MINNEAPOLIS – In less than a week, Jeremy Fears Jr. went from Aaron Craft to Grayson Allen – from a plucky pest to a potential problem.
That's something the Michigan State men's basketball team cannot afford. Not when coach Tom Izzo has said all season – and then again after losing Wednesday at Minnesota – that “the margin for error is slim” for his team.
Ultimately, the story in the loss to the Golden Gophers wasn’t about another abysmal start, in which the 10th-ranked Spartans saw their starters combine for just seven of their season-low 21 first-half points. Or the way they roared back in the second half yet again, cutting a 16-point deficit to two with inside 20 seconds remaining. Michigan State couldn’t overcome the hole created by its porous defense and the Gophers’ sizzling shooting in a second consecutive loss, 76-73 at Williams Arena.
“I go out every game, and I play hard. I don’t intentionally try to hurt anyone or play whatever you want to say,” Fears said Wednesday, after being publicly accused Monday of making “dangerous” plays by Michigan coach Dusty May. “I go out and play every game like it’s my last. So I don’t take a game for granted, I don’t take a moment for granted. So I’m gonna go out there and play as hard as I can every possession, every game.
“It is what it is. At one point, I had basketball taken away from me. It’s something I love to do, I couldn’t do it for a whole year. Most people wouldn’t understand that, and you know, that’s on them, I guess. At the end of the day, I don’t change who I am or what I do. I just go out there and play 150[%], no matter what happens.”
Izzo benched Fears twice in the second half following controversial plays. And he assailed how his captain handled himself at times, with an emphasis on May’s comments.
“I sat him for a while. I don’t know. I don’t even know if I’m gonna start him the next game,” Izzo said. “But I stuck up for him, too. Because what happened in the last game – I’ll just say, what happened in the last game, the way that was handled, was poorly, too. And that starts everything.
“But Jeremy’s gotta grow up a little bit.”
Changing opinions
The tightrope for Fears is narrow between being an agitator who plays ferocious defense while standing fearlessly, as Craft did for Ohio State, and being labeled “dirty,” as Allen was for Duke. In two games, the narrative around Fears has started to shift from being a tough-as-nails trash-talker who draws fouls at an elite rate to a player who, if you get under his skin, will react negatively and put opponents – and his own team − in jeopardy.
Wednesday night was a prime example of that book becoming widely read by opposing coaches, particularly in light of May’s allegations and social media-circulated video clips highlighting moments from the Spartans’ loss to No. 2 Michigan on Friday.
Fears, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound third-year sophomore, received a technical foul with 13:28 to play in the second half for a back kick that connected with the groin of Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds, who initially was called for a foul for a hard bump on Fears. The Gophers’ bench signaled for a review, and Fears received a tech. Izzo benched Fears for the next 1:44, replacing him with Denham Wojcik because backup point guard Divine Ugochukwu injured his left foot in the first half and did not return.
Before that call, the Spartans (19-4, 9-3 Big Ten) had shaken off a brutal first half to cut a 12-point deficit to five. Minnesota then scored four points in a row to spark a 22-11 run that gave first-year coach Niko Medved’s team a 67-51 lead on Reynolds’ three-point play with 4:08 to play.
“I’ll say this: He's taken a lot of heat and all that. He's a great player,” Medved said of Fears. “Coach (Armon) Gates on our staff coached his brother, knows the family. I know he's a great kid. He's a competitor, that's who he is. Yeah, he gets a little carried away, and we saw that on film. …
“He's a guy you'd love to have on your team. But you can't do what he did, and I guarantee you he knows that. But he's a great player.”
Izzo said after the game he had yet to see a replay of the play but felt Fears “got pushed” and wanted to know “if he hit somebody.” When told video confirmed Fears’ leg made contact, Izzo quickly responded: “It does hit him? Then he deserved it. Then it was a good call. I didn’t see that.”
He continued by calling Fears’ response “immaturity.”
“You know what? If he plays that way, he deserves it. OK. He ain’t gonna play that way if I bench him the next game,” Izzo said. “Now, he is a physical player. So is No. 6 [Reynolds], so is No. 5 [Jaylen Crocker-Johnson]. You know, they're physical players. And I think things got blown up in the last game that when that stuff goes public, then you gotta really deal with it. If that's private between a coach and a coach or the front office. But once it goes to [the media], then it gets blown up, blown up.
“If he deserves it, good for him. You know, I've had it with that, too. That's not what I teach. That's not what I coach. I've told him about it.”
Asked if he feels opponents are trying to “bait” him into foolish fouls, as he has done the other way, Fears said, “No, not necessarily.”
“You see different stuff, people see different stuff, call different things,” he said. “At the same time, you just gotta play ball.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 11: Luke Kennard #3 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts after making a basket in the second half against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on January 11, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Lakers made what will likely be their only move of the trade deadline on Thursday morning by trading Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second round pick to the Hawks for guard Luke Kennard, according to multiple reports.
The Lakers are nearing a trade sending Gabe Vincent to Atlanta, per a source.
Lakers fans are likely familiar with Kennard from his time with the Clippers as well as the playoff series against the Grizzlies a handful of years ago. He is a lights out 3-point shooter, connecting at a 49.7% clip this season. For his career, he’s a 44.2% shooter from range.
Kennard has earned a reputation as one of the league’s very best 3-point shooters. Over the last five seasons, he’s shot 46% from the 3-point line and averaged nearly five attempts per game. For a Lakers team that currently ranks 22nd in 3-point percentage and 23rd in 3-point attempts per game, Kennard is perhaps as good of a player as they could have landed in a deal like this.
Well Lakers need shooting and they might've gotten the best shooter.
Of 145 shooters that have more than 1000 three-point attempts over the last 5 seasons Kenard is miles above at no.1 at 46%.
The Lakers have three players on the roster shooting above 40% on wide open threes this year: Rui Hachimura at 44.9%, Luka Dončić at 41.9% and Austin Reaves at 40.8%. The next closest rotation player is LeBron at 34.1%. Luke Kennard is shooting 51.6% on wide open threes this season.
To say he is an upgrade on the team’s 3-point shooting would be an understatement.
Luke Kennard has shot an eFG% of 79% in spot up situations, 70% in transition, and 66% running off of screens this season.
By trading their 2032 second round pick in this deal, the Lakers are completely out of second round picks. While that will hurt them in potential trade negotiations moving forward, it doesn’t mean they won’t draft anyone in the second round in the future.
