The New York Islanders and former General Manager Lou Lamoriello made a blockbuster trade that changed the franchise four seasons ago, on January 30, 2023.
That day, the Islanders acquired then-Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat for Anthony Beauvillier, top prospect Aatu Räty, and a first-round pick.
Horvat has become the Islanders' captain and leads the franchise in goals since the day the trade was made.
Horvat's been nothing but a perfect Islander in every sense, and been worth every piece of that deal.
Beauvillier bounced around the league for a couple years after the trade, eventually settling in with the Washington Capitals.
The Canucks flipped the first-round pick for Filip Hronek.
Räty, a second-round pick for the Islanders, was seen as the coin flip that would decide the trade and who won it. He was a 20-year-old forward that broke out into the NHL just two years after getting drafted.
Wednesday afternoon, the Canucks placed Räty on waivers, with the intention of assigning the 23-year-old forward to the AHL.
While it's unlikely the forward gets claimed, it shows where he currently fits into the rebuilding Canucks' future.
Back on the day the trade was made, Räty had surged into being the Islanders' top prospect, and made his NHL Debut, and looked good as an NHLer.
He played 12 games with the Islanders before the deal. Since then, he's struggled to consistently break through with Vancouver.
Räty has shown flashes throughout his career to be a contributing bottom-six forward. His 60% face-off win percentage makes him valuable depth for any team.
On the same day they brought Don Mattingly back on a two-year contract covering the 2027 and 2028 seasons, the Phillies began reshaping the coaching staff around him.
Hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson will not return, sources told NBC Sports Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
The team has a Thursday morning press conference scheduled and has not confirmed the moves.
Long and Dickerson had been on the staff together since 2022 and remained through managerial changes from Joe Girardi to Rob Thomson and from Thomson to Mattingly in late April.
Long’s departure follows a steep one-year decline by the Phillies’ offense. Philadelphia finished fourth in the majors with a .759 OPS and second with a .258 batting average in 2025. Those marks dropped to a .707 OPS, which ranked 22nd, and a .240 average, which ranked 21st, this season. The Phillies still reached the postseason for a fifth consecutive year but scored eight runs during their three-game Wild Card Series loss to Atlanta.
Long joined the Phillies in October 2021 after four seasons in the same position with the Nationals. His five seasons in Philadelphia included a World Series appearance in 2022 and an offense that remained among baseball’s most productive through 2025. He previously served as hitting coach for the Yankees and Mets and won World Series rings with New York in 2009 and Washington in 2019.
Two years after that, as Nationals hitting coach, Long began working with Kyle Schwarber, whom the Cubs had non-tendered following a .188 season in 2020. He helped Schwarber rebuild his swing in Washington and later pushed the Phillies to sign him. Schwarber has since signed two contracts with Philadelphia worth a combined $229 million. Before agreeing to a five-year, $150 million deal last winter, Schwarber pushed for the Phillies to retain Long, according to sources. The club signed Long through 2028.
Dickerson returned to the Phillies ahead of the 2022 season, beginning his second stint as their infield coach. He previously held the position in 2019 before spending two seasons with the Padres.
Dickerson helped turn Alec Bohm into a serviceable major-league third baseman after his early defensive struggles. He also worked closely with Trea Turner during one of the most dramatic defensive improvements in baseball. After totaling minus-8 Outs Above Average during his first two seasons with the Phillies, Turner recorded 17 OAA in 2025 and finished in the 99th percentile of major-league fielders. Bryson Stott also developed into the most dependable defender in the Phillies’ infield.
The group took a sharp step backward in 2026. The Phillies’ infield went from plus-20 OAA in 2025 to minus-11 this season, a 31-out swing, according to Statcast. The range-based metric measures how many outs a player saves or costs his team compared with an average fielder.
Philadelphia chose continuity with Mattingly, but Long and Dickerson will not be part of his first full season in charge.
Sydney Sweeney attends the Armani Beauty Dinner photocall during the Venice International Film Festival at Giardini Reali on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in Venice, Italy. Getty Images
Dodgers outfielder Alex Call decided to weigh in with his opinion on social media before his team’s must-win NLCS Game 3 against the Brewers on Wednesday.
Call commented on a viral X post that criticized the commercials that are being played during MLB playoff games and wrote, “Can we please get the soft porn ads off playoff broadcasts, TBS, Fox, NBC, @MLB? My son wants to watch baseball with Dada, but how do I justify that when a half-naked women [sic] could come on screen anytime?? This is America’s Pastime. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about this.”
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Alex Call’s X post criticizing MLB for commercials that include “half-naked women.”(X/@ACAD_27).
Call makes a fair point about how this isn’t something parents should have to worry about, as it can take away from what should be a wholesome (and PG-friendly) sports-viewing experience.
Yet, given that the post was made past midnight on Wednesday morning, Dodgers fans would probably prefer that the outfielder was sleeping instead of worrying about Sweeney’s Novig commercials.
Then again, the 32-year-old Call hasn’t appeared in a postseason game to this point, despite being on the Dodgers’ active roster.
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Alex Call (12) looks on before a game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 20: A detailed view of the 2025 Rawling Gold Glove award presented to Ty France #25 of the San Diego Padres before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park on May 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Austin Wells, Cody Bellinger, and José Caballero are the three Yankees who were named Rawlings Gold Glove finalists on Wednesday.
