SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 04: Will Smith #16 of Team United States high fives third-base coach Dino Ebel #91 after solo home run against the Colorado Rockies during the sixth inning of the MLB exhibition game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 04, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The United States is 2-0 thus far in Pool B in the World Baseball Classic, as is Mexico, which places high stakes on Monday night’s game in Houston in terms of advancing to the quarterfinals.
Italy is also 2-0, and the top two teams advance out of each pool. Team USA plays Italy on Tuesday, and Mexico and Italy on Wednesday. The first of this three-game gauntlet is Monday night, and Paul Skenes is on the mound for the United States.
No Will Smith in the lineup on Monday, with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh behind the plate against Mexico.
Jack Draper continued his impressive comeback from an arm injury by beating Francisco Cerundolo to set up a last-16 clash with Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells.
Draper rode his luck at the end of the second set to clinch a 6-1, 7-5 win and set up his first meeting with Djokovic since he took the first set off the defending champion on his Wimbledon debut in 2021.
Florida Panthers star Brad Marchand will miss time this week to see doctors and determine whether he needs surgery for a lower-body injury.
Marchand has missed 10 games with the injury since early January.
"There's going to be a decision on what's the best way to get to 100 percent full health," coach Paul Maurice told reporters on Monday, March 9.
He said that even if surgery isn't needed, Marchand would be out for weeks, not days.
"We had had a handle on it and there were times where he didn't play but kind of maintained it and then came back in," Maurice said. "But it just got to the point on this road trip that it was never recovering and continuing to get worse."
The Panthers have been devastated by injuries this season, starting with hernia surgery for Matthew Tkachuk that kept him out until January and ACL surgery for Aleksander Barkov when he was hurt in his first practice of training camp.
The Panthers haven't been able to gain traction this season and were 11 points out of a playoff spot on March 9. They could see the end of a run that took them to the Stanley Cup Final for three years in a row and win championships the past two.
Brad Marchand injury update
Brad Marchand will see doctors this week to determine if he'll need surgery. Maurice said the injury has been bothering the winger for months. Marchand also played at the Olympics, winning a silver medal with Canada.
Brad Marchand stats
Brad Marchand has 27 goals and 27 assists in 52 games for the Panthers this season. He had one assist in four games at the Olympics.
The Detroit Red Wings earned a much needed reset Monday night, defeating the New Jersey Devils 3–0 to halt a difficult stretch that saw the club lose seven of its previous ten games.
The victory also marked the debuts and returns of several new faces. Recently acquired defenseman Justin Faulk made his first appearance with Detroit, while call ups Dominik Shine and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard helped inject fresh energy into the lineup. The performance was enough to deliver two points in the standings, but Detroit knows it cannot afford for the win to be a one time response if it hopes to stay in the playoff picture.
Detroit currently sits third in the Atlantic Division in the National Hockey League standings. The Red Wings began the season near the top of the division but has gradually slid from first place to second and now to the third seed. At points during the slump the team even found itself clinging to a wild card spot, a scenario it hopes to avoid as the season enters its final stretch.
Pressure from behind continues to build. The Montreal Canadiens trail Detroit by just one point, while the Boston Bruins sit only three points back. With the standings tightening, the margin for error is shrinking quickly for a Red Wings team attempting to end a playoff drought that has stretched close to a decade.
They will face an uphill battle with the fifth-hardest remaining strength of schedule in the league. Among the toughest tests ahead are two matchups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with single games against the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres and the Canadiens.
Because of that challenging stretch, Detroit will need to take advantage of games against teams lower in the standings. Upcoming contests against the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames, along with a two game set against the Florida Panthers and three remaining games versus the Philadelphia Flyers, could prove crucial in determining their playoff fate.
For the Red Wings, the shutout win over New Jersey provided a necessary boost. Maintaining that momentum may ultimately determine whether Detroit finally returns to the postseason or sees its playoff drought continue.
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DUNEDIN, FL - MARCH 02: Boston Red Sox center fielder Braiden Ward (92) is tagged out at the plate by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman (55) on March 2, 2026, at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
We’re almost there. In just over two weeks, the Yankees will open the 2026 MLB season in San Francisco against the Giants. Final rosters around the league are still being developed, so we don’t know just yet what each of 30 teams will look like when the season starts. But we know a decent chunk about it now, so why not speculate?
