Former Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening, who made a living in the Motor City with his effectiveness in the face-off circle as well as on the penalty kill, has landed what could prove to be one of his final opportunities to extend his NHL career.
Glendening, who has played the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has agreed to a professional tryout agreement (PTO) with the New Jersey Devils.
#NJDevils have signed Kevin Rooney, Luke Glendening, Adam Scheel and Georgi Romanov to PTOs.
One of many NHL players who originally hail from the state of Michigan who have suited up for the Red Wings during their careers, Glendening played college hockey for the University of Michigan before signing a one-year contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit's American Hockey League affiliate, in June 2012.
Playing under Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill, whom he would later reunite with during their time with the Lightning, Glendening helped Grand Rapids to the 2013 Calder Cup championship, recording six goals and 10 assists in 24 postseason games.
He would eventually get his feet wet at the NHL level by appearing in 56 games with the Red Wings in the 2013-14 NHL season, and soon became a regular in their lineup. During his first full NHL season in 2014-15, Glendening scored 12 goals in 82 games, which remains his highest goal scoring output.
Glendening spent several more seasons with the Red Wings and, alongside then-teammate Dylan Larkin, was part of the last Detroit roster to reach the postseason in 2016.
He departed Detroit and joined the Dallas Stars prior to the 2021-22 NHL season, signing a two-year, $3 million contract. He appeared in the postseason in both campaigns with Dallas, which included a run to the Western Conference Final in 2023.
Following the conclusion of his deal with the Stars, Glendening opted to return to the Eastern Conference by signing a two-year, $1.6 million deal with the Lightning. While he scored 10 goals in 81 games in his first season in Tampa, his offense dipped to just four goals and three assists in 77 games last season.
Glendening has skated in a total of 864 NHL games with the Red Wings, Stars, and Lightning, and has amassed 83 goals with 83 assists. He's also tallied six goals with four assists in 50 career postseason games.
Dylan Harper's NBA career is starting off with a speed bump.
The No. 2 pick in last June's NBA draft underwent surgery Friday to repair a partial tear of the collateral ligament in his left thumb, the team announced. Recovery likely will keep Harper out for all of training camp and the start of the season — his return would be around Halloween, according to the injury database of Jeff Stotts at In Street Clothes.
Dylan Harper Injury Update: According to @ShamsCharania the rookie guard underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his thumb. This is most commonly the ulnar collateral ligament and average time lost following surgery is 54.3 days.
Harper, the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, was a standout at Rutgers last season where the New Jersey native averaged 19.9 points a game. The Spurs took him with the No. 2 pick in the draft last June, just behind Cooper Flagg but ahead of VJ Edgecombe.
A groin injury kept Harper out at the start of NBA Summer League, but when he did get on the court, he impressed with his athleticism, which included some highlight plays — and not just on the offensive end.
On offense in Las Vegas, Harper more than passed the eye test. He demonstrated impressive control of his pace, using it to get into the lane, and once there, he showed he could finish at the rim with either hand, plus he had a nice little floater. Harper averaged 16 points a game at Summer League, but shot just 35.7%. There is work to do.
In one corner of the room, Tanner Scott stared blankly into his locker, trying to come to grips with yet another game he let get away.
Across from him, Dalton Rushing propped a pair of crutches under his arms, limping out of sight with the Dodgers’ latest injury.
On the opposite wall, Freddie Freeman got dressed at his stall; taking in the somber scene in the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards, while trying to think of exactly what to say about the team’s troubling, tumbling, torturous current play.
“Sometimes, you just don't have the right answers,” Freeman said, as reporters gathered around for a familiar line of questions. “Not going to sit here and give some cliches. We're just not playing very good. ... There's no sugarcoating this. We need to figure this out, and figure this out quick."
Indeed, just when the Dodgers’ second-half slump seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, Friday delivered a new set of headaches.
Scheduled starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow was scratched in the afternoon with back tightness, forcing Shohei Ohtani to pitch on just five hours’ notice.
Shohei Ohtani pitches during the first inning of a loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
Rushing exited early after fouling a ball painfully off his right shin, leaving the Dodgers without both their starting backstop (Will Smith remains sidelined with a bone bruise on his hand) or his backup (X-rays on Rushing’s leg were negative, but he will also need a CT scan) for at least the next few days.
