The offensive gameplan for the Los Angeles Rams was clear at the start of Saturday’s NFC wild-card game against the Carolina Panthers – find a way to get Puka Nacua the football. It worked, as the Rams survived the Panthers’ upset bid with a 34-31 road victory to advance to the divisional round.

Nacua had three catches, 40 yards and a touchdown on the Rams’ opening drive. On the Rams’ third series, the wideout caught a backwards pass from Matthew Stafford maneuvered around a couple of defenders and found the end zone to give Los Angeles a 14-0 advantage in the second quarter.

Nacua’s second score went down as a 5-yard rushing touchdown.

Nacua’s big first half could have been even more pronounced, but the receiver committed a critical drop that cost the Rams a potential touchdown before halftime. His final stat line was 10 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown, to go with three carries for 14 yards and a touchdown.

The third-year wide receiver entered the postseason coming off another superb regular season. He tallied an NFL-high 129 catches for 1,715 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named an NFL first-team All-Pro for his efforts.

For the New York Jets, a franchise that’s two years away from being a year away – and this has somehow remained a perpetual state of affairs for the past 15 seasons, the NYJ last reaching the NFL playoffs in 2010 – Friday night’s Peach Bowl felt like an unmitigated disaster.

The Jets, who are still in search of a worthy successor to Hall of Famer Joe Namath nearly 50 years after he threw his final pass for the franchise, are scheduled to pick second overall in the 2026 draft. Their 3-14 record this season matched the Las Vegas Raiders in terms of ineptitude – though only the Jets managed to become the first team in league history to lose five consecutive games by at least 23 points apiece. Quite the exclamation mark − expletive mark? − to another sad-sack campaign, the latest without a postseason invite or even a New York Sack Exchange to at least seed optimism for the future.

But no matter. By virtue of playing a weaker schedule, the Silver and Black actually ‘earned’ the No. 1 pick by virtue of the league’s rules − and the right to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

The recently crowned Heisman Trophy winner had played like an NFL franchise quarterback facing Pop Warner competition throughout 2025. Then he thoroughly embarrassed the University of Alabama in the Rose Bowl before the Hoosiers routed Oregon 56-22 in Atlanta on Friday.

Yet while Mendoza continues to etch his 2025 season as one of the best in the history of college football while cementing himself as the prohibitive top pick of the 2026 draft, it had seemed like the Jets would be in line for a tantalizing consolation prize − namely Ducks quarterback Dante Moore, a prospect some evaluators believe might have more professional upside than Mendoza.

“Around the league, there’s a debate on who’s one or who’s two,” ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller told USA TODAY Sports. “Some people love Mendoza – pocket passer, super accurate, poised, never seems to get rattled. He’s more of a distributor – he allows his guys to go make plays. I think there’s a lot of people that see that and like it. He’s kind of Jared Goff-esque … or Kirk Cousins-plus.

“Dante, I think he’s a little more explosive, he’s a little more dynamic. … He’s really not quite as experienced. And so it’s more of an upside bet.”

But now? Doesn’t appear to be much room left for debate after Mendoza owned the Peach Bowl stage, while his team took down Oregon for the second time this season.

Meanwhile, Mendoza was once again surgical – repeatedly drilling the back shoulders of his receivers when he wasn’t layering touchdown passes to them. He finished with five touchdown passes … and three incompletions. (Between the Rose and Peach Bowls, Mendoza has eight TD throws and five incompletions – against defenses stacked with plenty of NFL-caliber talent.)

Said ESPN play-by-play man Sean McDonough at halftime, “I think the debate about who the number one quarterback is and who’s gonna be the number one pick in the draft has been answered.”

Responded analyst Greg McElroy, one of the many quarterbacks who couldn’t cut it with the Jets post-Namath: “I think it was established even before this. I mean, if you’re drafting Dante Moore, it’s on a projection. You’re getting a ready-made product right now in Fernando Mendoza.”

