Jul 3, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers have a doubleheader on deck Tuesday, as they’ll begin with game one with Jacob Misiorowski starting opposite the Cardinals’ Matt Svanson.
Of course, in order to call Lara up, the Brewers had to make a corresponding move. That leaves outfielder Blake Perkins as the odd man out, as he’s sent to Triple-A Nashville. Perkins, 29, is having a rough season after providing 3.3 bWAR over the last three seasons as a depth piece of Milwaukee’s outfield. While he’s still been worth 0.2 bWAR this year, that’s almost entirely due to his above-average defense — he’s hitting just .157/.250/.258 with a homer and 11 RBIs over 101 plate appearances. Given Lara’s defensive prowess, it seems like a similar thought process to the Cooper Pratt-for-Luis Rengifo swap in mid-June — the hitting can’t be much worse, and the defense should be on par (or even better).
The Brewers also announced Robert Gasser as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader, and he’s slated to start game two tonight.
The Brewers have also not made a move for David Hamilton, who exited Monday night’s game with a reported hamstring injury. It seems likely he’ll be facing an IL stint, but we’ll await word on the severity and any official move. Outfielder Greg Jones and right-handed reliever Easton McGee are reportedly on hand in St. Louis as members of the taxi squad, per Todd Rosiak.
Greg Jones and Easton McGee on hand in STL currently as members of the taxi squad.
Misiorowski, who was named an All-Star over the weekend, will make his 18th start today, as he’s pitched to a 1.47 ERA, 1.97 FIP, and 156 strikeouts over 104 innings this year. He got roughed up a bit against the Reds last week, allowing five runs (though just one was earned) on five hits, striking out 10 over five innings in his fourth loss of the season.
Svanson gets the ball for the Cardinals in what will be his first career start. After a solid 1.7 bWAR season with a 1.94 ERA and 2.72 FIP over 39 appearances (60 1/3 innings) last year, he’s struggled to a 6.69 ERA and 4.49 FIP over 34 appearances (37 2/3 innings) this season. As you can see from those numbers, he does have the ability to go a couple of innings, which is likely what we’ll see here. With Hunter Dobbins designated as the 27th man and slated to start game two for St. Louis, it seems possible (likely even) that right-hander Michael McGreevy will get the bulk of this game, unless St. Louis opts to save him for tomorrow, as they haven’t yet announced a starter for that one.
Lara isn’t featured in the lineup for the first game today, with a nearly identical lineup to Monday night’s game — the only change is Joey Ortiz starting at third base and batting ninth in place of the injured Hamilton.
First pitch is set for 1:15 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 05: Cleveland Guardians center fielder Kahlil Watson (31) makes a diving catch during the eighth inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians on July 5, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It is time for the Guardians to re-assert themselves as the dominant team in the AL Central when it comes to the Twins.
The Guardians are 47-44 with a -9 run differential, 23rd in MLB with a 93 wRC+, eighth in baserunning runs above average at 3.7, eighth in Defense at -2.2, seventh in starting pitcher ERA at 3.80 (4.10 FIP) and tenth in bullpen ERA at 3.80 (3.84 FIP).
The Twins are 44-47 with a -17 run differential, fifth in MLB with a 106 wRC+, 27th in baserunning runs above average at -4.7, 26th in Defense at -27.5, 18th in starting pitcher ERA 4.43 (4.21 FIP) and 30th in bullpen ERA at 5.28 (4.63 FIP).
Put the ball in play and get into the pen as soon as possible! Byron Buxton tweaked his hip last weekend, so he MAY not play in a game or two, or he may be back. We will see.
Matchups: Game One, Tuesday 7:40PM ET: Taj Bradley, RHP 3.86 ERA (3.92 FIP) vs. Joey Cantillo, LHP Game Two, Wednesday 7:40PM ET: Connor Prielipp, LHP 4.96 ERA (3.63 FIP) vs. Slade Cecconi, RHP Game Three, Thursday 1:40PM ET: Mike Parades, RHP 4.60 ERA (6.08 FIP) vs. Gavin Williams, RHP
The Twins are led on offense by Ryan Jeffers 165 wRC+, Byron Buxton 146 wRC+, Trevor Larnach 136 wRC+, Kody Clemens 118 wRC+, Ryan Kreidler 114 wRC+, Alex Jackson 109 wRC+, Brooks Lee 104 wRC+, and Josh Bell 104 wRC+.
