Brian Gutekunst’s first round draft picks have been a mixed bag of hits and misses.

The Green Bay Packers’ general manager has connected far more than he’s whiffed, though, in Round 2. And that bodes well for Green Bay this season in a year it needs Gutekunst to shine.

The Packers sent their first round draft pick to Dallas in the Micah Parsons trade, meaning Green Bay won’t select until pick No. 52.

If Gutekunst can strike gold in Round 2, though, as he has a handful of times in his first eight drafts, the Packers should land an immediate contributor.

Here’s a look at Gutekunst’s second round picks. By subjective count, five were outstanding selections, two were solid picks, two were disappointments, and the jury remains out on one.

Here’s a look at Gutekunst’s second round picks.

THE HITS

ELGTON JENKINS

2019, No. 44 overall

The skinny: During his seven seasons in Green Bay, Jenkins was named to two Pro Bowls and the 2019 Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team. He started 94 games at four different positions and played in 96 career games with the Packers.

In 2020, Jenkins became Green Bay’s first offensive lineman since the 1970 merger to start a game at guard, center and tackle. Jenkins was released on March 9 and signed with Cleveland two days later.

CHRISTIAN WATSON, WR

2022, No. 34

The skinny: Watson made a magnificent recovery from a torn ACL late in the 2024 season and looked like a legitimate No. 1 receiver after returning midway through the 2025 campaign.

Watson has blazing speed, which has helped him average 17.0 yards per catch during his career. He’s extremely bright and a consistent presence in the locker room. Watson will become a free agent in March, 2027, and the Packers would love to lock him up for the next few seasons.

JAYDEN REED, WR

2023, No. 50

The skinny: Reed led the Packers in receptions and receiving yards each of his first two seasons. Reed also became the only receiver in team history to post 900-plus yards from scrimmage in each of his first two years.

Reed played just seven games and had only 19 catches in 2025, though, due to injuries. Now, entering a contract year, Reed will try rebounding and earning a big payday — in Green Bay or somewhere else.

EDGERRIN COOPER, LB

2024, No. 45

The skinny: Cooper has had a terrific start to his Green Bay career and could have Pro Bowls and All-Pro selections in his future.

Cooper was the only player in the NFL with at least 75 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery during his 2024 rookie season. He wasn’t quite as impactful in 2025, but had a grade of 75.7 from Pro Football Focus that ranked 17^th among 88 qualifying linebackers.

JAVON BULLARD, DB

2024, No. 58

The skinny: Bullard is a rising player who the Packers have used primarily as their nickel corner. In 2025, Bullard’s coverage grade of 67.2 ranked 32nd among 98 qualifying safeties, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bullard's 0.63 yards allowed per coverage snap last season also ranked among the best in the league. Bullard’s run defense needs improvement, but overall, he’s been a late second round find.

THE SO-SO PICKS

AJ DILLON, RB

2020, No. 62

The skinny: Dillon rushed for nearly 1,600 yards, caught 62 passes and had 14 total touchdowns in the 2021 and 2022 seasons combined. In that time, he didn't miss a game, but also produced few explosive plays.

Dillon suffered a neck injury, though, in Aug. 2024 and never played for Green Bay again. Dillon, nicknamed “Quadzilla” due to his muscular quadriceps, played seven games for Philadelphia last season and signed a free agent deal with Carolina last month.

JOSH MYERS, C

2021, No. 62

The skinny: Myers was an iron man, starting 50 of his final 51 games in Green Bay. He played 99.73% of the snaps in 2022, 99.4% in 2023 and 93.0% in 2024.

The Packers were never sold on Myers, though, and made little effort to resign him in free agency in March, 2025. That move backfired, though, when Elgton Jenkins flopped at center and free agent Aaron Banks struggled taking over for Jenkins at left guard.

While Myers certainly wasn’t elite, the Packers definitely missed him after he was gone.

THE MISSES

JOSH JACKSON, CB

2018, No. 45

The skinny: Gutekunst’s first second round pick was his worst.

Jackson was the fourth cornerback taken in the 2018 draft, but never played to that lofty draft standing

Jackson’s most significant playing time came as a rookie, when he made 10 starts and had 10 passes defensed. Jackson’s playing time declined in 2019 and 2020, he was traded to the New York Giants in 2021 for cornerback Isaac Yiadom, and never played in another NFL game.

LUKE MUSGRAVE, TE

2023, No. 42

The skinny: Musgrave was off to a terrific start as a rookie, catching 34 passes in his first 10 games. In a Week 11 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, though, Musgrave suffered a lacerated kidney and has never matched his rookie production.

Musgrave played just seven games in 2024 due to an ankle injury that required surgery. Musgrave was a bit player, at best, in 2025 until standout Tucker Kraft suffered a torn ACL in Week 9. Even with Kraft sidelined, Musgrave had just 16 catches in Green Bay’s final 10 games.

Musgrave has all the physical gifts to excel, but his production has never matched his potential.

THE JURY’S STILL OUT

ANTHONY BELTON, OL

2025, No. 54

The skinny: Belton took over the starting right guard spot in late-November and was so-so, at best.

The massive Belton (6-6, 336) earned an overall grade of 50.0 from Pro Football Focus, which was just 71st among 81 qualified offensive guards. Belton’s run blocking was slightly better than his pass blocking, but were both subpar.

Belton has upside, though, and the Packers believe he can take a major jump in Year 2.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Unlike other majors The Masters doesn’t lend itself to the underdog story very often. The big players show up on the big stage and dominate the winner’s circle at Augusta. Once a decade, a longshot finds his way into the Green Jacket.
A few notables are Danny Willett in 2016, Trevor Immelman in 2008 and Larry Mize in 1987. It was Mize who famously chipped in to beat Greg Norman in a playoff. These guys are or were legit pros but not known to the casual fan. Most every player in the Masters field would be deserving champions due to the fact that the list of contestants is so exclusive. You must be somebody to compete.

Comparatively speaking this Masters looks to be full of players who could pull of the upset. I’ve got a short list of the most likely-and profitable- candidates to surprise the golf world. Odds from Caesar’s Sportsbook as of April 8th.

Akshay Bhatia +3500 to win

Far from an unknown, Bhatia is an intriguing player to watch this week. He’s a lights out putter who is sneaky long off the tee. If he keeps the driver in play this week you’ll see a lot of him over the weekend. His inexperience at Augusta may keep him from winning but that doesn’t scare me off. Good value bet to top 10 (+750) also.

Robert McIntyre +2700 to win

This guy is a pitbull. He isn’t flashy and doesn’t do everything particularly great. He’s steady as they come and doesn’t shrink in the moment. No surprise if you see him on the first page of the leaderboard at any point this week. When he is you’ll get tired of the announce team calling him Bobby Mac pretty quickly. The top ten play at +235 is a little low. Keep an eye on that number as the week progresses. He will play his way into that position late.

Gary Woodland +8000 to win

If you’ve been paying attention you know his story. The former U.S. Open champion is back after a serious health scare and his recent admission of PTSD. He won recently so his comeback is to this point a successful one. Long off the tee, solid short game and proving that his heart and mental state are on form. One of my sentimental choices this week. I see him either threatening the top 10 (or better) or missing the cut. His game is sharp, are his emotions and mental health? I hope so. Let’s go Gary.

Fred Couples +150000 to win

A couple of reasons why he’s on this list. This may be the last time we see Freddie tee it up at Augusta. He’s also not the longest shot to win. I’ve been betting on him at this tournament for many years. He won’t win, let’s be real. He’s in his mid 60’s, can’t hit it long anymore and his putting is, well, a weakness. But $20 is a sentimental, nostalgic nod to one of the best performers at Augusta ever. True he’s only won once, but he made cuts and contended often. He and Arnold Palmer are my two golf heroes. Here’s to hoping Couples makes the cut, turns back time and authors the greatest sports story ever told.

Bonus prediction

Xander Schauffele to record the low round of the tournament (+2800)

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

If Sundays have become the day for coaching changes late in the 2025-26 season and Mondays are about dismissing general managers, the Seattle Kraken have taken a shot at claiming Wednesday for changes at the team president level.

On Apr. 8, the team announced that president of hockey operations Ron Francis will be leaving the organization at the end of this year.

