Category: MLB

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Happy birthday to Don Kessinger, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1941 – In front of more than 60,000 fans at Cleveland, Joe DiMaggio‘s hitting streak is ended at 56 games. Indians P Al Smith and Jim Bagby Jr., plus sensational plays by 3B Ken Keltner, stop the Yankee Clipper, but New York edges the Indians, 6-5, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1900 – At Brooklyn’s Washington Park, the Superbas tie the score against the Giants in the 5th. Then, with two men on base, New York sent in rookie Christy Mathewson, just brought up from Norfolk where he was 20-2. He hits three batters, walks two, and gives up six runs in a 13-7 loss. The New York Times says, “Matty has lots of speed and gives promise of making his way.”
• 1922 – At Boston, Ty Cobb gets five hits (and a walk) in a game for the fourth time this year, setting an American League mark. Only Willie Keeler had done it before. The Tigers roar, 16-7.
• 1925 – Tris Speaker is the fifth hitter to get 3,000 hits.
• 1934 – Babe Ruth draws his 2,000th base on balls at Cleveland. He will retire with a walk record of 2,062. Rickey Henderson will break the record.
• 1936 – Carl Hubbell starts his 24-game winning streak, beating Pittsburgh, 6-0. The Giants hit a National League record-tying four triples in the first inning: Jo-Jo Moore, Mel Ott and Hank Leiber hit them in succession, and Eddie Mayo adds one later in the inning to equal the major league record.
• 1950 – Yankee rookie Whitey Ford wins his first major league game, beating the visiting White Sox, 4-3. 
• 1954 – With Jim Gilliam (2B), Jackie Robinson (3B), Sandy Amoros (LF), Roy Campanella (C) and Don Newcombe (P) in the starting lineup against the Braves, the Dodgers field the first team which consists of a majority of black players. The historic five helps Brooklyn beat Milwaukee at County Stadium, 2-1.
• 1960 – Batting just .244 and not hitting for power, Willie McCovey, 1959 National League Rookie of the Year, is sent down to Tacoma (Pacific Coast League).
• 1961 – Following a year-long illness, Ty Cobb succumbs to cancer at age 74 at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
• 1967 – During a 6-2 defeat, concluding a dismal 2-and-4 road trip for the Pirates, the rarely disappointing Roberto Clemente does what he does so well – break the other team’s heart in their own house and have their fans thank him for it. As Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press reports: “Clemente robbed Joe Torre with a lunging catch of his pop fly in the third inning with two on and the hometown Atlanta fans applauded him en route to the bench. They even applauded him when he went to bat in the fourth inning.”
• 1970 – Roberto Clemente, just a double shy of the cycle, scores the tying run, drives in the go-ahead run and keeps his team ahead with a crucial ninth-inning outfield assist, leading the Pirates to a 4-3 win over Cincinnati in a preview of the National League Championship Series. Clemente’s 150th career triple leads to the tying run in the sixth and his 400-foot first-pitch bomb over the right-centerfield fence off rookie Wayne Simpson unties it in the eighth. To keep it untied, Clemente puts down his bat and lets his arm do the talking as he guns down Tommy Helms at the plate in the ninth to seal the victory.
• 1971 – Juan Marichal allows just one hit through eight innings, but the Reds score three in the bottom of the ninth to win, 3-2. Tony Perez hits a two-run single to win it.
• 1974 – Cardinals pitching great Bob Gibson fans the Reds’ Cesar Geronimo to become the second hurler after Walter Johnson to strike out 3,000 batters.
• 1989 – White Sox C Carlton Fisk gets his 2,000th career hit in a 7-3 win over the Yankees.
• 1991 – Randy Johnson takes just four innings to rack up ten walks. He fans four, tosses a wild pitch and allows one hit and four runs in his stint, a 6-1 loss to the Brewers. 
• 1992 – Baltimore P Mike Mussina tosses a one-hitter against the Texas Rangers, striking out ten as the Orioles win by a score of 8-0. 
• 2009 – Jim Thome drives in a career-high seven runs with a grand slam and a three-run home run as Chicago defeats the Orioles, 12-8.

