Dodgers release Chris Taylor, parting ways with another veteran

Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor stands on third base and extends his arm for a low five with third base coach Dino Ebel.
Chris Taylor, the Dodgers' longest tenured position player, was released on Sunday as the team made room on its roster for Tommy Edman's return from the injured list. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The Chris Taylor era in Los Angeles is over.

On Sunday, Taylor was released by the Dodgers, making him the second longtime team veteran, along with former backup catcher Austin Barnes, to be cut loose by the team in the last week.

In corresponding roster moves, the Dodgers activated Tommy Edman from the injured list and added pitcher Lou Trivino to the 40-man roster. Trivino was in Los Angeles on Sunday — occupying the same locker stall Taylor used to — after fellow reliever Kirby Yates was placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain he suffered Saturday night.

"This has been a very emotional week for all of us,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “Barnsey and CT have been in the middle of some huge moments for this organization. Both guys have left an indelible mark on our culture and where we're at at this point. So the decisions were incredibly difficult. The conversations were tough. But with where we are, the division race, the composition of roster, everything. We felt like this was in the Dodgers' best interest in terms of how to win as many games and put us in a position to best win the World Series this year.”

Read more:Hernández: Hyeseong Kim has arrived, and the Dodgers need to make sure he's here to stay

Taylor was in the last season of a four-year, $60-million contract with the Dodgers. The former All-Star was the longest-tenured position player on the roster, after Barnes was designated for assignment last week. But, just like with Barnes, Taylor’s declining production, coupled with the emergence of a younger and more productive alternative in rookie utilityman Hyeseong Kim, left the 34-year-old expendable.

Thus, for the second time in the last week, the Dodgers parted ways with one of the most familiar faces of the team, triggering another shake-up in a suddenly-evolving clubhouse.

“We didn't feel like coming into the season this was something that we would necessarily be doing in May,” Friedman said. “But you learn things and things change and things evolve and play out. We just have a lot more information at this point in May than we do before the season. I wouldn't say it was something that we thought was fait accompli, and was necessarily going to happen. But with where we were, all things factored in, while not easy we felt like it was the right thing to do."

Taylor once was one of the biggest success stories in the Dodgers organization. Acquired in a low-profile trade with the Seattle Mariners for Zach Lee in 2016, Taylor became a defensively versatile slugger in Los Angeles, batting .265 from 2017-2021 with 78 home runs and 292 RBIs with a revamped swing and increasingly prominent role.

He became an All-Star for the first time in 2021, then punctuated the season by hitting a walk-off home run in the National League Wild Card Game against the St. Louis Cardinals and three home runs in an elimination game against the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series. The following offseason, the Dodgers signed him to his four-year extension just before Major League Baseball’s lockout of the players. The hope was that he would be a cornerstone of the franchise’s future.

Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor greets fans before a game against the Athletics at Dodger Stadium Tuesday.
Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor greets fans before a game against the Athletics at Dodger Stadium Tuesday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Instead, he’s been a shell of his old self ever since.

After undergoing elbow surgery after the 2021 season, Taylor struggled to maintain the mechanics in his swing. In 2022 and 2023, he batted a combined .228 with a subpar .708 OPS.

Last year, the bottom fell completely out, with Taylor setting career lows in batting average (.202), OPS (.598) and home runs (four) while playing just 87 games.

This season, Taylor was the last man on the Dodgers’ bench, starting just six of the team’s first 46 games while batting .200 with two doubles and homers.

Friedman said he believed Taylor’s injury history — which also included a left foot fracture in 2022, a right knee injury in 2023 and a groin strain last season — were a main factor in his decline, but also acknowledged the difficulties that came with his increasing lack of playing time.

“With a lot of guys, but with CT as well, it’s hard to play once a week, it's a tough role, and in a vacuum isolated to him, probably not the best role for him to have success,” Friedman said. “But just with the way our roster has played out, that's how it's evolved. But I know he's looking forward to trying getting an opportunity to play more often, and he's got a chip on his shoulder, and I certainly would not bet against him.”

Read more:Dodgers call up catcher Dalton Rushing, designate Austin Barnes for assignment

For a while, Taylor’s presence on the Dodgers’ active roster was a tenable situation. The Dodgers had a player whom they trusted to play multiple positions, without having to worry about finding him regular at-bats.

In recent weeks, however, Kim’s emergence as a slick-fielding, left-handed bat with game-changing speed altered the equation.

With Edman back and Teoscar Hernández nearing his own return from the injured list, the Dodgers were facing a roster crunch. And rather than send Kim (who is batting .452 with three stolen bases in 14 games) back to the minors, they elected to move Taylor off the roster instead, turning the page on one of the five remaining position players from both their 2020 and 2024 World Series-winning teams.

“He was a huge part of so much success that we've enjoyed,” Friedman said. “Can't say enough about the human, the worker, the teammate, the player. He's one of the toughest guys I've ever been around. We'll always have a place for CT. And whenever he's done playing four, five, six years from now, I hope, he's always connected to the Dodgers."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Ducks Ownership Prepared to Spend 'What it Takes' This Summer

Apr 13, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson (91) skates with the puck across center ice against the Colorado Avalanche in the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As the conference final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is about to commence, teams out of the race look ahead to the offseason, the NHL Draft, and free agency.

Ducks Name Joel Quenneville Head Coach

Enhanced Depth Will Give Ducks Options

For the Anaheim Ducks, their first order of business has been handled: the hiring of their next head coach ahead of the 2025-26 season, Joel Quenneville.

Quenneville’s hiring demonstrated the Ducks intend to graduate from their rebuild phase and enter their playoff contention phase, as general manager Pat Verbeek was given the green light from ownership, Henry and Susan Samueli, to spend whatever is necessary to ensure the icing of a competitive team come autumn.

Quenneville’s salary is reported to be a two to three-year contract with a higher value than the team had historically paid a head coach.

The Samuelis are said to be spending roughly $5 billion in renovations to Honda Center and development of the surrounding area, intended to become a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment district, OCVibe.

With $38.63 million to play with, the Ducks enter the summer with the third-most projected cap space in the NHL behind the San Jose Sharks ($43.93 million) and the Columbus Blue Jackets ($41.27 million).

“I expect us to be very active and aggressive,” Verbeek said following the dismissal of Greg Cronin on April 19. “I think I see this team at a point to where my expectation of this team is to make the playoffs next year. I expect our group to take a step, and so I'm going to be active and aggressive in making our team better.”

In the 2024 offseason, Verbeek was reported to offer more substantial contracts, both in terms of length and value, to free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault than the ones they ultimately signed. Both players rejected the Ducks in favor of the Nashville Predators.

“We're going to have a bunch of different strategies going into that,” Verbeek continued. “There'll be a bunch of different plans. I’m going to be aggressive like I was last summer, but there'll be different plans put in place based on what happens in the different scenarios.”

The Ducks will need to spend over $8 million simply to reach the $65 million cap floor for the 2025-26 season, a non-issue when considering they only have 33 players under contract in the organization and high-profile RFAs Mason McTavish and Lukas Dostal in need of new contracts.

Verbeek feels the team will need to add more goal-scoring to take their next steps toward contention. Some of that will come with natural progression from the youngest and most talented players on the roster, and some of that will come with additions made in the upcoming offseason, additions Henry Samueli has no problems breaking out the checkbook for.

“Bringing in someone of Joel’s stature, that’s going to cost more money, but we’re willing to make that investment into the team,” Samueli said at Quenneville’s introductory press conference. “We’ve told the same thing to Pat. Going out looking for players, you will have the budget you need to make this a serious playoff team. You don’t have to pinch pennies anymore. Do what it takes to make us a contender.”

The 2025 free agent class won’t be the deepest, with names like Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Aaron Ekblad near the top of most publicly available free agents lists. However, there remains an ultimate prize on the market, a prize that is potentially one of the highest-profile UFAs in NHL history: Mitch Marner.

