Category: Baseball

The Yankees entered Monday's series opener against the Minnesota Twins in a bit of a tailspin and in danger of falling into a tie with the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot with a loss.

So, having yet to win a series during the month of August with a 2-7 record over its last nine games, New York needed a spark in the worst way.

Answering the call, Cody Bellinger hit a solo homer in the first inning to get the Bronx Bombers out to an early lead. After that, starter Will Warren took things from there and delivered one of the best outings his manager has seen out of him during his young career.

"Big performance," Aaron Boone said about Warren. "That’s what it’s supposed to look like right there when you get deep into the game."

With the Yankees in need of length from their starters after relying so heavily on their bullpen recently, Warren pitched into the seventh inning for just the third time this season (and his career), finishing his night after 6.2 innings and allowing two earned runs (two solo shots) on three hits, no walks and seven strikeouts.

The 26-year-old only needed 85 pitches and notched his seventh win of the season, lowering his season ERA to 4.34. It was exactly what New York needed as the rookie continues to impress in his first full season while gaining more and more confidence along the way.

"It was a really complete game I thought. Starting with the starting pitcher," Boone said. "Just a really clean game all around."

But it wasn't just Warren who helped the Yankees win their first series opener since July 11 against the Chicago Cubs -- exactly one month ago.

Along with Bellinger's long ball, Giancarlo Stanton, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each hit solo shots of their own with Stanton and Rice going back-to-back in the third inning. Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge also had run-scoring hits as New York banged out six runs on 10 hits in a "good team win."

"I think we’ve been needing that spark," Warren said. "We’ve been playing flat I feel like and tonight we jumped out there with the Bellinger home run and then obviously we went back-to-back.

"I don’t know, we got a spark of energy and it was like ‘alright, this is how we’re supposed to play baseball’ like the past month hadn’t been like we’re supposed to play baseball. We’ve had a gut punch lately and it was nice to get out there and play baseball the way we’re supposed to."

With how poorly the Yankees were playing, hosting the Twins couldn't have come at a better time. Not only did Minnesota have a fire sale at the trade deadline and entered Monday's game with a 56-61 record, New York has completely dominated the franchise for more than 20 years.

Since 2002, the Yanks are 124-44 against the Twins. That's a .738 winning percentage.

Boone was asked if he can explain the sustained dominance over another team and the skipper didn't have an answer.

"Not really. We’re 1-0 against them this year," he said.

Whatever the reasoning, New York will certainly take it and hope it continues for the next two games and hopefully beyond that. After all, with the Boston Red Sox losing, the Yanks are only 1.5 GB of their division rivals for the second Wild Card spot and 6.0 GB of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East title.

With over 40 games remaining in the regular season, the Yankees still have plenty of time to make up the ground they've lost in the standings. But it'll take similar performances like the ones they got on Monday night to do it. Luckily for them, they're up for the challenge.

"Buncha guys were all putting in the work today and it’s always nice when the results show," Bellinger said.

On the first day of spring training, at a Camelback Ranch facility adorned with ever-present reminders of the team’s 2024 World Series title, a Dodgers staff member took in the scene, then chuckled while reflecting on the club’s trek to a championship.

“Last year was not a fun year,” the staff member said. “At least, not until the end.”

Indeed, in the afterglow of the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the turbulent path getting there became easy to forget.

Last season’s Dodgers dealt with a wave of injuries to the pitching staff, inconsistencies in the lineup, and the club’s lowest full regular-season win total (98) in six years.

Fast-forward six months, and this year’s Dodgers find themselves in a similar place.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani and his agent accused of sabotaging $240-million real estate project

They are again navigating absences on the mound and in the bullpen over the last several weeks. Their offense has gone from leading the majors in scoring over the first half of the season, to suddenly sputtering over the last month and a half.

And after a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Monday, in the opener of a three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium, they are on pace for only 92 victories with a 68-51 record, clinging to what has dwindled to just a one-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.

Little fun. Lots of frustration.

"It's not going well for us right now,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We got to find a way to snap out of it. No one's going to feel sorry for us. So it's on us to find our way out of it, and we need to do it."

Monday’s game was a lost cause from the start.

