Sports
Dodgers face 'sense of urgency and competition' with roster for the rest of the season
The “calvary,” as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts put it this weekend, is coming.
Which means not everyone in the team’s current stable is likely to keep their spot.
In recent weeks, much of the external attention on the Dodgers has revolved around their shrinking cushion in the National League West standings, where a lead once as large as nine games has been trimmed down to 4½ by the San Diego Padres (and five by the Arizona Diamondbacks) entering Monday’s games.
Inside the clubhouse, however, urgency is emanating from a different source — with a wave of trade deadline arrivals and soon-to-return members of the injured list creating pressure through a roster math problem.
The Dodgers are, essentially, facing a sort of baseball Darwinism the rest of the season — with a bloated roster likely to be trimmed down the stretch, and a number of players uncertain to make the final cut.
“There should be a sense of urgency and competition,” Roberts said Sunday, adding: “We’ve got more guys coming than we have spots.”
Most position groups figure to apply.
For example, the Dodgers have three left-handed-hitting outfielders — Jason Heyward, James Outman and the newly acquired Kevin Kiermaier — on a team that, at full strength, will only need two at most (and maybe just one if Mookie Betts or Tommy Edman see significant outfield time once they return from the injured list).
The club has six utility players — Edman, Kiké Hernández, Amed Rosario and Cavan Biggio on the active roster; Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas on the injured list — for maybe only three or four ultimate spots.
Same story in the bullpen, where the Dodgers currently have eight arms that have all pitched leverage innings this year, but also three rehabbing relievers nearing returns (Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove could be back as soon as this week’s homestand; Ryan Brasier isn’t far behind them), plus an unsettled closer’s role.
Even the rotation remains an ever-changing battle; both for depth spots among rookie pitchers (River Ryan, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski have all cycled through this year), and coveted potential postseason starts (especially if Yoshinobu Yamamoto returns from his shoulder injury in September, as Roberts said this weekend he expects).
“It should be a meritocracy,” Roberts said. “At some point, the rubber meets the road, and we’ve got to make some tough decisions.”
For some players, improvement might come naturally.
A month ago, Gavin Lux looked destined for a diminished late-season role. Some rival executives wondered if he could wind up on the trade block.
Instead, Lux has turned into one of the team’s best hitters over the last four weeks, batting .386 in his last 19 games (with nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs) while bumping up to the No. 3 spot in a shorthanded batting order.
“I think you feel that pressure a little bit, but I wasn’t going out there thinking about it every day,” Lux said, pushing back on the idea his play improved as a result of roster pressure.
Others might benefit from more internal competition.
When discussing this dynamic Sunday, Roberts pointed specifically to Hernández, who might finally be turning a corner after a dismal first-half performance.
“He’s playing his best baseball that he’s played in a while, on both sides of the ball,” Roberts said of Hernández, who is batting .300 since the All-Star break with five doubles and eight RBIs. “No. 1, he’s playing good baseball. But I also feel that he’s smart enough to realize that there’s other guys that are coming. And how do you keep getting opportunities? You perform.”
Following his two-double performance Sunday, Hernández insisted he wasn’t overly worried about his place on the roster.
“It is what it is,” he said. “I’m not really thinking about that. That’s out of my control.”
At the same time, however, Hernández acknowledged the pressure he feels to perform — both as it relates to his personal goals, and also the overall outlook of the club.
“This game is about producing, or you’re gonna be out of the game,” he said. “Just trying to do my part. We’ve been struggling as a team, and I believe that if I’m anywhere close to the hitter that I’m capable of being, we’d be in better shape and a better spot.”
Indeed, this might be the best path forward for the Dodgers to rectify their top-heavy roster problems.
Instead of adding another everyday bat to the lineup at the trade deadline — the team didn’t meet asking prices for potential targets, including Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays and Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox — the club loaded up on depth and versatility.
As a result, they now have 18 position players on their 40-man roster with extensive MLB experience, for only 13 available roster spots once they reach the playoffs.
