ATLANTA, GA - JULY 21: Tyler Kinley #45 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the ninth inning during the game against the San Diego Padres at Truist Park on July 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tyler Kinley’s relationship to the Braves has been an odd one over the last year.
Before 2025, Kinley had a career 107/102/109 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) and 1.2 fWAR in just under 260 innings. Most of that value was accrued in 2022, when his season was cut short by injury. It’s also important to keep in mind that there’s at least some evidence that the Coors Field park effects are overly punishing to hitters and therefore overly generous to pitchers.
Before the Braves traded for him in 2025, it was more of the same: 118/96/113. Those numbers are barely rosterable for a reliever aside from a low HR/FB. The Braves hoped they could get more out of him, and they did in some ways, though it wasn’t exactly him hitting a new gear or anything: 17/68/105. Basically, Kinley had an epic run of not having runs charged to him and allowing very homers… while pitching as effectively (or, I guess, ineffectively) like the Kinley of old. The Braves had Kinley throw fewer fastballs, work harder on getting the fastball up, and change the way he threw his curveball so that it came out of a similar arm slot as his slider. They had him focus on getting the breaking pitches in the zone, with the fastball going above it.
Kinley did all of this. There is a very clear breakpoint in his pitch usage and location, among other things, between his time with the Braves and the Rockies. This wasn’t a matter of an inability to implement desired changes. It was just that it didn’t really matter. Though Kinley did halve his walk rate as a result of the changes, getting the ball in the zone or higher made him less of a grounder-generator and didn’t help him in the strikeout department. The fewer walks were great, but that was largely the only benefit.
While we don’t know the reasons, all of this led to a surprising-at-the-time-I-guess? declining of his team option in the offseason. There was some clamor about $5.5 million being an okay price for Kinley’s services, but from my perspective, there was no reason to give a reliever who never pitched all that well and couldn’t even manage a 100 xFIP- with the Braves anything above league minimum in the first place. The Braves ultimately re-signed Kinley for $4.25 million, essentially saving $1.25 million relative to his option price.
There was a stretch, a relatively brief one, where Kinley at least seemed better. Through May 3, he kind of seemed like he was picking up where he left off in 2025, with a little bit better performance overall: 42/82/94. His walk rate was back up to its former gross levels, but he was actually striking a bit more guys out. A reliever with an xFIP- around 90, especially one that you believe has some contact/homer suppression, can definitely play in a bullpen.
It didn’t last, though. Over the next month or so, Kinley went 111/130/96. His walk rate fell, but so did the grounder rate. You can write off the homers, as well, HR/FB stuff, but it didn’t feel great. His elbow may not have felt great, either, as he missed about a few weeks with inflammation.
At this point, Kinley has been back for about a month, and his performance has been ghastly. 231/202/132 is really bad. His strikeout rate plummeted, his walk rate is bad again, he’s barely getting any grounders. Joel Payamps got canned after a 193/137/116 line. Aaron Bummer got canned after a 179/207/136 line. The Braves ate some money in both of those cases. Kinley could very well be next: his season line is now 107/125/103, and has been getting dramatically worse basically every other outing or so.
Probably the biggest issue is that in aggregate, Kinley is losing any reason for positive prognosis. Even if he was never a guy to dream on given his track record, you could at least… ponder that he’d be okay for a while? But, with his season xFIP- crossing the 100 mark again, and with him not even doing the homer suppression thing, there’s not much there there. Basically every plate discipline metric is down across the board from his Braves stint in 2025, and his fastball command has been an utter disaster. While he’s really honed his slider release such that it hits the corner of the zone over and over, that’s actually not as helpful when everyone knows it’s coming at least two out of every three pitches, and he has no idea where his fastball is going. (The fact that the slider’s shape isn’t very good is another detriment — batters have an easier time hitting it relative to another slider if they know it’s coming and they can reach it, and they definitely know it’s coming and can reach it in the zone.)
So, put all that together, consider the impending Trade Deadline, and… will Tyler Kinley make it to season’s end with the Braves? Or, will they eat another partial reliever salary to reconfigure their bullpen to hopefully be a bit better?
The Toronto Blue Jays open a weekend set at Fenway Park against a red-hot Boston Red Sox club, sending Trey Yesavage to the mound against left-hander Patrick Sandoval.
Toronto finally broke out of its slump on Thursday, and I’m backing the bats that did the damage, starting with Ernie Clement.
Read on for my Blue Jays vs. Red Sox predictions and MLB picks for this Friday, July 24 matchup.
Blue Jays vs Red Sox predictions
Blue Jays vs Red Sox best bet: Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases (-110)
Ernie Clement has the shortest line for total bases, yet I’m still drawn to this pick. On the simplest level, he’s been the Toronto Blue Jays' most consistent hitter, especially in July, where he has at least one hit in 13 of 17 games.
But his advantage Friday runs deeper than the box score.
The Boston Red Sox send out lefty Patrick Sandoval, who has allowed 14 hits in 9.1 innings this season and leans on a shaky mix of sliders and changeups. Sandoval throws the slider 35.5% of the time, and opponents have teed off on it this year, slugging .667 over a 50-pitch sample.
Clement is the slider-hitting extraordinaire on this roster, hitting the pitch for a +2 run value, per Baseball Savant, along with a .339 average and .475 slugging mark.
I wouldn’t play this bet past -110.
COVERS INTEL: Clement has always hit left-handers better, with a .725 career OPS against southpaws versus .669 against righties, giving him an edge Friday against Patrick Sandoval.
Blue Jays vs Red Sox same-game parlay (SGP)
For the same-game parlay, I’m stacking Toronto’s momentum from Thursday’s win. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases leads the way, backed by his platoon edge against a left-hander and his long history of damage at Fenway Park.
Trey Yesavage Over 5.5 strikeouts is an aggressive play, even if he’s punched out five or more in three of his last five starts and carries an 8.7 K/9.
I’ll cap it with the Blue Jays moneyline at plus money, a live price for a club that just snapped its skid against a starter making only his third appearance of the year.
