Former Red Wings winger Todd Bertuzzi makes return to pro hockey at 50 years old with Cambridge area team.
The Red Wings haven't seen winger Todd Bertuzzi lace up since 2014 but a report on Friday may shock some fans. At 50 years old, it was announced that Bertuzzi would be joining a senior AAA team called the Cambridge Hornets in the Allan Cup Hockey League.
After playing 1,159 NHL games and recording 770 points, he now joins a local hockey club close to where he coaches a youth team called the Cambridge Redhawks.
Bertuzzi played his entire junior career in the Cambridge area as he played for the Guelph Storm of the OHL for four seasons. He would go on to get drafted 23rd overall by the New York Islanders in the 1993 NHL entry draft.
Besides playing for the Red Wings and Islanders, Bertuzzi also saw time with the Canucks, Panthers and Flames.
His most memorable season was back in the 2002-03 season, when the Sudbury native put up 46 goals and 51 points for 97 points through a full 82-game season with the Canucks. He was named an all-star and would continue to produce in the 60-70 point range before maturing to a 30-40 point player in old age.
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts visits with relief pitcher Noah Davis (56) and catcher Will Smith (16) on the mound after hitting Davis hit the Astros' Christian Walker (8) during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on Friday. The Dodgers lost 18-1. (Kevork Djansezian/Los Angeles Times)
Muncy is expected to be sidelined for six weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee but that won’t push them into the market for another third baseman between now and the July 31 trade deadline.
“I don’t think that changes much, knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point,” manager Dave Roberts said.
The faith in Muncy is justified by his track record, the former All-Star missing three months last year but setting an all-time playoff record by reaching base in 12 consecutive plate appearances on the team’s World Series run.
This doesn’t mean the Dodgers shouldn’t be looking to strike a major deal over the next three-plus weeks.
They still have to address their greatest obstacle to become their sport’s repeat champions in 25 years. They still have to address their starting pitching.
Every sign points to the Dodgers taking a passive approach in dealing with the issue, as they continue to point to the anticipated returns of Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell.
Glasnow pitched 4 ⅓ innings for triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday and Roberts said he expected the 6-foot-8 right-hander to rejoin the rotation on the Dodgers’ upcoming trip to Milwaukee and San Francisco.
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow throws in the outfield before a game against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on June 4. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Snell pitched to hitters in live batting practice on Wednesday and is scheduled to do so again on Saturday. The left-hander could be on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment by next week.
Glasnow and Snell are former All-Stars, but how much can the Dodgers rely on them?
Unironically nicknamed “Glass,” Glasnow hasn’t pitched since April. The $136.5-million man has never pitched more than the 134 innings he pitched last year, and even then, he wasn’t unavailable for the playoffs.
Snell made just 20 starts last year with the San Francisco Giants but was signed by the Dodgers to a five-year, $182-million contract over the winter. He made only two starts for them before he was placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell throws the ball against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on April 2. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Ideally, the Dodgers’ postseason rotation would consist of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani. There’s no guarantee that will materialize, considering that Yamamoto and Ohtani have their own complicated medical histories.
Yamamoto pitched heroically in the playoffs last year but only after missing three months in the regular season. Ohtani returned from his second elbow reconstruction last month but has been used as an opener so far. Ohtani is expected to pitch two innings on Saturday against the Houston Astros, and the team doesn’t envision using him for more than four or five innings at a time in the playoffs.
Every pitcher is an injury risk, and the Dodgers know that. But just because they won the World Series last year with three starting pitchers — they resorted to bullpen games when Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler couldn’t pitch — doesn’t mean they can lean as heavily on their relievers and expect the same results. The approach has resulted in more postseason disappointments than championships, so much so that when Ohtani was being recruited by the Dodgers before last season, Mark Walter told him he considered his previous 12 years of ownership to be a failure.
Ohtani will celebrate his 31st birthday on Saturday. He might not be showing his age yet, but Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts have. Freeman will be 36 in September and Betts 33 in October. The window in which the Dodgers have three MVP-caliber players in the lineup is closing, which should inspire a sense of urgency.
The front office’s reluctance to shop in a seller’s market is understandable, considering the most attractive possibilities are by no means sure things. Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves is on the 60-day injured list with a fractured rib. Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins has been up and down in his return from Tommy John surgery. Then again, the Dodgers made a smart buy in Flaherty last year and the gamble resulted in a World Series.
At this point, it’s up to Glasnow and Snell to perform well enough to convince the Dodgers they don’t need any more pitching. Until Glasnow and Snell do that, the team should operate as if it has to do something.
With an open battle brewing amongst wingers for an NHL roster spot with the Philadelphia Flyers, don't discount Nikita Grebenkin.
The affable 22-year-old Russian isn't drawing as much hype as counterparts Alex Bump and Porter Martone these days, but Bump and Martone are benefitting from being the shiny new toys of the prospect pool.
Both players are attending and skating at development camp this week, Bump is about to turn pro, and Martone is the No. 6 overall pick in the most recent NHL draft with a skillset that arguably should have seen him get picked much higher.
There's room on the Flyers' roster for all three, of course, in the wake of the injury to Tyson Foerster, but Grebenkin is inherently the dark horse of the group... for now.
The former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has the benefit of having already played seven NHL games in addition to 143 KHL games and 57 AHL games.
