Category: Baseball

The Buss family's decision to sell its majority stake in the Lakers to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter sent shockwaves through L.A. on Wednesday.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was among those surprised by the development. Speaking to reporters before his team's game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, Roberts shared his thoughts on what Walter could bring to the Lakers.

Question: What's your reaction to the deal?

“Obviously he’s had some kind of stake the last few years or whatever. He’s really committed to the city of Los Angeles in various ways. Sports is something that he’s very passionate about, and certainly Los Angeles sports. I think it’s a very exciting day for the Lakers, for the city of Los Angeles. And I think speaking from [the perspective of] a Dodger employee, he’s very competitive. He’s going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year and make sure the city feels proud of the Lakers and the legacy that they’ve already built with the Buss family.”

When did you learn that about him?

“I would say probably seven, eight, nine years ago, just having a conversation with him as far as how much he enjoyed spending time in Los Angeles, and a lot of low-hanging fruit in the sense of what this city could be, already is, and can be. He wanted to infuse kind of his intelligence, his resources. He just wanted more skin in the game. That’s just speaking for him. But he’s obviously a very smart person.”

How have you seen him be competitive

“I think he does everything he can to provide resources, support. He wants to win. He feels that the fans, the city, deserves that. I think that’s never lost. It’s more challenging us always to, how do we become better and not complacent or stagnant to continue to stay current with the market and the competition to win not only now but for as far as we can see out.”

Read more:Lakers selling majority ownership of franchise to Dodgers owner

What makes a good owner?

“I think a good owner in my eyes is a person that lets the people that he hires do their jobs. He does a great job of letting Stan and Andrew and Gomer, all those guys, Lon, do their jobs right. But also kind of holding us all accountable, and also providing resources needed. In this case, players, to field a team that’s warranted of a championship-caliber team every year. Also, doing stuff for charity and appreciating not only the baseball side but just as important, the business side. He invests a lot of resources in that as well. I think that that’s kind of all-encompassing of what I’ve been fortunate to be around.”

Does this mean you’re sitting courtside?

“Yes. (Laughter). I’m sure a lot of people are hitting Mark up, but I might add myself to the list.”

Read more:Plaschke: Lakers had a great ride with Buss family, but Dodgers owner will give team new life

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Making his sixth rehab start and fourth with Triple-A Syracuse, right-hander Frankie Montas turned in another disappointing outing in what could possibly be his final start before re-joining the Mets.

Things started off well for Montas who went the first three innings without allowing a run before he was dinged for two in the fourth. He then went back out for the fifth with the game tied at 2-2 and gave up a three-run homer to Troy Johnston to put a crimp in his start.

Montas wasn't out of the woods yet after a double and wild pitch put a runner on third base with two outs. He retired the final batter of the inning to strand the runner at third, but the damage was already done.

The righty finished his night by going five innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. He threw 80 pitches (47 strikes).

It was the latest in a string of bad outings for the 32-year-old who entered the night with a 13.17 ERA (2.34 WHIP) in just 13.2 innings. After the start, Montas' ERA rose slightly to 13.19.

On the bright side, it was the longest start Montas was able to pitch during his rehab with his previous-long being four innings on June 3 when he also allowed five earned runs (on four home runs).

Manager Carlos Mendozasaid before Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves that the Mets will need to make a decision on Montas soon.

"Let’s see how he feels after the outing today," the skipper said. "We wanna see execution, obviously, and then we have a decision. We gotta talk to him, but we’re approaching the deadline where we gotta make a decision on him."

BBC Sport tracks all the manager ins and outs in the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, Women's Super League, English Football League and National League.

All of the managerial movements for June will appear below.

Ins

24 June: Rob Edwards - Middlesbrough

22 June: Martin Paterson - Notts County

20 June: Matt Beard - Burnley women

19 June: Gerhard Struber - Bristol City

18 June: Ruben Selles - Sheff Utd

16 June: Brian Barry-Murphy - Cardiff City

16 June: Alun Armstrong - Gateshead

14 June: Adam Lakeland - Halifax

13 June: Tom Cleverley - Plymouth

12 June: Simon Grayson - Hartlepool

12 June: Thomas Frank - Tottenham

11 June: Sergej Jakirovic - Hull City

3 June: Liam Manning - Norwich City

2 June: Ryan Mason - West Brom

2 June: Steven Pressley - Dundee

Outs

24 June: Marti Cifuentes - QPR

18 June: Chris Wilder - Sheff Utd

12 June: Anthony Limbrick - Hartlepool

8 June: Robert Vilahamn - Tottenham women

6 June: Ange Postecoglou - Tottenham

4 June: Michael Carrick - Middlesbrough

3 June: Simone Inzaghi - Inter Milan

3 June: Liam Manning - Bristol City

• Manager ins and outs - May 2025
• Transfers - May 2025

• Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast
• Get football news sent straight to your phone

After a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night that saw the Mets make a slew of costly mistakes, New York will look to rebound on Wednesday in the middle game of the three-game series.

