Carns had a .289 batting average, six home runs, 11 doubles, one triple, 38 RBI, and 48 runs scored while appearing in 51 games during the 2026 season, including 49 combined starts at both catcher and designated hitter.
Carns is considered a physical right-handed hitter with plus-power at the plate while also showing rare athleticism behind the plate. He presents a similar profile to the player he’ll likely replace in the Bulldogs’ lineup: Daniel Jackson, who won the SEC’s triple crown with a conference-best .379 average, 32 home runs and 87 RBIs. He joined Mississippi State‘s Brent Rooker and Rafael Palmeiro as the only other SEC players to achieve such a feat.
Jackson, who also became the sixth Division I college baseball player to hit at least 25 home runs and still at least 25 bases, raked in multiple awards in 2026 — the Dick Howser Trophy, the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award, the Bobby Bragan Slugger Award, and the D1 National Position Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods. Jackson is widely expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2026 MLB Draft next month.
Carns was originally drafted in the 20th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but chose to attend FSU instead. The Jacksonville, Fla. native hit .384 with 28 hits, seven doubles, 27 runs scored, 16 RBI and seven home runs as a senior from First Coast (Jacksonville, Fla.) High.
As a freshman at Florida State, Carns hit .286 with eight doubles, six home runs and 15 RBI in 40 games during the 2025 season, including 39 starts.
Carns becomes Georgia’s sixth transfer addition this offseason joining outfielder Mikey Bell (Gonzaga), shortstop Matthew Farner (North Florida) and right-handed pitchers Cooper Wells (Florida), Christopher Cespedes (Maryland), and Luke Howe (Long Beach State), according to On3’s Baseball Transfer Portal tracker.
DETROIT, MI - JUNE 24: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
Michael R. asks:What’s going on with Dax Kilby? Is he in a witness protection program? Last I heard it was a hamstring injury. Was there an amputation needed? Surely, if it was just a hamstring issue he should be back by now.
Hamstrings are finnicky muscles, and tweaking them can easily set back a rehabbing player’s progress — look no further than Giancarlo Stanton for a prime example of how long it can take if things go poorly. Kilby did manage to get into a rehab game at the end of May, but reaggravated the injury during the game and has been out again since. We don’t know the full extent to how bad the hamstring was after that game, but the team is going to be cautious with any soft tissue injury like this especially after the rehab attempt went poorly. If we don’t have an update around mid-July then there’d be some valid concern, but for now Kilby is simply going to be on the shelf for a bit longer.
jws85 asks:Why do writers keep talking starting pitchers? I would think the hot topic would be Josh Jung and Higgy from Texas.
It’s not so much that starting pitching is a need as it is the singular face of the trade market this deadline appears to be Tarik Skubal — and when the reigning two-time Cy Young winner is available, you have to at least consider being the one to make a move for him. Any other starter wouldn’t make sense for the Yankees to pursue when they have one of the strongest rotations in baseball and have some clear holes elsewhere, but Skubal could push them all-in on being perhaps the most dangerous team in the field even with the reigning champion Dodgers looking every bit as strong as they have been the last two years.
Make no mistake though: it would be an all-in move, and it would be costly. Even though the team that lands him would only guarantee Skubal’s services for the remainder of this season, the Tigers can demand a king’s ransom for him and have a number of suitors willing to pony up. Skubal did sit out for a month with an elbow injury that might raise concerns, but he’s recovered in admirable time and the Yankees just got a front-row seat to see how sharp he looks already so I doubt there would be a major discount on account of his arm. Any trade on the Yankees’ ends would start with top prospect George Lombard Jr. and likely include several other top prospects within the organization’s top 10, probably even their top five given their rankings fall off quick from there. That’s going to mortgage the future fairly significantly, but if they don’t push those chips into the pot the Dodgers can definitely outbid them (and possibly still can even if the Yankees leave no one off the table).
Sounds like an awful lot to index everything into a rotation that is already one of the best, and leaves little room to make other upgrades when some are definitely warranted. So why should the Yankees consider this? Well, there’s the opportunity cost of passing on Skubal to consider — if they don’t go and get him, someone else will and the Yankees will likely have to face him on their road to a World Series title, making him a major obstacle instead of a piece of the puzzle. Could anyone compete with the Dodgers if Skubal dons an LA cap this postseason? Will the Yankees’ hopes of walking through a weak American League remain high if say, Seattle doesn’t want to fall just short of making the Fall Classic at long last and throws their arsenal of top 100 prospects at Detroit? Leaving it up to chance that Skubal won’t become the next version of Texas Cliff Lee or Houston Gerrit Cole isn’t ideal for a team whose core is getting dangerously close to old.
Age is the other factor — the Yankees have, outside of their push in 2024 with Juan Soto, danced around the idea of ever going all-in. Now they have a roster with superstars exiting their primes, with Aaron Judge already in his age-34 season and Cole approaching his 36th birthday in September. Both players have now faced mounting injuries in the last few years, and while I’m highly confident in both of them performing in October this year, how many more years will they be able to carry the weight of a title run on their shoulders? The team has gotten a much-needed injection of youth with Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler excelling this year, but they’re facing Father Time down with the contracts still on the books for their superstars. A rental starter would’ve been ideal in past seasons but isn’t this time around, but you could argue that getting picky about which pieces were available to them and at what prices got them into this position in the first place. Now they need to decide if pushing for a championship with their captain is more important than always being in the mix, and act accordingly.
