The uncertainty surrounding two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo's future in Milwaukee should be resolved within the next month.
At an introductory news conference Wednesday for new head coach Taylor Jenkins, Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam addressed the issue hanging over the franchise's head this offseason: Trade the 10-time All-Star or try to re-sign him to a new deal?
"I just think before the draft is a natural time," Haslam told reporters. "Because if Giannis does play somewhere else, we've got to have a lot of assets. That's Jon's (GM Jon Horst) job to do. And if he's here, then you build the team differently."
Antetokounmpo has expressed a desire to remain in Milwaukee, even though he could become a free agent next summer. However, he's stated his preference is to play for a team that's committed to winning a title. That doesn't describe the Bucks last season, who went 32-50 as their star forward battled injuries and frustration with his playing time.
The Bucks can offer Antetokounmpo a four-year, $275 million contract extension in October. However, if he doesn't sign, free agency looms at the end of the season.
"We never had any problem communicating directly with Giannis – at all – and always knew where he stood," Haslam said. "And I think he always knew where we stood. We've had those kind of conversations since the season was over.
"So sometime over the next six or seven weeks, we'll decide whether Giannis is going to sign a max contract and stay with us, or he's going to play somewhere else."
May 6, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) dribs in against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the first half during game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
Coming off a heartbreaking Game 1 defeat, the Spurs eyed revenge against the Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinals series. Carter Bryant returned from his ankle injury, so the Spurs were back at full strength. After a tough shooting first quarter for both teams, the Spurs managed to take a seven-point lead into the second quarter. The Spurs stepped on the gas and started to outplay Minnesota on both sides of the ball. They forced multiple turnovers and outscored the Wolves 35-18 to take a 24-point lead into the half. In the third, the pressure somehow kept escalating. The Spurs continued to dominate the pace and ramped up double teams for Anthony Edwards and others. They outscored the Wolves 39-28 in the third and put the game completely out of reach in the early fourth. The Spurs ultimately won 133-95, and tied the series 1-1.
Stephon Castle led the way with 21 points (6-10 FG, 9-9 FT), four assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Steph fought off tough defenders and forced his way into the paint. With several slashing finishes and midrange jumpers, Steph also got to the free-throw line and drained all nine of his attempts. With his frame, Steph is interchangeable on both sides of the ball. He was active in the passing lanes and continues to play terrific on-ball defense. With the series shifting up north, the 21-year-old is playing as if he has already been here before.
BLOW-BY JAM! Steph fakes out Mike Conley and has a clear path for a monster slam!
Victor Wembanyama dropped a double-double: 19 points and 15 rebounds, along with two assists, two blocks, and a steal. Although it is not a triple-double with blocks, Wemby had a much better offensive game: shooting just under 50% from the field and splashing two threes. He managed to get two rejections (which, at this point, feels like a disappointment) and was deterring Wolves players from attempting shots in the paint. A balanced Wemby is unstoppable, as he continues to be an opposing coach’s nightmare to gameplan. Wemby is just as adaptable on either side of the ball, and he will be ready for what Chris Finch throws at him next.
UFO APPROACHING! Wemby plays solid defense, then runs the floor and skies in for the one-handed putback slam!
De’Aaron Fox dropped 16 points, two assists, and two steals. Fox faced a lot of criticism for his Game 1 performance, and he owned up to it postgame. He then started hot in Game 2, nearly matching his scoring total from Game 1 in the first quarter alone. He shot 50% from the field, and even drained a pair of threes. Due to the score of the game, the box score may not look like an out-of-this-world performance, but it definitely was the spark plug to kick the team into high gear.
INSTANT OFFENSE! After the Wolves’ bucket, Fox takes the inbounds pass and immediately zooms it to a cutting Carter Bryant for the destructive poster slam!
Julian Champagnie dropped 12 points (4-6 3PT), three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. After laying a goose egg in the first half, Julian dominated the third quarter. All of his threes came in the third, including a sequence that will make any Spurs fan smile. He drained a wing three, rejected Edwards’ shot out of bounds, and then drained another three after Fox picked Julius Randle’s pocket. Julian was one of the best three-point shooters in the league this season, and performances like this have Spurs fans thinking about Danny Green comparisons.
Dylan Harper dropped 11 points. seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. After leading the Spurs in scoring with 18 in Game 1, Dylan picked up right where he left off. He dished out dimes, was active on the boards, and made crazy dribbles with finishing moves. Night in and night out, Dylan continues to play like a seasoned vet. Anytime he brings the ball up the court, his playmaking instincts kick in, and it continues to make Spurs fans feel spoiled.
Dunker spot! Dylan finds an open Luke Kornet as the defense collapses, and it results in a two-handed finish!
UNGUARDABLE! Dylan catches the pass from Steph in transition and puts on a show. He spins off of Jaylen Clark, puts a move on Terrence Shannon Jr., and finishes while floating in the air!
Devin Vassell dropped 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Throughout his first playoffs, Dev has played like a playoff riser. His numbers might not wow the casual fan, but the effort he has shown on both ends of the floor has given the Spurs an extra boost. He always seems to make the extra play that is appreciated by the fans, and in this game it was this ridiculous no-dip catch and shoot three.
All in all, this was a much-needed bounce-back win. After coming out flat in Game 1, the silver and black ramped up the defensive pressure and finally started to generate easy looks that were executed. Harrison Barnes even poured in 12 points off the bench. Keldon Johnson dropped a near double-double with nine points and 10 boards. For context: Seven players finished in double figures, and 14 out of 15 scored (Poor Plumlee)! It was a total team effort and domination that has given the team and its fans confidence heading into Game 3 in Minnesota.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
Game 3 heads to Minneapolis this Friday at 8:30 P.M. (CST) on Prime Video.
