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Mark Vientos to miss time with fractured hand

Jul 4, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; New York Mets first baseman Mark Vientos (27) hits a two-run home run against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Colin Hubbard-Imagn Images | Colin Hubbard-Imagn Images

Mark Vientos, who was hit by a pitch on the hand in the second inning of today’s win over the Kansas City Royals, is set to miss a chunk of time. Interim manager Andy Green announced in his post-game press conference that he suffered a hand fracture, and he will be placed on the injured list.

Vientos has hardly had a season to write home about, and this is another roadblock for the right handed hitter. He will hit the injured list with a slash line of .211/.256/.388, good for a 77 wRC+ on the year. He also has struggled in the field throughout the season, earning a stunning -8 outs above average on the year (-9 at first base, and +1 at third base). Overall, it has been a season to forget for him.

The Mets have a fair few options to recall someone in Vientos’s place. The Syracuse Mets infield has options such as Christian Arroyo, Vidal Bruján, Ronny Maruicio, Christopher Morel, Zach Short and Ryan Clifford, all players who have Major League experience or, in Clifford’s case, are interesting but perhaps not quite ready prospect. Or they could go a more DH focused route, and recall M.J. Melendez.

As for the current Mets roster, the injury opens up Jared Young and Eric Wagaman to platoon at first base, with Jorge Polanco taking the lion’s share of the reps at designated hitter.

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Guardians 5, Twins 2: Two out of three ain’t bad (but a sweep would’ve been nicer)

Jul 9, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober (17) throws to the Cleveland Guardians in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins were looking to sweep the Cleveland Guardians out of Minneapolis today. Doing so meant pulling alongside the Spiders for second place in the American League Central, getting back to .500 for the first time since mid-April, and extending their winning streak to five games.

It was pretty quiet for the first four-plus innings of the game today with the only blemish on either side being a solo home run by Spiders third-baseman Gabriel Arias off of fresh-off-the-injured-list Bailey Ober. The home run is the only run that Ober allowed, turning in great five innings of work and allowing two additional hits, a walk, and striking out five. Derek Shelton called it a day for Ober after 74 pitches.

On the other side of the coin, Spiders starter Gavin Williams took a perfect game into the fifth inning, where he got himself into a jam. With one out, Royce Lewis singled, Alan Roden walked, and Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Tristan Gray. Gray, who has been in a rut lately, slapped a single through the infield, tying the baby up at one run apiece. As we are all unfortunately too familiar with such situations, the Twins couldn’t pile on more; Alex Jackson grounded into a fielder’s choice to home plate and Trevor Larnach was called out on strikes to end the threat.

Ober gave way to southpaw Kendrys Rojas, called up today to take the roster spot of Connor Prielipp, who went on the injured list due to a blister on one of his fingers. His two innings led to a 2026 Minnesota Twins bullpen tradition of coughing up the tie or lead. Chase DeLauter hit a homer to right field in the top of the sixth while Rojas walked the number eight and nine batters in the order in the top of the seventh. “Walks will haunt” is the old adage, and Brayan Rocchio smooshed that in Minnesota’s face with a double to left field, plating both runners and giving Cleveland a 4-1 advantage.

Lewis clawed back one run with a home of his own in the bottom of the seventh, but the Twins couldn’t get anything else off of Williams. He held Minnesota batters to three hits, two runs, a walk, and 11 strikeouts. After Rojas, Kody Funderburk turned in a scoreless eighth while Woo-Sok Go made his major-league debut in the ninth, giving up a moonshot to Patrick Bailey – making it a 5-2 score – and also notching his first big-league strikeout.

Cleveland turned to Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith to shut the door, and they did so to solidify the 5-2 score and a Minnesota loss. The Twins stay two games back from the second-place Spiders and also two games back from .500. They also lose their winning streak. Sad day.

W: Gavin Williams (10-4)
L: Kendrys Rojas (1-1)
S: Cade Smith (27)

STUDS

  • Royce Lewis: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 K
  • Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 5 K – why not? It’s a good outing coming off the IL.

duds

  • Top of the Twins’ lineup (1-4): 0-16, 8 K
  • Kendrys Rojas: 2 IP, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

COTG

The Cleveland Spiders are off to face the hot Miami Marlins in south Florida while the Minnesota Twins will stay put at Target Field and host the not-hot Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, United States of America, for a three-game weekend series to close out the first half of the 2026 campaign. The Angels will send the oft-used TBD to the mound while the Twins call upon Zebby Matthews. Have a #blessed night!

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Yankees bust out of offensive slump with 12-4 rout of Rays to split series

The Yankees split their four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays after winning 12-4 on Thursday afternoon.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Following a shutout loss on Wednesday which culminated a rough stretch for New York, the offense finally broke out in a big way with six players having multiple hits, including Ben Rice’s two-homer and five-RBI day. 

-- The Yanks scored 12 runs on 14 hits – their biggest inning coming in the third when they put up a six-spot on Rays starter Drew Rasmussen. 

-- The onslaught began with a double by Max Schuemann, followed by another double by Ryan McMahon to tie the game at one. After a flyout, Trent Grisham singled home the go-ahead run before Rice hit a two-run shot that just got over the right-field wall.

-- A new rally began immediately following the home run when Jasson Dominguez singled and stole second, Cody Bellinger hit an infield single and Jose Caballero drove in the fifth run of the inning with a third consecutive single that knocked Rasmussen out of the game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to close out the scoring barrage.

-- Tampa Bay got two runs right back in the bottom half of the inning, but New York tacked on a run in the fourth on Austin Wells solo homer.

-- Despite constant traffic on the basepaths on both sides after that, the scoring settled down until the sixth when Rice made the Rays bullpen pay after reliever Casey Legumina walked Wells and allowed a double to Grisham to start the inning. 

On the second pitch of the at-bat, Rice launched a no-doubter to straightaway center field for a three-run bomb for his second of the game and his 28th of the season as he gets ready to participate in his first Home Run Derby over the All-Star Break.

