The U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team has made a change to its roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics that impacts a member of the Florida Panthers.
On Wednesday, Team USA announced that Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe had been named to the Olympic roster as a replacement for Panthers blueliner Seth Jones.
Jackson LaCombe has been named to the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, replacing Seth Jones.#MilanoCortina2026
Jones, who suffered an upper-body injury during the 2026 NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 when he was hit in the shoulder/collarbone area by a deflected puck, has been out of the Panthers lineup since.
Initially, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice indicated that Jones could be back in Florida’s lineup before the Olympic break, but that appears not to be the case anymore.
According to a release by Team USA, Jones “is injured and unable to participate” in the Olympics.
The 31-year-old native of Arlington, Texas is playing in his first full season with the Panthers after being acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline.
Through 40 games, Jones has racked up 2 goals and 24 points, 13 of which coming on the power play, while earning 16 penalty minutes and skating to a minus-two on-ice rating.
The Panthers have nine games remaining until the NHL pauses for the Olympics, starting on Thursday when they begin a three-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets.
Photo caption: Dec 11, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)
Three years and nearly 1,700 minutes of professional basketball since playing his last game for the Alabama men’s basketball team, Charles Bediako will once be a part of the Crimson Tide program — not as a coach, a graduate assistant or a student manager, but as a player.
Bediako, a 6-foot-11 center who played at Alabama from 2021-23 before moving on to the G League, has been granted a temporary restraining order by a Tuscaloosa County (Alabama) Circuit Court judge that makes him immediately eligible to compete for the Crimson Tide.
The order will remain in effect for 10 days or until a hearing takes place. A hearing on the preliminary injunction is currently scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27.
The decision, which was first reported by AL.com, comes one day after Bediako filed a request to Tuscaloosa Circuit Court for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction.
Bediako has already enrolled at Alabama and could return to action for the Crimson Tide as soon as Saturday, Jan. 24, when it hosts Tennessee. He is not listed on the team's official roster.
"The University of Alabama supports Charles and his ongoing efforts to be reinstated for competition while he works to complete his degree," the school said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The NCAA had previously denied Bediako's request for additional eligibility and expressed disappointment with the judge's ruling in a statement Wednesday.
"These attempts to sidestep NCAA rules and recruit individuals who have finished their time in college or signed NBA contracts are taking away opportunities from high school students," the statement read. "A judge ordering the NCAA let a former NBA player take the court Saturday against actual college student-athletes is exactly why Congress must step in and empower college sports to enforce our eligibility rules."
As a sophomore in 2022-23, the Brampton, Ontario native averaged 6.4 points, six rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game for an Alabama team that earned the No. 1 overall seed to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, where it lost to eventual national runner-up San Diego State in the Sweet 16. That season, Bediako was named to the SEC all-defensive team.
Following the season, he declared for the NBA Draft, but was not selected. He instead joined the San Antonio Spurs on a two-way deal and over the next three seasons played in 82 games in the G League for three different teams. He has averaged 4.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 16 games this season for the Motor City Cruise, the Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate. He played for the Cruise as recently as Jan. 17, when he had four points and three rebounds in a 127-103 win against the Birmingham Squadron.
To this point, he has never played in an NBA game.
He becomes the latest G League player to join the college ranks, a group that also includes London Johnson at Louisville, Thierry Darlan at Santa Clara and Abdullah Ahmed at BYU. The trend that has drawn public criticism from coaches across the sport, most notably Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.
Since leaving Alabama, Bediako appeared in 82 G League games across three seasons with the Austin Spurs, Grand Rapids Gold and Motor City Cruise.
Here’s a look at his stats from his professional career:
2023-24 (Austin): 5.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 14.6 minutes per game
2024-25 (Grand Rapids): 9.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24.5 minutes per game
2025-26 (Motor City): 4.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 15.1 minutes per game
Charles Bediako college stats
In two seasons at Alabama, from 2021-23, Bediako averaged 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 19.4 minutes per game while shooting 67.3% from the field and 48.8% from the free-throw line.
Charles Bediako age
Born on March 10, 2002, Bediako is 23 years old.
Charles Bediako draft
After his sophomore season, Bediako entered the 2023 NBA Draft, but was not picked. He signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs and joined their G League affiliate in Austin, Texas.
It burns a little, this one. Yeah. To blow that lead. Against this opponent, in their building. It burns. No two ways about it. I’d love to breeze through this and move on to the next, but goodness. We’re probably going to have to sit with it for a minute. Because that was about as bad as it gets.
At some point, you can’t keep waving this stuff away. We’re far enough into the season now that a team’s identity starts to take shape, and the uncomfortable truth with this group is that inconsistency is still the defining trait. It’s not a simple problem, and there are plenty of reasons to stay encouraged. But it’s hard to ignore how often effort, focus, and execution fail to show up together for long stretches.
The Spurs have now lost twelve games this season in which they held a double digit lead. Twelve. That’s 80% of their losses (including the NBA Cup Finals that doesn’t actually count). I know the modern NBA has warped our sense of what actually constitutes a “safe lead,” and that a ten-point cushion can disappear in the blink of an eye, but twelve losses like that starts to feel endemic of a bigger problem. It feels like a team that lacks discipline. One that relies on raw talent to bludgeon its way through games instead of smart players executing a plan to efficiently put opponents away. It’s not sustainable. It might allow them to stumble their way through to a perfectly fine regular season and a fun playoff berth for the first time in a while, but it’s a recipe for a quick and likely embarrassing exit.
I think that’s why it scares me.
(Well, scared is the wrong word. The Spurs are fine. They’re ahead of schedule by almost every metric, and I don’t want to minimize that. We’re all having a blast watching this team exceed expectations and punch above their weight. It’s fun. We’re having fun, I swear. We shouldn’t lose sight of that. Anyway, back to losing sight of it.)
I’m scared of what’s going to happen to this team in the playoffs. We can all feel that coming, right? The Spurs will likely continue to have their ups and downs, but as the season draws to a close and the cream rises to the top, the schedule will be full of way more games like the one Monday night against the Jazz. They’ll play hard against inferior opponents, stumble over their feet, and ultimately pull out more wins than losses. We’ll have fun. We’ll watch the boys bang that silly drum in the middle of the court, and we’ll cheer and dream about what’s to come.
They’ll be a high seed, probably two, three, or four. There will be expectations. Words like “dark horse” and “contender” are going to get thrown around. The noise is going to get loud and the lights are going to get bright. That first round is going to be here before we know it, and it’s going to be a team like Houston or Minnesota or maybe even Denver with a fresh and rested Nikola Jokic. It’s going to be a team that’s hungry. One that’s been living in the playoffs recently and knows exactly what those battles feel like and what they require. They’re going to see a team like the Spurs swanning into the playoffs riding a wave of goodwill after their first decent season in forever, and they are going to be ready to hunt.
The little things the Spurs keep getting wrong in these games, the inefficient scoring from their star players, the three point volatility, and the deer in the headlights fourth quarters are all going to get exposed on the biggest stages. The tendency they have to get physically pushed around is going to be a problem. That thing where they just stop trying to secure defensive rebounds for long stretches? That’s going to rear its head every single night. This team is not going to be able to press the “talent” button and just hope it works out.
I’m not saying this is a problem that can’t be fixed. It can. That’s actually the whole point. This roster is young, the core is absurdly talented, and there’s still time for some of these hard lessons to turn into habits. But what I am saying is that it’s a problem that needs to be fixed soon. Because inconsistency has been the defining trait of this season so far, and it’s a label that’s about to become permanent.
This loss is whatever. It stings, and it’s a bummer, but we’ll get over it. The loss isn’t the thing. The “how” is. The Spurs are riding a very thin line between having a fun, feel good season and crashing headfirst into a very abrupt ending. Talent will only carry you so far, and frankly, it already has. At some point though, talent stops being enough.
The Spurs are getting close to that point now.
More thoughts on the Houston loss
Genuinely, what happened to the well balanced offense we saw Monday night? Against the Jazz, everything felt intentional. The Spurs played inside out, put pressure on the rim, and let the three point shooting be a complement rather than the whole meal. Victor Wembanyama was the hub, not the bailout. The ball moved with purpose, cutters were rewarded, and the offense felt balanced and sustainable. Then last night, the structure was still there on paper, but the balance was gone. The Spurs leaned hard into “chuck it from three” mode early and never really adjusted once that stopped working. Watching them brick three after three down the stretch in the fourth felt like watching my three year old struggle to pull open a door that was very clearly marked Push.