Today in Cubs history:

• 1906 – The Cubs beat back the Giants, 6-2, as Three-Finger Brown tops Christy Mathewson. Joe Tinker‘s two-run homer in the sixth is the big blow for Chicago. The loss drops the Giants to six games behind the Cubs.
• 1908 – In another classic match-up, Three-Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson pair off with Brown winning, 1-0. The Cubs pitcher allows six hits, with Matty giving up seven. The only run comes on a 5th-inning inside-the-park home run by Matty’s nemesis, Joe Tinker, who runs through the arms of third base coach Heinie Zimmerman to score. In the 12 match-ups between the two pitchers, Brown has won eight.
• 1909 – Brooklyn and Chicago swap shutouts, with George Bell topping Chicago’s Orval Overall, 1-0, in the opener. Ed Reulbach comes back in the second game to beat Kaiser Wilhelm, 4-0.
• 1915 – The Cubs end Grover Cleveland Alexander‘s nine-game win streak, 4-0.
• 1918 – In the longest errorless game, Cubs beat Phillies 2-1 in 21 innings.
• 1964 – In Los Angeles, the Cub–Dodger contest becomes the first Pay-TV baseball game as Subscription Television offers the cablecast to subscribers for money. The Dodgers beat Chicago, 3-2, with Don Drysdale collecting 10 strikeouts.
• 1966 – The Cubs clip the Cardinals, 7-2, behind the pitching of Ken Holtzman and the slugging of Billy Williams, who hits for the cycle.

Cubs Birthdays:Herb Hutson, Don Kessinger*. Also notable: Lou Boudreau HOF.

Today in history:

• 1917 – Royal Proclamation by King George V changes name of British Royal family from German Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
• 1937 – Elmer Fudd, originally Egghead, is a Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Tex Avery and Chuck Jones for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, first debuting as Egghead in “Egghead Rides Again”.
• 1959 – Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey discovers the partial skull of a new species of early human ancestor, Zinjanthropus boisei or “Zinj” (now called Paranthropus boisei), which lived in Africa almost 2 million years ago.
• 1967 – Jimi Hendrix quits as opening act of the Monkees’ tour, after playing 7 of a planned 29 shows.
• 2018 – Oldest evidence of bread made from wild grains is discovered by archaeologists in a 14,000-year-old dig in the Black Desert, Jordan

*pictured.

Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The unofficial first half of the season is officially in the rearview, as the Brewers will kick off their post-All-Star break slate tonight in Milwaukee. At 59-37 this year, the Brewers sit ahead of the Cubs by five games in the NL Central and currently hold the second-best record in baseball behind only the 61-36 Dodgers. The Brewers come out of the break with a nine-game homestand, as they’ll host the Marlins, Mets, and Rockies over the next 10 days.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread:

The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching, but finding any clarity in the playoff chase before then is highly unlikely.

With roughly two-thirds of all major league teams at least within striking distance of a wild-card spot, it's going to be hard to tell the buyers from the sellers over the next few weeks. Until they start making deals.

Expect a lot of waiting and then a flurry of trades before the deadline as teams look to tweak their rosters for the stretch run. Any players on the 40-man roster acquired before the deadline will be eligible to play for their new clubs in the postseason.

When is the MLB trade deadline?

The MLB trade deadline, traditionally July 31, is a bit later than it's been in the past. With the 31st on a Friday this year, MLB has decided to move the deadline later.

Trade deadline: Monday, August 3

Time: 6 p.m. ET

Welcome back to the show everyone. After a four-day All-Star Break excursion, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. The second half of the season is here, and the Yankees start off the back end of their calendar with a doozy, a three-game set against the two-time defending-champion Dodgers. It’ll be the first time the Yankees and Dodgers have faced off in the Bronx since that fateful Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, giving the Yankees a chance to exorcise some demons, at least in a small way.

You can get prepped for the series with LA with Josh’s preview of the three games. We’ll also continue our trade deadline coverage with Matt’s look at Twins starter Joe Ryan, and our Yankee Birthday series with Nick’s profile of a quietly important figure in Yankees history. And later, Jonathan reviews how the Yankees’ 2026 draft picks did in the College World Series, and Madison delivers the answers to this week’s mailbag.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, SportsNet LA, MLB Network

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. What do you expect from this interesting Gerrit Cole vs. Roki Sasaki matchup tonight?

