CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 21: Carson Kelly #15 of the Chicago Cubs hits a solo home run off Noah Cameron #65 of the Kansas City Royals during the second inning at Wrigley Field on July 21, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Royals are going to take the field again tonight, and there’s nothing you or I can do to stop them. So we might as well see if they can find a win.
The good news is that Noah Cameron is pitching for the Royals. After being so bad early that fans were ready to demote him, release him, or fire him into the sun, Cameron has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last month. He’s tied with Reid Detmers (another surprising entry) for third-most SP fWAR in MLB over that span behind only the sensational NL duo of Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sánchez. He’s tied for sixth in K-BB% and SIERA. He’s tied for third in FIP and xFIP. He barely edges The Mis for first in xERA. The point is, he hasn’t just been good, he’s been great, and the underlying numbers say it has little to do with luck. And most of that is Royals being lucky enough to watch him pitch every fifth day while the guys we all thought might be the aces take turns starting and stopping their rehab assignments.
The Astros will send Mike Burrows to the mound. This is also Burrows’ second full season, but it’s not going nearly as well for him. He’s got a 5.77 ERA and a pitiful 9.8% K-BB%. He’s got a pretty standard five pitch mix, all of which he’ll use liberally. A four-seam fastball, slider, curve, changeup, and sinker. Only the slider gets in the zone more often than not. Only the changeup generates any amount of whiffs, and only the changeup gets weak contact. Basically, as with many pitchers, most batters would be better served to leave the bats on their shoulders and let him do himself in. The Royals, despite their new, more patient approach, have proven time and time again that even with their more patient approach this year, they still aren’t as good at it as a lot of other teams that consistently punish the local squad for nibbling too much.
Lineups
The Royals are using a very similar lineup to last night, with Lane Thomas in left and batting eighth ahead of Kameron Misner instead of Isaac Collins batting ninth. That lineup produced eight runs, so it’s hard to find too much to criticize. I was a bit worried the Royals were going to yank Jac Caglianone back below Salvador Perez since Jac had a poor night last night and Salvy had three hits, but the Royals weren’t quite that reactionary today.
Some Knicks fans who planned to go to San Antonio are going miss their chance to witness history in person.
Raucous and eager Knicks fans were set to take off on an American Airlines flight from LaGuardia Airport to Austin at 12:30 p.m. ET to potentially watch the Knicks clinch their first NBA Finals title in 53 years, but that will not happen anymore for at least some of them after a few delays, according to a Knicks fan account on X.
The flight, originally scheduled for 12:30, was delayed until 2:30 p.m., and then until 4, and then again for another hour, meaning fans would likely miss at least the start of the 8:30 p.m. opening tip for Game 5 at Frost Bank Center when factoring in the commute from Austin to San Antonio.
When your flight was supposed to leave from LGA at 12:30, then got delayed to 2:30, and now delayed to 4.
Which means not getting to San Antonio in time. Thanks @AmericanAir
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby goes up for a shot as San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper jumps to defend during the fourth quarter of NBA Finals Game 4. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
At 3:11 p.m., the flight no longer had a flight crew, with Knick fan @EverythinKnicks even joking that Spurs fans must be controlling the air traffic control centers.
The same account later posted that the flight was delayed until 5 p.m. and that they didn’t end up going as they’d miss practically the entire game.
“Flight ended up getting delayed to 5,” they wrote. “So nobody was going to make it to the game in time. All the Knicks fans decided to not take the flight at that point because once they told us we needed to get off the plane due to the delays, there was no point of getting back on.”
Some on X felt sorry for @EverythinKnicks, but others thought the user’s decision to cut it so close was bound to backfire.
“Oh my god I’m so sorry. Please tell MSG. Maybe they can help in some way – Game 6? Parade route? Player meet and greet?” X user @willrocklin responded.
“Am I the only one who thinks it’s crazy to not leave a day in advance instead of the day of to ensure I get to the game? Like this is poor planning and I don’t feel bad at all,” @Maiers_Luke wrote
Fans watch the NY Knicks game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs outside of Healthy Market on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 in New York City. Michael Nagle for NY Post
Toby Hyde, a Brooklyn resident, was supposed to board a 5:33 p.m. flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to San Antonio on Friday, but the storms sent him scrambling for a backup plan.
Even with potentially fewer members of Knicks faithful there, the Knicks can close out the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 Saturday night to win their first title since 1973.
Jun 13, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Yankees 2 Blue Jays 1
Let’s talk about the eighth inning, because that’s the one that interests me.
Kazuma Okamoto walked on six pitches to start it off.
Jesús Sánchez walked on four pitches.
Now John decided to pinch run for Sánchez. Seemed weird, as he wasn’t the lead runner. But then Okamoto had a pretty good chance of hitting in the ninth. Personally, thought, I’d have ran for Okamoto or no one, but I guess having Straw running reduced the chance of a double play.
Ernie Clement, asked to bunt, and popped it up for an out.
I HATE sac bunts. I wish I had the ability to underline things on this site, but I HATE THE SAC BUNT. To me, outs are the most precious thing in baseball, and handing one to the other team is dumb. Add in that Clement isn’t (apparently) good at bunting (well maybe he is, he had 7 last year) and that you just saw two guys walked, the last on four pitches…..I hate bunting after walks. Give the pitcher a chance to walk another. I know Ernie doesn’t tend to walk. But still, he does tend to make good contact.
