Category: Baseball

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Roki Sasaki on the 15-day injured list on Thursday, Aug. 27.

Sasaki had a blister on his right middle finger, according to the team. The blister led to him leaving a game against the Atlanta Braves in the fourth inning on Wednesday night.

Sasaki allowed four runs in 3.1 innings before he had a visit on the mound from the team's athletic trainer and left the game.

The right-handed pitcher has a 5-5 record this season, allowing 63 runs (61 earned runs) and 22 home runs in 119.1 innings pitched.

In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled Seth Halvorsen to replace Sasaki.

The Cleveland Browns have spent the summer on a tiresome and mostly pointless quarterback battle that was finally settled, at least temporarily, when head coach Todd Monken announced that Deshaun Watson would be the starter when the team opens the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With so much of the focus on the quarterback position, the situation at cornerback has flown a bit under the radar. 

Cleveland is set with starters Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell, and Myles Harden seems locked in at one of the backup roles. 

But after that, things have gotten a bit murky thanks to an injury to Michael Coats Jr., who left practice this week on the medical cart with a leg injury, leaving D’Angelo Ross, Tre Avery and a cast of characters filling out the position group.

General manager Andrew Berry made a move to address the situation on Thursday, however, as the club claimed veteran cornerback Mekhi Blackmon off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts.

The Minnesota Vikings originally drafted the 5-foot-11 and 178-pound Blackmon in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons with the Vikings before moving on to the Colts, and has played in 32 games with 14 starts. His stat line shows him with 105 career tackles, three interceptions, 15 passes defensed, and a sack.

With cutdowns to the initial 53-man roster coming by Sunday a 6 p.m., it will be interesting to see if Blackmon has enough time to make an impression on the coaching staff and earn a roster spot.

The Blackmon signing was not the only move of the day, as the Browns released veteran wide receiver Cedric Tillman after three frustrating years with the club.

Tillman was a third-round selection in 2023, but every time he seemed to gain momentum, an injury or concussion stalled his progress. 

Releasing him now provides Tillman with the opportunity to land on another team and attempt a fresh start to his career.

The Dodgers install a righty-heavy lineup to face Chris Sale, trying to avoid getting swept by the Braves.

Thursday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Braves
• Stadium: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
• Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, FS1 (National)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

Where do you start? How do you catalogue the insipidness of Derek McInnes' Rangers team in Jablonec?

How do you catalogue the Pedro-Caixinha-in-the-bushes level embarrassment that the club experienced in their exit from European football on Thursday?

In Jablonec, Rangers were unspeakably awful, devoid of any cohesion, desire, threat, their manager reduced to saying how embarrassed and mortified he was multiple times post-match.

They had one shot on target the whole night, one goal scored in 210 minutes. Rangers fans in the stadium gave it to them with both barrels at the end.

McInnes apologised. The whole scene was cringemaking. He tried to explain what he was trying to do with his multiple switches of formation and attempted to explain why his side were "miles off it".

Talk is cheap in his position. There's a limited shelf life for that kind of thing at Ibrox.

The chat from some Rangers folk in the preamble was that the Conference League meant little to them, that an exit wouldn't spark an uprising, that no midweek European football could give them a chance to hurl themselves at the Premiership instead. Fine in theory, but not in reality.

The notion that a defeat would be met with a collective shrug by Rangers fans was never a serious proposition. This defeat sparked untrammelled fury.

McInnes would be as well staying away from social media. Winning in the bearpit of Pittodrie on Sunday is strongly advised.

• Rangers out of Europe after wretched penalty defeat in Jablonec
• 'Mortified' McInnes takes responsibility for Rangers' European exit
• Latest Rangers news, analysis and fan views

What are Rangers? What is their identity?

Rangers were so flat in the Czech Republic, meandering about like confused men, showing weakness in the tackle and not a scintilla of wit. McInnes changed the shape of his four or five times and the poverty of their play didn't improve one iota.

