Jun 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Dedniel Nunez (72) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Note: The All Star Break ends for the minor leaguers on the 17th, but the FCL Mets played!
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 24: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Keegan Akin (45) pitches during the Cleveland Guardians versus the Baltimore Orioles on June 24, 2024 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Hello, friends.
The All-Star break continues. There’s still not going to be any more Orioles baseball until tomorrow when they start the non-mathematical second half of the season in Houston. We can hope the break is a good mental reset for those players who need one and a good physical reset for those who need one of those. It is a near-certainty that more than one player has been pushing through minor dings. Four days off might actually help with some of that.
Unfortunately, four days off isn’t going to do much to solve the challenge of Blaze Alexander’s broken hand bone. That’s not something that resolves in half of a week. Today is probably the day they’ll make their short-term decision about what to do to replace him on the roster for at least a few days, because they’ll want that player to be able to get to Houston to join the team coming out of the break.
We probably won’t find out until they announce the roster move tomorrow afternoon, or perhaps if the beat writers start putting “So-and-so has a locker here” posts on social media. Tomorrow’s roster move does not necessarily have to be the solution that the team will use from here until when Alexander is back. It also might be. Mike Elias generally does not act with the urgency that Orioles fans would like him to act with.
How much it’s worth paying the urgency premium for this 46-51 team is kind of an ongoing question. The odds for the Orioles are what they are, in the range of about one in eight to about one in five. You don’t want to bet a meaningful piece for the future on a one in eight chance. The odds could change if the Orioles keep playing well. The idea of a long winning streak has always been there for those who want to believe in it. “Well, if they could just win like seven in a row…”
The Orioles finally made it to four. If they were to sweep the Astros coming out of the break, the odds would be much better. They probably won’t sweep the Astros coming out of the break. The more they win over the rest of July, the more the math points more in their favor towards the value of seeking external improvements for this year’s team. Even if they stay on the fringes, finding someone who can help for the rest of this year and next year too might be worth getting. That’s something Elias will have to figure out between now and August 3.
There was some other injury news during yesterday’s off day. The team announced that lefty reliever Keegan Akin underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. Things had been pointing in that direction for a while based on what was known of his elbow injury and they reached the inevitable conclusion yesterday. At this point, Akin may not throw another real MLB pitch until late next season, if not all the way into 2028. Best wishes to Akin as he begins on the long road to recovery here.
The cold reality is this isn’t much of a loss for the 2026 Orioles bullpen. Akin’s 5.68 ERA in 25.1 innings were part of this team’s problems, rather than part of their solutions. Akin being removed as an option is something the Orioles can now definitively plan around, as opposed to pretending Akin will be back in action soon and then pretending that he might pitch to the form he had in either of the past two seasons. He may have thrown his last pitch for the team that drafted him; Akin is a free agent at the end of the season.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Key upcoming stretch could determine Orioles trade deadline strategy (Orioles.com) Jake Rill notes that these next two series are against teams – the Astros and Red Sox – who are currently between the Orioles and a wild card spot. Finding a way to win each series and gain a game on both would really improve their odds.
The replacement-level killers: First base, second base (FanGraphs) Ahead of each trade deadline, FanGraphs does a series showing which contending teams are weakest at each position. The Orioles, with a Jackson Holliday-heavy second base, show up here. Out of all of the infield positions, that’s the only one, though without Alexander, the third base picture looks tougher.
There are two former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2026 one-game outfielder Michael Siani, and 1966-67 pitcher Eddie Fisher. The 15-year MLB veteran Fisher passed away last year at age 88.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: civil rights activist Ida B. Wells (1862), Antarctic explorer Roald Amundsen (1872), popcorn man Orville Redenbacher (1907), football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson (1943), actor Will Ferrell (1967), and US women’s soccer legend Carli Lloyd (1982).
On this day in history…
In 622, Islam’s prophet Muhammad began the journey leading his followers from Mecca to Medina. This event, the Hijrah, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
In 1790, the District of Columbia was officially established as the capital of the United States.
In 1941, Joe DiMaggio recorded a hit for the 56th consecutive game. This turned out to be the last game in his record hitting streak, a record that still holds today. There are four players tied for the currently active hitting streak lead with hits in eight straight games.
In 1951, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was first published. Did you ever read that one in school?
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 16. Have a safe Thursday.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Brandon Marsh #16 of the Philadelphia Phillies signs a replica Declaration of Independence lineup card during player introductions prior to the 96th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The fun of All-Star week has concluded and it’s time for real business to start up again. The Phillies will open the unofficial second half of the season tonight when they take on the New York Mets. Aaron Nola will be on the mound against Christian Scott of the Mets for the primetime game on ESPN.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize, left, talks to pitcher Tarik Skubal in the dugout during the seventh inning against Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Note: This piece was written before the Brewers traded for Lance McCullers Jr. on Wednesday. Ultimately, I don’t believe the Brewers are putting much stock in the oft-injured and otherwise ineffective McCullers as a person to do much besides eat a few innings, so I don’t think that trade materially changes any approach that I suggest they might take below.
Welcome back to the trade deadline primer series here at Brew Crew Ball. In part one, we examined the team’s needs — which, of course, have changed completely since I wrote that piece two weeks ago — and looked at the landscape across the league to see who might be selling (another fool’s errand to do with a month remaining to the deadline). In part two last week, we looked at potential targets that could bolster the Brewers’ bullpen.
