The Buffalo Sabres trade of winger JJ Peterka last June was made for a number of reasons, but the likely cause was the club not wanting to pay the young forward on a longer-term extension, which is what he got when he was traded to Utah.
The Sabres target in the deal was defenseman Michael Kesselring, a big right-handed blueliner that they projected would be a partner for Bowen Byram or Owen Power, the other part of the trade was 23-year-old Josh Doan, the promising son of Coyotes/Utah legend Shane Doan, who had slumped in his second NHL season after moving to Salt Lake City.
Kesselring has been injured on four separate occasions, and is pointless in 17 games, but Doan has taken advantage of a top-six opportunity with the Sabres, with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 49 games. On Wednesday, the club announced that they have signed Doan to a seven-year, $48.65 million contract. The winger was in the final year of his entry-level contract and was due to be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
“Josh is a player that impacts the team both on and off the ice,” Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen said in a press release. “He works hard, is competitive and skilled, and his game is going to continue to develop. We believe he will be a core piece of this team moving forward, and I am excited to have him as a Buffalo Sabre long term.”
About how he doesn’t have the heart to play through injuries.
About how his $240-million contract was an overpay for a player with only one top-five finish in MVP voting.
Kyle Tucker was introduced as the newest member of the Dodgers in a press conference on Wednesday. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Introduced as the Dodgers’ latest addition in a Wednesday morning news conference, the 29-year-old outfielder said his understated personality shouldn’t be mistaken for absence of passion.
“I know what I try and do on the field and what I bring in the clubhouse,” Tucker said.
Which would make sense.
Players without internal drives usually don’t develop the kind of well-rounded game that made Tucker the grand prize of this free-agent market. They might have their moments, but they don’t maintain their performance levels for enough time to become four-time All-Stars, as Tucker has.
An absence of passion is alarming for a region in which Dwight Howard failed the Lakers, Anthony Rendon destroyed the Angels and Chip Kelly obliterated UCLA football, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he was certain Tucker has the fortitude that belongs on a high-character team.
“There’s an inner fire I’ve seen,” manager Dave Roberts said.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he picked up on that in his conversations with Tucker.
He was signed to a 4-year $240 million contract. AP
Friedman said Tucker showed he valued the details of the game. He said Tucker was interested in how the Dodgers could assist him in becoming a better player, whether it be in the batter’s box, in the outfield, or on the basepaths.
“Having a guy who has achieved what he has, but still has that mentality of, ‘How do I get better?’” Friedman said. “Those are the guys that make it easier to bet on.”
Friedman wondered how much the public perception of Tucker has been hurt because he doesn’t have an “outward, exuberant personality.”
Judging by his introductory news conference, Tucker is Shohei Ohtani without his disarming smile.
The 29-year-old outfielder said his understated personality shouldn’t be mistaken for absence of passion. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
His delivery was monotone. He registered no emotion as he relayed a light-hearted story about Freddie Freeman FaceTiming him to tell him to not do “anything stupid.”
About the only time Tucker became animated was when he leaped to the defense of Roberts when I teased the manager for not relinquishing his No. 30 jersey to him. (Roberts wears the number in honor of late mentor Maury Wills.)
There were traces of his emotional investment, however.
“I try and do my best out there, regardless of how I feel or what the situation is,” he said.
Tucker was slowed by injuries over the last two years.
He spoke about what he could contribute to the team when he was slumping — by moving runners over, by making pitchers work, by drawing walks.
Tucker will wear No. 23 with the Dodgers, inheriting a number once worn by Adrian Gonzalez. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“Little things like that can add up to a lot of wins throughout the season,” he said.
Tucker played in the postseason in each of the last seven years and said he was looking forward to returning with the Dodgers.
“I’m fired up,” he said.
Perhaps Tucker’s personality will emerge in time. Los Angeles can have that effect on players.
Tucker will wear No. 23 with the Dodgers, inheriting a number once worn by Adrian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was known as an introvert when he was acquired by the Dodgers in a blockbuster trade in 2012. By his second season with him, he was raising his hands to the sides of his helmet as if they were Mickey Mouse ears. He quickly became one of the most popular Dodgers of his generation.
His previous no. 30 is worn by Dave Roberts in honor of of late mentor Maury Wills IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
And, remember, it was only a couple of years ago that Mookie Betts’ focus was being questioned. Two more World Series championships and a successful move to shortstop have dispelled any misgivings about Betts’ dedication.
As were the cases with Gonzalez and Betts, the Dodgers believe there’s more in Tucker than he has shown.
