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Orioles acquire RHP Shane Baz in trade from Tampa Bay for 4 minor leaguers and a draft pick

The Baltimore Orioles acquired right-hander Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday for four minor leaguers and a draft pick.

The 26-year-old Baz went 10-12 with a 4.87 ERA last season in 31 starts. It was his first full season after Tommy John surgery. He also went 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 14 starts in 2024.

Baltimore, which landed free agent slugger Pete Alonso with a $155 million contract, is also trying to remake its pitching staff after a poor 2025 and a trade that sent right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels.

Baz was a first-round draft pick by Pittsburgh back in 2017, and he was traded to Tampa Bay in 2018 in a deal that sent Chris Archer to the Pirates. He was part of the U.S. Olympic team in 2021 before making his big league debut later that year.

He dealt with elbow problems in 2022 and eventually needed Tommy John surgery.

Baz had a $1.45 million salary last season and is likely to double that for 2026.

In the trade, the Rays acquired catcher Caden Bodine, outfielder Slater de Brun, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn and a competitive balance pick (No. 33) in next year’s draft.

The Orioles designated left-hander Josh Walker for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Baltimore can keep Baz for at least three seasons before he would become a free agent. To get him, the Orioles gave up Bodine and de Brun, the 30th and 37th picks in this year’s draft. Bodine hit .326 in 11 games for Class A Delmarva.

The 21-year-old Forret went 2-2 with a 1.58 ERA in 74 innings across Class A and Double-A in 2025.

Also Friday, the Orioles announced their 2026 big league coaching staff under new manager Craig Albernaz: Pitching coach Drew French, assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer, pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek and third base coach Buck Britton remain on the staff. The team has added bench coach Donnie Ecker, hitting coach Dustin Lind, assistant hitting coach Brady North, first base coach Jason Bourgeois, bullpen coach Hank Conger, infield coach Miguel Cairo and field coordinator and catching coach Joe Singley.

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Championship roundup: Lampard ‘out of order’ as gestures spark melee

  • Coventry manager reacted to Southampton fans’ taunts

  • ‘Their fans gave me a bit … I gave them a bit back’

Frank Lampard admitted he was “out of order” after he sparked a post-match melee following Coventry’s 1-1 draw at Southampton. The home supporters had targeted the visitors’ manager with abuse in the latter stages of the match and, after the full-time whistle, Lampard went on to the pitch and repeatedly gestured to them, which led to players reacting.

“I was probably emotional,” said Lampard of his reaction to being called “a shit Steven Gerrard”. “The fans had given me a bit in the last 10 minutes and I went on the pitch to give them a bit back. It was really out of order but I wouldn’t have had as long in this game if I wasn’t sometimes emotional on the pitch, and not a bad bloke off it.

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Yankees’ Aaron Boone happy to see Luke Weaver land good deal in free agency: ‘He earned it’

Luke Weaver was a good Yankee. 

In just about two years, the right-hander went from being a journeyman starter picked up off waivers to one of the more reliable late-inning setup men in baseball. 

After a strong finish in 2022, he was spectacular during his first full season in the Bronx, pitching to a 2.82 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 103 strikeouts over 84.0 innings of work. 

He was able to build off that success to start last year, but ended up being forced to the sideline and missed an extended period due to a lingering hamstring issue. 

The 32-year-old would return to the mound ahead of his initially scheduled timeline, but was never quite able to get back to that dominant groove, struggling mightily down the stretch. 

He was unusable during the playoffs, allowing five runs in three ugly appearances. 

With his contract expiring this winter, the Yanks showed some interest in potentially bringing him back, but they ultimately decided not to make him an offer in free agency. 

After testing the open market, Weaver quickly found himself a new home on the other side of town, agreeing to a two-year pact with the crosstown rival Mets earlier this week. 

While it’s a tough blow to the Bombers’ bullpen, Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday that he’s happy to see him receive a nice little increase from his previous deal.

