The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that they signed former New York Islander and New York Ranger defenseman Carson Soucy pro tryout contract.
Per a CBJ PR release, Don Waddell says of Soucy, “Carson Soucy is a big, physical stay-at-home defenseman who blocks shots, clears the net and plays an overall solid defensive game,” said Waddell. “He is a competitive, experienced player and we look forward to having him in camp.”
Soucy has played 441 career NHL games and has 99 total points. He played 30 games for the Islanders last season and had 4 points.
NEWS: #CBJ have signed defenseman Carson Soucy to a pro tryout contract.
The blueliner has recorded 32-67-99 in 441 games over eight NHL campaigns. He split the 2025-26 season between the NY Rangers and NY Islanders, combining for 5-7-12 in 76 games.https://t.co/CJ1qJ6otnT
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 12: Rafael Devers #16 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres in the bottom of the first inning at Oracle Park on September 12, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rafael Devers’ brilliant season has come to a close, as has his quest for 40 home runs. On Sunday, ahead of their series finale against the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants announced that their star slugger is headed to the Injured List with a season-ending core muscle injury.
According to the Giants, Devers has been dealing with the injury for most of the season, and will meet with a specialist. Like Matt Chapman, who also had a core muscle injury, Devers could be headed for surgery, though he should have plenty of time to heal up before Spring Training.
Devers ends his first full season with the Giants with a stunning .258/.340/.525 slash line, good for a 135 wRC+ and 3.4 fWAR. Those numbers are even more stunning when you remember just how bad he was slumping to start the season; but since May 1, Devers has been third among all qualified Major League hitters in both OPS (.953) and wRC+ (157). He trails only MVP favorites Pete Crow-Armstrong and Yordan Alvarez in both categories, and also is eighth in the Majors in fWAR during that time (4.1).
The injury will keep Devers from achieving a trio of notable benchmarks, as he ends the year with 37 home runs, 36 doubles, and 98 runs batted in.
Taking Devers’ spot on the roster is outfielder Scott Bandura, who has been called up for his MLB debut. No additional corresponding move was made, as Devers was placed on the 60-Day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Bandura.
Bandura, who was drafted by the Giants in the seventh round in 2023, has had a spectacular breakout season. The 25-year old lefty, who played college ball at Princeton, started the year with AA Richmond, but was promoted to AAA Sacramento early in the year. After a slow start with the River Cats, Bandura caught absolute fire, and ends his AAA tenure having hit .318/.398/.492 (134 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 94 games. Bandura played quality defense at all three outfield spots with Sacramento, and stole 24 bases in 26 attempts. While this move makes the Giants roster even more crowded — they have 56 players on the 40-man roster — Bandura had played his way into Rule 5 protection, so he was going to need to be added to the roster in the coming months regardless.
Many fans will be wondering why the Giants opted for Bandura over Bo Davidson, but Davidson suffered a mild injury a few games ago after fouling a pitch off his foot.
Duke basketball blessed Celtics fans with some electric offseason content. At this point of the offseason, any morsel of Celtics content can help satiate us for another moment as we inch closer to the start of the season. This time, it comes courtesy of a 59-second highlight video featuring plenty of Jayson Tatum in what appears to be a scrimmage between current Duke players and program alumni.
When Jayson Tatum returned from his Achilles injury last season, every time he suited up felt like we were being treated to something special. The novelty has not worn off. Seeing JT moving as explosively and fluidly, even in a highly curated social media clip, has me dreaming of big things for Jayson Tatum in this upcoming season.
In the 22 games across the regular season and playoffs, Tatum put up 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists on 56% true shooting. And when you zoom in on the last 10 games of his campaign, those numbers jump up to 23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists on 60% true shooting. The star forward was dropped into the middle of a ramp up for the playoffs, coming off a catastrophic injury, and was able to regain a lot of his All-NBA superpowers relatively effortlessly. When you factor in how good Tatum was in the sample we already saw, and then give him a full offseason to get his legs under him, it’s easy to envision the Celtics star regaining his status as a perennial All-NBA 1st Team member.