The Guardians are led by Austin Hedges 114 wRC+,Chase DeLauter 114 wRC+, Travis Bazzana 112 wRC+, Brayan Rocchio 114 wRC+ and David Fry 104 wRC+.
Kinda need Kahlil Watson to rebound from a tough end to the White Sox series and Cooper Ingle to find his footing a bit to have a good shot at winning this series.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 01: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes #30 pitches the ball during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburg Pirates on July 1st, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Second place is still a long shot but it could happen! It’s a fair question to ask, too. While there was a lot to be encouraged about from this last homestand when it comes to the Atlanta Braves finally and eventually breaking out of extended run of bad form, it’s clear that they’re not quite out of the funk just yet. The offense is back to hitting bombs and putting up crooked numbers but that’s coincided with the bullpen finally starting to show some cracks. Now granted, the bullpen is still in strong form but you know it’s a bit wobbly when Raisel Iglesias finally blew a save.
All that has led to this point: The divisional lead is now down to three games in the final week of action before the All-Star break. While the Phillies have finally slowed down a bit from the furious pace that they have been on for a while now (and getting demolished in a three game series by the Royals is, um, something), they’ve still been one game better (5-5) than the Braves (4-6) over their past 10 games, so they’re still gaining ground. The Phillies have the Reds and Tigers to finish things off while the Braves have the Pirates and Cardinals. Atlanta will likely still be in first place by the time the break rolls around but they will certainly have to earn it in order to remain on top heading into the second half of the season.
July 7-9: Pittsburgh Pirates
Current Record: 46-45 Projected Record (via FanGraphs): 83-79
Well, the Braves can’t escape Paul Skenes this time! Hot off the heels of a wacky and wild ending to a four-game series against the Mets, the Braves will now have to take on Skenes in Pittsburgh with no rest for the weary after a late night in Atlanta. The good news is that, well, Skenes has hit the skids a bit. As this piece from Kiri Oler from FanGraphs notes, Skenes has a 5.36 ERA over his past nine starts and hasn’t exactly looked like the dominant force that helped propel him to the All-MLB First Team and an NL Cy Young Award as well.
Skenes gave up eight runs (seven earned) in his most recent start against the Phillies and that was after he gave up four runs in five innings to the Reds. His last really dominant performance was back on May 12 when he struck out 10 batters over eight shutout innings against the Rockies. Ever since then, he’s found it tough to navigate the waters and this could actually be an opportunity for a newly-resurgent Braves offense to continue moving in the right direction if Skenes continues to struggle.
Maybe seeing the Pirates again could be a tonic for the Braves since the last time these two locked horns, the Braves were busy dusting off a sweep at Pittsburgh’s expense. I’m very skeptical that we’ll see another sweep here and if we do, Atlanta’s pitching staff will have bounced back as well since the Pirates have actually been hitting the ball pretty well lately. Ever since the sweep in early-June, Pittsburgh has been hitting .285/.351/.482 at the plate with a 126 team wRC+ and a .362 team wOBA. Their offense essentially went in the opposite direction of Atlanta’s after that sweep and a lot of that has to do with guys like Bryan Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Tyler Calihan and Endy Rodriguez going on a tear at the plate since then. Konnor Griffin has also been getting it done as well.
It’s not exactly encouraging considering how the pitching has fared lately but also, the Pirates won’t have a super-imposing run of starters going for this one either. On top of Paul Skenes struggling, Wednesday’s starter Jared Jones hasn’t been the model of consistency for Pittsburgh so far and the last time the Braves saw Mitch Keller, they bombed him for six runs over 4.2 innings. We could be in for some more high-scoring, topsy-turvy games based on how both teams have been performing as of late.
Tuesday, July 7 at 6:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision, GrayTV) Wednesday, July 8 at 6:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision) Thursday, July 9 at 12:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
July 10-12: St. Louis Cardinals
Current Record: 47-41 Projected Record: 83-79
Similar to how the season series with the Giants ended up being structured, the Braves and the Cardinals are going to end up getting their hostilities out of the way over the course of a two-week span. Things didn’t go particularly well for the Braves against the Giants so hopefully things will be different for the Braves as they travel to St. Louis to finish their season series against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals may have been struggling before they ran into a Braves team that was struggling more than they were but it appears that they’ve shaken it off. St. Louis walked into Wrigley Field the day after putting 11 runs on the Braves and proceeded to drop 17 on the Cubs to open the series. They then won the series the next day as they put a screeching halt to the heater that the Cubs had been on (Chicago beat San Diego 23-3 they day before they got beat 17-1! The 2026 Cubs, man.). I am sure that Chip Caray had a hootin’-and-hollerin’ time throughout that Atlanta-Chicago road trip.