In fairness to Moore, he made some nice throws Friday, even if his 285-yard, two-TD night was ultimately full of empty calories. In further fairness to Moore, he’s 20 years old and has started 19 college games − the kind of relatively thin résumé that’s been predictive of failure for recent top-five QB selections like Mitchell Trubisky, Trey Lance and Anthony Richardson. Moore also looked like a deer in headlights at times. With the benefit of more time and nourished by more quality coaching, he certainly has the potential to be an excellent pro – though patience and quality coaching have been in fairly short supply with Gang Green since the Jets’ landmark Super Bowl 3 victory, famously/infamously guaranteed by Namath, to cap the 1968 season. (The Jets have never returned to the Super Sunday stage.)

In the decades since, they’ve picked passers like Richard Todd, Ken O’Brien, Chad Pennington, Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson in the first round. All have been saddled with outsized expectations, few have had the benefit of a strong supporting cast, none have flourished for more than a handful of seasons.

Moore could be set up for a similar fate if the Jets, desperate behind center yet again more than a year after the failed Aaron Rodgers experiment, tab him. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith even advised Moore to remain at Oregon in 2026 rather than play for the Jets, whom SAS deemed a “football atrocity.”

“That’s the Dante Moore dilemma,” said Miller. “It’s do you go for the sure thing of being a top-five pick, or do you go back to school and risk having a Garrett Nussmeier-type of year, where your stock kinda falls off?

“Who’s to say (the Jets) don’t have the number one pick next year? The Jets are always in the top five. If you’re running from the Jets, you just need to come out and say you don’t want to play for them.”

As well as Moore played in 2025, two of his worst games came in the losses to Indiana − an opponent sporting a talented, opportunistic defense, if not one as remotely good and complex as the ones Moore will eventually see in the NFL. He didn’t distinguish himself against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, either.

Meanwhile, Mendoza, 22, couldn’t have looked more composed or efficient in the biggest game of his life – at least until the South Florida native faces the University of Miami for the national championship on Jan. 19. Big (6-foot-5, 225 pounds), accurate, intelligent and perhaps underrated athletically, Mendoza appears like precisely the guy the Jets need – a winner unlikely to be derailed by the Big Apple’s scrutiny and distractions.

Yet, un-Raider-y as the clean-cut Mendoza presents, he’ll likely be avoiding the distractions of Sin City instead while trying to elevate that once-great franchise from the ashes – and with minority owner Tom Brady to monitor his professional growth and development.

As for the Jets?

Maybe they try to package some of their midseason bounty of high-end draft picks, acquired after trading Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, to move up for Mendoza. Maybe they make a run at a veteran like Mac Jones or Cousins (a Mendoza facsimile without the wheels) and target Texas’ Arch Manning or Ohio State’s Julian Sayin in 2027. Maybe Moore “Ducks” the Jets entirely and winds up in an environment preferable to a “football atrocity” – you know, like in Cleveland or Arizona.

But it sure feels like Moore’s best play personally is to enter this draft, given the likelihood he’ll be close to a surefire top-five pick, rather than chance a regression ahead of what’s shaping up as a stacked 2027 crop. Better to take the Caleb Williams path and join an organization that might foster initial misgivings – while realizing circumstances in the NFL change on a dime, for the league’s worst franchises and its best (slot Williams’ Chicago Bears wherever you choose).

Regardless – somehow, some way – sure seems like the Jets now find themselves two years away from being two years away.

‘Do your job’ is something of a mantra for this Indiana football program.
Curt Cignetti even smiles after Indiana’s 56-22 thrashing of Oregon in Peach Bowl.
If Indiana beats Miami in national championship game, job will be complete.

ATLANTA – To call this a rise from the ashes, something would’ve had to have been burned down first. Indiana football was never here. Not before Curt Cignetti arrived.

He’s the man with the plan. The coach with the swagger. The master blender of transfers. The developer of a Heisman Trophy winner.

In the time B.C. — before Cignetti — Indiana needed four seasons to amass 15 wins.

A.C., they’re 15-0.

If you saw Cignetti standing on the sideline, grim-faced, you might think he was observing a funeral. No, he’s just watching his Hoosiers bury another opponent.

When it was finished, this 56-22 body slam of Oregon in a College Football Playoff semifinal, Cignetti even cracked a smile. Do you believe in miracles?!

