The Chicago Blackhawks spent the entire 2025-26 season celebrating 100 years of hockey in Chicago. It was a transition year on the ice, but many all-time great moments were celebrated throughout the entire campaign.
On Monday, the team announced how they would end the centennial celebration. November 17th will mark the 100th anniversary of their first game in franchise history. It came against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will be in the building on that night in 2026.
Chicago’s first game 100 years ago was also Toronto’s first game as the Maple Leafs, as they were the Toronto St. Patrick’s before that. It is the perfect matchup to commemorate that anniversary.
The modern-day Blackhawks will be hoping to have Connor Bedard back by the time of this game. It actually lines up right where the timeline of his recovery says he’ll come back, but anyone who knows Bedard understands that he'll try to come back well before then.
On the other side will be his friend and distant relative, Gavin McKenna, whom Toronto just made the number one overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. In addition to being an incredibly special occasion for the franchise, it promises to be an incredible hockey match based on the hype surrounding players on both sides.
Will the Blackhawks don special sweaters for this game? Will the Maple Leafs bust out their “St. Pats” throwbacks? Anything is possible, so expect the unexpected.
Other promotions from the Blackhawks include four bobblehead nights, Friday Night Hockey, and the return of the "Best Day Ever".
The bobbleheads given out will be Spencer Knight (November 29th vs Wild), Frank Nazar (December 12th vs Mammoth), Connor Bedard (February 20th vs Wild), and Alex Vlasic (March 14th vs Ducks). This makes it 10 bobbleheads over two seasons, as six were given away in 2025-26.
Fans can also celebrate Military Appreciation Night on November 12th vs the Buffalo Sabres, Native American Heritage Night on November 19th vs the Columbus Blue Jackets, Hockey Fights Cancer Night on February 17th vs the St. Louis Blues, St. Patrick's Day on March 10th vs the Washington Capitals, and Pride Night on March 16th vs the San Jose Sharks.
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This week, Gabe and I talk about the Cardinals’ recent 3-7 stretch that the team has continued to endure out of the All-Star break; we also play everyone’s favorite game of “stay or go” with all of the primary names being discussed before Monday’s deadline; finally, we finish up with a destination for 1 Cardinals player and team match we’d like to see and 1 across the sport and team match.
We will visit with Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat and potentially David Gasper of the Brewers’ daily podcast to talk about the deal that sent Dustin May and JoJo Romero to Milwaukee yesterday. We are also anticipating potential sit-downs with Cardinals Assistant GM Rob Cerfolio, Cardinals Broadcaster Stefan Carey, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch lead Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold.
I apologize again for no transcript; I will get back to it next week. These last couple of weeks have been late-night, last-minute projects in order to keep up with the consistency of the show!
Jul 24, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns speaks to the media before a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Mets’ total haul from the deadline included thirteen players for eight departing players, nine of whom will now be in the Mets’ top 30 prospects.
“We added a tremendous amount of talent,” said David Stearns in a media availability immediately following the trade deadline yesterday afternoon. Stearns also said the Mets explored a strategy similar to the Blue Jays to add cost controlled starting pitching, but didn’t “line up” on prices.
“It’s the possibility of what he can do for us in the second half,” Stearns said of holding onto Luis Robert Jr.—the only player reportedly on the trading block who the Mets did not part with. “The understanding that there is a club option [$20 million], and the excitement of of still having here him here for the next two months of the season.”
John Harper of SNY gave the Mets a B- as an overall grade for their trade deadline, noting that scouts had a more favorable view of the Mets’ trades than prospect rankings alone might indicate, but criticizing David Stearns for not following in the Blue Jays’ steps by acquiring cost controlled starting pitching to signal a desire to compete in 2027.
“Although things didn’t work out as we all hoped, I want to thank the fans, my teammates, and the Mets organization for the love that they showed me. I want to wish everyone the best on their journey,” Freddy Peralta wrote in an Instagram post following his trade to the Rays.
Hudson Valley native Sammy Stafura, who the Mets acquired from the Pirates for Luke Weaver, grew up a huge Mets fan. “I’m ready to get after it, I am one of the biggest mets fans ever and will give the Mets everything I have,” he said. The Mets took on $2 million of Luke Weaver’s salary for this season and $6 million of next year’s salary to complete the deal.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com provided more details about Jefferson Rojas, acquired from the Cubs for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, who now slots in as the Mets’ top prospect ahead of Jonah Tong, per MLB Pipeline.
With the departure of nearly a third of the team, the Mets made some promotions to fill out their now-depleted roster. Jefry Yan—he of the exuberant mound celebrations—was called up to the big leagues. Dedniel Núñez and Nate Lavender, who both spent time this season rehabbing injuries, were also recalled. To round out the new look pitching staff, Xzavion Curry was also brought back and Chayce McDermott, acquired from the Dodgers for Ben Rortvedt, will also be in the big league bullpen. To take Tyrone Taylor’s place on the position player side, Cristian Pache was called up.
Down on the farm, Mitch Voit was named Eastern League Player of the Week and MJ Melendez led the Syracuse Mets in home runs in July.
Around the National League East
Derek Hill hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh, as the Phillies bested the Nationals 6-3.
In addition to bolstering their bullpen by acquiring Raley from the Mets, the Phillies also added to their lineup by trading for Luis Arráez from the Giants.
The addition of Arraez means that the Phillies are shuffling their defensive alignment, which most notably includes Bryce Harper returning to the outfield.
Nolan Hoffman, who the Phillies designated for assignment, was acquired by the Royals for for minor league right-hander Manuel Colon and cash considerations.
The Braves added to their bullpen as well, acquiring left-handed reliever Brent Suter from the Angels for infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. The Braves also made a couple of deals with other buyers, sending catcher Joey Bart to the White Sox for Duncan Davitt and Eli White to the Red Sox for Tyler Uberstine.
The Mets weren’t the only NL East team to deal a reliever to the Pirates. The Pirates got lefty Lake Bachar from the Marlins for three prospects. The Marlins were wheeling and dealing, acquiring Victor Vodnik from Rockies for Connor Norby and Aiden May. They also dealt Liam Hicks to the Rays for Brayden Taylor, Adrian Santana, and Jacob Kisting and traded reliever Braxton Garrett to the Cubs for minor league infielder Jonathon Long and minor league righty Jace Beck.
The whole NL East was part of the action at the deadline; the Washington Nationals traded All-Star pitcher Foster Griffin to the Guardians for a package of four players: lefties Will Dion and Josh Hartle, righty Kendeglys Virguez, and OF Nick Mitchell.
The Angels received top shortstop prospect Arjun Nimmala, outfielder Eddie Micheletti and right-hander Angel Rivero from the Blue Jays for José Soriano. They also dealt Jo Adell to the Guardians for catching prospect Jacob Cozart and right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn to the Cubs for catcher Moisés Ballesteros and righty Mason McGwire. At the buzzer, they sent veteran reliever Kirby Yates to the Pirates, completing Pittsburgh’s new look bullpen, in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Robinson.
The Orioles were active sellers, trading three-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman to the division rival Red Sox for right-handed pitching prospects Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, outfielder Enddy Azocar, and catcher Carlos Narváez. They also dealt outfielder Taylor Ward to the Mariners for four players and reliever Tyler Wells to the Rays for righty Michael Forret.
The Blue Jays received infielder Josh Smith and righty Josh Stephan from the Rangers for left-hander Adam Macko and Spencer Arighetti from the Astros for Daulton Varsho, trying to lock in cost-controlled pitching to contend next year.
The Rockies traded Brenton Doyle to the White Sox for righty Mason Adams and infielder Carlos Vielma; the latter was a recent international signing by Chicago.