St. Louis is now in the midst of a five (5!) game series with the Brewers and one that could have St. Louis getting closer to their divisional rivals in the standings with the break ahead. The Cardinals did drop the first game and now a doubleheader awaits them on Tuesday, so we’ll see if they can get back into the swing of things in that series or if the Brewers can continue to hold them at bay.
Due to the demands of the five-game series (including the doubleheader today), St. Louis’s pitching schedule is all up in the air so it’s really tough to figure who’s going to be pitching this weekend against the Braves. Dustin May is an option for the weekend and he’ll surely be looking to get a measure of revenge for what happened to him on a muggy night in Atlanta. No matter who the Cardinals have pitching, it’ll be imperative for the Braves to figure out a way to keep Jordan Walker and JJ Wetherholt from tipping the scales. Nathan Church was also an absolute pain to deal with when the Braves were in Atlanta, so keeping that particular trio quiet will be conducive to any type of success that the Braves will hope to have to close out the first half of the season.
Friday, July 10 at 8:15 p.m. ET (Apple TV) Saturday, July 11 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision) Sunday, July 12 at 2:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
ATHENS, GREECE - MAY 22: Tarik Biberovic, #13 of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul react during Semifinal A Olympiacos Piraeus vs Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul as part of 2026 EuroLeague Final Four Athens at Telekom Center Athens on May 22, 2026 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks aquired the 2023 draft rights to Tarik Biberović in their trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for forward Santi Aldama. According to a report from Marc Stein, the Mavericks will sign Biberović to a deal at some point today.
UPDATE: The trade to make him a Maverick is still pending, but league sources say Tarik Biberović has informed Fenerbahçe he’s leaving for the NBA.
After acquiring him from Memphis, Dallas is expected to sign Biberović to a two-year, $6 million deal with a team option in Year 2. https://t.co/Dx3BNoqq1i
Today was the deadline for Biberović to inform Fenerbahçe that he would be leaving the club, which results in a $2 million buyout that the Mavericks can only contribute $900,000 towards.
Reports have circulated for days, largely from European sources, that Biberović was leaving Fenerbahçe and would sign a two-year deal with $14 million over two years with a team option for year two. This reported 2 year, $6 million deal looks to be a fantastic gamble for the Dallas Mavericks.
Biberović is a 6’6” guard with a strong outside shot. According to various videos I’ve seen (one linked below), he’s improved his movement shooting a great deal. He brings strong positional size to a Dallas backcourt that could use the depth. He’s played with Fenerbahçe for 8 seasons, so one can assume he’s a seasoned professional at this point.
This is the kind of low-risk, high-reward gamble that Dallas Mavericks fans should be thrilled about. The Mavericks have somewhat limited options between draft capital and free agency options, so securing the rights to a fantastic European shooter is a fun dart throw.
Is he any good? I have no idea. His previous club is a consistent powerhouse, so playing at that level from an early age speaks to why he was drafted in the first place. Maybe he won’t get much time, or maybe he’ll be a key factor if Dallas makes a run for a play-in spot before the playoffs.
Why now? Why for Paul George, an aging but very expensive player? How is this bringing Boston closer to maximizing the prime years of Jayson Tatum and winning another ring?
"When I looked at our team and where the league was heading, looked at the way that we've finished the last couple years and at the unbelievable way we've played in the regular season in the last couple years, the path looked a little bit more challenging to me. I might be wrong. I'm not going to stand up here and be defensive about that, but the path looked a little bit more challenging, with 70% of our cap and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players (Brown and Tatum).
"The reality in this day and age at the NBA, and you could see it obviously with the last couple of champions ... you have to do a great job of building out depth that can hopefully replace the irreplaceable individual. And that's not an easy thing to do. And that's absolutely nothing against Jaylen. If you have Jaylen Brown on your team, you should feature him, you should use all those possessions and you should approach things that way. But I think the importance of depth and then obviously, we have to continue to work on ways to diversify our attack overall."