Focusing on the American League, who do you think will be the toughest foe for the Yankees to take down this season? Is it the Blue Jays, who narrowly beat out the Yankees for the AL East last year, took them out in the playoffs, and then nearly won the World Series? They’re probably the favorite, but you don’t have to look too hard around the internet to find people doubting their ability to repeat that magic. Maybe you’re more of a believer in the youthful Red Sox, now also infused with Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras. The Mariners came oh-so-close to dispatching the Jays in the series before the Fall Classic, and their oft-vaunted pitching should stand to rebound from 2025 anyway. The Tigers added more Astros nemesis Framber Valdez to a rotation that also included two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, so Detroit won’t be a walk in the park either.
So make your vote known! And while you’re at it, just for fun, pick a team in the second question’s prompt, which asks about the worst team in the American League. There are certainly some ignominious contenders.
The Los Angeles Kings (26-23-14) survived a near-late collapse, avoiding another meltdown in Columbus thanks to a clutch finish from Adrian Kempe, walking away with two points.
Kempe blasted a slap shot from the left circle 2:26 into overtime, giving Los Angeles a dramatic 5–4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets after a chaotic back-and-forth contest.
Adrian Kempe had a great afternoon, scoring the game-winner and finishing with two goals and two points. Artemi Panarin had another good outing, scoring a goal, assisting on one play, and finishing with two points.
Brian Dumoulin also played a great game, especially late down the stretch, giving the Kings the lead late in the third period, finishing the game with one goal, two assists, and three points.
Meanwhile, Anton Forsberg was phenomenal on the defensive side of things, finishing with 29 saves on 33 shots attempted, coming up with multiple key saves early in the game to help pay off Los Angeles on offense.
Newly acquired Scott Laughton had another strong performance for the Kings, scoring a goal in his second straight game as a member of the Los Angeles Kings and winning the key face-off in overtime, which led to Kempe's game-winning goal.
Los Angeles struck first in the opening period when the trade deadline addition Scott Laughton continued his string start with the club. Laughton finished the play with a nice coast-to-coast play from Brian Dumoulin down the left side before setting up Laughton for the easy goal.
LAK Goal - Laugh and Order!
Kings open the scoring against the run of play. Nice activation by Dumoulin, Laughton makes it 2 goals in 2 games as a King at the net. 1-0..
Later in the period, Artemi Panarin doubled the score with a goal midway through the period, pushing Los Angeles ahead 2-0, despite heavy pressure and traffic from Columbus.
The Blue Jackets would answer late in the period when Conor Garland cut the deficit to 2-1, where the momentum really started to shift to Columbus to end the first period.
Colombus eventually erased the lead in the second period, scoring back-to-back goals in two minutes after both teams were struggling to get a shot up early in the second period.
Both teams had several chances to score on the power play, but failed, and Columbus eventually broke out of their slump behind Garland scoring his second goal of the game and Denton Mateychuck to give Columbus its first lead, 3-2.
Faceoffs were starting to kill Los Angeles in a fate that we've seen repeatedly happen this season when games get close. But today, Los Angeles won 65.7% of their face-offs, compared to the Blue Jackets' 34.3%.
But Los Angeles would respond despite going down by one goal. After a missed shot by Anze Kopitar, the puck bounced right to where Kempe was on the rebound, and he converted the goal, tying things up for Los Angeles.
LAK Goal - Tie game!
Great shift by the top line to respond. Dumoulin/Ceci involved offensively as well, five-man unit attacking, Kempe buries the rebound. 3-3.
Dumoulin later put Los Angeles back in front after it was starting to get very nervous for LA, with the score tied 3-3. Dumoulin, with one of the best plays of the game, moved into the slot, faked the defense on the sustained pressure, and beat Jet Greaves to give the Kings their lead back.
However, the Blue Jackets would refuse to go away.
After a controversial call that didn't give the Kings a two-goal lead late when Alex Turcotte thought he scored the goal, the refs took it away because the whistle had gone.
This would give Columbus another chance to tie the game up, and they did just that. With under two minutes remaining in regulation, Columbus forced overtime when Kirill Marchenko buried a power-play goal off a feed from Zach Werenski, tying the game 4–4 with just 1:56 left.
The late rally from Columbus would secure them a point as we headed into overtime.
