The Winnipeg Jets will make the 28th overall selection at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, which is set to begin on Jun. 27.
After their elimination to the Dallas Stars in the second round, it confirmed the Jets' selection at this year's draft. After winning the Presidents' Trophy, the Jets were going to receive the lowest draft selection depending on where they finished. Only the Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes finished higher than the Jets.
This is the first year the NHL is attempting to complete the draft in a decentralized manner, meaning teams' management will not be present at the draft, similar to how the NFL does theirs. The Jets' management will remain in Winnipeg when they make their selection.
This year, the draft will be held in Los Angeles at the Peacock Theater on Jun. 27 (first round) starting at 6:00 PM CDT and Jun. 28 (rounds 2-7) at 11:00 AM CDT.
The Jets have multiple forward prospects looking to break into the NHL, headlined by Nikita Chibrikov, Brad Lambert, Brayden Yager and Colby Barlow. Defensively, the prospect pool is headlined by Elias Salomonsson and Alfons Freij. The Jets did not have a first-round pick last year and selected Freij with the 37th overall pick.
The Jets' last five first-round picks have all been used on forwards, but at the moment, the Jets have not indicated what they could be targeting. The Jets could do several things with the pick. Those being trading back, trading up or using the pick to acquire an NHL player.
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When it comes to the future of the College Football Playoff, there were as many opinions as there were coaches on hand at the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 meetings in Florida this week.
Juan Soto was the talk of the offseason and spring training after signing with the Mets on a massive deal last winter. And the slugger has been the talk of this season after he has gotten off to a slow start and is in a slump for the first time in some time.
“I honestly don’t have a like ‘this is the issue’ that he needs to fix to get better,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said during a news conference Friday ahead of the Mets opening a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.
“I think he’s taking pretty good at-bats, he’s controlling the strike zone pretty well," Stearns continued. "He’s hitting the ball on the ground a little bit more than he has in the past. I think that’s something that he’s aware of. But telling yourself, ‘Hey, I need to hit the ball in the air more,’ doesn’t immediately translate to hitting the ball in the air more.
“Do I think he’s trying to do a little too much right now? Yeah, I think he’s probably trying to do a little bit too much right now. And that is natural for a player who cares about improving.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza sees it as just a matter of time before Soto gets going.
“We’ve seen it pretty much every day he’s hitting a couple balls hard. The results haven’t been there, but he’s gonna get going,” Mendoza said Friday. “Every day I sit here, you look at the numbers, he’s gonna get going here pretty soon.
The skipper added he hasn’t felt the need recently to have a conversation with Soto about his hitting: “He knows he’s in a good place. Treat him the same way I treat the other guys, too.”
Stearns doesn’t believe Soto is struggling with confidence, saying, “I think there’s frustration, sure, but I have not sensed a confidence issue.”
Stearns called it a “very unique position” for Soto, but there is a track record of players changing organizations and making big changes in their careers, taking a bit of time to adjust before turning it on, and is “very confident” Soto will soon come good.
“Maybe it will take a bloop or a couple bloops,” he said. “Or maybe it takes him connecting on one or two to exhale a little bit, but I would imagine it is difficult when the results don’t come.”
When it comes to possibly easing some of the pressure on Soto, the Mets' top baseball man said the only thing he can do is to "continue to support him." But even he admitted that could have a limit in its effectiveness.
"I don’t know how much pressure that eases," Stearns said. "He’s gonna put the pressure on himself. He's not feeling the pressure because of the things around him, I don't think. He's a highly competitive person who expects a lot of himself, who wants to win. And so when he’s not performing up to a level he's accustomed to, he's gonna put pressure on himself to do that."
While the slumping Soto still has posted a .745 OPS, good for an above-average 121 OPS+ and 113 wRC+, those numbers are well below his averages and what was expected after he signed a 15-year, $765 million deal in December.
The connection between his play and the pressure of expectation after signing a big contract isn’t far from the Mets’ minds.
“I also understand it is natural when a player signs a big contract – and this was a really big contract – if the results aren’t immediate, there are going to be questions and there are going to be reactions,” Stearns said. “And I completely get that, Juan does too.”
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) is brushed back during while batting in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. / Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
Despite Soto’s rotten run at the plate, the Mets have posted a .607 winning percentage through 56 games and are 2.0 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the NL and the division lead. And Soto has done his part to lift the team.