The Dodgers acquired Kris Bubic from the Royals for right-hander Carlos Duran.
The Giants dealt Robbie Ray to the Padres for shortstop Joniel Hernandez and righty Miguel Mendez. San Francisco also sent outfielder Heliot Ramos to the Yankees, providing the right-handed bat New York was seeking, in exchange for left-hander Henry Lalane and infielder Kaeden Kent. The latter is the son of newly-inducted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent.
The very busy Giants also dealt left-handed reliever Erik Miller to the also very active Red Sox for infielder Marcelo Mayer.
It wouldn’t be an MLB trade deadline without A.J. Preller doing A.J. Preller things. One of the last deals to be reported at the deadline was the Padres’ acquisition of Casey Mize and Gage Workman from the Tigers in exchange for Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf.
The Brewers got Dustin May and reliever Jo Jo Romero from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league outfielders Alexander Frías and Josiah Ragsdale. The Brewers also solidified their bullpen by obtaining Antonio Senzatela from the Colorado Rockies for left-hander Mark Manfredi and infielder Juan Martínez.
The Cardinals acquired left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson in a trade with the Reds for $250,000 in international bonus space.
In an interesting non-trade, Jacob deGrom invoked his no-trade clause to block a deal by the Rangers, electing to stay in Texas.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 02: Heliot Ramos #17 of the San Francisco Giants rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Were they necessarily the Trade Deadline moves that fans wanted or even predicted? Not really; catcher is still a concern and the bullpen blew up last night’s stirring rally. Still, one can’t pin complete complacency on the Yankees front office, which, in the end, went out there and acquired multiple pieces to boost their playoff chances. The addition of Heliot Ramos, much like the one of Luis García Jr., was with an eye on the now and another one in the future. Instead of focusing on rental pieces, the Yankees added two controllable pieces to strengthen a lineup absolutely reeling amidst many key absences.
Unlike García, though, Ramos comes to the Yankees partially looking to recapture the production levels that saw him make the All-Star Game in his first full season back in 2024. This isn’t to say the current version of Ramos isn’t a productive player and wouldn’t represent an improvement for the Yankees in their current dire outfield situation. It’s just that, unlike García, who is peaking at the moment, there is more to Ramos than the league-average 100 wRC+ he has put up in 74 games this season.
First things first, let’s start with what we know. Ramos is a lefty killer, a fact that in and of itself makes him a valuable acquisition to this increasingly lefty-heavy lineup, particularly with no Aaron Judge for who knows how long at this point. Even in this 2026 campaign, which has seen his worst numbers with the bat, Ramos has an .835 OPS versus southpaws, somewhat in line with his career numbers in 386 games:
vs. RHP: .249/.305/.389 vs. LHP: .279/.345/.501
Supposing he maintains that, which there is no reason for us to think we wouldn’t, the balance of this lineup when healthy grows a bit, but it might not be enough to justify the deal. After all, Henry Lalane is a pretty appealing (if risky) prospect who the Yankees parted with as the headlining piece of the package going to San Francisco.
Now we move on to expectations of improvements and how Ramos might go about recuperating his better form. A bit of a free swinger by nature, Ramos has suffered in 2026 from an increased tendency to smash the ball on the ground, subutilizing his natural skill of hitting the ball hard consistently. Ramos’ 53.6-percent ground-ball rate this season is not only well above league average, but a drastic shift from the 43.3-percent and 44.4-percent marks he put up in the two previous campaigns. In terms of quality of contact, his hard-hit rate in the 85th percentile is as good as it’s ever been. Unsurprisingly, this seems to strictly be an issue versus righties.
As consistently as Ramos hits barrels, though, with a career average above 11 percent, he also sprays the ball to all fields, but even by his standards, a Pull AIR rate under nine percent is surprisingly low—only 10 of his 25 extra-base hits have come to the pull side. While that can be tweaked, even at his best, García was not a pull-heavy hitter, far from it. What he can’t keep doing is hitting the ball on the ground as often as it has.
Now addressing how Ramos fits into this roster, similarly to the García deal, the initial adjustment is rather simple, but further questions arise once this team gets healthier. First and foremost, entrusting left field in Yankee Stadium to a subpar defender isn’t the ideal move. Against left-handers, the risk-reward should pay off, but the production needs to be better versus right-handers to justify an everyday role before the injured starters return. In the meantime, look for Ramos to take plenty of at-bats in right field with Jasson Domínguez now demoted.
Obviously, you take any hitting improvements you can get right now. Although considering the club had already added García, who figures to eventually eat into a lot of DH at-bats, it’s easy to become concerned about the potential return of Judge, Bellinger, and company. Is the club planning for worse as a form of due diligence or because time has passed and the outlook hasn’t gotten more positive as we’d hoped? For all of these reasons, now, more than ever, though, the Yankees need these reinforcements to hit the ground running.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 03: Joc Pederson #3 of the Texas Rangers flips his bat after striking out in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Globe Life Field on August 03, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Giants 5, Rangers 1
Well that was unpleasant.
And there’s now a six game losing streak, which is especially unpleasant.
Five errors allowed in the game.
Five errors! Who does that?
Well, the 2026 Texas Rangers, on trade deadline day, is the answer, it would appear.
Cal Quantrill didn’t pitch badly. He pitched pretty well, in fact. He got a Quality Start.
Quantrill gave up three runs, but only one was earned. That one was very earned, being a Jung Hoo Lee home run.
Lee also homered off of Peyton Gray in the eighth. And he had a sacrifice fly off of Nolan Kingham, making his major league debut, in the ninth.
But the two unearned runs came in the second, when the clown ball began, with Daniel Susac reaching on an E5 and then Brandon Nimmo turning a Drew Gilbert single into a triple (well, not technically a triple, it was a single and an E9, but you know what I mean), and then Osleivis Basabe hitting a sacrifice fly to score Gilbert.
Hey, Osleivis Basabe! You remember him, right? He was part of the package sent to Tampa in the Nathaniel Lowe deal.
He spent 31 games in the majors with the Rays in 2023, and has been in the minors since, until the Giants called him up last week.
He’s got a 1274 OPS in five games for the Giants.
Lowe was traded to the Guardians on deadline day, incidentally. He’s having a pretty good season as a platoon 1B/DH, slashing .286/.363/.522 against righthanders this season. He has all of two starts against lefty pitchers, and 25 plate appearances against lefties. He’s 2 for 24 against them with a walk. So yeah, best let him just face righthanders.
You may be wondering why I’m dwelling on Osleivis Basabe and Nathaniel Lowe. The answer is, well, would you rather think about this game?
The Rangers losing bums me out. Its less fun to write about the Rangers when they are playing badly than when they are playing well.
The Rangers had all of seven hits on the day. That’s more than the Giants had, though. The Rangers also, as you probably guessed, had more errors than the Giants.
I’m wondering if the Rangers have ever had a 1-7-5 box score line. Not enough to go dig around and spend the time to figure out the answer to the question, though.
Over half of the Rangers hits were by Ezequiel Duran, who had an impressive 4 for 4 game, including a home run that kept the Rangers from being shut out.
Having one player have more than half of your hits is generally not a good thing. For one, it means that your team probably didn’t have many hits, if one player who gets 4 or maybe 5 plate appearances in a game can have over half of them. For two, it means that you aren’t likely stringing hits together…it means your sequencing is off.
At least the Astros lost.
Cal Quantrill touched 95.1 mph with his sinker, averaging 93.5 mph, and hit 94.3 with his fastball, averaging 93.3 mph. Ben Peoples touched 96.9 mph with his fastball. Peyton Gray topped out at 92.6 mph with his fastball. Nolan Kingham’s fastball hit 96.6 mph.