Blue Jays vs Red Sox SGP
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 1.5 total bases
Trey Yesavage Over 5.5 strikeouts
Blue Jays moneyline
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Blue Jays vs Red Sox home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+525)
This whole Blue Jays offense seems cursed to hit nothing but singles this season, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could be primed for a big day, especially at Fenway Park.
Red Sox fans must be terrified of Vladdy, who owns a .342/.415/.589 slash line at their home park with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in just 56 games.
That’s a 35-homer pace.
Guerrero already went deep at Fenway earlier this year, and he arrives equipped to keep mashing on the road after two clutch hits on Thursday helped Toronto break out of its slump.
He’s also been far better against lefties (.784 OPS) than righties (.668 OPS) this season, and Boston is sending out a lefty. I’d play this until +500 and, as usual, keep it to a quarter unit.
2026 Transparency Record
Best bets: 9-8, +0.68 units
SGPs: 2-16, -2.31 units
HR picks: 3-5, -0.75 units
Blue Jays vs Red Sox odds
Moneyline: Toronto +105 | Boston -125
Run line: Toronto +1.5 (-180) | Boston -1.5 (+155)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-120) | Under 8.5 (+100)
Blue Jays vs Red Sox trend
Patrick Sandoval carries a 1.71 WHIP through his first two starts of the season, allowing 14 hits across 9.1 innings, which suggests he’s still shaking off some rust. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Red Sox.
How to watch Blue Jays vs Red Sox and game info
Location
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Date
Friday, 7-24-2026
First pitch
7:15 p.m. ET
TV
Apple TV
Blue Jays starting pitcher
Trey Yesavage (4-5, 3.78 ERA)
Red Sox starting pitcher
Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 4.82 ERA)
Blue Jays vs Red Sox latest injuries
Blue Jays vs Red Sox weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 26: Quinn Beauchesne #13 of Team CHL smiles before the CHL USA Prospects Challenge between USA and CHL at Canada Life Place on November 26, 2024 in London, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The amount of young talent in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization is filling up quickly. CapWages has 21 players on Pittsburgh’s reserve list for unsigned drafted players and the team has 22 others under contract that will be playing in the pro ranks next season. Once upon a time, finding 25 players to even rank was a tall task, now there are some decent enough names that won’t draw a mention at all for this year’s list considering that there are over 40 options between signed players and the reserve list. Today hopes to appease that with an honorable mention of five players on the cusp of making the list, all of whom show the potential to be ranked next year with favorable upcoming seasons.
Earlier in the week we kicked off Top 25 Under 25 season by looking at the players that won’t be a part of this year’s list due to aging out, being traded or otherwise leaving the organization. As a loose rule, we’re saying for now that 2019 draftees like Elmer Soderblom (who turned 25 earlier this summer) and Nick Robertson (who has his 25th birthday in September) are ineligible this year. 2020 draftees that are under the age of 25 currently, like Hendrix Lapierre and Joel Blomqvist meet the cut-off as fair game this year.
The top 25 under 25 series was a staple within the SBN Hockey blogs a decade ago, around here it’s morphed into what I like to think about as a snapshot in time for value and importance within the organization. It’s not meant to be purely predictive of which player may be the best pro in three, five or seven years but show how the young players currently stack up against one another.
In many ways it’s an impossible task, and a very subjective one. How does one weigh a 24-year old that figures to have a short leash at making an NHL impact (like a Phil Tomasino or Sam Poulin last year) against a fresh-faced 18 year old that was just drafted and doesn’t figure to turn pro for several years? Not to mention everything in between. It’s certainly a balancing act where guaranteed contributions to the NHL level count for something, even with the real possibility of a short shelf life and some projections also have to be taken into account for expected/hoped for futures.
Since this is a value-based snapshot in time, another handy tool may be to consider a hypothetical trade. If you assume a trade is going to happen and the other side wants either prospect X or young player Y to finalize the deal, which asset would the organization be better off holding onto? The answer to that judgement can go a long way towards determining where the young players will slot in against each other for this list, though it isn’t a strict rule of thumb since some player profiles (puck moving defenseman) might have more trade value than organizational value than other spots (goalie, small winger). That consideration is at least some factor in aligning the rankings.
Deeper into the process once the proceedings get going, we’ll pull back the curtain and show a bit more of the informal tiers of prospects that give more structure to the groupings. This year, we have a few players at the top for expected NHL contributors with top of the lineup potential, followed by two broad tiers of mixed between ‘highly drafted further out players with upside’ and ‘mid-age prospects with something to prove’. Further down the line, the latter tiers include ‘far out longshots showing promise’ if you want to start getting that mindset early.
For now, players who didn’t make this year’s top-25, in what could be considered the ‘others receiving votes’ section of the AP poll. Going back as recently as 2023, any of these players on the HM list today might have ranked as high as 12th, given the weakened state of the prospect pool back then. Flip back to 2022 and any of these names they have been as high as 10th. That’s not even an exaggeration, the pool is filling up and getting better (also true: it wasn’t very deep or good back then). These names are worth watching, knowing and hoping for the best. This will be alphabetical order.
Quinn Beauchesne
Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopolous raved about Beauchesne during this month’s development camp.
“I don’t know if another prospect in our organization grew as much as he did during the season last year,” Kostopoulos said. “It was great to see. You could see him mature as a leader, as an individual, and like, really take ownership of his career and his development. Really happy with him.”
Beauchesne, a fifth round pick in 2025, was 25th in last year’s Pensburgh T25U25 list. An uneven start to his OHL year, in addition to the amount of young talent coming in during the last 12 months, has bumped him for this year but the young defender still has plenty of time to grow and continue to work his way back into the mix. The Pens brought Beauchesne on as an AHL amateur tryout after his OHL year ended, he made his pro debut for one game in Wilkes and got to see how professionals prepare and work. He’ll take that knowledge onto Boston College this fall to continue his progression.
“He’s got snarl to his game, he’ll stick up for his teammates, he’s got a nasty edge,” Kostopoulos said.
He can say that again, Beauchesne was suspended for two games in the OHL for a high slash to an opponent. He’s not very big (6’0”, 184 pounds) but plays an aggressive, fearless style and doesn’t back down from confrontations. He’s got a good motor, can skate well and play the puck a little bit – finishing his OHL season with 23 points in the last 29 games in a huge role after his so-so start to the year.
