The Florida Panthers have two big pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad, who can hit the market on July 1. However, they also have some other solid players who can become UFAs at the start of next month, including defenseman Nate Schmidt.
After being bought out by the Winnipeg Jets last off-season, Schmidt was very good for the Panthers this year, but especially during the playoffs. Because of this, he should be a popular target if he ends up testing the market this summer.
Due to this, let's look at three teams who could look to sign Schmidt if he becomes a free agent on July 1.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche could be on the hunt for more defensive depth this off-season. This is especially the case if they end up losing pending UFA defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Thus, they could be a team to keep an eye on when it comes to Schmidt.
When looking at the Avalanche's roster, Schmidt could be a great fit on their third pairing. Furthermore, with the Avalanche being contenders, they certainly could be interested in a defenseman with 99 career playoff games and a Stanley Cup on their resume, like Schmidt.
New York Rangers
The Rangers could be another team to watch when it comes to Schmidt. When looking at their defensive group, it is clear that they could use some help on their left side. Thus, it would make sense for them to pursue Schmidt if he hits the market.
If the Rangers signed Schmidt, he would give them another solid veteran on their blueline to help mentor their younger players. In addition, he would be a clear upgrade to their bottom pairing, which is a need for a Rangers club looking to have a bounce-back season in 2025-26.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes could also be a good landing spot for Schmidt. The Hurricanes have two notable pending UFA defensemen in Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov, so they could end up looking for new blueliners this off-season. On a short-term deal, Schmidt could make a lot of sense for them.
Schmidt would provide the Hurricanes with another proven defenseman if signed, which is never a bad thing for a team to have.
The Houston Rockets have been busy this offseason: • Trade for Kevin Durant • Re-sign Fred VanVleet • Extend Steven Adams • Work out deals to keep Jae'Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday, Jeff Green
Now they have reached a contract extension with starting forward Jabari Smith Jr. for five years, $122 million ($24.4 million a year on average), reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. This is a straight five-year contract, with no player or team options. This new contract kicks in a year from now, Smith Jr. has one year remaining on his rookie deal at $12.4 million.
Jabari Smith Jr. as a Rocket:
— 13.0 PPG — 7.5 RPG — 1.7 3PG
Joins Luka and Lauri as the only players with those averages in their first three seasons. pic.twitter.com/DkZofq1gw0
Smith is part of the young Rockets' core that broke out and won 52 games this season, reaching the No. 2 seed in the West. In 57 games last season, Smith averaged 12.2 points and 7 rebounds a game, shooting 35.4% from beyond the arc.
Smith, the No. 3 pick in the 2022 class, becomes the first player to sign a contract extension from that group. Three players from that class — Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams — are expected to sign max (or near max) extensions. Other names to watch include the Kings' Keegan Murray, the Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin, the Pistons' Jaden Ivey, the Nuggets' Peyton Watson, the Hawks' Dyson Daniels, the Jazz's Walker Kessler, and the Rockets' Tari Eason.
Former NBA forward Bojan Bogdanović announced his retirement on Sunday.
The sharpshooter played professionally overseas in Europe early on in his career, before he broke into the NBA with the Nets during the 2014-15 campaigns.
He spent the first two years of his three-year pact in for Brooklyn, but with a visit to free agency looming they decided to ship him off to the Washington Wizards ahead of the 2017 trade deadline.
Bogdanović went on to spend time with Indiana, Utah, and Detroit before he landed back in the Big Apple ahead of the 2024 deadline -- this time landing with the Knicks.
He appeared in 29 regular season games for the Knicks, but was limited to just four during the postseason before he ended up being shutdown to undergo surgeries on his left foot and left wrist.
The 36-year-old was then sent back to Brooklyn as part of the Mikal Bridges trade, but he didn’t appear in a game due to the injuries -- which have now forced him to decide to hang up the sneakers.
“Sometimes in life, you don't choose the moment,” he wrote on social media. “The moment chooses you. After 14 months of battling a foot injury, two surgeries, and countless efforts to get back on the court, the time has come to close a chapter.”
Bogdanović averaged 15.6 points on 39.4 percent shooting from three in his NBA career.
James Harden had an All-NBA season for the Clippers, carrying their offense — with Paul George on the East Coast and Kawhi Leonard hurt the first part of the season — averaging 22.8 points and 8.7 asissts a game, leading the team to 50 wins and a tie for the 3/4/5 seeds in the West (the Clippers were the fifth seed based on tie breakers and lost in the first round to Denver).