I understand that part of the problem is simply that the Rockets are a better team than the Jazz. Houston can physically defend Victor Wembanyama in a way that disrupts the easy flow of the offense, force jumpers, keep guys away from the rim, and do stuff like deciding, very consciously, that Julian Freakin’ Champagnie is not going to beat them. And then they actually execute that plan. Inherently, I know all of this. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Teams keep doing this to the Spurs, and at some point they need to have a plan for when it happens. That’s how sports works. Teams adjust and then you adjust. Adjust and adjust. Attack and counterattack. What am I missing here?
Just putting it out there that watching Reed Sheppard come alive down the stretch while all of our dudes were wilting on the vine was an extra special cherry on this particular Sundae of Sadness. I don’t know anything about this kid on a personal level, so take this with a grain of salt, but at least in a basketball sense, I do not like him. Not one bit. If I were to theoretically be sitting alone in a dark room writing the names of my enemies down in a notebook, then he would be getting a prime spot. Theoretically.
You ever think about the alternate universe where the Spurs traded for Kevin Durant last summer? I don’t. I mean, sometimes I do. Like, what if Kevin Durant were sitting there in the Harrison Barnes spot instead of Harrison Barnes? Naw. That…No. Crazy. What’s done is done.
Post Game Press Conference
– Yesterday, you implored Victor Wembanyama to not get hurt during the All-Star Game. He then went on to say that he wants “to push the great players of this sport to play in the All-Star Game just as hard as I will. We’ll see how it goes, but if they don’t play hard, I’ll do it without them.” Any response?
– He’s such a good kid. Truly. We should applaud this spirit and commend him for, you know, holding himself to this kind of standard.
– But…..
– But this is stupid. Vic, don’t do this. Don’t. No one cares. You can’t make them care by playing just a little bit harder. Not to be overly cynical, but that’s simply not how the world works anymore. I cannot stress to you enough how little I care about the All-Star Game mattering. It’s a relic from a time when there was less stuff going on. People were locked into the 1992 All-Star Game because they didn’t have any episodes of Heated Rivalry to watch.
– You don’t think this is a good sign of his competitive mindset? Of his desire to raise the overall effort level of the sport?
– Unfortunately, I think this might actually be a sign that he’s a huge nerd. Respectfully.
– A huge nerd?
– Yeah. One of the hugest, tallest nerds we’ve ever seen. Breathtaking, really.
– Well I think most fans seem to like that he feels this way.
– If Victor Wembanyama strains his calf trying to block a Scottie Barnes layup during a game that does not matter, in front of a television audience of five people, I am going to sell all my belongings and go live with chimpanzees in the forest like Jane Goodall.
Sure, they’ve had some frustrating losses get away from them, but halfway through the season, the Sixers are in as good a spot as any optimist could have hoped for before the season. At 23-19, they have set themselves up to not just make the playoffs, but potentially nab a top-six spot to avoid the Play-In tournament.
Not only has No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe flashed more star potential, but their two star veterans, Joel Embiid and Paul George, have been relatively healthy and available relative to last season — the former has already appeared in more games this season than the 2024-25 campaign.
A franchise cornerstone plus two massive contracts the majority of the league still likely views as albatrosses are already good enough reason to stand pat, but the Sixers also still have some roster shuffling to sure up their front court rotation, and they’ll have to do so before the Feb. 5 deadline.
One of the best Sixers’ stories this year has been not just two-way forward Dominick Barlow looking like an NBA player, but earning a spot in the starting lineup. Jabari Walker, also on a two-way, has also been integral, appearing in 40 of their 42 games so far this season. Barlow has missed a little more time due to injury, but has started in 29 of the 32 games he’s been available for this year.
Anyone who followed last year’s team — or SixersAdam on Twitter — knows that two-way appearances are limited to just 50 games. Jeff Dowtin Jr. actually ran out of available dates before the last game of last season. Those appearances are even more limited when a team is rostering less than 15 players, which the Sixers currently are.
Teams like the Sixers are limited to just 90 two-way games as long as they have under 15 players on the roster. Those 90 count for all two-ways — in other words, every time Barlow and Walker play in the same game, that counts as two towards the 90.
Tallying up their appearances, plus the 12 games Hunter Sallis was active for, the Sixers are down to just four days remaining. Assuming they both play, that covers the Sixers through the end of their homestand to Jan. 24 against the Knicks. After that Knicks games, the shuffling will have to begin.
The first, most likely move was posited by national reporter Keith Smith, who said that the Sixers could sign someone to a 10-day contract, which would put the 90-game rule on pause for at least a week and a half.
Keep an eye on the Philadelphia 76ers doing something similar with filling their 15th spot with a 10 Day signing.
The Sixers are down to just eight under-15 games remaining after last night. Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker continue to play every game, so that's just four more… https://t.co/NTyp72kORL
That doesn’t reset the individual days for Barlow and Walker, both of which are also quickly waning. Heading into these last two games of the homestand Walker only has eight games left while Barlow has 18.
It feels likely Daryl Morey will sign a 10-day to keep Walker and Barlow on two-way salaries as long as possible. At some point though, that 15th roster spot will have to be used to convert one of those two to a full-time deal.
For the Sixers to keep both they’ll have to free up another roster spot somehow. They have plenty of expiring contracts to dump, some of which are hardly in the rotation as it is. Eric Gordon is not really at all, but he only makes the veteran’s minimum. Andre Drummond tends to only play on nights Embiid does not these days, and has a slightly higher salary at $5 million.
Each making over $8 million dollars, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes are both technically options as well, but it’s hard to see any possible return for Oubre being better the production he’s given them when healthy this season. Grimes may be the trickiest to trade. Given that he’s on the qualifying offer, teams potentially acquiring him wouldn’t acquire his Bird rights, making it tricky to re-sign him in the offseason.
There are a number of ways Morey can get creative to solve this, but he’ll have to make this choice soon as the days dwindle. Rearranging things for two players already in the organization won’t headline any “Who won the trade deadline?” articles. Converting Walker and Barlow to full-time roster spots without shuffling up the rotation in any major way is a perfectly fine deadline for the Sixers this year.
We have a great night of hoops action ahead of us, with seven games on the NBA schedule, which means a wealth of value can be found in the NBA player prop markets.
My favorites today include a Nets sharpshooter letting it fly against the Knicks, and Chet Holmgren will be a bully on the board vs. the Bucks.
Those and more NBA picks for Wednesday, Jan. 21 below.
The Boston Celtics will look to get back in the win column when they host the Indiana Pacers.
One big edge Boston will have is on the glass. The Cs are a Top 10 team when it comes to rebounding rate, while the Pacers own the third-lowest rebounding rate and surrender the third-most opponent rebounds per game.
The best Celtic to back in this spot is Sam Hauser. The Boston forward has been putting in more work on the boards lately, hauling down 5.4 per contest over his five last five games, topping 4.5 rebounds four times during that stretch.
The Brooklyn Nets will have to let it fly if they want to keep things close with the New York Knicks tonight. Luckily, the Knicks will be happy to oblige, because their perimeter defense stinks.
The Knicks allow opponents to shoot the fifth-most 3-pointers per game while giving up the fourth-highest 3-point shooting percentage (37.5%).
The Nets may have something in Egor Demin. The rookie out of BYU is averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting nearly 40% from deep. That’s up to a crazy 52.2% over his last seven games, where he’s hit three or more threes five times.
How bad are you at rebounding if you have Giannis Antetokounmpo on your roster and still rank next to last in rebounding rate?
Well, ask the Milwaukee Bucks, who take on the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. To make matters worse, Myles Turner also enters this game banged up. That means Chet Holmgren will be putting in work cleaning the glass tonight.
The OKC big man is averaging 10.1 rebounds per game over his last 13 games, grabbing double-digit boards eight times during that stretch. He does it again tonight.
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Before digging in on the four names on the list, it's worth pointing out a notable name that was excluded: outfielder Spencer Jones.
While Jones' raw power potential is tantalizing, his strikeout numbers continue to be an issue, which is surely part of the reason the 24-year-old hasn't reached the majors yet. Jones hit 35 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A last season, but he also struck out 179 times in 116 games after striking out 200 times in 2024.
Lombard, also ranked by MLB Pipeline as the top prospect in the Yankees' system, is a promising young shortstop, but still a ways away from making his major league debut. Lombard got a taste of Double-A ball last season, posting a .695 OPS in 108 games.
Rodriguez-Cruz was named Baseball America's Yankees' Minor League Player of the Year in 2025, pitching to a 2.58 ERA across three levels, finishing the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Kilby, the Yankees' first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, still has a long way to go in his development, but his pro career got off to a good start as he posted an .898 OPS in 18 games with Single-A Tampa last year.
