A pair of former Mets coaches have found a new home in Atlanta.
The Braves announced on Wednesday that they have hired Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach and Antoan Richardson as first base coach.
Hefner, who pitched for the Mets in 2012 and 2013, was hired to be the team's pitching coach in December 2019. Hefner was not retained following a 2025 season in which the Mets saw their starters fail to give them consistent length, while the bullpen had issues when it came to building the bridge to Edwin Diaz.
Richardson, who joined the Mets when Carlos Mendoza was hired after the 2023 season, was lauded for his work with Mets baserunners, particularly during the 2025 season when he helped the club tie a major league record with 39 stolen bases in a row without getting caught. He also worked closely with Juan Soto, who stole a career-high 38 bases and nearly had a 40/40 season.
As a team last year, the Mets stole 147 bases, the fifth most in baseball, and were caught just 18 times, the second fewest of any team.
The Mets had interest in retaining Richardson to coach first base, but he and the club could not agree to terms on a new deal, leading to his departure from the organization.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Most of the players in the NBA grew up dreaming of being on this stage. They were the stars of middle school AAU teams with fantasies of being the next Stephen Curry or Paul George.
Growing up in Ans, Belgium, Ajay Mitchell dreamed of the NBA, too, but it there was a bigger question — did he really want to be the next Jalen Brunson or the next Belgium/Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne?
"Oh, that's a good question. I think a little bit of both," Mitchell told NBC Sports, adding he played soccer as a youth and is still a huge fan. "I think, until I was probably like 14, it was both. And then when I was 14, I kind of made the decision to just pursue basketball, because, obviously, in Belgium, we didn't have high school sports, so it was hard to play multiple sports because it's all the same season. So when I was 14, I decided to just play basketball."
That decision was the first step of a winding journey that took Mitchel through idyllic Santa Barbara, California and ultimately landed him in Oklahoma City — where fans now see an "overnight" sensation averaging 16.1 points a game, someone who is the current DraftKings betting favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year.
But that journey was anything but overnight.
Belgium to Santa Barbara to OKC
After Mitchell committed to basketball, he soon found himself in Limburg United's youth program in Belgium, where he played as a member of the youth team, eventually transitioning to the senior team during the 2020–21 season.
"I think it really helped me playing professional before college," Mitchell said, in terms of getting used to a level of play.
However, for the kid with an American father, playing college ball in the United States was always the dream. He landed at UC Santa Barbara, a beachside campus that may be the most chill college in America.
"It was a pretty smooth adjustment for me ..." Mitchell said of moving stateside. "I think it really helped just the way it was in Santa Barbara. We had like six incoming freshmen when I got in, so it was really easy to get adjusted. And the guys that were already there just kind of, like, brought us in. So it was, it was really smooth.
"And I think off the court was pretty easy. It's a great school, so I was really happy."
Like he is now in OKC, Mitchell wasn't flashy in Santa Barbara, but he just made the right basketball play and knocked down his shots — you could see he knew how to play the game. He was always doing the little things and had an impact from the start, being named Big West Freshman of the Year in 2022. The following season, he averaged 16.3 points and 5.1 assists a game for the Gauchos and was the Big West Player of the Year.
He also was drawing interest from scouts. By the end of the 2023-24 season, Mitchell declared himself for the NBA Draft.
Adjusting to Oklahoma City
The Knicks drafted Mitchell with the No. 38 pick but instantly traded him to the Thunder, with whom he signed a two-way contract. Even then, Mitchell was overlooked and in the shadows — Nikola Topić was the Thunder's lottery pick in that draft. However, Topic was injured while Mitchell was playing himself into rotation minutes as a rookie, thanks to his efforts in Summer League and training camp. Mitchell was putting in the work, and the Thunder noticed.
"He was playing rotation minutes in the first game of the season last year for what was a very deep team ..." Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "It allowed him to get some miles underneath him and learn the league a little bit so that when he sat [due to injury], he sat with the contextual awareness of what it was like to be an NBA player and play in NBA games. I think he was still able to learn and evolve even though he was out."