Among the American League finalists, Wells was named alongside Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler and the Blue Jays’ Brandon Valenzuela. The Yankees catcher had his ups and downs offensively this season, but he made up for it behind the plate by winning some clutch challenges and continuing to improve behind the plate. His days of being debated as a realistic catching prospect are long since forgotten. Wells had the fourth-highest win percentage of all MLB players in ABS challenge calls from the field during the regular season. His predecessor, Jose Trevino, was the last Yankees backstop to win a Gold Glove, when he took home both that and the elusive Platinum Glove in 2022.
Bellinger, who carried the offense during some slumps and while the team was plagued with injuries, will look to earn his second Gold Glove since his 2019 NL MVP season with the Dodgers. Bellinger was named alongside Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford and the Rays’ Chandler Simpson. Per Baseball Savant, he was a 91st-percentile defender with +6 Outs Above Average (OAA) and a strong arm to boot. He was their most consistent outfielder and more than capably covered the vast swath of Yankee Stadium left field. Indeed, the last Yankees outfielder to win the honor also patrolled left: 2016 Brett Gardner.
Caballero is up for the Gold Glove as a utility player, which I wasn’t exactly anticipating. However, having played six positions this season, including shortstop, second base, third base, and all three outfield spots, his impact defensively was impossible to go unnoticed. He finished the regular season with a +2 OAA, a .972 fielding percentage, and a career-high 55 double plays. Despite his numbers trending in the right direction, he only started in one postseason game and went 1-for-2 in the devastating 4-3 loss to the Rays that ended the Yankees’ season.
Caballero was named a finalist alongside the Rangers’ Ezequiel Duran and the Tigers’ Zach McKinstry. As a reminder, the utilityman Gold Glove is still relatively new, as it was introduced by Rawlings in 2022, with the Yanks’ DJ LeMahieu named the first AL winner.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 13: A Los Angeles Dodgers groundscrew worker paints the postseason logo on the field before the Milwaukee Brewers workout prior to the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on October 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Expected weather in Cleveland has affected the start time of Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 4 in Los Angeles. Dodgers vs. Brewers will now start one hour earlier, from 6:08 p.m. to 5:08 p.m. PT, as a result of the American League Championship Series Game 3 moving to earlier in the day.
Earlier on Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced that the forecast of inclement weather in Cleveland on Thursday night moved Game 3 of Guardians vs. Rays from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET, a 10 a.m. PT start time. The original schedule had a three-hour window for TBS before the FS1 broadcast of Dodgers-Brewers. But with the ALCS on Thursday moving to earlier in the day, MLB decided to move Dodgers-Brewers into the preferred 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET time slot reserved for most nights.
With the time change, Dodger Stadium parking lot gates on Thursday will open at 2 p.m., with stadium gates set to open at 2:30 p.m. for the 5:08 p.m. game.
An early bite from the injury bug has forced the Philadelphia Flyers to tap into their prospect pool and lean on depth players, but one top prospect, in particular. is making an early case to remain with the team even when everyone is healthy.
Defenseman Oliver Bonk, called up by the Flyers in the wake of the injury to Rasmus Ristolainen, has been pressed into action on the top pair next to Travis Sanheim. His season debut against Carolina was rough, stumbling to a -3 rating in the 4-1 loss, but Bonk bounced back in a major way in his second game of the season against Seattle on Tuesday night.
Bonk, 21, handled exactly 20 minutes in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to Seattle, adding an impressive assist on a solo rush towards the end of his shift and adding a shot on goal to boot.
In Bonk's 18:40 of ice time at 5-on-5, the Flyers controlled 61.29% of the shot attempts (19-12) while out-chancing the Kraken 8-7, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Of course, it wasn't all perfect for Bonk, who made a bad line change that eventually led to a Jordan Eberle breakaway and subsequent penalty shot.
Flyers goalie Dan Vladar made the stop, and Bonk just kept playing after that. The former first-round pick's mentality is something that has impressed head coach Rick Tocchet thus far.
"He knew he screwed up, and I watched him, and he just kind of was breathing through it and didn't it faze him. I thought he even played better after it. I love that about a young guy," Tocchet said of Bonk after Wednesday's practice.
"He didn't let that moment get to him, and then you know you saw him make that rush play to the goal to [Christian Dvorak]. So that's a big step, to see a young guy do that."
On his assist, Bonk dove to his stomach to sprawl out and break up a 2-on-1 Kraken scoring chance, then took it upon himself to scramble up the left side boards, motoring into the zone before flinging a backhand pass across the middle of the ice.
Tyson Foerster, who was cutting up the gut, dummied Bonk's pass for Christian Dvorak, who slammed the puck past an unsuspecting Philipp Grubauer, giving the Flyers their first goal of the game and pulling them within one.
It was a play like that where a young guy, like Bonk, took it upon himself to make a play, and it may very well have been the play that spurred the Flyers to go on and earn a point in the overtime loss.
Just over a minute later, Sanheim followed suit during a sequence of 4-on-4 play, driving up the ice before peeling back to find Trevor Zegras as the trailer, who coolly slotted past Grubauer in the top left corner to tie the game at 2-2.
The offensively-starved Flyers, who are also without top-six winger Travis Konecny, need all the help they can get from a defense core that has long been greater than the sum of its parts.
"We definitely need the fourth guy. I mean, you can't win in this league or get chances if you don't have that fourth wave," Tocchet assessed Wednesday afternoon.
Despite the strong outing from Bonk and Sanheim, the Flyers still rank 29th in the NHL in scoring amongst defensemen, getting eight points in eight games from their rearguards.