“He got a really good deal that he earned,” the skipper said. “When we got him, it seemed like not a big move at the time, late in the ’23 season -- to turn into the reliever and the role he ended up having for us.

“He threw a lot of really big games and productive games over the last couple of years -- credit to him for going out there and making a little alter to his career and it truly paying dividends for him.”

Weaver finished with a 3.22 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 12 saves, and 191 strikeouts over 129 appearances in pinstripes. 

He’ll look to do the same, this time setting up for Devin Williams in orange and blue. 

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João Pedro rescues Chelsea draw as Newcastle squander two-goal lead

Eddie Howe is synonymous with tidiness, efficiency, time management and, above all, control. Given that there is nothing remotely slapdash, careless or wasteful about Newcastle’s manager, his team’s increasing penchant for losing often hard-won authority is proving the most puzzling of paradoxes.

Newcastle have developed a habit of throwing leads away this season and, 2-0 up thanks to a Nick Woltemade double, they were at it again.

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Mariners prepared new Met Jorge Polanco to see time at first base last season

The Mets brought in Jorge Polanco to give them a nice piece they could potentially bounce around the infield. 

The veteran is expected to see a ton of time at first and DH this season, though. 

Polanco has appeared in just one big league game at the position, but he does have some recent experience there. 

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, he worked with Mariners infield coach Perry Hill and others on the staff for over two months in mid-June for a potential transition this past season. 

Hill told Sammon that those lessons included how to hold a runner on, how to get to the base without being stepped on, how to throw to second, and how to get back to the bag on a snap throw from the catcher.

Those skills were never brought into game action, though, as Seattle ended up with a bigger need at second, so Polanco spent the majority of his time there down the stretch.  

Once he gets down to Port St. Lucie, he figures to be able to put them to the test. 

Hill expects that there are still some things to work on and old habits the middle infielder will need to break, but he did tell Sammon that Polanco is an “A-plus person” and always showed up ready to work.

The 32-year-old will try to help fill the huge void left behind with Pete Alonso’s departure to the Orioles. 

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Former Blackhawks First-Rounder Traded To Canadiens

A former Chicago Blackhawks forward is on the move.

The Montreal Canadiens have announced that they have acquired former Chicago Blackhawks forward Phillip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick.

Danault had been one of the NHL's top trade candidates, and the Canadiens were one of the clubs that he was heavily linked to. Now, with this move, the former Blackhawks forward is set to begin his second tenure as a member of the Canadiens.

Danault will be looking to bounce back with the Canadiens, as he has had a tough start to the 2025-26 season. In 30 games so far this campaign, he has recorded zero goals and five assists. This is after he had eight goals and 43 points in 80 games this past season with the Kings. 

Danault kicked off his NHL career with the Blackhawks, as the Central Division club selected him in the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft with the 26th overall pick. From there, Danault played two seasons with the Blackhawks from 2014-15 to 2015-16, where he recorded one goal and five points in 32 games.

Danault's time with the Blackhawks ended during the 2015-16 season when he was traded to the Canadiens with a 2018 second-round pick in exchange for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. He would break out and become a solid top-six two-way center with the Canadiens following the move. 

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Columbus Blue Jackets (34 pts) vs. Anaheim Ducks (42 pts) Game Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets are at Honda Center to take on the Anaheim Ducks at 10 PM.   

Anaheim Ducks - 20-12-2 - 42 Points - 5-4-1 in the last 10 - 2nd in the Atlantic

Columbus Blue Jackets - 14-14-6 - 34 Points - 3-5-2 in the last 10 - 8th in the Metro  

Blue Jackets Stats

  • Power Play - 18.1% - 18th in the NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 72.0% - 30th in the NHL
  • Goals For - 98 - 20th in the NHL
  • Goals Against - 119 - 31st in the NHL

Ducks Stats

  • Power Play - 17.7% - 21st in the NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 76.3% - 27th in the NHL
  • Goals For - 120 - 3rd in the NHL
  • Goals Against - 120 - 25th in the NHL

Series History vs. The Ducks

  • Columbus is 32-29-1-8 all-time, and 15-16-1-3 on the road vs. Anaheim.
  • The Jackets are 2-1-2 in the last 5 games against the Ducks.
  • The CBJ have gone 5-of-19 on the PP in the last 6 games.
  • The Blue Jackets have killed off 46 straight Ducks man-advantages.