Grebenkin also won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 2023-2024 and won the Aleksei Cherepanov Award as the KHL's most outstanding rookie the season prior.
Plus, Grebenkin nearly debuted for the Flyers once already. Fans may recall that Grebenkin was re-called on an emergency basis on April 13, only to be re-assigned back to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms roughly 30 minutes later.
He's hoping that the next time he sees the NHL, he actually plays for the Flyers and remains with them.
"When I was traded to the Flyers, I only saw [Aleksei Kolosov] there from the Russians. I just changed the environment, the atmosphere for myself. I couldn’t play in the NHL, according to the rules, because after the deadline, only five [sic] people from the AHL can play. And at the deadline, five people were already called up," Grebenkin told Nikita Plokhikh of Sovetsky Sport. "But it happens. I think this will benefit both me and the team in the future."
The four AHL call-ups that preceded Grebenkin's emergency call-up were Kolosov, ironically; Emil Andrae, Rodrigo Abols, and Olle Lycksell.
Andrae, Abols, and Lycksell were re-called the same day the Flyers acquired Grebenkin from the Maple Leafs, so he didn't have much of a claim to a roster spot at the time.
The Kolosov one was a little more bizarre, but he did end up starting two games in the last week of the season, including the season finale loss to Buffalo.
In any event, after acclimating to the Flyers organization and familiarizing himself with some current and future teammates, Grebenkin knows what to expect going forward.
"My role in the team is the third or fourth line. I need to take my place in the lineup, work on it. I hope for more, of course," Grebenkin said. "but for now, this is my goal, what I'm striving for, to secure a place in the lineup and help the Flyers win every match."
At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, and with his aggressive playing style, Grebenkin may have the edge over a player like Bump and the inexperienced Martone.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw looks toward his family after his 3,00th career strikeout. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Bill Plaschke has decided that Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history. Given the distinct eras in which they both pitched, and the completely different roles starting pitchers have today, it is really impossible to definitively conclude who is the absolute greatest. I think the best we can say is that, without much doubt, Sandy Koufax had the greatest five-year stretch of any pitcher in baseball history, and at his peak, was the most dominant pitcher in the history of the game. Kershaw, on the other hand, has had the greatest career and consistency of performance by any Dodger pitcher ever. And perhaps, Bill, it is best if we just leave it at that.
Drew Pomerance Tarzana
With all due respect to Bill Plaschke, why does Clayton Kershaw have to be "greater" than Sandy Koufax, or Don Drysdale for that matter? Can't we just enjoy all their greatness as part of Dodgers history without anointing one greater than another? Don't forget, Drysdale pitched six consecutive shutouts and 58 scoreless innings. What's greater than that?
Rhys Thomas Valley Glen
In what should have been the easiest article to write in Mr. Plaschke’s illustrious career, Bill completely whiffs when comparing Kershaw to Koufax. Baseball’s dramatic evolution over the last 60 years makes it impossible to compare the greatness of both men. Sandy and Clayton represent the best in Dodgers baseball and there is no need to celebrate the greatest Dodgers pitcher of the 21st century at the expense of the greatest Dodgers pitcher of the 20th century.
Rob Demonteverde Brea
Special 'K ' night
In the game when Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th strikeout, the Dodgers had a Hollywood ending when Freddie Freeman drove Shohei Ohtani in for a walk-off victory. It was fitting that strikeout number 3,000 came at the expense of Vinny Capra — Vinny as in Vin Scully, and Capra as in legendary filmmaker Frank Capra.
Ken Feldman Tarzana
Discriminating concern
The Dodgers are going to lose on their defense of their DEI programs for the simple paraphrasing in the reason set forth by Chief Justice Roberts that the way to end discrimination is not more discrimination … which is what the Dodgers engage in. They have touted it over and over again publicly.
The irony is that DEI is the absolute last thing the organization would think about in assembling and paying those on its 40-man roster.
Strangely, the Dodgers' supposedly brilliant owners and management fail to realize that absent DEI, just hiring the best applicants would produce plenty of diversity in their baseball organization.
Kip Dellinger Santa Monica
All credit to the Dodgers for their DEI programs. I hope that they don’t back down. I have not been a fan of billionaire hedge fund CEOs. However, if Stephen Miller’s stooges are going after Mark Walter, I can only have new respect for him. Good for you, Mr. Walter.
Noel Park Rancho Palos Verdes
The king's return
LeBron James maxed out his pay, taking $52 million for next season, leaving the Lakers with $6 million to spend on free agents and trades, which won’t get much in today’s NBA.
Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan and Tom Brady are examples of superstars who took pay cuts to help their teams build a championship roster.
Such is the difference between a team player and, well, whatever LeBron is. I guess he must be more worried about making his next mortgage payment than winning championships.
Jack Nelson Los Angeles
Breaking news: LeBron James has decided he will allow his employer, the Los Angeles Lakers, to pay him a reported $52.6 million next season.
In other news, the sun once again rose this morning and Earth continues to rotate properly on its axis.
Richard Turnage Burbank
Let me get this straight. Two weeks ago LeBron James decried the "ring culture" in the NBA. Fast-forward to James opting into his $52-million player option and his proxy, Rich Paul, releases a cryptic statement indicating James expects the Lakers to make the necessary improvements to make them a championship team. Thought rings didn't matter, LeBron?