"I look at us now and I'm thinking, well, we're no' great as a possession-based team at the minute," said McInnes in explaining his constant switches.

"We're not a counter-attacking team enough, or effectively enough, at times. We don't look like a team who are happy when we go direct. And teams need to be something."

Quite. And what are Rangers? What's their identity? What are they good at? In what areas are they improving?

McInnes was appointed in June, had a full pre-season, had six games and then a week off to prepare for the trip to Jablonec only to produce their worst effort of this, and many other, seasons.

During the dog days of his reign at Rangers, Russell Martin was once asked if he could name one or two things that were better on his watch - and he couldn't do it.

If McInnes was asked the same question now then there's no guarantee that he would come up with an answer, or at least, an answer that rang true.

Nobody really knows what his Rangers are, least of all McInnes, you suspect. He made three substitutions at the break on Thursday, a trio that brought his total of half-time replacements to 11 in seven games.

That betrays a manager who has either got his team wrong in the first place, hasn't been able to impart his message to his starters or doesn't have a dressing room capable of taking in what he's saying to them. Whatever the truth of it, it's not good.

He knows what he wants because he watched it on television the night before. Hearts had four new players in their starting line-up against Rapid Vienna and used another two off the bench.

Wouter Vrancken, in quick time, moulded them together and made something terrific out of them in winning their own Conference League tie in Austria.

McInnes praised his old club for the resilience of their players and the stomach they showed for the fight. The inference being that his own boys had little or none of that. Again you ask, why not?

Vast periods of this play-off went by without Rangers stringing more than four and five passes together. They pressed in ones and two or not at all.

They came across as a team that had just met, a collection of guys rounded up in a pub and coached by a character who had no idea what to do with them.

Where was Raskin? And why not sign experience?

Ibrox is a confused place right now. McInnes said his team looked young and inexperienced against Jablonec. This was on the back of announcing the signing of a 20-year-old winger and - if things go to plan - a 22-year-old striker.

If they need gnarled operators then why not sign some?

There was no Nico Raskin, the midfielder left at home, not because there'd been a bid for him, said McInnes, but because there might be.

If there were was a decent offer and the possibility of higher ones, his absence would have been understandable. If there was no bid then why was there no Raskin?

He was missed, said McInnes. A player who performed well at the World Cup and he's left at home? Odd.

McInnes said that his coaching staff are "elite in everything we do" in preparing the players for games like this. That's a massive claim after losing the way they did.

The manager said that the responsibility for the failure was his but he repeatedly returned to how lamentable his players were. His players. Six of McInnes' signings started and another two came off the bench.

What has McInnes been doing with his expensively-assembled team. A dozen players have now been signed. How much money has to be spent before the manager starts to look convincing in the role?

The Rangers players who were on the field in the Czech Republic cost about £30m in transfer fees. The wage bill at Ibrox must be astronomical. They've now added the £8.5m winger Kim Min-su and may soon recruit a £9.5m striker in Kevin Kelsy.

The giant wad of cash splurged on all this would choke an elephant.

By contrast, Jablonec's record signing cost around £700,000. Their most recent turnover was £8.5m compared to Rangers' £94m. Their stadium is the size of a shoebox, their support tiny, their European story minimal.

They were the ones who went after the game, though. They didn't have a huge amount going for them in ability terms, but they had edge and character.

Hard work and energy? They trounced Rangers on all of the things that require no talent, just honesty.

McInnes is in a tight spot, not in any danger of losing his job, but with huge amounts of ground to make up with the fans.

He's been around a long time, but the pressure those supporters can exert when things are bad is a challenge for any manager, no matter how long he's been around.

Pittodrie next. A welcome, of sorts, awaits.

Tampa City Council voted four to three to approve a stadium development through which Tampa would commit $80 million toward building the infrastructure required for a new Rays stadium. The three no votes were Miranda, Hurtak and Maniscalco, who had also voted no in previous Council votes on the stadium.