Harden also had a $36.7 million player option for next season, but he is turning that down to sign a two-year, $81.5 million contract to remain with the Clippers, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and quickly confirmed by others. The second year of that contract is partially guaranteed and includes a mutual option, which means that if Harden exercises the option (which seems likely), the Clippers can waive him but incur a dead cap hit for the guaranteed portion.
This was expected. They needed each other and had nowhere else to turn. Harden was the heart of the Clippers' offense last season and they need him to play at that level again to be competitive next season. For Harden, there wasn't a free agent market for him (only Brooklyn would have the cap space to sign him near the price he is asking, and it is rebuilding, not looking for players who will be 36 by the start of next season).
The Clippers wanted him back, but on a short-term deal. Now, Harden and Kawhi Leonard each have two years left on their contracts, as does every other rotation player on the roster, outside of Ivica Zubac, who has three years remaining. The Clippers have set themselves up for a pivot in a couple of seasons (possibly one, as they could start trying to trade players with expiring deals next summer).
The Clippers have more business to do this summer: Nicolas Batum opted out of his $4.9 million player option for next season. The Clippers would like to and expect to re-sign him, but that will cost a little more than what he was going to make.
Veteran prop comes out of Maroons retirement for Game 3
Blues camp back Brian To’o to recover from injury to play in Sydney
Canberra veteran Josh Papalii has been ushered out of State of Origin retirement to give Queensland’s forward pack fire and brimstone in this year’s decider, while NSW coach Laurie Daley has named an unchanged 17.
Papalii called time on his Origin career ahead of the 2023 series but will be named at starting prop when Billy Slater unveils his 17 for Origin III on Monday. The 33-year-old prop has been instrumental in the first-placed Raiders’ charge up the ladder this year and will add extra vigour to Queensland’s pack come 9 July in Sydney.
Clippers guard James Harden is expected to sign a two-year, $81.5 million deal with the Clippers after declining his player option. (Brandon Dill / Associated Press)
Clippers executives were serious when they said they had not soured on James Harden's future with the franchise after an underwhelming postseason performance.
Harden declined his player option for $36 million with the Clippers on Sunday and intends to sign a two-year deal with the team for $81.5 million, league sources with knowledge of the deal not authorized to discuss it publicly said. The second year is a player option and is partially guaranteed.
The deal gave Harden a raise and the Clippers some salary flexibility going forward.
“He’s our No. 1 priority,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, told the media after the first round of the draft Wednesday night. “We’re super hopeful that James is here and he’s here for a long time. He has a player-option, so he can opt-in … or he can opt-out and hopefully we can do a deal that makes sense for both sides. But James, as you guys know, was phenomenal and we hope to continue to see his play.”
Though the Clippers drafted a center in the first round with the 30th pick, getting Yanic Konan Niederhauser of Penn State, Frank said his team “probably will have at least three centers.”
The Clippers can use their non-taxpayer mid-level exception that’s projected to be about $14.1 million on a player or two, and perhaps even find a center.
Harden played in 79 games this past season, played the fifth-most total minutes in the NBA (2,789), was fifth in the league in assists (8.7), averaged 22.8 points per game and was the only player with 1,500 points, 500 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks.
Harden, however, struggled during the postseason, averaging 18.7 points per game in the series the Clippers lost to the Nuggets. He scored just 33 points combined in Games 4, 5 and 7 losses, including seven points in Game 7.
Clippers guard James Harden looks to shoot during the team's win over San Antonio Spurs on April 8 at Intuit Dome. (Carrie Giordano / Associated Press)
Harden turns 36 in August and was not made available to speak with media during traditional exit interviews every team typically hosts to close out a season.
“When it was James this year with no Kawhi, with Norm [Powell] and [Ivica] Zubac and the rest of the group, we really asked James to do a lot,” Frank said shortly after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs.
“And at his age to deliver what he did…[He played in] 79 games, and he does that time and time and time again. We have a deep appreciation for that sort of availability and to be able to deliver and do what he did…We have a great level of appreciation for what James did this year.”
