Before her responsibilities were effectively cut in half, Laura Kane was burdened with the most challenging role in football, spanning everything that was hard and controversial about managing the game. Much of the criticism she copped should have been directed at the people she was directly managing, as well as the people who hired her.
Greg Swann’s arrival at AFL House last Monday came with a sigh of relief. “Swanny’s a ripper” and “Swanny understands clubland” must have been uttered dozens of times on radio, on podcasts and TV this past week. But even with a fraction of Kane’s responsibilities, it remains one of the most demanding jobs in football. Swann is phlegmatic, he’s a pragmatist and (so far) he’s refreshingly free of weasel corporate-speak. Here are a few areas where he can make his mark.
The Mets were defeated by the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Here are some takeaways...
- San Diego jumped on Sean Manaea for a first-inning run, and then threatened for more in the second. Former Met Jose Iglesias led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a groundout, but he was erased trying to score on a squeeze play by a beautiful glove flip from Manaea.
The big southpaw was able to find his groove from there, setting the next 12 Padres down in order. He indicated to Carlos Mendoza that he wanted one more inning coming off the mound in the bottom of the fifth, but the manager quickly shut that idea down.
Manaea was able to get up to 86 pitches on the night and closed his book with a final line of one run on three hits, just one walk, and four punchouts. He now has a 2.08 ERA and has allowed just one earned run in each of his four outings since returning from the injured list.
- The Mets' offense suffered a big blow in the middle of this one, as Juan Soto was forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his foot during his second at-bat in the fourth. He finished that plate appearance with a groundout to second, but was replaced during the next half inning with a foot contusion.
Tyrone Taylor entered the game in center and Jeff McNeil slid over to right field.
- Taylor ended up playing just that half inning, as he was pulled for a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. Starling Marte lifted a game-tying sacrifice fly, and then entered the game in right, making just his second rightfield appearance of the season.
McNeil eventually shifted back to right when Luisangel Acuña entered in place of Marte to play center.
- Opting not to have Manaea at least start the sixth backfired on the Mets quickly, as the bullpen imploded. Jose Buttó struggled in both the sixth and seventh innings, retiring just four of the 11 batters he faced to allow five runs on two walks and five hits.
Two of those came on a 404-foot homer off the bat of Manny Machado that Chris Devenski allowed.
- The Mets' bats went down very quietly against the top-ranked Padres bullpen. Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, Adrian Morejon, Ron Marinaccio,and Yuki Matsui combined to allow just two baserunners across the final five innings of the ballgame.
- Mark Vientos had two of New York's four knocks on the night, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
Game MVP: Manny Machado
Machado continued his recent heater with a dagger three-run shot to cap off the seventh.
GAVLE, Sweden — Nicklas Backstrom is resuming his hockey career back in his native Sweden with Brynas IF after missing all of last NHL season because of a nagging hip injury.
The Swedish club announced Monday that Backstrom was signing there to play this coming season. The 37-year-old center’s NHL contract with the Washington Capitals expired this summer.
“I have always felt that I would like to represent Brynas again someday if the opportunity arose,” Backstrom said in a statement about rejoining the organization where he started. “After undergoing rehab and being away from the game for almost two seasons, I feel very charged and full of energy to contribute to the club’s future successes.”
Backstrom underwent hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022, hoping to address a chronic issue, and by training camp in September 2023 insisted he felt “way better.” He last played in a competitive, meaningful game on Oct. 29, 2023, saying on Nov. 1 he was taking a leave of absence because of what the team called an “ongoing injury situation.”
Before that, Backstrom skated in more than 1,200 games with the Capitals, recording more than 1,100 points, and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Capitals in a statement thanked Backstrom and wished him luck in the future, saying he “gave everything he had each and every day.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was removed from the game against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night with tightness in his right Achilles tendon after chasing down a ball in right field in the sixth inning.
Acuña walked off the field before a trainer followed him into the locker room.