They’ve made a habit in recent years of buying second round picks once the draft comes around, which is one of the ways new ownership can flex its financial muscle as well. Last season, they made multiple trades with cash involved to move up and select Adou Thiero. It would not be a surprise if that becomes a trend.
From a salary standpoint, the Lakers also shaved $500,000 off the trade, creating some room under the second apron, which they are hard-capped at. That would likely only matter when signing buyout players or filling their final roster spot, but it gives them much more breathing room, relatively speaking.
The Anaheim Ducks hired Pat Verbeek to take the reins as the franchise’s general manager on Feb. 3, 2022 (just six weeks before the 2022 trade deadline).
The 2025-26 season is his fourth full season in the GM role. He spent the 2022 trade deadline tearing the roster down and his first two full seasons, the two worst in franchise history (2022-23 and 2023-24), stockpiling and laying a new foundation on which his potentially contending teams will one day be built.
The standings suggested the Ducks turned a corner in 2024-25, making a 21-point leap from 59 (27-50-5) to 80 (35-37-10). Today, with 26 games remaining on the 2025-26 schedule, the Ducks have 63 points (30-23-3) through 56 games and seem to be in the process of making another sizable jump, as they’re on pace to eclipse 92 points and make the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary of Verbeek's hiring, so let’s take a look at all the notable moves he made in the last calendar year to get his club to where they are today:
2025 Trade Deadline
Ducks acquire goaltender Ville Husso from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations
This wasn’t a needle-moving move at the time, but Verbeek was able to get a third-string goaltender for free, with John Gibson dealing with various injuries throughout the course of the 2024-25 season. He fit in well down the stretch, both in Anaheim and with the San Diego Gulls in the AHL. Enough so that the Ducks elected to sign him to a two-year contract extension with an AAV of $2.2 million.
Husso has performed at an adequate level for a backup in Anaheim, appearing in a total of 16 games and posting a 7-6-2 record and a .895 SV%.
Grade: C+
Ducks acquire forward Herman Traff and a 2025 second-round pick (Lasse Boelius) from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Brian Dumoulin
Just eight months and 61 games after Dumoulin was acquired for a fourth-round pick, Verbeek flipped the veteran defenseman on an expiring deal for a player taken in the third round of the 2024 draft (Traff) and what became the 60th overall pick in 2025 (Boelius). Both players acquired for Dumoulin seem destined for the NHL in the not-too-distant future.
Traff is a big power forward with a heavy shot that he gets his entire 6-foot-3, 198-pound frame behind, and is having an excellent 2025-26 D+2 season for IK Oskarshamn in HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden’s second-tier professional league), where he’s tallied 38 points (22-16=38) in 42 games.
Boelius is a smooth, puck-moving, yet defensively sound, 6-foot-1 defenseman eating second/third-pairing minutes in his first full season in Liiga (Finland’s top professional division) for Assat, where he has seven points (1-6=7) in 39 games and represented Finland at the 2026 World Junior Championships, where he tallied seven points (2-5=7) in seven games.
Grade: A
2025 Offseason
Ducks Fire Greg Cronin and hire Joel Quenneville
It was somewhat shocking to see Verbeek let go of Greg Cronin just two years after he was hired and following a season in which the Ducks made a 21-point jump in the standings from 2023-24 to 2024-25. However, most metrics, underlying or traditional, indicated the lack of growth from the roster Verbeek was looking for with Cronin behind the bench, and he was the first NHL head coach let go following the end of the season.
Cronin was let go on April 19, and the Ducks found their next head coach on May 8: Joel Quenneville. Quenneville carried with him an impressive resume as a three-time Stanley Cup winner and the second-winningest coach in NHL history, but also a checkered past as the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks during their 2010 sexual assault scandal.
The Ducks under Quenneville have been a roller coaster to this point in the season. After a scorching start, they’ve scored the 15th-most goals per game in the NHL (3.20), and they’ve allowed the fourth most goals per game (3.48). They have the 24th-ranked power play (17.9%) and the 22nd-ranked penalty kill (78.1%).
With him, Quenneville has brought a steady presence on and off the bench and seems to be a good manager of personalities and environment. He’s allowed his youngest and most talented roster players, from Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger to Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Beckett Sennecke, and Cutter Gauthier, to work through their mistakes and learn from failure rather than fear failure.
The system he’s implemented, along with the new coaching staff that includes Jay Woodcroft and Ryan McGill, has shown flashes of how successful it can be when all cylinders are firing. Still, Quenneville’s next step will be to ensure those cylinders fire with greater consistency moving forward.
Grade: B+
Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Ducks acquire Chris Kreider and a 2025 fourth-round pick (Elijah Neuenschwandner) from the New York Rangers in exchange for Carey Terrance and a 2025 third-round pick (Artyom Gonchar)
With this trade, Verbeek essentially dropped 15 spots in the draft and parted with a defensively inclined center prospect with a low ceiling (Terrance) to add a talented goalscorer, but a depreciated asset in Kreider, who was coming off of an injury-riddled down year at 34 years old.
Kreider’s been inconsistent for the Ducks so far in his tenure in Anaheim, but he has brought a blend of light-heartedness and professionalism to the Ducks’ locker room, producing 30 points (19-11=30) in 50 games. He has one year remaining on his contract that carries an AAV of $6.5 million.
If there was a nit to pick when evaluating this trade, it would lie in the initial selection of Terrance in the second round of the 2023 draft, when there were several higher-ceiling players on the board in a deep draft. All things considered, this is a positive outcome for the Ducks.
Grade: B
Ducks acquire Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick (Eric Nilson), and a 2026 fourth-round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Trevor Zegras
Verbeek acquired a good friend of Zegras in the form of Chris Kreider, but after spending a year and a half swirling in trade speculation, Verbeek finally traded Zegras, and the return was underwhelming. Poehling is a nice fit in the Ducks' bottom six and is the Ducks' best defensive forward by a considerable margin. Nilson projects as something similar down the road, and the fourth may have become a roster player already (more on that later).
However, Zegras was sold when his value was at an all-time low, days before NHL free agency was set to open, which eventually led to a market deficiency in the style of player Zegras represents. It was clear Zegras wasn’t destined to remain in Anaheim long-term, but the ideal option seems like it would have been to play him in the Ducks' new, offense-forward system and under Quenneville, who’d had past success with players like Jonathan Huberdeau and Patrick Kane, to recoup some value.