But, Los Angeles this time didn't go away in the extra period, winning key faceoffs, and Kempe finally ended the game scoring his 25th goal of the season and his second goal of the afternoon, sending the Blue Jackets home.
The winger hammered a shot from the left circle off a pass from Panarin, beating Greaves and securing the win.
Key Takeaways
Massive win for Los Angeles, especially after blowing their last game against the Montreal Canadiens. Los Angeles outplayed the Blue Jackets throughout the first two periods, and when the game got close, they shut the door.
This win now gives Los Angeles 66 points on the year, and now they're just one point behind Seattle for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
A very great game overall from the team, arguably one of its most complete wins of the season, playing great defense behind Forsberg and getting contributions on offense from multiple forwards.
Los Angeles will continue their five-game road trip tomorrow, taking on the Boston Bruins at 7:00 PM EST.
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New South Wales’ Tahlia Wilson has earned her maiden national call-up, chosen as Australia’s reserve wicketkeeper for the upcoming white-ball tour of the West Indies.
The Yankees optioned Spencer Jones to minor league camp, the team announced on Monday, ending the outfield prospect’s bid to make the big league roster for Opening Day.
It was always a bit of a long shot for Jones to make the Yanks’ roster out of camp with Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Aaron Judge set in the outfield and Giancarlo Stanton at DH, and he was in an uphill battle competing with the speedy, switch-hitting Jasson Dominguez to be the youngster on the bench.
The six-foot-seven outfielder has an abundance of power, to the tune of 82 home runs over his last three minor league seasons, but the big flaw in his game will be that he strikes out at an outrageous rate, 534 times over that same span.
“Those are the challenges of being a big guy,” manager Aaron Boone said recently. “It’s a hard thing to figure out, but if you can do it, [that size is] a massive advantage.”
Jones, who did hit a 427-foot blast early in spring, had six hits in 18 at-bats for the Yanks with three home runs and seven RBI.
“He’s done a nice job. He’s worked really hard this winter to make adjustments to try to hone his craft and had pretty good results here the first few weeks of games,” Boone said recently of Jones, who turns 25 in May.
Jones, now the Team's No. 6 prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline, is still looking to make his MLB debut.
The club also announced right-hander Elmer Rodriguez, the team’s No. 3 prospect and No. 82 in all of baseball, to minor league camp.
Rodriguez had a solid season at High-A Hudson Valley with a 2.26 ERA over 83.2 innings, and at Double-A Somerset posted a 2.64 ERA over 61.1 innings last season.
The 22-year-old made one appearance at Triple-A last season and expects to start there this season and could be in line for his big league debut later this summer.
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 6: Connor Joe #9 of the Seattle Mariners at bat during a Spring Training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium on March 6, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At a time when his rotation-mates are relishing the opportunity, while their catcher is away at the WBC, to try out new tricks, Bryan Woo is dancing with the one that brought him.
Woo looked sharp today in his third spring outing: his pitches were crisp, well-located, and thrown with conviction. He opened with a dominant first inning where he struck out the Diamondbacks’ top three hitters on, in order, an elevated fastball, a backfoot slider, and an elevated sinker at 95 mph. It took him all of 12 pitches. It took him another 10 pitches to retire the D-Backs’ next three hitters, this time working in his sweeper and sinker more. Woo didn’t allow a hit until the third inning, when he missed on a sweeper to Ivan Melendez, but Brendan Donovan helped his pitcher out with an awesome circus catch into the third base line netting for the second out, and Woo was able to coax an inning-ending groundout off the bat of leadoff hitter Ildemaro Vargas after that to end the inning.
Brendan Donovan goes into the net to make the catch in foul territory. He isn't going to take plays off in spring training pic.twitter.com/iuFpKC3wAu
“Much better today,” said Woo about his outing. “Getting ahead, being in better counts. That’s my brand of baseball right there. That’s exactly what it needs to look like.”
While his fellow starters might be taking the lack of regulars here in camp as an opportunity to experiment, Woo remains laser focused on Opening Day – perhaps even as the Opening Day starter.
“It’s always tempting, but I think that’s kind of the trap with any of us, trying to tweak too much. For me, just getting ready for the season and getting closer to regular season shape is more just doing the little things, so that’s exactly what we did.”
