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Pirates sign first-round pick Derek Curiel

Derek Curiel

PIT Outfield

Player Stats

Pirates signed first-round pick OF Derek Curiel.

Curiel, the fifth overall selection from the draft, signs for $6.2 million — well under the $8,336,500 slot value for the pick. That was the plan all along by the Pirates, who then went over-slot on each of their next four picks. The 21-year-old outfielder slashed a healthy .349/.431/.526 over 126 games in his two seasons at LSU.

- David Shovein

Transaction

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Morosi: Dodgers 'looked a little old' in NLCS

Jon Morosi joins the Dan Patrick show to discuss the big questions facing the Dodgers as they enter the offseason with an aging lineup. He contrasts this with how the Brewers built a team centered around young talent.

Up Next

Morosi: Dodgers ‘looked a little old’ in NLCS

How does NLCS result impact future CBA talks?

Dodgers face ‘murky’ future after NLCS sweep

Ohtani’s two-way future among LAD’s top concerns

Perloff: It’s ‘over’ for Dodgers after NLCS Game 3

Bauers delivers ‘backbreaking’ bat in NLCS Game 3

Baker looks like an ‘All-Star closer’ in playoffs

Verducci on Dodgers’ struggles against Brewers

Chourio channeling Andruw Jones with NLCS breakout

Gasser delivers for Brewers in Game 3 win

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Derek Curiel

PIT Outfield

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Pirates selected LSU OF Derek Curiel with the No. selection of the 2026 MLB Draft.

Curiel put together two solid seasons with LSU while hitting .349/.431/.526 over 126 games, and many believe there’s more offensive upside to be unlocked. His swing is conducive to hitting line drives to all parts of the field, but there’s a belief that adding some loft to his stroke will allow him to tap into his raw power, as he hit just 13 homers over his 126 games with the Tigers over 597 plate appearances. He’s an above-average runner, and it’s plausible he’ll be able to steal 25-plus bags while potentially getting to a similar homer total with those adjustments. He doesn’t profile as a future star, but it’s not hard to see him contributing in several categories with a skill set that suggests he could hit at the top of a lineup.

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Nick Martinez

TB Starting Pitcher #28
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Rays’ manager Kevin Cash confirmed Friday night that Nick Martinez will still start in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Guardians on Saturday.

The Rays had an opportunity to change things up if they wanted to after Friday’s rain out, but they’ll stick with Martinez as they look to even up the series at two games apiece on Saturday. The Guardians will stick with their plan as well, giving the ball to Shawn Armstrong as an opener.
- David Shovein

Source: Ryan Bass
Shawn Armstrong
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Shawn Armstrong

CLE Relief Pitcher #43
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Game 4 of the ALCS between the Rays and Guardians in Cleveland was postponed on Thursday due to inclement weather.

Major League Baseball tried to wait this one out, but the forecast wasn’t improving and the outlook looked too bleak to push it any longer. Game 4 will now be played on Saturday at 8:00 PM EST, while Game 5 will be on Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM EST. Expect Friday’s scheduled starters — Nick Martinez for the Rays and Shawn Armstrong (as an opener) for the Guardians — to get the ball on Saturday.
- David Shovein

Source: Cleveland Guardians
Nick Martinez

Tampa Bay Rays
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Shawn Armstrong

CLE Relief Pitcher #43
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Game 4 of the ALCS between the Rays and Guardians in Cleveland will begin in a rain delay.

The two teams remain in contact with Major League Baseball and are hopeful that they’ll be able to get the game in. Otherwise, it could lead to major changes to the rest of the postseason schedule. It sounds like they’ll do everything possible to play baseball on Friday night, just anticipate a long and rain-soaked evening at the most critical time of the season.
- David Shovein

Source: Ryan Bass
Nick Martinez

Tampa Bay Rays
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Chandler Simpson

TB Left Fielder #14
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Chandler Simpson will bat third for the Rays in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Guardians on Friday evening.

