Liverpool need midfield nous, Michael Carrick is already under pressure and Villa can bid farewell to Enzi Konsa
Enzo Maresca has a shiny new £85m midfielder he could select for a debut but, at 18 years old, he may want Ayyoub Bouaddi to have a bit of time watching on from the bench to learn about the Premier League from his elders. The Moroccan may not have anticipated one of those to be a centre-back by trade. Marc Guéhi will be eager to make a triumphant return to Crystal Palace and may well have the opportunity to do so from central midfield, where he played last weekend in the victory over Bournemouth, scoring the equaliser. The centre-back was a surprise selection in the blocker role next to Elliot Anderson, but equipped himself admirably and was not limited to the dirty work, often being found in more advanced positions in open play and happy to have the ball at his feet. His long-term future is unlikely to be outside of defence but further proof of Guéhi’s adaptability will be a positive for Maresca, as a long season awaits. Will Unwin
Crystal Palace v Manchester City, Friday 8pm (all times BST)
HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 04: Mekhi Blackmon #29 of the Indianapolis Colts lines up before the snap during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on January 4, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Browns have spent the summer on a tiresome and mostly pointless quarterback battle that was finally settled, at least temporarily, when head coach Todd Monken announced that Deshaun Watson would be the starter when the team opens the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With so much of the focus on the quarterback position, the situation at cornerback has flown a bit under the radar.
Cleveland is set with starters Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell, and Myles Harden seems locked in at one of the backup roles.
But after that, things have gotten a bit murky thanks to an injury to Michael Coats Jr., who left practice this week on the medical cart with a leg injury, leaving D’Angelo Ross, Tre Avery and a cast of characters filling out the position group.
General manager Andrew Berry made a move to address the situation on Thursday, however, as the club claimed veteran cornerback Mekhi Blackmon off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts.
We've claimed CB Mekhi Blackmon via waivers and waived WR Cedric Tillman
The Minnesota Vikings originally drafted the 5-foot-11 and 178-pound Blackmon in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons with the Vikings before moving on to the Colts, and has played in 32 games with 14 starts. His stat line shows him with 105 career tackles, three interceptions, 15 passes defensed, and a sack.
With cutdowns to the initial 53-man roster coming by Sunday a 6 p.m., it will be interesting to see if Blackmon has enough time to make an impression on the coaching staff and earn a roster spot.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 26: Tommy Edman #25 reacts with Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after a two run home run during the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on August 26, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers install a righty-heavy lineup to face Chris Sale, trying to avoid getting swept by the Braves.
LIBEREC, Czech Republic (AP) — Two days after Celtic's embarrassing elimination in Champions League qualifying, Scottish rival Rangers followed suit by falling to unheralded Czech team Jablonec in the Conference League playoffs.
Rangers took a 1-0 lead from the first leg but lost the return match by the same score and eventually was eliminated 4-3 in the penalty shootout, leaving the Glasgow club out of Europe beyond August for the first time since 2017.
“So embarrassed with it. We should be winning this tie, there’s no two ways about it,” Rangers manager Derek McInnes said. “I'm embarrassed at the fact that we should be performing a lot better. It's not easy for me to say that, because I'm here to help my players. I want my players to be so much better than they were tonight.”
McInnes, in his first season with Rangers, took responsibility for the team's debacle, which came after it was eliminated by Poland's Jagiellonia Bialystok in Europa League qualifying.
“The best players can miss penalty kicks but we had enough time to get through the tie,” he said. “The responsibility is shared tonight, but I'm responsible for bringing a better performance than what we showed tonight. And for that I'm embarrassed. I so disappointed that we've been emptied out of Europe.”
A couple of nights earlier, Celtic led LASK 4-0 on aggregate after a half hour of the second leg in Austria, but five unanswered goals — the fifth and decisive one coming in extra time — meant that for two straight years the Scottish title holder wasted clear chances to play on the lucrative biggest stage of European club soccer.
Last year, Celtic could not score in either leg against Kairat Almaty and, after a pair of scoreless draws, went out in a penalty shootout in Kazakhstan.
Rangers didn’t get past the league phase of the Europa League last season. In 2017, the last time it didn't advance past the qualifying rounds in Europe, it lost 2-1 on aggregate to Luxembourg’s Progres Niederkorn in the first round of qualifying for the Europa League.
“It's all about trying to work towards better performances and trying to win games of football,” McInnes said. “But we were way off, we have to be totally honest with that.”
McInnes worked wonders with Hearts before returning to Rangers, where he had a playing spell [Getty Images]
Where do you start? How do you catalogue the insipidness of Derek McInnes' Rangers team in Jablonec?
How do you catalogue the Pedro-Caixinha-in-the-bushes level embarrassment that the club experienced in their exit from European football on Thursday?
