The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures.
Over the next few weeks, we will continue to look at potential options for the Sabres. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.
Kekalainen ideally would like to make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, but also someone who can fill the leadership gap. Someone who may be readily available because of the Anaheim Ducks matching the offer sheet to center Leo Carlsson is veteran winger Alex Killorn. The 36-year-old is a two-time Stanley Cup winner who played 11 seasons in the Atlantic Division. Killorn was a victim of the Lightning’s cap crunch and found a landing spot in Southern California, signing a four-year deal with the Ducks.
Will the Sabres add a veteran forward, like Patrick Kane?
With one year remaining at a cap hit of $6.25 million, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek may be looking to clear out a salary or two to get the 41-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier signed to a long-term deal. Killorn is no longer a top-six option, but has scored 18, 19 and 15 goals with Anaheim.
Adding Killorn would make perfect sense for the Sabres, since they have a group of young forwards who will be taking on most of the scoring burden created by the departure of Tuch. His 15-team no-trade list could be a hurdle, but there have been indicators that Buffalo is not being blocked as much recently with their recent success.
The Ducks are in a position where they might have to include a draft pick to have a club take on a contract, but with the Sabres having only around $5 million in cap space, it might be necessary for Verbeek to retain 20 to 25% of Killorn’s cap hit, or to take a salary like Justin Danforth back in a deal.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JULY 11: Patrick Bailey #16 of the Cleveland Guardians rounds third base against the Miami Marlins in the eighth inning of the game at loanDepot park on July 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It's semifinals time at the NBA Summer League, with the Memphis Grizzlies battling the Houston Rockets, while the Las Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors.
My predictions see the Grizzlies and Lakers going through to the finals, while I also like the Spurs to win a consolation matchup tonight.
Keep reading to see my NBASummer League picks for Saturday, July 18.
NBA Summer League predictions for July 18
Pick
Grizzlies moneyline
-186
Lakers moneyline
-117
Spurs moneyline
+100
💰 All three parlayed
+470
Today's Summer League picks
Grizzlies moneyline (-186 at Kalshi)
The Memphis Grizzlies are coming off a massive win over the previously undefeated Atlanta Hawks, winning by 32 points to fight their way into the Summer League semifinals.
Cameron Boozer lived up to his hype as the No. 3 overall pick with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting on Thursday, while Cedric Coward poured in 23 points of his own.
Memphis has put up 96.8 ppg and is playing a more talented and more experienced group than the Houston Rockets. I'm backing the Grizzlies to move on to the final in Vegas.
Lakers moneyline (-117 at Kalshi)
The Los Angeles Lakers are the only undefeated team remaining in the Summer League, heading into the semifinals with a 4-0 record. They've outscored opponents by an average of 17.5 points, and lead all playoff teams in both points scored (97.8 ppg) and allowed (80.3 ppg).
Cameron Carr is putting up 18.3 ppg for the Lakers in Vegas, while Arthur Kaluma (20.3 ppg) is impressing as a three-and-D guy who's fighting for a roster spot after spending last year in the G-League.
This team is playing extremely well and should overwhelm Yaxel Lendeborg and the Golden State Warriors tonight.
Spurs moneyline (+100 at Kalshi)
Beyond the semifinals, there's some great action in store in the consolation games, including the matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns.
Spurs draft pick Ja'Kobi Gillsepie has starred in Summer League play, scoring 16 ppg and going for 25 points against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Guard RJ Davis has also been making his case for a roster spot, putting up 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
The Suns have found success playing a consistent lineup in Vegas, but San Antonio's older talent should win out against a younger Phoenix squad led by 19-year-old Khaman Maluach.
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Saturday’s NBA Summer League parlay
Grizzlies moneyline
Lakers moneyline
Spurs moneyline
+470 at Kalshi
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Throughout their 2026–27 season, Vancouver will take part in a variety of entertaining matchups, ranging from welcoming back former players to potentially seeing NHL legends for the final time in their careers. Here are five must-watch Canucks games taking place in the 2026–27 season.
September 29 @ Edmonton Oilers
While there will still be pre-season and training camp to take in prior to the season-opener, this game will serve as the first-look of a rebuild-committed Canucks team featuring new management staff (Ryan Johnson, Daniel and Henrik Sedin) as well as their new coaching staff (Manny Malhotra, Ryan Mougenel, Jordan Smith, and Jason Krog). This will also be many fans’ first-look at Brendan Gallagher, Jamie Oleksiak, and Paul Cotter in Canucks uniforms.