“I do think that Kyle’s mindset on the micro, the day-to-day, just winning a baseball game, that’s in line with what we do,” Roberts said.
The manager continued, “Do I think [he could be] an MVP candidate? Absolutely. Do I think he can win a Gold Glove? Absolutely.”
Tucker does that, and he could be in line for another contract with the Dodgers. Tucker’s deal is for four years, with opt-outs after the second and third years.
“In two or three years, we’ll know a lot more about things than we do now,” Friedman said.
More specifically, they’ll know more about how seriously Tucker takes the game. They’ll know if he can be more than a reinforcement on an already-loaded roster. They’ll know if he is the caliber of player, and person, around which a championship team can be built.
LOS ANGELES — To say that Dave Roberts and Maury Wills were close is an understatement. Wills, the Dodgers’ all-time stolen base leader and six-time National League steals leader, took the base-stealing Roberts under his wing when Roberts was playing, and became a confidant for two decades, until Wills died in 2022.
“He was a friend, a father, a mentor, all of the above for me. This one is a tough one,” Roberts said after Wills’ death three and a half years ago. “He showed me to appreciate my craft, and what it is to be a big leaguer. He just loved to teach. A lot of where I get my excitement, my passion, my love for players is from him.”
Twenty-three different Dodgers players have worn number 30 since Wills last donned the uniform in 1972, including Roberts from 2002-04 when he was playing for the Dodgers. Roberts resumed wearing number 30 when he took over as manager in Los Angeles for the 2016 season.
So it was going to be a tall order for Kyle Tucker, who wore number 30 in his last five seasons with the Houston Astros, and also in 2025 with the Chicago Cubs, to keep wearing that same number with the Dodgers. But he had to at least try.
“I kind of knew the reasoning behind having the number 30, but I was like, I’m just gonna take a shot in the dark here and see what happens,” Tucker said during his introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting it.”
“It was a fun conversation Tuck and I had, and it was more — you know, Maury and I just had a great relationship,” Roberts said Wednesday. “One of the things that he was like, ‘Gosh, when I die I hope no one else wears that number.’ It’s really near and dear to me, so we talked about it.”
The Dodgers typically only retire uniform numbers of Hall of Famers who go into Cooperstown representing the team, with only two exceptions to date — Jim Gilliam and Fernando Valenzuela. Roberts is well on his way down the Hall of Fame path, having won three championships and five pennants in his 10 years on the job.
Roberts is one of only 11 managers to win the World Series at least three times. Nine of the other 10 are in the Hall of Fame, and Bruce Bochy will likely join them as early as 2027, depending on whether he decides to keep managing. Same for the 16 National League/American League managers with at least five pennants under their belt — 14 already in Cooperstown, plus Bochy and Roberts.
Another connection to Wills is that in 2003, the middle year of Roberts’ three seasons playing in Los Angeles, he was teammates with utility man Jason Romano, who is now Tucker’s agent at Excel Sports.
With 30 unavailable, Tucker chose to wear number 23 with the Dodgers. That was the number worn by Michael Conforto, who’s one year with the Dodgers last season did not work out as either side planned. Though Tucker is going to play right field — with Teoscar Hernández shifting to left field, which both Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed on Wednesday — he’s essentially directly replacing Conforto, who played left field last season. So perhaps it’s fitting that he’s wearing the same number.
But Tucker had a different reason for choosing it. That was the number worn by Michael Brantley, the longtime Guardians outfielder who played the final five seasons of his career (2019-23) in Houston, alongside Tucker’s rise to a full-time player and eventual four-time All-Star.
“With me going to 23 — I mean, [Roberts] looking up to Maury Wills and kind of being his mentor and everything coming up, and him wanting to wear that for him — kind of the same thing with me, with 23 and Michael Brantley,” Tucker explained. “He’s the guy I hung out with a lot coming up in Houston, and he was a phenomenal ballplayer and one of my close friends. That played a big part into my choice going with that.”
The Knicks (25*–18) return to MSG, desperate to snap a four-game losing streak against a Nets team that has dropped seven of its last eight. New York’s recent skid has highlighted turnovers and defensive lapses, but the talent and full rotation remain intact. The Nets present an ideal opponent to turn things in a positive direction. The Knicks have dominated the rivalry, winning 12 straight against Brooklyn, including two lopsided victories earlier this season.
Tip-off is 7:30 pm EST on MSG. This is your game thread. This is Nets Daily. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Be good humans. And go Knicks!
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
The Washington Wizards will try to snap a lengthy losing skid Thursday against the Denver Nuggets at Capital One Arena.
