Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary leave on Thursday due to an investigation by Major League Baseball.
MLB said Ortiz’s paid leave will be through the end of the All-Star break on July 18. MLB and the Guardians had no further comment on the investigation. Ortiz returned to Cleveland on Wednesday night.
The 26-year old Ortiz is in his first season with Cleveland after he was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh last December. The right-hander is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season. The nine losses are tied for the most in the American League.
Ortiz was slated to be the starting pitcher for Thursday night’s game at the Chicago Cubs. Instead, left-hander Joey Cantillo will be recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Cantillo is 1-0 with one save and a 3.81 ERA in 21 appearances this season.
Cleveland (40-44) has dropped a season-high six straight games and is 9-18 since May 1.
SACRAMENTO – During a press conference Thursday morning introducing the team’s two picks from the 2025 NBA Draft, first-year Kings general manager Scott Perry referred to second-rounder Maxime Raynaud as a “double-double machine.”
It’s a label that has been bestowed upon Domantas Sabonis for several years. The Kings’ 6-foot-10 big man puts up double-doubles like most people drink water – smooth and refreshingly easy. He had 61 such games during the 2024 season, one year after he compiled a streak of 61 consecutive double-doubles, the seventh-longest streak in NBA history.
Raynaud’s NBA career has yet to get off the ground, but Perry sees the 7-foot Frenchman having the abilities to make an immediate impact in Sacramento.
“Max possesses a very unique combination of size, skill and ability that really mirrors a lot of the big players in today’s game,” Perry said. “He’s a double-double machine. We think he has a lot of growth and development in front of him.”
If Raynaud, the No. 42 overall pick in the draft, can be one-tenth the player Sabonis has been in the NBA, then it will be viewed as a great pick by Perry.
Playing in college about 90 minutes south of Sacramento at Stanford, Raynaud blossomed into a fantastic prospect in the paint who also can shoot the rock very well from the perimeter.
He was chosen to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team member during his final season at Stanford after averaging 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks.
Raynaud was the only college player last season to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, the first Power 4 conference player to hit those marks while nailing at least 50 3-pointers since Kevin Durant did it nearly two decades ago.
“Max’s talents speak for themselves/,” Kings coach Doug Christie said when asked about the prospect of playing Raynaud and Sabonis together. “Rebounding is never something you don’t need enough of. His size (and) his skill set, I think with Domas can mix in a big way. Just watching him play, he can shoot, pump-fakes, puts the ball on the deck. So now you have play-makers in all the positions.”
Raynaud will get his first taste of NBA action at the Summer League in Las Vegas. After that he’ll take a break and get some rest before beginning training camp when he’ll get the chance to line up alongside Sabonis. Sabonis is clearly looking forward to it.
On the night of the draft, he went on X and had this to say to the Kings’ two draft picks: “Welcome to the Sacramento Kings, Rooks. Let’s work.”
“Someone I’ve looked up to the past couple of years,” Raynaud said. “I know at Stanford, especially my sophomore year, we based our offense a lot around the Kings and the split-action they used to have. So in that regard, he’s been a big inspiration for me.”
The Anaheim Ducks announced on the opening day of 2025 NHL free agency that they signed veteran forward Mikael Granlund to a three-year contract that carries an AAV of $7 million.
Granlund (33) is a versatile forward who can play either wing or center position, kill penalties, and create offensive looks for himself or teammates.
Despite playing the majority of the last two seasons on the San Jose Sharks, the NHL’s back-to-back worst team in the standings, he eclipsed the 60-point mark (60 in 2023-24 and 66 in 2024-25) for the fourth and fifth times in his 13-year NHL career.
“He’s what I consider a hard worker,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said after the acquisition. “He goes to the hard areas, something that we needed more of. He’s not afraid to be a net front presence guy. He’s a guy that hangs onto pucks in the corners for more puck possessions. He’s a very smart hockey player. I would say his skating is above average.”
The Ducks didn’t have many holes in their depth chart with the addition of Chris Kreider, and even with the departure of Trevor Zegras.