This also gave us another opportunity to update our #CalfWatch files. The further Tatum gets from his achille injury, the more normal his calf appears. After asking the computer to enhance multiple times, we have some 4K quality comparisons of Tatum’s current left and right calf.
Just as his first full season in San Francisco was reaching historic heights, Giants slugger Rafael Devers' year is over with 13 games remaining.
The Giants placed Devers on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Sept. 13 with a core muscle injury that has dogged him for much of this season. The club said Devers, who turns 30 next month, will be examined by specialist William Meyers in Philadelphia on Monday and will undergo a procedure the following day if deemed necessary.
Devers certainly went out with a bang: He hit his 37th home run Saturday at Oracle Park against the San Diego Padres, one day after hitting a grand slam. He hit 11 home runs in his last 18 games.
Rafael Devers stats
Devers finished the season with 37 home runs, his most since hitting a career-high 38 in 2021. His .865 OPS and .258/.340/.525 line marked a significant leap from his first half-season in San Francisco, when he batted .236 with an .807 OPS following a trade from Boston to pitcher-friendly Oracle Park. He also drove in 98 runs.
More significantly, he's firmly reestablished himself as the player upon whom the Giants can build around. And that's a significant lift, as the Giants have posted a 62-87 record in manager Tony Vitello's first season.
PHOENIX - OCTOBER 11: A general view of the exterior of Chase Field prior to Game One of the National League Championship Series between the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on October 11, 2007 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
RANGERS
DIAMONDBACKS
Joc Pederson – DH
Lars Nootbaar – LF
Corey Seager – SS
Ketel Marte – 2B
Josh Jung – 3B
Gabriel Moreno – C
Brandon Nimmo – RF
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Ezequiel Duran – CF
Corbin Carroll – RF
Wyatt Langford – LF
Nolan Arenado – 3B
Jake Burger – 1B
Tim Tawa – 1B
Nicky Lopez – 2B
Pavin Smith – DH
Elias Diaz – C
Ryan Waldschmidt – CF
Kumar Rocker – RHP
Brandon Pfaadt – RHP
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ active roster is at 28 and the 40-man roster is at 39.
Recalled from Triple-A Reno: INF Jose Fernandez
Designated for assignment: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
The end of the Gurriel era in Arizona. Lourdes came over from Toronto along with Gabriel Moreno, in the Daulton Varsho trade, and made an immediate impression, batting .261 with 24 home-runs in 2023, for a value of 2.9 bWAR. He was a free-agent at the end of the season, but re-signed to Arizona on a three-year contract with a value of $42 million. There was also a team option for 2027, which will presumably now become the (rather expensive) $5 million buyout. This deal will not go down as one of Mike Hazen’s finest, Gurriel’s production plummeting after signing: 1.9 to 0.6 to -0.7 bWAR. All told, $47 million for 1.8 bWAR is a poor investment.
We’ll see what today brings, yesterday having brought us the latest in “Season over” reactions from a number of fans. I lose count of how many times that has happened before this year. I don’t think, personally, I’ll start losing hope until we are more than three games behind San Diego, at which point the final series would become irrelevant. But that could potentially happen as soon as tomorrow, and the team can ill-afford to drop a home series, with only 12 games to go after today. Time for Eduardo Rodriguez to step up and do Eduardo Rodriguez things, which he has been doing all year long.
The Diamondbacks have gone 22-7 in his appearances. With three outings still remaining, it’s the most team W’s for a starter since Zack Greinke’s 23 in 2017. If ERod can play his part in two more and reach 24, that’ll be the most since 2011, when the D-backs were 25-8 in Ian Kennedy starts. Unsurprisingly, the franchise record belongs to the Big Unit: in 2002, Arizona went 29-6 with him on the mound. Now, obviously, Rodriguez himself doesn’t have 22 wins. It’s a still impressive 15-5. But over the nine no-decisions, with the Diamondbacks going 7-2, he has a 2.51 ERA. So he has kept the team close enough for the offense to get it done after he left the game. It has truly been an ace-level season.