In Jablonec, Rangers were unspeakably awful, devoid of any cohesion, desire, threat, their manager reduced to saying how embarrassed and mortified he was multiple times post-match.
They had one shot on target the whole night, one goal scored in 210 minutes. Rangers fans in the stadium gave it to them with both barrels at the end.
McInnes apologised. The whole scene was cringe-making. He tried to explain what he was trying to do with his multiple switches of formation and attempted to explain why his side were "miles off it".
Talk is cheap in his position. There's a limited shelf life for that kind of thing at Ibrox.
The chat from some Rangers folk in the preamble was that the Conference League meant little to them, that an exit wouldn't spark an uprising, that no midweek European football could give them a chance to hurl themselves at the Premiership instead. Fine in theory, but not in reality.
The notion that a defeat would be met with a collective shrug by Rangers fans was never a serious proposition. This defeat sparked untrammelled fury.
McInnes would be as well staying away from social media. Winning in the bear pit of Pittodrie on Sunday is strongly advised.
Rangers were so flat in the Czech Republic, meandering about like confused men, showing weakness in the tackle and not a scintilla of wit. McInnes changed the shape of his four or five times and the poverty of their play didn't improve one iota.
"I look at us now and I'm thinking, well, we're no' great as a possession-based team at the minute," said McInnes in explaining his constant switches.
"We're not a counter-attacking team enough, or effectively enough, at times. We don't look like a team who are happy when we go direct. And teams need to be something."
Quite. And what are Rangers? What's their identity? What are they good at? In what areas are they improving?
McInnes was appointed in June, had a full pre-season, had six games and then a week off to prepare for the trip to Jablonec, only for Rangers to produce their worst effort of this, and many other, seasons.
During the dog days of his reign at Rangers, Russell Martin was once asked if he could name one or two things that were better on his watch - and he couldn't do it.
If McInnes was asked the same question now then there's no guarantee that he would come up with an answer, or at least, an answer that rang true.
Nobody really knows what his Rangers are, least of all McInnes, you suspect. He made three substitutions at the break on Thursday, a trio that brought his total of half-time replacements to 11 in seven games.
That betrays a manager who has either got his team wrong in the first place, hasn't been able to impart his message to his starters or doesn't have a dressing room capable of taking in what he's saying to them. Whatever the truth of it, it's not good.
He knows what he wants because he watched it on television the night before. Hearts had four new players in their starting line-up against Rapid Vienna and used another two off the bench.
Wouter Vrancken, in quick time, moulded them together and made something terrific out of them in winning their own Conference League tie in Austria.
McInnes praised his old club for the resilience of their players and the stomach they showed for the fight. The inference being that his own boys had little or none of that. Again you ask, why not?
Vast periods of this play-off went by without Rangers stringing more than four and five passes together. They pressed in ones and two or not at all.
They came across as a team that had just met, a collection of guys rounded up in a pub and coached by a character who had no idea what to do with them.
Where was Raskin? And why not sign experience?
Ibrox is a confused place right now. McInnes said his team looked young and inexperienced against Jablonec. This was on the back of announcing the signing of a 20-year-old winger and - if things go to plan - a 22-year-old striker.
If they need gnarled operators then why not sign some?
There was no Nico Raskin, the midfielder left at home, not because there'd been a bid for him, said McInnes, but because there might be.
If there were was a decent offer and the possibility of higher ones, his absence would have been understandable. If there was no bid then why was there no Raskin?
He was missed, said McInnes. A player who performed well at the World Cup and he's left at home? Odd.
McInnes said that his coaching staff are "elite in everything we do" in preparing the players for games like this. That's a massive claim after losing the way they did.
The manager said that the responsibility for the failure was his but he repeatedly returned to how lamentable his players were. His players. Six of McInnes' signings started and another two came off the bench.
What has McInnes been doing with his expensively-assembled team. A dozen players have now been signed. How much money has to be spent before the manager starts to look convincing in the role?
The Rangers players who were on the field in the Czech Republic cost about £30m in transfer fees. The wage bill at Ibrox must be astronomical. They've now added the £8.5m winger Kim Min-su and may soon recruit a £9.5m striker in Kevin Kelsy.
The giant wad of cash splurged on all this would choke an elephant.
By contrast, Jablonec's record signing cost around £700,000. Their most recent turnover was £8.5m compared to Rangers' £94m. Their stadium is the size of a shoebox, their support tiny, their European story minimal.
They were the ones who went after the game, though. They didn't have a huge amount going for them in ability terms, but they had edge and character.
Hard work and energy? They trounced Rangers on all of the things that require no talent, just honesty.
McInnes is in a tight spot, not in any danger of losing his job, but with huge amounts of ground to make up with the fans.
