Sunderland stay bottom of the Premier League table after a hard-fought goalless draw played in horrible conditions
1 min Peep peep! Leeds, in their yellow change strip, kick off from left to right as we watch.
Prokofiev is on the tannoy at the Stadium of Light, which means the teams are about to take the field.
Continue reading...Sale centre returns after ending his two-year spell in France
Gloucester’s Will Joseph also in Steve Borthwick’s 36-man squad
Joe Marchant has been recalled to England’s training squad for next month’s Nations Championship as Steve Borthwick faces injury disruption to his midfield options.
Marchant receives his first England call-up since the 2023 World Cup after his two-year spell at Stade Français ended with his return to the Gallagher Prem with Sale this season, making him available for selection once again.
Continue reading...England blow victory chance after hosts were 154 for nine
Shadab makes unbeaten 113 as he and Haris Rauf win thriller
Shadab Khan whipped the rug from under England’s boots with an eye-popping blitz of boundary-peppering when hope was lost, turning an English sure-thing into defeat and guaranteeing Pakistan a place in the tri-series final.
With Pakistan 154 for nine in their run-chase, 88 away from victory, queues built for the exits. But Shadab had other ideas, and with Haris Rauf, seven from 19 balls, providing adhesive company, went on the rampage. Drama doubled when he was given out lbw to a full toss on 97, and had started to walk off, hands shaken with England, before an inside edge was discovered on review.
Continue reading...Hull’s unbeaten home record remains intact but the Tigers have not tasted victory for seven games after this draw with Brentford.
The opening goal came courtesy of a 24th-minute Oli McBurnie penalty, awarded when Aaron Hickey flattened Tim Iroegbunam while trying to hook the ball away.
Continue reading...After Bruno Fernandes was dropped for “pure football” reasons – according to Michael Carrick – could Manchester United actually win a game of football?
The answer, again, was a resounding, humiliating no, and if the manager’s job remains in real peril, you have to wonder, too, if this beleaguered team should steel themselves for a relegation dogfight. They lack imagination, cohesion, fight, confidence and anything resembling joy, and so now, hovering above the drop zone, survival cannot be taken for granted.
Continue reading...NEWS & NOTES
Old Friend Kirill Marchenko Can Expect Very Loud Boo's TonightTHN-Columbus Poll - Will You Be Booing Kirill Marchenko?The next question is: How will the CBJ faithful treat Marchenko when he's introduced and when he's on the ice? I'm guessing very loud boos. He'll smile and act like it doesn't bother him, of course, but deep down, Kirill Marchenko loves to be loved, so this might affect him a tad.
Why Blue Jackets' Matthew Knies Could Bounce Back vs. Maple LeafsMatthew Knies is set to face off against his former team on Tuesday and a bounce-back game could be on the way.Knies is entering this game in the middle of a cold streak. After starting the season with two goals and two assists in his first two games, he has gone five straight games without a point. Thus, the Blue Jackets forward is due for a bounce-back game, and it would not be surprising if it happens against the Maple Leafs.
Dmitri Voronkov Trade Scenarios: Calgary FlamesWith the rumors that the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> are <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/latest-news/report-blue-jackets-power-forward-available-for-trade">shopping Dmitri Voronkov</a>, we thought we'd go ahead and rip the band-aid off and start looking at possible teams to trade him to and the returns.
CALGARY FLAMES RECEIVE:
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS RECEIVE:
You Can't Have It Both Ways, Or Can You? The NHL's Double Standard On Booing Returning PlayersThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> and their fans welcomed Kirill Marchenko back into Nationwide Arena this past Tuesday.
Some even questioned whether or not they should be booing at all. They said that even though he asked out, it was the team's fault for him wanting out. Fair, but he still refused to re-sign here. Most fans, however, said he would get booed for asking out and not even giving the Jackets a chance to sign him.
