Happy Friday, everyone! We have lots of fun little tidbits to get into in today’s news. At the top of the heap, there’s still plenty of discussion about MLB expansion, especially since Rob Manfred mentioned it recently and it seemed to have an air of “not if but when” to his comments. One of the big lingering questions about that is: if we have more teams, will the season have to be shortened from 162 games? We get into that below. Also, some discussion about whether or not Shohei Ohtani might be available
to pitch out of the bullpen in the postseason. And old friend Craig Kimbrel has a new home for the season, we’ll tell you where below.
So let’s get right into it so you can be up-to-date on your news going into the weekend.
- Ben Clemens tries to figure out how Nick Pivetta has managed to find the weirdest trick to help his pitches.
- Rays fans and players alike are both over the moon about the promotion of hot prospect Carson Williams. Story by Brian Murphy.
- Braves’ third baseman Austin Riley will have season-ending surgery. (AP)
- Stephen J. Nesbitt explores how this might just be the year for left-handed pitching. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Some big broadcasting news.
- Manny Randhawa looks ahead to a key NL West series as the Dodgers face off against the Padres.
- Adam McCalvy shares how a slightly bumpy past week still saw the Brewers become the first team to 80 wins.
- The Yankees signed a major league deal with veteran righty Paul Blackburn. Story by Karl Rasmussen.
- Royals’ reliever Lucas Erceg has gone to prison to speak with prisoners about his pathway to sobriety. Story by Jeff Passan.
- What would it take for Shohei Ohtani to pitch relief in the postseason? Fabian Ardaya explores. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- No notes, this is delightful.
- Craig Kimbrel has found a new home, this time with the Houston Astros. (MLB)
- Karl Rasmussen shares what happened when Clayton Kershaw seemingly forgot how to pitch mid-game.
- Maximo Acosta’s family lost their minds when his first MLB hit was a home run. Story by Andy Nesbitt.
- Jayson Stark looks at whether the MLB season would get shorter if MLB expansion happens. (The Athletic subscription required)
- Let’s face it, the Little League Classic is just a gift.