Game info
When: Thursday, Jan, 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass
Injuries: For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly (back) and Tristan Vukcevic (rest) are questionable, while Trae Young (knee, quad) and Cam Whitmore (shoulder) are out.
For the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic (knee), Christian Braun (ankle), Cam Johnson (knee), and Jonas Valanciunas (calf) are out.
What to watch for
The Wizards look to end their woes against the West with a quick rematch against the Nuggets. Washington has gone 0-6 in its ongoing stretch of games against foes from the opposing conference. The matchup against Denver at home is the team’s last shot to salvage a win before finally facing an East rival again.
Kyshawn George went off against the Nuggets, when they faced off last Saturday. He tallied 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting in the contest, including 14 points in the final period to make things interesting down the stretch, but it wasn’t enough as the Wiz lost 121-115.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Nuggets adjust defensively against George, and how the second-year swingman responds.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Chicago Bulls Date: January 22nd, 2026 Time: 7:00 PM CST Location: Target Center Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network – North Radio Coverage: Wolves App, iHeart Radio
The calendar has flipped into late January, the “new year, new me” energy is gone, the gym membership card is somewhere in the couch cushions, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have somehow wandered back into the exact same neighborhood they swore they were moving out of on January 1.
For a minute there, Minnesota looked like it had actually found something. After getting embarrassed by the Nets and Hawks, the Wolves came out of the gates in 2026 like a team that finally understood the NBA doesn’t give out “we meant well” banners. They were defending, flying around, stacking wins, playing like the kind of group that could stare down anybody in the West and not blink. And then Tuesday night in Salt Lake City happened, and the whole thing collapsed in real time like a cheap folding chair.
There are no excuses to be found here. Utah was on the second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota had two days of rest. Minnesota had a double-digit lead. And the Wolves still managed to get outscored by 17 in the fourth quarter. That fourth quarter wasn’t just bad basketball. It was disinterested basketball. The kind that makes fans start doing the math on how much time they’ve donated emotionally to this franchise and whether it’s all been a tax write-off.
And the part that makes it sting is the context. The Texas losses? You can at least explain those. Houston was without Anthony Edwards, and Minnesota still had a chance to win before the free-throw line turned into a slapstick comedy routine. San Antonio came without Rudy Gobert and somehow featured a 48-point second quarter, and even then, the Wolves still crawled back and made it a game. Those were painful. But they were at least defensible on the injury report.
Utah isn’t defensible. Utah is a team lined up for the sixth pick in the draft. Utah is the team you beat by 40 when you’re serious. And yet Minnesota let a second 40-piece quarter get dropped on them in two games, melted down late, and walked to the locker room in search of some Benadryl for their defense allergy.
Now the standings do the thing they always do: they strip the narrative down to the numbers and laugh at your feelings. The Wolves are sitting in the seventh seed. All that early-January glow? The “we’re back” headlines? The OKC win? The Spurs comeback? Great memories. Would make a hell of a montage. But if the season ended today, you’re in the play-in. And the cruelest part is the West is still so tight that you’re also only three games behind the Spurs and the two seed. So yes, there’s still hope. But you know what else there is? A really clear paper trail of games the Wolves didn’t take seriously enough, and those games always come back to haunt you in April.
This is how it happens. Not in one dramatic collapse, but in a bunch of smaller ones you try to rationalize at the time. It’s the late-December no-show against Brooklyn at Target Center when you could’ve sent the fans home for the holidays happy and just… didn’t. It’s the Atlanta dud to close out 2025. It’s the Phoenix and Sacramento meltdowns that turn wins into stomach punches. And then it’s a Tuesday night in Utah where you have rest, you have a lead, and you decide that defense is optional. Those are the nights that don’t feel catastrophic in the moment… until you’re in the 4/5 bracket staring at OKC in the second round, or you’re a half-game short of home court, or — worst-case — you’re sweating a play-in game because you couldn’t be bothered to lock in against the Jazz.
So now it’s reset time. Mirror time. “What kind of team are we?” time. Because you don’t get to talk about title aspirations if you can’t handle the boring stuff. If you can’t handle January grind games. If you can’t handle the teams you’re supposed to beat.
Which brings us to Thursday night: Chicago at Target Center, where the Wolves are still undefeated at home in 2026. Maybe that means something. Maybe it’s just a fun stat that we’ll cling to like a life raft. But either way, Minnesota can’t lose a fourth straight game. Not with the standings this tight. Not with the season teetering between “two seed chase” and “play-in anxiety spiral.”
