CINCINNATI (AP) — Chase Burns allowed one hit in five innings for his first major league win, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Burns (1-0) walked three and struck out seven, including Jared Triolo with two on and two outs in the fourth. Jose Franco retired five batters before leaving with two on. Graham Ashcraft struck out Henry Davis to end the seventh and fanned two more in a scoreless eighth. Conner Phillips walked Marcell Ozuna and Ryan O'Hearn before retiring three straight for his first career save.
Elly De La Cruz singled leading off the fourth against Braxton Ashcraft (0-1) for the Reds but was thrown out trying to steal second. Sal Stewart walked, took third on a single by Eugenio Suárez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Spencer Steer. Suárez scored on a triple by Will Benson to cap the scoring in a third straight win for Cincinnati.
Braxton Ashcraft (0-1) gave up two runs on four hits and four walks over six innings in his ninth career start. Isaac Mattson pitched the seventh and Justin Lawrence struck out the side in the eighth.
Stewart, the reigning NL player of the week, went 1 for 2 and walked twice. He is 8 for 12 at the plate through the first four games.
Burns went 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in eight starts over 13 appearances for the Reds last season.
Up next
Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler will square off with Reds LHP Brandon Williamson on Tuesday in their first starts of the season.
TORONTO, ON - MARCH 30: Colorado Rockies Infielder Kyle Karros (12) celebrates in the dugout after scoring a run during the MLB regular season game between the Colorado Rockies and the Toronto Blue Jays on March 30, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Friends, you’ve been so engaged that we had to put together an overflow thread! We’ll start doing that for game threads that reach 300+ comments (Sunday’s got a little unwieldy!).
The Rockies just put up a seven-spot on the reigning AL champion Blue Jays after getting in around 2:30am. Also, it was the largest road inning since May 7, 2023 at the New York Mets.
They’re currently up 9-1, and Chase Dollander just made his first appearance out of the bullpen.
Mar 30, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter (22) throws during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
The Texas Rangers scored five runs while the Baltimore Orioles scored two runs.
The east coast road trip to begin the 2026 season rolled into Baltimore where the Rangers got an early look at the American League East’s Orioles. Unfortunately for the O’s, that meant they would get an early look at Jack Leiter and they didn’t find much to their liking.
There was plenty to like about Leiter from our perspective, however, as the former first-rounder had his good stuff and enough command to wield it tonight.
Fresh off a rookie season where he turned the corner and situated himself as a rotation mainstay, Leiter’s sophomore year began a tad dicey as he struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning after Texas had staked him to an early 1-0 lead. Needing strikes, Leiter tried one right down the middle to Gunnar Henderson and Henderson did what he often does by depositing it over the fence to even the score.
From there, until another brief bout of wildness in the fifth inning when Baltimore scored their second run, Leiter was cruising with scintillating swing-and-miss stuff. In fact, on the night, Leiter elicited 21 swings and misses in his 92 offerings which is now his big league best total and the third most from a pitcher so far this season.
Supporting Leiter was a lineup that came out looking to make Baltimore starter Chris Bassitt sweat in his first start with the Orioles. Texas worked Bassitt to 70+ pitches into the third inning with leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo batting in each of the first three frames. However, despite scoring a run in the first and tacking on three more in the top of the second, it felt like the Rangers left a lot of meat on the bone with the early rallies against Bassitt.
Indeed, Texas left ‘em loaded in the top of the first and overall went just 4-for-16 with RISP while leaving 12 runners on base. Two of those hits with RISP didn’t come until Texas added an insurance run in the ninth, so the lack of cracking this one open meant the game remained tight throughout despite the disparity between starting pitchers.
Nevertheless, Nimmo, Jake Burger, and Evan Carter each had a couple of hits apiece and the bats did enough to score early and help Leiter settle in while the run in the ninth helped alleviate the “bloop and a blast” fears.