To add to the issue of the bunt, you have rookie Brandon Valenzuela up next. Yes he’s been very good, but he would be in a tough spot. And he was still in a tough spot and he struck out. Might have been a good spot to pinch hit with Kirk? Maybe. I don’t know, Valenzuela’s been one of out best hitters.
Valenzuela struck out.
Next up is Charles McAdoo is up next. Could, again, pinch hit with Kirk. That would cause a lot of issues in the defensive half of the inning. Tough call. I think I’d have used Kirk for Valenzuela. But I would have used him for McAdoo for sure and dealt with the defensive issues later.
McAdoo popped out.
Another in a string of missed chances today.
Then, in the bottom of the inning Louis Varland comes in and gives up a single to Cody Bellinger and a home run to Paul Goldschmidt. Varland hasn’t giving up a home run this season, until today. And it is the first time Varland has given up more than a run in an outing.
The bottom of the ninth was three strikeouts, Giménez, Springer and Lukes.
Beyond that, we had 6 hits and 7 walks, so you would think we could score more than one run. Okamoto homered in the third.
We had chances:
Loaded bases in the second (with two outs).
We had runners on second and third, with one out in the fourth. Being fair, McAdoo hit a liner up the middle but Jazz Chisholm made a terrific catch.
We had the first two batters walk in the fifth and got a double play (Okamoto) and a strikeout (Jesús Sánchez).
A one out single in the sixth, then a double play.
A one out bunt single by Giménez (who seemed to jam fingers diving into first. Generally, you should never dive into first, but Giménez may have wanted to avoid a possible tag on the play). But a ground out (Springer) and a strikeout (Lukes) ended that one.
And the eighth we talked about.
Cam Schlittler is a very good pitcher, who had a bad day, but we should have may him pay (by the way, had you gone to school with that last name when I went to school, you would have had to change it). We did seem to have a good game plan against him, until we got runners on base. 1 for 10 with RISP.
Kevin Gausman was terrific. 7 innings, 1 hit (a home run by Jasson Domínguez), 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts.
Tyler Rogers pitched the eighth, getting two quick outs and then had a very soft ground ball roll up the middle and into center field. That’s going to happen to a ground ball pitcher occasionally to a ground ball pitcher. Then a much harder ground ball to put runners on the corners. But McAdoo made a terrific diving play on the next ground ball that looked like it would be another single.
Jays of the Day: Gausman (0.31 WPA), Rogers (0.11, though he owes some of that to McAdoo), and Piñango (0.09, for a hit and two walks).
Other Award: Varland (-0.41), McAdoo (-0.23, but he had a couple of nice defensive plays), Giménez (-0.15) and Clement (-0.13, some of that on the stupid bunt, but if you are asked to bunt, put it on the ground).
Tomorrow we have Patrick Corbin (2-3, 4.55) vs. Will Warren (7-1, 3.41). A win please.
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 12: Mikel Brown Jr. looks on during the game during the 2026 NBA Draft Combine on May 12, 2026 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Tamez/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Pure talent is rarely enough to guarantee NBA success. Roster construction, development, and team fit are just as vital to a highly touted player’s longevity in the pros.
With the 2026 NBA draft less than two weeks away, the Brooklyn Nets’ priority at No. 6 overall should be selecting the player who best fits the organization’s long-term vision, not necessarily the one with the highest raw consensus rating. Ultimately, talent and development go hand in hand.
There’s been a flurry of names linked to the Nets at No. 6 overall, from players like Michigan’s Aday Mara and Tennessee’s Nate Ament to the top guards such as Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler.
League sources tell NetsDaily the current favorite is Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. In 21 games (19 starts) last season, Brown Jr. averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals while shooting 41.0% from the field and 34.4% from beyond the arc.
At 6’5” and 190lbs, MBJ. was limited to just 21 games last season after he dealt with lingering back issues. Despite that medical flag, sources indicate there are no long-term concerns regarding his back.
Evaluating a high-upside prospect with a medical history like Brown’s speaks directly to the delicate balance of the front office. And while Sean Marks commands league-wide respect for establishing a first-class organizational culture, front-office insiders point to a persistent flaw in his team-building calculus: When assessing Marks’ decade-long executive resume, one league source emphasized that while the veteran executive excels at identifying raw talent, he struggles to account for their roster fit.
In this year’s draft, his goal is to find a talented player who also fits with the Nets.
Several league sources have expressed how well Brown Jr. fits the Nets’ future and vision, adding that he firmly fits the mold of what Jordi Fernández looks for in his players, largely due to his playmaking ability and spot-up shooting, coupled with strong defensive traits.
According to James Barlowe of the NBA Big Board, the Nets visited with Brown Jr. and his family in Orlando, while also hosting him for a pre-draft visit at the HSS Training Center.
“It’s a good sign of the interest level that the Nets have,” Barlowe said. “From what I understand, it was Jordi, it was Sean Marks, it was the assistant general manager, just trying to get a feel for the kid and the situation. From what I hear or what I heard, not only did he kill that interview, he’s killed every interview…
Sources: The Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks have recently both visited Mikel Brown Jr in Orlando to watch workouts and meet with the family.
Brown Jr is scheduled to visit the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks before the draft. pic.twitter.com/ey9KYTbHtT
However, the Nets may not be able to wait until the sixth overall pick to select the Louisville product. According to Sean Farham of ESPN, “[Mikel Brown Jr.] has now moved his name up and the momentum is on his side,” and could be in play for the Los Angeles Clippers at No. 5.