He's been around a long time, but the pressure those supporters can exert when things are bad is a challenge for any manager, no matter how long he's been around.
Tampa City Council voted four to three to approve a stadium development through which Tampa would commit $80 million toward building the infrastructure required for a new Rays stadium. The three no votes were Miranda, Hurtak and Maniscalco, who had also voted no in previous Council votes on the stadium.
There’s a lot in the new agreement, a lot that was discussed today, and perhaps even more that has not been addressed at all. I’m not going to try to provide a detailed, in the weeds analysis, but rather pull out some of the key issues that were raised by Council members and in public comments.
What does this agreement include? It is an agreement about building the stadium, and NOT about the larger redevelopment project. It sets up three actors — StatCo (the Rays entity responsible for building the stadium), the county and the city, and outlines their contributions. It also describes the creation of a Community Development District (CDD) that will be able to capture new tax dollars generated by the development, and proposes some changes to several existing Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs). That’s a lot! And keep in mind: The Rays shared a version of this agreement on Sunday, and then an updated version on Wednesday. For city staff, Council members and the general public there was very little time to absorb the 139-page document.
The clear city financial contribution is $80 million, payable in four installments between 2027 and 2029. Councilmember Hurtak contended that the city will need to borrow to pay their share, and accounting for borrowing costs the full financial hit to the city is closer to $120 million. (Note that Councilmember Carlson, who supports the deal, says that dividing the $80 million into four payments over three years means they might not need to borrow after all). The city would eventually get money back over several decades through the CDD.
What is absent from this agreement? SO MUCH. It is ONLY about the stadium development. It doesn’t address the renovation/relocation of Hillsborough College or of the other government buildings on the site. It doesn’t address the management of the stadium, who covers maintenance costs, how various revenues (from parking, naming rights, non-baseball activities) will be allocated. It doesn’t address any rent payments from the team to the county (there is reporting that Rays have agreed to pay $4 million a year, but that’s not in the agreement.)
What did the supporters say? The main line of argument for supporters seemed to be something like this: we have the opportunity to keep baseball in the community while catalyzing billions in a mixed use development along Dale Mabry. Over the long run, the benefits of developing 100 acres that currently generate no property taxes will far outweigh the costs. Morever, Rays baseball has become part of our community’s identity.
What did opponents say?
It’s all too rushed, we need more time to consider these details.
How can we commit public funds with Amendment 3 pending? City and county decision makers are waiting to see the results of Amendment 3, the ballot measure that will significantly reduce residential property tax collections. This could be a good reason for both the Commission and the Council to wait until November to see whether they can afford this kind of investment.
Even without Amendment 3 looming, the time frame for the city’s payments to the project and the time frame for the CDD generating revenue back to the city are vastly different. The city will need to provide its $80 million between now and 2029. Financial benefits from that larger CDD will start at best around 2032-2035.
Aren’t there better things to do with this money? Its hard to commit $80 million when so many Tampa streets are subject to flooding and other programs go begging.
Will there be broader community benefits? Well the largest benefits would come from the massive redevelopment planned near the stadium. (To give you an idea of the size: the entire site is 120 acres and 20 will be for the ballpark. That leaves 100 acres for some combination of Hillsborough College buidings and commercial/residential development. In comparison, the nearby Midtown development is about 25 acres; Water Street is 55 acres). But…this particular agreement doesn’t provide guarantees or project milestones for this larger development.
The Rays also put out a community benefits “memo” but it’s just a vague, aspirational list of bullet points. Either someone wrote this in five minutes or they just prompted ChatGPT to come up with a list of nice things for the community. When the Rays signed the agreement with St. Pete, their Community Benefits Agreement — which certainly had critics — had a lot of specifics: a minimum number of affordable housing units; a certain amount of open space; investment in jobs training and cultural institutions. So as far as I am concerned, there is no CBA, just someone saying “we’ll be nice, we promise!”
Why the rush? I understand that the Rays want to move this ahead quickly. They have two reasons to want to rush. The most obvious is the lead time needed to build a stadium as they look at their expiring Trop lease. To have a stadium ready for March 2029, construction needs to start ASAP. The second is upcoming elections; several members of the Commission are up for reelection in November; one member of the Council is running for state legislature and if he wins his election he’ll leave his seat. Then, in March of 2027 we’ll get a new Tampa mayor and several new Council members. I have no idea whether any newcomers will be more hostile to the stadium than current members, but if I’m the Rays I really don’t want to have to start all over courting new players.