LeahAZFan will bring you the guest recap post-game, so stick around for that!
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 16: Noah Cameron #65 of the Kansas City Royals throws a pitch in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 16, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Kansas City Royals will finish their series in Boston at some point today, in a rubber match contest. The Royals won the Friday night contest 3-2, but dropped the late afternoon game on Saturday 5-1.
The Royals are currently 66-83 and are on the brink of finally being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs this season.
Lefty Noah Cameron starts today for the Royals. Here is the Royals starting lineup behind him.
The Red Sox are 81-68 on the season, and very close to securing a playoff berth as the second wild card team, which means like last season, they’d head to the Bronx to take on the Yankees in a best of 3 in the Wild Card round.
It’s rather remarkable that they are in this position considering their horrific start, before they fired almost every coach in the dugout and then didn’t lose for like a month.
Anyways, Payton Tolle, another left hander starts for the Red Sox today. Former Royal, Nate Eaton bats ninth and plays center today for Boston.
After this game, which was pushed back due to rain and is currently in a delay from the pushed back start, is over, the Royals travel to Houston for a three-game series. Whenever this game is started, you can watch it on Royals.TV. Until then, watch the NFL!
NEWARK, NJ -- On Sunday, the New York Islanders' prospects battled the New Jersey Devils' prospects.
After a scoreless first period, Daniil Prokhorov, whom the Islanders selected in the second round (No. 42) of the 2025 NHL Draft, lit the lamp to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:56 of the second.
Off the rush, Luca Romano, whom the Islanders selected in the third round (No. 74) of the 2025 NHL Draft, fed Prokhorov in the low slot before he beat Jakub Malek under the glove for the opening tally at 5:56 of the second:
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 04: Alejandro Osuna #19 of the Texas Rangers bats against the San Francisco Giants at Globe Life Field on August 04, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers have recalled outfielder Alejandro Osuna from AAA Round Rock, the team announced today. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have optioned infielder Cam Cauley to AAA Round Rock.
The move to bring up Osuna — who was just a two hour flight away from Phoenix, in Sacramento — was not unexpected. Joc Pederson left yesterday’s game after being hit in the hand with a pitch, and Osuna was lifted from Round Rock’s game soon thereafter, and likely booked on the first available Southwest Airlines flight from SMF to PHX. Osuna gives the Rangers a lefthanded bat to DH and come off the bench while Pederson is sidelined.
Cauley, meanwhile, will likely be on the team flight back to D/FW tonight rather than heading to Round Rock. Pederson is, per the beats, going to see a hand specialist, and there would seem to be a pretty good chance he lands on the 10 day injured list, in which case Cauley could be back up, although Kyle Higashioka, who has been on a rehab assignment with Round Rock, would also be an option.
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 13: Gabriel Hughes #43 of the Colorado Rockies gestures after throwing a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning at Comerica Park on September 13, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies really needed a win, in part to break a nine-game road losing streak and a six-game overall losing streak; in part to get them back on track to stay under 100 losses; and in part of salve their wounded spirits.
Unfortunately, today was not their day to get that win as the Rockies lost to the Detroit Tigers 8-1.
An early Adael Amador homer was easily the game’s highlight while the pitching continues to struggle.
With this loss, the Rockies have lost seven consecutive games in addition to their last 10 on the road. Their second-half record is 16-35.
“Sometimes, it’s just a bad stretch,” said manager Warren Schaeffer after the game.
The offense started strong — and quickly sputtered
Adael Amador got things off to a quick start when he hit a home run (4) in the second at-bat of the game.
