18th in ERA and 19th in strikeout rate. 

On the morning of Sept. 5, with only 23 games left to play, the Guardians were still 11 games back in the AL Central. No team had ever overcome even a nine-game deficit in September to win a division. 

To his credit, Vogt kept the belief. 

“We can’t control the 11 games,” Vogt told me after winning the award. “The only way you can overcome a deficit like that is to win each individual game. We preached it and tried to live it every day.”

Certainly, the Tigers’ collapse down the stretch played a significant role in loosening Detroit’s season-long stranglehold in the AL Central, but that shouldn’t minimize what the Guardians accomplished, against all odds. 

They went 48-26 from July 7 through the end of the season, compiling more wins than any team in MLB during that time. And they finished the year winning 19 of their last 23 games, including a 5-1 mark against the Tigers team they were chasing, to ultimately capture their second straight division title under Vogt. 

He became the fourth skipper to win Manager of the Year in consecutive seasons, joining the Rays’ Kevin Cash (2020-21), the Braves’ Bobby Cox (2004-05) and the Brewers’ Pat Murphy, who was also named his respective league’s winner for the award for the second straight season on Tuesday. 

“I leaned on everyone around me,” Vogt told me. “I leaned on the coaching staff. I leaned on the front office. I leaned on the players. We were all in that together.”

Schneider and Wilson both mounted strong arguments. The Blue Jays, with a top-five payroll, a star in first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a resurgent year from designated hitter George Springer and a bevy of depth pieces who took a massive leap forward, had a 20-win improvement and held off the Yankees to win their first division title in 10 years. The Mariners, bolstered by some major deadline additions, made a five-win improvement and won their first division title since 2001. 

Either would be fine choices, but neither overcame the odds of a Guardians team that everyone had counted out. It is the resilience of the Guardians that Vogt, who became the first skipper ever to win Manager of the Year in his first two big-league seasons at the helm, will remember most from the 2025 season.

“And that we actually got it done,” Vogt said.

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 X at @RowanKavner.

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Cleveland’s Steven Vogt won his second straight AL Manager of the Year award and Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy repeated for the NL honor.

Vogt received 17 of 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, beating out Toronto’s John Schneider and Seattle’s Dan Wilson. Voting was conducted before the postseason, and results were announced Tuesday night.

Murphy got 27 first-place votes. Cincinnati’s Terry Francona was second, followed by Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson.

The last AL manager to win the award in consecutive seasons was Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash in 2020 and 2021. The previous NL manager was Bobby Cox for Atlanta in 2004 and 2005.

The Cy Young Award winner for each league will be announced on Wednesday, and the MVPs are revealed on Thursday.

Vogt led Cleveland to a second straight AL Central title in his second year in charge. The 41-year-old played in the big leagues for 10 years, then retired after the 2022 season. He had a one-year stint as Seattle’s bullpen coach and was hired by the Guardians in November 2023.

Cleveland trailed Detroit by 15 1/2 games in early July and by 11 games in early September before storming back to clinch the division title on the final day of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the largest in-season comeback in Major League Baseball history.

The Guardians also became the fourth big league team to reach the playoffs despite having a losing streak of at least 10 games during the regular season, joining the 2017 Dodgers, 1982 Braves and 1951 New York Giants. Vogt’s club dropped 10 in a row from June 26 to July 6.

Cleveland went on its big September run after closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a MLB investigation into sports betting.

Murphy directed Milwaukee to a major league-best 97-65 record this year, setting a franchise record for wins. The Brewers were in second in the NL Central in early July before overtaking the Chicago Cubs with a remarkable 29-4 stretch that included a 14-game win streak, another franchise record.

Milwaukee eliminated Chicago in a memorable NL Division Series before it was swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS. The five-game victory over the rival Cubs was the Brewers’ first postseason series win since sweeping Colorado in a 2018 NLDS.

The folksy Murphy, who turns 67 on Nov. 28, was Milwaukee’s bench coach for eight seasons before he was promoted after Craig Counsell left for the Cubs in November 2023. The Brewers also won the NL Central in Murphy’s first season in charge, finishing with a 93-69 record.

“This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for the second year in a row,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said in a release.