Today, the focus is the starting rotation. Since I first wrote the initial piece of this series, Brandon Woodruff got injured and received ominous news that makes it sound like he won’t be pitching again this season. Kyle Harrison was placed on the IL, and while everyone is saying the right things to make us believe it’ll be a short stint that’s geared more toward rest than anything else, the term “forearm tightness” is never something you want to hear.
The point is, the Brewers’ desire for starting pitching is very likely a bigger priority today than it was two weeks ago.
The way I see it, there are two ways the Brewers could go about targeting starting pitching at this deadline, so I’m going to structure this piece a little differently than I did the relief pitcher article. Here, I’m going to break things into two different categories. The first group we’ll look at would be splashier moves aimed at raising the ceiling for the team’s postseason rotation — players who the Brewers would expect to make a start or two in a playoff series. The second (and larger) group is what I’d consider “innings eaters” — players who would maybe would not be expected to start in the playoffs barring injury, but who would be able to capably take some innings and pressure off of the younger starters throughout the rest of the season, thus keeping those arms fresh for the stretch run.
I’ll also try to not just discuss the players themselves, but also how realistic (or not) it might be that the Brewers could or would acquire them.
The Postseason Ceiling-Raisers
Let’s get the big one out of the way first.
Tarik Skubal is a free agent after the season. He has won the Cy Young Award in the American League each of the last two seasons. The assumption is that the Tigers will not be able to afford to keep him. Detroit is 44-52 and in fourth place in the abysmal AL Central.
Since the AL is so bad, the Tigers aren’t completely out of it, and they have played good baseball in July. But they’re still not good, and Skubal, even as a two-month rental, could net them a fortune. While I’m not sure that adding a very tip-top of the rotation arm should be the Brewers’ highest priority, the simple fact is that there isn’t really another player on Skubal’s level that’s expected to move at this deadline (at any position), and there’s certainly no reason why you wouldn’t want to add a guy like Skubal if you were trying to win the World Series.
There are some questions about his health. Skubal missed a few weeks earlier this season to get loose bodies removed from his elbow, but he’s been solid in six starts since coming off the injured list and while his numbers aren’t as good as they have been the last two years, he’s still clearly one of the best pitchers in the league.
A challenge here is that it is assumed that the Dodgers will be in on Skubal. Their top four prospects are all outfielders, three of them are at the same level in the minor leagues, and all four are ranked No. 31 or higher in MLB Pipeline’s top 100. They don’t really need them all, and it would seem logical that they’d be willing to build a package around one of them for the right piece.
The Brewers likely can’t beat a Dodgers offer unless they include Jesús Made (not happening) or Luis Peña (whose trade value may have taken a dip given how much time he’s missed this season). Would the Brewers be willing to part with Peña (and probably at least one more of their top 10 prospects, probably two) for two months and a postseason with Skubal? It doesn’t seem like the type of move this front office would make, particularly since even with Skubal, the Brewers would still be heavy underdogs in a series against LA. Likelihood: 2/10.
Another top-line trade target who has been talked about frequently this season is Minnesota’s Joe Ryan. Ryan, unlike Skubal, is under control next season (he has a mutual option, but if it’s declined, he just goes back to arbitration). Ryan isn’t Skubal, but he’s a really good pitcher: over the past three seasons, he has a 3.33 ERA/3.39 FIP, he’s been mostly healthy, and he’s made two All-Star Games (including this season).
The thing is, though, the Twins are not remotely out of postseason position, even while they are under .500. They don’t look like a good team but they’re only three games back of the third Wild Card in the AL. Their owner also appears to want to compete and doesn’t seem happy with the sell-off his brother oversaw last year. My guess is convincing the Twins to trade Ryan would require a significant overpay for a player that already would’ve demanded a huge prospect package; I don’t think there would be much discernible difference between the cost for Ryan and the cost for Skubal. Plus, the Twins are surely less motivated to make a move than Detroit is even if that package is available. Likelihood: 1/10.
There is another Tigers pitcher who is having an excellent season who is an impending free agent: former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize. It has taken Mize a while to become a good major league pitcher — after a promising rookie season in 2021, he missed most of the next two years when he needed Tommy John surgery. After two seasons as a roughly league-average starter after his return, Mize has found it in 2026 at age 29 to the tune of a 2.79 ERA and even more impressive 2.69 FIP in 14 starts.
From a financial perspective, Mize is quite cheap — his full season salary in 2026 is just $6.15 million — so that could be something that makes him attractive to the Brewers. He’s also got far less of a track record as a good player than either Skubal or Ryan, so while the prospect cost would be significant, it would surely be more palatable. Mize will be a popular target, should the Tigers sell, but he seems far more realistic to me than either of the two guys mentioned above. Likelihood: 4/10
Let’s talk about the next two in tandem. I don’t know if anyone has any idea what the Angels are going to do at this trade deadline; they’re working with interim general manager John Mozeliak, and while they are clearly bad, they also seem to think that “next year is our year,” so I’m skeptical they’ll trade anyone who isn’t a free agent after the season.
If they do entertain that possibility, though, there are two pitchers on their squad who are both 27 and both under control for two more years after this one who would both be intriguing pickups. The first is Reid Detmers, the No. 10 overall pick in 2020 and a former top 30 prospect. Detmers’ major league career thus far has been a roller coaster. As has become the Angels’ M.O., he probably debuted too early — he was barely 22 when he first arrived in the big leagues in 2021. He wasn’t bad in 2022 and 2023, but he wasn’t particularly good, either, and things went sideways in 2024 when he had a 6.70 ERA in 87 innings. Last season, Detmers pitched out of the bullpen, and while his surface-level stats weren’t great, there was some promising stuff under the hood.
