September 2025

There were 1,641 posts published in September 2025 (this is page 19 of 165).

Aaron Judge drives in three, Cam Schlittler tosses gem in Yankees’ 6-1 win over Orioles

The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.

Here are some takeaways…

– It didn’t take long for Aaron Judge to continue building on his AL MVP candidacy. The slugger gave the Yanks an early advantage with a two-out solo shot to left-center in the bottom of the first, now giving him 10 in September and a total of 53 on the season. 

Judge would deliver again a few innings later, smacking a two-run bases-loaded single to make it a 5-0 ballgame. A few pitches before that, Aaron Boone was ejected by home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus for a league-leading seventh time for arguing balls and strikes.

The captain finished the day 2-for-4 while driving in three of New York’s six runs. 

– Two of New York’s other runs also came via early blasts off of Baltimore lefty Tomyoki Sugano. After homering two different times in Friday night’s game, Giancarlo Stanton lifted a solo shot leading off the bottom of the second, giving him 453 for his career (the 40th-most all-time).

Stanton reached base two more times on the day with a walk and a 102.5 mph infield single. The big slugger is heating up just in time for the playoffs — hitting .333 with four home runs, 12 RBI, and a 1.392 OPS over his last seven games. 

– A few batters later, Ryan McMahon followed that up with his 20th homer of the season, fourth as a Yankee. 

– Cam Schlittler took advantage of the early lead and closed his spectacular rookie campaign on a high note. The young right-hander issued a two-out walk in the first, but then retired the next eight batters he faced before allowing a one-out double to Gunnar Henderson in the top of the fourth.

Schlittler got a lineout and strikeout to strand Henderson there. He hit two batters in the fifth to put another man in scoring position, but he was able to get Jackson Holiday to ground out to second to again escape without any damage on his line.

The youngster picked up two more strikeouts as he worked around a two-out single in the top of the sixth, then he put together a 1-2-3 seventh to end his day with just two hits (single, double) and a walk allowed while striking out nine batters across seven scoreless innings. 

Schlittler ends his campaign with a 2.96 ERA, the second-lowest by a Yankees rookie since 1981.

– Paul Blackburn entered and immediately broke up the shutout, allowing a leadoff solo homer to Coby Mayo. The right-hander rebounded to retire the next six hitters in order, securing the Yanks the series victory in their final set of the regular season. 

That earned run was the first one Blackburn has allowed in six appearances this month. 

– Jazz Chisholm left the game in the bottom of the fifth after being hit by a pitch on the left forearm. 

Game MVP: Cam Schlittler

The young right-hander certainly made a strong case for a playoff start, ending his rookie campaign on a high note.

Highlights

What’s next

Luis Gil (4-1, 3.29 ERA) takes the mound against Kyle Bradish (1-1, 2.25 ERA) as the Yankees and Orioles close the regular season on Sunday at 3:10 p.m. in the Bronx. 

Arizona Diamondbacks 2025 offseason preview: Can the D-backs get back to contention in ’26, or is a rebuilding year in store?

With the Diamondbacks eliminated from the 2025 postseason, let’s take a look at the season that was in Arizona, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.

Read more: MLB offseason previews 2025: What’s next for the White Sox, Rockies, Twins and more?

Although they couldn’t match their 2024 offense, which led the majors in runs scored, the D-backs still featured a productive lineup. This was especially true prior to the front office trading Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor, as the team ranked third in the National League in runs scored when the deadline passed on July 31. Suárez greatly enhanced his trade value by going deep 36 times in 106 games with Arizona. Overall, the lineup was the biggest reason that Arizona stayed in the postseason race until the final weekend of the season.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Corbin Carroll took a step forward as a power hitter and has already blown past his career high in home runs. Ketel Marte improved his plate discipline and continued to be one of the best hitters in baseball. And Geraldo Perdomo improved his plate skills so much that he went from hitting near the bottom of the lineup to being one of the most important players on the team. He ranks second in the NL in WAR and will be on many MVP ballots.

There were also some positives on the mound, albeit fewer than at the plate. Merrill Kelly was easily the most reliable starter on the team until he was shipped to Texas at the trade deadline. And after struggling out of the gate, Ryne Nelson became an effective reliever who eventually returned to the rotation and replaced Kelly as the team’s top starter.

