PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: Andrew Painter #24 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the game between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After playing some awful baseball in the first two games, the Phillies will attempt to salvage the finale of their series in Atlanta.
Andrew Painter will start for the Phillies. The rookie will attempt to improve on his two starts against the Braves earlier in the season when he gave up eight runs in 9.2 innings.
Grant Holmes goes for Atlanta. The righty shut the Phillies out for six innings when he faced them on Monday.
Game time is 1:35 PM and will be televised locally on NBCSP as well as ESPN Unlimited.
Sam Surridge scored an equalizer in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for visiting Nashville SC, who played Inter Miami to a 2-2 draw on Saturday evening.
Surridge’s goal, his second of the evening and 15th of the season, came after Shak Mohammed’s shot was saved by Dayne St Clair. Surridge was in position to put home the rebound to help Eastern Conference-leading Nashville steal a point on the road against second-place Inter Miami.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 26: Ryan Jeffers #27 of the Minnesota Twins reaches first base on an RBI infield single against Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics during the eight inning of the game at Target Field on July 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Easiest, when half the roster sits on the IL relegated to rooting from the dugout, is to blame the training and Strength & Conditioning staff. Yet this is a bit of a simplistic and knee-jerk reaction. Which trainer is to blame for Jamie Arnold taking a line drive to the face?
The flurry of injuries that decimated the A’s felled so many key players both on the big league roster and the minors. The list produces a pretty good team: Brent Rooker, Luis Severino, Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, JT Ginn, Leo De Vries, Jamie Arnold, all out for the season, and now Gage Jump likely following suit. Denzel Clarke and Zack Gelof also have missed appreciable time along the way.
That’s insane, but the injuries fall into various buckets so let’s examine the buckets…
Fluky and unpreventable
Kuroda-Grauer, who was humming along when one not-so-fine day he fouled a ball off of a ball and ruptured his testicle, and Arnold, whose cheek and sinus bones could not withstand a line drive that creamed them on the fly, suffered injuries absent any potential blame (other than perhaps not insisting every player wear a cup). These injuries demonstrate how not everything can be a referendum on the adults in charge.
Unrelated to preparation or diagnosis
Gelof’s knee laceration, incurred while sliding hard into the side wall where there was wire netting, is an example of an injury that cannot be traced to stretching, conditioning, or anything related to the preparation or diagnosis of the human body.
The same can be said of the unfortunate play where a poor Gelof throw caused Kurtz to get tangled up with the runner going by and the 1Bman’s thumb was a casualty of the collision. Most likely Wilson’s shoulder injury, the result of diving for a ground ball, also falls into the category of a “a baseball play” in which a perfectly conditioned body could still suffer the malady.
Most likey, Langeliers’ injury was also “just one of those things” as he tore a meniscus running the bases. One can question the strength and conditioning program when a player’s body doesn’t hold up to an ordinary event, but most often it’s just that if you run the bases 1,000 times 999 of those times it will go smoothly and once in a while it just doesn’t.
Ordinary injuries with room for questions
Now we get into the gray area, where you can easily say, “That injury happens around MLB all the time” and yet you can also ask, “Could it have been prevented?”
Rooker injured his knee, but it was not a single event. Rather it was pain that worsened over time, starting with a bone bruise contusion. A cortisone injection and rehab were supposed to alleviate the problem, but didn’t and subsequently tests revealed an articular cartilage tear and loose bodies in his left knee, leading to season ending surgery. Certainly there is room to ponder a misdiagnosis or poor decision-making along the way, but it’s not a slam dunk to draw any particular conclusion.
Soderstrom is another example where a player went down with a known injury, in this case a hip impingement, then tried to come back and “play through it” only to punt soon after and shut it down. One can reasonably question the wisdom of this decision, given how inevitably Soderstrom succumbed to surgery soon after.