Ezequiel Duran’s home run was 110.2 mph. Evan Carter had a 104.3 mph groundout. Joc Pederson had a 101.1 mph single. Alejandro Osuna had a 1003. mph groundout. Corey Seager had a 100.2 mph groundout.
Okay, let’s shake it off, hit re-set, start over. Bang the side a couple of times and see if that works.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Wild continued reshaping their hockey operations department on Monday, announcing three additions to the organization's front office and scouting staff.
President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin announced the hiring of Dan MacKinnon as Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting, Janik Beichler as a European Amateur Scout and Elizabeth Hudson as Executive Assistant to the President/General Manager and Hockey Operations.
Dan MacKinnon Brings Extensive NHL Front Office Experience
MacKinnon arrives in Minnesota after spending the past decade with the New Jersey Devils organization, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager.
Prior to that role, he was the Devils' Senior Director of Player Personnel, helping oversee the organization's scouting efforts during a rebuilding period that produced one of the NHL's top-ranked prospect pools. The Hockey News recognized New Jersey as having the league's deepest under-23 prospect system in 2023.
Before joining the Devils, MacKinnon spent 10 years with the Pittsburgh Penguins in various scouting and player personnel roles. During his tenure, Pittsburgh reached three Stanley Cup Finals and won championships in both 2009 and 2016.
His NHL resume also includes six seasons with the Nashville Predators and a season with the OHL's Mississauga IceDogs before beginning his long front-office career.
Wild Expand European Scouting Department
Minnesota also added another experienced evaluator overseas by hiring Beichler as a European Amateur Scout.
The Germany native most recently served as Director of European Scouting for Elite Prospects during the 2025-26 season. Before that, he spent seven years scouting European talent for the WHL's Spokane Chiefs and previously worked as a European scout for FCHockey.
His addition further strengthens Minnesota's international scouting network ahead of future NHL Drafts.
Hudson Joins Hockey Operations Team
The Wild also hired Hudson as Executive Assistant to the President/General Manager and Hockey Operations.
Hudson arrives after spending the past two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League, where she worked as an Administrative Coordinator before being promoted to Manager of Team Operations.
In addition to her hockey operations experience, Hudson has worked as a personal figure skating coach and as an Occupational Therapy Coordinator with Twin Cities Orthopedics.
With the additions of MacKinnon, Beichler and Hudson, the Wild continue to reshape their hockey operations department as Bill Guerin prepares the organization for the 2026-27 season.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 03: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers talks with assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness prior to the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 03, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Every team could trade for me,” Skubal said. “Every team can make that acquisition. I don’t really sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done.”
“They’ve developed a really good organization. They draft well. They acquire talent really well. They retain talent. It’s a winning organization. Now the complaints seem to be [happening] because they’ve won the last two World Series. I don’t think it was like that three years ago. So I don’t really sympathize with people that are complaining. Because the Dodgers do all the right things.”
Links
Kyle Tucker was booed all night at Wrigley Field in his first game back in Chicago since signing with the Dodgers after playing last year for the Cubs. From Jack Harris of the California Post:
“I don’t know,” he said when asked of the hostilities afterward. “I tried my hardest last year. I tried playing through a hand fracture and calf thing, just trying to get back for the playoffs for them, trying to do what I could to help out the team.”
After Justin Wrobleski allowed four home runs for a second straight start, manager Dave Roberts and Wrobleski discussed the possibility that he might be tipping his pitches. From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:
“It’s interesting. I think the stuff is really good, as good as it’s been all year,” Roberts said. “It just seemed like they were on everything. Some balls that were executed decently, they still took good swings, and when he made good pitches, they spoiled. And when he did make mistakes, it just seemed like they went out of the ballpark.
Old friend Nick Frasso, traded to the Rockies on July 20 in the Seth Halvorsen deal, was called up by Colorado on Monday. When he next appears in a game, Frasso will be making his major league debut.
DENVER , CO - MARCH 25: Peyton Watson (8) of the Denver Nuggets reacts to making a corner three pointer during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 142-135 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
August is usually dead in the NBA. The top free agents are mostly off the board, the summer’s biggest trades have been completed, and at this point trying to take a stab at preseason power rankings feels appropriate.
This year feels a little different. The Kawhi Leonard trade between the Clippers and Raptors is still in limbo because of the league’s pending cap circumvention investigation. There’s been little movement on the restricted free agent market with teams making full use of their leverage to avoid overpaying their players. There are also some quality veterans still available, even if it’s unlikely that any of them truly impact this year’s championship chase. Don’t rule out a late summer blockbuster just before training camp either, because those have become increasingly common in recent seasons.
It’s been a while since we checked in on the NBA’s top remaining free agents, so let’s give out some predictions on where they may eventually end up.
Jonathan Kuminga: Los Angeles Lakers
No one sees Kuminga as a future star anymore, but he can still add some downhill power and scoring punch for the right price. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lakers are the three teams he’s been connected to lately, and it feels like Los Angeles offers the best opportunity for Kuminga to boost his value in future years. The Lakers still desperately need some help on the wings, and Luka Doncic should be able to get Kuminga good shots in transition and on cuts to the basket. Kuminga’s volume scoring could come in handy too if Doncic and Austin Reaves are both off the floor or miss time with injury. The Lakers have floated a three-year, $45 million sign-and-trade deal, but assuming Atlanta doesn’t want to take on Jarred Vanderbilt, I still think there’s a match on a one-year contract for around the minimum.
Peyton Watson: Cleveland Cavaliers
Watson is the most interesting remaining player on the free agent market, not necessarily because he’s the best (that’s Jalen Duren), but because it actually feels like there’s a chance he changes teams. The Nuggets are already in the second apron after matching Spencer Jones’ deal. Sure, Denver could still trim salary up until the trade deadline to avoid those penalties, but it’s going to get even trickier to do if they retain Watson. Right now, Denver is reportedly offering Watson a five-year deal below the mid-level exception, which his camp surely views as a slap in the face. There’s already some talk of what the Nuggets would be willing to accept in a trade, starting with a future first-round pick, and Watson is young enough (soon-to-be 24 years old) to make that palatable for a desperate team like Cleveland. The Cavs have done a whole bunch of nothing this offseason, and they’ve been after an athletic wing for years. I could see Cleveland finding a way to unload Dennis Schroder, then offering Max Strus and a future pick or a pick swap to Denver for Watson. I think that would be good value for the Nuggets if Strus can actually stay healthy, and it’s also a worthwhile swing by Cleveland if Watson can sustain his improved play late in the year.
Jalen Duren: Detroit Pistons
Duren topped our free agent rankings heading into the summer, and he remains unsigned. The Pistons have done well to use their leverage in restricted free agency to try to get him on a team-friendly deal after his Third-Team All-NBA season was weakened by a poor playoff run. Duren is threatening to play on the qualifying offer right now to become an unrestricted free agent next year, but it’s hard to take a $9 million deal if the team is offering $140 million guaranteed. Ultimately, I think Duren swallows his pride and accepts what feels like a fair contract for both sides.
James Harden: Cavaliers
It’s widely assumed that Harden will be back in Cleveland; the only question is what the contract will look like. The Cavs are reportedly discussing two- and three-year deals with Harden, but they need to be careful on the brink of his 37th birthday. Harden is still very good, but the drop-off cliff can come at any moment. Cleveland would be wise to try to get a partial guarantee on the second year of the deal.