With all this said I truly don’t know if they can even get Skubal or should pursue him if they could, but they have to do their due diligence in considering it. I like Lombard a lot, and he can potentially be the answer to a position that has given the Yankees a lot of headaches over the years. It would take a lot to move him, but the circumstances are undeniably there. We’ll see if they determine it’s worth pulling the trigger or not.
The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks:Clarke Schmidt? He’s going to face live batters any day now, so his return this season seems inevitable. What do the Yankees do with him? Do they just ride out the season and if he’s healthy and available keep him in the minors, or bring him up and force him into a bullpen role? Does he have any trade value? How does he rank among Yankee starters for 2027?
Schmidt is in a strange spot, with the rotation blossoming in his absence and nearly all the candidates to hold down a spot ahead of him being under control long-term. Schmidt, meanwhile, will be a free agent after next season and still has a minor league option remaining to toy with, giving the team flexibility now with how they handle his return but forcing the issue next year if they did keep him down. I doubt they would stash him in the minors, to be honest — when healthy he was one of the better starters the Yankees had, pacing out to about three fWAR per season had he played all of 2024 and 2025. The reality is he hasn’t pitched over 100 innings since 2023 though, so easing him back in a multi-inning relief role would be the ideal scenario if he stays and the rotation remains healthy in front of him.
A trade to shake things up in this equation is very much on the table though, as the Yankees have needs around the roster and for once have an extreme excess of starting pitching. Schmidt’s injuries might prevent him from recouping significant value, but he could also serve as a solid fallback option if Will Warren or one of the prospects like Elmer Rodriguez or Brendan Beck gets packaged in a deal. That could allow Schmidt to build back up his arm with a handful of starts this year and then slide back into the rotation as the fifth starter for 2027 should he beat out Ryan Weathers in spring. The only concern is that you truly can’t have too much pitching, and it would be the height of folly to act as if the team had too much pitching in July only to run on empty in October, but if they seriously pursued the Skubal angle perhaps that’s how they could hedge on building a super rotation for this season and still have depth for next year and beyond.
BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 23: Mikel Brown Jr. poses for a photo before the 2026 NBA Draft - Round One on June 23, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 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 Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images BROOKLYN, NY – JUNE 23: Mikel Brown Jr. poses for a photo before the 2026 NBA Draft – Round One on June 23, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 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 Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Mikel Brown Jr. talked about a lot of things after he was selected by the Brooklyn Nets at No. 6 in the NBA Draft on Wednesday. And in talking with NetsDaily, he spoke as well as what’s important to him, faith and family as well as his Puerto Rican roots.
“Faith definitively plays a big role. I mean, that’s where I come from,” the 20-year-old from Orlando told ND, noting that it’s part of his being Puerto Rican on his mother’s side. “You know actually representing my Puerto Rican heritage, They are big in their faith.”
Brown surprised and wowed a lot of Nets fans of Puerto Rican heritage on Draft Night when he showed off the inner lining of his suit to fellow Puerto Rican, Brooklynite and NBA champion Jose Alvarado. It was a tribute to that heritage…
“You gotta explain the fit!” Mikel Brown Jr. pulls up to the Red Carpet to show off his suit to fellow Puerto Rican and New Era Player Correspondent, Jose Alvarado 🇵🇷 @NewEraCappic.twitter.com/teS1B32xpI
About 600,000 residents of the city have connections to the commonwealth, about 140,000 in Brooklyn alone.
Brown also discussed his family with NetsDaily:
“I’m just so blessed to be in this position right now and also for my family as well. this is not a one-man thing,” he said when asked about family. “It’s also me and my family as well. You know they supported me through every decision. They made so many sacrifices for me and I can’t thank them enough.”
It was a big night for Brown of course, but he seemed prepared for it all…
In his comments to ND, he also noted how proud he is to be in Brooklyn…
“You know just the past. The legends that come from this city,” he said when asked about what he’s looking forward to. “They take pride from people when you hear someone say they’re from Brooklyn. They take pride in it. To be able to represent and you want to come in and have the same mentality. It’s not just about you. It means the world.”
The team and Duren, who is a restricted free agent, are far apart on contract talks, and Duren's camp is now planning to explore sign-and-trade scenarios when free agency opens June 30, according to The Athletic. Duren, 22, is coming off of a breakout All-NBA season. But his next deal likely will fall short of the maximum the Pistons can offer – five years and $287 million – following an underwhelming postseason performance.
Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on 65% shooting for a 60-win Pistons team that lost in the second round. He earned All-NBA third team honors, qualifying him for a contract worth up to $287 million that starts at 30% of the salary cap with 8% raises.
But the "higher max criteria" only applies to the Pistons – outside teams are capped to a maximum deal starting at up to 25% of the cap with 5% raises over four years, which comes out to $177.4 million total.
Because outside teams need cap space to make a realistic offer sheet for Duren, a sign-and-trade would open more pathways for Duren to land with a new team. But Pistons still hold the upper hand in negotiations, since they can match any offer sheet or simply decline to agree to a trade. Duren's only other pathway, in that situation, would be picking up his qualifying offer for the 2026-27 to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
They repeatedly have signaled that Duren is a priority and core player they wish to build around, even after his numbers dropped across the board through 14 postseason games, averaging 10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 51.4% shooting.
