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Phillies invite young fan to meet Harrison Bader after dispute over home run ball

MIAMI (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies invited a young fan to meet Harrison Bader following their 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night after an apparent dispute over a home run ball hit by the center fielder during the game.

Bader hit a solo home run into the left-field stands in the fourth inning at loanDepot Park. Several fans scrambled for the ball before a man came up with it and walked over and gave it to a boy and hugged him. Both were wearing Phillies gear, and it was the boy’s birthday.

Moments later, a woman, also wearing Philadelphia apparel, approached and appeared to shout at the man, who then grabbed the ball from the boy’s glove and gave it to her.

It isn’t clear from videos circulating on social media who initially secured the ball when it landed.

Later in the game, a member of the Marlins’ staff gave the boy a prize pack and another baseball as fans sitting near them in the stands cheered. The boy ended up going home with a signed bat from Bader, who met with him outside of the Phillies’ clubhouse after the game.

Marcus Lemonis, Camping World CEO and star of CNBC reality TV show “The Profit,” later posted on his X account that he would pay for the young fan and his family to attend the World Series.

“Oh, and you just won an RV as well,” he posted.

The dispute quickly went viral on social media and comes just days after another memorabilia-snatching moment in which a man took tennis player Kamil Majchrzak’s hat from a young fan at the U.S. Open and was widely criticized for the act.

He apologized on social media on Monday and said he has returned it.

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Luis Gil deals six solid innings, Yankees bats do just enough in 3-1 win over Blue Jays

LuisGil delivered six solid innings and the Yankees' offense got just enough support for a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon in The Bronx.

With the win, the Yanks kept their slim hopes at winning the American League East alive as they improved to 79-63 on the season (42-29 at home) and are now 3.0 games back of the Jays, who fell to 82-60. 

Here are the takeaways...

- With two outs in the first, Gil served up a double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who entered the game swinging a hot bat and 2-for-4 with three walks against the Yanks’ starter, on a fastball up in the zone that was rocketed into left-center. The righty began each of the first two innings by getting outs on the first pitch of the frame, and worked around a couple of two-out walks to get through three frames on 44 pitches (28 strikes).

Gil lost the feel to start the fourth, issuing back-to-back walks, which brought pitching coach MattBlake out for a visit. But he did well to limit the damage, getting a fielder’s choice on a grounder to second to put runners on the corners before Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s bouncer up the middle plated a run when the Yanks couldn’t turn the double play as Jazz Chisholm Jr. seemed to get handcuffed on AnthonyVolpe’s toss.

An eight-pitch 1-2-3 fifth put Gil back on track, before a one-out double by Bo Bichette put the tying run in scoring position as the rain started to fall in the sixth. After another Blake mound visit, Gil got out of the jam thanks to some good defense behind him. First getting Daulton Varsho, who has an .878 OPS with RISP this year, to pop out down the third base line thanks to a nice play by Ryan McMahon, who made a long run and stayed with the high fly. On a single to right by Nathan Lukes, Cody Bellinger gunned down the speedy Bichette at the plate by five feet to preserve the lead. His throw skipped on the wet infield grass perfectly to Austin Wells, who applied the tag as he blocked the plate.

A 106-minute rain delay after the top of the sixth ended Gil’s day prematurely; his final stats: one run on three hits and four walks with one strikeout over 6.0 frames on 90 pitches (56 strikes).

- The Yanks jumped on Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in the second after Bellinger worked a walk before Chisholm reached on an error by first baseman Guerrero and Jasson Dominguez cracked an RBI single to right for runners on the corners. After Volpewent down swinging at a fastball above the zone, Wells lined a ball to right, but a terrific diving catch by Addison Barger kept it to a sac fly, and the two unearned runs were all the home side managed in the inning. 

- Chisholm looped the first pitch out of the rain delay in the bottom of the sixth over the shortstop for a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second a few pitches later. That baserunning aggressiveness hurt the Yanks as Dominguez followed with a walk, Volpe doubled, and Wells added his second sac fly of the game to double the advantage to 3-1.