Mitchell missed three months of his rookie season with a toe injury that required surgery, but by that point the Thunder knew what they had and converted his two-way contract to a standard one. From his perspective, Mitchell was still figuring things out and adjusting, but he said the key was that he never stopped looking for ways to improve.
"Speed is definitely one. I think defensively too, being able to guard multiple positions," Mitchell said of the hardest adjustments from going from Santa Barbara to the NBA. "I think everything is such a different game than college …
"It was an adjustment, but I think I understood right away this is the NBA, and for me, my goal is to have a long career. So understanding what I had to do to help a team win was really important early on and I think it was a pretty smooth adjustment. Obviously, I just want to win, so when I'm focused on what I have to do to win to help the team win, that's all I have to do."
Like going from Belgium to Santa Barbara before, the adjustment from a California coastal oasis to Oklahoma City was made much easier because the Thunder are a young roster with a core around his age (23).
"For sure it makes it easier. Obviously, we've got a lot of young guys, and then we all hang out," Mitchell said. "So it's fun to have such a young team and it was really easy for me to just get in the mix of things with those guys, and they made it really easy for me just putting me in everything they do."
Making the leap this season
Mitchell returned from his toe injury late in the season and was on the roster for the Thunder's run to an NBA title last spring.
"Obviously, I think anybody being around a playoff run like that and getting some minutes, spot minutes at times, is good for them," Daigneault said. "Then he was able to take that wisdom into his summer. He got his body really, really strong, he got his game tighter and better, and he came out firing this year."
Again, that "overnight" success came about because of a summer spent in the gym, particularly in the weight room.
"I always wanted to be like a complete player, so I think every summer for me it's like working on a little bit of everything or try to get better at a lot of things," Mitchell said. "I think the main focus [this summer] was my body. When you get in the league as a rookie, you definitely feel a difference in like physicality and how the game is played. So I think for me that was the focus was getting stronger, getting faster, and being ready to play at this level … It's such a long season compared to like a college season, you want to be healthy and you want to be ready to go every night."
This summer, Mitchell signed a three-year, $8.7 million contract (with a team option on the last season) that now looks like an absolute steal for the Thunder. Mitchell has come out playing aggressively, took over secondary playmaking duties off the bench, and on an already deep team he has become a standout sixth man.
Mitchell is just taking it all in stride.
"For me, I just want to help this team win in any way I can," Mitchell said. "I don't really look at any roles. I just go out there and do what it takes to win."
The 8-0 Thunder are winning. Mitchell is winning, too, and he could do a lot more of that this season — and even take home some league hardware.
The 2026 MLB season will be here before you know it, and the entire Grapefruit league schedule was announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The Yankees will play 33 spring training games, including 16 home games at Steinbrenner Field, opening with a road game against the Baltimore Orioles on Feb. 20.
Their first home game is set for Feb. 21 against the Detroit Tigers.
Additionally, the Yankees will have their 2026 Spring Breakout Game, which highlights some of the top prospects in the sport, on Mar. 21 against the Atlanta Braves' prospects.
The Yanks will then close things with a rare trip to Arizona to play the Chicago Cubs on Mar. 23 and 24.
The Phillies are bringing back a familiar late-inning arm.
Philadelphia exercised José Alvarado’s $9 million team option on Wednesday, committing to the left-hander for 2026 after a season with highs and lows.
When on the mound, Alvarado remains one of baseball’s tougher lefties. Before his mid-season 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy, he posted a 2.70 ERA over his first 20 appearances, striking out 32 batters in 26 innings. His sinker still ranked in the 99th percentile in velocity.