Atley Calvert
The Pens signed Atley Calvert, 22, to an NHL entry level contract this July, a nice reward for an over-achiever. Calvert went undrafted into the WHL, earned a spot and become the second highest scorer on a championship team for Moose Jaw by his final year there. After going undrafted in the NHL, Calvert signed a minor league contract with the Pens and split 2024-25 between the ECHL and AHL, playing more in Wheeling than in Wilkes. Last season was a breakout, Calvert stuck in the AHL and played 70 games, scoring 38 points (16 goals, 22 assists). Mostly a winger, he filled in admirably at center for 20 games when the team was short-staffed down the middle and needed help. In the Calder Cup Playoffs, Calvert chipped in another six points (3G+3A) in 15 games.
Calvert earned that NHL contract through a lot of hard work and versatility. As mentioned above, he was willing and able to play center in a pinch. He’s a player with a great motor that will fight for the puck all over the ice and make a bigger impact than the boxcar stats will show by being hard on the puck and reliable to make the right play. Calvert’s the sort of ‘safe’ player in a good way that a coach can trust and will latch onto as a key player to be on the ice for an important d-zone start. Considering where he started from, Calvert’s over-shot significantly already. It’s worth watching here to see what he can do in the next couple of years as he continues to grow. He doesn’t have a super-high ceiling for the NHL, but players good on and off the puck are always valuable, and if nothing else Calvert will be a staple that helps Wilkes for the next couple of seasons.
Gabriel D’Aigle
It’s difficult enough to analyze goalies, so figuring out a netminder in the ultra-offensive QMJHL, on a bad team that gives up almost 40 shots a game and is bad enough to lose no matter who the goalie is? That’s about impossible. So it’s tough to know just what the Pens have in Gabriel D’Aigle, a third round pick from 2025, but they are excited for his future and talent.
“Just his excitement to be in the net, his attitude in the net, when you see him in practice, you see him on the ice, he’s a competitor,” Kostopoulos said in July. “He wants to stop pucks. He wants to get into the net. He did a really good job jumping in there in Wheeling. We’re excited about his potential, for sure.”
Not turning 20 until November, D’Aigle is incredibly young for a pro goalie. Word from the organization seems to be guiding him to play pro next season, after signing his NHL ELC and getting some experience in the ECHL last season.
“It was good experience,” D’Aigle said. “Pro is different than junior. I play against men. It’s different. The game is faster, and the shots are heavier. I learned for the next season.”
One interesting wrinkle: D’Aigle played on a minor league ATO last season, and was given an ECHL qualifying offer by Wheeling. The Penguins have ended their affiliation with Wheeling, but due to that ECHL QO the Nailers retain D’Aigle’s ECHL rights for next season. The Pens’ new ECHL affiliate, Florida, would have to trade something to get them. How that situation unfolds could be interesting to watch and see if the Pens/Florida break something off for Wheeling to get D’Aigle for their organization, or if Pittsburgh just opts to keep D’Aigle in the AHL as a third goalie, or even send him back to the QMJHL as an over-age player and figure it out next season.
Either way, it’s a goalie, he’s 6’4” and extremely athletic, but extremely young. Let’s check back in 2-3 years and see what it’s looking like as far as his transition into the pro ranks.
Kale Dach
A seventh round pick in 2025, Dach is a prospect on the rise. He will head to Penn State in 2026-27.
“Two-way guy that produced at a pretty good clip in a pretty good League [BCHL],” Vice President of Player Personnel Wes Clark said last summer. “So, our model was high on him at that point. We’ll see where that one goes as well.”
It went really well in the first year, Dach led the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) in goals (34) and points (75) in 2025-26. Dach is a smaller player at 5’10” 165 pounds and needs to continue to add strength as he develops, but he’s been an offensive-minded player with a knack of producing at the BCHL and WHL levels. He’s the perfect profile of a Clark/Kyle Dubas pet project as a smaller prospect with some upside with great hands, hockey IQ and responsible enough away from the puck to make a positive impact for his teams at the lower levels. Now he’ll step up a rung of competition again as he begins his NCAA career and looks to create a niche not too far from Pittsburgh over in State College starting this fall.
Travis Hayes
A younger brother of Penguin Avery Hayes, Travis as a 2025 draftee from the fourth round. There are a lot of similarities between the two brothers; both are right handed forwards with about the same size profile (5’11 and 170ish pounds) with incredible motors and a touch of scoring ability. Despite the obvious commonalities, the Penguins see differences between the two.
“I don’t want to compare them other than they’re great kids,” Kostopoulos said this summer. “We love them. Their coaches love them both. Their teammates love them both. They work their tail(s) off. But on the ice, they’re different.
“Travis is a great kid. He gives you everything he has every shift. He’s been working on his shot and his puck skills. … He works really hard at this game. Will continue to do so and he’s coming on.”
Avery Hayes made a huge jump at age-19, in his third year of OHL hockey in 2022, going from 29 points the season before up to 79 points. The league has changed to make an exact comparison, Travis has been a little more advanced by getting drafted and having an AHL ATO last spring with Wilkes, though he did not appear in any games. Unlike many in his draft class, Travis isn’t going the NCAA route and will head back to the OHL and presumably look to start his pro career in 2027-28. He’s got a long road ahead with a lot of minor league time likely, but if he can stay on the path his brother has already tread, the Pens might have a player with some sort of NHL future years down the line.
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson has landed a new post-playing career job.
The Ohio State University's women's hockey team has announced that they have hired Johnson as an associate head coach.
It is not too difficult to understand why Ohio State has hired Johnson as an associate head coach. The former Penguins defenseman put together a successful 19-year NHL career that saw him win the Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche. With this, he should be a very good mentor for Ohio State's players in his new coaching role.
This will be Johnson's first coaching job after retiring from the NHL as a player following the 2024-25 season.
Johnson spent two seasons with the Penguins from 2018-19 to 2019-20. In 149 games with the Metropolitan Division club over that span, he recorded four goals, 20 assists, 24 points, 244 blocks, and 416 hits.