-- New York added a run in the seventh and eighth innings on a double by McMahon that scored Schuemann, who singled and stole second, and then a single by Bellinger following a leadoff walk to Rice and a single by Dominguez.

-- Every hitter except Chisholm had at least one hit. The top four hitters in the order (Grisham, Rice, Dominguez, Bellinger) went 8-for-18 with seven RBI, seven runs scored and two walks. The bottom three in the lineup (Schuemann, McMahon, Wells) went 5-for-13 with three RBI, runs scored and a walk.

-- The offense went 7-for-14 with RISP.

-- In what was a bullpen game for the Yanks, Paul Blackburn got the start and pitched two effective innings, allowing a run on a solo shot by Junior Caminero while striking out three. 

-- After that, New York used six relievers: Jake Bird (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB), Ryan Yarbrough (1.0 IP, 2 H), Camilo Doval (0.2 IP, 1 BB), Brent Headrick (1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K), Angel Chivilli (2.0 IP, 3 K) and Tim Hill (1 IP, 1 H). Yarbrough got the win.

Game MVP: Ben Rice

His first home run extended the Yanks' lead from one run to three and got things going from there for New York's offense. His second homer was just for good measure and got the Yankees to double-digits in runs for the first time since June 17.

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees continue their road strip with a three-game set against the Washington Nationals starting on Friday night at 6:45 p.m.

LHP Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.29 ERA) will face off against RHP Zack Littell (7-6, 5.02 ERA).

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Game Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers (57-34) @ St. Louis Cardinals (48-42)

Jul 8, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Luis Lara (18) leaps at the wall but is unable to catch a double hit by St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (not pictured) during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers will go for their fourth win in their five-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. Last night, with a struggling Kyle Harrison on the mound, the Brewer offense was only able to muster one run across the plate, their fewest run total since June 3 against the San Francisco Giants.

The Brewers will be getting a much-needed arm back in their rotation as Logan Henderson gets handed the ball for tonight’s series finale. Henderson last pitched on May 22 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he didn’t allow any runs on two hits and three walks. Right-hander Garrett Stallings was optioned to Triple-A Nashville to open up his spot.

As the Brewers seek to put the dagger in the series, the Cardinals will try to salvage the final game of the series. Andre Pallante will be the man who gets handed the rock this evening as his impressive streak of 18 straight starts continues. Through 17 starts, Pallante has a 3.60 ERA with a 10-5 record. Pallante will be making his 23rd appearance against the Brewers in his career, with his most recent outing coming back in May, where he allowed five runs on eight hits.

Despite the wins racking up, the Brewers offense has been a bit hit or miss, but with Pallante on the mound, this lineup has seen quite a bit of success. The lone two players who haven’t faced him are rookies Luis Lara and Cooper Pratt, but outside of the two, you’ll find over half of the lineup has over a .300 batting average against him.

Tonight’s first pitch will be at 6:45 p.m., and you can find it on Brewers.TV and WTMJ 620.

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Yankees resurrect offense behind Ben Rice’s two homers, split series with Rays

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JULY 06: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on July 06, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Even in the most difficult of times, this Yankees team has had Ben Rice to count on, and here, needing a win, it saw its first baseman completely take over a game with two homers to lead a blowout 12-4 win over the Rays. Neither one of Rice’s homers represented the go-ahead hit or even came in moments where the game was close, but seeing how difficult each inning was for the Yankees’ bullpen, the impact of that performance cannot be understated.

In order to put up such lofty numbers, the Yankees offense had to handle one of its biggest foes in Drew Rasmussen. And in one half-inning, the Yankees managed to match all the runs they had scored against Rasmussen in the previous nine matchups versus the right-hander. When Junior Caminero hit a 438-foot solo shot in the first to give the Rays the lead, given the path of recent games, a certain level of skepticism was warranted about the team’s chances. However, the game is played on the field, and the Yankees overcame their negative momentum to score six runs in a third-inning rally. For context, the last time the Yankees scored at least six runs in a single half-inning was nearly a month ago, beating the White Sox on the road.

Although it wasn’t with a particularly hard-hit ball, the decision to start Max Schuemann in the outfield paid off for the Yankees, with his leadoff double starting the rally in the third. Speaking of unlikely hits, Ryan McMahon drove him in with a double of his own to put the Yankees on the scoreboard. It was a much-welcome (if unexpected) conclusion to a 12-pitch battle with Rasmussen. Then, Trent Grisham made do on his solid numbers against Rasmussen with a single, eventually driven in by Rice, who hit the first of his two homers in this game.

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Unable to retire the following three hitters, Rasmussen didn’t even complete three full innings in his worst career start versus the Yankees. Reliever Cam Booser came in to try and strike out Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a lefty-lefty matchup with runners at the corners and only one out, but the Yankees’ second baseman played smart baseball and drove in his team’s sixth run on a sac fly, his third of the year.

Under normal circumstances, particularly with the quality of starting pitching the Yankees have had this year, a 6-1 lead would feel rather safe, even with a lot of baseball to be played. This bullpen game had a slightly different path, and right after the Yankees opened up this lead, the Rays started to chip away, even if it came with a bitter taste for the home team. Tampa loaded the bases ahead of Caminero against Jake Bird, and against all odds, the Yankees reliever induced a rally-killing double play. The scoring could’ve stopped at one, but Ryan Yarbrough, who came in for the lefty matchup, allowed a double to make it 6-3. Still, keeping it to just two runs when you loaded the bases before recording an out in the inning, it’s not half bad.

The Yankees got one back in the fourth on an Austin Wells solo shot of all ways—his first since the Knicks were in the middle of the NBA Finals, per our own John Griffin—but the theme of close calls would carry on for the Yankees bullpen throughout most of this matchup. Chandler Simpson led off that fifth inning with a triple, and Yarbrough, with a lending hand from Camilo Doval and the Yankees defense, would manage to strand him. Doval came in with two outs, and Nick Fortes hit a grounder to second that wasn’t easy to handle, but Jazz made the play and kept the game at 7-3. So often we’ve seen the game get away from Doval, but here he kept things in check, even if momentarily.