"[Mikel Brown Jr.] has now moved his name up and the momentum is on his side."@SeanFarnham joins @MJAcostaTV to discuss the latest surrounding the fifth pick in the NBA draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/KWk8gobQL2
The good news is the Nets could look to leapfrog the Clippers. Word around inside circles is that multiple teams in the top-10 are looking to enter the top-four.
Brooklyn certainly has the ammunition to be one of those teams.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks pointed out, the Nets have the most draft assets through 2033, including a whopping 14 first-round picks over that span. Obviously, it is highly unlikely that the organization will make even close to all of those picks, meaning they could be better used as trade chips.
If the Nets elect to make a move on draft night, the Bulls could emerge as a team worth watching. Chicago holds both the No. 4 and No. 15 selections and has reportedly explored the possibility of moving back from No. 4 in exchange for more immediate help, while also remaining a candidate to trade up from the middle of the first round.
Last year shouldn’t impact their approach to this year’s draft. Aside from Egor Dëmin, none of the 2025 first-rounders will be guaranteed minutes right away in their second season. Instead, they’ll have to earn it.
Aside from Dëmin, none of Brooklyn’s other four selections consistently delivered a high level of play. Nolan Traoré, Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf, and Drake Powell each had strong stretches at times but struggled to sustain the level of success Dëmin did.
In league circles, the futures of the Flatbush Five aren’t as particularly promising. One talent evaluator told ND that he had a late second-round grade on Saraf, but he never saw the appeal with Traoré. Ultimately, choosing to make all five of those selections last year put the organization in a rough situation as they look to play competitive basketball starting in 2026.
With the draft right around the corner, the Nets face a pivotal decision. Talent is crucial, but fit also matters just as much. Whoever the organization selects will need to not only possess upside, but also fit the vision of where this organization is trying to go.
Whichever way they go, it needs to be the right pick.
The San Diego Padres have placed Miguel Andujar on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and called up Nick Solak from their Triple-A affiliate, El Paso Chihuahuas, to replace him on the roster.
Andujar strained his hamstring attempting to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning against the New York Mets on June 7. Immediately, the Padres removed him from the game and inserted Bryce Johnson as a pinch runner.
The Friars have lost their primary right-handed designated hitter option. The 31-year-old emerged as a key component of the Padres offense this season. Andujar was hitting .254 with 5 HR and 17 RBI, as his increase in production was driven by a strikeout rate (16.7%) well below the league average of 22.5%. He has become more selective at the plate, which allows him to pounce on pitchers’ mistakes. His timely hitting is invaluable and will be sorely missed.
No word on the length of his absence, as it will depend on the severity of the injury.
Solak is a six-year major leaguer who will provide depth at second base, first base, and the corner outfield positions. The former New York Yankees second-round pick from the 2016 MLB Draft has bounced around several major league organizations (Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Pittsburgh Pirates) since making his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2019. His best season was in 2021, as Solak batted .242 with 11 HR and 49 RBI in 127 games.
He signed a minor league contract with the Padres last winter. Solak was hitting .333 with 9 HR and 40 RBI in 54 games before the big-league club selected him to replace Andujar.
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 13: Paul Goldschmidt #48 of the New York Yankees celebrates his two run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 13, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a game in which the inactive players on both teams could fill most of an All-Star Game lineup, two outstanding pitchers took full advantage. Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Trent Grisham, and Alejandro Kirk were just some of the names that weren’t featured in the starting lineups. So all Kevin Gausman and Cam Schlittler did was complete respective seven-inning, one-run performances. After that, it was a matter of seeing which bullpen would blink first. Mercifully, it was Toronto’s: Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run home run off Louis Varland in the ninth inning proved the backbreaker as the Bombers got their first win north of the border in almost 11 months.
Gausman had the better of the two outings, if we wish to split hairs. He cruised past the Yankee lineup all day with his signature splitter and all of his other pitches working like a charm. While Toronto threatened at various points throughout the early part of the afternoon, the Bombers only managed a single hit against the veteran—thankfully, said hit cleared the wall.
Per YES Network’s Jason Smyth, Jasson Domínguez arrived at Rogers Centre from his Triple-A stint at Lehigh Valley at 2 p.m. sharp, arrived to the ballpark, at 3, then homered to right field at exactly 4 p.m. in the fourth inning. A wonderful bit of timing for the Martian, who hooked the ball down the right field line to put the Yankees on the board.
That blast followed the opening salvo of the afternoon from Kazuma Okamoto, which came in the bottom of the third. Schlittler fired a 98 mph two-seam fastball up and in on Okamoto, but he still managed to turn it around and send a screaming liner down the left field line for his 15th homer of the season.
Schlittler’s command was not as airtight as Gausman’s; the young star had his issues with baserunners at several points throughout the afternoon. In the second inning, he loaded the bases with two out, but managed to retire Andres Giménez and the side on a grounder.
In the fourth, a double by Yohendrick Piñango put two runners on scoring position with only one out, at which point Jazz Chisholm Jr. put on his superhero cape. With the infield drawn in, he still had the reflexes and speed to make a diving catch on a line drive from Vlad Jr.’s mini-me for this ballgame, Charles McAdoo. A strikeout of Giménez once again rendered the Jays foiled.
But if you know how jays are in the avian world: they’re loud, persistent, and quite obnoxious. So there they were again, gathering around the feeder with two men aboard and none out after Schlittler’s waning command led to some free passes. No matter. Schlittler shooed them off by inducing a ground ball double play from Okamoto and blowing a fastball past outfielder Jesus Sánchez to walk off again unscathed.