Similarly, De Vries had a known shoulder issue that affecting his throwing at SS but continued to play for quite some time before eventually shutting it down, being diagnosed with a labrum tear and having surgery that will likely keep him sidelined for about 8 months. This is an especially troubling arc considering that had De Vries undergone surgery 6 weeks earlier he might be ready for the start of the 2027 season — but we also don’t know exactly when the labrum tore so we are left with as many questions as answers.
Severino, Ginn and Jump fall into a common category: arm injuries for pitchers because, well, pitching is really bad for the arm. Ginn’s is an elbow impingement, Jump’s shoulder soreness from impingement, Severino’s shoulder strain the most significant. Did the A’s staff do anything wrong failing to prevent these injuries from happening?
One could always ask whether the “between starts” regimen is the best possible one — teams differ around how bullpen sessions, long toss, treatment and the like are managed — and perhaps there could be better communication to catch problems in the earliest stages. (For example, Jump threw a fastball 91 MPH last night which could have been seen as a big red flag but went on to throw a couple dozen more pitches before exiting.) But pitcher arm injuries are hardly an “A’s special” and in fact the A’s have not been hit any harder than their opponents in this regard.
Post-injury response
Rooker and Soderstrom are examples of a puzzling response to managing an injury, De Vries possibly as well at the minor league level, but they are not the only ones.
Lawrence Butler looked very slowed down the first half of 2026 following his knee surgery and you wonder if the A’s whiffed not easing him in with a rehab stint at AAA and a more gradual return to full time RF duty with the big league club. Last year saw Wilson try to play through a hand injury that left him clearly diminished and both Wilson and Max Muncy had injuries from HBP in which a fracture wasn’t properly diagnosed the first time.
Conditioning
We don’t know why Denzel Clarke keeps suffering soft tissue injuries, particularly to his hamstrings, but this issue cropped up again while rehabbing a separate injury (bone bruise). Last season, Clarke missed significant time after injuring his right adductor muscle rounding 3B to score on a base hit.
All bodies are different and you shouldn’t be too quick to judge who comes to the party with a little more baby fat than his peer. Nonetheless it’s hard to imagine that Kurtz wouldn’t benefit from a slightly more svelte physique and Butler came to camp looking like he had “bulked up” in ways that only hampered his mobility.
Just looking at all the bodies on the field it’s not hard to imagine where some improvements could be made in the “strength and conditioning” realm — but fans are also far from strength and conditioning experts and players have considerable say in how they manage their own bodies.
Like I said, when you take a deep dive you are left with more questions than answers. But it’s the internet, so here’s where you get to weigh in with what you think the answers are despite the apparent murkiness of the landscape. The only part we are all likely to agree on is that the A’s have a far better team on the IL than they can put on the field, and if the team is to be competitive going forward that script needs to flip. Somehow.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 24: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after hitting a two-run double in the sixth inning during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Friday, April 24, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kathryn Skeean/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s getaway day for the Atlanta Braves, but not before one last regular season contest against the Philadelphia Phillies. With the series secure, the Braves have the opportunity to make it a truly nightmarish weekend for our NL East foes and break out the brooms this afternoon.
There are some changes to the lineup for Walt Weiss’ club, but the name atop the batting order made me laugh. We’ve been let down in 2026 with the first-world complaint of not being able to complete a sweep in a series finale. But Michael Harris II leading off and in line to get the most at-bats off of RHP Andrew Painter is a deliberate choice – no foot off the gas here.
As noted in the preview, Michael has only faced Painter thrice, but is rocking that 1.000 / 2.333 / 3.333 slash line. A late scratch on April 24, Mike was clutch incarnate with a pinch-hit, two-out, two-RBI double off Painter to give the Braves the lead in an eventual Atlanta win. Let’s hoping he can add to his legend more here this afternoon.
Ronald Acuña Jr. will still bat second but get a day off from the field today. Matt Olson is working his way out of his slump with some promising signs and will continue to in the three-hole, but that glove is still gold at first base. Drake Baldwin will catch for Grant Holmes and hit cleanup. Mauricio Dubón will follow and man left field. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley are at their usual bases and hitting sixth and seventh, respectively. Mike Yastrzemski returns to the lineup after going 3-for-3 with a walk in Friday’s showdown. Ha-Seong Kim will complete the infield at shortstop and hit ninth.