If that was never going to be an option, the next best route would seemingly have been to wait a week to see how many teams swung and missed on top-six forwards in free agency (it was a lot), as the pool was depleted following a myriad of players re-signing with their previous clubs. Zegras seems to have found a long-term home in Philadelphia, regained his shine, and has produced 48 points (20-28=48) through his first 55 games.
Grade: D
Ducks acquire Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for John Gibson
In another trade felt like a long time coming, Verbeek handed Lukas Dostal sole possession of the keys to the Anaheim crease with this move. Gibson and Dostal were one of the best tandems in the NHL in 2024-25 (if not the best tandem), but each deserved to be a starter for the 2025-26 season.
This seemed like another underwhelming return, especially given Mrazek’s cap hit and, again, how many teams were looking for goaltending help after the free agency period was underway. After a rough start, Gibson re-found his form in Detroit and has posted a 22-12-2 record, a .904 SV%, and 8.1 goals saved above expected. Mrazek has rarely been healthy for Anaheim this season, and when he has, he’s been inconsistent to say the least, posting a 3-5-0 record, a .858 SV%, and -8.0 GSAx.
Grade: D+
Draft
The Ducks selected ten players in the 2025 NHL Draft, highlighted by tenth-overall pick Roger McQueen. McQueen is a towering, 6-foot-5 right-shot center who covers vast amounts of ice, possessing surprising puck skills, a willingness to physically engage, and a scoring touch. He was a top-five talent who dropped to ten due to a fracture in his back, costing him all but 20 total games in 2024-25. The Ducks, having selected at the top of the previous six drafts, allowed them to take a calculated risk on McQueen, who’s tallied 23 points (8-15=23) through his first 25 games in his freshman season at Providence College in the NCAA.
As mentioned, Boelius and Nilson project to play NHL games with their translatable skillsets. The Ducks took a few interesting swings later in the draft, highlighted by talented winger Emile Guite in the fifth round, who, after a down year in 2024-25, has bounced back with 45 points (23-22=45) in 41 games so far in 2025-26.
Grade: A-
Free Agency
Ducks sign Mikael Granlund to a three-year contract, $7 million AAV
A year after striking out on big offers to high-profile free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, Verbeek made his biggest needle-moving free agency signing to date on July 1, 2025. Granlund’s versatility was a major selling point for Verbeek, and has proved useful during his first few months in Anaheim. He’s provided a lot of the clever, high hockey IQ plays the Ducks lost with Zegras’ departure, and picked up much of the offensive slack when the team had lost star players at various points to injury throughout the middle portion of the season. He’s scored 27 points (12-15=27) through his first 38 games with the Ducks.
Grade: B
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Contract Extensions
Ducks sign Lukas Dostal to a five-year contract extension, $6.5 million AAV
Lukas Dostal filed for salary arbitration on July 5, 12 days before he and the Ducks avoided a hearing and agreed to a five-year extension. Dostal had elevated himself into conversations as one of the NHL's top young goaltenders, and this contract made him the 11th highest-paid goaltender for the 2025-26 season.
Early in the season, reflecting the entirety of the 2024-25 season, Dostal was the Ducks' best player and the primary reason they got off to a 11-3-1 record in their first 15 games. As the salary cap ceiling continues to increase for the duration of his contract, it will likely continue to represent a bargain.
Behind another mediocre defensive team this season, Dostal has posted a 21-13-2 record, a .897 SV%, and 3.7 GSAx.
Grade: B+
Ducks sign Mason McTavish to a six-year contract extension, $7 million AAV
Verbeek took another contract extension negotiation with an RFA coming off their ELC well into Ducks’ training camp, after doing the same with Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras in 2023. McTavish was eased back into camp (unlike with Zegras and Drysdale), and didn’t seem affected by the extended negotiations, but was relieved nonetheless that it was in the rearview and he’d remain in Anaheim for the better part of a decade.
He continues to be a streaky 2C for Anaheim and has scored 30 points (13-17=30) through 51 games this season. In a league where every team is seemingly looking to add firepower down the middle, the Ducks are in a good place with Leo Carlsson and McTavish as a one-two for the foreseeable future.
Grade: B-
Ducks sign Jackson LaCombe to an eight-year contract extension, $9 million AAV
In a surprise preseason announcement, Verbeek locked up his top defenseman to the largest dollar value contract in franchise history. The sticker shock with this extension was real, but with the rising salary cap and the role LaCombe has played for the team in the last season and a half, this contract will likely age surprisingly well.
LaCombe is 13th among all NHL skaters in terms of TOI/G (24:30), playing top minutes for the Ducks at 5v5, on the power play, and penalty kill. He’s scored 37 points (6-31=37) through 56 games in 2025-26 and will represent the US at the Olympics in Milan. He’s living up to the extension, and it doesn’t even kick in until the 2026-27 season, when his cap hit will take up an even lower percentage of the Ducks’ overall cap space.
Grade: B+
In Season (2025-26)
Ducks acquire Jeffrey Viel from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick
Verbeek’s most recent move was to acquire a 28-year-old (now 29) winger with just 64 career NHL games under his belt, including ten in 2025-26 as the Boston Bruins’ 14th forward. He’s a no-frills, prototypical bottom-six winger who’s made the most of his elevated shot in his first nine games with the Ducks, scoring three points in his first four games with the club, but nothing since.
Ultimately, the trade doesn’t (and won’t) move needles, and Viel’s performed adequately. However, with the injuries the lineup sustained over the last month, it felt like an opportunity to see how some of the younger players with the Gulls could have fared with some NHL experience, and it opens some eyes regarding how Verbeek feels an NHL bottom six should be built.
The fourth-round pick traded will become whichever ends up better between the picks acquired in the Gibson (Detroit) and Zegras (Philadelphia) deals.
Grade: C
Conclusion
The Ducks currently sit in a playoff position and have taken another step in their journey out of the NHL’s basement. With playoff games representing the stated goal for the 2025-26 season, it seems time for Verbeek to make a more significant needle-moving transaction or two to get his club to that point. Reports indicate he’s aiming to land a “big fish,” but his track record calls his ability to pull that off into question.
