His reaction the last few days to the league tweaking its pitch clock rules (or interpretations) in response to his season-long routine in the batter’s box would suggest otherwise, but even after an off day Thursday, the Yankees utilityman said he was still lacking clarity on what he could and could not do.
“I’m not mad at anyone,” Caballero said Friday before going 0-for-3 in the Yankees’ 1-0 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “I just want to be a baseball player.”
Pitch clock rules state that a batter must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the time there are eight seconds left on the clock. Caballero did that Wednesday (he was actually alert at nine seconds) but was still hit with a pitch-clock violation because, as he has done all season, he spent the seconds before the eight-second mark in the box but looking down until the last possible second.
Unbeknownst to Caballero and the Yankees, MLB decided to crack down on his tactics beginning Wednesday, restricting hitters from attempting “to deceive a pitcher into beginning their windup or coming to the set position.”
José Caballero is pictured arguing with an umpire during the Yankees’ July 22 game. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
Caballero, though, does not see it as deception but rather his routine, which meant entering Friday’s game against the Phillies — he did not play the nightcap of Wednesday’s doubleheader — he was still trying to figure out a new routine in the batter’s box.
“I have to see from when I get in the box,” Caballero said. “We’ll see.”
On Friday, Caballero seemed to be a mix of despondent and still ticked off as he discussed his new reality. His first four answers to questions on the subject were all one word. He had a brief conversation with the league between Wednesday’s games — he said Mike Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, was on the phone and then passed it to “someone else” — but it only lasted a few minutes and clearly was not satisfactory, in his view.
Caballero indicated again that he felt like he is getting picked on, but that he would not continue trying to push the issue.
“They [the league] are above and they control everything,” Caballero said. “We ain’t figuring this out. They say what they had to say. They’re the league, they control [things]. I just have to obey.”
Aaron Boone said he has also had multiple conversations with Hill about the issue — as he has all season — and indicated they “have to be” OK with where things stood as of Friday.
Asked if it was worth Caballero continuing to push the issue, Boone pushed back.
“Worth what?” Boone said. “Worth having a routine and getting in there and being alert at nine seconds? I mean, I’ve heard the thing of, ‘He’s the only one that does it.’ Every hitter is the only one that does something. At the end of the day, they decide the rules. We have to try to comply with them, which we certainly have done, but obviously there needs to be some kind of adjustment, so we’ll do that.
Aaron Boone argues with an umpire July 22. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
“At the end of the day, it’s about going out there and playing and being productive. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
To that end, aside from all the back-and-forth with his routine in the box, Caballero has not been productive consistently enough with the bat. Over his last 25 games entering Friday, he was hitting just .193 with a .549 OPS, part of the reason (along with struggles from fellow shortstop Anthony Volpe) why the calls for top prospect George Lombard Jr. have only grown louder in recent days.
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“Kind of up and down,” Boone said of Caballero’s at-bats over the past month. “He’s had some big at-bats. … I think as a group, we’ve all gone through it a little bit where everyone’s probably capable of a little bit more. We’ve kind of all gone through it a little bit together. As a result, as a team over the last month, we haven’t been as good as we expect offensively. We all need to get going a little bit more.”
But Boone did not sound worried about Caballero losing his edge — annoying pitchers by playing the game within the game — because of the new rule interpretation.
“He’s a killer,” Boone said. “He knows how to play and he’ll do what he needs to do to adjust.”
The Buffalo Sabres had a roller-coaster season in 2025-26, but their 45-15-5 record at the end of the season resulted in Buffalo’s Atlantic Division title. The Sabres got to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating the Boston Bruins in Round 1, but they lost in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.
But in this year’s collection of TheHockeyNews.com’s grades for Buffalo players, coaching and management will largely be positive. When you finally end your franchise’s decade-and-a-half playoff drought, you earn some positive reactions from fans, friends and media. And that’s what was true of the Sabres this past season.
Buffalo is far from a perfect team, but most, if not all of their players deserve an above-average grade for what they did in 2025-26. And in this particular file, we’re looking at the Sabres’ top player – star winger Tage Thompson:
Tage Thompson
Position: Right Winger
Grade: A
The Skinny: Thompson has been Buffalo’s most important offense-producer, and this past season, he was the Sabres’ top offense-producer, with 40 goals and 81 points in 81 games. That’s not the best point-total in Thompson’s nine-year NHL career – that came in 2022-23, when he generated 94 points in 78 games – but Thompson hit the 40-goal mark last season, doing so for the third time in his career.
Thompson’s salary cap hit of $7.1 million – which runs for another four seasons – makes him one of the league’s best financial bargains. But make no mistake – he’s still under tremendous pressure to get Buffalo deeper in the post-season. And that’s not going to be easy. In fact, in a drastically-improved Atlantic Division, it will be extremely difficult just to get into the playoffs.
Still, if Thompson continues thriving as a play-finisher and a major offense contributor, the Sabres figure to be a playoff team next year. The bigger question about Thompson concerns what he’ll do in the 2027 post-season. This past spring, Thompson generated 10 assists and 15 points in 13 playoff games while earning 19:58 of ice time in his first-ever NHL post-season. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff gave Thompson 19:15 of ice time in the 2025-26 regular-season, also a career-best for Thompson. So he’s made the most of his increasing usage.