That has continued this season. In a return to the rotation, Detmers has a 4.39 ERA — that’s slightly worse than league average — but his FIP is 3.36, and he’s got good peripherals with 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. He’s also been quite durable, with 108 2/3 innings pitched as of the All-Star break.
The other interesting Angels pitcher was a big story in the season’s first month but has since cooled. José Soriano allowed just one run through his first six starts of the season — his ERA after six games and 37 2/3 innings was 0.24. Since then, Soriano hasn’t been all that good — he has a 5.15 ERA and 4.89 FIP in 73 1/3 innings across 14 starts since April 28. But I’ve long eyed Soriano as a potential Brewers target because he has certain traits that they value: he throws hard (96.8-mph average fastball velocity), gets ground balls (91st percentile), and has a lot of extension (78th percentile).
I imagine that because of these players’ relative youth, team control, and their high-ish profiles, the cost would be very high. There’s also the fact that no one knows what the Angels are going to do, and if I had to guess, I’d say that they’re going to make anyone who might help beyond this season more-or-less untouchable (even if it’s a dumb stance). Likelihood: 1/10.
What about Toronto’s Kevin Gausman? He’s in the last year of a five-year, $110 million deal signed before the 2022 season, and while he’s got a 4.33 ERA (105 ERA+), his peripherals are very much in line with what he’s done the last couple of seasons. Gausman isn’t as good as he was when he got Cy Young votes each year from 2021-23, but he’s still a solid pitcher who never gets hurt (at least 174 innings each year since 2020) and pitched very well for the Blue Jays in the postseason last year (a 2.93 ERA in 30 2/3 innings across six starts). It’s definitely an open question as to whether the defending American League champs would be willing to sell (they’re just 45-51 but only 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race), but if they do, Gausman is an obvious candidate. Likelihood: 4/10.
One last person that I’ll dedicate some actual time to is someone who is not having a good season, but who would surely get Brewers fans buzzing: Freddy Peralta. Things haven’t gone well for Peralta as a Met, though his peripherals aren’t all that far off what they were during his 2023-24 seasons in Milwaukee. The big concern here is that Peralta’s strikeouts have dipped — his 9.0 K/9 is the lowest of his career, and just the second time he’s ever been in single digits (9.9 in 2022).
The Mets should be willing to deal Peralta. He’s a free agent after the season, and given how poorly things have gone, you’d imagine they’re going to let him hit the open market rather than try to work out an extension before other teams get a crack at him. (They could also be curious to see if he bounces back after the All-Star break.) The optics of trading Peralta back to the Brewers — likely for quite a bit less than they gave up for him — would not be good for an already beleaguered front office. But if they can get something for him, they should. From the Brewers’ side, they may see a player they’re familiar with who they think they can get right, and even if they can’t, he would certainly fit the “innings eater” mold, as he’s been one of the more durable starters in the league over the last four seasons (and it’s not like he’s a disaster this season or anything). Likelihood: 3/10.
Finally, I’m going to zip through a few other potential but, in my opinion, extremely unlikely targets who fit the “ceiling-raiser” type.
San Francisco’s Logan Webb would surely command a king’s ransom if he were available; he’s been one of the best pitchers in the league for basically six years, he’s not 30 yet, and he’s got two more years of team control at an entirely reasonable $18 million a year. We haven’t really gotten any indication that San Francisco is interested in a multi-year rebuild, but if they do think they will go that way, they should absolutely dangle Webb, whose numbers are down a little but are still quite good.
I don’t see the Reds trading within the division really under any circumstances, but especially not when it’s a player who could help the Brewers beat them again next year. But if there were a world where Nick Lodolo was available to the Brewers, I’d be interested, even though his season has been inconsistent.
I suppose we should mention a third Tiger, Jack Flaherty, who is also a free agent after the season. He’s having an OK season, but he’s walking more batters than you’d like and he’s also been inconsistent over the last several years. The other thing with Flaherty is that he’s making a ton of money this season, $32 million, so the Brewers would probably want Detroit to pay some of that down.
Speaking of Detroit, Keider Montero and Troy Melton are both intriguing, but given that neither has even reached arbitration, I suspect the Tigers will hold them for the future, especially if any or all of Skubal, Mize, and Flaherty go. Somebody has to pitch. (Framber Valdez, another Tiger, makes too much money to be a Brewers target.)
There’s a lot of noise around Sonny Gray, who would probably be on the move if the Red Sox sell. Gray, though, has a full no-trade clause and there has been a lot of noise regarding Atlanta, so I don’t see a match with the Brewers.
Michael King is a solid pitcher and of all the starters on the Padres, he is by far the most desirable in a trade. The issue is money: King has player options in each of the next two seasons worth $25 million a year. Would the Brewers be willing to potentially take on $50 million in new money to acquire King?
A common name in trade discussions for over a year now has been Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 NL Cy Young winner who is having a good bounce-back year after Tommy John in 2024 and a down season in his first year back. But the Marlins are too good to sell at this point, I think; the surprise team in the NL this year is right in the thick of it, and Alcantara is likely off the block.
There has been some talk that the Mariners would be willing to move one of their starters, as they essentially have six guys who would be in most teams’ top three. But the most likely candidate is the expensive and maybe-not-that-good-anymore Luis Castillo (he’s been a bit better over the last month but is still a net negative on the season), and the Mariners are definitely a team trying to win this season; their needs — a high-leverage reliever and a right-handed hitter — align too closely with the Brewers’ needs to make this a match that works.