This past year may have raised concerns about Verbeek’s reading of various markets, but credit is due when it comes to recognizing that an overhaul behind the bench was needed in order for the Ducks’ youngest, most talented, and most important players to take necessary steps in their development and to get the roster, as a whole, to where they are now: in control of their own destiny, with playoff hockey on the line every night.
The Calgary Flames have reassigned defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz and forward Matvei Gridin to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, the team announced Wednesday, following Calgary’s 4–3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 04: A view of the center court logo is seen prior to the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 04, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today is not going to be as big as May 10, the date of the NBA Draft Lottery. Nor the draft whose date has yet to be set but somewhere in the last week of July at Barclays Center. Those two days have the potential to be franchise-changing and the days leading up to today have been, at least for the Nets, predictable with only one trade reported as of 10:30 a.m. ET: the Nets fifth salary dump since last summer.
The Nets acquired 6’6” 25-year-old shooting guard Ochai Agbaji; a 2032 second rounder (their fifth pick in that faraway draft) and $3.5 million in cash, likely bound for basketball operations in return for … the draft rights to a 29-year-old Serbian shooting guard, Vanja Marinkovic, essentially draft ballast to help Toronto get its financial books in order. To make Marinkovic even more obscure, he tore his achilles 10 days ago.
Meanwhile, Brian Windhorst, aware of the flexibility Sean Marks & co. have built up, predicted a busyness in the business of Brooklyn basketball. “Brooklyn, I expect to be in multiple deals in the next 24 hours.”
So, here.we.go!
—February 5: NBA Trade Deadline (3:00 pm ET) Nets currently have around $15.5 million in cap space, most in the NBA. Trades must all be completed and made official by the afternoon deadline. The Nets must also attend to other issues, like getting down to 15 standard NBA contracts as well. Agbaji, at the moment, would be the 16th standard NBA contract on the roster so someone must go. Cam Thomas didn’t accompany Brooklyn to Orlando Thursday afternoon and rumors continue to swirl about this fate. There are of course other candidates and maybe more permutations as the day wears on.
Meanwhile, In Long Island players are waiting for the trickle-down effect to determine their fate. The deadline is often a team for teams to rethink whether a two-way should be elevated to a standard deal or a G League regular contract be converted to a two-way
—February 8: Les Nets, aka the Long Island Nets, are back in Quebec vs. Noblesville Boom, the Pacers affiliate. It’s the third of four games that the Nets G League affiliate are playing this season in Laval, a Montreal suburb as the team hopes to establish a fanbase in French-speaking Canada 375 miles up up the Thruway and Northway.
—February 10: Les Nets play Noblesville Boom in Quebec. The final game this season in the Great White North (as opposed to the Great White Whatever in New York.) Between the two games, the Nets will be activating a number of community activities.
—February 13: Egor Demin will likely Brooklyn’s lone representative at the Intuit Center, the Clippers home. He’ll play in the Rising Stars game
—February 14: NBA All-Star Saturday at Intuit Dome – 5:00 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock)
—February 15: 75th NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome –5:00 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock)
—March 1: Playoff eligibility waiver deadline aka the buyout deadline. Players waived before March 1 can sign with a new team and participate in the NBA playoffs. Players waived after March 1 can still sign with teams, but they will be ineligible for postseason play.
—March 1: Jalen Wilson becomes eligible for a multi-year deal.
—March 4: Last day to sign two-way contracts. Nets currently have no openings with all three two-way deals filled, but two-ways are not guaranteed.
—March 28: G League Regular Season ends
—March 31: G League Playoffs begin
—April 12: NBA regular season ends (All 30 teams play)
—April 13: Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2026 (3:00 p.m. ET)
—April 13: WNBA Draft. Liberty have only one pick at No. 41 in the third round, having previously traded away their first and second round picks. Draft is also big for trades.
—April 14-17: SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
—April 18: NBA Playoffs begin
—April 19: WNBA training camps open. Chris DeMarco, the Liberty’s new coach, gets started.
—April 25: New York Liberty first preseason game at Barclays Center vs. the Indiana Pacers and Caitlin Clark. Game time: 3:00 p.m. ET. It’ll be Clark’s first action since an injured groin ended her season on January 25.
—May 3: New York Liberty’s second preseason game, this one vs. the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville. Another afternoon start at 3:00 p.m. ET.
—May 8-10: NBA G League Combine in Chicago
—May 8: WNBA Regular Season Tip-Off. New York Liberty hosts the Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center. All WNBA dates of course assume that the league and players union have a deal on a new CBA by this date.
—May 10: NBA Draft Lottery. Biggest day in franchise history since … the Clean Sweep back in 2019, KD’s departure in 2023? Nets currently are tied for the fourth best chance at the overall No. 1 at 11.5% and a 45.2% shot at a top four pick.
—May 10-17: NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
—June 1-17: WNBA Commissioner’s Cup tournament
—June 30: WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship
—July 1: Teams can approach free agents at 12:00 p.m. ET. Rumors of deals start to get reported at 12:01 p.m. Nets are currently projected to have $48.8 million in cap space entering free agency.
—July 6: Free agent contracts can be signed, starting at 12:oo p.m. ET.
—July: Michael Porter Jr. eligible for a four-year $243 million extension starting in 2027-28.
—July 24-25: WNBA All-Star Weekend (Chicago)
—August 31 – September 16: FIBA World Cup break for WNBA players, coaches.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 21, 2023: Jackson Cox #95 of the Colorado Rockies throws a pitch during a minor league spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields on March 21, 2023 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Cox was Colorado’s second-round pick in 2022, 50th overall, out of a rural high school in Washington state. To get Cox out of his commitment to Oregon, the Rockies signed the 6’2” righty starter for a $1.85 million bonus — well over the pick’s $1.54 million slot value. Cox’s calling card as a prospect is his 3,000+ RPM curveball, described as a slurve with “deep and late bite” which the now 22-year-old paired with a low- to mid-90s fastball and a developing change-up in a repeatable delivery. When healthy. Which he hasn’t been much, though in 2025 we saw Cox on the mound regularly again.
Mid-season 2025 Rank: 25
High Ballot: 4
Mode Ballot: 13, 16
Future Value: 40, back-end starter
Contract Status: 2022 Second Round, Toutle Lake (WA) HS, Rule 5 Eligible After 2026, three options remaining
MLB ETA: 2027
Cox was assigned to Low-A Fresno in 2023 for his professional debut, where he was 2.9 years younger than league average. The Rockies handled Cox carefully, never allowing him to go past four innings in a start or 65 pitches an outing in his ten games (nine starts). Nonetheless, Cox suffered an injury that required Tommy John surgery in July (as did fellow PuRPs Jordy Vargas and Gabriel Hughes), which ended his 2023 season and caused him to lose all of 2024 as well (he did pitch in fall instructs, just not an affiliated ball game).
