Team news
[SI] D-backs’ Internal Rotation Depth Presents Major Concern – With Burnes unavailable at least until the All-Star break, and the departures of Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen, the D-backs are left with only
three bonafide starters to fill out their rotation… It stands to reason that the team will fill the fourth rotation spot externally, but the fifth spot could possibly be filled by an internal option. Perhaps a standout spring training could land a pitcher with an unexpected rotation spot. In this article we take a look at who some of those options might be. The list is limited.
[Dbacks Under Review] Should the D-backs Trade for Sandy Alcántara? – Alcántara is entering the final year of his contract in 2026, earning $17.3 million. He has a club option valued at $21 million, with a $2 million buyout. A pitcher with similar upside will command a contract north of $30 million per season in free agency. So there’s the upside of two years of a top-of-the-rotation arm for $38.3 million, but at a significant trade cost. Unless Alcántara completely implodes, this is a good value deal for the D-backs. While the results were inconsistent, he still features premium velocity. His four-seamer averaged 97.6 MPH and his sinker 97.2 MPH in 2025. In the second half, they bumped up to 97.8 and 97.4.
[New Baseball Media] 2025 MLB Season Recap: Arizona Diamondbacks – Nelson was a Swiss Army Knife for the D-Backs this past season. He worked both as a reliever and starter but mostly in the latter. Nelson was pivotal for the Diamondbacks’ second-half push. He posted a 3.09 ERA, with 65 hits allowed and 67 strikeouts over 75.2 IP. So, what exactly worked well for Nelson? The four-seamer, as Nelson’s fastball earned an obscene +23 Run Value. Nelson’s four-seamer can run up to 97 MPH, hard but not top 1% hard. What aided that fastball, though, is plus extension, carry, and cut. It made for one of the best chase pitches in the game. Across the final two months of the season, no pitcher accrued more chases (27) off the four-seamer than Nelson.
Today in really stupid trade suggestions…
And, elsewhere…
[MLB.com] Mariners take magic show on road for ALCS G1 win – Bryce Miller delivered a gritty six-inning outing on short rest, extending the Mariners’ October surge while reigniting echoes of their 2022 Wild Card Series comeback in this same park — a message that Seattle’s hunt for its first World Series berth is gathering real momentum. “It feels great,” Miller said. “The year personally didn’t go how I had planned and how I had hoped for, but we’re in the ALCS. I got to go out there and set the tone. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” In postseason history, teams winning Game 1 in any best-of-seven series have gone on to take that series 126 of 194 times (64.9%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning Game 1 on the road have gone on to take that series 40 of 71 times (56.3%).
[AP] Murphy embracing Brewers’ underdog status before NLCS matchup with Dodgers – The Dodgers’ projected luxury tax bill of nearly $168 million exceeds Milwaukee’s entire payroll of $124.8 million. “The Dodgers are a powerhouse. What can you say?” Murphy said. BetMGM has established the Dodgers as minus-220 favorites, meaning it gives the Dodgers a 68.8% chance of winning the series. Someone would have to bet $220 on the Dodgers to win $100 if they take the series. “It doesn’t matter what people say,” Brewers second baseman Brice Turang explained. “It matters what we believe in here.” There’s one problem with the Brewers’ underdog narrative. Their regular-season meetings with the Dodgers.
The Thing from Another World (1951)
Rating: B
Dir: Christian Nyby
Star: Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer
It’s always going to be difficult to write about this, because the eighties remake is, to me, superior. The Thing is the finest sci-fi/horror movie ever made, with John Carpenter at the top of his game, and Rob Bottin’s practical effects remain unmatched over forty years later. It’s a remake done right, bringing genuinely new aspects to the table. Yet while I was watching the original, I can see how the remake honours its spirit too.