October 8 @ Carolina Hurricanes
The Canucks will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on October 8, making this the first time Vancouver will face them since they won back in June. The biggest change to Carolina’s roster since they won the Stanley Cup is the departure of goaltender Frederik Andersen, who signed a one-year deal in free-agency with the Oilers.
October 25 vs. Minnesota Wild
Quite possibly the biggest game for Canucks fans heading into the 2026–27 season is October 25, which is when former captain Quinn Hughes will return to Rogers Arena with the Minnesota Wild for the first time since being traded in December of 2025. Lots has changed surrounding fans’ perception of the defenceman since his departure, and while he’s undoubtedly still the best blueliner the Canucks have had, for the most part it appears the fanbase has soured on him. It will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to Hughes’ return on October 25.
Dec 6, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks center Linus Karlsson (94) tips the puck in front of Minnesota Wild defenceman Jared Spurgeon (46) at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Morris-Imagn Images
December 7 vs. Washington Capitals
The status of legendary goal-scorer and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is undetermined past the 2026–27 season. While there were musings of the forward’s potential retirement at the end of the 2025–26 season, Ovechkin ended up signing a one-year deal with the Capitals to extend his career by one more season. As it stands, Ovechkin has not vocalized whether he plans to play past this year or not, making his next trip to Vancouver potentially his last.
March 6 @ Montréal Canadiens
One interesting Canucks road game to catch will be when Vancouver takes on the Montréal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on March 6. This will be the first time that new Canuck Gallagher will return to Montréal after being traded to Vancouver ahead of the 2026 free-agency period. Prior to joining Vancouver, the forward spent the entirety of his 14-season NHL career with the Canadiens, including taking part in eight playoff runs with the team. Gallagher is certain to get a positive reception from Canadiens fans when he returns to Montréal.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 02: Brandon Lowe #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the seventh inning during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Denis Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates are getting underway with the second half of their season and the trade deadline is fast approaching. The Pirates currently sit at fourth in the NL Central division with a 50-47 record, but are only 1.5 games back from a Wild Card berth. The Pirates are in a prime position to add to their squad and the fans at Bucs Dugout echo that, with 90% of the fans voting that the Pirates should buy at the trade deadline this season.
For the first time in a long time it looks like the Pirates may actually add to their roster instead of doing some aggressive house cleaning. With their current record and the deadline coming on August 3, the Buccos should look to add some pieces to put them over the top as the Wild Card race starts to heat up. The Milwaukee Brewers are firmly set in first place for now, but otherwise the division is very much within striking distance for the plucky Pirates.
The question now is would the Pirates try and target in a trade. Brandon Lowe has been a piece that has been brought up in trade rumors all season, but they are especially ramping up after his All-Star snub. With the emergence of Esmerlyn Valdez and Ryan O’Hearn being key contributors, several have speculated if Spencer Horwitz could now be a piece that gets moved. Then of course there’s Carmen Mlodzinski who famously backslid after his move to the bullpen from the rotation and causing some friction in the clubhouse. Does he get moved strictly off of morale and team culture being threatened?
When it comes to who the Pirates should be targeting, a big time reliever would be nearly unanimous in wants and needs from this fanbase. A reunion with Aroldis Chapman was rumored but the Boston Red Sox are surging now and may not be willing to give up that piece like they could’ve been earlier in the year. It would take a complete package but the idea of trading for Mason Miller has circulated online recently, but again the Padres are not in a terrible position themselves. Andrew Filliponi of 93.7 The Fan suggested that the Pirates target some lefty pitching, and threw out names like Kyle Freeland and Jeffrey Springs as possible candidates. Both the Rockies and the Athletics are almost certainly going to be looking to sell at the deadline.
FanDuel SportsBook currently gives the Pirates +245 odds to make the postseason, but also has a line giving the Pirates -345 odds to miss the playoffs altogether. No need to sugarcoat it, these are the best odds for the Pirates to make the playoffs in a decade. The Pirates should be looking to buy and add at the deadline versus cleaning up shop and getting ready for next season.
Who do yinz think the Pirates should try and trade for? Let us know in the comments!