Acuña has 15 home runs this season, 26 RBIs and is batting .309. He had two homers on Monday night and went 2 for 4.
The five-time All-Star and former Most Valuable Player missed most of last season with a left torn ACL.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been busy this offseason as they continue their rebuild. They haven’t officially come out and used the word “rebuild” to describe where they are as an organization, but you don’t have to squint too hard to see it.
They made cheap, low-risk moves to start free agency in early July, just like last year. They brought in defensemen Parker Wotherspoon, Alexander Alexeyev, Phil Kemp, and Caleb Jones, plus forwards Anthony Mantha, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, and Justin Brazeau. The Penguins also opted to re-sign forwards Philip Tomasino and Connor Dewar to one-year contracts after neither received qualifying offers before free agency started.
Penguins general manager and president Kyle Dubas has been relatively active on the trade market as well, bringing in defensemen Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton. They are two players who badly needed a change of scenery since they didn’t have good seasons last year. If they can play a bit better, the Penguins will try to flip them at the trade deadline, given they only have one year left on their deals.
Dubas also acquired goaltender Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks after his dominant Calder Cup Playoff run with the Abbotsford Canucks. Silovs helped the baby Canucks win the Calder Cup, finishing the AHL playoffs with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. His efforts led to him being named the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Right now, he’s the favorite to be Tristan Jarry’s backup heading into the season.
Despite numerous changes, fans are still waiting for a major blockbuster or two. Forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, and defenseman Erik Karlsson have been heavily mentioned in trade talks, but to this point, none of them have been traded. Some fans see that as a bad thing since the calendar is about to flip to August, but it’s not. There is still about a month and a half until the Penguins report to training camp, and as we have seen from Dubas over the last two offseasons, he’s not afraid of making big splashes in August.
Usually, August is the month when everyone in the hockey world goes on vacation to the beach or the cottage, but not Dubas. Last year, he surprised the entire hockey world when he acquired top prospect Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets for Brayden Yager on August 22. The Penguins weren’t one of the reported teams in on him, but they put together the best offer and got the player they wanted. On August 6, 2023, Dubas traded for Erik Karlsson in one of the biggest trades of the summer.
He’s always looking to make deals, no matter what time of year it is. He holds all of the cards right now with Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson, and while some fans want Dubas to get these deals over with, it’s not that simple. Considering where the Penguins are in their rebuild, they have to get the proper return for these players. They remain good and impactful players, despite all three being over 30. This isn’t a situation where you take what you can get and sell for pennies on the dollar. That wouldn’t help the Penguins in terms of where they want to go as an organization.
There has also been some talk that by not trading these players, the Penguins would be “blocking their NHL-ready prospects” for this season. That is simply not true. McGroarty and Ville Koivunen are NHL-ready and will likely be in the lineup on October 7 against the New York Rangers, assuming they perform well during training camp and the preseason. They looked the part in their trial run at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Penguins also won’t block forward Filip Hallander from securing a spot since they just signed him to a two-year contract on April 29. They love what he did in the SHL these last two seasons.
As for Brunicke, if he does enough to earn a nine-game trial to start the 2025-26 season, the Penguins probably won’t hesitate to see what he can do at the NHL level. After those nine games, they’d have to decide whether to keep him up for the entire season or send him back to his junior team.
Everyone is waiting for a big trade because there haven’t been too many of them this summer yet. Many insiders predicted that a lot of action would happen at the draft and in the summer, but they didn’t anticipate that so many teams would retain players who were once on the market.
The Penguins are playing their cards close to the vest, but it still seems likely that at least one of Karlsson, Rakell, or Rust will get dealt before the season starts. It just might take longer and require more patience than some fans like.
Mets star Juan Soto is day-to-day after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Padres with a foot contusion.
The outfielder fouled a ball off the top of his left foot during his at-bat in the top of the fourth.
He remained down for several minutes in significant discomfort.
After a conversation with Carlos Mendoza and trainers, Soto was able to stay in to complete his at-bat.