The NHL’s coaching carousel spun faster than ever this off-season, with a whopping eight teams changing their bench boss. And on Sunday, the Dallas Stars became likely to be the ninth as it was reported that they gave an offer to former Calgary Flames coach Glen Gulutzan to replace longtime coach Peter DeBoer and take the reins of the Stars for the second time in Gulutzan’s coaching career.
Gulutzan formerly served as the Stars' coach in 2011-12, when he led Dallas to a 42-35-5 record, a mark that wasn’t good enough to get Dallas into the Stanley Cup playoffs. And in the following year, which was shortened to 48 games by the NHL lockout, Gulutzan’s Stars once again missed the playoffs with a 22-22-4 record.
At that point, Dallas GM Jim Nill – only two weeks into his job running the Stars – fired Gulutzan and replaced him with Lindy Ruff. But Gulutzan remained in the NHL as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks. And in June of 2016, Gulutzan got his second chance as an NHL coach when the Flames hired him as a replacement for Bob Hartley.
Gulutzan lasted two years in Calgary, steering the Flames into a playoff berth with a 45-33-4 record in his first year, only to have the Flames drummed out of the post-season with a first-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks. And after Calgary regressed in Gulutzan’s second year – going 37-35-10 and missing the playoffs altogether – Gulutzan was dismissed in favor of Bill Peters.
Since then, Gulutzan has served as an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers. And now, Gulutzan may get his third kick at the can as the coach for the Stars. It’s certainly intriguing that Nill – who fired Gulutzan a dozen years ago – has decided that Gulutzan could be the right person for the job for a Stars team that has consistently been solid in the regular-season, but has stalled consistently when they’ve got to the Western Conference final, losing in the Western final to the Oilers in each of the past two post-seasons, and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022-23. But the Stars clearly needed a new voice after the spectacular flame-out of DeBoer at the end of this past season.
Indeed, one of Gulutzan’s first tasks if he becomes the Stars' coach will be to rehabilitate the game of star goalie Jake Oettinger, who was thrown under the bus by DeBoer after Dallas fell to the Oilers this past post-season. Oettinger isn’t going to be traded by Nill, and so Gulutzan needs to ensure Oettinger is in a good place mentally and competitively when the 2025-26 campaign begins.
Another challenge for Gulutzan will be to improve Dallas’ defense. The Stars’ defense corps has solid members in star Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell, but the depth of the defense corps needs to improve, either internally or by a roster move or two made by Nill. And Gulutzan will need to tighten things up in the team’s own zone once the playoffs roll around.
Gulutzan’s potential hiring is part of a trend in which former coaches get another shot at running an NHL team after years of serving as an assistant or associate coach. In Chicago, former Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is getting an opportunity with the Blackhawks. In Seattle, former New York Islanders coach Lane Lambert is getting another chance with the Kraken. And now, Gulutzan might get another shot with the Stars.
Regardless of the lineup changes Nill makes, Gulutzan’s task, if he agrees on an offer, is clear: he needs to replicate the regular-season success the Stars have had in the highly-competitive Central Division, secure home-ice advantage in the playoffs, and power through the first three rounds to get Dallas into the Cup final for the first time since the 2020 post-season. Anything less than that will be considered a failure, and as we’ve seen often of late, teams are more than ready to change coaches, even just one or two years into their tenure.
Suffice it to say that the pressure on Gulutzan will be considerable if he is hired, but not so much that he’s any different than any other NHL bench boss. In the zero-sum industry that is the coaching business, Gulutzan would be taking the Stars job knowing full well that, if Dallas doesn’t improve on their performance from last season, he may quickly be dismissed – and he may never get another NHL head coaching job again.
So, saying there’s going to be an urgency to Gulutzan’s potential situation is an understatement. The Stars are built to win now, and nothing short of a Cup final appearance by Dallas will keep Gulutzan as Stars coach for the short or long term if he ends up agreeing to coach the team.
Nationals fielder Jacob Young avoids a pitch while trying to bunt during the fifth inning of a game against the Angels Sunday at Angel Stadium. (William Liang / Associated Press)
Young Angels fans who lined the infield for autographs as the team jogged onto the field Sunday, may not know the thrilling, heart-racing suspense of the postseason — nor the captivating, religious-like fervor the Rally Monkey could bring.
Neither did the Angels who took their places in the field, combining for zero postseason appearances — a group that hadn’t even made their major-league debuts when Mike Trout last led the Angels to the playoffs.