Who To Watch For The Ducks

  • Leo Carlsson leads the Ducks 41 points.
  • Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson lead the team with 24 assists each.
  • Cutter Gauthier leads Anaheim with 18 goals.
  • Lukáš Dostál 12-6-1 with a SV% of .905. He started and won last night against the Rangers.
  • Goalie Carter Ville Husso is 5-3-1 with a SV% of .884. He started and lost against the Jackets this past Tuesday.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Ducks

  • Zach Werenski has 13 points in 15 games against Anaheim
  • Boone Jenner has 9 points in his last 16 games against the Ducks.
  • Sean Monahan has 29 points in 36 games vs. Anaheim.

Injuries 

  • Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 26 Games - IR - No timeline for a return
  • Mathieu Olivier - Upper Body - Missed 11 Games - IR- No timeline for a return - He is skating

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 67

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK. Bob Wischusen will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 THE FAN, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play. 

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Canadiens: A Back-To-Back Against The Penguins

With only three games left before the Christmas break, the Montreal Canadiens will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre on Saturday night before heading to Pennsylvania for the second part of the back-to-back on Sunday.

The big story for the weekend, aside from the fact that Kent Hughes brought back Phillip Danault, will be Sidney Crosby’s chase for the Penguins' all-time scoring lead. As things stand, the Penguins’ captain sits on point behind Mario Lemieux with 1,722 points; the “kid” needed 1,385 games to get there, while Lemieux recorded 1,723 points in just 915 games. In other words, in Saturday night’s tilt in Montreal, Crosby could tie the Montreal native Lemieux’s point total or even set a new record.

Pittsburgh was shut out in its last game against the Ottawa Senators, but Crosby has an excellent record against the Canadiens with 70 points in 53 career games. Tying or breaking Lemieux’s record in the province where Crosby played his junior hockey would be a great scenario.

Canadiens: Hughes Brings Danault Back
This Canadiens Move Is Looking Very Good Right Now
Canadiens: Montembeault Loses First Game With the Rocket

The Penguins have been struggling of late; they are 2-4-4 in their last 10 games and are currently 12th in the Eastern Conference. They are still without Evgeni Malkin, who’s on injured reserve, and Kris Letang is having an awful season, becoming the target of the Pens’ fans' ire with only 16 points in 33 games with two more years left on his contract and a full no-movement clause.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens are 5-4-1 and still struggling with consistency. Martin St-Louis has yet to confirm who the starter will be for the tilt, but both goalies should see a game, given that the Habs are playing two games in two days. Jakub Dobes has never taken on the Pens, but he had a good game on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Czech netminder has a 12-5-2 record with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage this season. As for Jacob Fowler, he made his NHL debut a little over a week ago against the Pens, and he signed a 4-2 win, saving 36 of the 38 shots he faced for a .947 SV.

As for the Penguins, they recently traded Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers for Stuart Skinner. The latter has played only one game since the trade, and he allowed five goals on 22 shots against his former team. However, he has a 4-1-0 record against the Canadiens with a 2.75 GAA and a .898 save percentage. He’s 11-9-4 on the season with a 2.93 GAA and a .887 SV. As for Arturs Silovs, he has never taken on the Habs in his young career, and he has 4-5-6 record with a 3.26 GAA and a .890 SV on the season.

Up front, Brendan Gallagher is the Canadiens’ most productive player against the Pens with 16 points in 32 games, followed by Nick Suzuki, who has 12 points in 16 games and Mike Matheson with 10 points in 20 games. The defenseman missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, but he did skate on Friday while the team was off.