He ended up being robbed of a hit on a diving stop by Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth, and appeared to be jogging with a limp down the line.
Tyrone Taylor replaced him when the Mets took the field in the next half inning.
"It was a tough moment," Soto said. "When I swung the last moment, I tried to run and tried to push off and couldn't do it, we'll just take our time and see how it goes, but at the end we decided not to keep pushing on it."
Luckily for Soto and the Mets, initial X-rays came back negative, though they'll see how he feels tomorrow.
"He's pretty sore, but we took X-rays and they came back negative, so that's good news," the skipper said. "We'll see where we're at tomorrow to see if he's going to be available for the lineup or even a player for us at some point in the game."
As of right now, Mendoza says the team isn't planning on getting any further imaging.
Once they are able to get the swelling down, Soto doesn't expect it to linger much.
"I think we're going to be good," he said.
Juan Soto was visited by the Mets' athletic trainers after fouling a ball off his leg.
With the Chicago Blackhawks being at the bottom portion of the NHL standings this past season, they traded veteran forward Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes back in January. Seeing the Blackhawks trade Hall was not surprising in the slightest, as he was a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) on a rebuilding Chicago squad.
The move to the Hurricanes benefited Hall, as he quickly fit into their system and got the opportunity to play for a contender again. He proved to be a solid addition to the Hurricanes' roster, as he had nine goals, nine assists, and 18 points in 31 games with the Metropolitan Division club following the move. This included recording 16 points in his final 19 regular-season games with the Hurricanes.
Hall will be remaining with the Hurricanes for a good amount of time, too, as he signed a three-year, $9.5 million contract extension with them back in April. Thus, he will now get the opportunity to continue to play on a top team like the Hurricanes for multiple years, which is good news when noting that he is still looking to win his first Stanley Cup.
Overall, while Hall served as a nice veteran mentor for the Blackhawks during their rebuild, getting traded to the Hurricanes was ultimately the best move for him at this stage of his career. It will be fascinating to see how much of an impact he can make for the Hurricanes from here.
Promising Blackhawks Prospect Can't Be Slept OnThe Chicago Blackhawks have plenty of exciting young players on their roster who could become nice pieces for them later down the road. Forward Colton Dach is certainly one of them, as the 22-year-old forward has shown promise early on his professional career.
James Outman rounds third to score the go-ahead run in the ninth inning. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)
For the first half of July, the Dodgers’ slumping offense struggled to simply create consistent scoring chances.
In recent weeks, the problem has been more about capitalizing upon them.
Down the stretch in a 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday however, the team finally found a few clutch late-game hits.
Will Smith and Freddie Freeman hit consecutive two-out RBI singles in the seventh inning, erasing the two-run deficit Tyler Glasnow had left behind in a disappointing four-plus-innings, four-run start.
Then, Smith came through again in the ninth, lacing a go-ahead, two-out RBI double off the wall in left that scored pinch-runner James Outman all the way from first base.
It was the Dodgers’ 37th come-from-behind win this season; and, given how July has gone so far for the team, one of their biggest of late to clinch a series win in Cincinnati.
“It's huge to get the series win tonight,” Smith said. “We needed a big hit right there. Got it and fought back. A little momentum for tomorrow."
And, the Dodgers (63-45) hope, moving forward into the final stretch of the season.
Amid the Dodgers’ many issues at the plate this month, hitting with runners in scoring position had grown as one of the most glaring weaknesses. Entering play Tuesday, the team was hitting just .242 in such situations in July, ranking in the bottom half of the majors for the month. Wasted chances were a defining theme of the team’s series loss in Boston over the weekend, punctuated by a Sunday defeat in which they went one-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 men on base.
Early in Tuesday’s game, the problem persisted. After a two-run home run from Tommy Edman — who was back in the lineup despite a flare-up of his ankle injury over the weekend — in the second inning, the Dodgers left runners stranded in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
In two of those failed rallies, strikeouts from Shohei Ohtani proved costly, part of an 0-for-5 night in which he struck out five times.