They were the worst faceoff team in the NHL, winning a mere 44.6% of their draws in 2024-25, and they needed a center who could provide a positive impact on both ends of the ice.
The analytics community has been critical of the signing since it was announced, stating his defensive metrics reflect one of the poorer profiles among all NHL forwards.
That leads some to question what his role will be with the current iteration of the Ducks’ depth chart and if he’s simply an older, more expensive version of Zegras.
“That’s the beauty of this player,” Verbeek continued.”I think that he gives us a lot of options. Jole and I go through the lineup, and it’s going to give us four balanced lines. So, injuries occur, there’s a lot of things that can happen. So that’s another reason we really liked him.”
Digging into the game tape from his time with San Jose, where he was mostly deployed as a center, often between William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund or Zetterlund and Barclay Goodrow, he was given the opponent’s toughest matchups on a nightly basis. Against the Colorado Avalanche, he was matched up against Nathan MacKinnon. Against the New Jersey Devils, he was matched against Jack Hughes. Against the Vegas Golden Knights, he was matched up against Jack Eichel, so on and so forth.
In those matchups, with those linemates, and with defensemen like Cody Ceci, Jake Walman, and Henry Thrun absorbing tough matchups on the blueline along with him, it would come as no surprise to see Granlund’s underlying numbers near the bottom of the NHL. Granlund could have very well been a product of a poor defensive environment, historically one of the worst defensive environments in the NHL’s salary cap era.
However, on a shift-by-shift basis, Granlund demonstrates textbook defensive positioning, effective battle engagement, and above-average angling techniques.
In defensive zone coverage, he’s always in lanes, using his stick to disrupt, supporting pucks, and winning battles in small areas. He displays quality anticipation skills on the forecheck and in the neutral zone, providing early kills. He’s one of the best in the league when it comes to translating what makes him an impactful offensive player to the defensive side of the puck.
Granlund is a player where the eye test doesn’t match the underlying numbers. If the worst-case scenario plays out, it turns out he wasn’t a product of a poor environment, and he is a negative value on the defensive side of the puck, then a cerebral, detailed, playmaking forward with consistent 60-point potential isn’t a bad way to spend $7 million over three years in the modern environment of the NHL salary cap.
If the best-case scenario plays out, it turns out he was, in fact, a product of a poor environment, and he’s a positive value on both sides of the puck, then the Ducks got the middle-six center they needed, and he will single-handedly insulate the rest of the depth chart.
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was injured while tagging out Michael A. Taylor in the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox.
Taylor was caught stealing as catcher Will Smith threw to Muncy, who tagged Taylor for the second out of the inning.
Muncy sprawled on his back as a Dodgers athletic trainer came out to check on him. He had to be helped off the field. He was barely able to put any weight on his left leg. The team said he had left knee pain and he will have an MRI, manager Dave Roberts said.
“We feel optimistic,” Roberts said. “Our hope is that it’s a sprain. Obviously, for the next few days I’m sure he’ll probably be down.”
A White Sox trainer checked on Taylor, who sustained a bruised left trapezius in his back and left the game.
The incident occurred just before Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th strikeout against Vinny Capra to end the inning.
“We’re all thinking about Munce right now,” Kershaw said. “He’s a huge part of our team. Made a great play there. I don’t really know why he stole third, like it just seemed unnecessary. I feel bad that it happened. We’re all holding our breath that Muncy will be OK.”
NEW YORK — Jacob Misiorowski made everything look so easy in his first three major league starts.
Now he knows it’s not.
The hard-throwing rookie finally got knocked around, serving up back-to-back homers as the Milwaukee Brewers lost 7-3 to the New York Mets in the second game of a day-night doubleheader at Citi Field.
Barely touched by opposing batters since getting called up from the minors, Misiorowski (3-1) gave up five runs, five hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings in his fourth career outing. Brandon Nimmo connected for a grand slam in the second and a slumping Francisco Lindor followed with another longball off Misiorowski to give the Mets a 5-0 lead.