That output, as low as it may be, still accounts for 28.6% of points by Flyers players this year, which is the ninth-highest percentage in the NHL.
This is all to say that players like Sanheim, Bonk, Jamie Drysdale, and even Cam York and David Jiricek have needed to carry the load for a sputtering group of forwards, and they themselves have not been infallible.
One thing is clear, though: Bonk is making a legitimate case to stay with the Flyers at the NHL for the long run, even if and when Ristolainen returns.
The Finn won't join the Flyers in Detroit for Thursday night's game against the Red Wings, which will provide at least one more opportunity for Bonk to show the Tocchet and the Flyers they can rely on him in big minutes or small, regardless of the situation.
Made in London
Denver Barkey has been enjoying his first real NHL run with longtime teammate Oliver Bonk. (Photo: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)
Forward Denver Barkey, who made the surprise leap to the NHL level in his first professional season last year, has established himself as a fixture for the Flyers' middle-six.
Bonk, who was drafted with and teammates with Barkey in London, could be following suit in short order.
"It's all you can really hope for from your friends, especially here, someone to lean on, someone to give you advice who's already been here for a year," Bonk said of Barkey. "It's great, seeing where we came from in London to here. It's really special to see."
Added Barkey: "It's been cool. We've grown up together since we were 15 years old. We've been in London together, watching each other grow, and this has always been our goal. So, to be living it together, living the dream, it's cool, but we want to continue to grow, establish ourselves as full-time players, and just continue to do this."
Barkey's comments are an important reminder of what the Flyers' rebuild is and where it's supposed to be headed, built on youth and culture.
The 0-5-3 start to the season has clearly left a sour taste in everyone's mouths, from the front office downstream to Tocchet, the players, and the fans, but the early opportunity for someone like Bonk could be the first silver lining to what has otherwise been as glum a start as any NHL team can have.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees celebrates after making a circus catch during the game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Friday, April 3, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Yankees defense has been, over the past few years, inconsistent at best. The 2024 squad, on paper, wasn’t too bad, ending the year in the middle of the pack in Defensive Runs Saved (31, good for 12th in baseball) and Outs Above Average (10, good for 10th), but defensive miscues rather infamously proved their downfall in the World Series that year. The 2025 team brought in a trio of Gold Glovers in Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, and Paul Goldschmidt and shifted Jazz Chisholm back to second base, but the team still finished 13th in DRS with 30 and 18th in OAA with -7. Considering the fact that, in many ways, the 2026 team ran back the 2025 version, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that the team once again finished 13th in DRS with 26 and 17th in OAA with -5.
As befits a team whose sum total defensively trends towards mediocrity, the Yankees had more than their fair share of highlights and lowlights this year. Today, we take a look at the team’s best webgems (we’ll review the misplays later this week). We’re not ranking them, because defensive excellence need not be ranked, but feel free to do so in the comments section below!
Before Knicks star OG Anunoby tipped the ball into the hoop to give the Knicks the lead with 1.2 seconds left in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, you had Cody Bellinger. Okay, okay, nothing quite compares to that play, but nonetheless, the Yankees left fielder made quite a grab during the Yankees’ home opener back on April 3rd. In the top of the ninth, Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards drove a fly ball to deep left field. Ranging backwards, Bellinger leapt as the ball sailed over his head, and had he come down with it, that play would have ended up on the Honorable Mentions in this list. But he did not come down with it: he mistimed the jump, the ball hit his wrist. As the ball fell to the ground, he made a desperate stab at it…and somehow, he caught it.
I mean, just look at that face. That is a guy thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked.”
Belli’s Cannon
We could honestly just fill this entire post with Bellinger highlights, but for the sake of, well, remembering players not named Cody Bellinger, we’ll limit it to just two — or rather, to two categories, because here, I just can’t pick between these two plays, both of which involve Bellinger using his arm to throw out a runner.
During the critical series between the Yankees and Red Sox at the end of August, the Yankees held a 1-0 lead late in the game. With a pair of runners in scoring position and only one away against fireman Paul Blackburn, Boston was threatening, when Willson Contreras hit a fly ball to left field for the second out of the inning. Looking to make something happen, the speedy Ceddanne Rafaela tagged up and challenged Belli, strength against strength, to make a play. He answered the call, delivering a strike to Austin Wells, as the Yankees wound up winning 1-0.
In a much less-intense version of the famous play in which Bellinger retired Juan Soto and doubled up Francisco Lindor last year, No. 35 recognized that he had a shot to double up Victor Mesa Jr., who was running on the play, and end the inning. It wasn’t his best throw to first, but Luis García Jr. made a neat scoop-and-tag while falling to the ground, finishing off a beautiful 7-3 double play with style.
While only Max Fried is truly known for his defense, the Yankees pitching staff put together quite the highlight reel, so once again, I am cheating a little bit, because I can’t pick just one (hey, I make the rules).
To begin, back on April 28th, Fernando Cruz slid to field a bunt off the bat of Joc Pederson, then threw to Ryan McMahon from his rear end to nab the lead runner for the first out of the inning (the play would be challenged, unsuccessfully, by the Rangers).
Just two weeks later, just one inning after being hit in the foot by a line drive, Cam Schlittler fielded a slow chopper off the bat of Mark Vientos and made an off-balance throw to fellow Massachusetts native Ben Rice for the third out of the inning against the Mets.