“I think he just got into swing mode,” manager Dave Roberts said. “When he's best, he's getting the baseball up, and he's using the big part of the field … But tonight, just one of those nights that he just couldn't help himself from swinging.”
Meanwhile, on the mound, Glasnow faltered in the sweltering summer heat, giving up two home runs on elevated sliders in the fourth inning before leaving the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth; lucky that only one of the runners he left behind came around to score.
“I felt good early,” said Glasnow, who saw a string of three strong starts since returning from the injured list snapped by his four-plus-innings, four-run start. “Just kind of lost the feel towards the end. Not quite sure what it was. I just wasn’t executing in the zone."
Down 4-2 at that point, the Dodgers faced a predicament that had so often proved fatal during their scuffles in recent weeks: A multirun deficit, against the heart of the opposing team’s bullpen.
This time, however, the lineup found late life.
Michael Conforto got the seventh-inning rally started, drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter. That was followed by a bloop single from Mookie Betts, who reached base three times to continue his subtle turnaround since moving to the leadoff spot.
Ohtani struck out behind him, finishing the night ranked tied for fourth in the majors with 129 punchouts this year (including 17 in his last 38 at-bats).
But then, Smith — the National League batting leader with a .325 average — dumped a single into left and Freeman then tied the score with an RBI single the same direction, giving him his first three-hit game (two of which were opposite-field line drives; a good sign for his long-ailing swing) in more than a month.
“That’s vintage Freddie,” Roberts said. “I think he’s been working on trying to find a cue, working hard. And tonight he looked really good.”
The score remained tied into the ninth, thanks largely to 1 ⅓ scoreless innings from former Reds closer Alexis Díaz, who was booed by the Cincinnati fans in his first trip back to the ballpark since being dealt to the Dodgers earlier this season.
“I expected something different,” Díaz, a 2023 All-Star with the Reds who fell out of favor after a brutal start to this season, said in Spanish. “For those years I was here, I pitched really well and I was liked during that time. So to see that, it surprised me a lot. But I stayed calm and with the relaxed mindset and confidence that I was going to do my job."
As a result, the Dodgers had the chance to take the lead in the ninth.
Conforto again battled his way on base with a 10-pitch walk, before Smith lined a double off the wall in left that allowed Outman to fly around the bases for the eventual winning run.
“It's hard to go through the list of quality at-bats right there,” Roberts said. “But yeah, Michael. Obviously the Will at-bat. Freddie. Just on and on. I think that we really put together some good at-bats, found a way to win a ball game.”
With the 21st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected forward Sam Poulin. Since then, the 6-foot-2 winger has had trouble cementing himself as a full-time NHL player. Yet, while this is the case, the Blainville, Quebec native still has time to change that.
When looking at Poulin's 2024-25 season, he should not be given up on just yet. In 57 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2024-25, he recorded new AHL career highs with 19 goals, 24 assists, and 43 points. Seeing Poulin improve his offensive totals in the AHL this past season is encouraging, and it will now be intriguing to see if he can continue to trend in the right direction in 2025-26 because of it.
Poulin also suited up in a career-high seven games this past season with the Penguins, where he had one assist, 10 hits, and a plus-1 rating. In 13 games over three seasons with Pittsburgh, he has posted two assists and 18 hits. While he has yet to find his scoring touch at the NHL level, it is fair to wonder if this could change next season if he gets more chances on Pittsburgh's roster.
Overall, Poulin showed promise this past season in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Depending on what moves the Penguins make before the start of the season, the possibility of him landing a spot on their fourth line should not be ruled out. No matter what happens on that front, Poulin is certainly a player to watch in 2025-26.