Francis, now 63, has been a key leader in Seattle since the early days after the NHL’s 32nd franchise was officially awarded in December of 2018. A decorated player with two Stanley Cups and multiple individual awards, Francis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. After spending more than a decade working his way up the executive ranks with the Carolina Hurricanes after his playing career ended, he signed on as the first GM of what was still known as NHL Seattle in July 0f 2019. Francis had a hand in everything from the team branding to the build-out of Climate Pledge Arena and the team’s practice facility, the Kraken Community Iceplex, as well as the roster and coaching staff.

Last summer, he was elevated to the role of president of hockey operations while his former assistant GM, Jason Botterill, took over as general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations. Botterill has also been with the team since its inception.

According to Wednesday’s team statement, 49-year-old Botterill will now lead Seattle’s hockey operations. Francis will not be replaced.

Following in the expansion shadow of the Vegas Golden Knights was never going to be an easy path for the Kraken. The Golden Knights were a smash hit out of the box in 2017. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, missed the playoffs just once in their first five seasons and won it all in Year 6.

That season, 2022-23, was Seattle’s second, and marked the team’s only playoff appearance to date. The Kraken may have thrown an assist in the direction of their expansion cousins by taking out the defending championship Colorado Avalanche in a Game 7 overtime upset in Round 1, then pushing the dangerous Dallas Stars to seven games before falling in Round 2.

From there, the Golden Knights were able to take out the Stars in six games in the Western Conference Final, then defeat the Florida Panthers in five to take the Cup.

The Kraken were unable to build on that playoff momentum. They’re now on their third coach in three years after Dave Hakstol was replaced by Dan Bylsma for the 2024-25 season, then Bylsma was replaced by Lane Lambert just one year later.

Lambert got off to a good start this season. At U.S. Thanksgiving, the Kraken were one point out of first place in the Pacific Division with a record of 11-6-6. At the Olympic break in February, they remained in third place in the division with a record of 27-20-9.

At the trade deadline, Botterill appeared to fill a team need for scoring effectively when he acquired winger Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round draft pick and a conditional second. But even though McMann has been Seattle’s top scorer since his acquisition, with eight goals in 13 games, the team has floundered.

Seattle’s record of 3-11-2 from the Mar. 6 deadline to the Apr. 8 announcement on Francis’s future is the worst in the league at just a .250 points percentage, and the Kraken are now nine points out of a wild-card spot, poised to miss the playoffs for a third-straight season.

The Kraken had hoped to be further along by now, especially because a major force in their market could change the landscape going forward.

Sports fans in the region were burned badly by the departure of the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics in 2008 but their long-held hope that they’d be considered for an NBA expansion franchise got real in March, when the board of governors officially authorized the exploration of new franchises in both Seattle and Las Vegas.

If the NBA does return to Seattle, the Kraken will no longer be the shiny new toy. They deliver a first-class game experience at Climate Pledge Arena but at some point, they’re going to need to start delivering more on-ice excitement, and more wins, if they want to hold fans’ attention in what is already a very saturated sports market.

The Kraken have five games remaining in their 2025-26 season. They’ll play the first three at home, starting with the Golden Knights arriving on Thursday with a 4-0 record since installing John Tortorella behind their bench on Mar. 29. Seattle’s final two games of the year will be played on the road, in Vegas on Apr. 15 and at Ball Arena in Denver on Apr. 16.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Last Thursday, the Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 17-2. It was, by all accounts, a butt whooping. But upon closer inspection, was it?

As Ben Lindbergh pointed out in Episode 2462 of the Effective Wild podcast, just one at-bat changed everything about this game. And this inning (the fifth) and this game could be a microcosm of the “new baseball,” something that would be unrecognizable to fans just a generation ago (let alone 50 or 75 years in the past).

Here is how that fifth inning unfolded, which started with the Braves leading 2-1:

Second baseman Ozzie Albies led off and was called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch. However, he tapped his helmet, compelling an ABS challenge, and was proven correct. As such, rather than one out and none on, there were no outs and one on.

Michael Harris II followed with a line out to center.

Dominic Smith walked, which moved Albies to second.

Mauricio Dubón then hit a ball to ten-time Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado, who booted it, thus loading the bases. Does Arenado make this error ten years ago when he had a .973 fielding percentage and made only five fielding errors all season?

Ronald Acuña Jr. followed with a walk of his own, which gave the Braves their third run.

Catcher Drake Baldwin then hit a ground ball to Arenado, who started an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. But Atlanta challenged the call at first, and won, leaving runners on the corners with two outs, and the Braves now leading 4-1.

Matt Olson followed with a double to right; Atlanta 5, Arizona 1.

After a pitching change, third baseman Austin Riley slashed a ball down the left field line for a double, scoring two.

Mike Yastrzemski then walked on a 3-2 pitch.

Albies, batting for the second time in the inning, lofted a soft flyball to left field that fell in front of Jordan Lawlar, for yet another run.

Harris, who made the first out of the fifth many moons ago, got redemption, doubling on a sharp line drive to left, scoring both Yastrzemski and Albies, which gave the Braves a 10-1 lead.

Dom Smith, also batting for the second time in the frame, gave Arenado one more shot, and the third baseman made good, tossing to first to end the inning.

51 pitches were thrown by Arizona pitchers in the fifth – 44 after Albies went from striking out to walking and starting the onslaught.

Prior to this season, when the ABS challenge system was instituted, Albies would have recorded the first out of the inning (rather than getting a base on balls). And Baldwin’s ground ball to Arenado, which resulted in a force out at second base (here for the second out), would have ended the inning, with no runs scored. Add to the mix that the possibility that Albies may have objected vociferously to a pitch clearly outside the strike zone and got himself thrown out for arguing balls and strikes, making him unavailable for the remainder of what was then a one-run game.

Prior to 2014, when replay review was instituted for plays other than home runs (which started in 2008), the inning would have ended with Baldwin’s ground ball to third, and the Braves leading 3-1.

The Braves tacked on two more runs in the sixth, and then five more in the ninth off catcher James McCann, who took the hill for the D’Backs in the blowout. Position players have always pitched in non-competitive games or in a pinch, but their usage has exploded, jumping by nearly 500% since 2016 (according to FanGraphs, in 2016, position players accounted for 0.16% of all relief appearances, while in 2025, they accounted for 0.76%). And while there were only 61 such appearances last season, regardless of the score, it would have been unheard of for a catcher to throw the ninth inning in say, 1986.

However, love it or hate it, this is baseball in 2026. We have the ABS system and replay reviews and non-pitchers throwing garbage-time innings.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t pinching pennies anymore.

They agreed this week to pay 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin a reported $140 million over nine years. It is the largest and longest deal in club history, topping the $106.75 million Bryan Reynolds received three years ago.

Widely viewed as the top prospect in baseball, Griffin started the year in the minors but was quickly promoted to Pittsburgh. Written into the starting lineup for the first time on April 3, he collected an RBI double in his first at-bat.

Drafted ninth overall but first by the Pirates in the 2024 amateur draft, Griffin tore through the minors like an F-5 tornado in a Kansas wheat field. Never mind that he was just a high school player at the time of the draft.

Playing on three levels of the minors last summer, he hit a combined .333 with 21 home runs, 94 runs batted in, and 65 stolen bases.

Those numbers excited the Pirates, who haven’t had a winning record since 2018 or a playoff appearance since 2015. Any hopes they had last season collapsed when the club finished last in the majors in home runs, runs scored, and on-base plus slugging (OPS).

The team finished 71-91, costing manager Derek Shelton his job and finishing 26th in attendance, drawing just 1,525,025 to PNC Park, arguably the most photogenic in the majors.

Winter moves to bolster the offense brought veterans Marcell Ozuna, Brandon Lowe, and Ryan O’Hearn but the team believes the untested Griffin can mean much more. That’s why his new contract will carry him through 2034.

At an annual average of $15,555,555, according to Roster Resource, he’ll make more than any other Pirate, just ahead of pitcher Mitch Keller, who is earning $15,400,000.

“This is an unusual and dramatic step for the Pittsburgh Pirates,” chairman Bob Nutting told the local media. “I’m excited. I hope our fans are excited. And I hope the city is excited.”