And then, of course, there was the game: A 2-1 walk-off loss to the last-place Baltimore Orioles that sent the slumping Dodgers to a fourth-straight defeat.
“We can sit here after every game and talk about what we need to do,” Freeman said. “It's just, we got to do it.”
Friday went off the rails before the Dodgers (78-63) even arrived at the ballpark, starting with a flurry of phone calls to figure out their pitching.
After the team’s late arrival from Pittsburgh the night before, Glasnow reported some bad news to the team’s training staff: His back tightened up on the short flight to Baltimore. And a night of sleep hadn’t resolved the issue.
Suddenly, Dodgers coaches, staffers and front-office officials in Baltimore and back in Los Angeles began what pitching coach Mark Prior described as a “game of telephone” — trying to figure out what to do about Glasnow, and who could pitch if he was unable.
“There was a lot of moving parts,” Prior quipped.
Ultimately, the team decided to scratch Glasnow, opting for a cautious approach to what they hope is only a minor issue. According to manager Dave Roberts, the tentative plan is to slot Glasnow back into the rotation early next week. But given his injury history, questions will linger until he’s actually back on the hill.
In the meantime, the team had to decide who to send to the mound on Friday. At around 2 p.m., the request went to Ohtani — who had been scratched from his own scheduled pitching start Wednesday in Pittsburgh while battling an illness, but had improved enough to oblige the short-notice request.
“It’s gonna be OK,” Freeman joked as he followed Ohtani into the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards a few hours later. “The unicorn is here.”
Ohtani did his part in what was an abbreviated outing by design, delivering 3⅔ scoreless innings with five strikeouts and three hits allowed.
The Baltimore Orioles' Samuel Basallo flips his bat after hitting a walk-off home run against the Dodgers Friday in Baltimore. (Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)
But, in their latest dispiriting performance, the Dodgers couldn’t make it matter, going silent at the plate again before suffering yet another late-game meltdown.
“I know each day the guys come in fresh, prepared and expecting a different result,” Roberts said. “But we’re just not getting it done.”
Offensively, the Dodgers struggled to generate chances, or capitalize upon the few they did. Baltimore starter Dean Kremer retired his first eight batters, including first-inning fly balls from Mookie Betts and Freeman that died at the wall. When the Dodgers did create opportunities in the third (getting two aboard with two outs) and the fourth (loading the bases with two outs) they came up empty; continuing an inexplicable slide in which they’ve ranked 27th in the majors in scoring over their last 53 games.
“We individually are trying to find ways on our own to ... [be] hitting better than we are,” Ohtani, who managed only a walk in four trips to the plate, said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But I think the side effect of that is, we’re a little too eager, and putting too much pressure on ourselves. That’s really hurting us more than it’s helping.”
On the mound, meanwhile, Ohtani managed to post zeros, navigating the Orioles (65-76) with a fastball that touched 101.5 mph and a varied mix that helped induce 12 swing-and-misses.
But as soon as he exited — pulled after 70 pitches given the rushed leadup to his start — the Dodgers quickly fell behind on a glaring defensive lapse.
In the fifth, the Orioles drew a pair of walks. Then, with lead runner Jackson Holliday breaking for third, a sweeper in the dirt got past Rushing — the fifth wild pitch he allowed in the last two games filling in for Smith.
Holliday turned for home as Rushing scrambled to the backstop. By the time Rushing threw to the plate, Holliday was already sliding in safely for the first run of the game.
The Dodgers’ deficit didn’t last for long. On the first pitch of the sixth, Freeman whacked another fly ball that carried deep enough to get out this time, his 19th home run of the season tying the score 1-1.
But then, more frustration followed — with the Dodgers leaving two runners stranded later in that inning, when Rushing was forced to exit with his injury; then another in the seventh, when Freeman grounded out following a two-out double from Betts.
“Not scoring runs, it's just not who we are,” Freeman said. “We're not getting anything going. We're not getting the hits.”
“We haven't for a while,” he added. “I truly have no answers.”