Max Fried pitched into the seventh inning and the Yankees used the other team's mistakes to their advantage for a change as they held on to beat the Rays, 7-5, on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
The win improves the Yankees' record against the AL East to 12-18. The win, coupled with the Blue Jays being swept in their doubleheader with the Orioles, has cut Toronto's lead for the division to four games.
Here are the takeaways...
- The defense betrayed Fried early in this one. After Yandy Diaz led off with a single, Jonathan Aranda hit a groundball up the middle to Anthony Volpe, but the young shortstop flipped the ball too far for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to field, allowing the runners to reach safely. The error would come back to haunt the Yankees as Jonny DeLuca hit a two-out triple to score both runs and put New York in a 2-0 hole. Volpe would make up for it later.
The extra pitches didn't help Fried, who did not have his usual command. While Tampa wouldn't score too many runs on the southpaw -- an Aranda leadoff homer in the third the only blemish -- Fried labored through the first four innings but settled down once the Yankees grabbed the lead. The left-hander retired 14 straight after the Aranda homer and gave the Yankees some necessary length. He pitched into the seventh, but after getting the first two outs, Fried walked Fortes and Aaron Boone came out, but the southpaw said he wanted the next batter and the Yankees skipper obliged. However, Taylor Walls hit a run-scoring double to cut the Yankees' lead to 6-4. That was it for Fried.
Fried tossed a career-high 111 pitches (69 strikes) across 6.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits, two walks and striking out nine batters.
- A day after the offense scored just two runs on six hits, it looked like it was going to be more of the same on Tuesday. Despite working walks and getting traffic on the basepaths, the Yankees just couldn't get the big hit against youngster Joe Boyle. In the third, the Yankees had runners on the corners with two outs when Cody Bellinger launched a missile over the right field wall to knot things up at 3-3.
New York would take the lead in the fourth after Jasson Dominguez led off the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a flyout. Volpe brought him home by singling up the middle to put the Yankees up 4-3. Volpe and Austin Wells -- who reached on an error-- pulled off the double steal and catcher Nick Fortes -- who the Rays traded for from the Marlins this week -- threw it into left field, allowing Volpe to score.
After a Ben Rice walk, Paul Goldschmidt got in on the action with an RBI single.
- The Yankees wouldn't get much going offensively until the eighth, when Volpe launched his 15th homer of the season 452 feet into the Yankee bullpen. It was the longest home run of Volpe's career and gave New York a much-needed insurance run. The Yankees had just six hits in this game and Volpe and Dominguez had four of them.
- The Yankees' bullpen, which is short because the team has played so many consecutive days, was tasked with getting the final seven outs. After Jonathan Loaisiga got the final out of the seventh, he came back out for the eighth and allowed back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Loaisiga would get Chrostpher Morel to ground into a double play before Chandler Simpson popped out to end the threat.
Devin Williams had a shaky ninth inning. Josh Lowe hit a lead-off triple and Jose Caballero walked. Tristan Gray grounded into a force out, pushing across Lowe from third. Taylor Walls also grounded into a force out before Diaz reached on a throwing error by Volpe, the shortstop's league-leading 15th of the season. Volpe shorted the throw to Goldschmidt that the first baseman couldn't scoop up. But Williams got Aranda to strike out with the tying runs on base to complete the save.
Game MVP: Max Fried
Again, Fried gave the Yankees the length they needed and showed why he is their ace this season.
The San Jose Sharks defense is in a very unique situation entering the 2025-26 season.
Only a single defenseman, not including prospects who could earn a spot in training camp, is under contract past the 2025-26 season. That player is free agent addition Dmitry Orlov who is signed through the 2026-27 season. He also has a full no-move clause in the first season of his contract, making him almost guaranteed to return after this upcoming season.
After Orlov though, the entirety of the blue line is up in the air following this coming season. In a way, the Sharks will be essentially holding season long tryouts. Whoever performs up to their standards and will be able to help the team over the long-run can be brought back, while the others will be allowed to walk next summer. With defenders like Sam Dickinson and Luca Cagnoni close to fighting for a spot in the NHL as well, this approach allows general manager Mike Grier to be selective moving forward. Now, let’s see which defensemen are most likely to be Sharks beyond this coming season.