"I want him here, that’s where I’m at with JD," team president Trajan Langdon said on June 18. "We really want JD to be here."
Despite Duren's desire to look elsewhere for a bigger contract, it appears nothing has changed for the Pistons. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Friday after Duren's decision to seek other offers that "the Detroit Pistons are conveying that Jalen Duren will not be moved and are solely focused on coming to terms on an agreement."
Ultimately, the ball is in the Pistons' court. They can match any offer from an outside team and even if Duren is signed-and-traded, he'd be capped to four years and $177.4 million with an opposing team.
NAPA, CALIFORNIA - MAY 22: Jimmy Butler appears on the culinary stage at the 2026 BottleRock festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 22, 2026 in Napa, California. (Photo by Miikka Skaffari/WireImage)
Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler shared an encouraging update regarding the torn ACL he suffered last season. During Thursday’s event announcing IREN as the team’s new jersey patch sponsor, Butler fielded questions from reporters and, while he admitted the rehab process has been challenging, said he is making “incredible progress” in his recovery.
Jimmy Butler gives an update on his ACL rehab. Said he believes he is a month and a half from running. Believes he’s able to dunk jumping off his left foot but isn’t supposed to land on right foot.
Butler is now a little over six months removed from the season-ending injury he suffered on Jan. 19 against his former team, the Miami Heat. The veteran forward said he believes he is about a month and a half away from running again and is encouraged by the progress he has made throughout his rehab, even revealing that he could still dunk a basketball if he jumped off his left leg.
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from the session, though, was how positively Butler spoke about his time with the team thus far. He shared high praise for the Warriors’ organization, and while his name has occasionally surfaced in trade speculation due to his large, expiring contract, Butler’s comments did not sound like those of a player expecting to be moved anytime soon.
Jimmy Butler says the Warriors organization is a great organization and he doesn’t want to be anywhere else:
“It’s not good, it’s great. It legitimately is the best. You don’t realize it until you’ve been in other places, and I’m not talking down on anybody that are quite lesser… pic.twitter.com/Jr3hs7ye1X
For now, Butler appears focused solely on his recovery and his future in Golden State. He’ll be 37 years old at the beginning of next season, but he made it clear that his priority is getting back on the court and helping the Warriors compete again alongside Stephen Curry.
Jimmy Butler on his rehab and when he’s coming back:
“I got some time, but I promise I’m trying to get back to it. Basketball is what I’ve known for almost forever and it’s very hard not to be able to move and hoop anytime I want to. But as soon as I can get back on the floor… pic.twitter.com/VNMa3xOULI
As speculation lingers that the final year of Butler’s contract, worth almost $57 million, could be packaged in a deal to acquire a different star to pair with Steph Curry, Butler continues to carry himself as a man who wants to play out the rest of his career in the Bay Area.
The messaging has been consistent from both Butler and the Warriors’ front office that Butler is part of the team’s future. Sitting next to Butler on Thursday, Lacob reiterated that he is confident both Butler and the team will come back strong next season. And Butler, who will be entering his 16th NBA season this fall, expressed optimism that the Warriors have enough talent to be a difficult out.
“If we’re healthy, we’re tough,” Butler said. “We’ve just got to be healthy. … As long as we’ve got Steph, we always have a chance.”
Horford’s return is an early checkpoint for a Warriors roster that appears as if it will remain mostly stable. General manager Mike Dunleavy is in active conversations with Kristaps Porzingis‘ representation to bring back the stretch center on a short-term contract, and the Warriors have been under the recent expectation that Draymond Green is likely to return on his $27.6 million player option.
“If the group is healthy, if we’re together, I feel like we’re going to compete,” Horford said. “I don’t want to think too much ahead, but once we’re able to get Jimmy and [Moses Moody] back … we have a very competitive group and we’re going to do the best that we can.”
In one fell swoop, the Wolves have raised their ceiling, lowered their floor, addressed a long-simmering issue at point guard, and formed the most entertaining backcourt in all of basketball. Minnesota has united two of the best players from the 2020 draft, whose play, in some ways, informs the zeitgeist of the present day. Edwards is the more classic figure, an all-world swingman who has increased his scoring average in each of his six seasons and is gilded by Jordan-esque athleticism and an almost supernatural development arc in both his ballhandling and pull-up shooting capability. LaMelo is the mold-breaking savant who sees basketball in shapes and colors that exist only in his head, who intuits the physics of the game differently because no one else had a dad galaxy-brained enough to teach him how to shoot from half court by the time he was 6 years old. Ball’s presence as a creator will allow Edwards to take full advantage of his one-of-one downhill explosiveness off the ball; Ant’s offensive gravity is unlike anything LaMelo has ever played with. It’ll be exhilarating. It’ll be chaos. It’ll be what has been missing from this Wolves team: something altogether new.
An “AI cloud firm” called Iren has agreed to replace Rakuten as the jersey patch sponsor for the Golden State Warriors in a deal that’s reportedly worth $50M per season. For context, that’s enough to pay for 7 1/4 Al Horfords, 10.8 Gui Santoses, or over 58 Pat Spencers!
On the day the manager was let go with the Mets in last place in the NL East with a 34-47 record, Stearns was short when asked if he believed he still had ownership’s support to continue in his position: "Yes."
When asked what makes him think that, Stearns said it came from the conversations that he has with Cohen.
"Steve and I are talking on a regular basis," he said. "And he’s certainly indicated that I have his support."
