Credit: The Dan Patrick Show / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Dan Patrick isn’t fully on board with the swings Netflix took to dress up Monday’s Home Run Derby.
Discussing the broadcast on Tuesday’s episode of his eponymous show, Patrick said Netflix could stand to do a better job getting the word out about the star power it brought to the event, noting he had no idea names like Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols were involved until the broadcast was already underway.
“I’d like to think I’m at least socially aware of sporting events, but I had no idea,” Patrick said. “And then all of a sudden, it’s like Netflix, and then you had Will Ferrell show up, you had Bonds and Pujols, and I’m like, OK. They’re trying. Netflix is trying, trying different things. Now, sometimes you can try too hard. Sometimes you can try to dress something up, and you really don’t need to.”
That tracks with the broader reaction to Monday’s broadcast, which got the Derby’s new swing-based format right while stumbling on execution elsewhere, including a Will Ferrell-led intro segment that landed with viewers about as well as it did with Patrick.
“I didn’t need Will Ferrell on the broadcast. I think they tried too hard in what they were trying to do there,” he said. “But, still, you’re trying to do new things. Sometimes, it’s just good the way it is.”
Patrick has been down this road with Netflix before. Back in March, he tore into the streamer’s Opening Night broadcast, an hour-long pregame slog padded with celebrity cameos that pushed first pitch to 8:25 p.m. and left him feeling like he’d “tuned into a PowerPoint on Netflix” with a baseball game buried somewhere inside it.
He wasn’t uniformly critical of Monday’s broadcast, though. Patrick praised Bonds’ ability to pick out small, specific details in hitters’ swings, after previously knocking him for spending too much time rambling about his own playing days a few months prior.
Netflix gets another shot Aug. 13, when the Phillies and Twins play at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Two broadcasts into the deal, Patrick has made a habit of grading its work. There’s little reason to think he sits this one out.
At Spa-Francorchamps, there are multiple straights, more so than the average F1 track, which is causing concerns about how much power the cars will have.
The FIA, in an attempt to unlock more power on straight sections, has announced five Straight Mode zones at the track to minimize drag.
Straight Mode allows cars to activate a setting on the front and rear wings, which unlocks a speed boost similar to DRS.
Cars, apart from needing to deal with very long straights, will need to contend with a lack of braking zones.
May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem walks through the paddock after the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Following the British Grand Prix, which featured a similar set of problems, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso explained why the cars will face so many challenges.
“Obviously, Silverstone and Spa, they are very thirsty on energy. You cannot deploy in all on the straights. Next week, it is going to be the same thing. If you deploy in Spa from Turn 1 to 5, it is finito for the rest of the lap,” Alonso said.
“So, you need to save a little bit there to have deployment from 14 to the bus stop [chicane]. But if you deploy in those two straights, which is the optimal deployment, then there is one minute, sector two, with no deployment at all.
“And with no deployment at all, we cannot forget that this year we have significantly less power than last year and less power than F2, that is the case when you cut the deployment. So, yes, it is a challenge.”
British Grand Prix, Saturday, Jiri Krenek during Sprint race the Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2026, 9th round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship from July 3 to 5, 2026 on the Silverstone Circuit, in Silverstone, United Kingdom – Photo Jiri Krenek / Active Pictures
How will the Belgian Grand Prix look?
For fans tuning in, they can expect a good number of overtakes, but they won’t always be based on moves; rather, some cars conserve energy while others deploy.
This can be known as a “yo-yo” effect, and it should be pronounced at Spa. However, with more overtaking zones, there should be a bit more aggression and tactics involved in this kind of racing.
However, those looking to see “pure racing” may be disappointed by how each driver is forced to attack every lap.
"Willson Contreras says he went to the Red Sox and told them he would not be willing to waive his no-trade clause. He wants to finish his career in Boston. Joked that he got out ahead of potential rumors by making his stance clear."
Contreras added a heartfelt line: "I've found my family."
He's having the best season of his career, and he even made it to the Home Run Derby in addition to his All-Star selection.
Clearly, Contreras feels comfortable in Boston, and this isn't the last year of his contract, so it wouldn't be overly key for the Red Sox to consider trading him even if rumors had been true.
But considering Contreras doesn't plan on leaving, it's all a moot point.
Boston has turned things around heading into the All-Star Break, a nine-game winning streak giving them a chance of doing big things in the second half.
It'll certainly give them a better chance of making noise and chasing a playoff spot if Contreras is in the lineup. And he's not planning on wearing any other uniforms this season.
“Still to this day, he swears it just got away from him,” Duncan said after Bonds reflected on the incident, which was the only time he charged the mound in his MLB career.
“No it didn’t, it did not get away,” Bonds insisted. “He’s a good pitcher and he’s a good man. In that situation, it was part of the game of baseball during that time, and I accepted it.”
There was maybe one day where Bottalico swore it got away from him. But in just about every other day since, Bottalico has been open about the fact that he plunked Bonds on purpose.
“Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong,” Bottalico responded to Elle Duncan and Netflix during his Tuesday afternoon show with co-host Bill Colarulo on 97.5 The Fanatic. “That is a bald-faced lie.
“I’ve told the story on this show, I’ve told the story on NBC Sports Philadelphia, I have told the story. I was told to go in and hit Barry Bonds. It’s that simple. When it happens, in the newspapers in the next day and all that back then, I had to say I didn’t do it on purpose or else I’m suspended for a month. It’s that simple. Yes, we had to lie back then!”
Bottalico explained that Bonds attempted to steal a base while the San Francisco Giants were already up by around seven runs on the Phillies. Shortly after that happened, manager Terry Francona phoned the bullpen and summoned an unnamed reliever to throw a pitch at Bonds. When that reliever allegedly declined, Bottalico was next man up, and he obliged with one pitch that garnered the only mound charge of Bonds’ career. Nearly three decades later, the story appeared to be news to Netflix.
Baseball's biggest stars will arrive at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game.
There is no shortage of stars who will take the field, from Philadelphia native Mike Trout (Angels) and Yordan Alvarez (Astros) for the American League to Juan Soto (Mets) and Freddie Freeman (Dodgers) for the National League.
Aroldis Chapman, Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela will represent the Red Sox in the Midsummer Classic, but starting pitcher Ranger Suarez will not be available to play. He was recently placed on the 15-day IL with a groin injury.
Follow along right here for live updates and highlights from the 2026 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night.
MLB All-Star Game 2026 score
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
F
American League
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
National League
0
0
0
0
0
0
MLB All-Star Game 2026 live updates, highlights
10:12 p.m.: Though Contreras gets on, Randy Arozarena grounds out to short the next at-bat to end the top of the sixth.
We head to the bottom of the inning with the score still 3-0 American League.
10:11 p.m.: Willson Contreras is in business at the All-Star Game.
With two outs in the top of the six, the Red Sox first baseman gets on base with a single.
End of the fifth: American League 3, National League 0
10:00 p.m.: The AL pitching staff is dominating the night, with 9 strikeouts in 15 at-bats so far tonight. Now, it's Nick Martinez of the Tampa Bay Rays who strikes out the first two in the fifth.
Then, Clement makes an acrobatic play on a grounder by Pages to end the inning for the AL. Through five, it remains 3-0.
9:54 p.m.: The 30-year-old rookie Foster Griffin starts the fifth inning by striking out two straight batters. Then, Miguel Vargas lines one to center field, but it's in the range of Andy Pages.
Griffin gets through the top of the fifth in order, and we're halfway through the Midsummer Classic.
9:50 p.m.: Reasons like this show why baseball is America's pastime.
End of the fourth inning: American League 3, National League 0
9:42 p.m.: After Soto gets on, the NL goes down in order, with Muncy popping out to end the inning.
After four, it's still the AL who leads 3-0. The NL has just one hit on the night, courtesy of Soto.