Two innings later, Cam struck out Nathan Lukes swinging to finish his afternoon with another outstanding start in the books. It was another shining example of how dangerous Schlittler is: even with subpar command and having allowed ten runners to reach—six by hit and four by walk—the only run came on a solo homer, the kind of hit a pitcher can easily move past. Schlittler was certainly upset with himself at certain junctures, but he never let that frustration boil over into a big inning.
Gausman, of course, was utterly dominant. He completed his outing with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, finishing with seven strikeouts, two walks, and just the one solo homer.
In the top of the eighth it looked as if the mice would finally play with the cat away. J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice each singled off submariner Tyler Rogers to give the Yankees their first hit since Domínguez’ home run, setting up a two-out go-ahead RBI opportunity for… Domínguez. Jasson hit Rogers’ 2-1 delivery hard on the ground toward the right field line, but McAdoo sprawled to his right to corral the ball and save a run—possibly two.
If you were frustrated after that, I understand. But for once, the Jays and their fans had more reasons to be frustrated today. Fernando Cruz inherited Schlittler’s topsy-turvy command, working a pair of walks in quick succession to start the bottom of the eighth. But when Ernie Clement botched his sac bunt attempt, I’m sure some doubt began to creep in.
Cruz struck out Brandon Valenzuela before letting a third Jay aboard via walk, giving Toronto another tantalizing chance for a big hit. Instead, McAdoo popped a ball into foul territory, and Rice snagged it a few steps shy of the dugout. The Blue Jays had now stranded 10 runners on base.
Enter the ninth. The Yankees were searching for catharsis akin to Ben Rice’s big blast the last time they had won at Rogers Centre. They got it from Paul Goldschmidt.
If you didn’t think the ball was gone off the swing, Louis Varland’s hunched reaction probably gave it away. Varland hung a slider right over the heart of the plate, and Goldy provided a prime Paul Goldschmidt swing, obliterating it to the second deck for the decisive two-run blow.
Goldschmidt’s ninth home run of his thrilling age-38 season took all the remaining wind out of the Jays’ sails, as David Bednar struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory. It was the Yankees’ first win in Toronto since July 22nd of last season, and was it ever a sweet one.
Now they’ll look for something that hasn’t felt possible in a while: a series win in Rogers Centre. Will Warren is set to lead the charge against everyone’s favorite lefty, Patrick Corbin. First pitch is set for the extremely Canadian 1:37 timeslot on YES.
BALTIMORE — San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts was struck in the helmet by a pitch and removed from the game two innings later Saturday, June 13 at Camden Yards.
Baltimore Orioles starter Trey Gibson's 93-mph sinker struck Bogaerts near the left ear hole in the top of the fifth inning. He stayed on the ground several minutes, attended to by a Padres trainer.
Bogaerts eventually got to his feet and, after a few tests, walked to first base. But he was removed from the game two innings later, replaced at shortstop by Sung-Mun Song with the Padres leading 6-2.
Bogaerts, 33, is batting .231 with eight homers and a .665 OPS this season.
Moments after Bogaerts was lifted from the game, the Padres also lost starting catcher Freddy Fermin, who was injured when reliever Yuki Matsui bounced a warm-up pitch and the ball struck Fermin in the side of the head. Fermin was replaced by backup Rodolfo Duran.
Yuki Matsui spikes one warming up and Freddy Fermin exits. Bogaerts also has left the game with Song replacing him pic.twitter.com/4fvvWxnmPE
As the Edmonton Oilers kick the tires on hiring Mike Babcock as their next head coach, their interest has not only touched off an NHL investigation, but it's also sparked a series of player anecdotes, both old and new, about Babcock's poor behaviour over the years.
Former Senators defenseman Jason York shared a doozy this week.
In 2002, York had established himself as an NHL regular. He had played the previous five years as a full-timer in Ottawa, and after his trade to Anaheim, he played another full season under Bryan Murray and was the Mighty Ducks' second-leading scorer among defensemen.
The Hockey News' The Wrap Around discussed the idea of Jake DeBrusk as a fit in Ottawa.
The following season, when Murray became the Ducks' GM, Mike Babcock was given his first NHL head coaching job. He had been coaching Anaheim's minor-league team in Cincinnati, and before he'd coached even a single game, his mind games began.
Running his first NHL training camp, Babcock suddenly separated York and teammates Denny Lambert and German Titov from the rest of the Ducks' team and made them skate on their own with no coach or goalie through most of training camp.
"He put us all in the room with the minor league guys," York recalled this week on the Coming in Hot podcast. "As soon as I saw that, I went right into Babcock's office. And this is what I don't like. He lied to my face.
"He said, 'Yorky, don't worry about it. The guys respect you. I need to get their attention. So I'm just doing this to make sure that everybody knows there's going to be change. You're one of my guys, you're going to be in the top four. Don't worry about it.'
"So that's what I don't like, instead of saying, 'Hey, you're not part of the plans, we're going to be getting rid of you. We're probably going to send you down because you're not a fit here.' Fine, then you get ahead of it, right? But this went on for two weeks."
York didn't end up in the top four in Anaheim that season. He started the year in the American Hockey League before being traded to Nashville, while Titov and Lambert never played again in the NHL.
York felt like it unnecessarily devalued his stock as a player, which was proven by what Anaheim got for him in a trade with the Predators. York still remembers the call from his agent, Pat Morris, who had just gotten off the phone with Nashville assistant GM Ray Shero.
"Pat was like, 'Nashville's calling, and they're wondering what's wrong with you? Like, what happened? Did you do something? Did you get caught for curfew? Are you bad in the room? Are you a bad seed?