It was a long road back to Fresno in 2025 for Cox, who was still 0.8 years younger than league average. He made 23 starts but was handled carefully, not passing the three inning threshold in any of those starts until June and only exceeding five innings his final two appearances. Cox finished on a high note, twirling a Quality Start of six innings, one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts on a season-high 92 pitches.
In total, Cox threw 85 innings with a 3.39 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 9.7 K/9 rate, and 2.6 BB/9 rate. The trajectory is good though: since a rough April, in which Cox had a 15.43 ERA, he posted a 84:19 K/BB ratio and a 2.31 ERA in 78 post April innings plus a 0.90 WHIP and .199 BAA in the second half of the season. Given the long lay-off, Rockies fans will take that even if Cox is now behind the developmental curve due to the injury.
Here’s some video of Cox from July striking out 10 batters in just four innings:
Cox was one of the three Rockies pitching prospects who went down with torn UCLs all at once in 2023, with the team announcing the trio all on the same day as if they got a bulk discount on the surgery. Cox has had the best recovery from the surgery, as his velocity and his curveball came all the way back. The Rockies gave him a slider as well, so he’s got a four-pitch mix, although he mostly throws his fastballs and curveball. He made 23 starts last year, working on very tight pitch and innings limits, so it added up to only 85 innings, but he walked just 7.3 percent of batters and struck out 27 percent even though it was his first time on a mound in two years. At worst, he should be a solid two-pitch reliever who can miss bats with the breaking ball, and there’s at least fourth starter upside here.
Cox’s combination of present stuff and a deep arsenal stands out in an organization thin on starting pitching prospects. He attacks hitters with a five-pitch mix that includes a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and cutter. His best pitch remains his plus curveball, a hellacious two-plane breaking ball with spin rates between 2,800–3,000 rpm that serves as a legitimate out pitch. Cox’s strike-throwing is below-average but should improve as he gets healthy.
Cox’s combination of velocity, spin and his ability to develop different pitches gives him a chance to develop into a solid mid-rotation starter in an organization that has struggled recently to develop starting pitchers.
Thomas Edward John surgery sidelined Cox for the 2024 campaign as well. That’s put the 50th pick of the 2022 draft on the back foot developmentally, now entering his fourth professional season with just 10 appearances under his belt. Before his injury, Cox boasted better stuff than several pitchers on this list, albeit with some struggles in holding his mechanics together. That inconsistency may have played a role in his injury to begin with, and certainly is the type of thing you’d hope to get sorted out with innings in games. His lengthy rehab places a bigger emphasis on Cox finding and retaining his more imposing fastball/curveball combo.
The early returns on Cox’s stuff coming back have been good, and it’s still his feel for spin that stands out. He has a plus curve with huge spin rates, 1-to-7 shape and sharp bite. He can run his fastball up to 95 mph with good life, and he has feel for what could eventually be an average changeup. Before he got hurt, he had worked on both a slider and a cutter to expand his arsenal.
Cox had added strength before the injury and there could be more in the tank the further removed from surgery he gets. He repeats his delivery well and has shown the ability to throw strikes with all of his offerings. This year will be about getting a full, healthy season in, with plenty of time to reach his mid-rotation ceiling.
[Cox] has a great curveball, but his below-average fastball velocity (he was 92-94 again during instructs), movement, and vulnerable plane aren’t a great fit with that curve. He’s pitched just 31 affiliated innings and struggled with control during those.
Cox seems to have found his mojo back in Low-A this past season. The next step is to do it in the upper minors and with greater length per start. Cox has a foundational breaking ball to build around and that mid 90s fastball (which doesn’t have ideal shape), making him a mid-to-back-end rotation candidate if it comes together. I ranked Cox 16th on my list at the top of my 40 FV tier due to the pedigree, stuff, and a healthy recovery in Low-A.
Cox will be Rule 5 eligible after 2026, so the Rockies no doubt will be looking for those markers next season. I’m guessing a High-A assignment is in order to start the year but I expect at least some exposure to Double-A as well, provided the health remains.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 24: Jacob Lopez #57 of the Athletics pitches during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 24, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB News Roundup
On the eve of the Detroit Tigers’ arbitration verdict with star pitcher Tarik Skubal, the team decided to go out and make a splash, further bolstering their rotation by picking up the best free agent pitcher on the market. For three years and $115 million, Framber Valdez is no longer a Houston Astro. He’ll be reuniting with his old manager, AJ Hinch, in Detroit, and joining a Tigers team that was only an inning away from the ALCS last season. History was also made with this deal. According to Jeff Passan, the contract will feature the highest AAV ever given to a lefty handed pitcher. The previous record was held by Blake Snell (or as I like to call him: the American Wei-En Lin)
So what does this all mean for the Skubal situation?
Well, the $13 million difference between him and the Tigers has me anxiously anticipating today’s possible verdict. Will Detroit be forced to pay the man what he’s worth? Or will they get away with lowballing him for yet another season? Time will tell, but this Valdez deal really has me fascinated. I can’t be the only one who sees it as a bit of a slap in the face. Yes, they might be thinking of the looming lockout, but consider everything Skubal has done for the squad. This isn’t Doug Fister holding onto his 2011 second half here, this is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. The man’s been impossible to hit for the majority of his career. There’s a reason this arbitration case has been getting so much media coverage.
Oh what I would do to be present for today’s hearing. Do you think the Tigers will bring up Shea Langelier’s go-ahead grand slam? I can send them the youtube link if it’ll add a little drama to the mix. All jokes aside, I do feel for Skubal. I mean, no, I don’t know what it’s like to feel as if you’ve earned $32 million dollars, but I am familiar with the feeling of being undervalued. On top of that, this all complicates an already fractured relationship. Not only are the Tigers downplaying Skubal’s worth, they’re basically pointing to Framber and saying “You’re just not worth THAT much.”
If this is the domino that eventually leads the Cy Young winner to the Dodgers, I’m going to lose it. I mean, they’ve already picked up Cole Irvin! How many lefties do they need?