Arizona’s pitching staff ranked among the least effective in baseball throughout the season. The biggest letdown was Corbin Burnes, who signed a $210 million contract in the offseason, then made 11 starts before being shut down due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The organization will now get next to nothing from its new ace during the first two years of his deal.

While injuries led to the disappointment from Burnes, there was no such excuse for Zac Gallen, who entered the season with a lifetime 3.25 ERA before struggling to push his 2025 mark under 5.00. Gallen didn’t lose any velocity, but his strikeout rate dropped, and walks were a problem for a second straight year. The expectations coming in were lower for Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez, but like Gallen, they struggled to maintain ERAs under 5.00.

The bullpen fared even worse than the rotation, as most of the key relievers were lost to injury. Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk were expected to compete for the closer’s role. Instead, Martinez threw 15 1/3 innings before requiring season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Puk tossed just eight frames before being shut down due to an elbow injury that eventually required internal brace surgery. Kevin Ginkel was supposed to be a key setup man, but his ERA jumped by more than four runs before he was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury in early August.

The infield is in a state of transition after the trades of Suárez and Naylor. The team is set behind the plate with Gabriel Moreno, who is a solid hitter and above-average defender at a premium position. Durability remains the elusive trait for Moreno, who has spent time on the IL each of the past three seasons. Adrian Del Castillo is a skilled young hitter who can back up Moreno and log plenty of starts at DH. The middle of the infield will remain strong with the returns of Marte at second base and Perdomo at shortstop. The uncertainty is at the corners, where Tyler Locklear and Jordan Lawlar are prospects who seem ready to assume full-time roles. This could be a stellar group, but relying on two rookies carries obvious risks.

The outfield has a strength, a weakness and a hole. The strength is Carroll, an excellent defender who raised his power game this year and is one of baseball’s best all-around players. The weakness is center field, where Alek Thomas is an effective defender who still needs to make improvements as a hitter. Jake McCarthy was ahead of Thomas at this time last year but got off to a slow start to ‘25 and spent time in the minors. The 28-year-old might be out of time to break through as a regular and instead hope to be a fourth outfielder who can play all three outfield spots. The hole could be in left field, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. might opt out of his contract, or he could have the start to his 2026 season delayed due to the torn ACL that he suffered Sept. 1.

The rotation needs plenty of help, with Burnes set to miss most of the season and Gallen heading to free agency. Nelson, Rodriguez and Pfaadt will hold three of the rotation spots, but there isn’t another pitcher on the roster who is under contract for 2026 and made at least five starts this season. And of course, Rodriguez and Pfaadt can’t be counted on after producing poor results this year.

The bullpen is in dire straits as well. Hopefully Puk and Ginkel can return to prominent roles next year because there isn’t much behind them. Ryan Thompson and Kyle Backhus can eat some innings, but there truly isn’t a reliever on the roster who can be counted on to be healthy and effective in 2026.

[Get more Arizona news: Diamondbacks team feed]

Lawlar and Locklear will soon shed their prospect status, which is a good thing for young players who are ready to stick in the majors. The team’s first-round draft pick in 2021, Lawlar is the jewel of Arizona’s prospect system. His development has been significantly slowed by injuries the past two years, but he remains an effective fielder with elite speed and strong batting skills.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many players in Arizona’s prospect pool who will be ready to help in 2026. Tommy Troy is someone who could contribute, as he recently reached Triple-A. A middle infielder, Troy was Arizona’s first pick in 2023 and is blocked by Marte and Perdomo. Still, he could become a utilityman by the summer.

The biggest problem by far is the lack of MLB-ready pitchers for a team that desperately needs help in that area. Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Cristian Mena could all log big-league innings in 2026 but are unlikely to make much of an impact.

Arizona could rejoin the postseason race next year, which will surely be the goal for general manager Mike Hazen and the front office. But to make that happen, the organization will have to spend plenty of money to fix its pitching staff. Ideally, the team will sign a pair of starters and a couple of relievers. They will also need an outfielder to replace Gurriel. Going the trade route is an option, but it’s tough to see what the D-backs can offer, given that their prospect pool isn’t strong and their MLB position players are needed more than ever after the departures of Suárez and Naylor.