“He’s still helping us win games,” Stearns said of Soto. “I’m aware that the OPS isn’t where he would want it, it’s not where we would want it, it’s not where our fans would want it. I get that. But I can say it’s not for lack of work behind the scenes, he’s working, he’s trying. He certainly wants results at a higher level than what we’ve seen so far. I’m pretty confident we’re going to get those.”
Mendoza said the one thing you can control as a hitter is “getting a good pitch, putting a good swing, and hitting the ball hard.”
“After that, you can’t control where they’re playing, how they’re positioned,” the manager said, adding, “you control the strike zone, which [Soto] is elite at doing that, and hitting the ball hard, which he’s elite at doing that, too.
“He’s just gotta stay the course, ‘cause if he keeps doing that, the numbers are gonna be there at the end of the year.”
A concern with Soto’s elite batting eye is the double-edged sword of patience: Is he too often taking a good pitch to hit?
“Part of elite plate discipline is swinging at pitches that you can do damage on… Are there at-bats where he’s let some pitches go where he could probably do some damage? Yeah, I think there probably are,” Stearns said. “I think as he gets more comfortable at the plate, he’ll be able to pull the trigger on those.”
Related to the issue of Soto’s increased ground-ball rate – up 8.9 percent to 52.5 percent for the 2025 season – has been double-plays as he has matched his total of 10 from last year in just y games.
Stearns sees it as a combination of the elevated number of ground balls, having a lot of players on base ahead of him (a 4.8 percent increase in at-bats with runners on compared to last year), and some well-documented “batted-ball misfortune.” But don’t expect that trend to last forever: “We’re a third of the way through the season, he has 10 double plays, I would hammer the under on 30 double-plays over the course of the season.”
With the Mets entering a stretch of 16 games over 17 days beginning with games over the next 10 straight days, is there value in giving Soto a day off or could that be counterproductive? Those conversations have been had internally, Sterans said, and “we don’t know.”
“What we do know is that we have a player who is really competitive who wants to play,” Stearns said, noting Soto did get a day out of the lineup before on an off-day two weeks back. “But Juan wants to play. He wants to be out there, he wants to compete, he’s not shying away from this. And so I think sending him out there more often than not is probably the right thing to do.”
Jan 14, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) arrives before a game against the Chicago Bulls at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
David Banks-Imagn Images
Zion Williamson is being sued by a woman describing herself as a former dating partner and who alleges the New Orleans Pelicans star committed repeated sexual violence against her.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday night, identifies the plaintiff as “Jane Doe.” She claims she began dating Williamson in 2018, when he played at Duke, and alleges that he engaged in abusive behavior toward her in California, Louisiana and Texas from 2020 until their relationship ended in 2023.
Williamson's New Orleans-based attorney, Michael Balascio, called the claims in the lawsuit “categorically false and reckless,” and accused the plaintiff of extortion, which he said has been reported to law enforcement.
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,” Balascio said in a written statement provided to The Associated Press. “This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.”
The lawsuit alleges that the first instance of sexual violence occurred in a home Williamson had rented in Beverly Hills, California.
The lawsuit also alleges that Williamson temporarily took the plaintiff's mobile phone from her after the first two instances of forced intercourse and also took her laptop after the second.
The complaint includes accusations of strangulation, death threats to the plaintiff and her family, and physical abuse, including being kicked, slammed with a car door, and suffocated until she lost consciousness.
“We're going to be very cautious about litigating this in the press,” said the plaintiff's attorney, Sam Taylor II, who is with the Lanier Law Firm in Los Angeles.
“This is a very serious case as reflected in the allegations in the complaint, which are pretty detailed,” Taylor continued, adding that his client “genuinely looks forward to her day in court when she can tell a jury of her peers what happened to her and seek justice.”
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages - including punitive damages - for emotional distress.
Balascio said Williamson and the plaintiff “never dated, but did maintain a consensual, casual relationship that began more than six years ago,” when Williamson was 18.
“At no point during or immediately after that relationship did the plaintiff raise any concerns,” Balascio said, adding that “only after the friendship ended did she begin demanding millions of dollars.”
Williamson also intends to file counterclaims and “seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit,” Balascio said.
A Pelicans spokesman said the club was aware of the matter but deferred comment to Williamson’s lawyer.
