Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, postseason edition! We'll keep you up to speed on everything you need to know every weekday throughout the 2025 World Series. Thanks for being here. The Blue Jays have the population of an entire country backing them as they head into Game 3 of the World Series tonight, looking to take a 2-1 series lead over the Dodgers. That includes the nearly 8,000 residents of Iqaluit -- Canada's northernmost city. It would be incorrect to call Iqaluit a one-stoplight town. That's because it has zero stoplights. It is shrouded in darkness for a large portion of the year. Its climate is often more favorable for polar bears than humans. Some residents hunt those polar bears -- not for sport, but for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, Iqaluit does have The Storehouse Bar and Grill. And more importantly, it has the Blue Jays. The pub is actually closer to the North Pole than Toronto, but it has been packed during the franchise's run to its first Fall Classic in 32 years. The ox hides that usually adorn the place have been replaced by Blue Jays decorations. Many patrons arrive via snowmobile or ATV, but they make sure to grab a seat to root on Canada's team.
During Toronto's Game 1 victory on Friday, it was "standing-room only," bartender Cory Allen told North Pole correspondent Matt Monagan.
"The dynamic is, I don't want to say magical, but it is so endearing," Allen said. "It's heartwarming. When you come here, you feel like you're in someone's living room."
Monagan's full story is a fascinating must-read about how baseball fandom can take hold and create a communal bond anywhere in the world -- including in a bar in a small Canadian city where trees can't survive.
-- Brian Murphy |
Dodgers fans haven't forgotten 2017, and they're about to let Blue Jays DH George Springer hear about it. Game 3 of the World Series tonight (8 p.m. ET, FOX) will put Springer back at Dodger Stadium, where resentment toward anyone associated with the Astros team that defeated the Dodgers in the Fall Classic eight years ago still runs deep, in large part due to the sign-stealing scandal that subsequently engulfed Houston. As our own Keegan Matheson details here, Springer wasn't just a member of the Astros that year; he was one of the central figures in the Dodgers' loss, earning World Series MVP honors after hitting five homers -- including a two-run blast in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium. Now with the Blue Jays, who stand in the way of a second straight Dodgers title, Springer can expect an especially hostile welcome from the L.A. faithful, perhaps even more rancorous than the reception Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani got at Rogers Centre in Games 1 and 2. Ohtani heard chants of "We don't need him" at times during the first two games, a reaction to the two-way superstar spurning Toronto for Los Angeles in free agency two years ago. For his part, Ohtani took the jeering in stride, even complimenting fans on their trash talk and joking that his wife appreciated the chants. Springer, meanwhile, said he didn't want to dwell on 2017. Instead, he's focusing on the present. "I'm here now," Springer said. "I'm in our moment." -- Thomas Harrigan |
PROUDLY REPRESENTING MEXICO |
Tonight, Alejandromania comes to Dodger Stadium. OK, so Alejandro Kirk is on the Blue Jays, not the Dodgers. But Kirk is making his own history for Mexico this World Series -- as the Fall Classic returns to Los Angeles, where Fernando Valenzuela's "Fernandomania" took the city by storm 44 years ago. Kirk, a native of Tijuana, is the first Mexican-born player to hit a home run in the World Series. He is also the first Mexican-born catcher to play in the World Series. Now he gets to take the field in the same ballpark where the most iconic player in Mexican baseball history pitched in the World Series in 1981. Valenzuela defeated the Yankees at Dodger Stadium in Game 3 of that series, which the Dodgers went on to win in six games. Kirk might be trying to beat the Dodgers on Fernando's turf, but what he's doing this World Series is bringing pride to Tijuana and to Mexico all the same. -- David Adler |
IN THE MARKET FOR AN ACE? |
The Tigers' Tarik Skubal is one of baseball's premier pitchers, a left-hander at the height of his dominance. But with only a year left before free agency and a major payday likely looming, the trade chatter has already started to heat up.
What would it take to pry the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner from the Tigers this offseason? Recent history could be a guide, as our Mark Feinsand noted in his detailed breakdown of the southpaw's trade value.
The February 2024 Corbin Burnes deal between the Brewers and Orioles is a sensible comparison, considering Burnes also had one year of team control remaining when he was dealt. But multiple executives said they believe the Tigers would be able to get more back for Skubal than the Brewers received for Burnes, who netted infielder Joey Ortiz (MLB Pipeline's No. 63 overall prospect at the time), lefty DL Hall (a former Top 100 prospect) and a 2024 Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick from the O's.
If anything, the Red Sox's trade for Garrett Crochet last offseason might be a closer benchmark. Boston sent four highly ranked prospects -- including two Top 100 guys in Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery -- to the White Sox. Crochet had two years of control left then, so it's not a perfect parallel, but the deal still hints at how high the asking price could climb if Detroit listens on Skubal.
-- Thomas Harrigan |
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BATTING PRACTICE |
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