Despite getting an extra day of rest this week, after flipping places in the rotation with Tyler Glasnow for Sunday’s loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in one of his worst starts in the majors.

but wait there's more 😇 pic.twitter.com/uUwljKUb9f

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 12, 2025

He gave up a home run to Zach Neto on his first pitch of the night, and another run later in the first inning after two walks (one of them on a missed third strike call from home plate umpire Dan Iassogna) and a Yoán Moncada single.

Then, in the fifth, his outing completely fell apart. Five of the first seven batters of the inning reached base (four singles and a hit by pitch). Four runs crossed the plate (including two on a Mike Trout single). And after Yamamoto walked his fifth batter with two outs, manager Dave Roberts was forced into an early hook, removing Yamamoto after 4⅔ innings and six runs (the most Yamamoto has yielded in his 41-game MLB career).

“[The early runs] kind of threw me off rhythm,” Yamamoto, whose earned-run average rose to a season-high 2.84, through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “As the game went on, I was trying to make a few adjustments. But unfortunately, I didn't make them."

The Dodgers’ lineup didn’t do much better.

Over the first six innings, they failed to figure out Angels right-hander José Soriano and his upper-90s mph sinker, managing just two hits while striking out six times.

By the time they finally put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, the deficit had grown to 7-0 on Neto’s second home run of the night (this time off Alexis Diaz). And even then, they came up empty, with Alex Freeland grounding into an inning-ending double-play against former Dodgers reliever Luis García with the bases loaded.

Eighth-inning home runs from Shohei Ohtani (his 42nd of the season, and the 100th of his career at his old home stadium in Anaheim) and Muncy (a three-run drive inside the right-field foul pole) put the Dodgers on the board at long last.

But it was far too little, much too late — allowing the Angels (57-62) to improve to 4-0 against the Dodgers this season after sweeping a series at Chavez Ravine back in May.

“This was a bad loss for us,” Muncy said. “There's not really a way of getting around that.”

When coupled with Sunday’s maddening defeat to Toronto (a defeat that left Roberts outwardly perturbed in his postgame news conference), the last 48 hours have represented another backward step in a Dodgers’ campaign that is quickly growing full of them.

It has zapped whatever momentum was building after the team’s two series-opening victories against the AL East-leading Blue Jays last weekend. It has dropped the club to 12-19 since the Fourth of July, the fifth-worst record in the majors over that span. And, most consequentially, it has opened the door for the Padres (who were 8½ games back of the Dodgers as recently as July 2) to inch closer to the division lead ahead of their visit to Dodger Stadium on Friday.

“You hate to say that yesterday's loss carried over to tonight, and you got to give credit to Soriano and the way he threw the baseball,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, I mean, you win yesterday, and you feel even better about coming into today. But now you're looking at losing two games in a row.

“There definitely has to be some urgency. I don’t think anyone is blind to the fact that the standings are the standings. It’s gotten a lot more interesting. So we’ve got to go out there and play good baseball. I definitely feel that our guys are starting to feel that urgency. It’s been long enough of middling baseball — as far as overall team wins and losses.”

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers' inability to improve bullpen at trade deadline haunts them again

The only silver lining: The Dodgers overcame similar struggles last year, doing just enough down the stretch to win the division and march all the way to an unlikely championship.

But they were hoping to avoid such headaches this year, and mount a more enjoyable title defense.

With less than two months remaining in the season, that dream has come and gone.

The Dodgers can still win another World Series. But the road to this point has been anything but a breeze.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees bounced back after dropping their third series in a row over the weekend by beating the Minnesota Twins on Monday night, 6-2.

Here are the takeaways...

-All or nothing seemed to be the biggest theme in this one with five different players hitting five solo homers. Cody Bellinger got things started by hitting his 21st bomb of the season in the bottom of the first inning. The solo shot off Zebby Matthews was the first hit of the game and gave New York a 1-0 lead.

Matthews would allow two more home runs in his 5.2 innings of work -- back-to-back solo shots by Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice in the third. Stanton lifted his 11th of the season on the first pitch he saw while Rice crushed his 17th of the year on a 2-2 slider and sent it 415 feet to right field.

When Matthews wasn't letting up long balls, though, he was striking out New York's hitters, finishing with nine strikeouts to match his career high. His night was over after issuing his first walk of the game and throwing 99 pitches (68 strikes).