Williamson was the first player picked in the 2019 draft. In six years as a pro, he has averaged 24.7 points per game. But has played in only 214 of 472 regular season games - and no playoff games - during that span because of a series of injuries, one of which caused him to miss the entire 2021-22 season.
Rafael Devers has thrived this season as the Boston Red Sox’ designated hitter, but moving him off third base has caused an unexpected headache for the organization.
Devers initially scoffed at the idea of switching from third to DH after the Alex Bregman signing. He later reluctantly accepted the change, but not before sitting out most of spring training and struggling mightily (0-for-19, 15 strikeouts) to begin the 2025 campaign.
Since then, Devers has grown comfortable with the role and regained his reputation as one of the game’s best hitters. But following first baseman Triston Casas’ season-ending injury on May 3, he was given another reason to voice his displeasure with the front office.
The meeting didn’t convince Devers to move to first base. Instead, with backup Romy Gonzalez also injured, the club has primarily used a combination of Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard at the position.
A new report from MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam sheds more light on how those conversations with Devers went. According to Cotillo and McAdam, the Red Sox’ strategy of having Breslow — not manager Alex Cora — approach the veteran slugger about the potential position change was “deliberate” to protect Devers and Cora’s relationship.
“One industry source recently offered that the strategy was deliberate with the Red Sox purposefully having Breslow — and not Cora — approach Devers about trying first base,” Cotillo and McAdam wrote.
“The idea, the source said, was that if Devers responded unfavorably to the request — as he quickly did — the long-standing, strong relationship between player and manager wouldn’t be negatively impacted and the team could still have Cora preserve an open line of communication with the club’s highest-paid and longest-tenured member.”
Ironically, the Red Sox were left looking for help at third base when Bregman went down with a quad injury on May 23. Cora noticeably didn’t mention Devers while naming potential third base reinforcements.
Top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer was called up to the big-league club the next day and has since played six games at third. Devers is unlikely to return to his natural position, as Breslow told MassLive he hasn’t asked him to move back.
“Trying to be sensitive and respectful of the conversations that went into moving him off of third base initially,” Breslow told MassLive.com. “We recognize that there’s a balance here between needing to do what we need to do that’s best for the team and also, trying to provide some stability. All of these are conversations with no finality, but at this point, we’re feeling like it makes more sense to have somebody like Marcelo there.”
It sounds like Devers will be staying put at DH, and if he continues to hit the way he has through 58 games, it’s hard to argue against the status quo. The three-time All-Star has a .287/.409/.523 slash line with 12 homers and an American League-leading 50 RBI.
Although Devers won’t be playing first any time soon, a change is coming soon. Rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell has taken practice reps at first base and is expected to make his first career start there on Sunday in Atlanta.
Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians’ batting charge with his 81 to knock Gujarat Titans out of the Indian Premier League with a 20-run win in the eliminator on Friday.
The Phillies have used the term “July-ish” as the target for top prospect Andrew Painter’s MLB debut and integration into the rotation but it is unlikely to come before the second half begins on July 18.
The All-Star break is from July 14-17 this year and that will be the period when the Phillies back off Painter and give him a bit more time to recuperate.
“I don’t think so,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday when asked if Painter’s arrival could come before the break.
Painter threw a career-high 81 pitches on Thursday in Norfolk, allowing two runs and striking out five over five innings. The Tides’ lineup included last year’s AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, Colton Cowser, and 2024 All-Star Jordan Westburg. Cowser doubled off Painter all three times he faced him while the rest of the team had two hits.
“Very good, velocity at 98, 99, they said he threw the ball really well,” Thomson said. “Breaking ball was good, got his pitch count up.
“He’s right where we want him.”
Painter’s next start will be Wednesday at Charlotte, the Triple A affiliate of the White Sox. The plan is a pitch count around 85, and if Painter’s efficient the Phillies would feel comfortable letting him complete six innings.
“Health, that’s it,” Thomson said when asked what more Painter needs to show in the minors.
The 22-year-old right-hander already looks like a major-league pitcher with a build similar to Justin Verlander. The No. 5-ranked prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com, Painter has a 2.65 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 17 innings at Triple A and owns a 1.83 ERA with 199 K’s in 138 innings overall in the minors. Silly numbers.
When the Phillies add Painter to the 40-man roster and call him up in July, he’ll start, he won’t relieve. It’s too soon for anyone with the Phillies to discuss how the rotation will be adjusted because it’s still more than six weeks away. Going to a six-man staff would be one obvious solution but only if it can be formatted in a way to not give the starters, notably Zack Wheeler, too much rest.
