Glew - BWDIK: Bay, Halladay, Lopez, Peters, Romano, Smith
Photo: Cleveland Guardians/X
November 8, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
Smith named AL Reliever of the Year finalist
On Monday, Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) was named a finalist for the American League Reliever of the Year award.
The 27-year-old right-hander is up against Toronto Blue Jays closer Louis Varland and Tampa Bay Rays stopper Bryan Baker.
In his first full season as the Guardians’ closer, Smith registered 41 saves, which tied him with Baker for the most in the majors. That also made him just the third Canadian to register 40 saves in an MLB season (Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.) and John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) are the other two).
In his dominant 2026 season, Smith went 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA and fanned 107 batters in 74 innings and finished with a 2.9 bWAR (Baseball Reference WAR). He also topped the American League in games finished (60) and was named the American League Reliever of the Month for September.
He continued to be overpowering in the postseason, posting a 2.38 ERA and fanning 14 in 11-1/3 innings in nine appearances. For his efforts, he was selected to pitch in his first MLB All-Star Game and was named to the MLB All-Postseason Team.
Peters named AL Silver Slugger Award finalist
On Thursday, Chicago White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) was named an American League Silver Slugger Award finalist.
In his first full big league season, Peters batted .265 with 12 home runs, 31 doubles and a .437 slugging percentage in 156 games. He also finished with 116 hits, 56 RBIs, eight stolen bases and a 3.6 bWAR.
On July 10, he became just the second Canadian major leaguer since 1900 to hit for the cycle (George Kottaras (Scarborough, Ont.) did it for the Milwaukee Brewers on September 3, 2011). On August 22, Peters began a streak in which he homered in five straight games.
Peters continued his solid hitting in the postseason, batting .286 with a .348 on-base percentage in seven contests. For his performance this season, he was named to Baseball America’s MLB All-Rookie Team and MLB Pipeline’s All-Rookie First Team.
Lopez named NL Silver Slugger Award finalist
Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez has been named a National League Silver Slugger Award finalist.
Lopez, who spent part of his youth in Montreal, topped all major leaguers with 191 hits in 2026. He also finished third in the National League with a .305 batting average and tied for third with nine triples. His 6.1 bWAR was fourth among NL position players.
Lopez, who suited up for Canada in the World Baseball Classic, was also selected to his first MLB All-Star Game.
Soroka declines 2027 option with D-Backs
Right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) declined his mutual $10-million option with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2027 season.
The veteran righty is now a free agent.
In 2026, Soroka went 9-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) for the Diamondbacks. He struck out 114 batters in 116 innings and completed the campaign with a 2.2 bWAR.
On March 31, in his first regular season start with the D-Backs, he threw an immaculate inning against the Detroit Tigers, striking out Javier Báez, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres on nine pitches in the fifth inning. This made him just the third Canadian to throw an immaculate inning in the big leagues, joining Rich Harden (Victoria, B.C.) who did it with the A’s on June 8, 2008 and Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) who completed the feat with the Marlins on May 18, 2025.
Soroka also made two starts for Canada at the World Baseball Classic, posting a 4.76 ERA in 5-2/3 innings.
Bay won NL Rookie of Year Award 22 years ago today
It was 22 years ago today that Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) became the first – and still only – Canadian to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
After making his big league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2003, Bay was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He assumed starting left field duties for the club on May 7, 2004 and never looked back, hitting .282 and belting 26 home runs in 120 games in that rookie season.
The closest another Canuck has come to winning the National League’s top rookie award was in 2019 when Soroka, then with the Braves, finished second to New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso in the voting.
Giants decline Wick’s option
The San Francisco Giants have declined right-hander Rowan Wick‘s $800,000 option for the 2027 season. He’ll receive a $100,000 buyout from the club.
The Giants signed Wick (North Vancouver, B.C.) prior to the 2026 season, knowing he was going to miss the campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
In 2025, Wick enjoyed a dominant season with the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japan Central League in which he went 4-1 with a 0.84 ERA in 40 appearances. He fanned 49 batters in 42-2/3 innings. It was his second straight excellent season with the Bay Stars.