There’s a lot in the new agreement, a lot that was discussed today, and perhaps even more that has not been addressed at all. I’m not going to try to provide a detailed, in the weeds analysis, but rather pull out some of the key issues that were raised by Council members and in public comments.

1. What does this agreement include? It is an agreement about building the stadium, and NOT about the larger redevelopment project. It sets up three actors — StatCo (the Rays entity responsible for building the stadium), the county and the city, and outlines their contributions. It also describes the creation of a Community Development District (CDD) that will be able to capture new tax dollars generated by the development, and proposes some changes to several existing Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs). That’s a lot! And keep in mind: The Rays shared a version of this agreement on Sunday, and then an updated version on Wednesday. For city staff, Council members and the general public there was very little time to absorb the 139-page document.
2. The clear city financial contribution is $80 million, payable in four installments between 2027 and 2029. Councilmember Hurtak contended that the city will need to borrow to pay their share, and accounting for borrowing costs the full financial hit to the city is closer to $120 million. (Note that Councilmember Carlson, who supports the deal, says that dividing the $80 million into four payments over three years means they might not need to borrow after all). The city would eventually get money back over several decades through the CDD.
3. What is absent from this agreement? SO MUCH. It is ONLY about the stadium development. It doesn’t address the renovation/relocation of Hillsborough College or of the other government buildings on the site. It doesn’t address the management of the stadium, who covers maintenance costs, how various revenues (from parking, naming rights, non-baseball activities) will be allocated. It doesn’t address any rent payments from the team to the county (there is reporting that Rays have agreed to pay $4 million a year, but that’s not in the agreement.)
4. What did the supporters say? The main line of argument for supporters seemed to be something like this: we have the opportunity to keep baseball in the community while catalyzing billions in a mixed use development along Dale Mabry. Over the long run, the benefits of developing 100 acres that currently generate no property taxes will far outweigh the costs. Morever, Rays baseball has become part of our community’s identity.
5. What did opponents say?
   • It’s all too rushed, we need more time to consider these details.
   • How can we commit public funds with Amendment 3 pending? City and county decision makers are waiting to see the results of Amendment 3, the ballot measure that will significantly reduce residential property tax collections. This could be a good reason for both the Commission and the Council to wait until November to see whether they can afford this kind of investment.
   • Even without Amendment 3 looming, the time frame for the city’s payments to the project and the time frame for the CDD generating revenue back to the city are vastly different. The city will need to provide its $80 million between now and 2029. Financial benefits from that larger CDD will start at best around 2032-2035.
   • Aren’t there better things to do with this money? Its hard to commit $80 million when so many Tampa streets are subject to flooding and other programs go begging.
6. Will there be broader community benefits? Well the largest benefits would come from the massive redevelopment planned near the stadium. (To give you an idea of the size: the entire site is 120 acres and 20 will be for the ballpark. That leaves 100 acres for some combination of Hillsborough College buidings and commercial/residential development. In comparison, the nearby Midtown development is about 25 acres; Water Street is 55 acres). But…this particular agreement doesn’t provide guarantees or project milestones for this larger development.
7. The Rays also put out a community benefits “memo” but it’s just a vague, aspirational list of bullet points. Either someone wrote this in five minutes or they just prompted ChatGPT to come up with a list of nice things for the community. When the Rays signed the agreement with St. Pete, their Community Benefits Agreement — which certainly had critics — had a lot of specifics: a minimum number of affordable housing units; a certain amount of open space; investment in jobs training and cultural institutions. So as far as I am concerned, there is no CBA, just someone saying “we’ll be nice, we promise!”
8. Why the rush? I understand that the Rays want to move this ahead quickly. They have two reasons to want to rush. The most obvious is the lead time needed to build a stadium as they look at their expiring Trop lease. To have a stadium ready for March 2029, construction needs to start ASAP. The second is upcoming elections; several members of the Commission are up for reelection in November; one member of the Council is running for state legislature and if he wins his election he’ll leave his seat. Then, in March of 2027 we’ll get a new Tampa mayor and several new Council members. I have no idea whether any newcomers will be more hostile to the stadium than current members, but if I’m the Rays I really don’t want to have to start all over courting new players.