- Luke Weaver was the first man out of the bullpen and surrendered a first-pitch double to left-center by Kiner-Falefa to start the seventh. After getting a pair of pop flies to shallow left, manager Aaron Boone went to Fernando Cruz to face George Springer, but a walk put the tying run on first. However, Cruz got Barger to hit a tapper to first to strand the runners.

Cruz allowed an infield single up the middle to Guerrero to start the eighth, but got Bichette swinging and Varsho to fly out. Boone then went to David Bednar, who got Lukes looking to end the inning. The closer stayed in the game for a 1-2-3 ninth, adding two strikeouts for his 21st save of the season.

- Aaron Judge put a charge into a fastball down the middle with two down in the first, but it went for a 398-foot flyout to center. Judge, DHing after he played right field on Friday for the first time since his return to injury, smoked it 104.1 mph off the bat, but to the wrong part of the park. The slugger, up for the second time with two outs and nobody on, then ripped a single (107 mph) down the third base line in the third. 

In the fifth, after McMahon worked a leadoff walk and Ben Rice notched a one-out single through the right side of the infield, Judge had two men on to work with, but got jammed for a fielder’s choice to third. He came up again with two gone and nobody out in the seventh and went down looking to finish the day 1-for-4.

- Bellinger, who walked his first two times up, grounded out with runners on the corners and two out in the fifth inning. It was a funky play as Bellinger got tagged by Guerrero on the bottom of his back foot after the throw took the first baseman down the line. The call on the field was safe, but Toronto’s challenge took a run off the board and ended the inning. 

Bellinger finished the day 0-for-1 with three walks, a season-high.

- Chisholm finished the day 1-for-4 with a strikeout in his last at-bat, and he had some words for home plate umpire Alan Porter, who had a large zone at times during the game. (The Yankees benefited when the first out of the top of the ninth came on a called third strike that was a few inches off the plate.)

- Volpe finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout. He is now 30-for-154 (.195) since the All-Star break, but has eight hits over his last 29 at-bats (.276).

- Trent Grisham finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Game MVP: Luis Gil

Gil didn't have his best stuff, but kept the Blue Jays from making solid contact and was very effective at avoiding a big inning.

Highlights

What's next

The Yanks and Jays play the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

The home team will send out left-hander Max Fried (2.98 ERA, 1.107 WHIP with 159 strikeouts in 169 innings) for his 29th start of his debut season in pinstripes. The visitors counter with righty Max Scherzer (4.11 ERA, 1.129 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 70 innings) for the 14th start of the three-time Cy Young Award winner's debut season with Toronto.

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Davey Johnson, who won World Series twice with Baltimore as player, managed Mets to title, dies

Washington Nationals vs. the Miami Marlins baseball

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 22: Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson (5) acknowledges the crowd after a tribute to him and his career before the game against the Miami Marlins Sunday September 22, 2013 in Washington, DC at Nationals Park. Washington Nationals lost to the Miami Marlins 4-2. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Washington Post via Getty Images

NEW YORK (AP) — Davey Johnson, an All-Star second baseman who won the World Series twice with the Baltimore Orioles as a player and managed the New York Mets to the title in 1986, has died. He was 82.

Longtime Mets public relations representative Jay Horwitz said Johnson’s wife, Susan, informed him of his death after a long illness. Johnson was at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, when he died Friday, Horwitz said.

Johnson played 13 major league seasons with Baltimore, the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from 1965-78 and won the Gold Glove three times while being voted an All-Star four times. He managed the Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals during a span from 1984-2013.

Former Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo called it a tough day.

“Davey was a good man, close friend and a mentor,” Rizzo said in a text message. “A Hall of Fame caliber manager with a baseball mind ahead of his time.”

Darryl Strawberry, a member of the ’86 Mets, on social media called Johnson a remarkable leader who transformed the franchise into a winning organization.

