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He also has a 2.04 ERA in six postseason starts over the last two seasons. For any team that believes it’s capable of a deep run in the 2026 postseason, Skubal would be a great addition — even for the steep price in young talent the Tigers will rightfully expect in return. That list would include the Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees. The Tigers and Skubal were so far apart in their initial contract discussions that president of baseball operations Scott Harris would seem to have no choice but to trade him. He’s more likely to get a better deal now than he would during the season. But it’s not that simple. Skubal will become a free agent after the season and is represented by Scott Boras, who believes strongly in the idea of letting the market dictate what a player is worth. So any team trading for Skubal would have to be prepared to lose him in free agency. Garrett Crochet was eager to sign an extension with the Sox. Skubal will be eager to become a free agent. What would the Sox have to give up to get Skubal? It starts with Payton Tolle and could include Jarren Duran. Skubal’s future will be a big topic in the halls of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Kyle Tucker is the consensus best free agent available, even though his numbers dipped with the Cubs after four dominant seasons with the Astros. He could be in line for 10 years and $375 million, and it’s fair to wonder if a casual fan could pick him out of a lineup. Bo Bichette’s future is tied to how much he prioritizes playing shortstop. As a second baseman, he’ll have a lot more choices including returning to Toronto. It’s unlikely to happen in Las Vegas, but there will be a run on free agent starters at some point this winter led by Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Michael King, Ranger Suárez, and Framber Valdez. Dave Dombrowski will do what it takes to keep Kyle Schwarber with the Phillies. But Pete Alonso feels like a fit for the Red Sox, who badly need a productive DH. Baseball is likely to be facing labor unrest a year from now. The collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026, and commissioner Rob Manfred has already suggested a lockout will be needed to force both sides to the table. That the Dodgers won the World Series with a $350 million payroll is expected to compel some owners to push for a salary cap. The Players Association would never accept that. Will the coming storm affect free agency this winter? Free agents might want a large chunk of their salary in the form of a signing bonus to guard against missing paychecks in 2027. Teams could be wary of adding significantly to their payroll without knowing what the rules will be. Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto started all 17 postseason games for the Dodgers and had a 2.86 ERA. Glasnow, Snell, and Yamamoto also pitched in relief. Only Yamamoto was in the rotation all season. Snell made 11 starts, Ohtani 14, and Glasnow 18. That’s part of the reason it was a surprise the Red Sox did not make Lucas Giolito a qualifying offer. The 31-year-old righthander seemed like a perfect pitcher to use carefully over six months then have him ready as a No. 3 starter in the postseason. Maybe the Sox didn’t see him as worthy of $22.02 million and worried he would accept the offer. They also could have been cautious of bringing back a pitcher with his injury history. Giolito ended the season on the injured list with forearm soreness, but has started throwing and is expected to be ready for spring training. However it works, the Sox need to assemble enough starter depth that creates options come October, not bullpen games. A few other observations on the Red Sox: ▪ Former Red Sox coaching staff assistant J.T. Watkins was made a scapegoat in the investigation of the 2018 Red Sox for sign stealing and was suspended for the 2020 season. The Dodgers hired him in 2023 and he is now their game planning and communication coach, part of the hitting group. Watkins is one of the coaches allowed in the dugout during games to work with players. The 36-year-old former Red Sox minor league catcher is putting together a promising career. His father, Danny, was the scout who signed Mookie Betts for the Sox. ▪ Good luck to Luis Guerrero, who was designated for assignment on Thursday. The righthander made it to the majors in 2024 and has so far pitched 22 games with a 2.63 ERA despite walking with a pronounced limp, the product of knee surgery as a child. Guerrero grew up in Boston after his family moved from the Dominican Republic. He averaged 97.4 m.p.h. with his fastball, which suggests he’ll get another chance somewhere. ▪ The Arizona Fall League All-Star Game is Sunday. Infielder Stanley Tucker and righthander Luis Perales will represent the Red Sox. Tucker was a 19th round pick in 2023 out of Texas A&M who hasn’t hit at all in the minors (.184 with a .570 OPS in 90 games), but had a .702 OPS through 21 AFL games with 12 steals in 14 attempts. Perales is coming back from Tommy John surgery and is getting innings in the AFL. It’s been rocky — 11 earned runs on 14 hits and 10 walks over 10⅓ innings — but he also has struck out 16. The hope is that his command will click in and Perales will become a rotation candidate at some point in 2026. The Hall of Fame doesn’t seem to know what to do with Dwight Evans. Evans fell only four votes shy of induction to the Hall when he was considered by what was called the Modern Era Committee in 2019. That committee considered 10 candidates whose greatest contributions came from 1970-87. That indicated Evans was on the right path to Cooperstown, or so it seemed. Evans was eligible again in 2022 for what had become the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for players whose greatest impact came after 1980. But he wasn’t on the ballot despite those eight votes only three years prior. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, and Curt Schilling all were as the Hall seemed determined to deal with their controversial candidacies. None came close and only Fred McGriff was elected. Evans had another chance this year but again wasn’t included on the ballot that will be voted on next month. Yet Bonds and Clemens were, however, along with Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, and four others. Back in 2019, Mattingly and Murphy received three or fewer votes. Dave Parker received seven votes, one fewer than Evans, and was voted in by a different committee in 2024. Evans was a three-time All-Star who never came close to winning an MVP. He played in two seven-game World Series but did not win a ring. Appreciating his Hall of Fame credentials requires taking more than a passing glance at his statistics. There were 498 players who had at least 2,000 plate appearances during the time Evans was a full-time major leaguer. He was seventh in home runs and RBIs, third in runs, eighth in hits, and fourth in