This past year was the first year Thompson played 81 games or more, and now that veteran winger Alex Tuch has departed for the Washington Capitals and defenseman Bowen Byram has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, they’re going to rely more than ever on Thompson to produce as much offense as possible.
Thompson will be Buffalo’s top-line winger for the foreseeable future, but if the Sabres are going to push deeper in the 2027 playoffs and beyond, they’re going to need Thompson to evolve into even more of a difference-maker. Five of Thompson’s 25 career regular-season game-winning goals came in 2025-26, and if that number increases next year, the Sabres are going to be even happier with Thompson’s contract than they are today.
Thompson isn’t a top-10 talent in the league, but he ranked No. 32 in this year’s ranking of the NHL top players, and the Sabres are only going to go as far as he and Buffalo’s other core members carry them. Thompson is currently in his peak years, but he’s still got room to grow his game. And if he can elevate to a 50-goal-scorer – which certainly isn’t out of the question for him – Thompson could lead Buffalo to a championship victory.
Thompson did virtually everything asked of him in 2025-26. And although the Sabres’ season ended sooner than they’d hoped it would’ve, Buffalo brass have to be pleased with the Sabres’ season in the macro, and Thompson’s season in the micro.
And that’s why Thompson deserves an ‘A’ from us. He’s delivered on just about every count, and he should get his flowers for helping power Buffalo to desperately longed-for results.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 15: Dustin May #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium on May 15, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals begin a crucial 3-game series against their NL Central rivals Cincinnati Reds Friday night. Dustin May will take the mound for the Cardinals while the villains Reds will start RHP Rhett Lowder. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm central time and the TV broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv.
Jack Johnson has found his next chapter in hockey, and it takes him back to his home state.
The former Colorado Avalanche defenseman and Stanley Cup champion is joining Ohio State University's women's hockey program as an associate coach, marking the first coaching position of his post-playing career after a brief stint in NHL scouting.
Johnson, who helped the Avalanche capture the Stanley Cup in 2022, spent three seasons in Colorado across two separate stints. While he wasn't the flashiest player on a roster loaded with stars, he became a trusted veteran presence in the locker room and a dependable depth defenseman during one of the most successful stretches in franchise history.
After retiring following the 2024-25 season, Johnson initially stayed in the NHL by accepting a pro scouting role with the Vancouver Canucks in January. That opportunity proved to be short-lived, as he has now departed the organization less than a year later to move behind the bench.
The coaching opportunity also brings Johnson back to Ohio, where he grew up before becoming one of the country's most highly touted hockey prospects. The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft played 19 seasons in the NHL, appearing in 1,228 regular-season games with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Avalanche.
Johnson finished his NHL career with 77 goals and 265 assists, but his greatest accomplishment came in Colorado, where he lifted the Stanley Cup during the Avalanche's 2021-22 championship run.
Now, he'll look to help build another winner.
Johnson joins an Ohio State women's program that has emerged as one of college hockey's premier powers, winning NCAA national championships in both 2022 and 2024. Instead of mentoring NHL veterans, he'll now help develop the next generation of elite players as he begins what could be a long coaching career.
This wasn’t a guarantee that Francisco Lindor will remain a Met past the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but David Stearns didn’t suggest the shortstop will be elsewhere, either.
The team’s president of baseball operations met the media ahead of a 10-game homestand that kicked off with a 4-2 loss to the Dodgers on Friday, and in his 18-minute briefing was peppered with questions about his plans to sell off assets.
“I’m not going to rule out or in any specific player on anything,” Stearns said. “I don’t think that’s wise for me to do. What I will say is, we’ve got a group of young players and we’ve got some potential Hall of Famers, future Hall of Famers, that we view as our core. We expect them to be our core.”
It has been reported that the Mets are willing to listen on Lindor, although actually dealing him is another matter. He is in the fifth year of a 10-year, $341 million contract. Owner Steve Cohen admitted recently during an appearance on “The Show,” The Post’s podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, that Lindor and Juan Soto didn’t get along a year ago in their first season as teammates, but that relationship has improved.
Perhaps the biggest thing standing in the way of a Lindor trade is that the Mets, according to both Cohen and Stearns, are trying to win next year. This isn’t a complete teardown. They wouldn’t be better without him, barring an incredible return. Lindor also has no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player.
David Stearns speaks to Mets reporters on July 24, 2026. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Lindor — who was 0-for-4 on Friday — recently broached the subject.
“It doesn’t bother me when it’s coming from outside sources. When it’s more inside, that would bother me. But that’s not happening,” he said. “I try to stay away from it. I try not to read it or really talk about it. It’s just an unnecessary distraction. But I am human. I have a family and they all talk and they all hear it. But since it’s not happening in here, it’s OK.”