“His ability to empower players to express themselves while maintaining a strong commitment to excellence was truly inspiring,” Strawberry posted on Instagram with a photo of him, Johnson and Dwight “Doc” Gooden. “Davey’s legacy will forever be etched in the hearts of fans and players alike. My heartfelt condolences go out to Susan Johnson and the entire Johnson family during this difficult time. He will be missed but remembered for his incredible impact on the game and the lives he touched.”

Ryan Zimmerman, who played for Johnson with Washington from 2011-13, said Johnson was an even better human than he was a baseball man.

“He knew how to get the best out of everyone — on and off the field,” Zimmerman said in a text message. “I learned so much from him, and my career would not have been the same without my years with him. He will be deeply missed by so many people.”

Johnson was AL manager of the year in 1997 when Baltimore won the division. He was NL manager of the year in 2012 when the Nationals made the playoffs for the first time since the move from Montreal.

“Davey was a world-class manager,” owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “I’ll always cherish the memories we made together with the Nationals, and I know his legacy will live on in the heads and minds of our fans and those across baseball.”

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Mets' Brandon Sproat previews upcoming MLB debut: 'Very blessed to be here'

Speaking to reporters before his MLB debut for the Mets on Sunday, an excited Brandon Sproat shared how he learned of his promotion, his reaction to the news and what he's looking forward to most for the big day.

After reports of his call-up broke on Thursday, Sproat told his side of the story and what it means to him and his family.

"Super excited, very blessed to be here," he said. "It has not sunk in yet. I don’t think it probably will until tomorrow."

Following the news, Sproat said he held it together just long enough to call his parents before he "broke down in tears."

"We sat there and cried for some time together," he said. "Everything we’ve been through this year, they’re my backbone. They’ve been through it all with me."

The third top pitching prospect called up by New York this season, behind Nolan McLean and Saturday's starter Jonah Tong, Sproat has been able to get the lay of the land a little bit by asking his teammates and friends about their experiences during their, albeit brief, major league tenures.

"They’ve been up here for a couple weeks now, so I think it’s good for me to be able to ask them questions as well," Sproat said. "They already know some of the ropes and I’m close with them, so I’m a little more comfortable asking them the questions, but I’ll open up more as it goes on here."

Despite being leapt over by McLean and Tong and the third one of the bunch to get the call, Sproat kept his feet firmly on the ground and didn't let himself wonder if a promotion would happen this year.

Instead, he leaned on his faith and his family and kept pitching well for Triple-A to give himself a shot. 

"You gotta give him credit, he went through a lot," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "It wasn’t easy for him. Even when he started pitching well, he wasn’t the one who was called up right away. And I’m pretty sure it was a struggle for him… and he kept doing what he needed to do in order to get the call. So it says a lot about his personality and the type of kid he is."

In fact, after a disastrous first half of the season, the right-hander completely turned it around during the second half by getting "back to the basics." Now, after all of his hard work, Sproat will make his debut and try to help a Mets team in the midst of a playoff push.

"It’s awesome to be able to come up here and help the guys and really just go out there and compete and just try to win every single game," Sproat said.

Still just 24 years old, Sproat also got some advice for tomorrow's game by the longest-tenured Met on the roster: Brandon Nimmo.

"I talked to Nimmo earlier and he told me one thing, he was like ‘whether it’s before your outing, during your outing, I want you to take 15 seconds and just look around and just soak it all in. Because whenever your debut is done, you’re gonna realize, oh wow, it’s already over.’ 

"He told me to do that and it makes a lot of sense. He’s been there before, so definitely gonna go out there tomorrow and just look around, find my family in the stands and just soak it all in."

Mets players have been doing a lot of soaking in lately following the debuts of McLean and Tong. Now it's Sproat's turn to showcase his stuff. 

And while he shouldn't feel the need to compare himself to the others, if Sproat's debut goes anything like McLean and Tong's, New York looks poised to have an exciting finish to its season and perhaps a great start for its future.