9:37 p.m.: The NL is on-base to start the bottom of the fourth, with Soto drilling a single into the outfield.
9:33 p.m.: The offense has died down at Citizens Bank Park, with Jesus Luzardo getting out the side in order. Greene struck out swinging, followed by Clement and Trout grounding out.
Due up in the fourth for the NL is Soto, Freeman and Abrams.
End of the third inning: American League 3, National League 0
9:28 p.m.: Schwarber grounds out to Witt Jr. to end the third inning, and it's 3-0 AL.
The NL didn't get any runners on in the inning.
9:20 p.m.: With the runners on, Riley O'Brien gets Rice to strike out and the NL gets out unscathed.
We head to the bottom of the third with the AL leading 3-0.
9:15 p.m.: With two runners on, Bobby Witt Jr. hits a fielders choice, with Max Muncy getting out the runner at third before Witt Jr. is safe at first.
The NL is challenging the call.
9:11 p.m.: Langliers is on base for the second time tonight, hitting a blooper single to start the third.
End of the second inning: American League 3, National League 0
9:08 p.m.: Marsh strikes out looking, and it's 3-0 at the end of the second.
The NL can't get any runners on in the inning.
9:06 p.m.: With two outs in the bottom of the second, Brandon Marsh comes up to a standing ovation from the Philadelphia crowd.
9:01 p.m.: The second inning is a quick one for the AL, with three batters going down in order.
The NL will come up in the bottom of the second facing the same deficit.
End of the first inning: American League 3, National League 0
8:55 p.m.: Cease gets Abrams to strike out swinging, and he ends the inning striking out three batters.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will air nationally on Fox with Joe Davis (play-by-play) and John Smoltz (analyst) calling the Midsummer Classic.
Viewers can stream the game with fubo, which gives fans the ability to watch ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and 100-plus top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)
MLB All-Star Game 2026 date, start time
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Time: 8 p.m. ET
The MLB All-Star Game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 14. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
MLB All-Star Game rosters 2026
American League starters
Position
Name
Team
C
Shea Langeliers
Athletics
1B
Ben Rice
Yankees
2B
Ernie Clement
Blue Jays
3B
Junior Caminero
Rays
SS
Bobby Witt Jr.
Royals
OF
Mike Trout
Angels
OF
Riley Greene
Tigers
OF
Cody Bellinger
Yankees
DH
Yordan Alvarez
Astros
Will not play: Byron Buxton, Twins; Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays; Aaron Judge, Yankees; Nick Kurtz, Athletics
There was a comeback at MLB’s Home Run Derby on Monday night. And no, we’re not talking about Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker’s rally to overtake Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. We’re talking about Netflix, which bounced back strongly following its critically panned coverage of MLB Opening Night.
The streaming giant’s coverage of Yankees-Giants from Oracle Park in San Francisco in March amounted to one big Netflix ad. There was shirtless comedian Bert Kreischer in a branded Netflix kayak in McCovey Cove, Little Brother star John Cena trying to explain ABS, Stranger Things teasers, etc.
Netflix has a three-year, $150 million deal with MLB to show Opening Night, the Home Run Derby, and a special event like the upcoming “Field of Dreams” game. Well, let’s give the sports team at Netflix credit for learning quickly and not making the same mistakes again.
During its debut coverage of the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Netflix let the event come to them. It focused on the action on the field; not itself.
Led by host Elle Duncan, I thought the streamer’s Home Run Derby coverage was light-years better than Opening Night. The studio team of Duncan, Barry Bonds, Anthony Rizzo, Albert Pujols, plus play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian was looser, funnier, more relaxed. They kept the focus on mechanics and the mindset necessary to pound baseballs into the distant stands. They let the event breathe—which is saying something given this was only its second MLB event ever.
Still, Netflix is going to Netflix. There was one big swing and a miss. Viewers rightly panned funnyman Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Jimmy Tatro for their awkward attempt to tout their Netflix show The Hawk. Their jokes weren’t funny and their antics only took away from player introductions.
One viewer wrote on X/Twitter: “Ben Rice was in diapers the last time Will Ferrell was funny please don’t put him on my screen again.” As my Front Office Sports colleague Ryan Glasspiegel tweeted, “The only person who gets booked and ever says anything funny in these scenarios is Shane Gillis.”
Netflix also needs to improve its camera angles, which generated numerous complaints across social media. Again, a less-is-more approach is the way to go. Don’t try to reinvent something sports television has perfected over the decades.
Some other observations:
Duncan has proved she’s the right pick to host Netflix’s global sporting events. The former ESPN SportsCenter anchor can host any event with humor, smarts, and style. She had fun right from the beginning, declaring: “I like big bats and I cannot lie.” Duncan was able to get the normally sour Bonds to smile and share some war stories. As she previously predicted to FOS, MLB’s decision to eliminate timed rounds in the Home Run Derby proved to be a hit. As Duncan told me, Netflix is trying to reach casual, as well as hardcore sports fans, with its “eventized” sports. “We’re trying to get the people who are baseball-curious, who are sports-curious, and who are interested in the way Netflix can present something we’ve seen for a really long time,” she said.
The likable Rizzo had a big night. The former Cubs first baseman had one of the best lines of the night when he described the hulking Schwarber—who he played with in Chicago—as “every beer league softball player’s hero.” Rizzo is proving to be just as good at media as my sources predicted after charming the snarky New York press corps as a Yankee.
Little changes matter. It was more entertaining to have “Batting Stance Guy” impersonating the distinctive swings and stances of Bonds, Rizzo, and Pujols than Kreischer acting the fool.
With more than 325 million subscribers globally, Netflix is here to stay in big-time sports. Given its bounce-back performance last night, I will be curious whether it can keep up the momentum during the “Field of Dreams” game between the Phillies and Twins from the cornfields of Iowa on Aug. 13.
Again, it’s not rocket science. Keep the focus on baseball, not cross-promotion. Netflix mostly did that Monday night. It’s a promising sign for its future sports coverage.
It's been a fascinating trade tree to follow since the Devers deal.
He hasn't been his best self in San Francisco, and then the Giants turned around and dealt Kyle Harrison (acquired from the Giants) this offseason in the Caleb Durbin trade with the Brewers.
A lot of moving parts have made it tough to reach overall conclusions about that trade, but that's not really the point here.
It was a subtly cool moment to see Rafaela smile like that when thinking about his time with Devers.
Sometimes, there doesn't have to be any more complicated than that. Two former teammates recall their time fondly in Boston.
Formula 1 simulators are notoriously optimistic, but the latest leak out of Silverstone is raising eyebrows across the 2026 grid.
According to Spanish outlet Autonocion (highlighted by @FormulaDirecta, Aston Martin’s highly anticipated AMR26 chassis upgrades are yielding a staggering 2-second lap time improvement in virtual testing. If this correlation holds true when rubber meets the asphalt, the entire midfield dynamic is about to shift.
Aston Martin has spent the first phase of the 2026 season completely out of sorts. Instead of chasing incremental gains, the team actively chose to hold its fire, committing to tackling the AMR26’s baseline aerodynamic flaws with one massive, overarching upgrade package.
With design heavyweight Adrian Newey now heavily influencing the AMR26, this incoming package represents the team’s first major swing at salvaging the season. And if the simulator numbers are even partially accurate, the math looks highly favorable for Silverstone.
Currently, Aston Martin is languishing roughly 1.4 seconds behind the new Cadillac entry in race pace. A 2-second gain wouldn’t just erase that deficit; it would instantly catapult Alonso and Lance Stroll past Cadillac and put them squarely in the fight with established midfield runners like Williams.
But can a team actually find two full seconds mid-season? The paddock remains highly skeptical. Finding pace in the simulator is vastly different from unlocking it during FP1, and the team will need to master the setup immediately to extract that theoretical maximum.