But the back half of the year told a different story. Upon his return in late August, Alvarado posted a 7.50 ERA and then landed on the injured list with a forearm strain, which ended his season prematurely. Part of the suspension was going to hold him out of the postseason anyways. Manager Rob Thomson noted in his end-of-season remarks:
“Tough year, it really was for him in a lot of different ways… I think making sure that he’s healthy going into the offseason kind of eased his mind and mine.”
The decision to bring back Alvarado sense for the Phillies, though. Left-handed relief is a scarce commodity, and Philadelphia enters the offseason light in that area — with only Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks under contract among LHPs.
The familiarity factor also counts: Alvarado has logged 21 postseason games since 2022.
Still, the upside comes with risk. His command remains one of his major issues. But for a one-year, $9 million commitment — under the $11.6 million market value that Spotrac estimates — the front office appears willing to bet on the “Alvy” who dominated in 2022–23 rather than the one who sputtered late in 2025.
In a bullpen that struggled for middle-relief depth down the stretch, bringing Alvarado back provides flexibility for Thomson. Whether he’s back as a seventh-inning bridge or strictly for matchups, the move signals the Phillies believe in his ability to bounce back.
The Dodgers celebrate after winning Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto. It was the most-watched MLB game since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Two years ago, the Dodgers set out to become Japan’s team. The Toronto Blue Jays are Canada’s team.
The deciding Game 7 of the World Series attracted a record 51 million viewers across the United States, Canada and Japan, Major League Baseball said Wednesday, making it the most-watched MLB game since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
The series averaged 34 million viewers across the three countries, the largest global audience for the World Series since 1992. The audience outside the U.S. was the largest ever — even with other countries yet to be tallied.
In the U.S. alone, an average of 16.1 million viewers watched each game, an increase from last year even with the New York Yankees out and a Canadian team in. (The series was a more dramatic seven games this year and five last year, which helped.)
For the third consecutive year and fifth time in six years, the World Series had a higher rating than the NBA Finals — this year, 56% higher.
The strong World Series ratings — and attendance that rose for the fourth consecutive year — underscore the risk owners would take if they locked out players next winter and shut down the sport in a quest for a salary cap.
After a work stoppage that cost the league the end of the 1994 season and the start of the 1995 season, average attendance did not rebound to pre-strike levels until 2006. Attendance soon dipped again as game times routinely crept past three hours — the pitch clock has solved that — and amid the pandemic.
Even with the recent gains, attendance remains 10% below its 2007 peak.
The Atlanta Braves, despite missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017, announced Wednesday that 2025 revenues through Sept. 30 had hit $671 million — up 10% from last year — and profits had hit $36 million.
The Braves’ revenues included $71 million from the Battery, their ballpark-adjacent development that depends largely upon selling three million tickets to Braves games every year. (As a publicly traded company, the Braves are legally required to release financial data; the Dodgers and most other teams are not.)
Los Angeles led all U.S. television markets in World Series ratings, followed in order by San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis and Milwaukee, according to Fox data.
Both the current and future homes of the Athletics — Sacramento and Las Vegas, respectively — ranked among the top 10.
In Japan, a country with one-third the population of the U.S., the World Series averaged 9.7 million viewers. In Canada, a country with one-tenth the population of the U.S., the series averaged 8.1 million viewers.
The Game 7 broadcast in Canada was the most-watched of any English-language broadcast on record aside from the 2010 Winter Olympics, which were held in Vancouver.
The Mets will play their first spring training game of 2026 on Feb. 21, when they open their Grapefruit League schedule against the Marlins at Clover Park.
New York will play 29 spring games in total, including two against World Baseball Classic teams -- against Nicaragua on March 3 and Israel on March 4.
The Spring Breakout Game -- featuring many of each team's best prospects -- will take place for the Mets on March 19 when they host the Rays.