A new broom does not have to sweep clean! Even with their flaws and mistakes, Rob Pelinka and rookie coach JJ Redick earned at least a stay of execution. They have accomplished “enough” to earn the eventual trust of the new boss in town.
With this massive shift in ownership, having some semblance of continuity is not a bad idea.
Rick Solomon Lake Balboa
Mixed emotions
For over 20 years, there has not been a single NHL player I detested more than Corey Perry, especially when he played for that other local team. I have called him (words unsuitable to print here) more than any player in any sport. Hopefully his stay is no more than one season … unless he helps the Kings win the Stanley Cup. In that case — love ya, Corey. Always have and always will.
Erik Schuman Fountain Valley
As a die-hard Kings fan, I have mixed feelings on their signing Corey Perry. But, I suppose, in the team’s desperation to make it out of the first round, they signed a player that guarantees that they will be next year’s Stanley Cup Final runner-up!
Nick Rose Newport Coast
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
Wales capitulate to their 18th successive Test defeat
Scotland beat Māori All Blacks; Georgia 5-34 Ireland
Will Jordan scored a try in each half and Beauden Barrett kicked to perfection as New Zealand overcame three cancelled tries to claim a nervous 31-27 win over France in the series-opener in Dunedin.
Fielding only three players from the Six Nations title-deciding win over Scotland, the depleted France side gave Scott Robertson’s team a huge scare in an entertaining match at a sold-out Forsyth-Barr stadium. However, a late Barrett penalty proved enough for the All Blacks to hold on, ending a three-match losing streak against Les Bleus.
Bernard Hinault was the last home champion as the sport has gone international, with winners from Colombia and Slovenia
Age is not just about the policemen getting younger and trying to figure out how to operate an iPhone. It may also be when you are able to tell your children that you once saw an actual French cyclist wearing the actual yellow jersey of the Tour de France having actually just won la grande boucle.
It’s 39 years, 11 months and about three weeks since I watched a tired and slightly diminished-looking Bernard Hinault get out of a car in a backstreet in Lisieux – once the massive crowd pressing on the car doors had been moved on by the heavies – before pulling on that maillot jaune, getting wearily on to his bike, before spinning past, time after time in the late-evening sunlight in the town’s annual post-Tour critérium, an exhibition race which still takes place on the first Tuesday after the Tour.
It’s been quite a fortnight for followers of the Florida Panthers.
Just about two and half weeks have passed since the Panthers claimed their second straight Stanley Cup title.
In that time, we’ve seen some spectacular celebrations, another epic parade, the NHL Draft and the start of free agency.
Similarly to last season, Florida followed up their Stanley Cup Final victory over the Edmonton Oilers by hitting the town and enjoying the victory with their fans.
One welcomed difference to last June was that at this year’s parade, there was no rain. The sun shined throughout as hundreds of thousands of Panthers fans lined A1A along Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Interestingly, the Panthers have been one of the busier teams during the offseason, somehow re-signing all of their big unrestricted free agents – Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand – among the many moves made to shore the team up at both the NHL and AHL levels.
Now that it’s been a couple weeks since Florida last played a hockey game, it felt like a good time to take a look back at the six-game series against Edmonton.
Tight, high-scoring overtime games eventually led to Florida taking over toward the latter stages of the series, slowly but surely breaking down the Oilers and showing that they were the better team for the second year in a row.
Take a few minutes and check out the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final recap video below:
Photo caption: Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates after his goal as Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) watches during the second period in game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
Dodgers catcher Will Smith and pitching coach Mark Prior watch from the dugout during the ninth inning of the team's lopsided loss to the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium on Friday. (Kevork Djansezian/Los Angeles Times)
They are two longtime Dodger villains, hated for two vastly different reasons.
As the last remaining position player from the Houston Astros’ trash-can-banging, and (in the eyes of most Dodgers fans) World Series-stealing 2017 championship team, Jose Altuve always receives a rude welcome from the fans at Chavez Ravine.
As one of the most productive visiting players in Dodger Stadium history, Christian Walker often shuts them up.
In the Houston Astros' 18-1 Independence Day rout on Friday, both added another tortured chapter to the Dodgers’ history against the team. Altuve went three for three with a double, two home runs, two walks and five RBIs. Walker went four for five with one long ball and four RBIs.
The Houston Astros' Jose Altuve celebrates with Christian Walker after hitting a two-run homer against Dodgers in the third inning at Dodger Stadium on Friday. (Kevork Djansezian/Los Angeles Times)
On a day starting pitcher Ben Casparius once again struggled (giving up six runs in three innings), reliever Noah Davis gave up 10 runs in the sixth inning alone (the most the Dodgers had surrendered in one inning since 1999), and most of a sold-out crowd stuck around for every painful minute (waiting in somber silence for a postgame fireworks show), that was plenty to lift the surging Astros to most lopsided defeat the Dodgers have ever suffered at Dodger Stadium.
Six weeks ago, the retooled Astros were one game above .500 and 3 ½ games out of first place in the American League West; seemingly missing the other 2017 stars who have departed the franchise since their sign-stealing scandal came to light five years ago.
But now, they have won 27 of their last 37, own the second-best record in the AL, and are suddenly looking like unlikely title contenders; even after turning over almost the entirety of the roster from that infamous 2017 season.