“He’s making an impact every game,” Schaeffer said. “He’s starting to show up this year at the big-league level, which is fantastic.”
The lead would be short-lived, however, when Gabriel Hughes — after getting two quick outs — allowed a two-run homer to Riley Greene in the Tigers half of the first.
Already, the Rockies found themselves with a one-run deficit.
The Rockies got two quick outs before third baseman Vimael Machín hit a single. All was for naught, however, since he was quickly thrown out at first by Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler to end the inning.
In the second inning, the Tigers continued to make progress.
The Rockies lost the opportunity to erase a Max Clark stolen base because the coaching staff waited too long to issue a challenge. With just one out recorded, Josh Peck hit an RBI single to score Clark and leave runners at the corners. Kevin McGonigle then hit a two-RBI triple, and the score was 5-1 with one out and Hughes at 55 pitches.
Fifteen pitches and five batters later, the Rockies tallied the third out with the score still at 5-1.
Both the Rockies and Tigers failed to get a hit in the third inning with Zach Agnos entering the game for Hughes.
In the fourth inning, TJ Rumfield walked again, extending his on-base streak to 19 games. Given that Mickey Moniak and Troy Johnston struck out in his wake, it did not matter, and the score remained 5-1.
Agnos kicked off the fourth inning by issuing back-to-back-to-back walks. Hao-Yu Lee hit a sacrifice fly to expand the Tigers lead, 6-1. Greene added his own RBI single, and the score was 7-1.
Again, the Rockies were retired in order in the fifth.
Nick Frasso entered the game to pitch the bottom of the fifth. After striking out the first batter he faced, Spencer Torkelson hit a home run, making the score 8-1.
The Rockies could not manage annother hit until the seventh inning when Rumfield knocked a single. Following that, Moniak notched his third K of the day, and Jackson Jobe’s day was over — his first time as a professional to get an out in the seventh inning.
Jobe’s final line was 6.1 IP with one run (earned) on three hits. He walked one and struck out eight.
Brant Hurter entered the game in relief and promptly gave up a single to Machín, but the Rockies were unable to capitalize, and the score remained 8-1.
After a disastrous Saturday, Jaden Hill entered the game to pitch the eighth. After getting the first two batters quickly, he issued a walk. He got the third out without allowing a run.
With two outs, Moniak hit a double.
The final line for the Rockies offense was one run on five hits. They walked once and struck out 11 times.
Gabriel Hughes had a (really) short day
The quest for his first MLB win continues.
Gabriel Hughes continues to struggle in finding a put-away pitch. He was already at 29 pitches at the end of the first inning after putting away the first two batters he faced relatively easily. (To provide a contrast, though two innings, Tigers starter Jackson Jobe threw 25 pitches.)
To be fair, not all of Hughes’ struggles stemmed from the ability to get outs. The Rockies failure to issue a timely challenge to the Max Clark steal kept Hughes with just one out longer than might have been necessary. Still, Hughes was unable to get outs.
By the end of the second inning, Hughes was at 70 pitches, the second-most by any player in MLB this season.
He was not helped, either, by an offense that could not figure out Jackson Jobe and too often had short at-bats.
He relied most heavily on his four-seamer (37%) followed by his changeup (21%), then his sinker (16%) followed by his curveball (14%).
The final line: 2.0 IP allowing five runs (earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Currently, Hughes has a 6.37 ERA.
“I just think Gabe didn’t have his best stuff today,” Schaeffer said, noting especially Hughes’ lack of control of his breaking pitches.
The bullpen slogged through another long game
Schaeffer went to his already exhausted bullpen in the third inning.
Agnos had a brisk seven-pitch third inning that saw him retiring the batters in order. However, his luck did not extend into the fourth. His final line was 2.o IP with two runs (earned) on one hit. He walked three and struck out one on 36 pitches.
The fifth inning went to Frasso who struck out two and allowed one home run. He threw 17 pitches.