In 1,228 career games over 19 NHL seasons split between the Los Angeles Kings, Penguins, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets, Johnson posted 77 goals, 265 assists, 342 points, and 1,931 hits.
Clay Holmes made his first appearance on a professional mound since breaking his leg, and it was just fine for a first outing. The Syracuse bullpen picked him up after he gave up a couple of runs in his brief start, as Tobias Myers and three other relievers combined to blank the RailRiders the rest of the way. Unfortunately, Syracuse’s bats were blanked for the entirety of the game.
The Rumble Ponies didn’t score until the bottom of the ninth inning, but that late rally came up a run shy of tying things up. R.J. Gordon walked four, but he gave up just two runs—one earned—in five innings and struck out seven. It’s been a bit of an uneven season for him, but it’s nice to see him have a good outing with his season high in strikeouts.
The Cyclones nearly had this game won in the ninth inning, but Jersey Shore’s two-run bottom of the ninth sent the game to extras. After neither team scored in the tenth, both teams scored one in the eleventh before Brooklyn was blanked in the twelfth and Jersey Shore scored to walk it off in the bottom of the twelfth. First baseman
Trace Willhoite had himself a night at the plate for Brooklyn with two doubles, a home run, a stolen base, and three runs scored, and startig pitcher Nicolas Carreno had a very nice outing with six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts.
St. Lucie won the first game of their doubleheader thanks to the fact that their pitchers shut out the Mighty Mussels. Marco Vargas drove in the lone run of the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.
Unfortunately, St. Lucie couldn’t complete the doubleheader sweep, as their bats remained pretty quiet and their pitchers didn’t throw a shutout in the second game against Fort Myers.
Well, Jean Brito didn’t have a good night, and neither did Jun-Seok Shim. Those two pitchers combined to give up all eleven runs that the Cardinals scored.
The Buffalo Sabres were hit with some bad news on Thursday, as Patrick Kane signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sabres were heavily linked to Kane before this, but now they will need to explore their options for forward help elsewhere.
When noting that the Sabres moved on from Alex Tuch this off-season, there is no question that they should add another forward to their roster before the start of the season. However, with it now being more than three weeks since the start of NHL free agency, there are not a ton of notable UFA forwards available.
Although this is the case, one UFA winger who could make sense for the Sabres to pivot to after missing out on Kane is Eeli Tolvanen.
It is somewhat surprising that Tolvanen is still a free agent at this point in the off-season. He is only 27 years old, chips in offensively, and plays a heavy game. With these qualities, he could be a solid addition to the Sabres' forward group if signed.
If the Sabres signed Tolvanen, he would have the potential to be a strong addition to their top nine. Furthermore, due to his solid two-way play, he would give them another option to work with on their penalty kill.
In 78 games during this past season with the Seattle Kraken, Tolvanen posted 12 goals, 24 assists, 36 points, and 187 hits. This was after he scored a career-high 23 goals and recorded 35 points in 2024-25 with Seattle. He also threw over 200 hits in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Overall, on a short-term deal, Tolvanen could be worth taking a flier on for the Sabres. It will be interesting to see if they make a push for him from here.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Franklin Arias #19 of the Boston Red Sox hits an RBI groundout in the first inning during the 2026 All-Star Futures Game Presented by Nike at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Boston Red Sox find themselves in a fascinating position after a franchise-record-tying 15-game winning streak.
The entire vibe of the ballpark flipped on its head with real investment in a historic run. Boston went from 37-48 and out of contention to 52-48 and in control of an American League playoff spot. The surge also completely changed the conversation surrounding the trade deadline. The group originally looked like a prime seller with veteran pieces to ship out in Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Aroldis Chapman. Instead, those players will play meaningful roles in Boston’s mission to make consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in eight years.
Now in a position to buy, the state of the Red Sox farm system takes on even more importance, as the team must decide what packages could get deals across for impact additions. That reality makes for an interesting few weeks for Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham, who has run the farm system through multiple notable prospect waves in recent seasons.
With less than two weeks to go until the Aug. 3 deadline, Abraham has a big job to do to keep young players on track.
“I think the biggest thing for us is just making sure players are continuing to focus on their work, the goals that they have ahead of them and be able to perform on the field during the games and be able to get the work in to get better pregame,” Abraham told me Thursday. “We very much focus on controlling what you can control. That’s not only on the field but off the field as well. So there are going to be conversations that happen internally, there will be rumors, there’ll be media, and I think making sure that we’re not focusing on the noise externally and really focusing on the job that we need to do, that the players need to do at end of the day, is front of mind and that’s the focus.”
“Obviously, there is a part of this game that players and, quite honestly, that a lot of the staff can’t control,” Abraham added. “So making sure we’re taking care of our business and worrying about that and if something happens, we’ll adjust accordingly and have the conversations we need to have.”
Boston will certainly need to dip into the prospect pool to get a deal done, though a surplus of young, MLB-ready pitching can play a role in negotiations as well. That makes for an unnerving period for young players who know that they could find themselves on the move. Abraham reiterated the commitment of keeping routines and understanding the personnel adjustments that come with this period of the season where high-leverage decisions are made that can spark postseason runs at the big-league level.
“The season is very fluid and you really need to focus on the game that you have that particular night and the same as in the minor leagues,” Abraham explained. “You need to focus on the work that’s being done that particular day. Try to control what you control and you know hopefully you’ll be able to stack wins and put yourself in a better position later in this month and as we get towards the trade deadline. Obviously, there are some decisions that need to be made at certain times that influence what happens to our roster for better or for worse, whether it be bringing guys in or sending guys out one way or another. I think we’ve realized the season is incredibly fluid. At the end of the day, you have to make decisions that are best for the organization in the short term and in the long term. I know, no matter what, the goal is to win a World Series championship every year and I know [Craig Breslow] and the leadership group will do their best to make sure that we’re working toward that goal.”
One name that would be a significant surprise to be dealt is Boston’s top prospect Franklin Arias. The 20-year-old found unexpected power this season with Double-A Portland where his 19 home runs in 75 games matched his previous career total. Arias slashed .319/.407/.581 with 18 HR and a .987 OPS entering Thursday, a run of offense more than deserving of a bump to Triple-A Worcester. Arias ascended up the rankings this year and MLB Pipeline lists him as baseball’s No. 7 overall prospect. Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette first reported Thursday night, later confirmed by MLB.com, that Boston had promoted Arias to Triple-A.