The consensus Minor League Player of the Year for 2025, Griffin is considered a five-tool player.

“Speed, power, arm strength, he’s got it all,” gushed manager Don Kelly. “He’s got the personality. He’s humble. He’s the best.”

Griffin is basking in the same spotlight that shined on teammate Paul Skenes the last two years. He not only started consecutive All-Star Games for the National League but also won the NL’s Cy Young Award for 2025.

“The Pirates have believed in me for a long time,” Griffin said. “For two years, they allowed me to progress through the minor leagues, let me become the player that I am. I’m thankful to be here for another nine years. The stability is really important to me and my family. It’s a great opportunity.”

Griffin is the latest of nearly a dozen blue-chip prospects signed to massive contract extensions with virtually no major-league experience.

Among the others are Colt Emerson (Mariners), who got eight years at $95 million; Cooper Pratt (Brewers), recipient of $50.75 million over eight years; and Jackson Chourio (Brewers), given $82 million in an eight-year deal.

Also on that elite list are Colt Keith (Tigers), Luis Robert, Jr. (White Sox), Julio Rodriguez and Evan White (Mariners), Eloy Jimenez (White Sox); Scott Kingery (Phillies), Jon Singleton (Astros), Samuel Basallo (Orioles); Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell (Red Sox); and Brandon Lowe (Rays).

The flurry of lucrative long-term contracts for talented but inexperienced rookies reflects management’s concern over changes to the Basic Agreement between players and owners. After the current contract expires in December – probably preceded and accompanied by acrimonious negotiations – changes to free agency and service time are probable. Contracts signed now, however, would not be affected.

No matter how good a player is, however, long-term signings are gambles – especially for rookies. While players are giving up years of free agency, they are getting guaranteed dollars.

Not all such signings are wise investments. Wander Franco, signed to an 11-year, $182 million pact guaranteed through 2032, ran into legal problems that led to his suspension. Jimenez, Kingery, Lowe, and Robert Jr. were all traded when they failed to live up to their initial promise.

The Pirates anticipate no such problems with Griffin.

“We’re going to do a lot of great things with the players we have,” Griffin beamed after his signing became official. “I want to be part of it. I want to continue to be part of the building of winning playoff baseball.

“This is a great place for me and a great place for my family. I couldn’t be more proud.”

He needed only a week in Triple-A to merit a promotion to Pittsburgh.

“Since the day Konnor signed,” said general manager Ben Cherington, “he has met every challenge from a baseball perspective. He’s always put the team first, representing himself, his family, and the organization in the most first-class manner. He has earned our trust.”

He has also earned a place in the lineup, where he’s arguably the best teenaged shortstop since future Hall of Famer Robin Yount broke in with the 1974 Milwaukee Brewers.

Konnor Griffin will celebrate his 20th birthday on April 24.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

The Green Jacket is the most widely recognized honor bestowed on the winner of golf’s annual Masters Tournament, having been awarded every year since 1949, when Sam Snead was the first recipient.

But it’s far from the only award handed out to Masters participants after the season’s first major championship. And it’s also not the rarest.

In addition to the much-desired Green Jacket – single breasted, single vent, with brass buttons and adorned with an Augusta National logo on the left chest pocket -- the Masters champion since 1993 has received a sterling replica of the permanent Masters Trophy as well as a gold medal emblazoned with “Augusta National Golf Club” and a representation of the historic clubhouse. The winner also has his name engraved on the permanent Masters Trophy that remains at the club.

The runner-up also has their name memorialized on the permanent Masters Trophy and receives both a silver medal and a silver salver. The medal – also featuring the club’s name and clubhouse – has been presented to the second-place finisher at the Masters since 1951. The salver, a formal tray with no handles, was added as an award in 1978.

The amateur participant with the lowest 72-hole score receives a silver cup. This year, there are six amateurs in the 91-player field, among them U.S. Amateur Champion Mason Howell, who is scheduled to play alongside reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy (and Cameron Young) during the first two rounds. Other amateurs in the 2026 field include U.S. Amateur runner-up Jackson Herrington, British Amateur champion Ethan Fang, Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Fifa Laopakdee, Latin American champion Mateo Pulcini, and U.S. Mid-Amateur champ Brandon Holtz. Last year, none of the five amateurs made the 36-hole cut for weekend play, so the silver cup wasn’t presented.

Masters Awards

For more than half a century (since 1954), Masters participants have received additional awards for a variety of accomplishments and feats.

The most common achievement is an eagle, or score of 2-under-par on a given hole, for which players get a pair of crystal highball glasses – with the Augusta National logo, naturally. The most eagles made in a single tournament was 47, in 2015, and there were 27 eagles last year. Jack Nicklaus holds the Masters record with 24 career eagles (including three on par 4s), while three players share the record of four eagles in a single tournament. The last to do so was Tiger Woods, who received eight crystal glasses for his feat in 2010.

The player with the lowest score for each competition round receives an ornate crystal vase.

The prize for a hole-in-one, meanwhile, is a large crystal bowl.

There have been 34 aces in tournament history, from Ross Somerville’s hole-out with a mashie niblick on the par 3 16^th hole in 1934 to the most recent by Stewart Cink with an 8-iron, also on the 16^th hole, in 2022. The 16^th hole, which is named Redbud and plays fully over a pond, has been the home to 24 holes-in-one over the history of the Masters, more than twice as many as the other three par 3 holes in total. While the 6^th hole at Augusta National has seen six holes-in-one during Masters play and the 12^th has had three, there has only been a single score of 1 posted on the 4th hole, that by Jeff Sluman with a 4-iron from 213 yards in 1992.

The rarest of Masters awards is the even larger crystal bowl for a double eagle, or 3-under-par on a single hole.

This has only occurred four times in the tournament’s history, most notably Gene Sarazen’s hole-out on the par-5 15^th in 1935 – an albatross called the “shot heard ‘round the world" that’s considered by some to be the most famous shot in Masters history. It came during just the second playing of the Masters, helping Sarazen erase a three-shot final-round deficit and tie for the lead. He went on to win in a playoff and achieve a feat now known as the career Grand Slam, with wins in all four majors.

However, the first crystal bowl for a double eagle wasn’t awarded until 1967, when Bruce Devlin made one during the first round on the par-5 8^th hole. The club’s first chairman, Clifford Roberts, announced that a special trophy would be ordered for Devlin, but one would first be delivered to Sarazen. Jeff Maggert (13^th hole in 1994) and Louis Oosthuizen (2^nd hole in 2012) are the only other golfers to receive the tournament’s rarest award. Oosthuizen’s dramatic hole-out for 2 from 253 yards early in the final round helped get him into a playoff with Bubba Watson, but it wasn’t quite enough to win him the most prestigious of all the prizes at the Masters.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

The New York Mets underwent some big roster changes before this season began and they appear to be paying off.

Though the baseball season is fewer than a dozen games in, the Mets have seized the top spot in the National League East division and appear well equipped to return to the playoffs after missing them last year.

But as the team adjusts to its new personnel, fans might want to check in on how some former players are faring.

All-Star closer Edwin Diaz leads the National League with four saves as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pete Alonso has struggled to a .186 batting average with the Baltimore Orioles and Brandon Nimmo is leading the Texas Rangers with 14 hits so far.

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Meanwhile, a pitcher who played for the Mets from 2021 to 2024, has cut ties with his latest team after becoming an unfortunate big-league roster casualty.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Angels announced that Joey Lucchesi had cleared waivers, was outrighted to Triple-A and elected free agency as a result.

Mets fans will recall Lucchesi as part of a three-time trade that sent Endy Rodriguez and David Bednar to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres, among other personnel moves. Lucchesi landed in queens after three years with the Padres.

Lucchesi was a nine-game starter from the Mets in the 2023 campaign, when he maintained a 2.89 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 46.2 total innings. But he only made two starts in 2024 and left the Mets after that season.

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Lucchesi served as a reliever for the San Francisco Giants last year, then joined the Angels for a brief stint before a roster shuffle pushed him off the big-league roster last week.

