The Offseason: 10/12/2020

The year is 2020.

We have spent time under mandatory quarantine, not being able to continue with our lives as normal.

We have had to watch two men vie for the presidency, continually asking ourselves “Is this the best we can do?”

We have lost much of the normalcy of our lives thanks to having to grapple with the largest public health threat of our generation with no end in sight.

We have seen our main refuge, sports, be interrupted, shut down, start back up, interrupted (again) and become a shell of itself.

And here we site, on the verge of the Astros, the biggest cheaters in baseball history, one more step closer to another World Series. It would be fitting for the 2020 baseball season to end with Astros becoming champions since they won’t have to face the fans and the judgement that comes with public reaction. Instead, were they to win, they could celebrate and the slink into the night like some sort of thief. Thankfully, last night, the Rays won and took a step towards defeating that team and ending a scenario in which the Astros win.

Phillies news:

• There were days when Kris Bryant coming to the Phillies was actually a rumor peddled by online fans.
• Matt Gelb gives you a look at an offseason that will feature the words “cost cutting” early and often ($). Great.
• J.T. Realmuto - $200 million man? That’s the number being floated around.

MLB news:

• Walker Buehler is going to start the NLCS Game 1 for the Dodgers and should be able to upwards of 90 pitches.
• One of the better teams in baseball, the Padres, could see their team undergo a decent amount of transformation as the Rule 5 draft approaches.

Rumor roundup:

• The White Sox also have some decisions coming up about their roster ($).