But as strong as Woo was, Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen matched him blow for blow, mowing through the Mariners the first time through the order, collecting a strikeout in each of his three innings. The Mariners finally got a little traffic on the bases when Gallen departed the game in the fourth. Brendan Donovan opened the inning with what could have been a single but it deflected off the first baseman’s glove and rolled clear to the right field wall, so, “double.” Rob Refsnyder then worked a walk to put two on with no outs. Unfortunately, that brought up the strikeout-prone part of the Mariners lineup, and both Luke Raley and Mitch Garver struck out to bring up J.P. Crawford, who swung at the first pitch he saw for an inning-ending groundout.
The Diamondbacks answered back with traffic of their own, but they were able to turn it into runs. Behind in a 2-1 count, Woo threw his hardest pitch of the day (95.6 mph) but right in the zone for Barrosa to tag for a leadoff double (109 mph EV). Barrosa then moved to third on a groundout and scored on a Pavin Smith ground ball single, but the damage was capped there when Woo was able to get AJ Vukovich to ground into an inning-ending double play on a sinker, cleanly turned by J.P. Crawford and Ryan Bliss.
With new pitcher Andrew Hoffman in for the fifth, the Mariners were finally able to break through in the run column. Connor Joe, who loves to hit the high fastball, continued his strong spring with a well-struck single up the middle. Ryan Bliss worked a walk, and then Rhylan Thomas brought home the run with a single of his own. But an opportunity for more scoring was cut off when Bliss was caught stealing and picked off of second in a rundown that wasn’t particularly close; Donovan singled for his second hit of the day but Thomas wasn’t able to beat out the throw at home, and the Mariners let a good chance to score more runs go by, continuing a frustrating theme this spring.
The teams traded zeroes after that until the dam broke for the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth; Blas Castaño, in his second inning of work, allowed a single, and then Tyler Cleveland couldn’t turn in a clean inning in relief, walking a hitter and then, with two outs, giving up a parachute fly ball to score the runner from second and hand the Mariners their 12th loss of the spring.
Other notes:
Alex Hoppe worked a hitless inning, walking one but striking out two. Something I noticed today in watching him is Hoppe’s delivery is violent. He really comes down the mound at hitters. The pitches move violently, too; it’s 98 in the dirt, essentially, but then he also has a slider with similar movement that comes in around 88-90 and a cutter around 91. I find his stuff both beautiful and terrifying.
In addition to his single, Connor Joe also had a hard-hit double in this game, turning on a 95 mph sinker in and stroking it to left field. After being fairly noodle-batted for his MLB career, I’m curious if Joe has made any adjustments with the Mariners or if this is just spring training noise. Sure it’s spring training but 108.4 off the bat is 108.4 off the bat.
Staff writer Nick Tucker was at today’s game and noted that Victor Robles, working back from shoulder soreness, was clearly late with some of his swing timing, but said it looked like Robles was getting better over the course of the game.
J.P. Crawford got a few chances at short in his first time in the field this spring since opening day of spring training, cleanly turning a double play with Ryan Bliss.
Colt Emerson got some actual challenges at shortstop today as a defensive replacement for Crawford. He couldn’t quite get to a grounder hit hard past him (111.2 off the bat) but smothered another slow roller and made a strong throw to first.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jesús Luzardo and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed on a five-year, $135-million contract extension that starts in 2027, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet official.
The 28-year-old Luzardo went 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA in 183 2/3 innings and was second in the National League with 212 strikeouts in his first season with the Phillies.
Luzardo was acquired ahead of the 2025 season in a trade with Miami and instantly helped solidify the rotation – he struck out 11 in his first start against Washington -- as the Phillies won their second straight NL East championship. The only time a pitcher recorded more strikeouts in his first game with Philadelphia came in 1997, when Garrett Stephenson had 12 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The left-hander is 41-41 lifetime over seven seasons that also included stops with Oakland and the Marlins.
Luzardo is the latest Phillies starter to sign a long-term deal.
Cristopher Sánchez is in the midst of a $22.5 million, four-year contract through the 2028 season. Zack Wheeler has a $126 million contract through the 2027 season, and Aaron Nola is signed to a $172 million deal through 2030, while rookie Andrew Painter expects to earn the fifth-starter spot in the rotation.