"And Pat's like, 'No.' So Nashville ended up getting me (in a trade) for a dollar bill. I was like the bet from the movie Trading Places."
York says that, years later, he confronted Babcock, who blamed everything on Bryan Murray.
"Then I sat down with Bryan about it, and Bryan said it was all Babs' idea to do it. And I believe Bryan over him. But I'm not bitter about it anymore. What are you going to do? For me, it's just this. You can do whatever you want, to some extent, especially back then as a coach.
"But just be honest. Don't lie."
York played as a full-timer the next two seasons in Nashville before the lockout hit.
His negative experience with Babcock is one of several making the rounds as the Edmonton Oilers try to bring him in as their new head coach. The 63-year-old's behaviour didn't fly back in the day, but for some reason, the Oilers see him as their answer seven years after he coached his last game.
What's probably not being talked about enough is Babcock's lack of recent playoff success, which is the biggest part of the puzzle the Oilers are looking to solve.
Babcock's recent playoff record:
2012 DET - 1-4 2013 DET - 7-7 2014 DET - 1-4 2015 DET - 3-4 2016 TOR - Out 2017 TOR - 2-4 2018 TOR - 3-4 2019 TOR - 3-4 2020-2026 - Didn't coach
Unless Babcock has managed to undergo some kind of extreme makeover, it sure doesn't seem like the juice is worth the squeeze.
MLB Colorado Rockies pitcher Eiberson Castellano | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Today, the Colorado Rockies announced a series of roster moves, most notably, the promotion of RHP Eiberson Castellano from Triple-A Albuquerque.
The 25 year old will be making his Major League debut with his first appearance, bringing to eight the total number of Rockies MLB debuts this season.
There was some hint of this move as Castellano was highlighted last weekend by president of baseball operations Paul DePodsta wheo said of the righty, “Eiberson Castellano made his first start last night in Triple-A. He had done really, really well in Double-A, had a terrific start last night, went six shutout in his first Triple-A game.”
Last week, Castellano was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week after throwing those six scoreless innings DePodesta referred to. Castellano allowed one hit, two walks and seven strikeouts in that game against the Salt Lake Bees.
Prior to his promotion to Albuquerque, Castellano went 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA (53.0 IP, 16 ER) in 10 starts with Double-A Hartford. His was the second-lowest ERA in the Eastern League.
The native of Maracaibo, Venezeuala, was signed by Colorado to a Minor League contract on December 5, 2025 after spending the first five seasons of his professional career in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. In 109 career Minor League appearances (48 starts), has gone 21-16 with a 3.78 ERA (333.1 IP, 140 ER), 137 walks and 390 strikeouts.
Castellano’s promotion was not the only news.
The Rockies also optioned right-handed pitcher Jeff Criswell to Albuquerque. As a reminder, Criswell is just coming off Tommy John surgery. In two innings pitched over two games, he has a 0.00 ERA
Finally, right-handed pitcher Valente Bellozo cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.
The Yankees were stymied by Blue Jays pitching for eight innings, but Paul Goldschmidt's two-run shot in the ninth lifted New York to a 3-1 win over Toronto on Saturday afternoon.
New York had just one run and three hits until the ninth, but the veteran first baseman took Blue Jays closer Louis Varland deep for his ninth home run of the season. Varland entered Saturday having allowed two earned runs and no home runs.
That long ball flipped the game on its head as the Yankees took the middle game of the three-game set.
Here are the takeaways...
-- Cam Schlittler battled around six hits and four walks, allowing just one run on a homer over 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts.
He opened with a 1-2-3 first inning, including two strikeouts, and then found a way to escape a bases-loaded situation in the second inning to keep the game scoreless. Schlittler forced back-to-back groundouts in the third, but let up a two-out solo home run to Kazuma Okamoto as the Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead.
The right-hander avoided more trouble in the fourth inning with runners on second and third base, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a spectacular diving catch and Andres Gimenez went down swinging. Schlittler's shaky openings of innings continued with two straight walks in the fifth, but once again evaded damage thanks to a double play and another strikeout. He got another double play to get through the sixth and closed the seventh with a strikeout.
-- Jasson Dominguez was reinstated from the IL earlier Saturday and returned to the lineup for the first time since May 7, starting in right field for the first time in his major league career. The former top prospect made his mark in the top of the fourth inning, launching a solo home run to right field off Kevin Gausman to tie the game at 1-1.
-- New York's bats were kept quiet by Gausman, as Dominguez's HR was the only hit the two-time All-Star allowed over 7.0 innings. He struck out seven Yanks and walked two.
-- Dominguez had a chance to give the Yanks a lead in the eighth with runners on first and third, but his hard grounder was somehow stopped by first baseman Charles McAdoo to end the frame. Dominguez finished 1-for-4 in his return to the club.
-- With the lead, David Bednar struck out the side (Gimenez, George Springer, Nathan Lukes) to lock down his 14th save of the season.
Game MVP: Paul Goldschmidt
Goldschmidt saved the Yankees from wasting a good Schlittler outing with his ninth-inning blast.
If Boston is considering trading Jaylen Brown — and multiple reports have said they are at least open to the idea — it almost certainly would be part of a deal to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. The idea being that Boston president Brad Stevens wants to force coach Joe Mazzulla to focus more on attacking the rim than shooting 3-pointers by giving him a star player who doesn't really shoot the 3.
"They don't want a mid-career player if they're trading Giannis. So from what I've heard, they are looking at Jaylen Brown in terms of flipping him to another team. I've been told possibly Atlanta. ... I've been told possibly New Orleans, who have young players."