Stevens is not wrong on key underlying facts. Tatum and Brown are both on supermax contracts, and next season they would have taken up 70.4% of the team's salary cap, making it challenging to build out around them. Brown is up for a max contract extension on top of it, while it's possible Boston can trade George next season in the final year of his deal (once he picks up his $56.6 million player option, which he will). Both Tatum and Brown are high-usage players who are best with the ball in their hands. Recent champions have been built more around one elite star and depth (although the Spurs and Thunder challenge that). The draft picks coming back to Boston in this trade have real value.
All that doesn't explain the dismal return on this trade. More importantly, it doesn't open a path to competing for a title while Tatum, 28, is at his peak.
For the next two years, George makes essentially the same amount of money as Brown but, at age 36 and at this point in his career, is not nearly as good a player. Brown is coming off a career-best season when he was sixth in MVP voting and lifted the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the East. George played in 37 games last season due to injury, and at this point in his career, when he plays, he looks like a good role player.
After two offseasons of cost-cutting, Chisholm said this trade was "not about the money at all," and he would spend to win. Stevens and Chisholm sold this as the right basketball move.
But it's hard to get there when this trade just made Philadelphia a legit contender to win the East, Detroit is only going to get better, Indiana will bounce back with a healthy Tyrese Haliburton, and Boston got worse.
Stevens is going to try to build out a contender around Tatum, and maybe he can. But he already had a contender, a team that won a title, and he chose to move on from it for "optionality."
According to TVA Sports, the Montreal Canadiens have put pen to paper on a one-year, two-way deal with right-shot defenseman Reilly Walsh. The American-born 27-year-old blueliner was a third-round pick by the New Jersey Devils at the 2017 NHL draft (81st overall) but never really made it in the NHL, suiting up for only one game with the Devils, in which he collected an assist.
Once drafted, he went from the Chicago Steel in the USHL to Harvard in the NCAA, where he spent three seasons before turning pro and spending three seasons with the Devils’ AHL affiliate. He then spent one season with the Boston Bruins farm team in Providence before skating for the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, for a single campaign. In 304 AHL games, the 6-foot-185-pound blueliner put up 159 points and accumulated 121 penalty minutes.
After five seasons in the AHL, Walsh decided to head to the KHL for the 2025-26 season, where he suited up for the Kazakhstan-based Astana Barys. A team that only won 16 games last season, put up 54 points, and missed the playoffs by 15 points. As for Walsh himself, in 68 KHL games, he did put up 46 points, the fourth-highest total for a defenseman in the league behind Damir Sharipzyanov (67 points), Daniil Pylenkov (54 points), and Mitchell Miller (47 points).
This is a depth signing for the Habs and he will more than likely spend the year with the Laval Rocket, but his arrival will help make up for the fact that the AHL side will have to make do without Bryce Pickford for a while since the highly-touted prospect underwent shoulder surgery last week and will need to rehabilitate before starting his professional career.
George Moriarty, Detriot Al (Baseball), 1913. Creator: Harris & Ewing. (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees, having existed for well over a century, have had more than their fair share of characters don their uniform. Some of them were stars like Yogi Berra, and some of them were role players like Billy Martin. It’s players like them that add some texture to the history of the team and of the game, reminding us that though we come to see the best of the best play, sometimes we stay for the interesting characters on the side. George Moriarty, known for combining an easygoing demeanor off the baseball diamond with a rough-and-tumble personality in the clubhouse, was one of those characters.
George Joseph Moriarty Born: July 7, 1885 (Chicago, IL) Died: April 8, 1964 (Miami, FL) Yankees Tenure: 1906-1908 (player)
George Moriarty was born in Chicago to a former semi-pro catcher, and dropped out of school at an early age to pursue baseball. He played in various semi-pro leagues around the city and even began his professional baseball career in 1901 at 16. He signed with the Davenport River Rats and the Rock Island Islanders in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. He played in 110 games during the first of three seasons he would spend in the Three-I League. Moriarty was then moved to the Bloomington Blues in 1902 and, once again, to the Joliet Standards/Springfield Foot Trackers to play ball there in 1903. He hit .232 in 1902 and .222 in Joliet/Springfield. Moriarty took a job in Chicago toward the end of 1903, and in an exhibition game against the Cubs, Moriarty started a triple play at third base. The Cubs’ manager, Frank Selee, decided to give Moriarty a one-game tryout on the last day of the 1903 season.