While the odds may be low when it comes to Marner landing in Anaheim this summer, they can offer him (or any free agent) as much money as any opposing team in the market, will now have the second-winningest coach in NHL history behind their bench, and one of the most talented young cores in the league. Spending every cent of the nearly $39 million in cap space isn’t even out of the question.

“Potentially, if necessary,” Samueli said when asked about Verbeek approaching the cap ceiling. “He’s going to spend wisely. We’re not going to write stupid checks, but I told him, ‘Do what it takes to make this a really steady, perennial playoff contender and Stanley Cup contender down the road. And if that means signing big-name free agents, go for it.’ We told him, going forward, you will not be constrained by the budget.”

The Ducks have been on the outside, looking in at the playoffs during this time of year for seven consecutive seasons. That marks the third-longest such streak in the NHL, behind the Buffalo Sabres (13 seasons) and Detroit Red Wings (eight seasons). Ownership seems to have had enough of the rebuild and has now given the green light to spend serious green cash this offseason in order to put those days behind them.

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'Don't Get Caught Up In It': How The Maple Leafs Are Approaching Game 7 This Time Around After Previous Failures

May 14, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube (center dark suit) talks to his players during the first period of game five of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs core players Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly will try to win a Game 7 for the first time when they host the Florida Panthers in their second-round deciding matchup on Sunday.

After going 0-for-5 in previous efforts, what might be different this time is their head coach. Craig Berube has won the most difficult Game 7 there is to win... a Stanley Cup Final when leading the St. Louis Blues on the road against the Boston Bruins back in 2019.

After staving off elimination with a 2-0 victory against the Panthers in Game 6, Berube's message to his team was simple as they host the Panthers in front of their home crowd at Scotiabank Arena.

'Don't get caught up in it, do what you did in Game 6," Berube said. "We know what to expect from Florida, and that's a great team over there. Simplify your game. Everybody's nervous a little bit. You just got to get the nerves out the first couple shifts. Get going. Play direct. Be direct and rely on your teammates, and that's what you're playing for your teammates."

'I Understand Why He Played': Maple Leafs Send Condolences To Jets' Mark Scheifele After Father's Passing Ahead Of Game 6 Vs. Stars'I Understand Why He Played': Maple Leafs Send Condolences To Jets' Mark Scheifele After Father's Passing Ahead Of Game 6 Vs. StarsMark Scheifele exited the penalty box and was immediately consoled by his Winnipeg Jets teammates.

Berube saw how nervous his club was in Game 5 when they fell 6-1. It was his first real taste of the Leafs from previous years that have struggled to rise to the occasion. The good news for Toronto is there was time to recover and perhaps they may have learned from it.

 "The nerves are there, but, I mean, that's what you want. That's what you train for during the offseason. That's what you tell yourself you're training for at least...to have the opportunity to play in the playoffs and play in important games that mean the most. And so we're here now, so you want to make the most of it," Rielly said. 

'He's Good To Go:' Matthew Knies To Resume Regular Role For Maple Leafs In Crucial Game 7 After Game 6 Injury Scare'He's Good To Go:' Matthew Knies To Resume Regular Role For Maple Leafs In Crucial Game 7 After Game 6 Injury ScareMatthew Knies is set to play in Game 7 despite an apparent injury suffered two days earlier.

Leafs record in Game 7s since 2018:

* April 25, 2018 at Boston Bruins: L 4-7

* April 23, 2019 at Boston Bruins: L 1-5

* May 31, 2021 vs. Montreal Canadiens: L 1-3

* May 14, 2022 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: L 1-2

* May 4, 2024 at Boston Bruins: L 1-3

The stakes are big. The winner will play against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Berube will give a pre-game speech like he always does. Does he plan anything special words for it or go does he improvise?

'He Knows What It Takes': How Craig Berube Has Shifted The Mindset One Year After Being Hired As Maple Leafs Coach'He Knows What It Takes': How Craig Berube Has Shifted The Mindset One Year After Being Hired As Maple Leafs CoachExactly one year ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their head coach, hoping his past playoff success would alter their future postseason outcomes.

"You're always thinking about things and what's going to be the most important statement you can make to your team today. And that's not only today. It's a lot of games," Berube said. "t doesn't change a whole lot for me. It's just about getting your mind right and, you know, what to expect and understanding what each individual has to do with their every shift. I think that's the most important thing."


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Mick Abel ties a franchise record as Phillies sweep Pirates

Mick Abel ties a franchise record as Phillies sweep Pirates originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The story of the day was already written hours before the Phillies wrapped up their series against the Pirates. MLB announced an 80-game suspension for reliever José Alvarado, also making him postseason ineligible.

It was a devastating blow for the Phillies, one that only time will tell how disruptive it’ll be for the club, but there was a sliver of positivity Sunday — a win.

The Phillies swept the 3-game series with a 1-0 win, improving to a season-best 10 games over .500 at 28-18.

The bulk of it was in part of Mick Abel, who received word a few days ago that Sunday would be his major-league debut.

An unexpected call brought the right-handed pitcher to Citizens Bank Park in front of a crowd of 44,356.

Abel pitched six shutout innings and tied Curt Simmons’ franchise record for most strikeouts in a debut (9).

Welcome to The Show.

There was lingering concern for Abel after his 2024 season with a 3-12 record and 6.46 ERA. His 5-2, 2.53 ERA turnaround in 2025 earned him the call to make this one start.

“There were times [last season] where I didn’t think I would be [up with the Phillies], but there were other times where I would,” Abel said after collecting his first win. “I think it’s just going through the ups and downs and trying to understand how to go through those. Thankfully I was able to think about it in the offseason and understand ‘Yeah, I’m still pretty good at baseball.'”

He’ll head back to triple-A with a chip on his shoulder, leaving a lasting impression with the Phillies.

“I don’t really know what I expected,” he said. “I just wanted to go out there and give it my all. It was fun.”

Outdoing one of MLB’s top pitchers? Safe to say he accomplished what he set out to do.

On the other side of the coin, the Phillies faced Skenes for the first time.

The only run he allowed in eight innings of work came in the fifth. Nick Castellanos had an infield single and made his way to third when Max Kepler singled to right field.

Brandon Marsh then beat out what should have been an inning-ending double play. That hustle got the lone run of the day across home plate.

It was a game of inches. Unfortunately for Skenes, this is something he knows all too well this season. Through 10 starts, he sits at 3-5 even though he’s only allowed 17 earned runs.

It feels ironic to say a game that came in just under the two hour mark (1:59) was a grind, but it was just that.

“After the sad news this morning, it feels really good and gratifying to get through that game,” Rob Thomson said after the win. “See what Mick did, see what the bullpen did, they did a great job.

“We just squeaked a run across. … That’s how you win a playoff game, like that. You’re always going to face really good pitching.”

Sens Rewind: Ottawa Senators Game 7 History Has Been A Series Of Unfortunate Events

Few things in hockey conjure up excitement and emotion like the words, Game Seven. After six crazy nights of battling, covered in cuts, welts and bruises, two teams Lay It On The Line in a one-game showdown to decide who will continue the dream and who will crash into the ditch alongside the road to the Stanley Cup.

The Senators would have loved to have forced a Game 7 in the first round, but they bowed out in six to the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this month.

The Leafs moved on to face the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in round two, and on Sunday night, those two clubs square off in a Game 7 in Toronto. It’s the third Game 7 of these playoffs, and the winner will join the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, and Carolina Panthers in the Conference Finals, the NHL’s version of the Final Four, where the Leafs haven’t been in 23 years.

Bookmark The Hockey News Ottawa and never miss the latest Senators news, interviews, columns, features and more. 

With Game 7 on the brain, we thought we’d take a stroll down memory lane and see how the Senators have fared in playoff series that went the distance. We initially envisioned an uplifting Sens montage with inspiring music like, I don't know, maybe Triumph's 1979 hit, Lay it on the Line.

And then it dawned on us. The Senators have never won a Game 7. 

The Sens have played in 28 Stanley Cup Playoff series in their history. Six have gone to Game 7, and the Sens lost them all.

