The Mets are adding an intriguing arm to their bullpen ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore, promoting flamethrowing right-hander Alex Carrillo, per multiple reports.
Carrillo, whose fastball regularly reaches 100 mph, had a 3.24 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 40 strikeouts in 19 appearances spanning 25.0 innings for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this season.
After being promoted to Triple-A, he fired 5.2 perfect innings while striking out 10.
Carrillo, 28, will be making his major league debut.
Before signing with the Mets last November, Carrillo spent the past four seasons pitching in Independent Ball. He also pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League during the 2024-25 campaign.
It is not yet clear which pitcher Carrillo will be replacing on the active roster, but Chris Devenski, Rico Garcia, Justin Hagenman, and Brandon Waddell would appear to be the most vulnerable.
The Mets will also have to clear a 40-man roster spot for Carrillo, which could theoretically be done by transferring Dedniel Núñez to the 60-day IL.
In fact, the second apron forced them to trade two key starters — Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — over the last few weeks.
But the C’s did add a few players in free agency, most notably Luka Garza and Josh Minott. Garza has played four seasons in the NBA and was a two-time first-team All-American at Iowa. Minott has three years of pro experience as an athletic 6-foot-8 wing.
Why did the Celtics target Garza and Minott?
“We’ve been limited in what tools we can use (to add players) with where we are right around the second apron,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said Tuesday at a press conference.
“So we were looking for those guys on those contracts that have upside, and who are competitors, who are workers, who want to be good and haven’t hit their peak yet, but we’ve seen something in them that gives them a chance to be very impactful.”
Both Garza and Minott played for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. The Wolves had a lot of depth, so opportunities were not abundant for each player. They’ll have a chance to prove themselves in Boston next season.
“Luka obviously has been a stats darling, but in limited time behind very, very good players. Same thing with Minott,” Stevens said. “Minott is a guy who brings a lot of versatility to the table. He’s a person who can guard several positions, and he can shoot a little bit, but also plays with great energy and length. Both of those guys really rebound.”
It remains to be seen whether Garza and/or Minott will make a meaningful impact off the bench in Boston, but their skill sets and body of work in the NBA so far make them well worth the gamble.
“As we have a team that’s being re-tooled, I think the biggest thing is bringing in guys who can complement our best players and our core, but also have some upside — maybe some unrealized upside thus far,” Stevens explained.
“(Garza and Minott) were in a great situation being coached by a great coach in Chris Finch and a great organization with a ton of talent. And they’re used to winning. I like that, too.”
Schlitter, 24, was having a strong season split between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
In 15 games (14 stats) over 76.2 innings, the right-hander posted a 2.82 ERA and 1.21 WHIP while striking out 99 batters -- a rate of 11.6 per nine.
Since being selected by New York in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Schlittler has put up a 3.33 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 11.2 strikeouts per nine in three minor league seasons.
Schlittler will join a rotation that includes Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Will Warren, and Marcus Stroman.
In addition to Schmidt, the team is without Gerrit Cole for the year due to Tommy John surgery.
Luis Gil has been out all season due to a lat injury, but is expected to return during the second half of the season.
Regardless, with the trade deadline roughly three weeks away, the Yanks will almost certainly be prioritizing starting pitching help.
The Boston Celtics went all-in to contend for a title in each of the last two seasons. Now, they’re facing the consequences.
That was the essence of Brad Stevens’ message to reporters Tuesday when the Celtics’ president of basketball operations was asked about his team’s decisions to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who played key roles on a championship roster but would have cost a combined $63.1 million on the 2025-26 payroll.
“The second apron is why those trades happened,” Stevens said. “I think that’s pretty obvious. The basketball penalties associated with those are real.”
So, Stevens set about making significant (and difficult) changes, from trading Holiday and Porzingis to letting Luke Kornet and Al Horford walk in free agency. (Stevens said Tuesday it’s “unlikely” Horford re-signs with the Celtics.) After those moves, the Celtics are just barely over the second apron — by less than $1 million — but can duck under that threshold with at least one more minor move.