-On the other side was Will Warren who had a similar performance as Matthews. Like Matthews, Warren's night mostly consisted of strikeouts or solo home runs. To his credit, the rookie right-hander was slightly better than his competition and only allowed two solo shots -- one to Byron Buxton in the sixth and another to Trevor Larnach in the seventh -- in 6.2 innings. He also struck out seven while walking none on 85 pitches (60 strikes).

Warren left the game with a 3-2 lead and his outing was good enough to secure his seventh win of the season (7-5). It was also the fourth straight start where he's allowed two earned runs or fewer.

The offense relied less on the long ball in the bottom half of the seventh and strung together three hits and a walk against reliever Brooks Kriske, who got the final out of the sixth, to start the frame which resulted in two more runs. Ryan McMahon doubled to lead things off, Anthony Volpe walked (after a wild pitch advanced McMahon to third) followed by Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge singling them home.

-Jazz Chisholm Jr. ended the scoring with a bang by smacking another solo shot to lead off the eighth inning. It was the Bronx Bombers' fourth home run of the game and Chisholm's 20th of the season.

-The Yanks finished with 10 hits on the night with every player in the starting lineup besides Paul Goldschmidt getting at least one hit. Stanton and Rice each had two hits.

-Following Warren, Luke Weaver and David Bednar combined for 2.1 perfect innings while striking out four.

-Both teams combined for six home runs and 23 strikeouts.

Game MVP: Will Warren

The righty turned in another quality start and is pitching the best he has all season.

Highlights

Giancarlo goes yard! pic.twitter.com/Mrj9cQVR9R

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 11, 2025

Ben Rice goes back-to-back with Giancarlo Stanton! pic.twitter.com/WBOeNUZSAI

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 11, 2025

What's next

The Yankees continue their series with the Twins on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

LHP Carlos Rodón (11-7, 3.35 ERA) will go for New York while Minnesota has yet to announce a starter.

Aaron Judge continues to work towards a return to right field, but the Yankees do not yet know if he will be able to man the position this weekend in St. Louis.

Before Monday’s game, manager Aaron Boone ruled out Judge for the outfield during this week’s series at home against Minnesota.

Ever since Judge hit the injured list last month with a right flexor strain, the team has been optimistic that he would return to the field before long. “Sooner rather than later” continues to be the public messaging.

But privately, the team is genuinely unsure when it might happen. The timing is important because as long as Judge is limited to designated hitter duties, right field is Giancarlo Stanton’s only path to playing time. The reeling Yankees are hardly in a position to sit Stanton, one of their best hitters.

The location of the Yankees’ next series could create extra incentive for Judge to return this weekend.

Right field at Yankee Stadium is relatively small, which is suited to Stanton’s current level of speed and range. Busch Stadium in St. Louis presents far more ground to cover.

Former Met Johan Santana is joining Team Venezuela's coaching staff as their pitching coach for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Santana, who pitched for the Mets from 2008-2012, is a two-time Cy Young award winner and four-time All-Star. He won both of his Cy Young awards with the Minnesota Twins where he began his career and spent eight seasons.

In his first season in New York, the left-hander led MLB with his 2.53 ERA and led the NL with 34 starts and 234.1 innings pitched. Santana went on to go 46-34 during his career with the Mets and pitched to a 3.18 ERA. He also threw the first no-hitter in franchise history on June 1, 2012 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now 46 years old, this will be Santana's first opportunity as a coach for professional players. And although rosters have not been released yet, some possible pitchers that will play for manager Omar Lopez and Team Venezuela include starters Pablo Lopez, Ranger Suarez, Eduardo Rodriguez and Martin Perez, as well as relievers Jose Alvarado, Robert Suarez, Jose Buttó and Brusdar Graterol.

With a lineup that could feature players such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Jose Altuve, Salvador Perez, Eugenio Suarez and more like Francisco Alvarez and Luisangel Acuña, Team Venezuela will likely be a formidable team in the tournament.

Giants' offense once again lacks energy as team's Oracle Park skid continues originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — As Drew Gilbert’s floater to left field dropped softly onto the grass on Monday night, members of his family started to rise. They weren’t alone. 

The Giants prospect got a nice ovation after picking up his first big league hit in the third inning, but he didn’t let any big-picture thoughts creep into his head. Gilbert said afterward that he immediately went into baserunner mode. He didn’t spend much time soaking up the cheers or the applause coming from his dugout. 