And it’s not like Chicago is showing up as a ceremonial sacrifice. The last time these teams played, the Bulls had a lead before Kobe White and Josh Giddey went down with injuries and the whole thing flipped. If Minnesota thinks it can sleepwalk through this one and get a home win by default, they’re about to learn that the NBA doesn’t do defaults. You either play like you care, or you get punched.
Keys to the Game
1. Play defense like adults. This one is not complicated. The Wolves have put together stretches recently where the defense has been downright gross. The Utah fourth quarter was the kind of defensive effort that gets you sent to the bench in middle school, except these guys are professionals playing in front of paying customers. It has to start on the perimeter. No more matador possessions where a guard gets turned around and Rudy has to clean up three mistakes at once. No more jogging through rotations. No more “we’ll flip the switch later” nonsense. You want to win? You defend the ball. You stay connected. You close out like it matters. If they can’t do that, honestly, don’t even bother with the offensive plan, because you’re not outscoring your way out of low-effort defense in the modern NBA.
2. Run an offense that actually resembles an offense. You could feel the Utah collapse coming because the offense started telegraphing it. The ball stuck. The pace died. It turned into lazy, grimy isolation possessions where everyone stands around and watches someone try to manufacture something out of nothing. That’s how you blow leads. That’s how you let teams hang around. That’s how you start missing jumpers and then stop defending because you’re mad you missed jumpers. The Wolves have too much talent for that. Move the ball. Cut. Drive with purpose. Kick out. Make the defense rotate. Make Chicago guard multiple actions instead of one guy trying to freestyle in traffic. The Wolves are at their best when the ball has energy. When it zips. When the defense is the one scrambling, not them.
3. Win the glass and control the pace. Chicago wants to run. They want to turn the game into a series of quick decisions and quick shots, and if you’re sloppy, if you don’t rebound, if you don’t get back, then suddenly you’re in a track meet you didn’t sign up for. This is where Gobert, Randle, and Reid have to impose their size. Defensive rebounds end possessions and offensive boards kill transition. If Minnesota does rebound, they can pick their moments to run their way — not chaotic, not reckless, but opportunistic. Easy baskets are the antidote to everything that went wrong in Utah. You want to avoid another late-game nightmare? Don’t spend the night giving the Bulls extra possessions and transition chances.
4. Ant and Julius have to play the right kind of “star basketball.” This is the key that connects everything. In Houston, Julius became a black hole by dribbling, pounding, forcing, and trying to win the game on brute strength while the rest of the offense suffocated around him. That can’t happen. He’s at his best when he’s a bully and a facilitator, when his gravity creates shots for others, not just bruises for himself. And with Ant, yes, you ride the heater when it’s there. His San Antonio masterpiece happened largely within the flow, and when a guy is in that zone you don’t overthink it. But the default can’t be “my turn, your turn” isolation basketball while everyone else watches. Ant has to set the tone the right way: pressure at the rim, decisive reads, and making sure the other guys feel involved enough to defend like their life depends on it.
The Finish
Look, there isn’t a ton of poetry left here. Minnesota is better than Chicago. They’re at home. They’re on a three-game skid that’s already starting to smell like one of those season-tilting slides you can never quite undo. They can’t afford to mess around.
This is the exact type of game that determines whether you’re chasing the two seed or sweating the play-in. Not because Chicago is some giant measuring stick, but because games like this are where “serious teams” separate themselves from “talented teams who like to dabble in chaos.” The Wolves have already spent enough time this season dabbling.
So Thursday has to be a line in the sand. Defend your home floor. Keep the undefeated home streak alive. Play like a team that actually wants the top half of the bracket instead of flirting with the bottom. Because if they don’t… if they come out flat again, if they sleepwalk again, if they let another winnable night leak away… then we can stop talking about the two seed and start talking about the play-in with a straight face.
The story had details into the sale of the team that made her look like a cutthroat businessperson who got rid of her family, and also gave her inner circle huge bonuses once the deal was finalized.
It also stated that her relationship with the franchise’s biggest star, while she’s been in charge, LeBron James, isn’t a good one.
Jeanie didn’t delay responding to this article, telling “The Athletic” that she didn’t like LeBron’s involvement in her family drama and that she appreciates the star.
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss issued this statement to @TheAthletic in response to today’s ESPN story, which includes reporting about her relationship with LeBron James.
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled…
For starters, it’s good that Jeanie said something. She could’ve just let this hang and put LeBron in the awkward position of having to speak on it, which would’ve been unfair since it was really a story about Jeanie and the Buss family.
However, how much Lakers fans agree with her words compared to the reporting will be up to public opinion.