After he made his Major League debut at the beginning of August, George Lombard Jr. made fans throughout the Yankees fandom with his slick play at shortstop. My personal favorite? This barehanded grab on August 11th, where he fielded a ricochet off the second base bag cleanly before throwing to first for the third out of the inning.
José Caballero was the Yankees’ Swiss Army knife this season. He began the year as the starting shortstop (where he played 70 games), before bouncing around the field, making 23 appearances at the keystone, 37 at the hot corner, and 22 games across all three outfield positions. And while he wasn’t exactly equally proficient with the glove everywhere he played — he had 13 DRS at shortstop, 1 apiece at second and third, and -3 in the outfield — he wasn’t unplayable anywhere, and made more than his fair share of highlights there.
Let’s go around the diamond. Playing second base on July 24th, he made a diving stop ranging to his right to rob a base hit from Alec Bohm.
At shortstop, here’s a nifty play he made on September 2nd — while not the flashiest, those in-between, not quite a line drive, not quite a ground ball ones are some of the hardest to field.
At the hot corner, he teamed up with Lombard for rather unusual 6-5-3 double play. It’s the type of play that could only happen because of the shift — and because Cabby’s positional versatility allows him to adapt to unusual situations.
And lastly, on June 17th, he made this diving catch against the Tigers while in left field — a play that had me worried for a second when I saw it live, as Cabby took a second to get up.
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 01: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves fields in the first inning during Game Three of the Wild Card Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on October 1, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the MLB postseason no longer delivering frenetic news days given that we’re in League Championship Series season, where there’s not even two games on most days, it’s time for the faux-anticipation of dropping finalists (not winners, finalists) for certain end-of-season awards.
We’ve got two on the docket today. First, Gold Gloves.
I have a bone to pick with Gold Gloves, as you’ve probably read by now. There’s a way to do the whole Gold Glove thing objectively. Would it be perfect? Nah. But it would at least be steady. Instead, we have the current Rawlings award process, which is an abomination/agglomeration of multiple criteria, some of which just make no sense. For example, one criterion does involve defensive metrics, but it’s an index of multiple metrics, some of which are outdated and strictly worse than others, which just dilutes the whole endeavor. It’s whack. Anyway, here we go, courtesy of MLB.com:
As far as the Braves are concerned, their Gold Glove finalists are Chris Sale, Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, and Mauricio Dubon. Let’s look at these in turn.
Sale is a tough one, because no one really tries to evaluate pitcher defense in a way commensurate with other positions. The only measure we have that I’m aware of is DRS, and DRS has a load of problems. By DRS, though, Sale finished fourth in defensive value in the National League. (Foster Griffin was also ahead of him but was traded to the other league midseason.) I don’t know what to do with this one. The other finalists are Michael McGreevy and Nolan McLean, who finished first and third ahead of Sale, respectively, so… I dunno, give this to McGreevy? What a weird award.
Matt Olson should probably win his fourth Gold Glove. He led all first basemen in OAA/FRV (the Statcast-based measures), blowing away basically every first baseman in terms of converting range into outs.
Michael Harris II makes sense as a finalist, but Pete Crow-Armstrong more than doubled his FRV and has a giant lead, so…
That brings us to Mauricio Dubon. The “utility” position is a tough one to evaluate, since you have to really think about what qualifies someone to even be eligible for this position, and think about positional adjustments. Inclusive of those adjustments, the three finalists here are:
Dubon, with about half a win above average, with above-average marks at short, average marks in left, and an above-average cameo in center;
Jared Triolo, who only played about half a season and had less aggregate defensive value, playing mostly third and short in nondescript fashion; and
Ildemaro Vargas, who mostly played first and second, and didn’t really impress at second.
Basically, this is a weird thing, and if these are your three finalists, it feels like Dubon should win by default. That said, since apparently Nico Hoerner (played mostly second but some short) and Bryson Stott (mostly second, some third) didn’t qualify for whatever reason, Dubon really does make sense as the next-best option. (For those of you saying that Hoerner and Stott shouldn’t be in the running because two positions does not a utility guy make, look at Triolo and Vargas, who pretty much played… two positions.)
In terms of snubs, there’s not really anything to complain about, as the other Braves didn’t really warrant any real consideration here, not even as top-three finalists in the NL.
Switching gears a bit, the MLBPA announced finalists for their peer-voted Players’ Choice awards here. Of relevance to the Braves are Chris Sale (but he’ll probably lose to Jacob Misiorowski) as Outstanding Pitcher in the NL, and Martin Perez as Comeback Player. The other two finalists vying with Perez are Sandy Alcantara and… honestly, this award has kind of lost all meaning. Wheeler has thrown 149-plus frames every non-shortened season going back to his partial-season absence in 2017, while Alcantara is at 170-plus the last two years. What are they coming back from? Like, yeah, Alcantara wasn’t that good in 2025, but don’t call it a comeback. Perez wasn’t particularly good in 2026, but at least his 2025 was legitimately a partial season. I don’t know, this is a weird award. How about someone like Jordan Walker, who legitimately “came back” from being awful and minors-bound the past two seasons, or Michael King, who actually missed a bunch of 2025?
Aug 13, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) makes a leaping catch off a ball hit by Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
LOS ANGELES — Two Dodgers received recognition for their defensive prowess on Wednesday, with Rawlings announcing the top three finishers at every position in each league for 2026 Gold Glove Awards. Andy Pages and Max Muncy will finish in the top three in center field and third base, respectively in the National League for the honor this season.