As the Trade Deadline approaches, Yankees fans have a pretty good idea that the team will be looking to add some bullpen help at the deadline. I can, of course, cite reasons why they should — thanks in large part to Camilo Doval, Jake Bird, and (regrettably) Tim Hill, the team has a combined 15 blown saves (tied for 10th in the league), a pedestrian 22.3 strikeout percentage, and their 82 shutdowns—defined by FanGraphs as “when a reliever accumulates greater than or equal to 0.06 WPA in any individual game”—ranks definitively in the bottom half of the league.
Let’s be honest, though: it doesn’t really matter what the state of the bullpen is: a three-headed monster of Chad Green, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman didn’t stop Brian Cashman from acquiring Zack Britton in 2018, after all. In fact, in the last 10 years, the Yankees have added a whopping 16 relievers at the Trade Deadline: Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Britton, Lance Lynn (he was supposed to join the bullpen, before the plug was pulled on the Sonny Gray experience), Joely Rodríguez, Clay Holmes, Lou Trivino, Scott Effross, Keynan Middleton, Mark Leiter Jr., Enyel De Los Santos, David Bednar, Bird, and Doval; only in 2019 and the COVID-shortened 2020 did they fail to add one.
In that same stretch, the Yankees have also made a habit of poaching players from the Colorado Rockies, acquiring, to varying levels of success, DJ LeMahieu, Adam Ottavino, Mike Tauchman, Ryan McMahon, Angel Chivilli, and Jake Bird. Might the Bombers go to that well once more, this time for pitcher Antonio Senzatela?
Signed as an international amateur free agent out of Venezuela, Senzatela made his MLB debut on April 6, 2017, having cracked the Opening Day roster out of spring training. His career to date has been quite a rollercoaster. Senzatela spent most of his rookie season in the starting rotation, being moved to the bullpen down the stretch in order to limit his innings, as he had missed a chunk of the 2016 minor-league season due to injuries. Further such woes and minor-league stints limited him to just 23 games (13 starts) in 2018, while the juiced ball year hit him hard, as he posted an absurd 6.71 ERA — somehow only a 77 ERA+, a sign of how inflated run totals were in that season. Following a strong 2020 and a solid 2021, the Rockies handed him a five-year extension worth $50.5 million. It turned sour in a hurry: a torn ACL ended his season in August 2022, and after just two starts in 2023, he sprained his UCL and, that July, underwent Tommy John surgery. Senzatela returned to the mound for a brief cameo in 2024, making just three starts at the end of the season.
Finally healthy for the first time in years, Senzatela opened the 2025 season in the Rockies rotation … and proceeded to be one of the worst pitchers in the league: his 6.65 ERA was the highest among pitchers with at least 130 innings, and his -0.1 fWAR topped only Jake Irvin and Erick Fedde in the same category. At the end of August, they were finally forced to send him out to the bullpen, where he finished the season strong, posting a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings across seven appearances.
Now, in the bullpen full-time for the first time in his career, Senzatela has excelled. Among the 165 relievers with at least 30 innings, his 1.1 fWAR ranks 14th, and his 2.39 road ERA would rank 35th (his 3.31 ERA is partially the result of a Coors-inflated 4.37 home ERA). He has cut down his arsenal, notably dropping the slider — the breaking ball he threw most often in 2025 — almost completely, deploying it just 21 times this season. Senzatela has also reduced his reliance on the four-seam fastball, throwing it just 38.7 percent of the time, down from 56.9.
To compensate, the two pitches Senzatela threw the least last season, the cutter and the sinker, have become his second- and third-most common pitch, respectively, with the cutter getting significantly more use (29.9 to 11.4 percent). This gives him—much like Cam Schlittler—a three-fastball arsenal to work with, all of which come out of almost identical arm angles: the fastball and sinker at 41 degrees, the cutter at 39.
Senzatela does use his heater very differently than the hard-throwing Yankees ace, though. His four-seamer and cutter are both designed to generate whiffs, especially against righties, albeit in different ways: the four-seamer is thrown up in the zone at high velocity (97 mph), while the cutter averages just under 92 mph and operates more as a fast slider. His sinker, meanwhile, is thrown at a velocity closer to the fastball (96 mph), but is designed to generate soft contact, as it generates whiffs just 2.4 percent of the time and has yet to record a strikeout this season, but boasts an average “launch” angle of -7 degrees. Occasionally, Senzatela tosses in a curveball, mostly against lefties, which has generated whiffs at a very high rate. Almost half of the 11 plate appearances in which he has thrown a curveball this season has ended with a strikeout on said curveball.