She doesn’t have to answer for everything stated in the story, but the idea that the Lakers considered parting with LeBron isn’t too far-fetched.
In 2022, the year in which Holmes’ article indicates the Lakers considered dealing LeBron, there were reports that Phil Jackson might’ve been brought back to the Lakers and that he would want to trade James.
Now, ultimately, that didn’t happen, but there was smoke to this story before, and while LeBron was never dealt, it seems likely that the idea was at least considered.
In the NBA, countless trade conversations amount to nothing. If there was a thought from Jeanie to trade LeBron, she clearly never went through with it.
Still, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been jealousy or envy from the Lakers about how much credit LeBron gets for the 2020 title, or how much blame he does or doesn’t get for a lack of one since.
Jeanie is working on her PR spin on this story, and her on-the-record statement is that she appreciates LeBron.
Her future actions will likely also support her claim. My guess is that Lakers fans can expect a jersey retirement for LeBron and a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena once his playing days are over.
And, even if every word in Holmes’ story is accurate, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Jeanie-LeBron dynamic. The Lakers’ Governor wouldn’t be the first boss, nor the last, to not appreciate what her best worker does for her organization.
The difference is that this is the Lakers, and every ounce of drama gets massive attention, making it very messy.
While Jeanie has denounced this reporting, don’t expect this story to go away anytime soon.
The Knicks are sliding and they need a win in the worst way. Enter: the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn can stay the course with the tank and help both sides get what they want. A win-win. Or they can kick the enemy while they’re down; maybe remind them with every kick that the Nets control their first-round picks in 2027, 2029, and 2031, plus a 2028 first-round pick swap.
For now, we stay humble. Knicks have won nine straight against the Nets entering Wednesday.
🏀 KEY INFO
Brooklyn Nets (11–27) at New York Knicks (23–17)
When: 7:30 PM ET Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY TV: YES Network / MSG Radio: WFAN Sports
⚠️ INJURY REPORT
Highsmith: OUT – Right Knee Surgery, Injury Recovery Etienne: OUT – G League Two Way Johnson: OUT – G League Two Way Liddell: OUT – G League Two Way Saraf: OUT – G League Assignment
💬 Discussion
Share thoughts and react, but please be respectful. NetsDaily prides itself on being a safe space for Nets and basketball fans alike to have healthy conversation. Reach out to Anthony Puccio or Net Income with any issues.
The Buffalo Sabres are currently fourth in the Atlantic Division standings with a 27-17-5 record. With this, they certainly have a chance of snapping their 14-year playoff drought this year.
With this, it would not be surprising in the slightest if the Sabres looked to add to their roster ahead of the trade deadline. When looking at this year's potential sellers, the struggling St. Louis Blues stand out as a possible trading partner for Buffalo.
Because of this, let's go over two Blues forwards who the Sabres should strongly consider making a push for.
Robert Thomas, C
The Sabres could use a true No. 1 star center, and Robert Thomas would certainly give them just that if acquired. With the Blues struggling, the 26-year-old has been creating a lot of buzz in the rumor mill as a trade candidate.
If Thomas would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Sabres, he would be far more than just a rental for Buffalo. This is because he is signed until the end of the 2030-31 season, where he has a $8.125 million cap hit. This adds to his appeal.
In 42 games this season with St. Louis, Thomas has posted 11 goals and 33 points.
Jordan Kyrou, RW
Kyrou is another notable Blues forward who St. Louis is willing to listen to offers about. With Kyrou being a proven top-six winger who has recorded at least 70 points in three out of his last four seasons, he would be a big-time addition to Buffalo's roster.
Kyrou has had a bit of a down year on an all-around ice-cold Blues team this season, though. In 40 games this season, he has recorded nine goals and 21 points. Yet, when noting that he has scored at least 31 goals in each of his last three seasons, he is a prime candidate to bounce back.
Kyrou also has an $8.125 million cap hit until the end of the 2030-31 season and a no-trade clause, so he would need to okay a move to Buffalo or any other club.
The active New York Mets acquired ace pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee on Wednesday night in a trade that sent two top prospects to the Brewers.
Milwaukee received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams.
We have acquired RHP Freddy Peralta and RHP Tobias Myers from Milwaukee in exchange for RHP Brandon Sproat and minor league INF Jett Williams.
Peralta gives the Mets a frontline starter after their rotation faltered in the second half of a disappointing 2025 season. The move came hours after the Mets formally introduced free agent addition Bo Bichette at Citi Field, and one night after they obtained talented center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA last season, when he led the National League in wins and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. He earned his second All-Star selection after getting his first nod in 2021.
