Here are three things to keep an eye on as we head into the weekend…
1. Division Series begin in both leagues:
MLB’s Wild Card round capped off yesterday when the Tigers toppled the Guardians on the strength of some late offense, while the Cubs edged past the Padres — but not before some ninth-inning drama put everyone on the edge of their seats. In the nightcap, Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler delivered a historic performance when he held the Red Sox scoreless and punched out 12 hitters over eight innings as New York advanced.
There are no games today, but the NLDS and ALDS are both slated to kick off tomorrow. Action begins when the Cubs head to Milwaukee, where they’ll be greeted by Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. Chicago has yet to formally name a Game 1 starter. Javier Assad would be on full rest, or they could turn to Colin Rea, who tossed 1 2/3 innings in relief on Wednesday and would presumably be able to go multiple innings to open a de facto bullpen game.
The Yankees will be in Toronto for Game 1 of the ALDS later on Saturday. Neither club has announced a Game 1 starter. New York is deciding between Luis Gil and Will Warren, per SNY’s Andy Martino, with a current lean toward the former. The Blue Jays will go with Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber in Games 1 and 2 but haven’t yet tipped their hand on which order they’ll be deployed.
The Dodgers will be at Citizen’s Bank Park on Saturday in the only of the four matchups where both starting pitchers have been publicly revealed. Shohei Ohtani (2.87 ERA, 33 K%, 4.8 BB% in 47 regular season innings) will be on the bump for Los Angeles opposite Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sanchez (2.50 ERA, 26.3 K%, 5.5 BB%, 202 innings).
The final game on Saturday’s slate will see the Tigers head to Seattle. If Detroit wants to avoid using ace Tarik Skubal on short rest, they’ll likely need to go with Keider Montero or Chris Paddack to open the series. The Mariners are hoping that Bryan Woo will be ready to go after being down nearly three weeks due to a pectoral injury. He threw a bullpen session yesterday and will be further evaluated today. If not Woo, the Mariners can choose among Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo to kick things off at home.
2. Rangers press conference today:
The Rangers announced yesterday that president of baseball operations Chris Young and general manager Ross Fenstermaker will address the media this morning at 10am CT for their end-of-season press conference. The team’s two top baseball ops executives will surely take questions on Bruce Bochy’s departure from the organization, the subsequent managerial vacancy created by his exit, the 2025 season and where it went wrong, and the direction for the team moving forward. End-of-season pressers like this typically offer vital insight into what shape the offseason could take — particularly for hopeful contenders that miss the playoffs.
3. All quiet in Anaheim:
It’s another story entirely in Anaheim, where the Angels missed the playoffs for an 11th straight season and have not yet held any media availability. As Sam Blum of The Athletic points out, general manager Perry Minasian had previously indicated that he would address the media this week, but those plans seem to have changed. Blum adds that team sources confirmed to him Minasian is still employed at this time — there’s been speculation about his job status after the club announced a managerial change — but it’s unclear when or whether anyone from the team will take questions about the 2025 season or the upcoming offseason. Press conferences of this nature on a just-wrapped season are standard practice for all teams in MLB, and the fact that Minasian had broadcast a forthcoming media session only to pull back is rather strange.
No one from the Angels has publicly commented on whether Minasian will be back for the 2026 season. He signed a two-year extension covering the 2025-26 seasons (with a 2027 option) in Aug. 2024. Minasian conducted an end-of-season press conference following each of his first four seasons as the team’s GM — including a post-2024 session that was conducted exactly one year ago yesterday.