Dmitri Voronkov Trade Scenarios: St. Louis Blues With the rumors that the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> are <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/latest-news/report-blue-jackets-power-forward-available-for-trade">shopping Dmitri Voronkov</a>, we thought we'd go ahead and rip the band-aid off and start looking at possible teams to trade him to and the returns.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS RECEIVE:
ST. LOUIS BLUES RECEIVE:
Metro Division Foe To Land Superstar Goalie Connor HellebuyckThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> are already in a tough division, and the way this year has started, it's going to get even tougher.
The Blue Jackets will now have to contend with Connor Hellebuyck, Brandon Bussi, Pyotr Kochetkov, Ilya Sorokin, Semyon Varlamov, Charlie Lindgren, Logan Thompson, and, when he's healthy, Igor Shesterkin.
GAME PREVIEWS & RECAPS
Columbus Blue Jackets (6 pts) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (10 pts) Game PreviewThe <a href="http://thn.com/columbus" target="_blank">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> are back at home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7:00 PM.
Series History vs. TheMaple Leafs
Columbus Blue Jackets Lines, Defensive Pairings, & Scratches For Tonight's Game vs. Toronto Maple LeafsThe Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7:00 PM. 
Toronto's Second Period Onslaught Dooms Columbus, Marchenko Scores In Return To Nationwide ArenaThe Blue Jackets are now 3-5 this season. Jake Christiansen(1) and Charlie Coyle(1) scored the goals for Columbus in a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jet Greaves had a bad night and only stopped 14 of 19 Leafs shots. He was pulled for Cam Talbot, who gave up a goal on 3 shots.
Columbus Blue Jackets (6 pts) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (16 pts) Game PreviewThe Blue Jackets are 7-6-1 overall, and 4-3-1 at home vs. Vegas.Series History vs. TheGolden Knights
Columbus Blue Jackets Lines, Defensive Pairings, & Scratches For Tonight's Game vs. Vegas Golden KnightsThe Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home to face the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at 7:00 PM. 
Adam Fantilli's OT Winner Busts Losing Streak, Sends Vegas To Third Straight LossThe Blue Jackets' record now sits at 4-5. Denton Mateychuk(2) opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets, and Adam Fantilli(3-PP-GWG) finished off the Vegas Golden Knights just 59 seconds into the OT period to send the VGK home with a third straight loss. The win by Columbus also stops a 2-game losing streak.
Goalie Cam Talbot played exceptionally well, picking up his second win of the season by stopping 26 of 27 shots from the high-powered VGK.
Columbus was able to keep up with the Golden Knights for the most part and was able to grind out the win.
Next Up For Columbus: The Blue Jackets are on the road to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
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The Rangers are adding goalie depth, signing James Reimer to a one-year deal.
Reimer recently joined the organization on an AHL tryout as the Blueshirts looked to bring in more experience at the position after losing All-Star starter Igor Shesterkin for the rest of the season.
The veteran stopped all 35 shots he faced, recording a shutout in his lone appearance with Hartford.
Now Reimer receives an opportunity in the pros, looking to provide some relief for rookie Dylan Garand, who has seemingly hit a wall after starting each of the last seven games.
Garand's allowed five goals in back-to-back contests, both of which resulted in losses.
As for Reimer, the 38-year-old last appeared in the NHL last season, recording a 2.42 GAA and .886 save percentage across 14 appearances with the Senators.
He's also spent time with the Maple Leafs, Panthers, Hurricanes, Sharks, Red Wings, Ducks, and Sabres over the course of his 16-year NHL career.
As part of the fanfare that comes with hosting an outdoor game, the city of Winnipeg hosted an old-timer’s game between the former Montreal Canadiens and the former Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Center on Saturday night. With nothing but pride and bragging rights on the line, fans who made it to the game got a good show and didn’t regret it.