After three scoreless innings from a trio of Jakob Junis, Jalen Beeks, and Tyler Anderson to follow Leiter, the Rangers are 3-1 and guaranteed no worse than a .500 road trip to open the year.
Player of the Game: Leiter produced a line of six innings, five hits, two runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts to pick up his first win in his first start of the 2026 season.
Leiter’s fourth inning was the highlight of the night as he struck out the side each on a different pitch type and all swinging on 11 pitches with five swinging strikes. Excising just one frame from one baseball game, I don’t think you’d find a better inning for a pitcher than Leiter’s fourth tonight and ultimately he begins the year 1-0.
Up Next: The Rangers haven’t made it official yet but RHP Jacob deGrom is again expected to make his 2026 debut for Texas in tomorrow’s contest. Baltimore will counter with RHP Zach Eflin.
The Tuesday evening first pitch from Camden Yards is again scheduled for 5:35 pm CDT and will be carried on the Rangers Sports Network.
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 27: A general view of Chase Field during the national anthem prior to the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Julia Jacome/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
TIGERS
DIAMONDBACKS
Kerry Carpenter – RF
Ketel Marte – 2B
Gleyber Torres – 2B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Colt Keith – DH
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Riley Greene – LF
Gabriel Moreno – C
Spencer Torkelson – 1B
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Kevin McGonigle – 3B
Alek Thomas – CF
Dillon Dingler – C
Carlos Santana – 1B
Parker Meadows – CF
Ildemaro Vargas – DH
Javier Baez – SS
Jordan Lawlar – LF
Justin Verlander – RHP
Michael Soroka – RHP
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.
Recalled from Triple-A Reno: INF Jose Fernandez (No. 11)
Placed on the 10-day injured list: INF Pavin Smith (left elbow inflammation; retro to March 29)
Hmm. This is another case where a Diamondbacks player was hurt, is initially cleared to play, and then a few days later has to go on the injured list. Seems to be rather more of a trend than I’d like. Anyway, it gives Jose Fernandez his MLB debut after an impressive spring. He had largely come out of nowhere after being added to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft: at that point, Fernandez was largely unknown to casual fans. This promotion comes after precisely one (1) game at the Triple-A level for Jose, so we’ll see how the 22-year-old right-hander copes. It does leave Arizona with only two “true” lefties (Carroll and Thomas), though there are five switch-hitters.
What should we expect from Soroka? He had a “meh” spring, with a 7.20 ERA across four starts and twelve innings. However, he did strike out 17 batters. The problem was more the 17 hits and 7 walks allowed. Last season, he had a 4.52 ERA over 22 starts between the Nationals and the Cubs, though his FIP was a little better, at 4.23. The 28-year-old right-hander is in his seventh major-league season since debuting for the Braves in 2018. He was the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up the following season, and arguably should have beaten Pete Alonso. But it has largely been downhill for him since.
After a disappointing series in Los Angeles, the Diamondbacks getting swept by the Dodgers, we return home for the home opener. It’s going to mark the official debut of Michael Soroka. He was signed as a starter over the winter, got bounced to the bullpen after the team re-signed Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, then returned to the rotation because of Kelly’s spring injury. It’s likely this will be a brief return, with potentially only two further starts needed for Soroka. Kelly is scheduled to make rehab starts on April 3rd and 8th, and all being well, would then return to the rotation. I’m thinking Soroka back to the bullpen and Joe Ross DFA’d, but we’ll figure that out when necessary.