All it took was a 34-point beatdown to coax out a grin out of everyone’s favorite meme.

“You see (him smile) every now and then. It’s rare,” Indiana wide receiver Elijah Sarratt said, as he smiled next to the Peach Bowl trophy inside the locker room.

When you try to explain how the Hoosiers got here, from Big Ten doormat to national powerhouse in just two years, you’ve got to start with the coach, but you’ve also got to include the quarterback.

Fernando Mendoza fired five touchdown passes and just three incompletions.

You also cannot ignore Indiana’s sturdiness in the trenches or its bundle of skill position talent or how it does not beat itself with mistakes and blunders, like those Oregon made.

So, what’s the best way to explain how Indiana is undefeated and one win away from becoming national champions, after having 100-to-1 odds in the preseason? Maybe, it boils down to three letters that have become this program’s mission.

“Our big thing we say is, DYJ. Do your job,” defensive lineman Mario Landino said. “As long as do your job, it’s going to be OK. We’ve got that posted around the facility and at away games, everywhere.”

Indiana football does its job vs. Oregon, from very first play to last

D’Angelo Ponds did his job. On the game’s very first play from scrimmage, Indiana’s star cornerback bolted in front of an Oregon receiver, picked off a pass and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown.

“After that play, the whole sideline, we’re turnt. We know, we’re here,” defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe said.

Eleven seconds into the game, the train horn that blasts inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium after touchdowns blared for the first of many, many times, because these Hoosiers just kept doing their job and kept racking up the touchdowns.

Eight of them, in sum.

Mendoza did his job while completing 17 of 20 passes. He sizzled on third downs.

When Sarratt saw Mendoza, a transfer from California, throwing before the season, he sensed this could be a special season.

“Seeing the way Fernando was spinning it in the offseason I knew we had a chance,” said Sarratt, who did his job with seven catches for 75 yards.

If you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance. The Hoosiers have a quarterback.

As Cignetti aptly put it, Mendoza played “incredible” and Sarratt was “on fire.”

Both can say they achieved the task of DYJ.

Dan Lanning on Hoosiers: ‘They’re complete.’

The offensive line did its job protecting Mendoza. He was sacked only once, and those maulers opened holes for Indiana’s underrated ground attack to punish Oregon to the tune of 185 yards.

That’s doing your job.

The defensive line’s job was to make life uncomfortable for quarterback Dante Moore. They didn’t just do their job. They aced it. Mark Cuban, give those fellas a bonus check! The Hoosiers had 10 tackles for loss, including three sacks. Landino recovered two Moore fumbles. How’s that for DYJ?

One of the nation’s least-penalized teams, Indiana got flagged just five times. It blocked a punt. It mounted a 3-0 turnover advantage.

That’s how you destroy a good team.

“We’re a smart team,’ Landino said. ‘We don’t make penalties. We’re trying not to make mistakes.’

They don’t beat themselves, while beating you up. They lead the nation in turnover margin. They’re physical, and they’re relentless. When they get up by a few scores, they don’t fall into that pesky trap of letting their foot off the gas. They keep the pedal down.

Take it from Oregon coach Dan Lanning: “They’re complete.”

Bingo.

Zoom out and view this through the big picture, and it’s still hard to believe Indiana, a program synonymous with failure throughout most of its existence, is headed to the national championship game.

Zoom in, and you’ll see a veteran, polished team that’s without weakness and plays with unflinching composure.

“To me, every game is the same,” Cignetti said. “You gotta win the line of scrimmage. You gotta be able to run the ball, stop the run, affect the quarterback, protect the quarterback. And, then, the turnover ratio, which was huge in this game.”

When it was finished, would they admit they accomplished the quest of DYJ?

“I think we took a step,” Landino said.

One more step, and the job will be complete.  

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

The offensive gameplan for the Los Angeles Rams was clear at the start of Saturday’s NFC wild-card game against the Carolina Panthers – find a way to get Puka Nacua the football.