Here’s the unfortunate (and slightly traumatic) rundown:

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2017 – Eastern Final vs. Pittsburgh

The Sens pushed the Pittsburgh Penguins to double overtime in Game 7. Damn you, Chris Kunitz. The Pens went on to lift the Cup, while Ottawa went into therapy.

2012 – First Round vs. NY Rangers

As the eighth seed, Ottawa held a 3-2 series lead. And then they lost Games 6 and 7 by one goal each.

2004 – First Round vs. Toronto

The last and most bitter chapter (until recently) of the Battle of Ontario. Patrick Lalime let in two questionable goals, courtesy of Joe Nieuwendyk, and the Leafs jumped to a 3-0 first-period lead. Final score: 4-1 Leafs. Bonus heartbreak: the following season was wiped out by a lockout, giving Sens fans extra time to stew.

2003 – Eastern Final vs. New Jersey

Game 7, tied in the third, at home. And then, disaster: a defensive mixup paved the way for Jeff Friesen to score the winner. The Devils went on to hoist the Cup. 

2002 – Second Round vs. Toronto

Another 3-2 series lead for Ottawa. They were up 2-0 in Game 6 until Ricard Persson received a major penalty for a hit on Tie Domi. The Leafs rallied, forced Game 7, and won it 3-0. 

1997 – First Round vs. Buffalo

Ottawa’s playoff debut. They led 2-1 in the third period of Game 7. Then Derek Plante tied it up and scored the OT winner—on a shot that somehow went through Ron Tugnutt's glove and maybe his soul, too.


No, this didn’t turn out to be the feel-good nostalgia trip we were hoping for. But looking ahead, Sens fans are never opposed to a bit of misfortune for their biggest rival, so maybe Sunday’s Game 7 will bring them something a little more satisfying.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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Phillies closer José Alvarado suspended for 80 games for positive drug test

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies closer José Alvarado was suspended for 80 games on Sunday following a positive test for external testosterone under Major League Baseball’s drug-testing program.

Alvarado became the second player suspended this year under the big league testing program after Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar.

With A Playoff Taste, Expectations Rise For The Montreal Canadiens' Emerging Core

The Montreal Canadiens' rebuild took a major step this year. After a couple of seasons at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, they made the playoffs.

How did the Canadiens even get to this point, though, and why were they forced to go into a full-fledged rebuild in the first place?

For years and years, the Montreal Canadiens were a team without any direction.

When Marc Bergevin took over the Canadiens in 2012, he inherited a multitude of promising young players, including Carey Price, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty. 

However, Bergevin and the organization's failure to draft high-level talent, develop prospects, and build a strong supporting cast of players prevented them from surrounding these three players with a championship-level roster.

Sure, the Canadiens were a perennial playoff team, but they lacked the offensive depth to emerge as a Stanley Cup contender. 

When Price began to struggle with injuries and the core was in dire need of a rebuild, Bergevin opted to make moves simply to stay afloat as opposed to truly picking a direction to go in.

In 2021 though, the Canadiens, on the back of Price, made a miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they ultimately lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. 

Bergevin doubled down after the team’s impressive playoff run signing veteran players the likes of David Savard and Mike Hoffman despite the clear fact that this team was not in a place to compete for a Stanley Cup, withstanding what transpired in the 2021 NHL Playoffs. 

That sentiment was deemed to be true. The Canadiens went through one of their worst starts in franchise history, with the losses of Price and captain Shea Weber due to their respective injuries, too much to overcome. 

Everything reached a boiling point when Canadiens owner Geoff Molson decided to fire Bergevin in November of 2021 after nearly a decade spent with the organization. 

It was time for the Habs to have a progressive thinker running the show in Montreal, which was why Molson went out and hired Jeff Gorton to be the team’s President of Hockey Operations. 

Gorton is a man who thinks outside the box. One of his first moves was to appoint Kent Hughes as general manager, someone who was an agent at the time with no NHL management experience. 

It might have seemed like an odd move, but it’s that outside-of-the-box kind of thinking the Canadiens organization was in desperate need of. 

The duo of Gorton and Hughes was seen as unique. They quickly made clear that the Habs would go into a rebuild, a phrase unheard of to the city of Montreal since the fanbase was accustomed to the team competing by whatever means necessary.

They took swift action, firing head coach Dominique Ducharme just a few weeks into the new regime. 

Their replacement for Ducharme was none other than legendary forward Martin St. Louis

St. Louis’s NHL resume was well documented to everybody, but his only coaching experience came in Connecticut’s Mid Fairfield Youth Hockey Association, where he coached his three sons.

He went from coaching youth hockey to taking over a rebuilding Canadiens team that needed a new face behind the bench to lead them. 

Under St. Louis, the Habs saw an instant improvement to close out the 2021-22 campaign, especially from the two young pillars of the franchise, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Suzuki and Caufield always had the potential to be special and it was St. Louis who was able to unlock that full potential.

“You could see that Cole was going to be a goal-scorer and Suzuki was going to be a solid two-way player,” former Canadiens forward Phillip Danault said. “The desire from them, the compete level they had already from that age was outstanding. They pay attention to details as well, so for me it was really impressive to see them grow.”

It seemed as if Gorton and Hughes’ outside-of-the-box thinking was turning into results.  

The Canadiens still finished with the worst record in the NHL and landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. 

Their decision was simple or at least almost everybody thought so, pick Shane Wright, the explosive center from Canada who was predicted to be the surefire No. 1 pick for years. 

Once again, though, Gorton and Hughes defied all logic and shocked the world by picking a lengthy, tall left-winger by the name of Juraj Slafkovsky, who really only emerged as a top prospect in the months leading up to the draft. 

In the second round of that same draft, the Canadiens decided to take a flyer on Lane Hutson, a speedy and explosive defenseman who dropped out of the first round due to concerns about his 5-foot-9 frame but had an extraordinary amount of potential. 

Over the next two seasons, the Canadiens took a patient approach. It involved making very few major trades and signings while allowing their young core of players to develop. 

The Habs missed the playoffs over those next two seasons, but between the improvements of the team's young players and subtle roster additions, the rebuild was right on track.  

Even with all of the losses that surrounded the franchise over those couple of years, the culture remained surprisingly strong and upbeat. 

It was a culture built under the tutelage of Gorton, Hughes, and St. Louis as well as a united group of players. 

“You could tell there was a lot of good talent in the organization,” 2022 trade acquisition Mike Matheson said. “We had a good idea that it wasn’t going to happen by chance, that we were going to get out of the space that we were in. We knew we had to keep working and really push the envelope to make it happen. We really just put it all out there…

“I think we had a really tight-knit group where I feel like everybody on the team really loved hockey and loved playing hockey and working hard. That, as a basis point, is really important for a team to cover ground and make things happen. And so I feel like that's kind of where it began.”

Entering the 2024-25 season, there weren’t necessarily expectations, but there was certainly excitement. Suzuki and Caufield were emerging into stars of their own, while Slafkovsky continued to show promise among other young players on the roster. 

Hutson was also set to play in his first NHL season after two years at Boston University, where he established himself as one of the most exhilarating prospects. 

Even with all the excitement, the Canadiens started the season flat and there were no signs of improvement as a group. 

To start the month of December the Canadiens were 31st in the overall league standings with little hope let alone even a thought about making playoffs.

However, the team continued to believe in themselves and it started with St. Louis, which inspired all of his players.

“I think his belief in us is the biggest thing that drove us,” Matheson said of St. Louis. “He never stopped believing in us. Even when there were moments when guys in the locker room thought it was too tall of a mountain to climb, he kept injecting that belief back into us. Obviously, his knowledge of the game is incredible, but I feel like that piece is really important.”

The Habs somehow climbed their way from the bottom pits of the standings back into the playoff picture after flipping the script in December and carrying that strong play into January and February. 

However, with the playoff race in the Eastern Conference extremely tight, there were still doubts that the Canadiens could make the playoffs.