However, Aston Martin doesn’t necessarily need the full two seconds to achieve their goal. Even if only a fraction of that simulated lap time materializes in Hungary, it should give the team the firepower they need to comfortably clear the backmarker fight. The AMR26 is about to get its biggest test of the season—and the rest of the midfield better hope the simulator is lying.
PHILADELPHIA — With hometown favorites Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper both participating in Monday’s Home Run Derby, the Philadelphia faithful booed the other six participants loudly as they were introduced and later stepped to the plate. In character, Red Sox slugger Willson Contreras embraced the villain role before ultimately bowing out Schwarber in the semifinals.
The fiery Contreras repeatedly put his hand to his ear to ask the crowd to boo him louder, egging them on both during introductions and in the semis, which Schwarber won, 9-8. In his first Derby experience, Boston’s first baseman made sure he had fun.
“That’s what they do here. It’s nothing new,” Contreras said. “They’ve been booing me for 10 years, so I had fun with it.
“I like when I get booed,” he added. “It inspires me a little bit.”
Though St. Louis’ Jordan Walker won the event with a dramatic comeback to beat Schwarber in the final round, it was Schwarber — in the head-to-head 15-pitch semifinal round — who knocked out Contreras, his ex-Cubs teammate. Schwarber went first and hit nine homers and Contreras was at eight blasts with one swing to go. He popped out to shallow center field and the crowd went crazy as Schwarber advanced.
True to form, Contreras was also hit by a pitch in the semifinal round by bench coach José Flores, who was throwing to him. The league included magenta-colored baseballs in the contest when the hitters were down to one swing, allowing the hitter to continue if they homered in that scenario. Those baseballs were slippery and one got away from Flores, who couldn’t help but chuckle on the mound.
“It was funny,” Contreras said. “The reaction of the crowd was that they laughed. It was all about the show.”
Contreras, the first Red Sox player to participate in the contest in 15 years, set the high-water mark with a strong showing in the first round. As the first competitor to hit in the eight-man field, he hit 13 homers on 20 swings and finished the round tied with Walker for the lead. The top four competitors (Contreras, Walker, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero and Schwarber) advanced under the new rules, which were introduced for this year’s contest and included untimed rounds. The absence of a clock allowed drama to build throughout the event, especially as Walker chased down Schwarber in his home ballpark at the end.
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“The new format and the way of the Home Run Derby makes it fun, and it’s way better than before,” Contreras said.
In the first round, Contreras hit the left-field wall with his first swing and took a couple swings to find his footing before getting hot, knocking out seven of his first 10. With Flores throwing to him, Contreras cooled down a little bit in the second half. He pulled all 13 of his first-round home runs, hitting eight more than 450 feet. His longest was his eighth blast, which went 490 feet with a 115 mph exit velocity. One of Contreras’ goals was to hit the left-field scoreboard but that was just out of reach.
In the semis, Contreras pulled six homers and hit two to center. His longest of that round was 461 feet. In total, Contreras hit 1.76 miles of homers.
Contreras’ Derby bat — depicting the Mario character Bowser, which inspired his nickname this season — was taken by a Baseball Hall of Fame official after the event. Contreras said he wants to do the Derby again in the future after enjoying the experience so much Monday. He wanted to win it but was happy to be knocked out by a friend in Schwarber, with whom Contreras won a World Series title in Chicago in 2016.
“We’re good friends. I love Schwarber,” Contreras said. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”
Netflix’s second crack at live baseball came with a built-in advantage: the Home Run Derby doesn’t need much help to be entertaining. Strip away the ceremony, and it’s just batting practice with stakes, and this year, MLB handed the streamer a genuine upgrade by scrapping the countdown clock in favor of a format that lets hitters keep swinging as long as they’re producing. It’s the best change the event has seen in years, and it deserved a broadcast that didn’t get in its own way.
For long stretches, Netflix delivered that. For other stretches, it seemed determined not to.
Start with the good, because there’s a lot of it. Untethering the Derby from a timer was an easy, obvious improvement, and it’s the rare format tweak that generated no real pushback. Well, besides maybe Jeff Passan. The new setup rewards hot streaks instead of racing a clock, and it made for a night with a noticeably different rhythm than derbies past. Whatever else went wrong Monday night, the league deserves full credit for finally fixing this.
The picture itself, in the moments the broadcast let you see it clearly, backed that up. The image was sharp, the graphics package was clean and legible — almost to a fault — and this was a clear step forward from Netflix’s Opening Night broadcast back in March, if only because the network mostly resisted the urge to remind viewers every few minutes that they were watching Netflix.
Mostly.
But before the swinging started, Netflix leaned on Will Ferrell, Jimmy Tatro, and Luke Wilson to open the broadcast, and the segment landed with a thud. The audio made it hard to hear what anyone was saying, the comedy felt manufactured rather than spontaneous, and the whole bit doubled as an ad for a Netflix original. It’s the same instinct that dragged down the network’s Opening Night pregame in March — a reflexive need to cross-promote the platform’s other content — just in a smaller dose this time.
Oh my God, the three guys doing supposed comedic commentary on the Home Run Derby player intros are the least funny people to be given such a national stage, without question. They. Are. Brutal. Who wrote these godawful lines for them? Embarrassing, Netflix. Utterly embarrassing.
Elle Duncan’s aside about the 1996 Derby being a topic of enduring conversation in Philadelphia, which Philadelphia sports fans were quick to note isn’t actually true, was a minor unforced error in the same vein.
Elle Duncan on Netflix’s Derby broadcast: The 1996 Home Run Derby is something “Philadelphians talk about to this day.”
But the pregame, promos, and all were never going to be the story of the night. Once the players stepped in and the swings started counting, the broadcast had to stand on its own, and that’s where the real test began.
The lounge pairing of Duncan, Barry Bonds, and Albert Pujols had the makings of the better booth, and the set itself worked. But calling live swings wasn’t where Bonds and Pujols were comfortable, and the commentary came out vanilla and subdued — pleasant, but not adding much to what was already on screen. Duncan held her own despite not being the one expected to call the action, and the read on her was fair: this wasn’t a knock on her so much as a format that didn’t play to the group’s strengths.
There’s an easy fix sitting right there, too, as The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand noted. Instead of parking the lounge as a standalone set, Netflix could use it as a between-batters destination, where they bring a hitter over for a quick conversation with Bonds and Pujols once his round wraps, rather than sending Lauren Shehadi or CC Sabathia to chase an interview down mid-swing. It would give the lounge a job beyond commentary and solve the in-game interview problem in the same move.
The preference, when the ball was actually in the air, ran toward the crew of Matt Vasgersian, Anthony Rizzo, and Hunter Pence. Rizzo was the standout of the group, sharp and insightful whenever the conversation turned to mechanics, which is exactly the kind of expertise a Derby booth should lean on. Hunter Pence brought real energy too — he was clearly locked in and into the moment, and that enthusiasm read as one of the booth’s better qualities. Where the group as a whole stumbled was in occasionally tipping past that energy into over-the-top territory during routine swings, something that applied to Rizzo, Pence, and Vasgersian alike at various points.
Chris Berman spent decades hollering his way through this exact event and never once sounded like he was performing enthusiasm rather than feeling it; the swings earned the volume. Monday’s booth hadn’t figured out that distinction yet, and by the third round of manufactured hysteria, the excitement had started to cancel itself out.
Neither booth had a poor showing. One added insight and energy but occasionally ran hot; the other was pleasant and composed but rarely had much to say. A happy medium between the two was exactly what was missing.
If there’s one throughline in how this broadcast will be remembered, it’s the camera work, and not in a good way.
I like this new format for watching on TV, I just need them to stop switching the camera angles so many times.