Jimmy Herget took the sixth for a quick three-up, three-down inning and was back for a longer seventh inning. His final line was 2.0 IP with one hit, one walk, and one strike out on 30 pitches. He did not allow a run.
As for Hill, he went 1.0 IP with issuing no hits, but one strike out and one walk on 24 pitches.
In total, Rockies pitching allowed eight runs on eight hits. They also issued seven walks and seven strikeouts on 177 pitches.
Up next
Tomorrow, the Rockies will — mercifully — return to Coors Field for the final home stand of 2026.
They will welcome the postseason-contending San Diego Padres with Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) schedule to face a pitcher to be named later.
Texas Rangers pitcher Cal Quantrill (44) throws against Detroit Tigers during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, May 2, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Sep 7, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Let’s…. not talk about last night. Today is a new day! And thanks to their walk off win on Friday night the A’s have a golden chance at another series win. Over a division rival. Who is fighting to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Perfect time for another W, my friends.
Taking the ball for the home team will be Jacob Lopez. The southpaw has turned his season fully around and has been one of the better pitchers in the American League since rejoining the A’s rotation. Can he keep that up today in Sacramento against a hungry Mariners lineup that is on desperation and panic mode?
Here’s the Athletics’ lineup for the series finale:
The Mariners meanwhile have right-hander Bryce Miller taking the ball for them in the finale. Miller has been so-so overall but has been struggling of late. That’s perfect news for the A’s, who are ready for the chance at the young righty.
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 13: Jackson Jobe #21 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the second inning at Comerica Park on September 13, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Sunday afternoon the Tigers went for the home sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the finale of a three-game weekend series. They accomplished said feat in convincing fashion, on the back of some nice power hitting and excellent starting pitching, winning 8-1 to broom the visitors out of town. Come back anytime, Rockies.
Getting the start for the Tigers was Jackson Jobe, who looked sharper in his previous outing, a five-inning, two-run start in Cleveland. He struck out a then-season-high seven batters, against a Guardians lineup that doesn’t strike out a whole lot.
Gabriel Hughes started for Colorado, and it’s been a rough go of it so far for him in his rookie year. But here’s a weird one: his ERA at that kooky altitude is 3.81, but is almost 8 away from Colorado. Maybe he really likes something in Denver? I think they sell a product in that state that people enjoy.
Both teams traded home runs in the first inning: Adael Amador hit a solo shot for Colorado, but Riley Greene countered with a two-run tater after Colt Keith had hit a ground-rule double to put the Tigers up 2-1:
With two out in the top of the second, Dillon Dingler back-picked Vimael Machín for the final out of the inning. It took a review, but the call was (eventually) out.
In the bottom of the inning Max Clark, who had three hits in Saturday’s game, singled and stole second; Zach McKinstry walked, and Clark scored on John Peck’s single. Both McKinstry and Peck then came around to score on Kevin McGonigle’s triple off the very top of the right-centrefield wall, just below the yellow line (which was confirmed on review); when the dust settled the Tigers were up 5-1.
Colt Keith walked with two out to put runners on the corners, but Greene grounded out and the inning was over.
That was going to be it for Hughes, with Zach Agnos taking over and retiring the Tigers in short order in the third. Jobe, on the other hand, was looking good: aside from the early home run, and a hit-by-pitch in the second, he was hitting 99 mph with his fastball, throwing plenty of strikes, and his breaking stuff was sharp.
In the bottom of the fourth, Agnos walked the first three batters of the inning; Hao-Yu Lee hit a shallow fly ball to right field and McKinstry aggressively scored on the play to make it 6-1. Greene followed with a single to plate McGonigle to make it 7-1, his third RBI of the game.
Spencer Torkelson made it 8-1 in the fifth with a solo home run to left-centre:
That fastball couldn’t be more middle-middle if you’d walked right up to the plate and placed it in the catcher’s mitt yourself. But hey, you gotta punish mistakes like that, right?