The Phillies had a busy offseason. They gave manager Rob Thomson a one-year extension after he led the Phillies to their fourth straight playoff appearance, signed NL home run champion Kyle Schwarber to a $150 million, five-year deal and three-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to a $45 million, three-year contract.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Jake Bauers #9 of the Milwaukee Brewers high fives teammate Gary Sánchez #99 after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of the spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix on March 09, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Once again, a Brewers-Dodgers matchup ended in a low-scoring affair and the Dodgers came out on top with a 4-2 spring training win.
The Brewers got off to a strong start against Emmett Sheehan of the Dodgers with Greg Jones rifling an RBI single in the 2nd inning to give the Crew a 1-0 lead. Aaron Ashby was looking strong as he was stretched out to three ups today. But Ashby gave up an answer by the Dodgers in the top of the 3rd on a Dalton Rushing RBI single.
However, Milwaukee was able to get past their one run per game limit against the Dodgers with a Jake Bauers solo blast in the 5th inning. That’s Bauers’ third home run of the spring and he’s now 9-for-17 on the spring with five walks as well.
Jake Bauers is having a RIDICULOUS spring:
🔵 Homers in back-to-back days 🔵 Three homers in last four games 🔵 .529 AVG 🔵 1.843 OPS pic.twitter.com/JDp6RGEzAV
That lead would not last, though. Shane Drohan, who has been pitching well all spring, gave up an RBI single to Ryan Fitzgerald in the 7th and then an RBI single to Seby Zavala in the 8th. He also allowed a run on a double play by Charles Davalan and then his day was done after 3.2 IP and 63 pitches.
The Brewers tried to mount a comeback in the 9th. Josiah Ragsdale, a 7th round pick last year, roped a double into the gap. He later scored on an Ethan Murray infield single. But then Luis Lara and Mike Boeve grounded out to end the game in a 4-3 loss.
The Brewers have an off day tomorrow but will be back in Cactus League action on Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Pitcher Emmet Sheehan #80 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix on March 09, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers snapped their two-game losing skid on Monday, as they rallied for a pair of eighth inning runs to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday 4-3.
Emmet Sheehan made his first start of the spring, lasting 2 1/3 innings while tossing 49 pitches (26 strikes) while allowing two hits and one earned run coming via a Greg Jones RBI single, but struggled with his command as he walked three and struck out two. Cody Morse was able to get out of the third inning in relief of Sheehan as he struck out two to escape further trouble.
River Ryan came in relief to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, and despite letting the Brewers pull ahead by a run with Jake Bauers taking him deep to left field, he registered 2 2/3 solid innings of work, with the home run being the only hit he allowed while striking out three and walking one. Ryan now has a 1.59 ERA with seven strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings this spring as he continues to increase his odds of being a part of the starting rotation come the team’s home opener on Mar. 26.
Dalton Rushing plated home the first run of the game with an RBI single to tie the game at 1 in the top of the third. Although the counting numbers look great on paper (two home runs, five RBI), Rushing has struggled at the plate so far this spring, slashing just .200/.250/.440 across 28 plate appearances with a 32.1 percent strikeout rate.
Michael Siani and Ryan Fitzgerald managed to even the score at two runs apiece with a double and an RBI single respectively with two outs in the top of the seventh. The Dodgers took their first lead of the game in the top of the eighth with an RBI single from Seby Zavala, later adding an insurance run with Emil Morales scoring on a double play. The elder Ryan brother, Ryder Ryan, managed to record the final six outs of Monday’s contest despite allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to trim the Dodger lead to one run.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers head back to Camelback Ranch to host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday (1:05 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tyler Glasnow gets the start for the Dodgers, facing right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.
Feb 23, 2026; Bradenton, Florida, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Zack Short (38) and center fielder Spencer Jones (78) are congratulated after they scored runs second inning at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The Yankees announced today that they’ve optioned two of their top prospects, Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodríguez, to minor league camp. The two will finish out spring training at minor league camp and will start their seasons with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
Even as they head back to the minors, both prospects showed very well with the major league club this spring. The 6-foot-7 Jones slashed .333/.455/.889 with three homers in 22 plate appearances, with six strikeouts against four walks. Facing pitching that’s roughly equivalent to that of Triple-A, you can in a way view this as Jones continuing to tear up the highest levels of the minors, as he did to close out his 2025 campaign.