Abel still dialed in
Mick Abel made another strong start at Triple A on Friday night, allowing an unearned run over 4⅔ innings with eight strikeouts.
Abel has a 1.08 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 41⅔ innings across his last seven starts, one of which was a scoreless win in his MLB debut over the Pirates.
The 23-year-old continues to push for a spot in the Phillies’ rotation, which didn’t seem realistic just a few months ago. He was coming off of years of control problems and though he was added to the Phillies’ 40-man roster in December, Abel was behind the five members of the big-league rotation plus Taijuan Walker.
But he’s put together the strongest run of his life. Abel hasn’t solved the walks issue but he’s pitching around them better than ever and allowing weaker contact than ever.
“It really helps because you know you’ve got Painter coming and now you’ve got this other guy who showed it on a pretty big stage (in his debut),” Thomson said last week.
“He (went) right back to Triple A and a lot of times you’ll see that guys who go back, they have an adrenaline dump and they don’t pitch well or stay focused, but he did. That’s a good sign.”
Walker and Nola
Walker did not pitch well in Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Brewers, allowing four runs in four innings on 89 pitches. He will move to the bullpen once Aaron Nola returns from a right ankle sprain. Nola won’t be returning this week, but the Phillies could still, if they deem it worthwhile, move Walker to the bullpen sooner and call Abel up mid-week when he’s ready to make his next start. They could also just keep things status quo with Walker in the rotation until Nola is ready and hope that Abel continues to build confidence and trade value at Triple A.
Manager Rob Thomson said postgame Friday that the Phillies have a lot to discuss before the rotation spot comes up again.
Nola has been sidelined since May 15 with the ankle sprain. He will throw his first full bullpen session on Sunday, 45 to 50 pitches. The Phillies will still want to see him go through fielding drills and potentially live batting practice before he begins a rehab assignment, which could be short.
The Phillies have used the term “July-ish” as the target for top prospect Andrew Painter’s MLB debut and integration into the rotation but it is unlikely to come before the second half begins on July 18.
The All-Star break is from July 14-18 this year and that will be the period when the Phillies back off Painter and give him a bit more time to recuperate.
“I don’t think so,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday when asked if Painter’s arrival could come before the break.
Painter threw a career-high 81 pitches on Thursday in Norfolk, allowing two runs and striking out five over five innings. The Tides’ lineup included last year’s AL Rookie of the Year runner up, Colton Cowser, and 2024 All-Star Jordan Westburg. Cowser doubled off Painter all three times he faced him while the rest of the team had two hits.
“Very good, velocity at 98, 99, they said he threw the ball really well,” Thomson said. “Breaking ball was good, got his pitch count up.
“He’s right at where we want him.”
Painter’s next start will be Wednesday at Charlotte, the Triple A affiliate of the White Sox. The plan is a pitch count around 85, and if Painter’s efficient they’d feel comfortable letting him complete six innings.
“Health, that’s it,” Thomson said when asked what more Painter needs to show in the minors.
The 22-year-old right-hander already looks like a major-league pitcher with a build similar to Justin Verlander. The No. 5-ranked prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com, Painter has a 2.65 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 17 innings at Triple A and owns a 1.83 ERA with 199 K’s in 138 innings overall in the minors. Silly numbers.
When the Phillies add Painter to the 40-man roster and call him up in July, he’ll start, he won’t relieve. It’s too soon for anyone with the Phillies to discuss how the rotation will be adjusted because it’s still more than six weeks away. Going to a six-man staff would be one obvious solution but only if it can be formatted in a way to not give the starters, notably Zack Wheeler, too much rest.
Abel still dialed in
Mick Abel made another strong start at Triple A on Friday night, allowing an unearned run over 4⅔ innings with eight strikeouts.
Abel has a 1.08 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 41⅔ innings across his last seven starts, one of which was a scoreless win in his MLB debut over the Pirates.
The 23-year-old continues to push for a spot in the Phillies’ rotation, which didn’t seem realistic just a few months ago. He was coming off of years of control problems and though he was added to the Phillies’ 40-man roster in December, Abel was behind the five members of the big-league rotation plus Taijuan Walker.