Bennedict Mathurin: Los Angeles Clippers
The Pelicans, Bulls, and Mavericks all reportedly have interest in Mathurin, but his status as a restricted free agent is going to make it hard to pry him out of LA if the Clippers actually want to retain him. Any sign-and-trade deal has to be three years, and that feels like a big commitment for any of his suitors. Instead, Mathurin is probably best playing on a 1+1 contract with a second-year option, and that’s something the Clippers can easily match. I expected New Orleans to make a serious push, but the most likely outcome is a return to the Clippers.
DeMar DeRozan: Miami Heat
It’s finally time for DeRozan’s ring chaser era after his release from the Kings. Miami, Toronto, Washington, Golden State, Denver, Detroit, and Cleveland have all been mentioned as possible suitors, and he’d be a nice addition for any of them at the minimum. The Heat ideally need more outside shooting next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, but I like the idea of DeRozan leading bench units while also helping boost the offense if Giannis misses time with injury.
PHOENIX - APRIL 9: Kurt Rambis #31 of the Phoenix Suns waits for a rebound during an NBA game against the Utah Jazz played on April 9, 1990 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona. Visible behind Rambis is Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the offseason arrives and you find yourself wandering through the basketball desert that exists between the draft, free agency, and training camp, you have two options. You can look forward and project, or you can look backward and reflect.
As we navigate this wasteland over the next few weeks, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some of the strangest statistical anomalies in Phoenix Suns history.
We’ll begin this little summer series with a number that feels almost impossible when you first see it. That’s the point of this series. Statistical anomalies. One-off moments that are difficult to explain.
The first one? The most free throws ever attempted by the Phoenix Suns in a single game. It also stands as the second-most free-throw attempts by any team in NBA history and remains the most free throws made in a single game. The final tally was an almost unbelievable 61-of-80 from the stripe, a record set on April 9, 1990, against the Utah Jazz. More than three decades later, no team has managed to top it.
When you go back to the 1989–90 Phoenix Suns, you find one of the best offensive teams in franchise history. Phoenix finished second in the NBA that season, averaging 114.9 points per game behind a franchise record 27.2 points per game from Tom Chambers. His fellow All-Star and Second Team All-NBA teammate, Kevin Johnson, averaged 22.5 points and 11.4 assists per game. What’s interesting is that Chambers’ 27.2 points per game ranked fourth in the NBA that season behind Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, and Patrick Ewing. Johnson’s 11.4 assists ranked third, trailing only John Stockton and Magic Johnson.
As the regular season neared its conclusion, Phoenix hosted the Utah Jazz in a matchup between two of the Western Conference’s best teams. The Suns entered the game at 50–25, while the Jazz were 51–22. The teams met at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and what followed was one of the strangest games in NBA history.
Phoenix carried a 74–65 lead into the fourth quarter, but Utah scored 36 points in the final period to force overtime. The Suns ultimately prevailed, 119–115. The reason we’re talking about this game, however, isn’t because it was an overtime victory against the Jazz down the stretch. It’s because a combined 84 personal fouls were called. As a result, the Suns attempted 80 free throws due to the 52 fouls called against Utah.
Kevin Johnson went to the line 24 times, making 23. Tom Chambers was 17-of-22. Kurt Rambis went 6-of-12, and Eddie Johnson came off the bench to shoot 10-of-11. The whistles never stopped. Four Jazz players fouled out. John Stockton, Thurl Bailey, Bob Hansen, and Eric Johnson never made it to the finish line. Karl Malone and Blue Edwards each finished with five fouls, and four other Utah players ended the game with four personals.
Those 80 free throw attempts remain the most in Phoenix Suns history. They’re also the second most by any team in a single game in NBA history. The record still belongs to the Syracuse Nationals, who attempted 86 free throws in a five-overtime game against the Anderson Packers on November 24, 1949. The Packers, for what it’s worth, attempted 75 free throws themselves.
What does remain an NBA record, however, is the number of free throws made. No team has ever made more in a single game than the Phoenix Suns did in April 1990, when 61 of their 119 points came at the charity stripe.
“The good thing about it is we pulled this victory out. The bottom line is you’ve got to win the game any way you can,” Eddie Johnson told The Arizona Republic. “It was definitely the strangest game I’ve been associated with.”
Phoenix would meet the Jazz again a few weeks later in the first round of the playoffs and defeat them 3–2. Across that five-game series, the Suns attempted 170 free throws. That means their 80 attempts in one regular season game equaled 47% of the total they attempted during an entire playoff series against Utah.
Phoenix also finds itself on another unique list. The Suns are tied for the fifth most free throw attempts in a playoff game, which occurred on June 5, 1993, against the Seattle SuperSonics. They are also tied for the most free throws made in a playoff game, sinking 57 that night. The only other team to reach that number was the Boston Celtics on March 21, 1953.
So there’s your statistical anomaly. No team has ever made more free throws in a single regular season game than the Phoenix Suns, who made 61 against Utah in 1990. They are also tied for the most free throws ever made in a playoff game, with 57 against Seattle in 1993.
No team has ever made more free throws in a regular-season game than the Phoenix Suns, who hit 61 against Utah in 1990.
That’s what makes sports history so much fun to revisit. Every franchise has records that feel inevitable and others that seem impossible. This one belongs firmly in the second category. 80 free throws. 61 makes. A game where the whistle became the main character and the Suns walked away with a record that has survived more than three decades of basketball evolution. If this series is about uncovering the strangest statistical corners of Suns history, it’s hard to imagine a better place to start.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 19: Anthony Davis #23 of the Washington Wizards smiles before the game against the Detroit Pistons on March 19, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. 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 Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It’s been a quiet few weeks for the Washington Wizards after a seismic June and July saw them select AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick, complete a promising Las Vegas Summer League and acquire several depth pieces.
August projects as less exciting. But that doesn’t mean it’s a month without importance.
Below is a rundown of key dates to watch as the 2026-27 campaign approaches.
August 6: Anthony Davis becomes extension eligible
Six months after acquiring Anthony Davis from the Dallas Mavericks, the Wizards face a significant decision: Should they sign the oft-injured forward to a lucrative contract extension when he becomes eligible on Aug. 6?
In two days, Davis can sign a four-year, $275 million maximum extension that would pay him $76 million during his age-37 season.
Skeptics strongly oppose offering a max extension to a player who’s played just 71 combined games over the last two seasons and has appeared in more than 56 games in a season only once since the 2018-19 campaign.
These concerns were magnified after the Wizards gave Trae Young a four-year, $212 million extension after his recent injury-filled season and despite a league-wide belief that they could’ve retained him for less. If the Wizards give Davis a max extension that replaces the player option in his current deal, they would owe nearly $550 million in guaranteed salary to Young and Davis through the 2030-31 season.
Similar durability questions existed when Washington acquired Davis at the trade deadline. But Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said the team acquired the 10-time All-Star to “be a Wizard.”
“Anthony Davis wants to be here. We want him here,” Dawkins said after Round 1 of the 2026 NBA Draft in late June. “We’ll have that [extension] conversation in the middle of August when we can officially have that.”
Dawkins highlighted how Davis complements Alex Sarr, the team’s 21-year-old center who blossomed as a sophomore. He felt Sarr, who last season defended an NBA-best 9.7 shots at the rim per game, needed a defensive partner to share some of that burden.
Enter Davis, who is a game-changer at the power forward position. His rim protection and interior defense were unmatched during his peak years, as represented by his five NBA All-Defense selections and three blocks titles.
Given Davis’s injury history entering his age-33 season, searching for a max extension makes sense. When healthy, he’s a walking 20 points and 10 rebounds with elite rim protection skills.
The issue for his camp, as it was when rumors of the Golden State Warriors’ interest in him emerged, is that the Wizards are in no rush to extend or trade him. There’s no mounting pressure or approaching deadline that will force Washington’s hand.
