The JJ Wetherholt hype train continues to pick up steam as the St. Louis Cardinals get closer to Spring Training as Keith Law has just ranked him as the #7 prospect in baseball plus he makes a bold prediction about his future.
If you haven’t already subscribed to Keith Law’s work, I highly recommend it. The fact that the St. Louis Cardinals JJ Wetherholt was ranked in Keith’s top 10 wasn’t a surprise, but there’s one prediction that he made about JJ which is bold to say the least. Keith Law said “He’s the National League prospect about whom I’d feel most confident saying that he’ll win a batting average title some day.“ He praised JJ’s hard hit and barrel rates plus his use of all fields for his frequent contact. He did mention that Wetherholt’s 2-strike decision making could use some work, but his power numbers might actually go up in the big show eventually.
I’m frankly surprised that JJ didn’t rank higher in Keith’s list. MLB Pipeline had Wetherholt ranked at #5 just a few days ago, but there’s little doubt that the expectations for JJ being a huge part of the St. Louis Cardinals roster in 2026 remain sky-high. What JJ had to say during the Winter Warmup a week ago was interesting including his mention that there were some in the development pipeline that were encouraging him to focus on acquiring more pull power which he rebuked since he is an all-fields hitter. He mentions this just after the 7-minute mark in the video.
JJ Wetherholt – “I’m a swing decision guy. Make good swing decisions, control the zone, drive the ball to all fields…power is usually a tool that comes later…being myself and continuing to drive the ball to all fields and make good decisions”.
Prospect list season continued on Monday with the release of Keith Law’s top 100 list at The Athletic. His list joins recently-published ones by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. Five Orioles minor leaguers made the cut for Law’s list this year, headlined by Samuel Basallo at #8. Basallo has been a top ten prospect in the game on all of this year’s list that have been released by now.
The other Orioles prospects ranked on Law’s list: shortstop Wehiwa Aloy at #73, outfielder Nate George at #78, catcher/outfielder/? Ike Irish at #85, and outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. at #97. Dylan Beavers ranked pretty highly on the BA list at #21 but is absent from Law’s list entirely.
By the same token, Law has rated a few of these players who weren’t on either of the other two top 100s so far: Aloy, Irish, and Bradfield are, so far, only top 100 guys for Law. He liked the Orioles use of their high draft pick capital in the 2025 draft. The Orioles traded two more high picks from that draft to the Rays for Shane Baz. At this juncture, Caden Bodine and Slater de Brun have not cracked any top 100s.
There’s a good amount to be exciting about this group of players, with Basallo at the top:
(Basallo is) easily the best catching prospect in the minors right now, who hits and has significant power, and reached the majors just four days after his 21st birthday … Heʼs got power to all fields, peaking at 116 mph and hitting a third of his Triple-A homers the other way, and his Barrel rate was 21 percent. Only two MLB hitters last year topped that, and each won his respective leagueʼs MVP award.
When I copied that last sentence into this article, I made a “Whoa!” sound. That’s just incredible company for such a young player. The profile also includes praise for Basallo’s arm strength, though Law does note that Basallo is going to need to do some work on improving his swing decisions particularly once he falls behind in the count, and that he has more development to do to be able to handle a full-time catching workload. The Orioles are in a position where they don’t need Basallo to shoulder that load as long as Adley Rutschman is around.
It’s a ways down the list before Aloy comes up at #73. I was excited when the Orioles were able to draft him because he’s a player with some high upside even if he also comes with strikeout risk. Law on Aloy:
Aloy is a true shortstop with power, showing plus defense as an amateur with good lateral range and plenty of arm for the left side of the infield … He has 20-plus homer upside in a shortstop who should be at least a 55 defender — or a 60-plus if he ends up at third base — with his ultimate value coming down to whether he can pick up spin and cut down on the chase.
If this was the first player the Orioles chose in the draft, it would have felt like another possible Vance Honeycutt kind of “too many strikeouts” risk. They took Irish before going back around to Aloy, though, so all the eggs are not in this basket. Speaking of Irish, here’s what Law writes:
(Irish’s) upside is all about the bat: He makes very hard contact, works the count well and uses the entire field, with the potential for 20-25 homers if he trades some contact to try to pull the ball more. … Heʼs about a 40 defender in right, but if that even gets a 45 he should hit enough to be an above-average regular.
Also in this scouting capsule, Law included a note acknowledging that Irish has fallen below some other players from the 2025 draft who Law had ranked lower in his pre-draft rankings. There were some teams before the draft and some pro scouts after the draft whose opinions on Irish were lower than others, and that information has been incorporated into Law’s analysis now that Irish is in the pro ranks.
