Category: Baseball

On Friday, JJ Wetherholt and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to the most recent in a string of early career extensions. Wetherholt’s deal will last eight years and will buy out what would have been two free-agent years. This deal comes with Wetherholt having played fewer than 90 big league games in his career.

Many teams have looked to gain some cost certainty with their young players and have signed similar deals recently including the Pittsburgh Pirates with Konnor Griffin and the Detroit Tigers with Kevin McGonigle. Some, such as the Seattle Mariners’ Colt Emerson and Milwaukee Brewers’ Luis Lara signed extensions before having made their major league debut.

The Rockies made a similar long-term deal to a player on a rookie contract in 2024 when Ezequiel Tovar agreed to a seven year extension just after his rookie season. With the surge of new faces performing well in Denver and a handful of prospects banging on the door from Triple-A, it would seem a good time to ask the question:

Are there any Rockies rookies that the front office should be trying to sign to a long term extension now?

There are a decent number of possible candidates:

• TJ Rumfield is fresh off of two straight rookie of the month awards.
• Cole Carrigg has provided a spark to the rockies lineup since his call up in June.
• Gabriel Hughes has had two great outings since his being called up a week ago.
• Charlie Condon and Zac Veen have both been destroying baseballs for the Isotopes all season long.

If you were in Paul DePodesta’s shoes, would you be trying to lock down any of these players beyond the normal six years of service that their rookie contracts would cover? Is there someone else you’d like to see signed for the long-term?

Let us know in the comments!

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Following in the footsteps of his older brother Jaxon, who is a top prospect for the Cubs, Carson Wiggins turned electric stuff into becoming a high draft pick. Carson will have bragging rights at holidays in the Wiggins household though, as he goes No. 27 overall to the Mets in the 2026 MLB Draft while Jaxon went No. 68 overall in 2023.

Wiggins was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school in 2024, where he first touched 100 mph as a 17-year-old. He ranked as the No. 78 prospect by Baseball America and No. 79 by MLB Pipeline in the 2024 MLB Draft. He ended up going undrafted in the 2024 class due to his strong commitment to Arkansas, where his brother also attended college.

He started his collegiate career pitching out of the bullpen for the Razorbacks, but after 14 innings in his freshman year, he underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace surgery and missed not only the rest of the 2025 season, but the entirety of his 2026 collegiate season as well.

When the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Wiggins is right, he possesses some of the most electric stuff in this year’s class, headlined by what MLB Pipeline graded as an 80-grade fastball that sits 99 mph and touches 102. His upper 80’s slider was untouchable in his small sample in college, generating a 74 percent whiff rate on it. He is also an excellent athlete on the mound, which is something the Mets have always sought. That athleticism would be evident if you looked up some of his high school basketball highlights.

The recently turned 21-year-old draft eligible sophomore helped his draft stock by proving to teams that he was healthy by throwing at the MLB Combine in Arizona last month. While not going full bore, Wiggins was up to 97 mph in that bullpen session and showed his patented slider as well as two pitches he seldom threw before, a curveball that he really can spin, averaging 2,719 rpm at the Combine as well as a changeup that lags behind the other offerings. The Mets also had eyes on him throwing bullpen sessions throughout the SEC schedule in the latter half of the college season.

While Wiggins was ranked as the No. 88 prospect in the 2026 class by MLB Pipeline, it was expected he would go much higher than that number. When I polled scouts, most believed he would go inside of the top 50 picks. One scout said “102 with a wipeout slider simply don’t grow on trees”.

Ultimately, if the Mets wanted Wiggins, they had to take him at No. 27. They did not have a second-round pick to hope for him to fall to, as they forfeited that as well as their compensatory fourth-round pick that they received for the Dodgers' signing of Edwin Diaz when they signed Bo Bichette who had a qualifying offer attached to him last winter.

The stuff is tantalizing, but this is going to be a bit of a project for the Mets' player development department. Wiggins has had control questions dating back to high school, and in the small sample of innings that he had in college, he walked 15.3 percent of the batters he faced. It goes without saying he has to throw more strikes at the next level.

The Mets will send Wiggins out as a starting pitcher with his increased arsenal and delivery that they believe will play as a starter. Mets vice president of amateur and international scouting Kris Gross called him a pitcher “with real frontline upside”. Starting is something Wiggins also wants, saying after being drafted: “I would like to be a starter if that opportunity comes to me, but I’m going to do whatever they (the Mets) need me to do”.

However, if starting doesn’t work out, Wiggins has the kind of stuff to profile as a late-inning reliever, perhaps even a closer type with a lethal fastball/slider combination alone.

This is a home run swing type of pick, with a wide range of potential outcomes, but given where the Mets were picking, they felt the juice was worth the squeeze.