Here's the Mets' full spring training schedule:
Feb. 21: vs. Marlins Feb. 22: @ Yankees Feb. 23: @ Blue Jays Feb. 24: vs. Astros Feb. 25: vs. Cardinals Feb. 26: @ Astros Feb. 27: @ Cardinals Feb. 28: vs. Nationals Mar. 1: vs. Astros Mar. 3: vs. Nicaragua (WBC team) Mar. 4: vs. Israel (WBC team) Mar. 5: @ Nationals Mar. 6: @ Marlins Mar. 7: @ Cardinals Mar. 8: vs. Yankees Mar. 9: vs. Marlins Mar. 10: vs. Cardinals Mar. 12: @ Cardinals Mar. 13: vs. Marlins (SS) Mar. 13: @ Nationals (SS) Mar. 14: @ Astros Mar. 15: vs. Blue Jays Mar. 16: vs. Nationals Mar. 17: @ Marlins Mar. 19: @ Astros Mar. 20: vs. Cardinals Mar. 21: vs. Astros (SS) Mar. 21: @ Nationals (SS) Mar. 22: @ Marlins
Following Tuesday's overtime 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Nashville Predators are now 0-4 in games decided in the overtime period and 1-4 in games that have gone beyond regulation.
The loss to the Wild was vastly different from the rest. The Predators did a decent job with the possession battle, which has stung them in the past.
With 1:22 left in overtime, Justus Annunen knocked the net off its left mooring and it began to slide. Marcus Johansson's first shot attempt, while the net had started to move, hit the side of the net. If it had gone in, it would've counted as the puck would've gone into the net if it was still on its mooring.
The issue with the goal came on Johansson's rebound shot, which went in. He got the puck off the side of the net, which wouldn't have happened if the net had been still on its mooring. After review, the officials stood by their original call of it being a good goal.
"It's a weird play. I can see the confusion, but the confusing part for us was why it was so emphatically called a goal," Steven Stamkos said. "I get it. If the net comes off and the puck goes in right away, it's no problem. But he missed the net and the puck actually bounced back to him because the net was sideways.
"My interpretation of the rule is that if the net wasn't off, the puck wouldn't have come back to him."
Losses to the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 16 and the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 3 saw the Predators looking ahead to the shootout. Predators head coach Andrew Brunette even said following the game against the Canucks that he liked his team's chances more in the shootout.
Against the Canadiens, Cole Caufield scored the game-winner with three seconds left in overtime, and Brock Boeser won the game for the Canucks with two seconds left in overtime.
Both situations saw the Predators lose a board battle, with two players in the scrum and the puck getting knocked out to the opposing player in open space. Caufield caught a drop pass into the slot and Boeser was all alone from the left side of Juuse Saros.
The loss to the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 11 saw the Predators' opponent fully dominate the possession battle. Nashville couldn't generate a single shot, let alone a rush down the ice, before Dylan Guenther made a move past Fedor Svechkov and scored.
It was nearly a similar situation against the Canucks as defenseman Quinn Hughes slowed play down to give Vancouver a possession advantage.
The Predators have pushed a game past overtime once this season, which was a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout on Oct. 25. Nashville has also shown a third-period fight in these eventual overtime losses, forcing the game into extra time against the Canucks and Wild.
Brunette and multiple players have said it's "a coin flip" in overtime, but with the Predators constantly struggling in 3-on-3, the issue may be deeper than chance.
Alejandro Garnacho scored off the bench as Chelsea escaped from Azerbaijan with a point after being given a scare
1 min: No Caicedo or Enzo in midfield for Chelsea, and that’s going to be a test of Romeo Lavia and Andrey Santos. The young visitors get booed on every touch. Boos are very much in fashion in football, as Trent Alexander-Arnold will tell you.
Here we go in Baku, the teams are out, the jewel of the Land of Fire take on west London’s finest. The weather looks much the same as London today, though the pitch looks decidedly soggy.
One might think that signing a two-year, $133.3 million contract extension that could keep him in Phoenix through 2030 would have quieted any trade speculation around Devin Booker. One would be wrong. Phoenix's 3-5 start has had some fans and pundits wondering how much longer before Booker asks out.