Soroka missed almost three years between 2020 and 2023 with massive Achilles tendon issues which required surgery on a trio of separate occasions. That included a complete re-tear in June 2021, while doing nothing more strenuous than walking back to the clubhouse. Since finally recovering, he has a 4.91 ERA, which is an ERA+ of only 85. But as now the #6 starter for Arizona – and #7 when Corbin Burnes comes back – the necessary standard is not going to be very high. Last year, after Burnes/Ryne Nelson, Kelly and Zac Gallen, the rest of the Arizona rotation made 73 starts with an ERA of 5.05. So even Soroka’s post-Achilles norm would be an improvement.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCT. 15 : Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga on the bench react to the skill of Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who is playing in the first half of an NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, in San Francisco, Calif. (Santiago Mejia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
The bracket’s down to four, and this is the one that’s been sitting underneath the whole thing the entire time. This is about what you thought the future looked like, and how long you held onto it after it started to slip. We’ve been calling this a vote about belief, but for most of the first round there was still a little distance to it. You could still lean on stats, moments, production, whatever version of the argument made you comfortable. This one doesn’t really give you that option.
Wiseman and Kuminga never really overlapped in that way. Not in how people talked about them, or what they were supposed to become. They sat on opposite ends of the same idea.
(2) James Wiseman — “The Fallen Giant”2nd overall pick, 2020 NBA Draft
With Wiseman, the belief didn’t take time. It was there the second the pick came in.
That whole season had felt like something ending. Steph’s hand, Klay rehabbing, empty arena, fifteen wins…it didn’t feel like a gap year, it felt like the floor had dropped out. And then the lottery hits, and suddenly you’re not looking at the wreckage anymore, you’re looking at what comes next.
What made Wiseman different wasn’t just the tools. It was how cleanly he fit into the one place the Warriors had never quite solved. For years they got away with not having a real center. They didn’t just survive it, they turned it into a philosophy. Spacing, movement, Steph pulling everything out of shape; if you did it well enough, you didn’t need size anchoring anything. And for a long time that was true.
But there was always that quiet question sitting there. What happens when it isn’t enough? What happens when the game slows down, when the margin gets thinner, when you actually need something at the rim that isn’t scheme?
Wiseman made it feel like you didn’t have to ask that anymore.
You could see it right away without having to convince yourself. Steph running a simple pick-and-roll and the possession ending before the defense even gets organized. A mistake on the perimeter not turning into a layup because there’s actually someone behind it. The same offense, the same principles, just with less strain on everything.
That’s what people were buying into. We were looking at confirmation, not reinvention. Everything you already believed about the Warriors still worked. It just worked more easily now. I mean, you remember the hype the team had around adding a limping Boogie Cousins. Imagine what a young #2 overall pick athletic, shooting, ballhandling big would do! Or so the logic went.
That’s why Joe Lacob said what he said barely a month after draft night, calling him a “once in a decade kind of player.” It wasn’t really about Wiseman as a prospect. It was about what he represented. The idea that the dynasty didn’t need to change shape to keep going. It just needed one missing piece.
And then it never really got off the ground.
By the time it’s clear what’s not clicking, the gap between what the team needs and what he does well is already too wide. It wasn’t subtle either. The things that made their centers work — the screening, the reads, the feel for the defense — those were the exact things Wiseman hadn’t had time to learn. The things he was naturally good at weren’t the things the system asked for.
Wiseman was the only Warriors center in recent history whose best skill was his shot and whose weakest skills were the ones the system needed most. What you’re left with isn’t just a player who didn’t pan out. It’s that version of the team you had in your head, the one where nothing had to change, never actually existing outside of a few flashes and a lot of projection.
(3) Jonathan Kuminga — “The Almost”7th overall pick, 2021 NBA Draft
Kuminga never worked like that. There wasn’t a moment where it all snapped into place. If anything it was the opposite: every time it felt like you were about to see the full picture, it would pull back again.
What made him different was that he never really felt like he belonged to the system in the same way everyone else did.
Most young players either figured out how to live inside Steph’s gravity or they didn’t last. You move, you cut, you make the extra pass. Kuminga didn’t quite operate on those terms. There were stretches where he did everything you were supposed to do, and then there were stretches where it felt like he was playing a different game entirely: attacking downhill, taking possessions into his own hands, forcing the defense to react to him and not just orbit Steph. And those moments didn’t feel like mistakes. They felt like something the team didn’t fully have access to otherwise.