Speaking of lefties, I saw this neat little set of spray charts I’d like to share with you all…
The A's are doing something very weird, specifically with their left-handed hitters.
They're very successful but they just… don't pull flyballs.
Once you get past the user’s hurtful handle, you’ll find that they are highlighting one of the strongest qualities of our young core. The A’s are a team that not only hits, but does so to all parts of the field. Watching where Nick Kurtz put the ball during his 4-HR homer game was a microcosm of this. His spray chart here further drives the point home.
And it’s not like we’re really squeezing the lemon wit this one. 86 home runs and 104 extra base hits were collected between just these four players. Can you imagine the guessing game they must have given other teams when it came to defensive positioning?
As someone who attended a grip of games in West Sac, their tendency for the oppo was a trait I noticed early on. My fantasy out of the gate saw A’s lefties swatting taters into the berm by the inning. But as the season unfolded, it became apparent to me, that the opposite field was the more desired place to mash. I wonder if this is something the coaches have been hammering in them? Good on them if they are, because these players are still in the early stages of their careers. Now is the time to be developing good habits, not giving into the low hanging fruit that comes with playing in a little league ballpark. Chances are Las Vegas won’t be subjected to the Yankee Stadium treatment. When you can’t bank on a short porch, you might as well get used to poking the ball the other way.
Thinking back on last season, there was really only one guy on the opening day roster that came off a little berm-crazy. That player was JJ Bleday, and look where he ended up? Him and his torpedo bat swung their way right off the A’s roster. He’s currently getting ready to suit up for Cincinnati (the team I assume @Redsinfour will be cheering for at the start of the 2026 season).
This was in reference to Joe Lacob’s interest in buying the Padres :/ Glad to see that “heard it from a friend” rumors can still make some ground in 2026 haha
Don't shoot the messenger bro…it is known and even Lacob said it after he couldn't buy the A's to keep them in Oakland…his goal is to get an MLB team back to Oakland…I didn't write that shit…just saying it is going around Nor Cal…heads up…
Came across this gem in the feed. What’s even crazier is we only got to see Yoenis Cespedes in THAT A’s jersey for half a season 🙁
There was something so insanely iconic about Yoenis Céspedes in an Oakland A’s jersey. It’s crazy we only got to see it for two and a half seasons. pic.twitter.com/qmzpKIQhv6
President Donald Trump, right, greets Dodgers manager Dave Roberts during a ceremony to honor the team at the White House in April 2025. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
The Dodgers will make a return trip to the White House in recognition of their latest World Series title.
President Trump is planning to host the team but no date has been set for the ceremony, a White House official confirmed Thursday morning.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline to go ahead of last year's visit. Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family first when last year's visit was initially announced. After winning his first World Series with the Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team that was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence last year was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury that landed him on the injured list.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year's ceremony.
When asked at last weekend's Dodgers' fan festival about the possibility of returning to the White House this year, Roberts told The Times' Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country. For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. ... For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Though no date has been set for this year's White House visit, the Dodgers will play the Nationals in a three-game series April 3-5, with an off day on April 2 following a six-game homestand to open the season.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 07: A general aerial view of Camelback Ranch on January 07, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. The stadium is the spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Backfield workouts are open to fans, though there are some areas that are more out of reach to the public. A more traditional fan experience begins with the Dodgers’ Cactus League schedule starting on Saturday, February 21 in Tempe against the Angels. The Dodgers’ first game at Camelback Ranch is Monday, February 23 against the Mariners.
With no trip overseas to begin the regular season more than a week early, the Dodgers will have a more traditional spring training this season, with the Arizona portion of their camp running for a little more than five weeks, through March 21.
My first trip to spring training was in 2006, when the Dodgers still trained at Vero Beach. At my old job, we had a conference in Miami, and I flew out a day early to drive to see Holman Stadium for the first time, a great way to spend my 30th birthday. My one regret is that I didn’t take more time to roam the grounds at Vero Beach. I didn’t have a ton of time, and after a red-eye flight and two-plus-hour drive to the stadium I was more tired than I expected.
I’ve been to Camelback Ranch quite a bit, as their first year there coincided with my first season writing about the team, and have quite a few fond memories of going to Arizona.
Today’s question is are you going to spring training this year?
Directly after a 5–2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights to kick-off the 2026 Winter Olympic break, the Vancouver Canucks re-assigned Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Victor Mancini, and Nikita Tolopilo to the AHL. This will ensure that all three players get some playing time while the NHL goes on break until February 25. Jiří Patera will join Vancouver as a result of these moves.
Lekkerimäki was called-up by Vancouver last week after spending over a month in the AHL. During this period of time with the Abbotsford Canucks, the forward scored seven goals and four assists in 11 games played. Throughout his past five games with Vancouver, Lekkerimäki scored a goal and saw some first-unit power play time.
Mancini has gone up-and-down from the NHL to AHL throughout the past couple of weeks due to injuries on Vancouver’s blueline. He rejoined the Canucks on January 12, skating in four games before being sent back down to Abbotsford. The defenceman played in four games with the AHL Canucks during that span, tallying a goal and an assist, before he was brought back up due to an injury to Zeev Buium. Mancini has two goals and six assists in 24 games in the AHL this season.
Tolopilo has gotten into quite a few games for Vancouver this season, playing in nine total as a result of injuries to Thatcher Demko. He has three wins, three losses, and an overtime loss to his name this season as well as a 3.04 GAA and team-high .910 SV%. He very nearly recorded his first NHL shutout with a 2–0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on January 29; however, since Kevin Lankinen came in and made one save while Tolopilo was being evaluated for concussion protocol, the shutout ultimately belongs to both of them.
While Vancouver will now be on break until their 7:00 pm PT game against the Winnipeg Jets on February 25, the three players sent to Abbotsford could take part in as many as seven games before the NHL resumes. The AHL Canucks will play the San Jose Barracuda on February 6 and 7; the Ontario Reign on February 14, 16, and 18; and the Henderson Silver Knights on February 20 and 21.
Jan 17, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Victor Mancini (90) watches as goalie Nikita Tolopilo (60) makes a save on Edmonton Oilers forward Matt Savoie (22) in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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This article was prompted by discussion in the various articles I’ve posted recently about position players pitching.
Basically, if you have put a position player in to pitch, you have essentially given up playing baseball and are just filling the time until nine innings have been completed. Often, the position player gives up multiple runs and the final score is worse than it otherwise would have been.
