Addison Barger (elbow) to be ready for spring camp

It seemed like the Nationals prospect was destined to be called up in September when CJ Abrams was moved to second base; however, he has hit just .242/.309/.399 in 62 at-bats in September with a 20/5 K/BB ratio. It has still been a good year for King, who is hitting .291 with an .859 OPS, 15 home runs, and 45 RBI. There is still a good chance he opens up 2027 as the Nationals’ starting shortstop.

The hard-throwing right-hander had been on the minor league injured list since July 2nd with a right shoulder strain. He averaged 100.3 mph on his four-seamer during his inning of work, touching 102.1 mph. He struck out two and allowed one hit while throwing 12 of his 19 pitches for strikes. It’s unlikely the Yankees would rush him back to make his MLB debut in the postseason, but it’s possible.

Sears has now made five starts in Triple-A, posting a 1.73 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 34/8 K/BB ratio in 26 innings. On the season, Sears has a 2.90 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 31 percent strikeout rate in 124 1/3 innings across three minor league levels. That comes with a 15 percent swinging strike rate and 32 percent CSW. The 26-year-old sits just 91 mph on his four-seamer, but he pounds the zone consistently, mixing in a sinker and slider to righties and a curve and changeup for lefties. He could emerge as an option for the Braves in 2027.

As Cotillo notes, “only six players have ever made their major league debut in the postseason, and none of them have been with the Red Sox.” However, Ward, who the Red Sox acquired this offseason for left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino, has stolen 60 bases at Triple-A this season. He’s slashing just .243/.359/.357 in 437 plate appearances, so he would not be a major impact player for the Red Sox, but he could be an asset as a late-inning pinch runner.

Raleigh drove in runs with a sac fly in the first, a double in the fifth and a single in the sixth. He has 22 RBI in his last 23 games.

The Mariners scored three times in the top of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead, but Kirby didn’t get a chance at a win after a J.P. Crawford error and one last walk with one out in the fifth. Kirby had never walked more than three batters in an outing before until tonight. His 4.0 percent walk rate was the fourth lowest mark of pitchers with 800+ innings in expansion era, behind only Josh Tomlin (3.4 percent), Dan Quisenberry (3.8) and Bob Tewksbury (3.8). Kirby, though, has issued more walks the last two years than he did in his first three seasons. Some thought that might be a good thing — that he used to simply throw too many strikes — but it hasn’t worked out this year. Kirby is 1-3 with a 5.37 ERA in his last 10 starts. He should face the Astros next week.

Kikuchi fell to 1-6 with a 5.02 ERA. He had a 6.4 percent walk rate between 2023 and ’24, but he’s up to 9.9 percent in his two seasons with the Angels. He’s due to face the A’s on Tuesday and then could make another start against the Mariners in Game 162.

The second steal was of third base in the seventh inning. Afterwards, though, he got himself doubled off third base thinking that a sinking liner to short caught by Zach Neto had hit the ground. Fortunately, Seattle was up 7-2 at the time, so it wasn’t a huge deal in terms of win probability. Still, it’s another one to add to the extensive 2026 Mariners bloopers real.

Guzman didn’t exactly crush the ball; the four hits had xBAs of .530, .530, .150 and .060 and just one was hard hit. Still, he was probably due for some good luck after hitting .169 with a 27/3 K/BB ratio in 81 plate appearances over his previous 25 games. The 22-year-old Guzman is at .230/.271/.351 overall. He probably shouldn’t be in the Angels’ plans for the beginning of 2027, unless maybe Zach Neto gets traded. Guzman’s offense would be easier to tolerate at short than at third. He does have the bat speed to take a step forward, though.

Although they have no real shot at this point, the Marlins have gone all out the last two days, resulting in a pair of crushing defeats for the D-backs. Marsee had his second nice game of the series, having gone 3-for-4 with a homer and a triple on Monday. He’s hitting .447 in his last 10 games, raising his average from .208 to /227 and his OPS from .659 to .702.