You know that feeling when your team plays a 12 inning night game and then your realize there is a noon game the next day? Well, tomorrow the County Commission — which is providing nearly ten times the funding as the City of Tampa — will meet on this agreement at 9am. This is a special meeting called to discuss the agreement and not a regular Commission meeting, so it’s likely that they will start on this topic very soon after they convene. You can stream the hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nW47pVvIVA

Game three with the Royals. A win would be nice.

I spent part of the morning buying some fish. I have two good sized fish tanks, but they have been sitting empty for a year. We went on holiday for a month last year and our son watched the house, but he didn’t notice that the water filter stopped working, which isn’t a good thing. I finally decided to get them back in shape and get some fish. Slowly build up the numbers. The cats are enjoying watching the fish.

Fish tanks are really just a money pit, but what else am I’m going to do with the $1.99 SB sends me every month?

Hey, US, we have an Orange Guy, too. Only his orange is far more natural:

Per Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline, Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins will make his Minnesota debut this Friday against the Chicago White Sox. Jenkins is ranked #13 overall by MLB Pipeline, #4 by FanGraphs, and #9 by Baseball America. He is the highest ranked Twins prospect to debut since Byron Buxton in 2015.

Minnesota will need to add Jenkins to both the 40 and 26-man rosters before he can play. Both can be solved DFA-ing Alex Jackson again, who hasn’t touched the field since being re-added to the roster last week, but if Byron Buxton is headed to the IL, a player will need to be dropped from the 40-man. The likely casualty there would be Kyler Fedko, who is out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL a few weeks ago.

Jenkins joins the Twins at a time where the lineup could seriously use a boost, which he is more than capable of providing. Minnesota was waiting to see his in-game power develop before he came up, and it finally showed through this month. Jenkins has hit an insane .411/.482/.795 in August with eight homers, seven steals, and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He is more than ready and should slide into the middle of the lineup immediately.

Minnesota is a long shot to make the playoffs at this point, with their playoff odds dropping to a season low 11.1% after losing a series to the homeless Athletics. They’ll need a hot stretch from everyone on the team to make the postseason, which means regularly running out your best nine hitters. There’s no universe where that doesn’t include Jenkins at this point.

Regardless of the Twins’ October fate, this final month will be important for both Jenkins and the Twins moving forward. As with Culpepper, the goal for both of these highly-touted youngsters is to never play in St. Paul again, but development isn’t linear. Given his prospect profile, there are almost no scenarios where Jenkins isn’t a useful MLB player. However, GM Jeremy Zoll needs to gauge how ready Jenkins is to step into the limelight.

If he hits the ground running and his underlying swing decision and approach metrics remain strong, you can pretty much bank on an outfield of Buxton, Jenkins, and Keaschall heading into next season with Alan Roden as an overqualified fourth option. Emmanuel Rodriguez, meanwhile, becomes one of the most appealing trade chips on the market for other spots the Twins need to shore. If Jenkins needs more time in St. Paul, maybe there’s some logic to bringing back Larnach for his final arbitration season.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, but getting to see the Twins’ best prospect in a decade is certainly worth celebrating. Welcome to Minneapolis, Walker! Let’s hit the ground running!

Chris Sale battles another ace.

The Brewers avoided a potential disaster last night when Dustin May left the game after throwing one pitch. Instead, both the pitching staff (led by a solid appearance from Robert Gasser) and the offense picked him up to even the series at 1-1. Tonight, the Brewers will go for the series win with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound.

First, some good news on May. Despite taking that 106-mph liner off the back of his right shoulder last night, he’s in good shape today. He’s dealing with a little soreness but no bruise, and could pitch on Sunday in Gasser’s spot if everything goes well.