Those additions were necessary in the short term, putting Band-Aids on many of the Dodgers’ injury-induced shortcomings.
“It’s trying to weather or withstand a regular season,” Roberts said. “So you have to kind of backfill.”
But once everyone gets back, there will be important personnel choices for the Dodgers to make leading up to October.
Their hope is that, between now and then, the cream of their depth chart will rise to the top.
“That’s the way it should be,” Roberts said. “That’s a good thing for the organization.”
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For the first time at a FIFA World Cup, finishing third in your group does not necessarily mean going home.
With 48 teams competing in 2026, FIFA expanded the field to include the eight best third-place finishers across all 12 groups. The top two teams in each group advance automatically, and the remaining eight spots in the 32-team knockout bracket go to the highest-ranked third-place teams, determined by points, goal difference, goals scored and other tiebreakers.
That means 12 teams will be competing for eight spots, and the race to stay in the top eight is one of the most compelling subplots of the final days of the group stage.
Here’s where the third-place standings sit heading into the final round of group stage matches on June 24.
Third-Place World Cup Standings
| Rank | GP | Points | Goal Diff. | |
| 1 | Bosnia & Herz. | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 2 | Sweden | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Scotland | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Croatia | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Algeria | 2 | 3 | -2 |
| 6 | Paraguay | 2 | 3 | -2 |
| 7 | Cape Verde | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | Belgium | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Cutline | ||||
| 9 | Czechia | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| 10 | DR Congo | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| 11 | Ecuador | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| 12 | Senegal | 2 | 0 | -3 |
The third-place standings will shift considerably over the next two days as the final round of group stage matches is played. Follow the live standings at FOXSports.com and watch every match on FOX and FS1, streaming live on FOX One.
Standings as of the end of Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar and Canada vs. Switzerland on Wednesday.
2026 FIFA World Cup Standings Rules
How Do Points Work? How Do Tiebreakers Work?
In a group, a team will earn three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. That could mean some teams are equal on points at the end of the three-game group stage. That leads us to tiebreakers.
If two or more teams finish equal on group-stage points, here is the order of who finishes on top:
1. Most points obtained in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
2. Superior goal difference in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
3. Most goals scored in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
There are even more tiebreakers if any teams remained locked after all that. From there, ties are broken by these rules:
4. Superior goal difference in all group matches
5. Most goals scored in all group matches
6. Highest team conduct score in all group matches (taking into account yellow cards and red cards)
7. FIFA World Ranking
Which Third-Place Teams Will Advance?
To fill out the World Cup knockout bracket, the best eight third-place teams out of the possible 12 in the tournament will advance. The criteria for those teams are based on:
1. Points
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Highest team conduct score in all group matches (taking into account yellow cards and red cards)
5. FIFA World Ranking
Until Tuesday night, only one Mexican-born player had been an NBA draft pick. Eduardo Nájera was selected 38th overall in the second round by the Houston Rockets in 2000 and enjoyed a 12-year career as a backup forward with five teams.
Karim López joined him when the Detroit Pistons snapped him up at No. 21, making him the first Mexican-born first-round draft selection.
Lopez donned the Pistons’ cap handed to him by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, then was immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
López, a 19-year-old 6-foot-9 forward, became emotional when Silver announced the pick. He sobbed beneath the cap.
“It’s just super special,” he said. “I’m blessed. I mean, I have no words.”
Born in Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora, López joined the prestigious Joventut Badalona youth academy in Badalona, Spain, at age 14 to accelerate his development. The academy counts former NBA players Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernández and Raül López among its alumni.
During his post-draft television interview, he displayed a custom design inside his suit jacket: Mexico’s tricolor flag.
“I just wanted to represent my culture, represent where I’m from, represent my faith, and just represent myself, basically,” López said. “Show who I am.”
Memphis clearly targeted López while adroitly obtaining five second-round picks in the process. They received three picks from the Pistons and two from the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for moving back from the No. 16 draft position.