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May 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Members of the New York Mets celebrate defeating the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
The offense showed up in a big way in the Mets’ 10-5 win over the Rockies. Marcus Semien led the offensive charge with a four-hit night that included a home run. Juan Soto also went deep leading off the game to set the tone early on. The pitching struggled a bit, but the Mets have now taken the first two games in the series with a snow day in between.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 06: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Urakami/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Rangers 6, Yankees 1
The Rangers have won a game! Huzzah!
Not only did the Rangers win a game, they won it against one of the two teams in the American League with a record better than .500.
That’s right, its mediocrity as far as the eye can see in the A.L. right now.
Outstanding work by Nathan Eovaldi. Really top notch.
Eight innings, eight Ks, which is some nice symmetry. 101 pitches, of which almost two-thirds were either splitters or curveballs.
And even when Eovaldi did go fastball, he primarily used his cutter, which he threw 23 times. He only went with the fastball nine times, and threw four sinkers.
19 whiffs for Eovaldi, eight of them coming on the curveball. He threw it a lot more often than usual on Wednesday, and you can see why.
The only damper was a home run by Aaron Judge, but I’m pretty sure Aaron Judge homers every game so we can let that go.
Plus the Rangers actually scored some runs.
Novel concept, that.
Evan Carter homered and Corey Seager homered. We like that, right?
The Rangers are two games below .500 now, but still just a game back of the A’s, and tied with the Mariners. That mediocrity I was talking about earlier, you know.
I mentioned that the Yankees are one of two teams in the American League above .500. They are 25-12, tied with the Cubs for the second-best record in baseball, behind the 26-12 Atlanta Braves.
The other team in the A.L. above .500? The Tampa Bay Rays. They are 24-12.
Yeah, that surprised me, too.
Tampa has won 6 in a row and 12 of their last 13. In fact, Tampa has three six game winning streaks so far this year. Its weird.
So there are four teams with 12 losses currently. There are also four teams with 23 losses — the Astros, the Angels, the Giants, and the Rockies.
And there are six — count ‘em, six — teams with exactly 20 losses. That seems like a lot.
Nathan Eovaldi touched 96.8 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.0 mph. Jacob Latz’s fastball reached 95.5 mph.
Jake Burger had a 109.1 mph single and a 103.0 mph ground out. Ezequiel Duran had a 107.6 mph double and a 102.3 mph sacrifice fly. Evan Carter had a 106.2 mph ground out, and his home run was 99.6 mph. Brandon Nimmo had a 104.2 mph ground out. Corey Seager’s homer was 101.7 mph.
Juan Soto had only hit in the leadoff spot two times in his big-league career prior to this week.
But when Carlos Mendoza approached him with the idea of moving him there in an effort to create more traffic for the Mets' shorthanded offense, he was all-in.
"I told him right away, whatever he wants," Soto said. "Wherever he wants me I'll be there -- anything I can do to help the team out, I'm going to be open to it."
Soto went hitless in his return to the spot during Monday's series opener, but he was able to do some damage against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen to open the ballgame Wednesday night.
Just three pitches into the ballgame, he jumped all over a low-and-away curveball, crushing it 435 feet to left-center for his fourth homer of the season and the first leading off in his career.
"It's great," Soto said. "To be able to punch first in the first inning with the team is always great -- it gets the guys going and helps the starter sit and breathe a little starting the game with the lead, it's definitely great."
That ended up being Soto's only hit in the ballgame, but he did drive in another run with a sacrifice fly as the bottom of the Mets' order got things going again during the middle innings.
New York struck three times in the fourth, four in the sixth, and two in the ninth in a much-needed 10-run outburst.
Brett Baty, Carson Benge, Marcus Semien, and Francisco Alvarez combined to account for 10 of the team's 15 hits while scoring eight runs and driving in five out of the five-through-nine spots in the lineup.
Semien spearheaded the effort by delivering the team's first four-hit game of the season.
"It's always great to have the bottom of the lineup producing and helping the top part of the order have some breathing room," Soto said. "It was great to see those guys come through like that."
Soto did appear to have a bit of an injury scare, but he told Carlos Mendoza that he was fine.
The Mets will look to complete their first series sweep since the beginning of April with Christian Scott taking the ball for the third time this season on Thursday afternoon.
"It's important to continue winning series," Mendoza said. "It's important to come back and get the third one tomorrow -- but it is good to see the guys playing loose, playing with confidence, and not trying to do too much."
The Los Angeles Dodgers finished their road trip at .500, and are exhaling in a multitude of ways.
The most immediate concern was for their starting pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, who exited Wednesday’s matinee game against the Houston Astros just after taking the mound to warm up for the second inning. Initial news was that it was Glasnow’s lower back that was bothering him.
Back pain is nothing new to Glasnow, who has dealt with it most of his major league career. Most recently the 6’8” pitcher skipped a start last September dealing with what he called “tall guy back”. In 2024 he also dealt with it but avoided the IL.
Glasnow did not put up too much of a fight when the trainer came out to talk to him. He had thrown 19 pitches in the first inning, and that would be all he would throw. After the game, Manager Dave Roberts said that there would be a precautionary MRI when the team returned to Los Angeles, but Glasnow is not expected to land on the IL.
“I think today, given the situation with Tyler, it couldn’t have been a better outcome,” Roberts said.
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic has more info on Glasnow and the pitching staff as a whole here.