Don't hold your breath. Before the Suns fell to the Warriors Tuesday night, Booker talked about how much he admired Stephen Curry spending his entire career with one franchise and lifting them to titles, and how he wants to do that in Phoenix, speaking with Nick Friedell of the Athletic.
"You know it because there's not many," Booker said ... "So I know he holds a special place in everybody's heart here in the Bay. And I feel a similar type of love in Phoenix. It's something special. It's kind of hard to explain, but there's a different type of love that comes with it. I wouldn't want it any other way."
Booker is embracing the legacy of being a one-team player.
"The ones I think of off the top of my head: Tim Duncan, Dirk (Nowitzki), Kobe (Bryant)," Booker said. "I had a chance to play against all three of them guys too, close to their last seasons, or their last season, so seeing their farewell tours and the love that they got. At that point, not only from their cities, but I think every city around the NBA also acknowledged it and showed love to the loyalty and embraced it."
Booker is averaging 31 points and 7 assists a game, looking every bit the All-Star and veteran team leader.
He could have asked out this summer when Phoenix traded Kevin Durant, but that's not what Booker wants. He is where he wants to be. While one should never say never in an unpredictable NBA, Booker leaving Phoenix is about as close to never as it gets. He keeps saying that. Eventually people may listen.
Rory McIlroy says PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague personally apologized for the abuse directed at him and his wife during Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph at Bethpage Black and that the gesture helped close the book on what had been a bruising week.
“I got a lovely e-mail from Derek Sprague apologizing,” McIlroy told BBC Sport ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. “Erica worked with Derek at the PGA of America back in the day, so we know Derek and his wife pretty well. He couldn’t have been more gracious or apologetic and he wrote us a lovely letter, which we really appreciated.”
After a three-game road trip that saw them go 2–1–0, the Vancouver Canucks will be spending the next four games at home, taking on the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets. This means the Canucks have the opportunity to snag a possible eight points within the span of the week, which would do great damage in the standings to their Pacific Division opponents. Let’s make some guesses as to how this homestand will go for the Canucks.
November 5 vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Some may be quick to dismiss the Blackhawks, as this stretch of home games features opponents who currently sit at the top of the NHL’s standings. However, this shouldn’t be the way Vancouver approaches tonight’s game, as they did only take their game against Chicago via shootout back in October. Since Thatcher Demko has started the past two games, it would make sense for Kevin Lankinen to get the start tonight, just as he did back in October. On the other side of the ice, expect Spencer Knight to start for Chicago, as Arvid Söderblom was given the start in the Blackhawks’ most recent game on Monday.
Chicago’s special teams put them around the middle of the pack, with their penalty kill (80.8%, 15th in the NHL) being a bit better than their power play (17.5%), which sits at 21st in the NHL. While the Canucks did score two goals on Monday with the man-advantage, neither of these came from their top-unit. With Quinn Hughes taking part in his second game since returning from injury, Vancouver’s first-unit is due for a goal or two.
Prediction: Canucks 5, Blackhawks 3
Three Stars for Vancouver: Quinn Hughes, Kevin Lankinen, Elias Pettersson
November 8 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Canucks’ second game of their homestand is against the Blue Jackets, who will take on the Calgary Flames tonight before heading to Vancouver for Saturday’s game. Columbus has looked strong so far this season, with the Blue Jackets occupying the fourth spot in the Metropolitan Division. As of November 5, the Blue Jackets are currently tied for the fourth-most 5-on-5 goals-for in the NHL with 30 while sporting the third-lowest goals-against at 5-on-5 with only 20. Their special teams work, on the other hand, may be one of their biggest weaknesses. Columbus has scored only five goals on the power play so far this season, while surrendering 12 power play goals against.
As for goaltending, Elvis Merzļikins and Jet Greaves has split their starts pretty evenly so far for Columbus, with Merzļikins taking the team’s November 2 game against the New York Islanders. If Greaves gets the start tonight, Merzļikins will likely be the starter on Saturday. In the event that Vancouver starts Lankinen on Wednesday, Demko would be the most likely candidate to start on Saturday, with Lankinen then coming in on Sunday against the Avalanche.