There’s also a chance this organization treats 2026 as a transition year. It would make sense, given that Burnes will return in 2027. Most of the team’s top players are under team control until at least 2030, which could lead ownership to put a one-year pause on spending and regroup for an aggressive offseason the following winter.

There are plenty of Arizona hitters who will be coveted in 2026 drafts. That list is headlined by Carroll, who will be a first-round pick in most leagues. Fantasy managers can dream of the possibility that Carroll combines his recent power stroke with the baserunning aggressiveness he showed when swiping 54 bags in 2023. Marte will come off the board in the range of Round 3-4, and Perdomo’s balanced skill set makes him a viable option in the middle rounds. Lawlar will be a popular late-round pick, assuming he looks good in spring training. On the pitching side, Nelson is the only player currently on the roster who projects to be drafted in most leagues.

Arizona Diamondbacks 2025 offseason preview: Can the D-backs get back to contention in ’26, or is a rebuilding year in store?

With the Diamondbacks eliminated from the 2025 postseason, let’s take a look at the season that was in Arizona, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.

Read more: MLB offseason previews 2025: What’s next for the White Sox, Rockies, Twins and more?

Although they couldn’t match their 2024 offense, which led the majors in runs scored, the D-backs still featured a productive lineup. This was especially true prior to the front office trading Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor, as the team ranked third in the National League in runs scored when the deadline passed on July 31. Suárez greatly enhanced his trade value by going deep 36 times in 106 games with Arizona. Overall, the lineup was the biggest reason that Arizona stayed in the postseason race until the final weekend of the season.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Corbin Carroll took a step forward as a power hitter and has already blown past his career high in home runs. Ketel Marte improved his plate discipline and continued to be one of the best hitters in baseball. And Geraldo Perdomo improved his plate skills so much that he went from hitting near the bottom of the lineup to being one of the most important players on the team. He ranks second in the NL in WAR and will be on many MVP ballots.

There were also some positives on the mound, albeit fewer than at the plate. Merrill Kelly was easily the most reliable starter on the team until he was shipped to Texas at the trade deadline. And after struggling out of the gate, Ryne Nelson became an effective reliever who eventually returned to the rotation and replaced Kelly as the team’s top starter.

Arizona’s pitching staff ranked among the least effective in baseball throughout the season. The biggest letdown was Corbin Burnes, who signed a $210 million contract in the offseason, then made 11 starts before being shut down due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The organization will now get next to nothing from its new ace during the first two years of his deal.

While injuries led to the disappointment from Burnes, there was no such excuse for Zac Gallen, who entered the season with a lifetime 3.25 ERA before struggling to push his 2025 mark under 5.00. Gallen didn’t lose any velocity, but his strikeout rate dropped, and walks were a problem for a second straight year. The expectations coming in were lower for Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez, but like Gallen, they struggled to maintain ERAs under 5.00.

The bullpen fared even worse than the rotation, as most of the key relievers were lost to injury. Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk were expected to compete for the closer’s role. Instead, Martinez threw 15 1/3 innings before requiring season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Puk tossed just eight frames before being shut down due to an elbow injury that eventually required internal brace surgery. Kevin Ginkel was supposed to be a key setup man, but his ERA jumped by more than four runs before he was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury in early August.

The infield is in a state of transition after the trades of Suárez and Naylor. The team is set behind the plate with Gabriel Moreno, who is a solid hitter and above-average defender at a premium position. Durability remains the elusive trait for Moreno, who has spent time on the IL each of the past three seasons. Adrian Del Castillo is a skilled young hitter who can back up Moreno and log plenty of starts at DH. The middle of the infield will remain strong with the returns of Marte at second base and Perdomo at shortstop. The uncertainty is at the corners, where Tyler Locklear and Jordan Lawlar are prospects who seem ready to assume full-time roles. This could be a stellar group, but relying on two rookies carries obvious risks.