Another thing that led to a happy flight home was the offense continued to score against the Astros. The team scored eight in Monday’s game, only one in Tuesday’s game, but then erupted for 12 runs in Wednesday’s game.
They started the game by scoring on three different wild pitches off the arm of Lance McCullers Jr, but that triplet was overshadowed by Andy Pages’ three home runs. He had half of the RBI and made some great plays in center.
“Just having a lot of confidence in what I’m doing up there,” Pages said through interpreter Juan Dorado. “The bad streak really happened when I was hitting the ball well and hitting the ball hard, just not finding a lot of holes. But staying to my plan, staying confident in my approach, and the results are coming now.”
Courtney Hollman of MLB.com covers more of Roberts’ thoughts on the day.
The end of the exhale was over other certain players performances at the plate. Shohei Ohtani had a double to right center in his second at bat, and added a walk and an RBI single to his day. Kyle Tucker’s bat also seemed to come alive in Houston, going 7-for 21.
Bill Plunkett of the OC Register goes in depth with quotes from players here.
The Dodgers will need all cylinders firing together as they will begin a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves on Friday, who are owners of the best record in all of MLB.
The Thunder take the court tonight in Oklahoma City up just one game against the Lakers but seemingly in complete control. OKC dominated LA in the opener, winning 108–90.
The Oklahoma City Thunder look every bit the part of defending champions having dictated every aspect of the opener including the pace and the physicality, and defensive tone. Even with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander held to a season-low 18 points, Chet Holmgren’s 24 points and 12 rebounds and OKC’s overall length and interior presence overwhelmed Los Angeles at both ends of the court
For the Lakers, the story is simple: they need far more than LeBron James. The NBA great scored 27 points in Game 1, but the supporting cast struggled mightily, most notably Austin Reaves, who shot just 3-for-16 from the field in what was described as one of the most inefficient playoff games of his career. With Luka Dončić (hamstring) still sidelined, the Lakers’ offense was predictable. This allowed OKC to load up defensively on LA’s role players and force LeBron to shoulder the entire burden. Los Angeles must reduce the number of turnovers, improve their perimeter shooting, and find a way to generate easier looks against OKC’s swarming defense. Sounds easy enough.
With OKC favored in Game 2 by double digits again and boasting advantages in rebounding, efficiency, and depth, the pressure is squarely on L.A. to make meaningful adjustments. Whether Reaves rebounds, whether LeBron can sustain another high-usage night, and whether the Lakers can withstand OKC’s relentless pace all while hoping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does not bounce back will determine tonight’s outcome. The overwhelming majority know that if the Thunder replicate their defensive intensity and balanced scoring, they will head to Southern California with a commanding 2–0 lead in this series.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Thunder vs. Lakers
Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026
Time: 9:30PM EST
Site: Paycom Center
City: Oklahoma City, OK
Network/Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
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Game Odds: Thunder vs. Lakers
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Oklahoma City Thunder (-900), Los Angeles Lakers (+600)
Spread: Thunder -15.5
Total: 209.5 points
This game opened Thunder -15.5 with the Game Total set at 212.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Thunder vs. Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder
PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG Luguentz Dort
C Isaiah Hartenstein
SG Ajay Mitchell
PF Chet Holmgren
Los Angeles Lakers
PG Marcus Smart
SG Austin Reaves
C Deandre Ayton
PF Rui Hachimura
SF LeBron James
Injury Report: Thunder vs. Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder
Jalen Williams (hamstring) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
Thomas Sorber (knee) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
Los Angeles Lakers
Luka Doncic (hamstring) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
Luke Kennard (neck) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Jarred Vanderbilt (finger) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Important stats, trends and insights: Thunder vs. Lakers
The Lakers are 27-18 on the road this season
The Thunder are 37-7 at home this season
The Lakers are 49-39-1 ATS this season
OKC is 42-44-1 ATS this season
The OVER has cashed in 47 of the Thunder’s 87 games this season (47-40)
The OVER has cashed in 44 of the Lakers’ 89 games this season (44-45)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned the ball over a season-high 7 times in Game 1
Lu Dort scored 6 points in Game 1
Dort has failed to reach double digits in scoring in the playoffs this season
Jared McCain scored 12 points in 15 minutes in Game 1
McCain was the game’s top 3-point shooter knocking down 4 (in 5 attempts)
Deandre Ayton pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds (as did Chet Holmgren)
Marcus Smart had 7 assists, his highest total since Game 3 of their series against the Rockets
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s Thunder and Lakers’ game:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Thunder -15.5 ATS
Total: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from play on the Game Total of 209.5
Thunder Game Total: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Thunder Game Total OVER 112.5
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The story of this game was the performance from Rorik Maltrud. He went 7 scoreless innings giving up just one hit with 8 strikeouts. He has had a really awesome season as his ERA is down to 2.08. He is a little older than you’d like to see for a prospect who is just now pitching well in AAA but he has been the Clippers best starter.
It wasn’t a huge day offensively for the Clippers but there were a couple nice performances. George Valera and Nolan Jones both went 2-5. Stuart Fairchild went 1-3 with a smoked double and a two walks. Kody Huff went 2-2 with 2 RBIs and a double. He has had a really nice season thus far.
Ralphy Velazquez continues to have a great season in AA. He went 1-3 with two walks last night and is now hitting .297 with an .893 OPS on the season. He should be promoted to AAA sooner rather than later in my personal opinion. Jacob Cozart went 2-4 with an RBI double. Nick Mitchell went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI double.
It has been a rough season for Dylan Delucia but he had an excellent outing today. He tossed 4 scoreless innings while striking out 6 batters and walking just 1. His ERA sits at 8.41 on the season. Carter Rustad also had two scorless innings of relief with two strikeouts and no walks. He has had a really nice season as his ERA is down to 1.10.