It was the same story all over again in the fifth as Doval was toying with fire by handing out a free pass and a hit-by-pitch in back-to-back at-bats with one out. The next in line of firemen out of the bullpen was Brent Headrick, punching out two straight hitters to strand a couple.

Finally, Rice had enough of these tense moments and gave the Yankees a bigger cushion with a three-run shot in the sixth to make it 10-3, but that didn’t stop the following innings from being entertaining.

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Simpson hit his second triple of the game in the sixth, and this time he came around to score; later, Jasson Domínguez misplayed a fly ball in right, opening up room for a Rays big inning, but once again Headrick prevailed with multiple baserunners, stranding both.

With McMahon and Bellinger driving in runs in the seventh and eighth—and more importantly, Angel Chivilli being the only reliever to toss clean innings out of the Yankees bullpen—the final frames of this game came stress-free for Aaron Boone’s club. Leaving the Trop with a series split, the Yankees will face a strong Nationals offense to end the first half ahead of the All-Star break. First pitch from DC will be at 6:45pm ET with southpaws Ryan Weathers and Carson Palmquist squaring off.

Box Score

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Manaea, offense, lead Mets to win

Jul 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts after hitting an RBI single against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Benge ended up on third base after a Royals error on the play. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Mets played a rather complete game against the Royals; arguably one of the more complete wins on the season.

Sean Manaea was the standard bearer for the team, throwing seven excellent innings. He was, however, treated quite rudely to start, as Lane Thomas took the very first pitch of the game and deposited it into the seats. The Mets did not let that 1-0 deficit stand for long, as Birthday Boy Jared Young doubled home Carson Benge to tie the game in the second inning. The Royals took the lead back in the fourth, when Bobby Witt hit a no-doubter to make it 2-1.

The 2-1 deficit held until the fifth inning, where the Mets took control of the game for good. Tyrone Taylor, who entered the game as a Mark Vientos replacement, after Vientos took a painful looking hit by pitch off the hand and was forced to exit, led off the fifth with a homer to tie the game at two. Brett Baty followed that up with a single, stole second, and was pushed to third on an A.J. Ewing single (Ewing, by the way, saw his first professional innings at second base in this one, as he moved from center field to second following the Vientos’s exit). Juan Soto worked a walk, which loaded the bases for Bo Bichette. Bichette flew out to center in a sacrificial fashion, chasing Ewing home and giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. Back to back singles by Benge and Francisco Alvarez pushed the lead to 6-2.

The game was mostly in cruise control from there. Manaea did not surrender an earned run after the Witt homer, going seven innings in the process. The third Royals run was largely due to an two out error by Soto in the seventh, as he overran a single and allowed Nick Loftin to get into scoring position. Jac Caglianone doubled him home, which put Manaea in a bit of a pickle. He walked Isaac Collins, putting the tying run at the plate, but a bizarre bunt attempt by Tyler Tobert gifted the Mets a reprieve from the jam.

Soto made up for his gaffe in left field, leading off the seventh inning with an absolutely mammoth home run (435 ft. to be exact). The rest of the game was elementary. Huascar Brazobán and Devin Williams threw a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively, striking out three and allowing one hit (a two out single in the ninth) combined, giving the Mets a series win over the Royals.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
Royals Review

Box scores

MLB.com (for some reason the link would not link to this, but it’s on the website I promise!!)
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Carson Benge, +19% WPA
Big Mets loser: Luis Torrens, -9% WPA
Mets pitchers: +7%WPA
Mets hitters: +43% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge’s RBI single in the fifth, +18.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Bobby Witt Jr.’s solo home run, -13.0% WPA

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Madison Square Garden alleged to track and assign risk scores to celebrities

The New York Knicks are still basking in the glow of their NBA championship, alleviating 53 years of disappointment and frustration as the team and its fans continue to celebrate weeks after their title run.

But the Knicks' feel-good news stories amid that championship appear to be short-lived.

According to a Wired article, celebrities and other dignitaries who have attended home games at Madison Square Garden have been assigned "risk" scores. The database also tracked celebrities’ race, gender identity, and sexual orientation; even labeling nearly 100 people as “LGBTQIA." There are nearly 40,000 entries in the “talent” database, each with specific labeling designations.

Wired reported in April that security staff for Knicks owner Jim Dolan tracked a trans woman's movements using that surveillance and spying on her for the better part of two years. On June 12, ShinyHunters, a hacking group, said it would leak nearly 26 million records if MSG didn't fork over a ransom demand. Four days later, they released those records and are now facing three class-action lawsuits alleging the publishing of personal data, whicn was stolen from the World's Most Famous Arena.

USA TODAY Sports has reached out to Dolan and Madison Square Garden for comment.

This newly reported database is hardly surprising, as it was reported years ago that the arena was using facial recognition technology on those entering the facility.

The database is part of a much larger trove of documents published last month by ShinyHunters, a criminal hacker collective.

Some celebrities who have a “DO NOT HOST” tag include hip-hop producer Pete Rock, actor Will Harrison, comedian Adam Pally, and actress Julia Fox.

The database lists rapper Lil Tjay, who got into a fight with security at The Theater during a boxing match in February 2025, as “BANNED FROM MSG."

Some of the "low risk" people on the list include actors Mariska Hargitay, Edie Falco, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, musicians Ice Spice, Selena Gomez, and Benson Boone, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.