“Certainly, there’s been some history with our organizations,” manager Dave Roberts said pregame when asked if any lingering feelings remained from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. “But if you look at it in reality, most of those guys are gone. So it certainly doesn’t have any bearing on this series this weekend.”
Instead, in a historically harrowing defeat on their home diamond, the Dodgers had bigger concerns to worry about Friday, with Altuve and Walker at the top of the list.
Altuve received his typical reception from the Dodgers faithful, serenaded with booming boos and loud chants of “cheater!” for each of his at-bats. However, he followed Isaac Paredes’ leadoff homer in the first with a double off the wall, then took Casparius deep for a two-run home run on a curveball in the third.
Those low-lights marked another frustrating night for Casparius, whom Roberts said will likely return to the bullpen moving forward after posting an 8.24 ERA in his last five outings as a starter and bulk-inning pitcher.
“Obviously, when you're a starter, there's more preparation that goes into the other side, as far as preparing for a starting pitcher versus a reliever, so I think there's some [of] that,” Roberts said of Casparius’ struggles as a starter, compared to the 2.93 ERA he had as primarily a reliever to start the year. “But at the end of the day, he's just got to execute better. There might have been 60 throws tonight, and probably only a handful executed where he wanted them to be. And that's tough to do.”
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani looks subdued while watching from the dugout as his team loses 18-1 to the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium on Friday. (Kevork Djansezian/Los Angeles Times)
Even when Casparius exited, however, Altuve wasn’t done, adding an exclamation point with a three-run homer in the Astros’ 10-run sixth — the most runs the Dodgers (56-33) had allowed in one inning since Fernando Tatis’ historic two grand slam inning in April 1999 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Walker, meanwhile, was every bit as dangerous.
A 34-year-old slugger who dominated the Dodgers (and, most confoundingly, Clayton Kershaw in particular) during an eight-year career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Walker was already emerging from an early-season slump in his first year with the Astros (53-35) entering this weekend’s series.
Then, back in the friendly confines of Dodger Stadium, he orchestrated a monster performance of his own from the five-spot of the Houston order.
In his first at-bat, Walker plated Altuve with a single the other way. Then, two batters after Altuve’s big fly in the third, Casparius left a fastball down the middle that Walker whacked for his 28th career home run against the Dodgers — and 20th at Dodger Stadium.
Only nine other players have hit that many home runs as visitors at the ballpark during their careers, a list that includes Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell, as well as Barry Bonds.
“It’s just one of those funny baseball things,” Walker told the Astros TV broadcast afterward. “No real explanation. Maybe good lights, I see the ball well? I honestly have no idea. It’s fun playing here.”
Walker also made a contribution in the sixth-inning onslaught.
After Davis gave up one run on two singles and two walks, the recently called-up right-hander plunked Walker with the bases loaded to force in another score, losing his grip on an 0-and-2 sweeper that left him visibly rattled on the mound.
Sensing Davis’ frustration, Roberts came to the bump for a motivational pep talk; eliciting memories of the mid-game hug he delivered to journeyman reliever Yohan Ramirez last season in Cincinnati.
This time, however, the mound visit had little effect. In the next at-bat, Davis threw a hanging sweeper that Victor Caratini belted for a grand slam. What was already a laugher became a full-fledged Fourth of July disaster.
The Anthony Beauvillier experiment was a success for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2024-25 season.
They signed him to a one-year deal last July with the hopes that he would bounce back after a rough 2023-24 season, and he did exactly that, scoring 13 goals and finishing with 20 points in 63 games. He spent the rest of the season with the Washington Capitals after they acquired him at the trade deadline from the Penguins for a second-round pick.
Beauvillier had two goals and five points in 18 regular-season games with the Capitals before finishing the playoffs with two goals and six points in 10 games.
The Capitals loved what they saw and signed him to a two-year, $5.5 million contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.75 million.
That's an excellent price for Beauvillier, who figures to slot into a middle-six role and can also play in the top six should injuries arise. The Capitals are coming off a second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Mets, in need of healthy starting pitchers, opted to keep Brandon Sproat down with Triple-A Syracuse and gave Justin Hagenman the start against the Yankees on Friday night. While Hagenman allowed four runs over 4.1 innings in a 6-5 win, Sproat made the most of his start in the minors.
The 24-year-old had one of his best outings of the season, throwing five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against a Worcester team featuring former top prospect Kristian Campbell (who's back down in Triple-A after making Boston's Opening Day roster) and Vaughn Grissom (95 MLB games with Atlanta and Boston).
Sproat allowed just two hits over the five innings of work, one to Campbell in the third and another to Karson Simas in the fifth inning. The right-hander threw a total of 89 pitches (51 strikes) and walked one. His fastball peaked at 99.3 mph.
Sproat has now thrown 11 straight scoreless innings, following his six scoreless innings on June 28, and lowered his ERA to 5.05 in what's been an up-and-down year in Triple-A.
While he was considered an option to pitch in the Subway Series matchup, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Thursday prior to the team's series finale against the Brewers that his "preference is to not bring up a top prospect for a spot start."Frankie Montas is scheduled to pitch Saturday, but Sunday's plans are still undetermined and looking like a potential bullpen game.