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Based on Stevens’ comments, you can expect the team to get under the second apron in short order.
“It was really important for us to, again, get out of that penalty box in a lot of ways,” Stevens said. “Because you can feel those, and those are real things.”
With so much focus on the second apron, it’s fair to wonder whether Stevens will continue to cut costs to get out of the luxury tax entirely, using 2025-26 as a “reset” season while Jayson Tatum recovers from a ruptured Achilles. It’s also fair to wonder if new lead owner Bill Chisholm has encouraged cost-cutting to lower the team’s massive luxury tax bill.
Yet Stevens insisted Tuesday that Chisholm has issued no directives to trim salary.
“Bill has been pretty clear from the get-go that he wants to make sure that we’re prioritizing basketball assets and the ability to retool this thing at the highest level that we can,” Stevens said.
” … We have most of our first-round picks still. We have a lot of second (-round picks) now. … We don’t want to take away our chance to use those to become the best that we can be over the next few years just to make a move to help save money. I think that’s been very clearly stated to me.”
The Celtics undoubtedly got worse on paper this offseason, ostensibly replacing Holiday, Porzingis, Horford and Kornet with Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang, Luka Garza and Josh Minott. But Stevens believes the flexibility Boston gains from getting out of the second apron will help the team build a better roster around Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the long-term.
“We’ll continue to look at how we can make things a little bit better or tweak things around the edges, and maybe something comes up over the next couple weeks. But that’s been our mindset,” Stevens added.
“… The priority is continuing to make sure that we have our future firsts and all these things that are that are in play for us, so that we can then use those to build.”
That building couldn’t have happened without a mini-roster teardown this summer, which is why Stevens viewed those cost-cutting measures as a necessity for the Celtics.
The Boston Celtics went all-in to contend for a title in each of the last two seasons. Now, they’re facing the consequences.
That was the essence of Brad Stevens’ message to reporters Tuesday when the Celtics’ president of basketball operations was asked about his team’s decisions to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who played key roles on a championship roster but would have cost a combined $63.1 million on the 2025-26 payroll.
“The second apron is why those trades happened,” Stevens said. “I think that’s pretty obvious. The basketball penalties associated with those are real.”
So, Stevens set about making significant (and difficult) changes, from trading Holiday and Porzingis to letting Luke Kornet and Al Horford walk in free agency. (Stevens said Tuesday it’s “unlikely” Horford re-signs with the Celtics.) After those moves, the Celtics are just barely over the second apron — by less than $1 million — but can duck under that threshold with at least one more minor move.
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Based on Stevens’ comments, you can expect the team to get under the second apron in short order.
“It was really important for us to, again, get out of that penalty box in a lot of ways,” Stevens said. “Because you can feel those, and those are real things.”
With so much focus on the second apron, it’s fair to wonder whether Stevens will continue to cut costs to get out of the luxury tax entirely, using 2025-26 as a “reset” season while Jayson Tatum recovers from a ruptured Achilles. It’s also fair to wonder if new lead owner Bill Chisholm has encouraged cost-cutting to lower the team’s massive luxury tax bill.
Yet Stevens insisted Tuesday that Chisholm has issued no directives to trim salary.
“Bill has been pretty clear from the get-go that he wants to make sure that we’re prioritizing basketball assets and the ability to retool this thing at the highest level that we can,” Stevens said.
” … We have most of our first-round picks still. We have a lot of second (-round picks) now. … We don’t want to take away our chance to use those to become the best that we can be over the next few years just to make a move to help save money. I think that’s been very clearly stated to me.”
The Celtics undoubtedly got worse on paper this offseason, ostensibly replacing Holiday, Porzingis, Horford and Kornet with Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang, Luka Garza and Josh Minott. But Stevens believes the flexibility Boston gains from getting out of the second apron will help the team build a better roster around Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the long-term.
“We’ll continue to look at how we can make things a little bit better or tweak things around the edges, and maybe something comes up over the next couple weeks. But that’s been our mindset,” Stevens added.