They optioned reliever Grant Holman to reinstate LHP Tanner Banks from the injured list, giving their beleagured bullpen a fresh arm and depriving us of a Grant Holmes vs. Grant Holman matchup.
This series has given us electric and heartburn-inducing moments as well as as some rare enjoyable AND comfortable baseball. What does today’s matinee bring? Hopefully, some brooms. First pitch for Braves-Phillies is at 1:35 pm ET.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 25: Mj Melendez #1 of the New York Mets at bat during the fourth inning at Citi Field on June 25, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A real barn burner, but another Syracuse win. Eight different Mets patched it together on the mound, and they did just enough to support the offense. MJ Melendez followed up his four hit night with two more long balls. Billy Amick added his sixth at Triple-A (though he’s batting only .221). Emilien Pitre had two more hits and a walk to get his OPS back above .800 at the level. It’s been a loss of a season for the organization across most levels but there are some interesting things happening in the minors down the stretch here.
The offense had more errors than they had runs. They had nearly as many caught stealings as they had hits. Obviously not what you want. Gabe Davis continues to look like a savvy trade acquisition though, so that’s a plus.
In Friday’s episode of the “Tom Tolbert Show,” Kerr joined his former college teammate at Arizona to discuss the Warriors’ recruitment of James and the rather awkward dilemma it created for many in Dub Nation.
“I don’t think it’s exactly earth-shattering news, or I don’t think I’ll get fined for saying, like, it never really felt like he was coming here,” Kerr told Tolbert. “To me, it was more speculation than anything. I think we would have had a much better sense that, you know, something was going to happen.
“It’s been really interesting, though, hearing fans around the Bay — like, you know, people will randomly come up to me and say, ‘I’m glad we didn’t get LeBron.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s like he’s not supposed to be on our team. He’s a rival.’ And I get that as a sports fan. It’d be like, you know, should Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird have played on the same team?
“So, I mean, just as a coach and having coached him in the Olympics — sign me up. … But it’s been interesting hearing our fans. I think fans, you know, because of the emotional connection you have to your team and rivalries and all that stuff, I think it was just a weird thought. That’s the reaction I’m getting from a lot of people.”
On one hand, the thought of James playing with Steph Curry is mouth-watering to most basketball fans, especially after they teamed up to win gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics with Kerr as the coach.
But at the same time, as Kerr acknowledged, it likely would have been weird for Warriors fans, who have seen James has a primary rival for over a decade.
Maybe that latter factor played into James’ decision not to join Golden State in the end — and possibly his lack of perceived interest in the first place.
Last season, Alex Newhook played the first 17 games alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, but then he got injured, and the Montreal Canadiens faced a dilemma. Martin St-Louis first tried to put Kirby Dach on that line, but the experiment was short-lived; after just one game, he paired Juraj Slafkovsky with the two rookies, with great results. It worked because that line needed some grit, some forecheck, a big body that didn’t fear going into traffic.
However, taking Slafkovsky away from the first line wasn’t great, and Dach, Samuel Bolduc and Alexandre Texier all had the opportunity to play with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, but none of them play the game like Slafkovsky does, and the results weren’t great. Shortly after Newhook returned, the big Slovak was put back on the top line because that’s the combination that gets the best out of the team’s best players.
However, the fact that Slafkovsky worked so well on the second line made Kent Hughes look for another big-bodied top-six forward. He reportedly tried to acquire Matthew Knies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it didn't work. This summer, he set his sights on Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Don Waddell doesn’t want a package centered on futures for his top player, and the price tag promises to be hefty.