If Sproat keeps up this hot stretch, he could force Stearns' hand and get called up sooner than later.
Meanwhile, Syracuse went on to win the game 4-0 and scored all four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, including a three-run homer from Gilberto Celestino. Luisangel Acuña went 2-for-4 with a strikeout, boosting his average in the minors to .303 over 33 at-bats. Francisco Alvarez went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, a walk, and a run scored. Drew Gilbert, who's hit three homers this week, went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Brooks Raley ended up earning the win, tossing a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout. He's yet to allow a run over 6.1 IP with 11 strikeouts during his rehab.
Brooks Raley gets the strikeout to get out of the jam in his rehab outing for Triple-A Syracuse! pic.twitter.com/SuBt9KMWaS
Out in Binghamton, top prospect Jonah Tong struck out 10 Hartford batters, but got the loss in a 4-1 defeat after allowing two runs over 5.2 innings.
Overall, he threw 92 pitches (56 strikes) and allowed four hits and two walks. His season ERA took a small jump up to 1.83 from 1.73 with the outing.
Tong is now 6-4 over 15 starts and 78.2 IP for Double-A Binghamton with an impressive 125 strikeouts and 0.93 WHIP. He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for June, after taking home the honor in May, and will play in the MLB All-Star Futures game on July 12. He'll be joined in Atlanta by Binghamton teammate Carson Benge, who was recently promoted to Double-A after owning an .897 OPS in 60 games for High-A Brooklyn.
Benge went 0-for-4 on Friday night as the Rumble Ponies bats were pretty quiet in the loss, totaling just five hits, including two from Jett Williams and one from Ryan Clifford.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy is hit in the knee as he tags out Chicago White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor trying to steal third on Wednesday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
When Max Muncy first went down on Wednesday night, clutching his left knee and writhing in pain after a collision with Chicago White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt at third base, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes couldn’t help but let his mind go to a dark place.
“Obviously, [there were] a lot of emotions,” Gomes said. “From a coping mechanism in my head, it was like, ‘OK, he’s done for the year. We’re gonna have to figure out what the next path is. We have to be prepared for whatever is coming.’”
What came the next day, however, was unexpectedly good news.
Despite having his knee bent awkwardly, gruesomely inward, Muncy escaped with only a bone bruise. There were no ligament tears. No structural damage. No season-ending catastrophe.
Dodger Max Muncy grimaces as he holds his left knee after colliding with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“We’ve had a lot more [injury situations] where we’ve gone in optimistic and then come out the other side not as optimistic,” Gomes said. “So it was nice to have that turned on its head and know that, ‘Hey, he’s gonna be out there.’”
On Thursday, Muncy said he is expected to miss roughly six weeks. But even that timeline would give him a month-plus before the playoffs to try and rediscover the swing that made him one of the hottest hitters in baseball the past two months.
And because Muncy’s injury was to the lower half of his body, manager Dave Roberts noted, the hope is that “it’s not something that should affect the swing” when he does return.
“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush him back,” Roberts said. “I think we’re in a good spot.”
That’s why, as of Friday, Gomes had shelved those contingency plans that were running through his mind 48 hours earlier. His front office wasn’t urgently scouring the trade market looking for an instant replacement.
Instead, Gomes and Roberts insisted the Dodgers’ trade deadline plans are unlikely to be altered in the wake of Muncy’s injury — with the team content to rely on internal options now, while awaiting Muncy’s return later this year.
“Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point,” Roberts said, “I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”
“Even if [his recovery] is way slow,” Gomes added, “you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs. So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”
Fans cheer after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a three-run homer against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
Trade speculation surrounding the Dodgers’ third base position is nothing new.
Lately, however, Muncy had quieted such noise with one of the best stretches of his career. Before getting hurt, he was batting .308 over his past 46 games with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (26).
“When he’s not in the lineup,” Roberts said, “our offense tapers off.”
Whether Muncy can return to such levels of production, of course, won’t become clear until well after the deadline passes. But finding impact bats on this year’s trade market might not be an easy task, especially at third base.
Nolan Arenado has long been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors. But he has career-lows in batting average (.247) and OPS (.701) this year, and is still due some $40 million over the next two-and-a-half seasons on his contract.
The Cardinals' Nolan Arenado watches his double in the sixth inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on June 27. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
Lower-profile names such as Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías (who could be a better roster fit for the Dodgers as a utility weapon) could also be moved. But the Dodgers won’t be desperate to overpay for an impact bat knowing Muncy should be back well before the start of the playoffs.
“Obviously, he’s been so dialed in, one of the best hitters in the game over the last six weeks, so there’s always some [question of], ‘How are we going to get back to that spot?’” Gomes acknowledged of Muncy.
“But I don’t think that is something that Max has never done before,” he added, referencing Muncy’s ability to contribute to last year’s World Series run despite missing three months in the regular season with an oblique injury. “So there’s a comfort level. We have some time. We’ll make sure that he’s eased back in. We have enough technology that he can take at-bats and see pitches before he ever has to go out on rehab and is back in a major-league game. We should be getting some approximation of what his swing was, and then use that time to get into a rhythm.”
In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to incorporate Tommy Edman at third base, where he has 94 career big-league appearances (mostly in 2019 and 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals, before Arenado’s arrival there).