2. Did you catch up on anything you’d been meaning to during the All-Star Break?

SNY | Alex Smith: MLB announced full schedules for the 2027 season Thursday. The Yankees will start the campaign at home with three-game sets against the Blue Jays and Athletics before heading to Cleveland and then Pittsburgh on a road trip. The Subway Series will be held in Queens from May 28-30 and in the Bronx from July 16-18. The Yankees close out the year with three consecutive series against division opponents that could prove pivotal to the playoff race.

New York Post | Jack Harris: When the Dodgers take the field this weekend in the Bronx, they’ll be without their best pitcher. After having his knee drained over the All-Star break, Shohei Ohtani will not take the mound against the Yankees. The Dodgers are hopeful he’ll be able to remain in their lineup at DH. Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are scheduled to start during the three-game set. Ohtani is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts this year.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: ($) Cam Schlittler likes to pitch angry, using slights (real or perceived) to motivate him. The Yankees have been adding fuel to the fire. Ahead of his eight-inning, one-run performance against the Rays last week, Yankees director of organizational performance Chad Bohling played a clip of podcaster Jared Carrabis saying Schlittler was regressing. The motivational tactic is a trend that dates back to college, when the little-heralded prospect would consume media that failed to mention him to keep him hungry. It’s an approach he hopes is well-suited for the Big Apple. “We’ve seen a lot of guys come here and try to play, and they can’t do it,” Schlittler said. “That’s why they leave. They may have had successful careers. It’s my first full year, though. I could be saying all this, and in a few years, it might not work out. I’m confident it will. I feel like I handle that stuff well. There’s added pressure, but I welcome that. I think we need to be held to a high standard.”

Greg Joyce | New York Post: A profile on Hunter Dietz, the Yankees’ first-round pick in last weekend’s MLB Draft. After missing the beginning of his college career almost entirely due to a stress fracture in his elbow, the southpaw made 16 starts this year for Arkansas, striking out 131 in 85 ²/₃ innings. The Yankees have been following Dietz since high school, and were encouraged enough by what he showed this year to make him their top pick. He expressed enthusiasm about his landing spot, saying “there’s a lot of potential that I need to unlock. I just feel like this staff is perfect for me, once I start my buildup, just to get ready for next year and the coming outings that I’m going to have. I feel like it’s just perfect for me as a player.”

Manager Derek McInnes has suggested Rangers could complete more signings before Wednesday's friendly meeting with St-Etienne at Ibrox on Wednesday.

Rangers, third in last season's Scottish Premiership, have already brought in six new recruits, with Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin following McInnes from Tynecastle to Ibrox.

"The club has done brilliant work at this moment in time to try and bring in the additions that we clearly needed," McInnes said in a club media interview from the club's Spanish training camp.

"We want to make sure we are a more rounded squad when it comes to the bit that we're ready, but the work will be ongoing. We're still looking to try and get a couple of things done ahead of the St-Etienne game.

"We're two weeks away from Dundee United [opening day of the league campaign], and I feel that the fitness of the players is a lot better and stronger to where we want it to be, from when we set off a couple of weeks ago."

Rangers ended their camp with a 2-2 draw against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim, with McInnes calling it "a good test against a team who are well up and running in their season".

Devlin, Ivor Pandur and Thelo Aasgaard will join training on Monday after their involvement at the World Cup and McInnes welcomes the "jag of quality" the trio will bring.

McInnes, who steered Hearts to second place last term, also stressed the importance of team building in the early days of his reign.

"I want us to be more together as a squad," he said. "What we have is a lot of good individuals and we saw signs of that last season - Rangers, at times, were really strong. Individually, players were at a good level, but when it came to it, we needed to be more of a team.

"I really want to build that work ethic, that togetherness that gets you through tough times."

The two teams locked in a battle for fourth place in the National League West will renew their rivalry early and late next season. That battle might come down to the bitter end as the San Francisco Giants close the 2027 season with a three-game series at Coors Field.

The season will kick off early, on Thursday, March 25 in San Francisco, before the teams take a well-earned rest day on Friday before continuing the series. The Giants start the season with six games against NL West opponents, then don’t see a division rival for five more weeks, when they travel to UNIQLO Field to face a Los Angeles Dodgers team that will probably have added Robbie Ray, Tarik Skubal, Luis Arraez, and LeBron James in free agency.