2014 represents the longest postseason drought in MLB. Meanwhile, the 2002 World Series title may read more as a story told by parents to the kids who ran back up into the shaded seats away from the blistering sun after receiving signed baseballs from a group featuring some present-day Angels — Nolan Schanuel, Christian Moore and Logan O’Hoppe.
Does the pressure of holding a postseason spot, potentially hitting a benchmark goal before the All-Star break, change the short-term focus of the franchise? When asked about the expectations before Sunday’s game, interim manager Ray Montgomery said he’s just focused on the now, a message he’s been trying to instill in the clubhouse since spring training.
“If we worry about ourselves and playing the day that we're scheduled to play, and not worry about the other stuff, we'll continue to be fine,” Montgomery said.
On Sunday, however, focus collapsed in the late innings, a winning record remaining just past arm's length in the Angels' 11-inning, 7-4 defeat to the Nationals (35-49). Closer Kenley Jansen blew his first save of the season in the ninth while up one run. The Nationals' rally was started by a leadoff double that could have been deemed an error by Schanuel on a bouncing ground ball that got past him at first.
“I think it's a ball you should probably come in on and come after right away, instead of kind of laying back,” Montgomery said of Schanuel, who also made a defensive mishap in the sixth that caused the Nationals to take a 2-1 lead, “because you're going to get a tough hop on that one after that. And we saw that.”
And despite a scoreless 10th from Connor Brogdon, he gave up three runs (two earned) in the 11th after a CJ Abrams triple broke the game open.
The sun, in the seventh, also made it hard for shortstop Kevin Newman. A two-out pop fly, ruled a double for Abrams, dropped in left when Newman couldn't find the ball. The play knotted the game at three.
“Really frustrating,” Newman said. “Especially just being a pop-up, really not a difficult play by any means, and it just found its way right into the middle of the sun.”
The Angels (41-42) still had plenty of opportunity to hold on to secure their first winning record since April 20. Outfielder Taylor Ward had a career-high three doubles, the first of which scored Schanuel — who reached on a walk — in the first to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. In the sixth, down 2-1, Ward led off the bottom half with a double, on a ground ball deflected by a diving attempt by Nationals third baseman Brady House.
The eighth-year Angels veteran scored on a single from Jo Adell — extending his hit streak to a career-high 11 games — in the next at bat. Moore, who got his first taste of stardom Saturday with a fan meet-and-greet in Tustin, treated the home crowd to a go-ahead single scoring Adell later in the inning.
Quickly becoming a fan favorite for the Angels faithful, Moore capped his introductory homestand with another clutch at-bat — in a week that started with a bang thanks to his two home run spectacle Tuesday against the Red Sox. The rookie second baseman collected five tying or go-ahead hits across the homestand.
Ward had a chance to end the game in the 10th with runners on first and second with one out but struck out on three pitches. He looked at two fastballs up in the zone, and froze on a Kyle Finnegan splitter for strike three.
“It can’t happen,” Ward said. “I don’t know why I didn’t pull the trigger on the first two pitches. Something I’m going to be kicking myself over.”
The Angels ended the afternoon two-for-13 with runners in scoring position, failing to score in the ninth, 10th and 11th with at least one runner on in each inning.
Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz was drilled in the left leg with a comebacker in the first inning, but pitched into the fifth until Montgomery pulled the sinkerballer after a walk and double. He gave up two runs and five hits and two walks, while striking out two.
The Angels bullpen was solid after Kochanowicz removal, combining for five strikeouts, three walks, three hits and two runs before extra innings began. Reid Detmers highlighted the combined effort, striking out three across 1 ⅓ innings, and helping Ryan Zeferjahn escape the seventh with just one run to his name (when Newman couldn’t find the ball in the sun). The southpaw was in line for the victory before Jansen's blown save sent the game to extra innings.
Jumping for Jo(y)
Adell has strung together a potential AL Player of the Month-level campaign in June, socking 11 home runs — best in the AL — as well as .284 batting average and 18 RBIs.
So far, Adell is already on pace for a career-high in wins above replacement rating with 1.0 entering the game, according to Baseball Reference, and is on track for career-best marks in on-base percentage and slugging percentage as well.
“I'm rooting for him,” Montgomery said. “The home runs are nice, and it's a byproduct of being on the field every day, the work he's doing. But everything defensively, base running, he's contributing every way possible.”
Etc.