The outfield has a strength, a weakness and a hole. The strength is Carroll, an excellent defender who raised his power game this year and is one of baseball’s best all-around players. The weakness is center field, where Alek Thomas is an effective defender who still needs to make improvements as a hitter. Jake McCarthy was ahead of Thomas at this time last year but got off to a slow start to ‘25 and spent time in the minors. The 28-year-old might be out of time to break through as a regular and instead hope to be a fourth outfielder who can play all three outfield spots. The hole could be in left field, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. might opt out of his contract, or he could have the start to his 2026 season delayed due to the torn ACL that he suffered Sept. 1.

The rotation needs plenty of help, with Burnes set to miss most of the season and Gallen heading to free agency. Nelson, Rodriguez and Pfaadt will hold three of the rotation spots, but there isn’t another pitcher on the roster who is under contract for 2026 and made at least five starts this season. And of course, Rodriguez and Pfaadt can’t be counted on after producing poor results this year.

The bullpen is in dire straits as well. Hopefully Puk and Ginkel can return to prominent roles next year because there isn’t much behind them. Ryan Thompson and Kyle Backhus can eat some innings, but there truly isn’t a reliever on the roster who can be counted on to be healthy and effective in 2026.

[Get more Arizona news: Diamondbacks team feed]

Lawlar and Locklear will soon shed their prospect status, which is a good thing for young players who are ready to stick in the majors. The team’s first-round draft pick in 2021, Lawlar is the jewel of Arizona’s prospect system. His development has been significantly slowed by injuries the past two years, but he remains an effective fielder with elite speed and strong batting skills.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many players in Arizona’s prospect pool who will be ready to help in 2026. Tommy Troy is someone who could contribute, as he recently reached Triple-A. A middle infielder, Troy was Arizona’s first pick in 2023 and is blocked by Marte and Perdomo. Still, he could become a utilityman by the summer.

The biggest problem by far is the lack of MLB-ready pitchers for a team that desperately needs help in that area. Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Cristian Mena could all log big-league innings in 2026 but are unlikely to make much of an impact.

Arizona could rejoin the postseason race next year, which will surely be the goal for general manager Mike Hazen and the front office. But to make that happen, the organization will have to spend plenty of money to fix its pitching staff. Ideally, the team will sign a pair of starters and a couple of relievers. They will also need an outfielder to replace Gurriel. Going the trade route is an option, but it’s tough to see what the D-backs can offer, given that their prospect pool isn’t strong and their MLB position players are needed more than ever after the departures of Suárez and Naylor.

There’s also a chance this organization treats 2026 as a transition year. It would make sense, given that Burnes will return in 2027. Most of the team’s top players are under team control until at least 2030, which could lead ownership to put a one-year pause on spending and regroup for an aggressive offseason the following winter.

There are plenty of Arizona hitters who will be coveted in 2026 drafts. That list is headlined by Carroll, who will be a first-round pick in most leagues. Fantasy managers can dream of the possibility that Carroll combines his recent power stroke with the baserunning aggressiveness he showed when swiping 54 bags in 2023. Marte will come off the board in the range of Round 3-4, and Perdomo’s balanced skill set makes him a viable option in the middle rounds. Lawlar will be a popular late-round pick, assuming he looks good in spring training. On the pitching side, Nelson is the only player currently on the roster who projects to be drafted in most leagues.

Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. exits Saturday’s game vs. Orioles after HBP; X-rays negative

The Yankees are preparing for a postseason run, so they can’t afford potential injuries to starters in the final games of the regular season.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited Saturday’s tilt with the Orioles after southpaw Grant Wolfram hit the Yankees second baseman in the left forearm with a 97-mph sinker in the fifth inning.

Chisholm dropped his bat, held his arm and immediately went into the dugout to be tended to. After a few moments, Jose Caballero came out to replace Chisholm on the bases and for the rest of the game.

The Yankees infielder finished the day going 0-for-2. 

An initial X-ray revealed there was no damage to Chisholm’s forearm, and a later CT scan also came back negative.

“Early signs good,” manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “X-rays are negative, going to get more tests just to be sure. We’re hopeful.” 