Neither, it appears, does Scott, the already embattled closer who suffered his latest calamity in the ninth.
After getting the first two outs, the left-hander made the same kind of mistake that has haunted him all season, leaving a 1-and-2 fastball right down the middle to Samuel Basallo that the Orioles catcher clobbered for a no-doubt, winning blast deep to right-center field.
“I just keep making terrible pitch selections right when it matters, and it’s costing us every time,” said Scott, who has a 4.52 ERA and 11 combined blown saves and charged losses. “It sucks. It feels terrible. And I have to figure it out. Because baseball hates me right now.”
Lately, it hasn’t been more relenting on the Dodgers as a whole, either — dealing them painful losses and crippling injuries amid a continued search for any shred of improved play.
“We all are confident in who we are as baseball players. We're just not doing it right now in the field," Freeman said, as the gloomy postgame clubhouse surrounding him reflected the anguished state of the team. “The game of baseball's really hard, but the concept is easy. We're making the concept really hard right now."
With a lot of moving pieces lately, manager Carlos Mendoza had a lot to discuss with reporters on Friday about some of his players as the Mets gear up for the final stretch of their 2025 season in what they hope ends in a postseason berth for a second consecutive season.
Senga's struggles since his return from the IL have been well-documented. In fact, they reached a point to where New York had to make the decision to option the right-hander to the minors -- a move that Senga consented to after peaceful negotiations between him, his agent and the team.
Now that Senga will pitch for Syracuse, at least for the short-term, what exactly is the plan with him?
Reported by SNY's Andy Martino and confirmed by Mendoza, Senga will make at least two starts in Triple-A. However, before that he will throw a couple of bullpen sessions to work on the mechanics that have been alluding him lately.
"Obviously he’s going to be in a more controlled environment where he’s not in the spotlight," Mendoza said. "... The plan is for him to go and throw a couple of bullpens before we put him in a game. So we’re looking at, potentially, a game next weekend.
"We got to get him back in sync. His lower half, his upper body, just everything. So that’s why we’re giving him time to work on the mound, get a feel for the mechanics before we put him in the game and then we’ll go from there."
In 22 starts this season, Senga is 7-6 with a 3.02 ERA (1.31 WHIP) and 109 strikeouts in 113.1 innings pitched. Overall, those numbers look great and are consistent with his career numbers.
However, considering he had a 1.47 ERA before going down with a leg injury in June, his numbers have not been pretty lately. Over his last seven starts, Senga is 0-3 with a 6.06 ERA (1.65 WHIP) and has been unable to pitch deep into games.
Obviously, getting Senga back on track is crucial for the Mets who have had pitching woes for much of the season after a fantastic start to the season.
"He was really, really good for us before he went down," Mendoza said. "... We’ll get with him, we’ll get his take, we’re gonna ask for his feedback and see where he’s at and then we’ll make the next decision. But as of right now, we’re gonna give him time to get on the mound."
Despite all odds, Alvarez is back with the team in Cincinnati getting ready to face the Reds in a huge three-game series. The return of the catcher is not only a sight for sore eyes, but an inspiration considering all he's dealt with in the past month.
"It’s pretty unbelievable," Mendoza said. "We’re talking about when he first went down with a ligament and a few days later we’re talking about potentially his season being over and then a few days later he’s already taking swings at full-go.
"And then he goes down there, first game gets hit and he’s got a fracture and then two days [later] he’s already swinging the bat. Like, this is unbelievable. And for him to be back here playing games, you gotta give him a lot of credit."
Before his injury, Alvarez was red-hot at the plate and hopes to pick up where he left off and join an offense that has been raking as of late.
Still, the plan is to take things slow with the young catcher who has already missed a big chunk of the season and has only played in 56 games.
"I think it’ll be day-to-day," the skipper said of the plan with Alvarez. "We’ll see because this is all new for all of us -- for him, for me. It’s pretty intense at this level, every pitch, every at-bat, every swing so I will check with him after every game and then we’ll go from there, but again, I don’t think he knows.
"So nobody knows, we’re talking about the ligament and the pinky finger so there’s a lot going on, but he feels fine, he feels really good. The reports from the coaches in Triple-A, there’s no hesitation with him swinging the bat, throwing the ball so I’m just excited to have him back here."