On the day of the one-game tryout, those in the press box noted that Moriarty was nervous in his debut and went 0-for-5. Despite his poor performance at the plate, he managed to make another tryout with the Cubs in the spring of 1904.
The first four games for Moriarty in a Cubs uniform were strikingly bad, as he did not register a hit in 14 plate appearances, and his only time on base came on a walk. As a result, he was sent back to the minors, and after the Southern Association’s sale to Little Rock, he was sent to the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association.
Moriarty played 136 games and not only found his stride at the plate, batting .295 by season’s end, but he also began to earn his scrappy reputation. There were plenty of stories about the third baseman fighting those who gave him attitude with his bare hands while also continuing his excellent play on the field.
Moriarty led the league with 51 steals for Toledo in Class-A ball in 1905, and after that excellent year on the basepaths, he joined the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees) when his contract was sold for the 1906 season. He played all over the field in his first season with New York at the age of 20, including second, third, left, and center field, finishing with a slash line of .234/.298/.340 in 65 games.
In 1907 with the Highlanders, Moriarty became a full-time utility player, registering 474 plate appearances while playing seven different positions. He also upped his play at the plate, moving from a .234 average to a .277 average, a .320 on-base percentage, and a .336 slugging percentage, all of which were better than the league average. His on-base and slugging percentages that year would remain career highs for the rest of his time on a baseball diamond.
Moriarty stayed in the same role in 1908 under managers Clark Griffith and Kid Elberfeld. He continued to get playing time, but his numbers dropped sharply, finishing at .236/.269/.276. Along with the drop in the individual numbers, the Highlanders finished dead last in the American League with a record of 51-103. They were 39.5 games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers, and they finished 17 games behind the second-to-last place Washington Senators.
But for Moriarty, the end of the season resulted in some good news. The Highlanders had sold him to the top of the table: the Detroit Tigers.
Instead of being a utility player, Moriarty was made the team’s consistent third baseman. He helped the Tigers win another pennant in 1909, despite the team losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. And his time with the Tigers was when his reputation as a fighter grew from just a story here or there. He was willing to spar with anyone who stepped up.
Tigers legend Ty Cobb reportedly wanted to fight Moriarty, and, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, Moriarty promptly handed Cobb a baseball bat, saying he’d need it to even have a chance. Cobb did not take the challenge. But he was not the same player on the field as he was off of it, being known for his quiet and peaceful demeanor on the diamond.
Moriarty would play with Detroit for another five years from 1910 to 1915. His best year came in 1914 at the age of 29, when he played in 132 games and finished with a slash line of .254/.318/.323, the best of his time with the Tigers. He also remained a stalwart on defense, as he was throughout his career.
In the 1915 season, Moriarty played only 31 games, ultimately gave up his job at third base to 25-year-old Ossie Vitt, and spent the year assisting manager Hughie Jennings as a player-coach. The Tigers gave Moriarty his unconditional release that November.
The third baseman joined the Chicago White Sox in 1916 and, after going 1-for-5 as a pinch-hitter, Moriarty was released and was named manager of the Memphis Chickasaws in Memphis, TN. But after his managerial career in the minor leagues, he found his real calling in 1917 — umpiring.
Moriarty was a major league umpire from 1917 to 1940, with a break in 1927 and 1928 to take over as the Tigers’ manager after Ty Cobb. He finished after two seasons, when his contract expired, with a 150-157 record at the helm of the team. His Tigers finished fourth and sixth in the American League and eventually returned to umpiring, garnering plenty of stories along the way.
One of the most notable stories was when Moriarty came to the defense of future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg in the 1935 World Series, issuing numerous warnings to the Chicago Cubs bench to stop yelling antisemitic slurs at the Tigers slugger. When they did not listen and continued, he ejected three Cubs players, which ultimately resulted in a $200 fine from the league commissioner. That World Series was one of five he umpired (and was the crew chief for two of them), and he umpired the second-ever MLB All-Star Game in 1934 at the Polo Grounds, when the Giants’ Carl Hubbell famously struck out legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin all in a row.
Following his extensive major-league umpiring career, Moriarty worked as a scout, a writer, and in other roles, and spent the rest of his days in Miami, where he passed away on April 8, 1964, at the age of 79 due to kidney cancer. He was buried at Saint Mary Catholic Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
Jun 18, 2026; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson speaks during a ceremony at New York City Hall after the championship parade. Brunson was the finals MVP. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
July 7, 1p.m. EST Update: According to the New York Post’s Jared Schwartz, Brunson has already undergone surgery, and it was on his left hand/wrist, not his right, as reported elsewhere. The recovery table, per Schwartz, is expected to be six to eight weeks.
