#starting-pitching

#starting-pitching

But now comes the task of trying to backfill those innings from departing starting pitchers like Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. The Blue Jays could shop at the top of the market for free agents like Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez, or they could go the Scherzer 2.0 route and target a veteran starting pitcher on a one-year deal to supplant those innings. One pitcher who might make sense for the Blue Jays is another elder statesman of the league: Justin Verlander.

Manager Terry Francona is the latest member of Cincinnati's organization to downplay the possibility of trading starting pitching. Francona said on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast that he wasn't anticipating a Hunter Greene trade. " I don't think those things are gonna (happen)...pitching is too hard for us to acquire through free agency...we gotta keep Hunter on the mound," Francona said in a clip relayed by Chatterbox Sports.

Manager Mark Kotsay used a committee approach in the ninth inning after the A's traded Mason Miller at the deadline. Hogan Harris, Sean Newcomb, Michael Kelly and Tyler Ferguson each picked up at least one save. Osvaldo Bido got one as well, but that was of the 'three innings to finish a blowout' variety. The patchwork relief group pitched well. Only the Guardians had a lower bullpen ERA than the A's 2.99 mark over the final two months.

The 2025 World Series is nearly upon us, with the Toronto Blue Jays set to host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 on Friday night. Which team has the edge going into the Series? What should you expect from the Dodgers' pitching staff -- and from Toronto's batters trying to hit L.A.'s aces? And which X factors will determine this October's last team standing?

Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were absolutely incredible, with the former facing the minimum through eight innings, and Yamamoto throwing a one-run complete game. It'll be nearly impossible for Glasnow to top either of those outings, but he's been in great form himself and would be the ace on nearly every staff in baseball. He'll be looking to maintain his scoreless postseason against a Brewers' lineup that faced him twice in the regular season.

Dave Roberts, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has taken great care in these past few years not to act smug or entitled about being the man who guides the best-paid team in American sporting history. That Roberts has more or less pulled it off is one of the great achievements of his stint in that role, but even he cannot hold up the charade any longer.

Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer, Nick Martinez, Zack Littell, and Chase Burns had a whole lot to do with it. Those seven arms combined to start 152 of Cincinnati's 162 games, pitching to a 3.69 ERA (84 ERA-) in 832 innings. Their collective 16.4 FanGraphs WAR and 8.64 Win Probability Added as starters helped the Reds finish with the second-best rotation fWAR and third-best WPA in the sport.