Murphy had a long coaching career at the college level, including stints at Notre Dame and Arizona State, before serving as a special assistant with the San Diego Padres for the 2010 season. He went 42-54 as the interim manager of the Padres in 2015.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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The Guardians were the only team with a negative run differential in this year’s postseason, pointing to a vulnerable area that needs to be addressed. The Tigers somehow survived a historic second-half collapse and qualified for the playoffs, only to lose to the Seattle Mariners in the 15th inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series. 

The Royals are one or two impact players away from making a playoff run for just the second time since their 2015 championship. The Twins still haven’t demonstrated whether they’re fielding a competitive team next year, and the White Sox… Well, they’ll be better than they were a year ago.

After tackling the needs of the East, our series continues with the American League Central. Here are the biggest needs for a division that’s no longer considered a laughingstock, but still has plenty of work to do:

Teams are listed in order of their records, best to worst, in the 2025 season.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

Biggest need: Offensive boost 

The Guardians’ 3.9 runs per game this year were ranked 28th in MLB, better only than the Rockies and Pirates. And they still finished first in the division! Even so, for a lineup led by Jose Ramirez, who is consistently one of the game’s best hitters, outscoring only Colorado and Pittsburgh is preposterous. “Guards Ball,” or similar to the contact-driven style of offense we saw from the Toronto Blue Jays in their loud run to the World Series, works better when there is some level of consistent power involved. And, like the Jays, it would help if the Guardians doubled their payroll. 

Alas, there are no indications that Cleveland will run a payroll that’s higher than the $90–100 million range it’s been comfortable with in recent years. But there should still be some financial flexibility for free agents or trades heading into the 2026 season. The Guardians can attempt to address their lack of threats at the plate by adding a right-handed bat or two to their lefty-heavy lineup. I’m skeptical that they would pay lavishly for free agent first baseman Pete Alonso, and though he would significantly improve their offense, that’s a splashy move Cleveland typically hesitates to make. It’s more likely they will promote their No. 2 overall prospect, outfielder Chase DeLauter, who hits for both average and power, but his injury history is worth keeping an eye on.

DETROIT TIGERS

Biggest need: Starting pitching (if keeping Tarik Skubal)

Anything and everything the Tigers do this offseason will have the Skubal Decision looming all over it. He has expressed his interest in wanting to make Detroit a baseball city again. He is the current face of their franchise. The Tigers are an up-and-coming organization with legitimate World Series chances when Skubal is leading the rotation. He belongs in Detroit long-term, but will the Tigers ever pay him what he’s worth? The two sides are reportedly far apart in negotiations for an extension, and now the soon-to-be repeat Cy Young award winner looks all but certain to enter free agency next offseason, if not, become a trade-deadline candidate in July. 

So if the Tigers aren’t blown away by an enticing trade package (think: king’s ransom) for Skubal this winter, they can go ahead and plan for another year of contention with him in 2026. If that’s the case, they need starting-pitching help behind their ace. Going after left-handed free agent Ranger Suarez would create a terrific 1-2 punch in the rotation. Detroit has room in the payroll to add a top-tier starter, unless they’re allocating that money toward their corner-infield holes. Like last offseason, Alex Bregman is a free agent again and the Tigers could once again be finalists for the veteran third baseman. 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Biggest need: Thump from outfielders

The Royals rotation — led by Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic, and friends — is built to win now. The Royals have to improve their offense to supplement that strong starting-pitching staff. They can start by building around a core group of hitters — including Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Maikel Garcia — that patrols the infield. The Royals need more thump in the lineup from their outfielders, with a clear need at a corner position. Kansas City outfielders ranked last in MLB in on-base percentage and slugging, and 29th in batting average this year. 

Since the Royals have a surplus of starters and catching depth in the farm system, it’s possible they’ll focus on trades to improve those mediocre numbers. But it’s not as if they flash a payroll that’s in the basement next to the Marlins, A’s, White Sox, or Pirates. The Royals can certainly afford to shop for an outfielder on the market, where someone like free agent Cody Bellinger could make an impact. And, in a division as unpredictable as the AL Central, they have to go for it. Adding an impact bat could make them the favorites to win the division next year.