That’s where the belief came from. Not that he had already arrived, but that there was another version of the Warriors sitting there if they ever decided to lean into it. One where you still had Steph doing what Steph does, but you weren’t dependent on it every single time down. One where there was another way to win a possession when everything got loaded up on the perimeter.
And the reason it held on for so long is because it never went away.
Every time it started to feel like it wasn’t going to happen, there’d be another stretch where it looked completely real again. Like the 11-for-11 game against Atlanta. Or the 30-point Game 3 against Minnesota in the 2025 playoffs with Coach Kerr gushing about the skillset, where the whole fanbase let itself believe again. But the structure never changed.
Over time it stopped feeling like a development curve and started feeling like a standoff. How much of himself was he supposed to give up to fit into this, and how much of that made him less of what made him interesting in the first place?
On New Year’s Eve 2025, I wrote the piece that named it directly: either that playoff run was the turning point that finally saved the relationship, or it was the last great thing Kuminga did as a Warrior. By February 5, 2026, the Warriors had traded him to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis, a mere four months after signing him to a two-year $48.5 million extension.
It just never got to happen here. Neither one really failed in the way we talk about failure. They just didn’t become the version we built for them.
The Matchup
This is the point in the bracket where the question stops being abstract.
The Wiseman belief was easy to hold onto because it made everything make sense right away. You didn’t have to project very far. You didn’t have to imagine the system changing. You just had to picture it continuing, with one gap filled in.
The Kuminga belief asked more from you. It asked you to sit with something that never fully resolved, to keep adjusting what you thought he might become, to keep believing through stretches where it didn’t quite line up. It wasn’t clean, but it stuck.
One of them disappeared while the other one never really let you go. And even now, it’s not completely gone.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 25: Ryan Weathers #40 of the New York Yankees prepares before a spring training game against the Washington Nationals at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 25, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees passed their first test of the regular season with flying colors, tranquilizing the Giants in a three-game sweep. Now, following an unconventional Sunday off, the Yankees will pay a visit to a popular preseason World Series pick: the Seattle Mariners.
The M’s, of course, came a game away from reaching the Fall Classic last season, but faltered late against the Blue Jays. Much like the Yankees, they’ve returned with a very similar roster from last year, and their pitching rotation is the same lethal crew we’ve gotten familiar with over the past few seasons. Luis Castillo will face the Yankee lineup, while Ryan Weathers faces a stout test in his Yankee debut.
Weathers had his share of struggles in spring training, but he also flashed the wipeout stuff which made the Yankees zero in on him as a sleeper pick for their rotation. Despite an ERA over 8 in Grapefruit League play, he ultimately made the starting rotation over Luis Gil, and tonight will be something of a referendum on whether that decision was a good one.
Castillo is somehow already entering his age-33 season. The affable righty and three-time All Star hasn’t quite been a top-flight arm in recent years, but given the Mariners’ embarrassment of riches in their staff, he doesn’t need to. All Seattle really needs out of him is another season like the ones he’s put out lately: an ERA around 3.50 and at least 30 starts. While he’s theoretically a poor matchup for the Yankees given his tendency to give up the long ball, he’s excelled against the Bombers in his career.
It’s the top-flight lineup tonight for Aaron Boone’s club. Many of the lefties have been stacked together against Castillo: Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice will hit consecutively, as will Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon, and Austin Wells. What’s more notable is an absence in Dan Wilson’s starting nine. The Mariners are giving star catcher Cal Raleigh the night off following his struggles in Seattle’s four-game opening series against Cleveland. Raleigh only went 2-for-15 with ten strikeouts against Guardians pitching. So instead Mitch Garver will catch, and lefty-smasher Rob Refsnyder will start at DH. Can the M’s recreate Raleigh’s production in the aggregate? There’s only one way to find out.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MARCH 30: Pitcher Chase Burns #26 of the Cincinnati Reds throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on March 30, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds ran their win streak to three games on Monday with a hotly contested 2-0 shutout victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the series opener between the NL Central rivals in Great American Ball Park.