Montreal Canadiens players wait to go through the handshake line after Game 5 of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)

Leading up to the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, Gorton and Hughes were planning on trading a couple of their veteran players in the hopes of acquiring more draft picks and young assets. 

That’s when Suzuki, the Canadiens’ youngest captain in franchise history, stepped in. Suzuki urged management not to take a selling approach at the deadline. 

“Go win games,” the management group told Suzuki after his request. 

Not only did the Canadiens start winning games leading up to the trade deadline, but Suzuki elevated his play and the Habs did not trade any of their veteran players. 

This story embodies who Suzuki is as a leader. 

“He’s the guy that grabs the group and says ‘follow me, I’ll lead,’” Emil Heineman said about Suzuki. “He comes up so clutch and shows us what he can bring. He’s a big deal for our team and a big reason why we had success this year.”

In the final weeks of the season, every game was a must-win for the Habs in their pursuit of a playoff spot. 

Something magical began to happen. No matter how many goals the Canadiens were down by on any given night, they always seemed to find a way to come back in the most magical fashion that could only be written in a fairy tale.

The Canadians were truly battle-tested. All of the pain and struggles they had to endure over the past couple of years prepared them for this very moment where they needed to dig deep and believe.

“I think we just never really gave up, and always felt like, if we found our game, we could compete with anybody in the league,” Matheson said. 

It took until the very last game of the regular season for the Canadiens to clinch the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they overcame all odds and marched their way into the post-season with more confidence than ever. 

The Canadiens may have lost in five games in the first round of the playoffs against the  Washington Capitals, but the Canadiens showed heart and resilience and proved that they belonged. 

By making the playoffs, the Canadiens took a monumental step in their rebuild. 

“I think we had another great learning experience in the playoffs, of seeing what playoff hockey is like and what it takes to compete and win in the playoffs,” Matheson said.

The Canadiens not only impressed the people of Montreal, but also caught the attention of many around the NHL. 

“I think they have so many young guys and at some point you have to get on the other side of the edge, and they did this year,” Danault said. “Next year is going to be even harder, there’s going to be more pressure, but they showed some character and they came a long way to make the playoffs. They were impressive to see and exciting for the fans to see the young guys perform.”

For the Canadiens’ young core, it was a year of triumph. Suzuki recorded a career-high of 89 points, Caufield became a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his career, and Hutson set a new franchise record for points by a rookie defenseman with 66 points, as he’s the favorite to win the Calder Trophy

Slafkovsky had another promising season to build on, and 19-year-old Russian phenom Ivan Demidov came in for the Habs at the end of the season, showing glimpses of a superstar in the making. 

Now that the Canadiens have taken this step of making the playoffs, expectations for this core are officially higher. 

The bar has been set and they’ll need to exceed the bar again without losing their identity that got them there in the process. 

“I think we just need to continue building,” Matheson emphasized. “I think if we kind of get all stressed out over wins and losses and think we're going to be a total failure if we don't win a bunch of games, I think we'll get caught in the pressure instead of just focusing on on the process of what it takes to be a winning team and what sorts of ingredients it takes to have that happen.”

Losing their identity shouldn’t be a problem because of the strong foundation that has already been set. 

Most importantly, this group of players truly embrace wearing the Habs sweater and everything that comes with being a Montreal Canadian. 

It’s what this fan base has been waiting for all of these years, and now they have just that.

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Verlander limited by ‘something physically' as Giants sweep Athletics

Verlander limited by ‘something physically' as Giants sweep Athletics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander is still looking for his first win as a Giant, but for the fourth time, he at least got to watch a handshake line at the end of the day. This wasn’t a win he was fully able to soak up, though. 

Verlander’s first pitch of the day was a 90 mph fastball, and it didn’t get much better from there. He averaged 91.3 mph over his four innings and had dips of about three ticks on both his fastball and slider. After a 3-2 win over the Athletics, the veteran said he has been dealing with physical limitations. 

“I was dealing with something physically that the team was aware of,” Verlander said. “I was able to work through and didn’t feel like I was going to put myself at risk for injury, but clearly it was affecting my velocity and mechanics.”

Verlander didn’t want to offer any additional details on which part of his body was aching, and manager Bob Melvin directed questions to Verlander. It doesn’t appear to be serious, though, as Verlander said he’s “pretty optimistic” he’ll be able to make his start next Saturday in Washington, D.C. 

“Hopefully it’s a blip on the radar,” he said. 

Verlander was limited to 17 starts last year in Houston because of right shoulder inflammation and neck discomfort, but there have been no hiccups in his first season in San Francisco, at least until Sunday. The oldest player in the big leagues has thrown well in recent weeks, but on Sunday it was about limiting damage. The A’s loaded the bases in the first and didn’t score, and Verlander didn’t come back out for the fifth after walking two and giving up a two-run single in the fourth. 

The start was the first in Verlander’s long career with at least five walks in four-or-fewer innings, and he said the mystery ailment “very much” impacted his command. There were a ton of glove-side misses, but the velocity was the sign that something was up. 

“I don’t think anybody was really happy when the first pitch of the game was 90, but I was in constant communication with the staff and I think we were all confident that I wasn’t going to risk a catastrophic injury while I was out there,” Verlander said. “I wanted to go out and give us a chance.”

After Verlander departed, the bullpen threw five scoreless innings. That allowed the lineup to come back in the eighth, when LaMonte Wade Jr. tripled, Patrick Bailey singled, Christian Koss put down a sacrifice bunt and Heliot Ramos singled to left to bring the winning run home. 

The sweep of the A’s largely came on the shoulders of Wilmer Flores, but on Sunday, two of the stars — Wade and Bailey — were players who had been desperate to join the party. 

“There are certain at-bats that can be huge for you,” Melvin said of Wade. “He has a history of being able to pinch-hit, so even though it hasn’t been great for him, I think he’s ready for those type of moments. Hopefully that spurs him. Bailey, too.”

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Van Aert wins Giro d’Italia stage nine as Del Toro moves into overall lead

  • Belgian beats Mexican rival in dash to the finish
  • Primoz Roglic falls further behind after crash

Wout Van Aert battled to victory on stage nine of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, holding off Isaac del Toro, who moved into the overall lead after the pair went for broke and stole a march on the rest of the field.

Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), riding his first Giro, used all his Strade Bianche experience to outsmart Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), with Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) coming in third.

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Harry Wilson grabs winner as Fulham sink Brentford in seesaw thriller

Harry Wilson haunted Brentford once again as Fulham scored twice in two minutes to come from behind and claim west London bragging rights at the Gtech Community Stadium. Wilson scored a stoppage-time double in November’s reverse fixture to snatch victory and his 70th-minute effort, moments after Tom Cairney equalised, proved decisive.

Raúl Jiménez had opened the scoring for the visitors before Bryan Mbeumo – who had a first-half penalty saved – and Yoane Wissa both netted their 19th goals of the campaign. Cairney, who is yet to be offered a new deal at Craven Cottage with his contract expiring in the summer, forced parity before his fellow substitute Wilson repeated his heroics.

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UPDATE: Aaron Gordon will start, play in Game 7 against Oklahoma City

UPDATE: In the face of a report that Aaron Gordon has a Grade 2 hamstring strain that should sideline him for a month, Gordon will start Game 7 on Sunday and play for the Denver Nuggets in Oklahoma City.

How well Gordon will move and how well he can play are up for debate, but he will be out there. Expect the Thunder to test him early, dragging him into pick-and-rolls and making him move laterally.

What follows is our story on ESPN's report that Gordon was unlikely to play on Sunday due to his hamstring.

—————————————-

Officially, heading into Game 7 in Oklahoma City Sunday, Anthony Gordon is listed as questionable. Denver coach David Adelman talked up how Gordon would go through the morning walkthrough with the team and would be a game-time decision.

Reality is Gordon has a Grade 2 hamstring strain and not only will he be out for Game 7 but he would need weeks to heal and would miss the Western Conference Finals if the Nuggets advance, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. The reality is he will be out closer to a month.