The Home Run Derby has one job: show the ball leaving the bat and show where it lands. Netflix, with its cinematic ambitions, treated that job as optional. Tight close-ups on hitters’ faces during their swings repeatedly cost viewers the actual moment of contact, and the broadcast leaned on those close-ups instead of following the ball in flight. On at least one stretch, the camera stayed locked on the pitcher through consecutive swings from Jordan Walker, which is about as far as you can get from what anyone tuned in to see.
they literally had the camera on the PITCHER for two straight swings by Walker
It wasn’t a matter of a broadcast finding its footing over the course of the night, either, as the same complaint kept surfacing swing after swing. The frustration turned into something close to a consensus among viewers: a Home Run Derby doesn’t need much more than a shot behind the pitcher and a shot on the ball’s landing spot, and Netflix kept finding ways to use neither. There was no shortage of suggestions for a fix, either, with multiple viewers noting that simply holding the camera on the hitter through contact and then following the ball would solve the entire problem. It’s a two-camera fix for a production with far more cameras than that at its disposal.
Dear @netflix production team and director: for the love of God, leave the camera on the batter until he hits the ball then just follow the ball. You only need two cameras for this. #homerunderby#mlb
The absence of exit velocity data compounded the issue. Between the missing numbers and the wrong camera angles, a broadcast built around a single visceral moment — bat meets ball — kept finding ways to obscure that exact moment.
Alright I’ve been silent about the @netflix Home Run Derby experience, but not having exit velocity and launch angle in a literal home run derby is akin to an attack on my life.
Then there was the non-call. Junior Caminero’s final swing of the round sent a ball down the left field line, and by the look on his face, he thought it was fair — which would have kept his turn going. Netflix never showed a replay, so nobody watching ever got to find out if he was right. A broadcast that spent the night favoring close-ups over the ball’s flight ran into the one moment where that habit actually cost something.
So Netflix, you have a just down the line fair or foul ball that Caminero clearly thinks was fair on his last swing (where if he gets a HR he keeps swinging).
This was a broadcast pulling in two directions. The format Netflix inherited from MLB was close to perfect, the picture was frequently excellent, and the network mostly avoided the self-promotional bloat that weighed down its Opening Night debut. But the actual job of a Home Run Derby broadcast — showing the swing, showing the flight, showing where the ball lands — kept getting lost to close-ups, ill-timed interviews, and a director seemingly more interested in mood than information. Netflix has the format and the infrastructure. What it still needs is the discipline to point the camera at the baseball.
Netflix’s maiden Home Run Derby telecast came with plenty of hype. The field of participants included stars both familiar (Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber) and new (Junior Caminero, Munetaka Murakami), from the east (Ben Rice, Willson Contreras ) and midwest (Jac Caglianone, Jordan Walker).
In the end, the July 13 exhibition at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia was remarkable not for who was or wasn’t on the field, but how the streaming giant mastered the details.
Judging by the early reviews of the event, mastery remains out of reach.
Some online commentators criticized Netflix’s maximalist camera cuts, which seemed bound by law not to hold a single shot for more than 2 seconds at a time.
Despite the many angles available to the director, a number of viewers noted that the act of the bat hitting the ball was often ignored.
“If a camera angle doesn’t show me the bat coming off the ball, I don’t want to see that angle,” Jason Foster of MLB.com wrote on Twitter/X.
“Netflix knows the worst part of the Derby is watching that moment of impact where the bat meets the ball,” Pirates beat writer Alex Stumpf wrote on Twitter/X. “The people yearn for close ups of faces and then cuts to balls mid-flight.”
Some criticized the new format, which eliminated the countdown timer for the first time in 11 years.
Others criticized the lack of numbers on the screen. Besides each player’s remaining number of swings and the distance (in feet) of each home run, the cameras and commentators were left to tell the story.
Others criticized Netflix’s choice of entertainment personalities — Jimmy Tatro, Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson — who warmed up the broadcast.
“Oh my God, the three guys doing supposed comedic commentary on the Home Run Derby player intros are the least funny people to be given such a national stage, without question,” longtime Atlanta Braves beat writer David O’Brien wrote on Twitter/X. “They. Are. Brutal. Who wrote these godawful lines for them? Embarrassing, Netflix. Utterly embarrassing.”
Considering many fans of the Home Run Derby likely subscribed to Netflix just to watch the one event, it was an underwhelming debut.
The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby is on Netflix, and quite predictably, that’s led to Netflix going all in to promote its additional current and future content offerings. And with The Hawk — a Netflix comedy series starring Will Ferrell as Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins — set to premiere on July 16, Netflix even had the show’s stars on hand to provide commentary during the Home Run Derby player introductions.
Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Jimmy Tatro sat at a desk on the field offering random commentary as Home Run Derby participants were introduced on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. And for much of this time, legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer was introducing players at the same time, so the commentary clashed.
It was hard to even understand what Ferrell, Wilson, and Tatro were saying at times, with the commentary basically just serving as racket for Netflix viewers.
Even for fans of Ferrell and friends, this was a hard listen that felt very forced as an obvious promotional tactic for an upcoming Netflix series.
Here’s a look at how Netflix viewers reacted to the commentary from Ferrell, Wilson, and Tatro to open the Home Run Derby:
Maybe I’m way off, but I don’t think the Will Ferrell-Luke Wilson thing is working at all. (Honestly, I get the sense that *they* also know it isn’t working.)
This is the first Home Run Derby broadcast for Netflix (in year one of a three-year media rights agreement with MLB), and it didn’t get off to a great start.
With new rules, baseball’s top hitters put on a show during this year’s Home Run Derby. Citizens Bank Park, full of Phillies fans, let it be known that it was their stadium. It was evident when slugger Kyle Schwarber hit home run after home run to the delight of the crowd.
However, the hometown crowd wasn’t enough to stop Jordan Walker. The cool, calm, and collected superstar from St. Louis beat Schwarber to become the first Cardinal to win the Home Run Derby.
Schwarber started the opening round of the HR Derby, which no longer had a timer, with ten home runs, outlasting teammate Bryce Harper to advance. He beat Willson Contreras in the semifinals and hit eleven in the finals. It was thought he had the trophy and chain in the bag.
Unfortunately for him, Walker did not falter under pressure.
Walker, with 22 home runs this year, tied Contreras for the lead in the opening round with thirteen home runs. He hit six to beat Junior Caminero. And then, with Schwarber’s wide lead and the fans booing his every move, except for when he missed a home run, Walker went to work.
Six of Walker’s last swings were home runs. With one out away from losing, Walker hit the game-tying shot and then hit the last shot out of the park for the win. The crowd was shocked by what they saw as Walker remained stone-faced.
Walker wasn't the first player to represent the Cardinals. Albert Pujols, on commentary, appeared three times (as a member of St. Louis). Jim Edmonds, Matt Holliday, and Carlos Beltran also participated in the HR Derby. But Walker was the first to win.
Walker’s win wasn’t the only highlight from the Derby. Outside Schwarber vs. Harper, Contreras hit a ball 490 feet, while several players had key highlights in a short time.
Below are the full results and best highlights from the 2026 Home Run Derby.
Home Run Derby 2026 results
Total home runs
Player
Home Runs
Jordan Walker, Cardinals
31
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
30
Willson Contreras, Red Sox
21
Junior Caminero, Rays
17
Munetaka Murakami, White Sox
9
Jac Caglianone, Royals
8
Bryce Harper, Phillies
8
Ben Rice, Yankees
7
Round 1 results
Player
Home Runs
Willson Contreras, Red Sox
13
Jordan Walker, Cardinals
13
Jac Caglianone, Royals
8
Munetaka Murakami, White Sox
9
Ben Rice, Yankees
7
Junior Caminero, Rays
12
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
10
Bryce Harper, Phillies
8
Round 2 results
Willson Contreras vs. Kyle Schwarber
Seed
Player
Home Runs
1
Contreras
8
4
Schwarber
9
Jordan Walker vs. Junior Caminero
Seed
Player
Home Runs
2
Walker
6
3
Caminero
5
Final results
Jordan Walker vs. Kyle Schwarber
Seed
Player
Home Runs
2
Walker
12
4
Schwarber
11
Home Run Derby 2026 live updates, highlights
10:40 p.m. ET: He hit number ten. Oh my. One to tie, two to win. Walker with the tie! And Walker with the win!