They won’t play the San Diego Padres until May 24, to start one of their two 10-game homestands of the season. The second 10-game stretch at Oracle Park will follow the All-Star Break, starting with the A’s, ending with the Padres, and stuffed with a whopping four-game helping of Rockies in the middle. September has a nine-game homestand and jsut two six-game road trips,

Do you like June Swoons? The Giants are set up for one of those next season, with trips to San Diego, Arizona, Philadelphia, and Toronto, and visits from the Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, and the New York Mets, who have to be better next season, right?

The reward for making it through the June gauntlet is a 10-game road trip leading into the break, including a stretch of 16 games in 16 days. It could be brutal for the pitching staff, with a four-game series in the launching pad of Arizona’s ballpark followed by three games at the moon base of Coors Field, which is an even better hitters’ park

But things ease up as the season progresses. August begins with the Dodgers, Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Dodgers again, but then the Giants get six games with the Miami Marlins, three each with the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, and the A’s. September has a nine-game homestand and just two six-game road trips, each featuring a strange geographic double: St. Louis-San Diego and Minneapolis-Denver.

After the All-Star Break, the Giants have 34 home games to 30 road games, with 67% of their matchups taking place in California. It’s hard to predict exactly which games will be tough one year out, but it feels safe to say that the Dodgers and Brewers will continue to be difficult opponents, and the Giants play both in separate six-game stretches in early May and early August.

What’s going to be the easiest ticket to buy? The Wednesday, September 1 home game against the Cleveland Guardians, likely to be an afternoon contest. If you really want to catch a foul ball, circle this game on your calendar.

Is it a tough schedule? At a glance, the Giants seem to have easier American League opponents at home and a tougher inter-league road schedule, while the season may vacillate wildly from brutal stretches to easier ones. Generally, this a tougher schedule in the hot parts of summer but starts and ends fairly gently. This team could rack up a lot of wins early, assuming they have a bullpen and not a bunch of weird zealots who don’t believe in evolution or throwing strikes to the leadoff man. And they’re generally less sucky.

But if they don’t get off to a good start, it might be a long, long summer. Specifically from June 14-July 11, hoo boy.

PHILADELPHIA — There have been plenty of nights when people wouldn’t have wanted to see the Mets play.

On Thursday, they nearly got their wish as the smoke from the Canadian wildfires forced MLB to move up the start of the game and it may have paid off.

“I didn’t think it was bad til the last couple innings,” Brett Baty said after the Mets beat the Phillies 4-1 at Citizens Bank Park.

“My eyes were burning and itching a little bit,’’ Baty said. “[Carson] Benge said it felt like you were sitting by a campfire. It was fun … but it didn’t feel great playing ball with it.”

Despite the adverse conditions, the game didn’t appear to be directly impacted.

Phillies manager Don Mattingly said, “It got almost, like, foggier. Guys didn’t seem to be having trouble.”

Home plate umpire and crew chief Dan Iassogna checked with players and the grounds crew throughout the game and play was never stopped.

Francisco Alvarez, who homered twice, said through an interpreter that “by the end of the game, it was a little more difficult to catch and see.”

That didn’t make it pleasant, as Christian Scott said it “got a little thick” on the field.

The smoke undoubtedly increased throughout the course of the game, but no one lost any fly balls.

As interim Mets manager Andy Green said when asked how the conditions may have affected the game, “I don’t think they really did. It felt like they could have at any moment, especially as visibility got tougher.”

PHILADELPHIA — Marcus Semien returned from his rehab assignment and was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in time for Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Phillies to open the second half of the season, but he wasn’t in the lineup.

It’s an indication of just how poor the veteran second baseman has been in his first season with the Mets, as interim manager Andy Green went with the lefty-swinging Brett Baty against Philadelphia right-hander Aaron Nola.

And Baty delivered with a pair of hits, including a homer.

“When my name is called, I’ll be ready,’’ Semien said before the game. “I’m ready to play every single day. That’s what I told Andy.”

Asked if Semien and Baty, who was hitting better before the All-Star break- were in something of a lefty-righty platoon, Green said the team wanted to get Semien a full workout day before he started a game, since he was unable to play in any minor league rehab games during the break.