Then, when the Anaheim Ducks found themselves in salary cap hell thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers signing Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet, they were forced to cut ties with Chris Kreider. Why? Because they needed more than $9 million to sign RFA Cutter Gauthier. While Kreider is already 35, he’s still a productive top-six forward in the NHL and one who plays exactly the style of hockey the second line needs. Kreider is the low-cost solution to the fact that Hughes and co. can’t clone Slafkovsky. Details on the bonus linked to the contract have now emerged on Puckpedia, and it's important to remember that the bonus money can carry over to next season if the Habs are short on cap space.
The #GoHabsGo signed Chris Kreider to 1 year deal:
Salary 850K Signing Bonus 1.3M Performance bonuses 3.25M: *2M @ 10 games played *250K each @ 10/20/30 Goals scored *500K @ 40 Goals Scored
As things stand, the Canadiens still have $7.6 million in cap space, but they still have to unsigned RFA in Zach Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj. With Kreider now signed, could the Canadiens entertain the idea of trading Bolduc in a deal for Marchenko? Yes, they could, but would an offer that includes two roster players like Bolduc and center Oliver Kapanen be enough to tempt Waddell? Both have potential, but do they have enough to convince Waddell to roll the dice and part with his prized asset? That’s far from certain.
In the meantime, however, the Kreider signing is great news for Canadiens fans. Not only does he fill a need in the lineup, but he’s a free agent who chose to come to Montreal, despite the fact that he has long been hated by the fan base for events that need not be discussed again. Kreider wanted to be back in the Eastern Conference, and he wanted to join a team with a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup; for him, that’s the Canadiens. Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and St-Louis have made Montreal a destination free agents want to come to. Despite the taxes, the weather, and the language, if you build it, they will come. That doesn’t just apply to the baseball movie Field of Dreams; it also applies to a winning team.
As for those worried the Canadiens are holding a grudge over what happened in 2014, none of the players from 2014 are still with the team. Brendan Gallagher was the last one. It’s been 12 years, and if Hughes, Gorton, and St-Louis feel bringing Kreider on is the right move, it means they believe it’s time for fans to move on from what happened. Bringing Kreider on is not akin to bringing in Mark Scheifele, who once destroyed Jake Evans with a dangerous high hit. Evans is still on the team, and so are many players who skated in that 2021 series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Montreal fans know their hockey well enough to move past the grudge. According to our instant poll, which only had 95 voters, 85% of the fans polled were happy with the move last night, and that was before they had time to process it. They can appreciate what Kreider brings to the table, even though he cost them a chance to reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. Besides, would there be a better way to make amends than signing with the Habs and helping them to move past the last hurdle? Like him or not, Kreider is a proven playoff performer, one who can elevate his game in the spring and lead the young Canadiens into battle. The Habs lost Brendan Gallagher this summer, so an influx of experience and leadership certainly won’t hurt.
BRONX, NY - SEPTEMBER 12: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees at bat during the game against the NNew York Mets on September 12, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Borough of the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Consistency should not lower appreciation for what the Yankees have accomplished over the last decade-plus, and there is no better time than in a late-season series against the Mets to point that out. The Mets have been throwing money at their problems for a few years now, and somehow new problems keep coming up. That advantage that benefits both of these teams only goes so far, and if we look back on their campaigns in 2026, it’s interesting to see how each team handled the absence of their top player.
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have combined to miss 136 games this season, a total of 51 for Soto and a whopping 85 for Judge. Although each offense is unique, it is reasonable to argue that the burden of the team’s production placed on these two is relatively similar. Judge theoretically should mean as much to the Yankees’ attack as Soto means to the Mets.
Before getting into the details, the one number that actually counts leans heavily in favor of the Yankees, as they went a very respectable 46-39 without Judge on the field in 2026. Meanwhile, the Mets basically owe their status as a below-.500 club and complete irrelevance in the NL playoff picture to Soto’s absence, possessing a putrid 20-31 record without their star hitter.