MINNESOTA TWINS

Biggest need: Relief pitchers

Are the Twins going into a rebuild after gutting the team at the trade deadline this year? Or are they actually trying to be competitive and aiming to fill a significant number of roster holes for next year? As of now, it’s unclear. But Twins fans deserve some hope for the future, so let’s presume it’s the latter, and Minnesota will take on the challenge of addressing its roster weaknesses. That starts with adding to a bullpen that lost closer Jhoan Duran and more relievers in Louis Varland, Griffin Jax, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe as part of July’s fire sale.

There’s a ton of opportunity to rebuild here, if only because the Twins are essentially starting from scratch. They can transform one of their many starting pitchers into a relief arm, like they did with Jax and Varland. But, even if they go that route, it’s hard to imagine the Twins going through the offseason without at least one outside addition, either through trade or free agency. No, a deal for Edwin Diaz isn’t expected. But, as the hot stove season progresses, there will be a handful of mid- to low-tier free-agent relievers who will get squeezed into accepting deals.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Biggest need: Pitching in starting and relief

The White Sox won 19 more games this year than they did last year. Sure, they still finished with 102 losses in 2025, but they genuinely looked like a slightly better-than mediocre baseball team in the second half of the season. They almost finished with a .500 record in July, falling just one win short of that achievement. All of which to say, there were at times flashes of encouragement from the White Sox this year. It appears we are past their infamous 2024 season, where they recorded the most losses (121) in modern MLB history.

To continue in their rebuild, they could finally trade outfielder Luis Robert Jr. after years of speculation, rid themselves of his $20 million salary, and put it to better use in the pitching staff. Chicago needs more veteran arms in the rotation and bullpen to help offset the workload of their younger pitchers. These don’t necessarily need to be quality arms. But innings-eaters will help simplify the development of top left-handed prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, since both pitchers are expected to be promoted in 2026.

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.

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Munetaka Murakami could be the next big thing in Major League Baseball.

After playing eight seasons for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB), Murakami, a two-time NPB MVP, has been posted to MLB teams to negotiate a potential contract. A primary third baseman who also has experience playing first base, Murakami has showcased mammoth power from the left side of the plate, most notably hitting 56 home runs and posting a .710 slugging percentage in 2022.

Here are the three best fits for Murakami, who will be 26 at the start of the 2026 MLB season.

After missing the World Series by one game, the Mariners are in the thick of championship contention, but one-third of their starting lineup is a free agent this offseason and, either way, the time is now for them to spend like contenders. Murakami would be a statement, long-term signing.

Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco are all free agents, meaning three starting-caliber infielders (Polanco was primarily the Mariners’ designated hitter in 2025, but he has played second base and shortstop throughout his MLB career) could break free from Seattle this offseason; there could easily be a void, if not two, to fill in the Mariners’ infield, which Murakami could emphatically do. Murakami would start at the hot corner, adding needed slug to replace the potential departure of Suarez, while providing a left-handed bat.

Plus, if Seattle decides that it would rather have Murakami play first base as his career progresses, it opens the door to add a star third baseman down the road. Regardless of the position he plays, Murakami would give the Mariners the prime years of a potential impact hitter. 

With that said, the Mariners could instead choose to retain their starting infield, specifically Suarez at third base, with the mindset of keeping a proven commodity in place for a team likely seeking certainty in its starting lineup.

Chicago has an array of big-time boppers, but one of them could be out the door this offseason in star outfielder Kyle Tucker, who figures to have at least one-third of the sport vying for his services. If the Cubs feel that the price isn’t right, they could spend a chunk of the money they would’ve given to Tucker to secure their third baseman of the future in Murakami.

With Tucker theoretically gone, Murakami would keep the balance of left-handed vs. right-handed hitters in Chicago’s order intact and add even more upside to an offense primarily made up of players in its prime. Batting in an offense that’s headlined by Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ, among others, Murakami doesn’t have to be an All-Star-caliber hitter from the jump. Plus, if Murakami has a slow start firing in throws from third base, he has Busch, who has posted positive DRS at first base in each of the past two seasons, to scoop out errant throws. 

So, what do the Cubs do with soon-to-be second-year third baseman and 2023 first-round pick Matt Shaw? Package him as part of a trade for a much-needed top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher (e.g. MacKenzie Gore or, if they’re actually available for a king’s ransom, Tarik Skubal and Joe Ryan).