Jacob Misiorowski makes the start tonight as he continues his amazing season. He is coming off of six scoreless innings against the Braves on Friday. The Mets are a team that has managed to keep Misiorowski in check so far. He’s making his third start against them in his career. Earlier this season, he pitched four innings and allowed an unearned run while striking out six. In his one start against them last year, he allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings. This season, Misiorowski has a 1.68 ERA, 2.14 FIP, and 216 strikeouts compared to 33 walks in 145 innings.

For the Mets, Sean Manaea starts the rubber match. The Brewers did not face him during their first series this season, with their last matchup coming in August of last year. The Brewers scored four runs off him in four innings in an 8-7 win. Manaea has allowed four runs in back-to-back outings, with the last one coming against the White Sox. In that start, he pitched six innings and allowed five hits (three of them home runs), two walks, and struck out four. In 2026, Manaea has a 4.31 ERA, 4.53 FIP, and 117 strikeouts in 117 innings.

A couple of regulars are off today with the lefty on the mound. Brice Turang, Christian Yelich, and Garrett Mitchell are out of the lineup, and Jake Bauers is still recovering. Jackson Chourio will lead off with Luis Lara batting behind him. William Contreras will start at DH today, followed by Andrew Vaughn at first base. Gary Sánchez gets the start behind the plate and bats fifth, with Joey Ortiz at third and batting sixth. Sal Frelick, Cooper Pratt, and David Hamilton round out the lineup.

First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. It will be on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network. Rain will be a concern tonight as some storms move through the area, but hopefully there will be enough of a break to get this one in.

Chins up, everyone.

Unless the Royals winning streak had hit 25 games, they weren’t going to make the playoffs. And so they fell 16 games short of it. So what? That was quite the enjoyable stretch of baseball, and despite losing last night, I’m looking forward to tonight’s game.

Noah Cameron is back on the mound.

Cameron became one of the team’s highlights last year when helped keep the season afloat. He struggled at the start of this season, but he’s been incredible through his last six outings, five of them starts, one a long relief appearance. In those six outings, Cameron’s tossed 42-and-2/3 innings, allowed just five earned runs, good for a 1.05 ERA and 2.31 FIP, as he’s struck out 36 batters, hit one of them, walked only 12 batters, and surrendered 15 hits, none of which have left the yard.

The Royals went 3-3 in those games.

He takes on the Blue Jays, a team he faced twice last year but hasn’t dealt with yet in 2026. Of course, the Blue Jays ended the Royals’ nine-game winning streak last evening, blanking the Royals, 3-0.

Toronto sends to the mound righty Spencer Arrighetti, who’s making only his second appearance with the Blue Jays after being acquired at the deadline from the Houston Astros. For the year, Arrighetti is 7-6 with a 4.73 ERA, 5.11 FIP (yikes), 1.347 WHIP, 91 strikeouts, and 52 walks.

To the lineups!

Against the righty, the Royals opt for a left-handed hitting third baseman in Joshua Rojas over Nick Loftin. With Michael Massey now on the I.L., Isaac Collins shifts to second base with John Rave taking over left field. The rest of the lineup is pretty normal.

The Royals haven’t faced Arrighetti much—Salvador Perez has the most at-bats against him with five—but in limited action, Vinnie Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Isbel, Jac Caglianone, and Carter Jensen have success against him.

Most of that action came this year, back on June 14 when the Royals shutout the Astros, 4-0, in a game in which Stephen Kolek started, Kameron Misner started in center, and Lane Thomas patrolled right. Feels like a different season.

Before the season began, I picked Kazuma Okamoto to win the American League Rookie of the Year. Why? Well, 99% of the reason is because his name is Kazuma Okamoto. The other 1% is because he’s a hard-hitting third baseman. The 30-year-old, playing his first year in the Majors after a career spent in Japan, has a .737 OPS with 26 homers and 74 RBIs, but he won’t win the AL ROY.

Still has a baller name, though.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s career is so interesting. I may write about this more before the end of the season, at which point I’ll be departing Royals Review, but Vlad Jr. is “Exhibit A” for the case of baseball players peaking much earlier in their careers during this era than any other. Vlad Jr. broke out as a 22-year-old when he finished second in MVP voting as he smacked 48 homers, scored 123 runs, drove in 111 runs, and slashed .311/.401/.601 for an OPS 67% above league-average.