The 29-year-old right-hander is set to make $8 million this year and can become a free agent following the World Series. He becomes the latest former Brewers player acquired by Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who ran Milwaukee’s front office from 2015-23.
Myers, 27, was 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA as a rookie in 2024 before going 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 22 appearances last year.
AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
The active New York Mets acquired ace pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee on Wednesday night in a trade that sent two top prospects to the Brewers.
Milwaukee received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams.
We have acquired RHP Freddy Peralta and RHP Tobias Myers from Milwaukee in exchange for RHP Brandon Sproat and minor league INF Jett Williams.
Peralta gives the Mets a frontline starter after their rotation faltered in the second half of a disappointing 2025 season. The move came hours after the Mets formally introduced free agent addition Bo Bichette at Citi Field, and one night after they obtained talented center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA last season, when he led the National League in wins and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. He earned his second All-Star selection after getting his first nod in 2021.
The 29-year-old right-hander is set to make $8 million this year and can become a free agent following the World Series. He becomes the latest former Brewers player acquired by Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who ran Milwaukee’s front office from 2015-23.
Myers, 27, was 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA as a rookie in 2024 before going 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 22 appearances last year.
AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
Outfielder Kyle Tucker at his introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. Tucker signed a four-year, $240-million contract to join the Dodgers. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
This was pretty audacious, even by the Dodgers’ standard. Their $17-million left fielder flopped last year, so they threw $240 million at another corner outfielder to supplement the three most valuable players already in their lineup.
Still, as Kyle Tucker smiled for the cameras at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, it was hard to imagine this one man could sign here and take down the 2027 season.
On Tuesday the Athletic quoted one ownership source that portrayed the Tucker signing as a tipping point that made it “a 100 percent certainty” owners would push for a salary cap when the collective bargaining agreement expires this fall. Owners have been complaining about the Dodgers’ signings of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell and Tanner Scott, and on and on, and it sounds silly that the signing of one Kyle Daniel Tucker would turn the owners in a direction many of them already indicated they want to go.
“I agree,” said the man who signed him, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
If baseball comes up with new rules next year, the Dodgers will abide by them. Until then, Friedman said, their “only focus” is on delivering the best possible product to the fans who pack Dodger Stadium every night and shop the team store like crazy. In return, he said, the Dodgers can sell themselves to stars like Tucker.
“A destination spot is where players and their families feel incredibly well taken care of,” Friedman said. “If they're playing in front of 7,000 people, they don’t feel that as much.
“Playing in front of 50,000 people, and seeing the passion and how much people live and die for the Dodgers each summer and each October, I think, adds to the experience and allure of playing here.”
He also said this, which might infuriate some fans and perhaps some owners outside Los Angeles: “This isn’t just about, let’s spend a lot of money.”
If the Dodgers’ spending habits border on satire to you, well, the Onion got there first. Two decades ago, when fake news actually meant fake, the Onion ran this headline: “Yankees Ensure 2003 Pennant By Signing Every Player In Baseball.”
The Yankees led the major leagues in payroll that year and for the next 10 years. They won the World Series once in that span, in 2009. They have not won since.
So, when the Dodgers splurged last winter, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner offered a measured response.
"It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing," Steinbrenner told YES Network. "We'll see if it pays off."
It did. The Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series. They made more money on ticket sales alone in 2024 than roughly half the 30 teams made in total revenue. Same for their local television revenue.
There’s more: an estimated $200 million in sponsorship revenue last year — thank you, Shohei. In all they took in an estimated $1 billion last year — an MLB record — meaning they spent close to $600 million in player payroll and luxury taxes and still made money.
At that level the cries that owners of other teams should just spend more start to ring a bit hollow. They should spend more, of course. But the issue is how to persuade owners to spend another $100 million when the Dodgers still might outspend them by $300 million.
The Yankees can do the kind of things the Dodgers do, and the San Diego Padres have shown how fans in a small market turn out when an owner is more concerned with winning than profit. However, the implosion of cable and satellite television means that local media revenues have cratered for teams outside large markets.
More than half of MLB teams never have paid anyone the $240 million the Dodgers committed to Tucker. The Dodgers committed even more to Ohtani, Yamamoto and Mookie Betts.
The owners could agree that teams should share more revenue, with luxury tax penalties not just in cash but also in restrictions that would hamper the ability to compete, something more significant than the loss of a couple of draft picks.
But that Tucker deal: The Dodgers committed $64 million in a signing bonus — never mind the salary! — to a player they arguably did not need. Owners will be very happy to argue the luxury tax has failed and only a salary cap will stop the Dodgers and New York Mets.