Jobe, on the other hand, didn’t make too many mistakes in his 6 1/3-inning outing: in the seventh he gave up a leadoff single but then struck out Mickey Moniak for his eighth whiff of the day, a career high. Jobe’s final line was 6 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K, and he threw 56 of his 87 pitches for strikes. Brant Hurter took over and got a flyout to right, but a blooper to centre put two runners on. A soft line drive to shortstop took care of the third out, though.
Hurter carried on into the eighth and got the first out, giving way to Yilber Díaz who got a pair of groundnuts to finish the frame. Since it wasn’t a particularly close game he finished it up, surrendering a double with two out in the ninth which was of no consequence, and punching out two with some good sliders. Hooray!
Colt Keith has some interesting batting splits, based on where he is (or isn’t) in the field. As a third baseman (182 plate appearances), his OPS is a robust .824; as a DH (156 PA), it’s .677; as a first baseman (50 PA) it’s .602.
Justin Verlander’s been working hard to make at least one more start before his season-ending retirement. You have to admire that: he could very easily just coast along until the end of the season, but he certainly hasn’t.
Congratulations to Keider Montero and his family who just had a baby girl. He made it back to Venezuela just in time.
On this day in 1848, a railroad worker in Vermont named Phineas Gage was involved in an accident in which a 1 1/4” (32 mm) steel rod went completely through his head, destroying a part of his brain. Gage somehow survived the accident, but the brain injury altered his personality in several ways, allowing doctors to study him in great detail. (If you’ve ever taken an introductory psychology course, you’ve definitely studied Gage’s case.)
SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 14: Kyle Lewis #1 of the Seattle Mariners robs Ramon Laureano #22 of the Oakland Athletics of a home run during the first inning in the second game of a doubleheader at T-Mobile Park on September 14, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The beauty of baseball is that there’s always another game tomorrow. Lose in a blowout or a heartbreaking walk-off? You can flush it away with another game tomorrow. But the opposite is also true. Win in historic fashion? Well, there’s another game tomorrow. And so after winning 19-1 last night on the back of Michael Arroyo’s first hit and first home run, Weston Wilson’s first five-hit game, and about a thousand other good things, the Mariners have to play again today. How to follow it up in a way that doesn’t feel disappointing will be the challenge.
Lineups
Uh, yeah, Michael Arroyo and Weston Wilson get starts again today. Duh.
Bryce Miller takes the mound in Sacramento for the second time this year. Back in May, he gave up two runs over five innings. Kate profiled Miller earlier today, including some great quotes from the sneaky smart Texan.
The lineups from this iteration of the A’s will never look normal to me, even if it has Butler, Gelof, and Muncy as mainstays.
Game Info
First pitch: 1:05 PDT TV: Mariners TV Radio: Old Reliable
Today in baseball history
September 13, 1983: Rickey Henderson steals three bases in Oakland’s win over Texas. Those take him to 101 for the year, making him the first player to steal 100 bases in three consecutive seasons.
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 24: Khaman Maluach #10 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball during the game against the Denver Nuggets on March 24, 2026 at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
If you’re a Suns fan who isn’t living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that newly re-signed center Mark Williams will be out until at least the All-Star Break with a torn labrum, if not longer. This leaves Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach as the only centers left on the team, and Ighodaro is more of a PF/C size-wise.
Williams had been the presumptive starter for the team, and Oso the back-up, with Maluach getting spot minutes here and there. This was despite Maluach’s dominant summer league performances where he resembled nothing so much as Will Ferrell in Elf. There was significant debate as to where Maluach would find playing time, but Williams’ injury just opened things up.
The presumptive starter on opening day is Ighodaro, but I believe that would be a mistake. Ighodaro has absolutely no shooting range, no three-point shot to speak of; he’s undersized and doesn’t rebound. His strengths are based around his mobility, high basketball IQ, and willingness to play the team game. The problem is that his weaknesses exacerbate the problems with the (presumptive) rest of the starting unit of Green, Booker, Brooks, and Bridges.