That being said, when you look under the hood, there are some areas of concern:
Despite having an above-average xERA, Senzatela doesn’t do anything particularly well besides fastball velocity, although he doesn’t do anything particularly poorly, either. He doesn’t overwhelm you with strikeouts, gets a decent amount of groundballs on the sinker, walks his fair share of batters (but not an overwhelmingly large amount), and gives up some hard contact. Very little of this, however, is barreled.
Similar to Tim Hill, a few meltdowns which have inflated his ERA (in particular, four-run appearances on June 5th and June 29th raised his June ERA to 8.18). Unlike Hill, however, he hasn’t consistently put together shutdown outings between. In fact, after five scoreless outings to start the season, Senzatela has strung together three-straight scoreless outings just once, and two in a row just three times.
In many ways, Senzatela is outperforming the sum of his parts, which makes him simultaneously a prime candidate to be traded—it seems extraordinarily unlikely the Rockies would want to exercise his 2027 player option, but while the front office has changed, it’s the same Rockies ownership, so you never quite know—and the type of player the Yankees probably should avoid. While circumstances will likely mean that he will cost less in prospect capital than someone with a more reliable track record like Luke Weaver or Adrian Morejon, the Yankees already have quite the stable of inconsistent and unreliable arms.
Senzatela probably makes more sense for a team like the Nationals, a team whose offense has been so prolific they have kept a bullpen completely lacking any competent arms in the race, than for the Yankees, who are looking to lower Aaron Boone’s blood pressure, not increase it.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 16: Gabriel Rincones Jr. #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on July 16, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets defeated the Phillies 4-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As the All-Star break and MLB Draft are over, the next mission for teams is the trade deadline. Who’s actually looking to buy, sell, or even do a bit of both as the season rolls to the August second deadline.
For a Phillies team that sits 54-44, they’ve established themselves as clear buyers with aspirations for contending given their payroll and previous seasons. The deadline has been both a chance to fill in marginal upgrade or take big swings depending on what’s available. They were able to do both last year, acquiring Jhoan Duran and Harrison Bader in separate trades with the Minnesota Twins that changed the outlook of the Phillies team completely.
Will they get a deadline like that this year? Probably not, but they have some similar issues this year. So, here is a power ranking of their needs as the deadline approaches.
1. A playable outfielder and new direction
Even with Brandon Marsh becoming an all-star and Derek Hill having the best stretch of his career in red pinstripes, the outfield still ranks among the worst in baseball. As a group, they rank 28th in wRC+ at 85, 28th in fWAR at 0.9, and 20th in Outs Above Average at -4. They’re not particularly good at anything and no one should be projected to play way better moving forward.
Getting the Gabriel Rincones Jr and Edmundo Sosa platoon off the field would be a big win by default. Rincones specifically has not impressed since being called up from AAA, hitting just .171 with a .503 OPS in 74 plate appearances. Defensively, he looks more like a future first baseman with some outfield capability rather than someone that should play most days in right field.
Sosa’s .625 OPS looks worse than what is actually happening; he’s been hitting the ball normally hard but has been a victim of a career-low BABIP. However, he is still best served as someone who should stay on the infield, grading out as a plus defender at second and third base while being a negative in left field.
Acquiring some sort of playable outfielder that can remove this platoon situation is probably the bare minimum that needs to be done this deadline. If nothing else happens, try to put a band aid on this wound.
The rest of this outfield cannot carry this issue either. Justin Crawford has a .658 OPS while being a below-average defender in center field, it’s fine given he’s a rookie but he’s still been roughly replacement-level and none of the other internal options have worked either.
Two other things make acquiring a playable outfielder the most important issue to address at the deadline. One is that it’s hard to expect Brandon Marsh and Derek Hill to keep playing the way they are. Marsh has begun slumping with a .483 OPS in July, making his season totals much closer to his normal career line. Hill has been a very nice story, but he has struck out on 23 of his 55 plate appearances as a Phillie with a .538 BABIP. He is a role player, a solid one, on the biggest heater of his major league career.
Two is that the infield is not lifting this group nearly as well. Trea Turner and Alec Bohm have had bad seasons and Bryson Stott has worked up to an 86 OPS+ after a bad start, which is roughly on the low-end of what he is as a hitter. Even with Bryce Harper having a good season (not an elite one), it’s not a group that will lift the outfield’s lack of production. This doesn’t even mention JT Realmuto’s issues this season.