Davis is still owed more than $120 million over the next two seasons, including a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign. It appears the Wizards prefer to watch Davis play with this group before making any consequential decisions regarding his future.
Committing another $275 million to an injury-prone forward before he plays a game for Washington fits into the “consequential decisions” category, which makes this storyline one to watch.
Filling the final roster spot
After selecting AJ Dybantsa and trading for Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton, Washington’s reshaped roster sits at 14 standard contracts:
Guard: Young | Johnson | Carrington
Wing: Dybantsa | George | Coulibaly | Riley
Forward: Davis | Champagnie | Middleton | Whitmore
Center: Sarr | Ayton | Vukcevic
Two-way: Watkins (torn ACL) | Reese | Okpara
Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto reported the Wizards’ interest in adding point guard depth. Jake Fischer reported Washington’s interest in veteran guards Russell Westbrook and Gabe Vincent, both of whom remain free agents.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last week that Washington held talks with DeMar DeRozan, who’s also drawn interest from the Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Anthony Gill, who’s spent the last six seasons with Washington, remains unsigned. The 33-year-old forward is well-liked in the Wizards’ organization and is a candidate for that 15th roster spot.
Gill re-signed with the Wizards on Aug. 7 last offseason. While it’s possible he again re-ups in Washington, sources tell Bullets Forever that Gill has drawn significant overseas interest.
Schedule Release
The NBA is expected to release the 2026-27 schedule some time in mid-August. For reference, the 2025-26 schedule was released on Aug. 14.
The Wizards are expected to earn more national TV games thanks to Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, plus the arrival of Young and Davis in the Nation’s Capital.
PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 15: (L-R) Mario Lemieux #66, head coach Eddie Olczyk, and Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins look on from the bench during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 15, 2005 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Lightning defeated the Pens 3-1. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The swirls of player movement of this off-season reminded me about a crucial, unique time for the Penguins back in 2005 with just how extraordinary that summer was as far as pieces shuffling around the board.
The lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season was over. There was a salary cap in place to stop teams like Toronto and the New York Rangers from spending $65+ million on player salaries, a fraction of the budget the Pens could afford. To make matters even better, Pittsburgh won a 30-team lottery to secure the rights to draft Sidney Crosby. Mario Lemieux was in the twilight of his career. Due to the lockout lasting a full year, there was an unbelievable amount of free agents looking for work.
It was such a swirl of activity. The Pens had a lot they needed to build, the 2003-04 version of their team was one of the worst in franchise history. They went 23-47-4 with eight ties, a record that belies just how bad they were. The Pens conceded 303 goals, a country mile ahead of the next highest scored upon team (Chicago at 258), while only scoring 190 of their own. Pittsburgh’s 58 points were last in the NHL, making it completely fitting that they got the 2005 first overall pick – it was surely earned and needed.
The addition of Crosby, plus a young core of players that did well in Wilkes-Barre during the 2004-05 lockout season (including Marc-Andre Fleury, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney, Rob Scuderi, Michel Ouellet, Tomas Surovy, Max Talbot and Erik Christensen) had optimism abounding in Pittsburgh for a quick turnaround. Others like Ryan Malone, Brooks Orpik and Konstantin Koltsov were rejoining that core as well.
With all that young talent, the team needed sought and found some veteran anchors. Sergei Gonchar was given a rich contract in free agency after establishing himself as one of the top offensive defensemen in the game. Mark Recchi was signed up as well to rejoin the Pens. Maybe shockingly enough, a player known for his time with the Flyers and as one of the top power forwards of the 1990’s, John LeClair was also signed to Pittsburgh. The Pens added Zigmund Palffy, a player with then nine-straight point per game seasons. Jocelyn Thibault, a solid goalie from the early 2000’s, was added as a veteran partner for Fleury in the net.
Just like that the once dreadful team that limped off the ice in April 2004 was given a complete make-over by the fall of 2005 with all the individual talent and upgrades made up and down the lineup.
It all looked great in theory and on paper, which made the end result incredibly surprising. Almost everything went wrong.
Because just as dramatic as the flurry of additions, the subtractions started coming on much more than a normal year. Coach Ed Olczyk was fired early on as the train-wreck unfolded. Palffy took a hit so hard that he quit the team on the spot, never to play in the NHL again. An irregular heartbeat led to a hospitalization that ended Lemieux’s storied career. Recchi was traded at the deadline to Carolina, where he would win a Stanley Cup that year. The team by the end of the season was far different than the one that carried so much optimism and hope.
Other vets like Gonchar and LeClair performed in what looks like a decent manner statistically 20 years later but struggled to varying degrees with their new team. Most of the young players other than Crosby had uneven seasons, some had their moments like Armstrong finishing the year with 40 points in 47 NHL games, mostly a product of being propped up from playing with Crosby.
In the end, the 2005-06 Penguins finished with 58 points – amazingly the same exact total as they had in their prior year with a much more bare bones lineup in terms of talent, giving up 316 goals along the way in a more wide-open style of hockey without two line passes getting called and more penalties in the post-lockout world.
At that point, more changes were on the horizon. General manager Craig Patrick was relieved of his duties, the Pens would turn the page and try again. Jordan Staal was drafted and Evgeni Malkin was signed to further lean into a youthful build. From there, the Penguins were on their way to being one of the best teams in the cap era. Crosby would win the scoring title and league MVP at age-19 in his second season in 2006-07. The Pens would make the playoffs in 2007, go all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and win the whole thing in ‘09.
None of that was assured in 2005, and looking back it’s wild to see just how disjointed a team could be in the spring of 2006 and eventually put together a championship pedigree in seemingly no time at all. The very first attempt of team-building in the Crosby era, centered around Palffy, LeClair, Gonchar, Recchi and Thibault had more misses than hits, though it ultimately only served to briefly delay and not completely detail the Pens’ ascent.
There could be a bigger lesson about attempting a shortcut to force in marquee players to a team, which sometimes plays out in hockey. Nashville somehow got worse immediately after adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei in more recent times. In short, it just didn’t work out. Olczyk never was a head coach again and was arguably out of his depths. The team’s cohesion levels, especially defensively, never matched the ambition shown by adding a handful of top players who didn’t help them where they were already weak. It’s hard to knock the Penguins for being aggressive since that type of player acquisition made them great under Patrick in the ‘90s. It just didn’t work out this time around.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 23: A general view of the Giants equipment rack before the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The 2026 MLB Trade Deadline has now passed, at least for you. I am writing this ahead of the deadline, and so far the San Francisco Giants have moved Tyler Mahle, Robbie Ray, and Luis Arraez. Those were three moves I mostly expected, so there’s not really anything shocking there.
But you! You have future information I don’t currently have, so I bet you’ve got some takes you’d like to share. Let us (and the Giants) hear it down in the comments.
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants continue this three-game road series against the Texas Rangers tonight at 5:05 p.m. PT.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 08: Kris Bubic #50 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium on May 08, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sam McDowell covered the Royals’ decision-making at the trade deadline.
But the most consequential decisions the Royals made were the moves they refused to make.
And they entail a big risk.
The Royals hung on to starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, despite interest from contending teams, though general manager J.J. Picollo characterized the reports as a bit overstated.
The rationale is easy enough to follow. Wacha and Lugo are more than rentals, under control through 2027 with team options for 2028, and cheaper than they could find on the free-agent market. And most notably, the Royals believe they need them to be competitive next year.
The problem: Kansas City is already failing to be competitive with Wacha and Lugo.
Why is that going to change next year?
Jaylon Thompson wrote about the Royals trading Kris Bubic to the Dodgers.
On Monday, the Royals traded Bubic to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed pitcher Carlos Duran, the team announced officially after the 5 p.m. trade deadline.