Is it just me or does it seem like Great Lakes(Dodgers affiliate) has owned the Captains for years now? It was a rough performance overall from the Captains. Jogly Garcia was someone with a bit of hype coming into this season and it has been rough for him. His ERA is up to 7.25 on the season after giving up 6 runs in just 4.1 innings. The Captains totaled just 3 hits in this one, two of those coming from Ryan Cesarini that included a HR.
The Howlers were the only affiliate to win today, and it was mostly due to their pitching performances. Nelson Keljo allowed 2 runs in his 3 innings pitched, and then the bullpen allowed just 1 more run in 6 innings with 9 strikeouts.
Robert Arias continues to be the most impressive young prospect on a team full of young impressive prospects. He went 0-1 with 3 walks tonight. He is hitting .323 with an OPS of .933. Anthony Martinez went 2-4, Yeiferth Castillo went 1-4 with an RBI double, and Yerlin Luis walked it off with a solo HR in the bottom of the 9th.
There’s more space on the ice in the Montreal Canadiens’ series against the Buffalo Sabres than there was against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It showed on Wednesday night. Ivan Demidov was more visible and created interesting plays at even strength, but there was no one to complete the plays.
While Jake Evans is a good player, he is not, and should not be used as a second-line center. Of course, the fact that he won nine of his 13 faceoffs for a 69.2% success rate allowed the line to get puck possession, but he doesn’t have the finishing touch needed to play with the Russian rookie.
The top six might have failed to produce last night, but both lines showed that they are more suited to that brand of hockey than to the one played against Tampa. I don’t believe taking Juraj Slafkovsky away from the top line would be the way to go, not yet, anyway. The Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Slafkovsky line generated nine shots on net.
For now, it could be a good move to bring Oliver Kapanen back in the lineup and have him play alongside Demidov and Alex Newhook. Granted, the Finn didn’t do much in his five games against Tampa, but it could be interesting to see what he can do against Buffalo in a speedier kind of game. Whichever way you look at it, the rookie had 22 goals in the regular season, two of which were scored against the Sabres.
Of course, bringing Kapanen back in the lineup would mean scratching someone to make room, but at this stage, with what Demidov is showing, it’s time to give him the linemates he was comfortable with and piled up the points with in the regular season.
While Joe Veleno had a good first game in these playoffs with five hits, I believe it’s important to get the second line going in a series that promises to be all about the offense.
May 6, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
A few weeks ago upon the news of Angels franchise icon Garret Anderson passing away, John wrote a tribute to him, saluting him as one of the great Yankee Killers of recent vintage. Although David Ortiz was far more famous, Yankees pitchers were also quite flummoxed by having to pitch to Garret.
Now today, we’re on the other side of the ball and on the heels of the Yankees once again getting rolled by the man we’ve taken to calling “an old frenemy,” Nathan Eovaldi. The Yanks have lost just twice in the last nine games, and both times were at Eovaldi’s hands. The former Yankee has pretty much always pitched well in such situtations, with a 2.82 career ERA in career 153 innings against New York (including his two playoff wins with Boston), and he’s been especially good of late. Since the start of 2025, he’s allowed a grand total of two runs in four starts across a span of 29 innings, a minuscule 0.63 ERA. Goodness.
With Eovaldi’s excellence in mind, who do you think is the best Yankees Killer on the mound? If you need a refresher, there are some good names to consider. Hall of Fame southpaw Randy Johnson was brutal for just about everyone to deal with, and he helped two separate teams send the Yankees home in October around a time when that wasn’t happening very often — first with the 1995 Mariners, just before the dynasty really got humming and then with the 2001 Diamondbacks, who effectively ended the championship run. He even pitched in relief during the win-or-go-home elimination games on both occasions!
There’s also Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Cliff Lee, Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander, and of course the originally-named “Yankee Killer,” midcentury All-Star Frank Lary. Knuckleballing Hall of Fame swingman Hoyt Wilhelm also had a 1.98 ERA in 209.1 career innings against New York around the same time as Lary, and he threw what still stands as the last complete-game no-hitter against the Yankees back in 1958. If you want obscure and random, I remember the Red Sox having a soft-tosser named Frank Castillo who absolutely gave the Yankees fits in the early 2000s. More recently, Cristian Javier and Brayan Bello have been tougher customers against the Yanks than most other teams.
So take your pick! I think Johnson probably has too much of a resume to ignore, but if we’re talking non-Hall of Famers, boy was it never, ever fun to face Cliff Lee. And like Johnson, he made the Yanks look awful in postseason play pretty much whenever he got a chance.
It’s not surprising that the Yankees’ front office wanted him so much, nearly trading for him in July 2010 and falling short in the 2011 free agent sweepstakes. If you prefer to be optimistic (in a way) though, maybe it would’ve just turned out like Johnson’s own up-and-down, abbreviated Yankees career.
Today on the site, Peter will focus in on an at-bat from David Bednar’s five-out save on May 5th for his Sequence of the Week feature, Madison will have the Rivalry Roundup, and Jonathan’s Yankees Birthday post discusses Tom Zachary, who won a World Series in pinstripes in 1928 but is most famous for something he did before ever joining the Yankees: surrendering Babe Ruth’s then-record 60th homer of the legendary 1927 campaign. Later, Estevão will ponder the extremely middling American League landscape, and after the matinee, Jeremy will pay his respects to the late John Sterling with a tribute from the perspective of an aspiring broadcaster in his own right.