Gold Glove Award voting is 75 percent managers and up to six coaches from each team, with the caveat that these folks cannot vote for players on their own team. The other quarter of the voting is determined from the SABR Defensive Index, which is an amalgamation of defensive statistics comprised by a committee of experts.
This is the first time in Pages’ three major league seasons that he’ll finish in the top three at his position for a Gold Glove Award. The other two National League center fielders in the top three are Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs and Michael Harris II of the Braves.
Pages led all National League outfielders with 14 assists, and also led all NL outfielders with 20 Defensive Runs Saved (Crow-Armstrong was second with 16 DRS). Crow-Armstrong was tops among major league center fielders with a +26 Fielding Run Value, with Pages third in the majors and second in the NL at +13, with Harris at +12.
Muncy’s fellow top-three finishers among NL third baseman are Alex Bregman of the Cubs and Javier Sanoja of the Miami Marlins.
Through August 9, Muncy had the highest SDI score among this trio at +4.8, with Bregman at 4.5 and Sanoja at +2.6. Bregman tied for the NL lead with 15 Defensive Runs Saved, and Sanoja tied for the league lead with a +5 Fielding Run Value. Muncy had 2 Defensive Runs Saved and a dead-average zero Fielding Run Value.
Matt Chapman of the San Francisco Giants led all NL third baseman with an SDI score of +11.9, and also on the season tied for the lead at the position in Defensive Runs Saved (15) and Fielding Run Value (+5). But he didn’t have enough innings to qualify for the award, given that he last played on June 30.
This is the second time finishing in the top three for a Gold Glove Award for Muncy, who was considered at first base in 2021. The Gold Glove Award at first base that year went to Paul Goldschmidt, then of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Gold Glove Award winners will be announced on Sunday, November 1 on ‘Baseball Tonight’ on ESPN, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PT.
In the early goings of this 2026-27 NHL regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown that they are a strong offensive team that is never truly out of any game, no matter the deficit. They completed a comeback from 3-0 against the Nashville Predators, winning in overtime, and nearly came close to achieving something similar against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
But one area that isn't up to code for a team that wants to be competitive beyond making the post-season is their defence. On paper, it's a fairly average D-corps when healthy. But now that Chris Tanev is injured and has had health issues in the past, it's hard to rely on what they currently carry on the back end.
The Maple Leafs don't have many valuable assets left in the system that could bring back a hefty package. However, GM John Chayka may not be interested in giving up Easton Cowan, Ben Danford or Gavin McKenna, and neither should he.
But there are some mid-tier prospects, as well as second-round picks for the next three drafts, a conditional first-rounder for 2027 from the Colorado Avalanche, and their 2029 first-round pick.
Therefore, Toronto won't be blowing anyone out of the water with a top-pairing defenseman. But a bottom-four defenseman capable of a second-pairing role is certainly possible.
With that, here are five NHL defensemen that the Maple Leafs could consider down the road to improve their blueline.
5. Brenden Dillon, New Jersey Devils
Brenden Dillon is a defenseman who would cost very little for the Maple Leafs to acquire. He's 35 years old, which isn't ideal given how old Toronto's defense already is. But he's had a long NHL career and is serviceable based on his experience.
Dillon is a physical D-man who constantly sticks up for his teammates and lives to kill penalties and block shots.
Over the last two seasons, the veteran accumulated 393 hits, which ranked fifth in the NHL among defensemen. He was also heavily relied on by the New Jersey Devils in that span while shorthanded. Jonathan Kovacevic ranks second on the team in shorthanded ice time with a total of 255:50 of ice time, but Dillon dominates those numbers with 402:11 of time on the penalty kill.
He carries a $4-million salary cap hit - which may be a little high - and is in the final year of his three-year contract. But because of that, as well as only averaging 14:26 of ice time this season and being an older player, it likely wouldn't cost Toronto much more than a mid-round draft pick. Or if the Leafs give a little more, New Jersey may be obligated to add a sweetener.
Dillon isn't the most ideal candidate, which is why he's ranked at No. 5. But he's still serviceable enough to contribute to the team's defense depth.
Nick Perbix is a middle-pairing defenseman for the Predators, but on the Maple Leafs, if Tanev is healthy, he'd be a bottom-pairing D-man.
Perbix, 28, is a bit better at handling the puck compared to Troy Stecher. He's also got the size advantage (6-foot-4) over Stecher, as well as Nick Blankenburg, if those are the two defensemen that Perbix would need to get in the lineup over.
He's not a game-breaking blueliner, and probably won't show up on the scoresheet like Darren Raddysh and Morgan Rielly do, but Perbix is a serviceable defenseman on a good team, as long as his role isn't more than he can handle.
In the first three years of his NHL career, he was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, averaging 15:45 of ice time per game and scoring two goals and 24 points in what was his highest-scoring campaign (2023-24).
Now, between this season and last year with Nashville, Perbix plays around 19:05 of ice time per game.
He costs $2.75 million against the cap in what is his final year of that two-year deal. He's another defenseman who wouldn't cost the Leafs very much in terms of assets to be dealt to the Preds, on top of still being a No. 4 or 5 on the defensive depth chart.
3. Carson Soucy, Columbus Blue Jackets
Carson Soucy almost didn't sign with an NHL team ahead of this season, inking a one-year, $1.15-million contract on the day the regular season kicked off. However, that doesn't mean the 32-year-old is no good or isn't an NHL defenseman.