Last year’s out-of-nowhere surprise Nate George also cracks this ranking along with the other two that have been released. Law took note of George in a scouting report last summer with George getting the memorable description “plays like his hair is on fire,” which reappeared in this writeup. On George’s potential:
George plays like his hairʼs on fire, and while that phrase gets thrown around a lot, in his case it seems to make him a better player in every aspect of the game. Heʼs a twitchy athlete with quick hands at the plate and he shoots line drives to both gaps, with fringy power right now. Then he runs like a madman out of the box and doesnʼt stop until he reaches third base. Heʼs the kind of runner whoʼll throw his helmet off because itʼs slowing him down.
Sounds awesome. Law goes on to say about George that this is a player with “All-Star upside,” though he notes that mostly would involve George being able to develop above-average home run power that he doesn’t have yet.
Lowest on this list but still included in the top 100 is Bradfield, a player who has not gotten as much attention from other outlets because many evaluators aren’t convinced he’ll hit enough to make the most of his other tools. Those concerns remain somewhat even for Law, but he really likes what Bradfield can do:
Bradfield is still an 80 runner and a 70 or 80 defender in center field … with enough command of the strike zone to see a high floor for him as a second-division regular who generates 2 WAR in many seasons just on defense, speed and contact. … Heʼs going to save a ton of runs with his glove, as he combines good instincts with elite speed to cover a huge amount of ground.
A player who could do all that and didn’t have any hit questions would be consensus on every top prospect list and much higher-ranked than this. Law’s writeup includes the note that Bradfield’s “swing is still a work in progress,” not really the best phrase to hear about a first round pick from 2.5 years ago.
Other big rankings still to come include Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, and ESPN. It seems like a safe guess that Basallo will remain highly-ranked on all lists. I’m curious to see where the consensus starts to come together on some other Orioles prospects, and particularly whether any list other than Baseball America is putting top 100 rankings on any O’s pitching prospects.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust will have a hearing after his hit to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser on Sunday. The hit came in the last few seconds of the third period, with Rust making clear contact with Boeser's head. While Boeser did make it back to the bench on his own, he was skating next to the trainer and needed help standing up after the hit.
The hit was dangerous as Rust clearly stuck his elbow out and made contact with Boeser's head. Post-game, Head Coach Adam Foote did not have an update and was not happy with the play. Here is what Foote said to the media on Sunday.
"I don't have an update yet, but I just looked at the hit. It wasn't pretty. It was a headshot [...] I'm sure the league will look at it, because it was. Even though he may have been desperate to get Boes down because it was a scrum at the net, I still think it was something that you had to be in control of your body. I thought it was a little bit of a vicious hit to the head."
Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust will have a hearing for an illegal check to the head against Vancouver’s Brock Boeser. Date and time TBD.
Boeser's teammates were also not happy with the hit. Jake DeBrusk called it "a pretty dirty play," while Teddy Blueger said, "I don’t think Rusty is a dirty player, but I think it was pretty clear head contact." Rust was not penalized on the play.
Bryan Rust get the elbow up on Brock Boeser late in the third.
After falling to the Penguins on Sunday, the Canucks had a day off on Monday. More information on Boeser should be available on Tuesday after the morning skate. Boeser has played in 50 games this season, scoring 12 goals and recording 25 points.
Oct 26, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust (17) handles the puck during warm up prior to a game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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While most of the players the Nationals received in the MacKenzie Gore trade are years away from the big leagues, Abimelec Ortiz is an exception. He may not possess the upside or athleticism of other players in the deal, but Ortiz has proven he can mash. At some point in 2026, we are likely to see Ortiz’s bat in the Nats lineup.
When talking about the trade, Toboni echoed that sentiment. He said that we could see Ortiz at either first base or DH in the big leagues this year. Ortiz did play some outfield last season, but Toboni seems to view him as a 1B or DH type. Given his squatty 5’10 230 pound frame, it makes sense why Toboni sees him that way.
Paul Toboni: “You could see Ortiz at 1B/DH this year”
Scouts actually thought he looked surprisingly decent in the outfield in the Arizona Fall League, but the range is always going to be a limiting factor. He is a decent defender at first base, but is not elite by any means. The idea of a 5’10 first baseman is a little bit scary to me. He just is not able to get the high throws a prototypical 6’4 first baseman could get.
All of this means that Ortiz will have to absolutely mash to be an impactful big leaguer. He has done just that at the minor league level. In 2023, Ortiz hit 33 home runs across both A ball levels, putting his name on the map. Ortiz’s 2024 was an up and down year in a more pitcher friendly Double-A environment.