Being hit by a pitch wasn’t the only incident for Chisholm in this game. Back in the fourth inning, Tyler O’Neill hit a liner to Cody Bellinger in left field. The Yankees outfielder turned and fired to second base to try and double up Gunnar Henderson, who strayed a bit too far from second base, but overthrew Chisholm. Jazz lept for the ball and landed on a sliding Henderson. 

Both players came away unscathed. 

The Yankees have clinched a playoff spot and are tied for the AL East lead. If they can’t capture the division from the Blue Jays, the Yankees will finish the regular season on Sunday and then host Game 1 of their Wild Card round on Tuesday.

This story is still developing…

In AL MVP debate, only one thing is clear: Between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, there is no wrong choice

*inhales AL MVP discourse … recoils in exasperation*

*looks around … leans in for more and smiles*

Such is life in 2025.

With just two games left on the MLB calendar, the AL MVP race remains one of the most compelling storylines of the season. The two front-runners, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, are padding their résumés as the clock ticks down.

On Friday, Judge went deep for the 52nd time this season in an 8-4 victory over the Orioles that kept the Yankees in contention for the AL East. It was his 84th extra-base hit of the year. Out west, Raleigh went 2-for-5 with a double in the Mariners’ 3-2 loss to the Dodgers. It was his … 84th extra-base hit of the season. On Saturday, Judge hit home run No. 53 to kick off the day’s baseball action.

The debate between these two colossuses feels particularly riveting because of how uninteresting recent MVP conversions have been. Since the shortened 2020 season, five of the eight MVP winners have been unanimous. Another, Judge in 2022, received 28 of 30 first-place votes. That makes this, by a substantial margin, the closest MVP race in some time.

There’s no question that Judge is the superior hitter, the best in the world, in fact. In that regard, despite Raleigh’s long-ball advantage, the numbers are unimpeachable. The Yankees captain is currently sporting a .331/.458/.691 batting line. That’s a 1.149 OPS. He’s in line to win the first batting title of his career, a preposterous accomplishment for someone who has also clubbed 53 homers. Only two hitters in baseball history — Mickey Mantle in 1956 and Jimmie Foxx in 1938 — have hit at least 50 taters while leading the league in batting average.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

Baseball Reference has Judge pegged at 9.5 Wins Above Replacement; FanGraphs at 9.9. By OPS+, he’s enjoying the ninth-best offensive season since integration. The only names ahead of him on that list are Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, Mantle, Mark McGwire and … Judge. This is not simply an elite hitter; what Judge has done, is doing, continues to do, can be classified only as historic. He is an outlier, a unicorn, a generational force.

This is not meant to diminish Raleigh’s sensational campaign, singular in its own right, but the difference in raw production between the two is substantial. The gap between Judge’s universe-leading 215 OPS+ and Raleigh’s 171 mark, third-best in MLB, is 44 points. That’s the same gap between Raleigh and Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham, whose 127 OPS ranks 33rd. Raleigh has been incredible, but Judge is in his own stratosphere.

Evaluated solely on their offensive exploits, there is no comparison. But this delightful sport is more than just a hitting competition.

As such, the entire MVP debate boils down to one essential question: How much credit does Raleigh deserve for being a catcher?

The answer, in the end, is pretty subjective.

Sure, there are ways to quantify Raleigh’s defensive contributions at the game’s most difficult and most demanding position. Baseball Savant has him graded as the sport’s fifth-best pitch framer, a slightly above-average thrower and a subpar blocker. His numbers are ever so slightly down from his Gold Glove season in 2024, but generally speaking, Raleigh is statistically regarded as a superb defensive catcher, a top-five glovesmith in the game. That’s why the WAR gap between him and Judge, despite the Yankee’s offensive advantage, isn’t enormous. FanGraphs has Raleigh at 9.1, just 0.8 points behind Judge. (Baseball Reference, which doesn’t include pitch framing in WAR calculations, has Raleigh at 7.2, 1.9 points behind Judge.)

That Raleigh has absolutely blasted past the previous single-season record for home runs by a catcher — his tally of 60 with two games to play is 12 clear of Salvador Peréz’s 48 in 2021 — exemplifies just how dominant a showing this has been.