“He wasn’t in sync tonight, for sure. You could see it early. He’d have it for one pitch and then you could just see the ball wasn’t coming out of his fingers the same. You could see the frustration building,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
“That’s too good of a team and too good of a lineup. (These are) the days you realize how good these guys are, all major league players. It’s so tough to perform at the highest level and be consistent. But when you’re off a little bit, it can be the difference, and Miz just wasn’t in sync.”
A touted prospect, the 6-foot-7 Misiorowski had more than lived up to the hype since his arrival.
He began his career with 11 hitless innings and then a scoreless start in a win over Pirates ace Paul Skenes before a crowd of 42,774 in Milwaukee. The 23-year-old right-hander carried a perfect game into the seventh June 20 at Minnesota and racked up 19 strikeouts in his first 16 big league innings.
“He has amazing stuff,” Nimmo said.
Misiorowski threw 62 pitches at least 100 mph in his first three games, and opposing batters were 3 for 49 (.061) against him — making him the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to have as many wins as hits allowed through three career starts.
“He’s really good. Crazy future ahead of him,” Lindor said. “It’s going to be fun to watch him and fun to play against him.”
But on this night, Misiorowski walked consecutive batters with two outs in the second and was unable to corral a high comebacker off the bat of No. 9 hitter Hayden Senger.
The ball glanced off Misiorowski’s glove and spun away from second baseman Brice Turang for an infield single that loaded the bases.
“There was a fastball at the bottom of the zone for a walk that I thought was there. But I thought, good spot, and maybe get it up a little bit more,” Misiorowski said. “Just frustrated at myself for not making a play.”
Nimmo pulled the next pitch, a 96 mph slider, to right field for his third career slam and second this season. Lindor then drove a 1-2 fastball to right-center for his 17th home run.
“I threw good pitches and they hit ’em. Plain and simple as that,” Misiorowski said. “I mean, you’re facing the best of the best. They’re getting paid what they’re getting paid for a reason.”
Misiorowski said his problem was mechanical.
“My fingers were just a little too far on the right side of the ball, and it kind of spun a little different than I’m used to,” he said. “I think I came back pretty well after that. ... I fixed it that next inning.”
Murphy said Misiorowski didn’t feel good while warming up in the bullpen, and that carried over to the game.
“His whole body was not in sync,” the manager explained. “All the arms and legs, it’s hard to sync it all up.”
Misiorowski came out firing 100 mph fastballs, touching 102 mph against Lindor in the first inning — but it didn’t last.
“He learned his lesson. He’s ticked about it. Even some of the sequencing he’s ticked about,” Murphy said. “He can see it that there’s just a really fine line between being dominant and being just OK.”
Misiorowski, however, won’t dwell on this disappointment.
“It’s done. Use the old Tiger Woods approach and move on to the next hit. Move on to the next pitch. It is what it is. I got a loss but, oh well,” he said. “It’s frustrating. But at the same time like, young career, it’s good figuring it out now. Not when we’re in the playoffs and it matters most.”
Juan Soto now has even more to smile about, as the Mets’ star was named the National League Player of the Month for June.
Soto tore the cover off the ball last month, slashing .322/.474/.722 with 11 home runs, 20 RBI, 25 walks, and 25 runs scored. Soto's 11 home runs tied for the most he’s ever hit in a single month, as he matched that total in August 2020 with the Washington Nationals.
He also joined Darryl Strawberry (May 1987) as the second Met with 10-plus home runs and 20-plus walks in a calendar month.
It’s well documented that Soto’s Mets tenure got off to a slow start, by his own ridiculously high standards, as he hit .241 in March/April and .219 in May, but the superstar has rounded back into form, and is now pushing to make his fifth All-Star team, posting a 157 OPS+ on the season.
Soto and the Mets will look to keep things moving in the right direction on Thursday night, when they go for a series win over the Milwaukee Brewers before welcoming the Yankees to Citi Field this weekend.
A couple of days ago a Rangers fan posted a notice on X/Twitter accompanied by a photo of Russian offensive ace Maxim Shabanov.
"Are we getting him next?" was the text message. It was clear to the Blueshirts' loyalist that Shabanov would look good on Seventh Avenue.