2. A high leverage setup man
If outfield is their biggest need, this might be the best one to shop for given how available bullpen arms tend to be. With Brad Keller’s UCL Tear, the need for it to be a left-handed reliever probably matters less.
Jhoan Duran is Jhoan Duran and they will have to extend him as much as possible in October if they want to win a World Series. That’s just the reality of having someone like him on your roster. Jonathan Bowlan has looked like a really good get this season, giving them a 2.84 ERA with elite swing and miss stuff.
At the lowest point, it would be smart to try and shop for someone that slides after them. Given their starting pitching trio of Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesus Luzardo, it should be easier to funnel high leverage situations into two or three arms over the course of October.
Acquiring one arm would put Orion Kerkering and Jose Alvarado in roles that probably suit how their seasons are going. Kerkering has a 2.43 ERA but has pitched worse under the surface, walking 12.7% of hitters he’s faced with a very bad ground ball rate.
Alvarado is a wild card that the Phillies shouldn’t give up on yet. The 6.82 ERA is very bad, but it is simply not indicative with how he’s pitched. Alvarado is striking out over 29% of batters he’s faced, limited walks, and has been solid quality of contact. His ERA has been as high as it’s been thanks to a .440 BABIP that seems impossible to sustain moving forward.
3. Some kind of non-Alan Rangel fifth starter
This should be the least expensive of their needs given the bar. They are not looking for someone to save the rotation but having an extra starting pitcher for the stretch run would help. It almost certainly will not be what Walker Buehler provided them last year but they could just use a body.
Alan Rangel has looked fine for someone who shouldn’t face more than 18 batters a night but it could tax the bullpen over time and is probably part of why those team totals have been an issue. Aaron Nola has been a lot better his last three starts, but is still a question whether he will finish six innings during a start.
Adding another body would just make pitching plans more flexible for the stretch run. Whether that’s combining him and Rangel in a game if the bullpen has been overworked and needs a day or if they feel the need to run a six man or just something else. More flexibility is generally good to have.
While they sit only 2.5 games back of the NL East as of this writing, they still should be thinking about trying to get this pitching staff healthy and ready for a wild card series. Winning the division is always great but they sit six back of the Brewers for a top-two seed, a much more difficult goal to achieve.
There are at least 576 more innings to go in the regular season, they could use another bulk option to help them get through it.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: Michael Porter Jr. speaks onstage at the ESPN SportsCenter live broadcast at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Fanatics) | Getty Images for Fanatics
Michael Porter Jr. was at the Fanatics Fan Fest in New York Friday and made a bit of news both on the free agency of his friend and former Denver Nuggets teammate Peyton Watson as well as his own.
While most pundits do not put the Brooklyn Nets in the forefront of potential landing spots for the 6’9” 23-year-old Watson, there he was with Porter Jr. yesterday at the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan’s West Side pushing the idea. As a fan recorded, MPJ has not giving up on bringing PWat to Brooklyn…
His key line from an impromtu conversation involving him, Watson and a fan went something like this:
“He boutta sign for $130 million. I’m tryna get him in Brooklyn, though.”
At the moment, pundits think Watson who averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists with 49/41/73 splits last season, is likely to return to Denver or wind up in a sign-and-trade with the Bucks, Clippers or Hawks. That’s what Tony Jones wrote for The Athletic Friday. He doesn’t even mention the Nets, in fact. Last week, Jake Fischer also didn’t mention Brooklyn in his analysis of Watson’s free agency. The Nuggets want to keep him and basically have tried to scare off competitors by indicating they will match any offer for the restricted free agent. Sign-and-trades, while possible, are tricky under the new CBA.
The $130 million figure MPJ mentioned would seem to match the prevailing league wiseom that Watson wants a starting salary of around $25 million and a five-year deal.
It’s always possible that Porter Jr. was trolling fans but the close friendship between the two has been one big reason that, until recently, the Nets were thought to be legitimate contenders for Watson’s services. Porter mentored Watson in his early years in Denver. The Nets of course still have a deep cache of draft assets including 10 tradeable first round picks which became more valuable with the change of NBA lottery rules. Ironically, their biggest non-draft asset would have to be Porter.
Putting Watson aside, however, the comment by MPJ had additional revelance in that he readily admitted he was recruiting for his current team. This week, Sean Marks told media in Las Vegas that while he wants to MPJ back and happy, he was not in a rush to engage Marc Bartelstein. Two days later, Chris Haynes of TNT speculated that if there isn’t progress in talks on an extension, the Nets might deal MPJ, which seemed unlikely considering all the positive things the two sides have had to say about their relationship. Indeed, Haynes said it’s possible the two sides could talk as early as this weekend.