10:38 p.m. ET: Walker had five home runs with five swings left. He looked calm. He had eight home runs with one swing left. Walker hit one to center for number nine. Things are getting interesting.
10:35 p.m. ET: The crowd was booing Walker, except for when he missed. He had three home runs with ten swings left. The fans got louder with each miss.
10:28 p.m. ET: Walker time!
10:26 p.m. ET: Schwarber had eight with three swings left. He crushed number nine. And he crushed number ten. He was the first to home run in his "final swing." With the extra swing, he hit number eleven. It ended there to a loud ovation!
MVP chants for Kyle Schwarber as he homers his last swing 🔥
10:24 p.m. ET: Schwarber with a monster shot over 444 feet to start. He had five home runs with eight swings left. Number six went to the second deck. Number seven went 436 feet. Harper is heard saying "It's over."
10:20 p.m. ET: Schwarber up first.
10:17 p.m. ET: Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard presented the trophy and chain that will be awarded to the winner. Michael Buffer came out again to announce the finals.
10:11 p.m. ET: Contreras had one swing left and eight home runs. He almost got hit by his own pitcher. His night ended, Schwarber advanced. It's Schwarber vs. Walker in the Finals.
10:08 p.m. ET: The fans in Philadelphia were booing Contreras except for when he didn't get a home run. Contreras started to get hot. He hit one 461 feet. Oh he's feeling it. He had six home runs with three swings left.
10:04 p.m. ET: Contreras, Schwarber's former teammate with the Cubs, was up next.
10:03 p.m. ET: Schwarber's shots were getting some distance. He started reaching for home runs. With a loud crowd pulling for him, Schwarber ended the round with nine home runs.
10 p.m. ET: Schwarber tried going all over the field to hit a home run, but to no avail. He hit one with twelve swings left. Schwarber hit one 440 feet. He then started getting hot.
9:56 p.m. ET: Willson Contreras vs. Kyle Schwarber is next. Contreras could be the ultimate villain if he takes out Schwarber.Schwarber is up first.
9:51 p.m. ET: Walker already had three with ten swings left. He hit number five with eight swings. It didn't take long to hit six to take Caminero out and advance to the finals.
Jordan Walker punches his ticket to the Home Run Derby final, eliminating Junior Caminero in the process 👏
9:46 p.m. ET: Caminero started things off with fifteen swings. He hit shots over 400 feet to start. Caminero ended with five home runs. 491 was the longest.
9:41 p.m. ET: Contreras will take on Schwarber, while Caminero faces Walker.
It will be Contreras, Caminero, Walker and Schwarber in contention for the trophy.
9:34 p.m. ET: After making things interesting, Harper ended his night with eight home runs. He is out.
9:31 p.m. ET: Harper hit one over the batter's eye. He then hit his fourth 482 feet. With ten swings left, he had four home runs. It's looking unlikely he can beat Schwarber.
9:28 p.m. ET: Harper is up next. Looks like only one member of the Phillies will make it to the next round.
9:26 p.m. ET: Schwarber continued to hit massive shots. He had nine home runs with two swings left. He ended the first round with ten. Will he survive, or will Bryce Harper take his teammate out?
9:23 pm. ET: After missing a few, Schwarber started mashing home runs. They were short and sweet. He then hit a monster shot 414 feet, and another 451.
9:20 p.m. ET: Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber is next to a loud ovation.
9:18 p.m. ET: Caminero ended his night with twelve home runs.
9:17 p.m. ET: Caminero started crushing the ball over 470 feet. Some were line drives. He had eight home runs with eight swings left. One went 487 feet. He hit his tenth home run 479 feet. And his eleventh 478.
WHAT A GRAB FROM THIS FAN ON A 487 FOOT JUNIOR CAMINERO HOME RUN 👏
9:12 p.m. ET: Junior Caminero, the runner-up from last year, is up next.
9:09 p.m. ET: Rice struggled to start, with four home runs with seven swings left. His dad was not helping his cause. He ended his night with seven home runs.
9:04 p.m. ET: Compared to normal Home Run Derby's, where the crowd cheers everything, the crowd in Philadelphia, majority Phillies fans, only cheer for Harper and Schwarber. Fascinating.
9:02 p.m. ET: Ben Rice of the Yankees is next.
8:56 p.m. ET: Murakami started slow, just like Caglianone. He did start landing big shots to right. Murakami passed Caglianone with nine home runs. His run ended there.
8:47 p.m. ET: With his dad pitching to him, Caglianone struggled at first. With eleven pitches and only one home run, Caglianone started getting hot. He hit one to right field over 477 feet! He hit one over the batter's eye. Oh my!
8:44 p.m. ET: Young royals player Jac Caglianone is up next.
8:41 p.m. ET: After a slow start, Walker started crushing the balls. He was tinkering with his swing, which affected his performance. With two swings left, he hit two home runs. With the new rules, the round did not end. But he failed to keep the at-bat going. Walker tied Contreras with 13 home runs.
Not Philly fans booing after this kid didn’t make the catch 😭
8:37 p.m. ET: Jordan Walker was up next. The Cardinals hitter hit a few lasers to left field to start. Walker was patient with his swings to start.
8:32 p.m. ET: With one swing left, Contreras had 13 home runs. His last shot didn't make it over the wall.
8:29 p.m. ET: Contreras barely missed a shot on his second pitch. Contreras made up for it with a second-deck shot. He hit his second shot over 440 feet. One shot went over 482 feet! Another one went 487 and then one went 470 feet. One went 490!
8:03 p.m. ET: Boxing's Michael Buffer kicks things off, getting the crowd hyped for the expected action.
8 p.m. ET: Here we go! The Home Run Derby has begun!
6 p.m. ET: Here is the official order for the first round of the Derby. Willson Contreras kicks things off on Netflix, while Bryce Harper will go last.
Updated batting order for tonight's @TMobile Home Run Derby:
The Major League Baseball season is approaching the All-Star Break, and baseball is seeing strong viewership midway through the season.
NBC is leading the way in terms of baseball viewership, as it replaces ESPN for the rights to Opening Day and Sunday Night Baseball. Games on NBC are averaging 2.25 million viewers according to Nielsen through 11 games, rising to 2.51 million when including additional Peacock streaming measured by Adobe Analytics. That is up 51% from games on ESPN in the same period last year, which averaged 1.66 million through the All-Star Break.
However, there are some factors tilting the scale in NBC’s favor. Switching the package from ESPN, a cable network, to NBC, a broadcast network, will naturally increase viewership. Not to mention, NBC has aired fewer games to this point than ESPN did last season. Nielsen’s updated methodology likely also contributes to higher measured audiences.
The New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game on Sunday, June 28, leads the way so far for both NBC and baseball at large. The game averaged 3.27 million viewers according to Nielsen, rising to 4 million when including streaming. The game went into extra innings, but coverage joined the game in progress in the fourth inning due to a golf overrun.
Fox is averaging 2.24 million viewers according to Nielsen with 13 Baseball Night in America windows so far this season. A regional window on the 4th of July featuring the New York Mets against the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs, leads the way with 3.34 million viewers for Fox. That is up 7% from 2.09 million for the same period last year. That is within the range that could be explained entirely by Nielsen’s new Big Data methodology, which has generally increased sports viewership numbers, in extreme cases by as much as 15%.