Strictly speaking, in terms of pure offensive production, the gap between these two teams in 2026 is not as large as the one that their record would seem to indicate. The Mets entered play on Saturday with a 97 OPS+, slightly worse than the Yankees’ 100 mark. Accounting strictly for the time without these gigantic hitters, the Yankees had a .684 OPS without Judge, while the Mets were at .673 without Soto. Part of what has hindered the Mets’ season even further is that Francisco Lindor has also missed a healthy chunk of time, playing only 90 games to this point — although we should note that this doesn’t create an incredible disparity in the comparison between the time without Judge and Soto since there was minimal overlap in the missed time of the two Mets stars.
It’d be a neat narrative if we could come here and talk about how the Yankees’ offense dealt with missing Judge in a far superior manner than the Mets handled Soto’s absence. That isn’t necessarily the case, even with the best efforts of Ben Rice. The Yankees’ offense without Judge had to lean heavily on their pitching staff to get those wins, often scoring just barely enough to make it. Only one of these pitching staffs possesses the tools to take over and carry a team, and the numbers back that up. It’s not the full picture, but the Mets accumulated a 4.24 ERA in the 51 games Soto didn’t appear in while the Yankees had an earned run average a full run lower at 3.22 when Judge was out.
Even with Soto potentially available for all of their games, the Mets probably didn’t have enough for a meaningful fight in the National League — and the Yankees possibly could have found their way to the postseason even without Judge for a single game. The discrepancy in these two teams’ records would seem to suggest that at least for 2026, the Mets are more reliant on Soto than the Yankees are on Judge. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be happy to have number 99 back; we shouldn’t lose sight of what this team accomplished in his absence and how much worse it could’ve been. After all, just look at the Mets.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Will Bush #56 of the Houston Astros bats during the second inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Miami Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 19, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below. Check out the previous day’s recap here.
AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (71-71) lost 3-2 (BOX SCORE)
Hendrickson started for Sugar Land and went 7 innings allowing 3 runs, all in the third, while striking out 7 batters. The Sugar Land offense got on the board in the 5th inning on a Ferreras 2 run single. Roa tossed a scoreless 8th inning but the offense was unable to score again and Sugar Land fell 3-2.
Christian Roa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (62-75) lost 6-1 (BOX SCORE)
Hicks got the start for the Hooks and went 4.2 innings but struggled allowing 6 runs on 9 hits. The Hooks offense got on the board in the 5th inning on a Bush solo home run. The bullpen tossed 3.1 scoreless innings but the offense was quiet the rest of the way as the Hooks fell 6-1.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 09: Ziaire Williams #1 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center on March 09, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Nets won 126-115. 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the NBA season fast approaching, the Lakers have numerous lineup decisions to iron out. None is more immediate than the starting lineup.
This can shift during the season, but four out of five are likely locked in with Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes, and Walker Kessler.
The fifth can go in a multitude of directions, whether it’s an offensive-leaning spacing four with Sandro Mamukelashvili, the high defensive pedigree vet in Matisse Thybulle or an uber-athletic defender looking for a fresh start.
For the latter, enter Ziaire Williams, who has the highest-upside wing profile on the team and a skill set that matches what the Lakers desperately need.
Williams enters his sixth season in the league, bouncing around from being the No. 10 pick with the Grizzlies to trying to find a home with the Nets. Listed at 6’9” with a 6’10” wingspan, he has intriguing tools as a potential disruptor.
Tools mean nothing without the desire to use them, though. As is the case with most young players, the defensive concentration comes in flashes. The tanking Nets won 46 total games in the two years Williams was on the roster, which isn’t exactly the environment where high energy and defensive focus are cultivated.
When locked in, Williams showed a level of versatility left for the best defenders in the league. Displaying good technique and quickness navigating screens on the perimeter, Brooklyn tagged him on top playmakers where he held his own.
In the clip below, he’s matched with Jalen Brunson at the top of the key. Defending a ball screen, the reach-in gives up the first step. He quickly recovers, avoids the foul while chasing behind and cleanly blocks the shot to ignite the break the other way.
While composure and solid fundamentals are critical, Williams brings athletic defensive playmaking to a team lacking it elsewhere. His length allowed him to play back on ball handlers and still recover in time to block 3-point attempts.