Lagrange, a powerful right-handed pitcher at 6-foot-7, pitched to a 3.22 ERA for Double-A Somerset in 2025. With a fastball routinely touching triple-digits, there's a chance he makes his major league debut at some point this season.
The NBA season is long and I am aware that not everything with the schedule can be perfect, but it is strange to me that the NBA insists on doing these random 1-game road trips, especially to face a Western Conference team. Granted, New Orleans is not as far West as a team like the Lakers, but it is still a further trip than playing somebody in the Midwest.
With that being said, the New Orleans Pelicans are not a very good team, but this game feels like it could be a bit of a trap game given the above information. Plus, the Pistons are coming off a physical, hard-fought battle with the Boston Celtics on Monday.
This game could be used as a “rest game” for players that are clearly nursing injuries like Cade Cunningham. He is not currently listed on the injury report, so that may not be the plan, but as the Pistons have proven many times this season, they are equipped to win games against lesser teams without Cade.
The Pistons have also done a pretty good about not looking past teams that they are heavily-favored against for the most part this season, but this just feels like one of those games. The only time they seem to have done it is while on the road against a team from the West.
Game Vitals
Where: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA When: Wednesday, January 21 at 8 pm EST Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit Odds: Pistons (-9.5)
Analysis
The New Orleans Pelicans have been a mess this season. They have every incentive to win as many games as possible, given the fact they owe their first round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, but they just cannot seem to put things together.
They have dealt with injuries to players like Zion Williamson as they do every season, but for the most part, their main building blocks have been healthy this season. Trey Murphy III has played 41 games, even Zion has still played 29 games, and Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen have played in most of the games this season.
For tonight, the only regular rotation player for sure missing is Jose Alvarado, although they could also be without Herb Jones, who has missed the last few games and is a game-time decision.
Despite all of that, the Pelicans just have not been very good. If you look at their roster and even their bench, they have some solid players. Trey Murphy III has been great this season and is a popular trade candidate around the league. Zion Williamson has been his usual efficient self when he has played. Derik Queen has been fun and is one of the contenders for Rookie of the Year. Even Jeremiah Fears is having a solid year for a young rookie guard. Even old friend Saddiq Bey is even having a great year starting for the Pelicans in his return from a Torn ACL.
For whatever reason, the formula just has not worked. The team has talent, which is why I am concerned by a trap game due to the quick road trip, but things could also come unraveled and the Pistons blow out the Pelicans. You really do not know what you are going to get.
I mentioned it above, but based on the initial injury report I do not foresee it happening, but this would be a good game to give somebody like Cade Cunningham a rest. He has been able to impact the game offensively through his passing, but his wrist contusion he suffered against the Knicks has clearly been bothering him when it comes to shooting. He shot 4-of-17 in the win against the Celtics on Monday, but also had 14 assists and no turnovers.
He went back to the locker room towards the end of the game and had some ice on his ribs, so he is clearly beat up. That is life as a number one option in the league when you play with a team full of guys that are not anywhere near the level of threat offensively as you are, but it could also be beneficial to give him a rest with games against the Rockets and Kings still coming up this weekend.
Right now, the only player on the injury report for the Pistons is Caris LeVert with an illness. And if we are being honest, that is more of a positive than a negative given LeVert’s struggles this season. If he does not play, Daniss Jenkins will get his minutes, I would anticipate.
I think this game goes one of two ways, the nearly-full strength Pistons run the New Orleans Pelicans out of the gym early and get their starters a rest night, or they look past the Pelicans and end up in a dog fight to the final buzzer like they had to on Monday. The Pistons rarely get blown out due to their defense, but they have had some weird games against lesser Western Conference teams on the road like losing to Jazz and almost blowing a huge lead against the Kings just last month.
On Wednesday, Baseball America released its Top 100 prospects list for the season, kicking off the unofficial top prospect list season that will play out between now and the start of the regular season. Relevant to Orioles fans, five O’s prospects appear on this year’s edition of the list, starting with catcher Samuel Basallo at #9. The others who have made the list: Dylan Beavers (#21), Trey Gibson (#72), Nate George (#86), and Luis De León (#95).
That’s a solid set of top prospects, and it’s notable that the Orioles have managed to do this now that we’re several years removed from when they were regularly picking in the top five of the draft class. This group does not include any top Orioles draft pick at all. Beavers was the highest-drafted as a post-first round competitive balance selection in 2022.
Two of these players, Basallo and De León, are fruits of the team’s international amateur signing efforts. The Orioles signed Basallo to a contract extension shortly after he debuted last year. Two others, Gibson and George, were plucked from relative obscurity in the US amateur ranks. Gibson was an undrafted free agent in 2023, while George is a 16th round pick from the 2024 draft.
Mike Elias finding top prospect list talent from less-obvious avenues – lower-bonus international players and fifth round or later draft picks – is a good sign that we can hope will continue. It’ll be nice if the first round picks return to being top 100-level talent, too. 2025 top pick Ike Irish seems like he could get himself onto the lists starting in the midseason updates if he shows well in his first full pro season. The Orioles are unfortunately back in the top ten of the draft thanks to stinking it up last year, and also unfortunately the lottery didn’t put then in the top five even though they had the fourth-best odds of getting the #1 pick.
Two more players who the Orioles signed as amateurs made BA’s list of 20 “just missed” prospects. Those were pitchers Michael Forret and Esteban Mejia. Forret, a 14th round pick in 2023, was traded to the Rays in the Shane Baz deal. None of the other traded players were top 100-level talent on this list. Mejia, who only turns 19 in March, could make future top 100 lists if he’s able to start harnessing some of his natural talent as he reaches full-season affiliates. The O’s having three notable pitching prospects is also a new development in the Elias era.
Nice as it is to see five players in the top 100, it’s worth noting that the top two of these guys, Basallo and Beavers, have already debuted in MLB and will probably have their prospect status expire just weeks into the 2026 season. At that point, the Orioles won’t have any top 50-level prospects unless some of their guys continue on their upward paths. That could happen! I’m particularly excited about George.
Here’s a little of what Baseball America had to say about each of these top 100 (or almost-top 100) prospects:
Basallo
Basallo boasts elite bat speed and generates significant power to all fields thanks to his advanced bat-to-ball skills. … he is improving at swinging at pitches he can drive rather than ones his contact ability will allow him to get to. … He has plus-plus power and could be one of the game’s prolific sluggers, and his contact ability will only help him maximize his significant raw skills.
Beavers
Beavers told teams at the 2022 MLB Draft Combine that he knew his swing needed a lot of work. … The swing work Beavers and the Orioles have done have maximized his athleticism and plate discipline, which allows him to be adjustable and generate power naturally without expanding the strike zone or over-swinging in pursuit of slug. Above-average athleticism also shows up in Beavers’ plus speed and solid-average outfield defense in the corners
Gibson
After adding a sinker with unique angles in 2025, Gibson now has a pair of mid-90s fastballs. Righties either hit the new pitch into the ground or took it for strikes. However, Gibson gets his upside from his secondary mix. … The additions and improvements, plus his developing knowledge of how to use his growing arsenal, helped Gibson strike out batters at an elite level. Gibson has the potential to be a midrotation starter thanks to his pitch mix and aptitude.
George
George used a line-drive swing and knack for putting the ball in play to put together one of the best seasons a teenager had anywhere in the minors. … he is so dynamic out of the batter’s box—with run times of sub-4.0 seconds from home to first base—that he routinely stretches balls into the gaps for extra bases. His double-plus speed helps him in the outfield, where he has the makings of an elite center fielder with more experience.
De León
De Leon’s raw stuff has always been among the best in the Orioles’ system. … emphasizing fastball location to righthanded batters elevated his entire arsenal in the second half of 2025 as the rest of his stuff played up. De Leon’s command has always been inconsistent, but he has good zone rates with his fastball, suggesting it’s a trait that can continue to improve.
Mejia
Working with four-seam and two-seam fastballs, Mejia overpowered lower-level hitters with his electric stuff. His heaters sat in the mid-90s and averaged 98.4 mph—and there’s still some physical projection left to add to those marks. … Mejia is one of the most exciting and high-ceiling pitchers the Orioles have, but there’s a lot of work to be done to have him reach his No. 2 starter potential, from physical maturation to secondary pitch refinement.
**
This is a pretty good set of top prospects to bring into a season. Beavers is a strong Rookie of the Year candidate based on his 2025 debut performance, and if things click for Basallo before too long into the season, he could end up being a ROY candidate as well.
