Programming note: The American Century Championship will air Friday, July 11, from 1-3 p.m. PT on Peacock, and again from 5-7 p.m. PT on GOLF Channel. Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13, the tournament will air locally on NBC Bay Area (KNTV) from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT.
NBA free agency can be an interesting time for athletes. Finding the best fit on the floor while also balancing life outside of it can be a tightrope walk.
For Seth Curry, he’s currently looking for a place to call home for the 2025-26 NBA season, and while his older brother, Steph, certainly would love for him to join the Warriors, the younger Curry says he has to do what’s best for himself.
“I’m just trying to find a good spot for me,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole at the American Century Championship on Thursday in South Lake Tahoe. “That’s really it right now. Enjoyed my time in Charlotte. Love to go back, but that’s a young team, them doing what they’re doing. So right now, trying to figure out what’s best for me and trying to get to a situation where I can be my best self and keep going and finish my career strong.”
Curry averaged 6.5 points per game with the Hornets in 2024-25 while playing 15.6 minutes per game. However, the 11-year NBA veteran led the league in 3-point percentage, averaging 45.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Poole followed up by asking about Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers’ quote from “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” where he said Golden State would be “the perfect place” for the 34-year-old guard.
“They play a good brand of basketball,” Curry told Poole regarding Golden State. “I feel like I’ve been a part of Dub Nation for a while watching Steph and being around the organization. Obviously, they could use … any team could use shooting. But I can’t say anything other than I’m trying to find the best place for me, and hopefully we’ll figure it out in the next week and figure out where I’ll be going next.”
Curry has played for nine different teams during his NBA career, so it seems the future will determine if the Warriors will be No. 10.
“I always got to do what’s best for myself, obviously,” Curry told Poole. “Steph would love me to come over there and play with them, the fans show me a lot of love at all times, the family would love it. I’ve always embraced the Warriors and their system and love the way they play, and you never know what could happen.”
At the 2025 NHL trade deadline, the Chicago Blackhawks traded defenseman Seth Jones and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional 2026 first-round pick. The move was entirely understandable, as Jones wanted the opportunity to play for a contender, and the Blackhawks are still rebuilding.
The Blackhawks landing Knight in this trade was certainly nice, as the 2019 first-round pick has the tools to emerge as an impactful starting goaltender at the NHL level. Now, with the 24-year-old entering his first full season as the Blackhawks' likely No. 1 goalie, the potential for him to hit a new level is undoubtedly there.
Throughout his time with the Panthers, Knight demonstrated good promise as Florida's backup behind star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. In 80 games over four seasons with the Panthers, Knight had a 44-25-7 record, a 2.76 goals-against average, and a .906 save percentage. This included a 12-8-1 record, a .907 save percentage, and a 2.40 goals-against average in 23 games with the Panthers this past season before being traded to Chicago.
Knight had mixed results with the Blackhawks following the trade, as he posted a 5-8-2 record, a .893 save percentage, and a 3.18 goals-against average. However, now that he has settled in with the Blackhawks, it would not be all that surprising to see his numbers improve next season.
Overall, with the Blackhawks being a team on the rise, bringing in a promising young goalie like Knight is undoubtedly a good thing. If he taps more into his potential, he could very well be the Blackhawks' long-term answer between the pipes. It will be fascinating to see if he takes a big step forward in his development next season from here.
NHL Trade Rumors: 3 Blackhawks Who Could Be MovedThe Chicago Blackhawks could be a team to watch when it comes to the trade market. With the club still building up their roster, it would be understandable if they moved out some pieces who they do not view as long-term parts of their roster.
Chicago Blackhawks' 2025 third overall pick, Anton Frondell, compares his game to Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
Currently, Barkov is the best two-way forward in the NHL and is trending to one of the best two-way forwards of all time. With three Selke Trophies under his name at just 29 years old, there is no reason why Barkov shouldn't hear his name said alongside Patrice Bergeron and Pavel Datsyuk, among others.
Coupled with his outstanding defensive game is his astonishing offensive game. Throughout his 13-year career, Barkov has scored 286 goals and 782 points in 804 games, a 0.97 points per game rate. He's also set a career-high of 39 goals and 96 points.