However, Ortiz returned to form in 2025, especially after a mid-season promotion to Triple-A. The big slugger hit 16 homers and posted a .787 OPS in 89 Double-A games before he got promoted to Triple-A. In a more hitter friendly environment, Ortiz exploded, with 9 homers and a .953 OPS in 41 games. For the season, Ortiz hammered 25 home runs.
His batted ball data was also excellent at the AAA level. Ortiz absolutely crushed baseballs, with a hard hit rate near 55%. He also had a knack for pulling the ball in the air, which allowed him to do damage. Ortiz’s batted ball profile is exactly what you want from a slugger.
Abimelec Ortiz (acquired by WSH) looked outstanding in his taste of AAA with extremely loud power metrics and solid plate discipline. He wields a quick bat and has a knack for pulling fly balls which has fuelled a productive MiLB career
Ortiz turns 24 in late February, so this is not the case of a mid-20’s bopper abusing Triple-A. However, there is a sizable chance that Ortiz is one of those Quad-A sluggers along the lines of Andres Chaparro.
He will be given the chance to prove himself in the big leagues though. If Ortiz has a strong camp, he could make the MLB roster. There is not a lot of competition for reps at 1B or DH right now. That could change if the Nats sign somebody like Rhys Hoskins, but that has not happened yet.
Abimelec Ortiz | 1B/OF | 23 yo
Ortiz, the only prospect with a chance to debut in 2026, likely will, and may very well play lots of 1B in DC this year.
In my view, Ortiz has a chance to be a strong side platoon player at first base or DH. Since hitting the upper levels, Ortiz has had his struggles against left handed pitching. He has hit below .200 against them each of the last two seasons. However, he has not had problems mashing right handed pitching.
Ortiz has a lot of similarities to fellow rotund first baseman Rowdy Tellez. While Tellez has never been a star, he has been in the league for nearly a decade and managed a 35 home run season back in 2022. For a fourth piece in a trade, that is not too bad.
There is a chance that Ortiz is a little bit better than that as well. For Ortiz to be better than Tellez, he will need to be more selective at the plate. In Triple-A, his chase rate was 29% which is a bit higher than you would like. His walk rate last year was 11.7%, but he could still refine his approach some more.
The round slugger who hits bombs may never compile the most WAR, but they can be a solid piece to your team. These types of players can also be fan favorites. I mean who doesn’t love a big man that can mash. He will never be a .300 hitter, but Ortiz whiffs less than your average big man masher.
Abimelec Ortiz may never be anything more than a Quad-A slugger. The mediocre plate discipline and lack of a true position might end up costing him. However, I would not count him out. The former undrafted free agent has already beaten the odds to get this far. I am really rooting for Ortiz because he could be a very fun player if everything comes together.
The former Yankees and Mets outfielder agreed to a two-year, $20.5 million deal with the Giants, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
The contract contains incentives that could make it worth $21 million.
Bader, 31, had signed one-year deals in free agency the past two offseasons, but a strong finish to the 2025 campaign powered him to a multi-year pact.
Bader posted career-bests in every major offensive category last season, which he split between the Twins and Phillies. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
He helped the Mets’ National League East rivals down the stretch, hitting an outstanding .305/.361/.463 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 50 games.
In 143 total games last year, the Bronxville, New York, native slashed a solid .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers and 54 RBIs (122 wRC+) – all career-highs.
There were some reports that Bader’s former Big Apple clubs could explore reunions this offseason, but the Yankees’ re-signing of Cody Bellinger and the Mets’ trade for Luis Robert Jr. made that unlikely.
Acquired from the Cardinals in exchange for Jordan Montgomery at the 2022 trade deadline, Bader appeared in 98 total games with the Yankees, hitting a below-average .237 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs.
While he enjoyed a powerful postseason in 2022, a series of injuries hampered Bader during his Bronx tenure.
“It just means so much to me to be a New York City kid, playing in the Bronx for the Yankees,” Bader told reporters after being claimed by Cincinnati, leaving the door open for a reunion down the line. “It’s just really special for a lot of reasons. There’s a lot of good moments and I’m just really excited because regardless of the situation, no one can ever take the fact that I put that uniform on, growing up in that city. It means a lot to me.”
After an underwhelming September with the Reds, Bader joined the Mets in free agency for the 2024 season, posting 12 homers and 51 RBIs alongside his trademark standout defense in the team’s run to the NLCS.
Welcome to Week in Review: a Monday feature that looks back at the week that was for the San Antonio Spurs, takes a look at the week ahead, and more. Enjoy!