What could stop a full-fledged pursuit of Murakami for Chicago, though, is if it believes that Shaw could become a star and subsequently doesn’t allow itself to be outbid to keep Tucker.

Last offseason, the Yankees lost a then-26-year-old, left-handed-hitting star to free agency in Juan Soto. This offseason, they could sign a soon-to-be 26-year-old left-handed hitter for the long haul in Murakami.

“What is the Yankees’ lineup without Aaron Judge?” The temperature would be brought down on that yearly question, which is used against New York’s offensive success as Judge continues to hit at a historic level. Murakami could be an electric hitter who’s placed in the heart of the Yankees’ lineup and generates power on his own. He’d start at the hot corner, and if New York doesn’t like what it sees defensively and/or it projects first baseman/catcher Ben Rice to be behind the plate on a full-time basis, Murakami can move to first base.

This is a Yankees’ offense where, outside of Rice, esteemed, homegrown players have struggled to progress as hitters (e.g. Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominquez, granted it’s still early with the latter). Murakami would be fresh blood for that core and somebody whose game possesses upside.

Yes, the Yankees acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon before last season’s trade deadline, and he’s due $32 million over the next two seasons. At the same time, McMahon hit just .214 in 2025. If a tangible offensive upgrade presents itself, the Yankees can’t turn their back on it because of McMahon’s contract. Plus, McMahon, a stellar fielder, has extensive experience playing both third base and second base, allowing him to ease into a utility role.

The Yankees had as many regular-season wins as the team that eliminated them in the playoffs and went on to win the AL in the Toronto Blue Jays. With a more balanced offense and healthy starting rotation – 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole missed all of 2025, and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil missed the first half of 2025 – New York is as talented as any team in the AL. Murakami could be the juice that the Yankees need.

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Moments after Craig Stammen was introduced as manager of the San Diego Padres on Monday, general manager A.J. Preller turned to the former reliever and light-heartedly said, “How’d we get here?”

That’s something Padres fans and many people around baseball have wondered since Thursday, when the Padres made the surprising announcement that Stammen had replaced Mike Shildt. Citing burnout, Shildt retired on Oct. 13 after just two seasons on the job, less than two weeks after the Padres were eliminated in the wild card round by the Chicago Cubs.

The 41-year-old Stammen, just three seasons removed from throwing his last big league pitch, has been with the Padres organization since 2017. Preller felt he had enough good qualities and knowledge of the team to make him skipper despite having no previous coaching or managing experience at any level.

Stammen went from helping interview candidates for the job to becoming a candidate to getting the job. He’ll lead a team that’s made four playoff appearances in six seasons and is led by stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado.

He retired in August 2023 after it became clear he wouldn’t bounce back from a shoulder injury sustained during spring training. He became an assistant to the major league coaching staff and the baseball operations department, and he said Preller often asked if he wanted more responsibilities in the organization while understanding Stammen was balancing his job with his home life with his wife, Audrey, and their four young children back in Ohio.

“He was very coy about it at the beginning,” Stammen said. “We kind of got through the interview process, the beginning of it, and then he put the sales kibosh on me and said, ’I really want you to be a part of the process; I want you to think about being the manager of the Padres.'”

Stammen wasn’t sure about moving his family to California. He had numerous conversations with his wife and others and cited Preller’s continued belief in him, without which “I probably would have not gone down the path as strongly as we did.

“Eventually, it got to the point where it was a yes for us. We made some family decisions to make that happen. Once we made that decision, there was a peace and a joy that came with it and an opportunity that there’s no way I could say no to. That’s where we said yes, and luckily enough and thankful enough, I was offered the job and here we are today, ready to make something happen.”

This is the third time Preller has hired a manager with little or no previous managerial experience. Stammen is the Padres’ sixth manager since 2015, not counting interim skippers.

Preller harkened back to what he’s seen of Stammen since his first season with the Padres in 2017, when he was coming off an arm injury and had joined San Diego as a free agent.

“He’s an elite competitor, incredibly hard worker, very prepared and a natural leader and somebody that, as a pitcher, was able to touch different elements of our clubhouse and be able to bond and connect with different players in that clubhouse over the course of a seven- or eight-year period here in San Diego.” Preller said.