Green added that Semien was expected to be in the lineup Saturday when the Phillies are scheduled to start lefty Jesús Luzardo.

“He’ll figure prominently in our mix going forward,’’ Green said of Semien.

Semien, a significant part of the offseason overhaul undertaken by president of baseball operations David Stearns, had been sidelined since June 24 with a left hip flexor strain.

Even before the injury, though, the 35-year-old was having the worst season of his 14-year career.

Not only has his offense dropped off for a third straight year, Semien has been a below-average defender at second base.

Baty can play second and third and Green said he might use him at first, where Jared Young — another lefty hitter — has gotten the bulk of the playing time.

“This is who he is as a hitter and what he can do,” Green said of Baty’s recent hot streak. “He presents a lot of defensive versatility … [and] he’s showing the pop in his bat we believe he has.”

Baty acknowledged he’s had a disappointing year up to this point, saying, “I don’t think it’s been good at all. I hold myself to a way higher standard than the way I’ve been playing. I think the last two or so weeks have been the kind of player I am: hitting the ball hard and playing good defense. That’s all I can really control.”

To open a roster spot for Semien, Zack Short was designated for assignment after starting the last three games before the break at second base.

Short had been starting, in part, because Bo Bichette was dealing with right ankle soreness.

Bichette was back in the lineup at third base Thursday — with Baty at second — and Green noted, “We definitely could have used his bat in the last series,” when the Mets were swept at home by Boston.

Last time on the mound, Mets starter Christian Scott threw five scoreless innings in a win over the Kansas City Royals, but interim manager Andy Green wanted to see more from the 27-year-old despite the results.

Scott said he didn't have his best stuff, and Green challenged him to "get better" and reach "another level" that he believes is there in the right-hander.

Thursday night in Philadelphia, Scott answered that challenge.

He threw 5.2 scoreless innings in a 4-1 win over the Phillies, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. After the win, Scott explained how Green's comments motivated him for this next start.

"Yeah, I love when he challenges me," Scott said. "I don't want to hear how good I did; I want to hear what I need to improve on. It's easy to come in here and say I did a great job when me and him both know I didn't really pitch up to my capabilities that day, even though the results showed that. Sometimes the results kind of lie.

"I thought it was a good kick in the ass, little bit. Being able to light that fire under me. I needed that for that day. You know, especially coming off his ear, I know I can pitch better; that was a good time for him to bring that up."

Green was proud of how Scott responded with "outstanding effort" on Thursday, and noted that he would've kept Scott in the game longer if this wasn't their first game back from the All-Star break.

"I thought his mix was really good. His fastball was alive early, he was beating really good hitters with it," Green said. "I think second time through he mixed really well, got to the cutter and the sweeper a little bit more. Outstanding effort from him.

"I think I challenged him last game to really end innings and not let them drag on, and he did a phenomenal job of that. Any other day, he's probably going to be asked to run through the middle of the order again, but with a day off tomorrow coming off the All-Star break, we're about as fresh in the bullpen as we could be. Having Brooks [Raley] available in there to get the couple of lefties was great."

Scott threw his fastball 27 times against the Phillies, topping out at 97.7 mph, and got four strikeouts with the pitch. Overall, he threw 79 pitches for a total of 56 strikes, and like Green noticed, said everything was working well on the mound.

"I thought I did a good job attacking the strike zone early," Scott said. "Just stayed on the attack pretty much the whole game, all my pitches were working in the strike zone today. Thought I did a good job getting ahead, just getting through at-bats pretty quickly today."

Looking ahead, Scott hopes to be able to pitch deeper into the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, but acknowledges it's "part of the learning process." For now, he's happy with putting the Mets in a position to win the game.

"Just giving the team a chance to win, honestly, that was the biggest part of that I took from today," Scott said. "I thought the offense did a good job battling and then finally getting to the bullpen and putting some runs together. Yeah, I just keep my team in it for the most part, that's what my job is, so feel like I did a good job of that."

PHILADELPHIA — Calf injuries have already cost the Mets significantly this season, with both Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor missing time with them.

But interim manager Andy Green said after Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park that even though Soto was removed before the bottom of the eighth with “a little left calf soreness,” the left fielder is expected to be back on the field “this weekend.”