As far as the decision to fire Mendoza – with the disappointing start to the season following a terrible collapse in last season’s campaign, when they finished the year 38-55 after having the best record in baseball on June 12 – and install Andy Green as the interim manager for the remainder of the season, Stearns said it was made in consultation with ownership.
"Any decision like this, of this magnitude for an organization, is an organizational decision," he said. "And we were aligned that this was the right thing to do."
Asked if the owner approached the front office about firing the manager or if it was the other way around, Stearns declined to get into specifics.
"I’m not gonna get into the specifics of Steve and my conversations," Stearns said. "We talk pretty much every day about the performance of our team.
"And we came to the decision that this was the right move."
Stearns said he took responsibility for his role in the Mets’ poor start to the season, but expressed his confidence in the roster he assembled.
"Clearly we’ve fallen short," he said. "I still have confidence in the talent that’s in our room, and believe in the talent that’s in our room, but belief on its own does not lead to results. And I understand that.
"We need better play, we need better production, and my focus now, and, Andy’s focus right now, is going to be doing everything we can to put our guys in the best position to succeed."
Stearns, who has said he considered his job to be done in partnership with Mendoza, said he had not considered stepping down from his role when asked directly.
"I believe that we are building the foundation of an organization that can deliver what we all want," he said in response to a question about stepping down. "I don’t believe that our record on the field this year is indicative of some of the advances we’ve made in the organization. But clearly our record is nowhere good enough."
While he said that he shared and "understood our fans' frustration and anger" in the way things have turned out, Stearns added that he understands their "skepticism" in his ability to turn things around.
"If I were sitting in the fan seat, I would share that," he said of the skepticism. "From my perspective, what I can do and what I will do, is for as long as I’m sitting in this seat, work as hard as I can with the people around me to do everything we can to push this organization forward. And I think we’re gonna be able to do that."
The Detroit Pistons knew they would have to upgrade their offense this summer, following a second-round exit in the NBA playoffs to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Joe, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, averaged 11.1 points and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting 45.5% overall and 42.3% on 3-pointers last season in 71 games, and gives the Pistons another much-needed option to space the floor. His 3-point percentage in 2025-26 was a career-best mark.
He's a high-volume 3-point shooter. and though he fell out of the Thunder's rotation during the playoffs, he will instantly help the Pistons fill their biggest need.
Along with Duncan Robinson, the Pistons now have two players to anchor their spacing. They scored 10.2 more points per 100 possessions when Robinson was on the floor last year according to Cleaning The Glass, with Cade Cunningham (+7.3) and Jalen Duren (+6.4) ranking second and third.
Outside of Robinson, they lacked reliable shooting. However, Robinson is a candidate to be waived this summer if the Pistons wish to create cap space to make a move in free agency. Only $2 million of his roughly $16 million salary next season is guaranteed, and they would have to waive him to clear enough space to be a player in the free agency market.
Joe has two years left on a reasonable four-year, $48 million contract he signed with the Thunder, with the two most expensive years already paid on a descending deal. He'll make $11.3 million each of the next two years, with the 2027-28 season a club option, according to Spotrac.
The Pistons on Tuesday night selected Stanford freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, trading up four spots with the Memphis Grizzlies to No. 17 overall in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Pistons finished 60-22 last season – the third-best record in franchise history and their best since 2005-06, and fell to the Cavaliers in seven games in their deepest postseason run in 18 years. Game 7 was a 125-94 embarrassment at home, concluding a blown 2-0 series lead.
Third-year president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has said he is building around their core three – Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson – this summer, with a repeated emphasis on adding more shooting and ball-handling.
Tom Dundon might be beloved in Charlotte (where his NHL team just hoisted the Stanley Cup), but fans in Portland have their doubts about their team's new owner. Dundon continues to live up to his penny-pinching reputation (except with players he says, although that has yet to be put to the test), and a couple of new instances have had fans — and plenty of people around the league — shaking their heads.
One was the contract for the new head coach, Mikah Nori. He is a longtime assistant in the league who most recently served as the right-hand man to Chris Finch in Minnesota. Dundon waited until there were no other open jobs on the market, then offered Nori a one-year contract with two team options after that. It's an owner-friendly contract that is radically different from the standard contract given to a first-time head coach (usually four years, with the final year a team option). In a league where status is somewhat based on contract size, you can be sure every player on that roster knows their head coach is on a lame duck deal, undercutting his authority.
Nori took the deal, but around the NBA, other coaches have been livid.
"I feel like he was put in a situation that he shouldn't be put in with having to make a choice of this nature because of the structure of what the contract is," said Pistons' coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the president of the coaches union. "It's unfortunate that you have a dream, and from our perspective, it's like someone's taking advantage of your dream and devaluing what we feel like coaches have earned over the years. You think about the sacrifice, the time, the growth that coaches have helped and done with the NBA, and then for someone to come in and attempt to devalue the work that coaches have in this league is extremely disappointing."
Nori, for his part, handled questions about the contract with grace.
"The way I look at this is: opportunity," he told reporters at his introductory press conference. "For 28 years, the first 25 years I never had an agent. I never look at money or years. I know that if I'm successful, the rest of these things will take care of themselves."
Trail Blazers arena
Portland's Moda Center, home to the Trail Blazers, is 31 years old, feels a little dated, and is in need of maintenance and upgrades. Paying for those changes has become a political fight in Oregon.