The 6-foot-3 right-hander, who will turn 34 tomorrow, last pitched in the majors with the Chicago Cubs in 2022 when he registered a 4.22 ERA in 64 relief appearances.
In total, the Junior National Team grad has toed the rubber in parts of five big league seasons with the San Diego Padres and Cubs.
Remembering Roy Halladay
It still hurts to type this, but it was nine years ago yesterday that Roy Halladay died at the age of 40.
Just five months prior to his death, he delivered a hilarious and self-deprecating speech at his Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Marys, Ont. It was a side of the ultra-intense Halladay that I had never seen. And sadly, it was one of – if not his last – public appearance before his death. You can watch the speech by clicking on the link below.
Flewelling named Arizona Fall League All-Star
Tampa Bay Rays catching prospect Nathan Flewelling (Innisfail, Alta.) has been selected to play in the Arizona Fall League All-Star Game that will take place today in Scottsdale, Ariz.
In 21 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions over the past month, Flewelling is batting .295 with a .409 on-base percentage. He has 23 hits, eight runs and four stolen bases.
This strong performance comes on the heels of an excellent regular season that saw him named the MVP of the Rays’ High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods. Flewelling played the entire season with the Hot Rods, putting together a .243/.364/.452 slash line in 106 games. He topped the team with 71 walks and his 21 home runs were the second-most on the club.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound slugger has suited up for two seasons in the Rays’ organization after being chosen in the third round of the 2024 MLB draft by them.
Romano moved up all-time Canadian MLB saves list
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame recently sent out a list of notable accomplishments by Canadians in the majors in 2026. One thing I forgot to note in this column that was on the Hall’s list is that with 15 saves this season, Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) moved into third place on the all-time Canadian MLB saves list.
Romano now has 128 career MLB saves, which catapulted him past longtime Detroit Tigers reliever John Hiller (Toronto, Ont.) into third place. He trails only Gagne (187 saves) and Axford (144 saves).
After a rough start to the season as the closer of the Los Angeles Angels, Romano landed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies and worked his way back to the majors. In 27 appearances for the Rockies, the 33-year-old righty posted a 4.21 ERA and registered 11 saves and fanned 27 batters in 25-2/3 innings. He also had four saves with the Angels earlier in the season.
Remembering Joe Nossek
One of my favourite interviews was with longtime Chicago White Sox coach Joe Nossek back in 2013.
He would’ve turned 86 today. He passed away in February.
Nossek had a six-year big league career, and also suited up for the triple-A Vancouver Mounties in 1968. The affable Ohio native ranked his performance in a game with the Mounties on September 7, 1968 at Capilano Stadium as one of the most memorable of his career.
“Mickey Vernon was our manager in Vancouver and I talked him into letting me pitch the second-last game of the season,” recalled Nossek, then a fleet-footed, 27-year-old centre fielder who hadn’t pitched since high school. “It was a doubleheader that day, so it was only seven innings, but I ended up pitching a complete game and we won 5-1. I remember I struck out two guys in the first inning and then I couldn’t lift my arm when I went out for the second inning. But I did make it through the game, but I got a whole new appreciation for pitchers and what it takes for them to get in shape.”
It should be noted that the Hawaii Islanders, Nossek’s opponent that day, were in second place in the Pacific Coast League’s West Division. The Mounties, on the other hand, were destined for a last-place finish. That contest was one of the few bright spots for Nossek and his Mounties teammates on the field that season. Despite having six players – Tony La Russa, Steve Boros, Dave Duncan, Marcel Lachemann, Rene Lachemann and Nossek himself – that would go on to enjoy successful big league managerial and coaching careers, the team limped to a 58-88 record.
“We had a smart team, but we sure didn’t play very well,” said Nossek. “I guess it’s like they say, ‘If you can’t play it, coach it.”
In all, Nossek spent 43 seasons in professional baseball as a player, manager and coach.