Kyle Tucker's contract includes a $64-million signing bonus. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
This was part of that Onion satire in 2003: “Yankees manager Joe Torre, whose pitching rotation prior to the mass signing lacked a clear seventh ace, now has the luxury of starting each of his hurlers twice a season.
“ ‘As they say, you can never have enough pitching in this league,’ Torre said.”
Let’s see: Yamamoto, Ohtani, Snell, Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan. That might be six aces. And, since you never can have enough pitching: Ben Casparius, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack, River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Justin Wrobleski. There might be a seventh ace in there, or on the trade market during their coming walk year: Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers, or even Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.
A salary cap would provide cost certainty that likely would enable owners to sell teams for more money. Whether a salary cap would solve the issue of competitive balance is questionable — in the capped NFL, the AFC championship game has included either the New England Patriots or Kansas City Chiefs for 15 consecutive years — but that would be the owners’ pitch.
So would this: You could compete with the Yankees for the first two decades of this century, but you just can’t compete with these Dodgers, even if that reflects less on payroll and more on management, a dash of October randomness, and that horrendousfifth inning of Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.
In 1994, when owners called off the World Series rather than surrender their pursuit of a salary cap, the following season started a month late, and even then the owners did not get a cap. If they really want a cap, baseball insiders say, the owners will have to vow to stick together and support doing what the NHL owners did to secure one: calling off an entire season.
For the Dodgers and their fans, that is someone else’s problem, at least for this year. In Los Angeles, the prevailing question is not “Salary cap?” but “Three-peat?”
Tucker likely will bat “second or third” in the Dodgers’ lineup, manager Dave Roberts said. He’ll better the defense by playing right field, allowing Teoscar Hernández to move to left field.
Of all the potential offseason acquisitions the Dodgers discussed, Friedman said, “There was really nobody that moved our World Series odds for 2026 more than Kyle Tucker.”
I asked Tucker how he felt about supposedly having so much power that his signing could shut down what owners say is a troubled sport.
“I think baseball is in a good spot,” Tucker said. “We have phenomenal attendance around the world. … Fans are being very supportive of their teams and their players and their organizations. I think it’s a good thing having that interaction with everyone, and I think it’s just going to grow the game from there, as long as we can — as a league and as players — continue growing the fan base.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers are rock stars, as evidenced by the team selling out of $253 seats next to the on-field stage at the annual fan festival next week.
The players will not be playing. They will appear for short interviews with team broadcasters.
Seats in the stands are available from $28 to $153, for an event that was free three years ago. While fans and owners of other teams complain, the Dodgers shake it off and find ways to make even more money.
Life is good when you’re the champions. Enjoy it this year, Dodgers fans. If a lockout is happening next January, as it likely will be, the fan festival will not be happening.
Last season, the Phoenix Suns managed to turn disappointment into an art form. The most expensive roster the league has ever seen could not even sniff the Play In, let alone the postseason. A masterclass in how fast things can go sideways. Most of us have tried to memory hole that year and move on, but every so often, a new detail leaks out. Another breadcrumb. Another explanation. Another quiet “why”.
This time, it came from Brent Barry. He popped up on an episode of the No Dunks Podcast and peeled back the curtain a bit on how that team actually functioned behind the scenes. And the picture he painted helps explain how something with that much talent unraveled the way it did.
“The situation there overall, I would tell you guys, being on the inside, was it was a team that just didn’t know how to get along,” Barry stated. “They were all cordial towards one another. They all came to practice and were friendly, but it was one of those situations where you’re just not invested.”
“I thought it was going to be a slingback from what happened with Frank Vogel and the disappointment from the year before that there would be some piss and vinegar in the team and that these guys would want to show like, hey, we’ve got the highest salary in the league,” he continued. “We’ve got to figure this thing out together. Let’s use our superpowers to do that. Let’s use our superpowers for good. Unfortunately, they used them the other way and found ways to dismantle that roster. And sadly, they just didn’t commit to one another.”
“If clearly those guys don’t have a hierarchy and you’re not, as a member of the team, as a player, you’re not aware of which of the guys were leaning on the most, it confuses the rest of the team. And I think we had a lot of guys who didn’t exactly know what the expectations were. And again, this comes back to really good coaching and leadership. You have to define those for a team. And at no point did we do that for the Phoenix Suns last year.”
This was incredibly revealing. It highlights the contrast between last season and this one in bold print.