“Craig has a unique seat, a unique lens. He was part of those building teams, and then he’s been able to see it through to the playoff teams and the teams that have won 90-plus games here the last two years. He’s part of some really high highs … Craig starting a playoff game, which is definitely a career highlight, and he also had a front-row seat to some of the disappointments of the last few years, and I think he’s going to carry those experiences with him here in this chair.”

Stammen is best known for starting the deciding Game 3 of the 2020 Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, who at the time were managed by Shildt. He pitched 1 2/3 innings as the first of nine pitchers the Padres used in the 4-0 win, which clinched their first postseason series victory since 1998.

Stammen said it will be a “challenge for sure. I’ve got a big learning curve ahead of me.” But he said he has a great relationship with pitching coach Ruben Niebla – who was interviewed for the manager’s job – as well as with many of the players who were once his teammates.

“One of the advantages of being a relief pitcher and viewing the game from that lens is you’re always monitoring when the pitching changes are coming,” Stammen said. “Especially in the role I had, I had to be ready from pitch one until the end of the game.”

He said he and Niebla will “be a lethal combo” in making pitching decisions.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won Rookie of the Year honors, with Kurtz taking the AL award in unanimous fashion.

The 22-year-old Kurtz batted .290 with 36 homers, 86 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS in 117 games this year. The first baseman became the eighth rookie since 1901 to finish with an OPS over 1.000 while making at least 400 plate appearances.

A’s teammate Jacob Wilson was second in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America that was announced on Monday night. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony was third. Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin finished behind Baldwin for NL honors. 

Each Rookie of the Year gets $750,000 from a pre-arbitration bonus pool, and each runner-up receives $500,000.

The Manager of the Year for each league will be announced on Tuesday, followed by the Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday.

Baldwin, 24, stepped up for Atlanta after No. 1 catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined by a cracked rib in spring training. While Murphy was limited by injuries for much of the year, Baldwin hit .274 with 19 homers, 80 RBIs and an .810 OPS in 124 games.

Baldwin’s win secured an extra selection for Atlanta after the first round in next year’s amateur draft under the collective bargaining agreement’s prospect promotion incentive.

Kurtz, 22, starred at Wake Forest University before he was selected by the A’s with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 amateur draft. The 6-foot-5 slugger began this season in the minors, but he hit an RBI single in his first big league at-bat on April 23 against Texas.

It was a sign of things to come.

He hit a solo drive off Dodgers reliever J.P. Feyereisen for his first big league homer on May 13. He belted four more homers in a span of four days that same month, including his first career multihomer game on May 21 against the Angels.

He had his signature performance on July 25 at Houston, becoming the youngest player in major league history and the first rookie to hit four home runs in one game. He went 6 for 6 with eight RBIs while matching an MLB record with 19 total bases.

Wilson, 23, also had a terrific rookie season for the A’s, batting .311 with 13 homers and 63 RBIs. He was the starting shortstop for the AL in the All-Star Game.

Anthony, 21, made his big league debut on June 9. He batted .292 with eight homers and 32 RBIs in 71 games with Boston before his season was cut short by an oblique injury.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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A month before Nick Kurtz put the exclamation mark on his Rookie of the Year campaign when he became the youngest player ever to homer four times in a game, Athletics slugger Brent Rooker already knew what he was witnessing was unlike anything he had seen from a 22-year-old. 

The Athletics returned home from a road trip to host an Astros team that employed two of Major League Baseball’s most overpowering late-inning relievers in Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader. On June 16, Rooker was standing on first base in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning when Kurtz pulverized a slider from Abreu, pulling it 111.7 mph off the bat and 447 feet out to right field at Sutter Health Park for a walk-off home run. 

Three days later, Kurtz walked off Hader in a similar manner, taking the Astros closer 416 feet out to dead center.

It was one of just two home runs that Hader allowed to a left-handed hitter all year, and it came off the bat of a player who was less than a year removed from his last college game. 

“I think a lot of our eyes were opened,” Rooker told me months later, “to just kind of how special he is.” 

It was around that time that Kurtz transformed from an intriguing prospect into the best hitter in Major League Baseball. From June 15 through the end of the season, Kurtz led MLB in both OPS (1.112) and wrC+ (200), hitting 100% better than league average and posting numbers that topped even what Yankees star Aaron Judge accomplished over that time. It was one of the best second halves ever, a remarkable feat for any player, let alone one who was drafted the season prior and had played in only 32 minor-league games. 