He's played 446 games across what is now a nine-year NHL career. Soucy is a button-four D-man who is good for either the middle or bottom pair.
In the last two seasons, Soucy has been traded a few times in instances where playoff contenders wanted some reinforcement on the back end, and Toronto could execute the same idea with a player who is used to that usage. And the last two trades he was involved in saw the team that dealt him away receive a third-round pick. So it can be assumed the price would be similar, if not slightly lower, given aging and a decreasing role.
Last season, Soucy split his time between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers, playing 76 games in total and averaging 16:31 between both clubs. So far with the Columbus Blue Jackets this year, he's recorded one assist and a minus-three rating while averaging 15:47 of ice time in five appearances.
The Philadelphia Flyers are off to a horrid start in the NHL this year, and with how their season is trending, they may be sellers in just a few months. If that's the case, one of the prime trade candidates coming from the Flyers would be 31-year-old defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
It should be noted that Ristolainen has seemingly been trade bait for Philadelphia over the last few years, which may not be a good sign. But the fact is, Ristolainen is capable of playing 20 minutes a night, and did so last season (21:23 per game). The Finnish D-man has also provided some scoring in the past, notching four straight 40-point campaigns from 2015-16 to 2018-19.
Ristolainen would be more of a conservative option in the sense that he'd be a regular in the Leafs' lineup if he ended up there. The only recurring issue with him is that he has a history of injuries, featuring in 44 games last year, and is on IR after the first three games of this season with an upper-body injury.
So far, he's scored one goal and averages 18:17 per game. And even though he hasn't played much, he has an even plus-minus rating, which is the joint best on the team. He played 17:40 of ice time in the Flyers' season opener, which was a 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and walked away with a minus-one.
Ristolainen carries a $5.1-million cap hit, which is a little pricey. But if Flyers GM Danny Briere is willing to play ball, he could retain some of that salary, as Ristolainen is in the final year of his contract and Philadelphia have two more available retention spots.
Zach Whitecloud would be the most ideal candidate for the Maple Leafs in terms of upgrading their defense.
First, Whitecloud has experience playing for a highly competitive team. He was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights for parts of eight seasons and won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2023, playing an important role.
The 29-year-old has played 405 NHL regular-season games so far in his career, and averages 18:09 of ice time through it all. At the very least, Whitecloud can play the middle and bottom pairs for Toronto if acquired.
In fact, since joining the Calgary Flames in January, the undrafted defenseman has averaged 22:22 of ice time. He's also the go-to guy for the penalty kill, averaging 3:04 of ice time while shorthanded in Calgary. He was also a key penalty killer for Vegas, on a team that had Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin, Brayden McNabb and more.
There's no denying he'd be a huge help to any back end that he gets added to, wherever he goes, if the struggling Flames decide to move on from him later this year.
With that, he is the most expensive trade target on this list in terms of what the team will ask for in a deal. Being in his prime years, having championship experience, and the low price of $2.75 million against the salary cap are all factors in that.
However, he isn't much of an offensive threat, and isn't a blueliner who plays in all situations, so it shouldn't be a back-breaking ask from Calgary if they made Whitecloud available.
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Kirill Kaprizov has been among the NHL's elite for quite some time, but he hasn't won any hardware since winning the Calder Trophy in 2020-21 as the best rookie.
Despite that, Kaprizov is widely regarded as one of the best wingers in the NHL, and his stats back it up.
Kaprizov has scored at least 40 goals four times in his six-year NHL career. He's also recorded point totals of 108, 96 and 89. The only seasons he didn't hit at least 80 points were his shortened rookie season and two other seasons where he faced injuries.
The 29-year-old is as consistent an offensive threat as you'll find in the NHL, and in 2026-27, it finally looks like Kaprizov can compete for some deserved hardware.
Through seven games, Kaprizov has scored an NHL-leading eight goals. He's also poured in 11 points, but that ranks him tied for eighth in the NHL and six points behind Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid, who is off to a historic start.
Kaprizov's strong goal-scoring start isn't surprising, as we've seen the Russian sniper go on runs like this before, but it's a positive sign that he is starting the season this way.
He's scored eight goals on 20 shots, a 40 percent shooting percentage. Those numbers are unsustainable, but no one expects Kaprizov to score above a goal-per-game pace.
The numbers that are intriguing, aside from the goal tallies, are what make Kaprizov's case to remain in the Rocket Richard Trophy case so strong.
According to Mike Kelly, Kaprizov ranks second in expected goals with 4.99, trailing only New York Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere. According to MoneyPuck.com, Kaprizov is tied for third in expected goals at 4.8.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Kaprizov has had seven high-danger chances and 16 scoring chances at 5-on-5. On the man advantage, he's had three high-danger chances and nine scoring chances.
NHL EDGE ranks Kaprizov in the 94th percentile for shots from high-danger areas and the 76th percentile from the mid-range.
By all accounts, Kaprizov has done everything in his power to put himself in good scoring situations and areas of the ice.
Beyond Kaprizov's skill set and play in the first seven games of the season, another important element is Quinn Hughes's inclusion and playing alongside him for the full 2026-27 season. Of Kaprizov's eight goals, Hughes has assisted on three of them.
His skating and puck control in the offensive zone create space for his linemates, and with Kaprizov's lethal one-timer, it's a dangerous partnership.
Kaprizov has ranked in the top 10 in goals scored three times, but this season, could the chips finally fall into place and help him win the Rocket Richard Trophy?