Like his brother Jaxon, Carson had an elbow surgery that took out their final college season and both ended up high draft picks despite that. Jaxon ended up being a top 100 prospect in baseball entering 2026, and the Mets are hoping he follows in his brother’s footsteps, becoming a future top 100 prospect himself.

Cristopher Sanchez stunk the other day in Kansas City. We mentioned pitch tipping as the main reason the Royals were able to put a beatdown on him, but the simple fact was that his stuff wasn’t good, he left it over the middle of the plate and was hammered as a result.

Tonight, against the Tigers, he was back to the form that may have earned him a start at home on Tuesday in the All-Star Game, the Phillies won and they enter Sunday with Zack Wheeler on the mound to try and take another series.

The scoring started in the third when Derek Hill reached on an error, stole two bases and scored on a sacrifice fly to give them the early lead. In the bottom of the innings, Hill was able to preserve the lead with another spectacular play in centerfield to rob a certain RBI double.

In the fourth, Brandon Marsh walked to lead off, then went to second on a one out single by Bryson Stott. J.T. Realmuto followed with a double that plated both and pushed the lead to 3-0.

Hill then drove in Realmuto with a single and the score went to 4-0. From there, Sanchez settled in and cruised. He allowed a solo home run in the fifth to Eduardo Valencia, who seems to be on a career beginning heater, but that was about all that Detroit could muster. Sanchez just had it all working yet again after that minor blip against the Royals on Monday.

It did get a little hairy in the eighth when Sanchez was brought back out to start the inning only to allow the first two runners on and get replaced by Jonathan Bowlan, who promptly hit Dillon Dingler to load the bases with no one out. Bowlan then got Spencer Torkelson to ground into a double play, one of three on the night, that helped quell the threat, even if a run did score. Bowlan finished the inning, then was followed by Jhoan Duran slamming the door shut in the ninth without much of a threat.

Watching Sanchez be so bad this week was jarring a bit, but tonight reinforced why he should still be considered a favorite to win the Cy Young award. He kept Detroit off balance, found his stuff and stopped the offense in its tracks.

Wonderful to watch.

WASHINGTON — Cam Schlittler has made himself the AL Cy Young favorite in the first half by leaning heavily on three different kinds of fastballs.

The Nationals, his final test before the All-Star break, have been one of the majors’ best fastball-hitting teams.

That made for an intriguing matchup Saturday afternoon, which started poorly for Schlittler when he gave up a pair of solo home runs in the first inning before pitching into the seventh as the Yankees came back to beat the Nationals 4-2 for their third straight win.

In an ace-like effort, Schlittler rebounded from the early ambushes by not giving up a run the rest of the way, putting the finishing touches on a terrific first half (2.05 ERA) that should earn him the start for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

“Good pitchers are going to battle through that or you’re going to crumble,” Schlittler said. “I feel like I crumbled a little bit against Detroit [two starts ago when he gave up four home runs]. I feel like I can take today as a win in terms of making those adjustments and getting deeper into the game than I probably should’ve been.”

Schlittler did not have his best command either, tying a season high with four walks while striking out six.

But he settled into a groove as he got deeper into the game and finished with 6 ²/₃ innings — helping out his bullpen and keeping the Yankees within striking distance so they could come back to win it.

“Just a bunch of resilience, making pitches, competing,” said Trent Grisham, who delivered the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth.

Up next could be a start in the All-Star Game, on what would essentially be Schlittler’s between-starts bullpen day.

Aaron Boone said before the game that there was a “good chance” Schlittler would be able to throw in the game, and while the right-hander said he did not yet know if he has the green light, he expected to find out in the next day or two.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“If I’m comfortable doing that, then I’ll do that,” he said. “It’d be a cool experience. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not too worried about it. I got more things to worry about in terms of this team and how we’ve been playing. I like how it’s been the last couple days.”

David Bednar, after throwing two innings to close out Friday’s win, came back for the ninth inning Saturday to record his 18th save of the season.

He now has a career-long 19-inning scoreless streak after an up-and-down start to the year.

“I think just finding my form and being aggressive,” Bednar said. “Being aggressive in the zone and trusting all three of my pitches. Whenever I’m able to be in the zone with all three, I’m able to have success.”

Max Fried (left elbow bone bruise) was in line to throw about 45 pitches in a simulated game Saturday afternoon at Double-A Somerset.

If he recovers well from it in the coming days, he should be cleared to start a rehab assignment after the All-Star break, giving him a chance to return to the Yankees by early August.

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Houston Astros scored nine runs.

Kumar Rocker made a couple of mistakes in the first inning. The first one wasn’t quite as big as the one that followed but he did allow an 0-2 single to Jeremy Pena to lead off the game. That was a mistake because that meant Yordan Alvarez was up with a runner on base.

That therefore meant the Rangers trailed 2-0 because Rocker’s second mistake was throwing a 93 MPH fastball right down the middle to the only player in baseball with an OPS north of 1.000.