doubles. Evans also was eighth in bWAR. The seven players ahead of him are all Hall of Famers, as are the three players behind him. The Hall of Fame should not be based only on statistics. But the statistics show Evans was a better all-around player than several players who are on the ballot. It also doesn’t seem right that he’s again being blocked by the latest re-examination of the Steroid Era. Evans isn’t alone. Will Clark, Steve Garvey, Keith Hernandez, Orel Hershisher, and Lou Whitaker are all players you can make a good case to induct. The Hall of Fame should have a high bar. That’s what makes it such a special place to visit. But the hurdles in front of Evans keep changing. Meanwhile, how Bonds and Clemens fare in the voting, which will be announced on Dec. 7, will be fascinating. They’re seemingly tied together as candidates. If a committee vote rejects them for a second time, that could be it for their Hall of Fame hopes. Let them in and a door opens for Cooperstown to have what would be a PED wing of the plaque gallery. You would not expect the Dodgers to add a Triple A veteran entering his age-28 season to their 40-man roster. But Ryan Ward almost gave them no choice. The lefthanded hitting corner outfielder from Millbury hit .290 with a .937 OPS, 36 home runs, and 122 RBIs for Oklahoma City last season, and was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League. Ward, who played at Bryant University from 2017-19, will go to camp with a chance to win a spot as a platoon outfielder … The Dodgers and Blue Jays were compelling television. Game 7 was the most-watched World Series game since Game 7 in 2017 between the Astros and Dodgers. It was the highest-rated overall Series since 2017. In Canada, it was the most-watched English broadcast of any kind since the 2010 Olympics were in Vancouver. The audience peaked at 14 million in Game 7. That’s out of 41.29 million Canadians. SportsNet (Canada’s version of ESPN) estimated that 23 million turned in at some point. In all, Game 7 drew 51 million viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japan. Then there’s this: Game 7 of the NBA finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana drew an average of 16.61 million in June. Game 7 of the Series drew an average of 27.3 million. Granted, Oklahoma City and Indianapolis aren’t huge markets, but MLB blowing out the NBA? The Dodgers aren’t ruining baseball; they might be saving it. Dynasties make for good villains. Yes, the Dodgers have a huge payroll. But the Yankees have for years and their last championship was in 2009. Steve Cohen has invested heavily in the Mets and is 8-8 in the postseason without a pennant in five seasons. It’s more than payroll that makes a winner. “I think that people just overlook the fact that every year we probably have a top-five farm system in baseball. This year I think we probably have the No. 1 or No. 2,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We pick at the bottom of the draft every year, towards the bottom, and we still have young guys, whether by way of trade or development, that continue to help contribute. On the business side, I think that we do a great job of marketing our organization. So it’s pretty buttoned up. I think we have great people and obviously great ownership too.” It’s about the smart minor moves, too. Miguel Rojas, who hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7, was signed for three years and $15 million. Then center fielder Andy Pages saved the game with a catch in the bottom of the inning. He made $740,000 this season and was originally signed for $300,000 after leaving Cuba … The World Series could have ended on a replay review when Toronto challenged the out call on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s slide across the plate in the ninth inning of Game 7. Home plate umpire Jordan Baker had it right. But with the ABS challenge system coming next season, it feels inevitable a playoff game will eventually end on a ball/strike call getting changed. But that’s better than a game being decided on a missed call … Interesting decision by the Rockies to hire Paul DePodesta to run baseball operations. He had been chief strategy officer of the largely unsuccessful Cleveland Browns since 2016. DePodesta, who played baseball and football at Harvard, worked for the Guardians, Athletics, Dodgers, Padres, and Mets from 1996-2015 before going to the NFL. DePodesta was general manager of the Dodgers from Feb. 6, 2004, until Oct. 29, 2005, after a 71-91 season. But at least the Rockies finally mustered up the courage to look outside the organization for a new leader, getting away from the insular approach that has failed for so long. DePodesta’s first task will be to hire a manager … Bedford native Mike DeBartolo will remain with the Nationals as senior vice president for administration under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. DeBartolo has been with the organization since 2012 when he was an intern … Guardians manager Stephen Vogt traveled to Baltimore on Tuesday to be there when his good friend and former bench coach Craig Albernaz was named manager of the Orioles. The Guardians are a low-budget team that succeeds because the organization fosters that level of loyalty among its staff … If you happened across a Newport Gulls game during the 2014 New England College Baseball League season, you would have seen a bit of a preview of the 2025 World Series. One of their catchers was 19-year-old Will Smith, who was coming off his freshman season at Louisville. He hit .163 in 10 games. The shortstop was Tommy Edman from Stanford. He had a good summer at Cardines Field, hitting .319 with an .882 OPS in 32 games. Fast forward and Smith and Edman started every game of the World Series for the Dodgers. Smith caught all 73 innings and it was his home run that was the difference in Game 7 … The fourth-annual WooSox Foundation Honors gala is set for Dec. 6 at Polar Park. Nick Sogard and Payton Tolle will join master of ceremonies Tom Caron. Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham and retired major leaguer Ryan O’Rourke, the former St. John’s (Shrewsbury) and Merrimack star, also will be on hand. Following dinner, guests are invited to the WooSox clubhouse for an afterparty and to take swings in the batting cage. Go to woosoxfoundation.org/honors for tickets and information … Happy birthday to Jon Nunnally, who is 54. The outfielder’s six-year career in the majors included 10 games for the Red Sox in 1999. Nunnally was acquired from the Red Sox near the end of spring training and was a September call-up from Triple A Pawtucket. Manager Jimy Williams did not seem enthused. “He gives you some options,” he told reporters. “You never know, you might put him out there.” Nunnally was 4 for 14 in 10 games and had an RBI double. Nunnally ended his playing career in 2006 and was a minor league coach through 2024. He was in the Red Sox organization from 2015-17 as a hitting coach.