Here’s what Abraham said Thursday morning before the reported promotion.
“I think there’s definitely conversations pretty often about when the right time to send him up is,” Abraham explained. “There’s not an exact answer when that will be. It will definitely be at some point this season. I would say the consistency has been great. We really asked him to put on some good weight and add some strength so he can impact the baseball more. It’s really his ability to hone in on a swing decision, swing at the right pitches, pitches that he can drive and he’s done an incredible job of that and he’s taken advantage of pitches over the plate and and drove them to all fields quite frankly. Just continue to match the consistency that he’s brought offensively, defensively and on the base paths. He’s incredibly smart. He’s a fast learner. He works his butt off.”
Abraham continued: “Just continuing to stack those days so that when his number is called to come up here he’ll be ready. But pre-game things going on I don’t know if there’s a lot more we need to see, in a lot of ways, which is exciting, but at the same time I think there are smaller pieces that he can always improve again, continuing to hone in on those swing decisions, continue to be more consistent with the bat, impact wise and again, small more intricate things with his footwork and his plate discipline that we’ll continue to focus on.”
Abraham, in his role, can take significant pride in the style of how the Red Sox rattled off an unimaginable winning streak. Given the countless injuries on the roster, headlined by the prolonged absences of stars Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet, Boston heavily relied on the depth contributions from Triple-A with names such as Anthony Seigler and Tsung-Che Cheng to do a job.
“It’s been a ton of fun to watch. I think we go into spring training every year realizing that the twenty-six guys that leave for Boston to start the season are not gonna be the only twenty-six guys that end up making an impact on the big league roster throughout the season,” Abraham shared. “So whether it be High-A, Double-A, Triple-A, we make sure that our players know their name could be called at any time and being prepared and making sure that when you know (Chad Tracy) and (Craig Breslow) call their name, they’re ready to help make an impact at the big league level. That could be on defense, that could be base running, that could be offensively, on the mound. So there’s so many different ways you can make an impact and make sure our guys are prepared to do so and can help the team in any way to help get a W on the board.”
The Red Sox have several factors that play into the massive responsibilities that fall on Breslow’s shoulders leading up to the 6:00 p.m. hour on Aug. 3. Abraham’s phone will likely be one of the busiest in the organization in the coming days before a consequential turning point in this tale of two seasons.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced on Thursday morning that Patrick Kane was going to come back to their team on a two-year deal. They are paying him $8 million, which is a lot for a 37 year old who's best years are behind him, but some of that money is for the things he will do to help their young players.
Throughout his NHL career, which includes multiple championships and individual accolades, Kane has done a great job helping others reach the next level. The list is long, but stars like Alex DeBrincat and Artemi Panarin come to mind right off the bat.
Now, they are hoping that he can have that magic in him one more time. There are a handful of young stars on the team who have the talent to become high-end NHL snipers, and Kane is just the man to help them.
Not only has Kane scored over 500 goals in the NHL himself, but he's also one of the greatest playmakers to ever don a hockey sweater.
Young players on the Blackhawks like Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar are all centers who will be interested in playing with Kane. However, pure snipers like Nick Lardis and Roman Kantserov would love to get ice time with the man who will best find them in the right areas.
Kane may not be a game-breaker of the highest level anymore, but he knows how to draw in defenders and take eyes off his teammates. He had 41 assists last year at 37 years old for a reason.
Kantserov led the KHL in goals in 2025-26 while Lardis played at a 20-goal NHL pace one year removed from scoring 71 goals in the OHL. The ceiling is bright for both of them as goal scorers.
Even after Kane is gone, players like Lardis, Kantserov, or any of the young centers can take things that they learned from him and apply them to their own careers. That type of mentorship (on and off the ice) goes a long way.
Patrick Kane can't play with everybody on the roster at once, but he will get different looks as the 82-game odyssey goes along. Whether it's at even strength or on the power play, all of these young snipers will be better in the long-term of their careers.
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Happy birthday to Miguel Socolovich, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1983 – In the memorable “Pine Tar Game” at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hits an apparent two-run home run off Rich Gossage to give the Kansas City Royals a 5-4 lead with two outs in the 9th inning, only to have the homer taken away when Yankees manager Billy Martin, at the urging of coach Don Zimmer, points out that the pine tar on Brett’s bat handle exceeds the 17 inches allowed in the rules. As a result, Brett is called out for illegally batting the ball, giving New York a 4-3 victory. Brett goes ballistic and the Royals immediately protest. American League President Lee MacPhail overrules his umpires for the first time, saying that the umpire’s call went against the spirit of the rule, which should be rewritten and clarified, and that the home run will stand. The game will be resumed from that point on August 18th, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
1926 – Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth demonstrate that power hitting is not the only thing they can do when Lou scores on a double steal with the Babe in a victory over the White Sox.
1966 – The Yankees beat the Angels, 9-1, in the first game of a doubleheader, and Mickey Mantle hits his second homer in two days. The round-tripper, his 493rd, ties him with Lou Gehrig for sixth place on the all-time list.
1969 – At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman tops Don Sutton for the fourth straight time – three this year – as Chicago beats the Dodgers, 5-3. For a frustrated Sutton, it is a record 13th straight loss to Chicago stretching back to his rookie year.
1970 – For the fourth time in his career, Billy Williams has the only hit(s) for the Cubs, as he connects safely twice against the Braves’Phil Niekro. Each time previously, Williams also had multiple-hit games to spoil no-hitters. Niekro coasts to a 9-0 victory over Fergie Jenkins.
2012 – The Yanks make history by becoming the first team since the 1927 Athletics to have three players with 2,500+ career hits in the starting lineup. New York uses Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and the newly-acquired Ichiro Suzuki to pull that off.
1758 – George Washington is elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, representing Frederick County.
1911 – American explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovers Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas.
1948 – Marvin the Martian, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in “Haredevil Hare.”
1969 – At 12:51 EDT, Apollo 11 returns to Earth after taking the first astronauts to the Moon and returning them safely.