ESPN’s games, including two games on ABC, have combined to average 1.12 million viewers. On ABC, Yankees-Red Sox on June 27 leads the slate with 1.99 million viewers. ABC did not air any regular-season games last year. Yankees-Kansas City Royals on the afternoon of Memorial Day is ESPN’s top game so far this season, averaging 1.63 million viewers.
ESPN’s lower viewership average this season, 1.12 million compared to 1.66 million at the same point last year, comes as a result of the shift of ESPN’s games from weekends to weeknights. ESPN aired three weekday games last year, which combined to average 1.23 million viewers, much more in line with this season’s average.
Finally, MLB Tuesday on TBS and truTV is averaging 466,000 viewers before the All-Star Break. Unlike games on the other platforms, games on TBS are generally blacked out in local markets, forcing in-market fans to watch via their regional sports network (though TBS is allowed one “co-exist” with local broadcasts). Los Angeles Dodgers-Toronto Blue Jays on April 7 leads the way for TBS, with a 708,000 viewership average. That was good enough to be the most-watched MLB Tuesday game since a Yankees-Blue Jays game during Aaron Judge’s home run chase in 2022.
TBS viewership in 2026 is up 21% from 2025, when the network averaged 385,000 viewers. Notably, according to TNT Sports, viewership among women is up 41% versus 2025.
With the 2026 NBA Finals and FIFA World Cup hitting recent viewership highs during the MLB season, it seems especially impressive that baseball is still seeing such strong viewership so far. With much of July and August not facing such competition, it will be interesting to see if MLB can build more on its viewership success.
Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber GettyNEW YORK, NY - JULY 15: Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals gets a hug from his father Ron Haper during the Chevrolet Home Run Derby on July 15, 2013 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JULY 07: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a three-run home run in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on July 07, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
One of the most popular, fun, and entertaining events on Major League Baseball’s calendar each season is the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, which is a fan-favorite All-Star break festivity that features eight of MLB’s top sluggers duking it out for a prize of $1 million. The All-Star game (and Home Run Derby) is being held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Phillies’ home ballpark, Citizens Bank Park.
MLB.com’s Thomas Harrington provided some insight on the new Home Run Derby format, which is powered by T-Mobile:
“Eight players will still make up the field, same as in years past. But instead of trying to hit as many homers as they can during timed rounds, participants will start each round with a finite number of swings: 20 in Round 1, 15 in Round 2 and 15 again in the final round.”
“All swings will count against a playerâs swing allotment, whether it results in a homer or not. However, a player who homers on his final swing of a round can keep swinging until he doesn’t hit one out.”
The eight sluggers participating in the 2026 Home Run Derby include: Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies), Bryce Harper (Phillies), Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays, 2025 runner-up), Jac Caglianone (Kansas City Royals), Willson Contreras (Boston Red Sox), Jordan Walker (St. Louis Cardinals), and Ben Rice (New York Yankees).
It’s a pretty stacked field, and honestly, one of the more anticipated Home Run Derbies in recent memory, it feels like. Two participants from the host city (Schwarber, Harper), last year’s runner-up in Caminero, and a guaranteed new winner. Add in the likes of rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami, and rising stars in Ben Rice, Jordan Walker, and Jac Caglianone. Sign me up.
Let’s get into some of the very important details of the event, plus some sharp predictions/odds.
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How to Watch MLB Home Run Derby, Presented by T-Mobile.
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 15: Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals gets a hug from his father Ron Haper during the Chevrolet Home Run Derby on July 15, 2013 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
How to watch the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Event details:
Channel: Watch the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby live on Netflix. This is the first time that Netflix is hosting the event.
Time:Â The 2026 Home Run Derby is set to take place at 8:00 p.m. There is pre-event coverage at 7:00 p.m. ET, and also player introductions, which will likely start at 8.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, @ Citizens Bank Park.Â
GettyST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – JULY 07: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a three-run home run in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on July 07, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
First, let’s start off with the odds for each participant to win the HRD, courtesy of FanDuel SportsBook. Odds are subject to change:
*Indicates home run total for 2026.
Kyle Schwarber (+290); $100 bet wins $290 ($390 total) *32
Junior Caminero (+400); $100 bet wins $500. *28
Munetaka Murakami (+550) *20
Jac Caglianone (+700) *15
Jordan Walker (+700) *22
Bryce Harper (+950) *20
Ben Rice (+1000) *29
Willson Contreras (+1100) *20
Disrespect on behalf of Ben Rice?? Perhaps.
Prediction Time!!
Kyler Schwarber is very obviously going to be the most popular pick to win this thing, and why wouldn’t he be? Schwarber has been the perfect HRD candidate, but he’s turned the event down in recent memory. He remains the game’s top pure slugger, and in his home ballpark, it’s possible he just flicks balls out of the yard.
However, for my prediction, I’m going to hand out two potential winners that I like to win the whole thing.
Prediction: Junior Caminero (+400); Ben Rice (+1000)Â
The biggest factor I take into account when trying to bet this event is which players need the $1 million the most (right now). Of course, every player in this event is going to get paid in due time, but the players whose salaries are less than $1 million on this list are Ben Rice, Junior Caminero, Jordan Walker, and Jac Caglianone.
Murakami, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Willson Contreras are all signed MLB players.
Well, if you made it this far, thanks for reading, and enjoy the 2026 Home Run Derby, presented by T-Mobile.
MLB returns to Netflix tonight for the 2026 T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Netflix previously aired the opening night game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants to what can generously be described as “mixed” reviews.
The first ever Home Run Derby on Netflix will feature a new format. It will be MLB’s third format change in just over a decade after they decided the classic outs-based derby format which they used for three decades was no longer viable.
This year each player will get a set number of swings with no time limit. If you think that could be a recipe for disaster, you’re not alone. In fact, one of the most prominent names in baseball media agrees.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was asked about the new format on “First Take” this morning and did not mince words about what could happen if hitters take their time.
“I think it’s gonna stink,” said Passan. “And genuinely, I’m worried about that because the whole reason that the timer came in in the first place is because it felt really slow and the timer brought urgency. The timer brought a countdown and an end. We’re just gonna see tonight I think, time between pitches, it’s gonna grind a little bit.”
Passan went on to say that Junior Caminero, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper can all hit the ball really far so that will still be cool, but he brings up a very valid point. With no time limit and a finite number of swings guys wouldn’t be taking the event seriously if they weren’t waiting for pitches they really like.
‘Eventize’ the disaster
If that’s the case, there will be extra pressure on Netflix to keep viewers interested. Luckily, they’ve got some tricks up their sleeve. And they even made up a word to describe how they’re treating sports. Via Sports Business Journal:
“The thing that they continue to do is they ‘eventize’ their programming. That’s their verb, and they’ve made good use of it,” said Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Sports, Entertainment and Media. “They were able to do that with the Giants-Yankees game on Opening Day, and I’m intrigued to see what they’re going to do with Home Run Derby. They’re going to try things out in baseball, and baseball distribution is ripe for innovation.”
Considering the reaction to their opening night broadcast, who knows what bells and whistles they have in store for fans while the Home Run Derby on their second screens.
Unless the players involved tonight put on an epic and efficient show, tomorrow morning should feature the usual opinion pieces and rants about how to fix the derby for next year. Just by putting it on Netflix means there’s a whole new party to blame if it’s anything besides an instant classic. So at the very least they’ve found a way to eventize the Home Run Derby conversation.
NEW YORK — The Red Sox will unplug the struggling Jarren Duran from the outfield — but not the lineup — as they finish the unofficial first half of their season at Citi Field on Sunday.