“For maybe, like, a second,” he said.

Drew Gilbert records his first MLB hit 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kXxVRb9SXv

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 12, 2025

The ovation came a day after Giants fans showered Justin Verlander with love following his 3,500th strikeout. This is a fan base that is desperate for something to cheer for, and once again, the Giants gave them very few reasons to get on their feet. 

Rafael Devers brought some juice with a solo homer, but other than that and the Gilbert single, there was nothing. The Giants lost 4-1 to the San Diego Padres, striking out 10 times while losing for the 11th time in their last 12 games at Oracle Park. 

A team that had eight walk-off wins through June 7 all of a sudden is incapable of bringing life to a ballpark that has seen a notable attendance boost this season. The Giants have scored three total runs in their last three home games and 23 runs over the 1-11 stretch. 

“Giants fans are one of the best and they’ve been showing up for us and we just haven’t been doing a good job,” staff ace Logan Webb said. “We score a run today and tie the game and I go back out for the seventh and the momentum shift — it’s just bad. It’s kind of the way it’s going.”

Webb gave up three runs right after the Devers homer and took that hard, although he probably shouldn’t have. After throwing 219 pitches in his two previous starts, he was sent back out for the seventh with 88 on his line. The inning unraveled quickly, with a Freddy Fermin homer putting the game away.

The Giants always have pushed Webb, and perhaps they felt getting seven strong out of him on Monday was the only way. They certainly weren’t going to win a battle of the bullpens. 

That wasn’t the case in the first half, when they seemingly came back every time they fell behind at home. The deficits are the same, but the comebacks have dried up, and with Monday’s loss, they fell to .500 at Oracle Park this season. 

Manager Bob Melvin was asked about the home skid before the game and said it’s hard to figure out what’s going on. Players have said the same, but they need to put it together quickly. The first half built momentum and attendance surged, but Monday’s crowd of 30,018 was the smallest at Oracle Park since June 13. It was 5,000 less than what the Giants drew two weeks earlier on a Monday night against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates. 

It was an energetic crowd early on, though. At least until the lack of offense sucked the life out of the ballpark. Even Gilbert, who should have been celebrating, found reasons for frustration.

“I know I’m a rookie, but I want to win,” he said. “Hits are awesome, but wins are better.”

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Phils make quick work of Reds to win fourth straight, climb 20 games over .500 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CINCINNATI — While the collective musical preference of the Phillies and Cincinnati Reds isn’t known, the two teams played with a quickness Monday as if they were huge Snoop Dogg fans.

Fo shizzle.

The immensely popular entertainer performed following the game at Great American Ballpark, and you had to wonder if the players wanted to get to it as quick as possible. A quick game of two hours and 20 minutes and a concert are much better if a win is attached, and the Phillies got that with a 4-1 triumph over the Reds.

The only real delay in the game came in the top of the eighth when the Reds decided to challenge whether Kyle Schwarber’s monster two-run homer was fair or foul. The call stood as fair and Schwarber’s 42nd home run of the season gave the Phillies a 4-1 lead.

Phillies starter Taijuan Walker struggled in the first inning as he allowed a run on three hits while throwing 27 pitches. The big right-hander found a groove, however, and didn’t allow another run during his six innings of work in which he allowed six hits, just that run, a walk and struck out two while throwing a manageable 93 pitches in his duel with Reds starter Andrew Abbott.

“I started getting quick outs, a lot of ground ball outs today, which was key,” Walker, who now sports a 3.39 ERA this season, said. “The biggest thing is just keeping the team in the game. That first inning could have got away but only let up the one run and after that just kind of got into a little groove and started being aggressive and just started pounding the zone.

“I said before, I busted my butt in the offseason. I wanted to come back this year and show them that I worked hard and I was ready to get back into the rotation. I think I proved that and especially going back and forth staying calm and under control and within myself and going out to do whatever they want me to do. I’m comfortable as a starter and I’ve done it for a long time, so hopefully keep going.”

Abbott was lights out against the Phillies for seven innings and began the eighth by striking out Harrison Bader and Otto Kemp. As has been the norm for the Phillies on this road trip, the offense did what it needed to do to secure the team’s eighth win in the past 10 games. The Phillies are now 69-49, their first time to 20 games over .500 this season. They lead the idle New York Mets by six games in the National League East.