The last one to mention in this section: All-Star Eduardo Rodríguez is having a very nice season for Arizona. But there’s a huge gap between his 2.25 ERA and his 4.00 FIP that gives me pause, and he’s not cheap either, with two more years at $20 million each. Rodríguez also has a limited no-trade clause, which he famously invoked when the Dodgers thought they were trading for him at the 2023 deadline. I don’t see this one as much of a possibility.
The Innings Eaters
Okay, so that was a whole bunch of starting pitchers who, were the Brewers to acquire any of them, would be expected to play a real role in a postseason starting rotation. But what if the Brewers aim lower? What if they’re just looking for someone to competently cover a bunch of innings between now and the end of the season so that players like Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison can get enough rest that they’re ready to go full speed in the postseason?
That invites a much larger player pool. These guys wouldn’t be the most exciting acquisitions, but they could certainly play a role. I’m not going to give likelihood ratings here, but I’ll comment on availability when I need to.
Looking back at Cincinnati, Brady Singer is an acquisition that didn’t really work out for them. His numbers this season aren’t very good, and he’ll be a free agent after the season. But what Singer can offer is durability: he has made at least 24 starters every year since 2021 and has thrown over 150 innings in each of the last four seasons. He’s not going to win you many games by himself, but if you’re just looking for a guy who can keep you in it, he’s not a bad choice.
One semi-intriguing option hasn’t pitched since May 15 but could be back by the time we reach the deadline, and that’s the Mets’ Clay Holmes. This is a move that might have a higher ceiling than just “innings eater,” as Holmes was an above-average starter last season and a good reliever for several years before that. But the Brewers would certainly want some guarantee of health before making the move. There’s also murkiness over next season: Holmes holds a $12 million player option for 2027.
Another Met, Sean Manaea, is making way too much money ($22 million this year and next) for a mediocre pitcher. He started the year in long relief, but he’s been solid since returning to the rotation in mid-June. If the Mets ate some of the contract, I could see it, but there’s no way the Brewers would do this if they had to pay the whole contract.
San Francisco has couple of veteran pitchers, Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle, who are both free agents after the season. Mahle’s surface numbers are poor, but the peripherals are a bit better, and he’s been decent at times. Ray is the opposite: the 2021 AL Cy Young winner has good surface-level numbers, but the peripherals are bad. Either could work if expectations are low.
The Royals have a few pitchers who could conceivably be involved in something. Seth Lugo makes too much money to be any sort of realistic target. Michael Wacha has a $14 million club option next season and has been solid, if not spectacular, this season — he’d be one of the higher-end “innings eater” types, but he might be good enough to tempt a new manager to use him in the playoff rotation, which I’m not sure would be good.
Kris Bubic could’ve been an interesting target — he’s a free agent after the season and was an All-Star last year — but he just had a setback in rehab from a shoulder injury, and he probably won’t be ready by the deadline.
There are a few Baltimore pitchers who might be worth sniffing around. Trevor Rogers was excellent in 2025 but hasn’t been nearly as good this year; he’ll be a free agent after the season. Dean Kremer missed two-and-a-half months this year with a strained quad, and he’s only made four starts, but last year’s version was a perfectly fine back-of-rotation starter, and he’s got another year of control. Kyle Bradish has two more years of control, but while he’s healthy this season he’s had injury problems in the past. His value is also low right now, so Baltimore might want to hold him to see if they can get it back up.
Might a team try to buy low on Boston’s Brayan Bello? He’s had a horrible season and was sent back to the minor leagues for most of the last month until returning right before the break. He’s not cheap, with three years and an option remaining all at about $9 million on a big extension he signed prior to the 2024 season. It would be a risky project.
San Diego’s Walker Buehler obviously has some experience, but there’s not a lot to like, there. Also on the Padres, Griffin Canning has been a bit unlucky but walks too many batters. I wouldn’t be excited about Colorado’s Michael Lorenzen, but if all you’re looking for is innings, he could handle it.
Arizona’s Michael Soroka has pitched well this season when he’s been healthy, but he’s currently on the injured list with a glute issue. He should be back before the deadline and might be an interesting pickup. A bigger name on that same club but one who seems to be broken is Zac Gallen, who is a free agent after the season but is making a LOT of money this year. He’s just been getting demolished; not sure what happened to him.
Wrapping up
Kyle Harrison’s availability moving forward is likely to be the biggest influence on what the Brewers do at the trade deadline. If the Brewers think (or know) that Harrison is fine but just needs a little rest, then you might see them pick up an innings eater type who, if needed, could throw a few innings in the postseason — think about a version of Jose Quintana from 2025.
But if the Brewers are worried about Harrison — or Misiorowski, for that matter — making it to the end of the season at full effectiveness, they might — and maybe should — make a more aggressive move.
If they’re aggressive, the names that make the most sense to me are Casey Mize, Kevin Gausman, or — as wild as it might seem — Freddy Peralta. If they go the other route and look for someone to fill in toward the back of the rotation, I could see Tyler Mahle or Michael Lorenzen as options. If they’re looking to thread the needle and going for a pitcher who is more of a question but has a bit of upside, I wouldn’t be shocked by a move for Clay Holmes, Michael Soroka, or Trevor Rogers.
The Skubal move just doesn’t feel right to me right now. The aging Dodgers can’t keep this up forever, and while they’ll surely keep replenishing, the Brewers might think they’ll be a little closer in a year or two, at which point they’ll make an all-in move or two. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but this is a fairly deliberate front office who has put a lot of faith in building from within. Getting a player for such a short period of time who won’t even make them the league’s favorite just doesn’t feel like a Matt Arnold move.