At the other end of the ice, Crosby is unsurprisingly the Pens most productive player against the Habs with 70 points in 53 games, as mentioned above. Erik Karlsson comes in second place with 43 points in 53 games, followed by Letang with 40 points in 48 games.

Pittsburgh has won six of the last 10 duels between the two sides, including a whooping 9-2 triumph the last time they met in Montreal. Still, the Habs have won the sole meeting this season, and the Penguins have lost their last seven games, not all in regulation, but still, they haven’t pocketed two points since December 4.

The referees will be Peter MacDougall and Frederic L’Ecuyer, with Devin Berg and Andrew Smith acting as linesmen.

The Canadiens will be celebrating Christmas at the Bell Centre tonight. The first 7,500 fans through the doors will receive a Christmas ornament exclusively designed for the event, and there will be a tailgate at La Cour Rio Tinto, where you can grab a free hot chocolate from the Tim Hortons food truck. If you’re watching the game at home, it’s scheduled for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on TVAS, CITY, SNE, and SN-PIT.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

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Blackhawks Vs Senators: Projected Lineup, How To Watch, & More Ahead Of Game 35

The Chicago Blackhawks are set to play an afternoon matinee against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Losers of four straight, they have fallen out of favor in the Western Conference. At 13-15-6, they sit five points behind the playoff line. 

As for Ottawa, winners of two straight, they are now 16-13-4. It's been an up-and-down season for them, as they are four points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The difference between the two conferences is evident in this matchup. 

Scouting Ottawa

The Ottawa Senators have the expectation of being a playoff team in 2025-26. They were a playoff team last year and gave the Toronto Maple Leafs all they could handle in the first round. Now, they'd like to take another step, but there is some work to do. 

Their captain, Brady Tkachuk, was injured for some time during this season, but he's back and starting to light it up. Around him is a ton of talent at every position. 

Tkachuk - Stutzle - Zetterlund

Perron - Cozens - Batherson

Amadio - Greig - Giroux

MacDermid - Halliday - Cousins

Sanderson - Zub

Kleven - Spence

Matinpalo - Jensen

Ullmark

Merilainen

Linus Ullmark started in goal for Ottawa in their last game, which means that Leevi Merilainen could get the nod in this one, but Ullmark is no stranger to making two starts in a row.

The trick for the Senators is that they play again on Sunday, so each of them is going to get a start. Ullmark is more likely to go against the team he won the Vezina Trophy with in the Boston Bruins, leaving Merilainen for the Chicago game one day prior. 

Outside of Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle is the catalyst for all offense on this team. That top line is as good as it gets in the NHL. Ottawa needs some of their depth to start showing out a little more. 

On defense, Jake Sanderson is an elite player. When he is on the ice, you can expect the Blackhawks to pay extra close attention to him. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to change up all sorts of things in order to get back on track. That includes their line combinations. 

Burakovsky - Nazar - Bertuzzi

Mikheyev - Dickinson - Moore

Donato - Greene - Teravainen

Lafferty - Dach - Lardis

Vlasic - Crevier

Grzelcyk - Levshunov

Kaiser - Murphy

This is entirely different from the lineup that they used against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. After practice on Friday, head coach Jeff Blashill wouldn't confirm that these lines would stick for the game. Warmups will be very telling in this regard. 

Ethan Del Mastro and Dominic Toninato were the extras in practice, but their status for this game against Ottawa is still unknown based on Blashill's lineup comments.

Following this game, the Blackhawks don't play until Tuesday night, so it is hard to predict what the goaltending situation will be. Arvid Soderblom has been struggling a bit lately, but this is a typical situation he encounters. If Blashill wants to change it up and use Knight with two days of rest and the holiday break upon them, that wouldn't be much of a surprise either. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. It can be streamed nationally on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 2:00 PM CT. 

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