Marc Stein at The Stein Line confirmed that the Hawks are interested in Brown, if he's available, as are the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. Then he gets into the real challenge: Brown is set to make $57.1 million next season and has two fully guaranteed years beyond that for $126 million. Brown is worth the money, he is coming off an All-NBA season where he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. The problem is just making it work under the salary cap rules in a world where teams are scared of the tax aprons.
If the trade is Antetokounmpo to the Celtics for Brown, there will be at least three, and maybe four or more, teams involved in a very complex deal. And complex deals with a lot of moving parts are much harder to pull together.
Agent says “10-12" teams interested in LeBron
The most likely outcome of the LeBron James saga this summer is that he remains with the Lakers for a ninth season. However, maybe that idea is premature if you ask LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, who said on ESPN he has not spoken to LeBron about this, and that "10-12" teams expressed interest in the 41-year-old.
Despite rumors circulating, Rich Paul tells @PatMcAfeeshow that he hasn't had a conversation with LeBron James about next season, but has received calls from "about 10-12 teams" interested
"Believe nothing that's out there because I haven't had one conversation with him." pic.twitter.com/drtwegSNhC
I don't doubt that many teams may have expressed some level of interest in Paul. However, there are other factors that narrow down that list: How many of those teams does LeBron want to play for? How many of them can pay more than the minimum? Can that team compete for a title (or at least be a playoff threat)? Does it keep him close to home and his family in Los Angeles?
Put those parameters on the list, and you get the Lakers, maybe the Warriors (who might be able to use the $15 million mid-level exception), and... not much else.
Pelicans listen to Murphy offers
While teams have called for more than a year, every time another GM asked about Trey Murphy III's availability, the Pelicans essentially hung up the phone.
No more, reports NBA insider Marc Stein at The Stein Line. He adds that the Pistons and Pacers have expressed interest, but you can bet the line is longer than that — these playoffs have shown how much versatile two-way wings/forwards are critical to teams that want to advance in the playoffs.
Murphy is a solid wing defender who averaged 21.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, shooting 37.9% from 3-point range last season.
It's likely the asking price for Murphy will be steep, but for a Detroit team looking for a secondary shot creator to put next to Cade Cunningham, it might be worth it.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JUNE 13: Blaze Jordan #33 of the St. Louis Cardinals slides into third base for a triple against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning of the game between the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals at Target Field on June 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Steven Garcia/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After last night’s improbable comeback-within-a-comeback-within-a-comeback-within-a-comeback, there was reason to believe the Twins could do it again after erasing an early 4-0 deficit.
The Cardinals, who scored two in the first on an Ivan Herrera homer, and another two in the second on RBIs from Pedro Pages and Masyn Winn, seemed intent on scheduling Connor Prielipp for an early exit. But that was before a resilient Twins offense geared up to level the score — and they used this week’s usual suspects to do so. After both went deep last night, solo shots from both Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis got Minnesota on the board in the fourth inning, and kept two of the Twins’ biggest bats rolling.
For Buxton, it was the 22nd homer in a season that seems destined to provide him with an overdue All-Star start in center field; for Lewis, it was the third homer and fifth extra-base hit since his call-up. It halved the St. Louis lead, until another bomb — this one Luke Keaschall’s — made it 4-4 in the fifth.
As this happened, Preliepp settled down into an eventual six-inning start, with the four early runs the only blemishes on his line, though he did give up seven hits and struck out just two hitters, as many as he walked.
But as is often the case, the starting performance was not the issue — it was the four earned runs that Justin Lawrence was charged with as part of a five-run seventh, a microcosm of what happens to the 2026 Twins the moment an SP leaves the game.
Not for nothing, Minnesota tried to mount a rally as improbable as last night’s. Kody Clemens singled home a run in the eighth, and the team loaded the bases on walks with nobody out in the ninth. However, the only run came across on a fielder’s choice, as a mostly uncompetitive sequence of at-bats from Keaschall and a pair of pinch hitters ended this one.
The Twins fall to 32-40, and will need to take home the Sunday matinee in order to avoid three consecutive series losses.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JUNE 12: Jake Bauers #9 of the Milwaukee Brewers runs toward home plate after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at American Family Field on June 12, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies are getting back at it after a thorough domination from Jacob Misiorowski on Friday night. The Phillies will certainly be eager to face anyone else on the mound for the Brewers.
But they will be tasked with facing Shane Drohan, who, while not as dominant as Misiorowski, has been very good his last couple of turns since being put back into the starting rotation. His last time out, Drohan made it a career-long 6.1 IP against the Rockies, allowing just three runs. Drohan’s sitting on a 3.11 ERA on the season and is just starting to hit his stride.
On the Phillies side, Aaron Nola will be going for them. He has not hit his stride this year, pitching to the tune of a 5.86 ERA so far. Nola is just two years removed from receiving Cy Young votes. He had an injury-riddled 2025 season where he made just 17 starts with a 6.01 ERA. The 33 year old may be starting to have his age and innings catch up to him.
The Brewers will have a string of lefties in their lineup once again to take on the right-handed Nola. Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Brice Turang make up the top of the order. Jake Bauers is in at first base and Sal Frelick is handling right field, which means Andrew Vaughn is back on the bench again. David Hamilton gets the duties at third base tonight over Luis Rengifo.
The Phillies lineup contains a lot of the same names from the night before. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper make up the top of their order. Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh are two other big time threats in the middle of the lineup.