The "medium risk" folks include actors Lily Allen, David Harbour, and country singer Morgan Wallen. A few hip-hop artists appear on the "high risk" side of the database, including Freddie Gibbs, Lil Jon, DaBaby, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Madison Square Garden alleged to track and assign risk scores to celebrities

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Tigers DFA Jahmai Jones, Eduardo Valencia promoted from Triple-A

Detroit Tigers Jahmai Jones (18) looks out at the scoreboard during his game against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 21, 2026. | David Rodriguez-Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Well, the day was bound to come. Pinch-hit specialist Jahmai Jones has struggled mightily all season long, and while the Detroit Tigers were more patient than most liked, he just hasn’t been able to turn things around. Dillon Dingler’s hand contusion isn’t going to put him on the injured list, but it did precipitate a move to make sure the Tigers have the catching depth and another right-handed power bat on hand. As a result, catcher and first baseman Eduardo Valencia has been promoted from Triple-A Toledo to make his major league debut.

Manager A.J Hinch told reporters on Thursday that his All-Star catcher was day-to-day, with hopes that he’d be able to play in the Philadelphia Phillies series at Comerica Park this weekend. Dingler was clipped by a foul tip that struck his hand between the base of his right thumb and forefinger on Wednesday against the Athletics. The area swelled up on him, but x-rays revealed that there was no underlying damage. That will coax a sigh of relief out of Tigers fans as Dingler is currently playing like one of the top handful of players in baseball. Hopefully he can get right and pick up where he left off.

As for Jones, well you can’t say the Tigers weren’t patient. For a veteran with a long track record, three months to try and get jump-started would be a fairly long leash but not unusual. For a limited player with one specific role and only a partial season’s worth of success in the major leagues in his late 20’s, the Tigers weren pretty generous here, but the issue has mainly been a lack of an obvious replacement. The club already promoted right-handed hitting outfielder Ben Malgeri to help carry some of the load in the outfield, and Dingler and Spencer Torkelson have been the designated destroyers of left-handed pitching instead over the past five weeks.

Maybe Jones will catch on somewhere else for a brief look, but probably the best move for him is to just accept a Triple-A assignment with the Tigers and give himself some time to try and get it going at the plate again.

The 26-year-old Valencia was added to the 40-man roster last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The right-handed hitter broke out in a big way last year, hitting 24 home runs between the Double-A Erie SeaWolves and the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in 2025. After years of injuries and stagnant development in the farm system, it all finally started to come together for him. He got out to a slow start this season, but heated up into May and June. He now holds a 122 wRC+ with 16 home runs, a 10 percent walk rate, and a solid 20.8 percent strikeout rate. Much of that production came in June where he posted a 1.078 OPS with five home runs, six doubles, and a declining strikeout rate on the month.

The Venezuelan born Valencia has a balanced enough approach that he’s pretty good against right-handed pitching, but he does thrive against lefties. He holds an .892 OPS against southpaws this season, with a strikeout rate below 20 percent. He’s hit six home runs in 89 plate appearances, whereas he has 10 homers against right-handed pitching in 242 plate appearances.

The slow playing of Valencia was likely as much about his defensive role as his bat. The Tigers continue to work hard with him on his defensive progression, while mixing him in at first base more and more to open up another possibility for him positionally. He’s caught 47 games and played first base 23 times this season to date. That work was required before the Tigers were going to be comfortable with him in the field at the major league level. Valencia is decently capable behind the plate, but just doesn’t have the advanced framing, blocking, and throwing the Tigers demand from their catchers at the major league level. Learning first base has been a challenge for him too, and right now he’s mostly, like Jones, a bat without a home. However, he’s a much better bet than Jones to actually do some damage and give the Tigers some consistent at-bats. At the same time he’ll get to work with the major league staff on his defense and he has been improving at the first base position this spring.

With Jones DFA’d, however, it does mean that there’s at least a temporary role available for Valencia here if he’s productive at the plate. It’s not necessarily a quick stay until the Tigers are sure Dingler is good to go. Congratulations to Eduardo Valencia on his major league debut.

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Kawhi Leonard to Raptors trade on hold until NBA finishes cap circumvention investigation

PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 10: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on April 10, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Thursday marks the day that previously agreed-upon trades in the NBA can be finalized with the start of the new league year, but one deal isn’t taking place — at least not for now. The the massive trade for Kawhi Leonard between the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors is on hold, and won’t be completed until the NBA has completed its 10-month investigation into the star and the Clippers for alleged cap circumvention.

That investigation began after bombshell reporting by Pablo Torres seemingly uncovered a scheme by the Clippers to pay Kawhi Leonard money in addition to his NBA contract through “Aspiration Partners,” a company the Clippers invested in. This company would pay Leonard as a no-show employee, which Torres said was a way for the Clippers to pay him above and beyond his max-level contract.

The Clippers continue to deny any wrongdoing, while remaining confident the trade will eventually go through, releasing a statement to ESPN:

For the past 10 months, our organization has fully cooperated with an NBA investigation, participating in dozens of interviews, providing tens of thousands of documents, and facilitating access to our staff. While the process has been challenging, we have remained committed to transparency.

On June 30, we reached an agreement in principle to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.

At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues.

We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.

Meanwhile the Raptors released their own statement from the other side, seemingly also hopeful the trade will go through.

Regarding our planned trade with the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard, the NBA League Office informed us that as a result of an ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation regarding Kawhi.

In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.

The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans.

It appears as though Toronto has put the brakes on the deal for now until it knows exactly what it is getting itself into. The predominant risk for the Raptors would be to broker this massive trade, send away their players and draft capital — only to have the NBA then void the remaining years of Leonard’s contract, or suspend him for a significant time as a result of their investigation.

It’s expected the deal could be completed as early as Tuesday of next week, when the league is set to hold its Board of Governors meeting.

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Kawhi Leonard trade from Clippers to Raptors stalls over NBA investigation

There has been a curious delay in the formal announcement of the Kawhi Leonard trade that is shipping him to the Toronto Raptors. Now, the teams involved are clarifying why.

Although the new NBA league year began Monday, July 6, neither the Raptors nor the Los Angeles Clippers, Leonard’s former team, have consummated the trade agreed to June 30 that is conveying Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, one pick swap and two second-round picks back to Los Angeles.