Porter, 28, will earn $40.8 million next season has been eligible since June 19 for a four-year extension worth as much as $234 million. It’s likely a final number would be more in the four year, $160 million range, however.
And in a live interview on ESPN from the FanFest, MPJ once again talked about his happiness with the Nets and their fans while adding “we’re building something special over there.”
“It’s really an honor because as an athlete because during the season, a lot of it is going to the gym, going to play games, coming home and you don’t get a chance a lot to interact with the fans and see how much love they really have. So to come out here and shake people’s hands and sign their autographs and take pictures of them is really an honor.”
Asked to compare his experience in Denver where he won a championship with last year in Brooklyn where he was mired in rebuild. Porter put this spin on things.
“Las year, it was a like new rookie season. It felt that drastic of a chance — in Denver being one of the younger guys, part of an established culture and winning a championship to come to Brooklyn and be the leader on the team, one of the oldest guys on the team — we have five rookies, youngest team in the NBA — was a completely different role that I had but it was soemting that I cherished and we’re building someon this special over there.”
There’s no urgency for the Nets to ink an extension with Porter. They have until next summer to finalize things. And it’s not at all absurd to suggest that Marks wants the additional team — and cap resources — to work on other possibilities. Perhaps PWat?
After a crushing victory on Friday night, the Braves now have two chances to open the “second half” with a series win against the respectable Rangers.
Facing the Rangers’ lefty, MacKenzie Gore, Eli White gets the start in right field, batting sixth and just ahead of Austin Riley. Joey Bart gets the start at catcher, as Drake Baldwin and his reverse splits bats leadoff, DHing. Jim Jarvis continues to start at shortstop, even against a lefty starter, and bats ninth.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The start of Saturday’s game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets has been pushed up one hour to 3:05 p.m. because of rain in the forecast.
Mets left-hander Sean Manaea (2-4, 4.56 ERA) is scheduled to face Philadelphia All-Star lefty Jesús Luzardo (8-4, 3.51) in the second game of the three-game series. The Mets took the opener 4-1 on Thursday.
TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 10: Brendon Little #54 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the seventh inning during a game against the New York Mets at Rogers Centre on September 10, 2024 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We made it to another weekend. There are only ten of these weekends left this season
Yesterday’s game was the latest in a series of terrible games this year. I’m wondering if they can continue to go with Spencer Miles one of five starts. But then, I don’t know who the next choice is.
And it doesn’t look like we are going to get any help coming off the IL.
Anthony Santander isn’t going to back anytime soon, he’s just had a cortisone shot because he ‘felt something’ in his shoulder and is shut down for 7 days. I’d bet he won’t be playing this year.
Addison Barger still has elbow inflammation, he won’t be back until August at very best.
Max Scherzer is back at the ‘playing catch’ phase.
Yimi Garcia and Jesus Sanchez are closer to returning.
And Jake Bloss is injured, with a shoulder injury. They don’t know how bad it is yet, but he won’t be pitching for a while.
The team is making changes to the back end of the bullpen again:
Adam Macko and CJ Van Eyk have been send down to Buffalo. Lázaro Estrada and Brendon Little are back. We haven’t seen Little in a while. He is still walking too many. In July he’s pitched 4.2 innings with 4 walks (one intentional) and 6 in 5.2 innings in June.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 17: Michael King of the San Diego Padres after giving up a walk against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Kauffman Stadium on July 17, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It was the San Diego Padres’ game to lose. The Friars took the lead in extra innings before Kyle Hart gave up fours runs (three earned) to the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the 10th. It’s just the second time this season that the Padres have been walked off.
In reality, it never should have gone that far. Several pitching decisions by manager Craig Stammen fell short of success, actively losing the game for San Diego. With Adrian Morejon ahead of Salvador Perez in the eighth, Stammen issued an intentional walk that turned into the go-ahead run. That was erased by a Ty France homer in the ninth, but that should have been the go-ahead run for the Friars, not a game-tying one.
After Mason Miller pitched a thrilling ninth inning, it was surprising to not see him in the 10th. Sure, he’d worked to get out of the previous frame, but he was at just 16 pitches. It was even more surprising that Hart wasn’t taken out with the game-winning run aboard. Instead, Stammen’s poor decision-making ended in heartbreak for San Diego. Now, they’ll need to win tonight to force the rubber match.
