Wesley is the former Notre Dame star who was drafted No. 25 overall in 2022 by the San Antonio Spurs, where things just never clicked as hoped. Wesley's minutes dropped each season with the Spurs, last year getting in 58 games at 11.8 minutes a night, averaging 3.7 points and two assists a game. Part of the challenge is the 6'5" guard shot 29.3% from beyond the arc last season (which is pretty much at his career average).
For Portland fans looking for reasons to be optimistic, Wesley is just 22 years old, shot 35.9% from 3-point range for the Austin Spurs in the G League, and he's a solid to plus defender.
Portland is largely set in their guard rotation with Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe (Damian Lillard is on the roster but will sit out this season recovering from his torn Achilles). Wesley is more of a deep bench guy, but he'll get his chance, and on a minimum contract, this is a low-risk roll of the dice by Portland. Wesley also makes 15 guaranteed contracts for the Trail Blazers, their roster is set.
Series victory would offer chance to experiment in fifth Test but Stokes and McCullum are trying to be here now at Old Trafford
The last time India were in Manchester for a Test match was back in 2021 and it was a pretty bleak affair. An outbreak of Covid-19 among their backroom staff saw the series finale called off just 90 minutes before the toss, even if many suspected the proximity of the rescheduled Indian Premier League also had a role to play here.
“I saw Lanky the Giraffe walking into the ground with his head slumped,” said Tom Harrison, then chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, after crossing paths with Lancashire’s club mascot that morning. “It summed up my feelings too.”
The Soudal-Quick Step rider beat Ireland’s Ben Healy in a lung-busting sprint finish on the Giant of Provence, as Tadej Pogacar retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after keeping chief rival Jonas Vingegaard in his sights on the 21.5km ascent at 7.5%.
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes wants the ball. All the time.
Yet the only pitcher in major league history to start the All-Star Game in each of his first two seasons also understands the Pittsburgh Pirates are intent on playing the long game with his electric right arm.
They did a year ago, when they put Skenes on a soft innings cap during his remarkable rookie season. They’re doing it again this summer. To a point, anyway.
So when Skenes walked into the dugout on Monday night after needing 86 pitches to get through six innings against the Detroit Tigers, the 23-year-old didn’t put up a fight when manager Don Kelly turned to reliever Braxton Ashcraft for the seventh in what eventually became a 3-0 victory.
“I haven’t had a real start in 10 days,” Skenes said after lowering his ERA to 1.91, the best in the majors. “So it’s a little bit of a ramp back up. I think that it was about as good as it could have been ... a pretty good starting point.”
Sure looked like it. Skenes struck out six while allowing three hits to pick up his first victory since late May. The dry spell had nothing to do with his pitching — Skenes had a 1.77 ERA in his last eight starts entering Monday. Instead, it can be blamed on an offense that has scored the fewest runs in the majors.
Skenes has taken the high road amid his team’s struggles, to the point that Kelly needs to remind himself that Skenes just turned 23 less than two months ago.
“He’s wise beyond his years,” Kelly said. “The maturity level he shows when he’s out there, really, I don’t remember seeing anybody in my time (who’s had that).”
The Pirates are relying on it as they try to help him navigate his first full season in the big leagues. He bought in — begrudgingly at first — to the plan to monitor his workload as a rookie. This year, he wanted to take the ball and let it rip.
And while he has — Skenes has thrown 127 innings this season, nearly matching the 133 he tossed after being called up last May — Pittsburgh is trying to find the safest, healthiest path to help him make to late September.
“I don’t think anybody has the perfect answer,” Kelly said. “Just trying to make sure that we’re taking everything into account and collaborating with people that know more than even I do about all of this stuff and taking everybody’s thoughts into consideration and finding what we feel is the best way to go.”
Skenes is a part of that process, and he’s amenable, within reason. He hasn’t thrown more than 88 pitches in any of his four starts this month, even though he’s allowed all of two runs in the process.
“There’s still going to be starts where it’s like, ‘Hey, go out there and pitch,’” Skenes said. “I think we’re just going to pick our times with that. So I don’t know. There’s a long way to go still. So just going to keep pitching until they take the ball out of my hands.”