Rocker eventually made many more mistakes, including allowing a third inning grand slam to LaMonte Wade Jr. on another pitch right down the middle. Before his day was over, Rocker also allowed a solo dong to Christian Vazquez in the top of the fourth on, you guessed it, a pitch right down the middle.

About the best you can say about Rocker’s evening is that he gave a beleaguered Texas staff 5 2/3 innings despite allowing seven of the nine runs. The final tallies came in the top of the ninth when Chris Martin entered and allowed a couple runs in what should be the final appearance of his big league career if the Rangers are being serious.

Granted, Martin was the only person to get Alvarez out all night so maybe there’s still some juice in the old fella’s right arm.

The bats, meanwhile, collected just one run on three hits over six innings against someone named Peter Lambert. By the time they got to the Houston bullpen for a couple of runs in the ninth, it was already way too late.

The Rangers have gone 3-6 against Houston this season meaning one more loss will end their quest to secure the Silver Boot in 2026.

Player of the Game: Ezequiel Duran connected for two home runs and drove in all three of Texas’ runs.

Up Next: The Rangers close out the first half of the season with a rubber match against these Astros. Neither team has listed a starting probable.

The Sunday afternoon first half finale from The Shed is scheduled 1:35 pm CDT and it will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

You would be hard-pressed to find a more relaxing night of baseball as an Orioles fan than the team’s smooth 6-1 win over the Royals on Saturday night. Kyle Bradish twirled a gem, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the lineup pounded four home runs in support.

Bradish put together one of his better starts of the season. There were really just two innings with some worrying moments. In the third inning, a error by Jackson Holliday, followed by a Carter Jensen walk, put two runners on base ahead of Bobby Witt Jr. That threat quickly dissipated when Witt popped up the first pitch of the at-bat. And then there was the seventh inning, where Jac Caglianone led off with Kansas City’s first hit of the day, moved to second on a ground out, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a sac fly.

Now, this was not Bradish at his absolute best. In fact, he was battling quite a bit. His velocity was down slightly. As was his whiff rate (20%) and strikeout rate (five across 6.2 innings). And yet, the Royals struggled to square the ball up. Oftentimes that is the mark of a top tier pitcher, to turn in an impressive showing with less-than-ideal stuff. His season ERA is down to 3.61, the lowest it has been since May 31.

On offense, the Orioles were powerful and efficient. They had one at-bat with a runner in scoring position and cashed in. The other five runs all came in on the quartet of home runs that they bashed.

Samuel Basallo had the team’s one hit with a runner in scoring position. That came in the second inning. Pete Alonso had doubled ahead of him and Basallo singled him in on a slider at his knees. Those two base knocks were the Orioles only hits that didn’t leave the yard. It was a “three true outcomes” kind of night.

Alonso got in on the fun with his 21st long ball of the season. That was a two-run shot in the fourth inning to score Taylor Ward

Coby Mayo had the two hardest hit balls of the evening. In the second inning, he lined out on a ball hit 112.8 miles per hour. In the fifth inning, he launched a ball 440 feet at 110.4 miles per hour for his 12th homer of the year. Have we mentioned that he likes facing left-handed pitching?

Ward launched his sixth dong of the season. It’s his first home run since June 22nd, yet another long stretch for a player that was expected to challenge for the team lead in round-trippers.

Gunnar Henderson was the final Oriole to go yard. He left the park in the eighth inning with a 417-foot bomb to right-center field for his 17th homer of the year.

This lineup was designed to win with power. It hasn’t happened as much this year as the front office would have probably liked for it to. But sometimes they have nights like this and make it very easy to understand what all of the spreadsheets and analysis were illustrating to Mike Elias back in the winter.

The bullpen was also good in this one. Grant Wolfram came on to wrap up the seventh inning for Bradish. He did that, and then got two more outs for fun. Yennier Cano struck out the lone batter he faced in the eighth inning. And then Tyler Wells came on for a shutout ninth inning.

It was an odd sensation to watch this team play a relatively easy game like this. They were in control throughout, and it never felt like things were about to go sideways. That must be how fans of competitive teams feel every night.

On top of that, the Orioles gained a full game in the wild card race tonight. So now, despite the uneven play throughout the first half, they find themselves just two games out of a playoff spot. The win tonight also made it three in a row. They are yet to win four in a row this season. If they reach that threshold on the final day before the all-star break, it will give all of us some very different vibes with trade season on the horizon.

The O’s and Royals will wrap up the unofficial first half of their seasons on Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards. Shane Baz (4-9, 4.21 ERA) is set to duel with Seth Lugo (3-6, 4.56 ERA). First pitch is 1:35.

Most Birdland Player, July 11. 2026

Who do you think was the Most Birdland Player in this Orioles win? Here are some nominees for your consideration, but feel free to name your own in the comments.