After re-signing with the Mets in the offseason, Manaea has been a huge disappointment in his second season in New York. Injured to start the year, the left-hander made his season debut right before the All-Star break and looked exceptional.
Following a few more good, albeit short, starts to kick off the second half, Manaea has completely fallen off. In 10 games (nine starts), the 33-year-old is 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA and has been getting tagged left and right.
His latest start in Detroit didn't do much to instill the Mets with confidence as he allowed five earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs, in 3.2 innings. And similar to Senga, Manaea's biggest problem has been his inability to go beyond five innings which has completely taxed New York's already overworked bullpen.
Despite his struggles, the left-hander is scheduled to pitch against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday. When asked in what capacity, Mendoza confirmed Manaea will start the game.
However, if Manaea doesn't get things together, Tylor Megill is nearing a return from injury and could bounce him from the rotation.
"He threw a bullpen today and he’s scheduled to pitch again in Triple-A on Sunday," Mendoza said.
Megill has made five rehab starts between Double-A and Triple-A and has pitched to a 3.00 ERA over 18 innings with 26 strikeouts. Before a right elbow sprain landed him on the IL, the right-hander had gone 5-5 with a 3.95 ERA in 14 starts this season.
With Wild Card aspirations in mind, the Giants’ hot bats didn’t succumb to the fresher, early-September climate at Busch Stadium on Friday night.
The bats stayed scorching hot, with San Francisco tying a season-high 18 hits against the Cardinals in its series-opening 8-2 win.
After early back-to-back home runs from Rafael Devers and Willy Adames, the Giants extended their longest streak of games with a home run since the franchise moved to San Francisco to 18, assuring manager Bob Melvin that his team, which has won 11 of its last 12, is hard to contain.
“We go into the game feeling good about our offense, and there’s a reason for it over the last 18 games, whatever it’s been,” Melvin told reporters on Friday.
“It’s contagious, just like it goes the other way. Right now, offensively, we feel like we’re as good as we’ve been all year, with [Patrick Bailey] hitting well, [Drew Gilbert] at the bottom of the lineup and getting production from [Casey Schmitt] and everyone else. It just feels like we’re a tough team to handle right now.”
"We're a tough team to handle right now."
Melvin knows the Giants' offense is on a roll after tonight's season-high 18 hits pic.twitter.com/3QVjugA6JO
In his second career start, right-hander Carson Seymour delivered a solid outing, lasting a career-high five innings without allowing a hit in any of his first four.
The end result?
The 26-year-old pitcher, to Melvin’s surprise, earned his first victory in the big leagues.
“Coming in, we were kind of up in the air on what we were going to look at,” Melvin admitted to reporters.
“It was probably going to be something like three (innings), but not only did we score some runs, he pitched probably as well as we’ve seen him pitch this year.”
Additionally, on the offensive front, Jung Hoo Lee tied a career high with four hits, while Patrick Bailey contributed three.
Sitting four games back of the New York Mets for the National League’s third wild-card spot, the Giants, once again, demonstrated why they’re the hottest team in baseball.
Several players are looking for roster spots on the New Jersey Devils lineup this training camp. Three forwards in particular, Arseniy Gritsyuk, Lenni Hämeenaho, and Shane Lachance, are entering what could be their breakthrough season, each with an opportunity to solidify a place in the NHL.
While all three have a legitimate shot at cracking the lineup, training camp will be the true test of whether they’re ready for the jump.
Arseniy Gritsyuk
Gritsyuk is making his NHL debut after leaving the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The Russian forward is expected to bring a strong offensive presence, with the skillset to fit into the Devils’ middle six. However, questions remain about how quickly he can adapt to the North American game after spending most of his career overseas.
“Gritsyuk will be the one that we’re really excited to see when he comes over here,” Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said after free agency. “How can he adapt? He’ll be here mid-August to get settled. They tell me he’s got the upside of Dadonov at the same age, and it would be nice for Dadonov to mentor him.”
Gritsyuk has also stated that if he doesn’t make the NHL roster, he would only spend a short stint in the AHL before considering a return to the KHL.