I believe that if a team is hopelessly trailing late in the game, that team’s manager should have the option to simply say, “We’re done here,” and the game would end. My suggestion: If a team is trailing by 10 or more runs after seven innings, they should be permitted this option. This is done by rule in international play — you might very well see it in the early rounds of this spring’s World Baseball Classic.
Last year, there were 106 games that were decided by 10 or more runs. That’s about 4.4 percent of all games played in 2025. So we’re talking about a fairly small sample size here. Of those 106 games, 53 — exactly half — had a 10-run (or larger) deficit after seven innings, broken down this way:
17 games with a 10 run deficit 11 games with an 11 run deficit 5 games with a 12 run deficit 8 games with a 13 run deficit 12 games with a 14+ run deficit
Three of the 12 games with a 14+ run deficit had deficits of 17 or more runs after seven innings.
And in some of the games decided by 10 or more runs, the deficit was less than 10 after seven innings, but became larger after… because position players were giving up runs.
Back to the 2025 numbers: 53 games is about 2.2 percent of all games. So if you’re concerned about fans missing out on a couple of innings in a blowout — when many such fans would have left anyway — or advertisers losing out on TV money for a game many would have turned off, we’re not talking about a large number of games here.
Further, the chance that a team is going to come back and win after being down by 10 or more runs is vanishingly small. The major-league record for biggest comeback is from 12 runs down. It’s been done three times since 1901, most recently August 5, 2001 by the Mariners (and before that, in 1925 and 1911). This article lists 15 other games where a deficit of 10 or more runs was overcome, so that’s 18 such games in the last 125 seasons.
There have been 211,995 Major League games played since 1901 (including the Federal League). Eighteen is about one eight-thousandth of one percent of all games.
Point: If a mercy rule were introduced, the idea that you’d be taking away a team’s chance to come back from a 10-run (or larger) deficit is pretty much meaningless, given how many times it’s happened.
In modern baseball, pitching staffs often get overworked. A mercy rule would help lessen that overwork, and it wouldn’t happen very often, either. I’m not going to go into the “how many of these teams were leading by 10+ after seven innings” thing for all these years, but here are the number of games decided by 10+ runs every year since 2010 (excluding the shortened pandemic season of 2020):
The average number of such games since 2010 is 89. The number has edged up slightly over the last few years, and without checking I’d guess the number of games in which a team was ahead by 10+ runs after seven innings is probably close to the same, about half of the total, so we’re likely talking somewhere around two percent of all games, which would amount to maybe three games per team per year.
Again, this is a vanishingly small number of games.
A game shall be forfeited to the opposing team when a team is unable or refuses to place nine players on the field.
So, theoretically, under that rule the manager of a team trailing by 10+ runs could simply refuse to take the field and the game would be forfeited. But there are better ways to specifically codify the mercy rule and publicize it so that fans and TV viewers would understand that the game could possibly be called after seven if it got to be a 10+ run blowout.
MLB would also have to decide whether the same courtesy could be given a team if they were down by fewer than 10 after seven innings, but gave up runs and trailed by 10 or more after the eighth. (I’d say yes to this.) I’d also say that the manager of a team leading by 10+ runs shouldn’t be permitted to just say “We’re done here” after seven, just declaring victory. It should be up to the manager of the team that’s trailing.
If MLB is serious about reducing wear and tear on pitching staffs and limiting the number of position players pitching, they really ought to institute a mercy rule like this. Of course, they don’t do it in the WBC championship game and this wouldn’t be in effect during MLB’s postseason, just like the placed runner rule isn’t in effect for playoff games.
Get it done, Rob Manfred and the Competition Committee.
Sep 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) delivers a. pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Good morning everyone! We’ve got plenty of news to unpack with the biggest remaining free agent now off the board — and much more. It’s time to dive into it.
In Mariners news…
In case you missed it, the Mariners signed yet another Driveline darling, agreeing to a minor league deal with right-hander Ray Cebulski.
Ray turned heads at Pro Day with a five-pitch mix — featuring a heater up to 93.0, 92+ sinker, and a high-80s cutter — showing real intent across his arsenal. pic.twitter.com/SZt0Bezrez
The Mariners’ planned home double-header in June against the Red Sox is no more. The unusual scheduling quirk was originally set up to avoid a conflict with the FIFA World Cup game happening across the street on the same day, but instead they will in fact have a game that day and will welcome a potential traffic and parking Armageddon.
Around the league…
In one of the winter’s most shocking moves, the Tigers agreed to a three-year, $115M deal with lefty Framber Valdez, the largest AAV for left-hander in MLB history. This coming the same winter that Detroit is pinching pennies over the contract of homegrown ace Tarik Skubal. Speaking of…
Skubal and the Tigers officially went to an arbitration hearing yesterday over the star left-hander’s 2026 contract. We are expected to hear the arbitrators’ much-anticipated decision later today.
Almost a century before Derek Jeter manned shortstop and held the captaincy for the New York Yankees, another athletic young player did the same. Roger Peckinpaugh, who came to the Yankees at the age of 20, never experienced the level of team success that Jeter did, nor could he boast a similar offensive profile.
But Peck was the Yankees’ starting shortstop for the better part of a decade, heralded for his outstanding glovework. And when he briefly stepped in as the Yankees’ manager at the tender age of 23, he not only did something the greatest shortstop in Yankee history never did. He became one of the youngest managers in major league history, and the youngest since the turn of the 20th century.
Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh Born: February 5, 1891 (Wooster, OH) Died: November 17, 1977 (Cleveland, OH) Yankees Tenure: 1913-21
Future Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie approached Peckinpaugh shortly after the latter graduated high school with an offer to play pro ball. After consulting his father and his high school principal, Peck accepted, and signed with the Cleveland Naps – I wonder who they were named after…
Peckinpaugh debuted with Cleveland in 1910 at the age of 19. He was, to put it simply, overwhelmed by big league pitching in his initial taste of the bigs. Cleveland perhaps recognized this and left him in the minor leagues in 1911 before bringing him back to The Show in 1912. He was slightly better at the dish that season but through his first 85 career games there was no reason to think he’d ever be able to hit big league pitching.
In May 1913, Peck’s career trajectory drastically changed. One game into the season for Cleveland, he found himself dealt to the Yankees, where he settled in at shortstop. If not for that trade, he’d have been in no position for what came next.