It has been a difficult season for Lindor. He has been shaky defensively and was slashing an underwhelming .233/.315/.398 with a .712 OPS entering play Friday. He also has dealt with an assortment of injuries. He has appeared in 47 of the Mets’ 104 games.
Stearns was asked if he considers Lindor part of the core he mentioned and declined to say, though it seems clear that the two future Hall of Famers he referred to are Soto and Lindor.
“What I said was we have a group of young players who we’re really excited about,” he said. “We have a core of guys who are likely headed to Cooperstown one day, and we would consider that group of players our core. I’m not going to get into specifics of who exactly they are, who we’re not going to trade right now.”
Stearns didn’t offer much substance in this press conference, other than to say he’s extremely disappointed the Mets find themselves in this position as sellers and while he has to do what is the best for the franchise, the hope is this deadline will put them in a better spot for next year.
“We have to be open-minded,” he said. “I’ve been very clear, Steve’s been very clear, that we expect to compete in 2027. We have to keep that in mind.
Francisco Lindor could be moved ahead of the trade deadline. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“We also have to make moves that we believe are right for the organization. And, so, we’re sitting here nine, 10 days out from the deadline, and we’re not going to close any paths down right now.”
Sen. Alex Padilla speaks while joined by (from left) Miguel Rojas, Dodgers president Stan Kasten, manager Dave Roberts and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (Finn Gomez / Getty Images)
“Other than going to the White House, there were a lot of people from California, senators from California that are not just people who work for the government, but they’re Dodgers fans as well,” Rojas said Friday before the Dodgers’ series opener against the Mets. “So it’s pretty cool to give people that watch games and support us throughout the year [an opportunity] to get to see us.”
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) posted on X, “Think we can do this every year, @Dodgers?” with three photos — one of himself with their back-to-back World Series trophies, another posing with a World Series ring on his finger, and a group shot that included Rojas, Roberts, Klein and Dodgers president Stan Kasten.
Rep. Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood), whose district includes several San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, posted on social media that she thanked Rojas for hitting his tying home run in Game 7of the World Series.
“Thank you to Miguel and the team for stopping by Capitol Hill,” she posted on X. “We can’t wait to welcome them back again next year (with a THIRD trophy, perhaps?...).”
The Dodgers’ visit to the White House on Thursday frustrated the portion of their fan base that wanted their team to stand up against the president’s anti-immigration policies.
Only two players on the active roster who were part of the 2025 World Series team did not attend: shortstop Mookie Betts, who told reporters he’d rather spend time with his family, and reliever Edgardo Henriquez, who declined to comment via Dodgers PR.
“This is something that I don’t really think about [being] political,” Rojas said of visiting Capitol Hill and the White House. “...I’m representing the Dodgers, and I’m going to these events just because I’m part of the Dodgers, and the Dodgers are deciding to go there. And I feel, as a professional, your job doesn’t just stop when the game is over. You have to do some things outside the field that sometimes are tied to success and to the things that you do on the field. So, for me, it’s a privilege to get the opportunity to go to a place where you will never be if you don’t have success in sports.”
Roberts, who has also talked about separating the visit from politics, kept his review brief.
“It was good,” he said. “It was an honor to be there.”
Ohtani update
Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Saturday, his second since receiving an injection in his left knee at the beginning of the All-Star break.
“That’s the beauty of where we’re at right now,” Roberts said. “We’re not going to push him. There’s constant conversation going on each day. But the main thing is with Shohei and this pitching thing is to remain nimble.”
Even if Ohtani’s bullpen goes well, Roberts said he probably won’t be ready to return to the rotation next week.
“That’s too early,” Roberts said. “I feel good that it won’t be next week.”
Jul 24, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (11) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
The Colorado Rockies played the Milwaukee Brewers’ kind of game better than the Brewers did Friday afternoon.
Colorado attacked Shane Drohan with hard contact, created pressure on the bases, and turned productive outs into runs. Tomoyuki Sugano used his seven-pitch mix to keep Milwaukee from settling into a comfortable look, while the bullpen covered the final 3.2 innings without allowing a run.
The Rockies built a 4-1 lead by scoring in the first, third, and fourth innings. Christian Yelich and Brice Turang supplied Milwaukee’s only damage against Sugano with solo home runs, but TJ Rumfield answered with a pinch-hit RBI double in the seventh to extend the advantage to 5-2.
Milwaukee made one final push in the ninth with back-to-back singles against Jordan Romano, bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Romano recovered by retiring Joey Ortiz, Gary Sánchez and Yelich to secure the win.
The Brewers entered the afternoon 26-7 in series openers under two-time reigning NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy. They also entered allowing fewer stolen bases than any team in baseball.
Colorado showed little concern for either fact.
With the win, the Rockies improved to 42-63, while the Brewers fell to 64-39. Sugano earned the victory, Drohan took the loss, and Romano recorded his eighth save on the season, his fourth with the Rockies.
Sugano keeps changing the picture
Tomoyuki Sugano made one sequencing mistake to begin the bottom of the first, and Christian Yelich punished it.
Sugano opened the game with consecutive 87.9 mph cutters. The first missed off the plate, but the second came back over the zone, and Yelich drove it 413 feet to center at 105.5 mph.