Lenni Hämeenaho
Hämeenaho, drafted by the Devils in 2023, is another intriguing prospect heading into camp. The Finnish forward signed with New Jersey at the end of last season after playing professionally in Finland. At 6-foot-1 and just 20 years old, he has the size, skill, and potential to make a strong impression in his first training camp.
Shane Lachance
The final player to watch is Lachance, who has spent the past two seasons at Boston University. Standing at 6-foot-5, he offers a different dimension that could strengthen the Devils’ bottom six. As captain of the Terriers, he showcased both leadership and production, helping guide his team to success in the NCAA.
Each of these three forwards brings a different skillset, and all will be given the chance to compete for a spot.
“We’re excited. I think we’re a faster team. I think we’ve added skill,” Fitzgerald said. “The excitement of watching Gritsyuk, Hämeenaho, or even Lachance come into camp and make it hard on us to send them down — they’re all different, and they all have NHL upside.”
The Phillies’ bats certainly made the weekend trip to Miami.
Behind four home runs and 16 hits, the Phils notched a 9-3 win Friday night to begin their three-game series with the Marlins. Every member of the Phillies’ lineup had at least one hit.
Cristopher Sanchez earned the win by tossing seven innings and conceding six hits and one run. The southpaw struck out five and walked one. Through 28 starts, he’s 12-5 with a 2.60 ERA.
Sanchez took the mound with a lead. Trea Turner singled, Kyle Schwarber singled, and Bryce Harper’s bloop to left field landed just inside the foul line for an RBI knock.
With a 4-for-5 game Friday, Turner’s batting average sits at a National League-best .305. Everyone else is under .300. He’s gone 43 for 100 in his last 22 games.
Marlins righty Valente Bellozo kept Miami’s deficit at 1-0 in the first. J.T. Realmuto ripped a 2-2 cutter to deep right-center, but Joey Wiemer made a leaping catch. Brandon Marsh then lined out to third base and Schwarber was miles away from avoiding a double play.
Nick Castellanos sat for the third time in the last four games and Max Kepler started again in right field against Bellozo. In the second inning, Kepler crushed a juicy changeup into the right-field second deck. He lined an RBI single in the seventh, too.
The Marlins got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Victor Mesa Jr. chopped an infield hit over the 6-foot-6 Sanchez’s head. Javier Sanoja followed with a ground ball down the left-field line that drove him in.
Sanchez was sharp overall. He threw plenty of elite changeups in and around the bottom of the zone, recorded 13 ground ball outs and never encountered any real trouble. Sanchez only needed 82 pitches over his seven innings.
The game wasn’t tight for long. The Phils teed off in the fourth against Miami reliever Lake Bachar.
Realmuto picked up a leadoff hit and Marsh deposited the ninth pitch of his at-bat to a nearly identical spot as Kepler’s blast. Harrison Bader clobbered a no-doubt back-to-back dinger, smashing a hanging slider to put the Phillies up 5-1. That shot meant all three of the Phils’ starting outfielders Friday had a homer through four innings.
Though the Phillies missed out on bases-loaded chances in both the fifth and sixth innings, they cruised into full blowout mode with a four-run seventh. Bryson Stott nailed a three-run homer to reach double digits for the fourth consecutive season.
The 82-59 Phillies will look for a third straight series win Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET. The Phils’ Jesus Luzardo (12-6, 4.05 ERA) will face the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara (8-11, 5.66 ERA).
The Calgary Flames have reportedly signed forward Connor Zary to a three-year bridge contract with the club, worth $11.325 million, carrying an annual average value of $3.775 million. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
"Hearing Connor Zary and the Calgary Flames are closing in on a three-year extension at just under $3.8M," Friedman posted.
Zary, 23, is coming off a promising sophomore campaign in which he notched 13 goals and 27 points in 54 games before being sidelined with a lower-body injury late in the season. Over his 117 career NHL appearances, the skilled forward has recorded 27 goals and 61 points, showcasing consistent offensive upside and two-way reliability.
Originally selected 24th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native has quickly established himself as a key part of Calgary’s young core. His vision, hockey sense, and ability to contribute in all situations have made him a valuable piece of the Flames’ lineup.