• Kyle Bradish (win, 6.2 innings, two hits, one run, two walks, five strikeouts)
• Pete Alonso (2-for-4, home run, double, two RBI, two runs
• Coby Mayo (home run, hitting left-handed pitching really, really hard)
• Grant Wolfram (cleaned up Bradish’s mini jam in the seventh)

Today, a lot of dreams came true. The Yankees were the genie to grant four of those wishes, making the 35th, 63rd, 99th, and 127th selections in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.

The Yankees were given a 10-spot penalty on their first-round pick because they exceeded the league’s luxury tax threshold. However, it was worth the wait. As someone who watches a lot of Arkansas Razorback baseball, I’ll say this was an easy choice for my favorite Yankees selection of the draft not only this year, but in years.

With the 35th pick, the Yankees selected Hunter Dietz, a left-handed pitcher from Arkansas. For those unfamiliar, the OmaHogs are essentially the college version of Matt Blake’s pitching factory. Since 2019, the Razorbacks have had more pitchers drafted than any other college program, with 30 prior to this selection. Dietz now joins Hagen Smith and Gage Wood as Razorback pitchers selected in the first round in three consecutive drafts. Going further back, two Cy Youngs have come from Arkansas as well: Cliff Lee and Dallas Keuchel.

Dietz is good. Like, really, really good. Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 235 pounds, his delivery and pitch mix remind me of a lefty Cam Schlittler. That’s the type of pitcher I think he could become. If things break his way health-wise (he did have 2023 surgery for a stress fracture in his elbow), I think his ceiling is incredibly high, and many evaluators believe he could move quickly through the minor-league ranks. Dietz recorded 131 strikeouts, including an SEC-best 47 looking.

Dietz generated those strikeouts with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has touched 99 mph. That fastball has the same high ride that makes Schlittler so effective, and he pairs it with a slider that tunnels off it before breaking late. Dietz was a first-team All-SEC selection, a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, and a second-team All-American. I don’t know whether there was some slot gaming involved, but the Yankees getting this type of upside at No. 35 is outstanding value.

In the second round, with the 63rd pick, the Yankees selected another southpaw in Sean Duncan out of Terry Fox Secondary School in British Columbia. A Canadian prep product who only turned 18 in May, Duncan has been pitching in Canada’s National Team program since aging out of Little League. The Vanderbilt commit had been climbing draft boards before an elbow injury ended his spring season.

Some reports suggest Duncan would prefer to rehab his already-completed Tommy John surgery with the organization that drafts him. If that is the case, it may be a while before we see him on the mound, but Blake and the Yankees’ player development staff will have an opportunity to work with a young pitcher who already fills up the strike zone with a low-90s fastball and multiple off-speed pitches. High school selections always carry the risk of honoring a college commitment, but the Yankees must feel confident in their ability to sign Duncan away from Vandy.

With the final pick before triple digits, the Yankees selected catcher Brendan Brock out of the University of Oklahoma. Brock spent one season with the Sooners after playing the previous three years at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.

One thing I learned during my time in college athletics was never to count out a true JUCO grinder. Brock, a right-handed hitting catcher, hit 13 home runs, drove in 55 runs, and stole 28 bases this past season while helping Oklahoma win its first College World Series in 32 years. This kid is a legitimate athlete who flashes plus power and speed, though he’ll need to cut down on the strikeouts as he climbs the professional ladder.

With their fourth and final selection on Day 1, the Yankees went back to the JUCO transfer well and selected right-handed hitter Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II. Gutierrez-Contreras transferred to Cal State Fullerton after beginning his collegiate career at Modesto Junior College.

This past season, the 20-year-old followed a good summer in the wood-bat Northwoods League by slashing .346/.441/.633 while earning Big West Co-Player of the Year honors. Known for not wearing batting gloves at the plate, Gutierrez-Contreras will now look to continue his development in the Yankees’ system.

After Day 1, the Yankees have come away with a pair of left-handed pitchers and two right-handed hitting former JUCO products. The draft always feels like the perfect time to open the windows, let in some fresh air, and dream about what might be.

Day 2 gets underway tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET, with all of Rounds 5-20 on deck.

Milwaukee Brewers star right-hander Jacob Misiorowski will miss his scheduled start Sunday against Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game due to arm fatigue, the team announced Saturday.

Misiorowski said he does not expect to require a stint on the injured list and anticipates being ready to pitch after the All-Star break.

"A little forearm stuff," Misiorowski said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. "Nothing crazy. Just didn’t bounce back. A little quick on the days off between but nothing crazy. We also have this long break."

Bo Lowrance models his game after Freddie Freeman. So, it’s fitting that the Dodgers selected the 6-foot-5, 200-pound high school infielder — ranked the No. 21 overall prospect by MLB.com — with the 40th pick in the MLB amateur draft on Saturday.