…
Bubic, 28, is currently on the 60-day injured list. He was limited to nine starts due to left elbow and shoulder soreness. The Royals had received interest due to Bubic’s expiring contract — he is a free agent this winter — and his versatility.
This season, Bubic posted a 4.11 ERA in 50 ⅓ innings. He also made his lone All-Star appearance during the 2025 campaign.
Anne Rogers wrote about the Kris Bubic trade as well.
Duran could find himself in the Royals bullpen very quickly. The 6-foot-7 right-handed reliever has spent all of this season in Triple-A, where he has a 3.38 ERA and 61 strikeouts across 42 2/3 innings (37 appearances). The Dodgers signed him to a Minor League contract this offseason after the A’s released him, and he was added to the 40-man roster on July 6 but remained in Triple-A. He has one Major League appearance, which came in 2025 with the A’s, when he allowed three earned runs in one-third of an inning.
Duran’s results in the Minors have been much better, especially this season. The 25-year-old has a 31.1% strikeout rate and mainly utilizes a 95-97 mph four-seam fastball and a swing-and-miss slider. His 14.3% walk rate will need to improve, but the Royals have been interested in his big arm for a while.
“We need to try to build a bullpen for next season,” Picollo said. “Carlos was a guy that we actually tried to acquire earlier this season. He’s a really big guy. Power arm. Upper 90s fastball. He strikes a lot of guys out. The command is something that we’ve got to work on — like a lot of power relievers, there’s some work to be done there.”
The Royals also acquired Nolan Hoffman from the Phillies.
Hoffman, 29, was designated for assignment Monday. The Royals quickly worked out a trade to add him to their 40-man roster. In a corresponding move, the club transferred right-hander Connor Seabold to the 60-day injured list.
The Royals needed bullpen help. The relief unit has underperformed this season, and injuries have made things even more dire. It’s led to an unsightly 5.40 combined ERA — second-worst in the majors.
Hoffman has spent the majority of the 2026 campaign in the minors. He posted a 4.72 ERA in 34 ⅓ innings with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate. However, he did post 40 strikeouts in a relief role.
David Lesky made a valiant attempt to write about the weekend, uh, *performance* against the Rockies.
It’s been months since what the Royals actually did on the field mattered. Losses are just more losses. Wins can be fun, but don’t change what’s happened this season. And, yes, this roster is a shell of itself at this point, so some of it is because of that. But spending a weekend in Colorado against the team that had the worst record in baseball should have been an opportunity to get some wins. Instead, the Rockies walked away with a sweep while their pitching staff held an offense that actually hasn’t been bad (not great or anything either) to just eight runs in three games.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep asked if the Royals made the right choices at the trade deadline.
Yirsandy Rodríguez at Royals Keep looked at Alex Lange’s problems.
Caleb Moody at Kings of Kauffman wrote about the players the Royals did NOT trade.
Cleveland traded *four* players to acquire former Royal and All-Star Foster Griffin, and they got Jo Adell from the Angels.
The Padres acquired two starters, Casey Mize and Robbie Ray, at the deadline.
Larry Berg, part-owner of LAFC, will become the new MLS commissioner to replace Don Garber in 2027. Apparently Jimmy Haslam co-chaired the committee to pick a new commissioner, and that guy owns the Browns. I have the lowest of expectations.
Mauricio Pochettino signed a deal to stay head honcho of the USMNT through the 2030 World Cup.
Soccer’s transfer window remains open, as Borussia Dortmund acquired an 18-year-old Greek midfielder, Konstantinos Karetsas, from Belgian club Genk for a $34.6M fee.
Following the 4:00 pm trade deadline, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta spoke with media to give his thoughts on the moves.
Following are highlights from his comments. They have been lightly edited and reorganized for clarity.
Some general thoughts on the moves
I think if you had asked me three or four days ago, and I was able to be honest with you, I would have told you I thought those were probably the three players that were most likely to be moved, just based on the sheer amount of interest we were getting. I actually didn’t know that we would move Brenton or Victor, given the control we had with them going forward, how we valued them. It was a matter of another team meeting that price for us. And I think ultimately, in both those deals, we felt like we got players back that really made sense for us.
And then obviously, with Senzatela, too, he’s meant so much in this franchise. He’s been here for 15 years, in the big leagues for, what, 10 of those or something like that? We really wanted to be able to deliver, putting him in a pen somewhere, and so I’m excited for him. I actually just got a chance to share that with him. I’m excited to root for him through October. Hopefully, they’re playing for a long time.
—
We had a lot of players that were asked about. We had a set price in mind of what it would take to acquire any of our players. We think we’ve got a lot of good players here. We think we have the foundation of something that has a chance to be pretty good. So with that, it was going to take a lot, I think, to to pry any of those pieces away. And I don’t think we got particularly close on any of those players because I think our internal price was going to be higher than what the what the market would bear.
On the Rockies approach to the trade deadline and building this team
When we went into the whole process, we told everybody, “Listen, our entire position player club is under control going into 2027. We knew that when we broke spring training. We have a lot of good players. We want to see how those players come together. In June, we were a very good offensive club, one of the best in baseball. I think the best maybe offensive club we’ve had here in a month in a long period of time. So we do feel like it’s coming together, and it was designed back in the off season, specifically, so that we would have at least a two-year runway with with all those players if we felt like we could afford that. So that didn’t change. We weren’t trying to bluff anybody. At this deadline, it was, “Hey, we like these players, and we think they can be part of our future, not just our present.” So that’s the stance we took, I think, with all those guys. With the pitchers, again, it’s a little different, partly because I think bullpens in general are a little bit more volatile.
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So it’s mostly us presenting players that we would want to do in a deal, but sometimes it’s (the other team presenting options to the Rockies). In certain circumstances, especially if you’re looking for maybe a second player to finish a deal or something like that, they may offer players that they’d be willing to do. It’s not often that those actually land on a deal. We all look at players a little differently. I think we also probably all like our own players a little bit more than everybody else does. So I would say the overwhelming percentage of the time it’s, ‘Hey we have interest in Senzatela or Doyle or Vodnik,’ and we say, ‘Okay, well these are the players it would take to acquire that that talent.’
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We do think we’ve got a lot of talented players. I think we’ve all seen sort of green shoots of that this year in terms of the way we’ve played, Even in the second half, there are times where I think we we’ve won some games that maybe we didn’t win back in April and May. We want to continue to see some of that progress, but we certainly think we’ve got pieces here that can be part of a very competitive team going forward.
—
I think the fact that we do have these guys going forward is certainly helpful and created certainly and a lot less sense of urgency for us at this deadline because we like these guys. They’re playing well for us. There’s no reason for us to necessarily move them unless it gave us a real opportunity to improve ourselves. So, for instance, with Brenton Doyle, we got a starting pitcher that has a chance to impact our rotation as early as 2027. Hey, we need to think about that. We’re not nearly as deep there as we were. Now, suddenly in the outfield with the way some of these guys have played, and not just the guys here, but even Sterlin Thompson and Zac Veen, and some of the guys in Triple-A. This gives us even more time to evaluate our guys and see which other ones maybe can help us fill some holes in other parts of our club if, in fact, we need it.
—
We had very broad interest in those players, in each of those players. I would say in a couple instances, there were, literally, double-digit teams interested in some of those guys. So to try to comb through all those organizations and figure out what they’d be willing to do, what we’d be willing to do, and you also had some calls that didn’t come in until today or even until this afternoon. That makes it particularly hard. So we had to be ready to be agile and act quickly. . . . When I came in this morning, I wasn’t set on any of them. They all sort of came together. That said, we had pretty extensive conversations with a couple of those clubs, like Milwaukee and Chicago, going back certainly over the course of the last three, four, or five days, even about different concepts and even about different players. But we were pretty well versed in terms of what was going on there. The Miami one, I think, came together largely today with Victor.