Sugano spent the next four innings doing the opposite.
He used seven pitches and refused to give Milwaukee a steady look. His 24 splitters led the mix, followed by 20 sinkers, 18 cutters, and 16 four-seam fastballs. He also worked in six sweepers, six sliders, and three curveballs.
The raw stuff was not unusually sharp. Sugano’s velocity was down slightly, his movement largely resembled his season norms and he delivered first-pitch strikes to only 48% of the hitters he faced. The variety still produced 12 whiffs on 44 swings, including five against the splitter and four against the four-seam fastball.
Milwaukee put two runners aboard with one out in the third, but Sugano retired Yelich and William Contreras to keep the lead at 3-1. He then settled into his best stretch of the afternoon.
Sugano retired the Brewers in order in the fourth, finishing the inning by getting Jake Bauers to chase a splitter below the zone. He carried that momentum into the fifth.
Joey Ortiz saw a sinker, cutter, and splitter in a five-pitch strikeout to begin the inning. Sugano then put the full mix on display against David Hamilton.
He opened with an 82.2 mph sweeper, followed it with a 93.1 mph four-seam fastball, changed speeds again with an 87.1 mph splitter and finished the at-bat with a 92.8 mph sinker.
Hamilton saw four pitches, four different movement profiles and nearly an 11 mph velocity spread.
That was Sugano’s afternoon in miniature. He did not overpower Milwaukee with one pitch; he kept changing the hitter’s picture until there was no comfortable guess left.
Sugano completed another clean inning and had retired eight straight hitters when Brice Turang came to the plate in the sixth. Turang drove a 93 mph four-seamer 434 feet to center at 108.6 mph, but Sugano had kept the bases empty and limited the damage to another solo home run.
Trouble found him as the workload began to show. William Contreras followed with a 103.9 mph line-drive single to center, and Sugano later walked Garrett Mitchell as his pitch count reached 93.
Warren Schaeffer turned to Victor Vodnik with two runners aboard and one out. Vodnik struck out pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn, then covered first after Troy Johnston fielded Jake Bauers’ high chopper to end the inning without allowing either inherited runner to score.
Sugano came out of the dugout and hugged Vodnik as he walked off the field.
Sugano finished with two runs allowed on six hits across 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Both runs came on solo homers.
Ninety-three pitches through 5.1 innings was not ideal, but it was also a reflection of how Sugano gets outs. Without much strikeout margin, he had to earn nearly every one of them.
Rockies make Drohan work
Shane Drohan brought better velocity than his season averages, but the Rockies never let the extra life on his pitches become the story.
His four-seam fastball averaged 95.5 mph, while his curveball, cutter and changeup were also up from their normal velocity. Drohan used six pitches and generated 11 whiffs, but Colorado combined hard contact with aggressive baserunning and productive outs.
The Rockies began applying pressure in the first.
Kyle Karros lifted a high fly into no man’s land near the shallow right-field line. Luis Lara, Jake Bauers and Brice Turang converged, but Lara pulled up as the three fielders closed on one another. The ball fell fair, kicked off Lara and skipped back toward the infield, allowing Karros to reach second.
Cole Carrigg followed and was visibly unhappy when a first-pitch fastball above the zone was called a strike. He stepped away, reset and smoked Drohan’s next pitch, an 88.1 mph changeup, for an RBI double to left. The ball left Carrigg’s bat at 100.4 mph and traveled 371 feet.
Hunter Goodman followed with an RBI single, giving Colorado a 2-0 lead before Drohan could settle into the afternoon.
The Rockies struck again in the third. Jake McCarthy lined a triple to right, and Karros drove him home with a sharp single. Lara recovered the ball and threw Karros out trying to advance to second, but Colorado had restored its two-run lead.
The fourth inning showed another way to score.
Willi Castro opened the frame by ripping a 104.4 mph line drive into left field. He then stole second against a Milwaukee team that entered the day allowing an MLB-low 0.35 stolen bases per game.
That was the Rockies at their most complete. Hard contact put Castro aboard. His legs moved him into scoring position. Johnston traded an out for 90 feet, and Moniak finished the sequence.
The Rockies have too often watched that kind of opportunity dissolve somewhere between second base and home plate. This time, they moved the runner, put the ball in the air, and took the run.
Drohan still had stretches of control. He struck out six and completed two 1-2-3 innings, including a clean fifth and a scoreless sixth. Colorado was not creating constant traffic, but they scored in the first, third and fourth by repeatedly converting the chances it did create.
Drohan returned for the seventh and walked Moniak in a left-on-left matchup before Pat Murphy went to the bullpen. Schaeffer countered by sending the left-handed TJ Rumfield to pinch-hit for Tyler Freeman against right-hander Grant Anderson.
Rumfield made the move count immediately, lining a double down the right-field line. Moniak scored without a throw, and Rumfield cruised into second with his 22nd double and 53rd RBI.