PITTSBURGH, PA - 2003: Edgar Renteria of the St. Louis Cardinals holds his bat after batting against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a Major League Baseball game at PNC Park in 2003 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cardinals had found their replacement for Ozzie Smith, but you don’t actually want to be the guy who replaces the legend. You want to be the guy after that. Poor Royce Clayton, who had to follow his childhood idol, and was perfectly cromulent, but he wasn’t Ozzie Smith. Targeted for free agency and with the Cardinals looking for a new direction, they traded Clayton (along with Todd Stottlemyre) at the deadline in 1998. It was a good trade. They received a couple years of Fernando Tatis senior, later traded for a package that included Steve Kline, and Darren Oliver, who had his best season as a starter in 1999.
But this was not a Brendan Donovan got traded and JJ Wetherholt was ready to step in situation. They Cardinals did not have an in-house replacement for Clayton. Their first choice was Barry Larkin, who was apparently unhappy, because the Reds had just traded Bret Boone, and Larkin was promised the Reds would build around him and Larkin. I think it had less to do with Boone, who honestly wasn’t that good at the time, and more as Larkin puts it: “I feel as if I’m being held hostage by a team with no immediate plans to be competitive.”
Larkin had a no-trade clause, but was willing to be traded to five teams, which included the Cardinals. That’s interesting because the Cardinals did not have a particularly good 90s and didn’t have a good 1999 season either, although Larkin would have helped. But I’ll give some credit to Jim Bowden, who didn’t seem to usually make smart moves. He held out for JD Drew and Rick Ankiel. Larkin had one great year and one good year left, so that would have been a bad trade by the Cardinals. Walt Jocketty thought so too.
So they pivoted. And this is really why I’m writing the article. Because there are a few confusing aspects of the Edgar Renteria trade that followed. It’s the kind of trade that reveals how different front offices operated as it pertained to value than today’s game. The structure of that trade would not get made today. Decisions made prior to that trade would not get made today either.
And it starts with Braden Looper. Looper was the 3rd overall pick in the 1996 MLB Draft out of Wichita State University. Highest draft pick the Cardinals have ever had. And they drafted him that high knowing, essentially, that he would be a reliever. I mean they envisioned a closer, but still. What is the absolute highest round a team will draft someone knowing they will be a reliever now? We all knew the Cardinals would convert Tanner Franklin to starting specifically because of how high he was drafted and he was drafted 72nd. Looper was the THIRD OVERALL PICK.
He did start games at first, but barely. He signed late in the 1996 season, so he didn’t pitch in his draft year. This wasn’t for modern reasons like saving his arm, the draft pick signing deadline was VERY late in the season and a lot of the high picks used all of that time to come to an agreement. He started 12 games at High A in 1997, wasn’t particularly impressive, and then they converted him to reliever. After 12 starts. They promoted him to AA and also moved him to the bullpen at the same time. He honestly still wasn’t that good.
So of course, he made the team out of spring training in 1998. They gave him all of 4 games before they sent him to Memphis. All of this is impossible to wrap my head around. They used a high draft pick and immediately converted him to relief. And with not very good minor league stats and not even at AAA, he made the majors, and they were so confident in this decision that he got demoted after 4 games. He actually struck out 25% of the batters he faced, which is like 30% nowadays, but gave up 4 runs (2 were not earned). He spent the rest of the year in Memphis.
He’s not the only weird part of that trade. Looper wasn’t actually the highest rated prospect in the trade. Which doesn’t sound that weird when I describe Looper the player, but he was the 23rd best prospect in Baseball America. There was no doubt he was a reliever when they ranked him. It is not strange that there was a more valuable prospect than him, but somehow the player ranked above him was weirder.
Pablo Ozuna was the #8 prospect in baseball when this trade was made according to Baseball America. Walt Jocketty got extremely lucky on this one. The Cardinals had signed Ozuna at 16-years-old in 1996 out of the Dominican Republic and if you go to his stats page, you will notice he was not actually 16 in 1996. He could have graduated college in 1996. He was actually 22-years-old.
This was not known at the time of the trade. As far as anybody knew, Ozuna was about to be 19 in 1999. He had just batted .357 in Low A and had stolen 62 bases. In reality, he was 23-years-old and also he got caught stealing 26 times. Which is a horrible success rate. And I guess teams didn’t learn what a good success rate was, because he was allowed to be a bad base stealer for his whole career.
So we have the #8 prospect in baseball and the #23 prospect in baseball, but it was a magic act. It was a soon-to-be 24-year-old who hadn’t played above A ball and a relief pitcher. There was a third player involved, but he had to be considered a throw-in. I can’t imagine this guy had real value then. Armando Almanza was a soon-to-be 26-year-old left-handed relief pitcher with swing-and-miss stuff but spotty control who hadn’t actually pitched in the majors yet.
For two relief pitchers, one of whom is barely a prospect, and a super old for his level infielder who is bad at stealing bases, the Cardinals received four years of 22-year-old shortstop who had 3.5 fWAR as a 19-year-old and then kind of underwhelmed in his next two seasons. You could not ask for a better trade or a better acquisition for the future.
Baseball Prospectus, weirdly obsessed with him maybe being a year younger than he said (it’s mentioned in SIX of their yearly profiles), said this about Renteria: “Good comparisons would be Barry Larkin or Alan Trammell: the power should keep getting better; he’ll take a few more walks and have a shot at an MVP award someday. While he isn’t an ideal leadoff man, the Cardinals don’t have many alternatives.”