2022 – Singer-songwriter icon Joni Mitchell makes a surprise concert appearance, joining Brandi Carlile at Newport Folk Festival in Mitchell’s first public performance in 19 years.
Sep 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; General view of the helmet used by the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. We’re now a week into the second half, and the Brewers got out to a strong start with a sweep of the Marlins and a series win against the Mets, extending their NL Central lead as we’re approaching the two-thirds mark on the season. They’ll welcome the Rockies to town this weekend (and host the Brewer Alumni Legends Game on Friday night) before hitting the road for visits to the Giants and Angels beginning Monday.
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.
Jul 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott (5) throws out Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Last weekend, the Phillies hosted some guests from New York. This weekend, they’re hosting some more guests from New York. But the pinstriped ones, this time. As everyone knows, Philadelphia and New York have a longstanding mutual fondness for each other, so surely it’ll be a happy reunion, buoyed by fond memories of 2009 (and 1950).
Orioles President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias welcomes the media and VIPs to the new facility. The Baltimore Orioles unveiled their new Player Development Complex to the media on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. The 47,700 square-foot facility includes indoor batting cages and infield, a biomechanics lab, new outdoor covered batting cages and more fan access areas. | Mike Lang / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Just 10 days remain until the MLB trade deadline, and at this moment, there’s no telling which direction the Orioles are going to go. Two weeks ago they looked like sure sellers, but their recent seven-game winning streak, which currently puts them three games back of the final wild card, might have changed the calculus.
The front office’s trade strategy could well come down to how the Orioles fare in their final three series before the deadline. They’re not going to be easy ones. Two of the Birds’ next three series come against National League clubs that are currently in playoff position, the NL East-leading Braves and the second-place Phillies. The other is against the Tigers, a team that’s basically an even match with the Orioles (just one game worse than the Birds). Two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is slated to start tonight against the Royals, which would line him up to pitch next Wednesday against the Orioles in what could be his last start as a Tiger. So the Orioles’ next week and a half will pit them against two very good teams and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Good luck!
The Orioles, at least, are looking more like a team that’s up for such a challenge. They’re playing much better baseball of late, and their pitching in particular has started to gel. Their 2.96 team ERA since the start of July is the second-best in baseball, behind only the Red Sox. Maybe the best indication of how good the O’s pitching has been is that long reliever Albert Suárez hasn’t pitched in more than two weeks. With all due respect to Albert, he’s the guy you bring in when a starter gets chased early or you’re hopelessly out of the game late, so the fact that he hasn’t been needed in so long is a positive thing.
If the Orioles continue playing like they’ve been doing lately, they have every chance to win more than they lose during this upcoming 10-day stretch, which would bring them to the deadline at about the .500 mark and right on the heels of the wild card leaders. If that happens, you have to think the Orioles would be buyers, but perhaps modestly so. They’re not going to get Skubal, but they could add a reliever or two and maybe another bat.
But if the sloppy, fundamentally unsound version of the team rears its ugly head in the next week and a half, and a lot of losses follow, then the O’s could be faced with the unappetizing reality of selling at the deadline. That would be a tough pill to swallow for a second straight year.
The Orioles are plenty capable of playing good baseball, staying in the thick of the postseason chase, and convincing the front office to supplement the roster at the deadline. They’re also, unfortunately, plenty capable of just the opposite. Which path will the O’s take? That’s the million dollar question.
Two O’s prospects, Ike Irish and Joseph Dzierwa, crack Keith Law’s midseason top prospect update. And JT Quinn gets a very intriguing shout-out in the Dzierwa writeup, so I’m gonna count that as a third.
I had never heard this story before. It’s fascinating to find out that such an iconic Baltimore tradition basically started because of a fan’s inside joke with her friends.
A reader wants the Orioles to simply put together a team of players who won’t get injured. Buddy, what you’re asking for is a team of indestructible cyborgs, which…actually, yeah, that sounds pretty nice. Make it happen, Mike Elias.
I still have mixed feelings about Davis being elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame so soon after his disastrous end to his career. It sounds like Tommy Hunter is going to give a pretty awesome speech, though.
I try less than almost anybody. Maybe I can be a professional baseball player after all.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Only two players in O’s history had a July 24 birthday, and they were born 64 years apart. Right-hander Miguel Socolovich (40) pitched six games for the 2012 Birds, and righty Duane Pillette (b. 1922, d. 2011) was a member of the inaugural 1954 Orioles, coming over with the franchise from St. Louis.
On this date in 2018, the Orioles traded their two-time All-Star closer, Zack Britton, to the Yankees for three prospects. It was a foregone conclusion that the last-place Birds would deal Britton, a pending free agent, but that didn’t make it any easier to swallow that he went to the Orioles’ most hated rival, where he spent the remaining five years of his career. The three players the O’s acquired didn’t amount to much, aside from one decent relief season by Dillon Tate.
Random Orioles game of the day
On July 24, 2004, the Orioles defeated the first-place Twins at Camden Yards, 4-2. The Orioles were trailing 2-0 at one point, but scored a single run apiece in the third, sixth, seventh, and eighth to earn the victory. Miguel Tejada provided nearly all the offense by himself, not only driving in two runs on a solo homer and an RBI double, but also scoring from first base on a strikeout (thanks to a throwing error by the catcher on a stolen base attempt). O’s starter Sidney Ponson worked seven innings of two-run ball, and B.J. Ryan and Jorge Julio each worked a perfect inning of relief.
PHILADELPHIA — Every single team in baseball with a winning record, and even those hovering close to .500, say they plan to be aggressive at the trade deadline.
They want their fans to believe it. They want their players to believe it. They even are trying to convince themselves to believe it.
If they don’t get the pieces they want by Aug. 3, they can at least shout to the world they tried.
Will the Milwaukee Brewers, who already have a fat seven-game lead in the NL Central, cough up two of their top prospects for two months of Tarik Skubal, if the Detroit Tigers trade him?
If you listen to GMs and executives throughout baseball, they believe the Tigers’ front office wants to trade Skubal with the uncertainty of the value of that draft pick in the next collective bargaining agreement. They could acquire a back-end starter and another prized piece for the future, while trying to convince their fanbase and players that they aren’t really surrendering.