The Habs alumni, coached by former blueliner and now media personality P.K. Subban, won 7-4 over the Jets alumni. The bench boss had plenty of talent to draw on, with Paul Byron, David Desharnais, Guillaume Latendresse, and Andrei Markov lacing them up for the Sainte-Flanelle. In net, Montreal chose the 2011 playoff hero, Jaroslav Halak, and Yan Danis, and it proved a winning formula.
Game 11 – Canadiens vs. Jets: Taking It Outside
Canadiens Alumni Kick Off Heritage Classic Celebrations
Canadiens: Let The Dominoes Fall
Desharnais, who spent part of 10 NHL seasons in the Canadiens’ organization, led the charge with four points in a 7-4 triumph, a total matched by linemate Guillaume Latendresse on a line completed by Erik Cole. The big number 84 scored a brace like Byron, while Desharnais, David Savard and Cole also found the back of the net, with the latter scoring on an empty net.
Meanwhile, Ron Hainsey, Mark Stuart, Anthony Peluso and Blake Wheeler beat the Canadiens’ goaltenders, but it wasn't enough to give the home side a win. Andrew Hutchinson and Jason Kasdorf were the locals’ netminders.
With that game in the books, the two NHL teams can now get down to business at Princess Auto Stadium. The Jets will try to right the ship after four straight losses, while the Canadiens will try to build momentum after returning to winning ways Friday night. The puck drops at 7:00 PM for a game that will hopefully live up to its Heritage Classic billing.
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The Colorado Avalanche, fresh off a victory at home on Friday, are back on the road!
Tonight, they’ll take on the Nashville Predators in a matchup featuring some very familiar faces wearing opposing colors.
The Opponent: Nashville Predators (3-3-4)
Time: 6:00 P.M. MDT/8:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), SCRIPPS (Nashville Local Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas – US), SN+, NHL Centre Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas – Canada)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
The Avs defeated the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 on Friday night, snapping a two game losing streak. Nathan MacKinnon, who had been held off the scoresheet during the team’s back-to-back road games, led the way with a four point effort (1G/3A). Artturi Lehkonen scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season, which stood as the game-winner, and Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside thirty-one of thirty-four shots to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Friday’s game also marked the return of Logan O’Connor to the lineup. O’Connor, who had missed the first ten games of the season with injury, skated on a line with Parker Kelly and Taylor Makar, who had been called up from Loveland earlier in the day.
In comments on Saturday, head coach Jared Bednar again highlighted the progress his team has made and the hurdles of putting together a complete effort from start to finish. “Leading into those two games [on the road], I was starting to like where our game was coming. It was just a matter of putting together a full sixty. We went the other way, and then last night, I felt that was probably, like, as close as we could get to a full sixty even with the disruption of flow with all the penalties in the second period.”
Bednar also stated on Saturday that Nicolas Roy would accompany the team to Nashville, although he’s considered “questionable but doubtful” for playing on Sunday. As for the injured Zachary L’Heureux, he’s still considered “week-to-week”, but no timetable exists for his return. Taylor Makar also will be on the road trip.
MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (20) and assists (13), and trails Lehkonen for the team lead in goals (7). Fedor Svechkov, who was drafted by Nashville in 2021, played the previous two seasons with the Predators before being acquired by the Avs, along with L’Heureux, during the offseason.
The Avs split the season series against Nashville last season, with both teams splitting victories at home and on the road.
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nazem Kadri
Jaden Schwartz – Fedor Svechkov – T.J. Hughes
Logan O’Connor – Parker Kelly – Taylor Makar
Defense:
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
A decade ago, Nashville was at the height of its powers as a Stanley Cup contender. They made their first (and so far, only) appearance in the Stanley Cup Final back in 2017, only to lose to the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Since then, Nashville has only advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs once, lost in the first round four times, and missed the playoffs three of the past four seasons. With general manager Barry Trotz stepping down at the end of last season, the organization wanted someone that had prior success in reshaping a roster into a legitimate playoff threat.