May 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington observes batting practice before the Pirates play the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The MLB Trade Deadline is August 3. The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting at 50-47. They are 9.5 games back in the division but just 2 games back of a Wild Card. The Pirates are typically sellers at the deadline. This week’s question is what do you think this year? Will the Pirates be buyer or sellers?
Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results.
Oliver Bonk is a prospect whom the Philadelphia Flyers are hoping will emerge as a key part of their roster. There is no question that the 21-year-old defenseman has plenty of potential, and he had a nice start to his professional career in 2025-26.
In 46 games down in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Bonk posted six goals, 13 assists, and 19 points. He also made his NHL debut in the Flyers' season finale against the Montreal Canadiens, where he scored a goal and recorded an assist. With that, it is clear that he left a strong first impression with the NHL club.
Yet, now that Bonk has completed his first AHL season, it would not be surprising if he takes a major step forward with his development next season. The 21-year-old blueliner has great upside, and it would be huge for the Flyers if he can break out for them next season.
Bonk showed a lot of potential during his OHL career with the London Knights. During the 2024-25 season with the OHL club, he posted 11 goals, 29 assists, and 40 points in 52 games. He also had 24 goals and 67 points in 60 games with London during the 2023-24 season.
It will now be interesting to see how Bonk's season goes in 2026-27. There is a lot to like about his game.
While the NBA world sits tight anxiously awaiting LeBron James’ decision, Warriors coach Steve Kerr decided to have some fun with the situation.
A video posted to social media shows fans next to Kerr’s car as the coach waved at them and asked how they were doing. The anxious fans blurted out a statement that Dub Nation and the rest of the NBA world are curious about.
“We need to get LeBron, man,” one fan shouted.
“We got him,” Kerr responded. “Put that on Twitter.”
Steve Kerr to a fan asking for LeBron James: “We got him” 😂
The car full of Warriors fans burst into laughter as Kerr began to drive away.
Now, of course, it’s highly unlikely that the Warriors — at least at the time of Kerr’s remark — secured James. Although Golden State is perceived to be one of the potential landing spots for the four-time NBA MVP as he seeks a new home to end his illustrious NBA career, Kerr likely was just being playful with his response.
Earlier this off-season, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost goalie Stuart Skinner to the Winnipeg Jets in free agency. With Skinner no longer in Pittsburgh, it has opened the door for Sergei Murashov to fight for a spot on their NHL roster.
Murashov is the Penguins' top goalie prospect and has the potential to become a good goalie in the NHL. Because of this, the 22-year-old has now received some praise.
Murashov was given the No. 8 spot on Scott Wheeler's top NHL goalie prospect rankings for The Athletic.
With how well Murashov has been developing his game, it is entirely understandable that he has been ranked among the top goalie prospects in the league.
Murashov appeared in his first five career NHL games last season with Pittsburgh, where he posted a 1-1-2 record, a 2.56 goals-against average, and an .897 save percentage. He most notably, however, put together a 21-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Nov. 16.
Down in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2025-26, Murashov had a 24-9-4 record, a .919 save percentage, a 2.20 goals-against average, and four shutouts. With numbers like these, he undoubtedly showed great promise last season.
It will now be interesting to see what Murashov can do next season on Pittsburgh's roster.
Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics are betting big on 20-year-old wing Hugo Gonzalez. On Wednesday night, the 2025 first-round pick showed why the organization is so high on his potential.
Gonzalez enjoyed his best Summer League performance yet, leading Boston to an 82-76 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Spaniard led his team in points (game-high 24), rebounds (10), and assists (five) while adding a steal.
Gonzalez has already proven capable of tormenting NBA opponents with his tenacious defense. This summer is about his offensive development, and while he still wasn’t as efficient as he likely hoped (8-18 FG, 3-9 3-PT), his aggressiveness has been a welcome sight.
The shot will continue to develop. As for his ball-handling, passing, and rebounding, Gonzalez already looks the part. With his competitive spirit, it seems like just a matter of time before he puts it all together and becomes a two-way force for the Celtics for years to come.
Despite improving to 3-1 with Wednesday’s win, the Summer League C’s were eliminated from the knockout round. Point differential is the second tiebreaker in the Summer League standings after head-to-head matchups, and Boston (+9) sits behind the San Antonio Spurs (+16) and Phoenix Suns (+15), who also have 3-1 records. The Atlanta Hawks (3-0) have the head-to-head advantage, while both the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets enter Thursday with better point differentials.
The Celtics will close out their Summer League schedule with a consolation game on Friday or Saturday.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Cody Bellinger #35 and Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees speak during the first inning of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The All-Star break giving us a four-day reprieve before kicking off the unofficial second half of the season is always a good time for reflection, as many front offices are surely doing with their rosters in the weeks remaining before the trade deadline. A lot can still happen to change up what the Yankees are working with, but until a move is made the team that they’ve got on paper needs to be the one showing up on the field. They finally pulled out of their tailspin in the week before the break, splitting a series with the Rays and sweeping the Nationals to give themselves a platform to hopefully spring off of once they’re back starting on Friday, but they’ve got a tough schedule in front of them.
The Yankees are in the tougher half of the toughest remaining schedules leaguewide with the 12th hardest foes left to face from the rest of July through September, and a few of the biggest ones are right on the horizon. Right out of the gate they’ve got the two-time defending champion Dodgers visiting the Bronx, and following them is a Pirates team that has surprisingly been rather competent surfacing over .500 this season. A road trip to Philadelphia is next up, and the Phillies have completely turned their season around since firing Rob Thomson and installing Yankee legend Don Mattingly as the interim manager putting them just two games behind Atlanta for first place in the NL East. A week in Chicago rounds out the month with both the White Sox and Cubs coming up back-to-back, and the ChiSox are another surprise as they narrowly lead the AL Central with the Cubs remaining a solid postseason threat in the middle of the NL Wild Card.