The deal secures Zary through the 2027–28 NHL season.
Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong have already come up and contributed in the midst of a playoff push.
Next up? Brandon Sproat.
Sproat will join them this weekend to make his highly-anticipated debut during Sunday’s series finale against the Reds, the team trailing the Mets in the NL wild-card race.
Certainly a big challenge, but one the Mets are confident Sproat is up for.
“He earned it,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s another guy that had to work, had to fight to get to this point. It wasn’t easy for him early on this season, but his last few starts he’s been a completely different guy -- he was frustrated when he didn’t get the call, now here he is.
"You don’t want to put too much pressure on him -- just go out there and be yourself, but you have to give him a ton of credit and it’s another win for the scouting and development team, it’s going to be really fun to see.”
Sproat was widely-regarded as the organization’s top pitching prospect entering this season, but he quickly dropped behind both McLean and Tong on the depth chart as they soared through the system.
His early-season results also didn’t help, posting an ugly 6.69 ERA over his first nine outings.
After making some tweaks over the past few months, though, the 24-year-old has been able to rebound nicely and he’s pitched to a much-improved 3.19 ERA over his last 17 appearances.
His most recent outing was arguably his best during that stretch, as he struck out nine batters and walked just two over seven scoreless innings.
It's those signs of a front-line arm that president of baseball operations David Stearns says solidified the Mets’ decision to give him the call.
“We’ve seen it over the last two-two and a half months now,” Stearns said. “He’s carried his velocity consistently into games, his secondary offerings have picked up in consistency and crispiness, he’s throwing his changeup more which has helped.
“We’ve seen a number of really positive trends -- he is still a young pitcher, this is still his major-league debut, but we feel confident that he can come up and compete at the level, and we look forward to watching him take the mound on Sunday.”
While Mike Sullivan is an already established NHL coach, he has a lot to prove as he begins this new opportunity with the New York Rangers.
Through his ten years coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team won two Stanley Cups, and Sullivan is credited with some of the praise, which is well-deserved.
However, Sullivan did have Sidney Crosby, who was in the prime of his career for a large part of Sullivan’s tenure in Pittsburgh.
Now, Sullivan will be without Crosby, and that brings some pressure on him.
Crosby brought both tremendous results on the ice and an element of leadership that helped build a strong culture with the Penguins.
It’s on Sullivan to establish a culture in New York for a Rangers organization that is in desperate need of an identity after a disastrous season.
Sullivan is out to prove he can build a Stanley Cup foundation without the likes of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
When Sullivan arrived in Pittsburgh, the Penguins had already won a Stanley Cup just a few years before, much different compared to the Rangers, who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1994.
This opening with the Blueshirts presents a challenge and opportunity for Sullivan to further establish himself as one of the greatest coaches of this generation.
Rooney is among the unrestricted free agents (UFAs) left at this juncture of the off-season, but he is now a step closer to changing that by landing this PTO with New Jersey. Now, he will be looking to impress at training camp to earn a contract for the season.
Rooney previously played for the Devils from 2016-17 to 2019-20. However, his time in New Jersey ended when he signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract with the Rangers during the 2020 NHL off-season.
Rooney posted 14 goals, 12 assists, 26 points, and 194 hits in 115 games over two seasons with the Rangers. His time with the Blueshirts ended during the 2022 NHL off-season when he signed a three-year deal with the Calgary Flames in free agency.
In 70 games this past season for the Flames, Rooney recorded five goals and 10 points.
There’s a wide divide in finances between Major League Baseball’s big-market and small-market teams.
As for the win column? Not so much.
The 2025 season has produced a surprising show of parity through the first five months of the regular season. While most of the league’s big spenders — teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets — are in good position to make the playoffs and do damage in October, they haven’t been as dominant as many expected.
In fact, there’s a good chance that this will be the second season in a row no MLB franchise will top 100 wins. The only team with a realistic shot is the Milwaukee Brewers, who rank 23rd in the league with a $112 million payroll. They’ll have to go 14-7 over their final 21 games to hit 100.
The last time there were no 100-game winners in back-to-back seasons was a three-year stretch from 2012 to 2014.
