HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 06: Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks to the dugout after the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on May 06, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — It’s been one month since Tyler Glasnow’s last start, and now it will be at least one month until he pitches again for the Dodgers. The right-hander was moved to the 60-day injured list on Saturday, as his back issues have proved to be a larger setback than originally thought.
“He’s not playing catch. It’s the back spasms, and obviously with the back he’s been limited,” Roberts said Saturday. “He wants to get cranking again, but the doctors aren’t allowing for it and the body’s not allowing for it right now.”
Procedurally, the earliest Glasnow could be activated is July 6, but there are several steps needed to even get to that point.
Glasnow to the 60-day injured list made room for right-hander Nick Frasso to be added to the 40-man roster. Frasso was on a minor league deal and exercised an upward mobility clause in his contract, per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, meaning had the Dodgers not added him to the roster Frasso could have become a free agent.
Frasso, 27, has a 4.85 in 11 relief appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City, with 24 strikeouts (a 38.7-percent strikeout rate) and 10 walks in 13 innings.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 06: Dylan Crews #3 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with third base coach Victor Estevez #7 after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Chase Field on June 06, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Nationals won 6-1. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Another day, another convincing win for the Nationals in the desert. After the 14-1 demolition job last night, the Nats were firing on all cylinders again today, winning 6-1. This win gives them yet another road series win and improves their overall road record to 21-12.
Today’s game started almost exactly the same way as last night’s contest. In both cases, the Nats were up 2-0 after two hitters. Last night it was Luis Garcia Jr. doing the damage, today Curtis Mead was the man to give the Nats an early lead via the two run homer. Mead has been a breakout sensation for this team, and his OPS sits at .845 after today.
Curtis Mead continues his breakout 2026 season in Washington with another HR, his 9th of the year.
His Hard-Hit% is up 10%, he’s chasing less, and his Barrel% is 10.3%, more than double what it was last season.
— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) June 6, 2026
Unlike last night, the runs did not keep on coming after that. Eduardo Rodriguez locked in and began to cruise after the homer. However, Zack Littell was deconstructing the D-Backs lineup and putting up zeroes of his own. After a brutal April, Littell has turned his season around in a big way. He has a 2.27 ERA in his last 7 outings. Littell has managed to avoid getting killed by the long ball. When he is not allowing homers, Littell does a good job commanding his deep arsenal.
Today the splitter was on point for the big right hander. He got three whiffs on five swings against the pitch. Littell made Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll look silly at times with that offering. Over his last few starts, Littell has been getting more swing and miss. He will never be a massive strikeout artist, but it is nice to see the punchout become a bigger part of his game.
After Littell grinded through the fifth, Blake Butera decided to pull his righty after just 64 pitches. It felt like the D-Backs hitters were starting to get a beat on Littell, so the decision made some sense. However, it was a quick hook that would certainly be discussed if the Nats did not hold onto this game.
As you know, the Nats did wind up holding on to this one and added some big insurance runs. Dylan Crews was a huge part of that. To start the 7th, the former LSU star ambushed a first-pitch fastball that was at the top of the zone. He absolutely demolished that ball to left field.
This was easily Crews’ best swing since he has come back to the big leagues. Rodriguez was throwing him high fastballs all game, and in his third at bat Crews made him pay. Before the homer, Crews was really struggling to adjust to big league pitching. He was 1 for his last 19, looking overmatched at times. Crews got another hit after the homer, so hopefully that swing unlocked something for him.
Getting Crews going would only help bolster this offense. At this point, my expectations for Crews are not particularly high. Getting him to even be a league average hitter would be a strong achievement. However, we know he can make things happen in the field and on the bases. We just need some productivity from the bat. Being able to consistently tap into his power is a good place to start.
After getting two runs in the 7th, the Nats put up two more in the 9th to make it a comfortable 6-1 win. These Nats have truly been road warriors this season. They have won 8 of the 11 series they have played away from home. The boys also find themselves back above .500, bouncing back nicely from the Marlins debacle.
Another series win for the Nationals.
⚾️ They’ve won 8 out of 11 series on the road this season.
⚾️ Another series win against a potential playoff team.
