Tablesetters: A Baseball Podcast

Episode 127 of Tablesetters is a mini reaction pod, breaking down one of the winter’s most surprising pitching moves and what it immediately tells us about how teams are positioning themselves for 2026. We open with the Houston Astros signing Tatsuya Imai to a three-year, $54 million contract that can reach $63 million through performance incentives, finalized just ahead of his January 2 posting d...

Episode 126 of Tablesetters breaks down a stretch of offseason moves that didn’t rely on shock value, but clearly revealed how several teams are positioning themselves for 2026. We open with Tatsuya Imai nearing the end of his MLB posting window with a January 2 deadline and, by his own admission, far less clarity than expected. Despite an elite résumé in Japan and interest from multiple clubs, fi...

The offseason continues to take shape, and Episode 125 of Tablesetters brings together a week where the market didn’t explode — but it definitely shifted. We open with Munetaka Murakami landing with the White Sox, a short-term signing that reflects how teams are weighing upside against risk and flexibility. It’s a move that raises questions about fit, timeline, and what both sides are really betti...

Welcome to Episode 124 of Tablesetters, and today’s conversation goes well beyond wins, losses, and box scores. We’re joined by Dominic Leone, a former Major League reliever who pitched professionally from 2012 through 2024, navigating more than a decade inside big league clubhouses during one of the most transformative periods in modern baseball. His career unfolded during the rise of Statcast dr...

The offseason really planted its flag this week, and Episode 123 of Tablesetters is loaded. The Dodgers doubled down on their super-team bullpen by landing Edwin Díaz on a record-setting three-year deal, instantly changing the late-inning landscape and raising the bar yet again on what an all-in contender looks like. In the same tier of aggression, the Phillies are keeping their tone-setter at hom...

The league is not easing into the Winter Meetings. Everything is already moving. Episode 122 opens with a full preview of the Winter Meetings in Orlando, where front offices, agents, and scouts spend four days accelerating conversations that normally take weeks. We lay out what the schedule looks like, why teams such as Seattle, the Mets, the Dodgers, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Boston are positioned...

Welcome to Episode 121 of Tablesetters — and today we’re joined by one of the most essential voices in global baseball storytelling. Jim Allen, longtime NPB writer, analyst, historian, and the force behind jballallen.com and its weekly newsletter, sits down with us for a deep, far-reaching conversation about the heartbeat of Japanese baseball and its growing impact on MLB. For decades, Jim’s repor...

The offseason didn’t take a warm-up lap — it jumped straight into real movement. Episode 120 starts with two Blind Rankings games: Devin puts together eight random free-agent tag teams, pairing two available players who would be a fun combo for any club to sign together, while Steve works through eight free-agent ballpark fits to see which hypothetical landing spots match the player’s style, stren...

Welcome to Episode 119 of Tablesetters—and today we’re joined by one of the most influential minds in modern baseball analysis. Eno Sarris, Senior MLB Writer at The Athletic, co-host of Rates & Barrels, creator of Stuff+, and a driving force behind how the sport understands pitching, pitch design, and player value, sits in with us for a conversation that spans the future of baseball, the state...

Welcome to Episode 118 of Tablesetters. The offseason opened with a major move, as Josh Naylor signed a five-year deal with the Seattle Mariners, immediately reshaping the first-base market. His return reinforces Seattle’s lineup core and removes one of the most dependable bats from free agency. We break down why the deal came together quickly, why other teams never seriously entered the mix, and...

Welcome to Episode 117 of Tablesetters! Today we’re joined by Will Klein, one of the breakout stars of the 2025 postseason and a pitcher whose performance will be remembered as a defining moment in Dodgers history. A fifth-round pick out of Eastern Illinois in 2020, Klein’s path to the majors was anything but straightforward — marked by perseverance, steady development, and belief in his own proce...

Welcome back to Tablesetters, your home for deep-dive baseball conversation and analysis. Steve and Devin are here, and we’re thrilled to welcome back Keith Raad, the play-by-play broadcaster for the New York Mets on WCBS 880, returning to the show for the first time since Episode 37. Keith works alongside Mets Hall of Famer Howie Rose, bringing fans every pitch, every rally, and every unforgettab...