“The priority is continuing to make sure that we have our future firsts and all these things that are that are in play for us, so that we can then use those to build.”
That building couldn’t have happened without a mini-roster teardown this summer, which is why Stevens viewed those cost-cutting measures as a necessity for the Celtics.
“I’m really excited to be joining Genève-Servette!” Jesse
Puljujärvi is quoted in the club’s press release. “I’ve
heard nothing but good things about the organization and the league,
and I’m looking forward to experiencing it all. We have a great
group of players, and I’m going to give my all to help the team
succeed. I’m also looking forward to visiting the city, which looks
amazing, and meeting the fans.”
“We are very pleased with the arrival of Jesse, a player we have
been following for some time now,” said club sports manager Marc
Gautschi. “Thanks to his physique and speed, he can be absolutely
dominant on the big Swiss ice rinks. We are convinced that with the
help of our coaching staff, he will further develop his scoring
skills and become an essential offensive leader for our team.”
He joins a Genève-Servette team that won its first-ever national championship in Switzerland in 2023-24 and won the Champions Hockey League in 2024-25, but has missed the playoffs the last two National League seasons.
In addition to Puljujärvi, Genève-Servette has under contract for 2025-26 former NHLers Markus Granlund, Josh Jooris, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Taylor Beck and Tim Berni, whose NHL rights are still retained by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Born in Älvkarleby, Sweden, Puljujärvi grew
up in Finland and is a product of the Kärpät
club in northern Finland. It is with that Oulu-based
club that he first turned pro at age 16 in 2014-15.
Puljujärvi was chosen fourth overall by
the Edmonton
Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He has 128 points in 387
career NHL regular-season games with the Oilers, Carolina
Hurricanes, Pittsburgh
Penguins and Florida
Panthers. He also has six points in 27 playoff games with
Edmonton and Carolina.
During his career, Puljujärvi returned to play
for Kärpät in
2019-20 and part of 2020-21, as pandemic-related restrictions delayed
the NHL’s start to that season.
When Puljujärvi was waived by Pittsburgh in
February of this year to terminate his contract “by mutual
agreement” ahead of the international transfer deadline, it was
widely expected that he’d end up in Europe. Switzerland was one of
his rumored destinations at that time, as
was Kärpät. However, he surprisingly signed with Florida
instead.
This past season, Puljujärvi had 10 pointss in
31 NHL games, split between Pittsburgh and Florida, and 16 points in
26 AHL games, split between Wilkes/Barre-Scranton and Charlotte. He
also had 11 points in 18 playoff games for Charlotte, which included
an overtime goal in Game 5 of the finals against the Abbotsford
Canucks, which kept the Checkers alive for one more game.
Earlier this week, Montreal Canadiens and Laval Rocket player Joshua Roy was attending Jonathan Huberdeau’s golf tournament and spoke to RDS’ Eric Leblanc. The 21-year-old has wised up since last season, and he’s aware of how crucial the upcoming camp and season will be.
He had an underwhelming camp in 2024 and looked surprised to be sent down to the AHL, but things will be even more complicated this season. The Canadiens now have Ivan Demidov; they acquired Zack Bolduc in a trade and signed Samuel Blais. Oliver Kapanen, Owen Beck, Florian Xhekaj, Lucas Condotta, and Jared Davidson will also be hoping to graduate with the Habs.
Roy was never going to challenge Demidov for the second-line role, especially considering he didn’t produce much in the 12 games he played in Montreal last season. This Summer, he intends to work on his physical form, which is sometimes lacking and prevents him from providing the same level of effort in each game, which is not something coaches like.
Roy explains that he didn’t need to be told what was wrong with his game; he says he’s smart enough to figure out the issues. Roy can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk? That remains to be seen.
The Rocket forward also commented on the Logan Mailloux vs. Bolduc trade, explaining that the defenseman was one of his good friends, a good person, and an outstanding player. He added that with Noah Dobson’s arrival and all the good defensemen in the organization, a defenseman was bound to be leaving soon. He’ll get a new start in St. Louis.