With three weeks and roughly 20 games remaining for most teams, here are some things to watch as the regular season winds down:
Playoff races
Their might be no truly dominant teams this season, but there’s also a pretty clear picture of the 12 teams that could make the postseason bracket — six in the National League and six in the American League.
In the AL, the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros have a more than 95% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s projections. A sixth team — the Seattle Mariners — sit at a roughly 75% chance.
There are still several teams with hope, including the Texas Rangers (12.8%), Kansas City Royals (10.0%), Tampa Bay Rays (9.6%) and Cleveland Guardians (2.8%).
The NL race has an even bigger gap between the top six teams and the rest of the league. The Brewers, Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres all have odds of at least 95% to play in October.
Among the longshots: The San Francisco Giants (4.7%), Cincinnati Reds (2.4%), Arizona Diamondbacks (1.2%) and St. Louis Cardinals (0.8%).
The top two teams in the NL and AL don’t have to play in the best-of-three wild card round, instead advancing directly to the best-of-five division series. Right now, those teams would be Tigers and Blue Jays in the AL, and the Brewers and Phillies in the NL.
The D-backs could be one of the league’s more intriguing teams in September, even if they don’t make the postseason. They were sellers at the July 30 trade deadline after a disappointing first four months, but are 19-12 since that point, staying on the fringe of contention.
Arizona could end up affecting the playoff race even if it probably won’t make it to October. The D-backs play games against the Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Giants and Padres over the final three weeks.
“We’re in the hunt,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I keep saying that all I want to do is play meaningful games in September. That’s our intent. We just have to keep our head down and believe we can still do this.
“The guys are showing they feel the same exact way, so keep digging.”
Awards races
Here’s the status of some of the major MLB awards races. All odds according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
AL MVP: This is an epic two-horse race between Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (-235) and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (+155). Judge has had an excellent all-around season while Raleigh’s 51 homers are the most in MLB history for a player who is primarily a catcher.
NL MVP: Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani (-1200) is a fairly big favorite at this point, but Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber (+600) and Mets outfielder Juan Soto (+5000) are still in the mix.
AL Cy Young: Detroit lefty Tarik Skubal (-1600) is a big favorite to take home his second straight AL Cy Young award. Among the challengers: Boston lefty Garrett Crochet (+650).
NL Cy Young: Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes (-10000) is the overwhelming favorite to win his first NL Cy Young.
Manager shakeup?
There have already been four managers fired this season, with the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles all making moves. The Angels have had an interim manager for much of the year because of health issues for Ron Washington.
Depending on what happens the next three weeks, there could be a lot more job openings.
Skippers like Atlanta’s Brian Snitker and Texas’ Bruce Bochy, who is now 70, could retire after the season. Other like Arizona’s Lovullo and Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli have had disappointing seasons.
Even playoff qualifiers might not be immune. The Yankees’ Aaron Boone is among a handful of managers not just expected to play in October, but to have a deep run. An early exit could spell trouble.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone questioned the legality of a bat during their game against the Houston Astros. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone questioned the legality of a bat used by Houston Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell during Thursday's series finale.
Down by five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Houston mounted a comeback by starting off the inning with a single by catcher Victor Caratini and a double off the wall by Trammell. After the at-bat, Boone asked the umpires to check the bat used by the 27-year-old because of its "discoloration."
Rule 3.02(c) by Major League Baseball bans the usage of a "colored bat in a professional game" unless approved by the league.
The crew chief, Adrian Johnson, took the bat and called a review to verify the legality of the discoloration on barrel.
After the review, the bat was confiscated by the umpires, authenticated and sent to the league office to be inspected, according to Astros manager Joe Espada.
"The bat was worn down a little bit," Espada said. "He uses that bat all the time and I guess they thought it was an illegal bat.
"I thought it was … whatever," he added.
Boone said they noticed the color of the bat earlier in the series and brought it up to the league officials on Thursday.
"You're not allowed to do anything to your bat," Boone said after the game. "I'm not saying he was … we noticed it and the league thought it maybe it was illegal too."
After the game, the outfielder remained confused.
"I feel kind of defensive right now, more so a test of my character, like I'm going to willingly do that," Trammell said. "Just kind of lost on that thing, and if anyone knows me, knows I'm never going to cheat or anything like that."