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Zeev Buium has had a less-than-ideal start to the 2026-27 season. The Vancouver Canucks defender has just one point in eight games and was recently demoted to the third pair. While it is still early in the campaign, as well as the rebuild, some are starting to get concerned about Buium.
One of the driving concerns when it comes to Buium is his upcoming contract. He is still on his entry-level contract, but he signed an eight-year extension that carries a cap hit of $9.38 million starting next season. Even though he does have this massive contract upcoming, it does not make sense to worry about his performance once the deal kicks in at this stage of the campaign.
As for Buium's on-ice play, there is reason to be a little concerned at this point. While the team is still generating chances with him on the ice in the offensive zone, his play in the defensive zone has not improved from last year. While turnovers aren't the best statistic, as they can be tracked differently depending on the area, it should be a concern that Buium has given the puck away 12 times already, according to the NHL.
Buium is also getting caught out on the ice for long periods of time. While he is not the only reason this happens, there have been quite a few sequences where Vancouver can't clear the zone, and the opposition is able to continually cycle until a scoring chance is created. Even though Buium may not be the one to cause the giveaway, he has struggled to break up plays along the wall as well as win battles in front of the net.
Despite some of Buium's struggles, there is no need yet to slam the panic button. It is important to remember that he is still 20, and that younger players struggling in their second year is something that happens across the sports world. The other reason is that this season is only eight games in, and the team is still adapting to Manny Malhotra's system.
Rebuilds are supposed to be difficult by design. Mistakes are going to happen, and players are going to struggle. While he has a high pedigree, Buium is no different than most young players, as it is going to take time for him to adjust to life in the NHL.
Going back to the initial question, fans should not be in a panic over the way Buium is playing. Yes, he is struggling, but it is way too early in the campaign and his career to start hitting the panic button. What is worth following, however, is the way he plays over the next few weeks and whether he can find his footing before the calendar flips to 2027.
Oct 4, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium (8) makes a pass against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 31: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Truist Park on August 31, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the offseason underway (for our Atlanta Braves, at least), it’s time to start looking forward to the future — well, as much as you can when you consider what awaits the baseball world once the start of December rolls around. Either way, teams are going to be keeping it business as usual until that date and as such, it’s time to start keeping an eye on what type of moves the Braves could make going forward.
MLB Trade Rumors has completed their annual Projected Arbitration Salaries for the upcoming offseason and it’s always a useful resource to keep handy once this time of year comes around. This season, the Braves will have six arbitration-eligible players to deal with, with the two most notable names being Bryce Elder and Dylan Lee. For Elder in particular, this’ll be his first arbitration-eligible season so he could be in line for a big jump in pay if this projection proves to be correct. Dylan Lee would also be in line to see the price of his services go up as well.
Here’s the full list and projected salaries (current salaries according to FanGraphs in parentheses), as provided by MLBTR:
Bryce Elder: $4 million ($810,000)
Michael Grove: $1 million ($546,524)
James Karinchak: $1.1 million ($215,249 ($840,000 split contract))
Dylan Lee: $4.2 million ($2.2 million)
Joey Wentz: $900,000 ($900,000)
Luke Williams would’ve made this six Braves players, but he was recently designated for assignment as the Braves selected LHP Danny Young’s contract in a corresponding move.
Obviously, Elder will be the big one to keep an eye on here, as we’ll get an idea of where the Braves are at on him based on these negotiations, which can sometimes get a bit contentious if/when it goes to trial. We’ll see what happens, though.
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 27: Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies looks on during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Sunday, September 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Kyle Sheridan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 43, Ezequiel Tovar (-0.3 rWAR)
Ezequiel Tovar’s story is a Tale of Two Players.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of Gold Gloves, it was the age of batting slumps. It was the 2024 season of light, it was the 2026 season of darkness. We had a cornerstone shortstop before us, we had nothing before us.
Not to get all Dickensian, but it really is fascinating to compare Tovar’s ups to his downs, whether that’s two seasons ago compared to this one or the first half of the year compared to the second half. His future on the team depends on where he falls between his ceiling and his floor, of which we’ve seen plenty of both.
We’re two years removed from Tovar’s stellar 2024 campaign, which feels like a distant memory based on how 2025 and 2026 went down.
In 2024, he put together a well-rounded year on both sides of the ball, not just by Rockies standards, but by league standards. He snagged a Gold Glove award, led the National League in doubles offensively and in outs made defensively, and was fourth in the NL in hits and total bases. With that campaign, he seemingly laid claim to the shortstop position in Colorado for years to come.
The fall off from there couldn’t have been predicted. After his 2025 was cut short with injuries, his stats in every key offensive category fell significantly in 2026.
Category
2024
2026
Games Played
157
146
At Bats
655
465
Batting Average
.269
.219
Hits
176
102
Doubles
45
23
Home Runs
26
13
Strikeouts
200
129
Runs
83
57
RBI
78
44
rWAR
3.6
-0.3
In fairness, some of his raw numbers dipped due in part to fewer total at bats, but many dropped disproportionately. Overall, his contributions to the team struggled, not only evidenced by his rWAR sinking nearly four points and into the negatives, but also by the lack of big plays that he flashed in 2024.
The doubles that he led the NL with dropped by half, as did his home runs. His batting average fell by 50 percentage points. He struggled to bring teammates home, with 34 fewer RBI.