Prediction: Blue Jackets 3, Canucks 2 (OT)
Three Stars for Vancouver: Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, Thatcher Demko
November 9 vs. Colorado Avalanche
As of November 5, the Avalanche are the top team in the entire NHL, having only lost once in regulation but five times in overtime. It will be very hard for the Canucks to shut down the lethal offence of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Martin Nečas, especially given that Vancouver is missing a good chunk of their top penalty killers in Teddy Blueger and Conor Garland. However, the Canucks have found success against Colorado in the past, as the team won all three of their matches against the Avalanche last season including shutting them out back in February.
Vancouver’s biggest shot at winning against Colorado comes in overtime, as the Avalanche have lost all five of their games that have gone past regulation. The Canucks, on the other hand, have yet to give up a game in overtime or a shootout (though the prediction for their Columbus game negates that stat). While this game marks the second-half of a back-to-back for both teams, Colorado will be travelling to Vancouver from Edmonton, putting the circumstances of the game in the Canucks favour — albeit slightly.
Prediction: Canucks 4, Avalanche 3 (OT)
Three Stars for Vancouver: Quinn Hughes, Kiefer Sherwood, Kevin Lankinen
November 11 vs. Winnipeg Jets
Vancouver’s fourth and final game of this homestand is against the Jets next Tuesday. Winnipeg, near the top of the NHL’s standings with a 9–4–0 record, welcomed back their captain Adam Lowry on Tuesday night after the forward started the season rehabilitating hip surgery done in May. The Jets have been a strong team all over the ice this season, placing in the top-half of the NHL in power play (22.7%), penalty kill (88.7%), and faceoff wins (51.9%). The only lapse in the Jets’ power that seems to be a target is their ability to generate shots and scoring chances. They’re within the bottom-10 in the NHL in shots per game with 26.8, and have generated a ninth-lowest scoring chances for with 356.
From now until the 11th, the Jets only play in two games. Winnipeg backup Eric Comrie has played in three games so far this season against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, and New York Islanders, winning all of them. Whether he gets the start over Connor Hellebuyck or not will depend on who starts the Jets’ next couple of games. For Vancouver, if Lankinen takes the game against the Avalanche, then all signs will point to Demko starting against Winnipeg.
Prediction: Jets 3, Canucks 1
Three Stars for Vancouver: Jake DeBrusk, Evander Kane, Thatcher Demko
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SNY's Ian Begley will be responding to Knicks questions from readers. Here's the latest...
@MELOMIKE7 -- Hello Ian, It's obvious that KAT is not comfortable with this system. I feel Coach Brown needs to simplify his game and lean to his strengths a bit more, but most important he needs to take time off to head from that quad injury. God forbid it gets worse, so does our chance to reach the Finals
Melo Mike asked this question earlier in the season beforeKarl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 13 rebounds against Washington. But I still think that Towns’ comfort/effectiveness in Mike Brown’s system is one of the bigger storylines early on for the Knicks.
Towns has been switching between power forward and center due to the Knicks’ load management of Mitchell Robinson. It was clear earlier in the season that he wasn’t fully comfortable in Brown’s offense. It became quite obvious during the Knicks’ loss at Milwaukee.
In a perfect world, Towns will grow more comfortable in Brown’s offense as the year goes on. If Monday’s game was any indication, it seems like Towns is trending in the right direction. But this is something that certainly bears watching, I think.
Towns raised some eyebrows during the preseason when he said he wasn’t sure about his role in Brown’s offense. Sometimes, answers to questions in news conferences are meaningless. But I don’t think Towns was giving you a meaningless answer there. Based on the time I’ve spent around the team, I think Towns’ answer was a legitimate reflection of his comfort/confidence in where he fit in the offense.