Can the Brewers keep the Phillies bats down once again? Can Drohan build on his success? First pitch is at 6:10 PM.
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 28: Austin Reaves #15 and Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers high five during the game against the Dallas Mavericks during a 2025-26 Emirates NBA Cup on November 28, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Offensively, there are few arguments against it. The pair showed they are a more-than-capable on that end of the floor and, in fact, are one of the most potent offensive duos in the league.
The questions largely rest on the other end of the floor. Neither player is a strong individual defender, which raises plenty of questions about whether the Lakers can contend for a title with them as the starting backcourt.
For whatever it’s worth, the Lakers are confident it’s not nearly as much of a concern. In a recent piece on The Athletic, Dan Woike reported that the Lakers feel the defensive issues are “overstated.”
Provided the Lakers address other needs on the wing and at the rim, defensive concerns about a Dončić-and-Reaves pairing are overstated, one team source said. Reaves was also one of the most important voices inside the Lakers’ locker room a season ago, his leadership developing year over year.
The easy reaction to this is that obviously the Lakers would feel this way. In their defense, there are some numbers that back it up. From Feb. 1 through the end of March, a span of 29 games, the Lakers ranked 12th in the league in defensive rating.
That came without the rest of the team necessarily optimized around them. There were few plus defenders on the roster last year, something the team can hopefully address this summer.
If anything, that stat is not just a credit to Reaves and Luka for contributing to a solid defense, but also a testament to the work of head coach JJ Redick this season.
There are going to be caveats with having Luka and Austin on a team together. The team will need to be great offensively, but that should be the easy part. In that same aforementioned span, LA was sixth in offensive rating.
Through an admittedly limited sample size, the Lakers showed they can hang on both ends of the floor with a Luka-Austin backcourt. Clearly, that is enough evidence for them to believe in this long term.
The hope now is that it can be extrapolated to an entire season or more.
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 23: Morez Johnson Jr. #21 and Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines walk on the court during the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Crisler Arena on January 23, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The NBA Draft is right around the corner (finally!) and conventional wisdom would have you believe the Bucks should draft a guard. After all, most big boards are stacked with them, especially between the five and 10 spots. In fact, our very own Brew Hoop Community Draft Board saw eight guards taken within the first 14 picks: Darryn Peterson (2), Keaton Wagler (5), Darius Acuff Jr. (6), Kingston Flemings (7), Mikel Brown Jr. (8), Brayden Burries (9), Cameron Carr (13), and Labaron Philon Jr. (14).
Exclude the top four picks, who are widely considered head and shoulders above the rest, and the sum becomes 7 out of ten. And while it’s true that these are all very talented players, following conventional wisdom and taking one—or more, should the Bucks end up with multiple selections—would be a mistake. That’s right, it’s time for the Bucks to go against the grain and think—and move—forward with forwards.
A dime a dozen guards
While guards are imperative to NBA success, especially through ball handling and shot creation, they’re seldom the catalyst (more on that later). More significantly, there are just so many of them. And in a game that only features five on the floor for a team at any given time, this leads to positional dilution. We rightly rave about Ryan Rollins’ ascension this year and ponder his All-Star potential, but just last season, he was on a two-way contract. And while Rollins was great for the Bucks, putting up 17.3 PPG and 5.6 APG this season, those numbers ranked him 40th and 30th in the league among guards, a testament to the sheer volume of productive backcourt players.
Rollins’ teammate, the maligned Kevin Porter Jr., offers another prime example. He actually bested Rollins’ production, putting up 17.4 PPG and 7.4 APG, ranking him 38th and ninth in the league among guards. Yet the Bucks acquired him in a straight swap for MarJon Beauchamp, who was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers less than a month later.
None of this is meant to diminish Rollins’ or Porter’s contributions. Far from it; they were arguably the Bucks’ best players this season. But they didn’t require the Bucks to use a single draft pick—let alone a premium one. The question thus becomes: would any guard the Bucks select in the coming NBA Draft offer more than them? And if they did so statistically, would it really impact winning?
Winning time—size and defence matters
If you’ve read it once, you’ve read it 1000 times: the draft is where you swing for the stars, especially with a top 10 pick. And there’s no bigger star than the one who steps up on the game’s biggest stage, the NBA Finals. But of the 57 Finals MVP awards handed out since the award’s inception, only 10 have ever gone to guards in the true point-or-combo guard sense (i.e., not wings)—and only six of those recipients were shorter than 6’4”. Narrow it further to those who weren’t plus defenders, and you’re left with just two: the revolutionary Stephen Curry and the lightning-quick, live-in-the-paint Tony Parker. And both played on elite defensive teams.
Of course, despite what the pundits say, you don’t have to swing for the stars. In this case, size and defence matter even more; the role-playing forward will typically have more of a two-way impact than the role-playing guard. Besides, you’re far more likely to have a role-playing forward come up big to win FMVP (see Curry’s teammate Andre Iguodala, Parker’s teammate Kawhi Leonard, and the Boston Celtics’ Cedric Maxwell, whose own Hall of Fame point guard was described by his coach as someone who “could give up 32 points on offense but give away 36 on defense, so you were [behind] even before the game began.”).
Heck, OG Anunoby has arguably been the best player in this year’s Finals, outplaying his own—you guessed it—smaller lead guard. Even then, Jalen Brunson has at least one standout defensive quality, leading the league in charges drawn this year (and routinely finishing in the top five). In a league that values possessions more than ever, this makes a tangible difference. Still, like Curry and Parker and Tiny Archibald before him, Brunson is reliant on the coverage of his elite defensive running mates, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and the aforementioned Anunoby, who can check a variety of offensive types.