On Thursday, July 9, the Clippers and Raptors each issued statements to disclose the delay, indicating the deal would not be completed until the ongoing NBA investigation into the Clippers is finalized.

“On June 30, we reached an agreement in principle to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors,” the Clippers said in their statement. “We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.”

In their own statement, the Raptors acknowledged this assumption of risk and indicated that they will also wait until the league’s investigation is complete.

“The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans,” the Raptors said.

In spite of the optimism from both sides that the deal would be executed upon the conclusion of the investigation, which began in early September 2025, the language in Toronto’s statement suggests that it could change its mind if it deems any potential discipline stemming from the investigation to be too severe.

The NBA has contracted a New York City-based law firm to look into allegations that the franchise circumvented the salary cap when it courted Leonard in 2019. The investigation revolves around an alleged $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal for Leonard with a now-bankrupt sustainability company called Aspiration.

The Clippers have repeatedly maintained their innocence in the matter and have stressed that the executives running Aspiration were at fault.

“At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration,” the Clippers continued. “We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.”

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on April 5, 2026.

Leonard, 35, remains one of the elite two-way players in the NBA, when healthy. A seven-time All-Star, Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 65 games last season. He’s also a versatile defender whose length and instincts make him a problem, even for the more gifted offensive players in the NBA.

“We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues,” the Clippers concluded. “We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kawhi Leonard trade from Clippers to Raptors stalls over NBA investigation

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Royals meekly lose to Mets, drop series finale

Jul 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a solo home run against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Royals failed to capitalize on the chance to take two straight series as they fell to the Mets, 7-3, Thursday afternoon.

Kansas City led the game going into the bottom of the fifth, but for the third straight game, they allowed New York to score at least four runs in an inning, this time giving up five in the fifth. When the offense is plating 16 runs, that may not matter, but it certainly does when the lineup slumbers through an afternoon, like it did today.

The Royals led at two different points. Lane Thomas led off the game with a home run, his seventh of the season. After the Mets tied it in the bottom of the second, the Royals regained the lead in the top of the fourth when Bobby Witt Jr. hit his 13th home run. Not so lucky, that odd number.

Michael Wacha started for the Royals, yet couldn’t make it out of that forsaken fifth inning. Over 4-and-2/3 innings pitched, he allowed six hits, walked three, struck out five, and allowed one homer. In all, he surrendered six runs, all earned. He took the loss, dropping to 5-7.

The Mets took their first lead of the game in the fifth, then padded it, and never gave it up. Tyrone Taylor led off the inning with his sixth home run of the year, tying the game at 2-2. The Mets soon loaded the bases with just one out before Bo Bichette hit a sacrifice fly to give them the 3-2 lead. Carson Benge followed with a two-run bloop single. Before Wacha exited, he allowed one final hit, this time an RBI single by Francisco Alvarez that made it 6-2.

In the top of the seventh, the Royals thought about coming back, but ultimately reversed course. After the first two batters went down, Nick Loftin singled before scoring on Jac Caglianone’s RBI double. 6-3, Mets. Isaac Collins followed with a walk to bring up the potential tying run in the form of Tyler 12-for-12 Tolbert.

Naturally, with two outs, Tolbert bunted. The ball didn’t go all that far before Luis Torrens, the Mets catcher, scooped it up and fired to first for the third and final out of the inning. Once again, a bunt kills the comeback. I’m starting to think that bunts, not home runs, are the true rally killers.

The Mets almost immediately got that run back when Juan Soto uncorked his 21st home of the year in the bottom half of the frame to make it 7-3, Mets. And that ended up being the final score.

Loftin added a single in the ninth, so he ended the day as the only Royal with a multi-hit game. Congrats, Nick. Outside of Soto’s home run off reliever Beck Way, the bullpen didn’t allow any damage. Of course, Wacha had already taken care of that issue.

Sean Manaea, the Mets starting pitcher, finished the day with seven innings pitched, allowing six hits and a single walk while striking out six. He allowed two home runs.

With the loss, the Royals fall to 38-56. They continue their East Coast trip tomorrow as they travel to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. I’ll have that series preview for everyone early tomorrow afternoon.

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Mets' Mark Vientos heading to IL after suffering fractured hand on HBP

It appears the Mets are going to be without Mark Vientos for quite some time. 

While interim manager Andy Green didn't want to go into specifics, he did confirm that Vientos fractured a bone in his right hand on the HBP that forced him out of Thursday's game in the bottom of the second. 

Vientos immediately turned and went down in a heap of pain after the Michael Wacha offering struck him on the hand, but he was able to make his way down to first after being checked out by trainers. 

He remained in the game to run the bases, but was pulled when the Mets took the field in the top half.  

It's unclear exactly how much time Vientos will miss, but he'll certainly require a lengthy IL stint. 

"Disappointed for what he's going through," Green said. "I popped in in the middle of the game to check on him when I had a quick minute, and it's just really disappointing."

Disappointing is the perfect way to sum up Vientos' season to this point. 

The 26-year-old brought over his struggles from last season into spring training and the beginning of this year, as he's been unable to regain his 2024 breakout form on both sides of the ball. 

Vientos was hitting just .211 with nine doubles, 11 homers, and a .641 OPS entering play on Thursday. 

He also slumped mightily with the glove as he made the transition over to first base full-time this year, sitting among the league's worst at the position in errors (7) and OAA (-9).

Jared Young ultimately took over the bulk of the playing time over the past few weeks. 

With Vientos sidelined, the Mets will likely continue to lean on Young as their everyday 1B until Jorge Polanco is eventually ready to work his way back into the field following his return from injury.

