New Giants manager Tony Vitello’s coaching staff is coming together, with San Francisco reportedly deciding on its new pitching coach.
The Giants are hiring Justin Meccage to replace J.P. Martinez in the role, FanSided’s Robert Murray reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation. Meccage most recently spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers organization as the Triple-A Nashville Sounds pitching coach.
Sources: The Giants are hiring Justin Meccage as their pitching coach. Meccage, most recently with the Brewers, is an important hire for new manager Tony Vitello. https://t.co/Uw1OUVfhCw
Martinez had hoped to stay with the Giants, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic, but he ended up taking a job as the bullpen coach for the Atlanta Braves after five total seasons with San Francisco and one as the team’s pitching coach.
“With nothing being a guarantee [in San Francisco] for J.P., I think he took the bird in hand,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey told reporters last week at the annual General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas. “We were still going through the process with him. We hadn’t told him that he was not going to be returning. I’m a J.P. fan and had a good talk with him when he took the [Braves] job. I told him I think he’s going to be successful and maybe we’ll see him down the road.”
Now, Meccage will join first-time MLB manager Vitello as a first-time big league pitching coach himself. The 45-year-old joined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 2011 as a minor league coach before being promoted to minor league pitching coordinator in 2017. He was named Pirates assistant pitching coach from 2018-2019, then became the bullpen coach in Pittsburgh in 2020 until the organization let him go after the 2024 season.
Meccage takes over a Giants staff featuring perennial Cy Young Award contender Logan Webb and two other locked-in starters, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp. The rest is up in the air between MLB free agency and others within the organization like Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Trevor McDonald and Hayden Birdsong.
San Francisco also reportedly is set to hire Toronto Blue Jays assistant hitting coach Hunter Mense to replace Pat Burrell as the team’s hitting coach, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported last week, citing sources, and former San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler is joining Vitello’s staff in a role yet to be determined.
CHICAGO — Kyle Hendricks, the right-hander who helped the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series and end a 108-year championship drought, is retiring, the team announced.
The 35-year-old went 105-91 with a 3.79 ERA over 11 seasons with the Cubs and one with the Los Angeles Angels. He was an All-Star in 2016, going 16-8 with a major league-best 2.13 ERA. He pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings as the Cubs lost World Series Game 3 to Cleveland 1-0 and 4 2/3 innings in Chicago’s 8-7, 10-inning win in Game 7.
“He was one of the best all-time Cubs pitchers,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. “We would not have won the World Series without his incredible 2016 season where he won the major league ERA title and started Game 7 of the World Series. The Professor was always calm, cool and collected on the mound but his great performances excited millions of Cubs fans. From his outstanding playoff starts in 2016 to his memorable final appearance at Wrigley Field in 2024, he gave our fans sweet emotions.”
Hendricks attended Dartmouth and was nicknamed “The Professor” because of his college background and reliance on hitting spots with a changeup and sinker in an era dominated by hard throwers.
The Cubs acquired Hendricks from Texas for Ryan Dempster at the 2012 trade deadline. He made his major league debut two years later and went 97-81 with a 3.68 ERA in 270 starts and six relief appearances for Chicago with 2014-24.
He signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Angels last November and was 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA in 31 starts, including a loss to the Cubs at home in August.
We’ve made it through Week 4 and are rapidly approaching the one-month mark of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Injuries have remained a topic of conversation, but they’ve led to some more opportunities for other players to navigate bigger roles. Some have led to fantasy basketball success, and others have not. Nonetheless, there is stuff to analyze. Let’s dig in.
→ Watch the NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock:The Grizzlies take on the Spurs at 8pm ET, followed by the Suns at the Trail Blazers at 11 pm ET. Both games are available on Peacock. Check your local listings for the NBC game in your area.