Well, the fact of the matter is that Shabanov will look good, but skating for the New York
Islanders who signed him – and not the Rangers.
We all know that the New York-New York rivalry dates back to 1972, when the Islanders were born, but it's taking on a new form this summer. And for a good reason since both clubs are desperate to rebuild.
The race to sign Shabanov is Exhibit A.
"These two teams are battling each other," says The Old Scout, "because they both missed the playoffs and don't want to do it again. At the least, they want a Wild Card berth."
Both teams are set in goal but the Rangers admittedly are fortifying their blue line corps. K'Andre Miller had become defensive debit so GM Chris Drury signed the veteran Slava Gavrikov.
The Islanders lost Mike Reilly – also, like Miller, to Carolina – and might replace him with their number one Draft pick Matthew Schaefer. But that's only a "might."
"Rushing Schaefer to the NHL right from Junior hockey could be a mistake," adds The Old Scout, "but if the kid has the goods then he might work as a longshot gamble."
The Islanders missed the playoffs – one point behind the Rangers – in the Wildcard race. Now both New York clubs have two more months to lift themselves to playoff calibre for the 2025-26 campaign.
And wouldn't it be something if both made it. Even better; if both made it and faced each other in the 2026 playoffs!
The Warriors’ tug-of-war leverage battle with restricted free-agent forward Jonathan Kuminga is on. And ESPN’s Tim Legler explained why Golden State needs the 22-year-old swingman more than he needs it on Wednesday’s edition of “NBA Today.”
“I think personally, at this point, the Warriors need Jonathan Kuminga more than he needs them,” Legler said. “Where are the athletes on this team? He does represent an athletic wing. The guy does have something, from a skill standpoint and a physical standpoint, [that] they don’t have on their roster.”
Kuminga is that youthful high-flyer that Golden State doesn’t have, as it sports one of the league’s older rosters centered around 37-year-old Steph Curry, 35-year-old Jimmy Butler and 35-year-old Draymond Green. But at the same time, the shaky Kuminga experiment would be entering a fifth season if the Warriors were to strike a deal with their No. 7 overall selection from the 2021 NBA Draft, and so far, it’s been rough.
At the end of the 2024-25 NBA season, Kuminga’s averages fell to 20.8 minutes, 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over the 15 regular-season games he played in coach Steve Kerr’s rotation after Butler’s arrival. The six-time NBA All-Star forward doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, making Kuminga — an inconsistent shooter as of now — an odd fit in the Bay.
“I understand … they wish he was a little bit more locked in defensively with his concentration; they wish he was a little bit more consistent with his rebounding effort. I get all of that,” Legler said. “The guy has played almost 6,000 minutes for the Golden State Warriors, and he’s still auditioning.
“I think, at some point, you need to come to the realization that it’s not going to happen for him in Golden State. And guess what? It might not happen somewhere else, either. But I think, Jonathan Kuminga, to find out, I think he needs to go somewhere where he doesn’t have such cynicism looking at him all the time, waiting for the bad habits … so he can go back to the bench.”
Kuminga definitely has played under heavy pressure from the Warriors organization and Dub Nation. Tensions only are heightened as the clock ticks on the aging franchise’s championship window, especially after Golden State appeared to be a serious contender before Curry’s hamstring injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2025 Western Conference playoffs.
What the Warriors and Kuminga decide to do is unknown. But at the very least, their dynamic is awkward. A change of scenery might be best for Kuminga’s career and Golden State’s future. Or not.
Legler reiterated that the end game between the two parties remains complex.
“They need him. They need the physical specimen that he is,” Legler said. “He needs a fresh start somewhere else to see what this guy could actually become in this league.”
It is no surprise that the Warriors are engaged in sign-and-trade talks over deals involving Kuminga, as reported by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Tristi Rodriguez.
SACRAMENTO – Nique Clifford’s versatility on both ends of the court and his ability to play multiple positions were primary factors behind the Kings’ decision to trade into the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft to select the 6-foot-5 guard with the No. 24 overall pick.