But he’s put together the strongest run of his life. Abel hasn’t solved the walks issue but he’s pitching around them better than ever and allowing weaker contact than ever.
“It really helps because you know you’ve got Painter coming and now you’ve got this other guy who showed it on a pretty big stage (in his debut),” Thomson said last week.
“He (went) right back to Triple A and a lot of times you’ll see that guys who go back, they have an adrenaline dump and they don’t pitch well or stay focused, but he did. That’s a good sign.”
Walker and Nola
Walker did not pitch well on Friday against the Brewers, allowing four runs in four innings on 89 pitches. He will move to the bullpen once Aaron Nola returns from a right ankle sprain. Nola won’t be returning this week, but the Phillies could still, if they deem it worthwhile, move Walker to the bullpen sooner and call Abel up mid-week when he’s ready to make his next start. They could also just keep things status quo with Walker in the rotation until Nola is ready and hope that Abel continues to build confidence and trade value at Triple A.
Nola has been sidelined since May 15 with the ankle sprain. He will throw his first full bullpen session on Sunday, 45 to 50 pitches. The Phillies will still want to see him go through fielding drills and potentially live batting practice before he begins a rehab assignment, which could be short.
The Hockey Show is heading back to the Stanley Cup Final!
Over the past week, we learned that the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will be facing off in a rematch of last season’s championship series.
Both the Cats and Oilers dispatched their respective conference final opponents in relatively quick five-game series’ and now will get set to lock horns for the second straight year with the Stanley Cup on the line.
On this week’s show, hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork got into the NHL’s Final Four, welcoming NHL on ESPN broadcaster Bob Wischusen to help break down the conference final matchups.
They also get into the Cup Final rematch between the Panthers and Oilers, as well as Bob’s broadcasting career start, which was also in South Florida.
This week’s wins and fails of the week included a golden goal by Team USA, an infamous streak coming to an end, an exceptional play by Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov and a couple of PWHL players getting their helmet cages tangled up.
You can check out the full show in the video below:
Although former Montreal Canadiens forward Corey Perry only won the Stanley Cup once in his career, it’s not because he didn’t have the opportunity to compete for a second. The veteran has taken part in five of the last six Cup finals with the Dallas Stars, the Canadiens, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Edmonton Oilers.
So far, he has lost all of these finals, and on Thursday night, the Oilers booked their spot in the Cup Final, where they’ll meet the Florida Panthers for the second year in a row. If revenge is on every Oiler’s mind, Perry will no doubt be looking to end his “impressive” losing streak.
The 40-year-old has been a key player for the Oilers this postseason, recording 10 points in 16 games so far. With Zach Hyman being out for the playoffs, Edmonton will need everyone to contribute to the scoring. Amazingly, Perry managed only 30 points in 81 regular-season games, averaging 0.37 points per game, but this average increased to 0.63 points per game in the playoffs. Last year in the postseason, he could only manage three points in 19 games.
Perry will not be the only former Canadiens player in the final; defenseman Brett Kulak, who still plays for his hometown team, has five points in 16 games. GM Kent Hughes sent the blueliner to Edmonton in March 2022, getting a conditional second-round pick at the 2022 draft, a 2024 seventh-round pick, and William Lagesson in return. Since Edmonton didn’t make the Cup final that year, the conditional pick remained a 2022 selection, and it became Lane Hutson. It’s fair to say that was one of Hughes’ best trade returns.
Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Jac Caglianone (1B Royals): Rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues
Let’s wish this into existence.
The hope was that the Royals were calling up Caglianone when they dropped Cavan Biggio from the roster on Sunday, but they chose John Rave instead. Three days earlier, they cut Hunter Renfroe but replaced him with an infielder in Nick Loftin. Whether it’s offense or, more likely, defense, the Royals don’t think Caglianone is quite ready, at least not as an outfielder. He has to be close, though.
Caglianone was the sixth overall pick in last year’s draft after a stellar run at the University of Florida. While he was also a legitimate prospect as a pitcher, there was no doubt he was being drafted for his bat, which produced 68 homers in 137 games in his final two years in school. He opened this year in Double-A and hit .322/.394/.553 in 38 games. The Royals just recently promoted him to Triple-A Omaha, where he’s opened up 12-for-37 with five homers. Overall, he’s hit .323/.389/.593 with 14 homers in 216 plate appearances.