On June 02, they had their man: Chris MacFarland, who spent the previous four seasons as Colorado’s general manager, was brought in as Nashville’s general manager and president of hockey operations. On June 05, former Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake was hired on as vice president of hockey operations. With both men having had success in Colorado at the executive and player levels now in place, a very busy summer was about to start in Smashville.
Nashville acquired left wing Ross Colton and goaltender Isak Posch from Colorado in exchange for Nashville’s third round pick in this year’s draft, Colorado’s own third round pick in the 2027 draft, and goaltender Magnus Chrona on June 16. Eight days later, Nashville acquired center Jack Drury from Colorado along with left wing Chase Bradley and Colorado’s third round pick in 2029 in exchange for left wing Zachary L’Heureux and center Fedor Svechkov.
Drury signed a five year, $22.5 million dollar contract extension on June 29. That same day, Nashville traded Colorado’s 2029 third round pick it had acquired in the Drury deal to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for left wing Nils Höglander. Prior to the start of free agency, center Adam Enstrom was acquired from the New York Rangers on June 27 in exchange for center Massimo Rizzo and Edmonton’s fifth round pick in 2029.
As free agency began, MacFarland set his sights on another Central Division rival. On July 01, he acquired right wing Mavrik Bourque and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Nashville’s 2027 second round pick and Vegas’ third round pick in 2028. Three days later, Bourque signed a six-year, $33 million dollar contract with Nashville.
Despite their refreshed roster, Nashville has gotten off to a decidedly lukewarm start, sporting a 3-3-4 record through their first ten games of the season. However, they’ve also lost five of their previous six games, with their most recent loss coming last night in overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. With goaltender Juuse Saros starting in goal against Pittsburgh, goaltender Justus Annunen will likely get the call against his former club, who will be well rested and ready when the teams take the ice tonight.
Steven Stamkos leads all Nashville skaters in points (11) and goals (5), captain Roman Josi leads the team in assists (8). Nicolas Hague leads all Nashville skaters in penalty minutes (13). Saros is credited with all three of Nashville’s wins this season. Annunen has played only one game this season with Nashville, having spent some time on injured reserve earlier this season.
Despite this game having all the markings of a schedule loss for Nashville, a win tonight could pull them one point behind Colorado in the Central Division standings.
Tonight’s game marks the beginning of a five game home stand at Bridgestone Arena, and their start of their four game series with Colorado.
Forwards:
Steven Stamkos – Ryan O’Reilly – Matthew Wood
Filip Forsberg – Mavrik Bourque – Jonathan Marchessault
Daemon Hunt – Alex Kerfoot – Nils Höglander
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Adam Edstrom
Defense:
Roman Josi – Adam Wilsby
Nicolas Hague – Jayden Struble
Brady Skjei – Reid Schaefer
Between the Pipes:
Justus Annunen
Juuse Saros
Here is a player who epitomizes the Cubs’ pitching infrastructure.
The Cubs don’t have a lot of guys who throw hard. But Hunter Harvey does!
Or… sometimes does, because he’s more injured than not. He was the Orioles’ No. 1 pick (22nd overall) out of high school in North Carolina in 2018. He’s got a pedigree — his dad, Bryan Harvey, was second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1988 and was a two-time All-Star, leading the AL in saves with 46 in 1991 — before he was injured and his career essentially ended at age 30. Bryan Harvey pitched in only a handful of games after that.
Hunter? Same thing. He wound up with the Nationals in 2022 and had two good years there, with 20 saves for them in 2023. But his numbers dived south in 2024 and since then he has pitched in 12 MLB games… which is exactly the number of games his dad pitched in 1994, his second-to-last season.
Bryan Harvey pitched in one game for the Marlins in 1995 and was done.
Hunter Harvey pitched in four games for the Cubs in 2026. Yes, really, he did! If you blinked while it was cold out, you probably missed it. Two of the games were at Wrigley Field, and the photo at the top is photographic proof of that, but you might have missed those too, as it was pretty cold both those days.