He collected just 0.4 blocks per game but was always alert and opportunistic, including coming over for weakside denials with his quick-twitch jump.
Great hands and excellent timing cause havoc for opposing offenses. In the clip below, he waits for Kevin Durant to turn his head before quickly swiping the ball free and heading the other way.
Williams gets a ton of unexpected steals in the backcourt, patiently waiting for the offense to relax and bring their guard down. The chaos creator led the Nets with 3.2 deflections per game, a number that would have led the Lakers as well.
With a cluster of wings vying for minutes, defense will get Williams on the floor, while offense will determine whether he stays.
It’s no secret how the Lakers offense will run. Luka and Reaves will eat a majority of the offensive possessions and shoulder the bulk of playmaking. Whatever is left will go to Grimes and Kessler for finishing or short roll touches.
The presumed fifth starter will need to be productive without any offense running through them. Years removed from his original draft-night potential, this role as a contributor to high-level winning fits his archetype.
As is typical for any supporting player in the modern NBA, it starts and ends with the ability to make an open 3-point shot. Although the soon-to-be 25-year-old has never shot above 34% from 3-point range, as he did last season, there is hope he can eventually find the range.
Williams has taken over four attempts from behind the arc per game over the last two seasons, revealing little apprehension. Last year, he hit 41% on wide-open attempts, tracked with a defender six plus feet away.
Attaining a dependable jumper, even slightly, not only raises the impact he makes on the other end but opens up the room to reveal his timely cutting, attacking the basket or lobs his new guards love to throw.
One place athletic wings with questionable jumpers end up around the league is the dunker spot. It’s a tougher place to rotate help to and it opens the door for quick slips behind the defense.
Watch below as he’s stationed in the corner and slides toward the rim as the action unfolds. The short roll pass opens the three-on-two advantage, leading to the lob at the basket.
In the clip below, he sets an off-ball screen. He quickly notices the defense pre-switching the action and correctly counters by slipping to the basket. Williams gets on his trampoline for the athletic finish over contesting Aaron Gordon.
Paired with young, unproven ball handlers, Williams was still in the efficient 81st percentile on low volume as a cutter and finished 66% of his attempts at the basket last year.
He’s a prototypical 3-and-D player if the shot comes around, with a game in hopes of mirroring successful players such as Derick Jones Jr.
While he’s recently said all the right things, questions remain about a shaky jumper and defensive engagement. If Williams can put the offense together and maintain his defensive focus, he can find himself in line for many of the available minutes left on the team.
New Test head coach’s arrival and Root’s calming influence as captain add to promising signs in the post-Stokes era
As Joe Root calmly ran the rule over the Test summer and reeled off the ways in which it had been “chaos”, “unusual” and “unsettling” for England, it felt telling that first among them was Ben Stokes calling time on his international career during a match and a series that were both still live at the time.
Cricketers announcing their retirement mid-game is nothing new. Heather Knight went on to do the same during the women’s Test at Lord’s two weeks later. Root is also too loyal to Stokes to question openly whether that scene-stealing exit before New Zealand’s win at Trent Bridge was entirely in keeping with his call for “selfless cricketers” four years earlier.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 26: Spencer Bivens #76 of the San Francisco Giants warms up during the third inning of the spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium on February 26, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When you’re far back in the standings and looking to next year, the last few weeks of the season can be an audition of sorts. The Royals have brought in a number of different pitchers in the last two months, finding success with guys like Randy Dobnak, Nate Pearson, Craig Kimbrel, and Anthony Gose. On Saturday, they added to their tryouts by announcing they have claimed pitcher Spencer Bivens off waivers from the Giants, and had optioned him to Triple-A Omaha.
The 32-year-old right-hander has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Giants. He has made 85 appearances, all in relief, with a 4.08 ERA. He has a low strikeout rate of just 7.1 per-nine-innings in his career, with a decent walk rate of 2.7. He spent most of this year in the minors, with a 4.92 ERA in 75 innings at Triple-A, making just four appearances with the Giants where he gave up ten runs in five innings.