Kelly is hopeful Skenes can flirt with reaching 200 innings, a goal that seems doable if he can make another dozen starts like his first 21 this season. Skenes is a Cy Young Award contender despite playing for a last-place team that will likely be a seller at the trade deadline.
Pittsburgh’s victory on Monday night was its second in its last 13 games. The energy that characterized Kelly’s first 50 games on the job after replacing Derek Shelton in May has faded in the summer heat.
All around Skenes on Monday, there were signs of a club already looking to the future — again. A handful of the team’s picks in last week’s draft stood on the field at PNC Park after signing contracts. Johan Oviedo, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is hopeful to be back this season, though a return to the rotation might have to wait until 2026.
The team’s misfortunes, however, have not affected Skenes’ mindset or his performance. He can only control what he can control. Things haven’t gone according to plan — not by a long shot — for the Pirates. All the face of the franchise can do is take the ball every handful of days and do his part.
If that means he won’t get to throw until he thinks he’s done some nights, so be it. He’s willing to go along with whatever the plan is, with one notable exception.
“Not skipping a start,” he said. “That’s a no-go. That’s not good. ... That’s not ideal. We’ve done a good job to this point, just working within our own parameters.”
There's an argument going on – call it a fuss, if you will – about K'Andre Miller. (Remember him, Mister Turnover?)
Give K the puck and the opposition says, "Thank you very much!"
Funny thing is that now that K is a Cane he's become the subject of a debate. It all started when professional Rangers gadfly Sean McCaffrey told The Maven that Miller will be better in Carolina than Slava (The Hulk's Hulk) Gavrikov will be for the Blueshirts.
What do you think?
The Honorable Jess Rubenstein, a royal member of The Maven's Roundtable – egad! What A Cad! – agrees with Sean and backs it up with a good point.
"Miller will do better because the Canes will allow K to do what Rangers' coaches never did – and don't allow Adam Fox to do either – and that is, go on the attack. Miller's game is built on skating skills but the Rangers have refused to allow their D to play an attacking style."
Vic Morren, co-starring on the NHL Roundup podcast with Neil Smith, is not too crazy about K. "Has anyone watched Miller's decision-making." asks Vic, with and without the puck in all zones? He's a great talent – but it's hard to teach instinct and acumen."
We've seen enough of Miller to continue with the discussion. The trouble, for the moment, at least, is that we haven't viewed enough of Gavrikov to make an intelligent judgment.
Right now there's talk that – jeepers creepers – Chris Drury got himself a fortress on skates – anyone remember Jacob Trouba?
It's quite possible that Miller will thrive under coach Rod Brind'Amour's firewagon hockey in Raleigh. (Hey, they might turn him into what K wanted to be in the first place, a forward.)
But until Gavrikov struts his stuff, The Maven will stick with his original thought about Miller's "Bon Voyage," and that – for the Rangers – is addition by subtraction!
TORONTO — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Anthony Volpe has made “a few too many” fielding errors this season after the shortstop made his 12th miscue of the season in a 4-1 loss at Toronto. He’s now tied for most in the American League.
Volpe won the AL Gold Glove as a rookie shortstop in 2023, when he made 17 errors in 1,346 2/3 innings. He had 16 errors in 1,416 2/3 innings last year.
Volpe has played 846 2/3 defensive innings this season. He matched Kansas City’s Jonathan India for the AL lead with an errant throw to first base that led to a run in Toronto’s four-run fifth inning.
“I rushed the throw and pulled it and gave Goldy (first baseman Paul Goldschmidt) a tough pick to handle,” Volpe said.
It came one play after third baseman Oswald Peraza also made a throwing error that allowed a run to score.
Boone acknowledged that Volpe’s error total is high but insisted he’s not worried about the shortstop’s overall defensive performance.
“He’s still making a lot of rangy plays, he’s still making a lot of plays,” Boone said. “He just hasn’t been as consistent as he has in his first two years. That’s three or four plays we’re talking about.”
Its Tuesday, July 22 and the Astros (58-42) are in Phoenix to take on the Diamondbacks (50-51).
Framber Valdez is slated to take the mound for Houston against Eduardo Rodriguez for Arizona.