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Is Chase Rate Always Bad

Premise of article

Important context that chase rate alone is not bad. "I think that goes back to knowing who you are," said Jake Burger. "For me, if I get passive and my chase rate goes down, I'm also probably not doing as much damage. I think a big thing is just knowing thyself. You know, there are certain guys in here who have an elite eye and disciplined approach, and certain guys in here who are like, "Hey, I'm getting mine off, and if it's out of the zone, it's out of the zone, but eventually [the pitcher is] gonna make a mistake. So I think it's definitely knowing thyself." - Burger

"That's probably true. In my experience, chasing pitches outside the zone has to do with a failure of being prepared for that at-bat and understanding what the pitcher is going to do. If you're fully bought into what your approach should be off of a certain guy when he throws certain pitches, you should be checking down on them anyways, regardless of where they're at, even if they're in the zone. So, for me and my experience, you know that doesn't change. It only changes if you're unprepared." - Max Muncy

"If I'm going off my career, like nothing's changed. I've critiqued some things, but I'm not up there thinking about if I'm gonna swing at a bad pitch. I'm swinging a good pitch, like, starts in my window that I want to swing. I'm swinging like, It's simple for me. I'm not trying to go up there and make sure it's a strike. It's too late for that. You know, like, pitchers are too good now, balls move way more." - Buxton

"If I chase, I chase. It's as simple as that."

"Early my career, I was chasing sliders like crazy, and it was like, All right, how are we gonna stop chasing? I was actually with James Ralston, the hidden coach for the Yankees. I was trying to find my foundation. Because growing up, I was good, but we didn't have no hitting coaches in my area. We didn't have all this technology like you played to figure it out. And when I got to the big leagues, I knew a little bit, but it wasn't nothing that I knew I needed to stay here. So it was like finding my foundation. And once I found a foundation, which is my base of my swing, and that changed my whole career, because now it was like, Oh, I can sit back on a breaking ball. Now I can sit back on a change up."

"That switches your mind to I'm a dangerous hitter. That's literally how I think when I go up there. I'm not worried about chasing; I'm worried about doing damage to you. For us in here, that's what we focus on."

"How you supposed to cover both [sides of the plate]? That's the hard part of the game. Like you pick a side, and when they start in that tunnel, you go for it. For me, it ain't no such thing as like, oh, you swung at a bad pitch. Yeah, but you got to throw me two more of them things for me to swing at."

Thanks to Kyle Bland

wRC+ and chase rate

Kyle Bland of Pitcher List

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Chase Rate Year over Year

Kyle Bland of Pitcher List

Statistically, hitters can't really improve their chase rate.

Chase rate and age

Kyle Bland of Pitcher List

Blah

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Which hitters are due for a summer power surge? Jo Adell, Wilyer Abreu, more

We know that home runs tend to increase in the summer months.A 2025 article by Garrett Heyd pointed out that warm air means the air molecules are farther apart, which makes the air less dense and allows the ball to travel farther. The article has far more scientific detail, but, for our purposes, warm and more humid weather means the ball travels farther, which is why we tend to see more home runs in the summer.

However, there's another element here as well. As I covered in my MLB notebook last week, the baseball has changed since the start of the season (because of a manufacturing issue), and that has led to less drag on the baseball, which means batted balls are now flying about five feet farther than they were in the early months of the season. So with warmer weather and a baseball that gets less drag, we should see far more home runs hit over the next couple of months. But which hitters would that impact the most?

In the hopes of trying to get the best sense of current batted ball quality, I limited my search to hitters' performances from May 20th on. That gave us about a 40-game sample size for most of the hitters, but I set the minimum plate appearances at 40. I then looked at hitters who had been barreling the ball more than league average, pulling the ball in the air around league average, and producing a lower HR/FB rate than average. The thought being that these hitters will naturally run into some more home run luck, but could also see an even bigger spike with the humid weather and the change in the ball.

Hitters Who Are Due to Hit More Home Runs

THE LEAGUE AVERAGE FROM MAY 20TH TO JULY 8TH IS A 7.6% BARREL RATE, 18,7% PULL AIR RATE, AND A 12.6% HR/FB RATE

NameBarrel%HRHR/FBPull Air%
Jackson Merrill0.1008460.12521
Max Muncy0.0850.12529
Corbin Carroll0.08593860.12244922.7
Jorge Soler0.11111130.1231.7
Tyler Stephenson0.08571430.1232.9
Dylan Crews0.09243760.1215.1
Royce Lewis0.12658250.11904838
Luke Raley0.09859240.11764729.6
Jesús Sánchez0.20754720.11111122.6
Dalton Rushing0.12162230.10344828.4
Matt McLain0.13559330.10344820.3
Cal Raleigh0.10256420.133.3
Mookie Betts0.08163370.09459521.1
Bobby Witt Jr.0.12550.0943418.3
Logan O'Hoppe0.1298730.08571419.5
Trevor Larnach0.0776740.08510626.2
Salvador Perez0.10743840.08333325.6

A few of these guys may see slight increases in home run production in the second half, but have already hit a decent amount since May 20th and have league average (or close to it) HR/FB numbers. Guys like Jackson Merrill, Bobby Witt Jr., Max Muncy, Corbin Carroll, and Dylan Crews aren't likely to increase their home run pace, but it is worth noting that Merrill and Crews each have six home runs in 42 games since May 20th. That's about a 22 home run pace over a full season (assuming they don't play a full 162 games). Those aren't exceptional numbers, but I think they're better numbers than most people assume you're getting from those two. In fact, Crews also has a 47.1% hard-hit rate over that stretch, which is 36th out of 163 qualified hitters. His .262 xBA and .461 xSLG are also much higher than what he has actually produced, and I think Crews could be in for a really nice second half.

Jorge Soler and Luke Raley are also power hitters who we know hit big flys in spurts. They both have been continuing to pull the ball in the air far more than average and barrel the ball well above league average as well. Hot stretches are going to come for both of them at some point. Dalton Rushing may also not play enough games when Will Smith is back, so I'm not going to go into detail on him, bu the does have a 12.2% barrel rate since May 20th and is getting the ball to the pull side in the air, so he likely should not have a below-average HR/FB ratio.