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is still less than a month removed from winning the NBA Finals, but he’s now getting ready for an offseason spent almost exclusively on the sidelines, according to SNY insider Ian Begley.
“SNY sources: Jalen Brunson will be recovering/rehabbing for at least two months following his surgery to repair injury in his right forearm/wrist area.
@KnicksFanTv reports that the procedure will happen on Tuesday. Brunson played through discomfort in the area during Finals run, per sources,“ Begley tweeted.
Knowing that Brunson dealt with an injury throughout the playoffs makes his run to the Finals even more impressive. This isn’t the first time Brunson has dealt with a wrist injury in his NBA career, but it appears the Knicks star will have to rehab once again.
The surgery will keep Brunson off of the court for the next two months, but the goal will be to have him ready for the start of the regular season. With the timeline for his recovery beginning today, this means he should be back to normal by the middle of September, which should mean he is ready for training camp towards the end of the month.
If there is a time to undergo a surgery like this, it’s now. Brunson will work every day during the offseason to get his body right, as the Knicks need him ready for action when training camp begins so that New York can prepare to win their second title in as many seasons.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks during Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 21, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers and superstar guard Donovan Mitchell have reportedly agreed to a new four-year $273 million contract extension according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
BREAKING: Cleveland Cavaliers All-NBA star Donovan Mitchell has agreed on a four-year, $273 million maximum contract extension that includes a player option for the 2030-31 season and a full trade kicker, CAA's Co-Head of Basketball, Austin Brown, tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/7gfOG4n5l1
Mitchell could have waited until next offseason for an extra year on the deal, along with an additional $80 million tacked on. Instead, Mitchell signed on the first possible day he was able to. The deal keeps Mitchell in town through the 2029-30 season, which is a year after the last pick is owed to the Utah Jazz for the initial trade that made him a Cavalier.
This is the second contract extension Mitchell has received from the Cavs, and a vote of confidence in Cleveland’s front office to remedy the roster issues for another run at a title this upcoming season. Mitchell was entering the final year of his deal, which will now be replaced by this extension. In all four seasons in Cleveland, Mitchell has been named an All-Star each season, achieved All-NBA status three times, and produced some of the best statistical seasons of his career.
The Cavs have yet to agree to terms with free agent James Harden, though the two sides are reportedly working through a revised deal that would lower his annual salary. Mitchell was an advocate of acquiring Harden at the trade deadline, to which the front office made happen at the expense of Darius Garland. There is no doubt that Mitchell has had at least some level of significant influence in front office decisions. There is another future Hall of Fame player he would also be interested in teaming up with.
According to Charania, Mitchell could also be open to playing alongside LeBron James should he return to Cleveland this summer. The Cavs are one of several teams interested in signing James, though Cleveland appears to be the front runner.
It’s a massive day on the diamond with 16 games, and I’ve got a trio of MLB same-game parlay predictions to cover you throughout the action on Tuesday, July 7.
My top MLB picks call for plenty of offense in the Chicago Cubs vs. Baltimore Orioles matchup, and wrap up with the Minnesota Twins cashing in as home favorites (-118) against the Cleveland Guardians tonight.
Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki are also well-positioned to stay hot against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Shane Baz, who owns a pedestrian 4.47 xERA and xFIP.
With Athletics righty J.T. Ginn sporting a 4.88 xFIP and 1.55 WHIP across his past five starts, the Tigers are set to cash in at the dish again tonight and pull away for the lopsided win. This total is also too low, with the Athletics ranking fourth in ISO and seventh in wOBA against lefties.
Bradley has spun a tidy 2.24 xERA while holding opposing hitters to a 7.4% blast contact rate across his past three starts, so I like him to cruise through the Cleveland lineup tonight.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Suspension had been imposed after invasion of Ukraine
Decision on Russian anthem and flag still unclear
The International Olympic Committee has lifted the suspension on Russia that was imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, paving the way for the Russian team to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Only a handful of Russians were able to compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and this year’s Milano Cortina Winter Games as authorised neutral athletes, after an IOC vetting panel checked whether they had offered any public support for the war in Ukraine.