Of note was the manner in which the Reds won, as Chase Burns got his first start of the 2026 season and fired 5.0 IP of scoreless, one-hit ball. He struck out 7, walked 3, and generally looked like his completely dominant best self across 78 pitches, putting largely to bed the worries about the de-load outing he dealt with late in spring camp. On top of that, Jose Franco fired 1.2 IP of mostly impressive ball in his big league debut, Graham Ashcraft was electric in fanning a trio in 1.1 IP, and Connor Phillips flashed some pretty electric breaking stuff to lock down his first career save.
Not to be outdone by his fellow new Reds, Sal Stewart had another brilliant day by going 1 for 2 with a pair of walks and a run scored, and Will Benson chipped in with an RBI triple that plated a rumblin’, bumblin’, stumblin’ Eugenio Suarez all the way from 1B in the process.
Speaking of Sal…
What stood out in this one, I think, is just how much the Reds always felt firmly in command despite the game being close throughout. A quiet confidence, I’d say, which is an odd sight for a team who so obviously leaned on players who are very much still establishing themselves. Stewart entered play today as a 22 year old with 71 career big league PA, Phillips notched his first career save, Franco made his big league debut, and the win for Burns was his first as a big leaguer (and just his 8th at any level as a professional).
Other Notes
Elly De La Cruz drew a walk and singled on a sharp liner up the middle, but he also was thrown out trying to steal 2B for his first CS of the season.
Through four games, a Reds club that averaged dang near 200 steals a season across David Bell’s final two seasons has just 1 (one) steal as a team.
Tyler Stephenson and Ke’Bryan Hayes both went hitless again and neither has managed a base knock yet this year. No pressure!
Tuesday’s game between these two is also slated for a 6:40 PM ET start, and lefty Brandon Williamson will get the start for Cincinnati. Pittsburgh will send out top prospect Bubba Chandler for his first start of 2025 after he impressed in 7 G at the end of the 2025 season at age-22.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks to shoot the ball in front of Kyshawn George #18 and Jamir Watkins #5 of the Washington Wizards during the first half at Capital One Arena on January 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Washington Wizards play the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Watch it on Monumental Sports Network in the team’s last late night game of the 2025-26 NBA season. Go Wizards!
May 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio RodrÌguez (44) catches a fly ball for an out on New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (not pictured) during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images | John Froschauer-Imagn Images
The Mariners draw a tough opponent in their quest for their first series win of 2026. The Yankees of New York, New York look every bit the force of nature they’ve been the past few years, with Aaron Judge already climbing the home run leaderboard.
In their attempt to win game one, Seattle will hand the ball to Luis Castillo for his first start of the season. It’s a compelling first opponent for Castillo, who’s pitched some gems against the Yanks, most notably his home debut after being traded to Seattle in 2022, when he pitched eight shutout innings.
His counterpart will be Ryan Weathers, who was picked directly after Jarred Kelenic in the 2018 Draft. He’s looked the part of a fifth/sixth starter when he’s been healthy, though his CSW% (called strikes plus whiffs divided by total pitches) has always run ahead of his strikeout rate, even though those stats are generally tightly correlated. Maybe there’s still more in there. FanGraphs has a write-up of his new pitch this week.
Lineups!
Facing the lefty Weathers, the Mariners will turn back to their righty platoon bats, with Rob Refsnyder and Víctor Robles getting starts at DH and right field. Cal will get his first off day, which makes sense to do today, since it means Garver will face a lefty and Cal will face the top of the Yankees’ rotation over the next couple days. Cal’s absence means we will not see the Refsnyder-Cal-Julio top three that we saw Saturday night against a lefty starter, but I’ll still plug my proposal to shuffle the top three against lefties to be Julio-Refsnyder-Cal.