"There’s a ton of talent up here, a ton of talent in the minors," Sproat said. "Seeing what Nolan’s done so far it’s incredible. Seeing Jonah’s debut that’s incredible as well. There’s other guys in Triple-A that are having really good success… I think the Mets have a great farm system and they do things right. I think there’s a bright future for us."

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Predicting Flyers' Plans at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline

(Photo: David Kirouac, Imagn Images)

The 2026 NHL trade deadline is officially set for March 6, which marks another important date for the Philadelphia Flyers this season.

This offseason has featured far less trade action than many, including NHL insiders, had previously anticipated, which can only mean that crafty teams like the Flyers have things up their sleeves for later on.

A few months ago, we saw the Flyers move on from established roster players like centers Morgan Frost and Scott Laughton and wingers Joel Farabee and Andrei Kuzmenko. The team did make a few moves to replace those players, like trading for Trevor Zegras, and opened up a spot for a prospect like Alex Bump or Nikita Grebenkin.

Aside from that, though, the Flyers simply don't have as many players they would be motivated to move on from as they did in years past.

One name that is likely to generate a lot of buzz at the 2026 trade deadline is forward Christian Dvorak, who can play center and wing, is usually good for 30 points in a season, and is phenomenal at taking faceoffs.

The only complication is the $5.4 million cap hit he's drawing from the Flyers in exchange for a short-term deal that allows him greater opportunity on the ice.

Carey Price Trade Could Set the Stage for Flyers, Ryan EllisCarey Price Trade Could Set the Stage for Flyers, Ryan EllisIf the Philadelphia Flyers are to consider trading Ryan Ellis and the two years left on his contract, Friday's Carey Price trade knocked down the first domino.

The Flyers, who are projected to have just $1.7 million cap space at the trade deadline, would likely be eager to shed that cap space, and it makes sense to get assets for any player on an expiring contract.

The flexibility a one-year deal offers was one of the explicitly-named reasons for signing Dvorak to that contract; this allows a player like Jett Luchanko a clear and unabated opportunity to make the NHL full-time in 2026.

One caveat, at least for now, is that the lack of activity around the league makes the trade market a buyer's market, and the Flyers have only one retention slot available to them.

This means that interest in a player like the oft-injured Rasmus Ristolainen and his $5.5 million cap hit will be even more limited, as he has two years on his contract and Dvorak has only one.

Dvorak is likely to bring in the most optimal value with that temporary slot, while Ristolainen will likely have to wait until the 2026 offseason or the 2027 trade deadline, when he'll have one year remaining on his contract.

Other players the Flyers may consider dealing include defensemen Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen, though seventh and eighth defensemen may not have much value by the deadline.

For the Flyers, opening a spot for an Oliver Bonk or a Helge Grans may even be sufficient after the opening few months of the Rick Tocchet era pass.

Beyond Dvorak, don't expect the Flyers to be too active with buying or selling players at the 2026 NHL trade deadline.

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Giants' heartbreaking collapse in loss to Cardinals highlights fatal roster flaw

Giants' heartbreaking collapse in loss to Cardinals highlights fatal roster flaw originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants were rolling. The New York Mets lost. It was lining up to be a perfect day for a team that was dead in the water three weeks ago, on the cusp of finding themselves only three games back from an MLB postseason spot with the most valuable asset in baseball on their side — momentum

And then in the blink of an eye, it all came crashing down in heartbreaking fashion. With San Francisco holding a 2-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, Giants manager Bob Melvin handed the ball to reliever Ryan Walker to get the final three outs of the game.

Walker instead coughed up three runs without recording a single out, as the Giants watched their five-game winning streak snapped in horrific fashion. Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker’s RBI double landed in left field with the impact of a dagger to the chest as the Giants fell 3-2 to St. Louis in a game that very well could be looked back at three weeks from now if San Francisco narrowly misses out on playoff baseball.

Justin Verlander was stellar, tossing six shutout innings while also moving past Giants legend Gaylord Perry for the eighth spot on MLB’s all-time strikeout leader list.