Week 13: After hitting rock bottom of their post-Christmas slump with an embarrassing second-half blowout loss in Oklahoma City, the Spurs finally appeared to turn a corner, rediscovering their offensive form against a Bucks team in turmoil and overcoming plenty of drama against the Timberwolves, including a 55-point outing from Anthony Edwards, to finally beat a team that had given them trouble all season.
The Spurs swept their three-game homestand by taking care of an injured (tanking?) Jazz squad using a team effort and riding 7 threes from Victor Wembanyama. Unlike previous games, even wins, the Spurs stayed locked in and did not give away the lead, allowing the starters to rest most of the fourth quarter on the second night of a back-to-back.
Alas, just when it felt like the Spurs were their better selves again and learning how to protect a lead, they reverted back to bad habits on the road. After dominating their IH-10 rivals for 2 1/2 quarters and leading by as much as 16, they completely fell apart in the fourth. Wemby had no answers for the Rockets’ physicality, and Reed Sheppard sliced up the Spurs’ backcourt. They were outscored 29-14 in the fourth quarter, adding to their ever-growing list of games lost after leading by double-figures.
The bad taste of blowing a big lead in Houston didn’t prevent them from doing it again two nights later in Utah, but despite having to sweat it out, the Jazz only managed to tie the game a couple of times before Wemby and De’Aaron Fox did what superstars are supposed to do: take over in the fourth quarter to put a worse, shorthanded team away, ending the game on a 22-9 run.
In a complete reversion back to their slump days, complacency once again set in against an inferior opponent. After maintaining the lead for most of the first half, the Spurs allowed big runs by the Pelicans to close the second and open the third quarter. After a hockey substitution, the bench unit upped the energy, and eventually the Spurs not only came all the way back from 20 down, but took a five-point lead with four minutes remaining. Unfortunately, they couldn’t sustain that level of play and lost another game the shouldn’t have, spoiling Devin Vassell’s return from injury.
The Spurs are just 8-8 since they beat the Thunder for the third time on Christmas Day, a stretch that includes losses to the Jazz, Grizzlies and Pelicans. But they’re still in second place in the West and one of four teams (all in the Western Conference) that rank in the top 10 on both ends of the floor.
Three takeaways
1. The Spurs have scored more than 124 points per 100 possessions over their last four wins, but they still rank just 24th offensively (111.8 scored per 100) since Christmas. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper have combined for an effective field goal percentage of just 40.4% over the 16 games, and Harrison Barnes has gone quiet, averaging just 6.2 points, down from 12.9 through the Christmas win in Oklahoma City.
2. Keldon Johnson has picked up some of the slack. His 20.2 points per 36 minutes would be the second-highest mark of his career, and he’s having his most efficient season (true shooting percentage of 65.2%) since his rookie year, when he attempted only 89 shots. He’s been the only Spur who’s played in clutch time in all 10 of their games since Christmas that have been within five points in the last five minutes.
3. The Spurs did get Devin Vassell back from a 13-game absence on Sunday, and they’ve outscored their opponents by 12.9 points per 100 possessions with Vassell, De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama on the floor together, though that sample size (137 minutes) is still pretty small.
Coming up: The Spurs will have a chance to avenge last week’s loss in Houston when they return to the Toyota Center on Wednesday. They’re 8-7 (5-0 at home or on a neutral court, 3-7 on the road) in games played between the top seven teams in the West.
Neither of the San Antonio Spurs’ two recent losses is all that concerning, especially since shots simply weren’t falling against Houston and New Orleans. Now, the Spurs enter a new week, starting with a rematch in Houston and a chance to get back on the right track.
The Spurs rank inside the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating this season, joining Houston, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota.
As reported on Sunday, San Antonio has been involved in trade talks with New York surrounding former first-round pick Jeremy Sochan. However, the Spurs have been reluctant to trade Sochan to this point, and it’s much more likely they seek further frontcourt help before the deadline utilizing Kelly Olynyk’s expiring contract.
Coming up: Wed. 1/28 at Houston Rockets (27-16); Sat. 1/31 at Charlotte Hornets (18-28); Sun, 2/1 vs. Orlando Magic (23-21)
Prediction:2-1 — Maybe if I stop predicting the Spurs will go on a winning streak, they actually will. They’ll have a chance for revenge against the Rockets, although I’m not entirely convinced they’re up for the challenge. They then have a sneakily tough game against a healthy Hornets team that has been coming into its own lately, with LaMelo Ball learning how to play team ball alongside Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel (who is exactly the type of shooter who can bury the Spurs in a hurry if they leave him open). Finally, the Spurs return home to take on an underwhelming but tough Magic team that they only barely beat at the buzzer earlier in the season.