“Lucchesi was pushed off the roster after Sunday’s scheduled starter, Ryan Johnson, was scratched with a viral infection,” Anthony Franco wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “The Halos tabbed prospect George Klassen for a spot start. They needed active and 40-man roster space to bring him up, leaving Lucchesi as a tough luck roster casualty.”

After eight years of big-league experience, it seems like Lucchesi could be reaching the end of his big-league opportunities. But as a free agent, he will be searching for a new opportunity that could lead to a return to the majors, though his brief stint with the Angels wasn’t very encouraging.

“Lucchesi allowed five of six hitters to reach in his season debut,” Franco added. “He followed up with a pair of scoreless outings but walked at least one batter in all of his appearances. He wound up issuing five free passes (four walks and a hit batter) across 2.1 innings.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Earlier this week we discussed Seattle’s long-term contract with shortstop Colt Emerson. Well, the Brewers were not to be outdone. Shortly after the ink on that contract was dry, Milwaukee signed their potential shortstop of the future, Cooper Pratt, to an eight-year deal worth more than $50 million. Sure, this about half of what Seattle guaranteed Emerson, but that may be because Pratt’s future value (per FanGraphs) is 45. He was originally a sixth round pick in 2023, and signed for just $1.35 million (by comparison, Emerson was a first-round pick and signed for $3.8 million).

What makes Pratt’s extension so interesting is that he is represented by über-agent Scott Boras, who nearly always brings his clients to free agency and allows the market to set their value. But, the 21-year-old pushed for the extension, telling reporters:

“Just the security I’ll have the opportunity to set up like I’ll never have to worry about anything like that, pretty much, the rest of my life. I can just play and play the game like how it’s supposed to be played, not think about it as much and also be able to take care of my family for generations.”

The deal also includes two club options for 2034 and 2035 at $6.3 million each.

Pratt is somewhat the opposite of Emerson in that he is an elite fielder but has struggled with the bat. Last year at Double-A, he hit just .238 with a .691 OPS. But the Brewers were impressed by his low strikeout rate (15.2%) and nice walk rate (12.7%). Keith Law of The Athletic, when ranking Pratt 99^th in his Top-100 prospects, wrote that Pratt “needs to grow into some more power. If he can hit the ball harder on a more consistent basis, he’ll be an above-average regular at shortstop because of all of his other skills, even if he maxes out at 10-12 homers a year.”

The long-term deal with Pratt is somewhat of a duplicate of what the club did with Jackson Chourio back in 2023, when they signed him to an $82 million extension (over eight years) before he made his MLB debut. Chourio has rewarded that confidence by giving the team two seasons with an OPS+ of 118 and 113. After two big league seasons, his slash line is .272/.317/.463, and he has become a mainstay in the outfield on two division-winning teams.

At present, per FanGraphs positional power rankings, Milwaukee ranks 25^th at shortstop. Joey Ortiz, Jett Willams (acquired from the Mets as part of the Freddy Peralta trade), Brice Turang (who is quickly becoming the best defensive second baseman in the game), and David Hamilton, represent the current depth chart for the Brewers at shortstop, meaning, as with Colt Emerson, the door is open for Pratt to push his way to the big leagues in short order.

Pratt says that he spoke with manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold during spring training, and then consulted with his teammates, including veteran Christian Yelich, to make sure he was in the right place, in the right frame of mind, and making the right type of deal. “It was hard, but ultimately, hearing everything that had to be said was very beneficial. Hopefully it turns out to be a win-win for both the organization and me.”

Historically, Milwaukee has done more with less, spotted talent before others, and made the most of deals like this. Said differently, bet against the Brewers (and Pratt) at your peril.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Baseball fans always like a good argument.

Fans love to watch managers scream at the umpire.

There were some real characters managing teams prior to the introduction of sophisticated in-game technology.

In the 1960’s, and until the 1980’s, fans got to watch managers like Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles almost come out of his shoes in arguments with umpires.

MLB.comwrote a great article in 2021 about Weaver’s five best tirades.

Weaver, now 82, was ejected from games a whopping 92 times in his 18-year tenure with the Orioles.

Billy Martin got into some major beefs when he managed the New York Yankees.

Martin also managed the Minnesota Twins, the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Athletics, the Cleveland Indians, and the Cincinnati Reds.

Martin, who passed away in 1989 at the age of 61, was thrown out of games by umpires 48 times, with 14 of them coming when he managed the Yankees.

In today’s game, fans rarely get to witness a good ol’ on field tirade between a manager and the umpires.

On-field arguments, just like smoking cigars in the stands, may be a phenomenon of the past. Not the present.

The Game Has Changed:

Several factors have made the on field umpire arguments more seldomly seen.

-First and foremost, instant replay has helped correct a tremendous number of incorrect umpire decisions.

-And beginning this season, with the introduction of the ABS Challenge System (Automatic Balls and Strikes,) which monitors the exact location of every pitch, teams have an opportunity to correct what they believe to be incorrect balls and strikes calls.

Each team gets to challenge the home plate umpire’s ball or strike call up to two times a game. As long as their challenge is correct, the team retains their challenges. Each missed challenge costs them one opportunity to question the ball or strike call of the umpire.

There is a great deal of strategy involved in knowing when a team uses a challenge.

Many teams now have a good feel for the system, and managers are being careful about potentially saving at least one challenge for late innings.

-Managers simply don’t seem to have the fiery type tempers baseball fans witnessed with the likes of Weaver and Martin.

Managers today seem much more laid back, making every effort to keep their emotions in check.

One would be hard pressed to find manager ejections today.

In fact, as CloseCallSports.com indicated, only 88 manager ejections occurred all last season.

Aaron Boone of the Yankees (six) and Oliver Marmol (six) of the St. Louis Cardinals led the list.

When one considers that 30 teams played 162 games each, 88 manager ejections in 4,860 games is minimal.

And to be fair, Lou Piniella can be added to the list of high octane skippers.

Piniella, now 82, managed the Yankees, the Reds, the Seattle Mariners, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Chicago Cubs in a fiery 23-year career.

Piniella would take off his cap, wave it in the face of the umpire, and at times, throw his share of dirt on the umpire’s shoes. He even picked up bases and threw them.

Piniella was ejected from games 64 times, with 28 of those coming in his 10-year tenure with the Mariners.

Iwosports.com had an interesting article about baseball’s on-field arguments. They indicate that “In the era of advanced analytics and technology, the role of umpires has evolved. Tools…provide a safety net for reviewing questionable calls…”

The days of kicking dirt and throwing bases at umpires is likely coming to an end. We may see an occasional dust up of that nature, but the day of the on-field argument is becoming part of baseball history. More past than present.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Third baseman Max Muncy, 23, hit his way into the 2026 Athletics’ Opening Day lineup this spring. Meanwhile, third baseman Max Muncy, 35, routinely got ready for his ninth season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Confused? Just wait.

Both were born on August 25. Both were drafted by the Athletics. Both hit home runs in the same inning this spring.

Maxwell Steven Muncy was born in Texas in 1990 and selected in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Maxwell Price Muncy was born in California in 2002 and chosen in the first round in 2021. They are not related and easy to tell apart when they step to the plate. The Dodgers’ Muncy hits left-handed. The A’s Muncy hits right-handed.

See, it wasn’t that confusing.

Young Muncy has another more-than-coincidental lineage connection. He was picked No. 25 overall and got a $2.85 million signing bonus in 2021 as a shortstop. That was exactly 20 years after the organization took another shortstop at No. 25: Bobby Crosby. He became the 2004 AL Rookie of the Year and is now the team’s third-base coach. In between, the A’s again picked at No. 25. In 2014, they selected third baseman Matt Chapman, a five-time gold glove winner now with the San Francisco Giants.

Young Muncy won the starting job this spring in competition with veteran Andy Ibanez and young Darell Hernaiz and Brett Harris by hitting .380 with five homers. That has carried into the regular season. After nine games, he has two homers and a team-leading .314 average. He has only one error in 80 innings at third.

Defense First

The A’s are confident Muncy can hit and admit his glovework is a work in progress. He works daily with Crosby, who was primarily a shortstop, but played every other infield spot and a few games in the outfield during eight MLB seasons. He was Muncy’s manager at Double-A and spoke highly of the youngster’s defense then.

In 2024, he told reporter Jason Burke that Muncy tried to do too much at short.