You know that feeling when your team plays a 12 inning night game and then your realize there is a noon game the next day? Well, tomorrow the County Commission — which is providing nearly ten times the funding as the City of Tampa — will meet on this agreement at 9am. This is a special meeting called to discuss the agreement and not a regular Commission meeting, so it’s likely that they will start on this topic very soon after they convene. You can stream the hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nW47pVvIVA
TORONTO, ON - JULY 18: A close-up view of the base of a statue in the likeness of Toronto Blue Jays alumnus Joe Carter (29), not shown, displays a quote by Tom Cheek: "TOUCH 'EM ALL, JOE! YOU'LL NEVER HIT A BIGGER HOME RUN IN YOUR LIFE." during an MLB game between the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 18, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Game three with the Royals. A win would be nice.
I spent part of the morning buying some fish. I have two good sized fish tanks, but they have been sitting empty for a year. We went on holiday for a month last year and our son watched the house, but he didn’t notice that the water filter stopped working, which isn’t a good thing. I finally decided to get them back in shape and get some fish. Slowly build up the numbers. The cats are enjoying watching the fish.
Fish tanks are really just a money pit, but what else am I’m going to do with the $1.99 SB sends me every month?
Today’s Lineups
ROYALS
BLUE JAYS
Carter Jensen – C
Charles McAdoo – 2B
Bobby Witt – SS
Vladimir Guerrero – 1B
Jac Caglianone – RF
Alejandro Kirk – C
Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B
George Springer – DH
Salvador Perez – DH
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
Isaac Collins – 2B
Ernie Clement – SS
John Rave – LF
Daz Cameron – LF
Josh Rojas – 3B
Myles Straw – CF
Kyle Isbel – CF
Nathan Lukes – RF
Noah Cameron – LHP
S. Arrighetti – RHP
Hey, US, we have an Orange Guy, too. Only his orange is far more natural:
BREAKING NEWS: Youppi! has signed an executive order to rename Washington Nationals as “Montreal Expos,” a change the mascot says would take effect immediately pic.twitter.com/5V1xnZtajh
Sometimes a retirement is a deeply personal life decision. Sometimes it’s just a two-year vacation while you wait for your general manager to acquire Myles Garrett.
When the Los Angeles Rams traded for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year this summer, it didn't just alter the NFC West landscape — it woke up a sleeping giant. After two full years out of the league, 35-year-old Aaron Donald is suddenly working out at the Rams' facility and texting insiders about whether his "fire can light back up". Unsurprisingly, Kalshi's Aaron Donald return odds have absolutely detonated.
Aaron Donald Return Odds
Outcome
'Yes' Price
✅ Yes, plays at least one snap
81%
81¢
❌ No, does not play
19%
19¢
Use Promo Code COVERS35
Trade $25, Get $35
This is a binary prediction market tracking whether the three-time DPOY will officially unretire and play a single snap in the upcoming 2026-27 NFL season. It is currently pricing in a cocktail of nostalgia, superteam hype, and the undeniable gravitational pull of a Super Bowl hosted at SoFi Stadium.
For sharp traders, navigating this $200,000 plus market means separating genuine competitive itch from a bored legend simply enjoying the summer spotlight.
Key Takeaways
The Heavy Favorite: "Yes" surged to an 82.3% implied probability by mid-July, completely flipping the board after a frantic 44.8-point climb since early June. With news that Aaron Donald worked out with the Rams on August 5: the market hit a new high of 87.5%.
No news is bad news: A Donald return has dipped to 81% in late August as the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has still not committed to play this season.
The Snap Rule: Resolution does not require a full 17-game season; Donald only needs to record one official snap in the preseason, regular season, or playoffs for "Yes" to cash.
The Current Board: Will Aaron Donald Play?
As documented in the order book, total market liquidity has scaled close to the $400,000 mark. This aggressive volume proves that institutional sports traders are treating a potential return as a highly actionable event rather than just a slow-news summer rumor.
The trend line is undeniable: the market was deeply skeptical in early June, but a steady drip of insider leaks and workout sightings has pushed the "Yes" contract to a commanding 88¢ peak.
Value Picks: Where the Smart Money is Moving
In a binary prediction market hit by a wave of intense public hype, finding value is about identifying whether the crowd has priced the narrative to perfection or ignored the physical realities of the sport.
Aaron Donald to Play | ‘Yes’ 81¢ | 81% Chance
The logic here is intoxicating. The Rams are building an impenetrable defensive line, the Super Bowl is in their home stadium, and Donald explicitly told reporter Jordan Schultz that he is "for sure flirting with the idea":
However, at 81¢, most of the intrinsic value has been squeezed out of the narrative. You are paying a massive premium for an aging player who still has to pass a physical, survive training camp, and officially sign the paperwork before stepping onto the gridiron.
Use Promo Code COVERS35
Trade $25, Get $35
Aaron Donald to Play This Season | ‘No’ 19¢ | 19% Chance
This is where the actual mechanical value lives on the board. The hype train is currently ignoring the biological reality of the NFL trenches. Donald has been out of professional football for two full years. Returning to absorb 300-pound double-teams at age 35 is an entirely different proposition than lifting weights in a private gym.