“It’s a position I’m comfortable with,” Edman said Friday, after taking grounders at third at the start of his pregame work. “The hops [there] are weird, so you gotta play a little bit more one-handed … But it’s still the infield. You still gotta work on the footwork, just like you would at second and short. Catching the ball, getting behind your throws. It’s a lot of the same concepts.”
Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas will also see time at third, typically against left-handed pitching, while triple-A prospect Alex Freeland could offer depth from the minors if needed.
Hyeseong Kim, meanwhile, should also get a bump in playing time at second base on days Edman is at third.
“It’s gonna be a good opportunity for him,” Roberts said of Kim. “It’ll be good to know more and get him some more experience.”
When the deadline rolls around at the end of the month, the Dodgers will have more information to work with — not only on the state of Muncy’s rehab, but also about how their lineup fares without him.
With a top-five farm system in the sport, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, they will have the ammunition to make a splash if needed.
But for now, their expectation is that Muncy’s injury won’t force them into a drastic midseason roster makeover. They are hopeful that what initially appeared to be a season-altering moment will be nothing more than a temporary speed bump in their pursuit of a second consecutive title.
“We’re playing good baseball as a team. We’re in a good position division-wise right now,” Gomes said. “So if we keep doing that, we can weather [Muncy’s absence].”
As roster activity slows down following the start of the NHL’s free-agent frenzy, it’s becoming clearer what Stanley Cup contenders have done (and in some cases, haven’t done).
In this list, we’ll be breaking down a handful of Cup contenders that either improved, got worse or stayed the same after the start of NHL free agency.
Carolina Hurricanes
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Improved
Why? The Hurricanes’ defense corps took a hit with the departures of veteran blueliners Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov. But Carolina GM Eric Tulsky addressed that area with the acquisition of former New York Rangers D-man K’Andre Miller and 31-year-old Mike Reilly.
The Hurricanes will be depend on youngster Alexander Nikishin to prove himself as a regular defenseman, but Carolina is an improved group overall with the addition of left winger Nikolaj Ehlers. The former Winnipeg Jets veteran can slot in on the top line along with star center Sebastian Aho and right winger Seth Jarvis, which would be one of the NHL’s very best first lines. At the very least, he will be an effective top-six player for the long term with a strong balance of goals and assists.
Carolina may still address its goaltending tandem, but in early July, this Hurricanes team looks deep, skilled and determined to push deeper into the post-season than it’s done in recent memory.
Colorado Avalanche
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Improved
Why? The Avalanche are in the ultra-competitive Central Division, and GM Chris MacFarland proved last season he’s ready, willing and able to take big swings when it comes to changing up his roster. This summer, the Avs have already made tough decisions, including letting veteran left winger Jonathan Drouin leave via free agency and trading Charlie Coyle to the Columbus Blue Jackets to free cap space.
However, the Avalanche did double down on veteran center Brock Nelson as their second-line pivot, and they got an incredible bargain when greybeard defenseman Brent Burns signed a one-year, $1-million contract. The addition of Burns means that, once again, Colorado’s defense corps is going to be one of the best in the game.
The Avs still have about $4.12 million in cap space. They’ve got outstanding players at the high end of their pay scale and sturdy secondary components to fill out the roster. We dare say Colorado will push higher in the Central next season.
Dallas Stars
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Stayed the same
Why? The Stars came into the off-season knowing they’d have to shed some talent to fit under the cap ceiling. They did that by trading left winger Mason Marchment to Seattle, but otherwise, they’ve been able to stay at least as competitive as last year’s team. That’s partially because captain Jamie Benn agreed to a one-year, $1-million contract with performance bonuses that could turn into one of the league’s better bargains.
That said, we don’t see the Stars as an improved team. Yes, they brought back veteran center Radek Faksa for a second tour of duty with the team, but Dallas is still slightly over the cap ceiling, so GM Jim Nill will have to move some money around by the time the season begins. Still, there’s a lot to like about this Stars team. We believe they’ll still perform about as well as they did last year.
Edmonton Oilers
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Got worse
Why? The Oilers did find a way to fit in star defenseman Evan Bouchard’s new contract with their cap structure, but it came at the expense of veteran winger Evander Kane, who was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. And Edmonton’s cap limitations also meant that valuable veterans Corey Perry and Connor Brown departed for Los Angeles and New Jersey, respectively.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman ostensibly replaced the offense lost with Perry and Brown moving on by signing former Washington Capitals winger Andrew Mangiapane. But other than re-signing secondary pieces Kasperi Kapanen and Trent Frederic, Edmonton has more or less been slowly picked away at by its cap constraints.
We still think the Oilers will compete for top spot in the Pacific Division, but if they go far in the playoffs again, it could be with a roster that currently looks worse on paper.
Florida Panthers
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Stayed the same
Why? When you’re coming off back-to-back Cup championships, it’s basically impossible to improve on that performance. So we say that, with all due respect to Panthers GM Bill Zito and the brilliant job he’s done by retaining free agents Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, Florida basically stayed the same. That’s a very good thing.
The Panthers did lose some depth on defense with the departure of veteran Nate Schmidt, and given that Florida is now $2.95 million over the cap ceiling, Zito will have to make more cost-cutting moves in the days and weeks ahead. But when they’re getting their first full season with Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones, that should frighten every team in the NHL.