Gordon strained his hamstring in the final minutes of the Nuggets’ Game 6 win on Thursday, going so far as to check himself out in the final minute. There was concern in Denver about the injury after the game, although Gordon said he would be okay, and he has searched for a way to be able to play Sunday. It just will not be possible.

Gordon has averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds a game while playing strong defense in these playoffs, and he hit the game-winning shot in Game 1.

Without him, it's a big ask for Peyton Watson and other Nuggets reserves to step up on a big stage.

What we learned as Giants rally late to complete sweep vs. Athletics

What we learned as Giants rally late to complete sweep vs. Athletics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — It’ll take some time to figure out what to call this version of Giants-Athletics. It’s certainly not a Bay Bridge Series, and I-80 Series doesn’t quite have the same ring. In the press box’s notes at Oracle Park, the games were referred to as “their Northern California season series.”

The Giants came up with an easier name for what happened this weekend. A sweep. 

LaMonte Wade Jr. and Patrick Bailey sparked a comeback Sunday afternoon as the Giants completed the three-game sweep of the A’s with a 3-2 win. After dropping five of their previous six, the Giants found three very different ways to topple the A’s, who have exceeded expectations this season.

Wade came off the bench and led off the eighth with a triple and Bailey followed with a single. After a bunt by Christian Koss, Heliot Ramos bounced a single into left, allowing Bailey to race home as the go-ahead run. The rally came too late for Justin Verlander, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. 

Verlander has dealt with an incredible run of bad luck in recent weeks, but there was nobody else to blame Sunday when he again came up short of getting his first win as a Giant. Verlander didn’t even go deep enough to qualify, with command issues leading to him being pulled before the top of the fifth. MLB’s active wins leader hasn’t picked one up through 10 starts and still is sitting on 262 for his career. 

Lawrence Butler gave the A’s a 2-1 lead in the fourth with a two-run single, and the Giants didn’t threaten the lead until the seventh when they put two on for pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski. He hit a fly ball to deep center to end the inning, but an inning later, two more pinch-hitters got the offense going. 

Cause For Concern

Verlander has done just about everything in the big leagues, but this box score line was a new one. He walked at least five for just the 15th time in 536 career starts, and the second time in the last eight seasons. This was the first time that Verlander walked five in just four innings. He threw 84 pitches and just 41 of them were strikes. Only 40 percent of his fastballs were strikes, and the pitch didn’t generate a single swing-and-miss. 

Walks will happen, but the velocity certainly was concerning. Verlander has averaged 94.2 mph with his four-seamer this year but topped out at 93 on Sunday. His fastball and slider both were down about three mph, and there were a lot of 90s and 91s mixed in. 

Ramos, Right Away

After Verlander took 28 pitches to get through the top of the first, Ramos gave him an immediate lead. Ramos got a first-pitch fastball across the heart of the plate from A’s lefty Jeffrey Springs and rocketed a 111 mph homer into the home bullpen. 

The leadoff homer was the second of Ramos’ career and second this month. He has four homers in May and is up to eight on the season, which is tied with Matt Chapman for second on the team behind Wilmer Flores (10). Flores is the only Giant currently on pace for 30 homers, but Ramos and Chapman are close. 

Left Out

After the Ramos blast, Springs didn’t allow another hit until Chapman scorched a single up the middle with two outs in the seventh. That’s what the Giants have dealt with all year against lefties. 

The lineup was hitting just .229 against lefties entering the day, with a .677 OPS. Flores got to JP Sears on Friday night, but those moments have been rare. Flores has three homers against lefties and left-handed hitter Jung Hoo Lee also has three, but the rest of the Giants have combined for just eight. 

Willy Adames was 0-for-2 against Springs and is hitting .151 against lefties with one extra-base hit. Luis Matos, who is platooning with Yastrzemski, is hitting .097. 

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Crystal Palace’s FA Cup triumph left their fans in tears – I was among them | Ed Aarons

There was a sense of disbelief at Wembley as the team I support ended a wait of almost 120 years to win a major trophy

When Marc Guéhi and Joel Ward went up to collect the FA Cup, we were there. Although it still seems like a dream. The sense of disbelief Crystal Palace supporters felt when the full-time whistle at Wembley ended their wait to win a major trophy will probably take a few more days to fade away given it’s taken almost 120 years to become a reality. But with most of the 30,000 wearing red and blue having travelled from south London in hope rather than expectation, finally, it was our moment.

After an agonising 10 minutes of stoppage time that seemed to take an eternity, the emotions of defeat in Palace’s two previous FA Cup finals came pouring out. Everywhere you looked there were grown men – including me and the former Guardian stalwart Dominic Fifield – moved to tears. The comedian Mark Steel just kept shaking his head, unable to comprehend what had just transpired. It even spread to the royal box, where the chair, Steve Parish, who had been pictured with his head in his hands moments earlier, was greeted with a bear hug from Palace’s largest shareholder, John Textor.

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Golden Knights Prioritizing Jack Eichel Contract Extension

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel (9) during a stop in play against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel is under contract for the 2025-26 season but becomes eligible for a contract extension on July 1. The franchise plans to prioritize this business this offseason. 

Eichel was dynamite all season, setting a career-high in points with 94 and adding 28 goals. In the playoffs, the 28-year-old struggled, recording just one goal and 10 points in 11 games, en route to the Golden Knights' elimination in six games to the Edmonton Oilers. Eichel sustained an upper-body injury late in the season, and although no information was shared regarding his status in the playoffs, it wouldn't be all too surprising if it was something that was hampering him in the postseason. 

Eichel is under contract for the 2025-26 season, the final year on his eight-year, $10M AAV contract he signed with the Buffalo Sabres, prior to the blockbuster deal which brought him to Vegas. Despite the remaining year, the Golden Knights would love to handle their business before he becomes available for any team to sign. 

Golden Knights' general manager understands Eichel's importance and wants to get a deal done as soon as possible.

"The guy is a tremendous player," McCrimmon said. "He's one of the top guys in the NHL. He's got great character and great leadership. You see night in and night out what he does for our team. So that will be a really important piece of business for us. I sure hope to keep Jack in our organization. Jack loves it here. I hope we can find common ground and keep him a Golden Knight."

Since his arrival in Vegas, the organization and the player have gelled, and it's a partnership that both sides hope to continue.

"I think with that stuff, it's sort of out of my control," said Eichel. "I just try to focus on the things that I can control. It's a phenomenal place to play hockey and live, and a great community to be a part of."

The direction of the Golden Knights' future rides on Eichel's extension. Replacing a No.1 center in their prime is a difficult task, and his departure would force the Golden Knights to make difficult decisions and moves.

Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

Golden Knights' Pending Free Agent Hoping To Stay In VegasGolden Knights' Pending Free Agent Hoping To Stay In VegasReilly Smith is coming to the end of a three-year, $5M contract he signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, but maintains he wants to remain a Golden Knight.  Which Golden Knights Players Have Contract Implications Heading Into The PlayoffsWhich Golden Knights Players Have Contract Implications Heading Into The PlayoffsThe Vegas Golden Knights are heading into the playoffs with an abundance of confidence, winning the Pacific Division and ranking second in the Western Conference. Although most of the team is under contract beyond this season, some are not, and that could bode well for the Golden Knights. 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Starting pitchers galore, can we believe in Hyeseong Kim?

Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season.

The premise is pretty straightforward. I’ll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I’ll list the category where I think he’ll be helpful or the quick reason he’s listed. I hope that it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs or not.

For a player to qualify to be on this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, “These players aren’t available in my league,” and I can’t help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they’re available in many places and that can hopefully satisfy readers in all league types.