Zach Neto pinch-hit in the seventh inning for Newman and then played the remainder of the game — his first time back fielding since jamming his shoulder Tuesday.
Montgomery said before the game that conversations with Neto and the medical staff leaned to giving him a full off day, along with having the Monday off day, rather than just being in the lineup as the designated hitter.
But when push came to shove in a then-tied game, Neto (0-for-2) and Mike Trout — who began the game on the bench — had an at-bat.
The Mets have heard nothing but good things about Brooks Raley as he continues working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
That certainly doesn’t come as a surprise -- as the lefty put together another strong outing Saturday night in Double-A.
Raley stretched out to a second up for the first time since returning -- and he allowed just one baserunner while punching out a pair across 1.2 innings of work.
He needed just 17 pitches to get through the outing, 12 of which were strikes.
“Everything is good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He went two ups, obviously he continues to feel well and that’s important for him to just get that out of the way when he has to go two ups and throw strikes. The ball is coming out fine right now, so far we’ve gotten good reports.”
Raley has now allowed just four hits while striking out eight batters over his first four outings.
The veteran southpaw still has a ways to go as he continues building his workload up in the minors, but eventually getting him back in the mix will provide a huge boost to the Mets’ struggling pitching staff.
Raley was a key contributor when he was last healthy, posting a 2.80 ERA over 66 appearances.
Brooks Raley had a strong outing in his first Double-A rehab appearance
According to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, former St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has "serious injuries" and will need to have "multiple major surgeries" to address them this off-season. In addition, Pagnotta reported that Pietrangelo will miss all of the 2025-26 season, at a minimum, because of it.
I’m hearing Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo is dealing with serious injuries and is going to require multiple major surgeries this summer, which will result in missing the entire 2025-26 season, at least.
There have been questions about Pietrangelo's availability for next season, and this update from Pagnotta certainly makes it seem that the former Blues star won't be playing in 2025-26.
Pietrangelo played in 71 regular-season games this season with the Vegas Golden Knights, where he had four goals, 33 points, 139 blocks, and a plus-11 rating. He also recorded two goals, six points, and a plus-1 rating in 10 playoff games this year.
Pietrangelo was selected by the Blues with the fourth-overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. From there, he spent his first 12 NHL seasons in St. Louis, where he posted 109 goals, 341 assists, 450 points, and a plus-77 rating. He was also the Blues' captain from 2016-17 to 2019-20 and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2019.
The Yankees needed a big outing from Marcus Stroman on Sunday, and he delivered.
The right-hander was shaky at times during his minor league rehab stint, but taking the big-league mound for the first time since April 11 he looked strong as he limited the Athletics to just one run over a season-high five innings of work.
“I thought he was terrific today,” Aaron Boone said. “He was a little bit of an unknown going out there coming off his buildup out -- I know he’s coming off a tough one down there in Triple-A, but I thought he got after it really good today.
“He got pitches where he needed to, I thought he had a presence on both sides of the plate, was a little unpredictable using his sinker, his cutter and the different breaking balls -- but he got after it in the zone when he needed to and gave us everything we needed.”
Stroman cruised through the first but then had a bit of a scare in the second, as he was struck by a Max Muncy liner right back through the box, but after a brief discussion with trainers he was able to stay in the game.
The Athletics pushed a man into scoring position with a leadoff walk and single in the third, but he got star rookie Jacob Wilson to roll into an inning-ending double play.
Stroman then worked around a two out walk in the fourth, but his lone blemish came in the fifth as he allowed the A’s to get on the board with Willie MacIver’s second home run of the season to deep left.
He ended his afternoon on a high note by retiring the next two, and with the Yankees’ offense providing more than enough support, he was able to pick up his first win since August of 2024.
“I feel like this was a good building block,” Stroman said. “It’s not the same being on the side, you feel like you’re left out. So it’s definitely good to be back with the boys, it's an incredible team that we’re a part of we can truly do some special things. I’m just looking to do my part and contribute as much as I can.”
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has checked another piece of business off the to-do list in signing left winger Matthew Knies to a contract extension.
Knies inked a six-year contract with the Maple Leafs on Sunday, at an average annual value of $7.75 million. He will be under contract through the 2030-31 campaign. He will be 28 years old, in the prime of his career, by the time he needs a new deal.