That’s a lot of contending teams to face in a row, and while the Yankees may have had a good week finally they’ll need to be on their A-game to not continue sliding down the standings with that many strong opponents on the docket. The schedule doesn’t let up from there, but let’s zoom in on this stretch to close out July for a moment. With the expectation that the big clump in the standings is going to force teams to wait around until the last minute before committing to being buyers or sellers, it’s reasonable to assume that the roster as it stands is going to be the ones handling this stretch, and it’s a crucial one. So how can we expect the Yankees to handle it, and how many series can they convert into wins?
Their immediate challenge with Los Angeles would certainly set the tone if they can win it, and they’ll be rolling out the top of their rotation rested and fresh with Cam Schlittler going in the first game to give themselves a chance, but I don’t think anyone would be surprised if they only came away with a win at most from the three-game set. Pittsburgh is a different discussion though, and for all the good they’ve done this year they have to be viewed as a team for the Yankees to beat. The Phillies are the pivotal point in this run, as the second-best team of the bunch and the first stop in a lengthy road trip — winning two out of three here would be a statement that the Yankees are back.
The White Sox got smashed the last time they faced New York, giving up 10+ runs in back-to-back games, and will be looking for vengeance on their home turf, but even though they’re a division leader they’re one of the weaker ones in all of baseball. With a four-game set the even split is the most common outcome, but tilting it in the Bombers’ favor is the kind of result they’ll need to catch the Rays. The Cubs will be a tough task to round things out with, and the prospect of facing them to end a 10-game road trip is daunting — I don’t know if they’ll be able to manage that, but expecting to win every series is impossible and I wouldn’t fault them for stumbling here if they play up to their lofty standards in the thick of this stretch. All in all, I see an 11-6 or 10-7 run to open the second half as a realistic goal if the Yankees are done stumbling all over themselves. Do you think it could be better? Is hoping for .500 with all of these contenders in the way the best they could hope for? Let us know what you think down below.
We’ve got a chill day ahead as we take our last day of rest before starting the dog days of summer. Nick leads off with a look at one of the few names that has been directly linked to the Yankees in trade rumors so far with Ryan Jeffers, and Matt follows with a birthday post for Tom Metcalf and the charming run he had in his lone year in the majors. Peter and Andrés both take Paul Blackburn under the microscope, with the former giving him the Sequence of the Week treatment while the latter looks at his breakout season at large. Then, Josh will preview the pitching matchups we’ll see when the Dodgers arrive tomorrow to kick off the post-break push.
Today’s Matchup
Off-day (Yankees will resume tomorrow at home against the Dodgers at 7:05 p.m. EST)
PHILADELPHIA — Within a 162-game campaign, there are multiple seasons within a season, each segment sowing hope or despair or perhaps just drudgery. Make it to July in decent shape, though, and anything’s possible.
A 45-24 tear to end the first half – Wheeler winning 10 of his 11 decisions – nudged the Phillies within two games of first place in the National League East – and firmly in wild card contention.
“Once we got Wheels back,” All-Star first baseman Bryce Harper tells USA TODAY Sports, “everybody took a deep breath and understood he was coming back and was going to do his job and do it well. That helped a lot of our other starting pitching fall into place and understand Wheels was going to do his job and everything was going to be OK.
“Once he got back, things started rolling a little more and kind of took off from there.”
And here we are, poised on the eve of the second half, with a mass of mediocrity huddled in the standings and 20 of 30 teams harboring fairly legitimate playoff hopes. Some are far better off than others, though, and with that in mind, USA TODAY Sports breaks down the tiers of playoff contenders as the season re-starts Friday, July 16:
For what it’s worth, this group’s playoff odds, per FanGraphs, land in the 91-100% range, and you can guess which team enjoys the latter projection. Atlanta holds just a two-game lead over Philadelphia, and both teams possess below-average farm systems, which will make the trade deadline upgrade game fascinating. But Atlanta’s big league product features superior depth than the Phillies.
Milwaukee can largely rest on its first-half laurels and cruise to the postseason, but injuries to starting pitchers Kyle Harrison and Brandon Woodruff complicate matters. The Brewers hold a five-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central; the teams will face each other seven times in 10 games as August turns to September, spurring memories of their fairly epic five-game 2025 NLDS matchup won by the Brewers.
“Every game felt like a Game 7,” remembers Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. “It didn’t matter if it was a Game 1 or a Game 3. It was a lot of fun.”
Despite the loss of Aaron Judge, the Yankees and Rays are simply the only teams with a semblance of consistency in the AL. The Rays have a three-game lead over the Yankees and 10 over third-place Boston. The Yankees should face the same scenario last year, a wild card in hand and a battle for the division, with Tampa Bay replacing Toronto. In case you were wondering: The Rays hold a 6-3 head-to-head advantage, so the Yankees best not tie for the division title once again.
We’ll ship the Phillies and Cubs into the NL field, one way or another. As for the AL slog?
Throw a dart, essentially. One of the Mariners and Rangers should win the West, and both have the pitching and pedigree to play with a semblance of consistency in the second half. Texas – now 49-47 - is an interesting sleeper: The Rangers have crawled to the .500 mark with an interesting mix of ’23 championship holdovers and new blood.