⚾️ Zack Littell has a 2.2 ERA over his last 7 starts.
The Nats have had trouble finishing off sweeps this year. They only have had one sweep all season, and getting another would be a major statement. With Cade Cavalli on the mound, things line up nicely for them. The Nats will be facing old pal Michael Soroka, who is actually having a nice year in the desert.
This team has shown resiliency all year long, and did a nice job putting that Marlins series behind them. The offense is back on track, and the Nats have stacked together two of the most complete performances of the season. Let’s keep the good times rolling with a sweep!
SAN ANTONIO, TX - DECEMBER 29: Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers plays defense during the game against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs on December 29, 2025 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have many high-value assets they could move for a talent upgrade. One of those is Evan Mobley, who theoretically could be used for a possible Giannis Antetokounmpo deal, given that the Milwaukee Bucksreportedly value him. However, as of now, the Cavs have little interest in moving Mobley.
This backs up previous reporting. Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor mentioned last week that the Cavs’ braintrust views Mobley as a “future star” and as a safety net for a potential rebuild once this era comes to a close.
Additionally, Cavs President of Basketball Operations, Koby Altman, said in his end-of-season press conference that Mobley was part of the team’s “future.”
At this point, it’s worth taking these reports and Altman’s public statements as true. That said, Mobley’s value seems to be quite high at this point. There aren’t many players in the league who can theoretically guard Victor Wembanyama as well as Mobley can. In a league run by Wemby, having a counter is extremely important — especially for a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are already rumored to be interested in Mobley. Things could change quickly if the Cavs receive an offer they can’t refuse.
It’ll be an interesting summer for the Cavs. They will want to find ways to make their roster more well-rounded, while also cutting costs so that they can get under the second apron. We’ll see if Altman and the rest of the front office can find a way of doing so.
The White Sox scored four runs in the first inning, thanks to a combination of the inability of Phils starter Andrew Painter to figure out where the ball was going and a wee tad of good fortune. Well, more than a wee tad.
Painter led off the game by hitting Sam Antonacci — Antonacci’s MLB-leading 14th time to get on base the hard way — then walked Miguel Vargas. First bit of luck was Andrew Benintendi’s 73 mph bloop RBI single, followed by a walk to Colson Montgomery to load the bases. Chase Meidroth then squibbed a 50 mph dribbler too slow to get the runner going home, and Jacob Gonzalez followed with a somewhat mightier 62 mph bouncer that was also too slow to make a play at the plate. Just so it wouldn’t all be ridiculous good fortune, Tristan Peters got the first legitimate RBI of the inning with a double slashed down the right field line to make it 4-0.
The White Sox went the opposite end of the hitting spectrum in the third, when Montgomery led off with his 16th homer of the season. It was just 97.2 mph, so not an absolute blast, but two batters later Gonzalez made his first career round-tripper a memorable one — well, even more memorable than any first career shot would be:
Gonzalez’ 107.5 mph, 428 footer made the score 6-zip in the third, and the Sox offense decided to call it a day.
The big lead was handy, because sorta-starter Sean Burke, who followed an excellent 1 1/3 innings by opener Brandon Eisert, ran into long ball problems of his own. First Alex Bohm led off fourth with a homer to make it 6-1, then Brandon Marsh made it 6-2 with his own shot to the seats in the sixth. Burke then issued a couple of walks and an RBI single to Adolis García, and it was 6-3 and time for Burke to hit the showers.
Never fear, Sean Newcomb got out of the jam and then pitched two more scoreless innings, and Grant Taylor struck out the side in the ninth. If the key to beating the Phillies is keeping Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in check, Sox pitching was perfect — the two combined to go 0-for-8 with five strikeouts (Schwarber did manage a walk). In fact, Schwarbers’ only non-K was a foul pop that Drew Romo made a nifty play on:
Some other highlights:
Meidroth singled twice to stretch his on-base streak to 18 games
Old pal Tanner Banks kept the Phillies in the game with 2 1/3 innings of one-hit, no-walk, no-run ball
Home plate ump Jim Wolf had a very generous strike zone. Unless the TV pitch box was way off, the Philly batters mysteriously didn’t challenge some crucial strike calls, from two on Schwarber to open the game (he may have thought was too early in the game to give it a try), to one for a K on Bryson Stott to end the more crucial eighth. The Sox seemed to pass up a couple of chances as well, so maybe it was a TV box problem.
