Morning Edition

September 29, 2026

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With MLB wild-card series beginning Tuesday, the 18 teams outside of postseason contention are already making big personnel moves. The Mariners fired manager Dan Wilson, and the Diamondbacks are mulling whether to give Torey Lovullo a new contract after Arizona missed the playoffs eight out of nine seasons during his tenure.

—Eric Fisher

First Up

The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act 77–22 on Monday night. The bill now moves to the House.
The Department of Homeland Security left up a post featuring video of Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins despite the NFL’s request to take it down.
Seven Arizona State men’s hockey players sent the university a letter disputing the school’s account of a workout that led to a teammate’s hospitalization.
Atlanta’s NWSL expansion team unveiled its name and crest on Monday and is trying to avoid the botched rollouts that forced other expansion teams to rebrand.

MLB Black Monday Begins With Mariners Shake-Up

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MLB’s Black Monday has begun a wave of change across the league, with plenty more moves expected.

After the league finalized its 12-team playoff field Sunday, the other 18 teams formally began the process of regrouping for next season—if there is a next season given ongoing labor difficulties.

Some clubs in that non-postseason group have already made leadership decisions for 2027, including the Mets, who recently removed the interim tag from manager Andy Green and signed him to a three-year contract running through 2029. Other leadership shifts made since the end of the regular season:

The Mariners fired manager Dan Wilson and most of their coaches after a disappointing 76–86 season that marked a sizable retreat from the 2025 campaign when Seattle reached Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo’s contract has now expired, and he is facing an uncertain future after missing out on an NL wild-card berth on the final day. Lovullo led Arizona to the 2024 World Series, but that year represents the club’s only postseason berth in the last nine seasons. Lovullo and the team are set to discuss 2027 plans, and a decision could be imminent. “I want to win a world championship with this organization, but I want to be wanted,” Lovullo said.

Several other clubs are expected to make similar decisions in the coming weeks and months. One club highlighting that list is the Angels, who just completed their first 100-loss season in franchise history and are about to be purchased by Stan Kroenke in a record-setting $4 billion deal.

Four wild-card teams will see their seasons end by Thursday and could also be in line for field manager or GM changes, or both, after an early playoff exit.

Draft Odds

The finalizing of this year’s playoff field also set the 2027 draft lottery odds for the other 18 teams. Since 2022, MLB has used a lottery to establish the draft order, with the league looking to disincentivize tanking.

The co-leaders in the odds for next year’s top pick are the Rockies, Angels, and Athletics, who each have a 19.1% chance of winning. The draft lottery is scheduled for December.

The White Sox won the lottery for the 2026 MLB draft and used the No. 1 pick to select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who then agreed to a contract with a record $10.35 million signing bonus.

Next year’s draft, however, could look very different as team owners have proposed a radically different structure as part of ongoing labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association. The management proposal would make all high school players ineligible, cut the event from 20 rounds to 12, and slash the overall signing bonus pool by about half. The union opposes the potential restructuring.

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NBC Back Into Postseason Baseball

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26

That’s how many years it’s been since NBC last broadcast an MLB postseason game. The drought ends Tuesday afternoon with the wild-card round, as NBC Sports has exclusive rights to all four series. NBC and/or Peacock will air every game—up to 12, should they all need a deciding third game.

NBC last held postseason rights from 1996 to 2000, alongside Fox, but after its exit, it took a hiatus from MLB altogether and didn’t air a regular-season game until 2022. NBC finalized a three-year, $600 million deal last year for MLB Sunday night primetime rights, taking over from ESPN, along with exclusive wild-card rights.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five golfers by lowest career scoring average at The Masters?

LOUD AND CLEAR

Aaron Judge Has Thoughts

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“I think a lot of things.”

—Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge when asked Monday whether he thinks he’ll play in New York’s wild-card series against the Red Sox. The slugger, who ended the season on the injured list, added, “I don’t make those decisions.” Judge missed more than three months of the regular season with a fractured rib before returning to action in early September. When he went down with a right calf strain in mid-September, it was unclear whether the reigning American League MVP would be ready for the start of the postseason. The Yankees finished second in the AL East; if they win the best-of-three series, they’ll face the top-seeded Rays in the American League Division Series.

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Question of the Day

Do you plan on watching any of the MLB wild-card games?

YES

Monday’s result: 67% of respondents said USC’s one-game suspension of linebacker Desman Stephens II for his hit on Dante Moore was the right move.

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