Furthermore, as Donald noted during his initial retirement, he stepped away because he didn't want to endure another brutal 17-game grind. At a cheap 19¢, you are buying high-leverage insurance against a legend waking up sore in August and deciding the couch is actually perfectly fine.
Expert Context: Why the Markets are Shifting
The underlying mechanics of this market shift are entirely driven by front-office aggression. The Rams didn't just add a rotational piece; they traded for the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, completely altering the math on what Donald's potential workload would look like.
Historically, Donald was forced to be the singular engine of the Rams' defense, absorbing historic rates of double and triple-teams. With Garrett now terrifying opposing quarterbacks on the edge, the pitch to Donald is simple and alluring: come back, play high-leverage rotational snaps, and chase another ring without carrying the entire franchise on your back.
The narrative momentum is being fueled directly by Donald himself. Texting Pat McAfee that the Garrett trade "for sure got me thinking" essentially functioned as a public negotiation tactic. When a player of his caliber starts taking test-drive workouts at the team facility in July to "see how he felt," prediction markets instantly reprice from hypothetical to imminent.
Strategic Considerations for Traders
Watch the Conditioning Clock: Training camp officially opened in late July. We have already seen a bit of a dip, simply because Donald is not taking part of the festivities.
The Loophole Leverage: You do not need Donald to commit to a full 17-game season for a 'Yes' ticket to cash. Under Kalshi's specific resolution terms, he merely needs to record a single snap in the preseason, regular season, or playoffs. If Los Angeles signs him purely as a late-season playoff mercenary, the 'Yes' contract still wins.
The Flip Strategy: Roster markets are highly reactive to social media breadcrumbs. If you buy 'No' contracts at 18¢ and Donald’s camp leaks a hesitant report regarding his physical conditioning, you can immediately sell your position into the panic for a clean profit before the market resolves.
How to Trade Aaron Donald Return Odds on Kalshi
Navigating binary player props allows you to trade directly on NFL front-office incentives and media narratives with total structural flexibility.
Account Setup: Create your profile and fund your exchange balance via standard wire or bank transfer to ensure maximum liquidity ahead of sudden breaking news cycles.
Navigate: Click into the main sports dashboard, filter your directory view by the "Pro Football" portfolio, and select the active Aaron Donald market.
Execute: Evaluate the fast-moving contract prices to determine if you want to pay the premium to back the comeback narrative via 'Yes' shares or execute a risk-managed fade by purchasing 'No' contracts.
Monitor: Track your risk exposure in real-time through your continuous portfolio stream, giving you the power to execute early cash-outs to capture profits or mitigate downside drift.
Aaron Donald Return FAQs
How is the winning contract determined on Kalshi?
The market formally resolves to 'Yes' if Aaron Donald competes in a Pro Football game during the 2026-27 season. Kalshi utilizes official game logs verified by ESPN and the governing league to confirm that he recorded at least one official snap in the preseason, regular season, or playoffs.
Can I change my position before he signs a contract?
Yes, prediction markets feature a continuous trading window where you can buy or sell contracts at any point before final resolution. If a negative injury update or a definitive retirement statement causes the market to shift, you can immediately liquidate your active shares to protect your capital.
What happens if he signs with the Rams but gets injured before playing?
The resolution criteria strictly require Donald to record "at least one snap" in an actual game. If he signs a lucrative contract but suffers a season-ending injury during training camp before ever taking the field for a preseason or regular-season matchup, the market will resolve to 'No.' Traders must factor this inherent physical risk into their pricing models.
This offseason, the New York Rangers hired Jay Leach as the head coach for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.
There’s some history involved with this hire, as Leach was a head-coaching candidate back in 2023 before they hired Peter Laviolette.
Mike Sullivan also has a relationship with Leach. In fact, it was actually Sullivan who gave Leach his first coaching opportunity ahead of the 2015-16 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.
“He’s a really good person, first and foremost,” Sullivan said via The New York Post in 2023. “He’s a great communicator. He just has a knack with relationships. I think he’s a likeable person. Players gravitate towards him. He’s a good leader. He’s been in leadership roles when he was playing in the American League, and so he brought all of that to the coaching aspect of what he’s doing now.
“When I got a chance to work right next to him in Wilkes-Barre, I was really impressed, but not surprised, with his work ethic. He rolls his sleeves up, he works hard at being a good coach, he brings a certain humility to the job every day that I think is so important for all of us.”
Leach previously served as an assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken from 2021 to 2024 and, most recently, for the Boston Bruins from 2024 to 2026.