The rubber match will be at 12:35 p.m. Central tomorrow, with David Sandlin making his third start for the Sox and veteran Aaron Nola making another try at getting back to the performances of his glory days for the Phillies.
One postseason appearance changed everything, and now the Utah Mammoth face the kind of offseason that could determine whether they're simply an exciting young team—or the NHL's next legitimate powerhouse.
A Playoff Breakthrough Changes The Conversation
Expectations surrounding Utah entering the 2025-26 season were modest at best.
The foundation was certainly intriguing. Clayton Keller remained the offensive catalyst, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther continued developing into stars, Nick Schmaltz provided veteran production, and Mikhail Sergachev anchored the blue line. But with the Central Division loaded from top to bottom and several young players still finding their footing, most believed another year of growth would be necessary before playoff hockey became realistic.
Instead, the Mammoth accelerated the timeline.
General manager Bill Armstrong aggressively strengthened the roster, acquiring J.J. Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres and adding veteran defenseman Mackenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames without sacrificing a first-round pick in either deal. Those moves transformed Utah into one of the league's biggest surprises, finishing 43-33-6 and punching a ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The opportunity was there for an even deeper run.
After grabbing a 2-1 series lead over the Vegas Golden Knights, Utah looked poised for an upset before consecutive overtime defeats completely shifted the momentum. The Mammoth ultimately exited in six games, but the series proved something important: this team is much closer than many expected.
Now comes the difficult part—deciding whether it's time to push all of the chips to the middle.
The Next Wave Could Arrive Sooner Than Expected
Few organizations possess the type of high-end prospect depth Utah currently enjoys.
Tij Iginla appears ready to make the jump after dominating the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets. The sixth overall selection from the 2024 NHL Draft exploded for 41 goals and 90 points in just 48 games while finishing with an eye-popping plus-47 rating. His offensive instincts are obvious, but his commitment away from the puck may be what earns him NHL minutes immediately.
Caleb Desnoyers isn't far behind.
The fourth overall pick in 2025 produced 22 goals and 78 points across 45 games, showcasing the creativity and hockey IQ that made him one of the premier prospects in his draft class. At 173 pounds, additional strength would certainly benefit him, but his talent is difficult to ignore.
Utah suddenly finds itself with an enviable problem.
If one—or both—young centers prove capable of sticking in training camp, the organization could dramatically reshape its lineup while injecting another wave of speed and skill into an already dangerous forward group.
Tough Contract Decisions Will Shape Utah's Future
Cap space provides flexibility, but difficult choices still await.
With roughly $14.2 million available, Armstrong must determine which pending unrestricted free agents remain part of the organization's long-term vision.
Kailer Yamamoto made a compelling late-season case. After settling into a top-six role, he recorded nine points over his final 13 games, including the playoffs, bringing energy and secondary scoring exactly when Utah needed it most. A projected contract near $1.8 million makes a reunion financially appealing, assuming the organization believes his late surge is sustainable.
Kevin Stenlund offers value in different ways.
His offensive totals won't dominate headlines, but a 54.2 percent faceoff success rate and league-leading shorthanded ice time made him one of Utah's most trusted defensive forwards. With projections placing his next contract around $1.4 million, retaining him would preserve an important piece of the penalty kill.
Alex Kerfoot presents a more complicated decision.
Limited to just 34 games because of injuries, the versatile forward produced only 13 points and is expected to command more than $3.3 million annually. His ability to play multiple positions remains valuable, but with organizational depth growing down the middle, Utah must determine whether that price fits its long-term blueprint.
Is Barrett Hayton Part Of The Long-Term Plan?
Perhaps no player presents a more fascinating offseason decision than Barrett Hayton.
When healthy, the center consistently impacts games with relentless forechecking, responsible defensive play, and dependable two-way effort. The problem has been availability. Since 2021-22, his career has alternated between mostly healthy campaigns and seasons interrupted by lengthy absences.