By the numbers, he also lost his defensive edge. His Statcast Outs Above Average, “a range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player has saved over his peers”, was +15 in 2024. It was 0 in 2026.
This isn’t to say that he became a bad fielder, by any means. His fielding percentage stayed relatively stable from his Gold Glove year (.988 in 2024, .980 in 2026) and was above the league average at the position in both. But, at least by one measure, he fell to an average defensive level, making it harder to compensate for his offensive struggles.
Heading into this season, the primary question surrounding Tovar was whether he could rise again to the level of his fantastic 2024 season or whether his dependability in the field is worth the question marks at the plate. That question remains after a very split 2026.
2026 in Two Halves
As different as Tovar’s 2024 and 2026 were, so were portions of his 2026 compared to others. Promisingly, he worked through his mid-season droughts and finished the year strong offensively.
As mentioned above, he had a .219 batting average on the year. Over the last 14 days of the season, that jumped way up to .294. The pre- and post-All Star break splits were wildly different, too. In the first half of the year, he had a .200 batting average and .574 OPS. In the second half, those jumped to a .260 batting average and a .707 OPS.
In the early chunk of the year, his plate discipline was way off. He had the highest swing-rate in MLB aside a very low contact rate, paired with a high swing rate on pitches outside of the zone. He also struggled to find a batting rhythm in the friendly confines of Coors Field, batting .206 at home and .231 on the road for the year. In July, he ranked last among shortstops in fWAR and wRC+, raising mid-season questions about how to fix Tovar to make him a valuable everyday player.
His weakest stretches at the plate came during the dog days of summer. During a brutal June and July, he was batting .173 and .145, respectively. He slowly turned things around and finished his two strongest batting months of the season in August (.269) and September (.304). In those months, he broke out for a few home runs that felt like a breath of fresh air, including one on a four-hit day in early August that ended a rough month-long stretch at the plate.
Tovar looked to anchor Colorado’s shortstop position for the long-term, signing a seven-year contract for $63.5 million in 2024, with a club option in 2031. He’s certainly shown evidence that he can be trusted to take on that role, but there’s also been reason for doubt.
Even at his floor, Tovar combined dependable playing time with reliable defense. The biggest variable has been his offensive output, ensuring it doesn’t harm the team. In 2027, the Rockies will hope to see continued patience and discipline at the plate from Tovar. If he can improve his hitting consistency and get on base regularly, that alone would be a big win. Even more so, if he can bring back some of his power and account for more extra-base hits, he’d position himself again as one of the team’s top contributors. If his defense can get back to an above-average level, too, that would be a bonus.
Manager Warren Schaeffer sees the offensive and defensive issues as connected. In an offseason interview with Purple Row, Schaeffer said, “I think each guy goes through something different in the year. I think Tovar’s defense was down – I think in large part because his offense was so down. He did a good job of not taking it out in the field, but it’s a really difficult thing to go through the offensive season he had and it to not affect his defense.” The hope is that a consistent approach at the plate will translate to higher numbers across the board.
The Rockies drafted Ethan Holliday (No. 1 PuRP) as a shortstop with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft, although it’s likely that he will move to third base with some versatility to play elsewhere in the infield, including shortstop. Between Holliday’s draft capital and Kyle Karros’ emergence as a strong contributor at third base, more ups and downs from Tovar could force some hard decisions about who plays where.
Having just turned 25 in August, Tovar still sits among the younger side of the roster and has flashed enough potential to show that he can play the position at an award-winning level.
Will Tovar keep the late-season momentum going to prove that he can rebound? Or will it turn out that 2024 is actually the outlier? We’ll find out in 2027.
We know the headliners in Philadelphia: LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid. What too often gets overlooked is that Mike Gansey didn't just recruit stars, he brought in talent around them for a quality bench, guys such as Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
That's a lot of mouths for coach Nick Nurse to feed. What is the key to making it all work? Caldwell-Pope — who has won two rings — said the key is the chemistry the roster is building now. Here is what he told Kris Rhim of ESPN.
"Our chemistry is gonna be the biggest part for us," Caldwell-Pope said Monday. "Us liking each other, being able to be around each other and have fun on and off the court...
"We have so much talent from one through 12, or 15, however many guys we've got, and it's talent everywhere," he said. "So, I think our biggest thing is just communicating with each other, learning each other's tendencies, and just trying to implement that on and off the court."
Chemistry takes time. It can start in training camps and with team dinners, but what it really takes is real games with the core guys healthy and playing together — we saw that for one half this preseason, which is about right — and it will take some road trips. Team dinners on the road where LeBron spluges on good wines. Bus trips. Locker room jokes.
Bringing in LeBron changes a team's culture — he is a brand and culture unto himself. Not in a bad way, but he's the most famous player in the world, an icon, a guy in the GOAT conversation, and his off-court presence is huge. He's also still the first guy in the gym and he puts in the work, that's a big part of his culture, too, and it rubs off on teammates.
It may take some time, but the 76ers culture is going to come together. They are going to figure out how to play best together, Nurse is going to figure out rotations that work. The basketball side of this will come together. Then it just comes back to those core 76ers guys with lengthy injury histories being available when it matters most.
Get a look at the 76ers' early-season chemistry on opening night, next Tuesday, Oct. 20, when they travel to Madison Square Garden and try to spoil the Knicks' ring night. Watch that game on NBC and Peacock as part of our opening day triple-header, with the ring ceremony starting at 6:30 Eastern and the game tipping off at 7 p.m.