Waiver Wire Hitters

Victor Scott II - OF, STL, 39% rostered
(EVERY DAY ROLE, SPEED UPSIDE)

Situations like Scott’s confuse me. Everybody was rushing to add him last year, and it didn’t pan out. Now, Scott is hitting .264 with 13 steals on the season, and people don’t seem to want to pick him up. Two weeks ago, I posted an article about hitters who could be worth adding/trading for based on their contact rates and swing rates. Scott popped in that article. There's more detail in the article, but I like a lot of what he’s doing in terms of his swing decisions. I need him to focus more on line drives and hard groundballs, and I think we could see a strong stretch of production in the coming weeks. Chandler Simpson - OF, TB (27% rostered) is also still available in a lot of leagues. I don't get it. He's hitting .301 with nine steals and 15 runs in 25 games? What did we expect him to be? He's not going to hit for power, but he hits at the top of the order against right-handed pitching and will run whenever he gets on.

Rhys Hoskins - 1B, MIL: 37% rostered
(POWER UPSIDE, FINALLY HEALTHY)

This is my third week with Hoskins in this column, but I'm going to keep him here until people buy in because he's hitting .285/.389/.445 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 43 games. I bought in on Rhys Hoskins during spring training because he talked about being fully healthy after ACL surgery in 2023. He also changed his stance to quiet his head and improve his contact. The results didn’t come right at the start of the season, but we're starting to see them now. We know he's not going to be a major batting average asset, but he likely won't be a drain either. I like his ballpark, and I like his lineup, so I have no problem adding Hoskins anywhere he's available right now. Max Muncy - 3B, LAD (34% rostered) is another veteran who made a tweak and has started to heat up of late. Except, Muncy's tweak was to start wearing prescription glasses starting on May 5th. Since then, Muncy is hitting .275/.375/.475 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 11 games. A lot of that did come in an offensive series against the Athletics, but Muncy also has eight strikeouts to seven walks over that span, so it's pretty clear that he's seeing the ball better.

Brandon Lowe - 2B, TB: 36% rostered
(POWER UPSIDE, HOT STREAK)

Brandon Lowe is another veteran who is starting to settle into himself a bit. Over his last 12 games, he's hitting just .256 with three home runs, eight runs scored, nine RBI, and a 14% barrel rate. We know the batting average will fluctuate up and down with Lowe, but we also know he's going to hit second in the order against right-handers and could easily carry a few balls out of that minor league ballpark when the weather starts to heat up. Jake Cronenworth - 1B/2B, SD (33% rostered) came off the IL on May 9th and has gone 8-for-27 with one home run, five RBI, and five runs scored in eight games. He's a bit boring for fantasy, but that doesn't mean he's bad. He's going to play every day in a solid Padres lineup and has always been about a .240 hitter with 15+ home run power who will drive in some runs hitting behind Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill, and Manny Machado.

Hyeseong Kim - 2B/SS, LAD: 34% rostered
(PLAYING TIME UPSIDE, STEALS UPSIDE)

Hyeseong Kim is such a tough decision this weekend in fantasy. He's gone 14-for-31 (.452) since being called up with nine runs scored, one home run, and three steals. However, his average exit velocity is just 87.1 mph, and has a 73% contact rate overall, which jives with what he did in the minors, hitting .252 in 131 plate appearances at Triple-A with a 12% swinging strike rate. His overall contact rate of 75% at Triple-A is fine, but suggests there will be some swing and miss at the big league level, and even though he had a few huge home runs that we saw on Twitter, his average exit velocity at Triple-A was 87.3 mph. The other question is where he plays when Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez both come back, which is likely to be next week. James Outman is almost assuredly getting sent down, but if the Dodgers want to keep Kim on the active roster, they'll need to DFA one of Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, or Michael Conforto. The Dodgers have historically been hesitant to move on from those long-tenured veterans, so it will be an interesting decision to see. If Kim does stay up, he'd be the regular second baseman and sit against all lefties, which would still give him solid value for speed.

Colt Keith - 1B/2B, DET: 19% rostered
(HOT STREAK, POST HYPE PROSPECT)

It was a slow start to the season for Keith, but he has come alive of late. Since May 1st, he's hitting .317/.391/.585 with three home runs, 12 runs scored, and seven RBI. While we do have to acknowledge that some of that is connected to Coors Field, Keith also has a 9.4% barrel rate on the season and is chasing outside of the zone way less this year. His overall contact profile hasn't changed a lot, but he's being more selective, which is working for him. He's not a prototypical 1B from a power perspective, but he had an elite hit tool as a prospect and hits near the top of a decent Tigers lineup. There’s a chance that he’s a 20 HR bat, so if he can hit .260 that’s great production at 2B and solid production at CI. With Colorado heading back home this week, you could take a flyer on Ryan McMahon - 3B, COL (33% rostered), who is hitting .333/..443/.667 in May with four home runs, 13 runs scored, and seven RBI. I covered McMahon two weeks ago in my article on hitters swinging at the first pitch more often,and was confused why he was struggling so much. I mentioned that his bat speed is almost two mph faster than last year, and his average exit velocity has jumped to 94.1 mph, and I believed that, "at some point, you have to think the hits will start to fall." Maybe now they have.

Evan Carter - OF, TEX: 12% rostered
(RETURN FROM MINORS, POST HYPE PROSPECT)

I know Evan Carter hasn't been good since being called up, but he's back in Texas and playing regularly against right-handed pitching, so he remains a potential add in deeper formats. After a slow start to his Triple-A season, he was hitting .288 with three HRs and four steals in his final 12 games. Since coming up, he’s gone 6-for-33 (.182) with one home run, but he does have three steals, so he's going to run when he gets on. He’s going to sit versus lefties and the back injury will always be a black cloud hanging over him, but he’s a talented player and was my off-season pick to be a second-year breakout hitter, so I believe he’s worth a flier in most league types. In deep formats, you might decide to pivot to an option like Trevor Larnach - OF, MIN (13% rostered), who's hitting .280 over his last 27 games with seven home runs, 18 runs scored, and 19 RBI. He's going to sit against all left-handed pitchers, but that platoon role has allowed him to thrive and put up really solid numbers, so he's especially interesting in daily moves leagues.

Luisangel Acuna - 2B/SS, NYM: 11% rostered
(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, SPEED UPSIDE)

Last week, I mentioned that Jesse Winker’s injury was likely to open up playing time for Acuña, and the young middle infielder started four of the six games heading into Sunday. Mark Vientos started all six, and Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil both started three. With Winker out six weeks, the Mets could move Vientos to DH sometimes and let Acuña play 3B, or let veterans like Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo DH at times and play Acuña at 2B. Brett Baty being up complicates this a bit, but Acuña brings plus defense and a speed and batting average upside that Baty doesn't have. I guess we should address the Brett Baty - 3B, NYM (8% rostered) call-up. At this point, you’ve probably picked up and dropped Baty three or four times in your fantasy league over the years. However, he has come back up from AAA and hit three home runs in the last two games and started each of the last three games at 3B for the Mets, so we can’t just ignore that. All of what I said above means that Baty could also get a chance at regular playing time again in New York, and so, in deeper format, that might be worth a gamble if you’re struggling at third base. I just can’t bid a lot of money here because it could implode at any minute.

Gavin Sheets - 1B/OF, SD: 15% rostered
(EVERY DAY PLAYER, RBI UPSIDE)

Sheets’ recent numbers are certainly skewed by the trip to Coors Field last week; however, he is hitting .290/.343/.481 on the season with six home runs, so he has been productive for the Padres this year. He starts against all right-handed pitching and is hitting in the middle of a lineup that features a lot of strong bats, which means he has a good chance for RBI upside. His multi-position eligibility also makes him a bit more valuable, and he's an add I like in daily moves leagues. Another deeper league multi-position add could be Kody Clemens - 1B/2B/3B, MIN (1% rostered). He had been playing some first base when Ty France was banged up, and now he's starting regularly at second base with Brooks Lee shifting to shortstop while Carlos Correa is on the concussion IL. Clemens will likely sit against left-handed pitching, which makes him a tougher add for this week, but he has three home runs, two doubles, and a 17% barrel rate in 45 plate appearances this season, so I like what he's doing. His contact rates are strong, and he's aggressive in the strike zone, so he could be a decent short-term add.