Now arbitration eligible, Hayton is projected by AFP Analytics to earn north of $5.3 million annually on his next contract.
That's where the conversation becomes interesting.
With Iginla and Desnoyers pushing toward NHL jobs and Utah already possessing significant depth down the middle, Hayton could emerge as one of the organization's most valuable trade assets. His age, defensive reliability, and untapped offensive upside would undoubtedly attract interest across the league.
Whether Armstrong chooses continuity or leverages that value to strengthen the wings could become one of the defining decisions of Utah's offseason.
After exceeding expectations and announcing themselves as a legitimate playoff team, the Mammoth are no longer chasing relevance—they're trying to build a roster capable of contending for the Stanley Cup every single year.
Saturday's game between the Yankees and Boston Red Sox has been postponed due to inclement weather.
It will be made up as the first game of a split-admission doubleheader on Saturday, Aug. 29, starting at 1:05 p.m.
The originally scheduled 7:35 p.m. game was initially delayed because of thunderstorms in the area, but the plan was for the game to get underway once the thunderstorms passed.
However, just over an hour after the delayed start announcement, the game was called.
Right-hander Will Warren, who was set to take the mound for New York before the postponement, will now pitch in the first game of the Cleveland Guardians series on Monday night. Meanwhile, righty Cam Schlittler will still make his scheduled start in Sunday's series finale.
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 31: Zach Agnos #36 of the Colorado Rockies pitches in the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on May 31, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a promising start yesterday, things took a turn for the worse for the Colorado Rockies, as the Milwaukee Brewers jumped on Colorado’s bullpen late to take the game to extras and earn a decisive win.
Not to paint a picture of doom and gloom, but Game 2 of the series won’t get any easier since the Rockies have a date with Jacob Misiorowski, who is dominating the league in several categories.
The Rockies have already faced their fair share of top pitchers in 2026, and, sadly, the results in those matchups have not been great. Looking across this season’s pitching leaders and other big names, Colorado has already taken on the likes of Paul Skenes (3-1 loss), Shohei Ohtani (4-1 loss), Cristopher Sánchez (6-0 loss), Chris Sale (9-1 loss), and Chase Burns (7-2 loss).
Misiorowski, by the numbers, will be the toughest hurdle the Rockies hitters will have faced so far.
The Miz leads MLB in strikeouts (108), WHIP (0.79), and batting average against (.150). He’s second in the league in ERA (1.65) and has been stingy with hits (just 37) and home runs (four) allowed across 12 games. Conversely, the streaky Rockies offense is tied for fifth-worst in strikeouts, so Misiorowski could prove to be a tough nut to crack.
Misiorowski is currently on a streak of five straight quality starts. In his last, a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros, he went seven innings with three hits and eight strikeouts. He’s relied primarily on his utterly dominant four-seam fastball (63% usage, averaging a whopping 99.9 MPH), but has effectively mixed in a slider, curveball, cutter, and changeup.
Heading into this morning, there was some uncertainty around Colorado’s plans for the evening’s pitching. The probable starter for the Rockies, Tanner Gordon, has joined the army of players on the injured list. It has since been announced that Zach Agnos will get the start.
Agnos last started against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 21st, pitching five scoreless innings and giving up just one hit with four strikeouts. Since then, however, he returned to the bullpen and has fared much worse. He’s given up 14 runs across his last two relief appearances, giving up seven runs on six hits in two innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers and another seven runs on seven hits in only one inning against the San Francisco Giants.
Runs may come at a premium for the Rockies offense against the flamethrower on the mound. Agnos will need to return to form and show the promise he flashed in his lone start that has been missing in his relief appearances for Colorado to stay in the game.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 06: Kade Morris #67 of the Athletics pitches in his MLB debut against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Daikin Park on June 06, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Not a good day at the park. The good guys fell this afternoon, falling to the division rival Houston Astros 13-2 in the middle game of the series.
He is wearing a full cage and is in the starting lineup. He received a huge cheer from the Vegas crowd when introduced.