Shakir Mukhamadullin is the most obvious extension option, as at 23 years of age, he has just started showing what he can bring to the table at the NHL level. As a former first-round draft pick, his ceiling is seen as very high, and so far, he’s performed as expected. Out of everyone currently listed on the blue line, he’s essentially a lock to return for the 2026-27 season unless something were to go catastrophically wrong with the Russian defenseman this season.
Jack Thompson, on the other hand, is an interesting one. Like Mukhamadullin, he’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season. However, unlike Mukhamadullin, he doesn’t seem to be a lock to make the roster this fall. He’s no longer waiver-exempt, and with how coveted right-handed defensemen are around the league, there’s a very high chance he’ll be claimed if the Sharks attempt to send him to the San Jose Barracuda. If he’s still with the organization next summer, it’s safe to say he’ll be brought back. Ensuring he’ll still be with the Sharks come next summer will be the hard part for Grier, though.
Out of the unrestricted free agents, Timothy Liljegren seems the most likely to get a new contract in the Bay Area. While the Sharks didn’t give much up to get him, Grier saw something he liked from Liljegren last October, and he performed essentially as advertised. He’s a relatively young right-handed defenseman, and it appears we’ve yet to see his best in the NHL. As a result, he’ll likely earn an extension if he’s willing to stick around with a team that’s still a few years from contending.
The Sharks’ only right-handed defensive addition this summer, John Klingberg, is quite a bit older than the Sharks' main core; however, he could play his way into a new deal. At his introductory press conference, the Swedish defenseman gave the impression that he’ll play the best hockey we’ve seen from him in years. If that does end up being the case, then Grier would be wise to bring him back for at least a couple of more seasons until he can add some assets who can hold down the right side of defense for the long-term future.
The longest-tenured Sharks defenseman, Mario Ferraro, seems almost guaranteed to move on at some point over the next twelve months. He’s been in trade rumors for multiple years, and The Fourth Period is reporting that he’s open to a change of scenery. The main question regarding Ferraro would be whether he’s moved at the trade deadline, or if the Sharks opt to walk him to unrestricted free agency. The former seems like the most logical option for a team that is slowly starting to climb out of a rebuild, especially since Ferraro doesn’t have any trade protection in his current contract.
Nick Leddy, who the Sharks claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues this summer, has the advantage of being able to play both sides of defense well, even though he’s left-handed. That flexibility is valuable, but currently, his cap hit is likely even more valuable for the Sharks. He likely won’t be given a big role with the team in teal, and considering he will have a much smaller contract next season, given his recent play, it’s unlikely that he’ll spend more than one season in the Bay Area; however, unlike Ferraro, Leddy will probably finish the season with the Sharks.
Lastly, Vincent Desharnais is a solid depth option for the Sharks; however, it would be surprising if he makes the opening night roster, considering the amount of talent fighting for a spot. I personally left him out of my roster projection, and I think it’s unlikely he gets offered an extension by the Sharks at this point in time.
The Sharks have options, and they’ll have time to sort out all of these decisions. If a player has an incredible 2025-26 season, they can certainly change their future, but it will take quite a turn of events for that to happen. Either way, the defense will be a storyline to watch through training camp up until next summer.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided a handful of injury updates prior to Tuesday night's game against the Padres…
Jesse Winker hasn’t resumed activities
Winker has been stretching and doing exercises, but he still hasn't resumed baseball activities.
The lefty hitting DH/OF, of course, has been sidelined due to ongoing back discomfort.
Mendoza said that he isn't close to taking that next step in his road to recovery, but the team still expects he'll be able to return before the end of the season.
"That's what the trainers are telling us, we just have to wait," the skipper noted.
Winker was making his return from an IL stint when he felt the tightness during an AB against the Orioles.