In what has become a tragic routine during the 2025 MLB season, Verlander’s gem will be forgotten as the sting of another bullpen collapse steals the show in a gut-wrenching defeat.

While the Giants entered this game as MLB’s hottest team, late-inning collapses like this are an unfortunate consequence of San Francisco shipping out two key bullpen arms at the trade deadline in Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval.

Once the Giants lost Randy Rodriguez for the season with an elbow injury, it always was going to be a tall ask for San Francisco’s bullpen to pick up the slack of three backend options that were as good as any in MLB during the first half of the season.

But they did have an arm who previously had succeded in high-leverage situations in Walker, who entered the season as the Giants closer after an outstanding 2024 campaign thats saw the right-hander log a 10-4 record with a 1.91 ERA in 80 innings of work. Walker didn’t stick in that role after some early-season struggles and location issues that reared their head on Saturday in St. Louis

Perhaps Giants manager Bob Melvin hoped Walker would be able to rekindle some of that magic, or maybe it was as simple as the limited arms at his disposal, but the relievers ninth-inning meltdown hardly came as a surprise to anyone who has watched this movie unfold countless times over the course of this season.

Saturday’s defeat is the kind of loss that feels like a gut punch, even if San Francisco still finds itself in the thick of the NL playoff picture.

There likely will be no shortage of close games down the stretch where the Giants will need to rely on their bullpen to see out wins and Saturday’s disastrous defeat feels like a harrowing reminder that San Francisco remains a few pieces short of what it takes to be a true contender.

Right now it’s obvious those pieces are in the backend of the Giants’ bullpen, making it difficult to envision a scenario where San Francisco is able to consistently scrape across enough run support to make a serious run into October.

Crazier things have happened in baseball, but the lack of trustworthy arms feels like the final nail in the coffin of the roller coaster ride that has been 2025 Giants baserball.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

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Looking At Three Bubble Teams In The NHL's Western Conference Ahead Of 2025-26

With NHL rookie camps opening next week and training camps beginning soon after, a clearer picture is available of what teams will look like to start the 2025-26 regular season. There is always a transition from one year to another, with clubs regressing and falling out of one of the top eight playoff spots in each conference, and making progress to earn a post-season berth.

In the Western Conference, there does not appear to be much slippage in the majority of the playoff clubs, with Winnipeg, Dallas, and Colorado in the Central, and Vegas, Los Angeles, and Edmonton in the Pacific seemingly on an even keel or improved after roster additions like Jonathan Toews (Winnipeg), Brent Burns (Colorado), Mitch Marner (Vegas), Corey Perry (Los Angeles), and Andrew Mangiapane (Edmonton).   

Minnesota successfully re-signed center Marco Rossi to a three-year deal and added Calder contender Zeev Buium to a club that finished with 97 points last season despite not having star forward Kirill Kaprizov for half the season. The one soft target for clubs hoping to make the playoffs is the St. Louis Blues, who had to win 12 in a row down the stretch to secure the second wild-card slot, and added only Pius Suter and Logan Mailloux during the summer. 

Here are three bubble clubs that could make their move this season:

Anaheim Ducks 

Positive

The addition of three-time Cup-winning head coach Joel Quenneville to a club that has boatloads of young talent in need of direction might just be enough to put the Ducks in the playoff mix, but the acquisition of winger Chris Kreider and forward Ryan Poehling should help provide them with some veteran depth up front. 

Negative 

The potential holdout of center Mason McTavish could be a factor if it lasts long into the season, as well as goaltender Lukas Dostal being able to handle the primary starter role with John Gibson heading to Detroit.

Utah Mammoth

Positive

The acquisition of winger JJ Peterka from Buffalo should add some scoring prowess to the Mammoth’s top-six, along with the addition of free agent winger Brandon Tanev and Cup-winning defenseman Nate Schmidt, providing veteran depth. 

Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Olli Maatta and Nick DeSimone celebrate a goal scored by Cooley against the Dallas Stars. (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)

Negative

There is a question of which version of Karel Vejmelka will show up next season. Will it be the goalie who had a sub .900 save percentage, 3.35 goals-against average and a losing record in 2024, or the one who had an excellent 2025 (26-22-8, 2.58 GAA)? Utah will need the good Vejmelka to battle in the difficult Central Division and challenge for the post-season. 

Vancouver Canucks

Positive

The circus has left British Columbia, with Rick Tocchet heading to Philadelphia and Adam Foote taking over as head coach. The departure of J.T. Miller, the lack of an Elias Pettersson trade, the re-signing of Brock Boeser and the extension of Thatcher Demko should calm the waters a bit.

Negative

The continuing saga of Quinn Hughes will be a constant in rumor circles, especially if the Canucks struggle again. Vancouver will need both Demko and Kevin Lankinen to stay healthy to provide solid play between the pipes, and the circus could return very quickly if Evander Kane remains a distraction, as he has been throughout his storied career.  

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

 

 

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Broadcasters told not to air any booing of Donald Trump at US Open men’s final

  • Trump will appear on big screen during national anthem

  • Broadcasters asked ‘not to show any disruptions’

US Open broadcasters have been asked not to show any negative crowd reactions to Donald Trump at Sunday’s men’s final.

The president is expected to attend the match between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in New York, with security at Flushing Meadows being heightened in preparation.

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The Hockey Show: Examining NHL changing LTIR rules for playoffs, Connor McDavid's future in Edmonton

This week on The Hockey Show it was time to look into some changes coming to the NHL next season.

THN hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork got into several topics, including perhaps the most impactful alteration that could impact any and every team.

Teams can no longer use LTIR to exceed the salary cap during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, something that worked well to Florida’s advantage during their 2025 Stanely Cup run.

When Matthew Tkachuk missed much of the second half of season after being injured during the 4 Nations Face-Off, Florida was able to add to their roster thanks to Tkachuk’s AAV going on LTIR and not counting against the cap.

When he returned for the playoffs, it didn’t matter that the Panthers would’ve been over the cap, as it’s not counted against during the playoffs.

Or at least, it wasn’t. Until now.

Roy and Dave were also joined by Prime NHL host Adnan Virk to chat about Connor McDavid’s future in Edmonton, the expanding regular-season schedule and lots more.

You can check out the full episode in the videos below:

LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA

Three Panthers Forwards Who Must Step Up In Matthew Tkachuk's Absence

Looking back at top Florida Panthers plays from past few seasons

Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky Ranks Fourth In NHL Network's Top 10 Goaltenders Rankings

Panthers 2023 top pick Gracyn Sawchyn participates in NHLPA Rookie Showcase

Former Panthers Center Scott Gomez Features In U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2025

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Hall-Of-Famer Dryden And Sabres Had Historical Connections

Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden passed away on Friday at the age of 78 after a long battle with cancer. The Montreal Canadiens great was a dominant presence between the pipes for Les Habitants from 1971 to 1979, winning six Stanley Cups, five Vezina’s, a Conn Smythe, and Calder Trophy, as well as being the starter along with Tony Esposito in the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series.   

The Hamilton, ON native had many connections to the Buffalo Sabres, the strongest one being his older brother Dave playing for the Sabres from their inaugural season in 1970-71 until 1974. The younger Dryden faced his sibling in one of his first NHL starts and was the Canadiens starter in an upset victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.    

 Other Sabres Stories

Projecting Sabres Trade Cost - Lawson Crouse 

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

After a quarter-final loss to New York in 1972, the Canadiens played the Sabres in their first playoff appearance, beating Buffalo in six games on the way to his second Cup. The following season, Dryden held out the entire year and worked as a law clerk, but returned to the Habs in 1974. 