Starting with Bradley Beal, it became clear that he never fully bought into operating within a true team structure. He had been the alpha in Washington for so long that the adjustment never really took. When reports surfaced that he took offense to his head coach asking him to play more like Jrue Holiday, that told you everything you needed to know. That was a crack in the armor.
I have said it plenty of times. I liked the player. I did not like the contract or the situation. But once that detail came out, it reframed things. This was not only about fit on the court. It was about mindset. When a player resists being part of something collective, when the instinct is “me” over “we”, the whole thing starts to wobble. That mentality bleeds. And last year, it bled everywhere.
And if you take Barry’s comments one step further, they also shine a light on the challenge Kevin Durant brought with him.
You can talk all day about his greatness on the court, and none of that is up for debate. But the laissez-faire approach, the mentality of wanting to hoop and nothing else, showed up in exactly what Barry was describing. That disengagement, that singular focus, warped the hierarchy of the team and bled into the locker room. That’s the lack of investment.
With great power comes great responsibility, or at least it is supposed to. That has never really been Durant’s lane. He wants the praise. He wants the contract. He wants the freedom. He does not want the accountability that comes with steering a group. Last season made that painfully clear. When the players carrying the largest financial weight do not define or embrace their role, everyone else drifts. Structure erodes. Accountability disappears.
What you end up with is a roster full of mercenaries. Guys playing for themselves, not for each other. The coaching staff never had a chance to pull it back together because the egos were too big and the buy-in was never there. That was last year’s Suns in a nutshell.
Devin Booker was obviously part of that group too, and he even said early this season that last year was the toughest stretch of basketball he has ever lived through.
"Definitely the toughest two years of my career."
Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker discusses why the last couple of seasons were more difficult to navigate than even the lean years when winning didn't come easy.@BurnsAndGambopic.twitter.com/AgcUrJubYK
We do not know how much responsibility to pin on him for what did or did not happen, but one thing is clear. His voice was muted. Just ask Coach Bud, who, when the team was struggling, reportedly told Booker to “tone it down”. He’s not free of sin, but he’s the only one who appeared to try to vocalize the issue and was muted. When you stack that many stars together and no one clearly owns the room, even the franchise guy can get drowned out.
That is the clearest contrast to this season. This team works because everyone knows where they stand. There is a hierarchy. There is clarity.
You can hear it when guys like Jordan Goodwin, Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, and Ryan Dunn talk on The Old Man and the Three Podcast. The reverence they have for Devin Booker. The respect they show for what Dillon Brooks brings. That stuff matters. It sets the tone. And it is a big reason why this version of the Suns feels connected in a way last year never did.
"There was a lot of noise outside last year." — Collin Gillespie + Ryan Dunn talk about the Suns this year vs. last year pic.twitter.com/OwIL7MORRH
The difference is obvious, and you see it every night on the floor. When there is a clear hierarchy behind the scenes, it shows up in how the team plays. Roles are defined. Effort lines up. Execution follows.
This team has already won 27 games. Last season, it took until February 22 to get there. 59 games. This group did it in 44. That is not coincidence. That is structure. That is buy-in. And it traces back directly to the issues Barry pointed out. When everyone knows who they are and how they fit, winning stops feeling accidental and starts feeling repeatable.
With the Houston Rockets coming to town Thursday the Sixers released their injury report and it’s filled with the usual suspects. After playing in the front end of their back-to-back earlier in the week, Joel Embiid is listed as probable. Instead of left knee injury management though the reason given in right ankle injury management, the same reason he missed that second game against the Phoenix Suns. That ankle issue has popped up on the report here and there for the past month or so, but hasn’t caused him to miss significant time.
What was surprising was Paul George missing both legs of that back-to-back, he was listed with the usual left knee injury management. The first game against the Pacers, George was ruled out right before pre-game press availability. The second against Phoenix he did make an attempt to warm-up, but was obviously ruled out for that one as well. Before the Suns game, Nick Nurse didn’t give any indication there was an attempt to stagger those two over the back-to-back.
George last appeared on Jan. 16, playing 30 minutes in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He might have just needed a couple extra days off, but any further missed time should be cause for concern.
The rest of the report is rounded out by MarJon Beauchamp and Johni Broome, both doubtful on a G-League assignment. The only thing noteworthy there is that it does not include Jared McCain. He didn’t play in either of the games for the Sixers since being recalled from his second G-League assignment, though the Blue Coats don’t have another game until Jan. 24.
Houston’s injury report is fairly light as well, outside of obviously missing Fred VanVleet who tore his ACL before the season started. They’ll also be without Steven Adams who suffered an ankle injury two games back.