Drohan’s velocity was up, and his arsenal had enough to miss bats. The Rockies still found several ways to beat him. They hit mistakes hard, stayed composed through difficult at-bats and manufactured a run when the game called for something simpler.
For much of the afternoon, they were playing Brewer ball better than the Brewers.
Bullpen finishes the job
Victor Vodnik inherited two runners from Tomoyuki Sugano in the sixth and kept both from scoring. He struck out pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn, then covered first on Troy Johnston’s play to retire Jake Bauers and end the threat.
Vodnik followed with a scoreless seventh, and Antonio Senzatela worked around a two-out infield single in the eighth. Senzatela attacked the zone, threw first-pitch strikes to all four hitters he faced and struck out Brice Turang before handing a 5-2 lead to Jordan Romano.
Romano made the ninth uncomfortable.
Andrew Vaughn singled to center, and Bauers followed with a sharp single to right. Romano had thrown first-pitch strikes to only one of the first five hitters he faced, and Milwaukee suddenly had the tying run at the plate with nobody out.
Pitching coach Alon Leichman visited the mound, and Romano found another gear.
Joey Ortiz popped out under the infield-fly rule, Romano blew away pinch-hitter Gary Sánchez for the second out, and Christian Yelich lined out to Johnston in right to end the game.
Romano allowed two hits and was not especially sharp, but he retired three straight hitters once the inning reached its most dangerous point. The bullpen combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, and the Rockies held on for a 5-2 win.
Final thoughts
Tomoyuki Sugano earned his 10th win of the season, improving to 10-4 after allowing two runs across 5.1 innings. He is the first Rockies pitcher to reach double-digit wins since Germán Márquez won 12 games in 2021.
TJ Rumfield delivered the game’s final run with his pinch-hit RBI double in the seventh, then added a single in the ninth. His 22 doubles and 53 RBI both rank second among National League rookies.
Luis Lara wanted no part of the three-body collision that allowed Kyle Karros’ first-inning double, but he showed no hesitation at the wall in the sixth. Lara tracked Cole Carrigg’s drive to right and made a leaping catch at the top of the fence to take away extra bases.
Milwaukee entered the game ranked 30th in MLB in home runs, yet both Brewers runs came on solo shots from Christian Yelich and Brice Turang. The Rockies did not homer, instead scoring five runs through hard contact, baserunning and situational execution.
Colorado went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position and produced two two-out RBI. Milwaukee finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and did not record a two-out RBI.
Willi Castro successfully challenged Milwaukee’s league-best stolen-base prevention in the fourth, swiping second before scoring on Mickey Moniak’s sacrifice fly. Ezequiel Tovar was caught stealing to end the ninth, capping a difficult all-around game in which the struggling shortstop went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Up next
The series in Milwaukee continues Saturday evening, with the Rockies hoping for a better turn from Ryan Feltner. The right-hander enters at 3-4 with a 5.48 ERA across 14 starts and is coming off an especially rough outing his last time out.
The Brewers will counter with left-hander Robert Gasser, who is 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 10 starts. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. MT.
Carter noted that the 76ers are loaded on a roster that will include Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and V.J. Edgecombe.
Philadelphia also added Labaron Philon Jr. at No. 22 overall in the draft while also bringing in Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and former Knicks center Ariel Hukporti.
Vince Carter on the NBA on NBC set after Game 5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs on May 26, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
The 76ers are also expected to bring back Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow, Dalen Terry, Johni Broome and Justin Edwards, who will provide depth on the roster.
Instead of asking the 41-year-old James to carry a franchise, Philadelphia can deploy him alongside Embiid, Brown, Maxey and Edgecombe.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds last season with the Lakers, proving he’s still an All-Star-caliber player in production, not just in name.
James was also the Lakers’ most effective player in the playoffs last season, averaging 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds, leading Los Angeles to a Round 2 appearance, where they were without Luka Doncic and had Austin Reaves for six of 10 games.
Joel Embiid (21) and LeBron James (23) will be in the 76ers’ starting lineup this season. NBAE via Getty Images
The Sixers now feature one of the NBA’s deepest collections of proven talent, with a former MVP center in Embiid, one of the league’s fastest young guards in Maxey, an All-NBA-caliber wing in Brown and arguably the greatest player in league history in James.
The 76ers have immediately been bet up to being one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, along with the Knicks.
Although the 76ers will likely not have James and Embiid for portions of the season due to expected injury management and possible actual ailments, given James’ age and Embiid’s history.
James missed 22 games last season, while Embiid hasn’t played at least 40 regular-season games since 2022-23 and has often faced injuries during the playoffs, as he did this past spring.
If Davis Martin wants to keep the good times rolling, he’ll need to find a way to stymie the big bat of Yordan Alvarez.
Coming out of the All-Star break neck-and-neck with the Cleveland Guardians, the Chicago White Sox knew they had to hit the ground running. With two road series on deck against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers, winning each respective series was all that mattered and the White Sox did exactly that.
Thanks to a recent slip in form for the Guardians, the White Sox now hold a slim 1 1/2-game lead in the AL Central. With the Guardians having to face the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds on the road the next six games, the time is now for the White Sox, starting with this first game against the Houston Astros.