Whether López fulfills his potential and becomes the fifth Mexican-born player to take the court with an NBA team remains to be seen. Reviews are mixed.
Draft experts John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie of the Athletic differed in their evaluation, with Hollinger giving the pick a thumbs-up while Vecenie expressed reservations.
“I had Karim López rated quite a bit higher than [the No. 21 pick] and was surprised to see him slide this far,” Hollinger wrote, giving the pick an “A” grade partially because the Grizzlies also collected the five second-round picks.
Vecenie pointed out that López doesn’t shoot well and has defensive deficiencies, saying that his game might be better suited for European leagues than the NBA.
“I’m not sure how he gets on an NBA court early in his career,” he wrote. “I love his frame and physicality. I love that he rebounds and attacks with aggression. But I’m not sure he’s good enough without the ball to make an early impact in the NBA.”
Should López make the Grizzlies’ roster, he would join Horacio Llamas, Gustavo Ayón, Jorge Gutiérrez and Nájera as the only NBA players born in Mexico.
“It means a lot to me,” Lopez said. “It’s just a great opportunity for me and my country to have this platform and have this opportunity. So super blessed and definitely take it with a lot of pride.”
Noteworthy NBA players of Mexican descent born in the United States include former UCLA standout Jaime Jaquez Jr. and former Lakers reserve Juan Toscano-Anderson.
Jaquez averaged 15.4 points a game in 2025-2026, his third season with the Miami Heat. Toscano-Anderson played five seasons in the NBA — including winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022 — and now is with Pallacanestro Trieste of the top Italian league.
López is already a veteran of international basketball, having spent the last two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s top pro league. He averaged 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds last season.
He will join No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer with the Grizzlies, who are rebuilding after finishing 25-57 and 13th in the Western Conference last season.
“A goal of mine is to hopefully reach young people in Mexico,” Lopez told ESPN in March when he declared for the draft. “Trying to grow the sport and inspire athletes and people in general to follow their dreams. Show people that it doesn’t matter where you’re from.”
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The 2026 NBA Draft finally saw the top college prospects get chosen along with some friendly fire among ESPN and basketball analysts on Tuesday night.
Jay Williams, Richard Jefferson and Kenny Smith were among those covering the draft and offering their analysis during the event. One exchange among the three former NBA players went awry and led to an awkward moment.
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Jay Williams of the Chicago Bulls and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs share a laugh during the 2003 got milk? Rookie Challenge Game at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 8, 2003. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE)
ESPN recalled the moments each former player was drafted. Smith went No. 6 overall in 1987 to the Sacramento Kings, Richard Jefferson was selected at No. 13 by the Houston Rockets before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2001 and Williams was chosen No. 2 overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2001. Williams’ career was cut short due to a motorcycle crash.
ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi asked why Williams received a big ovation. Williams explained that most people who had gone to Duke were from the New York or New Jersey area.
“They also didn’t see the future coming, so they were cheering,” Jefferson said.
Williams responded, “Wow.”
TNT basketball analyst Kenny Smith appears on air before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the North Carolina State Wolfpack at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on April 6, 2024. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Smith admitted that Williams was an “unbelievable talent” but “his career trajectory would’ve been a lot different if he didn’t like motorcycles.”
Williams tried to brush it off, saying all of what Smith was saying was “on record” and that he “wrote a book about it.”
“I guess everybody that goes to Duke isn’t that smart,” Jefferson quipped. “What? He wrote a book about it. I’m agreeing with him.”
The awkwardness filled the air after that as the Toronto Raptors were getting ready to make a selection.
Williams’ incident occurred in June 2003. He suffered a fractured pelvis, three torn ligaments in his knee and he severed a nerve in his leg. Williams violated the terms of his contract by riding the motorcycle in the first place.
Referee Richard Jefferson watches the game between the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers during the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 11, 2022. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
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He tried to make his way back into the NBA through the G League but never got there. He played 75 games for the Bulls in his rookie season and averaged 9.5 points per game.
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