With left-hander Zach Thornton pitching for the Mets, the Red Sox will start Nate Eaton in left field and have Duran serve as the designated hitter for the seventh time this season. Saturday hero Andruw Monasterio is the shortstop with Romy Gonzalez back in the lineup at first base. Connor Wong is doing the catching.
Interim manager Chad Tracy opted to go with Duran at DH over Masataka Yoshida, who homered in Saturday’s 4-0 win. Duran has hit just .217 with a .606 OPS against lefties this year, which is actually better than his .186 average against right-handers. So far in July, Duran is hitting just .167 with a double and a homer in eight games.
Coulombe's Spotrac page, which has his contract details, shows that if he pitches in 30 games this season, he makes $75,000.
He'd make another $75,000 each if he pitched in 35, then 40, then 45 games.
As mentioned above, Coulombe has appeared in 29 games this season for the Red Sox.
If there was a time to make this move, this was the time.
"The 36-year-old Coulombe did earn $250,000 bonuses for being on the active roster for 30, 60, and 90 days this season, so he wound up netting $1.75 million from the Red Sox for half a season," On SI's Jackson Roberts wrote on Sunday.
Boston needed to clear space anyway with Brayan Bello back in MLB and Ranger Suarez on his way to healing, as well.
Coulombe is nearing the end of his major league career, but it seems he could still get a chance elsewhere as a lefty specialist.
Early in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Boston Red Sox picked a few players earlier than many expected.
But because MLB bonus pools can be spread out however a team chooses throughout a draft class, that allowed them to take a big swing later on Martin Shelar, a high school outfielder.
Shelar is committed to Mississippi State, and teams aren't sure whether he'll sign, which is why he was available in the ninth round.
The Red Sox must've felt they can offer him an over-slot deal to have a chance of landing him.
The Boston Red Sox have completed their 2026 MLB Draft class.
They kicked it off with a couple of players from the University of North Carolina, but then they hit a wide variety of talents from there.
The draft used to be 40 rounds and even longer, but these days it's 20 rounds, along with some potential compensatory picks.
The MLB Draft also has more of a delay in impact at the highest level than the other major sports. These guys will first put their work in across the minor leagues.
But the big first step is being drafted, and all the players below had the big news this weekend of being picked by the Red Sox.
When things are going well, they just keep going well.
The Boston Red Sox needed some help from New York Mets star shortstop on Sunday, but in the end, a blunder by Lindor propelled Boston toward yet another win -- stretching the win streak to nine in a row.
The Red Sox trailed 2-0 in the ninth with a runner on first and one out when Romy Gonzalez hit a sharp grounder to the shortstop Lindor.
If he fields cleanly, it's probably a groundball double play.
The Red Sox have finally completed the Caleb Durbin trade with the Brewers. Here's a look at the deal and which team came out ahead. Getty
The Boston Red Sox have officially completed the Caleb Durbin trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, bringing the deal to its final conclusion and renewing debate over which club ultimately got the better return.
With every piece of the trade now in place, it’s possible to fully evaluate the transaction, comparing what each team gave up, what they received and who appears to have gained the long-term advantage.
The final piece was put in place Saturday, when Boston used the competitive balance pick it received in the trade to select outfielder Owen Hull with the 67th pick in this year’s MLB Draft.
Hull is a 21-year-old outfielder out of Alexandria, Virginia, listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, according to UNC Athletics. He started his college career at George Mason, then transferred to North Carolina for his junior season.
The move paid off immediately. Hull hit .393 with a .500 on-base percentage in 2026, piling up 103 hits, second in the country, and 27 doubles, third nationally, according to a report from Tar Heels Wire‘s Brooks Kirst.
He added nine home runs, drove in 87 runs and walked nearly as often as he struck out, numbers that helped land him First Team All-America and All-ACC honors. He shifted to center field for the Tar Heels and showed off the speed to stay there, stealing 18 bases.
Scouts view his bat speed as still developing, but his combination of contact skills, discipline and outfield range made him a logical target at the back of the Competitive Balance Round. Hull carried a slot value near $1.32 million and landed roughly in the 60-to-67 range on the industry’s top draft boards, according to MLB.com‘s analysis. The pick came after Boston used its first-round selection at No. 20 this year on another Tar Heel, Jake Schaffner.
Boston acquired Durbin, infielder Andruw Monasterio, utility man Anthony Seigler and the pick that became Hull by sending left-hander Kyle Harrison, infielder David Hamilton and left-hander Shane Drohan to Milwaukee on February 9, according to MLB Trade Rumors’ breakdown.
Durbin arrived as a finalist for 2025 National League Rookie of the Year, a switch-hitting infielder who slashed .256/.334/.387 with 11 homers and 18 stolen bases in his debut season with Milwaukee. Boston wanted a solid replacement for the departed Alex Bregman at third base. The Brewers wanted rotation depth and speed on the infield.
Harrison, who was acquired by the Red Sox in the 2025 Rafael Devers trade, has been a rotation fixture, going 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA and 101 strikeouts across 17 starts, according to MLB.com‘s player page. But over his last four starts, the left-hander faded, allowing 10 earned runs on 16 hits in 18 innings. The Brewers placed Harrison on the 15-day injured list Saturday with “left forearm tightness,” a condition that in about one of every five cases ends with Tommy John surgery or a similar elbow repair procedure. Hamilton has chipped in a steady glove at .238 with 18 steals, and Drohan has posted a 3.09 ERA in relief and spot starts, according to a recent NESN review of the trade.
Durbin, meanwhile, got off to a dismal start in April and May, batting just .183 with just one home run. But he turned his season around in June and July, hitting .294 in those months while blasting eight round-trippers. Seigler was called up and inserted into the starting lineup on June 20. In his 18 games the Red Sox have a 13-5 record while the former New York Yankees first-round pick had posted a .797 OPS. Monasterio has served as a solid utility player, but has picked up his production at the plate with more regular playing time, compiling a .912 OPS over his last six starts.
That leaves Hull as Boston’s final piece in the return on the trade. He’s unsigned as of draft night, but if his junior-year production translates, the pick at the bottom of the deal could end up making the deal a clear win for the Red Sox and their chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Boston Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow shared insight into the Trade Deadline, and how the team won't need to prove anything to add. GettyBRONX, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 21: New York Yankee general manager Brian Cashman speaks to the media during a press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 21, 2022 in Bronx, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) GettyBraves potential trade package for Joe Ryan revealed. Getty
The Major League Baseball trade deadline is just over three weeks away, and with some minor trades transpiring across the league already, there’s surely a lot more to come in the following weeks. MLB trade rumors are swirling everywhere, and on Sunday, July 12, a new report emerged from USA Today’s Bob Nightenagle that suggests Tarik Skubal may want to stay in Detroit for the rest of the season. Of course, it’s partially just speculation, because what Skubal wants may be different than what the Detroit Tigers want, but that’s a huge development in recent trade rumors.
Another massive development over the past week or so has been the Boston Red Sox recent surge back into AL playoff contention. The American League isn’t putting on the best show this season, as the Red Sox (who are under .500), are just a game out of a playoff spot on the last day before the MLB All-Star break. So, after it looked like they would likely be sellers at this deadline, Boston’s trade deadline plans may be shifting by the day, and there’s almost certainly going to hold onto their key players until the very last day before a decision is made. Remember, the Red Sox also have some of the more coveted players thought to be on the market.
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Are the Red Sox Trade Deadline Plans Shifting?
It appears so. The Boston Red Sox are 45-48 after going 8-2 in their last 10 games. They’ve won eight straight games and will go for the sweep of the Mets on Sunday afternoon. Boston has a wealth of ‘tradeable assets’, which include names like Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Aroldis Chapman, and Jarred Duran. All names that have steadily been linked in trade rumors, but Craig Breslow and the rest of the Red Sox front office may have a completely different trade deadline plan now, after the recent winning surge.