Nacua had three catches, 40 yards and a touchdown on the Rams’ opening drive. On the Rams’ third series, the wideout caught a backwards pass from Matthew Stafford maneuvered around a couple of defenders and found the end zone to give Los Angeles a 14-0 advantage in the second quarter.

Nacua’s second score went down as a 5-yard rushing touchdown.

The third-year wide receiver is coming off another superb regular season. He tallied an NFL-high 129 catches for 1,715 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named an NFL first-team All-Pro for his efforts.

The WNBA collective bargaining agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 9.

The league and players’ union are likely to enter into a status quo period, where they continue to negotiate. In that case, player benefits would continue and a lockout or strike can be declared without notice.

The WNBPA released a statement to USA TODAY Sports, 30 minutes before Friday’s deadline, to voice their disappointment in the pace of the negotiations and explain an inflatable rat positioned in front of the NBA Store in New York.

“At midnight, the 2020 WNBA-WNBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement will expire. Despite demonstrating our willingness to compromise in order to get a deal done, the WNBA and its teams have failed to meet us at the table with the same spirit and seriousness. Instead, they have remained committed to undervaluing player contributions, dismissing player concerns, and running out the clock.

‘Today’s display of an inflatable rat, a universal symbol of labor protest, outside of the NBA Store, calls attention to how the league and its teams have handled these negotiations. By delaying and clinging to the status quo, they are jeopardizing the livelihoods of players and the trust and investment of fans, all in the name of preserving regressive provisions that no longer belong in women’s basketball.

‘Players care deeply about their fans and take pride in honoring that loyalty every time they take the court. The league’s tactics harm current and future players and marginalize the very people who show up for the game in communities across the country.

‘This misguided approach will not work. In the face of the league and teams’ actions, the players remain undeterred, unafraid, and unwavering in their commitment to doing what is necessary to secure a transformational new CBA. This agreement must include a salary system tied to a meaningful share of the revenue that would not exist without player labor, mandate professional working conditions, and require protections that honor the players who built this league and set the next generation up for success.

‘Make no mistake. Pay equity is not optional and progress is long overdue. We urge the league and its teams to meet this moment. The players already have and will continue to do so.”

The WNBA released this statement early Saturday morning:

“The current Collective Bargaining Agreement has expired, and negotiations with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association remain ongoing. As the league experiences a pivotal time of unprecedented popularity and growth, we recognize the importance of building upon that momentum. Our priority is a deal that significantly increases player salaries, enhances the overall player experience, and supports the long-term growth of the league for current and future generations of players and fans.”   

The players have prioritized increased revenue sharing and salary structures in negotiations. The sides differ on whether revenue sharing should be net or gross income, the percentage of the share and the salary cap.

“We’ll continue to negotiate in good faith. It doesn’t mean that on Saturday we’re going to have a lockout, unless the league does something that we’re not prepared for,” New York Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart said Friday on the ‘Good Game with Sarah Spain’ podcast. ‘That’s not going to happen.’

When asked about a timeline to get a deal done, Stewart seemed cautiously optimistic it wouldn’t take too much longer.

“Hopefully, everything can be done by February 1,’ Stewart said. ‘Even if we agree, we still have to wait for the contracts to be written. So there’s a lot to be thinking about. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, you’re done now, it’ll work.’ If we can get by February 1, we’ll all be in a good place.”

Offers could be sent because of labor law

The WNBA has an obligation to allow clubs to send qualifying offers under the expired agreement because of U.S. labor law. According a person with knowledge of the situation, GMs and executives from every franchise have been called by the WNBA to let them know the status quo period would allow for qualifying offers to free agents beginning on Jan. 11. Any offer would be under the old CBA, so it would be purely procedural to stay in line with labor laws. It has been reported by several outlets late Friday there may be a moratorium reached by both sides to avoid going through the motions.

Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Isabeau Levito will represent the U.S. in women’s figure skating at the 2026 Milan Olympics.
An American woman has not won an Olympic figure skating medal since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006.
Amber Glenn won her third consecutive national title at the U.S. championships, a first since Michelle Kwan.