McNabb was hit in the visor by Nikolaj Ehlers' hard shot during Thursday's Game 2 and dropped to the ice. He went to the dressing room while grabbing his face and was taken to the hospital, according to ABC. He was able to fly home with the team on Friday.
He played a little more than five minutes before being hurt in Game 2 but is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game in the playoffs. He's known more for his defense and penalty killing, but had three assists in the Golden Knights' Game 1 win.
McNabb is TAKING WARMUPS and is a game time decision after taking this slap shot to the face in Game 2 and going to the hospital 🤯
He played 11 shifts for a little less than eight minutes, tops on the Golden Knights for the period. One shot on net, one missed shot, another one was blocked. No blocked shots himself.
"He's one of a kind," captain Mark Stone told ABC about McNabb's ability to return.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Austin Wells #28 of the New York Yankees in action against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on June 05, 2026 in New York City. The Red Sox defeated the Yankees 5-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a surprising move, the Yankees placed Austin Wells on the injured list just ahead of Saturday’s soon-to-be-postponed with the Boston Red Sox. To replace Wells, the choice to fill in as the backup catcher is J.C. Escarra, returning to the big league club one day after getting sent down in favor of righty-hitting Ali Sánchez, who now might well take the bulk of the workload behind the dish — or at least a platoon split with the lefty Escarra.
Wells hits the shelf with what’s diagnosed as cervical headaches, potentially an issue that he has been dealing with for a while in what’s been up to this point a terrible campaign for the 26-year-old. Normally a very serviceable hitter behind the plate, especially adjusting for his position, Wells hit the IL with a .533 OPS, the worst among Yankee regulars.
Due to the nature of this IL replacement, it’s difficult to put a specific timeline on Wells’ return, and almost regardless of it, catcher remains a place the Yankees might look to improve at the deadline, even if midseason catcher trades are generally rare these days. Although Escarra was (very) recently with the big league club, he had scuffled for much of the season as well, batting .177 in 62 at-bats.
According to Cleveland Clinic, a cervical, or cervicogenic, headache "is head pain that originates in your neck. The pain can radiate from an injury or condition that affects your cervical spine, like an injury, arthritis or a slipped disk. Physical therapy and medications treat… https://t.co/6DYBVZJKk5
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 06: LuJames Groover #16 of the Arizona Diamondbacks runs to third base after hitting an RBI single against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Chase Field on June 06, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Groover advanced to third base on a fielding error by Jacob Young #30 of the Washington Nationals. It was Groover's first career MLB hit and RBI. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On paper, we should have won this game. On paper, Eduardo Rodriguez is a vastly superior pitcher to Zack Littell, the well-traveled journeyman who took the mound for Washington this afternoon on Corbin Carroll Mystery Bobblehead Day. Of course, baseball game aren’t played on paper, and before he’d even recorded his first out of the game, everyone’s favorite hologram had already given the Nationals their margin of victory.
Hologram Eddie didn’t look sharp to start off—his pitches weren’t landing where he wanted them. Either he was missing badly or leaving pitches in bad places, and for the second game in a row the leadoff batter reached, and was driven in by a dinger that went over the fence. Today it was a James Wood bloop single to left, followed by a Curtis Mead homer over the wall in left center. He then walked old Diamondbacks farmhand Andres Chaparro on five pitches, before LuJames Groover bailed him out by starting a nice 3-6 double play off the bat of CJ Abrams, and then catching a Dylan Crews pop up in foul territory. 2-0 Washington
To be fair, ERod settled in after that, pitching around a leadoff single to start the second and recording outs to the next eleven he faced, and fourteen of the next fifteen. Not too shabby after the rocky start to the first inning.
Meanwhile, our offense was unable to do anything against Littell, who was perfect through 3 2/3 innings before plunking Gabriel Moreno with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. His no-hit bid ended when Pavin Smith singled to lead off the fifth, and the shutout bid ended two outs later when LuJames Groover, in his sixth plate appearance in a major league game, hit a blooper to shallow center that rolled past Nationals center fielder Jacob Young and went to the wall. Initially I hoped it would be a triple, but it was scored as a single and a two-base error on Young, but it gave the young man his first big league hit and his first RBI as well, as Pavin Smith came around to score:
Tommy Tory then walked, but Ketel Marte rolled over on a grounder to second on the first pitch he saw, so Groover didn’t get to score his first run in the bigs. Great job, Ketel. 2-1 Washington
And that was it for the offense. Entirely. Well, except for a Corbin Carroll walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth, but that was promptly erased by Moreno rolling over to second for a double play. Great job, Gabi. After that, we didn’t have another baserunner.