“His biggest fault is thinking he can make every play and thinking he has to get to it now, and get rid of it quick,” Crosby said. "The more he can slow the game down, make the simple plays and still be able to make great plays, which he will. For me, it's not more reps, but it's his mentality. When his mentality slows down a tiny bit, then the better he's going to be."

Muncy’s quick reactions may play better at third. He doesn’t have time to think. He just needs more reps, having played short in five times as many innings than third as a pro.

“It’s still fairly new,” Muncy told Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. “Over time, it’ll become normal.”

Crosby is confident his young pupil will make the grade.

“It’s getting there,” Crosby told Gallegos. “That’s what I’ll say. He’s a natural shortstop and a good athlete. At third, at times, he isn’t completely full Max Muncy. My biggest thing for him is go out there and be free. I want him free mentally so he can let his athleticism come out.

“The progression is happening. It’s not going to be overnight where he feels completely free and great at third base, but it’s going to happen.”

A Ragged 2025

A year ago, Muncy’s first career hit was a home run.

The rest of his 2025 season did not go as well. He missed exactly two months with a broken right hand when hit by a pitch from Jack Leiter of the Texas Rangers on July 21.

He missed was sent to the Arizona Fall League to get more reps at third and at the plate. He didn’t make an error in 57 innings at the hot corner and hit .250 with 2 homers.

“I’m using the time to experiment with my swing, my approach at the plate, and to tap into what players from other organizations are working on,” he said. “Stuff like staying through the ball, looking for a particular pitch and then driving it.”

It was his second trip to the AFL. In 2023, he played 170 2/3 innings on defense there – as a shortstop.

“It’s a great experience,” Muncy said. “It's definitely a developmental place, so it's nice to be back here, get some at-bats, meet the new guys, and kind of see what they're about. I think it's fun to do that.”

The Future For Athletics’ Max Muncy

Manager Mark Kotsay is solidly in Muncy’s corner about playing the hot corner. He told Burke in February:

“Max Muncy. Max Muncy is a talented young player. We drafted him, he was a high school draft pick. He’s got electric pop. For us, as a team, we're still looking to solidify that third base spot. This kid's got that chance to have an impact here.”

He impacted the 2026 home opener with three hits, including a homer. Fangraphs.com lists him as the player with the best increase in bat speed thus far this season.

In addition to improving on defense, however, Kotsay wants Muncy to become more selective at bat. He already has 12 strikeouts and only one walk.

The Athletics are loaded with good young players. Jacob Wilson had a fine rookie season at short a year ago, yet the team’s No. 1 prospect is uber-talented 19-year-old shortstop Leo DeVries. Hard-hitting third baseman Tommy White is listed at No. 9 among A’s prospects by MLB.com.

Right now, Muncy is in the driver’s seat. But there isn’t room for everybody. Whether he holds the job is entirely up to him and to the Athletics’ ultimate benefit.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

The Philadelphia Phillies have won two of their first three series as the team looks to answer lingering questions about its ability to go further into the playoffs with largely the same core of star players.

Though the team shuffled outfielders, revamped the bullpen and promoted a pair of top prospects, it will once again be counting on veterans like Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto, Trea Turner and Aaron Nola to perform at star levels. And the Phillies' franchise slugger Bryce Harper is facing perhaps the most pressure to demonstrate that he’s still in his prime.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper Slumping At The Plate After Dave Dombrowski Call Out

After a relatively poor season at the plate last year, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski openly questioned whether or not Harper could return to his “elite” status during an end-of-season press conference.

“He didn’t have an elite season like he's had in the past,” Dombrowski said, per ESPN News Services. “I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or he continues to be good."

And with that challenge hovering over him, Harper has responded with some early season struggles.

He slashed just .139/.205/.333 with five hits and seven strikeouts in his first 36 at-bats. And even though the season is still early, fans would have hoped to see a better version of the team’s highest-paid player.

Philadelphia Phillies Hold ‘Discussions’ About Bryce Harper Contract Extension

Harper is in the eighth season of a 13-year, $330 million contract with the team that is set to take through his age-38 season in 2031. And as his elite status is openly questioned by the team’s highest-ranking executive, his agent, Scott Boras, is asking the Phillies for an extension beyond that.

“In my discussions with (Phillies owner) John (Middleton) and Dave (Dombrowski), they’re fully aware that Bryce has a legacy that he wants to fulfill in Philadelphia beyond the current contract,” Boras told The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. “And we’ve already had discussions about that as we go forward.”

Though the team might not be in a rush to extend Harper beyond his ongoing deal, it is something the player has lobbied for directly in the past. However, it would surely help his case if he can produce some better results at the plate as the season goes on.

Boras added that he is optimistic that Dombrowski’s doubt about Harper’s “elite” status will be resolved this year.

“ I don’t think there’s any question in his mind (that) he’s in the best shape of his life,” Boras said of Harper, per Lauber. “He is a true two-way player at his position, one of the best players in the league, and he has all that skill, and there’s nothing that I can see — and we have so many metrics to look to — there’s nothing that I could see that in any way suggests that he’s not anything but ready for another premium season from what we expect from Bryce Harper.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

There’s an unusual pattern forming in the NHL. Coaches are losing their jobs on Sundays and general managers on Mondays.

One week after the Toronto Maple Leafs cut ties with GM Brad Treliving, the New Jersey Devils followed suit on Easter Monday. In a statement, managing partner David Blitzer announced that the team had decided to move forward without GM and hockey operations president Tom Fitzgerald.

After a 1,097-game playing career as a forward, Fitzgerald, now 57, got his start in management with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization in 2007. After eight seasons, he moved to New Jersey in 2015 in tandem with the former Penguins GM, the late Ray Shero in 2015.

Fitzgerald served as an assistant general manager in New Jersey and GM of the AHL Albany/Binghamton Devils for four and a half seasons. When Shero was fired in January of 2020, he was elevated to interim GM, with franchise legend Martin Brodeur serving as a hockey operations advisor. Six months later, Fitzgerald was promoted to full-time GM, then added the president of hockey operations title in 2024.

Under Fitzgerald’s watch, the Devils made the playoffs twice, in 2023 and 2025. After setting a franchise record with 112 points in the 2022-23 season and then following up with a thrilling seven-game first-round win against their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, the team looked like it was charting a course toward perennial contender status. But that has turned out not to be the case.

Despite boasting some star talent including 2026 Olympic golden goal-scorer Jack Hughes and his younger brother Luke, 2017 first-overall pick Nico Hischier and three-time 30-goal scorer Timo Meier, the Devils have consistently failed to live up to their promise. After winning just one playoff game before bowing out to the Carolina Hurricanes last season, they’re all-but-eliminated with five games remaining this year, sitting seven points out of a wild-card spot heading into action on Monday night and with an 0.1 percent chance of reaching the playoffs according to MoneyPuck.

No interim GM was named by the Devils, who are starting their search for Fitzgerald’s replacement immediately. The other senior members of New Jersey’s front office are Brodeur, as executive vice president of hockey operations, along with senior vice president and assistant general manager Dan MacKinnon and vice president/assistant general manager Kate Madigan.

As with Brad Treliving’s dismissal from the Toronto Maple Leafs last Monday, the timing of the Devils’ announcement may be about getting a jump on the off-season hiring process and trying to get a new general manager in place and up to speed ahead of the scouting combine in early June and the 2026 NHL draft at the end of that month. The Devils currently hold their own first-round pick and if they season ended on Monday, they’d finish with the 13th-worst record in the league. That would give them an outside chance of moving up by 10 spots in the draft lottery, which is expected to take place in early May.

In this case, an opportunity for Fitzgerald may also be at play. The Nashville Predators are believed to be nearing the end to their GM search, which was initiated after the announcement in early February that Barry Trotz is retiring.

The Predators have shown a strong sense of loyalty within their organization since opening for business back in 1998. Current coach Andrew Brunette played for the team in its inaugural season and so did Fitzgerald, who served as the team’s captain for its first four years.

League insiders including Emily Kaplan of ESPN have linked Fitzgerald’s name to the opening in Music City.

Per Pierre LeBrun of TSN/The Athletic, Fitzgerald had one year remaining on his contract with the Devils.