ST. LOUIS — They are friends rather than rivals. They finish each other’s sentences and laugh at each other’s jokes. They stand by the ice and cheer for one other. These three people, great American figure skaters all, are having so much fun that it’s easy to ignore just how formidable an athletic trio they have become.

Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito, the three women who will go to Milan on the 2026 U.S. women’s Olympic figure skating team, will form the greatest American women’s Olympic squad since around the turn of the 21st century, during the Michelle Kwan era, when American women always won Olympic medals.

Since those days, it has been rough going for U.S. women at the Olympics. In fact, it has been 20 years since an American woman won an Olympic figure skating medal — Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006 — but if the plethora of stellar performances in the women’s long program Friday night at the U.S. championships is any indication of what’s to come in Italy, that drought is about to end.

In fact, Glenn said as much after winning her third consecutive national title, the first U.S. woman to do that since Kwan.

“All we’ve got to do is do our job,” said the 26-year-old Glenn, whose first trip to the Olympics comes after years of perseverance and patience in this confounding sport. “As long as we do our programs to the best of our abilities, we cannot control the outcome, but I think the U.S. ladies have come so, so far in the last two decades that if all three of us do our jobs in Milan, then more than likely someone’s going to be up there (on the medal podium). But I think as long as we all stick to what we do best, then we will break that drought.”

They certainly stuck to the script here this week, with one scintillating program after another skated with flair and confidence, and without mistakes, in both Wednesday’s short program and Friday’s long. Although Glenn, Liu and Levito are nowhere near as well known as Kwan and her competitors — Tara Lipinski, Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen — they performed under pressure just like the old guard used to. The past three days here, it was like 1998 or 2002 all over again in U.S. women’s skating, but with tougher jumps.

When it was over, Glenn won with 233.55 points, followed by Liu with 228.91 and Levito with 224.45.

Milan Magic: Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

For decades, there was arguably no more valuable gold medal to be won by an American at an Olympics, winter or summer, than the one given out in women’s figure skating. And Americans got very good at winning it. These names still are some of the most recognizable in sports, at least to their generation: Tenley Albright (1956), Carol Heiss (1960), Peggy Fleming (1968), Dorothy Hamill (1976), Kristi Yamaguchi (1992), Tara Lipinski (1998) and Sarah Hughes (2002). 

And then it stops. That’s it. Skaters from Russia, Japan and South Korea have done the winning over the past two decades, not Americans. Skaters like Mirai Nagasu, Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner got close, but didn’t quite reach the podium. 

But this group — Glenn, Liu and Levito — feels different. Perhaps it’s just the early exuberance of a spectacular nationals competition. But all three of those women will arrive at the Olympics having won national titles: Glenn with her three, Liu with two and Levito with one. 

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Also, for the first time since 2002, the United States will be sending a women’s world champion, Liu — the reigning world champion at that — to the Olympics. The last time that happened at an Olympics was 2002 with Kwan.

These will be heady days for U.S. women’s skating. Predictions will abound. Can one of the three Americans win the gold? Can the U.S. win two of the three women’s medals, as they did most recently in 1998 and 2002? Will one of the three be able to fend off a strong contingent of Japanese women and the latest Russian star, the only Russian female skater who has been allowed into the Games, Adeliia Petrosian?

In February, this conversation gets very real. For now, the possibilities are a long-awaited delight.

Welcome to the last quarter of the first half of Major League Baseball’s 2025-26 offseason.

Or something like that.

One-third of the way into January, the top four free agents remain unsigned, and only a tepid handful of trades have been consummated. With spring training camps opening in exactly one month, USA TODAY Sports examines the biggest needs top contenders may seek to address as the market – presumably, probably, perhaps – heats up:

Blue Jays: Infielder

The team nobody can stop – this winter and, until Game 7 of the World Series, on the field – is still clearly possessing some dry powder. Adding Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto – on a pretty reasonable $60 million deal – is a nice wild card for a lineup seemingly built perfectly for the regular and postseasons.

Of course, that was with Bo Bichette onboard for almost all that run.