The Rangers hired Leach shortly after coach Grant Potulny and assistants Jamie Tardif and Paul Mara were relieved of their duties with the Wolf Pack.
Bob Woods and John Stevens were also brought on to serve as assistant coaches under Leach in Hartford.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Walker Jenkins #23 of the Minnesota Twins bats in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Per Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline, Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins will make his Minnesota debut this Friday against the Chicago White Sox. Jenkins is ranked #13 overall by MLB Pipeline, #4 by FanGraphs, and #9 by Baseball America. He is the highest ranked Twins prospect to debut since Byron Buxton in 2015.
Minnesota will need to add Jenkins to both the 40 and 26-man rosters before he can play. Both can be solved DFA-ing Alex Jackson again, who hasn’t touched the field since being re-added to the roster last week, but if Byron Buxton is headed to the IL, a player will need to be dropped from the 40-man. The likely casualty there would be Kyler Fedko, who is out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL a few weeks ago.
Jenkins joins the Twins at a time where the lineup could seriously use a boost, which he is more than capable of providing. Minnesota was waiting to see his in-game power develop before he came up, and it finally showed through this month. Jenkins has hit an insane .411/.482/.795 in August with eight homers, seven steals, and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He is more than ready and should slide into the middle of the lineup immediately.
Minnesota is a long shot to make the playoffs at this point, with their playoff odds dropping to a season low 11.1% after losing a series to the homeless Athletics. They’ll need a hot stretch from everyone on the team to make the postseason, which means regularly running out your best nine hitters. There’s no universe where that doesn’t include Jenkins at this point.
Regardless of the Twins’ October fate, this final month will be important for both Jenkins and the Twins moving forward. As with Culpepper, the goal for both of these highly-touted youngsters is to never play in St. Paul again, but development isn’t linear. Given his prospect profile, there are almost no scenarios where Jenkins isn’t a useful MLB player. However, GM Jeremy Zoll needs to gauge how ready Jenkins is to step into the limelight.
If he hits the ground running and his underlying swing decision and approach metrics remain strong, you can pretty much bank on an outfield of Buxton, Jenkins, and Keaschall heading into next season with Alan Roden as an overqualified fourth option. Emmanuel Rodriguez, meanwhile, becomes one of the most appealing trade chips on the market for other spots the Twins need to shore. If Jenkins needs more time in St. Paul, maybe there’s some logic to bringing back Larnach for his final arbitration season.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, but getting to see the Twins’ best prospect in a decade is certainly worth celebrating. Welcome to Minneapolis, Walker! Let’s hit the ground running!
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 26: Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) points to the outfield as Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) looks on during the MLB game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on August 26, 2026 at TRUIST Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The misdemeanor charges against Packers running back Josh Jacobs arise from a domestic incident. And a portion of the incident apparently was captured by the surveillance system at Jacobs's house.
Via the incident report posted by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, "Jacobs grabbed [the victim] and threw her to the ground and she struck her head, suffering an injury. Jacobs then took her phone from her while she was on the ground. [She] laid on the ground for a while and then struggled to walk back into the house." The incident report strongly suggests that this altercation appears on the video.
As everyone learned nearly 12 years ago in the Ray Rice case, if video exists the video eventually will emerge. And seeing the video will spark a much stronger action than knowing the video exists.
It could be enough to prompt the NFL to place Jacobs on paid leave, even though the charges are misdemeanors and not felonies. Depending on the specific content of the video, the Packers could also release him.
For now, the Packers have issued a predictably perfunctory statement.
“We are aware of the charges brought against Josh Jacobs," the team said. "We will continue to cooperate with the NFL as we work through the process. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Jacobs's lawyers also have issued a statement, which omits the typical insistence that their client is innocent: "The Brown County District Attorney has reviewed evidence and elected to file misdemeanor charges against Josh that do not include domestic violence. The allegations will be addressed in court, and not in the media. Mr. Jacobs respects the District Attorney's office and the process it followed."
Although the Personal Conduct Policy applies to a wide range of off-field misconduct, the league typically takes a stronger position in cases involving domestic violence; the fact that Jacobs's lawyers claim the charges of battery and criminal damage to property "do not include domestic violence" does not change the domestic nature of the incident.
Regardless of whether Jacobs is placed on paid leave, he's subject to a baseline suspension of six games — based either on any resolution pursuant to which Jacobs accepts responsibility for the situation or through an independent investigation that the league conducts.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Jacob Misiorowski #32 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts as he leaves the mound at the end of the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Brewers avoided a potential disaster last night when Dustin May left the game after throwing one pitch. Instead, both the pitching staff (led by a solid appearance from Robert Gasser) and the offense picked him up to even the series at 1-1. Tonight, the Brewers will go for the series win with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound.