Another series win would likely keep their lead in the division before the big, bad New York Yankees come into town. With the Tampa Bay Rays and red-hot Boston Red Sox on deck after that, results are imperative here in this series.
The same goes for the Astros, who may not be benefiting from stealing signs any longer but are certainly taking advantage of an unusually weak AL West division. Although they come into this series with a 50-54 record, they somehow find themselves just two games out of first.
Looking to turn the tide of their poor season, the Astros turn to Spencer Arrighetti to toe the rubber tonight. Arrighetti started out the season as one of the best pitchers in the American League but has since fallen off a cliff. After jumping out to a blistering 7-1 record and an ERA of 1.34 in his first eight starts, Arrighetti has yet to record a single win since. He posted an ERA of nine in the month of June before “settling down” with an ERA of six in three starts so far this month.
Arrighetti excels at limiting hard hits, but that’s pretty much all he does well. Much like Vin Diesel, he’s mostly a one-trick pony. Arrighetti is simply average in every other metric that matters. As a matter of fact, he’s quite poor at getting batters to swing and miss, and with a fastball that sits slower than 93 miles per hour he can’t blow anybody away, either. As long as the White Sox stay disciplined and patient, they should have plenty of opportunities to score some runs tonight.
As for the White Sox, they have Davis Martin on the hill and it’s clear why he’s largely considered the team’s ace. His results have diminished as of late, with blowups against the Minnesota Twins, Yankees and Red Sox of late. With that being said, he’s been unfortunate to be without a win since June 10, with Davis having four starts since then allowing just two runs or less.
Martin excels at getting hitters to chase this year, which he’ll need to continue if he wants to have any chance against a player like Yordan Alvarez tonight. With Alvarez being the only qualified player on the Astros with an OPS better than .800 this season, if Martin can limit the damage he causes the White Sox should be able to take care of the Astros. Unfortunately, that’s a much easier task than it may seem on paper.
Here are the starting lineups for the Chicago White Sox:
Here are the starting lineups for the Houston Astros:
First pitch is 6:40 p.m. CST. You can watch on CHSN or listen on ESPN Chicago 1000. Let us know your thoughts and predictions below!
Jul 24, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Former Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun is introduced before an alumni game at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Welcome back! The Brewers are following today’s regular game with what they’re calling an Alumni Legends Game, a very fun concept after the success of last season’s Alumni Home Run Derby. Stick around after the game to see franchise legends like Ryan Braun, Geoff Jenkins, Jeff Bianchi, and Brad Boxberger!
In all seriousness, this should be a great time as we see some of our favorite Brewers from the 21st century, including a few who we don’t often see in Milwaukee. Personally, I’m jazzed to see Richie Sexson, Bill Hall, Dan Kolb, and Doug Davis. Full rosters below.
The stage is set. The Legends are ready.
Come out to tomorrow's Legends Game to watch these guys compete after our game vs. the Rockies — and enjoy $2.50 beers and brats before first pitch
Jul 24, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (2) reacts after striking out in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
The Brewers and Rockies kicked off a series this afternoon at American Family Field, and while the Brewers never looked out of it and had far more hard contact in the game than the Rockies did, things just weren’t going their way. A couple of solo home runs were all that Milwaukee could muster, and the Rockies’ early offense against starter Shane Drohan held up.
It was an inauspicious start. After a Jake McCarthy strikeout started the game, Kyle Karros hit a blooper down the right field line that fell right in the middle of Luis Lara, Jake Bauers, and Brice Turang, just inside the foul line. Karros ended up on second with a double, and Cole Carrigg, up next, lined one off the wall in left field for an RBI double. Hunter Goodman was up next and hit an RBI single to left, which made it 2-0. Willi Castro was next and hit a ground ball to second that appeared to start an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, but after a Rockies challenge Castro was ruled safe at first. With two outs, Troy Johnston flew out to center to finally end the inning.
The Brewers were down early, but they’re one of the most comfortable teams in baseball when down early. This became immediately apparent when, in a very encouraging sign, Christian Yelich hit a lead-off bomb against Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano, and it was no cheapie, 413 feet over the bullpen to the opposite field.
Jackson Chourio, who was next, just missed another homer when he got a ball a little off the barrel and flew out to center. Brice Turang followed by smoking a line drive into left field for a one-out single, but Sugano retired William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell to end the inning.
Drohan’s second inning went much better than the first, a three-up, three-down inning with two strikeouts, a feat which Sugano matched in the bottom of the inning. The top of Colorado’s lineup was back at it in the third, though; McCarthy hit a triple into the right-field corner to start things, and Karros followed with a hit into right. Karros went to second but was called out—the Rockies again challenged, but it looked like Karros came off the bag and the call stood. Their lead was up to 3-1, but Drohan got the next two to end the inning.
Yelich almost went deep again with one out in the bottom of the third, but this one hung up on the left-field warning track where McCarthy made a jumping catch. Chourio and Turang hit back-to-back two-out singles, but Contreras flew out to center on a pitch that he clearly felt he should’ve done more with.