BA’s list is only the first of several from the major publications. I’ll be watching to see how other lists like Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline, and the Keith Law ranking at The Athletic assess the Orioles prospects relative to the league’s other top prospects.
According to family lore, the first team I ever rooted for was the St. Louis Cardinals, the football version. See, I entered this crazy world on a Sunday around 11 a.m. back when the Cardinals still played in Missouri, and about an hour later, my parents and I—well, I’m guessing just my father—turned on the Cardinals versus Cowboys.
In their last season opener before leaving for the desert, the Cardinals topped the ‘Boys, 24-13.
But outside of Super Bowl XLIII, I’ve never rooted for those Cardinals.
The other St. Louis Cardinals, well, now that’s a different story.
I’ve rooted for that baseball team my entire life. I’ve attended far more Cardinals games than Royals games. Until about 2010, when it became clear that I’d be staying in Kansas City, the Cardinals were my primary team. At that point, though, I switched. I wanted to be a fan of the team in the city (or area) where I resided.
Still, I cheer on the Cardinals. I won’t get too much into it, but the last few years have been painful for the franchise, and now they’re doing something they really haven’t done during my lifetime—rebuilding. Like, a full-scale, tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild. It’s probably for the best for the franchise to do that, and yet it’s still…weird, I guess, to see it happening.
So, yes, I root for two Major League Baseball teams, the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals.
And so can you!
I’ve devised a set of completely objective (subjective) rules grounded in science (eh) that will allow you to root for multiple teams in the same league without feeling bad (debatable) about it.
This stems from a) me rooting for both the Royals and Cardinals and b) one of my sisters insisting that it’s okay to root for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, when it’s actually SACRILEGIOUS.
Here are the rules:
Rule No. 1: Hereditary
You can of course root for a team that you’ve been raised to cheer. This happened to me. I never lived in St. Louis but rooted for the Cardinals because that was my dad’s team, my mom’s team. Of my large family, I was the only one not born in St. Louis. I didn’t have much of a choice even after we moved to Kansas City.
If you find yourself born in, let’s say, San Francisco to a pair of expats from Seattle, let your Mariners’ flag fly. But don’t forget about the Giants. Different leagues, so it’s okay! When the two teams face each other, well, go with your gut.
Rule No. 2: Geography is King
If you want to root for two teams in the same league, those teams shouldn’t be that close in proximity. You can’t root for the Dodgers and the Angels. (Do the Angels have fans?) Or the Rams and Chargers. (Do the Chargers have fans?) It’s too weird to cheer on the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders. Giants and Jets. You get the idea.
Pick the team in your own backyard and forget the neighbor who’s within walking distance. Too awkward.
Rule No. 3: The Yankees Directive
I’m sorry, but if you root for the Yankees, you cannot cheer for another team. You are a Yankees fan. There’s nothing worse, and you are forbidden from cheering on another baseball team. When the Bronx Bombers’ season ends, you must turn off your TV and radio until after the World Series.
This can be extended to all other North American professional sports leagues, including other teams in baseball. If you root for the Red Sox, that’s it. The same goes for the Dodgers. You’re the new Evil Empire, which I’m sure doesn’t bother you, but there’s no other team for you.
In the NFL: the Cowboys, of course. Probably the Patriots.
In the NBA: Lakers, Celtics, Knicks.
In the NHL: either of those Florida teams. I would include Toronto, but they haven’t won anything in like 100 years.
Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Wait—[listens to voices in my head]—I’m being told I do make the rules.
Rule No. 4: Same Division (NFL and MLB only)
You can’t root for two teams in the same division. That’s just wrong. If you’re a Royals fan, you can’t cheer on the Twins or Guardians or Tigers or White Sox unlessit’s the playoffs against the Yankees or Dodgers or Red Sox.
This is even more of a thing in the NFL. If you cheer for the Chiefs, forget about the Chargers (which is easy) and the Raiders and the Broncos. You can root for the Raiders and Chargers against the Cowboys but you can never cheer for the Broncos. Seriously, if Max would let me cuss, I would do that here.
But this rule for divisions only applies to only MLB and the NFL.
Why? Because I can’t even name all of the divisions in the NHL—is the Patrick still a thing?—and I don’t think divisions matter anymore in the NBA when it comes to playoff seeding. Maybe it does, but it’s not nearly as big of a deal as it is in baseball and football.
Rule No. 5: Wedded Bliss
Strange as it sounds, there are people out there who will marry someone who roots for a different team than their own. My wife and I have never had this problem, though she is vehemently anti-St. Louis, for reasons she hasn’t shared or she’s shared, but I wasn’t listening.
Still, I’ve seen Mizzou fans marry Kansas fans, Royals fans marry White Sox or Yankees fans, Cardinals fans marry Cubs fans, and even Chiefs fans marry Broncos fans. Oh, big sis.
Does this civil union in love allow you to break these rules and add that second team to your stable of teams for which you root?
Absolutely not.
Stand your ground, dang it! Keep some autonomy. Keep thy independence! Tigers should never root for Jayhawks. Royals should never hope that the best happens to the Yankees. We want them to fail, always!
Love shouldn’t change that.
Rule No. 6: No Kroenkes Allowed
Sorry, Enos.
If you root for one of the following teams, you cannot root for another: Rams, Avalanche, Nuggets, and, for our European friends, Arsenal.
Rule No. 7: Chaos
You must never root for your team’s biggest rival even if that team is facing a Yankees-esque opponent. In that case, root for pure chaos.
Blues fan, but the Red Wings are facing the Lightning for the Eastern Conference title? I’m sorry, but you can’t cheer on either team. You must hope chaos reigns.
Cardinals fan, but the Cubs are squaring off against the Dodgers in the pennant for the right to face the Red Sox in the World Series? May God have mercy on your soul.
Chiefs fan, but the Broncos are hosting the Patriots in the AFC Championship game in which the trophy is named after your team’s founding owner?
Say, have you heard about this thing they call alcohol?
With spring training on the horizon, David Stearns continues to round out the Mets’ lineup for the 2026 season. Last night, the team acquired Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox in exchange for infielder Luisangel Acuña and RHP prospect Truman Pauley. The Mets had been linked to Robert for quite some time, and the Mets finally got the missing piece to their outfield.
Robert joins Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, and Bo Bichette as new additions to the lineup from last year. He will serve as the team’s centerfielder and will add a power threat to the bottom of the lineup. According to Fangraphs, he should slide into the eight-spot in the new-look lineup.
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Juan Soto
3B Bo Bichette
1B Jorge Polanco
2B Marcus Semien
DH Brett Baty
C Francisco Alvarez
CF Luis Robert Jr.
LF Carson Benge
Robert now pushes Tyrone Taylor into the fourth outfielder role, a role for which he is better suited than the every day centerfielder.
With this latest move, the lineup looks to be mostly complete, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that options don’t remain. The biggest questions now are if Brett Baty gets moved to left field and if Carson Benge makes the team out of camp. Of course, the team still needs pitching help so either Baty or Mark Vientos could be on the move in any possible trades. For now, Vientos will probably serve as the team’s DH when there is a lefty on the mound.
This lineup has almost been completely overhauled from last year’s disappointing group, so it will be up to them to get this team back to the playoffs or, at the very least, come back in a game where they are down in the eighth inning.
National prospect list season continues with the latest iteration from Baseball America. You won’t be surprised to learn that the Detroit Tigers placed four prospects on BA’s new list, but there are some pretty interesting tools grades assigned. As we continue to work through the fringe prospects and potential role players in our 2026 scouting reports on the system, the big boys are still a long way away, so let’s take a moment to see what Baseball America has to say.
While Pirates shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin continues to hold the top spot, Tigers shortstop prospect Kevin McGonigle holds the second position on BA’s top 100 and gets an adjusted 65 future value grade, projecting multiple All-Star game appearances in his 20’s.
McGonigle’s most notable tool grade on the 20-80 scale is a rare 80 hit tool projection. Based on the incredible levels of hard contact, lack of strikeouts, and excellent walk rates, this isn’t too big a surprise but an 80 hit is pretty hard to come by. That’s a testament to just how prodigous a pure hitter the 21-year-old Pennsylvanian is at a young age. He should be an OBP machine for the next decade to come, and his developing hard contact in the air to pull field earns him a 60 grade, or plus, for his power. He also gets a 55 for his baserunning and defense, while his arm is the only drawback at 45. The arm strength is the main thing pushing many to think he’ll have to move to second base once the Tigers have a better option.