Right now, the Blue Jays have a wonderful stew of versatile players who can both rake and move around the diamond. Yet Okamoto remains an unproven stateside – er, continent-side – commodity. Ernie Clement showed well over 157 games and then dominated the postseason – yet seems to flourish moving from point to point on the diamond. It is definitely wise to give Addison Barger some more runway after his playoff heroics – yet he still has a career .301 OBP over two seasons.

Stir Bichette back into this mix and it’s deep and extremely potent.

Yankees: Outfielder

They fell a game short of winning the AL East last season, and the antidote for getting over the hump probably isn’t replacing Jasson Dominguez with Cody Bellinger in the outfield.

No, this drawn-out sparring session between agent Scott Boras and the Yankees isn’t doing the pinstriped heart any favors this winter. Shoot, running it back with Bellinger and Trent Grisham flanking Aaron Judge isn’t any guarantee.

Yet Belli was such a good fit in New York, and as pure a symbiotic relationship as one can imagine.

Tucked around Judge in the lineup and with Yankee Stadium’s right field dimensions well within reach, Bellinger had his best season since a pair of debilitating injuries derailed him following a 47-homer campaign in 2019. His 29 homers was ample Judge coverage and his athleticism provided elite defensive coverage in the corners.

There will be other suitors. But the path for both sides is too clear: The Yankees offering Bellinger a deal that begins with a 2 followed by eight figures, and Bellinger eschewing a commitment that doesn’t extend too far into the next decade.  

Red Sox: Pitcher

Any pitcher, really. Reliever, starter, preferably a lefty.

GM Craig Breslow has done a nice job each of the past two winters procuring an ace or ace-like figure without creating an onerous long-term commitment, grabbing Garrett Crochet (and then extending him on a reasonable deal) and now Sonny Gray. They nudge the potent Brayan Bello to the No. 3 spot – a troika that’s potentially championship-caliber.

But they’ll need many more excellent innings to survive an AL East where (as you’ll notice here) almost everyone’s a contender and acting with appropriate aggression. You don’t necessarily want to rely on Patrick Sandoval’s smooth return from a year of Tommy John recovery. Nor on a bullpen that thins out a great bit after closer Aroldis Chapman and set-up man Garrett Whitlock.

Yet these shortfalls aren’t glaring, and nothing a Seranthony Dominguez, a Danny Coulombe, a Nick Martinez – or another trade – couldn’t solve.

Orioles: No. 1 starter

We’ll keep banging this drum.

The addition of a Framber Valdez, a Ranger Suarez or someone else might have an even greater downstream effect on Baltimore’s rotation than the actual production that arm would bring. As of now, the Orioles have a nice collection of arms, yet almost all come with some limitation.

This is probably the year Kyle Bradish reaches All-Star form – but he’s still innings-limited from elbow surgery. Same with Tyler Wells. Zach Eflin is back, but back surgery will put a crimp in his production early. Dean Kremer remains the innings-eating king.

And lefty Trevor Rogers and trade acquisition Shane Baz are projected to front this whole thing, even if they lack the full-season resumes one would prefer.

It all gets better if 180 to 200 innings are injected from an outside source.

Tigers: Infield bat

In this, the likely last season of Tarik Skubal in Detroit, the Tigers could likely mix and match their way to the top of the AL Central or snag a wild card berth with relative ease. Yet circumstances may dictate that the club simply shouldn’t toss Zach McKinstry, Javy Baez, Colt Keith and Gleyber Torres into a stew and stir it up, hoping enough offense emerges from the steam.

The Tigers were a tale of two halves, batting .252 with a .749 OPS before the All-Star break and .239/.701 after McKinstry, Baez and Torres were honored at the Midsummer Classic. As such, their 14-game Central lead on July 8 vanished and they scraped into the playoffs as the last wild card.

Perhaps an Alex Bregman pursuit is again a futile endeavor. Yet another stick – perhaps one with more predictable contact, such as Luis Arraez, or big power with the punchouts, like Eugenio Suarez – would make the dog days slumps far easier to endure.

Mariners: A starting pitcher

Seriously!

Yeah, what do you get the rotation that has everything? Perhaps just a little insurance for the long haul. The Mariners’ fab five of Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller made between 18 and 32 starts last season, their occasional absences staggered in a manner that ensured they weren’t down too many arms at a time.