Drohan had more traffic to deal with in the fourth. Castro led off with a single, then stole second base. A groundout by Johnston advanced Castro to third, and after a Moniak sac fly, the Rockies had manufactured a run in a very Brewers-esque way. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning, the Rockies led 4-1 through four.
The Rockies went down in order in the top of the fifth, but the Brewers did in the bottom of the inning, too, even as Yelich, for the third time in the game, almost went deep with a 392-foot fly ball that was caught on the warning track in center.
Carrigg nearly went deep to right to start the sixth, but Lara made a great leaping catch up against the wall. (It wouldn’t have been a home run, but it would’ve been extra bases.) Drohan walked the next batter, Goodman, on four pitches, but Lara made another nice catch on a first-pitch fly ball down the line by Castro. A flyout by Johnston ended the inning.
Chourio hit a ball hard to lead off the bottom of the sixth, but it was caught in center for the eighth straight Brewer out. But Turang finally ended that streak when he got a hold of one for a long home run to right-center, his 15th, which made the score 4-2. Contreras followed with a single to center and Mitchell worked a seven-pitch walk, which ended the afternoon for Sugano.
With two on and one out in a two-run game, the Rockies turned to right-hander Victor Vodnik. The Brewers countered by bringing on Andrew Vaughn to pinch-hit for Lara. Vaughn worked an 0-2 count back full, but struck out, though both runners advanced to scoring position when the third strike got away from Goodman (who recovered it in time to throw Vaughn out at first). Bauers, though, grounded out with the tying run on second and the inning ended. Milwaukee shrunk the Colorado lead, but they also let a good opportunity to do more go by.
Drohan stayed on to face the left-handed Moniak to start the seventh but walked him, after which Pat Murphy called for Grant Anderson. After Anderson entered, the Rockies went to the bench for the left-handed pinch-hitter TJ Rumfield, a good hitter, who lined an RBI double into the right-field corner to get the run that they gave up in the sixth right back. Ezequiel Tovar did the Brewers a favor by popping up on a bunt attempt for the first out, and McCarthy popped out in foul territory for the second. Karros struck out to end the inning, but with three opportunities left for the Brewer offense, they were down three.
Ortiz, Hamilton, and Yelich all grounded out against Vodnik in the bottom of the seventh. Craig Yoho replaced Anderson in the eighth, and he worked around a one-out walk to pitch a scoreless inning. Contreras hit a two-out single in the bottom of the inning, but the Brewers couldn’t make anything of it. Rumfield and Tovar hit back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the ninth off of Yoho, but McCarthy flew out and Tovar was thrown out trying to steal second.
The Brewers needed three runs in the ninth off of Jordan Romano, in his seventh game with the Rockies. Vaughn started things nicely by lining a single to center on Romano’s second pitch, and after a long at-bat, Bauers singled, too. With two on and nobody out, the Brewers had the tying run at the plate. Ortiz popped out, and pinch-hitter Gary Sánchez struck out. Yelich, who’d nearly homered three times in this game, got a chance with two out, but he flew out to right and the game was over.
It was a tough day—the offense didn’t look great, but Milwaukee also had the top five and nine of the top 11 exit velocities in the game. Balls were just finding gloves. That’s baseball, sometimes.
The bright spot was Turang, who went 3-for-4 with a solo homer. Yelich added a home run, too, and generally just looked more dangerous swinging the bat than he has lately. William Contreras added two singles and the Brewers had nine hits as a team, but the two solo home runs were Milwaukee’s only runs on the day. Drohan didn’t have a great day—he finished with six innings, six hits, two walks, six strikeouts, and five earned runs allowed—but he wasn’t terrible and he gave the Brewers some length. Anderson and Yoho combined for three innings and no earned runs, though Anderson did allow his inherited runner to score.
After this evening’s Alumni Legends Game, our attentions will turn to tomorrow, when the Brewers will look to even the series in a pitching matchup between Robert Gasser and Ryan Feltner at 6:10 p.m.
News of James’ two-year agreement with the 76ers was printed on cardboard and posted by the Topps social media team in conjunction with James in a collaborative Instagram post before any reporter or even the league could get their hands on the information.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was beaten to the punch when James’ free agency decision was released on social media, first posted by Topps trading cards at 11:30 a.m. ET and in tandem with James’ X account post where he gave a sentimental message to his fans.
Topps had this announcement nearly a full minute ahead of Charania, who posted on X that James was taking his talents to Broad Street.
Multiple league sources confirm that the NBA was blindsided by this type of announcement, as Topps posted what appeared to be an already-autographed one-of-one trading card — perhaps signaling that this was in the works for some time.
The card itself that appears on the Instagram post is a real one that exists, but it is not yet autographed, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Post.
The source added that the image has been digitally modified to show what his autograph will look like on the card, and the actual signature on the card will be done in the coming days.
The NBA did not respond to The Post’s request for comment, and no league entities had posted anything on social media regarding James agreeing to sign with the 76ers for a league minimum contract with a player option for a second year.