Vegas Golden Knights
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Improved
Why? The Golden Knights landed the biggest fish in the UFA market this summer with the trade for and signing of former Maple Leafs star right winger Mitch Marner. To do so, they had to part ways with defenseman Nicolas Hague and center Nic Roy, but when you’ve added the instant offense that Marner will bring, it’s clear to just about everyone that Vegas is already a better team than the one that won the Pacific last season.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon is one of the savviest managers in the game, and he’s put together a lineup for 2025-26 that is clearly capable of going on a deep post-season run.
Marner has something to prove, as do the other Vegas players who weren’t around for the franchise’s first Cup victory. So, much of the roster is hungry and determined to push deep into the playoffs. That’s why we believe the Golden Knights are better now than they were at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
SEATTLE — On the spot, Cal Raleigh compiled a laundry list of players he would consider for a Mount Rushmore of Seattle Mariners following their 6-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Friday.
Ichiro was one of the first names off the board, followed by the likes of stud starting pitchers Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson. When identifying who is the face of the Mariners, though, Raleigh immediately landed on Ken Griffey Jr., who he tied for the franchise record for home runs before the All-Star break with 35 with a pair of blasts.
“To be mentioned with that name, somebody that’s just iconic, a legend, first ballot Hall of Famer, I’m just blessed,” Raleigh said. “Trying to do the right thing and trying to keep it rolling. If I can try to be like that guy, it’s a good guy to look up to.”
From Raleigh’s perspective, Griffey would have “smashed” the major league home run record rather than come up 132 short of Barry Bonds if not for injuries. Thankfully for Raleigh’s sake, that admiration hasn’t been reserved for the public eye.
Whenever Griffey finds himself back in Seattle, which was the case when FIFA Club World Cup games were taking place at Lumen Field, Raleigh has enjoyed his chats with “The Kid.”
“It’s always fun to have him around the clubhouse to just talk to him a little bit and figure out how he went about his business,” Raleigh said. “So, I’ve talked to him on the phone once or twice as well. So, he’s a good one. He’s one of the best of all-time. It’s hard to beat talking to somebody like that.”
It’s also hard to find many comparable runs to what Raleigh - who will participate in the Home Run Derby - is in the midst of, and what Griffey accomplished ahead of the 1998 All-Star break. Manager Dan Wilson, who was a teammate of Griffey’s in 1998, is among the few folks who can truly put Raleigh’s fast start to 2025 in perspective.
“It’s remarkable. It feels like he hits a home run every game, that’s what it feels like,” Wilson said. “And I can remember feeling it as a player, that (Griffey) just felt like he hit a home run every day. Again, that’s the consistency that (Raleigh) has shown. It hasn’t been a streak where he has hit a bunch of home runs in a short amount of time. It’s been kind of 10 per month.”
To Wilson’s point, Raleigh has been remarkably consistent. He walloped nine home runs in April, 12 in May and 11 more in June. Griffey’s figures were a tad more mercurial, but just barely (10 in April, eight in May, 14 in June).
All told, the 28-year-old Raleigh has more than lived up to the early stages of his six-year, $105 million contract extension, which he signed just ahead of the 2025 season. Not only has Raleigh set a career high for home runs, but he’s on track to post new marks for batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Raleigh chalked those developments up to his maturing a little over halfway into his fourth full major league season.
“I have the ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark,” Raleigh said. “I mean, it’s part of my game and I’m a strong guy. It’s learning how to hone it in and take your hits when maybe you’re not getting those pitches in the heart of the plate.”
Such an approach is all well and good, but the results have been starkly different. Raleigh has racked up just 36 singles, or one more than his home run total. Suffice to say, Raleigh’s offensive output has justified every dollar the Mariners have sent his way so far, and then some.
“Want to make sure I’m doing everything I can every single day to earn that paycheck and earn what they gave me,” Raleigh said. “But it’s a lot more than just that. It’s being a leader, doing things in the clubhouse and making sure you’re ready to go every single day.”
Now that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk has had to watch his brother, Matthew, hoist the Stanley Cup in the Sunshine State for the second year in a row, it’s time to assess what GM Steve Staios had done over the past week to get Brady out of the backseat of that Hyundai Palisade.
1) Familiarity Breeds Growth
Coming out of the draft and the free agent frenzy, the Senators bid adieu to former regulars, Anton Forsberg, Travis Hamonic and Adam Gaudette. They extended Leevi Merilainen, traded for Jordan Spence and signed Lars Eller to be their replacements. GM Steve Staios also described deadline acquisitions Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund as being part of the team's overall roster improvements for this fall.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss the Senators acquiring Jordan Spence from the LA Kings.
Depth pieces continue to be added, like former LA Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev and Washington Capitals minor league goalie Hunter Shepard.
It would seem, at first glance, that Staios believes that the roster that bowed out in six to the Toronto Maple Leafs in round one is closer to making a push than Sens Nation might have thought.
By leaving nearly $4.3 million in unspent cap heading into the season, fans might also conclude that Staios believes the Senators will be buyers at the trade deadline and wants to be able to take on salary without sacrificing draft capital.
Looking around the Atlantic, the Senators may now be able to challenge the Leafs in a playoff matchup. But with the Florida Panthers retaining almost all of their key personnel, it remains to be seen if the Senators can challenge the two-time defending champs.