Aaron Judge is having the worst season of his career with a 53.8% strikeout rate. Pathetic. The Yankees seem to feel this is just the result of only having played three games so far, so it hasn’t cost him his spot in the lineup yet. He’ll bat second tonight.
Max’s Minor League Roundups are back baby! We do a lot here at LL, but I think this is something you truly can’t get anywhere else.
KING 5 (KGW in Portland, KREM in Spokane, and KTVB in Boise) will broadcast ten games this season for free on basic cable. They will still be simulcast on Mariners TV
Kate’s recap of yesterday’s coming out party for Emerson Hancock
The story on the Mariners new Sunday Steelhead uniforms
Game Info
First pitch: 6:40 PDT TV: Mariners TV, which you can a subscription to online or watch on several cable networks. Kate’s got the details. Radio: 710 KIRO, in Rick Rizzs’s final season
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres waits to tag Gleyber Torres #25 of the Detroit Tigers at home during the first inning at Petco Park on March 28, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
San Francisco Giants (0-3) at San Diego Padres (1-2), March 30, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST
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DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 25: Jared McCain #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball during the game against the Detroit Pistons on February 25, 2026 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Detroit Pistons seem to be taking a proactive schedule loss tonight against the NBA’s top team and reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. With Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart already sidelined, the Pistons appear to be letting their crop of banged-up players get a night off. Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, and Duncan Robinson are all out tonight. The last starter left standing is Ausar Thompson, who will suit up as he attempts to reach the minimum-game threshold to qualify for an All-NBA defense nod.
The Pistons won’t be the only team with absent players, to be clear. The Thunder will be without Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Williams. The last time these two teams faced off, the Thunder were even more banged up, and Detroit stole a 124-116 win. I’m not sure that’ll be in the cards tonight. Hopefully, the Pistons can keep it as close tonight as the Thunder kept it in February.
Game Vitals
When: 9:30 p.m. Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Watch: Peacock, NBC Sports Network Odds: Pistons +12
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (54-20):
Daniss Jenkins, Kevin Huerter, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland, Paul Reed
Oklahoma City Thunder (59-16):
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 23: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots a three point basket during the game against the Utah Jazz on March 23, 2025 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to start their three-game road trip out with a win against the Utah Jazz.
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Dealing with a busted bracket?
The Sweet 16 is almost here – who’s still alive? We’re reviewing the week that was in the first week of the NCAA tournament and turning our focus to remaining teams. How bad (or good!) is your bracket? Join us in the SB Nation March Madness Feed and let’s talk about who’s most likely to make a run to glory.
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt has agreed to terms on an eight-year, $50.75 million contract, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. USA Today first reported that the two sides were on the verge of agreeing to terms.
Pratt, 21, is regarded as one of the more promising players in a Brewers farm system that ranks among the best in the majors. He was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 62 prospect in all of baseball.
Pratt already has a reputation as an outstanding fielder.
He’s not as polished a hitter at this point in his development, though he does have a good eye. Pratt batted .238 with a .343 on-base percentage, eight homers, 62 RBIs, 31 steals and 67 walks in 120 games with Double-A Biloxi in the pitcher-friendly Southern League last season.
Pratt also played three games at Triple-A Nashville and went 4 of 15 with an RBI and a steal. He batted .294 with a .405 on-base percentage and four RBIs in 18 spring training games this year.
Although the Brewers haven’t confirmed the signing, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy was asked Monday what he likes about Pratt after watching the 21-year-old in spring training camp.
“What’s not to like?” Murphy said. “Aptitude. He’s a baseball player. He’s a good baseball player. He’s got a ways to go. He’s got to develop. Great human, a worker.”
The Brewers selected Pratt in the sixth round of the 2023 draft.
This isn’t the first time the Brewers have given a lucrative extension to a prospect without major league experience. They signed outfielder Jackson Chourio in December 2023 to an eight-year, $82 million deal when he was 19 years old and had played only six games above Double-A.