MLB free agency has officially opened, and Steve and Devin are back with Episode 115 for one of Tablesetters’ most anticipated offseason events — The Free-Agent Match Draft. Each host enters with a secret 15-pick draft board, predicting where the biggest names in baseball will sign and what their contracts will look like. Every correct destination earns points, but the real intrigue lies in how ea...

Steve and Devin went live for Episode 114 as the 2025 World Series reached its epic conclusion — an all-time classic that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers repeat as champions after an 11-inning thriller in Toronto. The Dodgers outlasted the Blue Jays 5–4 in Game 7 at Rogers Centre, capturing their second straight World Series title and becoming baseball’s first repeat champions since the 2000 Yankees....

  Steve and Devin went live for Episode 113 as the World Series reached Los Angeles with the series tied 1–1. Through two games, it’s been everything you’d expect from two balanced, well-prepared teams. Toronto took Game 1 by sticking to their plan — long at-bats, traffic on the bases, and patience that wore Blake Snell down early. Addison Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam, the first in World Series h...

The stage is finally set. The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the World Series, looking to defend their crown and become baseball’s first repeat champion in 25 years. Standing in their way are the Toronto Blue Jays, back in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993 when Joe Carter sent an entire country into celebration. This matchup has everything. The Dodgers have been steady, efficient, an...

What a weekend for baseball. We went live Sunday night for Episode 111 to unpack a remarkable few days, from Shohei Ohtani’s historic performance in Los Angeles to Toronto’s season-saving win and a major development in San Francisco. On Friday, Ohtani delivered one of the most complete postseason performances in recent memory. He hit three home runs, struck out ten, and threw six shutout innings a...

October baseball is delivering everything fans could ask for. Blake Snell’s masterpiece — eight innings, one hit, ten strikeouts — set the tone as the Dodgers took control of the NLCS. In the American League, Jorge Polanco and Julio Rodríguez continue to fuel Seattle’s push toward the franchise’s first World Series appearance. The energy and emotion of October are in full swing. From there, the fo...

Welcome to Episode 109 of Tablesetters — a live October edition packed with drama, heartbreak, and the pulse of postseason baseball. Devin and Steve were on-air during the crucial moments of Game 5 between the Tigers and Mariners, breaking down the action in real time while unpacking a wild week across the baseball world. The headlines are brutal but fascinating: The Blue Jays ended the Yankees’ s...

Welcome to Episode 108 of Tablesetters, a live special edition devoted to the theater of October baseball. The Wild Card round delivered everything that makes this game irresistible — drama, heartbreak, and the sudden swing of fortune that only a short series can bring. The Yankees shut out the Red Sox to punch their ticket. The Dodgers swept past the Reds to set up a heavyweight showdown. The Cub...

Welcome to Episode 107 of Tablesetters! The MLB postseason has finally arrived, and we are diving deep into all four Wild Card matchups, exploring the stakes, storylines, and keys that could determine who advances. We begin in the Bronx with Yankees against Red Sox, a rivalry that has defined October baseball for decades. These two have met six times in the postseason since 1999, and Boston has cl...

Welcome to Episode 106 of Tablesetters. Steve and Devin break down a week where baseball’s future, present, and past all collided. MLB has approved a challenge system for balls and strikes beginning in 2026, officially bringing robo-umps into the big leagues in a way that could change strategy and pacing forever. At the ownership level, the Rays sale was approved, ending the Sternberg era but leav...

The Mariners haven’t led the AL West this late in a season since 2001 and Cal Raleigh is rewriting baseball history in the process. On Episode 105 of Tablesetters, we welcome back Brady Farkas, host of the Refuse to Lose Mariners podcast and writer for Roundtable Sports. Brady last joined us on Episode 39 before the season began, and now he returns as Seattle’s wild ride hits its peak. From Raleig...

Welcome to Episode 104 of Tablesetters. Devin and Steve are back to capture the drama, joy, and heartbreak of a September week that revealed everything we love and fear about baseball. In Los Angeles, the Phillies turned fatigue into fuel, clinching their second straight NL East crown in a game that began after a sleepless night of travel and ended in extra innings with Bryce Harper’s fist-pumping...

Welcome to Episode 103 of Tablesetters. Devin and Steve return with another in-depth journey through the world of baseball, tackling both the headlines that shake the game and the performances that define it. We begin in Detroit, where the Tigers and Ilitch Sports and Entertainment find themselves in the middle of a storm. A series of troubling misconduct allegations have emerged, involving multip...