With free agency looming around the corner, the Kings still have a pressing need to find a full-time point guard. Veteran Dennis Schroder reportedly intends to sign a three-year, $45 million contract with Sacramento. Though the deal can’t be made official until Sunday, during Thursday’s press conference at Golden 1 Center, Clifford unknowingly made it sound like a deal between the sides is done.
Regardless, Sacramento’s newest prized rookie says he’s more than willing to play the point if that’s what is necessary.
“Whatever my role is, whatever coach sees me as and throws me into, I feel like I can go do it at a high level,” Clifford said Thursday during his introductory press conference at Golden 1 Center. “I want to contribute to winning, that’s my ultimate goal. Whatever that looks like, [I] just have to approach every single day as an opportunity to get better and learn from all of the knowledge and guys I have around me.”
Clifford played point guard for much of his early years in basketball before, according to his mother Angel, he underwent a growth spurt that altered how teams used him.
He was the nation’s 13th-best rebounder last season, averaging 9.6 boards a game despite often being out-sized in the paint by 4-5 inches. Offensively, Clifford put up averages of 18.9 points and 4.4 assists.
“Nique is a very talented and versatile basketball player. That’s what attracted us to him,” First-year Kings general manager Scott Perry said. “He can play multiple positions in this game on the perimeter, not only on the offensive end, but he gives you that defensive versatility too. We really believe he’s going to be able to match up just about anywhere on the perimeter from a defensive standpoint.
“He has improved each year that he’s been in college basketball. That is an important trait that we look for when we evaluate talent coming out of (the) collegiate ranks.”
Clifford and the Kings’ 2025 second-round draft pick, center Maxime Raynaud, were formally introduced during Thursday’s press conference. The event was attended by friends and family members of the two newcomers, along with several team employees who frequently cheered and made the event more light-hearted.
Beyond the iced-out “Clifford the Big Red Dog” pendant that dangled from his neck, Clifford seemed to be in a more serious mood.
He might even have tipped the Kings’ plans for the upcoming free agency period.
“Just excited for the opportunity to learn from even guys coming in, like Dennis Schroeder and different teammates that I’m going to have,” Clifford said. “I’m going to be able to learn from those guys and get more comfortable in every position.
“It’s just finding my way, finding any way, to impact the game, whether that’s defense, rebounding, knocking down shots when I get them. Just trying to be impactful every time I step on the court.”
Even if he has to play point guard every now and then.
They also have an unfortunate habit of playing like Little Leaguers.
The latest example of Boston’s defensive ineptitude came in the eighth inning of their series finale against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. With the bases loaded and one out, TJ Friedl hit a chopper to Trevor Story, who couldn’t field the ball cleanly. Second baseman Marcelo Mayer tracked down the misplayed ball and threw to third base — where Christian Encarnacion-Strand had already rounded and was headed for home.
Third baseman Abraham Toro received Mayer’s throw and tried to tag a runner who wasn’t there, then threw home too late to nab Encarnacion-Strand — which allowed Santiago Espinal to advance to third base after Connor Wong’s throw didn’t arrive in time.
Watch the play below (at the 10:55 mark) if you’d like your blood pressure to rise:
The botched play was the final nail in the coffin of Boston’s 8-4 loss, which also featured Romy Gonzalez getting thrown out at third base trying to stretch a double to a triple with zero outs in a one-run game. The Red Sox allowed four unearned runs on two errors Wednesday night and currently have nine more errors (72) than the next-closest American League team.
Unfortunately, sloppy fielding isn’t just a 2025 issue for Boston. The Red Sox led the AL in errors in both 2023 and 2024, and their 289 errors since the start of the 2023 campaign are the most in baseball by a wide margin. (The Miami Marlins are second with 257.)
“It’s been a systemic thing for a long time,” Kennedy replied. “And that’s on us. That’s on everybody in the organization.
“It’s not acceptable to be out there at the Major League level and making fundamental mistakes. If you do that in the big leagues, if you give away outs, you’re going to be in trouble. So yes, we need to improve. Full stop.”