The Rays will utilize the same starting nine that they used in Thursday’s loss in Game 3, but the batting order has changed. Simpson moves up from fifth to third while Junior Caminero slides into the cleanup spot. Here’s the full lineup that the Rays will deploy against Shawn Armstrong and a host of Guardians’ relievers: Yandy Diaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Simpson (LF), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).
- David Shovein

Source: MLB
Yandy Díaz

Jonathan Aranda

Junior Caminero

Liam Hicks

Victor Mesa Jr.

Jonny DeLuca

Taylor Walls

Richie Palacios
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Petey Halpin

CLE Center Fielder #0
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The Guardians will deploy the same starting lineup in Game 4 of the ALCS that they used to beat the Rays in Game 3 on Thursday.

Even though the Guardians only scored three runs in the contest, the Guardians feel like that’s the best possible lineup that they are able to put on the field against an opposing right-hander, so there’s no need to change anything up. Game 3 hero Petey Halpin will start in center field and bat eighth. Here’s the full lineup that they’ll deploy against Rays’ right-hander Nick Martinez as they look to take a commanding 3-1 advantage in the series: Steven Kwan (LF), Jose Ramírez (3B), Chase DeLauter (RF), Jo Adell (DH), Nathaniel Lowe (1B), Travis Bazzana (2B), Patrick Bailey (C), Petey Halpin (CF) and Brayan Rocchio (SS).
- David Shovein

Source: MLB
Steven Kwan

José Ramírez

Chase DeLauter

Jo Adell

Nathaniel Lowe

Travis Bazzana

Patrick Bailey

Brayan Rocchio
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Martin Maldonado

DET Coach
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Martín Maldonado is joining the Tigers as their quality control coach, The Athletic reports.

Maldonado retired from MLB after the 2025 season, though he did play for Puerto Rico in the WBC this spring, and took a job as a special assistant with the Braves. Now he’ll be back on the field with the Tigers and working with A.J. Hinch, who was briefly his manager in Houston.
- Matthew Pouliot

Source: The Athletic

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Pedro Avila

FA Relief Pitcher #60
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Pedro Avila is staying with the SSG Landers of Korea, having agreed to a two-year extension.

Avila was a nice middle reliever for the Guardians in 2024, posting a 3.25 ERA in 74 2/3 innings, but he found himself out of a job afterwards anyway. He spent 2025 in Japan, returned to the Guardians on a minor league deal last winter and then, after struggling in Triple-A, he made his way to Korea in July and wound up going 9-2 with a 1.44 ERA in 14 starts for the Landers. Maybe we’ll see him again once this deal is up.
- Matthew Pouliot

Source: Daniel Álvarez-Montes

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Shawn Armstrong

CLE Relief Pitcher #43
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Shawn Armstrong will serve as the Guardians’ opener in Game 4 against the Rays.

Armstrong has pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, to date this postseason. The Guardians will have Tanner Bibee and Joey Cantillo both available to go long tonight. Bibee has yet to pitch in the ALCS, while Cantillo has thrown only an inning.
- Matthew Pouliot

Source: Tim Stebbins

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Miguel Rojas

LAD 2nd Baseman #72
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Miguel Rojas confirmed after Thursday’s NLCS loss that he is retiring.

Rojas, 37, said prior to the season that he expected 2026 to be his last as a player, though he seemed open to reconsidering at times. Late-season flareups of his shoulder and back brought an end to that, though. Rojas finishes a rare career with a .260/.313/.363 line in 4,411 plate appearances over 13 seasons. He had a career .627 OPS in the minors, a .644 OPS in the majors through age 29 and then a .692 OPS in his thirties. He came in at .732 and racked up 5.5 bWAR in 217 games between the Dodgers’ championship seasons in 2024 and ’25.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Jake Bauers

MIL 1st Baseman #9
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Jake Bauers was named as the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series.

He was certainly deserving of the honor. Bauers had a legendary at-bat to wear down Yoshinobu Yamamoto and spark the Brewers’ comeback in Game 2. He then swatted a go-ahead homer after a long battle against Blake Snell in Game 3 and chipped in three RBI during the series-clinching victory in Game 4. He hit .412 with a homer and six RBI during the four-game sweep. It’s an outstanding accomplishment for the 31-year-old journeyman who pondered retirement last offseason.
- David Shovein

Source: MLB

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