As many others have written about these four, they’re not great three-point shooters, undersized, not good rebounders, and lack the size to protect the rim. Ighodaro takes all of those issues and either makes them worse or does nothing to address them. Maluach, on the other hand, seems like a better fit.
First and foremost, he looked like a legitimate three-point threat in summer league (8 of 20 for 40%), and given his work ethic, age, and rapid development so far, I suspect that won’t be a mirage. Adding a legit 40%, three-point shooting center to the starting lineup will help create space for the supposed offensive goal of getting more penetration drives for shots at the rim. Playing Oso allows the opposing center to camp in the paint, mooting the entire point of trading for guys who are supposedly better at getting shots at the rim.
It’s hard to overstate the value of centers who provide space: back in the day when Steve Nash and Channing Frye were on the team, they were always neck-and-neck for who would lead the team in box plus/minus and net plus-minus per 48. Which is a fancy way of saying that statistically, Channing Frye was as important to the team’s winning as Nash was, and all he really brought to the table was being a switchable 4/5 that could hit threes and provide spacing.
Conversely, Oso seems like a better fit with the second unit of Gillespie, Goodwin, Kennard, and Fleming. All four of them are somewhere between good at three-point shooting (Fleming), to God-tier (Kennard, Gillespie). Fleming is long, tall, and heavy enough to play a little small-ball center, meaning that this unit doesn’t suffer some of the size issues as the starters. Oso’s lack of shooting range doesn’t matter nearly as much, but his ability to facilitate offensive flow will work well with a bunch of players who aren’t stars who can create their own shot but can absolutely hit open threes at a deadly rate.
Maluach doesn’t have to close out games either: he’s very young and still going to be pretty raw. That’s a problem for a competitive team going into crunch time in the fourth quarter. I suspect as the season wears on, and some of the issues with the Suns rotation become more apparent (I wrote about issues with how Green and Bridges fit here), we could see Gillespie, Kennard, Goodwin, and Fleming getting minutes late in the fourth quarter when the team needs stops on defense and spacing for Booker to operate on offense.
Oso makes more sense in these sorts of situations where they need a more polished, reliable, high basketball IQ player to close out games if there are better three-point shooters on the floor with him. It wouldn’t be the first time the Suns have started games with one center and finished with another: Jarron Collins and Robin Lopez usually got the starting nod over Channing Frye from 2009-2011, but it was almost always Frye on the court to finish the game.
Of course, the Suns are going to experiment with lineups a little in pre-season, and we will see how the dynamics of the starting unit will play out in the first month of the season. But if things aren’t gelling (and I’m skeptical that they will), Jordan Ott might be wise to shake things up and see if Maluach is indeed a better fit with the rest of the starting unit.
Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt (Tommy John surgery recovery) is close to his 2026 season debut.
"Probably this week, potentially in Minnesota, but we'll see over the next couple days," New York manager Aaron Boone said Sunday morning, ahead of the Yankees' three-game series at the Twins -- starting Monday at 7:40 p.m.
Schmidt has been on a rehab assignment since Aug. 29 with the Yankees' Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliates.
"I think he could be huge," Boone said of Schmidt. "I think he's throwing the ball really well. His stuff's really good right now -- I feel like it has been for the last month. So, I think he definitely could be an interesting guy for us down there and, hopefully, that's the case."
New York plans to use Schmidt in the bullpen, and he embraces the opportunity.
"I think it will shake itself out as far as what the role is and, obviously, I'm a reliever," Schmidt said. "So, I think that how they use me in leverage or whatever the case may be -- I think it's going to shake itself out.
"I don't think I need to be throwing a bunch of innings -- three, four ups, stuff like that. And I probably don't see myself going back-to-back, but I want to work myself into leverage and pitch in big scenarios and try to pitch as much as I can and help guys in big situations."