An estimated $600 million in renovations and maintenance is needed for the building, which is owned by the city of Portland with the Trail Blazers as the main tenant and a lease that runs through 2030.
There are ongoing negotiations about how to pay for this amongst Portland (which has pledged $120 million), Multnomah County, the State of Oregon, with multiple of those entities saying that Dundon and the Trail Blazers should chip in toward the cost. Dundon said don't expect that. From Kyra Buckley and Alex Zielinski of Oregon Public Broadcasting, at the Portland Metro Chamber meeting this week.
"I just know it feels like we're making a pretty big investment by staying here and paying these tax rates and agreeing to these fees for dollars that go back into the building."
"There's lots of places that don't have taxes at the same rate. So if you charge people taxes and invest it back into the thing that helps generate the money relative to the market, other places … it's a huge investment."
While the Moda Center is city-owned and it benefits from the upgrades and maintenance, nobody would benefit more than Dundon and his franchise. In Oregon, a billionaire owner saying he shouldn't have to pay for any of the renovations to the building, and a cash-strapped city should use taxpayer dollars to fund all of it, is not going to go over well.
Not that Dundon cares. He won't care until it hits him in the pocketbook. Just know his casual threat to move the team is not something that's happening (with expansion coming to the NBA, no way Adam Silver and the other owners let that happen). Dundon is going to have to work out something with the city, and he should pay his fair share.
Alex Karaban was selected No. 29 overall in the first round of Tuesday’s NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot 8-inch forward brings not just a wide variety of skills to the table, but a leading attitude on and off the floor.
An elite catch-and-shoot player from the perimeter isn’t the only thing that Sac-Town needs; As the all-time winningest player to put on the UConn Huskies jersey and having racked up the third most wins (15) all-time in NCAA tournament, he’s a winner in every sense of the word. The Kings finished this past season with just 22 wins, tied for last in the Western Conference. Karaban can show what it takes to build a sustainable winning culture and get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Dan Hurley spoke to KCRA3 on Wednesday morning to dive into the selection. “I talked to BJ Armstrong (Kings assistant GM) this morning, and he asked me how I felt, and I said, ‘How I feel is we got worse last night with Alex leaving and you guys got better with Alex joining your team,’”
The two-time national champion will likely come off the bench behind DeMar DeRozan. With DeRozan entering his 18th NBA season, only time will tell when Karaban can snatch that starting spot. Karaban will play alongside No. 7 pick Darius Acuff, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. Karaban’s elite catch-and-shoot ability provides immediate gravity on the perimeter. In an offense built around Sabonis’ high-post facilitating andDeRozan’s mid-range pressure, Karaban offers the exact floor-spacing safety valve the Kings desperately need to keep the lane open.
Sabonis is practically a walking double-double, but with Karaban spacing the floor on the wing, his passing lanes will open up significantly. Karaban’s ability to knock down kick-out jumpers could easily push Sabonis past his mark of 10 triple-doubles from last season.
Sabonis isn’t the only assist man the Kings have; Russell Westbrook is a prime example of an unselfish player. Westbrook’s ability to get downhill can allow for even more space to open up for Karaban out on the wing or find him cutting to the rim.
Alex Karaban went OFF for a career-high 27 points in UConn's 73-57 win over UCLA.
Defensively, Karaban offers the exact type of high-IQ that’s needed at the NBA level. While he may not be a lockdown isolation defender, his awareness as a weak-side helper is elite. Playing alongside Sabonis—who anchors the interior but isn’t a traditional rim protector—Karaban’s ability to read plays, box out, and execute crisp defensive rotations will give the Kings’ bench much-needed structural stability. He’ll be the first to dive for loose balls, put his body on the line to take a charge and be the first to help up a teammate when they go down.
Karaban doesn’t need for him to go out and light it up for 25 points a night to make his rookie season a success. He needs to stick to what made him a UConn legend and be the ultimate glue guy.
The Boston Bruins have finally made a meaningful upgrade to their roster, and it’s come right before the 2026 NHL Draft is scheduled to start Friday night.
The B’s have acquired Utah Mammoth forward JJ Peterka in exchange for their 2026 first-round pick (No. 23 overall) and the Florida Panthers’ 2028 first-round pick, the team announced. If the Panthers pick lands in the top 10, the Bruins can keep it and instead send their unprotected 2029 first-rounder to the Mammoth.
It’s not a small price, but it’s not an overpay, either. The Panthers pick is expected to be a late first given the fact that Florida is a Stanley Cup contender. The B’s still have their own 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, plus the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first-rounder in 2027 or 2028.
Peterka had a somewhat disappointing 2025-26 season in Utah, but he still managed to score 25 goals with 22 assists while playing all 82 games.
He has actually scored 25-plus goals in three straight seasons. Peterka spent his previous four NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, including a 68-point campaign (27 goals, 41 assists) in 2024-25.
The Bruins desperately needed to add more high-end skill and speed to their lineup over the offseason, and Peterka helps address both of these concerns. Peterka has the ability to be a consistent 30-plus goal scorer.
He’s only 24 years old and projects to be a top-six right wing for the foreseeable future. He’s especially dangerous off the rush, which is a skill set the Bruins need more of. They were not very dangerous in transition against the Buffalo Sabres during the first round of the 2026 playoffs.
In short, Peterka is the kind of player the Bruins should be betting on.