Like the rest of the Knicks, Towns is still finding his way in Brown’s offense. But the offense is a significant shift from what Towns was playing last season. There’s very little isolation and it requires cuts and other off-ball movement from Towns. This is a significant change from Tom Thibodeau’s offense. So Towns’ comfort level is certainly worth watching in the first few weeks of the season.
With regards to Towns’ quad injury, I believe it is fully healed because it is no longer listed on the NBA’s injury report.
QUICK HITTERS
@KnicksCentral -- Do you expect the Knicks to be active at the trade deadline? Active as in “normal” trades, not a Giannis level deal
I would expect them to be active simply because this is viewed as a prime opportunity to reach the NBA Finals. If you’re looking at this season through that prism, I assume you will be searching for opportunities to upgrade the roster in early February. If the Knicks are playing well, I’d expect them to pursue moves around the back end of the rotation. If they are not playing well, we will probably be having a different conversation ahead of the trade deadline.
@Buddyboybets -- Do you think Leon Rose primarily focused on the KAT vs. Giannis matchup the other day to see if he would lean more to trading for Giannis this season?
I don’t think so. These kinds of decisions are made by using a ton of research/analysis. I don’t think one game would sway a team one way or the other in this case.
@5outball -- could the knicks be open to trading for backup big man depth with Mitchell Robinson missing lots of time and KAT playing through injury right now ?
I think that they have to keep an eye on the market given Robinson’s injury history. They would love to have him healthy in the postseason but they have to prepare for other options. So I’m sure that they will keep an eye on the trade market for bigs.
@TomPenders -- I like Deuce. Thibs developed him into a solid guard. I scouted Deuce at WVA. He wasn’t a lead guard there. He’s capable of scoring 15-20 ppg but only as a scorer. When he’s with Brunson, he’ll score.
Miles McBride is so important for this Knicks team. When they were considering trades during training camp/preseason, they never seriously considered trading McBride. That tells you how they feel about his value on the roster. As Coach Penders mentions, McBride is more comfortable off the ball. That’s one reason why Tyler Kolek was getting minutes earlier in the season. Maybe the Knicks ultimately look for a veteran ball-handler to fill that role off the bench. Or maybe Kolek plays well enough to keep the role himself.
However, with plenty of money coming off the books, several notable contributors to this year’s team now free agents, and plenty of opportunities lying ahead of them this offseason, the Dodgers have work to do and decisions to make as they attempt to defend their title again next year.
“Our attention span has been about two and a half minutes to think about the offseason throughout the month of October,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the team’s World Series parade on Monday. “So we have a lot of work to do."
As that work begins, here are four big questions facing the Dodgers this offseason:
Can they keep on spending?
The Dodgers set MLB payroll records this year with $347 million in year-end salary and $415 million in competitive balance tax payroll.
Their projections for 2026 as of right now, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts: $251 million in salary and $313 million in CBT payroll.
Big numbers, to be sure, but theoretically providing room to maneuver this winter as well.
The question, of course, is whether even the deep-pocketed Dodgers can keep spending at the level they did this past season. Already, their 2026 CBT number will keep them in the highest tax bracket for luxury-tax purposes next year. Any new money they add this offseason will come with a 110% surcharge.
Friedman wasn’t ready to commit to any specific spending levels after Monday’s parade, saying the front office was still in the process of “really getting a sense of our roster, which obviously we know, but to really dig in and appreciate what areas we want to really target and making sure we have the requisite depth.”
What is clear, however, is that if there is a big-name player the team wants to pursue this winter, they could do so without raising payroll from their already historic heights of last year. They have a lot of previously committed money, but plenty of wiggle room relative to their 2025 payroll, too.
Will familiar faces return?
One of the big decisions the Dodgers will have to make this offseason is how much of last year’s team they want to bring back.
The clock is already ticking on their $10 million team option for third baseman Max Muncy, which either has to be picked up or declined by Thursday (though, given that relatively affordable amount, it’d be a surprise if they didn’t bring him back).