The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated on Sunday night by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. The Hawks allowed four unanswered goals in the third period and lost 5-1.
This loss snapped a three-game point streak for Chicago, keeping them at 50 standings points entering a new week of play.
In the loss, some line shake-ups happened throughout the game. That is not something that Jeff Blashill loves doing, but he was clearly experimenting against the Panthers. Recent Blackhawks coaches loved putting lines in the blender, but Blashill had stabilized that until Sunday.
After the game was over, Blashill admitted that he plans on getting back to steady lines by the time they play their next game.
"It’s something we’ll look at and decide: okay, what are we going with? And just stay with that."
During practice on Monday, all 15 forwards were healthy and accounted for. As a result, the lines and defense pairs looked like this:
Nazar-Bedard-Teravainen
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Greene-Moore-Burakovsky
Donato-Foligno-Slaggert
Dach-Lafferty-Lardis
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Knight
Soderblom
That fifth line of Colton Dach, Sam Lafferty, and Nick Lardis appears to be the extras ahead of their next game. Will one or two of them be sent down ahead of their departure for Minnesota? We will find out soon.
With that said, you can expect some of these lines to stick once they figure out the right combos before their next game. Chicago is scheduled to have a morning skate in St. Paul on Tuesday. That may be even more revealing.
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Mercogliano adds that there’s no official announcement yet as they work out the particulars, but expect him to be held out of the lineup on Monday night against the Boston Bruins for roster management related reasons.
This mark the first trade between the Rangers and Islanders since 2010, when the Rangers acquired defenseman Jyri Niemi in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
The Rangers acquired Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks on March 6, 2025 in exchange for a third-round pick the team received in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for Reilly Smith.
When talking about Soucy last year, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury emphasized that he envisions him being a part of the long-term plan for the Rangers.
“We think there's a lot of possibilities with Carson, whether it's (pairing) with Schneids or Foxy or Will (Borgen), or even having him on the right side at some point,” Drury said. “We'll see how it plays out. I'm glad we were able to get him. I was excited about the term, excited about the number.
“He's not a rental. He’s someone we could have in for the rest of the year and next year. I just like the overall game – the size, the skating, the sense, how he defends. We were able to do some homework on him the last couple weeks and we’re excited to get him with a piece we got in the Reilly Smith trade.”
Of course, Drury’s letter that was issued last week outlining the Rangers’ plan to retool the roster changes the direction of the franchise, hence Soucy’s standing with the team.
In 46 games this season, the 31-year-old defenseman has recorded three goals, five assists, and eight points, while averaging 17:13 minutes.
As reported last week with the Baseball America news, end of January means updated prospect list and just like that we saw MLB Pipeline drop their updated Top 100.
Last week we saw JR Ritchie come in at No. 84 overall, while Cam Caminiti rose all the way up to No. 53 for Baseball America. Those two were the lone representatives for the Braves once again — this time for MLB Pipeline as JR Ritchie comes in at No. 90 overall, while Cam Caminiti sits at No. 68.
Whether you believe in the rankings or not, it’s clear that Cam and JR Ritchie have set themselves apart from the rest of the Braves minor league system. It’s a system that, while currently ranked quite low amongst all teams, is starting to rebound nicely after a couple of strong drafts and adding talent like Diego Tornes and Raudy Reyes who both made a name for themselves last season. With progression from the positional prospects in the first half of the season, these lists may see an injection of Braves talent throughout.
Winners of four of their last five, the Portland Trail Blazers (23-23) look to continue their climb north in the Western Conference standings when they take the court against possibly the biggest surprise in the Eastern Conference this season, the Boston Celtics (28-17).
The season has thus far certainly exceeded expectations in Boston. Sitting atop the Atlantic Division, the Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference. Jaylen Brown is playing the best basketball of his career averaging 29.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. As a team, the Celtics love the three-point shot. They are making 15.8 per game on 36.9% shooting. All that said, they have sputtered of late winning just five of their last ten games.
This is the first of a four-game road trip for the Blazers who currently sit four games out of a playoff spot but in ninth and thus currently in possession of a spot in the play-in. Denny Avdija has been a revelation since arriving in an offseason trade with the Wizards. The forward is averaging nine points more per game in Portland (26.0) than he did last season in Washington (16.9). His availability (back) is a question mark tonight. That is news you need before placing a wager of any kind on this game.
This is the second meeting of the season between these teams. The Blazers won in the Moda Center, 114-108, on December 28. Shaedon Sharpe poured in 26 for Portland while Jaylen Brown had 37 in the loss for Boston.