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was pretty candid at a press conference Tuesday when asked about Horford.
“We made offers to both Luke (Kornet) and Al. We would’ve loved to have had both of them back. I’d say that’s unlikely,” Stevens told reporters.
“The only reason I haven’t talked about Al is, I could talk about Al my whole press conference and not say enough. But I don’t want to speak in absolute terms until an ultimate decision is made. If he were to go and play somewhere else, I think he’s an all-time Celtic, a winner, and did everything he could for this organization, not only in the games but also how he impacted our younger players.”
Horford has spent the last four seasons with the Celtics (seven in total across two stints in Boston), and he played a crucial role in the C’s being a title contender throughout that period, including a championship in 2024.
His ability to shoot 3-pointers, defend at a high level and provide veteran leadership, among several other qualities, was very valuable to the Celtics’ ascension.
The Celtics are limited in what they can offer Horford — or any other free agent — as a team over luxury tax. Horford is able to make more money with other teams. The C’s are also unlikely to be title contenders next season with Jayson Tatum recovering from a ruptured Achilles.
The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reported Monday, citing a league source, that Horford is “taking his time while assessing offers from multiple teams” and that “the 39-year-old is considering retirement, too.”
The Golden State Warriors reportedly have interest in signing Horford after they lost veteran center Kevon Looney earlier in free agency.
If Horford doesn’t return, the Celtics will have lost three centers — Horford, Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis — from last season’s roster.
The Los Angeles Kings lost one of their key players to the open market this offseason. Despite their efforts to try and bring him back, Vladislav Gavrikov decided to sign a long-term deal with the New York Rangers.
In a recent episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman revealed the Kings and Rangers almost pulled off a sign-and-trade that fell apart before free agency opened, and instead of the Kings getting something back, they lost Gavrikov for nothing.
#NYR have agreed to terms with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on a seven-year contract.
Friedman didn't seem to reveal what that sign-and-trade would've looked like, but comparing it to what happened with Mitchell Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nicolas Roy, the Kings likely would've only received a depth player or a draft pick from the Rangers.
Either way, the Kings lost Gavrikov and will have to move forward into next season. They tried to fill out their defensive depth with the money they had this summer, and time will tell if it pays off.
History could be repeating itself for Rafael Devers and the Giants, and not in a good way.
San Francisco acquired the star slugger in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox last month, but Devers might already have gotten off on the wrong foot with one Giants legend.
“We were in San Francisco right after that trade happened,” Red Sox broadcaster Will Flemming shared Monday on WEEI Sports Radio’s “WEEI Afternoons.” “They don’t yet know what is going to happen with the player. I was there the second day. Will Clark was there to work on ground balls with him at first base and Rafi didn’t show up.
“So that’s the person that these guys [the Red Sox] have been dealing with for a long time.”
Devers appeared to have a fallout with the Red Sox over his role with the team. Devers played third base for the first eight years of his MLB career before Boston moved him to DH this season to make way for Alex Bregman, whom the Red Sox signed to a three-year, $120 million free-agent contract this past offseason.
But there also was speculation that Devers was a bad teammate and a bad influence in the Red Sox clubhouse. Even Red Sox and baseball icon David Ortiz openly was critical of Devers and his communication, or lack thereof, over the years.
“You can’t imagine how many times I wrote to Devers trying to give him advice, but unfortunately, he has communication problems,” Ortiz told Dominican baseball insider Hector Gomez. “He almost never returned my messages, but I don’t blame him.
“He’s a good guy, but he definitely needs to improve his communication. He should find an advisor to help him with that.”
“The thing is that to have some like this at Boston you have to just not be a hitter you have to be the full package a all the way around player… go Sox.”
After multiple clashes between Devers and the organization, a fresh start seemed like the best solution for all parties involved. That continues to be the hope for Devers and San Francisco.
But was Devers standing up Clark just a miscommunication? The Giants surely hope so.
In 20 games since his arrival with the Giants, Devers has still only played DH, is slashing .240/.348/.387 with just two home runs and 9 RBI, and has struck out 28 times.