Just like questions linger around the future of coach Craig Berube in Toronto after Treliving’s departure, the same will likely be true for former Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe in New Jersey. Since taking the reins in Newark at the beginning of the 2024-25 season, Keefe’s record is 82-67-10, for a points percentage of .547

With five games remaining, New Jersey will play next on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The Devils will close out the 2025-26 campaign against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday, Apr. 14.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Is it time to panic in Boston? Well, it is always time to panic in Boston, but a little more than a week into the 2026 MLB, it may be that panic is the correct emotion. After losing yet another series on Sunday, the team is 2-7, which is the worst record in the game.

The Red Sox lost out on big bats over the winter – they refused to offer Alex Bregman a no-trade clause, so he signed with the Cubs, and Pete Alonso elected to take Baltimore’s $155 million to play first base a little farther south. When that happened (or didn’t), Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow shifted his focus to pitching and defense. After Bregman went off the board, he immediately signed Ranger Suárez to a $130 million contract. That was in addition to trades for Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, and Danny Coulombe to bolster the club’s pitching staff.

Pitching

Prior to the season, FanGraphs had Boston as baseball’s best pitching staff. After nine games, their starting pitchers have given up more hits and more runs than any other American League rotation. Measured by fWAR, the Red Sox currently rank 26^th in baseball in total pitching. Measured by ERA, they rank 23^rd. And if you think bad luck could be at play, by FIP they rank 26^th. Ace Garrett Crochet has had one good outing (six innings, three hits, no runs) and one bad one (five innings, six hits, four earned runs); Suárez has had two stinkers (4-1/3, seven hits, four runs; four innings, six hits, four earned runs). And closer Aroldis Chapman came into a tie game on Saturday and promptly gave up two hits and the losing run.

Hitting

On the offensive side of the equation, one of Boston’s first moves of the off-season was to acquire Willson Contreras to play first base in lieu of the injured Triston Casas. Then they made a deal with the Brewers to bring over infielder Caleb Durbin, who spent the spring vying with Marcelo Mayer to determine who would play second base and who would play third. That allowed Ceddanne Rafaela to permanently move back to center field, where he won a Gold Glove last season. Rafaela would be flanked in the outfield by Wilyer Abreu in right (back-to-back Gold Glove Awards) and Jarren Duran in left. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

However, the prognosticators looked at the Red Sox lineup and feared that it lacked for slug, which could be problematic in the ultra-competitive American League East. Well, after nine games, the prognosticators are being proven correct. Boston has half as many home runs (8) as the league-leading Dodgers (16) and have scored just 30 runs over nine games (the same number as the Rockies, and only above the Giants and Reds). As a team they are hitting .226, which could be okay if they weren’t slugging just .372, and if their on-base percentage wasn’t under .300 (.297). The team’s high-water mark for runs scored in a game was yesterday, when they plated six, and still lost by two, after taking a 4-0 lead into the fourth inning.

Defense

Defensively, Boston has been just middle-of-the-road, ranking 15^th in MLB by FanGraphs defensive war. They have already made nine errors, which is tied with the Angels, and just behind the Nationals (10) and the Rays (13) for worst in the league. Planned stalwarts Durbin and Mayer have committed errors, and shortstop Trevor Story already has three on his ledger (to go along with a .119/.119/.214 slash line).

There Is Still Time

Nine games is most certainly a small sample size. There are still 153 games to go. But the AL East is not a division you can fall too far back in and hope to compete come late summer, and the Red Sox already find themselves five games back of the division-leading and hated Yankees. And things don’t get any easier, as they are about to host Milwaukee, who is tied for the best record in the majors and has the third-best OPS in MLB, for a three-game series.

If Boston can right the ship and take the series against the Brewers, then they will head to St. Louis and Minnesota where they can build on that momentum. But lose their fourth series in a row at home this week, then it will be a long flight to the Midwest, with grips getting tight and seats getting hot.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Last week the Seattle Mariners signed yet-to-be-a-rookie Colt Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million contract. For a few days, it was the largest deal ever given to a player who has yet to accrue a day of MLB service time (Jackson Chourio signed an eight-year, $82 million deal with the Brewers in 2023; and then Konnor Griffin signed a nine-year, $140 million deal moments before he made his MLB debut). Emerson’s deal also includes a $25 million club option for 2034. And, as these types of contracts often do, there are escalators built in for MVPs and Silver Slugger awards, as well as All-Star appearances. Shockingly, the deal has a full no trade clause.

Emerson was ranked fourth on MLB’s list of Top-50 prospects, and could be Seattle’s shortstop of the future. FanGraphs has him as a 55 future value prospect (on the 20-80 scale), with a 60 hit tool, 50/55 raw power, and 45/50 for fielding. That is the one question for the youngster: can he play shortstop every day at the big league level? Well, the Mariners are going to wait to find out, as they are keeping him in Triple-A Tacoma even after the ink on the new contract is dry.

Last season, playing at three minor league levels, Emerson slashed .285/.383/.458 with 16 home runs. The projection systems show roughly the same for 2026, as he refines his skills waiting for his chance to play in Seattle.

The Mariners currently rank 23^rd in FanGraphs positional depth chart at shortstop, with J.P. Crawford getting the majority of the reps, with a -6.4 fielding score by their metrics. Leo Rivas is better defensively, but he cannot hit (career slash line of .235/.355/.306). So, with just a little seasoning, the door is wide open for Emerson to make the jump and prove to the fans in the Pacific Northwest that he is worth the money.

Seattle is taking a nearly nine-figure risk on the 20-year-old, a considerably bigger risk than the Astros did in 2014 when they gave Jon Singleton $10 million over five years, which went up in flames.

The Phillies gave Scott Kingery a six-year, $24 million contract before his rookie season, and he gave them -0.7 fWAR in his first year, and then just 2.1 fWAR the following, which was as good as it would get. The Covid-shortened 2020 season wasn’t productive, and he played in only 16 more games for Philadelphia after that.

Seattle signed Emerson despite being plagued by memories of the Evan White contract. In 2019, they signed the first baseman to the same deal as Kingery, with escalators up to $55 million. He won a Gold Glove as a rookie, but didn’t hit a lick (67 WRC+, with 100 as average). In 2021, that number was 24. Hip surgery ended that season early, and he hasn’t played in the big leagues since.

Now it is up to Emerson to perform on the farm and then perform on the biggest stage. If he does, he will exorcise the demons of previous deals gone bad, and provide the Mariners with a solid bat in the middle of what is already a solid lineup.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

The New York Yankees have opened the season as the best team in the competitive American League East division, winning all three of their first series despite dropping Sunday’s game to the Miami Marlins.

Though the team’s offense looks just as potent as it did last year behind superstar sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, in a good sign for the Yankees, perhaps their biggest strength so far has been the starting pitching.

“Many in baseball knew the Yankees pitching staff was good, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would have predicted the historic start to the 2026 season they are putting up,” Phillip Martinez wrote for SNY. “Across the first five games of the season, Yankees pitching has allowed just three earned runs. According to Katie Sharp, that's tied with the 1943 Cardinals for the fewest in MLB history since 1900.”

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New York Yankees Pitcher Ryan Weathers Likely Headed To Bullpen

The Yankees starters have all exceeded expectations in their initial turns on the mound except for newcomer Ryan Weathers.

After joining the Yankees through an offseason trade for the Miami Marlins, Weathers gave up just one earned run in a 4.1-inning debut against the Seattle Mariners. But then, facing his old team in the Bronx, he gave up three earned runs in just 3.2 innings on Saturday.

And now it seems his days in the rotation are numbered.

“With a 4.50 ERA, the question isn’t whether the lefthander is headed to the bullpen at some point. He is,” Yankees insider Bob Klapisch wrote for NJ.com. “It’s can Weathers be trusted in high-leverage situations?”

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New York Yankees Could Be Forced To Move Starters Following Gerrit Cole Return

The Yankees announced that they would be bringing Luis Gil back up to the big-league rotation this week and that he will pitch after Weathers gets his next start. But Klapisch expects the Yankees to demote both Weathers and Gil to the bullpen when veterans Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole make their returns from injury.