Max Clark is the Tigers second ranked prospect, and he’s getting a lot more love this year as well after showing developing power potential in 2025. He takes the sixth spot on BA’s list with a 55 grade, though they give him a 65 regular grade, which I assume suggests his upside as, like McGonigle, a repeat All-Star caliber season type of player. He gets a 65 grade in running, 60’s for his defense and arm, and 60 hit and 50 power.
The way Baseball America does this, giving a main grade, and then an adjusted grade based on risk, feels like a funky equivocation in their grading system to some. Risk is a part of grading players generally, so it feels a little clunky to me too, but suggesting current grade and potential upside is fine. So we’ll take it that way. Here’s the top 100 article but it does require a subscription.
The player who is most in question after a stellar, but quite brief, pro debut is shortstop Bryce Rainer. The 20-year-old’s first 35 games were extremely impressive at the Single-A level, but a right shoulder injury on a dive back to first base in May cost him the rest of the season. Rainer and the Tigers decided to have surgery to repair the shoulder after the dislocation, and that’s probably for the best. Colt Keith could throw in the mid-90’s coming out of high school as a part-time pitcher, and after suffering the same injury, he and the Tigers elected to rehab the injury back in 2022. It’s taken a long time for the arm strength to return and he’s probably still not quite where he was in high school.
Rainer gets a 65 grade, but the risk level associated with such a young, inexperienced hitter brings his adjusted grade down to a 50. He gets tool grades of 55 hit, 55 power, 55 run, 55 field, and 70 arm. That arm strength is a big part of his long term future at the shortstop position, so all eyes will be on his throws this summer once he’s gotten some time to build himself up and shake the dust off.
Considering that Rainer was just 19 and seeing his first professional pitching last spring, the fact that he put up a 90th percentile exit velocity mark of 108 mph was pretty crazy. It’s particularly eye-opening for a left-handed hitting shortstop. He’s still got plenty of room on his frame to get stronger, and he hammered even high velocity fastballs with no problem at all, showing a lot of ability to use the left center field gap and hit the ball out of the park to the opposite field. We’ll just have to see how he adjusts as he sees a better brand of breaking and offspeed stuff, and better command, as moves through the system. He could move very rapidly this season as long as he’s back to full strength.
Finally we come to catcher, though much more likely a first baseman and designated hitter, Josue Briceño. He checks in 78th on BA’s top 100. It was an extremely impressive 2025 season for him as he lit up the High-A level in his age 20 season. He hit 15 home runs in 55 games for the West Michigan Whitecaps, walking 16.8 percent of the time while strikeing out just 16.4 percent of the time. He struggled a little more once he moved up to the Double-A level, but he was one of the youngest players in the league, while also carrying the burden of the tools of ignorance.
There isn’t a whole lot new to say here, and BA doesn’t say anything new either. Briceño looks like a very good left-handed power hitting in the making. It’s just a question of whether the Tigers want to take the time to develop him further behind the plate into a backup catcher, or if they give up on it to a degree, let him focus on hitting, and get him to the major leagues more quickly. They give him a 60 grade, 45 adjusted. His tool grades are 45 hit, 65 power, 30 run, 40 field, 55 arm.
Overall there really isn’t anything new here. It’s just a good reminder that we’ll get to see all but Rainer in major league camp in a few weeks, and it will be exciting to get eyes on them after the offseason. McGonigle, Clark, and Briceño will probably play in the spring futures game, and I suspect we’ll get a few looks at Rainer as well.
The 2005 season marked the beginning of the end of an era in Yankees history. In his age-36 season, longtime center fielder Bernie Williams put together the worst performance of his career by far, accruing -1.6 rWAR in 141 games thanks to a combination of lackluster defense and a paltry 86 OPS+. To make matters worse, the team had no obvious replacements on the roster, with Bubba Crosby and his career 47 OPS+ representing the best option. At the same time, despite having a small army of power hitters in the middle of the order, the Bombers lacked a prototypical leadoff hitter, pushing Derek Jeter out of his customary No. 2 spot and forcing manager Joe Torre to rotate Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, and a young Robinson Canó through Jeter’s old spot in the lineup.
Fortunately for the Yankees, the outfield market was filled with quality center fielders, with Mike Cameron, Kenny Lofton, and Juan Pierre all hitting free agency. In the end, though, it would be the former Boston Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon — long a thorn in the Yankees’ side — who would shave his beard, cut his locks, and become the latest Boston fan favorite to defect to the Bronx.
Johnny Damon Signing Date: January 3, 2006 Contract: Four years, $52 million
Johnny Damon was no stranger to switching teams. Originally drafted in 1992 by the Kansas City Royals, he had spent the first six years of his career in Missouri before being traded to the Oakland Athletics ahead of the 2001 season. After one year in California, Damon signed a four-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. As a core member of the 2004 squad that we don’t like to talk about here at Pinstripe Alley, he quickly became a fan favorite in Beantown, and his caveman-like facial hair became not only his defining feature, but one of the defining features of the Red Sox. And so, when he declared “There’s no way I can go play for the Yankees” in May 2005, Boston fans had little reason to disbelieve him.
Free agency is a funny thing, though — especially for Scott Boras clients. Heading into his age-32 season, Damon clearly knew that this was his last good shot at earning a long-term deal, and so, Boras started the winter seeking a seven-year deal for his client. Recognizing his age, though, the Red Sox held firm for a three-year deal, even as the center fielder lowered his demand from seven years to five. But with the Red Sox front office in turmoil — general manager Theo Epstein had resigned on Halloween that year, and while he would eventually return prior to the front office in January 2006, the organization had been directionless and leaderless throughout the entire free agent period.
And so, when the Yankees delivered a four-year deal worth $52 million (“Bubba Crosby is our center fielder” be damned), Damon ignored his previous comments and didn’t reject it out of hand. And when his old friend and Oakland Athletics teammate Jason Giambi called to pitch him on New York, he listened. And in the end, he committed to the razor, agreeing to the deal even as Red Sox chief baseball executive Larry Lucchino was speaking to reporters about the team’s stalled negotiations with their popular center fielder.
The move paid dividends for the Yankees. With a career-high 24 home runs and 25 stolen bases (his most in a season since 2003), Damon stabilized the top of the order and earned down-ballot MVP votes. His 2007 season, however, saw his OPS and home run total drop, and while it was not his fault he lost the starting center field job to Melky Cabrera — Damon was simply taking the majority of the DH at-bats while Giambi was on the shelf with an injury — it was fair to wonder whether the Yankees had paid solely for Damon’s decline.
Fortunately for them, Damon appeared to recognize that he needed a change, and he began to reinvent himself as a quasi-power hitter, a change that Brett Gardner would also make later in his career. Now serving as the full-time left fielder, he posted a .303/.375/.461 slash line with 17 home runs, 27 doubles, and 5 triples, while still managing to steal 29 bases.
Damon’s first three years in pinstripes were nice, but in the end, it was the 2009 season that turned Damon from a solid free agent acquisition into a permanent part of Yankees lore. It’s not just that Damon had one of the best seasons of his career, tying a career high in home runs (24) and setting a career high in walks (71). It’s not just that the Yankees won the World Series in that season. No, what really cemented Damon’s status as a Yankees fan favorite is the fact that he was at the center of the Yankees’ return to the top. He drilled a walk-off home run on May 19th, the third straight game the Yankees won in walk-off fashion, helping to cement the 2009 Yankees as a team that could never be counted out. He had nine hits in the ALCS, including a pair of home runs, to help lead the Bombers past the Angels in six.
But his biggest moments in pinstripes came in the World Series. His numbers themselves were impressive enough — a .364/.440/.455 slash line with eight hits and four runs scored. But it was the ninth inning of Game 4 that made Damon a villain in the city of Philadelphia, one who is cursed by my Philly friends even two decades later. With two outs in the top of the ninth in a 4-4 game, Damon came to the plate against Phillies closer (and professional archaeologist) Brad Lidge. After falling behind 1-2, he battled back to force a full count, then laced a single to left field. On the first pitch to Mark Teixeira, he stole second, and then, noticing that third base was uncovered because the Philadelphia defense was in the shift, nabbed third on the same play. Having the go-ahead runner on third took Lidge’s best pitch away from him, and the middle of the order dropped a three-spot to put the Yankees one win away from their 27th World Series championship.
Due to his age, the Yankees opted not to re-sign Damon that winter despite his important role in the World Series championship. He proceeded to sign a trio of one-year deals — with Detroit in 2010, Tampa Bay in 2011, and Cleveland in 2012 — and while he hoped to return to the Bronx in 2013 to help his old team deal with the organization’s numerous injuries, that would be the end of Damon’s baseball career. And while having Damon on the 2013 Yankees may have been a fun epilogue to his career, at the end of the day, the fact that he left the Bronx as a World Series championship is perhaps the best legacy for the rare player who became beloved in New York and Boston.