2) Right Side Defense Depth
In addition to being a former right shot defenseman in the NHL, Staios seems to have put a premium on stocking that side of the cupboard with several moves in recent weeks.
The first move was to bring back 2019 first-rounder Lassi Thomson on a one-year, two-way contract at the league minimum. Thomson led the Malmo RedHawks in scoring last year in the Swedish Elite League, and perhaps he found his mojo in Europe.
The move at the draft to trade down and acquire Logan Hensler out of Wisconsin is Staios’ second year in a row investing a first-round pick in an RHD. Coincidence? Perhaps. However, when you throw Jordan Spence into the mix, a player who is ready to play now, it does give pause for thought.
What is Staios preparing for?
Clearly, Staios values being deep on the right side – both now and in the future. This side of the aisle has been a vulnerability in the past.
But Staios may also be worried about the viability of Nick Jensen for next season. Jensen is non-committal about his timeline for return after a reported hip surgery in May. This stockpiling of right-shot defensemen may be more than just depth. Staios may be preparing for the LTIR eventuality should Jensen’s recovery drift into the season, or worse, not go as planned.
Will this bridge the gap between the Senators and the elites of the East? This seems unlikely, but it appears that Staios is banking on his existing core taking a huge step forward this coming season.
3) Wiser, Not Older
By retaining the services of Claude Giroux, beloved assistant captain and mentor to Brady Tkachuk, this may be the strongest message that Staios could send to his dressing room and his fan base.
When you add Lars Eller to the mix, the Senators will now boast three players 36 years of age or older. Two of them are former Cup winners in Perron and Eller. So Staios obviously believes that experience makes a huge difference in the room and on the ice.
Giroux believes it as well. Financially, he could have done better elsewhere had he wanted to, and he seems prepared to negotiate one year at a time to earn his keep. He may love Ottawa, but he's not staying if he doesn't believe in the group.
But is this enough to get Brady out of the backseat? Will he just be a spectator at another Cup celebration in Sunrise, or does he believe, as Staios and Giroux do, that the Senators are ready to be contenders, not pretenders?
Again, this remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: The Senators and their core will have to take a huge step forward, because the Panthers may be a dynasty in the making.
Despite struggling earlier in the week against the Blue Jays, the Yankees still turned to Luke Weaver on Friday night against the Mets while leading 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs.
But it quickly became yet another déjà vu situation.
Weaver walked Pete Alonso and then let up a go-ahead, two-run home run to Jeff McNeil as the Mets held on for the 6-5 win, handing the Yanks their fifth straight loss. After allowing home runs in now three straight games, Weaver was brutally honest about his recent performances.
"I said I've been feeling good, that just may be a lie now, I don't know," Weaver said. "It's hard to make sense of what's going on. Obviously, we can kind of nitpick it and feels as if, 'You can do this better and that better.' That may be true. But I also know that pitching in the game of baseball come in all different waves and middle-middle works sometimes by accident. All the many things inbetween.
"I think at this point I've got two options: I can sulk and feel bad for myself or I can foundationally grind and find a way to just be flat-out better. Flat-out better for myself, for my teammates, and for this team in general, the fans. I don't want to be too hard on myself, but at the end of the day, what else is there? I have to be able to process it. And competitively it's just devastating."
The right-hander had recently returned from the IL on June 20 after being out since May 31 with a hamstring strain. He let up go-ahead runs to the Orioles in his first game back, but then settled back to his regular self, allowing just one hit over his next three outings. New York then headed to Toronto and things fell off the rails.
Weaver entered Tuesday's game in the bottom of the seventh inning with two on base and one out in a 5-5 game, but allowed a grand slam to George Springer to blow the game open (becoming a 12-5 loss). The right-hander threw again Thursday in the eighth inning with the Yanks down 6-5 and lost to Springer again, letting up a two-run homer to result in an 8-5 loss.
After Friday's loss to the Mets, manager Aaron Boone was asked what's gone wrong for Weaver during this recent stretch of poor outings.
"Just that last bit of execution which is the fine line between being dominant and giving up some damage," Boone said. "I feel like physically he's in a really good place, the stuff is there. It's just that fine line, that's a big difference maker.
"Fully trust in him to get through that and he's got the make-up to handle this, he's been through a lot in his career as far as dealing with successes and failures. Because the stuff is where it needs to be I think, I think he'll get through that."
The Yankees can't afford for Weaver to be an unreliable piece of the bullpen, especially after Fernando Cruz landed on the IL on June 30. But Boone isn't worried about that becoming the case and expressed his confidence in Weaver being able to turn it around.
"You got to get out there and do it," Boone said. "One thing I know about Luke is he's not afraid, he likes the action. And again, it's sometimes just that fine line. We're talking about three pitches that have hurt him big time here this week. But you also have to take a step back and say that, it's three pitches that have hurt him.
"Obviously, in leverage that's a big deal. But it's not something where you're like, 'Man, the stuff's down, how do we get that going again?' That looks like it's all there, physically he seems to be in a really good place so that's why I trust he'll get through this."
Boone reiterated that he hasn't notice anything off mechanically with Weaver, and said he just needs to get pitches to the right spot and "execute."
The Yanks will look to flip the switch and snap their five game losing streak on Saturday at Citi Field at 4:10 p.m.