Edmundo Sosa got a two-out single in the eighth and then Weston Wilson, one of the plethora of platoon outfielders manager Rob Thomson has at his disposal, lined a double down the left-field line that bounced around for a bit, allowing Sosa to score from first and tie the game at one. Sosa then scored on a single by Trea Turner and then Schwarber hit that monster shot to right, just inside the foul pole.

It was the second game in a row that Wilson came up big at the plate. His single in the fifth Sunday gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead in an eventual 4-2 win over the Rangers. Monday, he did it again.

“It’s something I’ve been accustomed to the last couple of years,” Wilson said of platooning. “That’s my role, playing against lefties and just doing the same thing that I’ve been doing, getting prepared in the cage. Trying to simulate reaction time with heaters and everything. I think when game time rolls around you kind of just go compete.

“It’s huge. I have confidence in myself and I think everybody has confidence in each other. Just being able to come up big in those moments has been awesome. Being able to take some pressure off the top of the lineup and the bottom is doing it as well now.”

With the luxury of his bullpen pitching so well of late, the game seems to get shorter and shorter for Thomson. Although closing sensation Jhoan Duran was unavailable Monday after having had saves the previous two games against the Rangers, the trio of Jordan Romano, David Robertson and Orion Kerkering brought it home as they combined to allow just one hit, walked one and struck out three in their three innings. The bullpen has now allowed just one earned run over the last 23 2/3 innings.

“Romano hasn’t had a full inning in a long time. He came in and threw strikes,” Thomson said. “His stuff was really good, sharp slider. D-Rob getting his feet wet in pretty high-leverage, I guess. Walked the leadoff hitter on four pitches but then he settled in and pitched great and Kerkering was fantastic. Sometimes you’re forced into it (putting in pitchers in high-leverage situations) and you can’t do anything about it. I would have liked to put [Robertson] into a little easier spot.”

Before his collapse in the eighth, Abbott had allowed just three hits to the Phillies. Oddly, all three hits, including doubles by J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper, led off innings, but the left-hander worked out of trouble each time.

“His pitch count was getting up there so maybe he wasn’t quite as sharp,” Thomson said of Abbott. “I think this club is so resilient, they never believe they are out of a game, they just keep fighting and that’s what I love about them.”

Thomson ended the postgame talk yelling “Snoop.” Asked if he was going to watch the concert, the manager said, “No, I’m going home and watching TV.”

There was plenty of time for that, too.

What we learned as Logan Webb runs out of gas late in Giants' loss to Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — Two months ago, when Logan Webb and Yoshinobu Yamamoto faced off at Dodger Stadium, the game ended with two teams atop the NL West standings. 

Webb and Yamamoto were back in action Monday night, one in San Francisco and one in Anaheim, and once again, the Dodgers are looking at potentially having a partner atop the division. But the Giants now are nowhere near that race. 

It’s the San Diego Padres — 4-1 winners on Monday night — who are closing in on the Dodgers, with just 1 1/2 games separating them. The Giants once hoped to catch the Padres in the wild-card race, but they now sit eight games back. 

Webb cruised through the first five innings, getting 11 outs on the ground and striking out a pair. The Padres pushed a run across in the sixth, but Rafael Devers immediately countered with a rocket to left-center, his third homer in four games on this homestand. 

Rafi ties it up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PgiLXaXses

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 12, 2025

The blast brought some juice back to the ballpark, but it didn’t last long. A double and RBI single gave the Padres the lead a few pitches into the seventh, and Freddy Fermin blasted a two-run shot down the left field line, handing a healthy lead to the league’s best bullpen. 

The Ferminator 🦾 pic.twitter.com/nzDOnigGQD

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 12, 2025

On The Board

The old “it’ll be a line drive in the box score” joke probably doesn’t apply in 2025, but Drew Gilbert at least can try it out. His first big league hit left the bat at just 65 mph and dropped softly between three Padres in shallow left, but a hit is a hit, and Gilbert officially has an MLB batting average.