STOCK UP
Daniss Jenkins — PG, Pistons
Everything is going right for the Pistons these days. Even with some recent injuries to key players, they’ve reeled off 10 straight wins and gotten production from players who many would least expect. Case in point: Daniss Jenkins. The second-year player out of St. John’s entered his sophomore season with all of seven career regular-season points and 23 minutes to his name. He doubled those scoring totals through the first four games of this season before abruptly posting averages of 21.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.5 three-pointers over the most recent four games. He’s started in place of the injured Cade Cunningham, but even when the superstar guard returns, it could be difficult to cut too much into Jenkins’ playing time.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker — PG/SG/SF/PF, Hawks
Here’s another player whose stock is on the rise; although this one is a bit less surprising, given what the Hawks offered to get him in the door this recent offseason. Enjoying a career-best season in a newer role, Alexander-Walker has hit the 20-point mark in three of the past five games and continues to post career-highs in assists. More opportunities have presented themselves in Trae Young’s extended absence (knee). Still, NAW has averaged 17.0 points per game in his five appearances this season alongside Young. If Alexander-Walker’s three-point shooting can start to come around, the breakout season will only get better for the two-way guard.
Moussa Diabate — C, Hornets
Diabate has found a home in Charlotte after a couple of forgettable seasons with the Clippers to begin his career. Now part of a young Hornets nucleus, he’s proven to be an important member of the nightly frontcourt rotation. Diabate has mostly come off the bench and attacked the glass hard — he’s recorded at least 10 boards in five of the last eight games while scoring in double figures in four of those five, consistently placing him on double-double alert. Diabate leads the Hornets in rebounding, and with his activity on defense, he could be a reliable streaming option or potentially a roster-worthy player in fantasy leagues if he can grow into an even larger role.
Not a lot has gone according to plan for the Clippers early in this season. Injuries to Kawhi Leonard (foot), Bradley Beal (hip), and, more recently, Derrick Jones (knee) have hurt them, but opened the door for guys like Collins to step into greater roles and potentially provide more production. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for Collins. Since moving into the starting lineup, he’s averaging 9.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.0 assists on 39.1 percent shooting. Perhaps his fit will be better once Leonard makes his way back to the floor. But until then, Collins is trending in the wrong direction at a time when all of his talent is needed in Los Angeles.
Zach LaVine — PG/SG/SF, Kings
After a strong start to the season in which LaVine had averaged 29.2 points and scored at least 30 points in four of the five games, he’s suddenly become a player whose production is difficult to predict, which isn’t dissimilar to the Kings’ other big-name players. LaVine has failed to make it out of single figures in scoring in two of the last five games and has only averaged 18.0 points per game in November. The interesting part here is that his shooting efficiency has remained high, but he has seen a big decrease in his attempts. It’s hard to get a feel for what exactly Sacramento is trying to do, as the team struggles to find solutions to end this current six-game losing streak. Regardless, this isn’t an ideal situation for those fantasy managers who have LaVine rostered.
Nikola Vučević — C, Bulls
The Bulls’ hot start was a fun early-season story. As they’ve cooled off, so too has Vucevic, whose numbers have dropped from 19.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in October to a 13.4/8.8/3.3 line across November's eight contests. His 50.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc was always going to be unsustainable, but his 25.0 percent over the last three has led to some rough scoring outings. Can he regain his early-season form? There aren’t many backup center options behind him in the rotation that would eat away at his minutes. Still, it's fair to wonder what level of production the veteran can sustain. Stock down.
The senior forward had 19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in his season debut, an 87-80 victory at then-No. 8 Alabama that catapulted the Boilermakers back to No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The senior from Sellersburg, Indiana, was just the third player in at least the last 30 years with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a top-10 matchup. Kaufman-Renn followed up with 17 points and 15 rebounds in a 97-79 victory over Akron on Sunday.
The Phoenix Suns (8-6) head to the Moda Center to take on the Portland Trail Blazers (6-7) on NBC and Peacock at 11 PM Eastern.
Phoenix had its five-game winning streak snapped in a two-point loss on Sunday to Atlanta (124-122). The Suns started the season 0-4, then proceeded to win eight of the next 10 games.
Portland was the opposite. The Trail Blazers started the season hot with a 5-3 record, but have dropped four of the past five games with consecutive losses. After a five-game road trip, Portland is back at home where they are 3-2 and last beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Let’s dive into tonight’s matchup and find a potential sweat or two! We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff. Odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
After 24 years, the NBA is back on NBC and Peacock, combining the nostalgia of an iconic era with the innovative future of basketball coverage. The NBA on NBC YouTube channel delivers fans must-see highlights, analysis, and exclusive and unique content.