Jake Meyers - OF, HOU: 9% rostered
(SPEED UPSIDE, STARTING JOB)

Last week,I published an article on hitters who were being more aggressive and swinging at the first pitch more often this year than last year. Myers popped up for me on that leaderboard, and I explained in detail why I’m a fan of his new approach, so you should read that article to check out the analysis; however, I think he’s a solid add for steals and something close to a .270 batting average. Fantasy managers in deep leagues could also gamble on Angels rookie Matthew Lugo - OF, LAA (1% rostered), who has gone 8-for-21 (.381) in eight games since being called up with three home runs and six RBI. Lugo is a former second-round pick of the Red Sox who came to the Angels last year at the trade deadline. He has never been a huge power hitter, but he did have 17 home runs and 16 steals in 79 minor league games last year, so there is some 20/20 upside here if he hits his ceiling. He doesn't have elite high-end exit velocity, but he makes hard contact regularly and has a pull-heavy approach, which helps him get to that power. However, he did have a 14.5% swinging strike rate in Triple-A this year and just a 73% contact rate, so don't expect the batting average to remain all that high.

Trey Sweeney - SS, DET: 10% rostered
(EVERY DAY JOB, POTENTIAL BREAKOUT)

A few weeks ago, I published an article on hitters who were making elite swing decisions and contact and could be in for hot streaks. Sweeney just barely qualified for the leaderboard, but I opted to leave him out of the article because I had doubts about him, and I had covered a lot of hitters already. That was a mistake. I should have trusted my thought process for the article and at least put Sweeney in the article to explain why he was there, and what my doubts were. It appears that my doubts may have been partially unfounded because Sweeney has been on a bit of a hot streak that began before he even went to Coors Field. I don’t know how long this hot streak will last, but he’s playing every day in Detroit and making good swing decisions, so that makes him worth an add in deeper formats.

Drake Baldwin - C, ATL: 9% rostered
(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, TOP TIER PROSPECT)

Baldwin is in a timeshare with Sean Murphy in Atlanta, but it seems like Baldwin has become the preferred option against right-handed pitching since he hits left-handed. On the season, Baldwin is hitting .360/.407.573 in 81 plate appearances with four home runs, 13 strikeouts, and eight walks. The production has been there, and if he's now going to start 60-70% of the games, that makes him worth adding in all two-catcher formats. I would rather place bids on Baldwin than I would on either of the other two catchers who came up this week: Dalton Rushing - C/OF, LAD (17% rostered) and Moises Ballesteros - C, CHC (7% rostered). I understand that Rushing is a good prospect and looked strong in his first two games, but Dave Roberts has already said that Rushing won't play the outfield with the Dodgers and will catch two games a week. With Shohei Ohtani locked in as the DH, you can maybe hope Rushing gets one start a week at 1B when the team rests Freddie Freeman, but that's three starts per week for Rushing. It's just hard to bid on him if that's all we're going to get. Ballesteros is in a similar spot. Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya are playing well, and both have no minor league options remaining. When Ian Happ comes back, likely next week, all of Happ, Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, and Pete Crow-Armstrong need to play so the DH spot will be locked up. I just don't see any room for Ballesteros to remain with the Cubs for now.

Marcelo Mayer - SS, BOS: 8% rostered
(MINOR LEAGUE STASH, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

If you spend any time on social media, then you know that everybody is clamoring to find out how the Red Sox are going to call up Mayer and Roman Anthony. Well, we got a glimpse at one possibility on Friday when videos surfaced of Kristian Campbell doing pre-game work at first base. Campbell moved all around the field in the minors and has graded out below average at second base (a new position for him), so it makes sense for Boston to see how he can handle 1B. That would also open up a middle infield spot for Mayer, who is hitting .274/.351/.486 in 37 games at Triple-A with eight home runs. He's ready, and he'll be an impactful bat early on but more for batting average than anything. Another stash option would be Jerar Encarnacion - OF, SF (1% rostered), who is on a rehab assignment after having wrist surgery back at the end of spring training. We know the immense power he possesses, and the Giants have said they're going to play him at 1B primarily when he comes back, so that will add multi-position eligibility to his case for your roster.

Addison Barger - 3B/OF, TOR: 5% rostered
(PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE)

I was a fan of Addison Barger in the spring when he was all over the spring training leaderboards, and then I read about how the Blue Jays tried to change his swing upon his arrival in the big leagues and how it didn't work. He has now gone back to a more "free" swing that he says stops him from overthinking in the box and just lets him be loose. We obviously love to hear that, and I think Barger has a profile that the Blue Jays need. So many of their hitters are contact-first bats (Bichette, Clement, Springer, Kirk). I think Barger is a nice fit as more of a pull-heavy hitter who tries to do damage when he swings. That may lead to a .240-.250 type of hitter, but I believe in his batted ball quality and think he could push to be the Blue Jays' third baseman for the season. Miguel Vargas - 3B/OF, CWS (5% rostered) appeared in my article two weeks ago on hitters to add based on their plate discipline and contact rates. Vargas is chasing at a super low rate, making 83% contact overall and rarely swinging and missing. He's pulling the ball slightly less this season and has focused less on lifting the ball, which is a good change. He doesn't smoke the ball, but a 90.3 mph average exit velocity is pretty good, and he's playing every day in Chicago. He's limited to deeper leagues right now, but I still think he's worth an add there because the production he's put up over the last month matches the process.

Miguel Andujar - 3B/OF, ATH: 4% rostered
(EVERY DAY JOB, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE)

This week,I posted an article looking at Pitcher List’s Process+ stat to see which hitters have the best Contact Value and Decision Value on their swings so far this year. Andujar qualified for that list despite not having the required number of pitches faced. He has become the starting third baseman for the Athletics and has hit 11-for-38 (.289) over the last month with eight RBI and one home run. He's not going to produce huge power numbers, but that park is going to be great for offense in the summer, and Andujar will sport a good batting average while hitting in the middle of the order. In deeper formats, you also scoop up his teammate, Luis Urias - 2B/3B, ATH (4% rostered), who is now the regular second baseman. With Zack Gelof suffering a rub injury on his rehab assignment, Urias may have a few weeks remaining as an everyday player.

Will Benson - OF, CIN: 1% rostered
(RECENT CALL-UP, POWER UPSIDE)

Benson was recalled late last week and has had a great first week back in the big leagues, going 8-for-22 with three home runs, eight RBI, and one steal. We've seen this before from him. He has tremendous power/speed potential, but also a really frustrating approach at the plate. Even in Triple-A this season, he was striking out 29% of the time with a 70% contact rate and 13% swinging strike rate. Perhaps you'll get a shot stretch from Benson; it might be worth the gamble, but it doesn't appear as if he's changed his approach at all. Another new starter on his team is Santiago Espinal - 2B/3B/OF - CIN: 3% rostered, who has become the regular third baseman in Cincinnati with Noelvi Marte on the IL. Espinal is hitting .273/.328/.322 on the season with almost an identical walk and strikeout rate. He makes a lot of contact and rarely swings and misses, but he also doesn't bring a ton of speed or power to the table. He would be an add for batting average and the hope of counting stats when the Reds are playing at home.

Waiver Wire Pitchers

Yu Darvish - SP, SD: 37% rostered
Darvish made his first rehab start at Triple-A on Wednesday and threw 57 pitches over four innings while striking out four and walking one. He sat 94.5 mph on his fastball, and his slider and cutter both looked good. Last year, Darvish had a 3.31 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 16 starts. If you take out the two starts we know he was pitching hurt, then he allowed 21 earned runs in 76 innings, which is a 2.47 ERA with 71 strikeouts. I think he’ll still be a mid-3.00 ERA guy, so I'll be grabbing some shares soon. He may still be three weeks away from his season debut with the Padres.