Rodríguez is currently with Team Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic, though he has yet to appear in a game. The right-hander made two starts for the Yankees in spring training and was impressive, totaling six innings while allowing two runs with five strikeouts against one walk. He touched 97 mph on the radar gun and showcased a nasty-looking changeup and some solid command, particularly in his first start against the Orioles, in which he held a lineup of regulars scoreless over three frames.
While it was to be expected that players like Jones and Rodríguez, who were longshots at best to make the club out of spring training, would be sent down, it’s always a bit of a bummer to see the top prospects depart, as their presence in camp is one of the more fun reasons to tune into preseason games. If the two of them can perform as well for Scranton as they had thus far in spring, they’ll be among the first names the Yankees call during the season when the need arises.
Sunday evening marked the Detroit Red Wings' debut for defenseman Justin Faulk, who was acquired on Friday from the St. Louis Blues.
Known as an offensive-minded defenseman who can play in all situations, Faulk showed poise in his first game with the Red Wings, playing in just under 20 minutes while also firing three shots on goal and blocking four Devils shots.
He had a golden chance to score after partially breaking in alone into the Devils' zone on a broken play during the second period, but his attempt was gloved by goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Faulk is already a fan of how the Red Wings play, and is looking forward to doing what he can to help them get over the hump.
“It’s a good group, I like the way we play, guys like to make some plays and play with some pace," Faulk said afterward. "It’s a hungry group, I can tell. There’s definitely some veterans in here, too, that’ll help lead the way with that.
I’m excited to be a part of it, get going, and then try and play my part.”
For Faulk, it's the second time in his NHL career that he's been traded. A former 2010 second-round (37th overall) pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, he was dealt to the Blues in September 2019 for Joel Edmundson, Dominik Bokk, and a 2021 seventh-round pick.
"I've been traded before, so I have a little experience with it," he said. "It's definitely a unique time of year for it, but I'm not the only one to go through it by any means, and won't be the last.
It's a challenge, but it's an exciting challenge coming to a team that's trying to do some damage and get to the playoffs and win a lot of games. It's exciting."
While he had a sense that the Blues could move him, he didn't get the official word until after the 3:00 p.m. ET deadline had passed.
"I got the call a couple of minutes after the Deadline, I was waiting all day," Faulk said with a laugh. "
One of the biggest needs of the Red Wings was a right-handed defenseman with some offensive upside, and they fulfilled that need with the acquisition of Faulk.
He and his new teammates will continue their road trip by taking on the Florida Panthers on Tuesday evening.
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The Philadelphia Phillies, envisioning a future in which Zack Wheeler is no longer part of their rotation, moved to lock up another stalwart from their staff for the long term.
Left-hander Jesús Luzardo and the Phillies are in agreement on a five-year, $135 million contract extension, a person familiar with the agreement confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been finalized.
Luzardo, 28, was eligible for free agency after the 2026 season, and was coming off perhaps the finest campaign of his career, winning 15 games and posting a 3.92 ERA across a career-high 183 ⅔ innings. While he might have garnered more than a $27 million average annual value on the free agent market, it actually puts him in line with Yankees ace Max Fried, whose eight-year, $218 million deal is worth $27.25 million per year.
Wheeler, the Cy Young Award runner-up in 2024, has indicated he'll retire after his three-year, $142 million deal expires after the 2027 season. The club already retained right-hander Aaron Nola on a $172 million deal signed after the 2023 season, and Luzardo's extension ensures a decent base from which to work.
The club also hopes top prospect Andrew Painter solidifies the back of the rotation and grows into mid- to frontline starter. Now, he'll have both Nola and Luzardo to slot behind in the future.
Luzardo will make $11 million this season in his final year of arbitration-eligibility before his extension kicks in.
Jesus Luzardo stats
2025 (Philadelphia): 15-7 record, 183.2 IP, 216 SO, 3.92 ERA
2024 (Miami): 3-6, 66.2 IP, 58 SO, 5.00 ERA
2023 (Miami): 10-10, 178.2 IP, 208 SO, 3.58 ERA
2022 (Miami): 4-7, 100.1 IP, 120 SO, 3.32 ERA
2021 (Oakland/Miami): 6-9, 95.1 IP, 98 SO, 6.61 ERA