“It’s likely Luis Gil and Ryan Weathers will become long-term relievers and that (Will) Warren will be the official winner of the No. 5-slot sweepstakes,” Klapisch wrote of the looming rotation changes.

Of course, changes in health can force the Yankees into all kinds of pitching pivots. But after Weathers struggled in his home debut with the Yankees, it seems his profile makes him a better fit for the bullpen when the team is able to welcome back some more accomplished arms.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne announced Sunday that the school has extended head men’s basketball coach Nate Oats and made him one of the five highest-paid coaches in the sport.

“Nate Oats has signed a new contract that will make him one of the top five compensated men’s basketball coaches in the country,” Byrne announced.

The new deals extends Oats through the 2031-32 season.

Oats’s current contract was set to expire March 14, 2030, per AL.com.

Byrne did not give exact numbers, but a top-five salary would exceed $6 million annually, according to USA Today. Oats, 51, was set to. make $6.02 million in base salary and other compensation for this upcoming season, per AL.com.

Oats, who was in attendance Saturday night at the Final Four, has guided Alabama to six consecutive NCAA tournaments since becoming head coach in 2019. Alabama lost in the Sweet 16 to Michigan, which will meet UConn on Monday night for the national championship.

Prior to Alabama, Oats coached at Buffalo for four seasons. He is also a former high school coach.

Oats had been linked to the North Carolina opening, but along with Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, who was also mentioned for the job, he is now locked up on an extension.

Oats recently said he had “absolutely no reason to leave” his current job for anywhere else.

"They’re doing everything they can to make sure that we’ve got a competitive program," he said last month of Alabama. "And as long as we're able to compete to win championships here, SEC -- national championships, we haven't done that here yet -- I'd love to be the coach to bring us our first national championship. We got to a Final Four. To me, there's absolutely no reason to leave here."

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

HIGHLIGHTS

• The match stipulation for a world championship clash could change Monday night.
• A surprise reveal from Friday's SmackDown could carry over to Raw.
• Several big names are running out of time to land a WrestleMania spot.

We're 12 days away from WrestleMania 42 and WWE is in Houston at the Toyota Center for another potentially important episode of Monday Night Raw. There's a lot on the table for this one including potentially seeing new layers added to some of what we saw on SmackDown on Friday night with Pat McAfee and Randy Orton.

There'll obviously be more CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns and perhaps a few more layers to Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar.

What Time Does Raw Start?

Raw airs live at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Netflix. Doors open at 6:30 PM local time. This is the second-to-last Raw before WrestleMania 42 on April 18-19 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Any remaining card additions or stipulation changes need to happen in the next two weeks. Time is running out.

What Should We Expect From Punk and Reigns?

A stipulation change feels incoming. Punk powerbombed Reigns through the announce table at MSG last week after hitting a GTS. The week before, Reigns attacked Punk with help from the Usos. They've been trading escalating shots for weeks.

A standard singles match doesn't feel like enough for this feud anymore. Street fight, Bloodline Rules or some kind of No DQ stipulation would match the intensity of the build. Monday could be the night it's made official.

What's Next for McAfee and Orton?

Cody Rhodes was on Raw last week and there is reason to believe he'll be back this week. Will McAfee be there too? That's the biggest question. McAfee was revealed as Orton's mystery phone contact on SmackDown and immediately hit Cody with a low blow.

His WrestleMania role still needs to be defined. Is he a manager? A corner man? A participant in the match itself? Monday should bring more clarity to a story that caught a lot of people off guard.

Who Else Needs a WrestleMania Spotlight?

LA Knight needs a spot on some level. The same can be said for Giulia and Tiffany Stratton. Anything that happens with Bianca Belair and the Street Profits will be a surprise at WrestleMania 42.

Five major names without WrestleMania spots with 12 days to go is unusual. The Femi-Lesnar match is confirmed but the build has been thin. Monday needs to start filling those gaps before the go-home shows next week.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Saturday, April 4 was a big day on the Kentucky racing calendar at Keeneland. After all was said and done, it was a big day of racing for one of Kentucky’s best racing conditioners.

Brad Cox has worked his way into the upper echelon of Thoroughbred trainers not only in Kentucky, but in the world. A keen eye for talent and an unquestionable dedication to the game has allowed this Louisville native to enjoy success on the world’s biggest racing stages. Rolling into the opening of the 2026 Keeneland Spring Meet with his fair share of four-legged phenoms, the Brad Cox barn flexed its muscle by winning three of the five Stakes races on the card. Let’s take a quick look at his April 4 racing triple.

Saudi Crown rolls home in grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes

Saudi Crown is a veteran of the Brad Cox barn that seems to have found his niche. The one turn races seem to suit this six-year-old son of Always Dreaming the best. With that in mind, the seven-furlong Commonwealth Stakes looked to be right in his wheel house. After the gates opened and a minute and twenty-two seconds passed, the sell-out crowd at Keeneland realized what his team already knew. Stalking the pace, this striking grandson of Tapit took command at the top of the stretch and rolled past the wire an eased up 2 ¾ lengths to the good. The Commonwealth win marked the ninth career victory for Saudi Crown from eighteen starts and raised his on-track earnings to an impressive $3,668,506.

Eclatant Makes Her Move In The Grade 1 Madison Stakes

The grade 1 Madison Stakes featured a lineup befitting such an event. As the highly competitive field of eight strolled into the gates, five of the runners were at odds between 3 to 1 and 5 to 1. Eclatant had attracted some of the late money as she walked into the seven-furlong affair in fantastic shape. Stalking a sizzling early pace (21.95 opening quarter 44.68 half mile), this Stonestreet Stables homebred surged down the lane in hot pursuit of the frontrunners. Timing her move impeccably under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., this four-year-old daughter of Into Mischief lengthened her stride at just the right time and got up by a nose at the finish. This thrilling finish was her fifth triumph in eight career outings and provided her first grade 1 win. Eclatant now has career earnings of $705,073.

Further Ado Ices The Cake In The Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes

Heading into the day’s final race, many wondered if the Brad Cox machine could score the Stakes trifecta. Yes, he was saddling the odds-on favorite in Further Ado, but this was the grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes and these were three-year-old colts that can produce predictable unpredictability. Having won his previous start at Keeneland by 20 lengths as a two-year-old last October, his desire to perform in horse racing’s heartland was clear. Breaking alertly, this son of Gun Runner loomed large just off the pace up the back stretch. Turning for home, Further Ado ran right past the leaders and took the lead at the quarter pole. Using an incredible turn of foot, this Spendthrift Farms owned prize gobbled ground and turned this race into a rout. Running like school was out, the Further Ado connections were celebrated at the sixteenth pole as the only question remaining was how much would he win by. The final margin was a geared down 11 lengths, but more importantly, Further Ado stamped himself as not only a Kentucky Derby entrant, but a real player in the world’s most famous race. The Blue Grass win was his third in six career outings and raised his bankroll to $1,146,328.

“Three big wins here for us was important because we always like to perform well here and are happy to be back home at Keeneland”, says Brad Cox. “We certainly are happy to see Further Ado perform like we thought he could in the Blue Grass. You never know how they are going to perform until they leave the gate but he ran to expectations.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

The Toronto Blue Jays seemed poised for another successful regular season after they reloaded their roster in the offseason, following a World Series slugfest with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But after falling to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, the team will bring a losing record into its rematch series against the Dodgers on Monday. And one of the main culprits for the early season struggles seems to be a relentless string of injuries.

“Starters José Berríos, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce are among those on the IL while the position players include Anthony Santander and (Alejandro) Kirk,” Gregor Chisholm wrote for the Toronto Star. “Reliever Yimi Garcia also has yet to pitch this season as he recovers from elbow surgery.”

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Toronto Blue Jays Lose Addison Barger To Rare Ankle Injury

And Sunday might have marked another loss as outfielder Addison Barger was removed from the game with a rare bilateral ankle problem.

He appeared to land awkwardly after running through a base in the third inning and, though he stayed in initially, he felt too much pain to finish out the game. After the game ended, manager John Schneider indicated that the Blue Jays won’t be able to determine his upcoming availability until Monday.

“He stepped a bit weird with both of them, one on the bag and one before,” Schneider said after the game, according to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “We taped him up and he tried to go. We’ll see how he is tomorrow. He’s about as tough as they come. Hopefully, he’s all right and it’s just a day or two, or maybe not even a day.”