“I compare myself to [Aleksander] Barkov in Florida,” Frondell said when asked about his game.
After Matthew Schaefer went first overall to the New York Islanders and Michael Misa went second overall to the San Jose Sharks, the Blackhawks likely cheered when selecting Frondell, both the best player available at third overall and a perfect stylistic fit. With Connor Bedard projected as the team's No.1 center, and Frank Nazar blossoming as an ultra-skilled forward, the Blackhawks need a bigger, two-way center who would complement Bedard and Nazar's game, which Frondell does to a tee.
Listed at just under 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, the 18-year-old will take on the tough defensive matchups at even strength, allowing Bedard or Nazar to focus on producing offensively, similarly to what Barkov does for Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. Frondell can most certainly hold his own offensively, possessing one of, if not the best, shots in the 2025 draft class, combined with strong skating mechanics and silky hands.
The Trångsund, SWE native played a crucial role in helping Djurgårdens IF achieve promotion back into the SHL, Sweden's top professional league, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in a 29-game injury-riddled season. The initial inclination was that Frondell would head back to Sweden for the upcoming season, but after a strong development camp and a proclamation of striving to make the team out of training camp, Frondell will be provided the opportunity to do so, and the current makeup of the Blackhawks roster could allow him to do so.
If Frondell does work hard to emulate what makes Barkov so great, his offensive creativity, defensive fortitude, understanding of how to use his body, his high hockey IQ and overall tremendous leadership and selflessness, Frondell could go on to have a stellar NHL career. But saying so is a lot easier than doing it.
This time last year, in a season that bore so many similarities to their current one, a first-place and highly touted Dodgers team temporarily lost its way.
Amid a deluge of pitching injuries (sound familiar?) and the absence of one of its hottest early-season hitters (Mookie Betts, who suffered a broken hand close to the same time Max Muncy went down with a knee injury this year), the club stumbled backward into the All-Star break, going 2-8 in its final 10 games of the first half and 1-5 in a Philadelphia/Detroit road trip that exposed undeniable flaws in its star-studded roster.
Twelve months later, another pre-All-Star-break tailspin has struck the now defending champions.
The Dodgers have lost six games in a row, swept in back-to-back series by the Houston Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers. Their romp through June and the first days of July (when they won 20 times in a 30-game stretch) has been stalled by sudden regression lately, with lackluster offense and a worn-down pitching staff contributing to the organization’s longest losing streak since April 2019.
“I think it is under the ‘it’s just baseball’ type thing,” Roberts said Wednesday after the Dodgers’ most deflating loss of their skid yet. “You never like to lose six in a row. It seems like we’re pitching OK. The defense at times has been really good. It’s just that right now we’re scuffling offensively, to have that big inning or to build an inning and get that big hit.”
But, also like back then, frustration is mounting as the Dodgers approach the trade deadline.
The Dodgers' Hyeseong Kim looks up while swinging a bat during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday in Milwaukee. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press)
“We can’t really feel sorry about ourselves, because there’s a lot of season left, and we know what we’re looking for,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said. “We’re looking to win another championship, and playing this kind of baseball is not gonna get us there.”
By “this kind of baseball,” Rojas means this kind of offense.
During the last week, a Dodgers lineup that leads the majors in scoring on the season has suddenly scored the second-fewest runs (10 total, and more than two in just one of their last six contests) of the league’s 30 teams. In that time, they are batting a paltry .190 with only four home runs, a whopping 61 strikeouts and an on-base percentage of .269.
The root causes of that malaise are easy to identify: The Dodgers have been without several key regulars (Muncy, Teoscar Hernández and, until Wednesday, Tommy Edman) in their starting lineup. Their three healthy superstars (Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman) are hitting a combined .194. Their depth options have offered little reprieve (Michael Conforto, Hyeseong Kim and James Outman have gone five for 38 while receiving increased playing time).
And, they’ve run into two talented pitching staffs, struggling against quality opposing starters such as Framber Valdez, Freddy Peralta and rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski, and two hard-throwing bullpens from the Astros and Brewers.