The Red Sox could very well go from sellers to strong buyers in the market. Perhaps their biggest need is another front-line starter with Garrett Crochet still sidelined, and a right-handed hitting infield bat.
So, the Red Sox now carry heavy speculation ahead of Aug. 3, and it will be very interesting to see the moves they make as well as the names they get connected to.
GettyBRONX, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 21: New York Yankee general manager Brian Cashman speaks to the media during a press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 21, 2022 in Bronx, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
The New York Yankees, per usual, are always going to dominate headlines around this part of the season, and given their constant World Series aspirations, Brian Cashman is under a lot of pressure to get this trade deadline right.
New York’s biggest need remains bullpen help. Here are some of the ‘likely’ available trade candidates that they may target: JoJo Romero, Antonio Senzatela, Pete Fairbanks, and AJ Minter.
Sources near and around the Yankees have already indicated that their main focus will be bullpen help, especially with the recent struggles of Camilo Doval, and lacking a true southpaw leverage arm in the Pen.
Braves-Phillies Bidding War for Joe Ryan
GettyBraves potential trade package for Joe Ryan revealed.
The last, and perhaps most important storyline to watch out for over the next three weeks is definitely going to be the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies potential bidding war for Joe Ryan. If Tarik Skubal is no longer going to be traded this season, Joe Ryan immediately surfaces as the top starter available (if the Twins trade him), and he is certainly going to come with a hefty pricetag.
The Braves’ need for a starting pitcher is growing drastically by the day, but the Phillies believe they need another back-end rotation arm, as well, and Dave Dombrowski has been a lot more willing to part with top prospects than Alex Anthopoulos has, which sets up for a bidding war between the NL East foes.
Atlanta holds just a two-game lead in the NL East. Philadelphia has been one of the hottest teams in baseball since early May. With the two duking it out for the division crown, both organizations will likely be targeting similar players, which makes this Joe Ryan- Braves/Phillies a fascinating storyline to watch out for over the next few weeks.
NEW YORK — Just over five weeks since he was demoted to Triple-A Worcester after a brutal two-month start to the season, Brayan Bello is re-joining the Red Sox on Sunday — for at least one day in a different role.
Bello was called up to join the bullpen as a long relief option for the series (and first half) finale against the Mets, sources confirmed. Bello will take the spot of veteran lefty Danny Coulombe, who was designated for assignment after Saturday’s win.
As the Red Sox look to win their ninth game in a row, they’ll have rookie lefty Payton Tolle on the mound to start. But after using five different pitchers to cobble together a bullpen game in a 4-0 win Saturday, they need a long man who can cover innings if the need arises.
Bello, who hasn’t pitched at Triple-A since July 1, will fill a multi-inning role behind Tolle, who appears likely to have a shorter start than usual Sunday. Interim manager Chad Tracy hinted that Tolle — who has thrown a combined 95 ⅓ between Triple-A and the majors so far this season — will be limited as the Red Sox look to monitor his workload in his final start before the All-Star break.
Bello — who declined to speak to reporters pregame — could piggyback Tolle.
“The big thing is... over the last handful of days, how short we are bullpen-wise,” Tracy said. “(It’s) to make sure we have that amount of bullets down there and have coverage to get through the game. We’ll see. It depends on, is there gonna be a bridge needed? Is there going to be coverage at the back end (of the bullpen) or an extra-inning game? We’ll see how it plays out.”
Bello, who has made 97 starts for the Red Sox over the past four seasons and was the club’s No. 2 starter during their 2025 postseason run, had his bizarre start to this season bottom out on June 4 when he was shelled for eight runs against the Orioles at Fenway Park. After that game, he was demoted to the WooSox, where he has logged a 4.34 ERA and recorded 22 strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings over four starts. In Worcester, he has worked with pitching coach Dan DeLucia to refine his pitch mix in hopes of being promoted again.
“His work ethic has been great,” said Tracy. “He’s done everything they’ve asked. He’s put in a lot of work taking down the starts he’s supposed to take down. He comes out the next day and he’s ready to get to work in between starts.”
That opportunity has now come, albeit in surprising fashion. Needing a starter Saturday, the Red Sox opted to promote lefty Eduardo Rivera for his first-ever start and were rewarded as Rivera pitched 3 ⅔ shutout innings. Bello had his scheduled Worcester start pushed back a day as a potential contingency plan for Sunday. Bello is also a candidate to start for the Red Sox on Friday when they have a doubleheader scheduled against the Rays to open the second half of the season. The Red Sox will need to consider various depth options with lefties Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early recently hitting the injured list.
Bello had a 6.34 ERA in 61 big league innings before being demoted. He logged a 10.35 ERA in 10 starts while pitching much better (0.71 ERA in 25 ⅓ innings) in four games following an opener. Most of Bello’s struggles came in the first inning, in which he allowed 15 runs and 19 hits in eight frames.
The 2026 MLB Draft is underway and the Boston Red Sox have three picks on Day 1.
Boston has 19 picks this year, including No. 20 in the first round and No. 67 overall. The Red Sox acquired the 67th pick, which is a Competitive Balance Round B selection, from the Brewers on Feb. 9 in a six-player trade. In that deal, Boston acquired Caleb Durbin, Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio for Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton and Shane Drohan.
Boston does not have a second-round pick or a fourth-round pick. The Sox forfeited those two selections when they signed qualified free agent Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract in January.
MassLive will be tracking all of the Red Sox’ picks on July 11 and 12:
The Chicago White Sox selected UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Cholowsky has been an enormously praised prospect for a few years and was viewed as the clear favorite to be the top pick of the 2026 MLB Draft before the season even began.
So, much of the baseball world has been well aware of Cholowsky for a long while, and one would think that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would be too. Or that he would at least practice how to pronounce the name before announcing it to the world during the draft.
But Manfred mispronounced Cholowsky’s name when announcing the first pick of the draft, which was shown nationally on NBC for the first time (for the first 10 picks).
Huge blunder by the #MLB Commissoner. Can’t happen. Not a surprise Roch was the #1 pick. Manfred has to know how to say his name. https://t.co/ulzTVyKXq9
Cholowsky was even asked by the media about Manfred’s blunder and said (via the Associated Press/KTLA), “I didn’t hear it get butchered. I heard Roch and kind of lost it.”
Still, that’s pretty embarrassing stuff from the league’s commissioner on the big stage.
It also includes Owen Hull, who went off the board at No. 67 overall and we'll focus on here.
He was technically part of the Competitive Balance Round B, but he's more or less a second-round pick.
Hull is one of those guys who looks the part from the moment he gets off the bus, standing 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds.
He had an oddly slow start to his college career at George Mason, but he eventually became one of the best players in college baseball for the Tar Heels.
"After going just 4-for-22 as a George Mason freshman in 2024, Hull slashed .367/.474/.557 and ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in runs (83) and 10th in steals (42) last spring," MLB.com wrote in its draft blurb about Hull. "He boosted his line to .393/.500/.615 after transferring to North Carolina, finishing second in D-I in hits (103) and RBI (87) and third in doubles (27) while leading the Tar Heels to a runner-up finish at the College World Series. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, he offers one of the best combinations of physicality and athleticism in the college ranks."
The only question mark is the nature of Hull's swing.
"The complicating factor with Hull is that scouts don't love his unorthodox left-handed swing, which can get rigid and features so-so bat speed," MLB.com writes. "He controls the strike zone well and makes hard contact with ease, but he also hits a lot of balls on the ground. He did start to hit for more power later in the season and has enough raw pop to produce 15-20 homers annually as a pro if he can make adjustments."
The Red Sox will be hoping that the results of the swing continue to be good, regardless of the swing itself.
Hull has enough speed to potentially play centerfield, or he could end up in right.
Either way, it's a Tar Heel blue tint to this year's Red Sox draft class.
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