Then there will be the matter of Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas, free agents who have voiced their hopes of returning next year. Neither player flashed in the regular season. Rojas posted an exactly league-average OPS+ of 100, but saw his batting average decline from .283 in 2024 to .262 this past year. Hernández hit just .203 while battling an elbow injury, his lowest mark since 2016.
However, both veterans were integral to the team’s playoff run. Hernández started every game of the postseason and drove in seven runs. Rojas was inserted into the lineup in Games 6 and 7 of the World Series and made one season-saving play after the next, including combining with Hernández for a game-ending double-play in Game 6 and hitting the tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7.
Age will be a consideration with each of them. Muncy is 35. Hernández is 34. And Rojas will be 37 by opening day next year (which is likely to be the last season of his career). They’ve all missed time with injuries in recent campaigns.
But they were all hugely important veteran leaders as well, helping form a resilient culture that many on the team cited in the wake of their Game 7 triumph, and would like to see preserved as much as possible entering next year.
Will there be a big outfield addition?
The Chicago Cubs' Kyle Tucker runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 4 of their NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
The most obvious area of need for next year’s Dodgers will be in the outfield.
Andy Pages will be back, trying to build upon his 27-homer campaign in 2025. Teoscar Hernández will enter the second of his three-year contract, trying to rebound from his injury-plagued struggles this past summer.
But the third spot remains wide open, with Michael Conforto hitting free agency after his dismal performance on a one-year, $17 million deal this past year, and Alex Call having been used in more of a depth role after his arrival of this year’s trade deadline.
Internally, the Dodgers don’t have an immediate plug-and-play option, as top prospects Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota remain a ways away from the majors.
Thus, don’t be surprised to see the Dodgers linked with big names on either the free-agent or trade market this winter, starting with top free-agent prize Kyle Tucker.
Since the summer, industry speculation has swirled about the Dodgers’ expected pursuit of Tucker this offseason. The four-time All-Star did not finish 2025 well while nursing a couple injuries, but remains one of the premier left-handed bats in the sport, and could command upward of $400 million-$500 million on a long-term deal — a hefty price tag, but certainly not one beyond the Dodgers’ capabilities.
Free agency will include other notable outfield options. Cody Bellinger is hitting the open market, though a reunion with the Dodgers has always seemed like a long shot. Harrison Bader and Trent Grisham could provide more glove-first alternatives, and have been linked with the Dodgers in the past.
Then there are potential trade candidates, from left fielder Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians to utilityman Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals, also players the Dodgers have inquired about in the past.
The Dodgers could construct their 2026 roster in other ways, thanks to the versatility Tommy Edman provides in center field. But another outfield addition remains their most logical priority this winter. And there will be no shortage of possibilities.
What to do with the pitching?
The Dodgers enter the winter with somewhat of a pitching backlog.
Next year’s starting rotation figures to include Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan.
But the team’s depth goes far beyond that. Justin Wrobleski and Ben Casparius are still natural starters, though they both found a home in the bullpen down the stretch this season. Gavin Stone, River Ryan and Kyle Hurt will all be returning from injuries.
Given how hard the team had to push its starters this October, preserving depth in case of injuries will be important. But the young arms further down the depth chart could be intriguing trade chips as well.
The bullpen is another question. The team has plenty of depth there too, returning the likes of Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda, Jack Dreyer and Blake Treinen, and hopeful of getting Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart and Brusdar Graterol back from injury.
But Tanner Scott’s 2025 struggles mean the closer role remains unsettled — making that another area the Dodgers could explore an upgrade.
Several established closers will be available as free agents, including Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez and Devin Williams (someone the Dodgers pursued last winter). Pete Fairbanks (who the Dodgers had interest in at last year’s deadline) could also be an option, either as a free agent if the Tampa Bay Rays don’t pick up his option for next year or a trade candidate if they do.