Since, he’s slugged over .500 just once. This year, he’s down to .353. And it’s not just his slugging—his OBP has fallen from .396 in 2024 to .334 this season. Still only 27, he’s only homered seven times this year. What gives?

I don’t know, but he’s not the only active player with such a career arc. If I have the time, I’ll dig into it.

First pitch tonight: 6:07 P.M.

NFL Training camp is about two third over as the teams will play their final Preseason games this weekend prior to to the deadline for teams to cut down to their final 53-man roster on August 30th. Team will sign players to their practice squads beginning September 1st, and then teams will have about a week and a half of practice before their week one games. Below we update what has happened since our last update and edit our percentages for whether we think players will make a 53-man roster, a practice quad, or be on the outside looking in.

Arizona Cardinals

Jamison Geers—TE

Geers was injured in the Cardinals second preseason game and was placed on injured reserve. It’s possible he could receive an injury settlement and be waived and become a free agent, but if that does not happen he will spend the entire season on Arizona’s injured reserve list. Either way his chance of making any kind of roster for 2026 is gone.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 2% 0%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 20% 0%

Jack Gibbons-LB

Gibbons did not play in Preseason game #2 for Arizona along with most other starters giving the sign that his spot on the roster is guaranteed and they will save him for the regular season. He should find a good role in the middle of the Cardinals defense that will have a tough task week in and week out.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 95%99%

Baltimore Ravens

Rashod Bateman-WR

Bateman found himself in a bi of hot water as information was leaked last week about his arrest in June for Domestic violence. Despite the drama that may have caused in camp, his spot on the Ravens roster appears safe. What may happen once the full legal process works its way out is he may find himself facing a suspension from the NFL which could be up to six games. Regardless, he should start the season as WR2 or WR3 for Baltimore.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Cleveland Browns

Drew Biber—TE

Biber started camp with his hometown Packers but was cut a week in. Last week he was signed by the Browns, but likely is only a camp body. He will see action on the third preseason game for the Browns vs the Patriots on Thursday night, but is guaranteed to be cut by the weekend.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 0%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 2%

Chicago Bears

Terell Smith—CB

Smith missed the first week and a half of Bears camp with an undisclosed injury, but did return to action late last week. He has not played in either of the first two preseason games for Chicago, so their third and final one at Tennessee on Saturday will be one to watch. Luckily for Smith the rest of the Bears secondary is banged up as well, so his chances of still making the roster are better than if everyone else is healthy. But it will be an uphill climb and reports find him in a three-way battle for one spot along with a brief one-time Minnesota teammate in Beanie Bishop. It’s gonna come down to the wire.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 85% 33%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 75%

Cincinnati Bengals

Boye Mafe—DE

Mafe did not play in the Bengals second preseason game and is being sat to be ready for the season. He’s a lock.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Dallas Cowboys

Tyler Johnson—WR

Johnson remains in a fight for one of the last wideouts on the Cowboys roster. In preseason game #2 he was in action along with players he is fighting for a spot against like Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo. He didn’t looks great with only two receptions for 3 yards. Does he still have a chance to make the team, yes. Is it a good one? No.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 5%10%

Brevin Span-Ford—TE

Span-Ford sat out in Preseason week 2 and reports from camp have been glowing on the second year player. He’s safe on this roster as either TE2 or TE3.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 98%100%

Green Bay Packers

Benjamin St. Juste—CB

St. Juste has flirted with a starting role for the Pcakers in a preseason before getting slightly banged up with a hamstring injury in their second preseason game. All reports do not make it seem serious and he will be good to go when the season starts. What his role will be in the limited Packers secondary is uncertain, but he will have one.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 80%98%

Houston Texans

Aireontae Ersery—OT

Ersery is done for preseason action and will start at LT for the Texans in Week 1.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Indianapolis Colts