Cal Raleigh - Mariners

It's probably not a shock that I think Raleigh will hit more than the nine home runs he has through 61 games so far this season. Not just because he had 60 home runs last season, but because he has proven himself to be a consistent 30-plus home run hitter. Now, Raleigh's 61.5% pull rate since May 20th could be a touch too high. He was at 55.5% last season, so he has always been incredibly pull-focused but is perhaps a bit more so now as he tries to hit his way out of the slump. The injuries could also be taking a toll on his quality of contact, but he has a 10.2% barrel rate in this timeframe, and while that's low for him, it should amount to more than two home runs, especially when he is getting the ball to the pull side in the air so often.

Mookie Betts - Dodgers

Your buy-low window on Mookie Betts has slammed closed. The veteran was limited by injury early in the season and hit .194/.259/.408 in 25 games by the end of May. From June 1st on, he's hit .269/.326/.446 with five home runs and 14 RBI. His barrel rate is just above league average, and he's pulling the ball less than average; however, he is still getting it in the air to the pull side more than most. His exit velocities are not elite, but they're good enough that he should have a better than 9.4% HR/FB rate over this stretch. The only time he's been below 9.8% was in his injury-plagued season last year, and he's up at 10.9% this season, so more home runs should be coming.

Tyler Stephenson - Reds

Stephenson is an interesting name on here. His 8.5% barrel rate and 42.8% pull rate since May 20th are just above league average, but he's pulling the ball less than normal. Yet, his nearly 33% Pull Air Rate is far above the league average, so even if he's not pull-centric overall, he is doing a good job of elevating to the pull side. He's perhaps just elevating too much. His 19.7 degree launch angle this season is well above his 11 degree career mark, and his HR/FB rate is the lowest it's ever been. I like that he's trying to elevate the ball to the pull side more than before, and we clearly like his home park, so if he can get his launch angle back just a bit closer to his career norms, we could see a nice power stretch.

Royce Lewis - Twins

Since Royce Lewis came back to the big leagues on June 6th, he's hitting .255/.320/.455 with five home runs, 13 RBI, and a 12% barrel rate. He's also pulling the ball over 50% of the time and has the highest Pull Air% on this list at 38%. Now, we know that a high Pull Air% doesn't automatically mean more home runs, but we also know that more pulled fly balls leave the yard than any other type of contact. With Lewis hitting the ball hard and elevating it to the pull side, it's a bit surprising to see his HR/FB rate come in at a below-average mark. I'd expect that to change in the hot summer months.

Matt McLain - Reds

Matt McLain could lose his playing time when Ke'Bryan Hayes comes back, so we need to keep that in mind. From May 20th on, he's hitting .147/.250/.284 with three home runs and a 34% strikeout rate. That's not very good. He also has a 13.6% barrel rate and has a 17.5% blast rate per contact. Blasts are a Statcast metric that measures when a batter squares up a ball and does so at a high bat speed. According to Statcast research, blasts lead to a .563 batting average, 1.182 slugging percentage, and a +34 Run Value. Non-blasted batted balls average out to a .231 batting average, .295 slugging percentage, and -5 Run Value. So, pretty clearly, Blasts are usually balls that result in impactful contact. Well, McLain has 17.5% blasts/contact since May 20th, which is 52nd among 214 qualified hitters. That type of batted ball quality should not lead to such poor results, which is probably why his .397 xSLG since May 20th is well above his .284 actual slugging percentage. I know McLain is tough to hold onto right now, but there are some encouraging signs in his batted ball data.

Logan O’Hoppe - Angels

O'Hoppe is another fringe one-catcher league catcher that we were hoping to get more production from in drafts. Since May 20th, he's hitting .243/.264/.383 with three home runs and 15 RBI. That comes with a 24% strikeout rate, which is actually pretty good for O'Hoppe, and a 13.6% barrel rate. He's pulling the ball in the air just 19.5% of the time over that stretch, but that's still above league average, and his pull rate and fly ball rate individually suggest that he should be getting to the pull side in the air a bit more often. His 18.1% blasts per contact rate is also well above the 13.3% league average and puts him 47th out of 214 qualified hitters. His 8.6% HR/FB rate just feels too low for a guy with a 15% career rate. The big flys should be coming.

Trevor Larnach - Twins

Larnach is flying a bit under the radar this year because the Twins aren't particularly good, and Larnach doesn't really play against lefties, but he has been good. Since May 20th, he's hitting .310/.378/.481 with four home runs. He does have just a 7.6% barrel rate and 38% hard-hit rate, so he's not knocking the cover off of the ball, but he has a 26.2% Pull Air rate, so he is getting the ball in the air to the pull side far more often than league average. He also has a 17.4% blast per contact rate, so he's making damaging contact despite the average barrel rates. Given that and his pull air rate, I think he's likely deserving of better than an 8.5% HR/FB rate. He's still going to be more valuable in daily moves leagues, but he can be rostered in more formats.

Hitters Who Need to Pull More to See a Power Spike

THE LEAGUE AVERAGE PULL RATE FROM MAY 20TH TO JULY 8TH IS 41.2%

NameBarrel%HRHR/FBPull Air%Pull%
Fernando Tatis Jr.0.11034550.11363610.30.344828
Blaze Alexander0.10638330.111111140.354839
Lars Nootbaar0.10144920.09090911.60.405797
Kahlil Watson0.10526310.062515.80.342105
Wilyer Abreu0.11764740.06153818.60.338983
Jo Adell0.08461550.0943414.60.376923
Andy Pages0.09154960.08450718.30.352113
Austin Riley0.1098920.04651215.40.32967

All of these are hitters who are barreling the ball enough to hit for more power but might need to pull the ball more often. Now, we should note that hitters don't NEED to pull the ball to hit home runs. Many hitters have enough power to drive the ball out of the park no matter where they hit it. However, we do know that pulled fly balls leave the yard more regularly than any other type of contact, so these hitters looking to pull the ball a bit more often would likely help them to rack up more home runs. Andy Pages may be one of those guys, since he has six home runs in this stretch despite posting a 35.2% pull rate and a league-average Pull Air%. However, his 8.4% HR/FB rate suggests that there is some positive regression coming his way, and there could be more if he looked to get the ball in the air to the pull side more often.