“He’s obviously a first baseman, and I’m on the left side, so defensively a little different,” Lowrance said of Freeman during a conference call with media. “But he’s still unbelievably athletic, and a big thing that I’ve watched for years is his approach and how he uses the whole field. … [Freeman is] somebody that I’m always trying to emulate.”

Lowrance hit .435 with 12 home runs last season at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, S.C.

A left-handed batter and right-handed thrower like Freeman, Lowrance is expected to develop as a shortstop — noting former Dodger Corey Seager has a “super smooth” defense at 6-4 he hopes to replicate — with a potential role at third, depending on how the prep star grows into his frame.

Read more:Chicago White Sox select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with No. 1 pick in MLB draft

“Yeah, definitely want to be a shortstop,” Lowrance said. “I believe I’m capable of it. I think I have the glove skills and the athleticism. I think it’s just going to turn into who I want to become at the plate in terms of my overall size and frame. Like, if I ultimately put on a bunch of weight and kind of grow out of the shortstop position, then maybe that’s where that’ll change.”

Lowrance hit it off with the Dodgers’ front office in June at the draft combine in Phoenix.

And even though the Dodgers didn’t exactly see the Freeman comparison Lowrance mentioned, they would be thrilled if he turned out anything like the 10-time All-Star.

“Bo was definitely our main target coming into the day,” Dodgers amateur scouting director Zach Fitzpatrick said. “Probably would have said there’s a pretty low chance we were able to acquire him, had you asked me in the morning. So as the picks start coming off the board and realizing there’s a little bit more opportunity to get him, our excitement level climbed. And then to actually be able to call his name was a home run for us.”

Read more:Why 2026 MLB draft will be special for Dodgers coach Dino Ebel’s family

“I’ve been in communication with them for a while,” Lowrance added. “I’ve loved their scouting staff. I have a great relationship with them.”

The Dodgers entered the draft with the smallest bonus pool at $3,951,900; the White Sox had the most cash to work with, boasting $20,489,500.

Fitzpatrick, though, said the Dodgers’ strategy centered around taking the best player available.

The approach carried over into the Dodgers’ second and final pick on the day — Florida right-handed pitcher Russell Sandefer at No. 132.

Sandefer posted a 3-2 record as a junior in 2026 with a 4.42 ERA over 19 games and 12 starts. The Dodgers were intrigued by his repertoire and heat.

“As we dove into Russell throughout the spring, kind of all departments — from scouting and what we saw at the park to our player development group and our analytics group — kind of flagged Russell as very intriguing and then having a lot of upside left,” Fitzpatrick said.

Read more:Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski added to National League roster for All-Star Game

“A starter at Florida, threw a lot of strikes; there’s obviously velocity, there’s a deep mix, and he performed and had some pretty stellar outings along the way that helped us believe in his upside and different ways we can help him access it more consistently.”

Lowrance was happy to be part of the Dodgers’ draft class.

“Just a whole wave of emotions,” he said. “I’m extremely grateful, first off, and couldn’t be more excited. I mean, yeah, I’ve said it already: It’s the best team in baseball, and nobody else that I want to be a part of.

“Couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski has been scratched from his scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday because of arm fatigue and will also miss the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy announced the decision Saturday after the NL Central leaders were swept by the Pirates in a doubleheader.

“He didn’t recover well from his last start, and his throwing program was clunky today, so we’re just going to give him some extra rest,” Murphy said.

Misiorowski said he will not require a stint on the injured list and should be ready to pitch after next week’s All-Star break.

Milwaukee has 12 pitchers on the IL.

“It (stinks) to miss a start and the All-Star Game, but I know it’s the right thing to do in this situation,” Misiorowski said. “My arm is a little tired.”

Misiorowski has a 10-4 record and a 1.62 ERA in 18 starts, with 167 strikeouts over 111 innings.

The 24-year-old leads MLB starting pitchers with a 100.5 mph average four-seam fastball velocity and has thrown a big-league high of 670 pitches at 100 mph or higher.

Misiorowski was scheduled to face fellow All-Star Paul Skenes in the series finale.

Left-hander Robert Gasser will instead start for the Brewers.

On the celebration weekend dedicated to the greatest Rays player of all time, retiring his number 3 and entering him into the Rays Hall of Fame, the current iteration of the Rays has an All Star 3rd baseman leading the team to first place and another series win under the Trop.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

With emotions running high pregame with a fantastic ceremony to celebrate the franchise’s first great home grown legend, the Rays were able to put on a show for Longo.

For those that missed the ceremony, please do yourself a favor and check it out and then come back to read the rest of what happened in the game.

The current face the of Rays, batting 3rd playing 3rd, Junior Caminero did not hit a HR (it’s actively worth mentioning when he doesn’t because that’s becoming a rarity) but did have the hardest hit ball of the day, a 115 MPH double. He would also reach base twice more on free passes. For as much as we Rays fans might lament the long and less than storied search for long term answers at SS or Catcher, 3B has been a rock since the Rays selected Longo. It’s quite something to feel pride in knowing that the Rays now have a 3B well worth the legacy of the hot corner that Longo left behind.