We are now 4 days away from the 2026 MLB Draft, where the Washington Nationals will have the 11th overall pick and are looking to add another key piece to their farm system and a potential building block towards long-term success. Yesterday, I completed my draft big board, which you can read here if you are interested, and I wanted to create a game where fans could get more engaged not only in who the Nationals will be picking, but also in everyone ahead of them as well.
Thus, I created the MLB Draft Prediction Game, a game where you predict the top 11 picks of the 2026 MLB Draft and gain points the more often you are correct. Correctly predicting who a team will draft is worth 5 points, predicting the position that they draft from is worth 2 points, and predicting if a team chooses a high school or college prospect is worth one point.
The added twist for Nats fans is that all points from correct predictions of the Nationals pick are worth three times as much, so correctly predicting who the Nationals will select is worth as much as predicting three other picks.
The overall winner is whoever accumulates the most points once the game has ended. The prize for the winner, if they want it, will be eternal glory, and a shoutout in our post-draft article here on Federal Baseball. Feel free to also copy your results after you submit and discuss your methods in the comments below. Check out the game below, and enjoy!
Jalen Brunsonwas playing through significant wrist pain during the Knicks’ 2026 championship run and will have surgery to repair a left wrist/forearm injury.
The Knicks have not released a timeline for recovery, but league sources say Brunson will be rehabbing/recovering for at least two months.
Brunson was dealing with the ailment during the postseason. He averaged 28 points and six assists in the postseason, which he capped off with a 45-point Game 5 to clinch the championship.
Brunson was named NBA Finals MVP for his role in helping the Knicks snap a 53-year title drought.
To know that he was doing all of this while battling a wrist injury makes it even more remarkable.
The AL East race is a bit tighter today following the Yankees 5-1 win at Tropicana Field last night over the Rays (52-36). Tampa Bay now leads New York by three games in the division as the teams prepare for the second game of this week’s four-game series.
New York opened the series with that win thanks in large part to their ace, Cam Schlittler. Schlittler worked eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out eight without and issuing no walks. The Yankees’ offense was limited to just three hits but each of the three was a home run. Jose Caballero cranked out a pair and Ben Rice added one of his own to account for the Yankees’ runs. Griffin Jax absorbed the loss for Tampa despite striking out 10 Yankees over five innings. The Rays managed only four hits and just a single run.
The win was New York’s second in their last ten games while Tampa Bay now has lost three straight.
The Yankees hand the ball tonight to Will Warren. Through 89.1 innings, Warren owns a 7-3 record and 3.73 ERA with 91 strikeouts and a 1.33 WHIP. Warren's most recent appearance was July 1 against Detroit. He allowed two runs over 5.1 innings in a 6-2 loss. Tampa Bay counters with left-hander Ian Seymour, who has quietly put together a strong first season in the Rays' rotation. Seymour is 5-1 with a 4.02 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 60 strikeouts in 56 innings. Opponents have managed just 40 hits against him. Seymour's most recent outing came on July 2 at Kansas City where he allowed one run over six innings in a 5-2 win.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Yankees vs. Rays
Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Time: 6:40PM EST
Site: Tropicana Field
City: St. Petersburg, FL
Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, YES, Rays.TV, TBS
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.
The Latest Odds: Yankees vs. Rays
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: New York Yankees (+101), Tampa Bay Rays (-122)
Spread: Rays -1.5 (+169), Yankees +1.5 (-207)
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers and their Stats: Rays vs. Yankees for July 7
Rays: Ian Seymour Season Totals: 56.0 IP, 5-1, 4.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 60K, 21 BB
Yankees: Will Warren Season Totals: 89.1 IP, 7-3, 3.73 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 91K, 29 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Yankees vs. Rays
Trent Grisham is 3-13 over his last 4 games since returning from the disabled list
Jose Caballero is 4-12 in July with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs
Paul Goldschmidt is without a hit in his last 8 games (0-26)
Ben Rice is 1-3 with 1 HR in his career against Ian Seymour
Cody Bellinger is 2-21 (.095) to start July after going 2-27 over his last 8 games in June
Bellinger is 3-3 including 1 HR and 1 2B in his career against Ian Seymour
Yandy Diaz is 3-7 in his career against Will Warren
Cedric Mullins is 5-21 in July
Chandler Simpson has hit in 9 straight games (12-33) and 13 of his last 14 (19-51)
Jonathan Aranda is 2-5 including 1 HR in his career against Will Warren
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!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Yankees vs. Rays
The Yankees are 41-49 on the Run Line this season
The Rays are an MLB-best 53-35 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 38 times in Tampa’s 88 games this season (38-46-4)
The OVER has cashed 40 times in the Yankees’ 90 games this season (40-46-4)
Expert picks & predictions: Yankees vs. Rays
Rotoworld Bet 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 tonight’s game between the Rays and the Yankees:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Yankees on the Moneyline.