Meanwhile, ERod pitched a clean sixth, and with only (?!) 85 pitches thrown, Torey Lovullo sent him out to start the seventh. That was a mistake, as the first pitch he threw went over left field fence, and after recording an out, he gave up a triple to center. Great job, Torey. Juan Morillo came in from the bullpen, was greeted by a squeeze bunt for which his only play was to first, so two more runs were in. 4-1 Washington
Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a scoreless eighth, and Drey Jameson, just up from Reno, gave up two more in the top of the ninth, to bring us to our final score of 6-1 Washington, because, as noted above, the offense couldn’t produce even another baserunner. Boo. Hiss.
Tiny Little Bright Spot: LuJames Groover (3 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI, +9% WPA) Holographic Dimness: Eduardo Rodriguez (6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, -10% WPA) Total Eclipse: The Rest of the Offense (25 AB, 0 H, 1 BB, 5 K, -47% WPA)
The Gameday Thread Diamondbacks vs. Nationals Discussion was sparsely attended again today, and again it was probably just as well, given the product the team put on the field, with a less than whopping 146 comments at time of writing. Precious few went what now passes for Sedona Red, and I’m departing from “popular acclaim,” such as it was, to give this one to AZNailgal520 for shouting out one of our number who could not be with us today and also capturing pretty perfectly the vibe of the whole sad undertaking that was this ballgame:
So we will try to avoid the sweep tomorrow, and if you are willing to pay the Peacock streaming service for the privilege, you can watch the festivities starting at 12 noon AZ time, as Michael Soroka takes the ball for us and Curt Cavalli goes for Washington. We don’t have Peacock, so if I “watch” at all it will be with the MLB Gameday open in a browser tab. But I hope some of you can join us, if you dare, because otherwise it will be a sad and lonely Gameday Thread Diamondbacks vs. Nationals Discussion for whoever is doing the guest recap tomorrow.
As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 4: A rainbow appears during a rain delay at Yankee Stadium during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees on August 4, 2024, in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees are in a bit of an odd state heading into play on Saturday against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. They already know that they’re going to be without Aaron Judge for at least the better part of two months (if not more) due to a stress fracture in his rib. They’ve lost four of their last six games, including a home series loss to the Guardians that saw the AL Central leaders rough up two previously unflustered aces in Cam Schlittler and Gerrit Cole. They lost the series opener against Boston last night thanks to some gopher-ball antics from Ryan Weathers and some defense and approaches at the plate that certainly left fans wanting.
The latest weirdness includes the catching situation. They’ve received very little production at the plate from the Austin Wells/J.C. Escarra tandem, and they decided to demote Escarra after last night’s game, seemingly with the desire to at least get a right-handed hitter in there in former big leaguer Ali Sánchez. He will start behind the plate on Saturday night. Then at 6:45pm ET — a little under an hour before first pitch — they reactivated Escarra because Wells needs to go on the IL with cervical headaches that sound downright painful, per the Cleveland Clinic. What a joy.
Oh, and the relish on top of this bizarre sandwich is that there are thunderstorms in the Tri-State Area and the game won’t begin on time. The Yankees announced this at about the same time as the Wells IL move, and they confirmed the rain delay at 7:17pm ET. Reports indicate that they expect to play before too long and that the storms will pass soon, but that’s where we are.
Hang in there and take care of yourself, especially if you’re dealing with neck pain like Wells.
Please be advised we do not intend to start tonight’s game on time.
On Thursday afternoon, a major report from NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman indicating that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade began making the rounds on social media.
Multiple NHL Insiders have discussed the major shift in Larkin's future aspirations, which he said as recently as late April were wanting to get the Red Wings over the hump and back into Stanley Cup contention.