Yankee manager Frank Chance saw leadership potential and abilities in his young shortstop and, in 1914, named Peck the club’s captain. 23 years old, young Peckinpaugh was now responsible for leading a major league locker room. In his first full season, he led with more than just words. An excellent defensive shortstop, he also swiped 38 bags that year for the Yankees, leading to a 23rd-place finish in AL MVP voting.
Moreover, in mid-September the Yankees parted ways with Chance, after paying off the remainder of his contract. In need of someone to manage the club for the rest of the season, they appointed Peckinpaugh. Still only 23 years old, Peck was now the manager of the New York Yankees. Peck is not the youngest manager in major league history, as a pair of 20-year-olds managed in the 19th century. But not until Lou Boudreau played for and managed Cleveland in 1942 at the age of 24 did anyone come close to matching Peckinpaugh’s young age while managing in the 20th century.
A pair of Federal League teams tried to poach Peckinpaugh from New York after the 1914 season. “FEDS AFTER PECKINPAUGH” has to be one of the greatest, and most misleading, headlines in the history of the New York Times. Declining their overtures, Peck stayed in New York and played some of the best ball of his career.
In 1916, he was an above-average offensive player for the first time in his career, with a 102 OPS+. Then, in 1919, he set career bests in runs scored (89), home runs (7), batting average (.305), on-base percentage (.390), slugging percentage (.404), on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.794), and bWAR (6.3).
His timing could not have been better, considering the Yankees acquired that Babe Ruth fellow prior to the 1920 season. With Peckinpaugh’s newfound ability to get on base, it made sense to have him at the top of the lineup. And he held up his end of the bargain with a .356 OBP in 1920 and a .380 OBP in 1921 leading to back-to-back seasons with at least 100 runs scored. Being on base in front of Ruth was a nice way to pad some stats.
1921 was also the only time Peck played playoff baseball in pinstripes. Unfortunately for him, he struggled at the plate against the crosstown Giants in the World Series. Worse, his glove, the calling card for which he was and is still best known, abandoned him when he needed it.
New York entered Game 8 (the Fall Classic was a best-of-nine that season) down 4 games to 3. In the first inning, the Giants put men on first and second with one out for High Pockets Kelly, who hit a routine ground ball to Peck. The Yankee shortstop booted it, with the ball ending up in left field. The runner on second came around to score the first, last, and only run of Game 8 as the Yankees fell 5 games to 3.
In the offseason, the Yanks dealt Peckinpaugh to Boston, ending his tenure with the club. It was not an amiable exit. Peckinpaugh was stunned and took a shot at the Yankees’ lack of loyalty. “The deal is entirely news to me,” he said, “but it seems that no matter how good a player one is or how loyal service he gives the New York team his position is never safe.”
Happily, there is a playoff redemption arc for Peck. In 1924, playing for the Washington Nationals, Peck returned to the World Series. In his way, again, were the New York Giants. This time, he emerged on the winning end. He mustered five hits in 12 at-bats as the Nationals won 4 games to 3, getting Peck his first and only World Series championship. He was in excellent company as “The Big Train” Walter Johnson, a venerable 36 years of age, also won the only championship of his Hall of Fame career that season.
After Peckinpaugh’s playing career ended, he returned to Cleveland where he managed several seasons. Once he was done with baseball for good, he went to work for the Cleveland Oak Belting Company, where he worked until he was 85 years old.
Roger Peckinpaugh died in 1977 at the age of 86. Shortstop, captain, and manager for the Yankees, his playing career earned him a spot as one of Pinstripe Alley’s Top 100 Yankees of All-Time. Happy birthday, Peck.
References
Winterhalt, Kevin. “Pinstripe Alley Top 100 Yankees: #57 Roger Peckinpaugh.” Pinstripe Alley. December 8, 2023.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 10: Austin Warren #44 of the New York Mets pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during game one of a double header at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 10, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s been a little over a year since the Mets claimed right-handed relief pitcher Austin Warren off waivers from the Giants, and with today being Warren’s 30th birthday, it seems like as good a time as any to take a look at what might be in store for him in 2026.
Taken by the Angels in the sixth round of the draft in 2018 as a reliever out of UNC Wilmington, Warren has spent the vast majority of his career thus far in the minors. After relatively brief stops in rookie ball, Single-A, and Double-A in the first two years of his career, he found himself in Triple-A to start the 2021 season as minor league baseball returned from the pandemic.
Since then, Warren has thrown 151.0 innings in Triple-A, but he made his major league debut during that 2021 season and now has 58.0 big league innings to his name. The Angels released him ahead of the 2024 season, and the Giants signed him shortly thereafter.
Over the course of his Triple-A career, Warren has a 4.35 ERA with 168 strikeouts and 63 walks, and he’s given up 20 home runs. So his 4.97 ERA with 58 strikeouts, 19 walks, and 9 home runs allowed in 50.2 innings in Syracuse last year mostly check out. The fact that he gave up nearly half of his home runs at the level in just one-third of his innings there is the part that’s the least ideal.
In his short stints with the Mets at the major league level, however, Warren fared well. He had a 0.96 ERA and a 3.89 FIP in 9.1 innings over five appearances. That’s extremely small sample size stuff, but it was nice to see him pitch better than anyone might’ve expected in those outings.
Per FanGraphs, Warren has an option remaining going into the 2026 season, which means it’s incredibly likely that he’ll spend at least some time in Syracuse again this year. Roster Resource currently has him penciled in to the team’s Opening Day bullpen, but there figures to be quite a bit of competition for at least one or two spots in the bullpen in spring training.
Warren throws five pitches, per Statcast: a sinker, a sweeper, a cutter, a four-seam fastball, and a changeup. By modern standards, he doesn’t throw particularly hard, as his fastball averaged just shy of 94 miles per hour in 2025. Assuming he survives any potential 40-man roster crunch between now and the start of the season, it’ll be interesting to see if the Mets work with him to tweak that approach or have him keep doing what he was doing last year. And if he starts the year in Syracuse, cutting down on that home run rate seems like it would be the best potential path back to Queens.
Test captain has bruised eye and grazes to cheek and lip
34-year-old is back in England after dismal Ashes tour
Ben Stokes has sustained a significant facial injury after being struck by a cricket ball.
The England Test captain posted a picture on Instagram showing his right eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose. He captioned the picture: “You should see the state of the cricket ball.”