JJ Peterka, reportedly acquired by BOS, is a top six rushing winger with a great release, slick hands, and nice timing off the puck. Rounded his game out a bit this season but there might have been too many cooks for him to be as impactful offensively as in the past. pic.twitter.com/MYxku5vUjv
His current contract runs through the 2029-30 season with a salary cap hit of $7.7 million — a figure that will look cheap as the salary cap continues to rise.
The Bruins still need to upgrade the right side of their blue line this offseason, but this trade for Peterka is a good first step in bolstering the roster.
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 20: Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 20, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Baseball Gods are so often cruel and unrelenting.
The Cincinnati Reds battled the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game series in Great American Ball Park earlier this week, and they battled them pretty well. Twice they got near perfect starts from starters only for their offense to similarly be stifled, and once they battled back after they once looked buried.
Losses are losses, plain and simple, but they went toe to toe with the best team in the league and lost 2-1 (in extras), 2-0, and 6-5. They were close, but close simply doesn’t count in the sport of baseball.
They’ve fallen 5 games under .500 for the first time all season, and that’s after peaking at 9 games over .500 at the start of May. They’re an abysmal 2-15 vs. NL Central foes so far, too, showing just how far they’ve fallen down the pecking order of baseball’s most competitive division.
You’d think the Gods might throw them a bone here or there. Instead, their next foe on the schedule is none other than NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, who’ll start Friday’s series opener between the Reds and his Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes has actually been better in 2026 than he was during his award-winning 2025 in many ways. He’s sporting a 0.93 WHIP that’s better than his 0.95 mark from last season, and his 5.94 K/BB is improved from his 5.14 mark in ’25. So, the Reds have that going for them this evening. You may also recall that in 6 career starts against the Reds, he has held them to an abysmal .474 OPS and 0.53 ERA across 34.0 IP, with an absurd 45/4 K/BB.
Yikes!
The Reds will roll out lefty Andrew Abbott and hope he can keep the team in the game until the point where Skenes hands the ball over to the bullpen (should that ever actually have to occur). First pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET as the Reds try desperately to rescue their season after dropping it into the porta potty.
Here’s the order in which the Reds will be retired by Skenes to start:
The Chicago Blackhawks were in line to buy out Andre Burakovsky this offseason. After a decent start to the first half of his 2025-26 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, he had just 4 points in his final 37 games.
In those 37 games, it wasn't like Burakovsky made up for it in other areas of the game either. There was a lot of turning the puck over and frustrating defensive plays.
Instead of being forced to eat some money and buy him out, however, the Blackhawks were able to find a trade partner in the Ottawa Senators. Burakovsky goes to Canada's capital in exchange for a 6th-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Chicago will not retain any of Burakovsky's contract.
It isn't a consequential draft pick, but Burakovsky's lackluster play for a $5.5 million cap hit is off the roster. That is a tremendous amount of flexibility added when it comes to cap space.
Burakovsky has a strong past of productive NHL play, and the Ottawa Senators are going to try to rekindle that for him. They just traded Brady Tkachuk earlier in the week, so they need forwards who can bring some offense, assuming Burakovsky (somewhat) gets back on track.
The fact that the Senators were willing to give up a draft pick on a risky player shows that it is a legitimate seller's market in the NHL right now. Teams are desperate to add on and are willing to overpay for it. More of that is on the way as draft weekend heats up.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
The weekend here here, as is a fresh set of games filled with a ton of nuke missile opportunities!
My MLB player props are backing a couple of smaller names to go deep in my favorite home run predictions for Friday, June 26.
UPDATE: Added another HR pick + parlay.
Best MLB home run props today
Player to hit a HR
Odds
Travis Bazzana
+578
TJ Rumfield
+640
Owen Caissie
+640
💲Today's HR parlay
+35522
Home run pick: Travis Bazzana (+578)
Cleveland Guardians rookie second baseman Travis Bazzana has been one of the few bright spots in this lineup as of late, owning a .769 SLG and a 1.202 OPS, while generating a 45% hard-hit rate and a 15% barrel rate over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.
The young Aussie draws Seattle Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo, whose entire pitch mix is valued below league average, per FanGraphs. Bazzana owns a 68.5% arsenal coverage against Castillo’s full mix.
Castillo is nearly 50% fastballs, a pitch type the young second baseman has handled well this season, posting a .921 OPS while generating nearly a 42% hard-hit rate.
Beyond the below-average arsenal, Castillo has been getting tagged by left-handed hitters on the road, allowing a 71.4% elevation rate and a 43.7% hard-hit rate. Over his last 60 lefties faced, opponents have produced a 48% hard-hit rate, a 12% barrel rate, a 66% elevation rate, along with a .490 xSLG and .357 xwOBA.
For those who read my MLB player props for today, we are also on Kyle Manzardo to leave the yard as well.
Rumfield has been on fire lately, posting a .692 SLG, 1.092 OPS, .365 ISO, and just a 13% strikeout rate over his last 60 at bats against right-handed pitching.
The Twins right hander, on the other hand, has been getting torched by left-handed hitters.
Over the last 30 lefties he has faced, opponents are generating a 60% hard-hit rate, 25% barrel rate, and 75% elevation rate.
Even if you zoom out to the last 60 left-handed hitters, the numbers are nearly identical, with opponents owning a .708 xSLG and .418 xwOBA. Looking at his last three starts overall, Bradley owns a 6.19 xERA while allowing a 54% hard-hit rate and 16% barrel rate to opposing hitters.