The American League West leaders took the series opener last night, 6-3. Rookie Brice Matthews cracked the first two home runs of his career and drove in five of the six runs for the Astros. Colton Gordon started for Houston lasting 5.2 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) to earn his fourth win of the season. Top trade target Eugenio Suarez homered for the fifth time in the last three games for Arizona in the loss.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Astros at Diamondbacks
Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Time: 9:40PM EST
Site: Chase Field
City: Phoenix, AZ
Network/Streaming: SCHN, ARID
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Astros at the Diamondbacks
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Moneyline: Astros (-125), Diamondbacks (+105)
Spread: Astros -1.5
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Astros at Diamondbacks
Pitching matchup for July 22, 2025: Framber Valdez vs. Eduardo Rodriguez
Astros: Framber Valdez (10-4, 2.75 ERA) Last outing: July 12 vs. Texas - 6IP, 0ER, 4H, 0BB, 10Ks
Diamondbacks: Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6, 5.94 ERA) Last outing: July 10 at San Diego - 4IP, 4ER, 8H, 2HR, 2BB
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Astros at Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks had their 4-game win streak snapped last night
The Astros have covered in 4 of their last 5 road games and bettors who have bet accordingly are profiting 1.49 units
Eugenio Suarez has hit in 4 straight (6-14) with 5 HRs and in 6 of his last 7 (9-21) with 7 HRs
Brice Matthews is 3-9 over his last 3 games
Jose Altuve is 23-63 (.365) in July
Christian Walker is 5-12 (.417) over his last 3 games and is hitting .339 in July overall
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Astros and the Diamondbacks
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday's game between the Astros and the Diamondbacks:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Arizona Diamondbacks at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
Pickings have been slim thus far for quality NHL goaltenders in this summer's free-agent market.
It's so bad that player agent Allan Walsh said recently that five teams called him on July 1 to ask if his client, Marc-Andre Fleury, might reconsider retirement.
According to Walsh, Fleury isn't returning, which means those teams must find other options to address their goaltending.
Allan Mitchell of The Athletic isn't convinced, suggesting the Edmonton Oilers should still try to bring in Fleury to back up inconsistent starter Stuart Skinner. Given the limited options elsewhere, Mitchell thinks he's worth pursuing even if he keeps rejecting their requests.
Meanwhile, Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journalreported the Oilers had an “active interest” in Arturs Silovs before the Vancouver Canuckstraded him last week to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He indicated that they've also been linked to Boston Bruins third-stringer Michael DiPietro.
Meanwhile, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now wondered what the future holds for netminder Nico Daws after the Devils brought back Jake Allen as starter Jacob Markstrom's understudy.
Daws, 24, appeared in 52 games for the Devils since 2021-22. He's in the final season of his two-year contract with a cap hit of $812,500 and must now pass through waivers to be sent to their AHL affiliate in Utica.
Nichols believes the Devils can't risk losing Daws on the waiver wire this fall. He felt they must trade him, either on his own or perhaps packaged with defenseman Dougie Hamilton or center Dawson Mercer in a larger deal.
Unsurprisingly, Nichols suggested Edmonton as a trade destination for Daws, proposing he'd be a better long-term option for the Oilers than current backup Calvin Pickard.
The Vegas Golden Knights and Calgary Flames were also on Nichols' list. Both clubs require reliable backups, although Calgary may look to free-agent signing Ivan Prosvetov and Devin Cooley to compete for the No. 2 spot. Hannah Kirkell of Vegas Hockey Now thinks Daws could provide some much-needed competition for Akira Schmid for the Golden Knights' backup job.
The Hockey News’ Vani Hanamirian said it would be wise for the Devils to try to keep Daws, since they could use a steady third-string goalie to play if Allen or Markstrom get injured.
When the New York Islanders sent defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, the two picks coming back the other way, No. 16 and No. 17, were the standouts.
However, a 23-year-old forward named Emil Heineman was included in the deal.
Heineman has played in 68 NHL games, all with Montreal, recording 10 goals and eight assists, which all came last season in 62 games, his rookie campaign.
The second round pick by the Florida Panthers in 2020 and his rights were sent to the Calgary Flames in the Sam Bennett trade back in April of 2021, before Calgary sent his rights and Tyler Pitlick to Montreal for Tyler Tofolli in February of 2022.
Following the Islanders' trade with Montreal, general manager Mathieu Darche shared that he made it a necessity for Heineman to be included in the Dobson trade.