Sources
Griffin, John. “25 Smartest Moves of the Past 25 Years: Yankees sign Johnny Damon.” Pinstripe Alley. January 27, 2022.
After averaging everything according to various projections, the Cubs’ season record came out to approximately 87-75 after a little consideration of our trusty napkins and some minor mental gymnastics. Reality was kinder to our Cubs and their final record was 92-70, good enough to get the Cubs into the postseason, where they dismissed the San Diego Padres and were outshined by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.
Gone are Kyle Tucker and many others. The Cubs signed Alex Bregman to a spendy deal and traded for Edward Cabrera, steps toward assembling a deeper and higher-floor squad.
This particular edition of the annual profiles isn’t results-driven, as last year’s was. I just wanted to see if the predictive ‘data’ would hold up. Some people’s stats were ‘in the ballpark’ but most of them weren’t even in the neighborhood.
I will provide predicted stats for everyone if you want to compile for your own reasons.
The Chicago Cubs are a team that is built around ‘chemistry’, more so than most squads. A lo of them have bonded over their religion and have been quite open about that. A good few have their own social media presences. Ian Happ has a popular podcast — we feature it here often, as it’s very good. Dansby Swanson and Justin Steele have YouTube channels. PCA is seen about town — he and Caleb Williams were seen to be having a great time at the Blackhawks game Monday night. Alex Bregman looks to be an up-front kind of leader, which should aid in that chemical experiment.
Something didn’t click with Tucker. I never had the feeling he wanted to be back. I suspect he told the Cubs early that he wanted to test the market, and I also think that his personality didn’t mesh, for whatever reason.
The 26-man roster hasn’t been set yet, so there’s considerable liquidity, and so we’ll present players by position rather than batting order, as presented in Al’s last article on the subject, just to make things tidy (with the same restrictions/qualifications). This list will be updated with links when those pages are published, as we did last year, and we’ll add the players from the 40-man roster after the 26-man roster has solidified. Profiles are planned to be daily, but that is of course subject to change.
Catchers (2)
Miguel Amaya, Carson Kelly
Infielders (6)
Tyler Austin, Alex Bregman, Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson
Outfielders (4)
Kevin Alcántara, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki
Designated hitter (1)
Moisés Ballesteros
Starting pitchers (5)
Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Cade Horton, Shōta Imanaga, Jameson Taillon
Relief pitchers (8)
Ben Brown, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Daniel Palencia, Colin Rea, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb
Crow. Best served cold, apparently. I should know. I have spent plenty of time eating it myself after takes that aged poorly. But around the league, there is a whole lot of crow getting passed around right now as the Suns keep churning out an unexpectedly successful season and quietly building one of the better stories in the NBA so far.
You do not have to take my word for it. National outlets are starting to say it out loud. Phoenix is earning respect.
The Suns were without Devin Booker in Detroit on Thursday, when they blew a 16-point lead and lost by three, scoring just 15 points on 25 fourth-quarter possessions. Their offense hasn’t been great (115.8 points scored per 100 possessions) with Booker on the floor, but they’re now 1-3 without him, having scored just 101.3 per 100 over those four games. Of course, all four have been on the road and against teams — Houston, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Detroit — that rank in the top nine defensively.
Booker returned on Saturday, when the Suns beat the Knicks, who were playing without Jalen Brunson. Mitchell Robinson was there, but the Suns outscored New York (21-17) on second chances. While Phoenix is one of nine teams that have scored fewer points per 100 possessions than they did last season, it’s seen the league’s biggest jump in offensive rebounding percentage, from 26.4% (26th) last season to 33.6% (sixth) this season.
The Suns’ starting lineup didn’t have its best night at Madison Square Garden, but bench minutes were huge as they erased two separate, 10-point deficits. Grayson Allen continues to close games, and the Suns have outscored opponents by 13.4 points per 100 possessions in 486 minutes with both Jordan Goodwin and Oso Ighodaro on the floor, and they have the league’s fifth-ranked bench overall.
ESPN dished out midseason grades, and Kevin Pelton gave the Suns an “A” for their efforts thus far.
Thus far, team owner Mat Ishbia was right and the experts (myself included) were wrong about the Suns’ offseason makeover, which saw them say farewell to marquee additions Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant. In their place, Phoenix has built a hard-playing squad in the image of newcomer Dillon Brooks that excels at forcing turnovers and has barely dropped off offensively from last year’s star-studded team, going from 13th in offensive rating to 15th. Collin Gillespie’s emergence as a capable starting point guard has been one of the season’s best stories — earning him the nickname “Villain Jr.” from Brooks — and new coach Jordan Ott looks like he’ll put an end to the revolving door on the Suns’
The Athletic is a bit more bullish on the Suns than most. They have Phoenix sitting ninth in their power rankings, tucked right behind the Golden State Warriors. Because of course they do. The Warriors are always going to live near the top of those lists. Clicks are undefeated.
Law Murray put it this way:
I don’t think it is likely that Booker gets selected as a starter, but I feel like he should be rewarded for a Suns team that basically is in the same spot in the standings as the Lakers despite significantly less talent. Jalen Green is expected to finally play his sixth quarter of the season this week. Booker is one of 20 players averaging at least 25 points per game, and of those 20 players, only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham and Jamal Murray have won more games than Booker this season.
ESPN’s power rankings have the Suns sitting in 9th, and despite a three-game winning streak, they dropped one spot in their rankings. Make it make sense. Dave McMenamin had this to say:
How will Jalen Green be integrated into their success?
After making his return Tuesday, his first game action since early November because of a right hamstring issue, the Suns’ rotation will now shift to fit Green into the rotation. Adding a 23-year-old dynamic scorer is undoubtedly a good problem to have for first-year head coach Jordan Ott; shuffling things on the fly, however, is always a challenge, and Phoenix has had a good thing going so far this season and is riding a three-game win-streak.
Does any of that actually matter? Not really. The Suns still have to look inward and keep doing the work. They are in the middle of reintroducing Jalen Green into an offensive and defensive system that has been working. That is not plug and play. A player with that kind of shot appetite is going to require adjustment. If they can navigate that while stacking wins, that is success.
What someone writes in The Athletic is noise. And yes, I know I contribute to the noise. Sometimes loudly. But what I think does not matter. What matters is what happens in that locker room, the alignment inside the organization, and the way this team performs on the floor.
This season has already been fun. The national guys are starting to notice. The best way to keep their attention is simple. And to keep doing it the same way.
Hopefully not the highest accolade Santana will have received. | Scott A. Schneider / Getty Images
The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 was finalized yesterday with the election(s) of Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones. While so much has been said about the electees, I’m curious about the players who didn’t get in.
Of the 11 first-time nominees who fell off the ballot yesterday, none were Twins; of returning players, Torii Hunter came closest, getting 37 votes (8.4 percent). This sent me on a sojourn of Looking Up Far Too Many Names manually in order to learn about the Twins who only saw one opportunity to get their name checked.
Here are the Twins since the 1979 balloting, when the under-5-percent elimination rule was introduced, to go one-and-done on the Hall of Fame ballot. (Years listed are time in Minnesota, not entire career.)
After seven seasons with the Dodgers, Perranoski was traded to the Twins before the 1968 campaign, serving as the team’s closer for the 1969 & 1970 AL West-winning seasons. He earned MVP votes both years and finished seventh in Cy Young voting in the latter.
Bernie Allen second baseman, 1962-66 1979 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
A prototypical light-hitting second baseman, Allen started his career with a third-place Rookie of the Year finish in 1962 (.269/.338/.403 with 12 home runs), but that was his best offensive season.
The Twins’ first baseman through their 1960s success, Reese had his best season in 1969, slashing .322/.362/.513 and receiving an MVP vote for the only time in his career.
Andy Kosco right fielder, 1965-67 1980 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
Kosco started his career in Minnesota but was never more than a part-time player for the Twins, putting up minus-0.8 rWAR in 89 games across those three years.
Bob Miller relief pitcher, 1968-69 1980 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
Miller was already an 11-year veteran by the time he joined the Twins (in the same trade that brought Perranoski to Minnesota). Across the following two seasons, he pitched in 93 games with a 2.91 ERA; however, he was traded following the 1969 season, playing five more seasons for seven clubs.