The Sabres exacted a bit of revenge on the big netminder, as the French Connection-led club bested the Canadiens in six games in reach their first Stanley Cup Final. Buffalo was the last club that Dryden lost a playoff series, as the Habs defeated the two-time Cup winning Flyers in 1976, Boston in 1977 and 1978, and the Rangers in 1979 before retiring in 1979.      

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo

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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Adrian Morejon, Romy Gonzalez and Kyle Manzardo

FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS

Adrian Morejon (RP Padres): Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues

Nick Pivetta aside, the Padres are having some obvious rotation problems, and they’ve reacted to them by leaning more and more on their deep bullpen. Adrian Morejon is often the first guy in when a starter leaves a close game in the fifth and sixth, and he’s all the way up to 11 wins as a result. One imagines he’ll be good for at least a couple of more this month, making him a great choice for teams more concerned about victories than saves at the moment.

Morejon is hardly a secret at this point, having been picked for the NL All-Star team. Converted into a reliever because of his issues staying healthy as a starter, he had a 2.83 ERA in his first full season in 2024. He’s at 1.85 in 63 1/3 innings right now. Of the 305 guys with at least 50 innings pitched this season, he has the second lowest hard-hit rate at 27.7%. He’s also issued just 10 unintentional walks.

The Padres don’t want to overwork Morejon, who is still just 25 years old, and they’ve backed off him a bit these last 10 days. Still, with the NL West and Wild Card positioning both up for grabs, they have plenty of incentive to finish strong, even if they’re not much in danger of missing the postseason. Morejon definitely rates as a top-30 RP at this point.

Romy Gonzalez (INF Red Sox): Rostered in 13% of Yahoo leagues

After five months mostly spent as a top-flight platoon player, Gonzalez is finally getting extended time against righties, in part because he deserves it but also because outfield injuries have forced the Red Sox to keep Ceddanne Rafaela in center instead of having him moonlight at second base. Gonzalez has gone 15-for-32 with six RBI while starting Boston’s last eight games, and he seems poised to stay at second base going forward.

Gonzalez had intriguing exit velocity numbers during his time with the White Sox, but terrible plate discipline was his undoing; he had a 36% strikeout rate and a 2% walk rate in 239 plate appearances over three seasons with the White Sox. Two years later, his strikeout rate is down to 25%, and while that’s still not great, so much of his contact is hard contact that it’s allowed him to hit .306/.343/.496. His 57.2% hard-hit rate is fourth highest in fastball.

To turn into a truly above average regular, Gonzalez still needs to work on lifting the ball. His groundball rate has been over 50% throughout his time in the majors, and for all of his power, he’s totaled only 14 homers in 494 plate appearances the last two years. At this point, that’s more of a concern for next year, though. Gonzalez is the best the Red Sox have at second base right now, and he’s hitting in the middle of the order regularly. He should be a pretty good play.

Kyle Manzardo (1B Guardians): Rostered in 17% of Yahoo leagues

With four homers in seven games and nine in 31, Manzardo has been a nice contributor of late, and now he’s getting to play against lefties with Carlos Santana having been let go by the Guardians. The metrics definitely like what he’s doing; he has a .422 xwOBA over his last 50 plate appearances.

Manzardo is all about lifting the ball. Only three of the 252 players with 300 plate appearances this season have a higher flyball rate than the Guardians first baseman. He doesn’t combine it with elite power, so batting average is an issue and figures to remain one. Still, he should continue to be productive in terms of homers, and hitting fourth regularly behind José Ramírez means he’s getting RBI opportunities..

Manzardo also has a rather soft schedule going forward, particularly this week against a Royals rotation missing its three best starters and the White Sox. One could pick him up now and move on from him next week, but he’s a reasonable bet for the remainder of the month.

Waiver Wire Quick Hits

- The Brewers’ Jose Quintana is available in two-thirds of leagues and is due to face the injury-plagued Rangers and Cardinals next week. He’s a great one-week pickup.

- Emmet Sheehan is also a nice one-week pickup, assuming that the Dodgers make it official that he’ll start at home against the Rockies during the Monday-Wednesday series.