Lets take a closer look at the matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Trail Blazers at Celtics
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Game Odds: Trail Blazers at Celtics
The latest odds as of Monday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Portland Trail Blazers (+245), Boston Celtics (-305)
Spread: Celtics -7.5
Total: 224.5 points
This game opened Cavaliers -7.5 with the Total set at 224.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Trail Blazers at Celtics
Deni Avdija (back) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Robert Williams III (knee) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Kris Murray (back) has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game
Duop Reath (foot) has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game
Scoot Henderson (hamstring) has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game
Matisse Thybulle (thumb/knee) has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game
Blake Wesley (foot) has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game
Boston Celtics
Luka Garza (knee) is questionable for tonight’s game
Josh Minott (undisclosed) is questionable for tonight’s game
Neemias Queta (illness is questionable for tonight’s game
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game
Important stats, trends and insights: Trail Blazers at Celtics
The Celtics are 13-7 at home this season
The Trail Blazers are 10-12 on the road this season
The Celtics are 25-20 ATS this season
The Trail Blazers are 26-20 ATS this season
The OVER has cashed in 23 of the Trail Blazers’ 46 games this season (23-23)
The OVER has cashed in 19 of the Celtics’ 44 games this season (19-26)
Donovan Clingan has recorded a double-double in 3 of his last 4 games
Jaylen Brown has scored at least 30 points in 4 of his last 5 games
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Once the model is finished running, we put its projections 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 today’s Trail Blazers and Celtics’ game:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Celtics -7.5
Total: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 224.5
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The Rangers are trading defenseman Carson Soucy to the Islanders.
The Islanders have gone to an unlikely source to fill the need on their blue line.
In what would be a rare trade between the Battle of New York rivals, the Blueshirts and Islanders are getting close on a deal that would send defenseman Carson Soucy to Long Island, The Post’s Mollie Walker confirmed, with Soucy sitting out the Rangers game Monday night against the Bruins for trade-related reasons.
Soucy, acquired from the Canucks last season in exchange for a third-round pick, has collected eight points in 46 games this season while averaging 17:13 of ice time. He is eligible for unrestricted free agency after the season.
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The return is not yet known, but the Rangers spent a third-round pick to acquire Soucy from Vancouver 10 months ago. The Islanders have plenty of long-term injured reserve space with Kyle Palmieri, Pierre Engvall, Alexander Romanov and, likely, Semyon Varlamov out for the season, so Soucy’s $3.25 million cap hit is of little consequence.
With the Islanders carrying 23 men on their roster, they will need to move a player in order to fit Soucy. That could either mean including a player in the return to the Rangers, adding Ryan Pulock to injured reserve or sending someone to AHL Bridgeport.
For the Islanders, the main question is whether Soucy, a left-handed defenseman, is being seen solely as a replacement for Romanov — whose role the Isles have unsuccessfully tried to fill with a series of call-ups since the Russian got hurt in mid-November — or if Ryan Pulock’s recent upper-body injury increased the urgency to add to their blue line.
The Rangers are trading defenseman Carson Soucy to the Islanders. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Pulock, who has been anchored to the top pair for most of the season, sustained the issue late in Wednesday’s loss to the Kraken before missing Saturday’s 5-0 defeat to the Sabres. He didn’t travel with the Islanders to Philadelphia for a crucial match Monday night against the Flyers, though the team has continued to call him day to day.
In his absence, Scott Mayfield has played on Matthew Schaefer’s right side, but it was hard to see how the Islanders could sustain being without one-third of their Opening Night blue line for long.
Soucy figures to slot into the spot currently occupied by Adam Boqvist, on the left side of the third pair opposite Isaiah George. Boqvist, who has just one point in 19 games this season, has struggled to make a consistent impact and has been benched in favor of call-ups for much of the year.
Taking George out of the lineup and shifting Boqvist to the right side is also an option, but given how Boqvist has struggled on his off side — and that George hasn’t yet gotten an extended look, with Saturday his first game with the Isles this season after being called up — that seems unlikely.
At a minimum, Soucy figures to add some defensive stability to the third pair, which has not had much of it since Romanov went down.
For the Rangers, this looks like the first move of many after general manager Chris Drury announced in a letter to fans that his team would retool. Drury, who has not taken questions from reporters since the announcement, has already told Artemi Panarin he won’t get a contract extension, and names like Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière have swirled in trade rumors.
Drury’s willingness to deal is highlighted by making a move with the Islanders, of all teams. If this trade is indeed completed, it would mark the first trade between the rivals since 2010, when the Blueshirts acquired 19-year-old defenseman Jyri Niemi from the Islanders in exchange for a sixth-round pick. The last one prior to that happened in 1972.