The 22-year-old had a standout season in the final year of his entry-level contract. He scored a career-high 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points. With that, he recorded 15 power-play points and six game-winning goals, while averaging 18:31 of ice time per game.
Knies ended the regular-season fourth in goals and fifth in points among his teammates. Furthermore, he was tied with William Eklund as the third-highest point-scorer among players who were drafted in 2021, behind the Dallas Stars’ Wyatt Johnston (71) and Utah Mammoth’s Dylan Guenther (60).
BREAKING: Matthew Knies has agreed to a six-year extension with the Maple Leafs worth $7.75M per year to stay in Toronto, per @reporterchris. pic.twitter.com/1zVHtI9Mts
Over the past season, Knies has emerged as one of the best true young power forwards in the NHL. He finished third on the team in hits with 182, behind Simon Benoit (204) and Steven Lorentz (199).
In the playoffs, Knies’ production didn’t slow down or take a hit. The Phoenix, Ariz. native scored five goals and seven points in 13 post-season appearances. In those playoffs, his ice time average jumped up from the regular season by over a minute to 19:48 per game.
After this signing, the Maple Leafs have $13.57 million in salary cap space, per PuckPedia, so Treliving still has some room to shop on the opening day of free agency on Tuesday.
The Leafs are coming off the contract extension of John Tavares from Friday, and before their new contracts, Knies and Tavares had a combined salary of $11.925-million against the cap. Now, the two forwards add up to $12.138-million for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani holds a bat and smiles while looking across the field during a game against the Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
All-Star voting resumes Monday at 9 a.m. PDT for 48 hours with the Dodgers entertaining the possibility of fielding an unprecedented eight position players.
The top two vote-getters at each position through Phase 1 of voting are finalists and moved on to Phase 2, which ends Wednesday at 9 a.m. PDT. The defending World Series champion Dodgers boast a finalist at each infield position and two among six outfielders.
Even though only three Dodgers led National League Phase 1 voting at their position, all eight have an equal chance of starting because votes don't carry over to Phase 2. The player at each position to accumulate the most votes in the two-day window will start the July 15 game at Truist Park in Atlanta.
"Very proud. It's great," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Obviously we're playing well. As it stands now, we're the best team in the National League, so we should have the most All-Star voting for the team."
Shohei Ohtani locked in an automatic spot as starting designated hitter because he led all National League players with 3,967,668 votes in Phase 1. Catcher Will Smith and first baseman Freddie Freeman are the other Dodgers to lead voting, while second baseman Tommy Edman, shortstop Mookie Betts and third baseman Max Muncy finished second. Among outfielders, Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages finished second and fifth, respectively.
In American League voting, the Angels' Mike Trout is one of four finalists to secure one of two openings in the outfield. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees already earned a starting spot by leading all players with 4,012,983 votes in Phase 1.
Trout, who has 13 home runs in 56 games, is competing against Riley Green and Javier Báez of the Detroit Tigers and Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians.
Voting can be done online at MLB.com/vote, all 30 team websites, the MLB app and the MLB ballpark app. The winners will be announced on ESPN at 1 p.m.
The most position players voted to start an All-Star Game from a single team is five — accomplished by the 1976 Cincinnati Reds ,the 1956 and 1957 Cincinnati Redlegs and the 1939 New York Yankees.
"I hope we get five, six, seven Dodgers," Roberts said. "That'd be great."
National League finalists Catcher: Will Smith (Dodgers), Carson Kelly (Cubs) First base: Freddie Freeman (Dodgers), Pete Alonso (Mets) Second base: Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks), Tommy Edman (Dodgers) Shortstop: Francisco Lindor (Mets), Mookie Betts (Dodgers) Third base: Manny Machado (Padres), Max Muncy (Dodgers) Outfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs), Teoscar Hernández (Dodgers), Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves), Kyle Tucker (Cubs), Andy Pages (Dodgers), Juan Soto (Mets)
American League finalists Catcher: Cal Raleigh (Mariners), Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays) First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), Paul Goldschmidt (Yankees) Second base: Gleyber Torres (Tigers), Jackson Holliday (Orioles) Shortstop: Jacob Wilson (Athletics), Bobby Witt Jr., (Royals) Third base: José Ramírez (Guardians), Alex Bregman (Red Sox) Outfield: Riley Greene (Tigers), Javier Báez (Tigers), Mike Trout (Angels), Steven Kwan (Guardians)