I've been a big Blaze Alexander fan for much of the year, and I still think he should be used in many fantasy formats, but I'm not sure we're going to see a major power bump. He's hitting the ball harder than he has in years, but his barrel rate is down to 6.7%, and he's using the whole field more often, so he's not pulling the ball in the air that often. His approach works for his overall stat line, but not really for home run production. Similarly, Khalil Watson has become a full-time player for the Guardians of late and has a 10.3% barrel rate and above-average blasts per contact. That said, he doesn't really pull the ball much and has a 16% swinging strike rate, which means he may not make enough contact to really hit enough home runs. Lars Nootbaar also has the second-lowest Pull Air% of anybody on this list at 11.6%. His blast per contact rate is an elite 19.8%, and he has a 10.1% barrel rate, but we're going to need to see him elevate the ball in the air more often if power is going to come.

Fernando Tatis Jr. - Padres

We knew Tatis was going to see a bit of a power surge after it took him so long to hit his first home run, but I think his pace should continue to increase as the summer goes on. Since May 20th, he has an 11% barrel rate and has 25% blasts per contact, which is the 3rd-best mark in all of baseball. Yet, he has just a 30.5% flyball rate and a 34.5% pull rate, both of which are well below average. That has also led to a below-average 10.3% Pull Air rate; yet, despite that, he still has only a slightly below-average HR/FB rate. So he doesn't NEED to pull the ball to hit more home runs because he hits the ball so hard, but even a slight uptick in pull rate, with the warm weather supporting him, should lead to plenty more power production.

Wilyer Abreu - Red Sox

Wilyer hit 22 home runs for the Red Sox last season with a 15.2% HR/FB rate, so it's a bit surprising to see him sitting at just 10 home runs and an 8.1% HR/FB rate on the season despite still posting an above-average barrel rate and hard-hit rate. Since May 20th, he's actually 11th among qualified hitters in barrel rate and has a 55.6% fly ball rate. Yet, he's not pulling the ball enough or pulling the ball in the air enough. That's been a bit of an issue for him all season, with his pull rate down 9% from last year. He's not making more contact in the zone, so we can't point to an approach shift that is prioritizing contact over power. I have to think that Wilyer will get back to pulling the ball at his career-norm levels, which should see that HR/FB rate rise back up.

Jo Adell - Angels

You won't believe me when I say this article was drafted before Wednesday night's two-homer barrage, but you can see that the stats above don't reflect Adell's numbers after Wednesday. Now, I could just say "See what he did on Wednesday" and close the argument for why Adell should hit for more power in the second half, but I should probably give you the spiel I had drafted. Adell has an 8.4% barrel rate since May 20th, which is above average but not great for him. His bat speed remains elite, but I think his swing is a bit steeper than normal, which has led to fewer fly balls and more infield pop-ups when he does elevate the ball. A 14.6% Pull Air rate is not a great mark, but Adell hits the ball hard enough that a 9.4% HR/FB rate just feels wholly unsustainable for a hitter who has a 16.1% career rate.

Austin Riley - Braves

I know, you don't trust Austin Riley. I get it, but hear me out. Since May 20th, he has a 10.9% barrel rate and is lifting the ball 47% of the time. The issue is that he's still battling that indecision that led to less contact and just a 32.9% pull rate and 15.4% Pull Air rate over this timeframe. That's not the Riley we know. It's also part of the reason he has just a 4.7% HR/FB rate since May 20th. I can't tell you that Riley will definitely start pulling the ball more, but I can tell you that he's still hitting the ball hard and trying to elevate it. I can tell you that, on the season, his pull rates aren't that much different from what we've seen from him during his career. An 8.9% HR/FB rate from a career 17.5% hitter just doesn't seem like something that will withstand the warmer months.

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Nikola Kusturica, potential No. 1 pick in 2028, signs with UCLA basketball

Top international recruit Nikola Kusturica signed with UCLA basketball on Thursday, July 9, landing coach Mick Cronin arguably the best prospect of the 2028 NBA Draft.

Kusturica, from Serbia, is 17 years old and will play college basketball for at least two years, as he's two years away from being eligible for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-9 forward is the youngest player to ever appear for FC Barcelona's senior team.

REQUIRED READING: Derrick White, other NBA stars join college basketball front offices. What do they do?

He chose the Bruins over Kentucky, Michigan and Gonzaga, according to reports.

“Nikola is an elite prospect with great size, skill and a competitive fire which is hard to find," Cronin said in UCLA's announcement. "As a 6-foot-9 guard, he can play all over the floor. He impacts the game as a scorer, playmaker and shot blocker. For a very young player, Nik has had a decorated career with the Serbian national team and his club team in Barcelona.

"UCLA appreciates the support of his international team and his club for their cooperation and development of Nikola."

Kusturica averaged 24.6 points with 6.9 rebounds in the FIBA Under-17 World Cup from June 27 to July 5 in Turkey. He also won Best Defensive Player after averaging 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, and scored 37 points against the United States in Serbia's gold-medal game loss.

Kusturica was also named MVP of the 2025 FIBA Under-16 Eurobasket tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia, after averaging 20 points with 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, leading Serbia to its first title at the tournament since 2007. He scored 18 points with 14 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in the championship game.

One of he youngest players in college basketball will likely play a huge role from the start for the Bruins, which has signed multiple European recruits in the past year. Cronin signed Mississippi State transfer Sergej Macura and Auburn transfer Filip Jovic in the transfer portal this offseason, and also announced Kusturica's signing with fellow incoming freshman Gunārs Grīnvalds from Latvia and Real Madrid.

Nikola Kusturica highlights

Here are Kusturica's highlights from his 37-point game against the United States in the FIBA Under-17 World Cup:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikola Kusturica, potential No. 1 pick in 2028, signs with UCLA basketball