Didn’t quite work out that way, although he did have a couple All-Star caliber seasons. After 1999, the Cardinals signed him to a four-year extension with two club options. They picked up his 2004 option, but confusingly apparently the 2005 option was voided because they waited too long to pick up the 2004 option. If anybody has any information on that, I would love to know. I have not heard that one in baseball before. David Eckstein ended up being better than Renteria in 2005, so it worked out, but I definitely would have done one more year with Renteria. They tried to sign him in free agency too, so this wasn’t a no interest situation.
Anyway, this is a perfect Walt Jocketty trade and also… a very lucky Walt Jocketty trade. I really doubt he knew Pablo Ozuna was older than he said. Ozuna’s real age was revealed in 2002 thanks to the September 11th attacks, when foreign-born players had to show their birth certificate to apply for a work visa. Nearly 300 players saw their birthdays change from this. Overnight Ozuna was four years older and a utility player, not a highly touted prospect. And he also did draft Looper 3rd overall, so it’s not like he didn’t agree with the consensus that relievers could be very valuable.
But I will also say for a guy who was known for trading for veterans, our past looks a lot different if he decides to trade for Barry Larkin. Renteria was, mostly, not as good as you remember, because his bat wasn’t very good in his Cardinals tenure – the run environment then was crazy in the steroid era – however he did peak more in line with when the Cardinals were genuine title contenders. Larkin had already peaked, although he did have a peak season left in 1999, but that wouldn’t have made the Cardinals a playoff team.
More importantly, they held onto JD Drew who later net the Cardinals Adam Wainwright. Imagine that alternate history where the Cardinals get Larkin! He would have pivoted, but it is very difficult to imagine the last 25 years going as well as they did if they made that Larkin trade.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Antonio Senzatela #49 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on April 24, 2026 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Colorado Rockies defeated the New York Mets 4-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The slow decline in the prominence of the starting pitcher in baseball has been in full swing for decades. In the place of hurlers that would routinely throw every pitch of a game when called upon has come an increasingly large carousel of single-inning (or less) relievers.
The prevailing strategy throughout the league can be summed up like this: fewer pitches per pitcher, but more effort per pitch. Whatever you or I think about the aesthetics of this change, it has seen widespread adoption from MLB teams with the understanding that it gives them the best chance to win each game.
At the start of play on Thursday, the Rockies have had 20 relief appearances that lasted more than two innings. Only the Washington Nationals with 18 such appearances come close to matching this total. The Rockies are on pace to feature a reliever going more than two innings in 120 games this year, which would break the previous record of 116 set by the fledgling 1977 Seattle Mariners (one of only four teams with over 100 such relief appearances).
Unsurprisingly, the Nationals (173.1) and Rockies (170.0) also lead the league in total relief innings pitched this season. At first glance, this would seem to indicate that both teams have similarly used bullpens, but there is something that separates the two: While the Nationals are middle-of-the pack in terms of total number of relief appearances, the Rockies are tied for the fewest in the league.
The Rockies are leaning on their bullpen as a group just as much as anyone, but the shape of that usage is different. They have specifically stacked their bullpen with long-relief arms that are pitching more innings per appearance, but making fewer appearances.
One could assume that this was purely a byproduct of Chase Dollander essentially being used as a starting pitcher without getting that designation officially because he was paired with an opener. The Rockies, however, have so far had five different pitchers throw more than two innings in a game that they entered as a reliever:
Chase Dollander (six times)
Antonio Senzatela (four times)
Tanner Gordon (four times)
Zach Agnos (four times)
Valente Bellozo (two times)
That’s just the Rockies major league team. The same strategy is also being employed in Albuquerque.
Isotopes Keegan Thompson, Carson Palmquist (No. 19 PuRP), Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP), Parker Mushinski, Patrick Weigel, and Collin Baumgartner have had two-plus-inning relief appearances more than once so far this season. This means that if/when the major league pitching staff becomes depleted, either from injuries or trades, there is a surplus of longrelief capable arms ready to be called up.
#Rockies President of Baseball Ops Paul DePodesta addresses the bullpen and how it’s been one of his biggest takeaways from his first season working at elevation pic.twitter.com/sAXLeEr1s1
The thinking is pretty obvious: For a team that plays at elevation that lacks a rotation of aces able to go seven every night, the bullpen being composed of one-inning flamethrowers that empty the tank on every pitch leads to extreme second-half swoons. We’ve seen this exact story play out seemingly every year recently where the bullpen will come out the gates looking incredible in April, lead the league in usage, and then fall off a cliff by mid-summer. For evidence one need look no further than Jake Bird’s 2023, Victor Vodnik’s 2024, or Seth Halvorsen’s 2025.
By leaning into arms that pitch less frequently but longer when they do, the hope seems to be that the wear and tear of the same number of innings will be reduced. This could be through either more rest days or simply the idea that pitchers will naturally pace themselves and throw with less max effort if they know they are expected to be out there for longer outings.
Will this work? We won’t know until the grind of the season has had a chance to settle in on this new look bullpen. It is, however, just nice to see the organization genuinely trying new things instead of being content to fail in the same way every year.
The Isotopes keep raking. All of Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP), Blaine Crim, Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP), Chad Stevens, and Drew Avans had multiple hits including home runs from Stevens and Avans. Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) only had a single hit… but that was because he worked a walk in all four of his other plate appearances. On the mound no one truly stood out, the closest being Welinton Herrera (No. 17 PuRP) who struck out three in two scoreless relief innings, but as a group Erasmo Ramírez, Mason Green, Herrera, and Blas Castaño combined to only allow two runs on six hits.