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Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Schneider Sends Team Warning

But after Barger’s exit and with the injuries piling up for the Blue Jays, the manager also sent a warning about the team’s early season issues.

“We’ve got to get back to playing our baseball,” Schneider said after Sunday’s loss, per Matheson. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, where you’re playing or what time you’re playing them, if you don’t play your baseball, good things don’t happen.”

After getting swept by the White Sox, the Blue Jays will have to rediscover their identity if they hope for better results against the Dodgers. The reigning World Series champions have enjoyed a strong start to their own season.

But the Blue Jays brought them to the brink of elimination in extra innings of World Series Game 7 by relying on an effective brand of high-contact, defensive-minded baseball. That style of play is likely what Schneider means when he points to “our baseball.”

And even though the injuries won’t make it any easier for the team to return to its identity, perhaps the manager’s public warning will serve as a wakeup call.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

When the Rockets used their midlevel exception last offseason to sign forward Dorian Finney-Smith away from the Los Angeles Lakers, the move drew strong reviews leaguewide. Earlier in the summer, Houston had traded forward Dillon Brooks as part of the blockbuster trade to acquire Kevin Durant. Brooks was Houston's primary defensive stopper over the past two seasons and it was believed that Finney-Smith could step in and fill the void left by Brooks' absence. Finney-Smith's contract is for four years at $53 million.

The move has not gone according to plan and instead has been one of the most disappointing free agent signings of last offseason. Finney-Smith did not appear in Houston’s four games between March 27 and April 1. Only on April 3, against Utah in what was a thirty point blowout victory, did he finally appear, checking in for nine minutes of garbage time. Before that, Finney-Smith’s minutes had drastically been slashed. On the season, he is averaging just 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

The signing did not come without risk. Finney-Smith did not make his first appearance until Christmas Day against the Lakers. Finney-Smith had surgery on his left ankle in the offseason to address a lingering injury and clean up damage that had been bothering him for multiple seasons. He was expected to be ready for training camp following the surgery but later missed the start of the 2025-2026 season while recovering.

With Finney-Smith presumably having fallen completely out of head coach Ime Udoka’s rotation, one of the big questions now for Houston’s offseason will be whether general manager Rafael Stone will opt to give it another shot with Finney-Smith and hope that more time off following his surgery will result in a bounce-back 2026-2027 campaign, or instead, will look to flip Finney-Smith in a trade. Some of that may depend on how Houston performs in the offseason and also whether the team is able to retain restricted forward Tari Eason. Finney-Smith has three seasons remaining on his contract after this one. In 2028-2029, he has a player option that, if exercised, will pay him $13.33 million.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Winners of five straight games, the Rockets are rolling, having gone 4-0 on the week last week. On Sunday, they demolished the New Orleans Pelicans, 134-102, behind 36 points from Alperen Sengun. Then on Tuesday, they were led by Kevin Durant’s 27 points in defeating the New York Knicks, 111-94, in front of their home crowd. On Wednesday, Reed Sheppard’s 27 points led them to a 119-113 victory at home over the Milwaukee Bucks. And lastly, on Friday, they blew out a tanking Utah Jazz team, 140-106, behind 25 points from Kevin Durant.

The Rockets are clicking at just the right time, with just five games remaining on the schedule before the postseason. On Sunday night, Houston visits a Golden State Warriors team that bounced it from the first round just last season. All-Star guard Steph Curry is expected to return to face Houston after missing over two months due to right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome. On Tuesday, Houston will visit a Phoenix team that should have former Rockets Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks available and in uniform. On Thursday, they will host the Philadelphia 76ers. And lastly, on Friday, they will host a Minnesota Timberwolves team that is just beneath them in the standings.

Entering Sunday night’s game, the Rockets are 48-29, occupying the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They are 1.5 games back of the fourth seeded Denver Nuggets. If the playoffs started today, Denver would host Houston in the opening round. The Nuggets are currently on an eight game winning streak.

Los Angeles is currently the third seed, at 50-27, but has suffered devastating season-ending injuries to both Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves. Doncic was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and ruled out for at least the remainder of the regular season. Reeves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury and ruled out for the rest of the regular season. It’s more likely than not that the Nuggets will surpass the Lakers in the standings by the end of the season. That could mean a first round matchup against the depleted Lakers for Houston, an outcome the Rockets’ front office would more than welcome.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

No. 1 UCLA wins and defeats No. 1 South Carolina, 79-51 on Sunday, Aprl 5. UCLA never trailed in their Final Four games against Texas or South Carolina.

They became only the second Big 10 team to win a NCAA championship (Purdue in 1999). This was the first national championship as a head coach for Close, and the first in modern history for UCLA (UCLA won the AIAW in 1978).

UCLA Impresses with First Half Scoring

In the first half, UCLA jumped out to a commanding lead as they finished the first twenty minutes up 36-23 on South Carolina.

The scoring for the Bruins was evenly distributed across their starting lineup with senior center Lauren Betts (six points, seven rebounds), and senior guards Kiki Rice and transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker both contributing five points, along with seven points a piece from Gianna Kneepken and Gabriela Jacquez.

Additionally, off the bench, when Betts had a throat issue that required her to exit majority of the first quarter, senior forward Angela Dugalic had six points.

The Bruins shot 43% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc to pull away by 13 points at the half from the Gamecocks.

In comparison, South Carolina struggled to see the ball go in the basket, shooting 26% from the floor and were only able to convert a single three in the half (13%) from freshman Agot Makeer. The Gamecocks also had a rather quiet first half from graduate guard Raven Johnson, who had just two points and two rebounds.

The bright spot for the Gamecocks was junior guard Tessa Johnson who had 10 points, proving why there are shirts that state “who can guard Tessa Johnson”, a quote said in frustration from LSU head coach Kim Mulkey during their loss to South Carolina back in February.

Second Half Continued Dominance for UCLA

At the start of the third quarter, the Bruins went on a 12-2 run, in large part due to the play of Jacquez, before Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley called a timeout. South Carolina was down by 22 points, their largest deficit of the season.

Out of the timeout, South Carolina’s full court pressure was able to get some crucial stops, but they could not convert on offense. Instead, UCLA went on a 13-0 run to finish the third, outscoring the Gamecocks 25-9, closing the third quarter up 29 points, the largest margin in any quarter in the national championship game.

Further, the UCLA defense held sophomore All-American forward Joyce Edwards to four points, and 1-for-8 from the floor in the first three quarters of the matchup.

National Championship Secured for UCLA in Fourth Quarter

Edwards direct counter in the game, Betts had already achieved a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) by the end of the third, when UCLA head coach Cori Close took Betts out of the game at the 3:42 mark, she had added three additional points.

Moments later, Close called a timeout at the 2:52 mark, right after Jacquez hit a dagger three to a charged arena. Jacquez exited the game to a standing ovation and a stat line of 21 points and 10 rebounds, a final double-double for her career in a UCLA uniform.

The game finished with young players for both squads finishing the final minutes of the game, but UCLA won by an overwhelming margin of 28 points.

This is two years in a row that South Carolina has made it to the national championship title game, but suffered an overwhelming defeat (23 points in 2025 to UConn).

In the win, UCLA’s entire senior class, in addition to Betts and Jacquez, were in double digits or close to double digit scoring, with Leger-Walker (10), Rice (10), Kneepken (15), and Dugalic (9 points).

In the loss, South Carolina’s T. Johnson ended with 14 points (four in the second half), Makeer with 11 points, and Edwards two points shy of a double-double with eight points, and 11 rebounds.

Betts Named 2026 Final Four Most Outstanding Player

After the trophy was presented to UCLA and coach Close, it was announced that Betts was named the 2026 Final Four Most Outstanding Player. She stated after the award announcement to reporter Holly Rowe about her personal growth at UCLA, “Basketball has given me the platform to change peoples lives…I am always going to speak my truth because it helped people.”

Talking with Rowe after the win, Close said, “It is truly indescribable….I am just so humbled that they [senior class] chose to commit to our mission…This is meaningful because of the village that we get to share it with.”

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This article was originally published on Forbes.com