First, some good news on May. Despite taking that 106-mph liner off the back of his right shoulder last night, he’s in good shape today. He’s dealing with a little soreness but no bruise, and could pitch on Sunday in Gasser’s spot if everything goes well.
Dustin May just headed out to play catch. He’s a little sore but says nothing major. Incredibly, he says he doesn’t have a bruise from getting smoked by a 106 mph liner last night.
If everything goes to plan for Dustin May in the coming days, he could slot back into the rotation on Sunday in what formerly was Gasser’s spot, Pat Murphy said.
Jacob Misiorowski makes the start tonight as he continues his amazing season. He is coming off of six scoreless innings against the Braves on Friday. The Mets are a team that has managed to keep Misiorowski in check so far. He’s making his third start against them in his career. Earlier this season, he pitched four innings and allowed an unearned run while striking out six. In his one start against them last year, he allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings. This season, Misiorowski has a 1.68 ERA, 2.14 FIP, and 216 strikeouts compared to 33 walks in 145 innings.
For the Mets, Sean Manaea starts the rubber match. The Brewers did not face him during their first series this season, with their last matchup coming in August of last year. The Brewers scored four runs off him in four innings in an 8-7 win. Manaea has allowed four runs in back-to-back outings, with the last one coming against the White Sox. In that start, he pitched six innings and allowed five hits (three of them home runs), two walks, and struck out four. In 2026, Manaea has a 4.31 ERA, 4.53 FIP, and 117 strikeouts in 117 innings.
A couple of regulars are off today with the lefty on the mound. Brice Turang, Christian Yelich, and Garrett Mitchell are out of the lineup, and Jake Bauers is still recovering. Jackson Chourio will lead off with Luis Lara batting behind him. William Contreras will start at DH today, followed by Andrew Vaughn at first base. Gary Sánchez gets the start behind the plate and bats fifth, with Joey Ortiz at third and batting sixth. Sal Frelick, Cooper Pratt, and David Hamilton round out the lineup.
First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. It will be on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network. Rain will be a concern tonight as some storms move through the area, but hopefully there will be enough of a break to get this one in.
TORONTO, CANADA - AUGUST 26: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals avoids an inside pitch in the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on August 26, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Chins up, everyone.
Unless the Royals winning streak had hit 25 games, they weren’t going to make the playoffs. And so they fell 16 games short of it. So what? That was quite the enjoyable stretch of baseball, and despite losing last night, I’m looking forward to tonight’s game.
Noah Cameron is back on the mound.
Cameron became one of the team’s highlights last year when helped keep the season afloat. He struggled at the start of this season, but he’s been incredible through his last six outings, five of them starts, one a long relief appearance. In those six outings, Cameron’s tossed 42-and-2/3 innings, allowed just five earned runs, good for a 1.05 ERA and 2.31 FIP, as he’s struck out 36 batters, hit one of them, walked only 12 batters, and surrendered 15 hits, none of which have left the yard.
The Royals went 3-3 in those games.
He takes on the Blue Jays, a team he faced twice last year but hasn’t dealt with yet in 2026. Of course, the Blue Jays ended the Royals’ nine-game winning streak last evening, blanking the Royals, 3-0.
Toronto sends to the mound righty Spencer Arrighetti, who’s making only his second appearance with the Blue Jays after being acquired at the deadline from the Houston Astros. For the year, Arrighetti is 7-6 with a 4.73 ERA, 5.11 FIP (yikes), 1.347 WHIP, 91 strikeouts, and 52 walks.
Against the righty, the Royals opt for a left-handed hitting third baseman in Joshua Rojas over Nick Loftin. With Michael Massey now on the I.L., Isaac Collins shifts to second base with John Rave taking over left field. The rest of the lineup is pretty normal.
The Royals haven’t faced Arrighetti much—Salvador Perez has the most at-bats against him with five—but in limited action, Vinnie Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Isbel, Jac Caglianone, and Carter Jensen have success against him.
Most of that action came this year, back on June 14 when the Royals shutout the Astros, 4-0, in a game in which Stephen Kolek started, Kameron Misner started in center, and Lane Thomas patrolled right. Feels like a different season.
Before the season began, I picked Kazuma Okamoto to win the American League Rookie of the Year. Why? Well, 99% of the reason is because his name is Kazuma Okamoto. The other 1% is because he’s a hard-hitting third baseman. The 30-year-old, playing his first year in the Majors after a career spent in Japan, has a .737 OPS with 26 homers and 74 RBIs, but he won’t win the AL ROY.
Still has a baller name, though.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s career is so interesting. I may write about this more before the end of the season, at which point I’ll be departing Royals Review, but Vlad Jr. is “Exhibit A” for the case of baseball players peaking much earlier in their careers during this era than any other. Vlad Jr. broke out as a 22-year-old when he finished second in MVP voting as he smacked 48 homers, scored 123 runs, drove in 111 runs, and slashed .311/.401/.601 for an OPS 67% above league-average.