This was the Dyan Jorge game as he reached base four times and stole two bases on three attempts. Otherwise the offense was relatively quiet other than a double and a stolen base from Roc Riggio (No. 14 PuRP). Blake Adams was the bulk reliever, coming in after the opener Sam Weatherly, and didn’t allow an earned run over 5.1 innings. Ultimately it came down to a sacrifice fly bringing home a zombie runner in the bottom of the tenth inning that sealed the deal for the Rumble Ponies.
A tight affair that ended with a walk off RBI single from Roynier Hernandez in the ninth. To start, Jordy Vargas (No. 21 PuRP) took the ball and set the town with 5.2 innings of one run ball before handing it over to Bryan Perez and Fisher Jameson to finish out the remaining 4.1 innings. Almost everyone in the lineup reached base at least once but it was Jacob Humphrey (two for three with a stolen base) and the aforementioned Roynier Hernandez (three for four with a walk) that were the difference makers.
The Grizzlies had an all around poor showing in this one. On the mound Austin Newton allowed six earned runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings and it only got worse after that when Manuel Olivares walked four and allowed three hits over 1.1 innings and Austin Emener “closed out” the game with another three runs over two innings. In terms of the lineup, while Carlos Renzullo had a nice day at the plate with two hits and a walk, the only runs were accounted for by a two run shot from Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP) to go along with his three strike outs.
This is an in-depth piece by Eli Whitney that features a wide ranging interview with Karros. It covers everything from the differences between him and his dad, his love of third base, and his dreams of bringing October baseball to Denver. It’s a fantastic interview that I cannot recommend enough.
Chase Dollander’s hot start to the season is starting to be noticed by media outside of the Rockies direct orbit. Jim Bowden places him amongst young stars like Cam Schlittler and Jacob Misiorowski as one of the burgeoning aces throughout the league. The particular insights aren’t new to folks who frequent Purple Row, but it is nice to see this start to percolate to the general baseball public.
Thomas Harding talks to Juan Mejia about the adjustments he’s making that are leading to his success early in the season. It’s interesting to see the coaching staff be able to help him through the growing pains of competing at the major league level, especially considering Mejia is one of the few true max-effort short relief options in the Rockies current bullpen.
SARASOTA, FL - MARCH 20: Ethan Anderson #57 of the Baltimore Orioles bats during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Norfolk’s offense did some good things in the losing effort. José Barrero hit two home runs, bringing his season total to six. Creed Willems added a two-run shot, which was also his sixth round-tripper of the year. The only other RBI came from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and the aforementioned RBI. The rest of the Norfolk lineup was rather quiet. The team struck out 12 times and had just two at-bats with runners in scoring position.
But that would have been enough to win if not for a late collapse from the bullpen that saw them allow five runs in game’s final two innings. Six different Tides pitchers took the mound. Cameron Weston started and allowed two runs on two hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over 2.2 innings. Yaqui Rivera followed with one run allowed and four strikeouts over his 2.2 frames. Andrew Magno recorded two outs without allowing a baserunner. Nick Raquet is where the wheels started to fall off. He gave up two runs in his two innings, and then Cameron Foster was handed the loss by giving up three runs and recording just two outs. Hans Crouse came on to retire the final batter of the ninth.
This was a seriously impressive showing from the Baysox lineup. They scored more runs than they had hits because they were so darn efficient with runners on base. The club went 9-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left just three runners on base all game. Home runs also helped. Five different Baysox hit home runs and all of them came with runners on base. Anderson De Los Santos hit a three-run shot. Carter Young smacked a two-run dong. Frederick Becosme drove in two with his homer. Ethan Anderson had an Earl Weaver special. And Tavian Josenberg had two RBI on his first long ball of the year. It’s a lovely box score to skim through.
The pitchers, overall, did well too. Sebastian Gongora went six innings and allowed just one run while striking out seven. His season ERA is down to 3.62 on the year, and he has now struck out 35 batters over 27.1 innings. The lefty could be one worth watching. Juan Rojas had a tough day, allowing three runs in his lone inning of work, but it was also just his second appearance at Double-A. Eric Torres closed out the win with two scoreless frames.
High-A: Frederick Keys 11, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 5
Here’s another big scoreline from an Orioles affiliate. Frederick collected those 11 runs on 15 hits and three walks, and they went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Ike Irish continued to rake, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk, a stolen base, four runs scored, and two RBI. Him and his 1.055 OPS might be ready for another challenge soon. Not to be outdone, Wehiwa Aloy may have been even better on this day. The shortstop was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, a homer, a walk, one run scored, and four RBI. Victor Figueroa added a double and two RBI while Colin Yeaman hit his first career home run.
It was a mixed bag on the mound. JT Quinn, the starter, gave up two runs (one earned) while walking five and striking out two in his three innings of work. Eccel Correa earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings in which he struck out four batters. Keagan Gillies recorded four outs without allowing a run, three of those came via strikeout. Chandler Marsh allowed two runs over 1.1 innings. And then Braeden Sloan coughed up a run in the ninth.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Salem Ridge Yaks (Red Sox) 4
Caden Hunter turned in one of the better pitching performances of the day. He tossed four scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out six. J.D. Hennen was charged with just one earned run, but the Ridge Yaks scored all four runs of the game against him. That is a reflection of the messy game that the Shorebirds played. They made four errors and uncorked three wild pitches. After that, though, it was smooth sailing. Kenny Leiner, Bradley Brehmer, and Riley Cooper combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings and close out the win.
Raylin Ramos led the offensive effort for Delmarva. He went 2-for-4 as the DH, stealing a base and driving in a run in the process. Braylon Whitaker and Félix Amparo also had two hits each. Amparo added a steal, an RBI, and two runs scored. Jose Perez’s double was the team’s only extra-base hit of the day.