His last appearance was April 8, a scoreless inning against the Rays in a 6-2 win. Here’s the strikeout that was the final out in that game [VIDEO].
Hunter Harvey faced 18 batters in a Cubs uniform, recording 12 outs. For that they paid him $6 million. That’s $500,000 per out.
That’s $6 million wasted. Jed Hoyer should not have made this signing, knowing that this was a very possible outcome. There is a mutual option for $8 million for next year that Hoyer should decline at the first opportunity.
And learn the lesson to not to stuff like this anymore.
Good morning, folks…
The Brewers beat the Rays last night by a score of 5-4, giving them a 2-0 lead as the series now heads back to Tampa.
Cody Stavenhagen writes about how the presence Bob Uecker, who passed away in 2025, is still felt by the Brewers.
In non-baseball happenings, 20 year old Kimi Antonelli can clinch the F-1 Driver’s Championship this afternoon in Austin at the United States Grand Prix.
David Laurila has his Sunday Notes column up at Fangraphs.
Like everyone else, the ALDS and the conclusion to the Yankees’ 2026 season left me very frustrated. It just feels like another year of missed chances with a roster that is good, but not good enough as it probably should be. There will always be moves made and unmade that you can look back on that you wish you could go back over. However, there’s no way to really do that… except in the fictional world.
I decided to take out my frustration at the end of the season in the only way in which I have a real way to: using the MLB The Show video game. Messing around with the game, I wanted to see how many pieces the Yankees truly were away from maybe winning the World Series. None of this is completely realistic, but that’s not the point, I wanted to use the Yankees to put a hurt on some teams. With that in mind, here is my experiment.
To start, let’s upgrade the Yankees’ weakest position, both in the game and arguably in real life this year: third base. To do that, we’ll not only add to the Yankees but weaken their biggest enemies this year by taking Junior Caminero from the Rays.
The Caminero addition doesn’t help the Yankees avoid a slow start to the season, as they’re hovering around .500 well into June. However, they play good baseball after that, finishing 91-71 and getting the top AL Wild Card. The Rays are significantly weakened without their star, but the Yankees still fall short of the Blue Jays.
Judge stays fully healthy and hits over 50 homers, with Caminero hitting 41 himself. However, this universe’s Cam Schlittler struggles to a 5.00 ERA, while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón both throw less than 10 innings in the regular season due to injury. Max Fried picks up the slack, putting up a nice season though. In the end, this universe’s 2026 ends like the real universe’s 2025: the Yankees lose to Toronto in four in the ALDS. The Dodgers end up completing the three-peat, beating the Royals (???) in the World Series.
For round two, we decide to shore up the designated hitter spot and take the guy who will likely win this year’s AL MVP in Yordan Alvarez.
Despite that, the Yankees again go just 91-71. Alvarez isn’t really the issue, as he posts a .898 OPS with 32 home runs. This time, they’re severely hampered by Caminero missing over 100 games with injury, and Amed Rosario struggles in his place. However this time around, those 91 wins are enough to take the AL East.
This time with home field advantage, the Yankees again take on the Blue Jays in the ALDS. This series goes all the way to Game 5, and features a wild ending. Taking a 2-0 lead into the ninth, David Bednar coughs up three runs to put the Jays three outs away. However, the Yankees rally in the ninth, scoring twice with Austin Wells getting a walk-off, series winning hit to move onto the ALCS.
In the ALCS, the Yankees face the Mariners, who put up the top record in the AL. The series again goes to the final game and is also decided by one run, albeit not in as dramatic circumstances. A 5-4 Yankees win in Seattle sends the Yankees to the World Series, with Bednar recording the save this time around.
In the Fall Classic, the Yankees dispatch the Cubs in five games, winning Game 5 after failing to sweep the series. The latest addition, Alvarez, proves to be a very big one. He goes 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in the clinching win. He OPSed .912 in the postseason in general. Cody Bellinger ended up winning the World Series MVP though, having homered and drove home three runs in the clinching Game 5 win.