He's been sidelined for about three weeks now and doesn't appear close to a return.
Prior to his absence, he had eight extra-base hits and a .709 OPS through just 26 appearances.
Drew Smith down in PSL
We haven't heard much about Smith since he re-signed with the club this offseason.
The righty has been slowly progressing his way back after undergoing season-ending surgery last June.
He's currently down at the team's facility in Port St. Lucie, going through his bullpen progression.
Even if he's unable to make his way back, his new pact does have a team option for next season.
The 31-year-old has a 3.48 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 191 career appearances.
Aug 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Citi Field. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Blackburn to make another rehab appearance
Paul Blackburn won't be rejoining the Mets just yet.
Mendoza revealed that the team has decided to give him one more rehab appearance, Saturday in Syracuse.
The right-hander looked good during his most recent outing at the same level.
He earned the win as he stretched out to 87 pitches and allowed just one run on five hits and a walk while striking out six batters across 6.1 innings of work.
That brought his ERA to an impressive 1.59 over his two appearances down in Triple-A.
The Mets have been stretching him out as a starter, but it remains to be seen exactly what his role will be when he eventually makes his return to the big league level.
With off days in the schedule, the team won't require a sixth starter until the middle of August.
Tylor Megill getting close to facing hitters
Megill has been working his way back from an elbow sprain, but he appears to be closing on the next step.
The right-hander will throw another two-inning up-and-down bullpen session on Wednesday
Depending on how he recovers from that, Mendoza says he could progress to facing live batters afterwards.
Since Megill was moved to the 60-day IL on July 8, he isn't eligible to be activated until mid-August.
He was in the midst of another up-and-down season prior to the injury, pitching to a 3.95 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 14 starts.
The second half of last season and through the playoffs, Kristaps Porzingis was not himself — a virus that doctors couldn't quite put their fingers on was slowing him down. He played in just 42 games and in the playoffs averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds a game on 31.6% shooting. As an example of how much he struggled, his playoff PER during the 2024 title run was an almost All-Star level of 19.6, last season that fell to a well below average 11.3.
Porzingis told Latvia’s Sports Studija he is feeling like himself again and is ready to play for his native Latvia in EuroBasket, then with the Hawks next season (hat tip Basketnews.com for the translation).
"I feel fantastic, to be honest. I took time to rest after the season. Something was lingering during the playoffs—I had fatigue, dizziness, even moments where I felt like I might faint. It wasn't great...
“In June, I fully rested and lowered the intensity. All of that has gone away. I haven't felt any of the playoff symptoms anymore. I feel great and ready to join the national team."
Atlanta had a fantastic offseason and part of that was trading for Porzingis — the Hawks are betting on him to be the rim protector they have lacked, as well as a pick-and-pop partner for Trae Young — and he realizes how much Atlanta needs him to have a career season.
"I've always been a player who can fit into any system, but now I adapt faster. I read defenses better and make quicker decisions. That comes with experience.”
What matters most is he seems healthy and ready to bounce back from a rough season, one where he still averaged 19.5 points a game during the regular season. If Porzingis can do that efficiently again, the Hawks become a real threat in a down East.
The Anaheim Ducks have missed the playoffs every year since 2017-18 and in doing so, have drafted in the top ten for seven consecutive seasons and procured one of the NHL’s deepest and most potent prospect pools.
Despite several young players having graduated and become full-time NHLers, such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, the Ducks still have an impressive pipeline of potential impact and depth prospects yet to make the jump.
For this exercise, only players who haven’t lost rookie status are eligible for a ranking, and to be clear, these are my (Patrick Present) subjective rankings.
Honorable Mentions: Yegor Sidorov, Herman Traff, Tarin Smith, Lasse Boelius, Calle Clang
The gap between Tristan Luneau, ranked at three, and Stian Solberg at four is minimal, as both have succeeded at the highest levels below the NHL and, at this point in their development, project as impact players for the Ducks in the future.