Taking the mound
Randy Dobnak (KC) v. Griffin Canning (SD)
Former Padre Stephen Kolek will be missing his scheduled start after returning from the family medical leave list just before the All-Star break. Kolek showed signs of rust and the Royals sent him to Triple-A to make a minor league rehab start.
In his place, Dobnak will pitch his third game for Kansas City since being traded from the Seattle Mariners a month ago. He’s been used primarily as a bulk reliever and has been successful (1.86 ERA, 9.2 IP). Whether or not that success can continue when the sample size increases remains to be seen.
Canning has bounced back considerably in his last few starts. Despite a ballooned 6.47 ERA this season, the right hander has given up two runs or less in each of his last three starts. That’s good for a 3.46 ERA across Canning’s last 13 innings pitched. It’s a small sample size, but it has been inspiring.
The San Diego right-hander doesn’t have much experience against the Kansas City lineup. Salvador Perez has the most at-bats (11) with a career .273 batting average and .878 OPS. If Canning can make it through five quality innings, it’ll be the first time he’s done so since June 12.
Batter up!
The lineup looked pretty healthy Friday night. The offense put up six runs on eight hits including three from Fernando Tatis Jr. and a Ty France homer. Miguel Andujar had his second game in as many weeks where he slugged three doubles. It was a solid outing for the Friars, one that they’ll need to continue if they hope to contend.
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Jackson Merrill, CF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Manny Machado, 3B
Gavin Sheets, LF
Ty France, 1B
Miguel Andujar, DH
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Freddy Fermin, C
Luis Campusano winced after swinging at a pitch last night. Fermin will likely take his place to give Campusano a rest day. The series opening loss was more due to some costly defensive errors from the San Diego infield. Those miscues halted the Friars’ momentum, leading to the unfortunate events of the 1oth inning. They’ll need to be better.
Relief corps
For the most part, the relievers nailed it down. Bradgley Rodriguez and Morejon each gave up a run over three innings after Michael King went just five innings. It’s impossible to overstate just how incredible Miller’s performance was. After loading the bases with no outs, Miller struck out the next three Royals batters to push the Padres into extra innings.
Hart imploded from there, but that shouldn’t take away from Miller’s incredible appearance. It was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise stellar performance for the Friars. If they can rebound with a win tonight, it will make all the difference for San Diego. The club will have Jhony Brito, Ron Marinaccio, Yuki Matsui, Miller and Matt Waldron available in today’s contest.
SITE NOTE: Today is the annual postgame bleacher BBQ, thus today’s recap will be delayed an hour or so past the usual time.
Saturday notes…
SATURDAY IN THE PARK: The Cubs are 8-7 on Saturday this season. They finished 20-7 a year ago, including 9-5 at home, where they are 4-4 this year. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
LET THERE BE DAYLIGHT: The Cubs are 21-10 in day games so far, significantly better than their 43-32 final showing last season. They are 15-10 in sunshine at home this year. They wound up 29-20 a year ago. They also are enjoying more success in day games after night games (12-8 to 19-19 last season) and in day games at home after night games (7-3 to 7-8). (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
LACK OF LONG BALLS: The Cubs did not hit a home run last night and served up a decisive three-run blast. They are 14-25 when they have surrendered more homers than they have hit, 20-12 when they have hit the same number and 20-6 when they have hit more than they have allowed. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: After a rain delay of two hours and 30 minutes, Javier Báez and Willson Contreras homered in a four-run Cubs third inning. That led the Cubs to a 5-1 win over the Braves in Atlanta. It happened nine years ago today, Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
Matthew Boyd, four starts since returning from the knee injury: 2.86 ERA, 1.273 WHIP in 22 innings. Looks like he’s back on track to me.
Boyd did not face the Twins last year and so only four of the current Twins have ever seen him, only one for more than a handful of at-bats: Josh Bell, 4-for-14, three walks.
Taj Bradley came to the Twins in a deadline deal last year that sent Griffin Jax to the Rays.
Bradley’s had a pretty good year in Minnesota in 2026. Over his last five starts: 2.32 ERA, 0.935 WHIP, 38 strikeouts in 31 innings.
