Wednesday, October 21
Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today, brought to you by David Adler. The World Series is two days away. Here’s how ABS might impact who wins.
This is going to be the first World Series ever with ABS, but here’s a question for you: Will ANY hitters challenge?
You might say: Obviously! They’ve been challenging calls all playoffs! But there’s something funny going on here.
The two teams in the Fall Classic — and these are two of the smartest teams in baseball we’re talking about here — do not like to challenge when they’re at the plate. They really don’t like it. Mike Petriello takes a deep dive into that today.
The Rays and Brewers both operate under the philosophy of: “Save the challenges for the catchers.” This postseason, their hitters have combined to challenge only four of the 43 overturnable calls that have gone against them.
And when we say “combined to challenge four overturnable calls,” what we really mean is, “The Brewers have challenged four overturnable calls.”
The Rays? The Rays have not challenged AT ALL this postseason as the batting team.
Yes, really. Fun fact: Rays PITCHERS have challenged more times in the 2026 playoffs (1) than their hitters have challenged (zero). Pitchers basically never challenge!
(Who was the Rays pitcher who did? Shoutout Griffin Jax. Not only is he the only pitcher to pull the trigger this postseason, he successfully turned a walk into a strikeout by doing it.)
Now we need to take a second to appreciate the King of Not Challenging. That would be one Yandy Díaz.
Díaz hasn’t challenged one single time ALL YEAR. Not just in the playoffs. In the regular season, too.
Entering the World Series, the Rays slugger has seen 59 calls that he could have overturned — including some big ones in the playoffs (like this … or this). No other hitter had more than 36 winnable opportunities and zero challenges.
That hitter with 36? Andrew Vaughn … of the Brewers. Yes, the two hitters who never challenge are both playing in the World Series.
BUT: Maybe Díaz has been saving his bullets just for this moment. Back in June, he was asked about why he doesn’t like to challenge — and if he ever would.
His answer? “Maybe in the World Series sometime.”
Well, here we are. Let’s see it, Yandy.
Read more about the first ABS World Series here >>
GET READY FOR THE SKUBAL FRENZY
Tarik Skubal is about to hit the free-agent market, and the second he does, he’s going to kick off maybe the biggest hot stove sweepstakes ever for a pitcher.
Mark Feinsand has put together a handy guide to Skubal’s free agency, which answers questions like:
- Who are the top suitors for Skubal?
- Where do the two teams Skubal has pitched for, the Dodgers and Tigers, stand now?
- What do front-office executives think will happen?
- What type of contract could Skubal land?
Check that out to get an idea of how the two-time Cy Young winner’s offseason might play out.
THE WORLD SERIES BULLPEN BATTLE
Here’s one more storyline to watch in a World Series matchup between two teams that have a whole lot of parallels: the battle of the bullpens.
The Brewers and Rays have both constructed highly effective bullpens to help them reach the Fall Classic — but those two bullpens look a lot different.
The Brewers have power arms like Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe, and don’t forget multi-inning fireman extraordinaire Aaron Ashby.
The Rays have all the changeups you can handle — probably more — led by closer Bryan Baker, plus all the variety of arm angles you’d expect from a good Rays pitching staff (we see you, Kevin Kelly).
Brent Maguire takes a look at all the different relievers who could get the biggest outs of the World Series.
MANAGER/GM RUMORS: CASHMAN BACK
We have a few pieces of manager and GM news today:
• A day after reports that Aaron Boone will return as Yankees manager, we now know that Brian Cashman is returning as general manager, too. Cashman said today that he’ll be back for his 30th season with the Bronx Bombers, who’ve won four World Series under his charge.
• The Angels announced today that they’re moving on from manager Kurt Suzuki after one season and will look for a new skipper for 2027. The Angels went 62-100 under Suzuki this year.
• The Astros are casting a wide net in their search for a new GM. The leading candidate appears to be Brewers assistant general manager Matt Kleine, but Houston assistant GMs Gavin Dickey and Charles Cook have also interviewed for the position, sources told MLB.com, and there are multiple other candidates as well.
Follow all the latest manager and GM rumors here >>
1 CAMINERO = HOW MANY SIMPSONS?
How many Chandler Simpson bunt singles does it take to equal one Junior Caminero home run? Asking the big questions here.
During the Rays’ pennant-clinching win over the Guardians in the American League Championship Series, we got to see two signature Rays plays™: A blazing fast bunt single from the speedster Simpson, and a loooooooooong home run trot from the superstar-with-flair Caminero.
Simpson got down the line in just 3.78 seconds. Caminero, meanwhile, took a cool 38.66 seconds to circle the bases.
After the game, Pitching Ninja posted a must-see video comparing the two side by side, all to answer this question: How many times can Simpson go home-to-first in the time it takes Caminero to finish one home run trot?
The answer: A little over 10 times! This is what Statcast tracking was meant to be used for.
© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
Please review our Privacy Policy.
You (pahovis@aol.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com.
Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.
Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