"Emil, we really wanted him to be in the trade. So we push till the end for him to be in the trade, because he's a player the league kind of discovered this year," Darche said during his post-first-round draft press conference. "He had a great start to the year, and people might not remember, but around Christmas, it was going great. Then he got, unfortunately, hit by a car in Utah, and missed two months, which stole his year.'
"But you see, his first year in the NHL, he scored 10 goals playing mostly on the fourth line. So we see potential. He's a strong kid who skates great. He's got a rocket of a shot, like, if you look at his goals, it's a high velocity shot that can score. So we still have potential in this player. The cap, you right now works. It helps us maybe create other opportunities somewhere else, because he's an established NHL player now, and we feel he can only improve in the coming years."
The Islanders signed Heineman, a restricted free agent, to a two-year deal worth $2.2 million annually.
"I saw him, I think, five times last season," Hickey, who works on the Prime Monday Night Hockey broadcast, said. "I was doing Habs games at ice level and for the first four games I saw him, his line was the best line on the ice [...] each game I kept coming away, saying, Heineman, he's one of their best players tonight."
The expectation is that Heineman is going to slot in on the Islanders' fourth line, alongside Casey Cizikas and then, maybe, Maxim Tsyplakov, depending on how the depth chart shakes out.
Here's a Heineman highlight reel:
Heineman fits the Darche and Roy mold. While he may not be Cal Clutterbuck, he will be tasked with providing a spark with his physicality and shot.
Stay updated with the most interesting Islanders stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
Its 11 and counting for the Milwaukee Brewers. Its Tuesday, July 22 and the Brewers (60-40) are in Seattle to continue their series against the Mariners (53-47) looking for a 12th straight win.
Rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski is slated to take the mound for Milwaukee against Logan Gilbert for Seattle.
The Brewers claimed sole possession of first place in the National League Central last night with a 6-0 shutout of the Mariners. Brandon Woodruff allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season. Jackson Chourio continues to mash collecting two more hits and driving in a pair to pace the attack that has scored at least six runs in seven of their last eight games. Milwaukee now owns the best record in baseball at 60-40.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Brewers at Mariners
Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Time: 9:40PM EST
Site: T-Mobile Park
City: Seattle, WA
Network/Streaming: FDSNWI, RSNW, MLBN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Brewers at the Mariners
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Moneyline: Brewers (+103), Mariners (-123)
Spread: Mariners -1.5
Total: 7.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Brewers at Mariners
Pitching matchup for July 22, 2025: Jacob Misiorowski vs. Logan Gilbert
Brewers: Jacob Misiorowski (4-1, 2.81 ERA) Last outing: July 8 vs. Dodgers - 6IP, 1ER, 4H, 1BB, 12Ks
Mariners: Logan Gilbert (2-3, 3.39 ERA) Last outing: July 13 at Detroit - 5.1IP, 0ER, 6H, 2BB, 9Ks
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Brewers at Mariners
The Brewers have won 4 of their last 5 road trips against teams with winning records
The Over is 14-5-1 for the Brewers' and the Mariners' last 10 games combined
The Mariners have failed to cover the Run Line in 8 of their last 10 home games
Jackson Chourio has now hit safely in 15 straight games (22-59)
Christian Yelich is riding a more modest 4-game hitting streak (5-17)
Julio Rodriguez is 3-16 (.186) over his last 4 games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Brewers and the Mariners
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday's game between the Brewers and the Mariners:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Milwaukee Brewers at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
During the 2022 NHL off-season, the Chicago Blackhawks elected not to send forward Dylan Strome a qualifying offer. As a result, he became an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Washington Capitals in July of that year. This was after Strome posted 22 goals and 48 points with the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season.
The move to Washington immediately benefited Strome, as he posted 23 goals and 65 points in 81 games during the 2022-23 season. This led to him to landing a five-year, $25 million contract extension with the Capitals in February of 2023. He then followed this campaign up by recording then-career highs with 27 goals, 40 assists, and 67 points in 82 contests during the 2023-24 season.
Yet, as well as Strome played in each of his first two seasons with the Capitals, he hit a new level with the Metropolitan Division club during this past season. In 82 games during 2024-25 campaign, the former Blackhawks forward recorded new career highs with 29 goals, 53 assists, and 82 points in 82 regular-season games. He was also a bright spot during the playoffs for the Capitals, posting two goals and 11 points in 10 games.