The aspects that separated Luneau and gave him the slight edge include his offensive ceiling and game-breaking two-way potential.
Since the time of his draft, when the Ducks selected him in the second round (53rd overall in 2022) out of the QMJHL, Luneau’s skating has improved dramatically. His four-way mobility remains a strength, but he has elongated and added considerable power to his straight-line stride.
Luneau is an alert and cerebral defender who rarely makes mistakes in coverage and displays near-flawless gap control and angling against the rush with the ability to kill plays early, often before the blueline is surrendered at all.
What stands out most in his game at this point, and the areas where he’ll have substantial impacts in the NHL, are puck retrievals and breakouts. He shows advanced decision-making after scanning for F1 pressure and, more often than not, makes the proper choice on whether to absorb or evade said pressure, effectively igniting clean exits and transition offense.
He’s shifty and active at the offensive blueline, always looking for opportunities to activate and create from below the tops of the circles.
“Well, he’s really grown. He didn’t play a lot of hockey last year, and we got to the point where we made the decision to leave him in San Diego,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said after the 2025 trade deadline. “We’re going to let him keep going. There are little details that he needs to keep working on in his game, and he’s doing a fabulous job offensively, which is something he did in junior, and he’s continuing to do it.
“There aren’t many kids since the early 80s that have been able to produce the numbers he has as a rookie. So, we’re excited for him, but we’re just going to slow-develop him for the rest of this year, anyway.”
Luneau’s already been through two major injuries to this point in his career. Following his first season in the QMJHL, when he was awarded rookie of the year honors in 2021, he had surgery to treat a nagging non-hockey injury, which led to a slow start to his draft year and caused his draft position to slip. He returned to the QMJHL the year after his draft and won the league’s defenseman of the year award in 2023.
He then had his 2023-24 campaign cut short before the 2024 World Junior Championship began due to an infection in his knee that ended his season in early December. Luneau bounced back to make the 2025 AHL All-Rookie team after a 2024-25 season that saw him produce 52 points (9-43=52) in 59 games.
Luneau can be expected to play NHL minutes in 2025-26, and how much will be determined in camp. He could afford to refine some of his puck management skills, as he is still prone to the odd giveaway, looking for an ambitious play.
Verbeek and the Ducks organization are high on Luneau. On the ice, he’s given them every reason to be, and off, he’s shown tremendous resilience to battle through unusual injuries with lengthy recoveries only to come back stronger.
It looks like the Yankees are about to receive a huge boost to their starting rotation.
Youngster Luis Gil was terrific across 4.1 innings of work as he made his likely final rehab appearance with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night.
Gil needed 19 pitches to get through the opening frame against the Nashville Sounds, but he picked off a baserunner and added his first punchout with a nasty slider in the dirt.
He hit a man in the top of the second but quickly settled back into a groove, striking out the next four batters he faced before issuing a two-out walk in the third, which was also quickly erased.
The righty continued cruising from there, as he picked up a pair of three-pitch strikeouts in the fourth to help him work around a one-out single lined right back up the middle.
Nashville was finally able to strike against Gil in the fifth, though, as catcher Jorge Alfaro took an 0-2 slider on the outside corner the other way for a leadoff solo homer.
He retired the next batter on one pitch, but was pulled after an error put another man on -- right-hander Zach Messinger entered and was able to escape without any further damage on his line.
Gil's book closed with one run allowed on three hits and a walk while striking out seven over 4.1 innings.
After a shaky first outing in Triple-A, this was certainly the effort the Yanks were hoping for.
Aaron Boone said Tuesday that if everything comes back okay afterwards, the 27-year-old is lined up to make his highly anticipated season debut on Sunday afternoon against the Miami Marlins.
Gil, of course, has been sidelined since spring training with a right lat strain.
The last time he was on the big-league mound, he was finishing off a Rookie of the Year campaign in which he pitched to a 3.50 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 171 strikeouts over 29 outings.