Positional versatility and the modern game
Contemporary NBA basketball is less and less about defined positions. Instead, a premium is placed on versatility. Guards, for all their ball handling and shot creation, are often constrained in this respect—what can they offer when the ball isn’t in their hands and isn’t going through the hoop? They better have a whole lot of off-ball gravity, because they aren’t snatching a contested rebound (let alone making a game-winning tip-in) or switching onto an opposing big and getting a stop. They’re not creating the equivalent space as a big when screening. And they’re certainly not rotating or recovering to stifle a shot at the rim. No, versatile forwards do these things. And they also unlock lineup flexibility.
With modern offences as potent as they are—this year’s league-wide average of 115.6 PPG is the sixth-highest average ever and the most since the 1960s—teams need defensive optionality, the ability to present different looks. Versatile forwards are imperative to this. Need to prevent penetration? They let you switch. Want to shrink the court? Length lets you do that. Doubling, blitzing, zone? Yes, yes, and yes. But it doesn’t stop there. Forwards also unlock small-ball lineups.
Just imagine what the Bucks could do with Morez Johnson Jr., who our very own Finn Kuehl projects as being one of the “few players in the NBA [who] can genuinely cover every position effectively on defense,” while being “about as good as it gets” when it comes to switching. Now imagine what that could look like if he were paired with Giannis—or his Michigan teammate Yaxel Lendeborg. For a Bucks team that finished bottom five in both defensive rating (26th, 118.3) and rebound percentage (26th, 48.2%), this is far more important than an offensive guard—Milwaukee already finished third in effective field goal percentage (56.5%). It would certainly help address their worst-in-the-league offensive rebounding percentage (26.3%) too, an area new head coach Taylor Jenkins has historically prioritised.
Milwaukee’s roster construction
All of this brings us to the most pressing point, the Bucks’ roster construction. And while the team could look any number of ways by the time the 2026–27 season rolls around, there seem to be two prominent paths for now. In the first, Giannis remains a Buck, and the team looks to reload once again in the hopes that medical malpractice (Doc, not the medical staff) held it back. In this scenario, Milwaukee remains very much in “win now” mode and thus must address its glaring need at small forward. Lendeborg is likely the best fit in that case. After all, he’s just won a national championship, is well-rounded offensively, and is a defensive ace. Adding a young guard doesn’t solve this, and young guards are seldom win-now options; the Spurs’ Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are exceptions, not the rule.
In the second scenario, Giannis is traded, and the Bucks begin their rebuild. While the Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and a bevy of other teams are all allegedly interested, the writing on the wall points to the Miami Heat as the Bucks’ most likely trade partner. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Eric Nehm, a deal is “likely to include Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., either Pelle Larsson or Kasparas Jakučionis, and draft capital (they can offer up to three first-round picks).” Should this happen, the Bucks could have both their frontcourt and backcourt of the future.
Ware, Johnson, and Lendeborg would make a sizeable and versatile frontcourt trio, capable of controlling the boards, defending with versatility, and spacing the court (Lendeborg hit 37% on 4.5 3PA for Michigan, while Ware hit 40% on 3.0 3PA for Miami). Jaquez, runner-up in this year’s Sixth Man of the Year voting, adds depth and playmaking, as does last year’s trade deadline darling, Ousmane Dieng (assuming the Bucks bring him back). Jericho Sims, assuming he’s retained, adds another lob threat on a similar timeline, while Pete Nance would look even better as a third stringer. Of course, the Bucks also have Myles Turner, Bobby Portis, and Kyle Kuzma, who could start, come off the bench, or be moved for future assets.
In the backcourt, Rollins would likely pair with Tyler Herro, who—for all his criticism—is still a 26-year-old All-Star guard who will give you 20, five, and five a night (on career .450/.382/.878 shooting). He can also play both on and off the ball. For all their hype, this is a level many of the guard prospects would be lucky to reach.
In the longer term, the Bucks would hope Jakučionis will take over as Rollins’ running mate, with Herro moving to a sixth man role he’s already mastered—he was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2021–22—or being traded for capital. Jakučionis, the 20th pick in last year’s draft, has just turned 20, has size at 6’5”, plays both backcourt positions, and shot 42% from three in his rookie season. On the other hand, Larson could just as easily develop into Rollins’ sidekick. He already started 54 of 70 games for the Heat this season, averaging 11.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 3.4 APG. These are more than bit players, and if you’re trading away the franchise’s best ever player, you don’t want to immediately stunt the development of the prospects you do get by drafting at their position, not when taking into consideration everything else.
Lost in all of this are some of the Bucks’ current guards. Milwaukee could easily bring back KPJ. Having just turned 26, he’s still young with upside to tap into. In turn, AJ Green would be much better served in a reserve role, where he’s not forced to defend out of position—and give up size—at small forward. A sharp-shooter on a controlled contract, he’d surely draw trade interest too. If that eventuates, there’s still Cormac Ryan, the Bucks’ two-way guard who came on strong to end last season, scoring 20 or more points in four of his 11 games (on .520/.458/.923 splits). Suffice to say, Milwaukee won’t be short on guard stocks.
Ultimately, whether Giannis stays or goes, Milwaukee’s roster construction points in the same direction. If the Bucks are attempting to contend, they need size, defense, and versatility around their superstar. If they’re rebuilding, they’re likely to acquire young guards and future backcourt pieces through any Giannis trade. In either scenario, the organisation’s biggest need remains the same. The best path forward is forwards.