Strome only seems to be getting better with each season that passes and produced like a true star in 2024-25. The Blackhawks' decision to let Strome walk for nothing certainly looks more questionable after the campaign he just had, but it is clear that the 2015 third-overall pick has thrived since leaving Chicago.
It will now be interesting to see what kind of season Strome puts together in 2025-26 after his career year.
Blackhawks Exciting Forward Is Big Breakout CandidateThe Chicago Blackhawks have one of the strongest prospect pools in the NHL. It is not difficult to understand why, as they have been rebuilding for multiple years now. As a result, they have brought in several exciting youngsters who have the potential to become long-term parts of their future.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made his sixth start of the season on Monday against the Minnesota Twins, going three innings and giving up one run. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
Ohtani has played four games on days following his starts, and he’s taken a total of 15 at-bats in them.
He’s collected just one hit.
He’s struck out six times.
Ohtani pitched three innings in the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night, which led to manager Dave Roberts being asked about Ohtani’s anticipated Confortization on Tuesday.
He will remain a two-way player for the remainder of the regular season, and he will remain a two-way player in October.
He should provide more than a couple of innings here and there. He should be a full-blown starter.
Because he wants to. Because the Dodgers need him to.
Ohtani is the best hitter on a team that can’t hit much of anything lately. He is the best pitcher on a team with an injury-ravaged pitching staff that sustained another likely loss on Monday night when closer Tanner Scott departed the game with forearm pain.
His value as a two-way player was evident in the opening game of the three-game series against the Twins, as he gave up a leadoff homer to Byron Buxton and returned the favor by crushing a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning.
The 2-1 lead was gradually extended, by a pair of solo home runs by Will Smith and another bases-empty shot by Andy Pages.
Ohtani pitched three innings, the damage inflicted against him limited to Buxton’s homer even though he was plagued by control problems. Ohtani struck out three batters and was charged with four hits and a walk while throwing 46 pitches.
“I thought I wanted to go four innings, but my pitch count was piling up,” Ohtani said in Japanese.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates with teammate Mookie betts after hitting a two-run homer in the first inning Monday. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
He will be extended to four innings in his next start, Roberts said.
The Dodgers might need every one of them, considering they have lost 10 of their last 13 games.
Ohtani didn’t know it at the time, but he spent six seasons preparing for something like this. On the Angels, he was a great player on a horrible team, which is what the Dodgers are at this moment.
The sorry state of the team didn’t stop Ohtani from trying to carry it then, and that’s not stopping him from trying to carry it now.
“I think he’s very mindful of where our team is right now,” Roberts said. “I feel he’s trying to will his way to kind of getting us over the hump. He’s competing. He’s taking really good at-bats. And he’s fighting. So I love what he’s doing.”
Ohtani has homered in each of the last three games.
“There’s just an extra level of focus I see in the decision-making at the plate,” Roberts said.
Roberts observed that Ohtani wasn’t driven by personal glory. He pointed to how Ohtani offered no resistance when he said he wanted to switch him and Mookie Betts in the batting order, with Ohtani dropping from the leadoff to No. 2 spot.
Ohtani batted first in every game until Sunday when Roberts moved a slumping Betts to the top of the lineup with hopes of jump-starting his season.
When Roberts texted Ohtani his thoughts the previous night, Ohtani replied by telling him to do whatever was best for the team, even if that meant batting him ninth.
“I have absolutely no problem with it,” Ohtani said. “What’s most important is that everyone can hit comfortably.”
Ohtani’s homers in the last two games came right after Betts reached base in front of him, with a single on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers and with a walk on Monday against Twins starter David Festa.
“He wants to win,” Roberts said of Ohtani. “I think that him playing every day, him pitching, him taking walks when needed and switching spots with Mookie in the order, whatever is in the best interest of the ballclub, that’s what he’s doing.”
Ohtani is now 31. There are questions about whether his body can still withstand the workload required to play both ways, and rightfully so. But as the Dodgers have trudged through this midseason slump, Ohtani has revealed the spirit that was fundamental in making him the best player in the world. Roberts will wager the season on it. He has no other option.
The Pirates are a wellspring of talented young pitchers right now, which could make them an impactful team at this MLB Trade Deadline, especially in what, at least initially, tracks as a seller’s market for starting pitchers.