He has two career starts vs. the Cubs and in those two games combined for 12.2 innings in which he allowed three unearned runs (0.00 ERA) and struck out 19. Alex Bregman, though, is 2-for-6 against him, both the hits home runs. So maybe Bregman can stay hot against him.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 21: Quentin Grimes #5 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball during the game against the Utah Jazz on March 21, 2026 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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 Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The NBA is a community. Even when players are on different teams, the degree of separation between them and other organizations is small.
Quentin Grimes is a perfect example. On the surface, he is the newest Laker and a five-year player who has spent most of his time in New York and Philadelphia.
However, for a brief moment, he was a teammate of Luka Dončić on the Mavericks. And when you factor that he’s worked out multiple times with Lakers head coach JJ Redick, even staying at his guest house during one of those sessions, it’s obvious he is entering into this new situation with some familiarity.
“I think everybody wants to be wanted as a player and I feel like there was a lot of mutual interest between me and the Lakers for a while now. “Nobody expected Luka [Dončić] to be with the Lakers and we had a good little run with Dallas. I knew JJ [Redick], I knew Jarred Vanderbilt, I knew Kurt Rambis and Greg St. Jean and everybody so it was kind of like a no-brainer and a great fit honestly.”
Grimes has the respect from his new team, which should make chemistry a breeze. Redick wouldn’t have worked with Grimes before if he didn’t like his game and work ethic.
Still, it’s almost a certainty that other teams had interest in Grimes as well. So it’s going to take more than that for a player to join a franchise. Besides his four-year, $60 million deal, Grimes selected the Lakers because the role he was pitched enticed him.
He elaborated on this during the next portion of his interview.
“That was really one of the bigger selling points. Talking with JJ and then having them be able to pitch me what my role [will] look like, having a pretty big offensive role within the team. But also having a big leadership role on defense as well as taking on that challenge every night of guarding the best players and wanting that responsibility. I want to have that challenge every night. So, that was really the two main things when I was choosing [a team] in free agency.”
Grimes averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game last season. With six of LA’s top 10 scorers from last year gone, there is a need for additional scoring and Grimes could be the answer.
What’s also interesting from this quote is Grimes viewing himself as a defensive leader. He’s assuming that he’ll defend some of the best players on most teams. Grimes being a top two-way player for the Lakers is a big ask, but he’s looking forward to answering the call.
Knowing Grimes has a connection with LA’s superstar, their head coach, other players on the team and the front office people, he knows what he’s getting into.
Grimes understands the pressure and is up for the challenge. The interest has been mutual and this fall we’ll hopefully see why both sides wanted this partnership to happen.
It seemed like the perfect homecoming for the Detroit Red Wings in April 2019, when it was announced that beloved legendary captain Steve Yzerman was returning to the franchise he helped bring back from the dead in the early 1980s.
Considering what Yzerman was able to accomplish as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, which included uncovering several gems in the NHL Draft that turned into elite talents, the understandable thought was that it was only a matter of time before he did so in Detroit.
Upon his arrival back in Detroit, he undertook a massive rebuilding process after the prospect cupboards were left essentially barren by former GM Ken Holland, who also left behind several bloated contracts of underperforming players.
And while Yzerman did select a handful of top-tier talents in his first two Drafts as Red Wings GM in Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, the club never fully put things together.
Yzerman officially stepped down from his role on Wednesday morning following what was the seventh straight year of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the third straight that his club was in prime striking position in March, only to stumble and tumble out of the race.
The club is also in the midst of a standoff with captain Dylan Larkin, who requested to be traded not long after the season; his request was made public in early June.
Needless to say, this is not how even the most skeptical of fans and analysts would have guessed Yzerman’s tenure as GM would have ended.
There were several questionable decisions Yzerman made along the way, not the least of which was attaching a second round draft pick to Jake Walman and shipping him out of town for nothing in return.
While it’s true that the Red Wings suffered abysmal luck in the NHL Draft Lottery, Yzerman was also hesitant to pull the trigger on bold trades aside from Michigan native Alex DeBrincat, who only wanted to come to his hometown team.
Fans were also growing frustrated with the lack of any kind of timeline as to when they could expect a return to the postseason.
Little Caesars Arena, which opened in the fall of 2017, has yet to host a single postseason hockey game.
Yzerman and the Red Wings seemed perfect for one another. Unfortunately, his tenure as GM wasn’t anything like how events unfolded in Tampa Bay.
While the Red Wings are in a considerably better position now than when he took over, they’re still faced with several roster holes and questions about when they can realistically compete for the Stanley Cup again.
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