Shams Charania was out-scooped by Topps trading cards on Friday. TKPUS / SplashNews.com
NBA social media handles, as well as the 76ers’ accounts, have been radio silent, despite the bombshell news that has spread like wildfire.
LeBron James did a live show of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Tyrese Haliburton at Fanatics Fest hosted by Michael Rubin. gram @runamileaminute
Fanatics purchased Topps trading cards in 2022 for $500 million.
While at Fanatics Fest, James dropped a hint that he could be joining the 76ers, telling fans during a live recording of his “Mind The Game” podcast that he wants a team that will “trust the process,” a famous slogan of the 76ers.
Rubin and James recently crossed paths at Rubin’s private luncheon at the 40/40 club in New York City, Page Six reported last week — perhaps leading to this planned announcement between James and Topps.
This is not a player in his prime; this is one who will turn 42 years old seven weeks into the regular season. This is not a max player, but one who will sign a two-year, $8 million deal on the veteran minimum exception. This is not the 45-point Bron who silenced the TD Garden in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals as his team was facing elimination. This is a veteran who, in defiance of his age, remains relevant and productive.
Our expectations of what he can be in his early 40s should reflect all that in kind because LeBron James, at this point in his career, is not a No. 1 or No. 2 option. He’s a complementary player. He’s someone who does many things well, most of all on-ball creation and ball distribution.
So if the 76ers fail to win an NBA championship during James’ tenure there, it should not be weighed as some sprawling indictment on James as a player.
“I thought I was done when the season ended,” James wrote Friday. “I wasn’t ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game.
“I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.”
Paired alongside Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid, James will need to carve out his role and will likely have to defer. To make it work, he’ll have to sacrifice his usage rate. This will be new for him.
Let’s take a look, for a moment, at the time another goated icon, Michael Jordan, signed with a new team in the twilight of his career.
After three seasons away from the NBA — his second of three career retirements — Jordan signed with the Washington Wizards in 2001 and played two seasons there. Washington posted a pair of 37-45 seasons with Jordan, who was 38 when he made his Wizards debut, nearly four years younger than James will be when he launches his Sixers tenure.
Jordan did earn a pair of All-Stars in Washington, and he did elevate a team that had won just 19 games the season prior to his arrival.
Yet, the Wizards couldn’t even crack the postseason with Jordan. Granted, those Washington teams were nowhere near as talented as James’ Philadelphia outfit will be, but Jordan’s lack of postseason success in Washington did nothing to mar his legacy.
For whatever reason, James tends to be judged more harshly. Much of this is due to the impossible constraints we place on him and others when debating legacy. We tend to prefer tidy, conventional narratives: players who remain with one team their entire career, players who fit easily-defined roles, players who take pay cuts for the good of the team.
James could become the first player in NBA history to win championships with four different franchises. It would be yet another clear marker of his longevity, excellence and adaptability.
James sacrificed the neater legacy fits (the Cavaliers and Heat) and is taking on a larger risk by joining a new team. Ultimately, these are the very traits — sacrifice, hard work and the pursuit of greatness — that we love to celebrate in sport. Why should James chasing it, at 41 years old, be any different?
“This is my last decision,” he said. “I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.”
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 19: Joc Pederson #3 of the Texas Rangers looks on during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on April 19, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Cue the tumbleweed and the ocarina (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Big Tex gets a chance to be bigger than Texas tonight. Bryce Miller, owner of the nickname, will face off against the Rangers in Arlington at 5:05 PT. Since coming back from an oblique strain that cost him the first quarter of the season, Miller has been having the best year of his career. He’s striking out 29.5% of batters while walking just 4.1%, a K-BB% that’s good for fourth-best in MLB (min. 60 IP), nestled right between the folks in the Cy Young conversation. The rest of the top eight is Miz, Skubal, Cease, Wheeler, Schittler, deGrom, and Skenes. Unfortunately, Miller’s fastball velocity, and his results, have been on a downward trajectory over the past month.
He’ll face off against MacKenzie Gore, jewel of the Rangers’ offseason. On one hand, he’s pitched much better than his 4.80 ERA suggests, with xERA, FIP, xFIP, and SIERRA about a full point lower. On the other hand, about 4.00 still isn’t what the Rangers were hoping for. And even worse, he’s historically been a much worse performer in the second half, sort of the anti-Julio.
Lineups
J.P. Crawford is still out of the lineup, so Weston Wilson gets another start at third base. But with Dominic Canzone having worked his way into starts against lefties, the only other change from the typical lineup is that Mitch Garver will DH. It’s masked in his overall stats from all the times he had to face righties while Cal Raleigh was on the IL, but Garver’s been actively good against left-handed pitching this year. He’s at a 107 wRC+ against southpaws, and even amid his decline over the past three years combined, he’s at 114. For context, across MLB, designated hitters have a 108 wRC+ against lefties over the past three seasons.
While this still seems like the same era of Rangers baseball as 2023, this is quite a different looking lineup than their World Series run, especially when Corey Seager’s out.
Game Info
First pitch: 5:05 PDT TV: Mariners TV Radio: Old Reliable