The Buccos’ great need for offense – they started play Monday averaging the fewest runs per game in MLB (3.33) – could motivate them to make an especially-enticing hurler available. Mitch Keller is the kind of controllable rotation asset that fuels GM fever dreams this time of year, flush with talent and cost certainty. Maybe even enough to make some contender dip into their pool of young, ready (or nearly-ready) hitters.
Could it be the Mets? Should it be? Let’s explore the pros and cons of David Stearns potentially trading for Keller, a 29-year-old righty.
PROS
If these were still the days when a pitcher’s win-loss record was one of his most meaningful stats, Keller’s 3-10 mark, even for the 39-61 Pirates, might offer pause. Thankfully, we have moved beyond that Jurassic Age of pitching and are more enlightened.
Keller has been terrific this season, despite that record. The Pirates have scored a total of 37 runs in the 17 games that Keller has either lost or recorded a no-decision. He’s got a 3.48 ERA, which would be his career-best over a full season, and is sporting career-bests in numbers such as WHIP, homers-per-nine and walks-per-nine, too.
His strikeout percentage would be his lowest for a full year, but, whatever. It seems to be working. Plus, he’s proven he can get K's – his 210 strikeouts in 2023 established a record for a Pittsburgh righty, though it seems a foregone conclusion that Paul Skenes will one day shatter that mark.
Keller’s three most-used pitches are a 94 mph-ish four-seamer, a low-80s sweeper and an 87 mph slider. He also uses a sinker, and Statcast gives him credit for the 10th-best fastball run value, ahead of even Jacob deGrom. Keller’s sweeper is tied for fifth-best by the same metric. Opponents have a .181 batting average on the sweeper.
The Mets, you may have heard, are having trouble getting length out of their starters. Keller has pitched into at least the sixth inning in 13 consecutive starts and he’s gotten at least 18 outs in 11 of those. Over his last four starts, he has a 1.44 ERA.
For whatever it’s worth, he’s looked great against the Mets, too, notching a 2.19 ERA over two starts. Juan Soto and Brett Baty have homered off him, but Met hitters batted .213 against him with a .628 OPS.
And there’s cost certainty, which club number-crunchers will appreciate. Keller is signed for three more seasons after this one for a total of $55.7 million. Hold that up against whatever he’d make on the free agent market (more, obvs) and he’s even more attractive.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (23) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at PNC Park / Charles LeClaire - Imagn Images
CONS
None.
We kid, of course.
As mentioned, he’s not striking out batters at the same rate.
Since 2021, only 12 pitchers have made more starts than Keller and only 15 have thrown more innings. If you want to ding him for wear-and-tear, well, every pitcher accrues it. We say that’s more representative of his durability than anything.
Cost, of course, could be a con, just because he’s so good and so controllable. The Pirates will be right to ask for the moon and stars, a Jett (Williams, one of the Mets’ top prospects), too. And much more young talent beyond Williams. Some might say the Mets should save prospect capital to deal for a hitter instead.
Whatever happens, if they’re in on Keller, they’d better be prepared for a prospect-bidding battle, especially with the Yankees and Cubs among the teams connected to the righty via media reports.
All those teams should get at least two more chances to see Keller work, assuming he makes it to the deadline. He’s slated to start Tuesday night against the visiting Tigers.
VERDICT
If the Mets really believe this current team has a chance to be special, despite how ordinary (and worse) they’ve looked recently, this is the kind of deal they should make. Keller makes them better now and later, and his contract is reasonable for a durable starter.
Could the Mets help sort their current third base situation by using one of those young big leaguers as part of a package to pry Keller from Pittsburgh? The cost will hurt, but the Mets could use some rotation certainty, especially after all the injuries their starters have endured this season.
Ben Stokes says England did not ‘go over the line’
The India captain, Shubman Gill, has strongly criticised some of England’s behaviour during their current Test series, describing it as not “what I would think comes in the spirit of the game”.
On the eve of the fourth Test at Old Trafford Gill was asked if he regretted confronting the England batter Zak Crawley during the last match at Lord’s, a moment that prompted England to decide, as Harry Brook put it on Monday, “to give them something back and not be the nice guys we have been in the last three or four years”.