DETROIT, MI - MAY 05: Caleb Durbin #5 of the Boston Red Sox jumps in defensive position in the third inning during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
At the end of last week, Thomas Nestico made the following post and caught many Red Sox fans off guard:
Yes, that’s the Boston Red Sox up near the top of the teams leaderboard in Defensive Runs Saved, and you know what, I don’t think it’s a fluke.
Up until the last handful of days, the quality of the Red Sox defense has been easy to ignore for several reasons. They include, but are not limited to:
The Red Sox leading the American League in errors during each of the last three seasons before 2026.
The Red Sox starting off 2026 with the most errors in the AL again over the first couple of weeks (before really cleaning it up of late).
The team’s dreadful 9-17 record over the first 26 games overshadowing any finer details.
Roman Anthony getting the yips for the first few series of the year and having a few bad throws go viral.
Caleb Durbin’s ice cold bat out of the gate obscuring the fact that this dude can really play some defense.
Understandably, the vibes weren’t great. But now we’re a week into May, and with the dust settling, the metrics under the hood don’t just look good, they look really, really good. So good in fact that if the Red Sox can get the top of this rotation healthy with Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray in the coming weeks, their whole run prevention philosophy just might pay dividends.
Let’s take a more detailed look at what these Defensive Runs Saved figures look like for the ten Red Sox players with the most defensive innings logged so far in 2026 (going into Wednesday night’s game):
Several things jump out here, so let’s take a quick trip around the diamond and understand how the Red Sox might be this good defensively.
First up (and most complex), Roman Anthony — because against all odds, I think the yips or whatever was going on with his throws earlier in the year are actually working to his advantage now. (God I love baseball!) His problem isn’t arm strength (that actually grades out as a weapon with an 89.9mph velocity average), his issue was either mechanical or in his head, leading to a handful of throws so bad they went viral.
However, Roman’s good throws are actually really good. So you’re left with a situation where teams saw the few horrendous throws earlier in the year and wanted to pick on him. But what they’ve actually done in the process is give him more opportunities to throw guys outs, and he’s taken advantage of that, with two assists in one series against the Blue Jays last week. You want a guy that’s impossible to scout against? I give you a left fielder who throws a 35 foot worm burner one week and then nails you from 200 feet away the next.
At the same time, Anthony also makes tremendous reads on the ball off the bat and takes very efficient routes when tracking down fly balls. So even though he’s not the fastest guy in the world and doesn’t make many flashy highlight plays with the leather, he gets to way more balls than you’d otherwise think at first glace. You know how he’s really good at reading a ball out of a pitcher’s hand and therefore knows how to work a bunch of walks at the plate? Well, that’s his superpower all over the diamond. His initial reads are so good that in just 65 career starts in the outfield over both the 2025 and 2026 seasons (37 in right and 35 in left) he’s already racked up a +13 Defensive Runs Saved total.
Is the metric overrating his defense some? Almost certainly yes! But when it comes to the question of whether he’s an above average defensive outfielder, it almost doesn’t matter because anybody who lands this far on the positive side of the spectrum in so few games is good. It’s just a matter of how good when all the details fill in over time. This is a big part of the reason why I was so concerned in early April when he started throwing the ball away. Anthony’s career ceiling is so much higher as an above average defensive outfield as opposed to getting pinned to DH.
Then we have Wilyer Abreu. In his case, we can just go straight to the video for from last night.
This is a prime example of how the Red Sox run prevention strategy can totally alter a game. They ended up pitching a shutout, but if this ball falls in, it’s at least 2-0 and probably 3-0 Detroit in just the second inning.
Great DRS numbers are one thing, but when you see it in practice, working to propel the team to wins on the field, it’s something to get extremely excited about. Abreu is getting it done.
Elsewhere, Caleb Durbin’s been fantastic defensively, and the more you see him work his glove magic, the more you realize it’s not a fluke. In fact, the biggest threat to losing his defense is his bat potentially being so terrible you just can’t afford to keep him in the lineup every day. However, he’s started to hit a tad more lately, and if that’s a sign of things to come, it again bodes well for the Red Sox defense long-term.
On the other infield corner, you have Willson Contreras, who has been as good as the Red Sox could have hoped for at the position. Even if he’s not going to be this good going forward, the former catcher again has enough innings at first base now to know you’re at least going to get some brand of plus defense here as well.
Then from there, you have what I think might be the most exciting part of the calculus. Ceddanne Rafaela and Marcelo Mayer haven’t even hit their defensive strides yet. We know how good Rafaela can be in center, and he hasn’t shown that yet in 2026. Mayer meanwhile can play anywhere in the infield and make it look smooth as butter. While his 2026 numbers don’t jump out in limited innings at second base yet, I’m confident that he’ll not only improve there, but that he’s also capable to taking the reigns from Trevor Story at shortstop at some point. If that happens, you then also potentially improve Trevor Story’s defense with a move to second base, where he was excellent in 2022.
In other words, so much of the momentum driving the Red Sox production in the Defensive Runs Saved department has been on the corners (Durbin, Contreras, Anthony and Abreu), but between Rafaela in center and a swap between Mayer and Story that feels like it needs to come at some point this season, the Red Sox can actually unlock a whole additional level of defense right up the middle of the diamond they haven’t really displayed yet.
Their defense isn’t just good; it has the chance to be above average everywhere. And the deeper we get into the season, the more this is going to matter as game-saving defensive plays are often contagious. If what’s going on under the hood is remotely real, it’s only a matter of time before the Red Sox start stealing a bunch of games with their gloves.