History could be repeating itself for Rafael Devers and the Giants, and not in a good way.
San Francisco acquired the star slugger in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox last month, but Devers might already have gotten off on the wrong foot with one Giants legend.
“We were in San Francisco right after that trade happened,” Red Sox broadcaster Will Flemming shared Monday on WEEI Sports Radio’s “WEEI Afternoons.” “They don’t yet know what is going to happen with the player. I was there the second day. Will Clark was there to work on ground balls with him at first base and Rafi didn’t show up.
“So that’s the person that these guys [the Red Sox] have been dealing with for a long time.”
Devers appeared to have a fallout with the Red Sox over his role with the team. Devers played third base for the first eight years of his MLB career before Boston moved him to DH this season to make way for Alex Bregman, whom the Red Sox signed to a three-year, $120 million free-agent contract this past offseason.
But there also was speculation that Devers was a bad teammate and a bad influence in the Red Sox clubhouse. Even Red Sox and baseball icon David Ortiz openly criticized Devers and his communication, or lack thereof, over the years.
“You can’t imagine how many times I wrote to Devers trying to give him advice, but unfortunately, he has communication problems,” Ortiz told Dominican baseball insider Hector Gomez. “He almost never returned my messages, but I don’t blame him.
“He’s a good guy, but he definitely needs to improve his communication. He should find an advisor to help him with that.”
“The thing is that to have some like this at Boston you have to just not be a hitter you have to be the full package a all the way around player… go Sox.”
After multiple clashes between Devers and the organization, a fresh start seemed like the best solution for all parties involved. That continues to be the hope for Devers and San Francisco.
Luckily for Devers, Clark was understanding of the situation and looked at it with an open mind.
Clark believes Devers didn’t show up to take grounders with him during that Giants-Red Sox series because he didn’t want to be at first base, a position he refused to play with Boston, right in front of the dugout of his former team.
Clark revealed that Giants manager Bob Melvin and third-base coach Matt Williams asked him to meet with Devers and work with him around first base. And while he was forgiving of being stood up, Clark issued a stern warning to Devers for the next time he’s in town.
“Friday, Saturday, Sunday, he did not come out at all. Period. Not at all,” Clark shared on the “Deuces Wild with Eric Byrnes & Will Clark” podcast. “I completely understand. But Rafael Devers, next time I’m in San Francisco, your ass will be on the field at first base. Just letting you know that. Even if I have to go grab you by the f–king back of the neck and drag your ass out there, you will be at first base.”
In 20 games since his arrival with the Giants, Devers has still only played DH, is slashing .240/.348/.387 with just two home runs and nine RBI, and has struck out 28 times.
It's Tuesday, July 8 and the Nationals (37-53) are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals (48-43). Jake Irvin is slated to take the mound for Washington against Sonny Gray for St. Louis.
Both Washington and St. Louis had much needed rest days on Monday. The Cardinals are coming off an 11-0 throbbing via the Cubs, which makes St. Louis 1-5 over the last six games.
The Nationals were swept by the Red Sox at home, which was the final straw for ownership apparently. Washington fired their team president and manager on Sunday with six games left before the All-Star break.
Let's dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Nationals at Cardinals
Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Time: 7:45PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming:
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Odds for the Nationals at the Cardinals
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Moneyline: Nationals (+154), Cardinals (-186)
Spread: Cardinals -1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Nationals at Cardinals
Pitching matchup for July 8, 2025: Jake Irvin vs. Sonny Gray
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Nationals and the Cardinals
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Tuesday’s game between the Nationals and the Cardinals:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Washington Nationals at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 9.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC.
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Nationals at Cardinals
Washington is 9-8 when Irvin pitches this season and 3-0 in the last three
St. Louis is 13-4 when Gray pitches this season and 3-0 when coming off a loss
The Nationals have won 4 of their last 5 away games following a loss
The Nationals' last 3 road games have gone over the Total
The Nationals have covered in 4 of their last 5 road games but they are profiting 1.47 units
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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