MLB.com | Mike Petriello: Everyone was talking about the Toronto Blue Jays’ good old-fashioned contact approach in their pennant-winning season, even as the true strength of their offense was much more
complicated than just getting the bat on the ball. The Jays got to within a hair of a World Series title by outslugging everyone else, chiefly through a teamwide-jump in batspeed that added mustard to the balls they were already making contact on. Victory has a thousand sons and defeat is impotent, so teams will look to do the same as Toronto in 2026.
MLB.com | Michael Clair & Ayako Oikawa: Tatsuya Imai is perhaps the best player posted by an NPB club this winter, a right-hander sitting 95 that would probably slot into the third spot in the Yankee rotation if he signed today. There’s been handwringing by fans leaguewide about the dominance the LA Dodgers have shown in grabbing just about every talented Japanese player available, but in an interview this weekend Imai seemed to indicate he’s more interested in beating the Dodgers than joining them. The reigning Sawamura Award winner (NPB’s equivalent of the Cy Young) also spoke about preferring a team that doesn’t have any Japanese players on its current roster. Deep breaths, Yankee fans…
FanGraphs | Davy Andrews: Next year will see the debut of the ABS challenge system in MLB, with pitchers, catchers and batters able to ask for a review of questionable strikezone calls. This adds a further layer to the complicated job of being an MLB catcher, but like framing or blocking, some guys will develop a knack for knowing how to get calls overturned, and establish a new kind of defensive value for themselves.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: The Yankees signed reliever Yerry Rodríguez to a minor-league deal, as the right-hander continues to work back from Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old expects to be big-league ready by the middle of the 2026 season, meaning the Yankees could have stashed some relief depth on the cheap.