Never having played anywhere other than first until this year, Caglianone remains a novice in the outfield, He’s started two games in left and 10 in right, where his excellent arm should help make up for his lack of range. Obviously, he still needs more work out there. He needs it almost as much as the Royals need his bat in the middle of their lineup.
Caglianone should be a future 30-homer guy for the Royals, even while playing half of his games in arguably MLB’s toughest home run park for lefties. Kauffman is actually a fine hitter’s park on the whole, but because homers are the biggest part of his game, it will probably take away from Caglianone’s numbers some. Still, Caglianone isn’t a big strikeout guy for as hard as he swings; he’s fanned just 20.4 percent of the time this season. He should be worth using in mixed leagues as soon as he’s promoted.
Shane Bieber (SP Guardians): Rostered in 29% of Yahoo leagues
Making his way back from last April’s Tommy John surgery, Bieber is set for his first of several rehab starts Saturday. He probably won’t make his return to the Guardians rotation until the end of June, but it’ll likely be too late by then to add him in mixed leagues.
Of course, we don’t know exactly which Bieber we’ll be seeing this year. The 2023 version was a far cry from the AL Cy Young Award winner of 2020, as his strikeout rate dropped significantly for a third straight year and he wound up with a 3.80 ERA. It looked like a turnaround was in store last year, as he followed up an impressive spring by pitching 12 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts in his first two starts. But that’s when his elbow gave out.
That Bieber worked hard to reclaim some of his lost velocity probably played a role in last year’s injury. It’s certainly too much to expect him to come out firing now like he did last spring, though anything is possible. If he’s in 2023 form, that’s still a useful pitcher, too. Pitching in Cleveland helps limit his homer totals, and he’s always done well in terms of WHIP. There are no guarantees with a pitcher returning from surgery, but Bieber’s a good enough bet to be worth the roster/IL spot a month ahead of his debut.
Thairo Estrada (2B Rockies): Rostered in 6% of Yahoo leagues
Signed over the winter to replace Brendan Rodgers at second base in Colorado, Estrada is finally ready to make his Rockies debut 10 weeks after a Kumar Rocker pitch left him with a broken wrist. That he’ll play regularly isn’t in doubt. How much running he’ll do will be the determining factor in whether he proves useful in mixed leagues.
Never much of a basestealer in the minors, Estrada surprised everyone by swiping 21 bases in 27 tries while emerging as a useful fantasy infielder with the Giants in 2022., He followed that up with an even better 2023 in which he was 23-for-30 stealing bases, even though he missed nearly a quarter of the season. Last year, though, everything came crashing down for Estrada. He hit just .217/.247/.343 and was 2-for-4 stealing bases in 96 games before finishing the year in the minors.
The two reasons for optimism now is that Estrada’s exit velocity numbers last year were basically the same as the previous two seasons, and he’s gone from a tough park for hitters to the best in baseball in Coors Field. He’s still probably not going to make more than modest contributions in the non-SB categories, but if he gets back to doing some running -- and there’s really no reason for him not to on a team as bad as the Rockies are -- he’ll probably be helpful as an MI in 12-team leagues.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- Camilo Doval remains available in 46% of Yahoo leagues after being returned to the closer’s role by the Giants this week. He’s probably going to be a top-20 and maybe a top-10 RP the rest of the way.
- Gavin Lux probably isn’t a long-term guy in mixed leagues, but the Reds have six home games next week, with at least five of those coming against righties, and Lux is hitting in the cleanup spot with Austin Hays on the IL. As a one-week option, he makes plenty of sense.
In Lou Lamoriello’s seven years as the New York Islanders’ GM and president of hockey operations, it was sometimes unclear if players were even under contract to the team, never mind the details of any injuries.
By comparison, new GM Mathieu Darche is reading like an open book.
At his introductory press conference on Thursday, Darche left no grey area regarding the status of the team’s top point producer, Bo Horvat, who was injured last week while playing for Team Canada at the World Championship in Sweden.
“He’s got a little ankle injury, nothing serious,” Darche said. “Four to six weeks – he’s already rehabbing. There’s no concerns whatsoever. They said it’s the type of thing that maybe in the playoffs he would have tried. I think with Bo, you have to tell him ‘You’re not playing’ because he is probably going to try to play through everything. But no, we have no concerns with Bo’s injury.”
Any questions?