Jim Perry starting pitcher, 1963-72 1981 ballot: 6 votes (1.5 percent)
The Twins acquired Perry from Cleveland during the 1963 season, and while he was used in a mix of starter and relief roles through 1968, he became a dominant starter in 1969, going 20-6 with a 2.82 ERA, 12 complete games, and 6.3 rWAR, finishing third in Cy Young voting. The next season, he won the award with a 24-12 record, a 3.04 ERA, 13 complete games, and 3.8 rWAR. Perry was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2011.
John Briggs first baseman & outfielder, 1975 1981 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
Briggs and Hands are similar, both veteran players who joined the Twins at or near the end of their careers for unceremonious stints.
César Tovar everywhere, 1965-72 1982 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
An electric superutility man, Tovar was a mainstay atop the Twins’ lineup for seven seasons, receiving MVP votes each year from 1967 (his highest finish, seventh place) to 1971. In 1970, he led the AL in doubles (36) and triples (13); the following season, he led the AL in hits (204). Tovar was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Twins Hall of Fame in 2022.
Randy Hundley catcher, 1974 1983 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
Known as a Cub (and a member of that team’s Hall of Fame), Hundley spent the 1974 season in Minnesota, playing in 32 games, before ending his career with three part-time seasons in the National League.
Another late-career Twin, Singer spent four months in Minnesota, putting up a 3.77 ERA in his 26 starts before being selected by the Blue Jays in the 1977 expansion draft (and nearly being traded by them to the Yankees for Ron Guidry… but Peter Bavasi, Blue Jays president, nixed the trade).
The workhorse reliever’s heyday may have been in the early 1970s with the Expos and Dodgers, the latter for whom he won the 1974 Cy Young and set an MLB record with 106 appearances, but Marshall was still a dominant reliever during his first two seasons in Minnesota. In 1978, he appeared in 54 games (saving 21) and putting up a 2.45 ERA (3.0 rWAR); a season later, he pitched in 90 games (saving 32) with a 2.65 ERA (4.4 rWAR).
Larry Hisle outfielder, 1973-77 1988 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
Hisle was a regular in the Twins’ lineup for five seasons, saving his best seasons in Minnesota for his last two, slashing .273/.335/.394 in 1976 (4.3 rWAR) and .302/.369/.533 in 1977 (5.1 rWAR), leading the league with 119 RBIs and finishing 12th in MVP voting. He improved that placement the following season with the Brewers: .290/.374/.533 slash line, 5.3 rWAR, third in MVP voting.
Goltz went from solid as a starter during his first five seasons to electric over his latter three in Minnesota. Across the 1977-79 campaigns, Goltz put up 16.2 rWAR and a 3.34 ERA, going 49-34 (including an AL-leading 20 wins in ‘78) with 44 complete games.
Morales was never more than a part-time player in MLB but enjoyed his most success (and playing time) in Minnesota, totaling 290 games, 756 plate appearances, and 200 hits across those three seasons. By rWAR, he had his worst (1979, minus-1.0) and best (1980, 1.0) seasons as a Twin.
While best known for his 12 seasons as a Met, including his closing out the 1969 World Series, Koosman’s best season by rWAR came as a Twin in 1979: 20-13, 3.38 ERA, 7.2 rWAR, sixth-place Cy Young finish. Koosman had previously finished second in NL Cy Young voting in 1976 (21-10, 2.69 ERA, 4.7 rWAR).
Zahn’s very good 1978-9 seasons in Minnesota (combined 27-21 record, 3.25 ERA, 16 complete games, 8.2 rWAR) were bookended by mediocre seasons in ‘77 and ‘80 (combined 26-32, 4.53 ERA, 20 complete games, 0.7 rWAR).
A very good reliever during his four seasons in Minnesota, Campbell finished seventh in Cy Young voting and eighth in MVP voting in 1976, appearing in 78 games with a 3.01 ERA and 17-5 record (1.9 rWAR). The following season, with the Red Sox, he was even better: 2.96 ERA in 69 appearances with a 13-9 record and 4.7 rWAR, good for fifth in Cy Young voting and 10th in MVP voting.
Chris Speier shortstop, 1984 1994 ballot: 1 vote (0.2 percent)
Speier’s best seasons came during his initial six-plus-year stint with the Giants. Minnesota was his third and final team of the 1984 season; he played in just 12 games as a Twin, collecting seven hits.
Rick Dempsey catcher, 1969-72 1998 ballot: 1 vote (0.2 percent)
Dempsey spent the first four seasons of his career as a reserve for the Twins, playing in just 41 games over that time. It wasn’t until joining the Orioles in 1976 that Dempsey became a starter and Baltimore mainstay, remaining their starting catcher for his entire 10.5-season tenure at Memorial Stadium.
The longtime Pirates starter was a reliever by the time he landed in Minnesota, appearing in 34 games for part of the 1990 season while putting up a 7-3 record and 3.39 ERA (1.3 rWAR).
Reardon joined the Twins coming off consecutive All-Star campaigns in Montreal; while his stats dropped in 1987 (4.48 ERA, 0.7 rWAR), he still finished eighth in Cy Young voting and helped the Twins win the World Series. He returned to form in 1988 (2.47 ERA, 2.5 rWAR, 15th in MVP voting), and he ultimately finished his career with 367 saves against 358 walks allowed.
Kent Hrbek first baseman, 1981-94 2000 ballot: 5 votes (1.0 percent)
The Twins first baseman (alongside Justin Morneau), Hrbek spent all 14 seasons of his career playing for his hometown team. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1982 (also his sole All-Star selection) and second in MVP voting in 1984, ending his career with 293 home runs and more walks (838) than strikeouts (798). The Twins retired his uniform number 14 in 1995, he was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, and he was one of the inaugural members of the Twins Hall of Fame in 2000.
Bedrosian’s top individual accolade is the 1987 NL Cy Young award, won while a Phillie (2.83 ERA, 40 saves, 2.3 rWAR), but as a Twin, he’s known for the other World Series year: although putting up a subpar individual 1991 season (4.42 ERA, minus-0.1 rWAR) and postseason (three World Series appearances, 5.40 ERA), he earned a ring with Minnesota.
The longtime Astro spent most of 1993 and all of 1994 with the Twins, having a solid former season (11-13, 4.41 ERA, 2.8 rWAR) and a terrible latter one (6-12; 7.39 ERA; minus-1.3 WAR; led MLB with 25 starts, 107 earned runs allowed, and 30 home runs allowed).
The ace of the 1987 staff hit his peak just in time to lead the Twins to the World Series championship that year, going 17-10 with a 2.90 ERA and 8.1 rWAR. He won the Cy Young the following year (24-7, 2.64 ERA, 7.7 rWAR) before being traded to the Mets during the ‘89 season, and he remained a strong pitcher through the 1993 season.
Jim Eisenreich center fielder, 1982-84 2004 ballot: 3 votes (0.6 percent)
Eisenreich was a reserve when he started his career with the Twins, playing in just 48 games over three seasons in Minnesota. He became a regular in 1989 with the Royals and helped the Phillies reach the World Series in 1993.
Tewksbury peaked with his 6.4 rWAR, third-place Cy Young season in 1992, going 16-5 with a 2.16 ERA for the Cardinals. His two seasons in Minnesota were the last of his career, totaling 6.5 rWAR while going 15-26 with a 4.49 ERA.
Chili Davis designated hitter, 1991-92 2005 ballot: 3 votes (0.5 percent)
Davis served as the Twins’ DH and cleanup hitter during their 1991 pennant run, clubbing 29 home runs during the regular season and two more in the World Series.
Terry Steinbach catcher, 1997-99 2005 ballot: 1 vote (0.1 percent)
After 11 seasons in Oakland, Steinbach came to his home state of Minnesota for his last three MLB seasons, serving as the Twins’ primary catcher each year. Over those three years, he slashed .256/.321/.399 with 30 home runs and 3.2 rWAR.
Nixon’s last season as a regular came in 1998, his sole year as a Twin, when he put up a .297/.361/.344 slash line (0.2 rWAR) across 500 plate appearances in 110 games.
Gary Gaetti third baseman, 1981-90 2006 ballot: 4 votes (0.8 percent)
All-Star, World Series champion, Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer (2007), and triple play machine.
Aguilera joined the Twins in the trade that sent Viola to the Mets and became a decade-long closer, reaching three All-Star teams and serving as the closer for the 1991 World Series winners. He was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2008.
The 1991 Rookie of the Year and leadoff hitter for the trophy winners, Knoblauch proved an elite second baseman in Minnesota. Then he went to New York, and he wasn’t, and Minnesotans hated him. Then he was named in the Mitchell Report, and most of baseball hated him. Then he assaulted two spouses, and no one in baseball wants anything to do with him.
