Wednesday, October 14
Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know, brought to you by David Adler. Today we have the Gold Glove finalists, a crazy trade tree that produced tonight’s starting NLCS battery and more.
Get ready to be shocked: Pete Crow-Armstrong is a Gold Glove finalist.
We know you were on the edge of your seat about that. Now let’s take a look at some of the other guys.
The 2026 Gold Glove Award nominees were announced today, and while we feel pretty safe about penciling in PCA for the National League center field trophy, there’s plenty of intrigue at other positions.
Here are three of the more interesting Gold Glove races:
AL shortstop: Andrés Giménez (Blue Jays), Taylor Walls (Rays), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)
Witt and Giménez are both multi-time Gold Glove winners, and they’re neck-and-neck at the top of Statcast’s Fielding Run Value leaderboard for shortstops. But the most interesting name here is Walls, who’s very polarizing depending on which defensive stats you use. Defensive Runs Saved loves him (+21, best among MLB shortstops). Statcast’s defensive metrics … don’t (-2 Fielding Run Value).
AL utility: José Caballero (Yankees), Ezequiel Duran (Rangers), Zach McKinstry (Tigers)
Duran (+13 Fielding Run Value) and McKinstry (+12) both managed to rank among the top 10 most valuable fielders in the AL while basically doing everything except catching. The level of defense they provided at so many different positions is exactly why Rawlings added the “utility player” Gold Glove Award in 2022.
NL right field: Carson Benge (Mets), Corbin Carroll (D-backs), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs)
The Cubs have the chance to become the first team ever to sweep the three outfield Gold Glove Awards. Crow-Armstrong is a lock, so it’s going to come down to the corner outfield races. We’re highlighting the right field race because it’s a tight one among Suzuki, the Mets’ star rookie Benge and the D-backs’ sparkplug Carroll.
See the full list of 2026 Gold Glove Award finalists >>
NEW START TIMES FOR TOMORROW’S GAMES
We’ve got a couple of changes to tomorrow’s playoff schedule. Both LCS game times have been moved up.
The big change is that Game 3 of the ALCS between the Rays and Guardians will now start at 1 p.m. ET, instead of the initially scheduled time of 6 p.m. ET, due to bad weather coming in Cleveland. The series is tied, 1-1.
Game 4 of the NLCS between the Brewers and Dodgers in Los Angeles will also start earlier than originally scheduled, at 8 p.m. ET (it was originally 9 p.m. ET). We’ll see where that series stands after tonight — Milwaukee leads two games to none entering Game 3.
CRAZY TRADE TREE LED TO NLCS BATTERY
We love a good trade tree, and you should see how the Brewers’ starting battery for Game 3 of the NLCS got to Milwaukee.
As the Brewers try to take a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series over the Dodgers, Robert Gasser will be on the mound and William Contreras will be behind the plate.
And those two players might never have come to the Brewers in the first place, if not for … J.J. Hardy.
Wait, that J.J. Hardy? The one who last played for Milwaukee in 2009??
Yes. That J.J. Hardy. Let us explain.
If you’re a little suspicious right now — don’t worry, so was Hardy himself. When our Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy called up the former All-Star shortstop to tell him about this, Hardy’s response was: “Wait a minute … How does that work?”
Here’s how it works. When the Brewers traded Hardy for Carlos Gómez in November of 2009, it set off a more than decade-long chain of transactions involving Gómez, Josh Hader, Esteury Ruiz and a bunch of other players. Those trades eventually brought Gasser and Contreras to the Brewers, and that brings us to tonight.
Check out the whole Hardy trade tree here, it’s a fun read.
EVERYTHING TO KNOW FOR NLCS GAME 3
The Dodgers and Brewers are back at it tonight. Here’s all the info and key storylines for NLCS Game 3.
Brewers at Dodgers (Brewers lead series 2-0)
8 p.m. ET/7 CT/5 PT on FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
The series so far:
The Brewers have done a great job at flipping the script on last year’s NLCS. After being swept by the Dodgers last October, they’ve now taken the first two games from the reigning champs as the series moves to L.A. The Dodgers are scrambling to get back in this series.
Today’s pitching matchup: Robert Gasser (Brewers) vs. Blake Snell (Dodgers)
Key storylines:
1) Will Shohei Ohtani factor into this series?
Ohtani is not benched. The slumping superstar will remain in the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 3, but questions continue to swirl about his ability to play through his knee and biceps injuries. Ohtani said yesterday: “The symptoms shouldn’t be the reason why I can’t hit.” But the issues with his timing in the batter’s box are real. Can he solve them in time to save the Dodgers?
2) Will Blake Snell step up when the Dodgers need him most?
The Brewers already beat Tarik Skubal. They already beat Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Can they beat Snell, too? There are no easy wins against this L.A. rotation, but the Dodgers really need the two-time Cy Young winner to step up on the big stage and be their stopper tonight.
THESE RAYS LEFT NO STONE UNTURNED
The 2026 Rays are an incredible exercise in team building. They truly left no stone unturned.
Jake Rill has a cool story up today on how Tampa Bay constructed the roster that produced the best record in the American League this season and is now playing for the AL pennant. These guys came from literally everywhere.
Sparkplug Chandler Simpson was drafted and developed. Slugger Jonathan Aranda was an international signing. Superstar Junior Caminero was a steal of a trade acquisition. Starter Nick Martinez signed as a free agent. Lefty specialist Cam Booser came on a Minor League deal. Sidewinding reliever Kevin Kelly was a Rule 5 Draft pick.
And those are just a few examples of how the Rays found the players they could turn into a championship contender — especially by swinging trade after trade for undervalued players. It’s amazing what you can do when you’re, well, a really smart team.
Read more about the Rays’ roster construction here >>
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