Tommy Kahnle - RP, DET: 32% rostered
I guess people don't want to add Kahnle because he doesn't throw hard, and the Tigers mix and match their late-inning relievers, but Kahnle has looked good so far, and Detroit has no problem running out a closer who doesn't have elite strikeout upside or a big fastball. Kahnle has five saves and a 0.61 ERA in 14 appearances so far this year, so I'm scooping if he's available. However, just note that the Tigers like to use Kahnle in high-leverage situations, which will also mean save opportunities for Will Vest - RP, DET (29% rostered), who is worth an add if you need saves as well. I know Vest blew an opportunity two weeks ago, which made him one of the most dropped players in Yahoo formats, but he has allowed just four runs on 10 hits in 17 innings this season. He'll still be back in high-leverage innings and will get some save chances.

Bubba Chandler - SP, PIT: 32% rostered
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Bubba Chandler is up in the Pirates rotation. Even though his command was not great in his last start in AAA, he has dominated the level this year, and now that the super two deadline has passed, the Pirates can call him up and still retain an extra year of control over him. This is also right around the time they called up Paul Skenes last year, and they saw that it was enough time for him to win and our rookie of the year, and the Pirates another draft pick. Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 last year, and so my guess is that Chandler is up for the Pirates' next homestand, which begins on May 19. I would try and stash him now before that News becomes official.

Cade Horton - SP, CHC: 32% rostered
Will they keep him in the big league rotation even after Imanaga is back? There are a lot of questions here, but he's a top-50 overall prospect in baseball and is worth a stash, especially since he gets the Marlins next. If you want a deeper dive into Horton, I covered him in my Starting Pitcher News column this week.

Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 27% rostered
I spoke to Shelby Miller a couple of weeks ago before the Mets game and wrote up my thoughts on the Arizona bullpen situation here. I prioritized Miller on the waiver wire, and so far, that has worked out. We know that Justin Martinez is back and throwing bullpens and feels good, but there's no guarantee that he remains healthy or that the Diamondbacks immediately put him back as the everyday closer. There's a good chance they use Miller to help lessen some of Martinez's workload after coming back, so I wouldn't go ahead of drop Miller just yet, thinking that he's absolutely going to lose all the save chances going forward.

Zebby Matthews - SP, MIN: 21% rostered
Zebby Matthews is finally getting a chance to become a full-time starter in the Twins' rotation. He has been electric at Triple-A with a 1.93 ERA and 38:9 K:BB ratio over seven starts and 32 innings. I wrote him up in the pre-season as one of my choices for an undrafted starting pitcher who could finish the season as a top 25 arm, so I'd encourage you to check that out to see my full thoughts on him.

Logan Henderson - SP, MIL: 21% rostered
Henderon is in the Brewers' rotation (for now) after Jose Quintana went on the IL. He has a solid 2.45 ERA and 16:2 K:BB ratio in his two starts this season. He uses his four-seam and changeup 87% of the time, but they both are above-average pitches. The four-seam averages just 93 mph and has poor extension, but he has really good iVB on it and, given his release height, it's a really flat fastball. He does a good job of keeping it up in the strike zone, so it misses more bats than your average four-seamer and pairs well with the changeup he keeps low in the strike zone. He mixes in a cutter to lefties and a slider to righties, but he's really just a two-pitch pitcher and that makes me a little bit nervous as teams start to see him more.

Ryan Weathers - SP, MIA: 19% rostered
Weathers was back on Wednesday and looked pretty good in his first start against the Cubs. The left-hander had a 1.69 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings at Triple-A over his rehab appearances, and the spring training velocity gains held, which is nice to see. He gets the Cubs yet again this week, which is still a tough matchup to trust, but I really like Weathers for the long-term this season.

Dennis Santana - RP, PIT: 16% rostered
In the two games since Pittsburgh fired its manager, David Bednar has operated as the high-leverage reliever, which has led to two ninth-inning stints for Santana. He picked up the save in one, but also allowed two runs in one inning. Bednar remains the reliever to roster here because he has been great since coming back from the minors and will pitch more regularly; however, Santana should get the save chances, if Pittsburgh can muster many.

Noah Cameron - SP, KC: 13% rostered
Noah Cameron is yet another young pitcher getting a shot in the rotation with both Cole Ragans (groin) and Seth Lugo (finger) landing on the IL. Now, neither of those guys should be out too long, so I don't think this is a situation where Cameron pitches his way into a permanent spot in the rotation, but he might get 2-3 turns through the rotation, and that could be worth something. He's a soft-tossing lefty who averages 91.3 mph on his fastball, but has a good slider and changeup. He'll also mix in a cutter to righties, which helps to take the pressure off of his four-seam fastball. I don't love the profile, and don't think there's a ton of strikeout upside here, but he mixes and matches speeds well and has good command, so I can see him producing some solid performances.

Hayden Birdsong - SP, SF: 11% rostered
Birdsong is moving into the Giants' rotation with Jordan Hicks moving to the bullpen. Birdsong had a great spring training and showed off improved command that had him on the verge of winning a starting spot in the rotation. However, he was sent down to the minors and then returned to pitch out of the bullpen, where he produced a solid 2.31 ERA in 23.1 innings. He did have a 1.3 WHIP over that stretch, which is not ideal, so command may still be something we need to keep an eye on here. That said, he has a four-pitch mix and plenty of swing-and-miss in the arsenal, so he's worth a gamble if he can carry over these command gains. Managers in deeper leagues could also look to add Slade Cecconi - SP, CLE (1% rostered), who will be in the rotation with Ben Lively sidelined. He had an up-and-down season debut on Saturday, but he showed off added velocity, thanks to mechanical tweaks to his lower body, and has some subtle changes to his pitch mix, where he's relying on his four-seam fastball less often. Cecconi had allowed just one run in five innings in his start, but he tired in the sixth and allowed a run, and then the inherited runner he left on base also came around to score. He should be pushed up to about 85 pitches in his next start, but there may be something here in deeper formats.

Hunter Dobbins - SP, BOS: 8% rostered
With Tanner Houck ending up on the IL, Hunter Dobbins is likely to remain in the Red Sox rotation for a few extra weeks. I've been intrigued by his performance so far this season andwrote about him in detail in my starting pitcher article this week, so check that out for more details on Dobbins' pitch mix and my expectations for him.

STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS

MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order)

Week of 5/19

Strong Preference

PitcherRoster%Opponent
Ben Brown23%at MIA, at CIN
Jose Soriano21%at ATH, vs MIA
Gavin Williams35%at MIN, at DET
Jameson Taillon29%at MIA, at CIN
Luis Severino32%vs LAA
Justin Verlander29%at WAS
Landen Roupp16%at WAS
Cade Horton24%at MIA

Fairly Confident

Andrew Heaney29%vs CIN
Logan Henderson23%vs BAL
Nick Martinez31%at PIT
Edward Cabrera9%vs CHC, at LAA
Aaron Civale2%vs BAL
Hayden Birdsong11%vs KC
Zebby Matthews21%vs KC
Luis L. Ortiz22%at DET
Logan Evans2%at CWS
Cade Povich2%at MIL
Brayan Bello29%vs BAL
Noah Cameron13%at MIN
Lucas Giolito20%vs BAL

Some Hesitation

Slade Cecconi1%at DET
Shane Smith27%vs SEA
Colton Gordon1%at TB, vs SEA
Grant Holmes37%vs SD
Hunter Dobbins8%vs NYM, vs BAL
Dean Kremer6%at MIL, at BOS
Jackson Jobe40%vs CLE
Michal Soroka6%at SF
Ryan Weathers19%vs CHC
Landon Knack6%vs ARI
Steven Kolek14%at TOR
Quinn Priester2%vs BAL, at PIT

If I'm Desperate

Gunnar Hoglund17%vs LAA, vs PHI
JT Ginn1%vs LAA, vs PHI
Davis Martin2%vs SEA, vs TEX
Randy Vasquez4%at TOR
Tomoyuki Sugano39%at MIL, at BOS
Patrick Corbin4%at NYY, at CWS
Logan Allen5%at MIN, at DET