The Red Sox appeared to be turning the corner in mid-June after sweeping the New York Yankees to earn their seventh win in eight games. But after their stunning decision to trade Rafael Devers on June 15, they’ve gone just 5-9, including a six-game losing streak highlighted by several costly miscues in the field.
Add it all up, and you have a team that ranks third in the AL in runs scored and eighth in team ERA but enters Thursday three games out of a Wild Card spot at 43-45.
“If you look back at the season, there’s been a lot of those that have slipped through our hands,” manager Alex Cora said after Wednesday’s game. “Honestly, we’re in the position we are because of that.”
Some of Boston’s struggles with “the basics” can be attributed to throwing rookies like Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony into the fire. But the Red Sox’ mistakes aren’t limited to their young players; Story, Alex Bregman, Abraham Toro and Jarren Duran have all been thrown out trying to advance on the bases this season, while 13 different players have committed three errors or more.
How the Red Sox go about solving their “systemic” issue with fundamentals remains to be seen. But if this team misses the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, don’t be surprised if changes are made on both the minor-league and major-league level this winter.
Jonathan Kuminga’s future with the Warriors is complicated and uncertain, but Udonis Haslem believes the solution actually is quite simple.
The three-time NBA champion and ESPN analyst, like the rest of the NBA world, discussed Kuminga’s situation with Golden State on Wednesday’s edition of “NBA Today.” Haslem was asked what Kuminga, who is a restricted free agent, should want as he emerges into uncharted territory.
“He should want to go be his best version, and I don’t think that’s going to happen in Golden State,” Haslem said. “And it’s nothing against Golden State, it’s nothing against Kuminga. It’s just not a good fit. Especially when you got a guy like Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler’s a damn good basketball player. He needs the ball in his hands. He’s going to make other guys better. He’s going to defend on the other end. His basketball IQ is out of the roof.”
When the Warriors first acquired Butler at the trade deadline in February, they had hoped the six-time All-Star and Kuminga would thrive off of each other on the court together.
“And I think that’s where [Butler] gets the edge with Kuminga,” Haslem said. “If you put him in the game, you put him with Steph [Curry], you put him with those other guys and you don’t miss a beat. You put Kuminga in and it’s a little bit of a standstill offensively. He gets the ball in his hands, he wants to do his thing. So, Jonathan Kuminga should look for a situation or opportunity to be his best version. It is his time, and he should not feel bad about that at all.
“Oftentimes, we make guys feel bad for wanting to step into that light and be their best version. I don’t think he should feel bad about this. He’s played the game. He’s been in Golden State long enough. He’s a damn good basketball player. It’s his time to shine and he wants his opportunity, and I don’t blame him.”
The Warriors extended a $7.9 million qualifying offer to Kuminga, making him a restricted free agent. This means if he receives an offer from another team, the Warriors can either choose to match that offer and retain him or decline to match it and let him sign with the other team.
They also can explore a sign-and-trade scenario, which a source confirmed to NBC Sports California on Wednesday is being discussed with the Kings and Pistons that would send second-year guard Devin Carter and big man Dario Saric to Golden State, Kuminga to Sacramento and high-flying guard Malik Monk to Detroit.
The possibilities are limitless, but it appears more and more likely that Kuminga’s time in the Bay is nearing an end.
Australian beats France’s Arthur Cazaux 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0
No 1 says grass tournament is like a ‘second home slam’
Alex de Minaur has been left relieved to blast back from being a set down and avoid joining the legion of seeds who have already been scattered at this shock-laden Wimbledon.
In perfect sunny conditions on Thursday morning, Australia’s big hope brushed off a woeful first set against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux before regrouping, asserting his superiority and eventually prevailing 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 to ease into the third round again.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't yet made any big splashes in this summer's UFA pool. Their most notable move was signing former Montreal Canadiens checking-line forward Michael Pezzetta to a two-year deal.
Meanwhile, their most notable trade was the sign-and-trade deal that sent right winger Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights on June 30 for Nicolas Roy.