Before the game, manager Carlos Mendoza touched on the loss and also gave updates on a few of his injured players.

Francisco Alvarez out, Luis Torrens in

Following a throwing blunder in the bottom of the 10th inning that led to the game-winning run to score, the 23-year-old catcher is not in Wednesday's starting lineup. In Alvarez's place, Torrens is behind the plate and batting sixth against LHP Chris Sale.

With both catchers essentially splitting duties so far this season after Alvarez began the season on the IL with a hamate bone fracture, the decision to bench the young backstop isn't necessarily due to his misplay. However, Mendoza did say that both players will continue to get playing time even with Torrens struggling offensively.

"I’ve been saying it, they’re both gonna play," the skipper said. "So I just thought getting Luis in there, it needs to continue to be that way. Alvy will play, Luis will play and I just thought today was a good day for Luis to be in the lineup."

For what it's worth, Alvarez took responsibility for his gaffe after last night's game and was clearly upset about it. Nevertheless, his production offensively and defensively hasn't been great this season and he went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored in the loss.

The down year by Alvarez thus far is disappointing after he burst onto the season in 2023 with 25 home runs during his rookie season. He has just five extra-base hits in 115 at-bats this season and is hitting .235 with a .636 OPS.

Regardless, Mendoza has seen some signs that the youngster could be on the right track.

"He’s on time for the fastball," Mendoza said. "Yesterday I didn’t see that, in particular, but I’m gonna go back to the past week where I feel like he’s hitting the ball in the air, he’s hitting the ball hard – something that we didn’t see early on when he got back from the injury.

"I like some of the takes, some of the breaking balls that he’s taking, so I do feel that he’s – I know he’s working and it hasn’t been easy for him, but the one thing with Alvy is he’s very positive and he’ll continue to grind through it."

Despite leaving him out of the lineup, Mendoza knows how important Alvarez is to the team and that to get him out of the funk he's been in, he needs to be in lineup.

"In Alvy’s case, the way you’re gonna fight through it is by being in the lineup. You can hit outside and hit early and things like that, but he knows how important he is for this team and we know how important he is and we’re gonna need him, obviously. So, we’ll continue to help him and work with him. He’s got a lot of potential," Mendoza said.

On the injury front

Frankie Montas (right lat strain) is making his sixth rehab start on Wednesday and his fourth for Triple-A Syracuse.

It hasn't gone well for the right-hander who signed with New York during the offseason, owning a 13.17 ERA (2.34 WHIP) in just 13.2 innings. In his last start, Montas managed to only go 1.2 innings and allowed eight earned runs on seven hits and a walk.

The Mets are hoping for a better performance on Wednesday as they near the deadline to make a decision with the 32-year-old.

"Let’s see how he feels after the outing today," Mendoza said. "We wanna see execution, obviously, and then we have a decision. We gotta talk to him, but we’re approaching the deadline where we gotta make a decision on him."

When asked if by a decision he meant using Montas as a reliever or starter with the big league club, Mendoza clarified.

"No, no like activate him," he said. "Because first he’s gotta be 100 percent healthy, which knock on wood he keeps saying he’s fine. So we just gotta wait, get through today, see how he comes back tomorrow and the next day and then we have a decision."

With the Mets in need of starting pitching help after injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill, it's a bit telling that the team doesn't seem eager to activate Montas.

Meanwhile, after DHing in his first rehab start, Mark Vientos (hamstring) is off on Wednesday. He's scheduled to play third base soon and New York would like to see him play back-to-back games in the field before proceeding.

As for another third baseman, Brett Baty is feeling better after missing Tuesday's game with a groin injury, but Mendoza and the Mets still need to wait and see.

"He’s better, but I gotta see how he goes during BP today and ground balls and things like that," the skipper said. "But early on when I saw him he said he was feeling a little bit better.”

Who's starting Friday?

The Mets still don't know, but are working through it and will likely have a better idea tomorrow.

What they do know is whoever pitches on Friday will give them length -- it will not be a bullpen game. Whether the pitcher starts the game or comes in after an opener like New York has done a couple of times this season remains to be seen, although the latter hasn't been discussed.

"We’ll see," Mendoza said. "Get through today, tomorrow, but we haven’t talked about a potential opener yet, so we gotta see what kind of shape we’re in going into that game."

Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman (left knee inflammation) made his second rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Wednesday night and was dominant through the first three innings, retiring the first 10 New Hampshire Fisher Cats he faced, including four strikeouts.

Things then got a little messy for the right-hander in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Stroman struck out the leadoff hitter, but gave up a double to Charles McAdoo, who stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Rafael Flores. He walked a man, let up a single, and threw a wild pitch to give NH runners on second and third base.

The veteran was pulled after the wild pitch, ending his night after 55 pitches (34 strikes) and 3.1 innings. Overall, he allowed two earned runs on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Coincidentally, Stroman also tossed 3.1 innings in his first rehab outing on June 11, allowing one run on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts.

The 34-year-old last pitched in the big leagues on April 11 and had struggled prior to the injury, owning an 11.57 ERA with just seven strikeouts over 9.1 IP across three starts.

Marcus Stroman's second rehab outing is complete.

Final line: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 4 K pic.twitter.com/dgL1PyMevg

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 18, 2025

Stott catches Marlins by surprise with his biggest swing in a month originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies’ coldest hitter was the one most responsible for their 4-2 win Wednesday night in Miami and the player benched the day before made the defensive play of the game to end it.

Bryson Stott, hitting .183 with a .246 on-base percentage and one home run since May 9, produced one of his best swings of the year in the fourth inning against Marlins right-hander Adam Mazur, hitting a game-changing three-run homer.

It probably caught Miami by surprise. Stott swings at the first pitch less than any hitter in the National League (12%) but attacked Mazur’s first offering, a 94 mph fastball up in the zone and over the plate, clobbering it to right-center field to turn a one-run lead into a four-run lead.

It was more than enough support for Ranger Suarez, who tossed seven more ho-hum innings of one-run ball in his eighth consecutive gem.

Still, the Phillies had to hold on at the end as Matt Strahm put three men on base in the ninth inning and had the winning run at the plate. Nick Fortes hit a flyball to deep right field that Nick Castellanos raced backward to catch, leaping up against the wall to end the game.

Castellanos returned to the lineup after a one-game benching for making an inappropriate comment after being pulled for a defensive replacement late in Monday’s win. He made a mistake on the bases but had a multi-hit game.

So did Alec Bohm with two singles and a double in five at-bats. He’s all the way up to .291 and is hitting .336 with an .867 OPS over the last two calendar months.

Suarez set the tone again. The lefty is 6-1 in his last eight starts with a 1.17 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. All eight have been at least six innings and six have been longer. This has been every bit as good as Suarez was in the first half last season when he looked like a Cy Young candidate before being derailed by a back injury.

The Phillies are 44-30 with one more game in Miami on Thursday night before three huge ones at home this weekend against the Mets. The Phils entered the night two back in the NL East.

It was only one swing from Stott but it was a good sign that he’s healthy after irritating a nerve in his right elbow in his final at-bat Monday night. Stott tried to walk off and shake off the pain that night and stayed in the game after being visited by a trainer, surprisingly playing the next day even though manager Rob Thomson told reporters he’d consider giving the second baseman a rest.

The month of June had been especially rough, with Stott going 7-for-52 (.135) with one extra-base hit, a double. He’s been seeing plenty of pitches, fouling plenty of pitches off and running deep counts but not ending them with any consistency or authority.

In his first at-bat Wednesday night, the first pitch Stott saw was a 94 mph fastball right down the middle. He took it for a called strike and ended up whiffing.

The league-average rate of swinging at the first pitch is once every three plate appearances. Stott does so about once every nine plate appearances. He may have told himself walking back to the dugout, if I get another first-pitch cookie, I’m not passing it up. He did, and he unloaded. He also later walked, singled and stole a base.

The Phillies scored in only one inning, the fourth, but it sure helps when they have Suarez piling up zeroes while the offense finds its footing.

The only run Suarez let across was a fifth-inning homer by Connor Norby. He matched a season-high with eight strikeouts.

It’s Cristopher Sanchez’ turn in the finale Thursday night. He’s faced the Marlins only once since 2023 and it was his only career shutout last June.

What we learned as Justin Verlander, Giants' bats struggle in loss to Guardians originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — With school out for the summer, fantastic weather and a new guy named Rafael Devers, the Giants have drawn more than 70,000 fans to the first two weeknight games against the Cleveland Guardians. They haven’t done much to send all those fans home happy. 

It was another quiet night for the new-look lineup as the Giants lost 4-2 to the Cleveland Guardians, who will go for a sweep Thursday. There has been a lot to be excited about since Sunday, but the Giants also have quietly lost five of their last six games. 