This should be a fun one. I fully expect Rumfield to produce something above 105 mph off the bat this evening, whether it stays inside the ballpark, leaves it, or ends up in someone's glove.
The young slugger owns 74% arsenal coverage against McGreevy's entire pitch mix. As of late, Caissie has been eyeing up everything. Over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, Caissie has produced a 55.6% hard-hit rate, 27.8% barrel rate, .430 wOBA, .679 SLG, and a 1.012 OPS.
McGreevy has had some issues against lefties this season, posting a 5.67 xERA and just a 10% strikeout rate over the last 60 left-handed batters he has faced. During that stretch, lefties have posted a .358 xBA, .569 xSLG, and .382 xwOBA against him.
It is going to be a sweaty one with Caissie hitting toward the bottom of the order, but he has been seeing the ball extremely well, consistently producing loud contact. McGreevy has also been allowing plenty of hard contact, with opponents elevating the baseball against him.
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CARD, MIAM
Colby Marchio's 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 65-219, +17.10 units
Today’s HR parlay
Travis Bazzana
Bet Now +35522
TJ Rumfield
Owen Caissie
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Cubs enter this series trailing the Brewers by 6.5 games in the NL Central. With half a season to go, that’s not an insurmountable lead.
And yet, the Cubs were swept by the Brewers last month at Wrigley Field and outscored 19-5 in the three games. They’ll need to make some sort of better statement in this series.
At the end of the weekend, the Cubs will trail by either 3.5, 5.5, 7.5 or 9.5 games. So… winning one or two would be a useful result, and an unlikely Cubs sweep would make the division race really interesting. The Cubs are the hottest team in MLB right now, on a 10-3 run. So… you never know.
For more on the Brewers, here’s Harrison Freuck, manager of our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball.
The Milwaukee Brewers have found their groove over the last month-plus. After getting out to a slow, injury-riddled start, they’ve gone 33-15 since the beginning of May to expand their NL Central lead.
Jake Bauers currently leads the small-ball offense with 14 homers and 48 RBI on the year, with Brice Turang at 11 homers and Jackson Chourio at 10. William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, Christian Yelich, Andrew Vaughn, and Garrett Mitchell have also played key roles offensively, with Cooper Pratt, Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, and Joey Ortiz rounding out the position player group. Pratt, whom the Brewers signed to an eight-year extension before he even set foot in the majors, has looked solid in his first week-plus with Milwaukee, as he’s picked up seven hits in nine games and stolen four bases while providing above-average defense. After all, it couldn’t get much worse than the recently released Luis Rengifo (.205/.280/.254 with no homers and below-average defense over 57 games).
On the pitching side, the Brewers have their top three starters in Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Brandon Woodruff set to pitch this weekend. Miz has been simply incredible, with a 1.45 ERA and 138 strikeouts over 93 innings, while Harrison is also pitching at an All-Star level with a 2.50 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 72 innings. Woodruff missed the last month and a half, but he came back with a great start against the Reds on Monday, allowing just one hit and striking out 10 over six frames. The bullpen is anchored by Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Chad Patrick, with Grant Anderson, Craig Yoho, and Joel Kuhnel rounding things out.
This should be a fun weekend series in Milwaukee. Give me the Brewers to take two of three.
Fun facts
Here we are, halfway through the season and already the Cubs are playing a second series against the division-leading Brewers.
They lost all three when the teams met at Wrigley Field on May 18-20. Those were the third through fifth of the 10 straight losses that saw the Cubs tumble from first place, ahead by 2.5 games, to fourth place, 4.5 behind.
The teams have played 459 games, with the Brewers leading, 233-226. They have outscored the Cubs by just 12 runs, 2,077-2,065.
The Cubs are 107-120 at Milwaukee. They split six games last season, winning two of three in May and losing two of three in July.
They are 2-11-1 in series at Wisconsin since 2021, including being swept in three games the first year. Their last sweep visiting the Brewers was in the final three games of 2015. This will be their 26th series at Milwaukee since then.
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Friday: Colin Rea, RHP (5-5, 4.99 ERA, 1.399 WHIP, 4.83 FIP) vs. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP (8-3, 1.45 ERA, 0.753 WHIP, 1.66 FIP)
NOTE: One of the TBD games is likely to be started by new acquisition David Peterson, though at publication time the team had not announced which one. The other is likely going to be a bullpen game, though perhaps the team will surprise us. As always, we await developments.
Times & TV channels
Friday: 6:45 p.m. CT, Apple TV (how to watch). Announcers: Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ryan Spilborghs (analyst), and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
Saturday: 6:10 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Sunday: 1:10 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Prediction
Don’t get swept.
Seriously, though, despite pitching matchups that appear to favor the Brewers, I do think the Cubs should be able to win at least one of these games.
Up next
The Cubs return to Wrigley Field for a three-game series against the San Diego Padres beginning Monday evening.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: Carson Palmquist #51 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park on June 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In case your head has been under a rock lately, you would know that the Nationals bullpen is god awful. It feels like we are at the point where Paul Toboni needs to just throw stuff at the wall and hope something sticks. Along those lines, I am taking a look at a few even remotely interesting AAA arms.
Carson Palmquist got sent down yesterday, so we can’t see him for a couple weeks, unless there is an injury. However, I would be very surprised if Palmquist is not given a shot very quickly once he is eligible. He was the opener on Wednesday, and did a very nice job. The funky lefty got through 3.1 innings, allowing just one run.