Granted, even $400-million payrolls like the Dodgers go through such dips in a season. And while the losses have piled up, the team has maintained the best record in the National League (56-38) and a five-game edge in their division.
“We’ve just got to put some at-bats together, keep playing good defense and it’ll turn,” Roberts promised. “When you’re mired in it, it’s frustrating. But we still have some pretty good players.”
The concern, however, is how quickly the offense has turned in the absence of a few key players.
Freeman and Betts were both slumping in June, but the contributions of Muncy and All-Star catcher Will Smith (the only regular who has also stayed hot during this current losing spell) helped compensate. Ohtani’s numbers at the plate have declined since he returned to pitching, but balance at the bottom of the lineup from younger bats like Kim and Andy Pages made such struggles feel moot.
This week, conversely, has highlighted what can happen when the Dodgers face good pitching at anything less than full strength –– the kind of confluence of events that could quickly derail any postseason campaign if it were to happen again in October.
"You can't replace All-Stars. You can't replace guys that have won MVPs in the postseason. You can't replace those type of things,” Betts said this week. “The next man has to step up and do what he can do. But I mean, you can't replace those guys. You can only have someone come step up and do their best."
The good news is, Edman has already returned from a broken pinky toe. Hernández is expected back in the lineup Friday from a foot contusion. And, although Muncy’s knee injury is longer-term, he is expected to return this season.
“It’s one of those things,” Roberts said, “where we’ve got to find a way to weather it.”
Still, the questions this week has raised will loom even if the Dodgers start to heat up again (as they did last year, when they started the second half with a five-game winning streak and 26-13 run overall).
Already, the bullpen was an obvious area of need heading into the trade deadline (especially after Michael Kopech recently underwent a meniscus surgery on his right knee that forced him onto the 60-day IL). The rotation could be, too, although the Dodgers remain confident about having Tyler Glasnow (who returned to action with five solid innings Wednesday) and Blake Snell (who is beginning a minor-league rehab assignment this week) healthy for the second half.
Now, the club will have to decide whether it needs another impact bat as well, potentially adding to a shopping list that has grown much longer than the team had expected after another big offseason of lavish spending.
After all, Freeman and Betts have yet to show signs of life amid career-worst slumps. Ohtani’s workload won’t get any easier as he continues to ramp up on the mound. And there’s no guarantee how Muncy will look once he returns, with Roberts noting his bone bruise will probably linger into next year.
It all leaves the Dodgers in a familiar position: Hopeful its talented, but hardly infallible, roster possesses enough firepower to win another World Series, but knowing that — like last year, when the team acquired Edman, Kopech and starter Jack Flaherty at the deadline — more reinforcements might nonetheless be needed.
“We have to do better,” Rojas said, voicing a recognition that has reverberated throughout the clubhouse of late, as the front office evaluates its options ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. “We gotta find ways to be a complete team that we know we can be.”
Atlanta United president and chief executive officer Garth Lagerwey is undergoing cancer treatment and taking an indefinite leave of absence.
United officials announced the news Thursday and noted that “the prognosis of a complete recovery is encouraging.” There is no timetable for Lagerwey’s return.
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles traded right-handed reliever Bryan Baker to AL East rival Tampa Bay on Thursday in exchange for the 37th overall pick in the 2025 MLB amateur draft, a sign that one of baseball’s most disappointing clubs could be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline.
Orioles GM Mike Elias wouldn’t completely commit to that idea. Speaking to reporters before Thursday’s split doubleheader against the New York Mets, he cited the 2024 Detroit Tigers, who traded players off their major league roster but held on to ace Tarik Skubal and then surged into a playoff spot.
Elias did, however, acknowledge the possibility of selling on a day that began with last-place Baltimore (40-50) sitting 12 1/2 games behind division-leading Toronto and seven out of the final AL wild card spot.
“I think it’s a step in that direction,” said Elias three weeks before the July 31 deadline. “There’s no way around that. The timing of the draft, and when you have draft picks involved in the trades, kind of frontloads these decisions, and it’s earlier than my comfort level. But we thought it was a really good return and a good trade for everyone. So we did it.”