Trammell, who played a couple of games for the Yankees last season, stayed on second base. The Astros later scored a run on a single by designated hitter Yordan Alvarez but the Yankees held on to win the game 8-4.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 40 NHL games.
Richard was the Sabres sixth-round pick at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal who opened some eyes last year at the club’s development camp. A native of Jacksonville, FL, the 6’1”, 194 lb. winger played his youth hockey in Florida and a year with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he scored 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) before being selected 170th overall.
The following season, Richard split time between the Lumberjacks and Tri-City and increased his goal total to 31 and compiled 62 points in 57 games. As a freshman at Connecticut, he finished fourth on the club with 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists). Last season, the 20-year-old finished second in team scoring in his sophomore campaign, averaging over a point per game (15 goals, 28 assists) in 34 games, and at the club’s 2025 development camp once again showed his scoring prowess.
If Richard has another good year with the Huskies, the Sabres should try to coax the young forward out of college with a professional contract offer, before he gets ideas of becoming an unrestricted free agent after his senior season in 2027.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
The Montreal Canadiens traded Carey Price and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
The Canadiens received defenseman Gannon Laroque in return.
Price, 38, last played five games in the 2021-22 season for the Canadiens. The goaltender hasn't played since due to injury.
The Sharks take on the final year of Price's contract, which carries a $10.5-million cap hit but just a $2-million base salary. They still have more than $9.2 million in cap space.
Montreal, meanwhile, has about $4.57 million in cap space. They can accrue that space instead of putting Price on the long-term injured reserve, which means they could make a bigger move at the trade deadline next March.
Laroque, 22, is in the third year of his entry-level contract. In 2023-24, he played nine games with ECHL Wichita, recording two assists there, and nine games with AHL San Jose, where he had a goal and an assist. The Sharks drafted him 103rd overall in 2021. He didn't play last season due to injury.
Price's Time With The Canadiens
Price set franchise highs during his 15 seasons playing for the Canadiens, which selected him fifth overall in the 2005 NHL draft.
His 712 games played and 700 starts are the most among all goaltenders in the Canadiens' 107 NHL seasons. Hockey Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup champion Jacques Plante is second, with 556 games and starts.
Like Plante, Price is a Hart Trophy winner, receiving the most votes in the 2014-15 season, when he also captured the Ted Lindsay Award, Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy. Price had a 44-16-6 record with a 1.96 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and nine shutouts that season.
Price also recorded the most wins by a goaltender in Habs history, with 361, 47 more than Plante. His 49 shutouts are in third place.
Price had at least 30 wins in a season five times, at least a .910 save percentage nine times and a goals-against average lower than 2.50 seven times.
Overall, Price, a member of Ulkatcho First Nation in British Columbia, had a 361-261-79 record, 2.51 GAA and .917 SP with the Canadiens in the regular season.
In the playoffs, Price went 43-45 in 92 games with a 2.39 GAA, .919 SP and eight shutouts. He's third in franchise history in playoff games played, fourth in playoff wins and fifth in save percentage among Habs netminders who played at least 10 playoff games.
The furthest Price got in the playoffs was in 2020-21. He backstopped the Habs to a comeback seven-game series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, a sweep over the Winnipeg Jets and a six-game win over the Vegas Golden Knights in the semifinal.
The Canadiens won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the first time ever, considering that trophy usually goes to the Western Conference champions. It went to them due to temporary divisional realignment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the final, Montreal faced the defending-champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts won the first three games before Price stopped 32 shots to cut the series deficit to 3-1. Tampa Bay won the Cup in Game 5.
That was Price's last playoff game with the Canadiens and almost certainly his NHL career. He missed most of the 2021-22 season due to a torn meniscus injury before playing five games in April 2022, winning one of them.
He hasn't officially retired since he's still under contract, but there appear to be no plans of playing again in hockey's top league for the father of three children.
Correction: Laroque last played in 2023-24, not 2024-25.
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Notable Changes Reportedly Coming For Future Red Wings Seasons It's been over 30 years since the Detroit Red Wings, or any other NHL club for that matter, has played more than 82 regular season games.