Soto said after the game he felt it about halfway through the win, a game in which he reached base four times with a base hit and three walks.

And Soto added he intended to be in the lineup Saturday, when the Mets resume their series against the Phillies.

Green noted they pulled Soto, in part, because he didn’t have an All-Star break.

“He just played in the All-Star Game and had a lot of activity the last few days,’’ Green said. “It made sense to get him off his feet.”

Soto will get treatment Friday and they’ll see how he feels Saturday — and Green added Soto could have remained in the game, but “it didn’t make sense.”

Clay Holmes threw to Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. in Brooklyn on Tuesday, as both Holmes and Robert get closer to returning.

Holmes (fractured right fibula) could begin a minor league rehab assignment after his next side session, although Green said there was no specific date set for the start of that assignment.

And Robert (lumbar disc herniation) is set to continue his minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Friday and could be back with the Mets “relatively soon,’’ according to Green.

Francisco Lindor made another uncharacteristic error in Thursday’s win.

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With Bryce Harper at the plate in the bottom of the sixth, the Mets caught Kyle Schwarber off second base.

Francisco Alvarez threw down to Lindor, but as Schwarber headed to third, Lindor bounced a throw to Bo Bichette and Schwarber was safe on Lindor’s error.

It ended up not costing the Mets.

Brooks Raley walked Harper, but then got Brandon Marsh swinging to end the inning.

If the 2027 season starts on time — a big if, considering the distance between MLB and the MLBPA with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire in December — the Mets would open at Miami on March 25.

Their home opener will be on April 2 against the Giants.

The first round of the Subway Series is scheduled to begin May 28 at Citi Field, with the Mets visiting the Yankees to open the second half on July 16.

The Mets are set to finish the season at home against the Cubs, with the final game on Sept. 26.

Wander Franco wants to return to the baseball diamond.

Franco, who was found guilty in May of sexually abusing a minor in a second trial, was making a push to play for the Dominican Republic during the Central American and Caribbean Games that start later this month, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reported Wednesday.

Nevertheless, Franco’s participation appears unlikely, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Franco, who last played in an MLB game on Aug. 12, 2023, was left off of the Dominican Republic’s “long list” of candidates for its roster, meaning that he is not eligible to play on the team, per the outlet.

The Dominican Baseball Federation (FEDOM) said it is working on getting Franco cleared to play.

“We, as the Dominican Baseball Federation, have been handling the procedures with the Dominican Olympic Committee in order to allow us to register Wander through the platform so that he can play with us,” FEDOM told the Tampa Bay Times in a statement.

“We are hopeful and very confident that we will receive a positive response.”

Despite this, Garibaldy Bautista, president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, insists that Franco remains ineligible for the tournaments.

“Simply put, he is not on the long list and cannot be registered on the Dominican team to participate in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games,” Bautista said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Although a court found Franco, 25, guilty of the sexual and psychological exploitation of a minor, he did not face any jail time, with the victim’s mother instead getting a 10-year prison sentence for allegedly profiting from payments made by the ex-Rays infielder to consent to his relationship with the teen.

Franco, who is on MLB’s restricted list, has been unable to play in the major or minor leagues since August 2023, along with the Dominican Winter League, which has arrangements with MLB.

“To my fans, keep supporting me, trust in God and with the faith in God, I’ll soon be back,” Franco said while walking out of the court in May, according to reporter Hector Gomez. “In this process, I learned to never give up and to value family. Value your family because they will always be there.

“I’ve always kept training thanks to my dad.

The Shohei Ohtani Effect is minting a whole new lineup of Dodgers sponsors—and this time, the King of the Monsters is stepping up to the plate.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have landed another blockbuster partnership with one of Japan’s biggest entertainment brands, announcing a Godzilla Minus Zero Night that further showcases how Shohei Ohtani has transformed the franchise into Major League Baseball’s premier destination for Japanese business.

The Sept. 24 promotion, the Dodgers’ regular-season home finale against the San Diego Padres at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, will feature one of Japan’s most iconic cultural exports.

The first 40,000 ticketed fans entering the 7:10 p.m. game will receive an exclusive Godzilla Minus Zero bobblehead, with one giveaway item per valid ticket.