The draft begins Sunday. In a corresponding move, the Orioles selected the contract of catcher David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk.
After a dreadful start that brought the May dismissal of manager Brandon Hyde, the Orioles have steadied under interim skipper Tony Mansolino, playing to a 21-14 record since a loss to St. Louis on May 28.
Baker was a solid part of that, posting a 3.52 ERA, striking out 49 batters and posting a 1.096 WHIP in 38 1/3 innings as the setup man for closer Felix Bautista.
“This is a team that is moving in the right direction, and we still have a lot of time left before the deadline, but this was a trade with the draft coming up in a couple days that we had to make a decision on,” Elias said. “We didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity. Hopefully, we can use the pick wisely, bring a lot of value back, and Bryan’s going to a good place.”
Mansolino is also hoping his team will get replenishments in the form of players eventually returning from the injured list. That sizable group includes several possible starting pitchers: Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder), Albert Suarez (shoulder), Tyler Wells (elbow) and Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery).
Meanwhile, Baltimore will now have four of the first 37 and seven of the first 93 draft picks.
“All the drafts are important, but when you have this amount of picks, it becomes more important, there’s no question about it,” Elias said. “There’s just a much bigger opportunity ahead of us, and the draft is a lifeblood for our franchise.”
After getting through the seventh inning without allowing a run and the Mets leading the Orioles, 1-0, cameras showed David Peterson and manager Carlos Mendoza briefly talking in the dugout. The manager didn't shake his lefty's hand to signal his outing was done and sure enough Peterson took the field for the bottom of the eighth inning.
However, after Peterson allowed a leadoff hit to Colton Cowser, Mendoza went out to the mound and took the ball from the left-hander after just 90 pitches, opting to go with Ryne Stanek to try and finish out the inning.
"You’re already in the eighth inning -- 90 pitches. He did his part," Mendoza said in his explanation of taking out Peterson.
With the right-hander Stanek in the game, the Orioles countered with the lefty-swinging Gunnar Henderson as a pinch-hitter. And he unloaded on a 2-1 slider down and in for a two-run shot that flipped the game on its head.
Stanek was unable to get out of the inning and ended up walking four batters -- he threw 31 pitches and only 11 of them were for strikes. It was the second straight outing the right-hander threw more than 30 pitches, and his ERA now sits at 4.55.
"I just wasn’t able to find my rhythm and get in sync with my body today," Stanek said.
The decision to pull Peterson was an interesting choice. He had he been cruising for the entire game and was efficient with his pitches, and removing him enabled the Orioles to deploy some of their better left-handed hitters who were not in the starting lineup against a tough lefty -- as opposed to letting Peterson go after perhaps less-threatening righties.
"Once he got through the seventh with a lefty leading off, I knew it was gonna be batter to batter," Mendoza said. "Cowser got him there going the other way and once you get to the eighth inning I had Stanek ready. It just didn’t happen today."
Mendoza also told reporters that Peterson was actually going batter to batter from the start of the seventh inning, "especially with all the righties that were there."
With the All-Star break coming up, Peterson pitching great and showing no signs of slowing down and it being the first game of a doubleheader where the second game will be a bullpen game, it made sense for Mendoza to try and get outs from Peterson for as long as he could.
"It was just one of those where we felt like against the righties there, you know – especially once he gets through the seventh and then goes back out for the eighth. We turned it over to our guys and we didn’t get the job done today," the skipper said.
Of course, had Mendoza left Peterson in the game longer than he did, who knows what would have happened instead.
"We can sit here and talk about it all we want. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute offensively," Mendoza said.
The video of ex-NHL enforcer Nick Tarnasky getting into a fight at a golf course in Alberta has taken over the hockey community by storm.
Former NHL player Drew Shore, alongside Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos, discussed the viral clip in the July 9 episode of The Big Show.
“I don’t think (Tarnasky) is the guy you want to get drunk and start lipping off to on the golf course,” Shore said.
