Let’s start this out with a little update.
Unfortunately, turns out it wasn’t just cranky hammies for Mike Tauchman, but a meniscus tear. Surgery is on deck for Tuesday, per Scott
Merkin. Perhaps a winter of ice packs and Netflix will get him back for 2026. Wouldn’t hurt to have a grown-up in the room next year.
Derek Hill? Never heard of him, so I had to look him up. Talk about a fall from grace. The center fielder is a former No. 1 draft pick of the Detroit Tigers. They selected him as the 23rd overall pick in 2014. Detroit gave up on him in 2023 and he’s been with five teams since. With a career slash line of .228/.276/.348 and a .624 OPS in 214 major league games, he’ll fit right in here.
Chicago’s five-man rotation is a myth at this point, if it ever existed. So, up steps Fraser Ellard, reliever by trade, starter by necessity. Who knows how many innings he’ll last? Ellard spent the first chunk of the season with the Sox, but then his left lat gave out in May. The 27-year-old rehabbed in Charlotte, had a cameo with the Sox in July, and now he’s back for September. He’s been fine: 3.24 ERA in 8 1/3 innings, eight games. The southpaw was drafted in the eighth round back in 2021 and finally made the show last July.
The Yankees officially punched their ticket to the postseason last night, so maybe their hitters will take pity on our mashup of bullpen arms.
Max Fried gets the ball for the Yankees. He’s been nails most of the year with a 2.92 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, basically untouchable through the first three months. July and August? Not so much — he got shelled for a 5+ ERA. But September Fried is back to his old tricks. In his four starts, he has four wins with a 2.05 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. The Sox have been having trouble scoring as of late, so let’s just say loss number 100 is on the table.
Here’s Will Venable’s plan to crack Fried: throw a bunch of righties and switch-hitters at him. The only lefty in the lineup is Colson Montgomery, who can’t hit lefties but did launch a two-run bomb yesterday. It’s a rebuild, so who’s counting anyway?
The Yankees officially punched their ticket to the postseason last night, so maybe they’ll take pity on our mashup of bullpen arms.
First pitch at 6:05 p.m. on CHSN, now on Comcast, DIRECTV, and Fubo. No TV? Let Len Kasper and DJ paint the picture on ESPN 1000.