So that’s what it would apparently take for this Yankees’ roster to get over the hump and win the World Series, but I’m still out for blood. I want to know what it will take for the Yankees to get towards record setting territory. While I’m hopeful about George Lombard Jr., we can still upgrade that spot even if he turns out pretty good. Let’s go get the best shortstop in baseball.
An 8.7 WAR season from Witt — and 6.0 from Austin Wells??? — gets the Yankees to 100-62, but an ALCS loss to the Mariners. Now, it’s time to go in for the kill.
Doing all that apparently only gets the Yankees to 106-56. That may have to do with the fact that somehow Mark Leiter Jr. reappeared on the roster.
While it takes six games, the Yankees do end up taking the World Series over the Brewers.
While the Yankees’ roster is now excellent, the depth still lacks. Plus, we’ve been leaving “budgets” on, and we should not have to follow those. Let’s go truly nuts.
The Yankees now have the top rated depth chart at every position except for first base. As far as that goes, I don’t want to trade Ben Rice, and we can’t upgrade Paul Goldschmidt until June 15th as he was an offseason free agency signing. Once that deadline goes past, I decide to make a further move as the team is still not good enough for my liking.
Finally now have we assembled a truly unstoppable team. It’s baseball, so they still end up losing over 40 games, but this version of the Yankees goes 119-43. They score 985 runs on the season which is over six per game. They drop just four total games over their three playoff series. Two come in the ALCS against the Twins, which seems unrealistic for several reasons. However, I now feel better about things, at least until I turn off my XBOX.
Hi there, just trying something new, only for this season review. You’ll see the Spanish version I wrote below the English version. If you don’t speak Spanish, just scroll past it.
Saludos, probamos algo nuevo, pero es sólo para esta revista. La versión en español está debajo de la versión en inglés. Muchas gracias por su paciencia si hay error.
Luis Torrens capped off a successful 2026 with his second consecutive Gold Glove nomination. It is well-deserved, as he once again demonstrated his defensive acumen and, presumably, vibe. Although he was technically the backup catcher, he started 74 games and participated in a total of 86 games at the position. During his season, he also cemented himself as a steady hand for veteran and rookie pitchers alike.
After Francisco Alvarez tore his meniscus in May, Torrens took over as the starting catcher, and Hayden Senger joined him as his backup. During this time and throughout 2026, Torrens’ defensive metrics were elite. His DRS was 12 (17.8/1000 innings), his FRV was 10 (14.8/1000 innings), and he caught 17 runners stealing. In addition, his pop time was 1.86 seconds. It is no surprise that he was considered one of the best, if not the best defensive catchers in the league.
Pitchers also had success with Torrens behind the plate. It is difficult to do a comprehensive analysis of pitcher/catcher splits due to a variety of factors affecting pitchers, such as other players on the field, ballpark factors, weather conditions, and potential injuries at play. That said, pitchers complimented Torrens’ pitch calling and game management. It can also be noted that his catcher ERA was 3.74, lower than Alvarez’s at 4.54.
Despite typically being lauded for his defensive prowess, Torrens also broke out offensively in August. In 14 games, he hit six of his nine home runs, and raised his OPS from .602 at the beginning of August to .701 at the beginning of September. He hit .235/.295/.396 for the season.
And don’t forget that he pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two runs for an ERA of 7.71. For some reason, he also played 3.0 innings at first base. Maybe this contributed to his overall fWAR of 2.1; maybe not.
Torrens’ overall performance meant it was not surprising that the Mets offered him a two-year, $11.5 million contract to return through 2028. He signed in May, presumably to remain as the Mets’ backup catcher. With so many things now up in the air, it’s nice to think that he will return with the Mets when baseball returns.
