Bochy Brings Losing Record to Cooperstown
PLUS: WINNERS & LOSERS OF 2026 TRADE DEADLINE
Pregame Pepper
Former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, 39, hit .333 for AAA Gwinnett but the Braves released him anyway . . .
They could bring back former World Series MVP Jorge Soler, who was designated for assignment by the Angels earlier this week after a brutal first four months . . .
Tampa Bay, the top team in the AL East, has again placed ace starter Shane McClanahan on the IL (tightness in back). After missing all of 2024 and most of 2025 after Tommy John surgery plus nerve surgery in his left triceps, he had returned to form with a 3.09 ERA and 1.121 WHIP over 99 innings, striking out 91, walking 35, and never throwing more than 90 pitches in any of his 20 starts . . .
The usually-frugal Rays, under new ownership this year, landed a ready replacement in reeling in impending free agent Freddy Peralta from the payroll-slashing Mets . . .
Peralta had been coveted by multiple clubs, including the Braves and Brewers . . .
Matt Olson [Braves] and Kyle Schwarber [Phillies] are the only players with seven seasons of at least 29 homers going back to 2019.
Leading Off
Bruce Bochy: Hall of Fame’s Third Under .500 Manager?
By Dan Schlossberg
When the Eras Committee considers managers this fall, they’ll certainly consider Bruce Bochy’s three world championships with the San Francisco Giants.
Bochy, along with Dusty Baker and likely first-ballot electee Buster Posey, will give the Hall of Fame a definite orange glow.
But Bochy comes with strings attached.
He’ll not only be the first electee born in France but also the third manager to squeeze into the Hall of Fame gallery with more losses than victories.
Bochy, who also managed the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, had 2,252 wins but 2,266 defeats during 28 campaigns as a pilot — putting him in rather exclusive company with Connie Mack and Bucky Harris.
The winner of five pennants and four world championships, Bochy still didn’t finish on the sunny side of .500. His lifetime winning percentage was .498, thanks to all that time with the Padres when they were merely poor Friars.
Mack, who owned the Athletics and was unlikely to fire himself, won a record 3,731 games in 53 seasons at the helm but also dropped 3,948. That left him at .486.
As for Harris, “the Boy Wonder” had a .493 percentage, thanks to 2,158 wins, 2,219 losses, and 33 ties.
Another Hall of Fame manager, Wilbert Robinson, was a shade above .500 at 1,399-1,398 but did not lose more than he won. Close but no Ralph Garr.
Bochy won his fourth and final World Series in 2023, when he guided the Texas Rangers to their first and only world championship via the wild-card route.
Then he opted for retirement, where Baker also resides. But Dusty has the distinction of taking five different clubs to the post-season, where he won his only World Series ring with the 2022 Houston Astros.
The Eras Committee, an offshoot of the old Veterans Commitee, will consider owners, executives, and managers when it meets this fall. Its usual December vote may have to be moved ahead in the calendar to avoid cancellation caused by the likely owners lockout.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for Lucas Communications, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, Here’s the Pitch, and numerous other outlets. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Cubs, Padres Finished First at Trade Deadline
By Dan Schlossberg
Most major-league teams were happy to fill one of their needs for the stretch drive.
Yet the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres managed to fill two.
Both teams parlayed prospects into pitching prowess, with each adding a pair of proven starters to their rotations.
The Cubs got Kevin Gausman from Toronto and Clay Holmes from the Mets, while the Padres pilfered Robbie Ray, a lefty who once won a Cy Young Award, and right-hander Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal’s former sidekick, from the Detroit Tigers.
Both clubs have designs on reaching the playoffs, most likely as wild-card entries. There’s no way the Padres can catch the Dodgers, who landed the deadline’s top prize in the left-handed Skubal, but the Cubs are within striking distance of the front-running Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
Two other just-traded starters who might influence the final standings are Foster Griffin, an All-Star lefty sent from Washington to Cleveland, and Jose Soriano, traded to Toronto — presumably as Guzman’s replacement — by the Los Angeles Angels.
The biggest deadline deal — seven players — sent switch-hitting catcher Adley Rutschmann, a three-time All-Star, from the Orioles to the Red Sox. But bigger bats moved when the Phillies landed three-time batting king Luis Arraez from the Giants and the Yankees acquired another Luis — Garcia, Jr. — from the Washington Nationals. The lefty hitter, whose swing is a match for the short right-field wall at Yankee Stadium, was leading the NL in slugging when moved to the Bronx.
Both deals defied logic, since the new arrivals play positions already well-manned. But the Phillies, already defensively deficient, decided to throw fate to the wind and move Bryce Harper from first base to the outfield, Bryson Stott from second to third, and Alec Bohm from third to first.
Sounds like the failed plan David Stearns imposed on his Mets last winter. He spent the deadline dismantling his dream team, slicing six veteran pitchers in a half-dozen swaps.
Respected New York Post columnist Jon Heyman includes the Mets as “winners” in his deadline post mortem, behind the Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Orioles, Guardians, White Sox, Pirates, and Mariners.
One ex-Met who didn’t move was Jacob deGrom, who used the no-trade clause in his contract to veto a deal that would have sent him to the Atlanta Braves. Jealous Mets fans are still celebrating.
Another player who stayed put was 2021 World Series MVP Jorge Soler, who was designated for assignment a day later. Since the Braves need a right-handed DH, he could be returning to the scene of his greatest triumph.
Deadline Day winners, at least from this perspective, were the Rays, who added the battery of Freddy Peralta (from Mets) and Liam Hicks (from Marlins), and the Pirates, who rebuilt a bedraggled bullpen with Luke Weaver, Kirby Yates, and others.
The biggest losers were the Braves, who still need two starting pitchers, and the Cardinals, who dumped Lars Nootbar on the Diamondbacks.
Oh yes, the Mets: they still have high-priced veterans playing out of position and enormous VACANCY signs on both the rotation and the bullpen.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ remembers when the Braves traded Joey Jay and Juan Pizarro for Roy McMillan in a three-team trade. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Extra Innings
Think the Mets regret paying Bobby Bonilla $1 million every July 1? The Dodgers owe $1.1 BILLION in deferred money to these players:
Shohei Ohtani: Until 2043
Mookie Betts: Until 2044
Blake Snell: Until 2046
Freddie Freeman: Until 2040
Will Smith: Until 2043
Kyle Tucker: Until 2045
Tommy Edman: Until 2044
Teoscar Hernandez: Until 2039
Tanner Scott: Until 2039
Edwin Diaz: Until 2047
Know Your Editors
Here’s the Pitch is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.