Sports
MLB analyst thinks Mets left Jorge López 'out to dry' after glove-throwing ejection: 'Boggled my mind'
Jorge López’s wild ejection on Wednesday afternoon in Queens, and subsequent comments where he was believed to call his New York Mets the “worst team in probably the whole f—ing MLB,” ultimately led the organization to designate him for assignment.
In short, he was released after his ejection, which included throwing his glove into the stands and having words with the Mets.
López has since tried to clear up his comments to the media in the Mets’ clubhouse after the game, saying on his Instagram Stories that he was talking about himself being the worst teammate.
Jorge López, #52 of the New York Mets, in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on May 16, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
“Who ever hear me I said teammate and what I said on the situation I been the worst teammate,” López wrote, “thanks media for make it worse.”
The bizarre chain of events led to many giving their opinion on the matter, and that included former MLB catcher and current Pittsburgh Pirates analyst Michael McKenry, who ripped the Mets for how they handled the entire situation.
“That really boggled my mind because the way they handled that as an organization was very poor,” McKenry said on OutKick’s “Hot Mic” Thursday. “What I mean is you have a guy [where] Spanish is his second language, and you have no interpreter there. So, you kinda leave him out to dry in the sense of like, he’s going to go with what he knows.
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“The most I learned about Spanish was not the good stuff. So, he’s going to go in a direction that he knows and feels comfortable with. And he’s in an emotional state.”
The 31-year-old López is Puerto Rican, and it is usually custom for Spanish-speaking players to have an interpreter with them to make sure the right things are being said to the media when being questioned.
Now, López is no stranger to this, as he made his big league debut in 2015, and he is with his sixth MLB team. While interpreters are available for players to use during questioning, some players choose to give their answers in English.
It is unknown if the Mets gave López the option to use an interpreter, or if he turned one down before the interview.
McKenry continued by saying, while López’s words may have been taken the wrong way, it does not excuse his actions, which his manager Carlos Mendoza called “unacceptable” after the game.
Jorge Lopez, #52 of the New York Mets, in action against the Detroit Tigers during game one of a double header at Citi Field on April 4, 2024 in New York City. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
“If you know anything about his story, he has some issues off the field. He has a kid that’s going through a lot,” McKenry explained, referring to López’s son awaiting an organ transplant. “So, he’s dealing with more than most people have to. That does not make an excuse to throw your glove into the stands and call out an organization you’re with – he did get DFA’d today.
“So, I think the reality of it is, someone needs to put their arm around this kid, love on him and say, ‘This is not OK.’ And not just throw it to the wind. I feel like that’s what the Mets have been doing over and over again – just throwing guys to the wind.”
The Mets have long been an organization associated with wild happenings on and off the field, so much so that the fan base expects them to happen each year.
However, the aura surrounding the team a couple of seasons ago, when Steve Cohen purchased the team, was completely different. High expectations entered Citi Field when Cohen opened his checkbook and brought in players like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and others to compete for a World Series championship.
New York would win 101 games in 2022, though they would lose to the San Diego Padres at home in the best-of-three wild card round. Still, things were looking up for the Mets.
That was until last season, when they went a surprising 75-87. As a result, Scherzer and Verlander were both traded before the MLB deadline, and the Mets virtually punted on the season despite owning the highest payroll in the league.
As McKenry pointed out, they still have that payroll above the rest of the competition, yet the results are 11 games under .500 at 22-33.
Jorge López, #52 of the New York Mets, in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on May 29, 2024 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
“I think they put the cart before the horse,” McKenry said of the Mets. “I think someone that loved the organization and thought they knew best thought they could buy a championship with some older players. It didn’t work out and I think he had to double down, he had to trade off those assets, and lose his high end on all of this.”
Things are not going well for the Mets, and López’s situation is just the latest example of the dysfunction happening in Flushing.
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The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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