Game Details and How to watch the Suns vs. Blazers live
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Game odds for the Blazers at the Suns
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Suns (-142), Blazers (+120)
Spread: Trail Blazers -2.5
Total: 236.5
That gives the Trail Blazers an implied team point total of 119.5 and the Suns 117.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups for the Suns and the Trail Blazers
Suns
PG Devin Booker
SG Ryan Dunn
SF Dillon Brooks
PF Royce O’Neale
C Mark Williams
Trail Blazers
PG Shaedon Sharpe
SG Toumani Camara
SF Jerami Grant
PF Deni Avdija
C Donovan Clingan
Injuries for the Trail Blazers and the Suns
Trail Blazers
G Scoot Henderson (hamstring) is OUT for Tuesday's game
G Jrue Holiday (calf) is doubtful for Tuesday's game
Suns
G Grayson Allen (quadriceps) is OUT for Tuesday
Important stats, trends and insights ahead of Suns at Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Portland is 0-5 ATS in the last five games
Portland is 6-7 ATS overall this season
Portland is 0-1 ATS as a home favorite
Phoenix is 4-2 ATS in the last six games
Phoenix is 1-4 ATS as a road underdog, ranking 2nd-worst
Phoenix is 9-5 ATS, ranking tied 7th
Portland is 10-3 to the Over, ranking second
Phoenix is 6-6 to the Over, ranking tied 6th-worst
Rotoworld Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Suns as a live-bet:
"Portland is on a 0-5 ATS streak as the market started to over rate this team. Phoenix on the other hand is 4-2 ATS in the past six games and climbed above .500 with an 8-6 record. My pre-tip pick for this would be the Suns, but there would be live betting opportunities to get a better number than the +2.5 or +3's being offered."
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Trail Blazers & Suns game:
Moneyline: Suns ML (high confidence)
Spread: Suns +5.5 (low confidence)
Total: Under 236.5 (low confidence)
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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It’s not impossible, with the Dodgers believed to have Bellinger on their radar as they evaluate their options in free agency.
In an offseason of wide possibilities, but thus far tempered expectations from the Dodgers’ front office, Bellinger represents something of a wild card in the team’s potential winter plans.
He is not the top outfielder on this year’s market, which is headlined by former Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Tucker and the $400 million-plus bidding war he is expected to trigger.
But, for a team like the Dodgers, Bellinger could be a better (and more familiar) fit, providing the kind of positional versatility and financial flexibility someone like Tucker wouldn’t.
Granted, the seriousness of the Dodgers’ interest in Bellinger, which was first reported by ESPN, remains unclear. But the mere possibility will make it one of the more intriguing early subplots of the winter, representing one potentially splashier option for the club to consider in pursuit of 2026 roster upgrades.
To this point of the offseason, of course, the Dodgers have signaled a reluctance to add more lucrative, long-term, free-agent contracts to their steadily aging core. It’s shown up in their pursuit of relievers, with their preference seemingly being a shorter-term deal after being burned by big bullpen spending last year. It has also influenced the way they’ve viewed the outfield market, cooling summer-long expectations that they would be leading contenders in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes.
After all, the Dodgers have two starting outfielders currently on their roster in Teoscar Hernández (who is entering the second of his three-year, $66 million deal) and Andy Pages (who is coming off a 27-homer campaign in his second MLB season). They have plenty of depth options at the position, from Alex Call to Ryan Ward to the versatility provided by utility players Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim (and maybe even backup catcher Dalton Rushing, who could experiment in the outfield again in 2026).
Cody Bellinger was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the NL MVP in 2019, but struggled in his last few seasons with the Dodgers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
They also, importantly, have a promising wave of outfield prospects expected to reach the majors in the next 2-3 years, a group headlined by Josue De Paula (the top prospect in their farm system); Eduardo Quintero (their 2025 minor-league hitter of the year); Zyhir Hope, Mike Sirota, James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard (promising talents acquired in trades over the last two years); and Charles Davalan and Kendall George (recent first-round draft picks).
The team would still like to add another outfielder, likely of the left-handed-hitting variety, to the mix in 2026. It is hopeful of finding an improved replacement for Michael Conforto, after his woeful performance on a one-year, $17 million deal last season.