Jonas Siegel of The Athletic believes Marner's departure leaves the Leafs in need of a top-six forward. He suggested they add either a right winger to skate alongside Auston Matthews or John Tavares, or a center who could push Tavares to the wing or centering the third line.
This year's thin free-agent market is tapped out of prime scoring talent. Sportsnet's Luke Fox thinks GM Brad Treliving will turn to the trade market for a bona fide top-six forward.
The Hockey News’ David Alter observed that the Maple Leafs have over $4.9 million in cap space for this season. He suggested Treliving could weaponize that space later this summer, targeting cap-strapped teams to acquire a player the Leafs need.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun shares that opinion. He felt Treliving could draw on his glut of affordable bottom-six forwards for trade chips.
That could include Nick Robertson, an RFA with arbitration rights. The 23-year-old left winger created a stir last summer when he requested a trade, only to sign a one-year deal a week before training camp opened last September.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens have been active in the off-season trade market. Less than a week after their bombshell acquisition of defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders last Friday, they shipped blueliner Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for middle-six forward Zack Bolduc.
Both moves received positive reviews, but failed to address their pressing need for a second-line center. They must also cope with the departures of veteran forwards Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic believes Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is willing to look within the organization to address that issue in the short term. Sportsnet's Eric Engels thinks their best option would be to try Kirby Dach in the second-line center role.
Engels acknowledged that the oft-injured Dach struggled last season before undergoing knee surgery. However, he didn't have wingers like Bolduc and Ivan Demidov as potential linemates.
Following the acquisition of Dobson, there was speculation that Mike Matheson might be used as a trade chip for a second-line center or winger. The 31-year-old puck-moving defenseman is a year away from UFA eligibility, but Hughes told reporters he's not moving him, citing the big minutes he played last season.
The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw follows through on the pitch that struck out Vinny Capra of the Chicago White Sox for Kershaw's 3,000th career strikeout. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
It wasn’t so much the culmination of a career as it was another signpost pointing the way to the Hall of Fame.
It certainly wasn’t the last pitch Clayton Kershaw will ever throw for the Dodgers, but it will likely be among the most memorable.
Because when Chicago White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra took a 1-and-2 slider for a strike to end the sixth inning Wednesday night, Kershaw became just the 20th pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 strikeouts.
More people have flown to the moon than have struck out 3,000 major league hitters. And for Kershaw, who has been chasing history since he threw his first big-league pitch as a skinny 20-year-old, entering such an elite club will be a big piece of his legacy.
Only now he has the wisdom and the grace to realize it was never about him in the first place.
“It's an incredible list. I'm super, super grateful to be a part of it,” Kershaw said. “But if you don't have anybody to celebrate with, it just doesn't matter.”
Kershaw would know since he’s one of the most decorated players in history. Twice a 20-game winner, a five-time ERA champion and two-time world champion, he’s won three Cy Young Awards, was a league MVP and is a 10-time All-Star.
“The individual stuff,” he repeated, “is only as important as the people around you.”
So while Kershaw stood out when he reached the 3K milestone on the 100th and final pitch he threw in the Dodgers’ 5-4 win, he refused to stand apart, pausing on his way off the field to point at his family sitting in their usual seats in the front row of the loge section. He then accepted hugs from teammates Mookie Betts and Kiké Hernández.
But he saved his warmest embrace for manager Dave Roberts, who bounded up the dugout steps to greet him.
“We've been through a lot together,” said Roberts, who has guided Kershaw through doubts and disappointments, through high points and lows in their 10 years together.
“I'm one of the few people in uniform that has been through them,” Roberts said. “That was kind of what the embrace was.”
Kershaw, 37, is just the fourth left-hander to reach 3,000 strikeouts but more important, he said, is the fact he’s just the second in a century, after Bob Gibson, to do it with the same team. No pitcher, in fact, has spent more years in a Dodger uniform that Kershaw.
“I don't know if I put a ton of stock in being with one team early on,” he said. “Over time you get older and appreciate one organization a little bit more. Doc [Roberts] stuck with me, too. It hasn't been all roses, I know that.