Darche was equally straightforward when updating the status of the Islanders’ coaching staff. After clarifying that he and Patrick Roy have not previously met, even though they’re both French Canadian, Darche confirmed that Roy will be back behind the bench next season, but he’ll have new assistants after John MacLean and Tommy Albelin were let go.
“Patrick’s a winner,” Darche said of the Hockey Hall of Famer. “I went to meet with him last weekend, just to get to know him more. I’m extremely comfortable and excited to be working with him. I know he’s passionate. He works hard. And I just decided that was my decision to make changes in the coaching staff. Now Patrick and I will work together to fill the assistant coaches’ positions.”
Coaching changes are also coming for the Bridgeport Islanders, who finished at the bottom of the AHL standings last season with just 37 points in 72 games.
Darche, 48, spent the last six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He joined them as their director of hockey operations in 2019 and added the title of assistant GM in 2022.
Darche won two Cups as a member of the Lightning’s management team, but his playing career as a left winger could best be described as ‘journeyman.’ With 250 NHL games and more than 500 in the AHL, that outcome was a win for an undrafted player who made it to The Show after playing Canadian college hockey for four years while studying marketing and international business at McGill University in his hometown of Montreal.
“That’s where I met my wife,” Darche said Thursday. “I told her I’m not a hockey player – I’m just a student that plays hockey. Next thing you know, she followed me for 12 years.”
After ending his pro career with three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Darche transitioned to broadcasting for the French-language RDS network when he hung up his skates in 2013. Then, he spent seven years as vice-president of sales and marketing for Delmar International, Inc. — a Montreal-founded global player in logistics and supply-chain management and, interestingly, an important corporate partner of both the Canadiens and the Islanders.
Darche’s experience playing in the AHL and his experience helping to oversee the Lightning’s affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, should help him rebuild the Islanders’ prospect pipeline, which hasn’t produced a homegrown star since Noah Dobson was drafted 12th overall in 2018.
This year, of course, the Islanders have won the NHL draft lottery and will have a chance to make their first No. 1 pick since John Tavares in 2009. Darche didn’t tip his hand on whether he’d pursue Long Island-born center James Hagens but did acknowledge the special opportunity of holding the first pick.
“You have to do your due diligence,” he said. “Anybody that calls, you have to listen. But someone would really have to knock my socks off because we're going to get a special player. I’m going to do my due diligence, but I expect us to be picking at the end of June.”
Darche’s business acumen will also be welcome for an Islanders team that has squandered the momentum gained with their fans from back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference final in 2020 and 2021, where they lost both times to Darche’s Lightning.
And after decades of fighting for a first-class arena on Long Island, average attendance has dropped every year since UBS Arena doors opened in 2021, and even homegrown players like Mat Barzal are commenting on the number of empty seats.
“The first line that Mathieu said to me when he did the social media, called Delmar, called the season ticket holders, he said, ‘Look, I want you guys to make more money so I can spend more money,’ ” said John Collins, the Islanders’ co-owner, operating partner and alternate governor, on Thursday.
The Islanders have nearly $21 million in available cap space for the 2025-26 season after signing Kyle Palmieri to a two-year contract and Adam Boqvist to a one-year deal. Now, the team’s most important business on the player side should be a new contract for Dobson, who’s an RFA with arbitration rights. After Brock Nelson’s deadline trade, the opportunity also exists for Darche to retool the forward group and perhaps get younger.
The Islanders only have four players born in the 2000s on their roster: defensemen Dobson, Alexander Romanov and Adam Boqvist and forward Simon Holmstrom.
Amiable and forthright, Darche’s first impression on Long Island was strong on Thursday. Now it’s up to him to walk the walk.
Its Friday, May 30 and the Twins (30-25) are in Seattle to take on the Mariners (30-25). Zebby Matthews is slated to take the mound for Minnesota against Bryan Woo for Seattle.
Minnesota is 1-3 in the last four games, while Seattle is 1-4 over the previous five. Matthews will make his third start, while Woo will make his 11th (Seattle is 7-3 in his starts).
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Twins at Mariners
Date: Friday, May 30, 2025
Time: 10:10PM EST
Site: T-Mobile Park
City: Seattle, WA
Network/Streaming: MNNT, RSNW
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Twins at the Mariners
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Twins (+134), Mariners (-158)
Spread: Mariners -1.5
Total: 7.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Twins at Mariners
Pitching matchup for May 30, 2025: Zebby Matthews vs. Bryan Woo
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Twins and the Mariners
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s game between the Twins and the Mariners:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Minnesota Twins at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC.