And numbers alone cannot represent the full value of Raleigh’s season. They cannot properly summarize the stresses and responsibilities involved with being a catcher. There are too many soft factors. Too many foul balls off the mask or the thigh or the forearm. Too many hours spent crafting and implementing game plans. Too much time spent guiding the pitching staff through the contours of a ballgame. All of that, all that time-consuming and very important gobbledegook, that’s why major-league teams nowadays consider catcher to be a tertiary position group, altogether separate from hitters and pitchers.

So how valuable is all that? Should Raleigh’s work behind the plate supplant Judge’s magnificence at the plate? It’s impossible to know for sure.

Therein lies the fun, the debate. Whom you’d vote for depends on what you value and what you prioritize, even though, on a practical level, it’s also about where you live and which team you root for.

Although I’m a member of the BBWAA, I don’t have a vote for AL MVP this year. If I did, I would lean, ever so slightly, for Raleigh over Judge. I think being a catcher in today’s game takes such an overwhelming mental and physical toll that Raleigh has the edge. 

Can I back that up with raw stats? Not really. Is that a knock on Judge’s season? Not in the slightest. Is it a defensible position? I sure think so.

Thankfully, no matter how the chips fall, there’s no wrong answer.

One of these two titans will be a worthy winner, the other a hard-luck runner-up. One fan base will rejoice; the other will recoil in disbelief. Either way, the baseballing world will remember both of these seasons, and the resulting debate, for quite a while.

In AL MVP debate, only one thing is clear: Between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, there is no wrong choice

*inhales AL MVP discourse … recoils in exasperation*

*looks around … leans in for more and smiles*

Such is life in 2025.

With just two games left on the MLB calendar, the AL MVP race remains one of the most compelling storylines of the season. The two front-runners, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, are padding their résumés as the clock ticks down.

On Friday, Judge went deep for the 52nd time this season in an 8-4 victory over the Orioles that kept the Yankees in contention for the AL East. It was his 84th extra-base hit of the year. Out west, Raleigh went 2-for-5 with a double in the Mariners’ 3-2 loss to the Dodgers. It was his … 84th extra-base hit of the season. On Saturday, Judge hit home run No. 53 to kick off the day’s baseball action.

The debate between these two colossuses feels particularly riveting because of how uninteresting recent MVP conversions have been. Since the shortened 2020 season, five of the eight MVP winners have been unanimous. Another, Judge in 2022, received 28 of 30 first-place votes. That makes this, by a substantial margin, the closest MVP race in some time.

There’s no question that Judge is the superior hitter, the best in the world, in fact. In that regard, despite Raleigh’s long-ball advantage, the numbers are unimpeachable. The Yankees captain is currently sporting a .331/.458/.691 batting line. That’s a 1.149 OPS. He’s in line to win the first batting title of his career, a preposterous accomplishment for someone who has also clubbed 53 homers. Only two hitters in baseball history — Mickey Mantle in 1956 and Jimmie Foxx in 1938 — have hit at least 50 taters while leading the league in batting average.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

Baseball Reference has Judge pegged at 9.5 Wins Above Replacement; FanGraphs at 9.9. By OPS+, he’s enjoying the ninth-best offensive season since integration. The only names ahead of him on that list are Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, Mantle, Mark McGwire and … Judge. This is not simply an elite hitter; what Judge has done, is doing, continues to do, can be classified only as historic. He is an outlier, a unicorn, a generational force.

This is not meant to diminish Raleigh’s sensational campaign, singular in its own right, but the difference in raw production between the two is substantial. The gap between Judge’s universe-leading 215 OPS+ and Raleigh’s 171 mark, third-best in MLB, is 44 points. That’s the same gap between Raleigh and Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham, whose 127 OPS ranks 33rd. Raleigh has been incredible, but Judge is in his own stratosphere.

Evaluated solely on their offensive exploits, there is no comparison. But this delightful sport is more than just a hitting competition.

As such, the entire MVP debate boils down to one essential question: How much credit does Raleigh deserve for being a catcher?

The answer, in the end, is pretty subjective.