Carson Palmquist almost through a quality start, I understand he's supposed to be the opener, but let the hot hand cook. The Nats finished that inning blowing the lead and a move to the bullpen again could come soon.
Hats off to Carson Palmquist in his Nationals debut. 🧢
Unlike so many guys in this bullpen, Palmquist did not look scared out there. Maybe it was because it was early in the game, but I loved how he attacked hitters. Palmquist does not throw hard, but he has a super funky motion and a really low arm slot. The Nats have given him a sinker, and that pitch was very effective for him.
With Palmquist not being available for a few days after he threw 3.1 innings, I get why he got sent down. However, once he is eligible, slotting him into the role they are using Mitchell Parker in feels like a no brainer. Since joining the Nats organization, Palmquist has posted a 3.27 ERA in AAA and had a good big league outing. That already should place him above Parker in the pecking order.
The next guy I want to talk about is Eddy Yean, who is a bit of a wild card, but has good stuff. Yean is not on the 40-man roster, but that should not be a huge issue, since there is no shortage of DFA candidates. What I like about Yean is that he brings much needed velocity to the table. He averages 97 with a heavy sinker that gets a ton of ground balls.
The Pirates are cooking with their pitching prospects right now. Eddy Yean looks flat-out nasty. pic.twitter.com/exLFuupNLv
This data is from last year, but the 25 year old has pretty much the same mix. His ERA of 3.50 in AAA is good, not great. However, we are in such a dire situation that it is worth giving him a shot. Yean is striking out 25% of hitters and his 4.50 walks per nine innings is not good, but it is also not a complete disaster.
Yean is extremely fastball heavy, but he does have a slider and changeup. Those pitches can be nasty, but the heater is his bread and butter. I am not going to sit here and say Eddy Yean is going to be some huge answer, but he has better stuff than the likes of Lovelady and Parker.
There are also a couple relievers down in the minors that have already shown they are not great big league answers, but may get a shot anyway because the situation is so dark. The first one is Zak Kent, who got called up today for Gus Varland. While Kent posted an ERA over 6 with the Nats in his four outings, his WHIP was only 1.06.
Kent has an interesting 4-seam fastball that moves more like a cutter. Interestingly, his velocity has been up since being sent to the minors. His heater went from 92.2 MPH in the MLB to 93.4 in the minors. Kent also has a slider and curveball which can generate whiffs. I don’t think he has closer stuff or anything, but he has a more interesting and diverse arsenal than Varland.
Another pitcher in this retread category is Cole Henry. Last year, Henry showed a ton of promise, especially in the first half. Coming off of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, he was a great story. However, he faded down the stretch last year and was rough in the MLB this year.
Cole Henry might be my favorite storyline of the Nats season. Guy is a certified stud. pic.twitter.com/0pw6mkeNhK
With the state of this bullpen though, he should get another shot at some point. Since going back to AAA, Henry has been effective, with a 2.45 ERA in 11 outings. He has been pounding the zone, only walking 1 batter in 11 innings. That is a good sign, since control had been an issue for Henry. However, the righty has not been getting a ton of whiffs in AAA, only striking out 7 in 11 innings. If he can find more whiffs, Henry could get back into the mix soon.
The last group of guys I want to talk about are the wild cards. A lot of these guys are unlikely to be up that soon, but could make an impact at some point. One pitcher who could be up soon though is Riley Cornelio. Right now, the Nats are using Cornelio as a multi-inning relief arm. However, I think he should be a one inning pitcher.
This is due to the fact that he is exclusively a 2 pitch guy. Cornelio only throws a fastball and a slider. With a mix that shallow, I want him letting both pitches rip and making them as nasty as possible. That means having him throw in shorter spurts. Cornelio may be up again soon, but I don’t think he is fully maximized as a bulk arm.
If you want to look way down the road, Robert Cranz is a name to watch. Cranz was fantastic in High-A and Double-A, but has had an ugly first 3 outings in Rochester. Despite the abysmal results, he does have good stuff. His fastball is extremely unique, and he has some nice secondary pitches to go with that.
Let’s take a look at the recently promoted Robert Cranz and the recently moved to the bullpen Riley Cornelio, for no reason whatsoever. pic.twitter.com/54E9LVJAcf
However, he still needs a lot more seasoning in AAA. If he can go on a run in these next couple months, he could be in the show by the end of the season though. Cranz is more of a guy to keep an eye on for 2027 though.
The guys I have already discussed are probably the primary options I like the most. None are very great, but it is worth trying. We truly have nothing to lose here because it cannot get a whole lot worse.
Some other names worth monitoring are converted position player Erick Mejia, Luke Young, who has good results and stuff, but not great strikeout or walk numbers and Jack Sinclair. Max Kranick is also on the mend from an injury and will step into the bullpen at some point. If the Nats are somehow in a playoff race down the stretch, Jarlin Susana and Luis Perales are two flamethrowers who could be unleashed.
As we go through the internal options, it is clear the situation is not pretty. Maybe a couple of these guys can step up and be upgrades, but there are no easy answers. At some point, Paul Toboni is going to have to make a big splash for a true alpha in the bullpen. The 2027 bullpen simply has to be much better, or else things will start to get real awkward for this new regime.
Travis Bazzana
TJ Rumfield
Owen Caissie