Video footage captured Tarnasky, 40, and an unidentified golfer at the Alberta Springs Golf Resort near Red Deer, Alta., having an argument that escalated into a physical altercation. There was reportedly some frustration coming from Tarnasky’s group with how long the group in front of him was taking to tee their shot.
A golfer from the other group eventually confronted the former enforcer. Tarnasky threw him into the pond and punched him five times, yelling “bang” with every punch.
“Imagine that guy walking into the clubhouse at the end of his round,” Shore said. “You’re just playing golf, people are coming in, and the guy comes in, clothes are soaking wet, black eye, bruised cheek. That’s a very tough one to explain to someone.”
In addition, he recorded over 800 more penalty minutes across nine seasons in the AHL and one in the KHL.
"If anyone has an old Nick Tarnasky jersey lying around, this would be a great week to dust it off and wear it again," EA Sports NHL 25 play-by-play voice James Cybulski posted on X.
Added former NHL defenseman Marc Methot: "People don’t realize how dangerous some of these guys are. They can throw, but more importantly, they can eat punches when they have to. Tarnasky wasn’t even trying."
Before the video went viral on social media, another former NHL D-man, Mike Commodore, mentioned Tarnasky on X.
"Alberta Springs, I heard you guys have the greatest Member/Marshall In Western Canada…Nick Tarnasky…runs a tight ship. Very hands on," he wrote.
The Red Deer Minor Hockey Association said it’s conducting an internal investigation, despite the RCMP having concluded its investigation into the altercation.
Tarnasky is a coach for the Red Deer Minor Hockey U-17 AAA team. On May 7, the organization announced he’d be returning behind the bench for the 2025-26 season.
"We are aware of a video circulating on social media involving a coach with Red Deer Minor Hockey," RDMHA said in a statement.
"At this time, given that we understand the matter is being reviewed by local policing authorities and we are conducting our own internal investigation into the alleged incident, we will have no further comments."
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Alex Bregman has fit in well with the Boston Red Sox since signing in free agency, but will he even finish the 2025 campaign with the club?
Bregman’s three-year, $120 million contract includes opt-outs after the 2025 and 2026 seasons. With the MLB trade deadline looming, it’s fair to wonder whether Boston could trade the All-Star third baseman if the two sides can’t agree on an extension before July 31, rather than watch him leave for nothing in the offseason.
According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, Bregman and the Red Sox have yet to discuss a potential contract extension:
Per source: The Red Sox and Alex Bregman have yet to engage in talks regarding a contract extension
“I think ‘ongoing’ is always a fair summary, given this is something on our mind and it’s something on Alex’s mind,” Breslow answered.
“I’ve been pretty outspoken about what he’s provided on the field and in the clubhouse. He’s a guy we would like to have here in a Red Sox uniform for a long time.”
Bregman was an early American League MVP candidate before suffering his quad injury in May. He slashed .299/.385/.553 with 11 homers and 35 RBI to earn his third career All-Star nod despite not playing since May 23. Since being placed on the injured list, Bregman’s veteran presence has been felt in the Red Sox dugout and clubhouse.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that Bregman will likely return to the lineup before the All-Star break. The two-time World Series champion is expected to play in two of Boston’s three games against the Tampa Bay Rays from Friday to Sunday.
Bregman’s contract situation will be worth monitoring over the next three weeks. ESPN recently listed Bregman as one of MLB’s top trade candidates if he doesn’t sign an extension with Boston before the July 31 trade deadline.
Fresh off of their first NBA title, the Oklahoma City Thunder have wasted no time this offseason solidifying the future of many of their key players.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday afternoon that the team has agreed to a rookie max extension with forward Jalen Williams. The deal, which goes into effect starting with the 2026-27 season, could be worth up to $287 million over five years.
The 2024-25 season was the most productive of J-Dub's NBA career, as he earned his first All-Star Game appearance, third-team All-NBA and second-team All-Defensive team honors. Used at every position other than point guard at various stages, Williams averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.8 three-pointers per game in 69 regular-season appearances.