The collectible depicts Godzilla in full Dodgers gear, wearing a blue LA batting helmet and a white Dodgers jersey marked “0.0” while clenching a baseball bat between its jaws.

The monster stands atop a wrecked stadium scene surrounded by flames, with “Godzilla Minus Zero” displayed on the base.

The promotional image notes the design shown is a concept and the final product is subject to change.

Fans will also be treated to a Godzilla-themed drone show after the game, while additional in-stadium activations promoting the event will take place in the days leading up to the matchup.

The event also serves as a promotional launch for TOHO’s upcoming feature film, Godzilla Minus Zero, which opens in theaters nationwide on Nov. 6.

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Written, directed and featuring visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki, the movie is set in 1949, two years after the events of Godzilla Minus One, and follows the Shikishima family as they confront an all-new calamity.

Its predecessor won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards.

“We are pleased to partner with TOHO on Godzilla Minus Zero Night, an evening at the ballpark that should be a sure-fire hit with Dodger fans,” said Lorenzo Sciarrino, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, Los Angeles Dodgers. “This will be the perfect event to cap our 2026 regular season home schedule.”

Founded in 1932, TOHO is one of Japan’s leading entertainment companies, with operations spanning film production, distribution and exhibition, theater, anime and real estate.

“We are deeply honored to launch this partnership between the Los Angeles Dodgers, a monumental Major League Baseball franchise that continues to captivate fans worldwide, and Godzilla, a global icon loved for over 70 years,” said Keiji Ota, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Chief Godzilla Officer, TOHO CO., Ltd. “Both names share a powerful legacy of stepping onto the world stage, embracing relentless challenges, and fueling the passion of millions.”

Ota added that the collaboration marks another milestone in TOHO’s continued global expansion of the Godzilla brand.

“Through this partnership, Godzilla’s overwhelming presence and monumental scale will fuse with the dynamic energy of the Dodgers, delivering an exclusive, one-of-a-kind experience,” Ota further shared. “We imagine the roar of the stadium crowd echoing across the globe, capturing the very spirit of Godzilla itself.”

TOHO also promoted the event on social media, writing: “We are thrilled to announce ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Night at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, Sept 24 during the Dodgers vs. Padres game!”

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The company added: “Get ready, the first 40,000 fans score an exclusive bobblehead! Plus, don’t miss an epic drone show lighting up the night sky.”

The Godzilla partnership follows another wildly successful Japanese-themed promotion earlier this season.

The Dodgers’ One Piece Night on July 2 featured a co-branded Straw Hat giveaway and an exclusive Monkey D. Luffy trading card.

The promotion sparked massive demand, with thousands of fans lining up five hours before first pitch as raw copies of the card quickly flipped online for between $600 and $900.

Those promotions are part of a much larger financial transformation driven by Ohtani’s arrival.

Industry reports indicate the Dodgers now generate at least $200 million annually in revenue tied directly to Ohtani and the club’s expanding portfolio of Japanese partnerships.

The boom has reportedly been so lucrative that the franchise effectively recouped the equivalent of Ohtani’s historic $700 million contract within his first couple of seasons through sponsorships and other business generated by the Japanese superstar.

The Post’s Greg Joyce breaks down three questions that the Yankees will need to answer with the season set to resume after the All-Star break:

When does Aaron Judge return?

Since the day they revealed that Aaron Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his first right rib, the Yankees have said that the back-to-back AL MVP is expected to return at some point this season.

But will he, and when, and in what condition?

No one can say for sure just yet, though reimaging this week should give them at least a slightly clearer picture of how much longer they will have to survive without him.

Who are the new guys?

The Yankees will get some help at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but the question is, how much?

As they begin the second half, their biggest needs are a righty-hitting catcher and at least one high-leverage bullpen arm, if not two.

Austin Wells was one of the worst hitters in the big leagues in the first half while the bullpen, despite owning the majors’ lowest ERA, could use another trustworthy reliever.

Does George Lombard Jr. debut?

Before spraining multiple fingers last month, the top shortstop prospect was picking up steam offensively at Triple-A and potentially starting to push his way into the conversation about whether he could impact the Yankees this season.

Now that he is on the way back from the injured list, can he knock the door down in the second half if José Caballero and Anthony Volpe don’t pick it up?