For now, though, everything has started with Soucy, as the Islanders, who enter play Monday in third place in the Metropolitan Division, tried to add depth ahead of a push to finish above the playoff cutline.
After a long wait in MLB free agency, Bader explained to the New York Post’s “The Show” podcast why joining the Giants made perfect sense.
“Well, first and foremost, the opportunity. There’s no doubt about it,” Bader told Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman in the episode posted Monday. “All you can do in this game is just work to set yourself up for the best opportunity possible. I’ve always wanted to play as many games, have as many at-bats as possible, be on a winning team. The Giants could not be a more perfect fit for me. So, I’m just I’m just very excited.”
Bader expressed how eager he is to join a “talented” Giants roster, specifically naming third baseman Matt Chapman, whom he came up with in the Texas League and minor leagues; shortstop Willy Adames, a familiar face from their time playing each other in the NL Central; and slugger Rafael Devers.
“I love playing with superstars. [The Giants] got a lot of really, really talented players,” Bader said. “… It’s a fresh front office, it’s obviously a fresh coaching staff. Have some SEC ties in Tony Vitello, some familiarity with, [Giants bench coach Jayce Tingler] when I was with the [Minnesota] Twins last year. So, it’s always good to be in a new place, but have familiar faces. So, opportunity, the personnel, the players, it just was a perfect fit, and I’m just really, really happy it worked out because it’s very rare in this game when things work out pretty perfectly.”
The Giants are Bader’s seventh MLB team since he made his big league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017. This offseason wasn’t his first foray into free agency, and that helped him stay the course this winter as he waited to find a landing spot.
He couldn’t be happier to have ended up in San Francisco, he said, which is a city he always looked forward to visiting as an opposing player.
“It’s a process,” Bader said of free agency. “I think you have to put your faith in your team behind the scenes … Everybody did a great job of kind of distracting me and keeping me on a really positive path throughout this entire process. Because listen, teams have trades to go through, they have other signings, they have a certain amount of money that they need to allocate. So, as they’re building a roster, it’s really important for us as players to just remain calm, trust your representation, trust your support system and hopefully know that with the work and the season you put up that things are ultimately going to work out.
“Keeping that faith, I think, allowed me to kind of just get through it. And I ended up in a great place, a great city, like I mentioned, a great coaching staff, a great locker room.”
William Nylander took to his personal Instagram account and apologized for flashing the middle finger during the Toronto Maple Leafs' 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
One day later, he faced reporters, including TSN's Mark Masters, to express his regret.
"I just want to apologize for my actions yesterday," Nylander said. "I was out of frustration, so I'm sorry about that."
Nylander told reporters that after he made the gesture, he received a text saying 'not a good idea'. When asked what Toronto's leading point-getter was frustrated about, he brought it back to the groin injury that will keep him out of his sixth consecutive game when the club hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
"Just not playing. I want to be out there with the guys," he said. "Yeah, just frustrated."
Craig Berube on William Nylander:
"Made a mistake. He owned up to it. You know, things happen. People make mistakes. Players make mistakes. Coaches make mistakes. It happens ... He knows it’s wrong & he owned up to it"@TSN_Sports
Nylander previously missed six games due to the same groin issue, so it's not a surprise to see him frustrated over his inability to play, especially while the team is going through another funk, having dropped their fourth consecutive games while sitting five points out of a playoff spot through games played on Jan. 25.
But Nylander's gesture, regardless of how offended you may or may not be, certainly grabbed the attention of fans of the game and the team.
"(He) made a mistake. He owned up to it. Things happen," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said. "Players make mistakes. Coaches make mistakes. It happened. He knows it's wrong and he owned up to it."
The Leafs have scored just eight goals in their last four games (0-3-1), and having a healthy Nylander back would certainly help the club improve in that area. With 17 goals and 31 assists in 37 games, his 48 points lead the club by four over the next player (John Tavares with 44 points in 52 games).
The good news is Nylander is targeting a return for the Leafs' four-game road trip that begins Thursday and will go through Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton before the NHL pauses for an Olympic break.
"Hopefully, (I) will be back playing sometime on the road trip, so that's where I have my mind at."
Of course, returning on the trip would also be good for Nylander's aim to represent Sweden at the Olympics in Milan. No doubt the risk of missing that tournament, or not being 100 percent, could be playing into the star's frustration.
“Sitting there, I got a text message… I was like oh, not a good idea. Not a good thing to do”
Duncan Robinson is playing arguably the best ball of his career, but is it enough?