The game today was quite the pitcher’s duel. Griffin Jax continued his conversion to starter as most starts: some high wire acts (1st inning escape act after loading the bases), super efficient pitching (ended the game completing 5 innings at just 69 nice pitches), and mostly kept the the Mariners bats frustrated unable to produce that one big inning.

Facing off against Logan Gilbert, you knew that runs would be at a premium. In fact, during a game of such ceremony Gilbert recorded his 1,000 career K. However, the Rays bats made him work for everything he got. Despite a game leading 15 whiffs, Rays hitters were able to only strike out 5 times vs Gilbert. Putting it in play can get results, and Ben Williamson in the 2nd inning (after the Mariners jumped to an early lead in the top of the 2nd) was able to lace a double down the 3rd base line like so many Longo doubles of yore.

Chandler Simpson sped around scoring from first after a less than full speed Randy Arozarena jogged over to the 162 landing to get the ball back in.

After another houdini act from Jax in the 3rd, the Rays were able to take the after back-to-back doubles from Yandy and Aranda.

Cam Booser would get the first call out of the pen starting in the 6th inning to hold that 1 run lead, and got to immediately face the heart of the Mariner order: Cal Raliegh, Josh Naylor, and Luke Raley. Booser would mow them down striking out both Cal and Naylor. Booser would then get the next inning too and would add 3 more Ks (with a little double inbetween, but we won’t worry about that little guy). Rays have needed some answers from this pen and Booser has been a stopper for them in the middle innings.

In the 7th, after recording the first two outs, Aranda was able to knock a double off Gilbert, and after an intentional pass to Caminero, M’s manager Dan Wilson to come get Gilbert out of the game.

Wilson chose to go get lefty specialist Gabe Speir to face Cedric Mullins due up. Kevin Cash countered with a call to the bench for Ryan Vilade to pinch hit. Oh boy did that move work out well for Cash and the Rays.

2 outs, runners at 1st and 2nd, still a 1 run game, Vilade delivered the back breaking 3-run bomb to all but secure the Rays the series win.

Rays will look to complete the sweep and conclude the Longo celebration weekend in spectaular fashion Sunday morning.

Now crank the Tantric.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday morning, Brian Cashman acknowledged the obvious when asked about the Yankees catcher position.

“It’s an issue, clearly,” he said.

Since then, Austin Wells homered in back-to-back games after having just one in his previous 38 games dating to May 1.

And while that does not change the fact that the Yankees still need catching help at the deadline, the two swings sorely were needed signs of life from the backstop who has still been one of the league’s worst hitters approaching the All-Star break.

“Hopefully, it’s something that he continues to build on,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Nationals on Saturday night in which Wells went 0-for-2 after coming into the game to replace starter Ali Sanchez. “We need him to, and he needs to build on that, because he needs to be a factor for us offensively.”

The lefty-hitting catcher crushed a home run against Rays lefty Cam Booser in Thursday’s offensive outburst and then delivered an even more important blow in the ninth inning Friday night, belting a solo shot off Nationals righty Justin Lawrence to provide breathing room after Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s go-ahead blast.

They were reminders of the kind of offensive potential Wells, flashed more often over his first three years in the big leagues before it mostly disappeared this season.

He entered play batting just .153 with a .504 OPS and six home runs.

His batting average (now at .151) and OPS both were the lowest among 255 hitters with at least 200 plate appearances, while his WRC+ of 42 (100 being league average) was the second lowest.

“On the defensive side, I think we’re thriving there,” Cashman said Thursday. “On the offensive side, it’s been a struggle, and it’s a surprise. We feel like we have players capable of a lot more. I recognize and acknowledge how difficult this game can be, and so it’s become an area of concern, clearly, when it wasn’t expected to be. I know [Wells] is doing everything he can, and they are doing everything they can to improve in that category. I know that they’re capable of that, but at the same time, it’s been a struggle.”

While Wells was on the injured list in June for cervical headaches, he went to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and worked with some minor league hitting coaches on refining his mechanics.

Boone has continued to insist he sees a difference in Wells’ movement in the box since his June 21 return, even though he had little to show for it until Thursday and Friday.

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“I haven’t been making it up,” Boone said. “I do feel like since coming back [from the IL], I’ve noticed him moving the needle, as far as his move and stuff, that’s a little more in line, just from my eye, with what he’s been in the past. So that’s absolutely in there. What we saw [Friday] night and the day before, from a move standpoint, is a lot different than a few weeks ago, maybe not to the naked eye, but me watching him, I see a significant difference.”

Part of the reason the Yankees have continued to stick with Wells behind the plate — besides not having many viable internal options to replace him — is because of how much they value his work with the pitching staff.