Justin Verlander gave up a run in the first and a three-run homer in the fourth Wednesday, putting the Giants in an early hole. The bullpen held tough from there, and Heliot Ramos got two runs back with his 12th homer.

Heliot blasts the Giants back into it 💥 pic.twitter.com/sUOLQPjilq

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 19, 2025

A walk and a balk put a runner on second with one out in the seventh, but Patrick Bailey and Ramos struck out. 

Mike Yastrzemski got the crowd buzzing with a two-out single in the ninth, but Bailey went down looking. The Giants went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and they’re 8-for-52 over their last six games with 51 runners left on base. 

Still Searching

Verlander never could have imagined being winless near the end of June, but he was 0-3 before he went on the IL with pec discomfort and he left with the Giants trailing 4-0 on Wednesday. 

Three of the runs came on the biggest mistake of the night, an 0-2 fastball to second baseman Daniel Schneemann that was middle-middle and got blasted into the seats. That rally started when Tyler Fitzgerald made an error on a grounder to the right side. 

Daniel Schneemann goes oppo off the future Hall of Famer!

Get this man to Atlanta: https://t.co/RP6bOIGnRM.#GuardsBall | #VoteGuardspic.twitter.com/K4Cm0x14Rj

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 19, 2025

Verlander struck out six and showed his normal velocity, but he also gave up seven hits and walked one. While the error hurt, the line also could have been worse. Spencer Bivens stranded a pair of Verlander’s runners in the fifth. 

Night Two

The second night was a lot quieter for Devers than the first. The new DH went 0-for-3 with a walk in his second game in orange and black, with his most notable at-bat ending quickly.

Willy Adames blooped a single to right to lead off the bottom of the eighth and bring Devers up as the tying run. The crowd started to rise as he dug in against lefty Tim Herrin, but Devers swung at the first pitch and skied it to left. A flyout by Wilmer Flores and a pop-up by Casey Schmitt ended the threat. 

Welcome Back

There should have been little doubt that Bailey would have a solid night in his return from a neck strain. Bailey is extremely close with Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz, a former Giants coach who refers to Bailey as one of his sons. 

The two exchanged plenty of texts in recent days and Bailey assured his former coach that he would be in the lineup against his team. Bailey didn’t show any rust behind the plate, throwing a runner out in his first inning back.

Welcome back, Patrick Bailey 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HoWOJvnc0U

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 19, 2025

Bailey had just six hits in 42 right-handed at-bats before going on the IL, but he was 2-for-2 against left-hander Logan Allen. In his first at-bat back, he hit a slow roller that stayed true along the edge of the grass and went for an infield single. Two innings later, he singled to center. 

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Red Sox issue statement in response to AI bot interviews report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox again found themselves in damage control mode on Wednesday.

While dealing with the fallout of the Rafael Devers trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was further scrutinized following a bombshell Yahoo! Sports report by Joon Lee. Lee’s report detailed a dysfunctional front office under Breslow’s leadership.

Lee added another stunning revelation Tuesday on NBC Sports Boston’s Early Edition. According to Lee, the Red Sox used AI (artificial intelligence) bots to conduct several rounds of interviews with a baseball operations job candidate.

“What’s happening with the Red Sox, with Sam Kennedy, with Craig Breslow, with Alex Cora, is a state of organizational dysfunction,” Lee said, as seen in the video player above. “I heard last night about an interview with — the Red Sox were trying to recruit a new person for their baseball operations department, and during this interview process, the entire interview was conducted with an AI bot, where you would record the answers to the questions and then the Red Sox would then evaluate them.

“And this wasn’t just one round. It wasn’t just two rounds. It was five rounds of interviews where this person did not talk to another person in the Red Sox organization.”

On Wednesday, the Red Sox released the following statement addressing Lee’s report:

“We wanted to reach out to you because we are seeing unsubstantiated reports about the Red Sox using AI bots to hire candidates,” the statement reads, according to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. “Since 2012, the club has used a tool called HireVue to screen applicants for all roles across the organization. The Red Sox are one of several MLB clubs to use this tool, which asks candidates to answer a few questions in a recorded video for the hiring manager to get a sense of the person beyond their resume. This is one of several steps in the hiring process and is just one factor that helps determine which candidates should advance to an in-person interview.

“On average, the club receives over 500 applicants per position, and for some roles, as many as 3,000. This tool is in no way a replacement for in-person interviews, simply one of many steps that helps the club screen the many candidates who apply for each job posting.

“We wanted to ensure all of you had this information directly from us and would appreciate your partnership in helping clear up these unsupported claims.”