“So there's just a lot of mutual respect and I'm super grateful now, looking back, to get to say that I spent my whole career here. And I will spend my whole career here.”
Kershaw struck out the first batter he faced in his Dodgers debut 18 years ago, getting the Cardinals’ Skip Schumaker to wave at a 1-and-2 pitch. It was the first of three strikeouts he would record in his first big-league inning. So even from the start, the K in Kershaw — the scorebook symbol for a strikeout — stood out more than than the rest of the name.
In between Schumaker and Capra, Kershaw fanned nearly 1,000 different hitters, from CJ Abrams and Bobby Abreu to Ryan Zimmerman and Barry Zito.
He’s struck out (Jason) Castro and (Buddy) Kennedy, Elvis (Andrus) and (Alex) Presley and (Billy) Hamilton and (Alex) Jackson. He’s whiffed (Scott) Cousins and brothers (Bengie and Yadier Molina), a (Chin-lung) Hu and a Yu (Darvish), a Cook (Aaron) and a (Jeff) Baker as well as a Trout (Mike) and multiple Marlins (Miami).
Former Giant Brandon Belt was Kershaw’s most frequent victim, striking out 30 times in 62 at-bats. Fewer than 50 batters have faced him at least five times without striking out, according to Baseball Reference.
Along the way Kershaw’s unique windup, the right knee pausing as he lifts both hands just above his cap, has become an instantly recognizable silhouette for a generation of Dodgers fans.
There’s only one other left-hander in team history that can compare with Kershaw, yet he and Sandy Koufax are so different the comparisons are more contrasts than anything.
Kershaw has been brilliant over the entirety of his 18-year career, winning 10 or more games 12 times. He’s never finished a season with a losing record and his career ERA of 2.52 is the lowest of the last 105 years for pitchers who have thrown at least 1,500 innings. Even at 37, he’s unbeaten in four decisions.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw walks off the mound after recording his 3,000th career strikeout as right fielder Andy Pages, left, and first baseman Freddie Freeman, right, react behind him. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Koufax was 36-40 with an ERA above 4.00 through his first six seasons. And while Koufax’s career was ended by injury before his 31st birthday, Kershaw has pushed through repeated problems with his back, shoulder, knee, toe, elbow, pelvis and forearm.
Only Don Sutton has won more games in a Dodger uniform than the 216 that belong to Kershaw, who will soon be enshrined next to Koufax and Sutton in the Hall of Fame.
“Early on they were talking about this next Sandy Koufax guy, this big left-hander. Really didn't have an idea where the ball was going, but pretty special,” said Roberts, who retired as a player after Kershaw’s rookie season. “It's much better to be wearing the same uniform as him.”
But Roberts has seen the other side, when the young promise gives way to pitfalls. He’s seen Kershaw battle so many injuries, he’s spent nearly as much time on the injured list as in the rotation over the last five seasons. Alongside the brilliance, he’s seen the uncertainty.
So with Kershaw approaching history Wednesday, Roberts loosened the leash, letting him go back to the mound for the sixth inning despite having thrown 92 pitches, his most in more than two years.
“I wanted to give Clayton every opportunity,” he said. “You could see the emotion that he had today, trying to get that third strike. But I think it just happened the way it's supposed to happen, in the sense that it was the third out [and] we got a chance to really celebrate him.”
Each time Kershaw got to two strikes, something he did to 15 of the 27 hitters he faced, “I said a few Hail Marys,” Roberts said.
“It's the last box for Clayton to check in his tremendous career,” he added, saying he doubted many more pitchers will ever reach 3,000 strikeouts. “You’ve got to stay healthy, you’ve got to be good early in your career, you’ve got to be good for a long time.”
That, Roberts said, was behind the second long hug he and his pitcher shared in the dugout Wednesday night as a highlight reel of Kershaw’s career played on the video boards above both outfield pavilions. The sellout crowd, which had long been on its feet, continuing cheering, eventually drawing Kershaw back out onto the field to doff his cap in appreciation.
“That ovation,” he said, “was something that I'll never forget, for sure.”
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