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Run Line.
Total: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 8.0
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 8: Landry Shamet #44 and Mohamed Diawara #51 of the New York Knicks look on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 8, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The New York Knicks entered the offseason trying to keep as much of their championship roster together as possible in an impossible task due to owner James Dolan’s second-apron mandate. Alas.
New York, very obviously and inevitably, lost longtime center and Knickerbocker Mitchell Robinson to the Boston Celtics of all teams, and fellow big man Ariel Hukporti to the all-five-no-bench Philadelphia 76ers.
But, hey! Not all is bad news, as the Knicks still retained several rotation players and depth pieces after winning the NBA title, while they still wait to know more or act on others, such as veteran Filipino Jordan Clarkson and his future.
Once the moratorium lifted on July 6, and as stupid as the waiting is in this, the year 2026 of our Lord in which everything is reported a month before it actually happens, the Knicks made official the new deals for the Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Mohamed Diawara bench trinity.
Better than the Knicks just dropping three posts on X and elsewhere was the reveal of a bunch of tiny-but-saucy details about those contracts and how Leon Rose and Brock Aller worked their ways to structure them.
The Athletic’s Fred Katz reported that Shamet’s money is only partially guaranteed in the last two years of the contract, while he also included a player option in the final season of his new four-year, $24 million deal, per SNY’s Ian Begley.
“Landry Shamet has a player option in the final year of his deal, per SNY league sources. Structure gives Shamet long term stability with team & coach that highly value him while maintaining flexibility.”
Shamet became a key bench piece last season under Mike Brown, eventually earning a regular role through the Knicks’ postseason run. And now, by leaving the last year of his contract as an option, we might be in front of another Alvarado-like situation four years from now.
According to HoopsHype, only one player (Mikal Bridges, $41.5 million) was under contract for the 2029-30 season before Shamet inked his deal. Now both have player options to execute the summer before, albeit we still don’t know (although I think we all agree what’s coming) what the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson will be operating under at that time once they re-sign with the Knicks.
The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III touched on Alvarado’s three-year, $14 million deal, reporting that it’s guaranteed for $12 million, with a $2.7 million partial guarantee in the final season.
Alvarado declined a $4.5 million player option at the end of June before returning to New York on a cheaper per-year deal, with the potential of reaching a slight bump up in total earnings if he gets that partially-guaranteed chunk of dough.
Finally, in the biggest news of the day and those impacting the current offseason plans in the biggest way (considering the tiny margins for maneuvering), Katz reported Diawara’s new contract is worth $11.2 million over four years, with only the first two seasons guaranteed.
Katz added that Diawara’s starting salary is at $2.6 million in 2026-27, above the minimum but lower than the deal’s AAV of $2.8 million.
No new details emerged over Drummond’s contract with the Knicks after the franchise made it official at midnight, along with the other three. The veteran center signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal (although only $2.4 million count against the cap) with New York, and all of the money is guaranteed, so it’s a fairly simple piece of business to understand.
After all of those moves, the Knicks have a hair above $6 million in cap space left before hitting the second apron, and New York still needs to fill two roster spots. Veteran minimum deals start at $2.18 million (one year of experience) and go all the way up to $3.87 million for players with 10-plus years of experience. That said, as in Drummond’s case, they only count $2.4 million for cap purposes in all cases.
All Knicks’ reported or discussed FA targets (your Clarksons, Looneys, Valanciunases, DeRozans, etc…) come with that 10+ tag attached to them, but given the $2.4 million quirk, New York could try and sign two veterans (for a combined $4.8 million against the cap maximum) and not get over the second apron. Otherwise, if there aren’t many convincing veteran options, the Knicks could sign just one and leave the other roster spot open for rookie Tyler Nickel… unless they can dump someone (looking at you Paco) and open space elsewhere, or find a proper trade partner. Anyway, trust nothing you just read, cause I’m no capologist.
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