On the players the Rockies acquired
A few of the players we acquired — I think maybe one in each deal — are all going to go to Albuquerque, at least to start. But we think all those guys are guys that could help us pretty soon. And whether that’s in the final two months of this year or whether it’s early in next season, I don’t know. We’ll find out more once once we get our hands on them. But I think all those guys could be could be impacting us here in Denver in relatively short order.
Mason Adams
I think that’s probably a good one, especially to talk about with Brenton, because probably the only way we would have moved Brenton was with a guy that we thought could be one of our starting pitchers in relatively short order. So we think Mason Adams has a chance to to be in our rotation. Again, I’m not sure exactly when that’s going to start, but that’s what we see him as going forward at some point, certainly being a very viable competitor for our rotation, whether it’s the end of this year, the beginning of next year, or sometime during the course of next year. He had Tommy John, so he missed all of 2025. But he’s back pitching now here in 2026, pitching effectively in Triple-A, and we think he’s got a bright future as a starter.
Aiden May
He’s further down. He’s in High-A ball right now, but it’s really good stuff. It’s sort of swing-and-miss quality, so he’s a little further away, but we like him as a starter as well going forward.
Mark Manfredi
As I’ve said before, I think with every pitcher that we look at here, we’re looking for different profiles. We’re not necessarily looking for the cookie cutter, but we are looking for different looks, different angles, different velocities, different pitch mixes, and I think those guys (Manfredi and Adams) sort of fit that as pieces for us. Manfredi is also a guy who I think has a chance to be here relatively soon. We’ve done a job on Brennan Bernadino this year as our only left-hander out there, so at least we have another option now — again, not just in the immediate term, but also in the relatively near term going forward into next year. But we think he can factor into our bullpen for sure from the left side, and it’s a very different look than Bernie.
Carlos Vielma
Our folks in our whole international department knew him and thought very highly of him. So when we were looking for a second player in that deal, we looked all over the organization and talked about some different players, but ultimately settled on him. I think he’s a really good-looking young player. He’s 16, right? So he’s still a long way away. But if you have a .500 on-base in any league, that’s pretty good. So he controls the strike zone really well. There’s a really good foundation there offensively, but obviously he’s a long way away. But what he’s done so far has been really impressive.
On the players they did not trade
We do think we’ve got a lot of talented players, and I think we’ve all seen sort of green shoots of that this year. In terms of the way we’ve played, I think even in the second half, there are times where I think we’ve won some games that maybe we didn’t win back in April and May. We want to continue to see some of that progress, but we certainly think we’ve got pieces here that could be part a very competitive team going forward.
Hunter Goodman
So far this year, he’s been as good as any offensive catcher in all of baseball. He’s here, hopefully, going forward for a little while now, and we still have control for a few more years. We think he’s a centerpiece of our offensive team right now. So, if we did entertain that, it was going to have to be a really substantial deal to do that because we value him really highly. Now, there were certainly teams that had interest and reached out, but no one that really ever got close at least in terms of how we think of him here in Colorado.
Jake McCarthy and Cole Carrigg
Cole and Jake both played really well. We were totally happy keeping Brenton. In fact, we were very excited to get him back from the IL, and he played really well for us over the weekend. So we were prepared to move forward with all those guys. We’ve talked about having or even wanting three center fielders out there playing defense for us every day. So that it wasn’t a situation that we were thinking, “Oh well, we’re going to move him.” But the fact that Jake has played so well and Cole has played so well at least freed us up a little to entertain it probably more than we would have five months ago.
—
Jake’s done a great job. I think what’s been particularly interesting is what he’s been able to do against left-handed pitching. For the most part, he played much more against righties in his career, but to see what he’s done against lefties so he can be an everyday guy out there, it’s been really encouraging.
—
I think both those guys bring great energy. They create a problem when they’re on the bases. You don’t want to walk those guys because of the havoc that they can they can wreak out there. They can also both hit homers. So it’s not like you can just pound the zone to try to keep them off base. So I think both those guys definitely fit what we’d like to do here, and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield as well.
Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, and Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之)
Right now, Lorenzen has an option for next year. The other two are both free agents. Freeland has a vesting option, so I think we’ll see how that plays out. We value all those guys. Obviously, we signed them as free agents. We value the fact that they can start for us for the next couple months, and we think, collectively, they’ve all done what we hope that they would do. They have given us a veteran presence. They give us a chance to win most most of the days that they’re out there. So if there’s an opportunity for that to continue going forward. I think we’d entertain it.
—
I think with each guy, it was probably a little different with Freeland, Sugano, and Lorenzen, both in terms of how we thought about and even in terms of how the market viewed each guy. But we think there’s real value in finishing out a season here for us. We wanted to accomplish some things this year. We have not yet accomplished them. I think we’re making progress toward those goals, but (we’re) not all the way there yet. So we still think those guys all contribute to, hopefully, reaching those goals before the end of the year.
—
Mickey Moniak
Mickey’s an important part of what we’re doing here. Again, he had a very good year last year. I think he’s been off to a great start this year. Unfortunately, he missed a little time with the injuries, but he is a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat for us. He’s a leader in our in our clubhouse. He’s a veteran who’s been around a little bit longer. He’s also been in some different organizations, so he knows what it should look like. He also knows sometimes maybe what it shouldn’t look like, which is just as valuable, and that’s important not just for his peers in the clubhouse, but also for me and for Schaeff as we try to shape our culture here. So I think Mickey’s value, both on the field and off the field is really important to us.
Reporting from Thomas Harding following the trade deadline indicated that the Rockies are close to finishing a two-year extension with Moniak.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 12: Anthony Eyanson #24 of the Boston Red Sox on the American League Team pitches during the 2026 MLB Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Every Tuesday on Camden Chat, we check in on the latest goings-on in the Orioles’ minor league system. And as of yesterday, that system looks dramatically different.
The Orioles became sellers at the MLB trade deadline for the second straight season, swinging a series of deals yesterday that ranged from the expected (Taylor Ward) to the shocking (Adley Rutschman). After some pre-deadline posturing that the O’s might both buy and sell, they firmly committed to just one direction. For a team that was at least marginally still in the postseason race, it’s a bummer to see key players sent packing, some directly to the Birds’ wild card competitors.
Orioles fans have no shortage of opinions about the club’s trade-deadline frenzy. Some may call it frustrating. Some may call it heartbreaking. Some may call it necessary, or a prudent bit of business. One thing it does accomplish is to infuse a somewhat lackluster O’s farm system with some highly regarded talent. Whether that’s worth the price of subtracting fan-favorite veterans like Rutschman from the major league team is a debate that will continue to rage.
Including the Dean Kremer trade last Friday, the Orioles added eight minor leaguers (plus MLB catcher Carlos Narváez) in their veteran sell-offs. Five of them are now ranked among the Birds’ top 30 prospects on MLB Pipeline, including their new #1 prospect, right-hander Anthony Eyanson, acquired from Boston in the Adley trade. The other prospects from the Rutschman deal, righty Kyson Witherspoon and outfielder Enddy Azocar, slot in at #7 and #8, respectively. Old friend Michael Forret, the righty reacquired from the Rays for Tyler Wells after being part of the Shane Baz trade over the winter, is #6. And 18-year-old outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes, the return from the Twins for Kremer, clocks in at #23.
The Ward trade with Seattle brought three right-handers — Alex Hoppe,Brock Moore, and Harrison Kreiling — who don’t crack the Orioles’ top 30. Hoppe, who has MLB experience, could join the Orioles’ bullpen right away.