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Twins at Mariners
The Twins have won 4 of their last 5 matchups against AL West teams
The Over is 18-13-2 in the Mariners' matchups against American League teams this season
The Twins have covered the Run Line in 5 straight matchups against the Mariners
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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SAN FRANCISCO — The day off in Miami didn’t do much to jumpstart the offense, but the Giants did get back in the win column Friday. Kyle Harrison threw five dominant innings in his second start of the year and the Giants did just enough to pull away from the last-place Marlins, winning 2-0.
Miami right-hander Cal Quantrill entered with an ERA north of six, but he always has pitched well against the Giants, and they came in on a lengthy cold streak. It’s been two weeks since they scored more than four runs in a game.
Wilmer Flores, who calls South Florida home in the offseason, tried to change that, singling on the 11th pitch of his first at-bat to get the Giants on the board. A solo shot from Matt Chapman made it 2-0, but as the bats went quiet, the Marlins threatened. They got the tying run to second with one out in the seventh, but didn’t score. Tyler Rogers entered and got an inning-ending strikeout.
Ks For Kyle
The only thing that could stop Harrison on Friday was a pitch count. He’s still getting built up after spending several weeks in the bullpen, but he showed that he’s ready for another look in the rotation if Justin Verlander needs more time to recover from a pec strain, or whenever the Giants need help.
Harrison allowed just one hit in five innings, walking three and striking out five. His velocity continues to tick up, and his average of 95.3 mph on his fastball was his highest in a big league start. His previous high came earlier on this trip in Washington D.C., which he averaged 94.7 mph.
Harrison is now up about three full ticks from 2024, when he dealt with an ankle injury and shoulder inflammation. In two starts in Verlander’s spot, he has allowed two runs on six hits.
Signs Of Life
Patrick Bailey was cut down at third while trying to tag up in the second inning, but the swing that put him on second was one of his best of the year. Bailey went with an outside sinker and crushed it off the wall in left-center for a double, his first since April 4.
The ball went 388 feet and would have been a homer in 19 ballparks, including Oracle. Bailey tagged on Casey Schmitt’s liner to center and was thrown out on a 93 mph rocket from Marlins center fielder Dane Myers.
Earlier in the game, Bailey helped Harrison out with another heads-up defensive play:
With a day off Thursday, Bob Melvin had a fresh bullpen, but it was an odd look after Harrison departed.
Tristan Beck began the sixth, but Ryan Walker finished it and then turned the ball over to Erik Miller, who ran into trouble in the seventh. Rogers got the strikeout, but Melvin doesn’t like using him for multiple innings.
Spencer Bivens, often the long man, got the eighth of a two-run game, but Melvin turned to Camilo Doval with two outs and two on. Doval got a fly ball to center to end the inning and then came back out for a relatively easy ninth on what was a very special day for his family.
Doval’s mom, Rosa, was watching him pitch in the big leagues for the first time. The save was his first since Melvin announced that he’s once again the team’s closer.
Champions League final features opposing tactical approaches and two radically different ownership models
In 2021, Oaktree Capital quietly rebranded its “Distressed Debt” division as the “Opportunistic Credit” platform. For decades the LA-based investment fund had specialised in picking up what is known in the trade as distressed assets, a strategy it described as looking for “good companies with bad balance sheets”.
So let’s say your company is screwed. You’re deep in debt, severely short of cash, perhaps even at risk of bankruptcy or default. In sweep Oaktree. They have a mosey around, shake down some creditors, restructure your cost base, perhaps offer you a high‑interest loan to stop the bleeding. Once they’ve got you battle-lean they find you a buyer, you sell up, and they take a fat cut. Four years ago, as they cast an eye over the Covid-emaciated carcass of Inter, this was exactly the strategy they had in mind.
Peterka, Rossi Highlight Young Forwards Jets Could Target In A TradeThe Winnipeg Jets head into the offseason looking to add skilled forwards to their roster in hopes of increasing their goal-scoring at 5-on-5 when the playoffs roll around.
Which Restricted Free Agents Do The Jets Prioritize?General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Winnipeg Jets head into the offseason with four restricted free agents, each of which has provided the Jets with reasoning of why they should be re-signed.