Luis Torrens tuvo una campaña exitosa en 2026 y fue nombrado finalista al Gold Glove por segundo año consecutivo, un honor muy bien merecido. A pesar de ser el cátcher suplente, fue el titular en 74 partidos y participó como cátcher en 86 partidos. Se ha establecido como una presencia firme y estable detrás del plato y con los pícheres veteranos y bisoños.
Cuando Francisco Álvarez se desgarró el menisco en mayo, Torrens se hizo el titular, con Hayden Senger como suplente. Mientras era titular y durante todo 2026, sus números defensivos fueron magníficos. Tenía DRS de 12 (17.8/1000 entradas), FRV de 10 (14.8/1000 entradas), y atrapó a 17 corredores robando. Su tiempo de tiro a segunda (pop time) fue de 1.86 segundos. No es sorpresa que Torrens sea considerado uno de los mejores, si no el mejor, cátcheres defensivos en MLB.
Los pícheres tenían mucho éxito cuando Torrens estaba detrás del plato, también. Aunque un análisis completo es bastante difícil a causa de la variedad de factores que afectan a los pícheres, como los otros jugadores, los estadios diferentes, el tiempo, lesiones, etc., podemos decir que los pícheres elogiaban sus habilidades. Su ERA durante el año con Torrens fue de 3.74; en comparación, con Álvarez fue de 4.54.
Torrens era más conocido por su talento defensivo durante esta campaña, pero al final del verano también se encendió ofensivamente. Él participó en 14 partidos en agosto, y golpeó seis jonrones, subiendo su OPS desde .602 al principio de agosto a .703 al principio de septiembre. En toda la campaña, él bateó para .235/.295/.396.
Y no se nos olvide que Torrens también fue pícher por 2.1 entradas este año. Permitió dos carreras para una ERA de 7.71 y jugó en la primera base por 3.0 entradas. ¿Por qué? No sabemos. Quizás contribuye a su fWAR de 2.1, o quizás no.
Su conjunto de obras en 2026 demostró por qué los Mets decidieron ofrecerle a Torrens un contrato rico para quedarse como suplente por dos años más. En mayo, él firmó un contrato de $11,5 millones hasta 2028. Con todo lo que pueda cambiar ahora, es buena noticia saber que Torrens volverá a los Mets cuando el béisbol vuelva.
The final call in last night’s World Series Game 2 has sparked some controversy. Yandy Díaz got crossed up by an Aaron Ashby curve and was called for a swing on the appeal down to first, a call that Díaz disagreed with. I believe that the moment is way too big to allow a judgement call be the deciding factor, and while it’s easier said than done, you have to swing or get off the pot. Do you think he swung? Do you think he didn’t swing? Do you think if you stare into the abyss long enough it stares back? These are the important questions of our time.
Happy Sunday everybody!
Scoring three in the first and on the back of a dominant, albeit short start by Dodger farmhand Luke Fox, the Desert Dogs outlasted the Scorpions in a one-run win by a score of 5-4. Fox covered three frames, allowing a single run, recording six of his nine outs via strikeout, setting the tone for an overpowering 15 punchouts by the Desert Dogs pitching staff. For a pitcher who so heavily relied on strikeouts, Fox was relatively efficient, averaging a tad over 16 pitches per inning.
Fox wasn’t the only Dodger to start off this game strong, as Glendale opened the scoring in the first thanks to a leadoff home run by Charles Davalan, who got the nod at second base. The solo shot would be the only time he would get on base in this game and represent his second home run in the AFL.
Batting cleanup and playing first base, Chase Harlan didn’t record a hit but scored a run with a walk on four plate appearances. While Davalan’s numbers have been underwhelming as a whole, only Caleb Bonemer has an OPS higher than Harlan’s (.963) in the Desert Dogs lineup.
Sunday is an off-day in the AFL, and the Glendale Desert Dogs return to the field on Monday at 1:30 p.m. (PT) to welcome the Mesa Solar Sox in the matchup of the only two teams with a losing record in the league.