Then again, if they trade Skubal, why stop there? Might as well dump pending free-agent starter Casey Mize, too.
In an informal survey of executives and scouts, here are the top five teams expected to be most aggressive at the Aug. 3 deadline:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Yes, they already won two World Series championships.
Yes, they have no glaring holes, they’re running away with the NL West, and will have closer Edwin Diaz back in a few days, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani back on the mound in a few weeks, and All-Star catcher Will Smith by the end of the season.
So, what’s the urgency?
Well, rival executives believe the Dodgers plan to be greedy, and are infatuated with the opportunity of becoming the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series championships.
If Tarik Skubal indeed becomes available, as executives are now predicting, the Dodgers are all in, and have the prized farm system and starting pitching depth to pull it off. They have nine players in MLB’s Pipeline’s Top 100 List.
They may not really need Skubal, but it sure beats facing him in the postseason.
Besides, if they grab Skubal now, they can help him house-hunt early before signing him as a free agent this winter.
2. New York Yankees
There’s some panic in those waters in New York, who are watching the season slip away from them. They saw the Tampa Bay Rays skip past them, and now the Boston Red Sox are looming large in their rear-view mirror.
If the Yankees weren’t stressing out, executives say, why in the world did they activate starter Max Fried after making just one rehab start since going on the IL two months ago. Fried pitched three innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Worcester, throwing 52 pitches, and was called up Wednesday to pitch the second game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh .
He certainly dominated, giving up just one hit in five innings, but couldn’t they have given him at least a second rehab start, if not a third?
The Yankees are desperate for a backup catcher and have their eyes on Ryan Jeffers from the Minnesota Twins, crave All-Star closer Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres, and would love to find another bat.
Meanwhile, they’ll be praying Aaron Judge returns before October to save their season.
3.Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays, who projected internally that they’d win 90 games this season, are now smelling blood in the water.
There are no powerful teams in the American League. They don’t have the Dodgers, Phillies or Atlanta standing in the way. Just get into the dance, and they’ve got a chance to be the last one waltzing across the World Series stage in October.
The Rays, who have sent a scouting army out at every major-league ballpark, believing that if they land Skubal, and a bat like second baseman Luis Arraez, a catcher like Ryan Jeffers or an outfielder like Heliot Ramos, this could be the year they return to the World Series for the first time since 2008.
It also doesn’t hurt that a nice playoff run would look awfully nice for the local politicians when they vote to approve the Rays’ new ballpark.
The Phillies privately will tell you that they should have won one World Series since 2021, if not a ring for each hand.
Now, they enter the pennant stretch with perhaps their most flawed team since this run began. They are in desperate need of a late-inning reliever, and would love to bring back Jeff Hoffman of the Toronto Blue Jays. They need a right-handed bat, and Daulton Varsho could be this year’s version of Harrison Bader for them. They could use another starter, too, and will be in on everyone from Skubal to Robbie Ray to Clay Holmes.
Dave Dombrowksi, Phillies president of baseball operations, isn’t about to sit back and watch his team get a year older without making major moves, no matter the cost.
5. Boston Red Sox
It was just two weeks ago that the Red Sox were preparing to sell, unloading ace Sonny Gray, closer Aroldis Chapman, and maybe first baseman Willson Contreras, too.
They were 32-46, 15 ½ games out of first place in the AL East
Funny what a 15-game winning streak can do to put those plans in the shredder.
The Red Sox, who are hunting down the Yankees and the Rays with a 20-3 record since June 25, now plan to be aggressive buyers.
They’ve got plenty of money in the coffers after unloading Rafael Devers last summer, and have no hesitancy acquiring big stars. They made attempts to acquire Angels center fielder Mike Trout in the past, and this time have their eyes on Angels shortstop Zach Neto or shortstop C.J. Abrams from the Washington Nationals. They also salivate over the idea of having Shea Langeliers behind the plate.
And, oh, wouldn’t Craig Breslow, who has been a punching bag all season, love to get the last laugh.
In what is becoming an annual habit, the St. Louis Cardinals are back-sliding going into and coming out of the All-Star break. Some view it as natural regression for a team that over-achieved in the first half of the season. As we approach the two-thirds point of the season, lack of depth gets exposed. Regression can be harsh that way, no?
Of course, the obvious approaching point is the trade deadline, which will be a mere 10 days away when you read this article. I’m not going to try to predict what will happen there or advocate for buy or sell or both. Today I’m going to try and peek under the covers at the key drivers that will guide Cardinal decision makers not only as they approach the trade deadline, but in decisions to be made in the final third of the season.
There are numerous advocates for the Cardinals to add talent for the 2026 stretch run. They are certainly positioned to compete (mathematically, anyway) and there is merit to the argument that you never know when you might be back in this position again. Next year is a long way away and a lot can go wrong, given time.
Others advocate for a more “stay the course” approach. Continue to treat 2026 as a rebuild year and continue to add more for the future, even potentially at the expense of the now. A good plan should be followed, right?
Other articles are out on VEB proposing who are candidates to be moved and discussing the pros and cons of each potential move. Interesting fodder, for which I don’t have any more names to add, but do have some sense that we might be surprised a bit. What might management be considering and what might we learn from the actions they take?
One thing that seems certain is that the Cardinals have likely narrowed down their question marks on the position player side from where they were last year at this time. In this runway year, some youngsters have emerged and some have not and a few idle.
Last year at this time, the whole outfield was a mess. Now, it seems like the problem area has really narrowed to CF (what is Nathan Church, exactly?). Do you think management would agree with this view? That said, a key outfield question revolves around Joshua Baez and where they see his development. If they think he is ready now, it seems like a Nootbaar trade at the deadline might be an action they take. If they think he needs more time, then maybe not so fast on breaking Noots lease on Arenado’s home. They have control for all of next year if they want. Seems to me that how they handle Nootbaar will tell us much about how they view Baez’ future.