“There’s obviously a little bit of pressure added on top of that because, ‘He moved up fast, is he ready, is he not?’” Kurtz told me in September, a day before the A’s put up 17 runs on the Angels. “That’s kind of why you do it, you know? Yeah, it’s tough, but it’s what makes it fun and kind of the challenge of it all. All right, how good can I be with all that pressure?”

Historically good, as it turns out. 

Kurtz wasn’t called up until April 23, yet he still produced one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, launching 36 home runs with a 1.002 OPS. The only other rookies to reach those numbers in the last 100 years were Judge in 2017 and Albert Pujols in 2001. 

The circumstances could’ve overwhelmed Kurtz. Instead, the quick ascension — and the doubters that came with it — served as extra motivation. 

“You think I’m not as good as I am? I’m going to try to prove you wrong,’” Kurtz said. “Then there’s also going and proving people right.”

‘He’s Years Advanced’

It’s easy now, considering Kurtz was crowned the unanimous Rookie of the Year on Monday, to forget that it took some time for his raw power to manifest as a big leaguer. 

For much of the year, Kurtz’s teammate, Jacob Wilson, was the odds-on favorite to win MLB’s top rookie honor. While Wilson racked up hits in bunches, Kurtz had a .558 OPS 23 games into his career. 

The 2024 No. 4 overall pick didn’t hit his first home run until his 17th game, and after he finally went deep, he then went hitless over his next six games. Kurtz struck out in 31 of his first 77 at-bats. 

And yet, by season’s end, he still led all rookies in home runs, runs, RBI, walks, slugging and OPS.

“The mental fortitude he has at 22, I was nowhere near that,” said teammate Shea Langeliers. “He’s years advanced.”

Langeliers, a 2019 first-round pick who was also an A’s top prospect when he debuted at 24 years old, could relate more than most to Kurtz’s situation. During Kurtz’s slow start, he encouraged the phenom first baseman to take a step back and think about the incredible situation he found himself in, living out his lifelong dream. 

The early growing pains were understandable for a player in Kurtz who was playing college baseball just a year ago. Suddenly, the pitches were moving more, and he was no longer seeing the same mistakes he was making at the lower levels with the same frequency. 

“It can be overwhelming,” Langeliers said. “It feels like you’ve got to be the best player on the field at all times.”

The biggest change Kurtz had to make was more mental than mechanical. 

Entering the big leagues, he always thought he should be able to get a hit off anybody in any at-bat. He would learn that’s not always possible. 

“Just being OK with failure,” Kurtz explained. “Being OK with, ‘I can’t hit a homer off this guy today, what else can I do to get on base? How can I provide value?’”

His A’s teammates helped him gain that perspective. 

“I’m talking to Shea, I’m talking to Rook, I’m talking to guys that are like, ‘This is what they’re doing to you, you got nothing to hit that at-bat, move on,’” Kurtz said. “… A lot of it is like, OK, what do I do now? What do I need to change? I got a hit off that last time. What should I look for next time?’”

Kurtz is prone to swing and miss, but he doesn’t chase out of the zone, and he’ll take his free passes. He always has. In just three seasons at Wake Forest, Kurtz set the team’s single-season and career records for walks. Even when Kurtz’s power wasn’t translating early on with the A’s, his teammates saw that same quality of at-bat and advanced approach and believed it was only a matter of time until everything clicked. They would relay those words of encouragement to the 22-year-old slugger. 

“‘Hey man, you’re obviously super talented,” Rooker would tell him. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, keep doing the right things, the production’s going to come.”

“‘You made it, just enjoy the moment, be in the moment,’” Langeliers recalled telling Kurtz. “And just something along the lines of, ‘Be yourself. You don’t have to be anything more. You’re here for a reason. You are that good. Just believe in that.’” 

Darren Bush, the team’s director of hitting, encouraged Kurtz to be a good hitter first and the home runs would follow. Over a 43-game stretch after the early slump, Kurtz blasted 22 homers. 

Mechanically, nothing significant had changed. 