At the same time, though, the Dodgers want to preserve their longer-term flexibility at the position — making their odds of giving someone like Tucker the 10-year contract he is expected to receive appear dubious at best.
Bellinger, however, provides a different free-agent proposition.
He is a couple of years older than Tucker, set to turn 31 next season, but is also likely to receive a contract of roughly half the length and much less guaranteed money; pegged by most projections to be in the 5-6 year and $150-$175 million range (though he could reasonably surpass those figures if his market materializes well).
Crucially, Bellinger also offers positional flexibility. At present, he can play all three outfield spots, and remains a plus-defender in the corners. Down the line, he could eventually shift to first base, making him (for a team like the Dodgers) a potential future successor to Freddie Freeman.
Another key factor: Bellinger is a much different player than he was when the Dodgers declined to tender him a contract at the end of the 2022 season.
Back then, Bellinger was coming off two straight years of subpar performance in the wake of a shoulder surgery following the 2020 World Series. Between 2021 and 2022, he hit .193, struck out more than 27% of the time, and had an OPS+ of 66 (an advanced metric in which 100 is considered league average).
The last three years, on the other hand, have seen the former MVP winner stage a mid-career revival. While playing for the Chicago Cubs (who signed Bellinger ahead of the 2023 season) and New York Yankees (who traded for him last offseason), he hit .281, struck out just 15% of the time, and had an OPS+ of 125. Last season, he also hit 29 home runs, his most since collecting 47 in his 2019 MVP season.
Granted, Bellinger did benefit from the hitter-friendly environment at Yankee Stadium, where he had 18 of his long balls last year. He also does not hit the ball as routinely hard as in his peak years with the Dodgers. Yet, he has improved his approach, honed more consistent swing mechanics, and balanced out his platoon splits, batting .353 against left-handed pitching in 2025.
Those strides served as a reminder of Bellinger’s tantalizing talent, as well as a sign of his growing maturation as he enters his 10th year in the majors.
The question now: Whether it will all be enough for the Dodgers to make a legitimate run at bringing him back.
The nature of free agency, of course, means Bellinger is still likely to land elsewhere this winter. He is expected to field wide interest on the open market, starting with the incumbent Yankees (especially if their other free-agent outfielder, Trent Grisham, turns down a qualifying offer). The Dodgers, meanwhile, remain better positioned to explore the trade market for an outfield addition, possessing the kind of highly-rated farm system that could make them a factor for everyone from Steven Kwan to Brandon Donovan to Jarren Duran.
If Bellinger were to attract his own bidding war, the Dodgers would likely be reluctant to overpay (at least in their view) for his services.
But for now, the possibility of a reunion does at least seemingly exist — thanks to Bellinger’s versatile fit, recent resurgence and lingering familiarity with the franchise.
Years removed from his breakout, then flame-out, during his first tenure with the Dodgers, he could wind up in their winter plans again this offseason.
The San Antonio Spurs (9-4) and Memphis Grizzlies (4-10) meet at 8 PM Eastern on NBC and Peacock! The storyline of this game is can the Spurs continue their winning ways against the bottom of the league without Victor Wembanyama or can the Grizzlies snap their four-game losing streak and get a much-need win on national TV without Ja Morant?
San Antonio enters led by De'Aaron Fox who will have more on his plate tonight without super star Victor Wembanyama, plus young up and coming guards, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle. The Spurs beat the Kings, 123-110, without Wemby in their previous game after losing two straight to the Warriors.
The Spurs have been a streaky team this year, putting together two winning streaks of five and three games, plus two losing streaks of two games apiece. Let's see if San Antonio can put together another winning streak as home favorites on primetime.
Memphis is on a four-game losing streak and dropped eight of the past nine as they enter this contest. Not much has gone right and with Ja Morant out, Memphis will rely on Jaren Jackson Jr and a plethora of role players. The Grizzlies have one win against a team with a winning record this year and six of the Spurs' nine games have come against teams with losing records.
Let’s dive into tonight’s matchup and find a potential sweat or two! We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff. Odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
After 24 years, the NBA is back on NBC and Peacock, combining the nostalgia of an iconic era with the innovative future of basketball coverage. The NBA on NBC YouTube channel delivers fans must-see highlights, analysis, and exclusive and unique content.