Bivens had a long road to get to the big leagues. He grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, and after a stint at Louisburg College, he transferred to Penn State. He was kicked off the team for failing a drug test however, and ended up at Rogers State. He played in several independent leagues after college, including some time in France. In 2022, he signed with the Giants and made his MLB debut in 2024. In 2025, he made the Opening Day roster and pitched in 54 games with the team, posting a 4.00 ERA. The team designated him for assignment last week to claim pitcher Duncan Davitt off waivers from the Braves.
Bivens is a sinker/slider pitcher with a 52.8 percent groundball rate last year. In 2025, he tied for the 12th-most multi-inning relief appearances in baseball with 26.
Bivens takes up the last open spot on the 40-man roster, so no other move is necessary. He has one more option year after 2026.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 82 NHL games.
As we complete our look at the Sabres prospects on the opening day of the Sabres Prospects Showcase at LECOM Harborcenter, the most immediate and potential upside comes from Helenius, who likely was held back from playing more in the NHL last season by the club not wanting to burn the first year of his three-year entry-level contract.
The young Finn was the Sabres first-round pick (14th overall) at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas after an impressive season in the SM-Liiga and internationally for his country at three levels. Helenius excelled at the junior level at the age of 16 and played 33 games against adult competition, and played at the Under-18’s in 2023.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
At 17, he had 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games for Jukurit, seven points in five games at the Under-18’s, played seven games at the IIHF World Juniors in Sweden, and saw limited action at the World Championships in May 2024. The Sabres were fortunate to have Helenius fall to them at 14th overall after many draft analysts labeled him nearly pro-ready after playing in Liiga, for Finland at the Under-18’s, World Junior Championships, and World Championships.
Helenius adjusted well in his first season in North America, with 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 65 games with the Rochester Americans, and six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in eight playoff games, earning him a spot on the AHL’s Top Prospects Team.
At the 2025 World Junior, he posted six assists in seven games, as Finland won the silver medal. Last season, the 20-year-old nearly doubled his offensive output in Rochester, earning a second straight Top Prospects nod by averaging a point-per-game (21 goals, 42 assists in 63 games) with the Amerks.
He was so valuable to Rochester that GM Jarmo Kekalainen did not release him to his country for the 2026 World Juniors, and in January, he was called up to make his NHL debut in mid-January. Helenius played nine games before the NHL Olympic break, when he was sent back to the AHL, and he was not recalled until after the Amerks were eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs in April. In the second round series against Montreal, the youngster replaced injured veteran Sam Carrick for Game 4, and in the final four games of the series scored a pair of goals and seemed unfazed by the high-pressure situation.
It is expected that Helenius will start the season in the NHL, and is being depended on to pick up some of the scoring slack created by the departure of Alex Tuch.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 08: Gabriel Hughes #43 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 08, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good Sunday morning, Purple Row!
In the final game of a road trip that can only be described as “disastrous,” today, the Colorado Rockies (55-93) will look to take the final game of a three-game stand against the Detroit Tigers (69-79).
Colorado has gone 25-52 on the road this season, the worst road record in the Majors. The Rockies have lost six straight games, one shy of their longest losing streak of the season (Aug. 17-24).
In addition, Colorado is in the midst of a 13-day stretch without an off-day, going 0-5 in the stretch so far. The Rockies need to go 8-6 in the remaining 14 games to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season.
But to the game at hand.
Starting for the Rockies is Gabriel Hughes. This will be his 13th start for the Rockies in 2026.
The righty has a 5.81 ERA in 57.1 IP. He’s struck out 48, walked 21, and given up five home runs. Hughes has a 1.38 WHIP. Notably, Hughes is still in the hunt for his first MLB win.
Taking the mound for the Tigers will be RHP Jackson Jobe.
Currently, he has an ERA of 4.45 in 28.1 IP. He’s struck out 26 while giving up 12 walks and five home runs with a 1.41 WHIP.
And now to the details.
First Pitch: 10:10 pm AM (You read that correctly.)