“He was drafted last year, and he’s in the big leagues,” Bush said. “You’re not going to make a whole lot of changes. You have to learn how to adjust. You have to learn how to face big-league pitching and understand what they’re trying to do, and you have to learn how to continue to do what you do well and not allow them to alter you off of what you do well. That takes time.”

Yet after the slow start, Kurtz somehow seemed immune from the peaks and valleys most young players experience. 

While his average dipped down the stretch, his OPS for each individual month from May through the end of the year was above .850. He could hit any type of pitch, slugging over .500 against fastballs, breaking balls and offspeed pitches. 

By year’s end, he was one of just three players along with Judge and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to finish the season with an OPS over 1.000 in more than 400 at-bats. Seeing his name alongside those MVPs elicited a grin. 

“Obviously I know it’s there, I have Instagram,” Kurtz said. “I see that kind of stuff.” 

He tries not to let it impact him. 

“I really just like being where my feet are,” Kurtz said. “Today, let’s worry about today. Today sucked? OK, let’s worry about tomorrow. That’s how I kind of deal with failure, moving on. Baseball’s not life or death.” 

Homers and Standing Ovations

That mindset, even going back to Wake Forest, has always served Kurtz well. 

Kurtz had an OPS over 1.100 all three years in college, but through his first 19 games of his junior season, he was hitting .231 with only three home runs. 

He then mashed 14 home runs over his next 10 games. 

His ability to withstand the ups and downs of a season, Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter believes, is both the result of Kurtz’s exceptional decision-making at the plate and his personality. Even when Kurtz was getting pitched around late in his college career, he didn’t let that frustration bleed into his performance or force him out of the zone. 

“It’s not a ‘ride the emotional rollercoaster,’” Walter told me. “He takes a mature and professional approach to the game, and he understands that there are going to be stretches where you’re struggling, and there are going to be stretches where you’re really going good, and over time those are going to kind of even out.”

That’s how it played out in his first year with the A’s. 

Kurtz, who describes himself as a streaky power hitter, hit four home runs over a four-game stretch and seemed to be picking up steam in late May when he strained his hip flexor. He returned on June 9. A week later, he delivered the walk-offs against Abreu and Hader. 

Suddenly, the home runs started coming in bunches. 

His prodigious power was evident in his bat speed (sixth highest in MLB this year), his barrel rate (seventh in MLB), his 18 home runs that traveled more than 400 feet and the way he sprayed his homers across all fields. From July 8-21, he launched six in 10 games, setting the scene for the most memorable game of his captivating rookie year. 

On July 25 in Houston, Kurtz went 6-for-6 with four home runs, a feat accomplished only one other time in MLB history, when Shawn Green did it in 2002. Three of his four home runs went the other way into the Crawford Boxes in left field. It was such an extraordinary power display that it even earned an ovation and hat tips from Houston fans.

The rest of the year, Kurtz would continue to inspire awe with his feats of strength. 

In the middle of September, he hit such a breathtaking grand slam that his teammate Lawrence Butler, who was standing on second base, just turned around and stared at the ball with his mouth agape. The mammoth shot to center, a 493-foot blast that cleared the batter’s eye at Sutter Health Park, was the longest home run by any player since Ohtani hit one the same projected distance two years prior. 

“The way he handled the failure, this kid gets it,” Langeliers told me. “A lot of guys — I would say most guys — struggle with that when they first get here just because whatever your hole is, they’re going to find it, and they’re going to expose you.”

Only time will tell how Kurtz might need to adjust again. His breakout year came despite struggles against lefties and the seventh-highest strikeout rate among all players with at least 400 plate appearances. In addition, poor defensive grades at first base limited his overall value. Those deficiencies might also demonstrate the ceiling still untapped in the preternatural 22-year-old, who is part of a fascinating nucleus of offensive standouts in Sacramento. 

The A’s only won 76 games this year, but their offense ranked eighth in OPS. And with the emergence of Kurtz and Wilson, who became the first set of teammates to finish first and second in AL Rookie of the Year voting since 1984 (Mariners duo Alvin Davis and Mark Langston), they can envision a more prosperous future — one that their 35-29 record in the second half might indicate is not far away. 

“It’s visible that we’re building toward something special,” Langeliers said. “We have that core group here, guys that are performing and only getting better.” 

Added Kurtz: “This team could be as good as we want to.”

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 X at @RowanKavner.

 

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