Chourio reached the majors in 2024 and has collected at least 20 homers and 20 steals in each of his first two seasons.
A coaching change this late in the year is extremely rare for an almost certainly playoff-bound team. Thus, John Tortorella isn’t looking to make drastic changes to the Vegas Golden Knights’ system with just eight games remaining in the regular season.
This is something Tortorella said repeatedly when he met with the media for the first time following the coaching change.
“We’re not going to make many changes,” said Tortorella. “I’m not going to upset and fill the players with information. I have a few points of emphasis that we’ll go over as a team— just did this morning in our first meeting, just about mindset and odds and ends that I’ll just keep with the team for now.”
Before the start of the season, analysts and pundits viewed the Golden Knights as favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup. At the Olympic break, they led the Pacific Division. Now, with just eight games left in the regular season, they’re at risk of dropping into the wild card race.
So, on Sunday, the Golden Knights announced that they’d relieved Bruce Cassidy of his duties as head coach. In the same statement, they named Tortorella as the fourth coach in franchise history.
Tortorella began his coaching career with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001. Since then, the 67-year-old, two-time Jack Adams winner has been an NHL mainstay, spending time with the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, and most recently served as the bench boss for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2024-25 season. Tortorella also had two separate stints as a studio analyst for ESPN and one brief stint with the NHL on TSN.
Tortorella said that because of the situation, he’s going to lean on the rest of the coaching staff. However, he also brings his own ideas to the Golden Knights for this final stretch of the season.
“I’d just like to see us play faster,” said Tortorella. “Everybody wants to play fast, right? It’s an easy word to say, but I think that comes down to mindset, also. So yeah, we’ll pick away at it. But I am not going to overthink this. I am not going to overload them and paralyze them. We’ve got some quality people here. I want to come in here and try to help.”
After 74 games, the Golden Knights are second in the league in time spent trailing in games with 1901:44. Tortorella isn’t ready to diagnose the problem, but he emphasized the importance of being mentally ready to play.“
I’ll tell you what, the biggest part of hockey now, I don’t think it’s the X’s and O’s. I do think it’s your mind, that’s a readiness. I think they’ve been told a few times about their starts… We’ll remind them, but also respect them. They know where they’re at here now in the standings.”
This is the second time in as many years that Tortorella’s world has shifted with less than ten games remaining in the regular season. Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers relieved him of his duties as head coach with nine games left; now, he finds himself in the exact opposite position.
“In this business here, whether you’re a player or a coach, I think you need to have the ability to accept the challenge, right? You know, I got bombed out of Philly with nine games left last year. Now, I come here with eight games left in a new job. It’s a couple of crazy situations I’ve never been involved in,” Tortorella said. “But that’s the league, that’s pro sports. I think as coaches and players, when you get to this level, the highest level of the game, you need to be prepared to handle that stuff.
“I’m very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with this management group, because the organization is so well respected. I don’t want to let them down,” continued Tortorella. “I am going to prepare myself each and every day to be the best I can be, the best version of me, to help the team. But I think the important thing is that we need to do it together, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Tortorella said that he reached out to Cassidy on Sunday night.
“I was texting with Butchy last night when I was flying in here, and thanked him for having the team the way it is right now,” said Tortorella. “Just remember, the guy that left here? Pretty [expletive] good coach. So, I feel very fortunate coming into this situation.”
Neither Tortorella nor Kelly McCrimmon discussed the timeline of the conversations leading up to the coaching change.
“We’re going to move forward,” Tortorella said. “As I said, I felt I needed to reach out to [Bruce Cassidy] last night. We had a good conversation, and that’s where it stops for me. I wanted to thank him, and now my sight is set on this game here. I talked to the players about that, also.
“It’s a big change for them too, right? We just want to move forward here with kind of a really crazy situation with only eight games left. So, we need to start thinking ahead and just take this day here against Vancouver and move to the next one.”
