MLB News (non-Phillies) 2026 Season

[EastFallowfield]

The Mets moved their games today and tomorrow from 7 something to 4 something cause of how cold it's supposed to be. Between that and some other games seems like there are more afternoon games on this Tuesday than there were on Saturday.

[andyb]

Griffin signs his contract. 9/140 with incentives that could add another $10 million.

And the weird PPI story continues. If they had signed this deal before he came up they would not have been eligible for the PPI pick. But now that he waited 4 days the Pirates are eligible for that pick.

MLB top prospect Konnor Griffin agrees to team-record 9-year contract with...

I have always thought baseball should move to more of an age-based free agency. Maybe something like age 28 and 3 years of service time. If someone like Griffin comes up at 19 he just might have 6 years of escalating arbitration awards before he is a free agent. But with an age-based system the advantage of keeping a player down just disappears completely.

[EastFallowfield]

If it seems like offense is down across baseball, you're right. The league as a whole is hitting .235/.318/.375 this season. A year ago, Jackson Holliday hit .242/.314/.375. The entire league is hitting like 2025 Jackson Holliday right now. Offense will pick up once the weather warms up -- it always does -- but right now, it's really hard to hit.

From a schadenfreude-tastic article on NY baseball so far in 2026.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/yankees-mets-losing-streak-offense-pitching-struggles/

[phillychuck]

I think this trend of pitchers being more and more dominant is why the league is trying to give batters a little bit more room on checked swings (with the 45 degrees past the batter’s box lines Computer Aided proposal, for example). That would push averages and OPSs up 10-20 points, I think, once batters adapted.

[andyb]

The ABS strikezone is leading to more walks as well. The umps are adapting to what is being called and the hitters might be more passive because of that.

[zambonir]

Checking in on your 7-11, 28th in OPS NY Mets, who lost to the Dodgers 2-1. Hey, he's not wrong about McLean!

[Philsmania]

Quite a few teams which came into the season with great (or, at least, contending) expectations have gotten off to mediocre-to-poor starts. Phillies, Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Royals, Mariners and Astros. Dodgers, Padres and Braves seem to be the only teams playing to expectations so far.

[BostonRoss]

Quite a few teams which came into the season with great (or, at least, contending) expectations have gotten off to mediocre-to-poor starts. Phillies, Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Royals, Mariners and Astros. Dodgers, Padres and Braves seem to be the only teams playing to expectations so far.

Yeah, but Acuna hasn't gotten hurt yet...

[phillychuck]

Braves had lower expectations than usual this year. Good farm system and player development offset major losses for them.

[zambonir]

They were still ahead of the Phillies in some projections/predictions.

[andyb]

McGonigle signs a deal that may top Griffin. It is really 9 years since it does not include this season so same length. But the guarantee is higher.

Tigers agree to 8-year, $150 million extension with rookie Kevin McGonigle

[andyb]

ABS effects? Walks up. Ks about the same but OPS down a bit. We will see if the OPS is a weather effect on power, but it is possible with walks being easier to get that hitters are being less aggressive at the plate knowing that bad umps are less likely to call them out on balls out of the zone (or they can challenge those but I think it is mostly helping the umps get better).

ABS has shrunk the strike zone; walks are spiking as pitchers try to adjust

[zambonir]

Cheer up!