“We’ve gotten through the hardest part of our schedule playing above .500 baseball and we still don’t have our full team there,” All-Star closer Jacob Latz says. “We’re missing Corey (Seager). The guys are starting to find their groove a bit. They’ve done it before. They know what it takes to get there.
“Everyone’s starting to peak at the same time. Which is what happened in ’23.”
The Guardians are in a dead heat with the White Sox in the Central, but boast a more potent and precise pitching staff, along with a core that gutted out a pair of playoff berths the past two seasons.
Tier 3 – Slightly better than a coin flip: Marlins, Pirates, White Sox
Any of these guys would spice up the playoff field, if only due to their upstart nature. Naturally, everyone wants to see Paul Skenes in a playoff setting, but he needs to start pitching better (a 6.64 ERA in his last four first half starts) to push the Pirates in the right direction.
Will the White Sox ever get in too deep? Now they’ve got Munetaka Murakami back, and the always dangerous power of belief. Not writing them off yet.
Tier 4 – Longshots: Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, Astros, Tigers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Padres
Ugly, ugly, ugly. Safe to say seven of these eight teams are massive disappointments – save for the Cardinals, who are a game out of a wild card spot yet exhibited little effort to contend this season.
“We play hard for each other,” says Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien. “We show up every day ready to work. Regardless of whether we win or lose, we move on, we flush it and today’s a new day.
“We have a ton of talent. And I think as we continue to play for each other and put that talent on the field, good things are going to happen in the second half.”
The Red Sox have not lost since July 1, have pulled within two games of .500 and are probably more intriguing right now than the Orioles and Blue Jays, whose maddening inconsistencies make it difficult to put much stock in their playoff hopes.
And while the Tigers have just a 27.3% chance to make the playoffs, consider them the team to watch: They can upset all this hierarchy if they fade from contention and choose to trade ace Tarik Skubal.
The Seattle Kraken kicked off their fourth straight season by welcoming Professional Women’s Hockey League Seattle Torrent head coach Christine Bumstead to development camp.
Burnstead joins the Kraken to bring a different perspective on the game for the young prospects.
"As coaches, we're always looking to grow and learn, too,” Kraken director of player development Cory Murphy said to NHL.com. “When you bring new voices in with that kind of experience to add to the camp and provide their feedback and their voice, I think it makes us all better.”
Bumstead has several connections with the Kraken, beginning officially in June when she was named head coach of the Torrent. Bumstead had served as assistant bench coach in the team's first season, where they went 8-1-5-16.
According to NHL.com, Kraken assistant general manager Alex Mandrycky invited Bumstead to join the development camp staff.
Bumstead explained the perspective she brings to camp.
“The PWHL game is different than the NHL game,” Bumstead said to NHL.com. “That's also something that we can share and provide – the different little nuances within our game or the little nuances within our athletes and how we develop them. You have to work with those players …they're very successful and elite where they're playing, but you want to craft them and develop them to be elite and successful here as a Seattle Kraken or as a Coachella Firebird, right? So that's something that's important, and we are able to have those conversations between the dev staff and me.”
Murphy went on to explain further the benefits of having Bumstead around at development camp.
“Just getting a different perspective, you can see the passion comes out right away,” Murphy said. “We had (Bumstead) running the bench, and you could see her getting prepared and the competitive fire. It was great to have her on the ice. I’ll be following the Torrent for sure.”
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CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 19: New York Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner is interviewed as he celebrates the team's 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in ten innings in Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Bloomberg | Silas Brown and Randall Williams: The Yankees are reportedly moving closer to raising $3 billion of financing from Apollo Global Management, Inc. The package is mostly comprised of debt and equity. Per the NY Post, the fresh capital is expected to be used ‘to refinance existing obligations and fund future expansion projects.’
ESPN | Kiley McDaniel: The 2026 MLB Draft is now in the books, and you can say that the Yankees added some exciting prospects. McDaniel updated each team’s top 10 prospects list and added the Bombers’ first two picks, left-handers Hunter Dietz and Sean Duncan, in the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Fellow southpaw Henry Lalane (No. 8) and third baseman Richard Matic (No. 10) also cracked the list.
NY Post | Jon Heyman: A few weeks ago, former Yankees and current Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman suggested that if the Bombers wanted to acquire him before the deadline, he would need an apology from general manager Brian Cashman. That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. “I turned the page a long time ago,” Chapman told the Post. “They asked me a question and I answered it.”
Chapman’s tenure in New York ended on a sour note back in 2022, but the left-hander appears to be over it. A trade, however, is highly unlikely at this point, even though he has been magnificent this year with a 2.20 ERA.
Newsday | Erik Boland: The Yankees enter the second half with a 54-42 record, three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. Per Boland, there are five burning questions surrounding the team at this point. He wonders about Aaron Judge’s return date, Ben Rice’s ability to keep up his torrid run, Gerrit Cole and his ability to return to top form, and more.
The Phillies return from the All-Star break and host the New York Mets on Thursday night.
Before Aaron Nola takes the mound and the boos start raining down on Juan Soto at Citizens Bank Park, let’s take a look at five storylines that will impact the Phils as the games get bigger and they try to make the postseason for a fifth straight year.
THE TRADE DEADLINE
At various times this season, the Phillies’ top need has appeared to be a right-handed outfield bat or a back-end starting pitcher. The club would still benefit from both, though newcomer Derek Hill’s contributions on both sides of the ball have at least partially addressed some of the outfield deficit.