Despite speculation that the Orioles might package some of their soon-to-be Rule 5-eligible minor leaguers to acquire major league help, the O’s ultimately didn’t trade away a single prospect aside from unranked righty Joe Glassey, a High-A relief pitcher. He went to the Nationals for Christian Franklin, a 26-year-old outfielder who will either join Triple-A Norfolk or report directly to the Orioles.
We’re going to be seeing some new names in these minor league box scores as the slew of new O’s prospects report to their affiliates this week. In the meantime, let’s check on how the holdovers have been doing.
Triple-A Norfolk Tides
Last week: 1-5 vs. Worcester Red Sox
Coming week: at Buffalo Bisons (Blue Jays)
Second-half record: 9-22, last place (12.5 GB) in International League East
Overall season record: 37-69
Things aren’t getting much better for the sad-sack Tides, who lost five straight after winning the series opener. They’ve got the worst record in the International League in the second half after doing the same in the first half, and their roster has very few players capable of providing immediate major league help.
The guys that you might’ve hoped would supplement the O’s roster by now have been underwhelming. Enrique Bradfield Jr. has just a .651 OPS for Norfolk after a 4-for-24 week. Catcher Creed Willems has a .771 OPS, which probably won’t be enough to get him called up considering his questionable defense behind the plate. The previously hot Heston Kjerstad collapsed to a 1-for-21 performance.
The lineup has recently gotten some reinforcements, at least, with the return of outfielder Reed Trimble and infielder Payton Eeles from injury. Trimble, returning from right hamstring discomfort, hit two homers this week but otherwise reached base just twice. Injuries have limited him to seven games at Triple-A this year. Eeles, who had been red hot for Norfolk before being sidelined at the end of May, returned with a 3-for-13 week.
The Tides have some newly promoted pitchers from Double-A on staff, lefty Luis De León and righty Juaron Watts-Brown, but for some reason not Joseph Dzierwa, whom the O’s declined to move up. De León pitched reasonably well in his Triple-A debut, allowing just one earned run in a 5.1-inning start, but Watts-Brown struggled badly with control, walking nine batters in 8.1 innings in two long relief outings.
Among the more experienced Triple-A pitchers, Trey Gibson gave up two runs in 4.2 innings and Nestor German allowed three runs (two earned) in five. They’ll soon be joined in the rotation by Michael Forret, who was teammates with both of them last year in High-A and Double-A.
Second-half record: 18-14, second place (4.5) in Eastern League Southwest
Overall season record: 47-53
The Baysox brought the lumber in this series, scoring nine or more runs in four of their games (including one loss). They led the Eastern League with 44 runs this week. One key contributor was the newly promoted Victor Figueroa, part of last year’s Ryan O’Hearn/Ramón Laureano trade with San Diego, who continued to rake in his first week at Double-A. The 22-year-old first baseman went 8-for-24 with eight RBIs and a home run, his organization-leading 24th of the season. Figueroa’s prospect status is limited by his free-swinging ways — with a nearly 35% strikeout rate this year — but if he can continue his success in Double-A, he’s worth keeping an eye on.
Two other Baysox had eight or more hits: Aron Estrada, who boosted his season OPS to .803, and Griff O’Ferrall, who is still only at .620. Estrada, like Figueroa, had a homer and eight RBIs. And how about Brandon Butterworth? Another guy from that Padres trade, he just keeps hitting, reaching base 11 times this week. Since coming back from injury July 7, Butterworth is slashing a ridiculous .304/.400/.638 with five homers and 18 games. Also making his introduction to Double-A this week was top shortstop prospect Wehiwa Aloy. He had a 3-for-5 showing on Saturday but otherwise went 2-for-18.
Things are getting interesting in Chesapeake’s rotation, where lefty Caden Hunter authored one of the most dominant outings you’ll ever see — and in his Double-A debut, no less. He pitched seven phenomenal innings of scoreless, one-hit ball, racking up 10 strikeouts. Wowza! The 22-year-old has already laid waste to both Low-A and High-A in his first professional season, and he’s arrived at the next level with a bang.
Hunter was good enough even to overshadow the Orioles’ breakout pitching prospect, fellow lefty Joseph Dzierwa, who was plenty effective himself. Dzierwa tossed five innings with just an unearned run of damage, limiting Altoona to two hits. A Baysox rotation of Dzierwa, Hunter, and the newly acquired Anthony Eyanson could be a sight to behold. Not to be forgotten is Patrick Reilly, back from last year’s Tommy John surgery, who’s still shaking off the rust. He struck out eight batters in four innings but was torched for six runs and eight hits.
Last week: 1-4 vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Coming week: at Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies)
Second-half record: 18-16, third place (2.5 GB) in South Atlantic League North
Overall season record: 59-39
This is a less intimidating offense for the Keys of late, with Figueroa and Aloy now up at Double-A and an injured Ike Irish out for the season. They’ll soon get a boost from the arrival of Enddy Azocar, who had an .885 OPS for the Red Sox High-A affiliate Greenville before yesterday’s trade. In the meantime, no Keys batter had more than four hits this week, but six guys hit home runs.
Two starting pitchers, Christian Rodriguez and Stephen Still, made their High-A debuts this week. The lefty Still struck out 11 batters in 5.1 strong innings, while the righty Rodriguez struggled a bit, allowing eight baserunners and four runs in five frames. And two new acquisitions, Kyson Witherspoon and Brock Moore, are likely to join Frederick’s pitching staff as well. Witherspoon, Boston’s first-round pick last season, is an intriguing arm with a five-pitch mix who needs to hone his command.
Before Witherspoon shows up, the Orioles’ highest ranked pitcher at this level is righty JT Quinn, who worked 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and no walks this week. Quinn is averaging 3.7 strikeouts for every walk, which is nice. Right-hander Yeiber Cartaya, who started the season with a 1.42 ERA in 10 games, has fallen on hard times with a 6.51 mark in eight appearances since.
Second-half record: 13-23, fifth place (7.5 GB) in Carolina League North
Overall season record: 36-66
If you’re wondering why the Shorebirds lost five out of six games, just know this: they gave up 59 runs this week. Yes, 59. In six games. They coughed up double digits in four of their losses, and punctuated their terrible series by surrendering nine runs in the top of the ninth in Sunday’s finale. Woof. But don’t blame it all on the pitching staff; a whopping 14 of those runs were unearned, because Delmarva’s defense is also terrible.
For the most part, the lousy performances came from non-prospects, but unfortunately the worst was suffered by Esteban Mejia, who entered the season as Delmarva’s best pitching prospect. The right-hander’s outing this week was nothing short of nightmarish. He faced six batters. All six reached base (five hits and a walk). All six scored. Mejia has an incomprehensible 9.35 ERA and 12.3 BB/9 in 16 starts this year. It’s only getting worse.
The Shorebirds offense was nothing to write home about, either, beyond Jaiden Lo Re’s team-leading six hits and six RBIs. We could see Jhomnardo Reyes join this squad. He spent most of the season with the FCL Twins but moved up to Low-A before the trade.
Last week’s player of the week poll resulted in yet another first-time winner, Heston Kjerstad, who won an overwhelming 72% of the vote. In 12 weeks of polls, we’ve had 11 different winners, with Ike Irish the only one to do so twice. Kjerstad is joined by one-time winners Aron Estrada, Victor Figueroa, Payton Eeles, Braylin Tavera, Caden Hunter, Wehiwa Aloy, Jaiden Lo Re, Joseph Dzierwa, and Luis De León.
It’s a head-to-head poll between two Baysox this time. Could we have another first-timer this week, or our second repeat champ?