Williams would record similar averages during Oklahoma City's march to the NBA title, and his 40-point effort in a Game 5 victory over the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Finals won't be forgotten anytime soon. It's worth noting that Williams did his damage during the latter stages of the season while playing through a right wrist injury that required surgery shortly after the NBA Finals.
With Thursday's news, the Thunder have secured the futures of Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren this offseason with extensions that could ultimately total $822 million.
Add in the new deals that Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell agreed to, and lead executive Sam Presti and the franchise have not wasted any time securing the team's core for the foreseeable future.
With a slew of NHL-caliber defensemen on the Sharks’ roster, Henry Thrun was the odd man out on Thursday.
San Jose traded Thrun to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Ryan Reaves, the team announced, acquiring a postseason-experienced player who is very familiar with the Sharks.
“We’re excited to welcome Ryan to the organization,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “He will bring energy, personality, physical play and toughness to our group. He has been a part of many winning teams, and I witnessed firsthand the positive impact he can bring to a group when I was with the Rangers.”
🔁 The #SJSharks have acquired Ryan Reaves from the Maple Leafs.
Reaves was involved in one of the most personal feuds in NHL history with former Sharks wing Evander Kane during the former’s time with the Vegas Golden Knights — a rivalry that reached a boiling point with an epic on-ice fight during the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.
But those days are in the past as Reaves joins San Jose in Thursday’s trade. Reaves, 38, has appeared in 912 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and Toronto. Reaves has posted 137 points (63 goals, 74 assists) and 1100 penalty minutes across that span, and also has made the playoffs in 14 of his last 15 seasons.
Last season with Toronto, Reaves appeared in 35 games, recording two assists and 28 penalty minutes. He also played in three AHL games with the Toronto Marlies and scored one goal.
Last week, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported, citing sources, that it was expected at least one Sharks defenseman would be traded after San Jose signed Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg in NHL free agency and claimed Nick Leddy off waivers. Pagnotta reported both Thrun and Timothy Liljegren would be available.
The Sharks acquired Thrun in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 28, 2023, and he appeared in 119 games with San Jose over three seasons (2023-2025), posting 25 points (five goals, 20 assists). He also appeared in 18 career games with the San Jose Barracuda, totaling six points (one goal, five assists).
This is finally the vintage Jacob deGrom pitching for the Texas Rangers, and not because the lanky right-hander recently turned 37 years old.
After several injury-filled seasons in a row, both before and since going to Texas in free agency, deGrom is again an All-Star ace.
“It’s a little bit of validation,” deGrom said. “Coming back from a major surgery, your second (Tommy John), there is some unknown. To be fortunate enough to be able to throw the ball pretty well, I’m just thankful to be able to be back out there on a major league mound.”
DeGrom (9-2, 2.29 ERA) this year has made 18 starts, twice as many as he had combined the past two seasons after joining the Rangers. It is already his most since 2019, when he won his second National League Cy Young Award in a row while pitching for the New York Mets.
His fifth All-Star nod is his first in the American League after being the only Texas player selected for the game next Tuesday night in Atlanta.
“I don’t want to take for granted how hard this game is because he’s making it look really easy,” said Chris Young, the Rangers’ president of baseball operations and a former big league pitcher. “It’s precious when you get to see greatness like that.”
A no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night ended deGrom’s franchise record of 14 consecutive starts going at least five innings without giving up more than two runs. That same span was the longest streak by any traditional starter (not including openers) in the modern era since 1900 of not allowing more than six hits and two runs in a game, according to STATS.
DeGrom came the closest he has to a no-hitter in his 236 career games on June 26 at Baltimore. He was perfect through six innings and the only hit was a leadoff single in the eighth.
“He’s an alien or something, I don’t know how he does what he does,” said Jack Leiter, the son of a big league pitcher and the 2021 No. 2 overall pick still a Rangers rookie this season.
“It doesn’t look like anything’s bothering him,” catcher Jonah Heim said. “It looks like he’s going out there free and easy and and trusting his stuff, and it’s pretty fun to watch.”