Game Details and How to watch the Grizzlies vs. Spurs live
Rotoworld has you covered with all the latest NBA Player News for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Game odds for the Grizzlies at the Spurs
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Spurs (-230), Grizzlies (+190)
Spread: Spurs -5.5
Total: 233.5
That gives the Spurs an implied team point total of 119.5 and the Grizzlies 113.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups for the Grizzlies and the Spurs
Grizzlies
PG Cam Spencer
SG Jaylen Wells
SF Cedric Coward
PF Jaren Jackson
C Zach Edey
Spurs
PG De'Aaron Fox
SG Devin Vassell
SF Julian Champagnie
PF Harrison Barnes
C Luke Kornet
Injuries for the Grizzlies and the Spurs
Grizzlies
F Ja Morant (right calf strain) is OUT for Monday’s game G Ty Jerome (calf) is OUT for Tuesday's game F Brandon Clarke (knee) is OUT for Tuesday's game
Spurs
C Victor Wembanyama (calf) is OUT for Tuesday's matchup G Stephon Castle (hip) is OUT for Tuesday's matchup G Dylan Harper (hip) is OUT for Tuesday's game G Jordan McLaughlin (hamstring) is OUT for Tuesday's game
Important stats, trends and insights ahead of Grizzlies at Spurs on Tuesday.
Memphis is 4-10 ATS, ranking second-worst
Memphis is 1-4 ATS as a road underdog, ranking tied second-worst
Memphis is 9-5 to the Under, tied for first
San Antonio is 5-6-2 ATS
San Antonio is 3-6-2 ATS as a favorite and 3-3-1 ATS as a home favorite
San Antonio is 7-6 to the Over
Rotoworld Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Grizzlies to cover the first half:
“Memphis has been abysmal in the full game ATS (4-10), ranking second-worst, but they have been a better first half team at 6-8 ATS on the season. The Grizzlies are getting +3.5 against a Spurs team that is without VictorWembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper. It's hard to imagine on primetime, Memphis doesn't hang at least for a half with this Spurs team.
Memphis is 3-2 ATS in the last five first halves compared to 1-4 in the full game. The Grizzlies are also 1-9 ATS in the last 10 games overall, so I do lean that way tonight as positive regression should set in, but I'll stick with the first half +3.5 down to +2.5 and live bet if need be."
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Grizzlies & Spurs game:
Moneyline: Grizzlies ML (low confidence)
Spread: Grizzlies +5.5 (medium confidence)
Total: Under 232.5 (low confidence)
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
Passan notes that the Mets are "mulling the opportunity" to sign both Williams and Edwin Diaz, who is expected to reject the team's one-year qualifying offer ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
In addition to the Mets, reports have linked Williams to the Dodgers and Blue Jays.
Williams, 31, had a down year for the Yankees in 2025 after being acquired from the Brewers in an offseason trade.
Over 62.0 innings spanning 67 appearances, Williams -- who bounced in and out of the closer's role due to his inconsistencies -- had a 4.79 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out 90 batters.
But there are reasons to believe Williams' relatively poor season was an aberration.
For one, his 2.68 FIP was in line with his career FIP of 2.45 -- suggesting he was unusually unlucky on balls that were put in play.
Meanwhile, his walk rate (3.6 per nine) was down, his home run rate (0.7 per nine) was around his career average, his ability to miss bats was among the best in baseball, and his famous "airbender" changeup again graded out as one of the best pitches in the sport.
The Mets have lots of work to do this offseason when it comes to putting the bullpen together.
Aside from A.J. Minter (who exercised his player option for 2026) and Brooks Raley (whose club option for 2026 was picked up on Tuesday) there are no 2025 bullpen members who are a lock to be back. And Minter's start to the season will likely be delayed by a few weeks as he works his way back from the lat surgery that ended his 2025 campaign.
Trade deadline acquisitions Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto are all free agents.
Members of the Mets' 40-man roster who could be relief options next season include Huascar Brazoban (who is arbitration-eligible), Jonathan Pintaro, and Dylan Ross.
Reed Garrett, who has been a mainstay the last two seasons, is expected to miss the entire 2026 season due to Tommy John surgery.
Raphielle Johnson