Justin Walley—CB

Walley is working his way back and did not play in Preseason Game #2 for Indy a sign that his roster spot is guaranteed. His exact role is yet to be determined but he will make his NFL debut in week one for the Colts.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Jacksonville Jaguars

Eric Murray—S

Murray was inactive for Preseason Week 2 and will likely start at safety for the Jags in Week 1.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Daniel Faalele—OG

Well so much for following his former head coach to NYC and playing alongside JMS once more. After the first preseason game the Giants didn’t love where Faalele stood so they traded him to the Jags for a 6th round pick. He now brings some depth to a very young Jacksonville OL where he likely will be a swing guard. It will be interesting to see if he sticks though. Most Jacksonville media does not have him making the squad, but instead being one of the final cuts. If that’s the case he also could easily be picked up off of waivers by another team as finding someone with four years of NFL OL starting experience is not always easy. But until cut day, Faalele sits squarely on the bubble.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 99% 50%

Danny Striggow—DE

Striggow saw action playing 11 defensive snaps in the second preseason game for the Jags and looked good against the run but did not do much in pass rush situations. He will make the final Jags roster and will be in a fight for playing time to see if he is the first DL off the bench.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 97% 99%

Las Vegas Raiders

Cody Lindenberg—LB

Lindenberg got the start at MLB for the Raiders in Preseason game #2 and was up and down but make several tackles. He looks to have earned to support of the coaching staff in the off-season and likely has a backup LB spot locked up.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 85%97%

Miami Dolphins

Jai’Onte’ McMillan—CB

McMillan signed with the Colts as a UDFA this past spring and was waived just 2 weeks into camp. He signed late last week with the Dolphins who needed to replace his former teammate in Ethan Robinson after his injury. McMillen is likely a camp body and will be cut, but could end up on someone’s practice said at some point this season.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 2% 0%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 25% 15%

Minnesota Vikings

Max Brosmer—QB

Brosmer has seen action as the QB4 for the Vikings in the preseason and seems he will be the odd man out unless the Vikings figure out some way to get significant trade value out of JJ McCarthy. He played in the second half of Minnesota’s week 2 preseason game, going 11/17 for 98 yards with an interception. He likely will play a majority of the third game in Denver on Friday night, but will likely be cut. Will a different team snap him up before the Vikings can add him to the practice squad? It’s possible but not likely, so would expect Brosmer to end up on the Vikings practice squad.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 4%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 90%

Blake Cashman—LB

Cashman sat out week 2 and will do the same Friday. He’s gonna start for the Vikings until he gets hurt.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

New Orleans Saints

Jordan Howden—S

Howden played early in the week 2 preseason game before being pulled out. If he doesn’t play in Week 3 at Dallas on Friday, he should be a roster lock. He’s likely safe to earn a backup safety spot unless the Saints find someone on waivers after the initial cuts they like better.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster:80% 90%

New York Giants

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 99%

John-Micheal Schmitz—C

JMS is the Giants starting center. He returned to action after missing the early part of camp with a concussion, but he will start Week one for the Big Blue.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Tyler Nubin—S

Nubin played week in the week 2 preseason game with 17 snaps, three tackles and a pass breakup. He is on the roster for sure, and probably has the inside edge at a starting spot.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Pittsburgh Steelers

Kyler Baugh-DT

Baugh is pretty much a depth body at this point and is not discussed at all as an actual roster player. The biggest question is if h gets a practice squad slot or not.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 2% 0%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 75% 50%

Jack Henderson-S

Henderson has had a decent camp, but doesn’t really have a chance to make the active roster. He is a decent practice squad candidate though as he has played multiple roles.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 4% 2%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 75%

Esezi Otomewo—DT

Otomewo is in a dog fight for the last DL spot on the Steelers roster. Unfortunately for him 6th round rookie Gabe Rubio from Notre Dame has impressed and seems to have the inside track on the final spot. Never say never, but it’s likely Esezi is on the wrong side of the cut line come this weekend.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 50%25%