In the meantime, there have been no official confirmations from Larkin or his representation, or from GM Steve Yzerman.
Yzerman's good friend Darren Pang is now reacting to the reported trade request from Larkin, and harkened back to the mid-90s when rumors circulated that Yzerman himself was on the verge of being traded to the Ottawa Senators.
“I mean, very interesting that it came out the way that it came out,” Pang said while appearing on The Daily Faceoff Live podcast. “My hope would be that it came out internally first, that he and his agent wrote to Steve Yzerman and, at this particular point, I remember Steve — 22 years being a captain — and with Mr. I and Mrs. I, they were very close friends. Just their relationship. And I know there was one point in Steve's career where there was a possibility of moving Steve to Ottawa for Alexei Yashin."
“But Mr. I pulled him aside, with respect, and asked him if it's something he'd want to do. They hadn't won a Stanley Cup in 13 years before he won his first Stanley Cup in Detroit, and with all the respect between the two, he said no, and he wanted to stay part of the equation and win in Detroit. That's what ended up happening."
Pang expressed his hope that Larkin had contacted both Yzerman and the Red Wings ownership before this request was made public.
“What I'm saying is that I'm hoping that Dylan Larkin's first call was to Steve Yzerman, and then his next call was hopefully to Chris or Marian Ilitch to say why," Pang said. "Because if this is false reporting, which it doesn't sound like it is, that would have been awful."
Pang then concluded by saying he was somewhat taken aback by Larkin's reported trade request considering his Michigan roots and previous open statements of wanting to lead Detroit back to Stanley Cup contention.
“But if it's the legitimate side of it and Dylan Larkin doesn't want to continue in his home state of Michigan with all the growth they've done and all the battling they've done together, I gotta tell you, I'm a little surprised," Pang said. "I would think that he would do what Steve did way back when and say, ‘I'm going to put this team on my shoulders and say we're going to win right here, and I'm going to be a Michigan-born captain and be the guy that leads this team here.’
“To me, it's a little surprising because there are a lot of great parts in Detroit. I don't think that they're that far off; they've proven that........I thought the next moment would be leading the Detroit Red Wings to the playoffs and then eventually hunting down the Stanley Cup in years to come.
But it doesn't look like that's going to happen if this ends up being legitimate.”
Larkin currently ranks 10th all-time in total Red Wings scoring with 643 points in 808 career NHL games.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 04: Steven Kwan #38 of the Cleveland Guardians in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 04, 2026 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Guardians 2-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a span of 24 hours, the Yankees went from optioning J.C. Escarra to Triple-A and calling up Ali Sánchez to placing Austin Wells on the injured list shortly before Saturday’s game with “cervical headaches” and calling Escarra back up.
When Aaron Boone spoke to reporters two and a half hours before the scheduled first pitch between the Yankees and Red Sox on Saturday, there was no indication that Wells was dealing with something physically, other than him struggling mightily at the plate for most of the season.
The right-handed hitting Sánchez was in the lineup on Saturday night, but that was believed to be only because the Red Sox were starting lefty Ranger Suárez.
Austin Wells reacts after striking out during the Yankees’ June 5 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
Now, the Yankees will have to figure out how to split the workload between Sánchez and Escarra while Wells — who had started 45 of the Yankees’ 63 games before Saturday — is on the 10-day IL.
If the Yankees had known that Wells’ physical issues were serious enough for an IL stint, they presumably would not have gone through the hassle of telling Escarra he was being demoted to Triple-A on Friday night.
J.C. Escarra (r.) is pictured during the Yankees’ May 7 game. Bill Kostroun for the NY Post
“It just felt like, with our catchers struggling a little bit offensively obviously, just felt like the opportunity exists for Ali to get up here and give us a different look, and give J.C. a chance to go down there and play a little more regularly,” Boone had said before the Yankees changed course.
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“There’s some things he’s working on offensively that I really — not only has he already done a great job behind the plate, but I do feel like there’s an offensive player in there at this level. But I think some regular reps down there hopefully will serve him well and hopefully Ali can come up here and provide a little bit of a spark and a different look too.”