Since, he’s slugged over .500 just once. This year, he’s down to .353. And it’s not just his slugging—his OBP has fallen from .396 in 2024 to .334 this season. Still only 27, he’s only homered seven times this year. What gives?
I don’t know, but he’s not the only active player with such a career arc. If I have the time, I’ll dig into it.
I wish Enes Kanter Freedom did not take the bait from Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud.
During a game last week against the Indiana Fever, she shouted vulgar comments at the former NBA player, who was sitting in the crowd behind the basket.
Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud (9) yells at Turkish-American former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom during the second half against the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
He chirped back and showed off his massive wingspan and his T-shirt, emblazoned with the definition of the word “woman” (“adult human. female”).
Kanter Freedom was booted — and promptly became the story.
Critics have said that he’s using the protect women’s sportsmovement for clout. But some are using him to rewrite history.
Former basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud of the Chicago Sky yelled at one another during a Fever Sky matchup. Though Cloud started the interaction, Kanter Freedom was booted. Getty Images
That’s ironic because, just a few sentences later, Brewer excluded all the women who are fighting this very battle.
“If the trans athlete debate were an organic, fully woman-led controversy, it could have prompted meaningful conversation, empathy in the pursuit of solutions and thoughtful measures taken after an extended process,” he wrote.
Either he been living under a rock or he’s willfully ignorant. My money is on the latter.
From the start, this has been an “organic, fully women-led” movement. Unfortunately, the ladies who have stuck their necks out haven’t been met with “empathy” or “meaningful conversation.”
In his column for The Athletic, Jerry Brewer ridiculously argues that if only the “trans athlete debate were an organic, fully women-led controversy” it would be treated thoughtfully.
They’ve been berated, dismissed and called transphobic.
It’s easier for the hypocritical be-kind brigade to call these women names instead of dealing with biological reality that shatters their bizarre progressive ideology.
Just ask the four high-school girls from Connecticut who, in 2020, after suddenly being smoked on the track by two boys identifying as girls, filed a lawsuit saying the boys’ participation was a Title IX violation.
It was tossed before being revived on appeals three years later.
Washington teen Ahnaleigh Wilson (left), who was bested in track by a male athlete, was berated by Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton for holding a sign thanking Sophie Cunningham for standing up for girls. Arwen Becker/ Instagram
Then came Riley Gaines, who was forced to compete against and change in a locker room with UPenn’s Lia Thomas. She came out against the obvious farce and was immediately slammed as a bigot and harassed by a mob of activists at San Francisco University.
On an episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” then-Congresswoman Katie Porter said Gaines was doing it for the “likes and clicks.”
To this day, the 12-time All-American is mocked by critics as a bitter loser.
Jennifer Sey, a former Levi’s executive and US gymnast who founded the activewear company XX XY, has also been called a right-wing grifter for speaking up for girls.
Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of Lia Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, accused the university of silencing student athletes who had concerns about Thomas’ presence on the women’s swim team. Twitter / Matt Walsh
In February, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was asked about males in women’s sports by an ESPN reporter. Her very compassionate and common-sense comments about protecting women’s sports led to her being called — say it with me now — a transphobe.
When this all started, many of these women tied themselves into knots to explain that they love trans people but biological differences are real. And in sports, that matters.
But no amount of throat-clearing saved them from being attacked by activists screaming that “trans women are women” and, therefore, entitled to women’s spaces.
Many, many people quietly agree with Cunningham and Scanlan and Gaines. But they see what happens to people who raise their voice.
Does Brewer know about the middle-school girls in West Virginia who were banned from competition after protesting a male participant? Has he heard about the Vermont high-school basketball team punished for forfeiting a game against a school with a male on the team? How about marathoner Natalie Daniels, who was harassed and kicked out of her running club after criticizing the Boston Marathon for allowing males who identify as women to compete in the female category?
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke out for fairness — saying she is against males in women’s sports. Getty Images
He should read up on Washington high schoolers Francis Staudt and Ahnaleigh Wilson.
Staudt faced harassment for sitting out a hoops match against a team with a male player. Wilson, who was beaten in track by a biological male, found herself berated at a Seattle Storm game by co-owner Celeste Keaton after she dared to hold up a sign thanking Cunningham.
“Our decision to speak up has been costly,” they wrote for The Hill this week. “We have been called hateful, transphobic, bigots and bullies. We have both been harassed online and in person.”
There are far too many brave chicks to count. In fact, at many points in this debate, I have asked: Where are the dudes? Why won’t they help?
This has always been an organic fight from women. Brewer, like many in sports media, just didn’t want to listen.
