There will be no need for scoreboard watching when the National League

West leaders meet Monday at Dodger Stadium http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , at least not the out-of-town scoreboard anyway.The first-place Colorado Rockies and the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers will begin their final three-game series of the season against each other. The Dodgers are the five-time defending division champions, which makes the Rockies the upstarts in the chase.To combat the Dodgers’ experience in situations like a key late-game series, Rockies manager Bud Black will lean more on his veterans over the next few weeks.Article continues below ...“The guys who have been in Septembers before, you’ll see that,” Black said, according to the Denver Post. “Probably, for the most part, when teams have that experience, teams use it.”The Rockies will head into the duel coming off a 3-2 victory at San Francisco, but over its last 10 games, Colorado has lost as many it has won. The Rockies had been shut out for 20 consecutive innings before scoring three times in the second inning Sunday.The Dodgers, meanwhile, will enter their final homestand of the season coming off a 6-4 road trip that inexplicably included two losses at Cincinnati against the last-place Reds and ended with a 5-0 loss at St. Louis on Sunday. The Dodgers won two-of-three games at Colorado to start that trip.The Dodgers are in a fight for the division now, in part because of their 1-6 record against the lowly Reds this year. But they have four consecutive division opponents on the schedule to close out the season, giving them a chance to decide things on their own terms.“We knew all along we controlled our own destiny,” manager Dave Roberts said, according to the Los Angeles Times http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , when the Dodgers took over first place with a 17-4 victory Saturday at St. Louis.Jon Gray (11-7, 4.80 ERA) will pitch in the series opener for the Rockies, and while he has helped the Rockies to a 9-2 record in his 11 starts since returning from a Triple-A demotion, he has a 5.59 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers this year.The Dodgers will counter with left-hander Hyun Jin-Ryu (4-3 2.42), who has a 2.67 ERA in six starts since returning from the disabled list because of a groin strain. But the Dodgers are just 3-3 in those games and Ryu was the losing pitcher in one of those defeats at Cincinnati.And in those six Ryu starts, he has not gone over 89 pitches in any of them, creating reliance on a bullpen that has struggled at times and has dominating at other times over the last six weeks.After Ryu pitches, the Dodgers will close out the series with their two best pitchers: veteran Clayton Kershaw and rookie Walker Buehler. If the Dodgers can win the opener their confidence will only soar from there. Kershaw and Buehler both pitched the Dodgers to a victory at St. Louis.In 10 career starts against the Dodgers, Gray is 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA over 51 2/3 innings. In nine career starts against the Rockies, Ryu is just 3-6 with a 5.77 ERA over 43 2/3 innings. John McCoy/Getty ImagesThe MLB offseason is underway, and free agency will begin in earnest on Saturday, Nov. 3 after the five-day exclusive negotiating period with free agents ends.With no salary cap in baseball, free agency doesn't move quite as quickly as it does in the NBA or NFL, but the rumor mill should kick into full swing as teams start reaching out to top free agents.In the meantime, ahead is a look at some of the notable rumors that have trickled out recently:Bryce Harper'Not Part of the Plan' for the YankeesDustin Bradford/Getty ImagesDespite years of speculation, it's sounding less and less like Bryce Harper will be wearing Yankees pinstripes.Andy Martinoof SNY.tv recently wrote: "As the Yankees wrapped their pro scouting meetings last week and determined a preliminary offseason strategy, a pursuit of free-agent outfielderBryce Harperwas not part of the plan http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , according to major league sources."It makes sense given the current roster makeup.Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks should return in the starting right field and center field spots, respectively.Giancarlo Stanton is also back, and while he spent the bulk of his time at DH in his first season with the Yankees, he's a solid defensive outfielder and could see more time with the glove in 2019.The Yankees also hold a $12.5 million club option on Brett Gardner, and even if it's declined, the team could look to re-sign its longest-tenured player at a lower price point.Jacoby Ellsbury is also still on the books, and a healthy Clint Frazier is capable of making an impact.Down on the farm, touted outfield prospect Estevan Florialfinished the 2018 season at High-A and could be in the majors by 2020, so not blocking his path could also be on the team's mind.If they were dead set on adding Harper, they could find a way to make him fit.That said, it makes perfect sense that the Yankees would be prioritizing other things, especially with a clear need to bolster the starting rotation.So where will Harper wind up?Nick Cafardo of theBoston Globenamed the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants as his three most likely landing spots earlier this month. Yankees also just 'lukewarm' on Manny MachadoSean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesSo if the Yankees aren't planning on making a serious push for Harper, that has to up their odds of signing Manny Machado, right?Maybe not.In another article on the team's offseason plans, Martino wrote: "But we are here to tell you that the baseball operations and scouting departments, which spent most of last week meeting to plot an offseason strategy Glenn Robinson Jersey , was not impressed by Machado's postseason antics, and are now "lukewarm" on pursuing the former Oriole and Dodger, according to major league sources."He added: "As the team watched this postseason, and weighed it against what they already feared about Machado hat he didn't always run out ground balls, that opponents thought he was a dirty player hey became even more wary of committing to him for the better part of a decade."From a roster standpoint, Machado is also by no means an obvious fit.Didi Gregorius and Miguel Andujar both played well on the left side of the infield for the Yankees this season.Granted, Gregorius is a free agent after the 2019 season and Andujar might eventually need to move off the hot corner if his defense doesn't improve, but both players appear to have earned the starting spots going forward.If the market doesn't unfold as expected, the Yankees could still jump at the chance to get involved, but for now, Machado doesn't appear to be a priority.Instead, expect the Yankees to be in hot pursuit of top starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, as well as guys like Dallas Keuchel, J.A. Happ and Charlie Morton as they look to fill out the starting rotation behind Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka.Standout reliever David Robertson is also a free agent, which could be reason enough to pursue a late-inning relief arm. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.