Second surgery
The Rangers won the first six games deGrom started in his debut for them by the end of April 2023 before he had Tommy John surgery for the second time — the first was in 2010 as a minor leaguer for the Mets. He wasn’t pitching when Texas won its only World Series title, then rehabbed most of last year before three short starts at the end of the season.
His 106 1/3 innings this year are one more than he pitched combined the past three seasons, his first two in Texas and his final one in New York.
“I think as much as anything with Jacob, he’s just so happy that he feels good,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “The talent obviously is there. It’s a tough road. ... Now he’s back having fun playing the game.”
Bochy said the Rangers will continue to monitor deGrom’s workload. He had at least five days of rest between six of his seven starts while going 5-0 since the beginning of June. He is averaging 86 pitches a game, and his 103 on May 21 was the only time over 100.
“The thing about Jacob is it’s so effortless,” Bochy said. “Not a lot of stressful innings.”
All-Star appearances
The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year made his first All-Star Game in 2015, when Bochy was the NL manager and DeGrom needed only 10 pitches to strike out Stephen Vogt, Jason Kipnis and Jose Iglesias.
DeGrom also made three consecutive All-Star teams in 2018, 2019 and 2021 — there wasn’t one during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He allowed a solo homer to Mike Trout in the 2018 game, and pitched a perfect inning in 2019.
After his back-to-back Cy Young seasons, deGrom started 12 of the Mets’ 60 games in 2020. He had a 1.08 ERA over 92 innings through 15 starts in 2021, but didn’t pitch in the All-Star Game and missed the rest of the season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow. He was shut down during spring training in 2022 after a stress reaction in his right scapula, then was 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts the last two months of that season before becoming a free agent.
Injury extension
The $185 million, five-year contract deGrom signed with Texas included a conditional sixth-year club option for 2028 that has already been trigged because of the time he missed after Tommy John surgery.
That option is worth at least $20 million, but would be $30 million if he finishes among the top five in Cy Young voting or pitches at least 625 innings during the contract. It increases to $37 million if he finishes among the top five at least three times or pitches 725 innings.
Saku Koivu was never one to relish the spotlight; he wasn’t as a player, and even less now as the father of a hockey player. He came back to Montreal for the first time since 2019 thanks to his son Aatos’ presence at the Montreal Canadiens’ development camp, but he didn’t want to steal his thunder, so he didn’t even speak to the media.
Now that he’s back home in Turku, Finland, he gave an interview to the Journal de Montreal, and here’s what he had to say in a nutshell. He was discreet in Montreal, giving autographs and posing for selfies to those who asked as he walked by the Centre Bell, and it was emotional for the former Hab.
His stay in Montreal the first time around, first as a player and then as a captain, saw him go through a lot, the early years of his career, his battle with cancer, and the birth of his kids, who were only four and three years old when he left for Anaheim. A victim of Bob Gainey’s cleanse in the run-up to the centennial, the longest-tenured Canadiens captain (tied with Jean Beliveau) was allowed to walk as a free agent in the Summer before the 2009-10 season.
Struck by a thunderous cancer in the prime of his career, Koivu won his battle against it in brilliant fashion, and his return to play was the occasion for the most heartfelt ovation given to an active player in modern times. Today, as he approaches 51 years old, his health is good, and cancer is a distant memory.
During his visit to Montreal for the development camp, he was allowed to go and see the family’s former house, and it’s easy to guess that nostalgia hit hard when he tells the interviewer that time goes by so fast.
His life is quite different nowadays; he sits on the Turku hockey team’s board, but that's not a full-time commitment. Instead, he has been involved in construction for the past 10 years, and he says he has learned a great deal in that field since then.
With Koivu’s son’s performance during the development camp, it is likely that the former Canadiens’ captain won’t wait another six years before visiting again. Aatos’ contract with TPS Turku will come to an end this upcoming season, and he will also be getting his diploma. There’s no set course of action beyond that, though. He could sign another contract with Turku or pursue a career in the AHL or American college system; time will tell. For now, he doesn’t have a contract with the Canadiens, but it will be interesting to see what the Canadiens decide to do as the end of his contract nears.
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
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