Seattle Seahawks

Deven Eastern—DT

It’s not been a good start to Eastern’s NFL career. After starting camp on the PUP list he has been active the last few weeks but only played seven snaps in the Week 2 preseason game and is behind a lot of bodies in the chase for a roster spot. If he really impresses in the Week 3 game that might set him up for a practice squad slot, but there is just as good a chance he becomes the next Jah Joyner and is gone from the league as quickly as he appeared.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 20% 2%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 85% 50%

Nick Kallerup—TE

Kallerup is going to come down to the bubble. If Seattle keeps four tight ends on the roster, he will be there. If they decide to keep only three, he likely is the last man cut and ends up on the practice squad. His chances were helped when fullback Robbie Ouzts suffered a neck injury and is out for the season. Kallerup seemed to fill that role in practice, but it will come down to whether Seattle feels they can keep four TE’s on the roster or need the spot elsewhere.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 70% 50%

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 90% 97%

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ko Kieft-TE

Kieft caught a pair of passes for four yards and a TD in Preseason game two for Tampa. He’s a fan favorite and does his job including being a beast on special teams. He should be on the final roster.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 95%98%

Antoine Winfield, JR—S

Winfield obviously will start at safety. No worries here.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 100%

Free Agents:

Le’ Meke Brockington—WR

Brockington signed as a UDFA with the Falcons, and was injured in camp and was waived with an injury settlement. He is a free agent, but with his undisclosed injury his chance of getting picked up by someone is virtually zero.

Percent Chance to make a 53-man roster or Practice Squad: 0%

Ethan Robinson—CB

Robinson spent most of the 2025 season on the Dolphins practice squad before being called up to the main roster at the end of the season. He was injured in Dolphins camp a week ago and this week was waived with an injury settlement making him a free agent. He will not be picked up for an active roster, but if his injury is not too serious he could be a guy who gets added to a practice squad later in the season after injuries happen to other teams.

Percent Chance to make the 53-man roster: 15% 0&

Percent Chance to make a practice squad: 85% 20%

Tyler Cooper—OG

Cooper signed with Washington in January after ending the season on their practice squad. Unfortunately he was cut just a week into camp after the Commanders signed Stephon Diggs to play wide out. He didn’t catch on with anyone else so he will need to hope someone calls after some injuries later in the season.

Percent Chance to make a 53-man roster or Practice Squad: 0%

The Yankees have actually looked pretty good — bullpen aside — in this series against the Astros, and again if not for that bullpen should probably be playing for the sweep tonight. Still, a series win over a division leader is never something to turn down, and that’s exactly what New York has the chance to do tonight in the finale of this three-game set.

Gerrit Cole gets the ball in the Bronx, looking to continue what’s been a very strong if abbreviated campaign, especially for a 35-year-old. He’d be on a 4.5-win pace if he was playing a full season, and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start since July 22nd against the Pirates. In those subsequent five outings he’s failed to pitch six full innings just once, a 5.2 IP effort at the start of the month. This is significantly better than we could have hoped for coming off of Tommy John surgery at his age, and he always seems to bring a little extra facing his former club.

Former Yankee farmhand Hayden Wesneski is also in the midst of a return from TJS, but it hasn’t gone quite so smoothly for the righty. He doesn’t strike many men out, just 19.5 percent, but he does keep the ball in the yard which has helped keep his FIP 0.6 runs lower than his ERA. A 6.1-percent HR/FB rate is going to jump eventually though, and the Yankees have found their power stroke recently. Some of that lefty power we’ve seen this week could make it a long night but a short outing for Wes.

The Yankee lineup is unchanged from the previous two nights, presenting seven of nine hitters that will bat lefty against Wesneski. The offense seems to be getting itself into a groove, so if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:15 pm ET (slight delay from 7:05)

TV broadcast: YES, Space City Home Network

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLTN-TUDN 102.9 FM (HOU)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (Out of Market only)

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