Likewise, at this time last year the key question was wither Wetherholt? I’d propose that question has been answered emphatically, with the exclamation point added with that 8-year contract extension. If one wondered how they could improve the 2B position from Donovan, the answer is clear. Winn, Wetherholt and Burleson seems like a pretty solid group. Does management hold this view? It strikes me that the key question on the infield is … what do they do with third base?
Interestingly, the catcher position, for all the reputed depth that exists, is probably the most murky position right now and remains largely unchanged since this time last year. Pozo is now off the roster, but that wasn’t hard to see coming, nor was it a strategic move. Where do they go from here? Perhaps the trade deadline will bring more clarity, but this might be something that evolves through the end of the season. At some point, doesn’t Crooks need to start impressing? Maybe he is just pressing.
On the pitching side, the starting rotation has provided some surprising stability. Not necessarily the quality they need to form a contending team, but surprisingly closer than many of us would have thought coming in. As discussed in earlier articles, there is depth and some intriguing tools in the minors, but the stat lines suggest that the higher-end talent is still a bit away from MLB ready. Does management hold this view? In ways, it seems easier to envision the 2028 or 2029 rotations than the 2027 rotation. Odd in a way.
If you follow that line of thinking, one could wonder if management sees an asymmetry between the timeline of the position player core and the pitching core. If one sees an emergence of supreme pitching talent 2028 and beyond, one might recognize that some of the position player core will be nearing the end of their control years. Their actions at the trade deadline might help us understand their views on this, as well as their actions on the contract extension front.
Then there is the bullpen. Bullpens are primarily rebuilt in the off-season and get more attention when a team is ready to contend, when teams can assemble a puzzle from multiple available pieces. The current Cardinal bullpen certainly needs rebuilt, yes? There isn’t one or two deadline pieces that could fix this mess, in my view. If the Cardinals did that, it would tell me they have a very different view of things. My personal expectation is that soon, maybe not by August 3, but soon, is that we may start to see some starters migrating toward bullpen roles as a more long-term fix. What/who the Cardinals acquire (or trade away) at the deadline could tell us much about how they view this.
In the way issues have a tendency to inter-connect, I wonder how much management views the current starting pitching alignment as exposing the bullpen. I was reading a Brewer article yesterday bemoaning how it had been weeks since a starter got an out in the 8th inning and how much that exposed the bullpen. I think the Cardinals starters have gotten an out in the 8th maybe twice all season, and thought we’d be excited to see a starter get an out in the 7th. Boy, it is funny how perspectives can be so different. I wondered how much improvement in the rotation would actually help the bullpen and if management views this or is more inclined to think that 5-and-dive is the nominal strategy for starting now and deepening the reliever corps is the right direction.
Then there is the bench depth of this team. As they narrow down the main areas of concern (CF, 3B, C), one thing that has emerged this year is that the role players don’t fit very well, in the sense that they seem to not fill the obvious holes very well. My short-hand for describing this is that the role players they have are not great hitters and also not very good defenders (nor apparently are they particularly good base runners). These roles are necessary, because there are always situations where a mainstay needs a day off or a distinct platoon disadvantage arises or a pinch runner would be handy, but when the current set gets inserted, the games become clogged with poor quality PAs, extra K’s, missed fly balls, pick offs, plays not made. The result is a normally crisp team that competes every AB loses its margin for error and the play quality erodes noticeably. How does management fix this? More than proposing a deadline trade, I’m looking to see their actions to understand their view and their strategy. Might they seek to build this out with young talent or bring in vets of the type that are everyday players on 2nd-tier teams but better suited as role players on playoff-teams? Or, maybe like the bullpen, they will wait to fix this problem until all the main holes are plugged. Ergo, I see their aggressiveness in this area being a barometer of how close they think they are to contending. That they really didn’t do much with the bullpen last off-season told us a lot about how they viewed their chances at contending and by extension, how poor they saw the odds were meant little was to be invested. How much they do about the bench in the next couple months will tell use how they view 2027.
The last area of analysis is the plethora of struggling, young vets at AAA. Gorman, Scott II, Saggese, Prieto, Fernandez. All these guys occupy 40-man spots and 28-man spots on the AAA active roster. Blocking can happen at all levels. How do they view their future? I suspect the results at AAA the last couple months are not eliminating any misgivings they might have. We are all aware they don’t like giving up on guys and I’m OK with that, but the road does end at some point. It’s an uncomfortable part of this business and gets avoided in the same way we don’t like to contemplate or discuss our own mortality. But it is there and needs addressed. Likewise, and perhaps more concerning, there isn’t a lot of talent exploding up the pipeline threatening to push them off the 40-man. There is a bit of a double-edged sword here. Do they move on and bring in new pieces or …? Is now the point they start re-populating the position player side of the pipeline, similar to how they rebuilt the pitching over the last year? The 2026 Draft seemed a step in that direction. Theoretically, they could wait it out another year or two. But what would that tell us about the competitive timeline and how might that worsen the asymmetry between pitcher and position player groups?
From what I can gather, it is questions like this (and the underlying internal analysis they’ve done on this) that will guide how they will proceed this deadline and throughout the last third of the season, more so than an observation that they could use another leverage arm in the bullpen (which they could, but…). Their actions, choices and direction taken over the next weeks should help reveal more of the plan (and their expected timeline).
The Pittsburgh Penguins have added many new players on their roster this off-season after their successfuly 2025-26 season. However, when looking at their current group, it is fair to argue that they should not be done making moves yet.
The Penguins could use another left-shot defenseman to solidify their blueline. Because of this, they should strongly consider signing the best UFA defenseman left: Logan Stanley.
If the Penguins signed Stanley they would be bringing in 28-year-old, 6-foot-7 defenseman who would provide their blueline with more size and grit. When noting that they moved on from two left-shot defensemen in Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon this off-season, it would make sense if they brought in Stanley for more depth.
If the Penguins signed Stanley, he could be a strong fit on their bottom pairing and penalty kill. However, he could also even compete for second-pairing minutes if signed by Pittsburgh. In either scenario, the Metropolitan Division club's defensive group would get strong from a Stanley signing.
In 76 games last season split between the Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres, Stanley recorded nine goals, 17 assists, 26 points, 110 hits, and 128 penalty minutes.
COVERS INTEL: Clement has always hit left-handers better, with a 