Sure, there are ways to quantify Raleigh’s defensive contributions at the game’s most difficult and most demanding position. Baseball Savant has him graded as the sport’s fifth-best pitch framer, a slightly above-average thrower and a subpar blocker. His numbers are ever so slightly down from his Gold Glove season in 2024, but generally speaking, Raleigh is statistically regarded as a superb defensive catcher, a top-five glovesmith in the game. That’s why the WAR gap between him and Judge, despite the Yankee’s offensive advantage, isn’t enormous. FanGraphs has Raleigh at 9.1, just 0.8 points behind Judge. (Baseball Reference, which doesn’t include pitch framing in WAR calculations, has Raleigh at 7.2, 1.9 points behind Judge.)

That Raleigh has absolutely blasted past the previous single-season record for home runs by a catcher — his tally of 60 with two games to play is 12 clear of Salvador Peréz’s 48 in 2021 — exemplifies just how dominant a showing this has been.

And numbers alone cannot represent the full value of Raleigh’s season. They cannot properly summarize the stresses and responsibilities involved with being a catcher. There are too many soft factors. Too many foul balls off the mask or the thigh or the forearm. Too many hours spent crafting and implementing game plans. Too much time spent guiding the pitching staff through the contours of a ballgame. All of that, all that time-consuming and very important gobbledegook, that’s why major-league teams nowadays consider catcher to be a tertiary position group, altogether separate from hitters and pitchers.

So how valuable is all that? Should Raleigh’s work behind the plate supplant Judge’s magnificence at the plate? It’s impossible to know for sure.

Therein lies the fun, the debate. Whom you’d vote for depends on what you value and what you prioritize, even though, on a practical level, it’s also about where you live and which team you root for.

Although I’m a member of the BBWAA, I don’t have a vote for AL MVP this year. If I did, I would lean, ever so slightly, for Raleigh over Judge. I think being a catcher in today’s game takes such an overwhelming mental and physical toll that Raleigh has the edge. 

Can I back that up with raw stats? Not really. Is that a knock on Judge’s season? Not in the slightest. Is it a defensible position? I sure think so.

Thankfully, no matter how the chips fall, there’s no wrong answer.

One of these two titans will be a worthy winner, the other a hard-luck runner-up. One fan base will rejoice; the other will recoil in disbelief. Either way, the baseballing world will remember both of these seasons, and the resulting debate, for quite a while.

Cubs place pitcher Cade Horton on 15-day injured list ahead of MLB playoffs

The Chicago Cubs have clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2020, but to start their playoff run, they’ll be without starting right-handed pitcher Cade Horton. Horton was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 25 due to a rib fracture, which means he’ll miss at least the wild-card round, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Saturday. 

The soonest Horton would be eligible to return would be for Game 5 of the divisional round, if the team advances beyond the wild-card series.

The team has recalled lefty Jordan Wicks from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move, the Cubs announced.

Horton has been considered a front-runner to win NL Rookie of the Year thanks to his strong performance since the All-Star break. In the second half of the season, he has a 1.03 ERA over 61 1/3 innings pitched in 12 starts. The righty holds an 8-1 record, with a 54:15 K:BB ratio, in that span.

Wicks has a 3-4 record in the minors this year, with a 3.80 ERA over 71 innings pitched. He has pitched 11 1/3 innings in relief for the Cubs this year, with a 7.94 ERA as a reliever.

Cubs place pitcher Cade Horton on 15-day injured list ahead of MLB playoffs

The Chicago Cubs have clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2020, but to start their playoff run, they’ll be without starting right-handed pitcher Cade Horton. Horton was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 25 due to a rib fracture, which means he’ll miss at least the wild-card round, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Saturday. 

The soonest Horton would be eligible to return would be for Game 5 of the divisional round, if the team advances beyond the wild-card series.

The team has recalled lefty Jordan Wicks from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move, the Cubs announced.

Horton has been considered a front-runner to win NL Rookie of the Year thanks to his strong performance since the All-Star break. In the second half of the season, he has a 1.03 ERA over 61 1/3 innings pitched in 12 starts. The righty holds an 8-1 record, with a 54:15 K:BB ratio, in that span.

Wicks has a 3-4 record in the minors this year, with a 3.80 ERA over 71 innings pitched. He has pitched 11 1/3 innings in relief for the Cubs this year, with a 7.94 ERA as a reliever.