Yet even when blessed with talent and relative durability, it’s true that you can never have too much starting pitching. The current No. 6, Emerson Hancock, has had bites at the apple each of the past three seasons, making 31 starts and slipping in almost every major category each passing year.

His story’s not yet written, but still. This club has a beautiful bullpen and a lineup that’s increasingly dynamic as Julio Rodriguez matures and Cal Raleigh dumps baseballs over fences. A swingman to step in for the big five would never hurt.

Astros: Outfielder

Houston’s collective .665 OPS among outfielders ranked in the bottom third of the majors. And GM Dana Brown put rookie Cam Smith on notice early this winter when he said the club hoped to see more consistency and significant growth from him this season.

We’re now past the new year and the group can still use reinforcements. Not that there’s many perfect fits out there, unless the club wants to extend a multi-year commitment to Harrison Bader that the veteran has earned.

Phillies: J.T. Realmuto

Weird offseason. Few could have anticipated the cure for whatever offensive cloud Nick Castellanos produced would be the non-tendered, strikeout-plagued Adolis Garcia. But here we are.

If nothing else, Garcia ensures the mix changes a little, perhaps disrupting the suboptimal mojo hovering over the October Phillies the past two years. But let’s be honest: They threw a helluva punch at the Dodgers, a wheel play and a wayward throw ultimately sending them home. Wholesale changes aren’t really necessary. A galaxy-brained pursuit of Bichette might be too tricky a landing to nail.

And perhaps that’s all to put the heat on Realmuto just a little bit. It’s tricky, trying to assign value to franchise stalwart catcher who turns 35 in March, whose OPS dipped below league average for the first time, yet might still capably catch 130 games from the nursing home.

But it’s a lot simpler for the Phillies to pay the man, and keep intact the rapport with one of the game’s finest rotations, rather than concoct alternate routes to their typical 90-win form.

Braves: Infielder

It’s a nice alignment, with either an All-Star or Gold Glover or Silver Slugger at every position: Matt Olson at first, Ozzie Albies at second, Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop and Austin Riley at third.

But beyond Olson’s 162-game postability, the group is a little older than you think. Kim played in just 48 games last year, Riley 102. Lack of depth crushed this squad a year ago, and while Mauricio Dubón is a nice piece to have on the bench, he’ll more likely be deployed in the outfield against left-handed pitching. It simply would not hurt to add an Isiah Kiner-Falefa-like presence to the bench, if not the man himself.

Mets: Outfielder

The Hedge Fund Kingpin lurketh.

Yeah, it’s a fairly rich subplot to the Bellinger stasis occurring across town that he’s probably even more desperately needed in Queens. Brandon Nimmo has not yet been sufficiently replaced, Tyrone Taylor isn’t an offensively-sufficient center fielder and the natives remain concerned as David Stearns’ offseason makeover remains half-baked.

There’s nothing suggesting it won’t eventually be completely baked – not unlike Ben Braddock’s future plans – but right now the Mets don’t look like contenders. If they’re going to jam econo in the rotation, better spend on offense.

Marlins: A power bat

OK, this is a bit of a contradiction. Power costs money, and the Marlins don’t really spend it, and in fact just traded an arbitration-eligible arm for a rookie bat that’s penciled right into their starting outfield.

But perhaps that’s the point. The Owen Caissies and Jakob Marsees and Kyle Stowerses of the world need a little veteran support –  especially when the club finished 25th in the majors in homers, yet still produced a 56-33 finish the final four months of the season.

Hey, maybe it’s just taking Randal Grichuk for a one-year spin. But the Fish can use a little pop.

Brewers: Starting pitching depth

What do you get the team that has a little bit of everything? The Brewers shook things up a bit in dealing Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to Kansas City, but most of their diverse parts that produced an NL-best 97 wins are back.

You’d like to think that if Freddy Peralta hasn’t been traded by now, they’ll ride with him one last tie at the top of the rotation. Yet the rest of the rotation looks just a little thin.