HireVue is an AI and human resources management company that allows clients to conduct interviews where the job candidate interacts with a computer instead of a human interviewer. Many companies utilize the technology to narrow down candidates early in the interview process, so it’s no surprise that the Red Sox use it with the number of applicants they receive. What stands out from Lee’s report is that the organization allegedly used it for five interview rounds.

Breslow addressed that part of the report earlier Wednesday, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.

“I think my short answer is, I’m not sure, because I know that I have had direct conversations with people,” Breslow said. “But like I said, if using this as kind of like a first filter, because the number of people who want to work with [the Red Sox] is so big, it makes sense. Now, I don’t think we can make hiring decisions without actually talking to someone.”

While the Red Sox have been somewhat of a mess off the field, they’ve been red-hot in recent weeks. After taking two out of three in their series against the Seattle Mariners, they’ve won nine of their last nine games and have sole possession of the third American League Wild Card spot at 39-37.

The intriguing Red Sox storylines will continue Friday when the club visits Devers’ new team, the San Francisco Giants.

After a long road to a return from Tommy John surgery that was extended when he suffered three broken ribs in spring training, right-handed pitcher JT Brubakeris finally set for his Yankees debut.

Brubaker will be activated ahead of Wednesday's game against the Angels, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.

He last pitched in the majors in 2022, when he was still with the Pirates -- where he spent the first three (and only, to this point) seasons of his big league career.

The Yankees swung a trade for Brubaker last March, when they acquired him from Pittsburgh for international bonus pool money and a player to be named later -- that player turned out to be prospect Keiner Delgado.

Brubaker has a career 4.99 ERA (4.43 FIP) and 1.38 WHIP with 324 strikeouts in 315.2 innings.

He worked almost exclusively as a starter with Pittsburgh, starting 61 games and working in relief twice.

The Yankees' current starting rotation consists of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Ryan Yarbrough, and Will Warren, so the safe bet is that Brubaker will be deployed as a reliever who has the potential to go multiple innings at a time.

Brubaker made six appearances (all starts) while rehabbing in the minors.

In his most recent game, for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Brubaker tossed five hitless innings while allowing one run, walking two, and striking out three.

MLB trade deadline preview: When is it? Which teams and players could be involved? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s the last chance for MLB teams to load up in 2025.

The trade deadline can be critical for clubs looking to make postseason runs. Whether it’s adding another bullpen arm or power bat, World Series-winning teams can often look back at the deadline as a turning point.

So, when is the 2025 trade deadline? What teams could be buying and selling? And which players will be on the move?

Here’s everything to know for the upcoming deadline:

What is the MLB trade deadline?

The trade deadline is the last moment where teams can swap players for the rest of the 2025 season. Teams can still release or sign players, but there are no team-to-team transactions allowed once the deadline has passed.

When is the MLB trade deadline 2025?

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is set for July 31 at 4 p.m. ET.

What teams will buy and sell at the MLB trade deadline?

To figure out who could buy and who could sell at the deadline, you can basically just look at the standings.

Teams at the top will likely be looking for another player or two to aid in their playoff run, while teams at the bottom could try to get rid of big contracts and recoup prospects. Here are three teams that could buy and sell:

BUYERS

1. Detroit Tigers: The AL Central leaders are all-in this year after a surprise postseason run in 2024. Detroit could look for some bullpen help, and they have an elite farm system to sell off.
2. New York Yankees: Aaron Boone’s squad is struggling offensively without Juan Soto, who left as a free agent. Another bat would go a long way for the defending AL pennant winners.
3. Philadelphia Phillies: It’s been a tough stretch for Philly, but the team is still firmly in contention to win the NL East. Dave Dombrowski is always ready to make a trade, and 2025 will be no different.

SELLERS

1. Atlanta Braves: One of the most underwhelming teams in baseball could look toward the future at this year’s deadline. The Braves have several intriguing pieces that could be auctioned off.
2. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles were supposed to be building a dynasty with ample young talent. Instead, they’ve floundered to last place in the AL East. Any veterans on the roster could be moved next month.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks: Injuries have made life difficult this season for the 2023 NL pennant winners. A retool and refocus for 2026 should be Arizona’s top priority at the deadline.

Which MLB players will be traded at the deadline this year?

The Boston Red Sox kicked things off early with the stunning move to trade Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. It’s not often that an All-Star on a long-term contract in his prime gets dealt, but this could be the move that sparks a busy deadline.

Here are five players that could be traded before the deadline:

• Josh Naylor, Diamondbacks, first baseman
• Marcell Ozuna, Braves, designated hitter
• Freddy Peralta, Brewers, starting pitcher
• Zach Eflin, Orioles, starting pitcher
• Luis Robert, White Sox, outfielder

Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.