Fifteen years after closing out the Mets’ 1986 World Series win, Orosco joined the Twins for the last month of his age 46 season, the last month of his career. He retired after 24 seasons with the record for games pitched; his mark of 1,252 still stands.
Mike Jackson relief pitcher, 2002 2010 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
The ‘02 season was Jackson’s penultimate in the league (he did not play in 2003) and his only one in Minnesota; in 58 games, he put up a 3.28 ERA and 1.2 rWAR.
After having broken out as a star for the Mariners a few years prior, Boone lasted less than a month with the ‘05 Twins, slashing .170/.241/.170 (minus-1.1 rWAR) in 14 games, the last of his career.
The ace of the late-’90s/early-‘00s Twins staffs, Radke received almost no national recognition for his ability and reliability, with one All-Star selection (1998), a ninth-place Rookie of the Year finish (1995), a third-place Cy Young finish (1997), and a 25th-place MVP finish (also 1997) his sole award placements. Radke totaled 45.6 rWAR over his career and was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2009.
A regular Twinkie Town meme, Mulholland pitched two of his final three seasons for the Twins, appearing in 78 games to the tune of a 5-11 record, a 4.89 ERA, and 0.9 rWAR. Back in 1986 for the Giants, though, he did this:
Another pair of last-season-of-career Twins. Nevin, the first overall pick in 1992 (a choice that led Hal Newhouser to quit the Astros’ scouting department as he wanted Derek Jeter), joined Minnesota for September 2006 and played in 16 games (plus a single 0-3 playoff showing), slashing .190/.340/.286 and putting up minus-0.1 rWAR. Sierra had spent 14 games in Minnesota earlier in the year, slashing .179/.273/.214 (minus-0.2 rWAR) before being released in July.
Same story, just a year later: Cirillo was a Twin for part of 2007, his final season, and while his stats weren’t terrible (50 games, .261/.327/.386, 0.7 WAR), he didn’t finish the season with the team, being claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks in August.
Walker became the Twins’ starting second baseman after Knoblauch’s departure, and while his ‘98 and ‘99 seasons were respectable (combined .297/.357/.435 slash line and 2.2 rWAR), he was traded to the Rockies in 2000 after his hitting began to fall off.
Yes, those were his last two seasons. Yes, he hit badly (combined: 137 games, minus-1.5 WAR, .226/.266/.354 slash line).
Jacque Jones left fielder, 1999-2005 2014 ballot: 1 vote (0.2 percent)
The leadoff hitter for the early-’00s squads, Jones peaked in 2002 with a 5.5-rWAR season (.300/.341/.511, 27 home runs) before leaving after the ‘05 season for the Cubs.
Rogers was… fine, I suppose, in 2003 for the Twins, putting up a 4.57 ERA (1.9 rWAR). He proceeded to join the Rangers for two seasons and the Tigers for three, and the first three of those final five seasons resulted in All-Star appearances and Gold Glove awards, plus a fifth-place Cy Young finish in 2006. Of course.
The Twins traded for longtime Astros and Tigers closer Jones midway through the 2001 season, and he appeared in 24 games for the team (3.26 ERA, 0.3 rWAR), saving two.
Everyday Eddie began his career as a starter before quickly converting to the bullpen, leading the league with 83 appearances in 1996. It wasn’t until 2002 that he served as the regular closer for a full season, and he earned All-Star nods that year and the next, finishing his Twins tenure with 116 of his 187 career saves.
Luis Castillo second baseman, 2006-07 2016 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
After a decade with the Marlins, Castillo joined the Twins for the next season and a half, serving as a reliable glove (though with a negative Fielding Runs Above Average) and steady contact bat (.299/.357/.363) at second base.
Blake didn’t become a starter until the 2003 season in Cleveland, having only appeared in 49 games over his first four seasons. Those included 29 games across three different seasons in Minnesota.
Cabrera played only the last two months of the 2009 season as a Twin, and while his stat line was average (.289/.313/.430, minus-0.1 rWAR), Twins fans remember him fondly for his go-ahead home run in Game 163.
One of the most egregious one-and-dones in balloting history, Santana was arguably the best pitcher in the majors across the 2004-08 seasons. Over that span, he averaged 7.1 rWAR, a 17-8 record, a 2.82 ERA, and 238 strikeouts per season, winning a pair of Cy Youngs. The rise in votes for Félix Hernández this year (from 20.6 percent to 46.1 percent, the largest year-to-year jump since 1967) bodes well for Santana’s chances of being elected by committee: both pitchers had extraordinary several-season peaks but had their careers cut short due to injury.
Hernández made 23 starts for the ‘08 Twins and was not particularly good, going 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA (minus-0.3 rWAR) before being designated for assignment at the start of August.
After Cabrera’s departure following the 2009 season, the Twins brought in Hudson to fill their middle-infield quota of Orlandos. He responded with a 2.9 rWAR season (.268/.338/.372, league-leading 5.31 Range Factor per 9) before leaving for San Diego the following year.
Hawkins was a middling starter turned okay closer turned fantastic setup man, spending his first nine seasons with the Twins before playing another 12 years in the majors. After appearing as an occasional TV commentator for the team the last few seasons, he has now joined the club as its bullpen coach.
Michael Cuddyer right fielder / third baseman, 2001-11 2021 ballot: 0 votes (0.0 percent)
While never reaching an elite level of player, Cuddyer was a reliable middle-of-the-0rder bat and fan favorite, first in Minnesota, where he spent his first 11 seasons, then in Colorado and Queens. He earned his first All-Star nod during his final year as a Twin, picking up one more as a Rockie in 2013, the year he won the NL batting title.
Joe Nathan closer, 2004-11 2022 ballot: 17 votes (4.3 percent)
After coming to Minnesota in the A.J. Pierzynski trade (more on him in a bit), Nathan became one of the best closers of the 2000s, earning four All-Star selections and twice placing in the top five in Cy Young voting during his Twins tenure. He ended his 16-year career with a 2.87 ERA (2.16 in Minnesota) and 377 saves, 10th-most in MLB history, and he was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2019.
Morneau was my favorite of the mid-to-late ‘00s Twins stars ever since he came up through AA-New Britain, and I believe he could have been on a Hall of Fame track were it not for that fateful 2010 concussion. From 2006 to ‘10, he was a dominant hitter, winning MVP in 2006 and coming in second in 2008, and averaging a .298/.372/.528 slash line (32 homers, 4.6 rWAR) per 162 over that span. He now serves as a frequent color commentator on TV broadcasts for the team, and he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Twins Hall of Fame in 2021.
Before developing his league-wide reputation as an asshole during his time with the White Sox, Pierzynski worked his way into the starting catcher role in 2001, earning an All-Star selection in 2022 and putting up a 4.5 rWAR season (.312/.360/.484) in 2003.
Three years before ascending to the top of the National League with his 2012 Cy Young award, Dickey was a journeyman knuckleball reliever for the Twins. He appeared in 35 games for Minnesota in 2009, putting up a 4.62 ERA with 42 strikeouts versus 30 walks (0.6 rWAR).
The Twins traded for Hardy before the 2010 season, and he put up a respectable line: .268/.320/.394 and 1.3 rWAR. Then they traded him to Baltimore, where over the next four seasons he put up three straight 20-homer years, three straight Gold Gloves, and four straight 3-plus-rWAR seasons.
Well after the legend of Big Sexy took hold of baseball fans’ collective consciousness, Colón became a Twin, joining the team in July 2017 at age 44 and making 15 starts for the club. While his play was far from that at his peak, putting up a 5.18 ERA and 0.3 rWAR, one of his five wins (to go with six losses) came against the Diamondbacks, making him the 18th pitcher in history to earn a win against all 30 teams.
The Twins were treated to the Fernando Rodney Experience for the first half of 2018, during which Rodney made 46 appearances (with 25 saves) to the tune of a stressful 3.09 ERA and 0.7 rWAR. That August, the Twins traded him to the A’s, for whom he appeared against Minnesota (at Target Field) on Player’s Weekend. The team handed out player nickname shirseys to fans, and both my dad and I ended up with Uiya Clara. (And in the second game, when Rodney entered in the seventh inning, a fan named Matt in the outfield seats did Rodney’s bow-and-arrow motion, dislodged his contact lenses, and had to leave early.)
That’s all of them, every Twin who went one-and-done since the 1979 five-percent rule. HOF watchers now look ahead to Beltrán and Jones’ July 26 induction before setting their sights on the 2027 ballot, awaiting the news of who might join the voting pool for a shot at election… or a spot among the one-and-dones.
Sam Hauser
Egor Demin
Chet Holmgren