In recent weeks, bullpen has probably become the team’s No. 1 need, specifically a quality late-game leverage arm that can help deliver the ball to All-Star closer Jhoan Duran. It doesn’t really matter if the Phils get a lefty or a righty, as long as it’s a quality arm that throws strikes. In a perfect world, however, it would be a left-hander because Jose Alvarado has struggled. Aroldis Chapman would be the pie-in-the-sky acquisition, but his Boston Red Sox rallied before the break and are just a half-game out of the last wild-card spot in the American League.
Not only has Alvarado struggled but right-hander Brad Keller, signed in the offseason to pitch in leverage situations in the seventh and eighth innings, recently missed time with forearm inflammation. Keller is back now, but eyebrows were raised over the weekend when he was not used in Detroit. That’s something to keep an eye on.
Since June 1, the Phillies’ bullpen ranks 25th in the majors with a 5.21 ERA. In July, it ranks 29th with an 8.05 ERA and has walked 5.45 batters per nine, second-most in the majors over that span.
The trade deadline is August 3. The Phillies are in the midst of their annual search for bullpen help. Baseball boss Dave Dombrowski got a good one in Duran last year. He doesn’t have a deep farm system to entice potential trade partners, but he’ll get something done. With a high-priced, aging, win-now team, the stakes are just too high not to.
Fans aren’t the only ones curious to see what happens.
The players are, too. Especially the guy in the first locker with the colorful spikes.
“I think you know what we need, what we’re good at and what we’re not good at right now,” Bryce Harper said at All-Star media day Monday. “Obviously John (Middleton) wants to win. He’s going to put all his chips in where he needs to, but he’s going to be smart about our future as well. I’ve said this before. Obviously, I like the future of our organization and we need our future, but you’ve got to try to win as well. So whatever that looks like, I think Dave is going to do a great job, or I hope he does, and gets the things we need.”
RACE FOR THE CY
Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler are right in the thick of a crowded NL Cy Young race that could go down to the wire. They rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in bWAR for pitchers in the NL – Sanchez at 5.4 and Wheeler at 4.8.
Sanchez, who finished second in the voting last season, ranks second in the NL in innings (127 1/3) and strikeouts (144). He is sixth in ERA at 2.62. He racked up the fifth-longest scoreless innings streak (50 2/3 innings) in MLB history earlier this season.
Since the streak ended, however, Sanchez carries an ERA of 4.50 in eight starts. Makes you wonder if he’s getting a little fatigued. Something to keep an eye on as the second half gets going.
Wheeler missed five starts at the beginning of the season so he does not yet qualify for the league ERA lead. If he did, his mark of 2.13 ERA would be second-best in the NL to Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski. His 0.892 WHIP would also be second in the league. Wheeler projects to have enough innings to qualify for the league lead by mid-August. He has twice finished second in the Cy Young voting and badly wants to win one. His innings total may end up being around 170. Can he win it at that number? Sure, he can. Corbin Burnes won the award with 167 innings in 2021, beating out Wheeler, who led the majors with 213 1/3 that season.
Sanchez and Wheeler face plenty of competition for the Cy Young. Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Chase Burns, Eduardo Rodriguez, Max Meyer and Shohei Ohtani, among others, are all in the mix.
SOME NOTABLE SERIES
The Phillies have a big one next week when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games at Citizens Bank Park. The Dodgers have the best record in the majors and eliminated the Phillies from the postseason last year. Once again, they look to be a team the Phillies must get past if they want to make the World Series. The Phils lost two of three at Dodger Stadium in May. They’ll have another chance to measure themselves against baseball’s best next week.
A week after seeing the Dodgers, the Phils travel to Miami for three against a surging Marlins team that is right on their heels in the NL East and wild-card races. Miami has the best record (26-11) in the majors since June 1 and is 31-20 at home.
The Phils come back from the All-Star break trailing first-place Atlanta by two games. The Marlins are just four back. The Phillies and Braves will square off seven times in 10 days in early September.
HELP FROM THE MINORS?
If the Phils spend their limited trade currency to add bullpen or outfield help, they may not have enough to address the back end of their starting rotation. They would love nothing more than to see enough improvement in Andrew Painter to bring him back from Triple A.
It’s worth keeping an eye on Gage Wood’s progress at Double A. Would Dombrowski bring last year’s first-rounder to the majors down the stretch to help in the bullpen? It probably depends on the hard-throwing right-hander’s ability to throw strikes. It might be a long shot, but Dombrowski has been bold in the past.
Right-handed reliever Alex McFarlane is also at Double A, striking out almost 12 batters per nine innings. However, he’s walking almost five per nine. He throws hard and features a good slider. Maybe he earns a look if he can throw strikes.
Also, veteran Tommy Pham is still in the minors. The right-handed hitting outfielder could be in the mix if he gets hot.
CHASING RECORDS
Kyle Schwarber leads the majors with 32 homers. He’s on pace for 56, which would equal his NL-leading total from last season. Can Schwarber break Ryan Howard’s club record of 58, set in 2006? Can he get to 60?
Schwarber is 28 shy of 400 homers in his career. Bryce Harper is just 17 short of 400. Can they both get there this season?
On the flipside, Schwarber leads the majors with 144 strikeouts and is on pace to break the all-time single-season record of 223, set by Arizona’s Mark Reynolds in 2009.
Harper, who missed time each of the last five seasons with injury, has been remarkably durable this season. He’s played in all 97 games. Manager Don Mattingly knows he must get Harper an occasional day off in the second half to optimize production.
Steve Smith has produced one of the most explosive innings of his career, blasting an unbeaten century to lead the Ricky Ponting-coached Washington Freedom to a record-breaking T20 run chase in the Major League Cricket Eliminator.