Duncan Robinson is a nice player.
He was a cheap addition this offseason for a Detroit Pistons team that saw its 3-point shooting evaporate in free agency when Tim Hardaway Jr. left for the Denver Nuggets and, of course, Malik Beasley had the whole Malik Beasley situation arise out of nowhere.
It left the Pistons, coming off their best season in years, desperate for shooting and spacing.
Enter, Robinson.
The longtime Miami Heat sharpshooter was signed to a modest deal and he’s more than earned his keep as a starter with the Pistons. Robinson is averaging 12.1 points with 2.9 threes per game while shooting 44% from the field and 41% from downtown.
He’s opened up the floor for Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren to operate with space and they’ve both put together career years and has been a neutral defender for the second-best defense in the NBA.
There isn’t much more you could ask for from Robinson.
And there’s not much more you can expect.
This is Robinson’s ceiling. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s the reality. Detroit is on its way to a top seed in the East and a legitimate chance to win the title. This isn’t a post telling you they need to put their chips in for a Trey Murphy III or some of them for a Michael Porter Jr., though both would be worth looking at.
It’s a moment to realize that the Pistons need more shooting, and maybe another Duncan Robinson, if they want to take this regular season success into the postseason.
Teams have found ways to mitigate a stand-still shooter like Robinson in the playoffs in spurts during his career — mainly, the last two seasons with Miami. I really would worry about the Pistons scoring in a playoff series if he wasn’t giving them anything.
The Pistons shot 27% from 3 in the two games he missed this season, which is putrid, and when he has a bad game, the Pistons lose. That’s basically the pattern. It wasn’t *as* bad last year with THJ and Beasley because you had two high-level shooters. Now, it’s just Duncan.
The Pistons need Robinson to hit his 3s to be at their best. When you reach a first-to-four wins situation come April, that’s a lot of weight on your only shooter’s shoulders. It’s an unfair burden, really, because Robinson’s limitations aren’t exposed in a regular season setting as much as they will in the playoffs.
That’s true of every player and every archetype, but unless you’re an otherworldly defensive juggernaut like the Oklahoma City Thunder last season — and let me be clear, these Pistons are not that — you need shooting. They don’t have to be the run-and-gun Warriors of year’s past, but they need another guy.
They need a shooter who is a shooter, not a guy who can make shots. That’s an important point to make. Jaden Ivey is shooting the three well, rounding back into the form he showed last season. But he’s not a big off-ball threat who comes off screens and finds space to get his shot.
The Robinson-types are more than just guys who can hit threes, they’re guys who thrive without the ball in their hands and can find pockets to create spacing. Sam Hauser in Boston. AJ Green in Milwaukee. Sam Merrill in Cleveland. The Pistons, at minimum, need more guys in that mold for the games where Robinson isn’t a factor.
Just some food for thought as the trade deadline approaches. Curious what you all think!
The San Francisco Giants once again entered an offseason saying they intended to get better defensively. And, with Spring Training right around the corner, they’ve finally made good on that promise. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, on Monday morning the Giants agreed to a two-year deal with free agent outfielder Harrison Bader. According to multiple reports, the deal will pay Bader $20.5 million.
Bader, a 31-year old who bats and throws right-handed, is widely considered one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, and won a Gold Glove in 2021 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Last year, which he spent on the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies, Bader finished 18th among all outfielders with seven Outs Above Average, and 22nd in Fielding Run Value.
That defense is desperately needed for a team that plans on playing Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee in the grass every day. Bader instantly makes the outfield defense significantly better.
The offense is more of a question mark, and it’s been a roller-coaster recently. Bader was comfortably below average in the batter’s box from 2022 through 2024, posting wRC+ marks of 84, 69, and 85, respectively. But he caught fire in 2025, ending the year with a slash line of .277/.347/.449 with a career-high 17 home runs, good for a .796 OPS and a 122 wRC+. If the Giants get the Bader of last year, they’re getting an All-Star; if they get the Bader of the previous years, they’re getting an excellent fourth outfielder.
Bader has, historically, been a bit of a platoon hitter. For his career, he’s hit left-handed pitching comfortably better than average (106 wRC+) and right-handed pitching comfortably below average (92 wRC+). That, too, was flipped on its head in 2025, when he demolished same-handed pitching (136 wRC+) but struggled when he had the advantage against southpaws (92 wRC+).
Anything he provides on offense is gravy, though — the Giants are bringing him in for the defense. We’ll have to wait and see what Buster Posey and Tony Vitello have to say, but for now, the expectation is that Bader will become the starting center fielder, and Lee will slide over to right field.