The club believes that is more important than offensive production from its catchers, and Wells was continuing to do that despite his brutal slide at the plate.

Asked Thursday about whether there was any consideration being given to optioning Wells to Triple-A to work on his offense, Cashman declined to say, other than acknowledging, “We have those levers at our disposal.”

While it remains to be seen whether Wells’ production over the last few days is a sign of real progress or just a tease, it should at least let him breathe a little easier for now.

“I haven’t sensed a drag in there,” Boone said. “But anytime you struggle like he has offensively, on some level, it’s going to affect you. I’ve been there. But again, it’s one of those things that you got to deal with as a competitor, as a big leaguer. I’m sure getting some results and impacting the baseball a few times here in the past couple days is at least a little bit settling for him.”

The Braves once again made Matthew Liberatore look like Cy Young reincarnated for the second time in the span of two weeks. 

Reynaldo López gritted out five innings, but ended his streak of four consecutive starts only giving up an earned run. The first inning has been the challenge in most of his starts since he returned to the rotation, and tonight was no different. After getting two outs, an Iván Herrera slow-roller hit to Jorge Mateo and a single by Jordan Walker set the table for a Lars Nootbar three-run shot to make it 3-0 Cardinals. Ballgame in the first inning? More likely than you’d think, unfortunately.

López bounced back a bit in the second (working around a leadoff triple) and third, but Nootbar’s leadoff walk and stolen base would create another run after a Blaze Jordan single to make it 4-0.

The hope of getting to Liberatore early was mounting with a Ozzie Albies walk and wild pitch to get a runner in scoring position, but it wasn’t to be. Liberatore then held the Braves hitless until a Drake Baldwin single in the fourth. The Braves did not and could not cash in on consecutive innings with leadoff singles in the fifth and sixth by Austin Riley (!) and Michael Harris II, respectively. Matt Olson’s single in the sixth put runners at the corners with one out, but Baldwin grounded into a double play to end the threat. 

Liberatore only needed 71 pitches for his six scoreless innings of work, but he did not come back out. Mauricio Dubón greeted new pitcher Luis Gastelum rudely with a first-pitch leadoff homer to finally get the Braves on the board. Thank you, Dubie. A truly awful PA from Riley followed. Eli White doubled, but was stranded after a groundout by Joey Bart and a strikeout by pinch-hitter Jim Jarvis.

Freshly recalled from Gwinnett, Owen Murphy entered to pitch scoreless frames in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

The Braves went down in order against George Soriano in the eighth and did their patented “false hope finale” in the ninth against reliever Riley O’Brien. A Drake leadoff walk, two quick outs, and Dominic Smith HBP brought Joey Bart up to the plate as the tying run. The pride of Georgia Tech couldn’t muster up a miraculous homer here and stared at strike three to seal this one for the Cardinals.

I don’t know who needs this All-Star break more, us or the team. Either way, some much-needed space and time to reflect is on deck after tomorrow’s series finale at 2:15 pm ET.

As Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft concluded, Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and assistant general manager Tommy Tanous took questions from media about the day’s work.

Below are highlights from that conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

On drafting Tyler Bell

Tommy Tanous: There was a lot to like about him. First of all, it’s an SEC shortstop — a switch-hitting shortstop with elite on-base ability, brings power, defensive value, strong baseball instincts to the game every day. One of the remarkable things about Tyler, he played through a significant shoulder injury this year, lost a little bit of time, came back, and really ended up having an extremely productive year. Super talented kid to find a shortstop this productive that can that we feel can stay at shortstop.

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Tanous: There’s definitely a chip on his shoulder when he plays. There is no mistaking his intensity out there, his focus in games, and also what he does on the practice field. We spoke with numerous coaches, summer coaches, his current coaches. This is a very very intense, serious player with a very strong need to succeed.

On who will play shortstop, Bell or Ethan Holliday

Tanous: Both will stay on that. We have plenty of teams, and we need plenty of shortstop. Look, I think a lot of players in this organization going forward are going to move around a little bit, and we’re going to build some versatility. That does not mean they are not shortstops when you put them at in center field for a day or second base. But both of those players are going to get the majority of their time developing at shortstop.

On drafting Daniel Jackson and Jack Natili

Paul DePodesta: Again, not necessarily the plan we laid out going into the day in terms of ‘Hey, we’re going to get two catchers here.’ But those were both players that we had very high on our board that we felt if we had access to, we wanted to wanted to jump on that opportunity. We think both of them have a chance to have very long careers in in the big leagues. I mean, they’re both right-handed hitters, both have power, both can really catch. Maybe I’m showing a little bit of my bias here in terms of where I think a team is built from the start, but these these are two really, really good ones, and they’re both going to get plenty of opportunity with us.