Drew Gilbert records his first MLB hit 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kXxVRb9SXv

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 12, 2025

Gilbert had been hitless in 10 at-bats through his first four starts, but the Giants are going to take a long look at the recently acquired prospect, and he showed off some tools Monday. After the single, he stole second, although he was thrown out at third as he tried to advance on a poor throw. Gilbert became the first Giant since Jason Vosler in 2021 to pick up his first hit and stolen base in the same game, and at the very least, he’s bringing some energy to a team that needs it. 

The longest hitless streak to start a Giants career, by the way, belongs to Edwards Guzman. He went 21 hitless at-bats between stints in 1999 and 2001.

Those Guys Again

The Padres have given Webb a lot of trouble in recent years, although he dominated them at Oracle on June 2. Early on Monday, this looked like another gem, and Webb needed just 66 pitches to get through five scoreless innings. The only hit through the first four was a single that came on a slow roller that took a weird bounce when it hit first base. 

But the Fermin homer left Webb with four runs on his line in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed eight hits, walked one and struck out three. Webb has now given up at least four earned in three of his last four home starts. 

Dominating

On the ninth pitch of his first at-bat, Dominic Smith redirected a Yu Darvish splitter up the middle, getting the first hit of the night for the Giants. The single extended Smith’s hitting streak to 14 games, the longest active one in the big leagues and longest of his career. 

Smith is the first Giant to reach 14 games since another left-handed first baseman, Brandon Belt. The longtime Giant did it during a 2021 MLB season that was his best as a big leaguer. 

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Gerrit Cole took a big step on his road to recovery on Monday, throwing 20 pitches off of flat ground.

Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the news, which was first reported by YES Network's Meredith Marakovits.

"He’s done a good job with rehab," Boone said. "This is one of those cool markers along that way that’s significant to hit, so excited for him."

The Yankees ace underwent Tommy John surgery on March 11, opting for the internal brace procedure that could potentially shorten his recovery time.

The 34-year-old appeared in two spring training games for the Yankees this year, and it was clear something wasn’t right, as the former Cy Young winner allowed seven earned runs on seven hits over 6.0 innings of work. Cole ended up having season-ending surgery just five days after his final spring start.

"It’s a big one, first day throwing," Cole told reporters on Monday. "Been building up to it for a few weeks so it’s nice to get outside and get it accomplished and have it go well."

The right-hander also mentioned that it "felt really good" to be out there and that he was "fairly accurate."

While it's great to see Cole throwing again, he still has a long way to go before pitching for New York once again. Nevertheless, he'll continue his throwing program through the rest of the season before shutting it down again entering the offseason phase.

"This initial progression should take at least a few months so we’re right at the beginning of it," Cole said.

With Cole missing the entire season, free agent addition Max Fried has stepped into the ace role nicely, pitching to a 2.94 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP. It’s clear, however, that the Yankees have missed Cole, who has pitched to a 3.12 ERA and made three All-Star Games in a Yankees uniform.

The Yankees currently find themselves in third place in the AL East, and hold just a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final Wild Card spot.

There’s one player who’s beginning to gain momentum for the New York Rangers' captaincy. 

Since the Rangers traded Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks in December, the team has been without a captain, but that could change at the start of the 2025-26 campaign. 

Longtime Rangers reporter and columnist Larry Brooks strongly believes that the Rangers brass should choose J.T. Miller to be the team’s next captain.

“The captain’s sweater is not just another piece of laundry,” Brooks wrote. “It represents the organization’s ethos. The Rangers acquired J.T. Miller to change the team culture. The 32-year-old is hard-edged and can be abrasive. That is the identity the Blueshirts should adopt.”

The Rangers acquired Miller from the Vancouver Canucks this past season, partly due to his immense talent and also because of the energy he brings on a daily basis. 

Miller is known for his competitive and fiery nature, and the goal of bringing him in was to help start a culture shift within the organization that was desperately needed. 

Rangers Rank 10th In The Hockey News’ Exclusive Summer Splash SeriesThe Hockey News’ exclusive summer splash series evaluating the off-seasons of every NHL team is into the final stretch. To put these rankings together, we’ve focused the spotlight on every franchise’s off-season additions, departures, hirings and firings. And we’ve labelled each team as belonging to one of three categories – teams that have improved, teams that essentially stayed the same, and teams that have regressed. 

Making him the captain would demonstrate that the Rangers are fully committed to a change in their overall identity.

It’s unclear when or even if the Rangers plan on naming a captain, but Miller is certainly a candidate to watch out for.