Oh, not in the actual arms. It’s just that Jacob Misiorowski barely topped 130 innings, including minor leagues and playoffs, last season. Chad Patrick reached 161. Brendan Woodruff built himself back to 64 2/3 innings and should be set for a full veteran load.

But it’s not like they couldn’t use another arm to fill the Jose Quintana role. Hmm…

Cubs: Infielder

We are once again intrigued by the notion of this club adding Alex Bregman.

It doesn’t seem likely they’d win a bidding war with the Boston Red Sox, but the two once-cursed franchises also go about their business in increasingly curious, ostensibly “sustainable” ways these days. The staring contest might last into February.

Meanwhile, Cubs third basemen finished 29th in OPS (.621) and 27th in homers (11). It’s possible Matt Shaw is the answer. It’s also possible there’s more growing pains ahead and besides, second baseman Nico Hoerner is a free agent after this season.

Reds: A bat, any bat

The population of Middletown, Ohio is 51,000, though you might have imagined it was 50 million given that the appeal of free agent Kyle Schwarber to the Reds was at least tied up in the fact he’s a native of that fine municipality.

Ah, well. There’s always next year to upgrade the offense.

Or so it seems. Adding outfielders JJ Bleday and Dane Myers to the mix can’t be it, right? That would leave way too much assumption that holdovers will take significant steps forward in both production and health.

That’s not out of the question – keep an eye on Noelvi Marte, in particular  – but this group needs and deserves an add beyond simply a regionally convenient slugger who was a longshot to sign there, anyway.

Dodgers: Outfielder

Yet another Bellinger stalking horse.

The big-ticket fixes may not fix – with the club apparently interested in elite free agent Kyle Tucker on only a short-term, big-salary deal. Others may value and need Bellinger more.

But as we stand here in Rams playoff season, the Dodgers’ center and left field pool consists of Andy Pages, Tommy Edman/Hyeseong Kim (who’d play second and push Edman to center) and reserve outfielder Alex Call. (Kiké Hernández figures to re-join the party at some point).

Not exactly an alignment that dovetails with an otherwise half-billion dollar collection of talent. They’ll figure it out. Question is how large a splash they’ll make.

Diamondbacks: Infielder

So you’re not gonna trade Ketel Marte?

The baseball world may not fully believe that until the three-time All-Star trots out to second base at Dodger Stadium March 26 (on NBC/Peacock, if you’re a stickler for logistics). Either way, people tend to forget that this is a club that won 80, 89 and 84 games the past three seasons and thus figures to be competitive.

At the moment, youngster Jordan Lawlar – still a prospect, we gather – is penciled in at third. The bench is a bit thin. GM Mike Hazen could still receive a Marte offer he cannot refuse. Yet another club that makes sense for Bregman but Arizona may not have the motive nor money to be anything but a fallback option to the big boys.

Padres: Hitter

They’re not broke yet, it seems. Aiming for their fourth playoff berth in five years, the Padres managed to retain Michael King on an opt-out heavy $75 million deal. That gives them a nice top-rotation look along with Nick Pivetta, who like King was signed to a creatively-constructed deal.

Is there any cash in the till for the lineup?

They’re relying on 29-year-old KBO signee Sung-Mun Song to capture the majority of at-bats at second base; he rapped 67 extra-base hits in his final season in South Korea. For Ramon Laureano and Gavin Sheets to continue their early-30-s revival, and Manny Machado to man nearly 150 games at third base.

Reasonable asks. But it’d be silly to leave the offense so thin with so much already invested.

Giants: Outfielder

No splash hits this winter from the banks of McCovey Cove, where the prudent and potentially solid additions of right-handers Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser to the rotation have grabbed most of the attention.

That leaves significant vacancies at second base and right field, the latter for now tenuously reserved for erstwhile prospect Luis Matos, who totes a career .231/.281/.369 line over three cameos the past three years.

A club that’s added the nine-figure deals of Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers in recent years could really use Bellinger, though the Arizona native would really have to be yearning for the West to accept that kind of OPS punishment. Yet another team that might not be a bad fit for Bader, who could play an elite center field and allow Jung Hoo Lee to slide to right field.