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Tanous: Both of those players have unique characteristics. I mean, Daniel Jackson — Golden Spikes Award winner, first catcher in history to in Division I history to have 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases. So really super, super talented and obviously Jack Natili — big, big power. Both have reasonable decision-making ability that we can build on and hone in on. Both have enormous amounts of power that come easy. The focus when we develop these players is always to be aware of their strike zone ability and how we build on that. Both are two really, really good athletes. That’ll be one of the keys that that we talk about with them because they certainly have a lot of other offensive aspects already in their bag of tricks.

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DePodesta:When we visited last Saturday, I think we were talking about the draft. I talked about the trade-offs that you have to make between players, and that it’s not necessarily going to look cookie-cutter, and that each player is going to look look a little different. In this case, I think we’re really, really excited about the total package for all three (Bell, Jackson, and Natili), and I mean that both defensively and offensively. Defensively, all three premium position players — two catchers and a shortstop — and then offensively, I think all of them actually are good decision makers. A couple of them have really big power. Now, are you going to take some swing and miss with that? Yeah, you probably are. But given the balance here, as we looked at these players, this was that was sort of a trade well worth making. So, like I said, not not every player is going to look exactly the same, but I think these guys certainly get bang for their buck when they when they’re attacking pitches.

On drafting Logan Reddemann

Tanous: He not only developed more velocity, he developed more pitches themselves. This is one of the bigger arsenals you’ll see. It’s incredibly impressive. It’s almost a professional arsenal when he’ll throw a cutter, sweeper, more traditional curveball, changeup. The last six or seven games, he really came on. On top of that, he’s throwing 95-96 (mph). He was the college pitcher of the year, and really what stands out is the ability to throw that arsenal and throw it for strikes. So, kind of a unique guy, especially in today’s college game, where a lot of the pitchers are two-pitch guys throwing very hard, but maybe with a limited arsenal. This this is a much, much bigger pitch arsenal.

On drafting Ben Davis

Tanous: This is a big horse. You watch him, and you do not want to be in the batter’s box against him. It’s a big moving fastball that we feel like we can actually develop even more. It’s swing-and-miss cutter and slider. So he has three pitches that he can go to, but it’s really high-octane stuff.

On what both pitchers bring

DePodesta: I would add on both guys, (they are) very, very good strike throwers. In fact, both spent time as position players. I think Reddemann was a middle infielder. Ben Davis was a catcher, so maybe we took three catchers today. You know, he was a converted catcher when he went to college. So I think both are just very athletic guys. Reddemann has sort of elite repeatability and really good feel for the baseball. As Tommy noted with Ben Davis, I think he has an unusual fastball that we really think is going to play well in our environment.

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DePodesta: We’ve obviously talked about pitchers with a deep mix, which Reddemann certainly has. I do think cutters actually have become more and more prevalent in college, so we saw it with a lot of guys this year. So I wouldn’t say that was something that we were targeting in particular. But it’s not surprising that each of these guys have thrown it and thrown it successfully. We do have a vision in our mind about different pitches that may play better at Coors than others, but that that wasn’t necessarily a strong consideration with these two selections because we also think both these guys have real facility with the baseball in their hands. So I wouldn’t be surprised as they move forward that we make some tweaks to their to their repertoire in order to optimize them.

On the first MLB draft for the Rockies new front office

DePodesta: I think we were thrilled with the way it went. You never know exactly how the board’s going to fall, but we were very excited about the players that we had access to. So certainly Tyler in the first round, and then both Daniel and Logan in the comp and second round area. I think we were we were thrilled with those opportunities. And then even Jackson and Ben Davis. I mean, all these guys were significant players on our board. We had a lot of attention focused on these players throughout the entire spring, and then certainly even throughout this past week, I don’t think any of us woke up this morning expecting that we would have gotten all those guys. So I think we’re we’re thrilled with how it went.

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DePodesta: I think it’s hard to say (if there were any surprises) because we never really know, right? We have our own board. We know there are 29 other boards out there, and we hear a lot of rumors and talk to folks. We see all the mock drafts like everyone else does. So I think you at least get a sense of where you think guys might be going. But then the draft plays out in real time, and it’s one of many, many possible iterations that actually happens. But that’s the one you roll with. So I think there were scenarios in which we thought, ‘Hey, there’s a chance one of these guys could get there,‘ so we had to be prepared for that. But we did our work on all these guys, and we’re very prepared for those opportunities. When it came down to it, and both those guys were available at 37, 38, we were ready to jump on.

On returning to the MLB Draft

DePodesta: I couldn’t trade picks. I was sort of jonesing to trade picks! No, it was great. It was great to be back in there with all the guys, and our whole group, I think, really did a tremendous job, not only through the course of the spring and this past week, but even into today in staying organized, staying focused, and like I said earlier, being ready for opportunities. So it was fun to be back in there. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We get 16 more tomorrow, so I’m excited for that, too.

Final thoughts

What are your thoughts after the first day of the Rockies 2026 draft? How do you think Paul DePodesta et al did? Let us know!

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